Evernight

[Elle Joyner]

She wasn't prepared for it... Fal's speech. In truth, she had tried to consider all possible options and a lot of things had crossed her mind, but none quite like what he was suggesting. She had even considered trying to find Thalia, trying to bargain with the woman, to find some way to bring Thalion back... but what Fal proposed? It had never entered her mind. In truth, she didn't want to think about it, even now. It seemed too horrible to rest her hopes on such a dismal, wretched idea... It seemed wrong.

Tears blurred her vision and she shook her head as he spoke. She wanted to tell him to stop - because the more he said, the harder it became to fight the pressing notion that as terrible as it was, it might be their only chance. And the more he spoke, the less her resolve held...

"What then would separate me from her, Fal? If I asked you to do that? What would make me any different? Any better? I can't..." Kneeling, reaching out to take hold of his fur-covered hands, she shook her head again, "Oh, my dear, sweet Fal. That you would even offer... But I can't make that decision. Not for you, or the others. Even if it were to work, even if it did bring him back... how would I look him in the eye, knowing what it cost?"

Rising again, struggling through a deep breath, she managed a small, weak smile, "...I've no doubt of it... you are a part of him. He would argue that you are the best of him. I... I think I need to be alone for a few minutes, if that's alright?"
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"What would separate you is that his mother separated him from his soul, but you'd be givin' it back."

A fatherly smile crossed his lips, and he stroked the side of her palm with his thumb when she rested her hand over his. The moment was brief but he nodded and stepped back, dusting off the front of his cloak. "O'course it's alright. Take all the time ya need. I believe the feast will begin though, so join us when you're ready to do so. You're a good girl, Minette. Just remember though—we all want ta fight the witch. Maybe this is our chance. Not yours, but ours… my people."

He gave her a small bow before turning on a heel and waving his hands, ushering the others towards the fire where Gregian had been sitting peeling away a small piece of fruit from one of the trays. There was a surprising lack of alcohol around the bonfire, but the Antropoes gathered up small dishes and sat around eating, talking. They seemed to enjoy each other's company at least, though almost the entirety of the group had turned their backs to Gregian in a way that welcomed him to the meal, but not to their conversations. There weren't laughs being shared, but there were smiles and sympathetic use of hands.

Even when most had finished their meals, the evening was not over. Instead, as they finished, each and every Antropoe picked up a candle and lit the wick in the bonfire, digging the stem into the dirt until the whole ravine where the bonfire was being hosted was glowing in light. It was beautiful and was enough light to illuminate all the trees and their leaves, despite the encroaching darkness.

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[Elle Joyner]

She was gone for some time, though she didn't wander far - even grieving, she knew better than to lose herself in Evernight, particularly so close to nightfall. She walked absently, but not entirely without purpose, and though she felt no better when she finally did return, she was relieved, at least, to see the Antropoe gathered in such a deeply intimate way. Gregian had not faded from her mind, however, and seeing him away from the crowd, she knew there would be no peace for her that night if she did not address him one last time.

Picking her way through the crowd, she moved to stand beside the Duke, her eyes on the circle of flames the Antropoe had assembled. it was beautiful... like stars, brought down to earth, and for the first time in days, she felt the barest sense of warmth to her. It was this, perhaps, that attributed to the softness in her voice as she spoke.

"...They would give their lives for him, you know. Gladly. They offered, only a little while ago. There's magic here in Evernight... Magic that I don't fully understand. I don't know that anyone does. When she sent him here, Thalia... she separated Thalion from his soul. It was her greatest effort to break him. To make him like her. Yet even without, he was the sort of man that people would sacrifice themselves for. The sort of man that others could only hope and dream to be. And he never knew... He was never told how good, and how wonderful he was." Rubbing her arms, Minette turned to look at Gregian, shaking her head, "You are nothing like him. I don't know that you ever could be... but I hope that someday you have the courage to try and be better. What you did? It doesn't matter why... or that you didn't know the outcome... You allowed her to manipulate you, knowing there would be consequences. But I forgive you. I release you from the burden of guilt or shame. And I do hope that you find a way to survive... because I think you can be a good man, Gregian. So try..."

