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xix. the opal sparks rise again
gale opened his eyes to be greeted by a forest, filled to the brim with trees with moss growing on the bark, birds chirping and feeding their baby birds in their nests, and squirrels running around with nuts in their mouths, probably ready to cause more mischief or something. gale stared at his hands, noticing his body was nothing more than a mere outline, basically transparent, like he was a ghost in the world of this dream he was in right now.
he sighed, trying to pick up his feet to move, but he couldn't. it was like he was glued to the ground, or like the ground itself was keeping him from moving. his first thought was gaea, she was the one to put him in this dream thing, but soon, he found the answer, and honestly, it was the exact opposite of what he wanted.
incoming footsteps became louder with every second. a hand broke through a bush, two unfortunately familiar beings stepping out of the bushes and showing themselves. the familiar tan skin, eyes as black as obsidian, and brown hair of the first person, and the familiar dark hair, brown eyes, somewhat stoic expression and faded scar over the eye of the second person. it was princess aletheia and cyril, the two people, or the main characters, of his dream. the dream that started peacefully, with the two of them relaxing in a flower field, but then took a turn for the worse when an attack from an enemy kingdom destroyed their kingdom and they ran away from their home. the dream that had only recently changed, the dream that gale was sure was mentioned in the prophecy of nine ("memories of the past told through dreams").
they were back, and gale didn't necessarily know how to feel about that. he already had enough to deal with as it is.
they looked different, though. althea's once long hair was cut in a short, jagged, cut with safety scissors type style. the skin on her face was littered with new cuts and scars, and she held her dagger tightly in her hands like it was her lifeline. cyril didn't look to different, except he had taken off his bulky armor and was now rocking regular garbs, though there were cuts and slits in the fabric of the clothing.
they walked in silence, althea leading them through the forest and cyril trailing her, but you could see the guilt evident in his stoic expression as he looked at her. his sword was sheathed at his side, attached to his belt, ready to pull out and slice and dice through whatever danger they eventually found themselves in (though, that's for later.)
leaves crumpled under their feet as they walked, the squirrels watching from behind the trees and the birds too preoccupied with their little hatchlings to notice them. cyril cleared his throat, "thea," he said, breaking the thick silence with the nickname that was unfamiliar to gale. perhaps they had gotten closer ever since they ran away from the kingdom, though gale didn't necessarily understand that, since she was going feral when they left. he continued, "are you alright? do you need anything? are you hungry? are you-"
