⠀⠀⠀⠀Unnerved as the girl was, briskly walking through the hail and grassy fields. She had a clear goal in mind. The young lady was pressed for time, couldn’t take a break at all and had to push forward. Eyes squinted to avoid the pouring clouds, one could mistake their look to be one of brooding and panic, though determination was painted all over them instead.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Fortunately for her, her clothing was a worthy match for the brutal weather. Stuffed coat, visible fur on the edges around her waist. The heft of the clothing was abundant. Coat was draping over the rest of her clothing, covering her whole body. Gloves were black and made of leather, glossy on the outside and furry on the inside, quite luxurious. Leather boots had medium high heels, going up to under her knees. Holding in one hand she had a nebulously colored umbrella. Mostly black with dark violet under panels. The person looked like a shadow in the daylight.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Having her sole objective take off on its own wasn’t part of her estimations. She figured she would find her next to the tree. Two months worth of figuring things out before she had come to the world, she judged that it would be sufficient. Learning all sorts of skills and technologies to better serve her counterpart, she wanted what’s best. The nearest town was quite a ways away, though with a trail of some type of blood, she had a clear direction in mind. Also having noticed that all the clothes from her blessed mother had been taken, her other half was obviously learning quickly. Clearly having been late to her arrival she had become greatly distressed. Following the trail of whatever gooey substance had been left, probably substance from the corpse’s clothing.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Oddly enough the hail had suddenly shifted to rain. Catching her off guard for a second, she looked at the sky. The realization of what this meant had her demeanor change from anxious to completely distraught. If this trail had washed into the soil and lost, all semblance of direction would be gone. Mustering all her strength she set off to a jog. A sprint would be more appropriate for her situation but she needed to pay attention to the ground and the remaining blood path. Her umbrella was shielding her from most of the rain, thick clothing covering the harsh wind speeds. Blazing determination never wavered in her eyes.

✦⠀⠀⠀⠀ ✦⠀⠀⠀⠀ ✦

⠀⠀⠀⠀The young girl noticed the change of the falling hard droplets. Tuned soft and gooey, kind of like the matter coated on the outside of her colored skins covering her body. This one though was transparent and not dark red. Letting it fall on her was surely something new, it felt refreshing. Closing her eyes and letting it fall only felt better. She could hardly hold her curiosity, a smile creeped back up on her face as it started getting washed away by the rain. A rush of energy bolstered her stamina and muscles, urging them to act, speeding up her pace forwards. Having started to jog around before realizing it she froze at the sight of something new.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Eyes fixed forward and heart pounding at the immense quantity of information sprawling in her head. It just sprouted to hurt. Her hand shot up to hold the side of her head as she made a grimacing face in displeasure of the sharp pain from the inside of her own body. Yet another unpleasant feeling, followed by another. Annoyance, getting shot with a magnitude of irksome emotions had her grimacing face twist in anger. Anger which quickly subsided as she refocused on the new sight in front of her. Her curiosity could on the face of it overpower negative emotions being experienced.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Something square and pointy that had rain bounce off the top and flow down to its sides. It looked unwavering to the wind bashing at its sides. Brightness was emanating from the perforated square gaps on the edges. Behind said sight is a vast field with waves of vibrant yellow stems rising from the ground. Varying objects lay around the entrance to the fields. Some parts of them shone brightly and made echoing noises when the rain hit them.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A farmhouse, like a beacon in the middle of this empty plane. To be used as another landmark, the miss felt a slight sense of security. Without a second thought, with curiosity at its peak, she leaped forwards towards the pointy object, piercing the sky. With a bit of exhaustion creeping up to her breath, she disregarded it with a brisk plunge towards the round shiny appendage on the front of the building. It moved slightly at the weight of her hand that had gripped it tightly. But without overthinking much, she swung her arm around with an ecstatic look across her face. The appendage turned and the cutout of the building swung outwards towards her.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Eyes full of wonder, bombarded by sights of things she’d never laid her eyes on and heart beating fast, she emerged through the cutout to something familiar. Herself, or what looked similar enough to her own self. People, a family- all with expressions of confusion and something else. They stopped moving as they turned their heads to her and observed quietly for a moment, whatever felt like a moment anyway.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A tall woman, with an apron and headband, had been holding something orange and steaming on a platter before she set it on a table. A tall man, with rugged, dirty clothing and a hat, had just set an object similar to the ones outside by the entrance to the fields. Two small people were there as well, with faces and bodies too androgynous to make out their sexes. One was looking at an object with letters printed on it while the other was kicking a round object against a wall. The tall fellow approached first, after taking off his hat. He walked towards the maiden, having stumbled at something on the floor on the way to her, a small nail? Whatever it was, he disregarded it. The petite lady flinched back at his actions. A thing like herself but much taller was approaching. After opening its mouth, noises flew out and penetrated her ears.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hmm, who might you be, little missy?

