Lapis tensed, her mind racing, trying to find the right words. "Right. Well, um... I went to your- er, Zephyr's show last night—great performance, by the way—but, there was something I noticed that I thought was strange? And I wanted to ask about it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh?"

"Right, well, I'm not sure if it was a stage effect, or some kind of magic or something, but when I was watching the show, I noticed Zephyr had this, um... glow around him?"

The man sighed. "We use spells to light the stage, it's not complicated."

"'We'?"

"I'm Zephyr's stage manager," the man said. "The name's Storm."

Lapis looked at the glowing man, and squinted. That can’t be his actual name. Some kind of pseudonym, maybe?

Undeterred, the man continued. "I'm in charge of all Zephyr's stage effects. Bunch of interconnected illusion spells, mostly. Having some flashy visuals makes the performances more memorable."

"Er- right. I mean, I knew that much. Or, at least, I figured the lights on the stage were magic. But I'm talking about something else. There was this... blue glow around him? Like an outline. I've never seen anything like it before."

It was almost imperceptible, but Lapis noticed the man's shoulders stiffen.

"…Like I said, we use a lot of different lighting effects when he’s on stage,” he muttered, glancing away.

"Oh? Because, well- The strange thing is, I asked my friend, and he said he couldn’t see it. And it doesn't seem like anyone else can, either. Plus, I couldn't help but notice… you have the same glow around you. Right now. So I just... wanted to know what it was. And why both you and Zephyr had it. That's all."

A few beats of silence passed between them. The man stood motionless, staring at her for a moment before cocking his head to the side and glancing her up and down.

"Um-" she stuttered. "Sorry, I guess that's probably a strange... question..."

She trailed off, suddenly distracted by the man's bizarre behavior. Without saying anything, he took a step closer to her, squinting, then circled around her, continuing to look her up and down. Lapis suddenly felt uncomfortably exposed, despite being fully clothed.

"Um, what are you doing?" she asked.

"You don't have one," he replied, unhelpfully. "How come I can't see yours?"

"See my what?" Lapis asked. She took a step back, but he stepped closer.

"Your Aura," he mumbled, his eyes narrowing, glancing her up and down again. "How are you hiding it?"

“I—I‘m not hiding anything-“

“Then where is it?”

“Where’s what?”

“Your Aura!” He stepped in closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. “You can see mine, so you’re a Mirage too, right?”

Lapis snapped to attention. Ah. Well, there it is.

“Um… No,” she whispered back. “Mirages are shapeshifters, right? Does that light mean you're a Mirage, then?"

The dark-haired man stared up at her, his eyes wide. Even in the dim lamplight, he seemed paler than he had moments before.

Lapis continued. “I don't know why I can see that glow, but... that would explain why you and Zephyr both have it, if it's something only Mirages have. Interesting. So you and him are the same person, then? That's what I had been theorizing, but...”

He continued to stare at her, grey eyes piercing into blue before again darting his eyes up and down, scanning her for something that clearly wasn’t there. An uncomfortable beat of silence passed between the two.

Then he broke into a run.

“Wha- hey!!” Lapis called as he sprinted up the road, his long coat whipping behind him. Stunned for a moment, Lapis shook off her surprise and gave chase, following him up the cobbled road. Her boots clacked on the uneven stone road, and cold wind ruffled through her hair. Though she wasn’t overly familiar with this side of town, she knew he was heading north—did he have a specific destination in mind, or was he just trying to get away from her?

The mystery man had gotten a head start, but she was quickly closing the gap between them, despite her dress tangling on her legs as she ran. Her own speed surprised her- maybe she had been some kind of athlete in the past, as well as a bard. However, her lungs burned as she gulped down cold night air, and she already felt herself tiring.

Eventually, when she was a mere 5 paces from him, he took a sharp right into an alleyway, not realizing it was a dead end. The space between buildings was narrow, and only about 10 paces deep. Lapis followed him and held out her arms at the alley entrance, blocking his escape.

“Would you— Just— Why are you running?!” she gasped, her lungs burning as she fought to catch her breath. The running had thoroughly mussed her hair, and between that, her heavy breathing, and her hunched posture, she imagined she looked like a madwoman.

