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Dharin fell through the mist, landing with a thump on a stone floor. Looking around, he recognized the library with the mirror. Though there were more than one now. He was about to get up when someone fell from the mist on the ceiling, landing right on top of him with an “oof.”

Lytt jumped up, stammering an apology. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know that- Dharin!”

Dharin sat up, looking over her for injuries. “Lytt? Are you okay?”

She laughed nervously. “Am I okay? You were the one who I fell on!”

Dharin laughed as well, feeling a pleasant warmth flood his chest. “Good point. What happened? Is everything okay?”

Lytt stopped laughing. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.” Dharin shifted, and sat cross-legged. The warmth returned when Lytt sat beside him.

Was she sitting closer than she had sat before? No. It means nothing. Stop it and focus. She’s talking.

“-we never scaled the wall. We were doing well when Teagan fell. I managed to keep him from dying, but he was seriously injured.”

Dharin looked around the room for the young man, brow furrowing when he didn’t see him. “Go on.”

“I also was hurt, though not as badly.”

Dharin turned sharply, looking again for injury. “Are you alright?”

Lytt nodded, smiling slightly. “Nothing worse than a twisted ankle and aching wing. I’ve had worse. May I finish now?”

Dharin gave a crooked smile. “Sorry.”

Lytt waved her hand. “It’s fine,” she said softly. “We managed to give Teagan pain killers, and took him into a tunnel that opened up for us. We thought it was a trap, and we were right.”

Lytt stopped, frowning. “We were attacked by suits of armor, aided by a metal dragon.”

Metal dragon? What…

Lytt kept going. “We eventually escaped, but the dragon lived. Teagan-“ She stopped again, and Dharin’s heart dropped.

“Oh no.”

Lytt bit her lip, nodding. Dharin saw her hands shaking slightly, and set his jaw, silently cursing the dragon. He wrapped her in a hug, praying she wouldn’t pull away. She didn’t, hesitantly curling her wings around him. It was an odd feeling, being hugged with feathers, but Dharin rather liked it. He found but one thought swirling in his mind.

  I love her.

He closed his eyes a moment. And then something felt wrong. He opened his eyes and found Lytt becoming transparent. She was looking at him, smiling softly.

“Lytt- no-“

“It’s fine, Dharin.”

She faded completely.

Dharin found himself holding nothing but a single white feather. He held it reverently in a shaking hand, and closed his eyes. He thought back on the time he had spent with Lytt, the laughs and tears they had shared, and when he opened his eyes he was seeing through a mist. He blinked his tears back, and smiled fondly at the feather. He went to put it in the pocket of his tunic, but remembered he wore nothing but his vest…

And Lytt still had the tunic.

______

@beth20 I’m back now! Jaylin can talk to Dharin 🙂