#flinging myself into the abyss

[submissiveness]

[kirjavas]

If you start behaving like a grown up, the spectres will get you. I'm just trying to imagine what you'll look like when you're older.

[impishtubist]

HE KNEW HIM

HE KNEW HIM AND KNEW HIMSELF

[lumaxramblings]

never gonna shut up abt how it's the same dead stare.

[lunaetis]

@memovia asked :

If this was a dream, then he did not want to wake up. The Dawnbreaker's gaze widened upon seeing her, that familiar figure... reminiscent of all those false realities in slumber. He had learnt many things; of her beautiful name, of the shining gold in her eyes when she smiled tenderly, of her warm embrace— all of them... through dreams. And when he wakes up, they disappeared into snowflakes destined to melt on the ground. But this... this seemed almost real. A slow step forward and then another. And another. Until they were close enough. Olive eyes traveled from head to toe, taking in the sight and every detail of her. A shaky gasp erupts from him as an icy hand hesitantly reached forward to feel the sensation of her black locks, letting soft strands slip through those calloused fingers of his. The sensation of gentle touches was a long forgotten concept to him. When he touched someone, it was to kill. To end one's life and misery. And when he felt the fluttery texture of her hair, his whole posture crumpled in a concoction of emotions. ❝ I know you... I know you from my dreams. ❞ The lingering hand shifted to grasp onto her arm, pulling her into a tight embrace. He held onto her like he was going to fade at any moment, frozen heart thumping violently in his chest as the sheer fact that he could feel some kind of warmth between them. ❝ Tell me this is real. I need to know that this— that you... ❞ — are real.

unprompted. || always accepting

─「银月」─  but this was not a dream.

                there were many things one could not explain with the SONOROS SPHERE, and stepping through one could connect you to the past, or the future, or in this case ... another reality entirely.

                the ROVER stood wordlessly, eyes of gold widened as the sight of the MAN who bore the striking similarity to her most important person became real right before her gaze. he looked just like him, midnight locks framing his expression and a broken gaze she sometimes observed. but even with such APPEARANCE, a mirror image of him, yinyue knew that he was not her li shen.

                this frequency ...

                he might not be hers, but she knew him ... the same way he knew her.

                he stood before her now, close enough to touch but even so, the rover wondered if she was allowed to. if the world around them were to break into pieces if a line was crossed. now that their eyes met in such close proximity, she finally recognized those differences unnoticeable from the distance. the emptiness in those olive hues she adored so deeply, the blackened mark eating up the skin peeking from his dark clothes, the SPARK of hope dashed away and how his entire frame spelled tragedy.

his hands ... they were heavy with sins ... the way his digits barely touched her raven locks as though he was unsure how to NOT hurt with his touch any longer. that it was all ... gone. gone were those healing hands of a doctor ... the hands that heal and save people's lives ...

                her mouth parted, yet no words made it out before he pulled her into an embrace. THE ICY COLD BODY enveloping her like a frozen storm yet the trembling of his frame made her heart ache. he was so cold compared to him. and she could feel it, icy heart slamming violently against its confine, the way he held onto her like she was his lifeline, like he was afraid she would disappear any second. yinyue inhaled a shaky breath, before her arms slowly came around him. golden light glowed from within to cradle around the broken man.

                " i know you, too ... " voice as soft as the butterfly's wing, fluttering over the gaping wound in his heart, on his hands, all over his body. her arms tightened around his taller form, and she felt a burn under her eyes. despite how he was taller, he was sturdier than her, when she held him ... he felt ... fragile. he felt like million broken pieces held together by the freezing ice, ready to shatter ... ready to disappear. the thought made her thin her lips.

                when that day comes ... when i can't wake up ...

                " i heard you ... " she murmured against his chest, fingers gripping his back as she listened to the frozen heart racing within his ribcage. his frequency ... it was waning. it was ... weakening. this body, this person ... how long did he have ? the organ in her left chest TIGHTENED agonizingly. she held him ... she held him in a way that felt just as desperate, she held him with everything she had, with all the warmth she could transfer to the man whose body was so cold as though he was encased in ICE.

                she held him with a warmth that could melt the ice around his heart.

                carefully, she took his hand, the very same hand that had taken lives, the hand that was frost-bitten and corroded in black, and placed it on her cheek. the cold bit violently into her skin, but yinyue did not flinch. she kept it there, allowing her WARMTH, her light, to slowly seep into it. a silent reassurance that this was real, that he won't hurt her. that even when his hands were gushing red with blood, they were still ones that saved people.

