The silence that hangs in the air is far from a comfortable one, it lays upon me like a thickened haze, thoughts mashing against one another in my head.

"Holy shit that worked." I force myself to blurt out, through the dryness that stains my throat, a stiff cough following up soon after. I'm not sure whether or not my throats dry from the pain, or from having to look over him.

He really does look like a ball of fire. I'm sure that's just a very unfortunate coincidence, but that doesn't exactly stop my heart from racing. It could be worse, so long as he doesn't get too close.

"Why the fuck do you sound so surprised?" His flamed body flickers angrily, matching his tone, a trail of blue lingering behind him while he zips over to my face. Mother fucker, is he doing this on purpose? He has to be, my fucking heart's going to jump out of my chest at this rate. "This was your idea! Fuck me, I thought you knew what you were doing for once."

"Hey! I knew what I was doing, kind of." I explain, backing away from the angered ball, my back pressed against the door. What is he anyways?, A ghost still, or at least something similar to it, but something else niggles at the back of my head, dancing just out of reach. Something about him seems familiar, aside from the fear, have I seen this before? "I dunno if the rules in a dream and in reality are a one to one match, you know?"

I still need to find out more about that place, though at least my knowledge of things seems to carry forth if nothing else.

My words don't seem to temper the bastard's anger, not in the slightest. The flames that encompass his body flare up wildly as he inches closer.

Please don't.

"You based this little idea off of your fucking dreams!?" I wince as he screeches into my skull, ears twitching from the cacophonous noise.

"Please stop getting closer to me." The request comes out as a struggling, hushed whisper, apprehension swirling in the pits of my gut.

"I-" He both cuts himself off and stops, hovering just out of arm's length from me. He's silent for a moment, then two. He finally lets out what sounds like a sigh, though it sounds strange in my mind. "I wish I had hands to strangle you, you know that?"

I let out a stifled laugh, the thundering of my heart slowing down. It's a very, very slow process, but it's better than nothing at all. Just give it time, Zeke.

"Come on, it worked in the end didn't it?"

"I suppose, but it also hurt like a bitch during it. I don't particularly enjoy forcing myself through pain as much as you do."

"Just grit your teeth a little and it'll be fine."

"Fuck you. I'm surprised this crazy bitch hasn't said anything yet, you'd think she'd have something on her mind." He zips away from me and over to Lucy instead, circling around her body. She doesn't react, her attention absorbed by the flickering book in her hands.

"Adrian!" I hiss at the bastard, glare only intensifying as he continues to swirl around the woman. I did ah, forget that Lucy was around, and she has been rather silent. Even now she doesn't react to his presence, her silence is an answer within itself I suppose, doesn't help with my confidence for this situation either.

Maybe I should've tried to plan for this a bit sooner, didn't expect her to be so forceful. I'm used to winging it.

"Are you uh, alright there Lucy?" I call out to her, finally shoving myself off of the wall, shuffling my way a bit closer. She mumbles something underneath her breath, tips of her fingers drumming against the book.

She glares at the book.

Then slowly closes it shut, her eyes looking over to match my own.

She looks so, so tired.

"I hate you so much, you know that?" She finally breaks the silence, bottom lip sticking out with a pout. I can't help but laugh at the sight, nor can I stop my lips from twisting upwards, though I do feel a little sorry for it. She huffs, clutching the book close to her chest. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Eheh, sorry Lucy." I apologize, cutting my laughter off short. Can't exactly do the same with my smile though, another huff coming from her- is she blushing?

It's hard to see in the rather meager light, but a faint pink has rose to her cheeks. Huh, never thought I'd see the day.

It's almost cute, almost.

"You have no idea how much you annoy me, Fuzzy."

"I think I have an idea." I reach up, rubbing at my cloak between a thumb and a finger. The pink on her cheeks darken. "So uh, surprise? Not really what you expected I assume?"

"I'm not sure what I expected," She mumbles again. It's a surprise to see her so flustered, and quiet, but I prefer this over the aggression. She turns her sights onto the orb, her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm the 'crazy bitch' to ya, huh?"

