Phoenix: No More Love

2 | Empathy

Alya had no idea how she got there.

The last thing she remembered was her headache spiking again while painting Lumine's brother, and suddenly, she was here, in the middle of nowhere.

"Don't panic." She muttered to herself as soon as she registered her surroundings change, trying not to focus on the fact that she was, in fact, already panicked.

And so, she took a few deeper breaths, attempting to calm herself down,

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called out, but got no answer.

However, someone did hear her.

She took a few steps around, using her hand to make herself more room trough the leaves, watching the sunlight play around on her skin, hearing the birds sing in their own lenguage, and smelling the scent of nature surrounding her.

All of this was calming, but not calming enough. Just as she thought she had calmed down enough, she felt her panic spiking again and her instincts activating.

She started to run and tripped - just a second before a fireball flied in front of her, hitting the tree in front of him.

She let out a shaky breath, throwing her head back to the side, spotting a hilichurls camp just a few steps to the left from her.

How did she miss it before? She wasn't sure, and as she attempted to stand up, her movements were simply too slow. The same hilichurl that earlier almost shot her with the fire projectile, aimed at her again.

Alya closed her eyes, a moment of weakness passing over her as a few tears of fear streamed down her face.

So, it was the end.

She didn't feel that mad, even - she was mostly afraid because of her instics telling her to run. The bigger part of her felt peace, and even a raising desire for the projectile to finally hit her, ending her life and suffering.

However, that didn't happen.

Instead, she heard a playful, confident voice.

"Think you can get away?"

Feeling a bit frustrated, she opened her eyes, almost wanting to shout; 'Let me die!'. Instead, she saw the camp, or better, the remainings of it, being siphoned into something that seemed like a small ball of Anemo energy, and she felt her frustration grow.

She was supposed to die. Not them, her. She was supposed to be dead.

However, seeming someone walk out of the woods, she quickly composed herself, wiping her tears away and standing up with the help of nearby tree. Immediately, she felt her headache peaking, and just when she thought she'd faint or loose control again, she felt someone offering her their hand.

She didn't even know how she felt it. Apart of her just knew someone was over there, with their hand extended. And that knowledge alone, made her push the headache to the back of her head and look up.

The male stranger - or at least, that's what Alya thought; even though she wasn't truly sure - was a well-dressed, medium height guy with black-teal hair ombre styled into two short, twin braids. He also possessed aqua green eyes and seemed to be smiling.

For some reason, she felt slightly drawn to him, the same way she felt with Lumine. However, this time, she felt frustrated, and even a bit mad at herself for it.

That, however, didn't mean she was about to admit it outright.

"Hi." She spoke up after a moment of rather awkward silence, not taking his hand. Even though that, his smile didn't seem to fade. "...And you are?"