⠀⠀⠀⠀The sound was strange, like it was purposeful and not at all caused by natural factors of her environment. She looked up at the person’s face in awe, he was looking back at her. A soothing smile was plastered onto his while a blank and stoic expression painted the girl’s face.

⠀⠀⠀⠀“Hon, maybe she’s from the south and doesn’t speak English?

⠀⠀⠀⠀The elevated lady exclaimed from behind the gentleman, also spanning a gentle smile on her face.

⠀⠀⠀⠀“Oh right, well let’s see if I can say this correctly: Hey kleine Dame, kommst du von hier?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀With the same blank expression on the youth’s face, the man hung his head. Rubbing the back of his head like he was wondering about something he turned to his wife for a glance then back at the girl. He squatted down to meet her face to face and pointed at what the delicate miss was wearing. The soothing smile had been gone and what remained was a look of worry and discontent. He made a bunch of other noises back to the high-reaching dame and she reciprocated but the young lass couldn’t understand any of it.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Then the woman approached and ushered the gal in so she could get out of the rain. Getting down on her knees she reached out a hand towards the little one’s cheek. She shut her eyes down in a panic, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to her anymore, all the bad experiences lately were too much already. With that in mind she just stood still with her eyes closed. The feeling wasn’t bad, it was gentle, a smooth hand caressing her cheek. After opening her eyes she was met yet again with that gentle smile on the woman’s face.

⠀⠀⠀⠀With a brush to the cheek on one side and a tug to her covering on the other, the woman pulled off her filthy blood covered clothing. The brisk cold shook the girl at the seams, but with a swift swing of the woman’s arm she had pushed the door back, almost shutting it with one motion. The mister appeared behind the tall lady with something in his hands, many colors filled the materials and they looked fluffy. The woman continued removing the small miss’ clothing and replacing them with the ones the sir had brought back.

⠀⠀⠀⠀She felt so comfortable in her new clothing. Brushing the long sleeves against her cheeks felt so pleasant. She could almost stand there and enjoy the fabric all day long. The woman finally had stood up with all the dirty clothing hanging over her arm, she looked to the man and back to the girl while making a bunch of noises. The most noticeable of which being;

⠀⠀⠀⠀“Möchtest du mit uns essen kommen?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀The tall dame started walking back to the table in the room along with the gentleman and the two tiny ones. They each picked a chair and sat down. With a wave of her hand the lady gestured to the newcomer to take a seat along with them. Though with little conviction that she would understand anything, seemingly the little female may be lost not just in the world but in health or mind as well. Not understanding language or potential common sense wasn’t common among the general populace they’re used to. Eventually with realizing that she would not budge from the entranceway of the house, they let it go with a heartwarming glance and smile. Having turned to each other, they reached out and grabbed a hold on each other's hands. With an almost unison voice, they all began to make the same sounds. A chant.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Blind to truth, lest we go insane, fear the Ones Beyond, health to gain. All life flows from the stream. Wisdom sought, not for wealth or fame. But for truth, destiny remains. All the same."

⠀⠀⠀⠀Still being oblivious as to what the woman was saying she inched forwards nevertheless. Wanting to enjoy more wonderful feelings as her primary goal she inched a little further. The warmth of the fire in the chimney next to her was another amazing feeling she noticed as she passed next to it. With the family gathering around the table in front of her in order to begin supper, the young maiden wanted to take a proper step forwards and sit on the tall object on the side of the table. Her bare feet closed in forwards and forwards when something perforating the wooden floorboards made contact with the bottom of her foot. The front door of the house, behind the girl bursted open. Moments before she could feel anything other than pain, she felt something wrapping her vision.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Sharp pain pierced her foot. A burst of noises, louder than anything she’d ever heard. Like a lightning bolt. Only lasting for a second. Followed with nothing but silence.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Inaudible Silence.

