SONDER : Prologue

ECHOES - SASKIA, Defier of Fate 0.2

The camp packed up quickly, but still her companion had not returned. With The Lady gone, Mauko should have returned by now. Saskia began to fret. Her bag was packed.

She sat on the stump The Lady had graced not even hours before, her foot tapping. Time passed. She stood, paced. Sat. Time continued to pass. Mauko must be hunting. He must be.

Saskia stood, grasping her weapon that stood leaning against a tree. It was cold, simple, and hefty. The scythe may not have made the most practical weapon of choice, but it was sentimental. Why, she couldn't remember. The scythe was yet another echo from a her she hadn't met. It was longer than her torso, but not by much. Longer would have been too heavy as she was slight of build. The length gave her reach, and the curved blade served her well to slash or hook. She clasped it to her hip with a buttoned loop of leather off her belt and set off in search of Mauko. Perhaps he needed her help hunting. She wouldn't allow herself to think anything else.

She paused, torn. Going after Mauko would push it, as her hands were numb, her breath frosting in the hot, afternoon air. Her body needed to feed. But her soul needed Mauko.

Decided, she turned away from the town and headed deeper into the woods, eyes scanning for signs of animals, or hunters. As she walked, the sparse sunlight glittered through the trees above. Her vision gradually doubled, the glittering sunbeam spirits overwhelming her. Her form felt ghostly and she could no longer feel herself in space as her breaths slowed. She pushed on. She would find Mauko.

The edges of Saskia's vision began to dance with apparitions, like it did when she needed to feed. She heard the tinkle of laughter like church bells. She smelled vast, lavender fields. She felt her fingers trailing in the surface of a stream. But onwards she trudged, deeper into the forest, no where near streams, or churches, or laughter, or lavender.

Saskia shook herself as her body started to shake, the withdrawal pangs beginning to gnaw at her stomache. Finally, a sensation that grounded her to this reality as the realms began to bleed over at the edges.

She felt a warmth at her pocket. She paused her march, fishing through her skirts to pull out... The button. It glowed, pulsing softly, as the realms continued to blend. She let out her breath, the air freezing around it, as she peered at the button, forgetting about Mauko. In the edge of her vision she saw a man: her head snapped up, but when she looked at him he was gone, at the other edge of her vision. Her breaths came out quickly as she wheeled about, trying to peer at him but never able to see him directly.

She heard his voice, low, a rich timbre. His voice resonated through her whole being, almost like her ear was pressed to his chest as he spoke. She closed her eyes and could almost remember what he said.

Wait, remember? Was she... Remembering?

She couldn't be. Saskia did not remember. The echoes were lies. She had no memories. None but...

Mauko!

She dropped the button as though burned, taking off into the woods, determined to outrun this new echo. How dare The Lady confuse her again with these apparitions! She ducked, almost running headlong into a low branch, her reflexes kicking in at the last second, but the sudden veering caused her to lose her footing and she fell, rolling down a slight hill. She came to a stop, and screamed, holding her head.

This is why she needed to feed. She couldn't live like this.

She forced herself to breathe rapidly, as her body wanted to become slow, to grind to a halt and die again. She hit her empty chest, willing her blood to flow as it became sludge in her veins. She got up, running again on leaden legs. An animal. She could find an animal.

Then she heard it and she soared with joy: Mauko's cry. She sprinted to the sound, tears in her eyes as she broke through to a small clearing, spotting him bounding towards her, mouth bloodied. He dropped a living rabbit in front of her with pride and she sank to her knees, clawing at it.

She fed. And the world snapped back into focus.