The change in Nadya's demeanor was subtle but Dactrin took notice. His eyes had been so focused on her in this intimate and up close setting that he had begun to take notice of her features even more and all of the exquisite details that lay within. He noticed how smooth and clear her skin was. Her complexion was pure as porcelain and he could begin to see the evidence of her inhuman self.
Dactrin watched as Nadya pulled her eyes away from him for what he believed was the first time as he had always been the one to break the eye contact first. As her demeanor changed, her face tightening in a manner of concentration, she turned to grab something, bringing up to the table a box and setting it in between them.
He leaned forward when she spoke in a softer, lower tone, eager to hear what every word she had to say, a stark difference to how their reading had began. With a flick of her delicate wrist and a silent whip of the satin, the crystal ball was revealed before them. Dactrin's eyes navigated towards the strange yet enticing orb, studying the way the light played within the solid piece. Relax. Open your mind. Ask your questions.
Nadya's eyes were focused on the ball before her. Dactrin turned one last gaze from Nadya back to the ball, fixating his eyes on it as well, putting his full focus and concentration in to it with her. He could almost feel both of their energy in the room. All senses outside of the ball seemed to have faded as Dactrin could no longer notice the sounds of the train, his comrades yelling or laughing, or the air rushing past the windows. It was as if they were in a tunnel and all he could notice was Nadya's controlled, deep breathing. He tried to match hers, inhaling deeply. His mind began to focus on the answers he was looking for. What happened to my sister? Is she alive? Is Shaylyn healthy and safe? If she died, was it quick and painless? Who is the one-eyed pirate that destroyed my family? Is the pirate the the Knight of Swords? Will I find this fucking bottom-feeding shit pile of rocks and get the chance to slowly peel his skin from his muscles, tendons, and bones? He could feel his anger rising again, bubbling from the pit of his empty stomach and burning up through his throat. A vein was tightening at his temple as his blood pressure began to rise once more. As he felt the heat of his anger begin to flush his face, Dactrin noticed how he began to hear the sounds of the train again, subtle and in the distance but closing in, threatening to drown out what Nadya was trying to show him. Afraid to lose the moment, Dactrin put his full focus back to his composure. He took a deep breath through his lips, exhaling through his nose, eyes dilated on the ball before him as it began to shift. The noise of the train dissolved once more as Nadya and Dactrin sat focused as one on the crystal ball, watching images begin to appear.
Dactrin couldn't see anything in the ball. Nadya was already beginning to shift slightly in her seat, a sign that she was seeing something. He was eager to hear what it was and kept his eyes on the ball, trying to maintain his focus on his questions, keeping himself relaxed. Then, in an unexpected moment that broke the stillness, Nadya gasped, causing Dactrin to snap his head up quickly and look at her. She had seen something and he felt his chest tighten with excitement and curiosity. Her eyes were wide, focused, seeing something that appeared to be important, or shocking. Dactrin spoke in almost a whisper, saying "what? What is it? What do you see, Nadya?" At her lack of response, he remembered he needed to stay focused on the crystal ball. He quickly returned his attention back to the orb she held, watching it fiercely as he waited for her to speak.
"There are three bodies in a pool of blood, a couple and a young man, I can't see his face. But a large man appears to have just killed them. He's very tall and very broad with dark skin and a dark eye--he only has one."
Nadya's first sentence brought a cold chill down Dactrin's spine so quickly he let out a small breath of air, disbelief expelled from his slightly parted lips. "How do you...." he started to say, looking back up to her. Her eyes were still wide as she kept talking. Fearing he would disrupt her vision he forced his eyes back to the orb and clenched his jaw, forcing his mouth shut tight as he listened to her continue.
"And there is a girl with him now, pretty, light brown hair. She is small and has blue eyes...there is a freckle inside one of them. The man appears to be kidnapping her, at any rate she's trying to resist him."