                " i'm right here, zayne. "

                a kiss was placed onto the middle of his palm, the soft strands caressing the calloused digits. dreams can never conjure any of this up. it was real. the embrace. the touch. the warmth. the kiss. her.

                " please ... " how long would this body last ? how long could the ice hold together the broken pieces ... ? how long before he shatter ... and was no more ?

                " ... don't disappear. "

                y̷o̷u̷ ̷c̷a̷n̷n̷o̷t̷ ̷s̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷.̷                 ̷i̷ ̷h̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷r̷y̷.̷

[tragicotps]

Young Masriel AU in which Asriel lets Stelmaria scope out the area before sneaking into Marisa's room.

[theragamuffininitiative]

being emotionally dependent on music right now looks like coping with andrew peterson not making new music by falling headlong into looping the gray havens and ross king endlessly instead

[burgerspeople]

having anxiety is a constant repetition of feeling genuinely decent and then one teensy little event sends your entire week into a cycle of feeling like you will die at any moment lol

[sockaeologist]

i choose bees.

[combatpragmatist]

remembering why i had decided to only post 90% completed stories

[shunsuiken]

A LITTLE SECRET | SAGAU

synopsis. you, the divine creator of teyvat, discover one day that your blood can heal. 

tags. gn!reader + hurt/comfort + fluff + you bring childe and kazuha into a domain (xiangling and bennett are honorary mentions) + reader wants ragbros to reconcile + zhongli and ayato are sparring partners + itto gets hurt but don’t worry we heal him + gorou is still traumatised after the war between the shogunate army & the sangonomiya resistance so pls understand his reaction here + reader thinks everyones gonna be mad at them but thats not true + they tease you in the end and its all adorable <3 hehe

warnings. mentions of blood (obviously), self-harm (??? because reader cuts their wrist to obtain the blood), if i missed anything pls lmk !!

wc. 2.6k

an. incredible how brainrot makes you write things so quickly. i only just indulged myself into sagau’s literally a week ago and now this is here 😀

“now wasn’t that quite the fight!” childe wipes sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, letting his bow dematerialise in the air as he strides into the estate in your abode.

“you were rather ruthless out there, i must say.” kazuha removes his bandages and replaces them with a clean roll in a cupboard. “their grace looked concerned when that cryo abyss mage shot a cryo thorn at you.”

“true but these scars will heal like they were never even there!” sometimes kazuha wonders if the fatui harbinger feels any pain, he must, he thinks, but is most likely good at hiding it.

“would you like to bandage that at least?”

“hm, i could but-”

“kazuha! ajax!” you call with your sweet voice from the kitchen and all the men’s heads in the living room whip around in the direction of your voice. speaking of you… they haven’t seen you since you and your party left the domain.

“yes, your grace?” childe replies, a light blush appearing on his face upon the use of his real name.

kazuha smiles lightly behind him, greeting you as you enter the living room. “your grace.”

“here are your vitamins, you two!” you bring two cups of a mysteriously transparent liquid to them. “i’ve already given these to xiangling and bennett and now it's your turns!”

“oh, it’s this drink again.” childe raises his brows. “you gave it to us last time as well, your grace.”

you hum in agreement, “i did.”

kazuha inspects the liquid after taking it from your precious hands. “the ingredients for this healing mixture must be incredibly difficult to find since it heals wounds so quickly.” he then drinks it up with childe, both men handing the cups back to you in a respectable fashion.

kazuha is right about that. the ingredients for this drink are definitely difficult to find.

but that is because the drink was your blood. your golden blood to be precise. when you descended as the creator of teyvat, you were naturally bestowed with this condition to discern your immortal body from others.

funnily enough, it was all due to you scraping your palm against a rough rock that you discovered the hidden properties of your blood (and its rich golden colour). it was weird in the beginning, and you made sure to guarantee how highly your blood’s healing properties were before offering it to the men who joined you in domains and open-world fights. so you only declared its potential after flinging yourself through multiple enemies.

so far you’ve managed to hide this fact from the men since you found out. after learning some illusory spells that can’t be detected by the naked eye, you were able to successfully heal your men after feeding them your blood—referring to it as “vitamins”. 

