Woven in Shadows (agatha x rio)

The Missing Piece

Chapter Thirty-four: The Missing Piece

The morning was quiet, the dense forest air tinged with the scent of pine and damp earth. Agatha awoke to the sound of birds calling from above, their voices distant but soothing. She blinked, momentarily disoriented, before remembering where she was. The coolness of the woods seeped through the fabric of her tent, and she shivered slightly as she sat up opening her tent.

She pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders, her eyes scanning the small clearing where their campsite was set up. Rio was sitting cross-legged on the ground, her eyes staring into the dying embers of the fire, her expression unreadable. The early morning light barely touched her, casting long shadows across her face.

Agatha watched her for a moment before standing up and stretching. The cold air bit at her skin as she stepped out of the tent. She could tell her Rio wasn't doing well. It had been days since the mirror's ritual had been explained to them, and while Agatha still hoped they'd find a way to save Nessa, the journey itself felt increasingly heavy on her heart.

With a soft sigh, Agatha approached Rio, her footsteps muffled by the thick layer of fallen leaves. Rio didn't look up, but Agatha noticed the tension in her shoulders, the way she seemed almost frozen in time. It was as if she were waiting for something, or perhaps avoiding something.

"Hey" Agatha said quietly, settling down beside her. "You okay?"

Rio didn't respond right away, but the stillness of her form spoke volumes. After a long pause, she finally looked up at Agatha, her dark eyes hollow, as if something vital was missing.

"I don't know" Rio said, her voice soft but tinged with a coldness Agatha couldn't quite place. "It's just... empty. Like a void, you know? Like nothing feels real anymore."

Agatha's heart clenched. She wanted to reach out, to hold Rio, to make the woman she loved feel better. But the distance between them physical and emotional had only widened since their encounter with the mirror. Agatha wasn't sure how to breach it.

She took a deep breath, careful not to invade Rio's space, but hoping to offer some kind of comfort. "I can't imagine what that feels like" Agatha said gently, her voice soft. "But I'm here. I'll be here for you as long as you need."

Rio stared at her, her gaze distant. She shook her head slightly, her lips pressing together in an almost bitter smile. "It's not even that. It's like I don't know who I am without... without this feeling of... connection. I used to have something inside me, something that made me feel alive. Now it's just... gone."

Agatha's chest tightened. She wanted to say something, anything to make Rio feel seen, to assure her that she wasn't alone. But the words stuck in her throat, a weight too heavy to speak.

Instead, Agatha shifted closer, her hand hovering near Rio's but not quite touching. She didn't want to make Rio feel overwhelmed. She didn't want to make her recoil, as she had before. So, she simply said, "I know you're struggling. But I want you to know you don't have to face this alone. You have me."

For a long moment, Rio said nothing. Then, finally, she looked at Agatha, and this time, there was something softer in her eyes, a flicker of recognition, though it didn't seem to fully reach her heart.

"I don't even know if I remember what it means to feel" Rio admitted quietly, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Everything that's inside me... it just feels like it's fading away. And all I feel now is the emptiness."

Agatha's heart ached at those words, but she held her ground. She didn't know how to help Rio fully regain herself, but she knew she could offer her presence. She could be there, even when nothing made sense.