What You've Wished For: Part 1

"Thank you..." I instinctually attempt to vocalize toward the girl protecting me, God knows if I actually did or not. I don't care, this girl standing proud in front of me is my savior either way.

I can't stop repeating that phrase to myself. Again and again and again. She is my savior.

She faces down the mess of hate quickly approaching. I continue to blink rapidly in response to everything. The girl and the beast most prominent. My eyes dart between them.

Another step is taken. As it gets ever closer, I can finally make out the messy faces and features apart of the blob. It's the exact same monstrosity I saw once before. Yet nothing about any familiarity makes this expectant, much to the chagrin of my sanity.

Oozing together, mouths and eyes cry out, maddening the mind. An ear piercing reverberation of its vocal chords designates a cry. The hero responds in kind, her left hand still clung tight toward the device around her right. Unrelenting in its omnipresence.

"Stay behind me, and dare not stare at this atrocity for too long," Her efficacious words could make me agree to anything, yet the genuine concern she shows doubles it all the more.

And so I just focus on her, it's all my body wants. Her long natural blonde hair brushing across her pointed ears. Her striking outfit, made from the finest of silks, woven for comfort and combat.

Before my mind can make a judgement on my decision to stare, my eyes transfix on a bright hope materializing its glow out from her now fully outstretched right palm. Wind blasts out and forms an image of power. My own right arm shakes as it's attempt to match the absolute eloquence and beauty drowning all in opposition.

Natural that something to breathtaking will end up fighting all this inelegance, and save the weak in kind.

She wields a nebulous sword, keeping it raised toward the sky, its form bright and transcendental. Her fingers hold tight across every last groove of the handle, akin to a rapier in appearance, giving unshakable proof that the object indeed, exists.

The terrifying deformity charges. Even with my lack of combat experience, I can absolutely tell what seems strong, and I don't see any logical way my savior's blade can stop this mess.

Hah... What a pathetic thought. Logic is severely irrelevant. Anyone with a soul knows who will win this match. Yet it labors on. My heart kills me over and over. After every step, after every rumble across the forest. It will end in the next moment or never.

Sudden death towers, when suddenly, without anyone but conviction herself perceiving, the curtain is called with a pierce through a blackened heart, purifying. Misty eyes is all I can see through.

She isn't even near the enemy. Yet, a swift turn and pull of the wrist finish the deal agreed upon by the gods. And defy death this plight will not, only she gets the luxury.

The mob dissolves into an uncountable amount of faint particles, before they softly fade away. An incongruous demise for what seemed like hell itself. As quick as the charge, as strong as the fear, goes the quicker fall, this world declares.

I smile. It deserved to die. To no longer exist with us.

The girl is left, turning back towards me. I glance at her face, her beyond human features on display. True beauty was unknown to me before now. It never stared me in the face with intent and passion, it never protected me, like it did in this endless moment of now.

I'm frozen still. So all she does is nothing. She remains facing the only other living human here. The pure vigor in her eyes slowly melts. In her hands, now a long spear. Just as radiant as anything her touch blesses. It's stained for an eclipse, yet only perfectly around the tip.

Her hands hold true what is almost the complete opposite of what they once did. The previous sword gone, like it never subsisted in any reality to begin with. Almost, for the hope remains the same. Her shape shifting executor defying reality. It must defy for all eternity to make this moment agreeable with the fabric around us. The inspiring, unfading glimmer is somehow more unbelievable than the mechanics itself.

I've already been stunned silent long ago. What else can I do but continue to stare at her getup and appearance for the millionth time? It's one I've so commonly filed as fantasy in my brain and yet... This mind-blowing person just used what looks to be a piece of technology so far beyond anything I've ever known to exist. I'm already asking a million "hows" before my brain can even come close to forming any critical or coherent thought.

I try shifting my gaze up to her face, then down her body. I repeat it like I do everything, with no reason but to give breath to my brain.

She's basking in her emotions, steeling herself for any reinforcements. Her blade, now only a concept, attains strength from her conviction. Her grimace mixing with a wish. Perhaps abstract thought plays a part as well. It could possibly be anything wistful. Regardless of these details that I get so easily get lost in, that mystifying amenity on her arm channeling any saber she wishes into existence makes the simple truth clear. She will never lose. No matter what.

