A/N: Sorry that the update is a few hours late! I managed to doze off at this afternoon, and before I knew it, the whole day had gone by! But it's here now, for your reading enjoyment. The first R U [ I ] N E D chapter for #WIPWednesday! If you would, leave me a comment or two after you read to let me know your thoughts on the story thus far, and maybe even a prediction or two on what's to come! Love y'all to the moon and back! ~Rissa
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Callan's brows were knit together after a copious amount of time hunting for some mysterious— and clearly evasive— clue. He ground his teeth, quietly muttering curses under his breath. Meanwhile, Sachi being the precious child he was, weaved in and out of the seemingly never-ending trees with Callantine, pretending not to hear the shifter's foul sentiments. After more trudging, silence finally settled between the two, making the only sound that of the rain that still pounded down on them. Callan was soaked to the bone, his light hair darkened three shades by the water now dribbling off him, and the freezing cold left his body feeling stiff— almost as if he would have been frozen solid lest it got any colder. Sachi, on the other hand, was still wrapped in the shifter's dark cloak, shielding him from that same iciness that Callan was feeling.
"Callan?" the boy said softly as his gaze shifted to a faint glow that shone beyond a couple of shrubs. But he was only met by more silence. Callan was caught up by his own thoughts, much too preoccupied to hear Sachi's whisper as it was drowned out by the storm. Sachi reached out and grabbed a hold of Callan's arm, tugging it softly. "Callan."
"Huh?" Callan whipped his head around, his startled expression softening as he peered down at Sachi. "What is it?" He followed the boy's gaze to the faint silvery glow as Sachi pointed.
"Do you think it might be..." Sachi began.
Callan nodded, giving the kid a comforting squeeze in the shoulder. "Yeah. Good catch, Sachi. Let's go investigate." The two headed over closer, Callan kneeling down beside a singular flower amongst all the green of the trees and bushes. Its petals were white as snow, its shining droplets giving a mirrored reflection from the aura that it gave off.
"It's so pretty," Sachi mused, crouching beside Callan to get a better look. And the kid was right— the flower was beautiful. Almost too beautiful, really.
"This must be it." Callan's words were decisive as he contemplated his next move. "It's like I can feel the powerful magic radiating from it." He looked to Sachi again and gave the boy's hair a gentle ruffle. "Great job."
Sachi gave a faint laugh, his nose crinkling as he looked down bashfully and wiggles away from Cal's touch. "Thanks..." he murmured after a moment or two.
"If I pull it out, that should stop the illusion." Cal hummed and turned his stare back to the bloom. He reached out towards it, fingers wrapping around the base of the stem, then gave it a sharp upward tug. He rose to his full height, watching as the glow slowly faded away. A slight twist of a grin played at his lips— that was, until a spiral of silver light started to snake up his arm. Callan dropped the flower in a panic, the plant vanishing into thin air yet that didn't stop the stream of light from continuing its path. Curling around the shifter's neck, it crept upward, seeming to sink into Callantine's skin. Though it only lasted a moment, Callan's eyes suddenly shone that same metallic color, like sterling pools of liquid metal. What followed happened just as quickly— Cal's eyes drooping as he suddenly collapsed onto the forest floor.
Sachi darted toward Callan, eyes wide with horror as he dropped to his knees at the shifter's side. "Callan... Callan," he called desperately, voice cracking with anguish and fear. "Please, wake up... please. Don't you leave me too." His pleas brought forth a stream of tears, his eyes bleary as they welled up and he choked back a sob. As the tears started to fall more heavily and the boy's emotions grew stronger, so did the chance that he would once more become a Manabe. That risk was too great, especially with Cal in this state. They needed help, and Sachi maninting control over himself was their only hope. "Phoena! Brady!" he shouted breathlessly, making his throat feel dry and scratchy. "Something happened to Cal."
Phoena was the first to hear the boy's cries, much closer to the spot than Brady was. She stopped in her tracks, spinning toward the sound of Sachi's voice. "Sachi! Where are you?" She called back, using the child's reply to guide her to him. The first thing she saw as she approached was Sachi crumpled over Callan's chest, his body heaving as he cried silently. Phoena sucked in a sharp breath at seeing Cal laying there pale and motionless. "I need you to move," she said, waving for Sachi to get up. At least if she pretended to be calm and collected about the matter, maybe some of that would rub off on Sachi too.
"O-okay," he managed to stammer out as he lifted his head slightly. He scooted back, allowing Phoena room to look over the unconscious shifter. "He's fine, right?" No answer. "Right? ...Phoena?"