The mystery man spun around, silver eyes wide like a panicked animal, stepped back, and held up one of his arms. A few small baubles of white light blinked to life around his outstretched hand, floating like fireflies. In front of his palm, a glowing array of concentric circles lined with complicated, interwoven script swirled to life, glowing and pulsing slightly. A magic circle.

He locked his eyes on Lapis.

“Don’t move. Back up and let me go, and forget this whole thing ever happened,” he said, voice low and calculated. “Or else, I—“

As the glyph bloomed in front of his outstretched hand, a memory jumped into Lapis’s mind. She was momentarily thrown back to the Emerald Cove library, and the weeks she spent poring over spellbooks with walls of text that made her head spin, probing any arcane academic she could find in the village, and notebooks filled with research on advanced spells without even understanding the foundations. She hadn’t seen the exact glyph before, but the approximate shape of it was familiar.

This part of the conversation, at least, she had anticipated.

She took a breath and stood up straighter, trying to ignore the panicked heartbeat in her ears. “Do that, and you’ll regret it.”

”Oh? And why’s that?”

“Memory alteration magic is illegal. And if I go home tonight with more holes in my memory, or don’t come back at all, I told my confidant to go directly to the Shields with your information and have you arrested."

This had been Dave's part in her plan- her emergency backup if things went wrong.

The man blinked, stunned. "They... can't. I'll just turn into someone else, they won't know how to find me."

"Not you, maybe. But they'd know Zephyr. And I assume you'd like to keep performing as him without all the town guards from here to the coast hunting you down, correct?"

"I—You—!"

"Before tonight it was just a hunch. But I told my companion that I thought you and Zephyr might be the same person, and that I was going to try and talk to you tonight. Going back home with my memories wiped, or disappearing entirely, would confirm that suspicion. And the Shields don't take kindly to forbidden magic."

He glared at her, still as a statue, the white spell circle still glowing. “I’m surprised you recognized the spell. You’re a mage too, then?

“No. But memory alteration magic is… something I’ve done a bit of research on.”

“I… see.”

He glared at her, his steely grey eyes lit by the orbs of light dancing around the lit glyph. Then, the light in his hand faded, and the little flecks of light dispersed.

“Look,“ he said quietly. ”I… let something slip I shouldn’t have. People knowing what I am is dangerous- Most folks assume Mirages are all murderers. It's not exactly information I can just let you walk away with." He stood straighter, looking directly into her eyes. "How do I know you’re not just planning on having me arrested anyway?”

Lapis pondered for a moment. “I heard there was a murder in Trilsboone recently. Rumors say a Mirage did it. That wasn’t you, was it?”

“What?” He twisted his face like he smelled something foul. “No! I’ve been traveling along the Emerald Path for weeks now. You can ask any of the dozen or so people who follow me town-to-town. It’s too cold up there this time of year, anyway.”

”Hm,” she replied. “Well, have you done anything else that you should be arrested for?”

“No.”

“Then I have no reason to report you,” she replied curtly. Slowly, the thrum of her heartbeat in her ears quieted. “I really meant what I said, earlier. I just want to ask a few questions about some things I was curious about. That glow, first of all, which… Well, I think I got an answer to that, in a way.”

The man grimaced.

“But I’m not planning on saying anything to anyone. I really don’t want to cause trouble. I just… saw you on the street a few days ago, saw the glow, and wanted to know what it was. Then, when I saw the same glow around Zephyr… well, I have some things I wanted to ask him too, but… Just to confirm, are you and he…?”

Still glowering, the man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “…Okay, yes, fine. Zephyr and I are the same person. Anything you’d want to ask him you can ask me.”

“Right. Well, in that case… I wanted to ask how you’re able to perform so well.”

The man raised his eyebrows, incredulous.

“…What kind of question is that?”

“I—! Look,” she said, searching for the right words. She hoped he wouldn't be able to see her blushing in the dim light. “…I’m a bard too. Trying to be one, anyway. I can play perfectly fine when I’m by myself, but whenever I’m in front of a crowd, I freeze up. I’ve been trying to work through it for months now, and nothing I’ve tried has helped.”

He continued glaring at her, but his posture shifted slightly.

“But I went to your show yesterday, and… well, it was incredible. You had that entire, massive crowd watching you, but you didn’t seem afraid at all. And I just… wanted to know how you managed it.”

It was hard to tell, but the man’s agitated expression seemed to soften, ever so slightly. Then, he scoffed.

