Dawn and Elizabeth Daniels - Crocus
Elizabeth pulled Dawn through the city gates determined to see everything she possibly could in the shortest amount time. The sights of the city were disorientating but amazing. The twins were both small town kids. They'd grown up isolated till they were ten years old and after that in a small town whose population didn't top a few thousand. Compared to what they were used to Crocus was a huge change. There were lights and sounds everywhere that drew the eye demanding attention. Crocus was often called the Flower Blooming Capitol and as his sister pulled him through the streets Dawn could see why. Flowers covered the city. In lavish displays outside storefronts, some in simple planters and even greater than that were the parks spread throughout the city. It was truly beautiful.
Elizabeth dragged her brother through the streets. She loved big cities. They passed through a number of them to reach Crocus and each one was so busy and full of life. Elizabeth could feel the excitement in the air and the life all around her. A huge smile spread across her face and Elizabeth twirled in the sunlight causing her hand to slip from her brother's grasp. Completely oblivious to the fact that he'd vanished into the crowd Elizabeth continued to explore the city. She ran her hands over the fruits being sold at stalls along the streets, feeling the rough edges under her fingers. She was gay in her enjoyment of her surrounds, she was in a new city, filled with new people and infinite possibilities.
That was until she realized her brother wasn't with her. As twins they shared a special relationship, like two halves of the same person and despite appearances Dawn was always the brighter half. The moment Elizabeth realized that she'd lost him everything turned dark. Elizabeth felt cold and alone, the sun didn't seem to be providing any heat, the noise of the crowd faded to a dull sound in the back of her mind. It was as if all the light and energy had been sucked from the square. Elizabeth's breath started to come irregularly, her heart pounded. She could still see everything around her, people moving about excited for the games but it had lost all sense of atmosphere for her, all sense of realism or context. It was like watching a massive group of corpses wander without purpose.
Elizabeth stumbled back, crashing into the stall of a man selling binoculars to watch the Games from the stands more closely. She knocked it over in her daze and her merchandise went tumbling to the ground. "Damn girl, don't you watch where you're going?" The man shouted at her. Elizabeth just stood stock still watching him. It was like their was no color to his skin and no light in his eyes. His voice was muted like he was talking through a mile of water. "Well don't just stand there, help me clean this up!" he shouted at her.
Elizabeth took another step back, terrified, her back touched and a wall and she sank to the ground. She couldn't think clearly, everything around her was dark and slimy. She couldn't tell the good from the bad or the dark from the light. She couldn't see her brother anywhere.
All around Elizabeth little tendrils of ice started to creep over the ground. Over the wall that she leaned against and on the cobble of the street where she sat. As she sat in shock the ice began to thicken in sheets of frozen water covering the ground. Several people that hurried past slipped on the now frozen street but Elizabeth just kept starring straight ahead, seeing nothing, or maybe seeing everything.
From the moment he lost his grip on his sister's hand Dawn had been frantically scanning the ground for her. Searching stalls in the vicinity that might draw special attention from the wayward girl. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Elizabeth had a long history of disappearing on Dawn and ending up places she shouldn't. Still he always found her so long as he didn't stop looking.
A few minutes later Dawn became aware of a small commotion somewhere down the street. A congestion in the path because of ice on the road. Knowing that was where Elizabeth had gone Dawn pushed through the crowd. Sure enough not far from the disturbance he found his sister. She was slumped against a building and her magic was covering the street, spreading out from all around her. She looked lost, dazed and tired. Dawn walked towards her over the ice, being very careful not to lose his footing.
He crouched down next to his sister, touched her shoulder and took her arm in one of his hands. "Hey sweetie." he said to her while at the same time tracing the sign for his words over her forearm.
When Elizabeth saw her brother a relieved smile formed on her face. He was shining with light and as he approached her that light spread to everything else in her view. Till the world looked whole again. When he greeted her Elizabeth reached out and hand and traced a message on his forehead.
So much light and dark and cold and heat. People everywhere but so much space and so little air. Things on the ground and someone yelling.
Dawn sighed. She talked like that often. He was never sure if what she said described a real event she had actually seen, some image formed in her mind or her mood at the time she was speaking. Whatever the truth was he always tried to deal with her gently. "I know Beth. This city's so big its easy to get lost in all the fuss but I'm here now. Just don't get lost like that again alright." he said simultaneously tracing his message on her skin.
Elizabeth nodded and Dawn smiled. "Alright, let's see if we can't find a room for the night. Looks like its gonna be awhile before we find someplace to settle." Elizabeth nodded again and Dawn helped her to her feet. Most of the Wizard Guilds that were in any position to know anything about Elizabeth's disorder or how to train them both to use their magic wisely were in this city right now. Dawn wanted to do some research but if he was lucky he'd get the chance to hear the merits of some of the guilds from the mouths of their members.
"Sorry everyone." Dawn shouted to the crowd that had formed. No one wanting to risk crossing the ice for fear of the people behind them accidentally pushing them causing a fall. "My sister's not feelin' well so she's runnin' a bit wild. There shouldn't be anymore problems though." Dawn held out his hand and a small flame alighted in his palm. He reached down with it and touched the ice. The moment to the two came in contact there was a spluttering hiss and heat raced over the surface of the frozen water melting it and leaving the pavement damp but no less worse for wear.
Dawn could hear grumbles from people in the crowd. They may be here to watch wizards in contests of skill but some still didn't want those with magic mingling with regular people. Still it wasn't an attitude Dawn was unused to seeing and he'd long ago learned to just shrug it off. "Come on Beth." Dawn said leading his sister by the hand. "Let's go see what this city has to offer."