Gently, almost, she brushed his shoulder, then moving away, she searched through the crowd for Fal, finding him a little ways from the bonfire. Approaching the Antropoe, she glanced down to meet his beady gaze, "...How would it be done?"
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Gregian had eaten and spent the rest of his time staring into the flames as they danced up the spire. He could remember the bonfires he used to have at his estate—big, lavish affairs with alcohol and food and wine. He'd have live music and he'd invite all the wealthiest and most noble to dance, drink, and eat. The bonfire in Evernight was nothing like the groomed fires he'd have back at his own estate. This fire was wild. A red, orange, and yellow ball of rage that roared up and ate its way through the wooden pyramid at its base. Even the fire in Evernight seemed more aggressive, he thought quietly to himself.

Plumes of grey buffeted into the night sky, carried aimlessly by the chilly northern wind. Ashen debris glided silently away from the smoke and onto the ground and his shoulders. His eyes were transformed into orbs of light, each flickering orange flame playing a light show on his pupils. He hadn't heard Minette approach over the crackle of the fire. He listened to her, though halfheartedly. The words were nice, but he didn't even know what to do with them. Her forgiveness would not save him. Her forgiveness would not feed him, or protect him, or get him home again. "I hope so to," he managed out when her hand fell on his shoulder before she moved away.

Meanwhile, only a short distance away, Fal watched the scene and let his eyes follow as Minette approached him. He knew intuitively what she was going to ask, what her decision had become. "Painlessly, I promise," he never lost her gaze, though a smile blossomed over his features, "Goodbye, Minette. It has been a pleasure." From around his neck, he unclipped the necklace that had first brought them together and stole Minette's hand, dropping the piece of jewelery into her palm. "Don't… don't forget me, ye?"

During the conversation, all the Antropoes had stopped what they were doing. They had put down their bowls and their plates. They had set aside their mugs and stopped their conversations. A cool breeze carried on through the trees, picking up and causing the leaves to sing. As if it was as intuitive in their nature as breathing was, each individual began to dissolve… like the logs under the bonfire, their corporeal forms disintegrated into flakes of white ash that swirled around in a siphon of air and from the nonsensical ashes twirling and dancing around seeminglingly meaningless, a shape began to emerge.

The apparition that emerged was no more than a distortion of ash and light: a wolf that was cut out of colors that weren't right. It seemed to both glow and consume light as it moved, pausing in its trot to glance to Minette and perk its ears. Tilting its head back into a howl, the swirling ash wolf figure bounded forward, disappearing into the hut without leaving so much as a paw impression in the mud. It leapt forward, slamming and melting into Thalion's chest where, with a loud crack of noise, like glass shattering, it vanished.

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[Elle Joyner]

He had understood, but she hadn't. Not really. Not entirely. Subconsciously, maybe she knew that she had made a decision, but at his words, her heart gave a leap and straightening, she shook her head, even as he pressed the necklace into her palm, mouth agape as she watched, transfixed, while the others began slowly... like ash, to dissolve, to fade... She wanted to cry, to scream, to tell them to stop, that she hadn't meant it, that she didn't want it, but it was too late, she knew...

She knew, and they had known. And something told her that they would have done it, either way. That they would have given their lives for Thal, even if she wasn't a factor. It was a strange thought, knowing that while they were so much a part of him, they were, all of them, separate, too. Yet they had willingly sacrificed their lives... and for what? For a hope? For a prayer? For a possibility...

The last of them faded and Minette dropped to her knees before the fire as the wolf like apparition crashed over her head, towards the hut where Thalion lay. She couldn't move, couldn't look... didn't dare to. Instead, with a sob, she buried her face in her hands and she wept, for the first time since Thalion had fallen, she wept.

And it hurt. It was as if every ounce of emotion that she had contained from the moment she had come to Evernight poured out of her with such fury, such exhausting force... and she couldn't stop - not even when she began to tremble so much she was sure she would shake apart, not even when her breath caught on every heaving note of agony... For a moment - one terrible, awful, painful moment, she was utterly alone, and she felt it. To the depths of her soul, she felt it...
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"They would really die for him, then." Gregian had watched the entire scene. Just a few days ago, it might have caught him in awe, but he had stopped being amazed by the things he found in Evernight some time ago.