“your grace, what’s the secret recipe behind this amazing drink? maybe i could learn it to help you if any more of us get hurt.” you feel bad, thoma looks like he has stars in his eyes but you obviously can’t tell him how the drink is made. you can already imagine it. he’d panic and go all red in the face. although a cute sight, you don’t want him to worry about you since he and the rest have done so much to smoothen your descent into teyvat.

you also notice the expectant eyes of the other men who are behind him, either idly standing by or are on the couch relaxing.

“oh thoma, there is a reason why it’s a secret.” you wink at him, extending your index finger to your lips. you end up laughing at the housekeeper when the red on his face makes it up to his ears, a sheepish look on his face for asking such a question with an obvious answer.

“my apologies, your grace. i didn’t mean to pry.” the pyro user scratches the back of his head while ayato, who sips on his boba milk tea, pats his back sympathetically.

“don’t apologise, dearest, it is natural you all are curious.” you meet eyes with everyone in the room, hoping your words can convince them. “but don’t fret, this is just a way of me giving my thanks to all your preparations when i arrived here.”

“your grace is too kind.” kazuha smiles. “therefore we shall accept your offerings wholeheartedly.”

you’re praying (to who knows what, you’re literally the most powerful being on teyvat) that the boys can forgive you if they ever found out. but you have a sinking feeling that they’ll all feel betrayed instead because they wouldn’t ever want you to hurt yourself to heal them. just thinking about it makes your heart break. so you quickly shove those worries away, as long as the boys stay safe then it is worth the minuscule second of pain.

-

you’re reading a book next to kaeya while he completes paperwork. he decided to do his work outside the confines of the wooden walls so he could get some fresh air instead (news flash: he actually just wants to be in your presence). after a while, diluc comes along with a glass of grape juice in his hands. he greets you and stares at his brother. “kaeya,” he greets before sitting down opposite of him.

kaeya raises his head, giving him a nod of acknowledgement. “diluc.”

you twitch your eye at the dry interaction in front of you. perhaps you should add this to your list of things to accomplish, to help these two estranged brothers and connect them once again. no doubt would the two be happier. obviously they will need as much time as possible to settle things. and you are willing to give them exactly that. time. you sigh underneath your breath, listening to the distant cling and clangs of a polearm and a sword.

hm, perhaps they’re sparring? you remove your gaze from your book to the two figures in the distance. ah, it seems to be zhongli and ayato. now that is an interesting pairing. however, your moment of peace is interrupted by panicked shouts for help at the front door. you exchange alarmed looks with the two brothers in front of you, getting up quickly from your seats to attend to the shouts that are coming from… you believe, gorou.

your face pales at the sight in front of you, there is a large gash right across itto’s stomach, blood pooling out of him like a flowing river. immediately you kneel down to his figure supported by gorou, who is startled by the entire situation as he relays what happened.

“we were looking for onikabuto but itto’s wind glider broke and he fell through the trees in chinju forest!” gorou’s tail is raised high up in alarm, ears stiff and skin running cold at the sight of his comrade in this state. it brings him too many memories. too many unfortunate ones that make his hands shake.

you hold onto his hand tightly, returning him to the present so he doesn’t focus on what he saw behind the look in his eyes anymore. he raises his head to meet your gaze. your gaze that does not falter, your gaze that urges him: trust me.

gorou does, giving you some space to heal itto with your abilities. it then dawns on gorou that he’s never seen you heal anybody with your abilities. and when you did heal people, it was with that liquid you would bring to them.

the men who are on site look at you with anticipation because they’ll finally get to see how you prepare that healing concoction. but they’re also exchanging gazes at each other in concern for itto. the oni groans in pain, clutching onto the gushing wound. you have no time to waste. materialising his claymore, you quickly slash your skin against the sharp edge as your blood spills onto itto’s wound.

you hear various reactions. cries of shock, quiet gasps, and protests that plead you to stop your actions.

“y- your grace?!” gorou gasps, brows creasing in bewilderment while his hands hover awkwardly in front of him, unsure of what to do next.