I just sit and realize. One sense bores itself deep in me. The endless, unpiercing thought that, absolutely nothing in this whole entire world wants to let go of my eyes, my mind, and most importantly, my soul. Will it ever stop?

Her eyes, they suddenly close, and she whispers something like a prayer to herself. My ears are useless in picking up on it. I decide it would be best to join her and close my eyes, with hopes to attain solidarity. I desperately wish to know what's going through this enigmatic girl's head right now. To become one in all but name.

Deep breathes ensue.

"Come on! There'll be more of them soon," She effortlessly cracks open a moment so frozen in time for me that my mind nearly shatters along with it. Her eyes shoot open along with it. I just attempt to do all I'm good for and silently obey.

My legs prove useless as I fall and trip over myself again and again trying to stand until she just grabs me by the arm and forces me to get on my feet.

Why won't my body work! Pesky human thoughts of embarrassment bubble up. She responds with action, for there is not a moment to waste. She dashes through the forest with impeccable form. I want to cry, I need to follow.

Left foot forward, then right.

The situation calls for me to dig deep and recall how to perform something so upsettingly basic. Maybe she really isn't sprinting in the slightest. My perception is so out of whack that it feels pretty likely.

Right foot forward, then left.

Of course, remember one thing, forget another, as suddenly I gasp for some air I haven't tasted since she last spoke. How long ago was that? My mind is molasses. Every bruise across my body feels magnified. I hate this.

"P-please... S-slow down... I..." My mouth quivers pathetically, forcing her conscience to turn around.

"Why did you even venture out this far?" She barks. She's clearly annoyed and... I don't blame her. Not at all. The bite in her words is completely justified. What she's done for me is a luxury. If only I had a clue about any of this, that'd be nice.

Even still, she slows her pace, and I thank her profusely. As much as I can blame this all on the insane circumstances, frankly, it wouldn't do me a lick of good.

Before I can ground my neverending thoughts, they, yet again, get themselves sliced through.

"Are you going to answer me? What are you doing so deep in these woods? Don't tell me you're so unaware and inept to wander this deep into dangerous land, ignoring every bit of-"

"I didn't, I didn't! I don't know! Please just..." My sudden outburst tries to counter everything she says as some sort of vain defense mechanism, "I just, I don't come from this world or whatever this is and I didn't choose to be here at all... And I have no idea what's happening or if I'll die and just... !" My tears really start flowing now, utter patheticness on full display. Stress from not just the current situation, but my whole life pouring out with the plug loose.

"Haaah... Let's just... get you home and we can talk," She clearly thinks I'm off my rocker. Maybe I am. Whatever, I'll take anything to make me feel even an ounce better.

I...

I guess. I should just... Focus on each step behind her. To be present, as everyone always tells me.

R-right foot forward then...

My sight is blurred, my wet eyes screaming at me. I can't even tell what I'm doing anymore. My mind hates this conceited self I choose to be.

We make our way through the winding forest path. Dense fog permeates some areas. Large trees wind around. Some elongated ones wrap evenly out across the path, as we're forced to take detours.

"A-are we... Out of the dangerous area now?" I ask after a short while of winding, like my tongue will be hacked off if I ask the wrong thing. My cowardice holds me back from forewarning her the direct thing. That I have no home here for her to return me to. Maybe she's already figured it all out.

Surprisingly, the words I did choose get her to turn around and stop. Maybe we really are, finally, somewhere safe.

She looks at me. I look back, it's all I know how to do. She's making an obvious expression of someone who feels regret. I feel awful for her in return. I'm just a thousand pound burden right now.

Beyond my petty observations, I sense the pain of something deep and untold in her eyes. Despite, or maybe because of her guise, I inch a little closer with my unsure legs. After a long pause, the kind I always deeply appreciate, she nods as a delayed response to my question.

"We'll just see some regular wildlife here we may end up needing to fend off," Her tone is full of tact. The air of the outer forest smells of comforting balm, healing my gasping lungs.

"I can't repeat this enough... Thank you... You're my savior..." I heave, "I'm not from whatever this world is... I think, I just... I would be dead if it wasn't for you. Thank you, thank you so much," I unconsciously bow and sob. What I really want to do is hug her. To hold tight such a tangible force of good. To maybe even comfort her in return, regardless of how selfish that desire is.