He had never seen anyone, or in the case of the little creature… anything, sacrifice themselves like that for another. Hell, not even a true sacrifice—they sacrificed on a hope. It was a dream that they didn't even know if it would work. The fact that they had sacrificed for something that could all lead up to nothing boggled him. He couldn't comprehend that level of goodness… of giving… of faith. He rose steadily, staring at the path that the wolf-like apparition had taken. The force of a soul meeting a body was still causing his ears to ring and his brows furrowed as he stepped around the fire and tiptoed ahead. He stopped when he came next to Minette.

"They really did it?" he breathed out in surprise, "They really did it. Why? It's not even guaranteed to work… why do it?"

The hut had returned to normal. There was no light, no strange aura wolf, no nothing… it stood eerily still tucked away in the now empty village just as it had before. If Thalion was alive, he made no sound of it. "Why you crying anyways? You don't even know what's in there…" Though even Gregian seemed afraid to go towards the hut. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was on the other side of that door. His mind was racing with images of all the monsters he had encountered in Evernight, wondering if maybe Thalion wouldn't make it out the other side alive… or whole… or human.

The first sigh Thalion breathed out was resigned and weary. It signaled the end of a deliberate effort and the beginning of passive deterioration. It was a sigh so quiet it would have gone unnoticed to anyone not standing immediately next to him. It's sound and its movement dissipated out into the vastness of Evernight and made no effect at all. It was not the start of any butterfly effect, but in the young man's life it was a pivotal turning point. It was a moment to choose whether to live or die. He was alive, barely, and dreadfully unconscious.
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[Elle Joyner]

She wanted to hit him. Not because what he said was so inherently wrong or hurtful, but because against all hope, she had to admit, at least deep inside that she had thought exactly the same thing. What if it had been for nothing? What if they had given their lives and Thalion was still gone? Would she be alone against Thalia? Would she perish, too? It seemed so futile, so utterly futile.

And hearing it said out loud was simply too much. She was sorry then that Fal had agreed to allow Gregian to stay, and wanted desperately to send him off, to expel every ounce of rage against him, drive him away. Yet in her heart she couldn't stand the thought of being alone.

He chastised her tears, but they did not subside. She didn't care anymore how little use it was to cry. Holding it in felt infinitely worse, and while she was certain she would never be able to stop, she could feel the release… the relief, from letting go. Shuddering, dropping her hands to her lap, she stared into the flames before her.

Only a few feet away he lay… and she need only stand and go to him… then she would know. Yet as she tried to will herself to rise, her body betrayed her… If it had worked, surely he would have come to her.

"Please…" She whispered to Gregian, "Please… just leave me. Just… go."
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Gregian held his gaze on her. It was dark and searing. "You don't even have the bravery to look, do you?" he shook his head, though it was almost sympathetic and apologetic. "It's okay, you know. Women aren't meant to undergo this kind of stress. This is what I was trying to protect you from. You're delicate, princess. Your delicate transgressions aren't built for such… terrible, terrible things."

He sighed and shifted away from her. There was no one to hold an arrow to him anymore and that realization caused him to pause. He glanced backwards over his shoulder, taking in the hazy silhouette of Minette through the fire. "Actually, no, why should I go? There is no one left to protect you. I tried… I tried to protect you. I tried to get you home, but no. No, I wasn't good enough. I didn't have enough hair," he brushed his hand through his thinning hairline, "I wasn't strong enough… or maybe I just wasn't twisted enough inside to grab you attention, is that it?"

"I see you're finally using your manners, though," he mentioned off-handedly at her 'pleases.' He came around the fire again, grasping her shoulder with his unringed palms, which caused him to frown as he looked down at his bare knuckles. "Say goodbye to your lover, Minette. It's time you become my Queen and now there isn't anyone to stop it, to stop us. You know…" he twirled his finger around a coil of her hair, "I thought trying to be kind and generous was the way to go but… if we're going to both die here anyways, I might as well enjoy it a little bit, don't you think?"

His hands clamped down on a fitsful of her hair, "I want you to say goodbye so you know it's over."