The blonde lifted her head from checking Callan's pulse and gave a weak nod. "He's okay for now. Don't worry." Not that she was truly following that advice herself as she stared down at her companion, biting her lip fiercely. "Can you tell me what happened here?"
Sachi agreed, and it was about time that he finished explaining that Braedyn arrived huffing and panting, his cheeks flushed and damp. "I'm here," he managed to puff out, "the way your minds were reeling I thought someone was dead."
And that someone would have been Brady himself if looks could kill, as Phoena shot him a murderous glare. Sachi's lips were quivering as he sniffles miserably. "No time for jokes. Got it." The telepath joined the others, his attention snared by the blonde's unconscious fidgeting as she sat beside Cal. She didn't even realize it— being as nosy as he was, Brady would have know if she had— but Phoena's fingers traced nimbly over a shadowy mark on her skin, placed just along her collarbone, above her heart. Such an action was meant to strengthen the effect of the trait she possessed, but if not for the clues that her thoughts provided, Brady never would have known what in the world she needed bravery for in that moment.
"This is all my fault," Sachi whimpered, quickly rebuked by both Brady and Phoena.
"It's not. Cal's tough. He'll be fine," Phoena insisted.
"Not like you've managed to convince yourself or anything," Brady mumbled before offering Sachi an assurance of his down. "If it makes you feel any better, he's talking to someone right now."
Phoena was the first to question the odd comment as Sachi blinked curiously at Braedyn. "By that you mean?"
Brady shrugged and scratched the side of his face. "Well, it's a bit complicated to explain, but I can still hear his thoughts. It's a one-sided conversation right now, but it's still a conversation. Though, I can't be sure with who." He paused for a moment. "It could just be a vivid dream, but all things considered, I doubt that strongly."
Sachi cut in with his own theory. "It was magic... so maybe he's talking to the person that cast it?"
Phoena stopped tracing her rune, hand hovering idly above it. She fluttered her eyes over at Brady, her brows furrowing together pensively. "Do you think it might really be her?" The sorceress, Soleil Allifair holding their partner captive in some dreamscape. Really made her sound like the type of person destined to save the world.
"Dunno," Brady offered honestly. "It's like I walked in halfway through the opening act. I don't have all the information."
Phoena sighed heavily at him, a deep frown setting in her features. "Some help you are," she grumbled. "Can't you do anything to get him out of it?"
"I'm a mind reader, honey, not a magician," Brady retorted snappily, crossing his arms over his chest. "Expecting me to revive him is like asking you to guess what I'm thinking. Not your forte, is it?"
The blonde only narrowed her eyes and turned her back on him. "You don't need to be an ass about it. We need Callan for this mission, remember?"
"Yeah, of course I do, but all we can do is wait it out. Hope that this was Soleil's doing and that she'll let Cal go."
"You don't exactly sound optimistic."
"You're right. That's because I'm not."
Phoena let out a hollow laugh at that. "So much for comic relief..." she teased half heartedly, too focused on Callan to give much to the banter.
Sachi still sat across from her, just as concerned as the blonde. His head hung low, prompting Brady to attempt to comfort the boy and ease his guilt. Phoena, meanwhile, had her eyes trained on Cal for any sign that he was waking up. Her hand moved hesitantly to his forehead, carefully pushing back as few pieces of still damp hair from his face. She took one of his hands, squeezing in fiercely between hers as she rested her forehead against them in prayer. If Brady said she needed to have faith, she would try— as hopeless as such actions might have seemed to her.
"You need to wake up, idiot, or there will be something much worse than a tree hugging sorceress waiting back here for you," she warned then released his hand, letting it fall back to the dirt.
Brady glanced slyly at the blonde over his shoulder, causing Sachi to tip his head to the side. "What is it now?" the kid asked, "Is he waking up now?"
Shaking his head, Brady peered back at the boy. "Not yet, but soon, I hope."
"What is it then?"
Brady chuckled and jutted his thumb in Phoena's direction. "That one is definitely falling for him, even if she keeps denying it to me and to herself. But she can't lie to me, I know." A cat-like grin spread across the telepath's face as Sachi blushed furiously.
"Oh," The boy said quietly as he averted his eyes, earning another bout of laughter from Braedyn.
"Forget I said anything," Brady mused after a moment. "She'd probably try to maim me if she knew I was making such disparaging comments about her feelings toward the prince."
Sachi simply laughed awkwardly, but Brady had managed to shift his thoughts away from Callan's unfortunate predicament and assuage the responsibility that Sachi had cast unto his own shoulders with that playful mockery. He would call that a success, in the end. Mission complete.