I know it'll take a lot to convince her of my circumstances and my attitude, but... I just want her to be happy. Even if our meeting occurred just minutes earlier by nothing but chance. Even if I will never know how to express anything real to her. Even if this is the very last millisecond that I get to see her divine face, she means the world to me.

But don't I say that about everyone?

"Please just, call me Eva, and it's... It's really not an issue at all. Saving the innocent is my duty. All I request is that you try your best to stay out of danger from here on," Her tone and face turn even more apologetic, signifying my emotional hand tie, of course, worked, even when I truly want anything but. A smile or anything tender never comes to accompany her, heartbreakingly so. Still, I try my best not to blurt out a self-satisfying 'sorry' that wouldn't help anyone.

"My name's Rayne. Sorry for causing this whole entire mess. I... I really just don't know," I really hate myself sometimes. My legs continue to slowly approach her with some wobble. An irritating moth will always seek the light, it seems. It quivers on its way.

"You keep saying you're not from this 'world'. What exactly are you intending to mean? Do you mean you are from Trillis? Or Laikin?" She asks, her tone relaxing a little. Her body releases tension in bursts as much as it's able. The last two things she remarks certainly peak my interest.

"It uh... I don't think... So, I just, went to sleep one night, in my world. A world both alike this world and... Not. It's a place called Earth, if you've heard of it, or if that's really the right word to use. My consciousness... It just kinda felt like it... Materialized here. The place I come from, there aren't animals like this," I point toward what looks to be a fusion of a rabbit and hamster frolicking near us as an example. Unsurprisingly cute. "Or... Trees like that or danger like we saw, or places even named 'Trillis' or 'Laikin'. So really, my assumption is... I'm not in my home world anymore, or anywhere I could possibly recognize to begin with. To me, it's all just... Unbelievable. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't even know if this is a dream or not. What is this world or... place called?" I try speaking a little more expressively, and exhaustively, hoping it eases my racing heart. She listens attentively, letting me speak as much as I wish. That succeeds in calming me.

"Yes, this country and kingdom, it's called Elyssia. I... wish it wouldn't feel wrong to still call it that, but that's beside the point right now. All together, the world is known as Fos." Her tone is a somber one I can resonate toward. She makes it simple to infer what she means. I assume that beast she just slew is part of it all.

No, she probably means even more in ways I can't understand right now. The cadence she speaks with about her home country, I just know she's got so much more to say.

"Did... Did something happen to your land?" I ask the obvious reply, hoping I expressed it in a sensitive enough way that she's willing to share.

"What didn't happen?" She scoffs, "You attest that you're not from here, so just know it'd take day and night to delineate it all. There are more important things at the moment than that." I think she leaves it at that, but she actually continues after about ten ticks, "The way I guess I should describe it for you is that... We were invaded by forces far outside our control. A god's will maybe. For repentance. It was by Trillis, a faraway planet. And now we're all in our own hell. Well, certainly my own hell. Trillis promised prosperity beyond imagination, but anyone half-competent can see through the endless lies."

Her passion moves me, "I Understand... Greatly. That's all so scary... Thank you for telling me so much, Eva," I hope she likes me using her name, "If you don't mind, what is Laikin in all of this?" Hope I pronounced that right.

"You're welcome, Rayne," Despite her emotional investment, she still has such a well-spoken nature to her. Like royalty, and the grace goes on, "For your question, Laikin is our neighboring kingdom, and the only other to exist on Fos, to our knowledge. The two lands make up the world. The diverging ethos is essential in all our systems working. Trade, economy, religion. For our part in it, Elyssia is considered an 'independent kingdom' for rebelling and breaking away from Laikin thirty three years ago. It's pretty much only one country's worth of land because of it. So everything here goes by that one name, Elyssia. On the other hand, Laikin is made up of countless different countries that form a strong coalition for the world. Strong enough to crush the rest of us should they choose. In reality, our freedom is nothing but a fairy tale. The entire story is too long to get into here, so I'll put a bookmark in this conversation for now," She gazes toward the ground for a second after her healthy delegation of incredibly helpful information.

This deep conversation heals me. I ponder alongside her before she continues. I think each of us getting another glimpse at the other's thinking expression prompted her.

"It looks and feels like you want to help soothe me. Thank you, you clearly have a pure heart. Please just follow me until I can get you somewhere safe, I would like nothing more. And also, if it's fine, I... I want to help you get to the bottom of your mysterious appearance into my world. Please, I think it could be so important to some matters concerning myself as well, based on how you described it." She regards me curiously. I notice a small smile forming. My own joins. I'm happy—

Her pupils dilate.