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[Elle Joyner]

Even in a state of despair, she was aware, acutely, of the sudden shift in his disposition. His words weighed as heavily as his grip on her shoulder and for a moment, a brief, disparaging moment, Minette felt the damage of them, felt their sting. But it occurred to her, rather more swiftly than expected, how much she had accomplished on her own... She had brought Thalion home, and whether or not this was the end, she had survived. She had survived losing him, survived the Twisted Wood... She had made it through, virtually on her own. She wasn't weak, or frightened anymore.

And he wasn't going to be the one to bring her down...

Her hand moved to the belt at her waist and without a word, she unsheathed the knife that Thalion had gifted her, then rising quickly to her feet, pulling free from his grasp, she turned the blade on it's side and pressed the flatness to Gregian's neck, eyes narrowing as she stared him down with unwavering defiance.

"Not so delicate, you smug bastard! How dare you... After the mercy you have been shown. How dare you lay your hands on me. You will not touch me again, do you hear me? You will not lay a finger on me, or so help me, I will remove something from you that you may yet have use for! I have been patient... and I have tried to be understanding, but I am done! You are a rat, and a coward, and I will never belong to you! Not if every pitiful creature in this world were to suddenly vanish and you were all that remained! You will go, now... and you will not return here. Not ever. If I see you again, it will be the last time I show you grace..."

Lowering the knife, she gave him one last, lingering glare before she spun on her heels and stalked to the hut. He had been right about one thing... it took bravery... great bravery, but even the notion of losing Thalion all over again was more welcome than Gregian's presence. And she needed to know...

She needed to know...
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In his dream, there were lights. There were too many lights to count, dancing on an ocean too vast to envisage. Each one was brilliant, each one unique. He wanted to look at each one for the marvel it was, for no matter how many there were, there were no two colours that were the same. The light that came from within them was more pure than gold, lighter than air, faster than wind—each one a small piece of Heaven, of that he was certain. He tried to reach out to them, for who wouldn't want to touch something so pure, but the lights recoiled in fright. Likewise, Thalion snaps his hand back in surprise.

They burned like flames, a brilliant blue and strong and when he focused on them for a long time, at once the fire became golden and took the shape of a flower head. He watched the many petals become more distinct, folding outwards, radiating light and warmth until he found the darkness he was standing in actually turned out to be a field of flowers. It was a place he remembered well. He had grown up near that field back in Green Reach… he remembered it. He remembered the smell of the perfumed flowers in spring and the way his boots sunk into mud.

He sighed, placing his hands up on his hips and admiring it. It was even more beautiful than he remembered, but distinctly different than anything he had ever encountered in Evernight. A rustle. Cloth, perhaps, but not inherently natural to this world. He realized immediately he was dreaming but he couldn't will his eyes open. They felt tired, heavy. It had to be Minette though—he recognized the way she stepped.

"Minette," he breathed out tiredly, "I just had the strangest dream."

He couldn't remember the last time he had ever felt so tired before, or his body ever felt so heavy. It was like it was weighed down by a force he couldn't even comprehend. It must have just been his exhaustion playing a trick on him.
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[Elle Joyner]

It was silent in the hut... Silent, and so still. The candles had spent their wicks and the darkness that surrounded Thalion's form was all encompassing, so much so that it felt nearly otherworldly. Lingering at the entrance, her heart still pounding from Gregian's rather alarming display, she focused on her breathing, focused on keeping her terror at bay.

At first, she was sure that she had imagined it, then, his voice... That it was a trick of the senses, the overwhelming desire to feel some connection to him, still. It felt too much to hope otherwise, and her mind could scarcely wrap around the concept that it might have actually worked... that their sacrifice had been worth while. Yet certainly stranger things had happened in Evernight...

Eyes burning with tears, she stepped forward, once, twice... her legs shaking as she approached the spot where Gregian had laid him. Kneeling, unsure her feet would hold her much longer, she reached out, and gingerly, she touched his arm with trembling fingers, daring to hope the faint pulse beneath her fingertips was not some terrible trick of her imagination.

"...Th... Thal?"
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"I don't like that tone of voice," he commented idly, inhaling deeply for the first time and feeling his lungs expand. They burned with oxygen and he nearly coughed it all back up, but instead he forced his breath to expel slowly through his nostrils. He felt queasy and sick, like he had been asleep too long—so long that he forfeited being rested and went straight back to being exhausted. "It sounds like you were crying."

