The rest of the unlit underground tunnels blurred by. The home was shallow, and rather small, so Dasha quickly found herself in the bedroom with Noonin and Fia. Fia was groggily clinging to Noonin, a dulled expression on her face. The moment she laid eyes on Dasha, she let out an eager trill, before latching onto her instead. 

Dasha let out a whistling sigh as she knelt and hugged the child, giving Noonin a grateful nod. She was vaguely aware of Youna and Auntie Jorae entering the room, but her first focus was fully on ensuring Fia's well-being. 

The rest of the day went by surprisingly quickly. Noonin did most of the explaining, while Youna, who had actual medical training, looked over the three of them and finally removed the bit of metal fused into Dasha's hand. There was an unpleasant amount of hissing involved, and they had to put the explanations on hold for it. Youna had wanted them to move to another room, so as not to disturb Fia, but the girl refused to leave Dasha's side again, so Dasha tried her best to contain herself.

Youna tactfully said nothing about her wings.

Then it was late, and everyone was hungry, so they ate while Noonin had finished his half of the story, and then everyone was just about ready to fall asleep, so even though it wasn't very late, everything else would have to be put off until the next day. 

The company report, Krell's loved ones, Dasha's story, Fia's family... Even Jorae and Youna's reactions were subdued, as though they didn't know what to make of any of the misadventures. Not that Dasha could blame them, since she didn't know either...

One day couldn't truly matter all that much, in the grand scheme of things, right?

Noonin and Youna went back to their bedroom. Jorae went to her home, wherever that currently was, saying she would return tomorrow. Dasha and Fia curled up together in the common room. 

The world was dark, and everyone slumbered. Peaceful breathing, steady heartbeats, and a soft hum that had no discernable source.

Dasha's ears twitched in annoyance. The humming was new and quite unappreciated. Try as she might, she could not get comfortable with its ringing in her ears. Every time she dozed off, her mind snapped awake at the hum. It was like an alarm, or a steady shriek. 

Yet everyone else was somehow asleep. And besides, she didn't want to disturb Fia. 

Dasha felt her skin crawl. She almost wanted to scream herself. What was that noise? Really, the more she listened, the more it faintly sounded like screaming. 

Wait- Was it screaming?

Dasha thought for several long seconds, biting absently at her lip. Something about the distant sound was wrong. Muffled. As though it was behind some barrier, and not quite at the right place when she heard it. 

A little like Fia's aunt when she spoke to her, come to think on it.

Sound didn't carry over though. Only sight. Except for her and Fia's aunt, likely because they were connected somehow, even though Dasha still had no real explanation-

What if that sound was Fia's aunt? What if she was in pain? Or needed help?

Dasha sighed through gritted teeth. Ever so gently, she maneuvered herself around the slumbering Fia without waking the child. Poor thing, she hoped the girl wouldn't wake in her absence. So many separations in such a short amount of time were surely unhealthy.

Dasha silently crept up the tunnels and out of the earth, the world awash with grey as her night vision sifted through a dark and moonless night. 

Moonless? Dasha looked up. The sky was blacker than overripe berries at the end of summer. Odd, but not unheard of. A bad omen though, if she took stock in Auntie Jorae's musings. 

Dasha shivered and hurried after the humming sound. The quicker she sorted this out, the sooner she could return to the others, and hopefully get some sleep.

Following the sounds, she threaded her way through the maze of streets and alleys, avoiding people when she could. The humming sounded more like screaming every second. Dasha's brisk trot turned into a run. Her wings twitched, aching to take flight once more.

Dasha was approaching the city gates. The screaming, though tinny and artificial sounding, was overwhelming her senses now. She rounded another corner. 

The humming stopped.

Dasha! Help!

"With what?" Dasha asked, frantically looking around. The street was empty.

Use your eyes! 

Dasha took a moment to note that yes, Fia's aunt could in fact be exasperated. 