“…You went through all this effort chasing me down to ask how to get over stage fright?”

“I wouldn’t have chased you if you hadn’t run!” she huffed. “There aren't any other bards living here, and we don’t get many performers passing through. We’re such a small town, most don’t even bother. I think you’re the first one we’ve had since—well, for as long as I can remember.” Which isn’t long, but still, she thought.

He continued staring at her, eyes sharp, like he was running through every possible outcome in his head. Then, he sighed, pushing back his mess of black hair. “I don’t know if I’m the best person to ask. I don’t exactly enjoy being watched.”

Lapis blinked. “You don’t? You—er, Zephyr—seemed to be enjoying it—“

“You don’t have to clarify, it’s not like he’s a separate person. He’s just a stage persona. It’s acting. All part of the show.” He sighed, leaning against the brick wall beside him. ”The audience feeds off the performer's energy- if the bard is having fun, the audience will be too. But faking it works just as well as the real thing. I pretend like I’m enjoying myself, and they follow along. It’s agonizing, sometimes, but I guess I’m a good enough actor no one’s caught on yet.”

Lapis frowned. “That’s… not really the answer I was expecting.”

“Well, it’s the one I have, so it’s the one you’re getting,” he said dryly. “As for not getting nervous… I’ve found it’s easier to not think of your audience as a bunch of individual people. Pretend the crowd is just a single organism. Ten people or a thousand, it doesn’t make a difference- it’s all just one big crowd. Do that, and you start to worry less about what each individual person is thinking. You just worry about making the hivemind happy. Get used to that, and with enough practice, you can tune them out entirely.”

Lapis frowned. “That’s… cynical.”

“Call me cynical, then,” he shrugged. ”The point is, it works. I can get up on that stage, do my little song and dance, and get what I need to get out of it.”

”And what is that, exactly?”

His silver eyes locked onto hers. “Fame. Notoriety. My name on people’s minds.”

“That’s all?”

“All I’m willing to tell a busybody.”

Lapis pouted, though she had no witty comeback. She sighed. “Well… thank you, I guess. And sorry for all the trouble. I really didn’t mean—“

“Lemme ask you something,” he interrupted. “Clearly performing scares you, if you get so uncomfortable in front of people. Why not just give up? If you’re having such a miserable time trying, then-“

“I can’t!” Lapis blurted out. “I mean… I won’t. I have to get past this. Performing is the best shot I have to… figure things out.”

The two stood in silence for a moment. Lapis clutched at her pendant and stared down at the ground, unsure of what else to say. She was well aware that the man was looking at her, but she hesitated to look back. She could imagine the pitying look he’d be giving her. She didn’t need to confirm it.

The man sighed. “…Well, is there anything else?”

“I… no. I think that’s everything.”

“Right. Guess we’re done here, then. Just keep quiet about… well, me, and we can forget this whole thing ever happened.”

“I… Sure. Okay.”

Lapis sighed, staring down at the cobbled road beneath their feet, and a hollow feeling began to gnaw at her ribs. She had gotten what she wanted, so why did the answer feel so… unsatisfying? Perhaps she had let herself get overly excited at the idea of a mystery to solve, and now that it was done, a familiar hopelessness was starting to press on her again. Had she expected that his answers would be more enlightening? Surely solving her stage fright wouldn’t be that easy. And while the mystery man’s—Storm, Zephyr, whatever his name was—methods clearly worked for him, she doubted they would be the magic cure-all she was desperate for. She could try it, at least, but she wasn’t optimistic.

Quietly, she stepped backward out of the alley, moving to the side to let Storm pass. He followed, keeping a wary eye on her as he passed, and stepped out into the dimly lit street.

“Sorry for bothering you. And, well… everything else, too,” she said, nervously fiddling with her pendant. How awkward. “Have a nice night—“

“Hey. What’s your name?”

Lapis looked up at him, confused.

“Um… Lapis.”

“…Right. Well, Lapis… good luck with…“ He scrunched up his face waved his hand, as if trying to summon words from the air. ”…Your… stuff. Performing, and all that.”

Lapis offered the best smile she could, which she imagined wasn't very convincing. “Um… thank you. You too, I suppose.”

With that, he turned and walked up the street, and Lapis watched as he and the blue glow slowly faded into the evening gloom.