Dactrin had only one word in response. "Shaylyn" he said softly, a reflex to Nadya's next description of events that she saw. There was no other way she could have known of this event. Of his sister. It was such an intimate moment in his life that she was bringing up, he felt the most vulnerable he had ever felt. And yet, he felt connected to his sister. As if she was close enough to reach out his hand to her and pull her to him, to safety. He wanted to hide himself from Nadya but his desire to learn more kept him seated, arms on the table now and leaning forward, his blue eyes locked on the crystal. He wished he could see what Nadya was seeing. He wished he could see his sister again. Nadya kept going as if the images she saw were swiftly and constantly changing before her. Her voice was clear but urgent as she tried to get the information out for Dactrin to hear.
"I see another girl, now. No, wait! The very same girl as the first image. She's older now, a blossoming young woman. I see something different about her...she has two long scars, one on her shoulder the other on her back. She is at some public gathering. A market place. There's a crowd... she is dancing to a crowd and the men are ooing and aweing. But she seems to enjoy it. There he is! The same tall one eyed man is behind her."
Dactrin had pulled himself closer. He sat hunched so close over the ball he could have bent an inch or two to kiss it with his lips. He stared in disbelief, in shock, as Nadya spoke of his sister, implying she was alive. She's alive! Nadya spoke of her being with the one-eyed pirate. She was still with that rotten piece of flesh and yet she was ALIVE! Dactrin's eyes were wide, shimmering with emotion as he felt such passionate yearning to see his sister, to know that what Nadya was saying was in fact their reality and not a false hope. If only he could see her as Nadya did.
But Nadya moved on. "The one eyed man again! He's...." "He's....talking to another man. Dark, handsome. Both men look to be in their fourth decade. They are plotting something...something evil..."
Dactrin barely heard what she had said. "Shaylyn!" he cried out loud. "Shaylyn, I'm right here!" Dactrin reached out his hands to the orb as if he were reaching out to grab hold of his sister. His hands cupped the small ball where Nadya's hands weren't touching, leaving all four of their hands on the crystal ball for a brief moment.
Dactrin's eyes blazed with his Takarin blood, shining more vividly then they had ever before, an almost blinding brilliance shining out from his face. His hands felt attached to the ball, as if he couldn't pull himself away even if he wanted to. His back arched, his neck tilted and his face looked up to the ceiling. His lips parted and the view of the train around him seemed to disappear.
A rush of energy shot through Dactrin's veins, pulsating throughout his body, his body trembling that left his chair rocking on it's legs. He felt a shock of slight pain then.....he saw Shaylyn. She was standing before him, smiling brightly, eyes alive, body in tact, and healthy. She was a bit older but still seemed like a child to him, his baby sister. The image of Shaylyn reached out her arms towards him. He thought he could hear her soft, musical voice calling out to him, calling his name, asking him to come to her. "S-Shay" Dactrin muttered through clenched teeth. A tear fell from the corner of his eye, sliding down his cheek, his body still rigid. And in the next moment a burst of energy shot him backwards, hands breaking free from the orb as if some invisible entity had ripped them away. He fell backwards and the chair tilted with him, crashing with him to the hard floor below, one of the legs of the chair breaking under his tumbling weight. The image of his sister was gone.
Dactrin rolled to his side, gasping. He was back in the train. "No...no, no, Shay! SHAY!" He yelled out towards Nadya and the crystal ball, desperate to see her again, desperate to feel the warmth of her body in his arms and to know she was truly alive. He quickly stumbled to his feet, feeling slightly off balance, and looked to Nadya, who was still focused on the orb, as if nothing had happened with him. She was more entranced then he had ever seen her before. What was she seeing? He wondered. He stared down at the orb with her, hoping to help her with the images. But it didn't last long and without warning, Nadya was flung upward from her chair, breaking free from the power of the crystal.
Her dark eyes, still wide, moved to him, staring at him with such an intensity he had never seen or felt before. His chest was rising and falling heavily, hands pressed down on the table as he stared back at her.
She said his name. That was it.
"Nadya..." he said softly, a slight tremble to his voice. "What else did you see?"