“so that’s why they never told us how the ‘vitamins’ were made,” the wanderer mutters but everybody hears him clearly.

the men are smart enough to put two and two together. seeing your divine blood trickle down your arm onto itto’s wound that healed the second it made contact with your blood threw them all into a speechless stupor. they weren’t even expecting the liquid to be such a dazzling colour that would reflect the light of the afternoon sun.

when the wound heals completely, you wipe the remaining streaks of itto’s blood off using your sleeves. and magically, your slashed skin is healed too. you reach for itto’s cheek, caressing him. “you are alright, my dear. you can open your eyes now.”

itto responds with a tired whine.

zhongli takes a step forward, kneeling down to meet your height to gently hold your forearm, his thumb running over the skin that was ripped open just a second ago. “so i’m assuming this is the secret recipe to the vitamins?”

you can’t lie to the boys anymore now that they’ve seen it all so you nod your head, admitting the truth. “yes, it is.” you don’t dare meet zhongli’s amber gaze, which is why you don’t notice the glint of worry he looks at you with. instead, you jump to conclusions and think that he’s disappointed in you. they probably all are, you convince yourself.

“gorou, let’s carry him inside.”

the men collectively jolt in alarm, they can’t possibly let you carry the oni into the estate. even if they saw your arm heal itself, you’re still their creator! they can’t just let you perform physical tasks like that when they’re available. so heizou and tighnari take it upon themselves to help the general carry him inside and onto the couches.

while the others are distracted you quietly retreat to the kitchen to make an escape through the back door but the second you turn on your heel, your face is met by somebody’s chest.

“you didn’t think what we saw would go unspoken, did you?” just your luck, it’s alhaitham. you’re definitely not getting out of this one.

you avert your gaze to the very interesting stove behind him, grimacing. “i was just about to grab some food for itto,” you lie through your teeth.

cyno suddenly appears beside alhaitham, crossing his arms. “we know you’re concerned for itto but the oni has a strong spirit. he’ll be fine.” he tilts his head. “however, i believe we deserve an explanation.”

the grip you have on your cloak tightens, staring at cyno as your heart thumps like its right beside your ears. “uh,” you begin, turning around to see that all their attention has fallen onto you, including itto who peeks over the spine of the couch.

“o- okay, well, initially i wanted to say something about it however, i’m also aware of how protective you all can be towards me and i realised if i did tell you all, then i wouldn’t be able to heal all of you quick enough after battling domains and open-world fights,” you trail off, continuing in softer voice, “i’m not doubting any of your abilities—i’m just concerned and mean well because majority of you are mortals. and mortals get hurt more easily than those of the adepti and other immortal beings—even when you wield a vision.” you sigh, shamefaced. “it appears my plan has turned on me, very well, if any of you believe i’m deserving of a punishment then i shall gladly-”

“woah woah woah, who said anything about a punishment, your grace?” although heizou would have preferred you to finish your sentence, he can barely get through the first few words. you clearly made your statement and proved your points. there is no need for punishment when you have already proven yourself.

“your grace, you are too kind for your own good!” venti shakes his head fondly. “you were only looking out for us in the first place, what position are we in to complain? you’ve also revealed your condition so i think we’re all even.”

you nod your head hesitantly, a tense atmosphere radiating off of you. “i just don’t like seeing any of you injured so terribly. it’s too much for me to bear.” 

it’s silent for a while. everyone’s thinking of words to say. their creator doesn’t normally express their emotions so when they do, it renders even the best of linguists in the room silent.

itto groans, turning his head animatedly towards everyone. “jeez! you guys are acting like somebody just died!” the oni cannot stand the intense silence, it makes his body jittery and he has to say something to break it. he taps his finger on his temple, shaking his head dramatically. “your grace is the only one who can get these serious people quiet like this!”

aether raises a brow at the oni, folding his arms. “looks like you’re all better, aren’t you?”

itto’s eyes return to your figure. you feel like a spotlight is shining on you from the bright expression on his face as he rambles, “and that’s because their grace is super amazing, super cool, super smart and super-”

“i think their grace understands.” the wanderer interrupts him before looking at you. “you should tell us how you discovered your condition, we’ll be all ears.”

you’re caught off guard, lowering your gaze to the floor again as your face heats up. “u- uh.”

“you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” xiao reminds you.

however, the men in the room have keen eyes and notice the change in your expression. how is it that the memory of discovering your condition made you react like this? now that makes them all wonder…

“ooh your expression changed your grace, was it perhaps an embarrassing memory?” kaeya teases, squinting his eye.

you fold your arms, feigning ignorance but your shaky gaze does nothing to defend you. “it was nothing of the sort.”

“oh really?” tighnari presses on. you’re sweating now.

