“Just don’t leave me alone / Wondering where you are / I am stronger than you give me credit for”

 

A person could only be expected to have much patience, and Sybil was running out of it. Isaac was late, far too late for a simple errand. He had been provided with a map back to Sybil’s home, and clear enough instructions; there was no reason it should have taken him longer than til evening of that very day. And yet there had been no sign of him that evening, nor the following morning, and by mid-day, Sybil had moved past irritation and begun considering the possibility that her companion had simply taken the money she gave him and run. Either that or something had gotten to him. But that was clearly foolish; he could take care of himself, that wouldn’t have happened. Clearly he was alive and okay, just a backstabbing piece of refuse. Any lingering guilt or anxiety she felt over the situation was simply the irrational reaction of someone who had, once again, been foolish enough to trust.  That betrayal would certainly serve Sybil right, after all. She was supposed to know better than to rely on others, but for some foolish reason she’d believed that Isaac’s fear of the unknown world around him would overcome any greed he might have harbored. Apparently she was wrong, and once again she’d come out looking like the naive little girl she had supposedly grown past. 

 

That left a major problem: forging a path forward without his help. Gathering the reagents would be more difficult, and more dangerous without Isaac’s enhanced skills, but it was doable. If that weren’t the case she never would have been able to cast the spell to begin with. The loss of coin was an obstacle, but not an insurmountable one. The real problem was whether or not Sybil would actually be able to successfully perform the spell without Isaac’s aid in understanding the place she was trying to reach for. Admittedly, she had apparently had little trouble finding Earth before, yet there had to have been some error in the process. Whether or not Isaac truly was the key in resolving that error was ultimately not a question Sybil could answer without trying and, hopefully, succeeding. 

 

To little effect, Sybil tried to assure herself that there could still be a clear path forward without her new companion. Yet what that path was, she couldn’t say. If nothing else, her most recent dream had hung heavy in Sybil’s mind throughout the day. Surely, if nothing else, learning her name would be enough, would it not? But if she had known a way to control the content and clarity of her dreams, Sybil would have done so years ago. She could simply give herself more time, she would certainly have it on her quest to obtain all she needed for a second casting. But even if it were the case that some final clarifying moment might come to her through the dreams, things still felt wrong. She was loath to admit it, but there was a reason Sybil had allowed herself into such a position in the first place: even in the short time he had been in her company, Sybil had developed a certain reluctant fondness for the man who had now taken her money and left.

 

All of those complicated feelings left her in a difficult situation. Sybil was typically not one to dwell on her emotions, at least, she hadn’t been until everything had fallen apart. There had always been moments where things grew dark, and, forgoing human companionship, Sybil would seek comfort bound in the warm coils of her familiar. It had been some time since she’d allowed herself that weakness, that pause in her forward momentum. But she needed that vulnerability. And so, as was always the case when such moments occured, ‘Ruuk had sensed her Mistress’ pain and returned home from wherever she’d been hunting. Not long after, Sybil found her reptilian friend wound tightly around her waist and up to her shoulders as she allowed herself a moment to process everything which had happened to her. 

 

Twirling her fingers thoughtfully, Sybil reached out with searching tendrils of magical energy, latching on to a familiar shape—a deep red crystal, uncut and unpolished. Her magic grasped it, and pulled it to Sybil, who clutched it gently in both hands, running a finger along one surface or another. To anyone else, the rock would be just that, a rock, a pretty rock, but a rock. It had no magical properties and wasn’t particularly valuable. For Sybil, though, it was an anchor, a source of comfort, reassurance. It was her proof, proof that she wasn’t crazy, that her dreams were real, that she wasn’t wasting her time. At times like this, she sometimes needed a reminder. 

 

Months ago, Sybil had believed the dreams were nothing more than pleasant dreams; they were a fleeting and welcome distraction from the difficulties of day-to-day life. Then, one night, she’d dreamt of herself, and her lover, curled up in bed and admiring a certain crystal. It had been a nice, peaceful dream; a quiet dream. Then, a couple of weeks later, she saw that same crystal in her dreams for sale at a local market stall. Ever since, whenever things grew tough, Sybil could reassure herself that she was working toward something real. With the little stone in her hand, she was able to remember that little setbacks, and big ones, were still only setbacks. Between ‘Ruuk’s presence, and the reminder that yes, really, the crystal in her hands did exist, and it had appeared in her dreams, Sybil allowed herself at least some comfort. Slightly calmer, but still not feeling good, so to speak, she let her thoughts return to Isaac, Isaac and her perplexing attitude toward him.

 

While contemplating the implications of her fondness for her erstwhile companion, Sybil’s thoughts were interrupted by three soft knocks upon her door. The temptation to simply not even bother answering was strong, to say the least. After everything that had happened over the past few days, Sybil had little desire to interact with the outside world; however, she found herself in a position which denying some potential client whatever it was they needed would be a detriment to her goals. Due to the actions of a certain someone, she was about to cut into the majority of her remaining funds to go on a possibly pointless expedition, and having a bit of extra money on hand would be important. With a sigh, she picked herself up, and strode to the door, swinging it open to find, much to her own surprise, Isaac standing at her door, with an awkward, sheepish grin on his face. 

