Immortalized | Viktor - arcane

Shimmer

Since Rose went back to the Undercity, she had been continuing to visit Beatrix. Though, their friendship never returned to what it had been before her fall. She never spoke of it, but Bea resented the fact the Rose never returned. After her first visit she had expected Rose to stay for good, and it pained to see her return to topside each time.

She thought of Rose's fall as a lucky one. It got her out of the fissures. While Bea lost everyone she held close to her, Rose was making a name for herself, in a comfortable bed, in expensive clothes that Bea could only imagine wearing. Bea was just a part of Rose's dark and secret past that she had yet to let go of.

Rose could tell Bea resented her but she didn't know to what extent. Bea was always pleasant with her and welcomed her into her home. As angry as she could get thinking about how her friend left her behind, she could never turn her away. Having her visit every few days was better than thinking Rose was dead. She was safer in the North anyways, and Bea was happy Rose was able to get out while she could.

Sometimes they'd find themselves laughing and talking like old times and they would forget the last few years and be children again in Bea's apartment. But those moments were always short lived and the two friends were brought back to reality when Rose would have to return to topside for work.

Bea hid it well, but sometimes she would wake up at night screaming, stuck in a dream reliving the day of the rebellion over and over again. She remembered finding her mother among the survivors only to lose her a few days later.

She was alone, fending for herself for two years before Rose came back. Even then it wasn't enough. She felt like she was fighting a losing battle against life. She didn't have two coins to rub together most of the time and she struggled to provide for herself. The only thing that kept her from stealing was that she knew she would lose a fight if she got caught.

She needed a reprieve. Something to make her feel better, stronger, and in control. Something to make her feel powerful when all she knew was hopelessness. That's why when somebody offered her shimmer, she took it.

She'd heard whispers of the mystery drug on the streets. It was practically illegal—as illegal as anything could be in the fissures. Vander had warned against it and most people heeded his advice. It was hard to come by when Vander was in charge, but after he died shimmer seemed to flourish.

People who spoke of shimmer, swore by it, and claimed it made them invincible, but there were consequences. The effects were fleeting and followed by an awful sickness that could only be relieved by more of the drug. Eventually after the strength shimmer created wore off, nothing was left but a withering, deformed body that often went on to hide in the deepest part of the fissures.

Bea knew all this when she accepted the purple vial. All she needed was to feel strong for a moment. It would only be one time, she told herself, just like most people did. One time to get her back on her feet, then never again.

It gave her the strength she needed. She felt her body change, she grew. She was taller, braver and stronger. It helped her do what she needed to do to survive. She could steal easily, run faster than anyone, win a fight and hold her own. But she'd never felt as low as she did when the drug wore off, that was until she bought it again.

Bea had been using it for months before anyone noticed, before it caused any problems. She hid it so well from Rose, that her friend barley even noticed. Rose had noticed Bea growing a bit skittish her past few visits but had nothing to attribute it to other than stress. Rose had grown so disconnected from the undercity, she hardly even knew the drug was being distributed. Eventually Bea found herself in debt, unable to pay what she owed and unable to buy her next dose.