"Oh absolutely, all your shit scares the fuck out of m- you can hear me?" Never thought I'd see an orb physically recoil from something honestly, flames shrinking into him.

"Quite well." She confirms, voice as deadpan as her face.

"Fuck." It's amusing to see the little bastard squirm a little, for him to have a taste of it for once. Were it anyone else, I'd let him squirm, but it's Lucy. I'd rather not leave him to her.

I cough into a hand, a sharp, brisk noise. It has its desired effect, Lucy's head turning to face me, both face and glare softening.

"There you go, I've shown you what you wanted, satisfied?" I ask the woman. It is why she wanted me here after all, or at least part of the reason. She sighs, that tired expression returning to her face

"No, not really. I wanted answers, not whatever you've given me."

"Questions, I assume?"

"Duh, what else could it be?" She retorts. I don't respond, biting my tongue and raising an eyebrow.

Knowing her, it could always be something bloody. I wonder if she's still carrying around that vial, poking and prodding at it with whatever she has.

"You could always ask those questions, you know?" I feel like she might have forgotten about that, too taken by the idea of figuring me out by herself. Perhaps she liked the challenge, or at least the thought of it, she doesn't look like she's having a fun time right now.

Pride's a thing to everyone- well, maybe not everyone, but most people have something.

"Would ya actually answer 'em?" She speaks slowly, and softly, her eyes slowly narrowing as she takes a step closer.

"Eh, it really depends."

"Depends on what?"

"If I actually know the answer." I answer, rubbing at the back of my neck. She continues to stare, an awkward feeling stirring in my chest.

"...Do you not know what you are?" She both looks and sounds confused, her face scrunching up, lips dipping into a frown. Well, when she says it like that, it just sounds ridiculous.

"I kinda do. I'm a basitin, obviously, just not a very good one." I say with a shrug. Not a good one indeed, both physically and mentally. I can't imagine that I'd be very well accepted on the island.

Then again, I don't think the old me was accepted either. Just a hunch.

Lucy lets out a sigh, a deep, frustrated one, both hands raised to rub at her temple.

"God's, you're quite the headache, ya know that Fuzzy?" She finally says, a weak sounding chuckle accompanying it.

"Try being in his head for a while, it's worse." Adrian comments, gently hovering away from the both of us. I roll my eyes and scoff, of course the little bastard decides to pipe up now, why wouldn't he?

"So, what questions do you want to ask me anyways?" Might as well get it over with, to the best of my abilities anyhow. She hums, a hand slipping down to rest a finger on her chin.

"Hm… well, can ya tell me what you know for sure? Your story and stuff, just so I don't hafta ask redundant questions and all."

"Sure, seems reasonable enough. I'll tell you everything I know." Her face lights up, a small smile snaking its way into it as she flips open her book.

A small silence takes a hold of the room, an awkward one.

"You know, I expected you to object or something Adrian, everything does mean everything." I admit to the two. I expected immediate resentment to the idea, but the spirit remained oddly silent.

"Oh, does my opinion actually matter here?"

"Not particularly, but I thought you'd interject anyway." He's done it plenty, so why not now? Besides, I do listen to him. Sometimes.

"Nice to know how you think of me." He responds with a scoff, which is a surprising noise to hear. He's probably done that before, but it sounds strange to hear it in my mind while he's out of it. "Personally, I think it's a terrible idea, but that's par for the course with you."

"Eh? The hell does that mean?"

"What the hell do you think it means? You have a litany of absolute idiotic ideas, especially when it comes to telling people things."

"I'm not that ba-"

"Can we PLEASE get going?" Lucy cuts the chatter off, her feet tapping against the floor, and a pout on her lips.

"Ah, right. Sorry about that." I apologize, clearing out my throat with a cough soon after.

Alright, let's get into it.

….

Telling Lucy everything went smoothly, surprising, the woman both silent and attentive, only nodding occasionally and scribbling something within that book of hers. I thought she'd be bugging in to ask questions, but I guess that's what the writings for, probably notes for actual questions. She pauses every now and then of course to dip the quill into an ink pot, the glass hovering by her side with magic.