He was still not even conscious enough to realize what had happened. The oddity of the fact that he wasn't caked in snow and inhaling cold air hadn't occurred to him yet. It felt, instead, like his mind was still booting up again… the cogs were turning but slowly, trying to find the right teeth to interlock with and get the whole mechanism ticking. It was figuring it out, but it fumbled now and again. Inhaling again, he forced his eyes open and looked up at the recognizable, but unfamiliar, ceiling above him. His brow fell once, knitting into a frown as he closed his eyes again immediately.

"Where am I?" He certainly wasn't in the frozen north anymore, that was for sure.

Picking his elbow up underneath him he tried to sit up, but the immense force he had felt on his chest before grew heavier until it felt like he it was pushing him back. "Dear…" a string of curses expelled from him as he fell back against the hut floor, tugging his arm out from underneath Minette's hand so he could rub his chest. "What the hell happened to me? God, I feel terrible."
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[Elle Joyner]

It was dizzying, the realization that he was, in fact, alive... and for a moment, Minette felt as if she might faint, her mind spinning rapidly with all that had happened in the last few minutes. He pulled his arm free, pushed himself up a little and Minette fell back, staring, squinting through the darkness at his silhouette. It was him. There was no denying it. It was him. Yet somehow, she was still too afraid to fully trust it.

When she spoke, which took a great deal of effort, her voice sounded so small in her ears, so weak, and quivered as much as the rest of her, "You... you don't remember?" But then, why would he? He had been dead for most of it... By all right of logic, he should have been dead, still, "Gregian... He... he went to your mother. She gave him something. An... an orb. He broke it and..." Blinking, she lowered her gaze. It had never occurred to her that she might have to break the news to him of his own demise. How did one go about telling someone that they had been dead for nearly two days?

"You died, Thal. You... you were dead." Swallowing, the weight of those words leaving an unpleasant feeling in her throat, she shook her head, "I... I brought you to Fal. He... he told me about the... the magic. The way it worked. Your soul. That they were a part of you, the Antropoe. And then they..."

Frowning, she paused. What would he think of it? The Antropoe giving up their lives for him? How would he take it... Would it be too much? Would he regret it? Would he hate her, for... for allowing it?

"...They brought you back... at great cost, Thal. They're gone...All of them. But they brought you back."
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"I don't—" he didn't remember, his eyes rolled open again and snapped to Minette, searching for answers he had desperately forgotten. Yes, the orb… he closed his eyes and lulled his head back. Yes, the orb… he remembered it. He hadn't known what it was and he still wasn't sure he understood it entirely. It was coming back to him slowly. He remembered the horror he felt when he watched it break, though he couldn't say why. He remembered feeling his heart stop, he remembered his body convincing himself he didn't need oxygen. He remembered falling against the snow and feeling the last surge of warmth. He furrowed his brow and thought but there was nothing after that.

Only death and darkness.

"I died, did I?" he echoed as if he didn't quite believe it. It was a hard thing to grapple with… it was hard enough to wrestle with knowing someday you would die, let alone actually experiencing it. He rubbed his chest again, right in the spot where it was sore. His lips parted and allowed a breath out. "And the Antropoes were my soul all along, were they?" That must have been the weight then, he decided. It was unfamiliar and foreign to him, though everyone else carried it with such ease. A soul, what a burdensome thing. Still, aside from the weight, he didn't feel much different… he was cold, tired, hungry, and queasy, but he attributed that more to death.

"I see." He echoed at her statement. He had already known. He wasn't sure how, but he did. He swallowed hard and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know how to feel about that, honestly. To sacrifice many for the sake of one seems…" unfair, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He wouldn't survive having his soul parted from him twice. He wasn't even sure if he was parted from his soul if it'd bring the Antropoes back.

At the end of the day, he was there and they were gone. It was something he had to live with. "She must be stopped, then," he finalized, "And we finally have ourselves an advantage… she doesn't know I'm alive. I will not let this go on any longer. Whatever that orb was… it was clearly some kind of life source. Perhaps she has one as well."
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[Elle Joyner]

Whatever she had to say was strangled by a soft sob as reality came pressing down on her with such intensity, for the brief time it lasted, she felt crushed beneath it. He was alive... somehow, someway, it had worked, and he was alive, yet it didn't make the sorrow, the pain she'd felt fade. There was no security in the concept of his miraculous resurrection, nothing she could wrap her mind around or make sense of. He wanted to move on, but she wasn't even entirely sure it was all real...

