"Is that what happened?" Euthykritos asked, his voice strained with something that bordered a pain that he didn't express on his face. He had written down the reports of what had happened from everyone present, including Mira and Galadriel. Galadriel sat straight, paying attention to what Euthykritos had to say like she always did, but her mind drifted more often. Mira was quiet, unusually quiet even for her. Her eyes were focused into her lap. "Mira." She flinched at her name coming from Euthykritos. She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. He gestured faintly to the side, further away from Galadriel, a private conversation. Mira didn't argue, didn't say anything. She just got up and moved to where Euthykritos had gestured to. Galadriel watched them quietly make distance. Their lips moved, Galadriel tried to focus on them, to at least make out a few words. She couldn't help but feel the need to know, there was something that both of them knew, something concerning Mira. Their lips moved faster, gestures coming in, sharp and erratic. Euthykritos poked a finger against Mira, which earned him a more heated response. Their voices getting loud enough that Galadriel could make out a few words.
"You knew.. and.. We.. Before.. You're not supposed to..!" Euthykritos's voice cut in and out.
"..Supposed to.. Nothing.. To save.. You don't understand anything!" It was the first time Galadriel had seen Mira so frustrated with Euthykritos.
"You brough it.. Told you.. Happen.. You really are..! Look at yourself, Mira! You are letting it seep in!" Euthykritos's voice boomed, he held up a hand mirror to Mira's face. "Do you even see yourself?!"
"So what?! You knew all along that I was somehow related! Yet you kept it to yourself! Is this your way of being righteous? Do you think you achieve anything!? So what if I am?! Shall I..?!"
Euthykritos clamped a hand over Mira's face, gesturing to Galadriel. "Is that really worth it?!"
Was all that he asked. Mira went silent, her head dropping, she turned her face away, ripping herself free from Euthykritos. Mira's eyes had gotten a deeper ocean blue, they were not out right blue when they had first met, but now they are. They felt far colder than those soft grey eyes she had before. It's like staring into an abyss that wishes to swallow you whole. Euthykritos kept talking for a while longer, it was hard tot tell whether Mira was responding back.
With a quiet squeak of the chair, Galadriel felt the familiar presence sit next to her. Mira didn't look her way, she was looking back down at her hands in her lap. Euthykritos slightly cleared his throat and spoke. "You are free to rest for a while. Especially while we gather information. Until then, you know where you can stay. Galadriel, you should come in tomorrow. It'll be just a light test." His eyes faintly drifted to Mira, lingering there for a moment before turning back to Galadriel. "We have some suspicion that you've been affected by AFE. The cause for your potential awakening to it is still pending, but we do have a theory. Oh, and Mira, you don't have to join her. You should take this moment to rest and reflect."
The house felt silent. Mira remembers the first time she had slept here, after everything that had happened. After the crash, after being sent out. The world as she had known it had shattered. Her memories were still a jumble, a mess that never clearly clicked into place, but she was sure now. More sure than anything. She was sure that she was back where..
Galadriel stumbled into the all too familiar building, her eyes sliding around the main hall, looking for Euthykritos. But there was no hint of him anywhere, instead a woman approached her, holding a clipboard, dressed in a white laboratory coat that stretched down to her knees. White hair, white eyes with golden pupils. She didn't seem to be from around here, light fair skin. She didn't seem to have any scales either. Though not everyone has them. None of the underwater features. Rare but possible. "You must be, Galadriel, is that right? I was supposed to have two today, but I was informed that one of you two are not currently under the right state of mind. I am Dr. Lilithium. I'll be the one conducting your check up today."
"Dr. Lilithium? The one from those books?"
The other woman gave her a light nod and smiled faintly. "I heard that there was a special case here, some developing AFE in a short span of time and potentially one after another. As wrong as it may sound, I am more interested in your friend. I've heard some interesting reports about her." Her smile widened for a moment before she turned away. Her hand gestured to follow and Galadriel did just that. This woman is pretty, but she also seems a bit off. She doesn't mean any harm, but she clearly knows more than she lets on. She has this slight crazed fire within her eyes.
It was a small room. A bed, a desk with notes scattered across it, cupboards with countless strange liquids and pills. Some tools, a few more ordinary, a few more futuristic. Lilithium gestured for Galadriel to take a seat on the bed. She did just that. For once she felt so quiet, it was strange, she hasn't felt like herself these past days.
"Have you experienced anything out of the ordinary lately?" Lilithium's question hung in the air. Galadriel gave a hesitant nod.
"Strange dreams regarding Mira.. They feel almost real in a way. I haven't been like myself either."
"The ocean I'm guessing." Galadriel's eyes widened at her words once more. Almost like she knew it by heart.
"Yes, and a large beast, creature.. I am not even sure. Countless teeth, massive."
Lilithium who had been writing the notes down stopped slowly. Leaving a streak of ink on the paper where her grip had tightened on the pen. It took a moment, but she spoke once more.
"Your friend, I think.. My interest for has deepened. Either way, hold out your palm. Imagine grasping the air, pushing it together into a small orb, condense it. Then shape it to something else." Lilithium spoke as she scribbled something onto her clipboard. Galadriel nodded, eyes falling shut, palm extended. She concentrated, it felt like there was nothing. As her eyes slowly slid open she was faced with a lush greenery, a statue sat in the middle, the face torn off, jagged stone in its place. The wings crumbling apart. Water slowly seeping through the cracks. "I gave you my blessing, yet, you're afraid of me?" The familiar voice rung through the space around her.
"I am not.. I am not afraid of you.. I am not afraid of.." Her voice paused in her throat, almost like it was being pushed down by something heavy. Her eyes widened, something sat within her mind, the face on the statue. The way it looked, the way it spoke and sounded. Its words.
"You get it, child of radiance, don't you? Blossom, make my blessing shine radiantly. When everything threatens to end. Don't be afraid. You'll know what you wish to do, when that day will be upon you. Now, shine. Show me, Galadriel. I'll always be here, do not worry."
Galadriel's eyes shot open. A bright glowing orb in her palm, shining like it always had to meant to. Lilithium's eyes widened slightly as she laughed to herself softly. "Both of you, so full of surprises. AFE confirmed. Not the usual kind. Pleasant. We have a case to believe that your AFE developed due to the high fluctuations in emotions you experienced combined with the proximity to the ocean. Though, of course, there is no way to properly confirm it." Galadriel gave a light nod, she didn't comment on anything. It all made sense to her now. This AFE, its really..