charm(less)

novem

—— n o v e m ——

PARK RACED THROUGH the tangled web of nightmares he couldn't even begin to understand, chattering shades lurking in the shadows and hissing serpent-like monsters slithering and golden tipped doves, dozens of them, flocking around his head just out of reach. He saw his mother, long dark hair that she usually kept bound tumbling past her shoulders and eyes like glowing chips of obsidian, reaching out to him. He reached out to catch her hand but she dissipated into scattered mist the moment he touched her, the echoes of his name still on her tongue. He was cold, so cold, running through dark empty hallways in search of something.

What was he looking for? He didn't know, couldn't drag that information from the depths of his mind, but he knew it was important he find it. Life-or-death important. He rounded the corner at the end of the black stretching corridor and came to a huge cavern, hollowed out from black rock and domed where the ceiling arched over. Park could feel death, in the walls and embedded into the floor and hanging in the air, a faded sense of living long since passed. He wasn't alone in the cavern — Korey was there, a gleaming image of silver and gold perfection, and a girl he didn't recognise, tangled brown curls falling in her faded blue eyes.

Korey turned to him, his lips beginning to curl up into familiar easy smile, and then they were gone. There was only darkness, spilling from the cracks in the ceiling and closing in on him, pressing down with enough force to make Park feel light-headed. He threw his hands up to ward it off but the shadows only slunk closer. They curled affectionately between his fingertips, tangling in his dark hair, slipping through his mouth. He opened his mouth and choked on their cold emptiness. He was falling, falling —

Park's eyes flew open with a gasp and he jolted upright, feeling as if he'd just been plunged through ice water. His fingers instinctively went to his neck and his racing heart slowed slightly at the reassuring touch of cool metal. His medallion was still there. It took his muddled brain a couple of seconds to get his bearings — he was in the clearing where they'd faced off the sarpei, a bundled up sweatshirt serving as a makeshift pillow for his head. Despite the hot sun beating down on his skin, Park couldn't stop shivering and felt as if ice had sunk through his skin straight into his bones. It was the bone-deep chill he had come to associate with using his ability.

The last thing he recalled was clinging to the final wisps of consciousness as he forced his skeletal warriors forward, needing to get the sarpei away from Korey.

Korey. He ignored the dizzying spin of his head as he staggered to his feet and looked around wildly for the familiar mop of golden hair. That's when he saw it — the fluffy white bird perched on a small rock a couple of feet away from him, watching him with deliberate eyes. It tipped its head curiously when Park met its gaze but didn't move otherwise. He recognised that bird. It was the one that had been sat outside Korey's bedroom window, the strangely intelligent one. Had it really followed him all the way out? If the bird was here, that meant Korey couldn't have been far.

Right on cue, there was a clatter of footsteps and Korey emerged from between two sand dunes with a bag in each hand. He dropped them in surprise at the sight of Park. "You're awake! Oh, thank fuck," he exclaimed, his expression bright with relief. "You were asleep for so long. Snowy and I — "

"Snowy," Park repeated. "Who the hell is Snowy?"

The dove flew up from it's rock to settle down on Korey's shoulder. "Oh, right. You guys haven't been officially introduced," he said, either not noticing the incredulous way Park was staring at him or choosing to ignore it. "This is Snowy. We would have both probably ended up dead at the hands of the sarpei if not for her."