//00 the dream
The elements combined in a way that she instinctively knew was unnatural. Air all around her, even below her where the earth should be, blowing hot sparks against her cheeks. Fire before her, promising an end just as her awareness had begun. Water on her cheeks, salty and warm. This was the moment of her death, and yet there was no pain.
Then it all went still. A tall figure stood before her, one she knew, she knew, but could not remember.
She opened her mouth to say a name without even knowing what it would be.
"Ichi-"
She fell.
There was only blackness then, a deep sensory deprivation. Only when she closed her eyes was there light, and faces that passed through her mind's eye as if on a breeze: a stern and beautiful man, emanating an aura of cold power; an equally powerful yet strangely warm presence wrapped in white, not black; a smiling man with messy black hair whose laughter spoke of nothing else but the sensation of home; and a weeping girl whose misery made her want to reach out and ease the pain. But when she stretched her hands toward the thin figure, she shrunk away, then bowed. "-sana is sorry."
She opened her eyes.
What was black before had become white, but she could feel this time, and what she felt was a bitter, stinging cold. The wind whipped ice crystals against her cheek and she bowed her head to shield her face, only to jerk it right back when a hissing voice sliced through her entire being.
"Don't hide from the snow, young one. Embrace it; it is part of you. And no wielder of mine will hide from it.
She opened her mouth to ask who was speaking and how they knew her, but the words faded with the storm. The freezing ice became a gentle snowfall. Almost hypnotized, she held out her cupped hands, and a single perfect snowflake landed on them. She expected it to melt, but it remained as it was-complex and delicate in its frozen perfection. She curled her fingers around it and brought it closer to her heart, and as she did, the world faded away in a wash of light.
Then it all went still. A tall figure stood before her, one she knew, she knew, but could not remember.
She opened her mouth to say a name without even knowing what it would be.
"Ichi-"
She fell.
There was only blackness then, a deep sensory deprivation. Only when she closed her eyes was there light, and faces that passed through her mind's eye as if on a breeze: a stern and beautiful man, emanating an aura of cold power; an equally powerful yet strangely warm presence wrapped in white, not black; a smiling man with messy black hair whose laughter spoke of nothing else but the sensation of home; and a weeping girl whose misery made her want to reach out and ease the pain. But when she stretched her hands toward the thin figure, she shrunk away, then bowed. "-sana is sorry."
She opened her eyes.
What was black before had become white, but she could feel this time, and what she felt was a bitter, stinging cold. The wind whipped ice crystals against her cheek and she bowed her head to shield her face, only to jerk it right back when a hissing voice sliced through her entire being.
"Don't hide from the snow, young one. Embrace it; it is part of you. And no wielder of mine will hide from it.
She opened her mouth to ask who was speaking and how they knew her, but the words faded with the storm. The freezing ice became a gentle snowfall. Almost hypnotized, she held out her cupped hands, and a single perfect snowflake landed on them. She expected it to melt, but it remained as it was-complex and delicate in its frozen perfection. She curled her fingers around it and brought it closer to her heart, and as she did, the world faded away in a wash of light.