Everything means everything though. That includes how Adrian popped up in my head, the dreams, what I know of the nightmares.

The void.

A shiver runs up my spine from thinking about the void, let alone talking about it.

Talking about dying feels strange within itself, and the unnerved feeling that rests in my gut only helps twist the knife.

Even when talking about that though she remains silent, though I can see her attention piqued at the whole death thing. Can't say I didn't expect it.

She took the whole 'other world' part pretty well too, oddly enough. She's odd herself, maybe it cancels out.

"Alright, that's about everything then." I finally finish, my throat raw from the information dump to her. She seems to be taking it in stride though, likely in her element. "Did I forget anything?'

"Not that I can think of." Adrian replies after a moment, oddly free of quips. He decided to rest in Lucy's bed after a bit of speaking, lazing away atop it. Can he even feel the thing?

"Alright." I say with a nod. It's probably enough important information anyhow. "So, uh, any questions?"

Lucy suddenly walks up to my front, warm fingers digging into my neck. A jolt runs up my spine, mind freezing for a moment.

"Personal space!" I exclaim with a yelp, shuffling away from the woman, raising a hand to massage the jabbed area. "The hell was that?"

"You have a pulse." She says with a hum, rubbing her fingers together.

"Yeah? No sh-"

"That means you're alive, at least in the typical sense." She continues. She flips open that book of hers, quill tip returning to the pages once more. "That rules 'reanimated zombie' out."

"Jesus Christ woman, you could've asked." I mutter, a soft pain ebbing throughout my throat. She's not the strongest person I've seen, but a sudden jab to the throat isn't exactly comfortable. Questions don't exactly involve throat stabbings either.

Wait, didn't Edward say the same thing here? In a world with magic, wouldn't necromancy be an actual possibility, and zombies through that? Maybe they're just stories though, who knows.

"Ya know, I figured you weren't from around here, didn't expect the other world bit though." She comments with another hum.

"Why's that?"

"Differences in linguistic patterns when compared to humans. I dunno who a 'Jesus Christ' is, neither does anyone else, but you sure do. Can't imagine that any basitins know either."

"Ah, right." I hum to myself, rubbing at the back of my neck once more. I don't think anyone else picked that up, or if they have, they haven't mentioned it to me. Don't people say 'mask' around here to refer to a god, too? That wouldn't help. "Why'd you think I wasn't alive anyways?"

"I wanted to check, just in case. Normally corpses don't get back up and start talking, I would know." Of course she would, she's probably worked with a fair few. She clicks her tongue, snapping her fingers at the same time. "Dammit, I thought you were a zombie or something, do you know how many things I could do with an actual zombie? One that can think and speak?"

I could start, but I'd rather not.

"Edward thought the same thing, funnily enough."

"Eddy knows?" She asks, with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, he was the second. Anna was the first." I continue on. Anna sussed me out rather quickly, probably knew that there was some shit going on. She was the one who dragged me out of the fire after all.

"Remember when you tried to bullshit her by saying you grew up in a human village?" I feel my cheeks burn as the bastard speaks, Lucy's giggling doesn't help. "That lie didn't last long, did it?"

"I don't think it really got going." It didn't really work on anyone from what I remember.

"Does your kid know?"

"No, not yet. I don't know how she'd react to it." I'd also rather not burden her with it either. Maybe I could explain it in a more child friendly way, but I'd have to think about it. Hey, wait a second. "She's also not my kid, I'm just looking after her."

"That does make her yours in a way though, doesn't it?" She likes and prods, her lips twisting into a teasing smile.

"You know what I mean."

"Do I, Fuzzy? Do I reeeaaaally?"

"Can we move on from this?" I ask, claws impatiently tapping the floor beneath. She giggles, much to my chagrin. Fucks sake woman. "I'm sure you have other questions."

She hums, finger raising to tap against her chin.

"Are ya dreams always about memories and stuff?"

