Young Writers Society

Jerica could be telling the truth, or she could be lying. Evaline didn't know for sure, but she decided to take the risk in deciding that she was lying. Or at least, not telling the full truth.

"Hmm, okay," Evaline hummed. "I guess the military has taught you how to make fires unnaturally fast, then."

"Which has what, exactly, to do with anything?" Jerica challenged, turning a cool gaze up towards Eve. She was sorely mistaken if she thought Jerica was stupid enough to get flustered this easily. "You said you'd tell me how your power works if I tell you if I have powers. I don't. So.... you're up."

Evaline narrowed her eyes into the darkness then took a deep breath. She had no idea if Jerica was telling the truth or not, but it was a gamble to guess that anyways. She didn't know what people of other worlds were like, but apparently, there were ordinary humans who didn't have the burden of responsibility that came with powers. How nice. Or sad. She couldn't decide.

"I already told you," she said, keeping her voice steady and neutral. "You think of a memory. I touch you. I see the memory."

That was the incredibly simplified version, anyways.

"So you just see what I saw?" Jerica pressed. For someone as nosey as Eve was being, she was doing an awfully good job at playing dumb. Or, maybe she just was dumb.

Just see, no. Evaline sighed.

"See, yes," she said with a neutral voice, even though she wasn't happy to give up further information. "And feel, and hear, and smell, and taste, if you tasted anything. Which, in that memory, was mostly sweat."

Jerica snort-laughed at that. She didn't doubt that. She'd been sweating from the exertion of fighting the Scelinon, and then was sweating in fear from Aenyra... which, apparently, Eve could also experience. At least she wasn't taunting her for being afraid. That was nice. But, she didn't know how to follow up from that. "Oh."

Evaline raised a brow, waiting to see if Jerica would say something else, but she didn't.

"You sound disappointed," she commented.

"Not disappointed," Jerica said. Mostly confused. Somewhat chagrined. "I just... still don't understand how that works."

The irony was so humorous, Evaline almost laughed.

"Now you understand how it feels," she said dryly. "When you suddenly dropped the bombshell on me that other worlds exist."

"Hmm..." Jerica was silent for a moment, contemplating the claim. This seemed different than learning about other realms had. More distressing. She continued thoughtfully, "I guess, a bit. But the other realms existed before I knew that they did, and knowing about them didn't change anything... with this it's..."

Intimate. Taking a look at Jerica's memories and all the thoughts and fears and confusion that went along with it. Seeing a piece of her that no one had ever -- or ever would again -- get to see besides her. It made her feel vulnerable. And she didn't like it.

She crossed her arms. "Different."

Evaline was glad the spotlight was no longer on her, but she wasn't purposefully keeping it on Jerica, either. It seemed like they were just trying to understand each other.

Who knows how long they were going to be out here. Who knows how long the wolves would crawl by below them. She was getting tired...

"Different how?" she asked, rubbing away the tiredness in her eyes.

"Well... how'd you like it if I got all up in your brain?" Jerica couldn't explain it without admitting that Eve made her feel vulnerable. And the only way Eve would ever know that is if she tried to skim it from Jerica's memories. And that wasn't going to happen, now that Jerica knew she had to be touching for it to work.

Evaline let a long pause pass as she winced at Jerica's retort. She looked out into the night sky, suddenly feeling really tired.

If only she knew.

But she wasn't going to unpeel that layer. Not with her. She clearly disliked her, but the feeling was mutual. Evaline just wanted to leave this place and get back to some semblance of normalcy... if it even was ever normal. She had lost her reference point a long time ago.

"I suppose you're right," she said, sounding weary. "Don't worry. Won't happen again."

Jerica was silent for a long moment. How was she supposed to respond to that? It sounded like a retort -- clearly sarcastic -- but they were agreed. It wouldn't happen again. She took a deep breath, thinking about how to answer, then she decided she wasn't going to answer at all and instead shifted her weight to lean more comfortably against the tree.

It had been a long day, and it was going to be an even longer night. Evaline was tired. She was no longer in a mood to talk, and thankfully, neither was Jerica.

A long silence fell between the two of them as Evaline laid back and tried to get comfortable again, but it was rather difficult since she was laying on a thick branch. Still, she found a divot for where her head could rest, and she was able to lean back and see some of the stars through the leaves of the tree.

The stars looked out of place and jumbled up, and it made her wonder if they truly were from another planet, or another world, or realm, or whatever this really was. The map in question seemed to use the stars as a guiding point as well. She just wanted to go back... back to where things were familiar, even if she was afraid. Afraid of where she was and what will happen right before she came here.

Her eye lids felt increasingly heavy, but Evaline fought back the urge to sleep. She had to with the wolves still growling and walking below them.

Maybe she shouldn't have been so snippy with Jerica. That way they could have kept on talking and she'd stay awake. But she was far too tired to think that through right now...

~ ~ ~

Evaline knew she messed up the moment she opened her eyes.

First, she felt the pain. And then she felt the panic.

She had fallen asleep. Of course she had. But that wasn't the offender -- no, it was falling off the branch that caused her to panic.

The moment she realized she was falling, adrenaline coursed through her body and she was jolted awake, eyes wide as she flailed, trying to catch on to something as she fell. She ended up just barely catching a branch below Jerica, but it was too low off the ground.

She was close to the wolves, and for a moment, she froze and couldn't do anything except stare with wide eyes.

I should back. I should just go back, was her last thought while she was dangling down from the branch from her elbows, watching with wide eyes as a wolf ran up towards her, getting ready to lunge and nip at her feet.