"All right, wait a tick." 

Dasha frowned, wondering how exactly she was supposed to-

Oh, nevermind. Apparently she could cause her eyes to water by simply willing them to. It was like taking control of her breathing.

Dasha wondered, as she blinked the viscous black substance across her eyes, if she could even cry normally anymore. Was this going to be unhealthy for her eyes in the long term? Was she even going to live to see a long term?

Now was really not the time.

Dasha took a moment to let her sight adjust, glowing sparks of gold and silver fluttering past like clouds of ash. They pricked her skin like tiny static jolts as they billowed past, but as they didn't seem connected to anything, Dasha batted them away, trying to find Fia's aunt.

She didn't have to look far. Splayed out on the ground, the pale woman was barely moving. She was translucent, but visible, and more solid than Dasha remembered. Large gashes tore through her shoulder and belly, more of the static sparks gushing out like blood and being blown away.

A low growl caught her attention. Looming only a few paces away, a massive hound like creature bared its sharp white teeth. Long tusks curved out from its muzzle, and three red eyes glowered in the dark, lit up by the sparks that blew past. One paw was coated in them, and its claws matched the wounds on Fia's aunt.

But the creature did not move. It waited. It watched. Dasha couldn't help but feel that it was waiting to see what she would do now.

She took a step towards Fia's aunt, eyeing the creature warily. Still, nothing. Dasha took another step. Then another. Seeing nothing happen, she approached the woman and knelt beside her, swiping hopelessly at the ever-increasing mass of sparks that stung at her. 

The sparks really were bleeding from the woman instead of blood. Dasha didn't even know where to begin for that. Should she patch her up? How? With what material? Was infection a risk here? Was there some other unknown risk, here in this strange underpinned world that lay side by side with reality?

"Hey. Hey, I'm here. What do I do? What's happened?"

Dasha gently touched the woman's other shoulder, as she tried to keep the sparks away from her mouth. 

Foolish thought. Fia's aunt murmured. Even though her ghostly eyes were glassy and blank, her voice was stronger, clearer. I thought- I tried to cheat the rules. The bargain. Now the watcher has come. 

Dasha saw that as the sparks bled further away, the more the woman returned to her previous form as an unseen spirit, more thoughts and impressions than anything else. Dasha moved a hand, trying to stifle one of the patches.

She froze, as the creature- The watcher- let out another low, rumbling growl.

Fia's aunt made a hiccuping sort of sound. 

Don't. It will be well. I have endured far worse. But you are here now. The watcher wanted to see you.

"Why? What is this?" Dasha glanced between Fia's aunt and the watcher, but neither said or did anything else. 

"Sorrows!" Dasha huffed, as she tamped her hands down over the gashes, stemming the bleeding sparks. "I'm not about to let ya melt away-"

The rumbling growl filled her ears, as a dark blur tackled her, shoving her across the rough stone street. There was a flash of teeth and glowing eyes, as Dasha jerked her arm up, trying to wrestle the watcher away from her. Hot breath stuck to her skin, as a sulfurous smell dripped from the creature's fur. Its teeth were shockingly cold, as they clamped down on her arm. Dasha braced herself for the pain that should follow such a bite. 

There was none. 

Gently, yet firmly, the watcher was keeping her arm trapped within its massive jaws. Her skin had not even been broken.

Dasha couldn't see a way to get her arm loose without tearing it on the teeth. She twisted around, looking at Fia's aunt. Both Dasha and the watcher watched, as Fia's aunt slowly trickled away, dissolving in an incorporeal shower of sparks. Dasha winced, wiping them away from her face and skin with her free hand. When she had regained her vision, the watcher was gone, and though she was unseen once more, Fia's aunt sat beside her, as though nothing had happened.

Dasha blinked. 

"What just happened?"

She felt, more than saw, Fia's aunt's weary and pained expression.

"Yes. I suppose that you are long overdue for an explanation."