"Not always, no, it's just a main part of it. Adrian and I can talk there, there's not much else to do." I answer with a shrug. "It's weird to see him as a ball though, still not sure what he is."

"A visual treat, obviously."

"Oh? Does he look different in ya head?"

"Just like me, but blue, and translucent."

"Also naked."

"Also that." I rub at my temple, fingers digging into me as she giggles. "Not sure why he looks like this here."

Makes me wonder what the little buddy would look like, if they were brought into reality. Who's to know, maybe they'd have the same wispy look, just gold.

Wait, wisp? Is that the word I was thinking of?

"Hey Lucy, do wisps exist here?" She looks surprised by the question, but recovers quickly.

"Wisps? Ya mean will-o'-the-wisp?"

"Yeah! Probably, anyways." She hums, I can see her eyes flicker over to Adrian. He doesn't respond himself, but his flames do flicker ever brighter for a moment. Her bag floats to her side, dragged along by her magical grip.

"I think I get what you're hinting at." She says before tearing the flap of the bag open, plunging her hand inside. She fumbles with it for a moment, her face scrunched up in frustration.

She pushes her arm further into it, right up into her shoulder. The bag isn't that big, at most, it'd go up past her elbow.

"How're you doing that?"

"Hm?" She looks up to me, pausing her search, arm still digging deep into the bag. I jab a digit towards the said thing, her eyes looking towards it in turn. "Oh! It's magic, obviously."

"No shit, but how is it working?"

"It's leather, I just enchanted it to store whatever I put into it into a pocket space somewhere else instead." She answers it so nonchalantly, as if no more than an obvious thought.

"So there's just a pocket dimension with your books floating inside it?" I'm still struggling to comprehend the thought. Can people just enchant whatever they want to use as a bag, is there a limit to how much people can put in there? Is this what people actually do with magic?

"It's not just books! There's other stuff in there too, utensils, writing equipment, most of my potions." She counts off, among a few other things. She's managing both talking and rummaging around pretty well, thankfully. "You know you have magic too, right Fuzzy? You can probably learn to do this stuff yourself."

"You put too much faith into him, he's too focused on punching things." Another scoffing comment, another giggle. A cheer comes from the woman, dragging her arm from the depths soon after.

"I think this is it." She mutters, though it sounds like it's mostly to herself, quickly flipping it open and flicking through it. The thwipping of pages fills the air for a good while. "Here ya go! There ain't much information there, but it's what I got."

She shoves the book into my hands, though she keeps the pages open at least.

I look over it. She was being rather generous apparently, there's basically nothing here.

'Potentially a being of magic, unknown whether or not they can be considered alive, let alone human. Located entirely within the woods, best left alone, unless one searches for ill will.'

I can't help but feel irked by the line 'let alone human' personally, though I know I'm guilty of the same phrase, with a hopefully different meaning. Do they pop up in any woods, or by the woods, the writer means the one local to him? The fuck does ill will mean?

As brief and vague as the passage is, there's at least something else that's on the page. A crude, colorless sketch, as if hastily done in the moment or from memory.

A solitary figure sits below the passage, glad in a featureless black cloak, with pale white eyes peeking out from underneath the hood. It has a single arm, lacking limbs elsewhere, a lantern hanging from its lanky grasp. A flame hovers within it, fueled by nothing but itself.

Something about the sketch pricks at me, a claw in my chest poking at the surface, I run a thumb over the drawing.

It looks like Adrian. Though not an exact copy, part of it could be because it's a roughly done sketch, it looks enough for the thought to be at the forefront of my mind.

Worse still, my memory isn't so bad as to forget the dream, with the lady specifically. She had summoned a wisp herself, though the cost required for it was far steeper, and the results far more aggressive. Was that wisp hidden within herself, like how Adrian's hidden within me?

No, that doesn't sound right. Were it so, then the force required to bring it out wouldn't have been so intense. Painful maybe, but not like that. The color of the wisp itself was green too, whereas the magical touch of the lady's purple instead. If it was the same as Adrian and I, then it should've been the same as her, right?

