Spéir: [suddenly comes to a stop behind them, raising his voice) "YOU WHAT!? You expect us to believe you can take on an archfaerie!?!?"

Nova: [growling, spins on his heel and warps to—]

Nova: [reappears directly in front of Spéir—a foot taller than before—and grips the front of Spéir's shirt to jerk him forward. At the same time, gnashes his teeth and puts his forehead against Spéir's, snarling]

Spéir: [hesitates, fae-ears folded back as he nervously keeps their gaze… though his spine is straight and lip is curled up in a snarl]

Nova: (practically spits out) "stay behind if you want! Die! Because that's what's going to happen! I can save you if you come with me, but otherwise!?!?"

Nova: [can't help it as her rage—and snarl—breaks for despair—]

Nova: [turns their face away, releasing Spéir's shirt to reappear in the spot they'd vanished from]

Spéir: [lets out a slow, unsteady breath as Nova moves away. At the same time, struggles to figure out how this tiny, weak faerie is intimidating him???]

Nova: [doesn't feel like raising their voice, but manages to do so as they force themself to finish) "or… you can go do whatever it is you think you can to escape… but I can't guarantee your safety that way…"

[Before, Kilrey had been a wet marsh of a town. Now, it was a winter wonderland whose very air vibrated with magic energy, crackling with unspent electricity. The houses—once solidly constructed of wood, earth, and miscellaneous flora—were now distorted mockeries of the concept, made of random materials haphazardly strewn together. Every few houses' roofs were caved in, but many of them had their residents’ magics combined to hold them aloft. Those who couldn't had fled beneath, where Kilrey's influence was stronger. Where Talamhdé was more stable.]

[Kilrey was partially an earth faerie, after all. Deep within its confines, his power grew stronger.]

[And deep within Kilrey's confines, God's grew weaker.]

[More relevantly, the magic storm had been growing rapidly all while the trio escaped. It had swelled into into a whiteout blizzard, swallowing them whole and only breaking in sync with the BOOMS and cracks of thunder against stone.]

[Or was it wood?—or was it—constantly changing, yes.]

[Like all in Talamhdé should be.]

Scamall: [having taken Spéir's hand in hers; voice quiet, but pained) "Spéir… look." [points into the air, toward Nova's essence] "That's theirs. Even if they can't fight him… I think they can do something against him…"

Spéir: [silent for a moment, but... nods unevenly]

Spéir: [and lets out a slow, shaky sigh]

Spéir: (voice quiet and thick) "why did you have to get us in this situation?"

Nova: [struggles to ignore them, feeling a wave of relief as they cross the last building of the town… though they still have some distance to go before they've escaped the heart of Kilrey's dominion]

[Where he was strongest.]

[As they got further and further from the centre of the magical stronghold, the effects of the magic storm were growing more and more powerful. The BOOMs of lightning only seemed to grow closer and closer, drawing all of their hair to stand up on end. The air's vibrations were joined by a searing heat that somehow failed to melt any of the snow. And, last but certainly not least, the tremors had spread from the air to join the earth beneath, shaking and shattering the ground itself.]

[Except… while the ground cracked, it didn't separate.]

[Not until Nova passed.]

[The pieces of the fractured cobblestone road remained together, allowing the group to walk across them nigh-unabated. A vivid coral glow gripped them, trapping them in place while Nova, Scamall, and then Spéir all stepped upon them. Then, once their purpose had been achieved, the glow faded and the stones drifted away, scattering into the air behind them.]

[Nova's steps were almost absentminded, so confident she was in her ability to keep the stones in place. Instead, she focused her energy on collecting what magic she could from the environment… and watching with her aura as Kilrey started closing in on them.]

[Behind Nova, Spéir and Scamall were using a mix of their own magics to hop between the separating stones. Without her conscious effort, her magic only helped perfectly accommodate for her—and that led to the fractured cobblestones spreading apart a bit sooner than she intended.]

[Oh, well. It didn't really mean much until—]

[Scamall's essence flung toward Nova.]

Nova: [tenses, immediately warping out of the way of the obvious attack. Reforms ninety-degrees around the siblings, turned to face them and ready to defend herself]

[But Scamall had only created a small dome of clear air , granting them more visibility through the immediate blizzard. She hadn't been attacking Nova, she'd been trying to help.]

[Scamall froze.]

[On the other hand, Spéir tensed, instantly putting himself between the two.]

[The air thrummed and pounded with endless strikes of electricity, marring the land beneath. Threatening to hit them as well.]

Nova: [heart pounds as he looks between the siblings, the dome around them… and something not far behind the two]

[Kilrey.]

Nova: [bites his tongue, tears swelling in his eyes]

Nova: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I ruin everything…

Nova: [with only a moment to think, envelops the three of them in his own essence and pulls them outside the bounds of Kilrey's heart]

Group: [reforms with Spéir and Scamall in the same positions as before, but behind Nova]

Nova: [facing the direction they'd just come from, much more drained from having pulled them all through a dominion actively fighting his movement. And yet, still shields the two air faeries with his own body]

Nova: (not even sure who he's pleading with)  please don't stab me in the back… please don't make me regret trying to help you… I can't let more fae die because of me… so please don't make me die again…

Nova: (voice unsteady, but raised) "I'm going to take him on. Just run. Even if I can't stop him… you can get away. I'm sorry for getting you dragged into my problems…"

Scamall: (voice uneven) "I—"

Spéir: [nope! Takes her hand in his and drags her along, trying to follow Nova's instructions advice]

Scamall: [hesitantly lets him pull her away, taking her clear-air dome with her]

Nova: [heart pounding, stares out toward the concentration of Kilrey's essence speeding toward her]

Nova: (to herself) … you've done this before. You can do it again, Mabh.