For all she knew, it could have been a terrible trick of the mind, and that thought terrified her beyond reason. That she might have been so broken by all that had happened that reality ceased to exist entirely, that she had somehow imagined him returning, and that at any moment she might snap out of her stupor to find him a shell once more... empty and hollow... cold. Find that she was alone in the darkness...

She had come so far, and lost so much. She couldn't bear it, losing him all over again... She couldn't bear the thought of Evernight without him, and she was convinced now, somehow, that it was in her head, that something in her had snapped. Thal was gone, Fal and the Antropoe were gone... Even Gregian, who had proven to be less of a man than she'd thought possible... even he was gone. Surely this was Thalia's plan. To leave her broken, without a soul of her own...
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It had gotten easier for Thalion over the years. Wrestling with the impossible, that was. After a while, things stopped surprising him, stopped bothering him. Maybe he was dead, maybe he was just a figment of Minette's imagination but… who cared? Who cared if someone was crazy, so long as they were happy? Who was to say all of life was not some big, long, grand illusion, anyway? He could feel the emotion pulsing off of her with great intensity. So intense that it caused his eyes to open. Once more, he brought his palms underneath himself and pushed up off the dirt floor. It took effort, more effort than he ever thought possible to move his own body, but he sat up and roached his back forward.

"It's okay, you know," he said, sounding breathless… like he had just run some great marathon through the twisted forest. His chest ached like he had just run a great distance, as well, his throat feeling parched and dry, his lungs stinging, his throat burning… he swallowed hard to try and ease the sensation but it didn't help. "It's okay to grieve. It's okay to be scared. It took me a long time to not be scared in Evernight and, truthfully, I'm not sure I was ever not afraid at all."

He looked to her, rolling his cheek against his shoulder. Across his tanned forehead, his black hair ribboned across like a veil. "I uhm… I don't know what you're going through. I've never been through anything like this before. I don't know what to say." He shrugged. He had never been very good with words, though he wondered if there were even words to say. He leaned back against one of his hands, digging his fingers into the dirt. It was so familiar—dirt pushing up under his nailbed—but even he had his doubts. Maybe he was dead. Maybe this was some twisted version of the afterlife, but even if it were… it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he wasn't ready to give up fighting his mother. Not in life, not in death, not in any world or reality he found himself in.

"There is a way to get to Green Reach from Evernight, even if you're not Thalia," he admitted. "A long time ago, I had captured a Watchcrew and he… well, not so willingly told me. Minette, I don't know what I am… so much has changed since you arrived that I feel certain of so little now, but I need you through this."

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[Elle Joyner]

I need you...

Maybe that would have to do. Maybe that was all that mattered. She might be mad. There was a good chance she was, in fact, and it was a scary thought... but so what? If she had to live the rest of her life in illusion, unsure of what was real and what wasn't, so what? She had said as much when she'd been sure he was dead, and she meant it still now, she wouldn't give up. Couldn't, in fact. So mad or not, she had to push on... she had to, to honor him.

But God, did she need him not to be dead.

He spoke, and it felt so real, so sincere... and she needed to believe that it couldn't be in her mind. That even her subconscious could not be so cruel. Looking up, heart aching, she met his gaze, shaking her head wearily. She wanted to reach out, to touch him, but she was too scared of what she might find, if she did, "I don't know what to do... What's real. But maybe... maybe I don't care. If you aren't there... if you aren't real, there's nothing for me here or outside of Evernight. But I will do whatever it takes to see to it that Thalia is defeated. I won't let her hurt anyone else..."​

 

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It was hard to process all at once. Thalion hadn't even grieved his own loses. He wasn't even sure he knew how to do so. His eyes were soft and he looked down but glanced up only a short while later surprised to meet her gaze. He wasn't even sure where to begin dealing with his own losses… the Antropoes, the people who taught him everything, helped him survive, were gone. Thalion had never known anything close to family, though those little haflings had been the closest. He exhaled again, forcing his breathing.

