“You like the water?” I asked, seizing on the small movement.

She didn’t answer, but her gaze shifted briefly to the sky, as if she were thinking about something far away.

“It’s nice here,” I said, gesturing vaguely to the forest around us. “Not as crowded as some of the other islands. Kind of peaceful, you know?”

She blinked, her gray eyes meeting mine again.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling faintly. “I thought you might like it.”

For the next few minutes, I kept talking, filling the space with my voice as Misty stood quietly, her presence still and calm. It wasn’t much, but it felt like progress—like a tentative first step.

“Vale,” I whispered into the communicator, “she’s not doing much, but she’s listening. Sort of.”

“Keep going then,” Vale said, her tone encouraging.

Patience wasn’t exactly my strong suit, but I nodded, turning my attention back to Misty.

“So, Misty,” I said, leaning against a nearby tree, “do you have any favorite places? I mean, assuming you’ve been anywhere else.”

She blinked, her sharp gray eyes flicking to me briefly before returning to the trees.

“Not much of a traveler, huh?” I said lightly. “That’s okay. I guess being stuck between realities would make it hard to sightsee.”

She tilted her head slightly, the faintest hint of curiosity in her expression. It was subtle, but it was progress.

Encouraged, I kept talking.

“You know,” I said, crouching down again, “it’s kind of funny. You remind me of someone I know. Well, not exactly—it’s more like the vibe, I guess? Mysterious, a little intimidating. But in a good way.”

Her gaze shifted back to me, and I swore I saw the faintest flicker of interest in her gray eyes.

“Yeah, she’s a little scary sometimes,” I continued with a chuckle. “But she’s also loyal and tough as hell. You two would probably get along.”

Misty didn’t respond, but her presence felt a little less aloof now, like the distance between us was shrinking.

“What about hobbies?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation light. “Do entities even have hobbies? Like... do you ever just hang out and enjoy the scenery, or is it all storms and chaos all the time?”

Still no response, but I thought I saw her head tilt slightly again.

“Right,” I said with a small laugh. “Probably a dumb question. Sorry.”

She blinked, her expression still unreadable.

I shifted my weight, glancing up at the sky. Still stormy.

“So, Misty,” I said, turning back to her, “what’s it like? Being you, I mean. Do you... feel things the way we do? Do you get angry, or sad, or—”

I stopped mid-sentence as her gaze sharpened, her gray eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my breath catch.

“Okay, maybe not that question,” I said quickly, raising my hands in a placating gesture.

Her gaze softened slightly, but the tension in the air didn’t dissipate.

“Sorry,” I said, trying to recover. “I’m not the best at talking, and you’re a little hard to read, you know?”

She blinked again, her expression as neutral as ever.

For a moment, the clearing fell silent again, except for the howling wind and distant thunder from the storm.

“Well,” I said, hesitating for a moment, “If my questions are annoying you, you could always ask me something.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I’d made a mistake.

Misty’s gray eyes darkened, her expression shifting from calm to something sharper, colder. The tension in the air spiked, and before I could react, the wind around us began to howl even louder.

“Misty, wait—” I started, but the words were ripped from my mouth as the wind surged, lifting me off my feet.

I was flung backward, slamming into a tree with enough force to knock the breath out of me. The world tilted as I tried to regain my footing, but the wind didn’t let up. It swirled around me like a living thing, pulling and pushing with relentless strength.

“Misty!” I shouted, my voice barely audible over the roar of the wind. “I’m sorry!”

She didn’t respond. Her expression was cold, unyielding, as she raised one hand. The wind obeyed her command, lifting me into the air again and flinging me across the clearing.

I hit the ground hard, pain flaring through my side as I rolled to a stop. My vision blurred, and I tried to push myself up, but the wind surged again, slamming me down with enough force to rattle my bones.