Rain.

Of course it's raining, she thought, taking a moment to look behind her. None of the Rigelian soldiers seemed to have followed her, but the terrible storm together with the darkness of night kept her from being able to see nearly anything. She sighed, then jumped with an "Eep!" when her vision went white for a moment. The rolling sound of thunder helped to disorient her further, and she nearly fell over- but somebody caught her. She looked up with terror, her aqua-blue hair falling behind her in wet clumps, but couldn't make out the features of the face. But then, everything caught up to her, and then it all went black.

Silque woke up slowly. She could still hear the storm, but it wasn't on top of her anymore. Had the person who caught her brought her somewhere? Was she captured?! Her breathing sped up, and she scrambled up- then banged her head on something. Looking up showed that it was a boulder- not too close to the ground, but enough that she had to lean against one of the walls to not bash her head again.

"Oh, you're awake?" A voice asked. Silque's head snapped towards the voice, with its owner crawling into the small alcove that she had woken up in. Behind him, she could see nothing but darkness and rain, but there was enough light to make out his face. Thin, messy hair, a sharp chin, and grey-blue eyes that immediately made her think of the storm outside. "Kamui's outside, trying to get some sticks that aren't wet," he spoke again. Silque realized that she hadn't responded to the first question, and swallowed hard.

"Who are you?" The simple question seemed to gain a strange reaction, as the boy- she realized it was a boy, not a fully-grown man- stilled for a moment. At length, he answered.

"My name is Isaac Politzer," he spoke hesitantly. "I was trying to find shelter when I ran into you, and then I tried to get you somewhere out of the rain when you passed out. Kamui found me and offered some help. Can I ask... what's your name?" Silque took a moment to look at him again- he looked… sad.

"I'm… my name is Silque. I'm being trained as a priestess of the Mother Mila at-"

And then it all hit her at once. The blood, the screams, the stomping of boots. The Mother Mila, the man who stormed in, that terrible light. She couldn't help it, and broke down crying, her sobs ringing loudly into the night. "It's all gone…! The Mother, the priestesses…" At that thought, she went quiet for a moment, a single clear thought cutting through the fog in her mind. "I've lost… everything." And then the tears began again.

She felt Isaac move over to her as she continued to cry, sitting against the dirt wall next to her. "...so have I," he said, quietly. At that, Silque slowly let her tears stop falling, looking at the boy.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not even from this world. One moment I was sitting at home, and the next I was somewhere I didn't even think existed. Everything I know and love is lost to me." At that, Silque looked closer at him. He was curled up in a ball, clearly trying not to cry himself. She felt compassion welling up within her, telling her to help him. So she listened.

"We're the same, then. Shouldn't we stay together?" The words were shaky, but filled with all of the empathy she could muster. He clearly heard it, but didn't respond. She waited, she could do that. The rain wasn't going to stop, after all.

Eventually, she spoke again. "...why won't you answer me?" Silque looked to the boy-Isaac, she reminded herself, his name is Isaac. He looked up at that, and sighed.

"Silque- I'm sorry. So much has changed for me in the past few hours, and I'm trying so hard not to break down and cry. I'm in just as much pain as you… but if we stick together, maybe we can help each other?" He looked so sad, yet so hopeful. If I was in his situation, I would be the same, she thought, and then nodded to herself.

"Alright then. Let's make a promise," she said.

"A promise?"

"Yeah. A promise. To help each other. Does that sound good?" Silque looked up at him, her cerulean eyes so full of compassion and empathy. Isaac paused for a moment, then smiled. He took in a breath a few times, as if trying to say something, but kept stopping. "What is it?" She asked, looking closer at him with concern. Isaac just held up a hand in the universal gesture for "give me a moment." At length, he spoke.

"I'm sorry- I'm just thinking of the right words to say. I'm worried they won't sound the way I plan them to mean. But if you'll wait around a while, and you'll stay with me, I promise. I promise you, I will. We'll help each other, and we'll learn to be okay again. You and me." Silque smiled at that, happy that her idea had been successful. Isaac held out a hand, and Silque took it, and they shook. And so the promise was made, and the first bonds of sworn siblingship were born.

SO! Second chapter is here! I know I don't exactly have a schedule for this, but honestly this chapter was entirely written in under twelve hours and motivated by spite to prove a friend on Discord wrong. Keep in mind that this is my first story, so please keep the flames to second-degree burns, thank you. Also, I'm part of a Discord server called the Fictendo Treehouse, come and join us! We have a lot of authors there who are happy to talk writing and fic with you! discord. gg/ 9XG3U7a

Comments are welcome, and I'll see you next time... whenever that is. -Ace Star-Chaser