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Oh God, she wasn't going to make it!

Her lungs were burning, the muscles in her legs aching, but she couldn't stop. She could still hear the awful scrape and pound of the monster's feet pounding along behind her. Could practically feel the hot breath on the back of her neck as the thing snarled at her. It had been chasing her for twelve blocks now, further and further from her brother, from the place she'd said she'd meet him. Every attempt at losing the thing had failed, she was running out of steam.

She was going to die out here.

Desperately she turned a corner, shoulder smacking painfully against a wall as she threw herself down an alley she hoped was two slim for the thing to follow, but he charged in after, it's body seemingly melting to fit, and Cassie screamed as she flung her flashlight over her shoulder at it, only to be rewarded by a vicious howl and he the bite of sharp claws against the back of her calf, making her stumble.

She went down in a heap, head bouncing painfully off the dirty ground a split second before something heavy came down on top of her back, pinning her.

Heavy. She couldn't even draw breath enough to scream as claws dug into her back and teeth snapped threateningly near her cheek. She cringed, gasping for what little air she could draw in with the beast weighing into her back, eyes shutting tightly as she turned her head away. Don't look, don't look, don't look.

If this was the end, she didn't want to see it.

She felt the thing tense, thick claws pressing a little more painfully into the backs of her shoulders, and then suddenly the weight was gone and Cassiopeia was left blinking in shock.

She wasn't along anymore. It was a dim realization, one that chiseled through the panic slowly. It was a howl that seemed to break through, and she lifted her head enough to watch the cloud of dust exploding outward before the flash of something drew her gaze up to a very tall man in strange attire moving towards her to offer a hand up.

She took it, too in shock not to, and let him draw her up to her feet. "Not seriously." She didn't think. Her head hurt from where she'd hit it, and she could feel prickling pain along her shoulders and the slow, cool creep of blood down her back, but nothing felt broken, and the thing hadn't bitten her.

Swallowing, Cassie glanced back to where the dust cloud at been, then up again. "Thank you." He was very tall. "How...uh." Dry lips were given a quick lick. "How did you do that?"

"Magic." It came out a little doubtful, but her expression was thoughtful as she watched the dust settling. It wasn't that unreasonable an explanation, was it? She had just been chased down and nearly eaten by a giant wolf looking beast with spikes on it's shoulders and the most unnatural eyes she'd ever seen before.

Cassie's lips twitched at the memory, features pinching before she looked back up at the tall figure standing beside her. "What was it?" It hadn't been anything naturally occurring, at least nothing she'd ever heard of before.

Cassiopeia's features pinched at the explanation, a chill raising goosebumps over her skin, and she crossed her arms across her chest, hands running up and down to chase the sensation away. "Nightmare fuel," she murmured uncomfortably, softly.

Youma. A beast under the command of the an underground organization. It sounded like something out of a book or a movie. Some sort of scifi story.

After a moment she looked up at the tall blonde thoughtfully, gaze sweeping over his attire, before landing on his face again. "So what are you?" Because he'd yanked the youma off her back almost effortlessly, and something he'd done had reduced the beast to nothing more than a cloud of dust.

She was reaching for his arm before she could stop herself, stopping just short. "No, please. I want to know." She'd never, in all her life, felt as helpless as she had when those damn things had chased her and her brother down. (Was Caspian alright? He had better be. She needed him to be.) If this guy could help in some way. Or even if she could just get on his good side.

"I promise." What was the Dark Mirror Court? It didn't matter, the promise was easy to make. "I trust you."

Why save her, just to turn around and hurt her. It didn't make any sense.

Whatever he knew, she wanted to know as well. Maybe he could tell her more about the youma,and how she could stop them herself. Maybe.

It was worth a shot, at the very least.

She took his hand almost eagerly, excitement and curiosity dulling the pain in her shoulders and head. Overriding even that small voice of wisdom reminding that wandering of with strange individuals was usually not the best idea. But she wanted to see.

Quietly she followed him, biting back the question of where they were going, but only barely. She found out quickly enough as he lead her to a floor length mirror, though that only seemed to raise more questions, and she opened her mouth to ask one or two, but the words failed her as she's arched the surface of the glass rippling under his touch.

"...now that's a neat trick," she breathed, eyes widening. How in hell..?

Her attention snapped back to him as he spoke, and she nodded, squaring her shoulders as he drew her forward into the mirror itself. (Through the looking glass. Was this neverland? A dream?) Obediently she drew a breath, eyes closing tightly as the glass seemed to close in around her, like water, but not.

The pressing sensation eased as they slipped through, and Cassie chanced a peek as she gently slipped her fingers from his grasp. Then stopped altogether as the reflective shine that surrounded her grabbed her attention. "Wow..." She wasn't exactly the most articulate thing, lacking eloquence, but even if she had, wow about covered the place he'd lead her into.

"This is surreal." Tearing her gaze away from mirrors and back on Remarque, the teen hurried to catch up, sticking close in this strange place. Usually independent, prone to exploration and delinquency, she was hesitant to wander off on her own here. Half afraid it was all just a dream, or worst, and nothing has come along to save her from the monster dog.

The throne room--because that was undeniably what it was--received its own wide eyed stare, and she actually had to reach out to curl her fingers loosely around the multicolored overlay that hung over the tall man's vest. Keeping close, while her attention was pulled this way and that.

Until she saw the mirror he meant for her to see. That one held her focus, even had her stepping around Remarque to get a better look of it. There was nothing outwardly different about it besides perhaps a darker color, but there was certainly something about it that drew her nearer. Compelling, enough so that she almost missed what he was saying. "What? Oh, no. Never before. We haven't been in the city long, just moved here."

"Mm," said Cassie, fairly distractedly. Her attention was firmly held by the mirror she was standing in front of, trying to find something in the dark glass that would explain the appeal of it. It meant slower replies, Remarque's voice seeming to reach her a few seconds after the fact. "No, they didn't mention it." Would it have mattered of they had? Who would have believed this sort of oddness took place here? Or anywhere, for that matter.

She had glanced back at him, but at the mention of the mirror being magical her attention drifted back to it, head tilting as she searched the glass. "What sort of magic?" What would happen if she touched it. He hadn't said not to...

Slowly she lifted up a hand, reaching forward until her fingertips touched the cool surface.