In my head there's only you.

for @Olive

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He was drained. From the trickster's pass, Quicksilver wandered aimlessly - through the summit where he made his home and down into the run where first he met Reiko Izuka.

The land was much different now as he roamed the darkness, for two seasons had passed by so swiftly. Soon the deciduous trees would shed their leaves and Autumn would seep colour from the land, leaving it as cold and empty as he presently felt.

Sleep, once more, would evade him. Tormented by his own thoughts and plagued by guilt, the dove remained at the forefront of his mind as he picked his way uselessly through the treeline.


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Sleep, too, evaded the shrouded sylph; though, distress was not the apparent cause. If Olive had been amongst the tree-less plains, one might have assumed she stayed awake for the singular purpose of scrying the stars (a token she gave to the Plains in her never ending pro/con list about permanently residing there); but here, amongst a forest that was nestled between mountains, all was dark. Olive explored the beautiful crevices of a night-blooming moonflower with her blackbutton nose, enjoying the scent as if she were a bee, and this, the only flower for miles.

Then, the strangest occurrence happened, given that was not a single cloud in the sky, nor storm forecast for that early autumnal night: out of nowhere, a giant clap of thunder rolled across the lands, as a fierce lance of lightening split the sky, cracking the world as if were a cosmic egg. The sound was so loud, and so sudden, that the entirety of it did not afford Olive time to be startled — she merely stood there, nose-deep in a flower, as the entire landscape was lit up for but a moment, as if it were a glimpse of daylight in the middle of the night. In that flash of light, the faraway form of a stranger was illuminated. The witch glimpsed the ghost for only a moment before it was swallowed by the abyss of the dark forest.

Olive's heart began to beat fast, only as the rumble of the Gods' roar faded away. She wondered if the figure had seen her, too.

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Emotionally drained, Quicksilver's paws felt heavy. He moved with no destination in mind, knowing that he could not yet settle after his exchange with Reiko on the trickster's pass - the last place he wanted to carry his misery was toward his home. Despite his body yearning for rest, and the undeniable ache with each thrum of his battered, broken heart, this was his own grief to carry.

It would be unfair to burden Vanderfell with woes that were his own doing.

A flash of light, silent, startled him. Blinking up, he swore he caught sight of a pale figure just ahead and among the foliage, before darkness settled around him again. Terror rooted him to the spot, alabaster hackles pricking in fear, as he stared ahead with ears tall atop his crown in search for any sign that the ghost had been anything more than a figment of his imagination.


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It seemed as if all the world was silent — more silent and aphotic than it had been before the miraculous trike of lightning. Perhaps it was only Olive's ears, deafened by surprise, that refused to attend the sounds of the night; or perhaps it was just as likely that the chirping bugs and the rustling of wind amongst leaves had too been silenced, suddenly unsure of their fitted place against this ghostly realm and the two spirits that inhabited it.

Moving for the first time in many moments, Olive shifted her weight back and plucked herself in the flower bush, reaching her nose out into the airspace directly in front of her. The woman hauled in a deep breath, but smelled nothing, as the wind and all movement and sound had died in the wake of the immaculate storm. She placed a diminutive paw upon the earth and moved to take a step forward, but instead took a step back, the same paw pulling up and back to curl into her chest. "Is anyone—" she uttered with heart aflutter, her voice cracking as it momentarily lost strength. Then again, she tried. "...Is someone out there?"

She listened, but no reply came. Was the figure, so familiar in it's energy blueprint, a vision? Perhaps she was sleeping, and saw the sights of those who came before -- At least, this was what Olive assumed these dream-beings to be. If she were sleeping, let her continue; Olive stuck her nose back into the moonflower, inhaled, and moved on.

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