Sophie's POV

The heat licked up her legs like tongues and the smoke was weaving through her hair and around her neck. The heat stared into her eyes until liquid started dripping from them. The blood leaking from her eyes dripped down her face and she froze, watching the crystal ceiling crash dow-

Sophie woke up with a scream, bolting upright in terror. She could feel the rose pink comforter shifting as her legs trembled, and her fists were bunching and un-bunching. She clambered out of the bed, eyes tracing the crystal chandelier over her head. She almost expected it to start leaking burning diamond.

She padded downstairs, feet making no noise on the carpeted floor, to see everyone gone. She let out a small sigh of relief, shoulders drooping and walked to the pantry. Sophie tried so hard to distract herself, but every time she closed her eyes she could only see the white outline of the fire.

She grabbed a box of Prattles and curled up on the plush couch, taking a book from the table. (I imagine Sophie would be a bookworm if she wasn't so caught up with the Neverseen.) Flipping the book to the beginning, she began to read.

She had trouble focusing on the book at the start, had trouble following the characters, Rose and Lissa. Eventually, she got caught up in it and couldn't stop reading. Well, she couldn't stop until her friends stormed back into the house.

Keefe was crying, though whether they were happy or sad tears Sophie wasn't sure. He ran straight to her and wrapped her in his arms, stabbing himself on the corner of the book but not seeming to care. Biana looked on at them, starting to smile. Then something crossed over her mind, sending a shadow over her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, mind flashing through all of the worst scenarios. Dex stepped forward, worry in his periwinkle eyes, and said "It's bad, but it could've been worse."

Sophie slumped, Keefe cradling her like she was weak. She saw Dex shuffle his feet, saying "C'mon Sophie. We've gotta light leap."

The blonde slowly clambered to her feet, brown eyes dark with fatigue and worry. Keefe had his arm behind her, not touching her but there to keep her moving. Butterflies jumped in her stomach. The wings of the butterflies had slowly been shifting from teal to icy blue, Sophie had noticed. She wasn't totally sure what it meant, the shifting of the butterflies.

Keefe grabbed Sophie's hand and sent warm breezes through her head, though they weren't as clear as they normally were. "Foxfire Healing Centre," Biana said to the Leapmaster. Only with the help of the brunette girl on her left and the blonde one on the right was Sophie able to make those steps into the Leapmaster.

The light pulled them away, and Sophie had to fight the urge to run into the walls of the shimmering beam. The light fragments wrapped themselves around her, and she embraced them. She didn't want to get out, wanted to let the light carry her on forever.

You have to be here for Keefe, a voice not entirely her own said.

Only with that reminder was she able to hop out of the light beam, collapsing on the soft grass outside the Healing Centre. The grass was almost as soft as the light. She was barefoot, she realized.

Biana's hand tugged on hers and they stepped inside the Healing Centre, where Dex was speaking in hushed tones to Elwin. The usually happy physician had bags under his eyes and his shoulders drooped, but he beckoned them back anyway.

When Sophie saw the patients in such a similar position to her and Fitz not too long ago, she took the plummeting fall out of the bright, soft world she'd been in not 30 seconds ago and back into the one where the floor felt like glass.

Sandor and Ro were lying in the beds in front of her.

*takes deep breath*

hey, fam. i think the last time i updated was like, 5 months ago? sorry about that.

i'm just gonna be straight with you guys and say i'm sorry. i've been stressed with school, homework, other online obligations, art, and just generally not been doing great with mental health for a while. i've also been trying to learn more about myself (which led to me accidentally getting an amazing girlfriend, yay!) including finding what i actually enjoy doing and finding my sexuality, etc.

i let myself get off track on here and on my deviantart account, and i'm really sorry for that. anyway, i've come back to here and back to writing. i don't know if anyone's still here with me, but i'm alive again and i'm gonna TRY to update a little bit more regularly.

on a separate note, can anyone guess the book i had sophie reading? i've been obsessed with it lately (and warrior cats, but that's like a 5-6 year obsession at this point) and i wanna see if anyone can guess it. *winks*

i hope you all enjoyed this chapter and if you'd like to see more, please let me know and give me ideas in reviews! love youu! - poptart -