Innerworks

75. Sigil Speed

"...Thomas!"

Everything happened so fast.

One moment he was catching his breath with Remy, the next he couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

His knees hit the ground. They were all gone.

There was nothing except the echo of seven separate simultaneous screams and the ledge they were blasted off of.

Remy placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch.

"Thomas!" Calls the Aspect again, he hadn't realized that the other had been trying to get his attention. "You need to-"

"Please don't tell me to calm down!" He cries, "They just...they all...My Sides just fell of the side of a freaking cliff! And- and I can't move to help them!"

Sleep takes a single step back from the Manifestor, the distress radiating off of Thomas was practically palatable and it was obvious that the Host is weighed down by it; practically bound to the ground by the sheer force of his despair.

With a soft croon Remy kneels down carefully next to Thomas and gently wraps his arms around the other placing his chin on Thomas' shoulder, gently shushing him. Almost gratefully the Host folds into the embrace with a sob.

The Aspect glances around, the remainder of his Sand rises around them, he can't see anything but he knows they're surrounded. The Sides didn't cast themselves of the cliff after all.

The Dream Sand then begins to hiss, violent and threatening, it sensed something.

Gritting his teeth Remy clutches tighter onto Thomas and commands the Sand to spin around the two of them, hoping that the barrier would dissuade their attackers from coming closer.

Thomas' breathing picks up and his panic is almost enough to bowl the both of them over...

Wait...Panic.

"Hey Tommy, I know you're panicking and all but think about why-"

"What do you mean why? They could all be dead!"

"If that was true, then how are you panicking? Pretty sure Anxiety is responsible for that fight, flight or freeze shtick. And since you're stuck here, let's assume that's what's going on"

Thomas breaks away from the hold to look up at Remy, "...that...but, I've panicked before Anxiety was ever formed-"

"Eh, maybe", shrugs Remy, hoping it looked nonchalant or at the very least less panicked than he felt. "...thing is though, you're here and Anxiety holds a lot of sway over you, if he was gone, trust me, you wouldn't be panicking, you'd be left numb"

"Are...are you sure?"

"Honestly babes, I have no fucking clue but it makes sense. If you're panicking then he's panicking worse, try to keep steady, ok? Maybe that'll give him...idk...a chance to clear his head and make it back here, who knows-"

"Well, that was reassuring", bites Thomas sardonically as he sits up properly.

"Hey well, it got you to move a bit yeah? You're not glued to the ground anymore... So that's a start, yeah?"

"I...I guess-"

Whatever the Host was about to say was cut off by his scream; an ink creature suddenly launched itself at the Sand barrier. The creature ricocheted off and landing hard on the cliff edge...the impact taking a chunk of the ledge with it.

More and more of them kept doing the same thing.

Remy, worried for the safety of his Host, slowly moved them backwards and completely away from the overhang bit by bit. They managed to get far enough away from death by cliff. Death by ink however, still a tentative thing...especially with his Sand running out.