The ghost stared into the warm flames she could no longer feel, and said nothing. She couldn't feel the chill of the cold, either. She didn't have to look behind her to know there'd be no shadow there, though her body seemed otherwise whole, if transparent.
But Kaede also didn't feel that pain anymore. The wretched pain that came from her power snapping back on her body, tearing flesh from bone and nerve...and the worse one, the one that knew her misery had been for nothing, for she had never belonged in the world to begin with. She couldn't...she couldn't even remember if she'd been of any use at the end. It had all faded to white.
And then Kaede drifted. A wisp of cloud on the wind, feeling little and seeing less, yet knowing she was still in motion, like someone who'd been on a train too long. It wasn't until she felt something cradling her like a child might peer at a stone that the world bled through again, the colors almost blinding. The buildings were strange. The light was odd. But she felt no pain, and...grounded, instead of aimlessly floating away.
The scarred face of this woman was the first thing she properly saw here, and it was her presence she kept returning to when she drifted out of that trinket the woman wore. And...the moment Kaede heard her voice, the moment she felt she existed. She was present, even if she had no shadow. Even though she chose not to answer when the scarred woman (Jade...was her name?) spoke to her, she didn't seem very bothered. So she didn't feel the need to drift away again.
Specter that she was, Kaede still had the vision to see something moving in the corner of her eye. She could hear it as it drew close, too-large, skittering legs as they scuttled over sand.
The ghost didn't hesitate. She struck, vectors crashing against the creature like a hand against a much smaller spider, smashing it against the sand. And then the tether that seemed to be attached to that trinket pulled her to the edge, where a vector lanced down to grab Jade's ankle. The grasp was cold and tight as a vise, and held fast.
"Y̸o̶u̵ ̴s̷h̴o̵u̶l̵d̴ ̷l̵o̶o̴k̶ ̴b̴e̶f̴o̷r̸e̷ ̴y̸o̷u̷ ̴t̷a̷l̶k̶," the specter said, looking down the cliff. Her voice, quiet contralto growl as it was, echoed slightly as if several voices were speaking at the same time.
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The ghost stared into the warm flames she could no longer feel, and said nothing. She couldn't feel the chill of the cold, either. She didn't have to look behind her to know there'd be no shadow there, though her body seemed otherwise whole, if transparent.
But Kaede also didn't feel that pain anymore. The wretched pain that came from her power snapping back on her body, tearing flesh from bone and nerve...and the worse one, the one that knew her misery had been for nothing, for she had never belonged in the world to begin with. She couldn't...she couldn't even remember if she'd been of any use at the end. It had all faded to white.
And then Kaede drifted. A wisp of cloud on the wind, feeling little and seeing less, yet knowing she was still in motion, like someone who'd been on a train too long. It wasn't until she felt something cradling her like a child might peer at a stone that the world bled through again, the colors almost blinding. The buildings were strange. The light was odd. But she felt no pain, and...grounded, instead of aimlessly floating away.
The scarred face of this woman was the first thing she properly saw here, and it was her presence she kept returning to when she drifted out of that trinket the woman wore. And...the moment Kaede heard her voice, the moment she felt she existed. She was present, even if she had no shadow. Even though she chose not to answer when the scarred woman (Jade...was her name?) spoke to her, she didn't seem very bothered. So she didn't feel the need to drift away again.
Specter that she was, Kaede still had the vision to see something moving in the corner of her eye. She could hear it as it drew close, too-large, skittering legs as they scuttled over sand.
The ghost didn't hesitate. She struck, vectors crashing against the creature like a hand against a much smaller spider, smashing it against the sand. And then the tether that seemed to be attached to that trinket pulled her to the edge, where a vector lanced down to grab Jade's ankle. The grasp was cold and tight as a vise, and held fast.
"Y̸o̶u̵ ̴s̷h̴o̵u̶l̵d̴ ̷l̵o̶o̴k̶ ̴b̴e̶f̴o̷r̸e̷ ̴y̸o̷u̷ ̴t̷a̷l̶k̶," the specter said, looking down the cliff. Her voice, quiet contralto growl as it was, echoed slightly as if several voices were speaking at the same time.