 

“Uh, hey, Sybil. Did y—”

 

“Where the hell have you been? You’re way past late at this point.” Apparently the relief she felt at seeing him was just what she needed to cut through her self-pity and kindle the anger and frustration smoldering inside her. 

 

“I just, I ran into some trouble. I’ve been working in town.” He gestured to his pack, as though that somehow provided the answers she needed.

 

“And why, pray tell, have you been working? I gave you very explicit instructions to come back here by the end of the day, and yet you don’t do that. Instead you go and—” She cut herself off with a frustrated growl; she’d nearly told Isaac she had been worried about him. Which certainly wasn’t the case; she’d spent the better part of the day being pissed at him and telling herself he had left her. And that certainly wasn’t some twisted way of coping with her own guilt and fear that something may have happened to him.

 

“I, well, things in town didn’t go as smooth as either of us would have liked. I swear I was being careful, I was constantly watching my belt, but somehow, only moments after I checked to ensure I had the money you gave me, someone took it without my notice. I only found out when I tried to pay for a drink at the tavern while I was waiting for the shop to open. I’m really sorry.” His gaze shifted downward as he awkwardly kicked at the soil beneath his feet and dug his nails—which oddly, were only trimmed on certain fingers—into his palms. 

 

“So you lost my money? Did I not warn you to keep an eye out for cutpurses?” Sybil continued to lean into that anger she was feeling; there was no room for carelessness while chasing her goals. And she would not fail again because of someone else’s incompetence.

 

Isaac visibly winced at the edge in Sybil’s words; he seemed to expect her wrath, and even still they cut him. He spoke in a trembling voice. “Yeah, you did, and I was keeping an eye out like I said. I just still didn’t notice. I’m sorry.” His eyes never left the ground, though while he still kept his eyes fixed in place, Isaac slung his pack off his shoulder, and placed it gently before her. “But, well, like I said, I was working in town. So I managed to buy all this.”

 

Sybil afforded no moment’s respite in her interrogation, “Working how?”

 

“I did some odd jobs at the inn, and some others for the owner of the general store. I guess being magically juiced up like I am comes in handy, ‘cause by mid-morning I’d helped out around town enough to at least make back about half of what you gave me. I know it’s not what you asked for, but it’s the best I could do on such short notice.” He paused, raising his head a little to half meet her gaze. “I know I fucked up, I just, I want you to know that I’m still gonna try my best to help out.”

 

Sybil couldn’t keep herself from sighing in annoyance; whether it was at Isaac, herself, or both she couldn’t say. “So either way we’re short on supplies.” She lifted a finger to tap her chin thoughtfully. “You still tried, though. And, well, I didn’t think you were even coming back. Why did you? It seems to me like you knew from the start I wasn’t going to be pleased with you.”

 

“I dunno, I didn’t want to run away again I guess. I told you I was running from my problems back on Earth, and it didn’t feel right to do that here too. I mean I can’t, what would I run to? Regardless of what I want, I don’t have anywhere else to go. You can hate me if that’s what makes you feel better, but I said I was going to help you, so I will.” At first, Isaac had sounded like he barely even knew himself why he’d come back. By the end though, he sounded well and truly resolute. He finally managed to lift his gaze entirely, to look Sybil in the eye. “And, to be honest, I didn’t want you to be alone, either.” 

 

“I’m not alone.” That denial was practically a defensive reflex after so many years. It was a tone of outward anger, but sewn from far too many years of struggling to cope.

 

Isaac chucked, sounding simultaneously sad, amused, and determined. “No, you aren’t. Like it or not, I’m all you’ve got until you finish this spell. And I won’t be going anywhere ‘til I’ve played my part, even if that means I have to fail upwards the whole way.”

 

Sybil grew quiet, contemplative; she found her shoulders slumping forward in a defeated exhale. “I don’t want your help,” she spoke in a quivering voice, edged with doubt. That admission seemed to be enough to deflate Isaac as well, as the determined look in his eye faded, and his clenched jaw slackened. 

 

“I see,” he murmured, uncomfortably glancing about, as though trying to determine just what he was going to do now.

 

“I mean, you’re not even supposed to be here.” The words tumbled out of Sybil, hurried, almost frantic. “It’s my fault you’re stuck here, my fault you even need to depend on me. And I told you that even if you didn’t prove all that useful, I wouldn’t just turn on you, but here I am doing that. I just didn’t want to get hurt. So I got mad instead.”

 

“Well, if it’s alright, I’ll take that as an apology. And I’ll accept it.” Isaac offered a weak, almost grim smile. And Sybil barked out a choked, bitter laugh in response. 