"GET DOWN!" She pushes me down in the blink of an eye. Another swarm of dark hate took us by surprise. A much smaller one. So much smaller, she subsequently pushes it to the ground, exerting complete control. It's almost too easy.

It's a dastard all the same. I hope she ends it.

I push myself up and wipe my body down. If only I was more aware about these things like she is. As if begging to put that into practice, I gaze intently at Eva, wishing I could help her.

She continually stabs the monster only slightly larger than her with a knife she just materialized. The scene makes my heart drop instantly.

The form is brutal, her knife repeatedly being pushed deeply into each separate human-shaped eye socket of the being, loud inhuman grunts mixing between beast and human. Her flesh forever turning indistinguishable from the knife. Both filled with so much of the same vehemence, they become one.

Her free limbs hold on to the devil so tight that any muscle in its body is surely smashed together into a bisque of viscera. Black as night blood sprays again and again across her stilted body, her clothes now dripping and moist with half absorbed liquid. The bubbling guts soon spring out and pound between Eva and the ground. Gooey tears secrete out the thing's oozing eye sockets, black and white allergic to one another.

I have to watch my throat so I won't retch. Even if that feels impossibly hard, it's the least of my worries. And as foul as the odor now caking everything in proximity, the sight is still the most overpowering sin. Not even for the gore and brutality, just an angel's quivering lips do me in. My consciousness repeats what's under the cherub's breath.

Die. Die. Die!

The creature has long since fulfilled her one true wish, but I don't think just this will sate any desire present. Her wants, intentions, and needs feel diametrically opposed. Completely apathetic desires that must still be enforced.

Only once her scraped and fractured hands can't take it anymore, do they drop the weapon. And only once every bit of hate dissolves into the sands of time, will she subdue her shiver. My right arm would still never find a way to stop its own in contrast. Not having any answer for desire won't help.

Even if our bodies heal that aspect, only empty sorrow will fill its place. The blade can only crack against the ground once, before it completely withers. Fresh tears paint a carcass, hoping to purify a broken body. Any broken body.

Something specific, one single thing about this scene feels horrid, far beyond the obvious. The creature at least, in the end, never felt like it posed a threat in the first place. It's miniscule compared to what she just effortlessly took down not long ago. Is this okay?

The hate I felt towards this thing the faintest moment ago is now just a depressing, hollow need to end what I see. Mentally, all I'm left with is one question so obvious it gives me indigestion.

How do I respond to this? I just want that smile I saw for all but a split second to return where it belongs. No, that's not even true. I just... I just don't want to make things worse. The world beyond my eyes is broken. Cracked down and left to contrast any right that might remain inside me.

And so, I remain in inaction, deathly afraid of myself moreso than any monster could hope for. Suddenly, as if a switch was just flipped, the girl gives in, and completely breaks down, a step beyond tears, over her lifeless victim. Any remaining bloodlust that was once so potent dispelling out of her eyes.

Their tears mix. Disgustingly beautiful.

"Goddamnit! These... Sick goddamn bastards... How much more will they take!" She cries up toward the sky, her voice petering out about as soon as she speaks. I finally notice the hoarseness in her throat. More and more fresh tears slide down her cheeks, one new reflection after the other. The residue they leave mirrors the setting sun ever so slightly. In objection, the poor creature's own plea sadly and slowly dies out. The hollow visage is all I ever choose to see. Enough to make me repeat her words myself for the thousandth time. It's an unavoidable habit now.

I take a firm step forward after an eternity of stillness. Her voice pierces.

"I am not your savior!" I freeze, her words are more important, "So stop looking at me like I am one! I'm just... Selfish, arrogant, and stupid... I'm a murderer!" The last word has feral sorrow. I swallow down my rising bile as my single act of resistance. How could she say that...

About... herself...

I swallow once more. Again. My ears ring. Nothing moves an inch. Even with overwhelming anxiety. Even with a desperate need to "do the right thing." It doesn't compel me. I want to hear someone deny her words. To prove her worth with so much more tact than I could be capable of. How can I be the one when this is what goes through my head?

"But I... I would be dead... Without you! How could you say... That..." I meekly offer a rebuttal. Someone like me couldn't say anything better. Should what she just did be considered murder? Is that even what she's referring to?