"Maybe I'm dead," he agreed with a lame shrug, "I wouldn't know. I've never died before, so I couldn't tell you if this is what being dead feels like. Maybe I am just a piece of your imagination, but I don't think so. It's possible, but I doubt it. You're a smart girl, Minette, but I don't think you're creative enough to reinvent me. Either way, maybe it doesn't matter, just like you said. This entire place is made-up anyways, right? It was something created by my mother… in Green Reach none of this exists, anyways. If we're going to be locked in a dream, we might as well try and bend the rules of what is and is not possible."

His hand worked through his hair, pushing back the strands from his face. "I have seen crazier things happen in Evernight and if I've been learning anything since finding magic, it's that nothing is too far out of reach." He smiled, though it was hesitant, as if he wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. Maybe it wasn't considering an entire village had just died for his life, but then again, maybe it was the right thing. Would he have taken his soul back knowing the costs? He wasn't sure, but what was done was done and he was sick of worrying about what was right, instead what felt right.

"Well, it's not my usual style to feel sympathy but… I'm sorry you've gone through all this, but it is not time to rest yet. My mother is surely counting her victory already, so I think it's time to remind her otherwise."
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[Elle Joyner]

The trouble was, it felt real enough... but in Evernight, one simply never knew. She wanted to believe it, but taking the step to find out petrified her. She was frozen by indecision, terrified of the reality... or rather of what might not be reality at all. Maybe they could go on, stop Thalia and real or not, it wouldn't matter, but then what? What became of her at the end if Thalion really was gone? The only way, she knew, was to find out for sure, yet she couldn't will herself to get up, to go to him.

Maybe her imagination wasn't so powerful... but then, she knew him, it seemed, better than he knew himself sometimes. He was right, however, it wasn't time to rest... to stop. They had a small window of opportunity within which to act before Thalia discovered what had happened. If he was indeed alive, it wouldn't be long before Thalia knew and she would be after them again, this time without reservation... There would be no games.

Slowly, pushing herself up to her feet, Minette nodded, and brushing the tears from her cheeks, she took a deep, steeling breath, "Gregian is still out there... and he's changed, Thal. Greatly. If she finds him, or he gets to her first, he'll tell her everything. We should move, quickly."

Pausing, looking up at him again, she blinked, then gingerly, she stepped close and reaching out, her hand hovering in space for a moment, she brushed her cool fingertips along his jawline. Solid... warm... whole. How could she imagine something so vividly? So perfectly...?

"...I want her gone, Thal. She took you from me, and I want her gone for that."
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"Yes, so he has," Thalion agreed, letting himself consider the depths of what that meant. Gregian had, purposely or not, betrayed them. Damn well near killed him… did kill him, but Thalion could have forgiven it had the next thing she said not been enough to send bolts down his spine. A man with a changed heart, or perhaps he was just a man finally showing his true heart. From the moment they had met, Thalion had not trusted the other man. He hadn't trusted Minette, either, but Gregian had been different. At first, he had thought it mere jealousy, but he learned that hadn't been true, either. He had nothing to be jealous over. Minette had staked her claim and he had no reason to doubt that, still, the feeling had persisted and he finally knew why.

"I think we should…" he was about to continue when her hand reached out and connected with his bare flesh along his jaw. It caused his senses to prickle and the weight on his chest to suddenly feel no so heavy. The exhaustion wasn't vanquished, but it eased its aggression. He tipped his head softly into her fingers, sighing out a deep, pent-up breath… one that felt so deep from within him, he was certain he had died with that very breath in his core. "You know I'd do anything for you," he mentioned, his voice a deep growl. "I see no point in making exceptions now."

But god was he tired. His body still ached out painfully. Even sitting up had been an effort, he couldn't even imagine what walking must feel like… but what choice did he have?

"I don't think we can defeat her here, in Evernight. This is her terrain… she knows every inch of it and makes up the rules as she goes. Green Reach… I think—I think that's the only place we stand a chance to defeat her." Even then, he wasn't sure they could. She was an immensely powerful witch and a trained one at that. "As for Gregian," he reached up, gently taking her hand and pressing a kiss into her knuckles, "I think I know what we can do to him."
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