“their grace must have been experimenting.” ayato defends you suavely but a glint of mischief shines in his lavender stare. “a little slip and slide of a few sharp objects is inevitable, no?”

“correct.” albedo nods his head, holding his chin with his thumb and a curled index finger. “however, since their grace can heal themself now, the discovery must have been… an accident?” he tilts his head, eyelids falling lower as he gives you the look you’ve seen on his face countless of times when he teases you.

your face boils like a kettle, you swear there’s steam coming out of your ears too. you snap your head away from their cheeky expressions. “you all are too much.” you huff, turning on your heel, because you somehow believe you can successfully leave the room when they all are eager to tease you like this.

“uh-uh, your grace!” venti blocks you from leaving through the back door. “after such a long day, don’t you think we’re worthy of your affection?”

you blink owlishly at the bard. “you all always are.”

venti coos at your words and the others can’t help but react similarly.

you sigh like an exhausted parent before pulling on a smile always reserved for them. “then how about you all join me on the couch while i tell you about my life in the other world?”

the men are quick to guide you to your seat in the middle of the couch. aether shushes itto because he started yelling in excitement, the wanderer and xiao have a glaring contest in order to sit beside you (somehow alhaitham and cyno are doing the exact same thing on the other side), kaeya and thoma prepare drinks and snacks for everyone and the rest make peace with the seats they’re sat at. as long as you are in their view, not a single complaint leaves their lips.

[bigassbowlingballhead]

flinging myself into the abyss. I was sharing my screen on a work call and opened the side bar for the calendar and the last screen shot i took was staring both of us in the face:

[shivroythinker]

so this is something i've been turning over in my head for a few days and i'm not sure if it entirely makes sense but one of the aspects of shiv's character that is especially interesting to me is how incredibly warped her concept of love is. this is something i feel like all the roy siblings have issues with to some degree, but i think it's an especially pronounced part of shiv's character because we see so much of her relationship with tom over the course of the show.

like. i am of the belief that shiv does love tom. she really truly does, none of her behavior with regards to him makes sense unless we can take that as fact. the issue is that for shiv, love and cruelty cannot be untangled. they are two sides of the same coin, and of course they are, because when has she ever known love that was not also cruel? on more than one occasion she seems genuinely surprised that tom was hurt by something she said that to the average person was like... obviously hurtful. but that isn't incompatible with love for her. she is perpetually caught in the center of a tornado of her own feelings and they are so overwhelming and confusing that she can't see past the dust and debris and realize the havoc she is wreaking on others.

on the flip side of this, shiv is also unable to reconcile the way she's treated by tom with what she understands love to be. in the first two seasons especially, tom is so doting and loving and full of praise and compliments and reassurance. he is the picture of a man in love with his wife. but to shiv, this isn't what love looks like, it makes her uncomfortable, and of course it does because when has siobhan roy ever known unconditional kindness as anything other than a manipulation tactic or a guilt trip or a way to further one's own position? of course she clocks that tom is using her to get to power. after all, why else would he show her kindness? why else would he be gentle? love like that is not given to her unconditionally! it always has a price! she was weaned on poison! i want to fling myself into the abyss!

[factcorelabs]

istfg if anyone likes the "where's the sex drive" joke again im going to fling myself into the abyss

[samuel-de-champagne-problems]

gonna fling myself into the abyss bc some girl got 23 books for her 23 birthday

[thegodthief]

Dreamt I was sitting out under a clear night sky. The card deck that [that one entity] wanted me to get was in my hands. I noted that despite the theme of the deck, there was only an artistic connection to the visible stars. As I idly shuffled the deck, I would stop at random moments to see which card was on top. I noticed that [a particular card] kept reappearing and realized that the card was also a repeat shower in the waking as well. [That one entity] had already made it clear that I was not to use any already established system of card reading with this deck, so I had no context with which to frame this card's appearance.

Adiutor was sitting quietly on my shoulder in her doll form. So quietly in fact, that when she spoke up, she startled me. How I did not fling her into the abyss of night, I am not sure.

"Still don't know what to do with this deck?"

"Not one bit."

"Well, you know you're dreaming, so why not ask the card that keeps showing up?"

"That makes sense, Adiutor. Too much sense. It means engaging with a whole new class of spirits that I am not equipped to understand."

"You engage with humans at your work that you are not equipped to understand. What's the difference?"

