[color=#ffffff][COLOR=GRAY][CENTER][COLOR=8A9A5B][sup]_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR][url=https://open.spotify.com/track/0bndF6tTweNXPjwpPL7Slt?si=d39ba51c544347db][img]https://i.imgur.com/YWrjMkU.jpeg[/img][/url][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=8A9A5B][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR][I] The Augmented Reality Center[/I] - [I]Pacific Royal Campus[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=8A9A5B][b]Dance Monkey #4.088:[/b][/COLOR][I] Alone[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=8A9A5B][SUP][sub]___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][indent][sub][color=8A9A5B][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR][I] Haven [@Skai][/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=8A9A5B][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR][COLOR=GRAY][I] In the Eye of the Beast[/I][/color][/right][/SUP][/indent][/color][/color] [indent][color=#a9a9a9]Harper's breath rasped in uneven, shallow gasps as she slammed into the blood-soaked floor, her body flung like a lifeless doll by the force of Amma’s blow. Every ounce of air she had left in her lungs was knocked out of her, leaving a terrible, hollow ache in its place. Her throat burned, raw and bruised, each attempt to draw in oxygen feeling like shards of glass scraping down her windpipe. She coughed weakly, her hand flying instinctively to her neck as if she could massage away the pain,calm the frantic drumming of her pulse that pounded like war drums beneath her skin. But the panic was there, clawing at the edges of her mind, and no amount of soothing could quiet its relentless beat.[/color] [color=#a9a9a9]Everything around her blurred, reality dissolving into distorted shapes and muffled noises, like sinking into a cold, crushing abyss where the light could no longer reach. Amma’s screech tore through the fog, sharp and visceral, reverberating in her skull until her teeth ached from the intensity of it. The brunette’s vision wavered, catching the sight of dark, scarlet tendrils unfurling from Amma’s chest like something twisted and ancient, summoned from a place where nightmares were born. The very air around her thickened, heavy with the other girl’s anguish, carrying the scent of death, decay, and something far worse—a sense of hopelessness that suffocated everything in its path. Harper gagged on it, bile rising in her throat as her body trembled against the floor, too weak to move, too dazed to think clearly.[/color] [color=#a9a9a9]The phantom touch of Amma’s fingers still lingered on her skin. The memory of that crushing pressure, of being so close to the end, gripped her like a vice. Harper couldn't shake the feeling that oblivion had almost claimed her, that she’d been seconds away from slipping into nothingness. She felt like she was drowning in it now, her mind still trapped in the terror of those moments, unable to claw her way out. Her body shook violently, the adrenaline fading only to leave behind the sickening, unshakable truth that she had come terrifyingly close to death.[/color] [color=#a9a9a9]She blinked against the tears that stung her eyes, her vision swimming as she focused on Amma once more. Her teammate—her friend?—had collapsed in on herself, clawing at her own skin as if she could tear away the madness that had consumed her. The rawness of it, the rage, the torment—it clung to Amma like a dark shroud, suffocating her, pulling her under with every agonized scream. Harper wanted to speak, to say something, to reach through the darkness and pull Amma back, but her throat was too raw, her voice too broken, and her mind too fractured. [/color] [color=#a9a9a9]And beneath all that desire, that fierce need to help, was a single thought that chilled Harper to the bone: [/color][color=#a9a9a9][i]she didn’t want to die.[/i][/color] [color=#a9a9a9]Her fingers curled into the blood-soaked ground, muscles shaking from the effort of just staying conscious. She couldn’t stand yet, not when her lungs felt like they were still burning from the inside out, every breath a shallow gasp. But even through her pain, Harper’s eyes caught movement, something small and desperate —Haven. [/color] [color=#a9a9a9]The sight of her sister, drenched in blood, with wings weighed down by the nightmare they had been dragged into, sent a surge of panic through Harper’s chest. Her vision flickered, her enhanced sight flashing in and out, amplifying every detail—the tremor of Haven’s hands, the slump of her shoulders, the way her feathers sagged under the load of her own despair.[/color] [color=#a9a9a9]Harper’s heart lurched, fear stabbing through her as she watched Haven move toward the towering creature, her every step filled with a false bravery that Harper could see through in an instant. She knew that look, knew what Haven was feeling—the crushing hopelessness, the urge to end the nightmare, even at the cost of herself. But it was more than that. [/color] [color=#a9a9a9]Beneath the brave facade, Haven was afraid. She was terrified, and that fear pierced through Harper’s own pain, spurring her forward even when her body screamed at her to stop.[/color] [color=#a9a9a9]Harper gritted her teeth, forcing herself to push up from the ground, her muscles quivering as pain radiated through every fibre of her being. Each breath was a fresh wave of agony, the bruises on her throat flaring with sharp, fiery pulses, but she couldn't let that stop her. She wouldn’t stop—no, she [/color][color=#a9a9a9][i]couldn’t.[/i][/color][color=#a9a9a9] Her body betrayed her with every shaky step forward, her hand trembling as she stretched it out toward Haven, desperate to steady herself, desperate to reach her sister. She couldn’t let Haven do this—couldn’t watch her walk into destruction the way so many others had.[/color] [color=#a9a9a9]It couldn’t be like them. [/color] [color=#a9a9a9]The memories crashed over her, relentless and suffocating, the faces of those she’d lost flashing before her eyes, their absence still a raw wound she hadn’t allowed to heal.[/color] [color=#a9a9a9]She wasn’t sure she could survive it again. She would rather die herself. She would rather die.[/color] [sub][color=#8a9a5b]“L-Little Dove,”[/color][/sub][color=#a9a9a9] her voice came out in a broken rasp, barely more than a breath. It hurt to speak, her throat burning with each syllable, but she needed to reach Haven. She needed her to hear, to know she wasn’t alone.[/color] [color=#2e2c2c]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [color=#2e2c2c]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [color=#2e2c2c]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [color=#2e2c2c]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [color=#2e2c2c]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [color=#2e2c2c]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [sub][right][color=#8a9a5b][i][s]I don't want to be alone.[/s][/i][/color][/right][/sub] [/indent]