 

“It’s just hard, you know? I’m supposed to find this girl, supposed to love her, but Goddess, I don’t even know who she is. I know how she makes me feel in the dreams, but I don’t really know her. I hardly ever remember much about them, and even when I do it’s just little vignettes of mostly feelings. And I’m supposed to just trust everything will work out fine? I’ve already seen first hand that it’s not that simple.” It was hard to admit, but with everything else whirling around her, Sybil hadn’t been able to shake the doubt that things really truly just might not work out.

 

“And that just makes each and every bump along the road that much harder, right? It just proves that anything could go wrong at any time.” 

 

“That’s not a bad way of putting it.”

 

“Well, what do you think she’s like?” Isaac’s voice grew brighter, more hopeful as he asked.

 

“It’s hard to say; I’d like her to be kind, but well, that’s a little easy, isn’t it? It would be nice to have someone I can actually have some fun with, though. My life has been rather dull so far. And I’d like her to be patient. I know I’m not perfect, I have a lot to learn about, well, relationships—and the things that go with them,” Sybil blushed a little, hoping the implication was lost on Isaac; if it wasn’t, he didn’t react. “I don’t really know what a happy, well-adjusted version of myself is like. I guess I’d like someone who can help me be that version of myself.”

 

“Well, if you’re really meant to be together, she probably is like that then.” He smiled a proper smile this time, though it still seemed mostly to be an attempt at reassurance. “Or maybe better, even.” With that he let out a proper laugh, not one steeped in unpleasantness like before, and Sybil found herself joining in. She didn’t laugh like that often.

 

“I think I’d like that, Isaac.”

 

“I hope so, but if I might offer some advice, I’m not sure it’s fair of you to expect her to just come in and fix you. If you feel like you should be a better version of yourself, maybe it would be better to have already started working on that version of yourself when she gets here.” There was something in his words that hurt more than Sybil would have expected. That made her feel like she’d really truly done wrong by someone she was supposed to care about.

 

“You might be right. Maybe I wasn’t ready for her after all.” An unsettled frown began to form upon her lips as her thoughts turned inward. 

 

Isaac broke her contemplation, “Well, listen. Maybe it’s best we stop standing in your doorway and start planning our next move?” He offered, with a somewhat sheepish shrug.

 

“Ah, right, you make a good point.” Sybil awkwardly bobbed her head and stepped out of Isaac’s way. Just as he began to enter the doorway, from Sybil’s robe came a low hiss, and, in a flash ‘Ruuk had lashed out at him with her fangs, just barely missing as Isaac’s own enhanced reflexes carried him forward and through the door in a whirling dodge, past Sybil and out of the snake’s reach just in time. 

 

“Yo, what the fuck?” he half shouted, half gasped as he seemed to lose that natural composure and grace, nearly falling backward as his arms pinwheeled to maintain his balance.

 

Sybil winced audibly, her lips curling back as she yanked the recoiling snake back into her robe. “Agh, Goddess, sorry, that was Lady Hissruuk, she’s my familiar. I, well, I kinda forgot she was here. She keeps to herself for the most part, doesn’t like strangers either. But once she’s had a chance to warm up to you she’s a big softie, I promise, really loves cuddles.” Sybil soothingly, affectionately ran her fingers along the python’s head, and in turn the snake nuzzled into her Mistress with a smug, pleased hiss.

 

“Hissrook?” Isaac asked, seemingly disarmed by the silly name Sybil had given the literal apex predator she kept as a familiar.

 

“Hissruuk, Sybil corrected, then felt her face flush. “She um, she’s named after a character in an old folk legend I liked a lot as a kid. Lady Hesruuk, I changed ‘Hes’ to ‘Hiss’ cause, y’know, uh, s-snake.” The burning around her cheeks only deepened as an amused smirk played across Isaac’s lips. “Look, I found her when I was just a kid, okay!” 

 

“No need to justify yourself, Sybil. It’s cute, or, well, it would be if Lady Hissruuk there hadn’t just tried to sever my jugular. Maybe give me a warning next time, though? I’d kinda like my veins and arteries to remain intact.” He rubbed his neck, right where the bite would have landed, as though some phantom pain were yet afflicting him.

 

“Oh, well that’s actually not a problem!” Her voice brightened. “See, pythons don’t really have fangs; she’s a constrictor, so she would have wrapped you up and crushed you to death and—ah, I guess that’s not really the point, is it?” She trailed off, realizing she may have gotten a little carried away.

 

“No, not really.” Despite her slipup, or perhaps because of it, Isaac couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

“Right, sorry, I’m just kinda into snakes, especially ‘Ruuki, cause y’know, she’s kinda my baby. I’ll make sure to warn you next time, though.” She winced, the heat in her cheeks flaring up once more. “But don’t take it personally, okay? She’s really protective of me, but I promise she’s a sweetheart once she warms up to you. And, y’know, if it’s any consolation, if I remember correctly from my dreams, she isn’t even going to like her at first. So that’s kinda just how she is.”