#sim: elowen traver

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Elowen stood frozen, her stomach twisting as she watched Remy's carefree celebration. She felt a pang of guilt. I should be happy for her, she thought. I should be relieved that my sister won't be hearing more screams in her head.

Instead, Elowen found herself thinking that once again, Remy gets away with it. Elowen forced a smile and clasped her hands in front of her, trying to maintain her composure.

"Well," she said lightly. "I guess congratulations are in order. Another crisis magically resolved without any long-term consequences for you."

"Right?" Remy she exclaimed, her feet barely touching the ground as she twirled in giddy orbit. "Do you think mother will return my things now? I'm lost - bereft - without my cards!"

Elowen shrugged, her smile growing tighter. Remy spun toward the door, flinging it wide. "Bronwen! I'm cured!" she yelled.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"What happened?!" Elowen asked, horrified.

Remy stood still as the pink light faded, her eyes alight with a feverish thrill. "I think he's gone," she breathed. Her hands fluttered to her chest, trembling, as if daring to believe the impossible. "I can't feel his presence," she continued, her voice louder. "And he's not manifesting anywhere around us, is he?" Her gaze darted wildly, searching for a Cain waiting in the shadows to burst her hopes, but no one other than her and Remy were in the room. "He's gone!" she concluded. A wild, unrestrained laugh tore from her throat, jagged and raw, as though she couldn't believe she was free.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"Hopefully she'll realize the school wasn't the problem and take us back," Elowen continued. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Her voice was quieter when she spoke again, but no less firm. "Remy, I love you, but bearing the brunt of your bad decisions is very tiring on all of us."

"Now you sound like Adam," Remy complained. "It's not my fault-"

"It is your fault-"

"I mean that it's not my fault that our mother decided to pull all of us out of school! She didn't need to do that! That's on her for being a bad mother and choosing collective punishment!"

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"See, what happened was-"

"You played with experimental magic again," Elowen interrupted. She had been trying to ignore the rising irritation simmering beneath her calm facade, but after being pestered by Remy's attempts to explain herself over and over, it had grown too difficult.

"You weren't there, let me explain-"

Elowen rolled her eyes. "Last time you did it you got us all kicked out of Shadowvale," she said. "I wonder what our mother will think of this time."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

The school corridor buzzed with the hushed conversations of passing students. Rose leaned against her locker, her eyes scanning the faces as the crowd flowed around her. Today, her focus was sharp and her ears attuned to any sound out of the ordinary. Remy said her demon powers gave her a strong instinct of when destiny was about to change.