She absorbs my words and creaks her neck so slowly to stare at the ground. Specks of dust and dirt continue their climb with the wind across the rough ground. Like each grain in a nail.

Time moves as oppressive molasses. My unconscious mind replays every word I've heard about a dozen times. My sentient side only making service level observations.

My heart is breaking my ribcage. I would scream and cry in agony if I was sane. My tense muscles are on the verge of giving up anew. The small creature in her arms gains new meaning as her grip around it turns motherly. She hugs the carcass, copious amounts of blood still oozing from its eyes and smearing her cheeks, dyeing her silk and skin a color for regret.

She sets her work down. Her arms are creaking, trying to reach downward, while not another muscle dares to move. Every aspect of this renews her weep.

Eventually, she must have grown sick and tired of the stillness and so starts walking forward, right past me. The black blood stains reek of a smell indescribable as they fuse within her garment. Made worse from the label of 'killer' she attached to it.

"T-that was only a... A c-child..." Her broken voice shudders. She speaks anyway. I guess she felt like she owed an explanation. I limply reach out to her. A plea more than any real action. To fulfill my own interest, I follow after her, keeping my mouth firmly shut. Out of pointless fear.

The creature is left to rot, not vanishing instantly like the other did. I give it one last solemn look, a far cry from anything I expected to give these existences. It jerks back and forth like a newborn seeking its mother.

Crying. I can hear it crying. It joins the chorus in death. I can't bear to look anymore, the coward I am, and as I march on, I get to hear it's cries slowly dissipate. It's already dead.

I can't help myself. I turn back again and again to stare at the poor thing. It's a boy. I don't know how it's slashed to hell and back body tells me that, but it's undeniable. I know this.

I knew him.

Why am I thinking any of this? Because, it feels true somehow.

I'm feeling that feeling again. So much of just sickness and anxiety. I decide I must trudge on, my original self changing once I look away. My ears feel plugged as I look down, and see a small but vicious fox like monster and my feet, freshly killed, with a throwing knife through its gut.

The knife again dissolves, handiwork of who I see. Eva, panting, her ribcage wanting to close in on itself. That must of... I must have almost died again... To... This wild thing.

She'll do anything to protect me. The thought is killing me inside. I slog on.

"Can you help me?" Eva snaps after an uncountable silence and after we've taken uncountable steps. I couldn't come up with a response with my life. As if to choose a reply for me, she reaches deep into her side pocket and pulls out a scrap of brownish paper. A new surprise joins as her device, not to feel left out, quickly spawns a pen for her to work with.

She swiftly begins jotting words down. My mind races toward finding the meaning of the strange action.

"I can help," My response is horribly delayed, so bad that she can immediately hand me her note right after I close my mouth.

"Read it. As best you can please. Natural." She reaches back to hand me her small crinkled paper. What could be seen as sad, I see as the most heartwarming, adorable thing. Hopes of making her feel at peace again swirl, just as she was for a small endless moment.

I inhale sharply, exhale softly. She emphasized 'natural,' enough to make me not question how strange this tradition would feel in my world. It feels like some kind of tradition anyway. I'm probably reading into it too much.

"I..." My first time seeing these words she lovingly crafted for me instantly stops my vocal chords. It all spells out something my heart can scarcely believe. Her head turns around as a see an aloof expression grace her. It makes me really embarrassed.

She told me to be natural, so I try to keep that word kicking around my mind as I try my second attempt. Just read the words like I'm saying them. With all my soul.

"I'll never stop thinking of you as long as I live," I prepare myself to continue, "So until we meet again, I'll stay right here, right where I want to be, for you."

The outskirts of the forest stay quiet for a while after I finish. It's all enough for me to get misty eyed, who knows how much I've felt like this today. I don't have to wonder to know how much this remark or proverb means to her. Eventually, I get to hear two delicate words.

"Thank you..." Her voice portrays a potent weakness, is how a pragmatist would describe it. She hopes to be safe is the kind and true interpretation. It's been a long time since I've felt like this. I sense, and maybe wish, that she feels the same.

"Please, keep it." She signals for me to gently store the phrase in my pocket. Taking care of the note, I fold and slide it in. This causes me to realize two things.

One, the clothes I'm wearing, as these are certainly not what I went to bed in. God, that feels like centuries ago right now. I've never worn these clothes in my life but they seem impressively sleek and comfortable. I give myself a look down.

