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seventheI'd thrown the door open with such force it tore the skin from my hand in one sharp pull; I couldn't help the noise I made at that, although I choked on it partially as I took in the room.
The light was a punch to the face, almost as brutal as the throbbing of my palm; I cupped the hand to my chest with the other, trying instinctively to protect it from the force of whatever was in the air. May was floating above the bed - seated, strangely, on nothing, her legs crossed at the ankles and her arms extended low, palms upwards. The light was pouring from her: from inside her, somehow, casting odd shadows against itself that defined her form in delicate quick strokes of black ink, constantly moving. Behind me Arston made some kind of noise that might have been a whimper.
I stared, trying to find my friend in that mess; I was completely shaken. Whatever this was, it was serious, and May was in trouble: and while I'd certainly never seen anyone Manifest, this sure looked a lot like what they told you to look for. Look for, and report, which was the sticking point here. May and I had made a promise, six years ago, when our magics started showing up and the world was changing and terrified. No matter what this was, I wasn't going to turn her in.
I realized I was scared for May. And for myself, sure - some tiny part of my brain was gibbering away with terror in the background, remembering my dream for whatever reason - but this was happening to May, and I had to get her safe enough until we figured out what was going on.
When I'm scared myself, I turn into a quiet gibbering fool. When I'm trying to defend one of my friends, I'm a completely different person, and occasionally stupid with it. A wave of determination came over me from somewhere unexpected.
"Alright," I said, taking another step towards the bed. I could feel the blood pooled in my injured hand, probably dripping all over my shirt. "Time to turn those lights off before somebody sees it."
May's head turned to look at me, tilted at an unfortunate angle. She lifted her arms and extended her palms outward, as if in defense - and another pair of arms gently moved from their original position to lightly rest on her knees.
"Ridiculous," I said. "Are you overcompensating?" Like I said, occasionally stupid - but I needed to get a response from somebody here, whether it was May or not.
It worked.
"How dare you approach me? How dare you question my form?" The voice sounded like speech, but as far as I could tell, May's mouth wasn't moving.
"How dare you light my friend up like a flashlight?" I replied, taking another casual step towards the bed. "Would you care to turn it down a bit?"
"You have NO idea who you are speaking to." The voice rang in my ears like bells, scorching hot. My hand was throbbing.
"I don't," I said, very slowly reaching out with my other hand. "And I'd love to know, but first, I'd like to talk to May." Very, very gently, I curled my other hand around May's shoulder.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-13 06:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-13 08:55 pm (UTC)I love this. I love the weight of magic in this world, its sheer physical presence and strength, and I love the ferocity and connection here, and the links between these three people. YES.