It must've been a forced process then, different from myself and brought out with her own strength. There wouldn't have been such a fight for it to happen otherwise.

I could be wrong, but that makes the most sense to me.

Even still, I can't help but wonder.

Am I like her? Gods, I hope not, I truly truly hope not.

"You think I'm a wisp, then?" Adrians plain voice brings me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I blink away the haze that weighs on my mind, looking over to him. He hangs over my shoulder, lingering just behind me. Despite how close he is, I don't feel too unnerved by him. "I can't see myself from my position, so I trust you with this."

No biting sarcasm, no insults, just plain honesty, plain trust. It's a strange thing to hear from him, but not unwelcome.

"I don't think so, no." I answer, handing the book back over to Lucy. She tilts her head, as if questioning, but takes the book back without a word. "It's close physically, but nothing else. Thank you for trying though."

I mean that honestly, I truly do. Even if he's not a wisp, it's something closer to the truth. She nods and stuffs the book back into the bag.

"Well, if I find other stuff bout it, I'll show ya!" She says with a chirp, a smile plastered on her face.

"Thank you, that's more than I'd ask for. Are there any other questions you have?"

"Mhm! Just the one though, can you still use magic and stuff when Adrian's out of you?"

"Probably." Adrian answers before I can, much to my surprise. "I have a lot of spare time to feel things, as confusing as it is to feel things twice over, I can tell when you'd be drawing on me. Whenever you've used magic, you've only used yourself for it."

"We could check anyways, just in case." Lucy looks over to me, an intrigued look in her eye. Ever interested in magic, I guess.

"Sure, I have my crystal on me." I say with a shrug, I don't have any issues with it. I take in a short breath and focus on myself, kneading at the feeling within. It snakes upwards inside me, I can feel its pressure weighing ever so gently on my skull, and the way it twists around my arm. I bring it up to eye level, watching as the wisps of blue twist around my hand, slipping in between my fingers. "It feels normal, I can't feel any difference."

"Figured that's how it went. I can help you with it personally, though I'd rather not."

"Hm? Why's that?"

"He doesn't want to, it's best to leave it at that." I don't mean for my response to sound so clipped, so short, but it slipped out of me anyhow. If she notices, she doesn't say anything, responding with a nod instead.

"Alright. You're still worried about your arm, aintcha?"

"Is it that noticeable?"

"Only cause I know about it. If you're worried about it, I can check it for you right now." She offers. I mull it over, it is tempting after all, and she's done it before. Am I worried? Maybe a little, I worry about a fair few things after all. But with myself?

I shift the magic around, from one arm to the other. A shiver runs up my spine as it slithers around my arm, covering it in a thin layer of blue. It feels strange, though it feels like that's more from disuse over anything else.

"I think I'm fine now." I give the woman a smirk, brash confidence and relief stirring in my chest. It feels nice to have magic going through both of my arms, rather than just the one. Feels more natural.

"Aw, I was hoping something fun would happen!"

"No fun for you, little weirdo." She huffs and pouts, though she doesn't hold onto it for too long, bursting out into a giggle quick enough.

"Ya know, there's a few more questions I wanna ask ya, mostly bout how you use magic, but I think it might be time to let ya go."

"Eh? Really?" It's a surprising offer, especially coming from her.

"Yup!" She pops the 'p' of the word, clasping her hands behind her back once more. "I don't wanna keep you from your kid for too long after all."

"Fuck you." I grumble. I know what she's trying to do, and I try to not let it get under my skin, but it digs into me anyways, despite my best efforts. Guess I'll have to get used to it.

"Mmmhm. Ya know, I think you might be the most infuriating enigma I've had the pleasure of meeting, thanks for getting shot and coming into my clinic."

I blink once, then twice, raising an eyebrow and staring down at her.

"You're welcome, I think." I mutter in response. Is that meant to be a compliment, or something else? Either way, it's awfully on brand for her. She lets out a brief bit of laughter, a small smile on her face.

