“I’ll start, then.” Taylor said. Naomi merely nodded in response, and Taylor closed her eyes. She imagined herself floating up and upwards into the blue sky, until it became true. She enjoyed the feeling of flying, of wind whistling all around her and carrying her higher and higher until she burst free from the confines of the area Taylor had created to bridge the gap between her mind and Naomi’s. Now, her consciousness was speeding through the concrete world, looking for Naomi’s unconscious body. She located the body of the prince, who Naomi’s own body resided inside, and approached it quickly, trying not to get lost in the ether. If she did, she would have no body at all. 

Taylor felt a magnetic pull wrenching her away from Naomi’s body as she approached, and Taylor began to forget why she was out in the ether to begin with. Her bodiless eyes looked left and right, and began to be drawn toward Tock, who was sitting nearby on a fallen log. Taylor began speeding towards him, thinking she would love to share a body with him, but then stopped herself. 

She wanted Tock to be her mate, and she couldn’t be his mate if they shared the same body. She turned back to the fallen corpse that was Naomi’s husband, Eike. She launched herself inside the man before her attention could be drawn away again, as she could already feel herself slipping out of reality–nearly becoming lost to the ether. She consistently forgot why and where she was going, and it felt like her mind was slowly being erased. 

Her vision was becoming fuzzy, but she could Naomi's body inside of Eike's. Naomi had been wearing her husband’s carcass as a costume, as Taylor suspected. And inside of that corpse, was a body that reflected the one Naomi had on the dream plains. 

Taylor approached her forehead, reached out with a disembodied, blurred hand and knocked on the door to Naomi’s mind.

***

Eory, Pollyanna, the dragon boy, Karku, and Estelle walked through the forest together. Eory was desperately calling Eliita’s name, not wanting her to go off on her own, but could find no trace of her.

Eory could feel his pulse racing, hoping she wasn’t dead. Pollyanna had gone on ahead, using her superior speed to search the area faster.

“Eliita! Eliita, where are yo–!” he choked on the last vowel, and the magic retreated back inside his body. He lost his footing, falling to his knees. 

The world turned completely black. He could neither see, nor hear, nor speak. He tried bumbling through the abyss of blackness, and felt a hand on his shoulder. It was not Pollyanna’s hand–it was too soft and gentle–so he assumed it be be Estelle’s. He placed his hand on top of hers, squeezing it affectionately. He bumbled in darkness for a time, until he felt more magic broiling in his stomach, and he summoned it to his eyes, throat and ears. He could see again, and he stopped shaking. 

Estelle let go of his shoulder. “Are you alright, Hyen?” Estelle asked. 

Eory turned to her and nodded. She had begun calling him Hyen for the past few hours. He understood some of the Astral Elf language, but the meaning of that word had eluded him, and Estelle refused to tell him what it meant.  

“Just what happened to make you lose your voice, ears, and eyes like that?” Estelle questioned.

Eory was silent for a moment. In another moment, he sighed. “I traded them to destroy the doppelgangers. The Red Moon Knight has them.” 

“You’ll have to tell me about it later, Hyen.” Estelle said. 

Eory was shocked that she didn't seem to care. But then, maybe she did and her controlled emotions didn't allow her to express it well.

Eory paused, his sensitive ears hearing something dashing through the forest toward him. Estelle stood by his side, summoning a flicker of gold magic to her hand. Eory held up a hand, and she stopped.

He recognized the pitter-patter of footsteps as belonging to Pollyanna. Pollyanna burst through the woods, carrying an unconscious Eliita over her shoulder. Pollyanna gently placed her on the grass. Eory ran to her side. He knelt by her, checking her pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief. 

She lived. 

Eory looked up at Pollyanna. “What happened?” 

“A group of dwarves from the tower had captured her–they were planning to take her back to the dwarven kingdom. Apparently the prince there…” Pollyanna swallowed her anger. “Heard what happened to the tower and still wants her services, despite her being sent to the tower.” 

Eory balked at her sentence. He gently shook Eliita’s shoulder. “Eliita, Eliita…” 

Estelle kneeled by her, pressing a glowing, gold hand against Eliita’s forehead. She whispered, “This will help her.” 

Eory smiled his thanks. He looked at Pollyanna’s sword, observing how it was red with blood. He frowned. 

“Relax. None of my blows were lethal, and I patched them up.” Pollyanna said with a wink.

Eory smiled. “Thank you, Pollyanna.”

Karku, the dragon boy they had found, approached Eliita on all-fours. He muttered something in a foreign language and then dug his teeth into Eliita’s arm. 

Eory gasped. 

Pollyanna kicked the boy away from Eliita without a second thought. “Little monster.” Pollyanna growled. The boy growled in return.

“Karku, you don’t eat people… Eory tried to explain.

Karku said something in his native language, and tried to bite Eliita again. Pollyanna kicked him away, then let loose a roar that shocked Eory and made him cover his ears.

Karku cowered behind Eory. Eory pursed his lips. “Did you have to kick him like he was a dog?”

“He insists like acting like a beast. The only language beasts understand is dominance. I would know…” Pollyanna crossed her arms, making a face.

Eory shook his head. “You’re not a beast, and neither is he.” 

Pollyanna made a face at that, and then Eory asked, “Pollyanna, do you mind carrying Eliita for a bit?”