I end up staying awake the entire night, just listening to the noise, and carefully watching as the pale blue aura of the forest grounds glisten beyond the window frame. Whisper Woods, is acutely named for such a haunted piece of land. When Kiro moved here, she would only talk about the woods for a few months. She was being drawn to it, like a moth to the flame. And like a moth, she fluttered as close as she could. 

For three days she was missing, and everyone grew frantic, searching the top and bottom of the woods. Not an inch of it spared, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was a morning after a savage storm, that she was found asleep under a tree miraculously unharmed. When questioned, she didn't remember a single thing. 

She's always been drawn to abnormal lands heavy with stagnant magic. Oceans, crystalline lakes, and even the most dangerous of places like Yellowstone. We went there for a school trip, and she fell behind everyone else as she wandered close to the volcano and gaseous mud-pits. She was scolded heavily and watched after this second incident, but she was never harmed by all her adventuring. Not surprising really, she senses and craves magic, and magic wants her back. 

Magic brought us together, I have an overabundance of magic, and she sought it out. Surprisingly, we became fast friends, and she even brought other children over to become my friends. After she took my hand, I never felt alone. Since then, I've sworn to protect her. With my magic, with my life. No matter what, I will be beside her. 

Sitting up, I glance around the room. All along the walls and floor are layers and layers of soft blue seals glistening like starlight. There are cracks and fading symbols along the layers, the once bright lights now flickering. I call it a Bubble. It's old and worn like an old web dusting cobwebs. I used to passively empower the seals, but after her time away from me, that won't be enough. I have to resurrect these seals, now. She's already seeing Nuro's, the magic buried deep in her is slowly stirring, and her memories are surfacing. 

My stomach twists on itself getting tighter and tighter, like a braid being too taunt. I can feel my skin prickle, and my breath tightens, as I sense malicious evil magic slowly swirl around in the room, just outside the bubble. It's looking for a way inside, slipping past all the cracks to slither in closer and closer. 

I've spent too long, fighting against all the evils that dar to harm my Aan, to give up now. I attempt to slip out of bed, when Kiro reaches over, pressing her soft round angelic face against my side, curling next to me like a kitten. She even has this soft snoring purr, that's endearing. I brush hair out of her face, trailing my fingers along her cheeks to her lips. They're chapped and yet soft and plump. I dance back to her cheeks, fighting my urge to pinch them. 

Sweet, sweet sunshine. 

My bubble wasn't enough to protect her back then, so I placed another sea upon her forehead. This one also breaking and cracking due to age. If I do not resurrect this then all the memories I've stolen from her will snap back in place. And possibly break her phsici...

She's always been able to see the Nero's, or Monsters, as she called them as a kid. She wasn't scared of them, instead, she decided that she was to be some hero fighting to bring happiness to those infected. Sometimes her meddling worked, other times it did not. However, she never gave up, instead trying over and over again like some lunatic. 

There came a day when there was this especially powerful Nero who manifested into the physical layer. Kiro was swimming in the pool when it grabbed her. If Hazel wasn't there, she would have died... Kiro, something broke in her. I don't know what, but she was so terrified she couldn't speak for weeks, nearly plucking out her own eyes. Her parents took her to a mental hospital, but it did nothing but worsen her condition. 

I went to her and sealed away her Sight, Memories, and even the magical influence from outside. Perfectly forming my Bubble around her. Even after taking them away, her fear of water prevailed, and so too is her fear of Nero's. If the seal breaks... She'll... No, they will not break. I will protect her. 

I push back her hair, to kiss her forehead softly. I see my seal, and then there's something else underneath it. A more ominous golden seal worked across her forehead like a crown of vines. Unlike my weak seals, this one is so powerful it hasn't faded a touch. Not since her birth. Its function is similar to mine, a seal blocking memories, abilities, and dreams. 

My train of thought is derailed by an explosion of magic outside, vibrating and echoing waves and waves of power in an otherwise magicless world. The waves are pretty much invisible to those sensitive to magic. There would be a rain of blasts, then silence for a few hours before another round of bursts popped and blew. These powerful blasts are awakening beings of old, including the god and goddesses. I wonder what they will do once they fully awaken and sense what's been happening to their flesh and blood... I shake my head slowly, it doesn't particularly concern me. As long as it doesn't affect my Aan, I could care more, but find myself neutral to the entirety of it. 

Kiro groans, twitching and shaking. Her breaths were shallow, her skin clammy and cold. The dark evil magic broke through, swirling around her neck, pulling tighter and tighter. The scent of blood suffocates her usual floral scent. The magic is a thread linking her to the mirror set up on the doorframe. A shadowy misty partial portal leaking gallons of magic, all of which searches for Kiro. 

I shake a rage, unlike anything I've ever felt. I can feel it deep in my bones, shaking and tearing into me until my entire body can't help but shiver and coil tight like a sling. My throat stings, breath steaming. Gently, I move Kiro to the side, so I can step down onto the cold wood floor. The magic recoils from me, recognizing me as a threat. 

Sweeping my hand over Kiro, the dark threads ignite, their connection severed. How dare they touch her, how dare they try and take what does not belong to them! I must prolong this for as long as I can, keep her safe!

Leaning over her, our breaths mingle together. She's peaceful, her twitching and fear dissipating away to a calm naive innocence. Just as she should be, safe in a cage of my making, where no one can pluck her feathers. Or hear her sing but for me. 

My gut twists, and turns at the thought of others claiming her for themselves. I cannot allow another to steal her, I won't let anyone harm her. 

Her warm lips taste like berries. 

The evil magic slams against the Bubble, annoying me. I shift towards it, slowly strolling to the mirror. I'm a bath in bright white light, my hair fiery golden threads strangling the wispy threads around me. I reach for the mirror pressing my fingers deep into its cool surface. 

In the very middle of the mirror is that damn Silver Tree. I cannot believe one of those trees survived, I thought every single one of them was uprooted. Yet here it is, this aberrant creature keeping alive the one who should have died centuries ago. It's trying to contact my Aan. My Aan!

There's this feeling in my gut, a knife twisting and turning and splitting myself in half. My fists clench, and I slam it into the mirror. Large and small pieces fall like snow, scrapping and digging into my hand, blood dripping down onto its clear reflective surface. 

How dare any filthy beast seek her out. 

I open my palms, pulling out the spare shards. My blood sizzles, and dissipates as quickly as my wounds heal. My hands, Fresh and new. I've never scarred, I never die. And how many times I've actually tried. Only to return to life hours later, and left with a headache. It's life laughing at me, telling me I cannot die yet...

With a heavy sigh, I step onto the shards, crushing them between my toes. "Keep your filthy hands off her."

With the magic all gone, I head back to Kiro slipping into bed. 

Unlike me, Kiro scars so easily, her flesh speckled with pockets, holes, and lines. Caressing her hand, I lightly kiss it. Sweet... I hesitate, my heart, hammering in the back of my throat. The last time I revived her seals using her powers, I struggled for weeks not to attack her. 

Her fingers are small and soft, tasting like floral honey. I slowly bit down her delicate finger, feeling drops of her blood coat my tongue in a film of sweet nectar directly delivered by a wasps sting. Waves and waves of electricity tingle down my body, as every pore is filled with intense insane amounts of magic burring themselves deep into my cells. 

With a hot gasp, I have to struggle to regain control of my basic instincts. I want to push her down, bite into her and drink more of her warm blood. I want every drop she can give me. Sucking I stare down at a goddess, I will protect her. 

My Aan, sleep well. In the morning everything will be normal once more. I will make your desires a reality.