I turned my head to stare at her while her form's blank face radiated barely tolerable smugness. "There's a difference between Willfully Ignorant and Willfully Not Human. The former can be herded. The latter can herd me. I'd rather not be a pawn in someone else's game again."

Despite my rebuttal, I picked up the card and studied it. In the dreamscape it was identical to the physical card on my desk. I held the card out and looked up to the night sky. "Well, if I'm supposed to be making contact with you, it would help if I knew more about you."

The card vibrated in my hand. I looked back at it and examined the printed figure. The head of the figure suddenly turned to face me squarely. It winked and smiled a little and then turned back to the static image as before. But in that wink, it relayed some understanding.

"Ah, fuck."

"What's wrong, Master?"

"I can't do this."

"Can't do what, Master?"

"Don't you start playing Little Miss Naive with me. This is the start of something new, something unique, something that I won't be able to find in a book."

"Isn't that the point, Master? I do recall you bragging about how you can't be found in any book."

"It wasn't bragging, you little shit, it was lamenting. If I were twenty years younger, yea, I would take this as a challenge. But I'm not twenty years younger. I can't handle anything new like this. I can barely handle myself right now."

I closed my eyes to the card but I couldn't forget what I was told no matter how hard I tried. Useless. What good is giving me something that will never be put to use and can't be passed on to someone who can?

I'm so tired.

"Master."

"... Hm."

"If you can't handle anything, does that mean you don't want to change? Because if your life is going to get better, then it will change from how it is now. Are you saying that you don't want that?"

"... Adiutor, the only reason I'm not throwing your doll body into a fire is because I know I'm dreaming, and I don't want to piss off the entity that gave you to me. That's bullshit reasoning, and you fucking know it, you manipulative little fuck!"

"Of course, I'm being manipulative. I would worry if you didn't see that. But, the challenge still remains. Are you so content with how your life is now, that you don't feel it is worthwhile to change it?"

"There's a difference between what this deck is offering and trying to improve my situation."

She laid down on my shoulder in a way that made me wonder if she wasn't part cat. "Please tell me, oh wise and all-knowing Master, all the ways that your life can change in an instant and why it isn't worth trying to make the best of any of those possibilities."

"Adiutor, I have so many projects and works in progress. I can only attempt to finish one thing if I am willing to abandon five others. I'm stretched to my limit. I can't handle One More Thing. I don't have the time or the access to research this. I don't have the time to set aside just to entertain this. I can barely keep my head above water and shit like this makes me wonder why I haven't given up and drowned already? Or did no one tell you what happened when I moved here. When it was revealed that a significant engrossing matter that I was engaged in was really just a stage play to keep me from cutting my throat back then? How many times am I going to be something else's entertainment? I'M FUCKING TIRED, BITCH! I'm so tired. And what this card is offering, I can't accept. I don't have any room for one more new thing."

She slid off my shoulder and scrambled down my arm. "Yes, you are very tired, Master. It is good that I am your adiutor. My name is a Latin word, if you forgot, it means 'helper', among other things." She pulled the playing card easily from my fingers and held it in front of her as if to study the artwork. The regular sized playing card was a massive poster to her.

"So, I know some of what this is about. And while the presentation is new, the subject is not. You just never had a clear way of connecting to this before." She laid the card in my hand and pointed to the value in the corner. "This is a King, so you know this represents a ruler or controller of an area, situation, or pathway. And the suit is Clubs, which you already associate with [certain things]. Therefore, this card is representative of the ruler or lord of [certain things]. And I am willing to bet my stitches that you made contact with a spirit representing your personal King of Clubs, and that now that this contact is made, there is a call to complete the court."

There was no spite or smugness in her words, which surprised me. There was only a soft gentleness that I was not used to coming from her. "Yea. That's what happened. Just all in a blink of an eye, but yea. I thought I was just peeking through the keyhole when the door was snatched open, and so much came through that I was just overwhelmed. But now that you've laid it out, it doesn't sound so daunting. ... It's still a lot though."

She nodded and settled herself in the palm of my free hand. "It is, and it isn't. This is you picking up what has always been yours, but you were never taught how to do it. So you're learning the hard way, and hard things are hard, but new things are necessary if you are going to make your life better."

"... I guess."

"I know, Master."

Together we looked up to the clear night sky. Nothing else happened, so I allowed myself to slip away into a deeper sleep.