In a small sanctuary for her song, Amber was near cut off from the world. There are memories that threaten to re-surface but she will not allow that to happen. She could feel it bubbling from deep inside of her. It always helped her to gain some sense of control when she visualised her pain and imagine it being locked away in the crystal. The song was near the end and the negative emotions are almost under locks. That was when a scream pierced through the calm of her mind. 

Amber bolted from her bed, landing on her feet. Her senses heightened in fear. Her mind registered Krystal's voice as the one that was screaming. Sulli's presence was absent and there was an unknown one in her place. That was enough to send Amber racing down the steps to check on the kittens. She burst into the kitchen to see Krystal near to tears hugging Sulli who seems to be unconscious. The sight made Amber stop in her tracks, not knowing what to make of the situation.

“What is going on here?” her features contorting into one of confusion.

Krystal look up with a pleading look, “Sulli… she just fainted…..she heard you singing then,” her hand gesturing weakly. 

“I havenoidea what isgoingon,” words came out as strings from her mouth, the nervousness affecting her ability to talk. The explanation is not helping Amber as she was still unable to figure out what is going on. 

“Wait… heard my song and she fainted? What?” Amber moved closer toward the pair. Now that she is closer, Amber could see Sulli’s lips moving mumbling something over and over again. 

“What is she saying?” she asked, placing her ear near Sulli’s lips.

“It hurts… stop…” She was whimpering. A flashback caught Amber by surprise. Biting her lips trying to gain back her control of the reality, Amber steadied herself. 

“I need some help here,” She motioned Krystal to position Sulli on her back. That snapped Krystal out of her dazed state as she moved quickly to help. Carrying Sulli to her bed was easy for Amber. The difficult part was figuring out what to do from this point onwards. Krystal was at Sulli bedside looking like she was going to pass out. Sulli on the other hand still seemed to be mumbling the same thing over and over again. It was almost as if she was having a bad dream. Amber knew that she had to distract Krystal or move her away as soon as possible. If not, the link that fey twins shared will cause her to see the same dreams (if Sulli was indeed having a strange dream) which might just cause Krystal to faint as well.  

“Krystal,” Amber made sure to gently support Krystal to her feet. “You will be needed in the cafe. Leave this to me, ok? Tell Vic that I have to take care of Sulli.” The mere suggestion that Krystal had to leave Sulli in this state got her bristling and hissing softly, slipping into her were-cat behaviours. 

Amber felt her head pound. It was not a good time for Krystal to be acting all protective.

Usually Sulli and Krystal are well behaving kittens of the litter. However, even as Fyes are concerned, the litter was still young and the twins are the newest addition. It was easy to revert back into old habits when they are still homeless. She can only assume that somethings did happen which cause Krystal to be additionally protective of Sulli. 

“Trust me,” Amber let her tone drop to a growl. It was not as powerful as Amber would like it to be with flashback haunting her ever since hearing Sulli’s whisper. However, it was enough to let Krystal stiffen, alert ready to pounce. Being cats, there was no sense of hierarchy between each other. This means that without the interference of the fey instincts Krystal would have fought her nail and tooth to stay by Sulli’s side. But the Fey side of Krystal compelled her to react and respect a display of power when it comes to someone who has seniority in the house. Resting her case, Krystal walked out of her shared room with Sulli to make her way to the cafe. 

It was not until Amber was sure that Krystal had left the house that she left herself slump to the ground. It was her turn to let out little whimpers. The words that Sulli spoken seemed to have awoken sleeping memories that Amber had sealed within herself. A past that she didn’t want to remember overwhelmed her and took over her senses. 

The air was cold. Her heart was racing, ringing in her ears. 

All she knew was that she needed to run. The sting on her side reminded her of the wounds that she’d suffered. Beams of light and distant shouts kept her toes on the line. They were still hunting for her. She needs to move. She didn’t want to go back. 

The home that they provided was sterile with a deep undercurrent of darkness. It felt colder than any winter and darker than anything that she could meet in the forest. There was no way that she would want to go back ‘home’. So she ran, feet flying across the undergrowth. 

Whatever hit her caught her in mid-stride. Pain blossomed from her back, spreading through her body like a wild fire. The last thing she saw was the masked faces that came into view. 

With a gasp, Amber snapped back to reality. Her eyes found wide brown ones staring right back at her. Still jumpy from her flashback, Amber instinctively scrambled backward only to realised that it was just Sulli who was awake now. 

“Amber, are you ok? I was in bed for some reason and found you by my bed asleep too…” Sulli’s voice was tinted with concern and confusion. It was as if she didn’t remember anything about passing out at the kitchen. Amber’s mind cleared as she struggled to try and make up an excuse for this situation. There was just too many facts that are missing. It’s better if Sulli was kept in the dark about what just happened. 

“Are you hurting somewhere? I can help if you want,” the lack of response from Amber got her even more worried. Sulli was a light elemental and healing magic came easy to her. Amber jumped at the chance for a distraction.

“I guess there have been just too many night jobs recently. I’m just feeling under the weather.”

This was not exactly a lie as Amber really had been going out in the late nights these few days.

“I would really appreciate some help if you don’t mind,” Amber confided with an abashed smile. 

Sulli went quickly to work, putting the strange discrepancies to the back of her mind. It was rare that Amber would admit to being tired. Most of the time she would venomously deny that she had any troubles at all. Sulli wanted to make sure that she could work her magic before Amber changes her mind.