The second thing, as I now snug tight between fabric that little trinket of wisdom, my hand gets to brush against cold yet flinching metal. Memories come surging back.

Looping my finger between the thin chain, I pull out my pocket watch. Same as always, as far as I've known it for these few days. I set it on my desk when I came home from school, I definitely remember that. Talk about strange.

The ticks continue. They've been here the whole time, I've only just now paid enough attention to anything that might not kill me to notice it. A certain someone's gaze intensifies. I've already owed her an explanation without tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I must look pretty weird, huh?" Of course I go the self-deprecating route.

"What makes you think that?" She replies promptly. She crosses her legs with grace, some fingers playing around each other. She's surprisingly coy now.

Taking time to look at her perfect features, I realize only now that she faces me, all that blood that was sprayed inhumanely across her front is gone. I wouldn't dare question it however.

"I mean, do you ever see someone wearing clothes like these? Or hold onto these tiny clocks for example? I know you don't probably believe me about the other world thing, but you can understand how I'm pretty strange regardless, right?" I take a substantial step closer to her, enough to see her clearly and to show her I'm very interested in what she has to say, "So I guess I'm just saying... Please, let me know more about this world." The battle of earnest questions continues.

"We have all manner of time-keeping equipment, for your information. Although that one seems plenty expensive. Same with your clothes, they're high quality fabrics. I could assume you cherish it all." I think she's reveling in the gold colored finish along the border. I guess that's how they getcha.

"Hehe!" I giggle for the first time in a long while. It feels like heaven, "That's a really funny thing about my world. In my world, this is just gold coloring and grading and such. So unfortunately, it's not even close to being real gold. Really, this only costs like fifteen bucks at most."

"I... I knew that!" Did that really embarrass her? How cute! I smile so hard in response, "What are, 'Bucks?' I assume they are the form of currency where you come from." She composes herself. Man, I shouldn't have forgotten that. Of course they'll have a different money system in this world.

"Yeah, yeah, think of like..." I trace my shoe through a small puddle to think, displacing droplets of vaguely discolored water, "How much a very well made, but still relatively cheap children's toy costs. Something like that is 'fifteen bucks.'"

"Hmm... That's like 500 Ruplas. Interesting..." She presses her palm into her chin in thought. She gets another, much more interested peer onto my pocket watch. Its faint gleam would catch any eye, "So I guess dirty scammers really exist wherever you go."

"No, no, haha..." I let out a pleasant laugh at another cute conclusion she came to. Those words she asked me to say a bit ago, I'm so happy that they made her seem so joyful again, "It's not really supposed to be a scam at all. Every customer knows it's not real gold when they buy it," Or otherwise, in my case, "It's just for some cool style over anything else. There are a lot of items like this, not just pocket watches. Say, can you read what's inscribed across the bottom here?" I trace one of my nails against said inscription. One that's jogging some good thoughts through my head.

"Value your time..." She speaks with a dignified slow interest, making sure she doesn't flub up a single syllable, "I can see why you like this watch so much. Those are important words. Carrying it along makes sense."

"Wow, thinking about it, isn't it kinda weird we have the same language? Logically, that shouldn't be possible, for us to both know English." If we are to believe this world is real that is, and not just a figment of my imagination. But really, what an absolutely moronic thought. There's no way the face I see right now is anything close to 'fake.'

"English? Lainin is the most common language across all of Fos. It's what you're speaking right now. Hearing anything else is a rarity no matter what country you're in."

"That's... Very surprising. Huh... Sorry, sorry. I probably sound pretty rude right now." That's quite a shock, but I try to control myself.

"It's okay, I understand why you're in such shock and anxiety about everything. Please hear this, Rayne. If you can stay calm, I'll explain it all once we've got some rest, okay? It'll all be alright." The look she gives fills me with warm feelings, one of mature elegance. She seems quite a bit older than me, if not physically, certainly emotionally. Such special feelings I thought no one I just met would give me, for no other reason than to make me feel better.

I don't know where Eva's passions lie, nor her goals, but that beautiful look screams that of a protector. The glittering lashes, the focused pupils, and the absolute lack of tension in her muscles. I've always known she's one who can soothe a tortured child at death's door.

Eva faces forward, renewed determination in her movement. I relax, and mirror her feelings.