Floating. That was what it felt like; he was floating in an empty spanse of nothingness, lacking any solid assurance that he wasn't dead. Maybe this was what death was for a Runeholder— an endless stretch of blackness where he would be forever doomed to solitude, alone with only his thoughts and desperation. As he lay there, unable to budge or even open his eyes, the last thing that Callan could remembered from before he hit the ground was the look of sheer terror plastered on Sachi's face. His eyes still closed, it was as if that image was burned into his mind like a brand upon his memories. Cal gritted his teeth, mashing them together in frustration.
"Who are you?"
Callan thought his heart might stop beating when that voice cut sharply through the silence. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one who should be asking you that," the shifter puffed, "Considering you kidnapped me and all."
"I did not kidnap you!" the voice protested, high and shrill. Distinctly feminine and at least vaguely pissed off by Cal. "You were going to break the barrier, and I couldn't let you..." She trailed off, words soft and feather-light by the end.
"Are you... Soleil, perhaps?"
The quiet seemed particularly drawn out after Callan's question. "Who wants to know?" she asked wearily, the edge to her voice giving Callan all the answer he needed.
"I'll tell you whatever you want to know," he promised, "If, and only if, you release me from this spell."
"I—" She seemed hesitant for a moment, but releasing a long sigh, she agreed to his terms. "Fine. You have a deal."
Relief washed over the shifter, and soon after, he felt a pair of hands lightly cup his cheeks and a soft warmth press against his forehead. He flashed his eyes back open just as the girl drew her lips away, a glowing silvery radiance to her caramel skin similar to the one that dragged Callan into this mess in the first place. Both stared silently at one another for a moment, Cal pushing himself up onto his elbows.
Clearing her throat loudly, the sorceress stood up, brushing back her dark wild curls from her face. She eyed Callan expectantly, a slight pout on her lips. "How do you know about me?"
Cal, who had begun to investigate their surroundings, turned to face Soleil again. "My father. He was the one who sent me," he said simply, a bit unsteady as he got to his feet.
"Your father," Sol repeated. "Who is your father?"
Just that question alone was enough to make Callan cringe, but the accompanying ache of his body from whatever magic Soleil had used on him simply heightened his discomfort. On any other day, he wouldn't be inclined to admit his parentage so willingly, but gaining the sorceress' trust was far more important than his desire to hide from what the je Dellal name meant. "Grand Commander je Dellal..." he admitted weakly, earning him a surprised squeak from the girl.
"Oh," she managed to force out, rocking up onto her toes and folding her hands together apologetically. "I'm so sorry. That means you're Callentine je Dellal. That means—" She bowed her head to Cal, as if he actually was some sort of royal like Brady teased.
"Please, stop," he insisted, cutting her off as he waved his hands wildly, desperately. "That means that I'm a Runeholder just like you, not anyone you need to bow to. Alright?"
Soleil lifted her head just enough to meet his gaze, biting down on her lip in thought. "If you're sure?"
"I am." Cal nodded.
With that assurance, Sol straightened up and offered a half-hearted smile. "I take it you've come because of Elieveta?" Another nod from Cal. "And those others who came with you, they're Runeholders too?"
A pang of guilt suddenly struck Callan at the mention of his companions, but for the moment, he pushed it away to continue his conversation with Sol. Her cooperation was important to their mission, after all. "Yeah, except for the kid," he explained, "We're trying to help him... get him somewhere safe."
"That's very kind of you. Would your Rune be Selflessness or Fairness, perhaps?"
"It's nothing, really. He just... reminds me of someone I knew once. He deserves better than what he's been through," Cal murmured before his eyes darted to the ground. Wasn't like that certain someone was a younger version of Callan himself. The shapeshifter shook his head at her guesses. "No, I'm neither of those..."
"I see it now," Sol said with a short airy laugh. "Humility. It must be."
"That's right— or at least that's what I've been told all my life."
Soleil looked Cal over appraisingly, humming softly in thought. "I get the feeling that it suits you more than you realize."
Callan scratched the back of his neck and shrugged at that. "Isn't this the spot where the flower was?" he asked, quick to change the subject away from himself. It looked to be the right place, but if it was, in fact, that spot, wouldn't Sachi have been there, at the very least? And probably Brady and Phoena too.
"Sort of?" Sol offered vaguely. "I wanted a safe space to have this conversation, so I opened up a separate loop just for us."
"What about my companions then? I did pull out the flower..."
Soleil tapped her lips, smiling brightly, which had Cal instinctively touch his forehead and glance away quickly. "Only when this magic returns to the land will that illusion fall," she told him. "So when I transferred the magic into you instead, it brought your consciousness to me in La Cierna, keeping the loop intact."
Callan frowned at her words, but Sol's light demeanor didn't falter. "Don't look so distraught. You'll be able to pop back in like nothing ever happened!"
"I'm more worried that they think I'm dead..." Cal admitted.
"Well, didn't you think so too for a bit there?" Sol inquired, resting her chin in her fingers as she leaned forward. "I've never been able to ask someone before what being in that limbo world is like."
"Dark. Lonely. Like a nightmare you can't wake up from," the shifter said sharply.