"I know I ain't good at talking to people, but I mean it." She continues, and it does sound a little more genuine. She suddenly sticks out her hand, holding it between the two of us. "We'll do some magic stuff tomorrow, if you're free, okay? At your pace and stuff, none of me being, ya know."

She sounds a bit more nervous, the smile on her face turning a tad crooked. She looks out of her depth.

It's cute.

"Naturally." I take her hand in mine, squeezing lightly before shaking on it. Her hand feels rather soft, as is her grip. It suits her.

"Well, isn't that adorable." Adrians sarcastic drawl doesn't ruin the mood, another bit of laughter coming from the woman as she pulls away.

"Ya know, I do wish you told me bout all this sooner so I wasn't tearing my hair out, but this coulda gone worse!" She says as she beams, giggling once more soon after.

"I'll keep that in mind next time." I respond dryly, chuckling along with her. "I think it's best to get going now, try not to get into too much trouble."

"Hey! I'm not that bad at it, and I'm better than you."

"Not a high bar to pass."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt the flirting, but can we fix myself before we leave? You told me how to get out, not get back in"

"Ah, right." I kind of forgot about that. I cough into a hand and turn to face him, swallowing the nerves and the urge to stiffen. Not over it yet, it seems.

"...you know how to let me back in, don't you?" He almost sounds worried.

"Do you have that little faith in me?"

"Yes." I roll my eyes, spreading my arms out wide.

"Same way you went in, just shove yourself through my chest instead, it might hurt a little."

"Oh joy." Another snarky response, at least that one gets a chuckle from me. I take in a deep breath to steady myself and wait for the inevitable.

He slowly floats over to me, apprehension creeping into my gut. I swallow the feeling as best I can, there's not much else I can do. The nerves reach a peak just before he reaches my chest.

And he presses into me, the feeling of a cold fire accompanying him. It feels strange, and uncomfortable, I can feel it seep underneath my chest.

It wriggles and writhes beneath my flesh, spreading throughout ever so slowly. My breath hitches, but I grit my teeth quick enough, trying my best to relax. Keeping myself tense won't do either of us any favors.

It's not a painful experience, at least when compared to before, just stressful both body and mind.

A shuddering sigh slips through my lips, but he eventually forces his way through. A sharp pain suddenly lances through my skull, a hand instinctively reaching up to cradle it.

"Fuck!"

'Christ, that hurt too! The fucks wrong with you and pain?'

You know I don't actually enjoy it, it just happens. How are you feeling at the moment? You back in my head?

'Seems so, can't believe that worked too. Another bit from your dreams, I assume?'

More or less, it wasn't as painful for either side. Might have something to do with it being a dream?

'Hell if I know. Might want to respond to Lucy, by the by.'

I shake my head clear of the pain and look over to the woman, there's an oddly curious look on her face.

"I'm good! It's all good now, I'll uh, be seeing you later."

'You sound like an awkward bastard.'

I can't believe I missed you in my head.

'You missed me?'

"See ya Fuzzy!" I give the woman a wave before turning around, unsteadily waltzing out of the room, ignoring the pangs of pain in my legs. Should've probably taken a seat at some time, my legs feel terrible.

'And now I have to feel it too, how wonderful.'

The door clicks shut behind me, a relieved feeling sigh slipping past my lips. I lean against it for a moment, raising a hand to massage my temples.

How was it? Being, you know, out of the body.

'Didn't feel any different from the dream honestly. I just didn't have a human-like body.'

Wouldn't that feel a bit odd?

'I couldn't feel anything under 'normal' circumstances anyhow, though I think being pissed at you helped smooth the process over.'

You're welcome, I guess. I let out a short chuckle, running a hand through my hair.

Are you feeling alright?

'Eh? Where'd this come from?'

Not sure really, just wanted to check up on you.

'Are you actually worried about me or something? The hell's this?'

Hey, just wondering is all. I push myself off of the door and begin the walk. I reckon I've been stuck here for a good while, hard to tell in her room. There's a soft rumbling in the back of my mind though, just as we begin to approach the stairs.

'...I feel good. Thank you.'

My lips twist upwards, into a small smile.

Any time Adrian, any time.