Her voice wasn't like Linnie expected at all. Previously, every time she had spoken, all he would hear was strange and distorted white noise. There was no personality or tone behind it, even though it had come from her mouth. Despite her small stature, Linnie had, for some reason, imagined her voice to be that of an older woman's.
The shadow girl, to him, was more like a shadow woman. Who was short. There wasn't any way to determine what she looked like—she looked like nothing. There were no details, and it was hard to believe she existed in 3d space. It was just the way she carried herself, her posture... she seemed too reliable, back in the sandy ocean.
But she sounded like a young girl. She spoke softly but confident, like the older woman Linnie had expected, but her actual voice certainly sounded like that of a young girl. Almost familiar, even. Linnie was confused, now. Was she really a girl his age? She couldn't be. She wasn't a girl at all—probably.
"Who are you?" he asked.
He interrupted something that she was saying, but he hadn't been listening at all. And she was a little taken aback. Then, Linnie heard something akin to a soft laughing. She was amused...? It was sort of like the sound you make when your pet does something stupid.
Linnie knew it well, since Lady was no stranger to doing dumb things.
"Who... am I? I'm ##########. No, I suppose that wouldn't work... ####, then? ### ###### ######? The daughter? Oh? That one works? How funny."
"You're... 'the daughter'? But, that isn't a name!"
"That's quite right. But it's all I have left. You get it, don't you?"
Linnie frowned, not understanding. Until he did.
"Whoa!? How'd you know that? That I didn't have a real name, either!?"
She laughed softly once again, bringing her hand to her mouth. The shadow of her arm disappeared in front of her body, as if it merged with the rest of her.
"I know a lot about you... demon boy. Feral child, rat—nuisance. All those words, yet none were truly your name. But it was all you had. Just like I do, now."
"So we're the same. But even I got a name eventually—Alwyn named me. You haven't got anyone to name you?"
"I suppose not."
"Hmmm... well, you can't name yourself. Want me to do it? I'm pretty lousy at names, to be honest. But I'll do it if you want me to."
"Sure, go for it."
Linnie heard the smile in her voice, even if he couldn't see it. He felt a little happy, but nervous, too. He hadn't ever named anything before—successfully, at least. Even Lady had been named by Liora, not him. Conveniently, though, a name came up without barely any effort.
"Alice. How's that? If it's bad, you don't have to use it..."
"No, no! I quite like it. It's a pretty name—you flatter me, Lin. Thank you."
"You really like it?"
"I do."
"...Cool! But, Alice, even if I know your name, I still don't know anything about you. Who—err, what are you? If it's not rude to ask."
Linnie felt the need to be tactful with Alice. It was an uncommon feeling for him, but not completely unknown. He spoke in the same way with the pretty older sisters around town. The ones that eventually either left completely or got married. They were a strange tribe of people, those older girls. They generally treated him a lot better than everyone else, and that made Linnie fond of them.
"What I am? What am I... what's the word? I'm something like your guardian. That's why I know so much about you, see?"
"A guardian?" Linnie thought back to his short stay in the church's orphanage before he had been kicked out. "You mean, you're my guardian angel? You're an angel!?"
"Oho, yes, that's it."
"Meeeeoooow."
Linnie looked at Lady, who he had, in truth, completely forgotten was there. The cat was staring into the mirror and at Alice. Her expression, while not angry or distressed like she was when Liora suddenly grabbed her, was not one of joyous reunion. It was more like a cautious recognition.
The two of them, the cat and the angel, had known each other for much longer than Linnie had known either of them. How long, Linnie didn't know. But, unless time worked differently in that strange realm, it couldn't have been that long.
Why? Because, in the short time that Linnie had taken Lady in as his familiar, she had grown. It was small, and barely noticeable. But he was sure of it. She had certainly been growing, slowly and steadily. Which was a little strange, considering the fact that she was already a cat of average size, and Linnie had thought she was already an adult.
"Oh, hello again, Lady. I can't say I wasn't surprised when you decided to become Lin's familiar... I always thought a free spirit like you would choose to go out on your own."
"Meow!"
This one was definitely angry.
"I apologize—that was insensitive. But, we all lost something that day, didn't we? Considering it all, you might've gotten away the best out of all of us."
"Meow..."
'Lost? Don't tell me...?'
"Her voice! That's what you're talking about, isn't it? She lost her voice, and I lost my 'dream' and now I can't sleep anymore. And you... what did you lose, Alice?"
"My house."
Linnie frowned. It might not have seemed like a big deal, but Linnie knew exactly how it felt to lose the place you called home. To be thrust into a world unfamiliar and unforgiving. And so, Linnie did something he was neither good at or used to. Apologize.
"I'm real sorry—it's all my fault, isn't it? It's all because of that deal I made with, uh..."
"Bishan. It's not your fault, Lin, so don't worry about it. Few can resist the temptation of a god, especially one as cunning and powerful as her. Neither of us blame you."
"Pischt—or Bishan, or whatever, how do I find her again? I can't handle it anymore, really! I mean, I probably slept more than anyone else in the world, and now I can't even sleep at all? I don't even know how I'm not dead yet... every time the sun sets I feel like a damn zombie! I'll give the conduit back if I need to, I just... I..."
Linnie felt himself choking up—which he thought was ridiculous—so he brought his arm up to his eyes and rubbed the moisture away. As he did so, he was surprised by the feeling of a warm embrace, wrapping around the entirety of his body.
'A hug? From who?'
He looked back to the mirror and saw Alice, on her tippy toes, hugging the large and disgusting beast on the other end of the mirror. The touch, despite being inside the mirror, transferred to the real world.
"You don't have to do that, you can let go now. Uh, thanks, I guess. I know it's probably gross, seeing me as that... scary thing."
"No, not at all... if anything, I'm just grateful you aren't scared of me."
'As if! You're an angel, why would I be scared of you?'