The first thought Solia had about the place was that the shadows couldn’t possibly be there. That she was being silly. After all, this was a place where they hunted the shadows, there wouldn‘t be any. She took a few steps down, looking back at the others. Lex had come out fine right? She could do it too. There was nothing to worry about. It was safe. It was okay. Yeah, she’d be fine. Still, the path was hard, heeled shoes hardly able to grip the steps and she almost fell a few times. Only from experience did she stay upright. Thank god for old gravel roads and muddy grass of her old school grounds. As she reached the bottom, darkness was chased away by the faint light, and she looked around. It was… normal. Ish. A room. With things embedded on the walls. Runes, markings carved here and there, she got the feeling that she was being judged, measured, examined.

She held her head high but- She didn’t like this she decided, it felt small and it felt wrong, like she should have be able to make something happen but.. nothing.


There was a sort of emptiness that came with being a weapon Israfel found. A sort of serene calm only lacking in the contentment. He’d come to do something. To help someone, save someone. He’d come to help. But now he was alone. Sleeping. It was strange, the presences that came and went. He could feel them, but none of them needed him. None of them made him want to sing. They had others who needed them more, who could help them in better ways. Some who came were already helped, they didn’t need another. Israfel was not greedy, he wouldn’t bother them.

Finally, something stirred in a part of him. A sort of sadness. Loneliness. The want to help but not knowing how. The feelings he knew far too well. She, it was a she he knew, how he could not tell, was frightened. She didn’t like the room. She didn’t like how it felt she was being judged. Yet again, Israfel felt the emotions before, in what seemed like a lifetime ago. She was shying away from the others, loud, demanding. A few got close, but they were made of harder things, crueler things. They wanted to break her, not help her. He felt her, scared, alone. She wanted to return to wherever she came from but if she left now, it would be a failure. She didn’t want that, she refused to be that. Still, she was scared. She was shying from the voices, moving away from their judgment. She didn’t need to be so scared. They couldn’t hurt her, not unless she let them in.

‘Are you alright?’

The voice that she heard was soft, gentle. She wasn’t sure where it had come from, eyes whirling around the room. “Hello?”
‘It’s alright. I’m not there. Not there there at least.’ The soothing voice drowned out the feelings that others were pushing at her, judging her. The voice was comforting and kind. “I…I’m okay.”
‘I’m sorry if you are scared. I am sure no one means to frighten you.’
She was opening up a bit, and the siren felt her apprehension still. ‘Who are you looking for?’ He cooed in her head, a gentle sound. The girl blinked, following where she thought she heard the voice. It was close to the entry, surrounded by empty slots. Where the runes and tablets would be filled in, gradually it looked like. His the last of a column. A faint blue glow. His? Hers? The voice was both.
‘Are you looking for me?’ The girl didn’t answer, fingers brushing over the tablet. It was cool, like stone. ‘Are you sure?’

The question made her pause. “I have a choice?”
The voice that had touched her head seemed to chuckle. ‘You do. I… I am alright with being chosen. But there are others. You can always say no, I won’t mind.’
Solia hesitated again. She could choose. The other voices- they seemed cold, unsettling, like they didn’t want to be kind to her, they wanted to use her, hurt her.
The other voices scared her.

“Did you choose me?” She made it a question. The voice paused. ‘In a way. You were scared and alone. I have felt that before. No one deserves to feel such things.’
A whisper, she traced the tablet a little more, admiring the blue glow. “Can I choose you?” The tablet fell from the wall, landing in her hands. It was lighter than she expected, like it was made of feathers and not stone.
‘You can. What is your name?’
“Solia.” She smiled a bit. “Solia Delacroix.” There was a glow of blue, a feeling like water rushing through her hands, the smell of her hair, of the ocean just beyond the cove. The weight came then. Like wood, like metal, it was a mix. Bright blue rose on one end, a series of small feather blades at the other. Longer than her arm, it was beautiful.
‘I am Israfel. I am sorry you were scared, but we can go now. ’