The market was chaos. Smoke and smells tangled in the hot air, carts overturned, and merchants shouting as Mara clutched a sack of stolen bread. Jaren sprinted beside her, eyes scanning for pursuers.
"Wait!" Mara tried to shout, but her words came out garbled in Jaren's ears. His reply sounded like noise, disconnected syllables she couldn't parse. Their eyes met, frustration mirrored in each other's face, they couldn't understand each other.
Instinct took over. Mara sent a surge of emotion and intent through her thread. Fear, urgency, move faster! Jaren's projection flickered in response, jagged and abstract, conveying the gist. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough. He grabbed her arm, pulling her down a narrow alley.
Shouts erupted behind them. Merchants and guards were closing in, forming a tightening circle. Mara's stomach twisted; they were trapped. She pushed more intent into the thread, but Jaren only partially understood. Desperation made her pulse stronger, wilder—but clarity remained just out of reach.
The cobblestones beneath them began to vibrate. A low hum shook the air. Mara blinked. The edges of the market warped, colors stretching and blurring. Stalls lifted and dissolved into light.
Jaren's jaw tightened. "Not again…"
They stumbled forward, and suddenly, the world crumbled beneath them. Gravity, sound, and light twisted together as they fell through a storm of color and shadow. Their hands found each other mid-fall, fingers intertwining, only connected that way could they orient themselves.
-
When the tumbling stopped, damp earth pressed against their hands. Wet leaves and the smell of moss filled their noses. They were in a dense, alien wilderness. Mara exhaled, trembling.
"Are… we alive?" she asked, incredulous.
Jaren laughed shakily. "Looks like it. And… we can actually understand each other. Speaking actually works here."
For the first time, their magic worked in harmony. Mara's thread of intent made Jaren understand her words and Jaren's projections shaped the air around them so she understood his. Simple warnings and observations flowed between them, still clunky but far clearer than before.
But there was no time to celebrate. The wilderness was alive in ways they hadn't yet learned. Shadows moved unnaturally, leaves whispered, and distant roars echoed. Mara's muscles tensed. "Something's out there."
Jaren's eyes swept the treeline. His projection flared, signaling movement Mara couldn't see yet. "Multiple… predators. Big ones."
Before they could react fully, hulking shapes burst through the undergrowth. Mara swung her hand, forcing the ground to rise beneath her, while sparks flew from Jaren's quick sigil, another fight.
-
The predators had them cornered. Mara's arm ached, mind numb. Jaren's projections flickered and warped, failing to form sigils any longer. They'd fought off so many. Yet these beasts kept coming.
"Well, it was bound to happen eventually. A world we can't survive." Jaren said.
The earth shivered, the trees stretched, colors bled and twisted. Mara felt the pulse of the world bending reality, pulling them upward and outward.
"Not again," she whispered.
The predators froze mid-leap. Gravity, space, and sound twisted. Light tore in streaks around them as the wilderness fell away, and they tumbled through the void once more.
Weightless and disoriented, Mara sent a pulse of fear and determination. Jaren's projection sparked back, steadying her. Their hands stayed locked, their only anchor in the collapsing reality.
When the tumbling finally slowed, they landed on hard stone. The wind smelled of salt and the horizon jagged with impossible cliffs. Both gasped, muscles shaking, hearts pounding.
Mara exhaled, trying to gather herself. "Guess… we're doing this again."
Jaren gave a weak grin, not understanding her words yet again, sweat and ash mixing on his face. "Survive first. Communicate second. Everything else… we'll figure out."