Caster stood across from Nephis, a smile on his face before he spoke.
"Thank the dead gods! It seems fate sees us in good favor! I was hoping to find someone I know in this god-forsaken—"
"And how did you get here this early?"
Caster chuckled before locking eyes with her; his smile never left.
"Well, you see, the school didn't want to risk Lady Changing Star's life, so they sent three qualified individuals into the Dream Realm right after you entered your pods — with permission of their families, of course. Sadly… me and my companions were split up, and I was the only one who ended up… well, here."
He put his hand behind his head, scratched a little, then let out a small sigh.
"Well, there is another reason I'm here. As you know, the Han Li clan were great friends with the Immortal Flames, and it just so happens a promise was made long before we were born that the families would connect through marriage. Seeing as how you are the only one left of your clan and I'm the youngest of mine, then… what I'm trying to ask is, Lady Nephis… will you marr—"
Before he could finish his rambling, something crashed into him, planting his face into the floor before jumping off his head like it was a lily pad in a pond. Whatever—or whoever—it was moved so fast Caster couldn't make out their face by the time he lifted his head, but he did notice something thrown over its shoulder, and then the figure grabbed Nephis and dashed off.
"Stop! You dare—!"
Caster's aspect activated and shot toward the figure, only to be met with a wall of shadow that sent him slamming headfirst into it; he passed out.
Hours later, Caster would wake up naked, with all his possessions stolen — even the clothes off his back.
"You damn… YOU DAMN MONGREL!"
---
Eventually Sunny stopped, collapsing in a random alley while Cassie and Nephis fell off him. Groaning, he rubbed his back.
"Damn, girl! You heavy!"
Nephis gave him a confused look and didn't bother with him.
"Explain the situation."
Sunny fell on his back, limbs splayed on the dirty ground, and explained everything that had happened — of course omiting the part about how they'd gotten into the castle.
Nephis sighed, running a hand across her forehead.
"This won't do. This won't do in the slightest. If you two get hunted, we'll never be able to get out of this place."
Sunny arched an eyebrow, propping himself up to look at her.
"I thought we were stuck here? If you mean get out, we can just go back into the ocean."
Nephis explained what she'd heard from the alley man, omitting the part where he commented about her ass, of course.
"So we need to collect those keys or whatever and then activate it? And I'm assuming you mean we need to be united to challenge the gate since the tyrant won't correct?"
Nephis nodded.
"And my name as Changing Star could be used to unite — but not if I have two who are wanted in these lands as part of my cohort. Which is why I have a plan. Do you still have some of that sap left?"
Sunny got a worried look, but decided to go with it.
"Yeah… and why do you ask?"
For the first time in a while, a smile came to Nephis's face.
"You know, when I was a kid I never got to play with dolls. I guess dreams do come true."
Damnation.
---
Walking out of the hut, a silver-haired woman emerged with two kids at her side: one a black-haired girl with a green blindfold, and a green-haired boy with freckles and twigs stuck in his hair.
"I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you…" the mutters came from the boy while Nephis smirked.
Using ash from burning wood, she dyed Cassie's hair; the green blindfold — Viridiflumen, summoned by Sunny — would only disappear when he unsummoned it. For his green hair, she mixed the sap with crushed-up leaves so the pigment would stain his skin. Freckles were made from hardened mud, and twigs came from tossing him in a bush. He actually looked quite cute, she thought — well, he always looked cute…
Wait.
What did she just think?Caster stood across from Nephis, a smile on his face before he spoke.
"Thank the dead gods! It seems fate sees us in good favor! I was hoping to find someone I know in this god-forsaken—"
"And how did you get here this early?"
Caster chuckled before locking eyes with her; his smile never left.
"Well, you see, the school didn't want to risk Lady Changing Star's life, so they sent three qualified individuals into the Dream Realm right after you entered your pods — with permission of their families, of course. Sadly… me and my companions were split up, and I was the only one who ended up… well, here."
He put his hand behind his head, scratched a little, then let out a small sigh.
"Well, there is another reason I'm here. As you know, the Han Li clan were great friends with the Immortal Flames, and it just so happens a promise was made long before we were born that the families would connect through marriage. Seeing as how you are the only one left of your clan and I'm the youngest of mine, then… what I'm trying to ask is, Lady Nephis… will you marr—"
Before he could finish his rambling, something crashed into him, planting his face into the floor before jumping off his head like it was a lily pad in a pond. Whatever—or whoever—it was moved so fast Caster couldn't make out their face by the time he lifted his head, but he did notice something thrown over its shoulder, and then the figure grabbed Nephis and dashed off.
"Stop! You dare—!"
Caster's aspect activated and shot toward the figure, only to be met with a wall of shadow that sent him slamming headfirst into it; he passed out.
Hours later, Caster would wake up naked, with all his possessions stolen — even the clothes off his back.
"You damn… YOU DAMN MONGREL!"
---
Eventually Sunny stopped, collapsing in a random alley while Cassie and Nephis fell off him. Groaning, he rubbed his back.
"Damn, girl! You heavy!"
Nephis gave him a confused look and didn't bother with him.
"Explain the situation."
Sunny fell on his back, limbs splayed on the dirty ground, and explained everything that had happened — of course omiting the part about how they'd gotten into the castle.
Nephis sighed, running a hand across her forehead.
"This won't do. This won't do in the slightest. If you two get hunted, we'll never be able to get out of this place."
Sunny arched an eyebrow, propping himself up to look at her.
"I thought we were stuck here? If you mean get out, we can just go back into the ocean."
Nephis explained what she'd heard from the alley man, omitting the part where he commented about her ass, of course.
"So we need to collect those keys or whatever and then activate it? And I'm assuming you mean we need to be united to challenge the gate since the tyrant won't correct?"
Nephis nodded.
"And my name as Changing Star could be used to unite — but not if I have two who are wanted in these lands as part of my cohort. Which is why I have a plan. Do you still have some of that sap left?"
Sunny got a worried look, but decided to go with it.
"Yeah… and why do you ask?"
For the first time in a while, a smile came to Nephis's face.
"You know, when I was a kid I never got to play with dolls. I guess dreams do come true."
Damnation.
---
Walking out of the hut, a silver-haired woman emerged with two kids at her side: one a black-haired girl with a green blindfold, and a green-haired boy with freckles and twigs stuck in his hair.
"I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you…" the mutters came from the boy while Nephis smirked.
Using ash from burning wood, she dyed Cassie's hair; the green blindfold — Viridiflumen, summoned by Sunny — would only disappear when he unsummoned it. For his green hair, she mixed the sap with crushed-up leaves so the pigment would stain his skin. Freckles were made from hardened mud, and twigs came from tossing him in a bush. He actually looked quite cute, she thought — well, he always looked cute…
Wait.
What did she just think?