Reflections of Light

Shock

Coming into her room, the first thing she noticed was that the birthday present from Alysha was still on her bed, the lid of the box wedged open a crack where she'd crammed the contents hurriedly inside in her haste to leave.

Damn. She'd forgotten about that.

What had Alysha actually given her? Strange... Artefacts, that induced some kind of visions? Why? Just why?

Pulling her sleeves up over her hands as a barrier between the objects and her skin, she hurried over to the bed and crammed the items inside the box until they fit, slamming the lid safely.
Picking the box up, she shut it inside her bedside drawer, making sure it was closed securely.

Feeling a sense of relief and a rush of confidence at having banished the gift to be examined at a later date, Nyx brushed down the bed covers, smoothing out the indent left behind by the box and took a seat on the mattress. Feeling something against her back, she reached around and absent-mindedly picked it up; feeling the fabric against her fingers.

Selene's jacket. Oh yeah, she remembered she'd borrowed it earlier; probably was a good idea to return it soon.

That was all she registered, before a familiar pulling-pain twisted her gut.

"Owen, you shouldn't have done that." Selene was sitting out on the porch, phone to her ear. "Yes, even if it was on my behalf. Good intentions aside, you should have known it was just going to anger her so. She's a hard-headed prat; she's always been a hard-headed prat, and she always will be a hard-headed prat."

She went silent, giving the occasional half-nod and sound of agreement as she listened to Owen on the other end of the phone.

"Well, it's just no use now. It's happened." Selene spoke up again. "Look, maybe you can come stay down here for a bit, until she's cooled off. I'll talk to Rachel."

"Nyx, are you alright?"

It was like being suddenly dragged through water to the surface; the sound of his voice coming in with a sudden harsh clarity as suddenly her senses refocused and the world came in, too strong, too bright, too much; making her jerk back in surprise from the pair of dual-coloured eyes looking into her own.

Hands caught her forearms, steadying her. "It's okay, it's okay. You're fine. You're safe. What happened? You were just... Out of it. Like you were in a trance."

"I... I'm alright." Nyx rasped, mouth suddenly dry. Slowly, she loosened her fingers from the fabric of Selene's jacket, letting it drop to the floor. She shook her head, reorienting herself. "I'm fine. I don't know what happened there."

"Are you sure?" He said, sounding very disbelieving. "You're trembling."

"Oh..." Nyx breathed, looking down at her arms in his grasp. "Yeah... I guess... Maybe I'm not feeling too great."

He tilted his head sympathetically, moving to sit next to her as he raised a hand to cup her face, placing the other on her forehead to check her temperature.

"... It could just be all the partying you've been doing." He murmured, searching her face for any cause of concern. Satisfied he hadn't found anything, he lowered his hands to put a comforting arm around her, pulling her close so she rested her head against him.

"After all, what was it, two days you disappeared for?"

Nyx groaned into his shoulder, trailing off into exhausted giggles. "I knew this was coming. I'm sorry. I would have let you know, but the trip was a very sudden surprise."

He chuckled softly, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I was worried. I thought something had happened to you."

"Oh... Oops." Nyx said tiredly. "Sorry."

"So, did you have fun?" He asked.

"Oddly, I kind of did." Nyx said thoughtfully. "It was a bit of a roller-coaster though, to be fair."

"Really? How so?" He asked smoothly.

"Well... I was kind of with Alysha."

There was a heavy pause.

He drew back a little, so he could look at her face; his brow furrowed questioningly. "What were you doing with Alysha?"

"Talking. Well, having fun and exploring too." Nyx said. "Just spending time together, really."

"I don't like her." He declared. "I don't trust her. Particularly not with you."

Nyx put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Evidently, it's fine. Nothing bad has happened."

"It could have! It could have, and I wouldn't have known!" He snapped.

"Alright, don't freak out." Nyx soothed. "There's no need to worry about something that didn't happen."

"You shouldn't see her again. You shouldn't go with her. You shouldn't talk to her."

Nyx spoke in a calm voice. "You can't tell me to do that."

"Don't be ridiculous! Look, I know she looks like you, but that doesn't mean you can trust her-"

"No, you don't understand. I can't not see her. She's my sister."

He blinked. "... What?"

"Well, technically my half-sister." Nyx corrected. "Different mums. She got injured, I think, and trapped in the realm behind the mirror. She's only now just gathered enough power to escape.
So you see, you can't tell me not to talk to her. She's family."

He seemed to mull it over. "Do you know where she is now?"

Honestly shocked I got this finished today. I've just got back from holiday!
Hope you enjoy it!