⠀⠀⠀⠀The fire from the chimney was out. The sounds emanating from the people were gone. The pain from her foot faded. The only thing that could be heard is the light panting down her neck. The only things that could be felt is the force of the thing covering her view and another force holding her belly tight. That force pulled her back and out from the house.

⠀⠀⠀⠀The petite one was exhausted with having to think at this point. Her brain was scrambled. Her life had currently been nothing more than a myriad of information all being poured into her head at once. Feeling like it was about to blow, she decided to just let things happen for a while. Leaving it up to fate.

✦ ⠀⠀⠀⠀✦ ⠀⠀⠀⠀✦

⠀⠀⠀⠀Eriys was on the cusp of mental fatigue, following what appeared to be trails which lead nowhere. Looking around, her face was soaking wet from the rain. Her umbrella was lost to the wind. She couldn't care less though. Frantically she ran around like an ill-made patient. The stretches of vast nebulous planes seemed never ending. As if she was in an open maze. Would she ever find her, her mind wondered. The thought of losing her counterpart was shuttering. Eyes open like a ferocious lion, were gleaming in the gloomy day. Like bright lamps from a distance. The slits of said eyes narrowed to a straight line as the vast fields of green turned to yellow.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A farm sitting in this empty plane. Her mind was racing, she needed to find the nearest farmhouse. She dashed into a sprint. A house creeping up into her view, eyes started to narrow. With a heavy chest, and deep panting in her throat. She approached the house as fast as she possibly could. The front door in view, Eriys braced herself and slammed through it like a boulder.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A split second followed. Her eyes solely focused on the child in front of her. The young one with radiant silver hair. Her bare foot inching forwards toward the shimmering spot on the floor. The tiniest glimpse of iron sticking from the floorboard. A nail, sticking out and reaching for the bottom of the little lady’s base.

⠀⠀⠀⠀After that split second, Eriys darted. Her right arm stretched and reached as far as possible, covering the little one’s eyes. Shutting her eyes as hard as she could. The event unfolded and darkness unveiled. Tenebrous force manifesting from the child’s body bloated, and burst through the house. The screams swallowed any semblance of sound other than their own, Screams not known to be produced by any one human being. It was all encompassing. All of it lasted for a second, not a moment longer. Yet the effect was clear. As soon as Eriys opened her eyes, she saw.

⠀⠀⠀⠀The walls were painted red. Not a soul to be seen. The remains of what used to be a family were hanging from the ceiling, lodged in the firepit and were draped over the dinner table. The room began warming up from the many bodily entrails now populating its walls. Putrid smell rose and filled up the noses of the two remaining creatures.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Tugging closer to her counterpart, Eriys wanted to pull the child closer to the entrance of the domain. Further from the horrific massacre. With a sound of water being waved around, they both returned at the doorway of the house. Unable to resist any longer, Eriys wanted to turn the girl around and look at her face. Without letting her see the horrors in front of them, she grabbed her shoulder and slowly turned the tiny lady around. After pulling her hand away, which had been covering the girl’s eyes the whole time. She could only gasp at the sight. Covering her mouth and holding back her tears. Eriys held her hand out once again, caressing the little one’s cheek. Looking back at Eriys, the girl’s eyes widened and her pupils rounded. She felt great warmth from her hand and a strange connection to the person in front. With a muster to sound as dignified and courageous, Eriys spoke.

⠀⠀⠀⠀“Hello, baby sister.”

⠀⠀⠀⠀Shureliya was expressing some urge within her facial expression. She started making odd noises. Eriys was staring back at her, dumbfounded. Suddenly Shureliya made a sound.

⠀⠀⠀⠀“Si-ta-h!”

⠀⠀⠀⠀Unable to hide her content, Eriys broke into a chuckle which spread into laughter. The stoic expression never left Shureliya’s face, looking back at her sister with a puzzled stare. The atmosphere had shifted for both sisters. Turning light and positive. Especially for Eriys.

⠀⠀⠀⠀After settling down with their feelings, Eriys grabbed Shureliya’s arm lightly and nudged her further out from the house. After leaving she took her hand and they began walking together. Looking down at her with hopeful eyes, Eriys was beaming with excitement at the prospect of her sister finally having woken up from her birthed slumber.