Nova:

Nova: [can't help a weak, pained laugh]

Nova: not that one, either… 😅

[The rumbling of the earth suddenly spiked in strength and intensity.]

[Kilrey was almost upon her.]

Nova: [tenses, quickly throwing up both their hands and a magical barrier to protect themself]

[Shards of ice—simultaneously melted and re-frozen from the heat of the friction, then the cold of the storm—and globules of dirt burst from the ground, flinging themselves at Nova.]

[Her barrier wasn't enough.]

[The strength of her attacker's momentum forced Nova to skid backwards, wincing as her feet were buried into the snow.]

[The debris slowly fell in clumps from the air. The dirt—being the heavier of the two—came first. Then there was the ice, and the powdered snow that'd escaped a fate of rapid melting-and-refreezing.]

[Although the blizzard's haze still obscured Nova's vision, the falling debris revealed the faerie that'd punched through it all like a bullet.]

[Kilrey.]

[He was 8 feet tall—almost twice Nova's height—and towered above them. His limbs were far too long, hooked, and were covered in thick, dark brown fur. Nigh every inch of his body was covered in one kind of flora, weaving into his limbs and tangling his fur. He stood proud, atop hooved, satyr-like legs; his elongated face was crowned by staglike horns of wood, constructed to elegantly expand from behind his fae-ears and resemble—of course—a crown.]

Kilrey: [grins widely as he looks down at Nova, eyeing them through the pink-tinted barrier]

Nova: [breathing heavy and struggling not to cry, but steadily stands back up straight, hands still crossed in front of her as she maintains the barrier]

Kilrey: (voice low, almost like a growl, and yet gleeful) "ah… you know, Silina tried lying about what you were…"

Nova: [still wincing, takes the opportunity to strengthen her barrier]

Nova: (to herself) no surprises there…

Kilrey: [reaches down, trying to shove his hand through the barrier]

Barrier: [blocks it just fine!]

Kilrey: [—monologue only interrupted by a laugh) "but when your essence built… I recognized you, Dhia…"

Nova: [winces, only now realizing their stuffing themself full of ambrosia backfired by making themself noticeable… while they'd gone in with such little essence in order to hide]

Kilrey: [as he spoke, tightened his furred hand—and essence—around her barrier]

Kilrey: [and, finally, shatters it in his palm]

Nova: [thrown back from the force of the collapse, skidding into the ground and getting buried into the snow]

Nova: [already incredibly drained, but… struggles to focus their essence on his, trying to find the weak points they'd noticed the last few times they'd tried this]

Kilrey: [as they did, leisurely walked through the snow, stopped in front of Nova, and finally leaned down to pick them up by the throat]

Nova: [half-gasps, half-sobs, grasping at his hands as though they had anywhere near enough strength to pry themself free]

Kilrey: [and all the while, smugly) "I can't believe you're still alive… I'd heard you died, Dhia."

Nova: [just stares up, through the trees, and at the blizzard-tainted white sky. Struggling to breathe and focus—]

Kilrey: [slowly begins sapping their magic, drawing out his words as he does) "let me relieve you of—"

Kilrey: [suddenly falls silent, the strength fading from his fingers]

Nova: [tears himself from Kilrey's grasp and drops to the ground, gasping for breath as they glare up at him]

Nova: [tightens their magic around his soul, snarling as best he can]

Nova: (words as strangled as her voice) "'relieve me of my power?' You piece of shit, you really think it'd work this time!? When everyone else has failed!?!? WHY ARE YOU ARCHFAE ALL SO FUCKING EGOTISTICAL!?"

Nova: [digs her essence into Kilrey's soul like knives, unsteadily rising to his feet and taking shaky steps toward Kilrey]

Kilrey: [completely frozen in place, face blank and unable to move… because Nova had broken his will, a power every faerie was granted.]

Nova: [had just needed him to let his guard down, to give them the chance to work their way through his protection]

Nova: [glares up at his blank face with a snarl… and tears still in his eyes]

Nova: (voice hard and hateful) "but I'm merciful. And you're useful. So here's what we're going to do. Kneel."

Kilrey: [face still empty, obliges. Lowers himself onto one knee, kneeling in front of them… and barely getting low enough that Nova can look down at him]

Nova: [reaches forward to grab him by his throat with all their strength and force him to meet their eyes]

Nova: [still snarling, all but spits) "you're going to go back and erase all memories that I was here! You're going to go back, tell Silina that I managed to escape you and fled South, make sure nobody leaves town for a week, and then you are going to forget all about me! You'll forget I exist, you'll forget I wiped your memories, and you'll FORGET YOURSELF!"

Nova: [left gasping for breath, glaring down at him with tear-filled eyes… before her face finally breaks]

Nova: [half-sobbing, brokenly) "understand?"

Kilrey: (tonelessly, breath slightly strangled… but only slightly) "yes."

Nova: [releases Kilrey's throat, taking a few shaky steps back]

Nova: (weakly) "good. I've given my commands. Now, fulfill them."

Nova: [finally releases their magic on him, letting their feet collapse underneath them]

Kilrey: [rises smoothly, then promptly twists on his heel to tread back into his dominion]

Nova: [cries softly, watching his back slowly get further and further away… because the blizzard's largely died down, taking the whiteout with it]

Nova: it never works… won't you guys please stop TRYING!?

Nova: [gasping for breath again, falls back to stare up at the beautiful, star-filled sky slowly shining through the fading blizzard]

Nova: … why couldn't I just be a normal faerie?

Nova: [closes his eyes, unable to stay conscious]