"I really am sorry..." Sol's voice trailed off, and her gaze softened as she watched Cal. "You were trapped between realms, and here you are worried about them." She gave a small chuckle at that. "I'll take you back soon, I swear that to you in Ferndale's name." A pained smile crossed her face, but there was a seriousness and intensity to her stare as she made that oath.
Cal scrunched his nose in thought. Ferndale. There was something familiar about that name, and after a moment, it dawned on him why he seemed to recognize it. Though the laws of Gwyrholm expected all to fight, there had been a town that opposed the Gwyr's war-focused regime, supporting pacifism instead: Ferndale. But that became no more than a dream once neighboring Mirigocia attacked the Gwyrs, Ferndale being one of many cities demolished by the fighting. Could Soleil have called that place home before La Cierna?
"You lived there before the war..."
Sol's smile fell, and the laugh that escaped her lips was dry. "I often wonder how something so precious and beautiful could have been wiped off the map, as if it never existed..." Her lips puckered, and she shook her head like the motion might dispel the stinging prick that remembering her home brought along. "I should get you back." She moved forward and dropped a hand onto Callan's shoulder. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and with a swift flick of her wrist, used her magic to transport the two of them back to the forest where the others anxiously waited for Callan to wake.
***
The disconnect that Callan felt between his mind and body once he had returned to the clearing was chilling, but before long, he could feel that everything had fallen back into place. The heaviness of his mind was drifting away, and he could feel a comforting warmth pressing against his icily rigid hands. He fluttered his eyes open slowly. They widened in disbelief at the sight before him, and Callan blinked not once but twice to be sure that his discombobulated mind hadn't mixed up fantasy with reality somehow. But it appeared that the shifter wasn't imagining things... Phoena really was sitting beside him, hands held tightly around his own. Her blonde hair shrouded her face as she rested her forehead against their cupped hands. He could even feel her breath against his skin, soft and rhythmic. All he could do was lay there, his words trapped in his throat and leaving him breathless, and stare up at her as a mist of rain drizzled down on them all. Luckily for Cal— or unluckily, in truth— Brady had plenty of words.
"Good morning, sunshine! Sleep well?" the telepath mused as he sauntered over with Sachi in tow. Phoena jerked her head up, her eyes locking with Callan's before Cal could look away sheepishly. She dropped his hand immediately, as if touching Callan burned her like molten iron, and distanced herself.
"How long have you—" she started, but never finished the thought, deciding that she didn't want to know the answer. "Just... forget it..."
Cal carefully propped himself up with a heavy sigh, faintly scowling despite his heated cheeks. Brady had known exactly what he was doing and that was precisely why he did it, much to Callan's frustration. "That's really how you want to greet me after what I've been through?" He arched a brow as he posed the question, but someone else a a different greeting in mind.
It wasn't long at all— seconds at most— before the shifter had Sachi flying at him. "Callan!" he cried out, wrapping his arms tightly around the Grand Commander's son and refusing to let go or budge even an inch. "I'm so happy you're okay," he murmured, burying his cheek against Callan's chest. Cal exhaled deeply and circled his arms around Sachi just as tightly, appreciating the warm welcome more than he could ever express to the boy. So instead of making a failed attempt, he remained silent and stroked Sachi's back comfortingly.
"Aww, aren't you two just the cutest!" Soleil cooed, pressing both her hands against the sides of her face as she made her appearance from beyond the trees. Four sets of eyes turned to look at the sorceress, who wiggled her fingers in a 'hello' and gave a dazzling smile. "I'm Soleil Allifair, how do you do?" she said and gave a cutesy little curtsey to the group.
Motioning for Sachi to move, Callan rose and shifted his gaze between the others. He jutted a finger over in Phoena's direction, the blonde still avoiding direct eye contact with him and looking about ready to slit the throat of the next person who dared to talk to her. "That's Phoena, Bravery. And this thing..." He shot a bitter glance in a certain telepath's direction. "—is Shrink-wrap, Selflessness—somehow."
"Hey!" Brady gave a pout, shaking his head fervently. "Call me Brady, Soleil. And don't pay Sir Prince any mind," he insisted as he cut in. "He's just upset that I interrupted his fantasies about—"
"Brady, don't..." Callan warned.
"—mentally undressing a certain—"
"Braedyn!" Cal hissed, gesturing over at Sachi as he glowered at Brady. "Small child here. Knock it off already. You know that was not what I was thinking. At all."
The telepath sighed dramatically and waved his hand, very much disinterested in differentiating fact from fiction. "Fine, fine. It was perfectly innocent but still had you blushing brighter that a berry. Better?"
Callan's face was already starting to turn scarlet— both from the embarrassment and irritation that Brady's words brought forth. "Not at all," he grunted, decisively ignoring any further commentary made by the telepath to focus on the newest member of their party.
"Anyway. The boy's name is Sachi," he told Soleil as the final introduction, and she nodded.
"Thank you, Callan. It's so nice to meet you all!"
Phoena, though, was still about as far from pleased as a person could get. "Yeah, great. So do you think we could head into town now? Get out of this blasted storm before we all freeze to death?" she asked, the bite in her tone sharp as the blades she carried.
Sol clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth but regarded Phoena with the same friendly manner that she had all the other. "You're absolutely right... We should go. I'll lead the way."