It was her, there was no doubt about it. Same green hair and gold eyes, same white freckles and same leather armor that looked like leaves. The green girl from Kit’s dream had swooped in out of nowhere and kicked that gigafrog’s butt like a superhero, but all gratitude had fled and been replaced by deep unease once Kit had gotten a good look at her face.

If they had dreamed about Arte and now here she was in front of them, did that mean the drowning was also going to happen? They were only a day or two away from the port, was something going to go wrong? Fear sank its icy hooks in Kit’s heart and they groped for Jamil’s hand, finding it and squeezing it tightly. He squeezed back just as tight. Arte looked uncomfortable and more than a little confused.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t mean to freak you out or anything, but I definitely saw you in a dream…and I was definitely drowning in that dream…I think…” Kit paused, glancing back at Jamil for a moment before continuing, “I think we were supposed to meet you, Arte…and I think you’re supposed to come with us.” Right away they felt Jamil tense up, ready to protest, but they stopped him with a sharp elbow to the gut. He groaned softly but didn’t argue.

“You know, I think you may be right,” Arte said thoughtfully, much to Kit’s surprise.

“You think so?”

“Yes. Right before I caught sight of you two, I began to get this strange feeling that seemed to pull me toward it. Following that feeling led me here.” Excitement bloomed inside Kit at Arte’s words and they nodded eagerly.

“Like your skin fell asleep, right?” They exclaimed, and Arte’s eyes widened.

“I think so? How did you know?”

“I get the same feeling! When I use my powers or when Jamil is close…I really think you’re supposed to join us!” Kit was giddy with excitement, their unease already forgotten. Jamil grabbed their arm and pulled them closer; his lips grazed their ear and they almost jumped out of their skin in embarrassment, but he whispered angrily:

“What the hell are you doing?” Kit could hear the undertones of uncertainty in his voice. They gently pried his hand off and pushed him away a bit.

“Jamil, calm down. It’s okay.”

“Calm down? Kit, do you hear yourself? You sound crazy! Why would you think she’s coming with us?”

“Because there’s something here, Jamil! Don’t tell me you can’t feel it! That tingle? Those dreams? It’s all connected somehow, it has to be!” Taking both of Jamil’s hands in their own, Kit made him meet their eyes. He didn’t look away, and slowly his scowl began to ease. Darting a glance over at Arte, Jamil’s expression dissolved into open distress.

“I…I want to believe you, Kit, I do, but…I don’t know if we can trust her…” His gaze seemed far away, and when Kit closed their eyes, they saw tiny flashes of his thoughts. It hadn’t happened since that time after escaping Mutehall, and they staggered under the intensity of Jamil’s fear and doubt. Had he been silently struggling this whole time? They could feel his Curse in there, too, reacting to the negative emotions; it coiled and writhed inside him like it wanted out. Jamil’s jaw tightened as he fought to keep it in. Letting go of his hands, Kit instead held his face. He accepted the touch, leaning into it.

“If you don’t think you can trust her, then trust me, okay? Isn’t that kind of your thing? Believing in me?” Jamil nodded slowly, and Kit felt the storm within him start to settle. Behind them, Arte gasped softly.

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“How did you do that?” She whispered, and Kit turned to her in question.

“Do what?”

“He’s had this really dark aura ever since I first saw him, and you just made it disappear.” Mystified, Arte looked back and forth between them like she was only just now seeing them. Kit shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“I…I don’t know. I’m still figuring out my powers.” Shrugging, they waved their hands around, remnants of their magic dusting off their fingers like fine glitter. Arte’s eyes only got bigger.

This was a feeling Kit had not anticipated and certainly was not prepared for. Before coming to Ava Mara, back in their normal life on Earth, they had gone to great lengths to avoid drawing too much attention to themself. They didn’t like to show any skin and, despite their vibrant hair, dressed in a fairly monochromatic palette of mostly black or white. All of their shopping was done online, and even their job was alone in an empty library in the middle of the night. The whirlwind of magic worlds and wizards and monsters had kept them from thinking about it too much but now, with Arte in front of them and Jamil behind, both staring at them with expectation, Kit wanted nothing more than to be invisible again.

They ran.

“KIT! Where are you going?!” Jamil shouted from behind them, but they ignored it. They ran as fast as they could, skinny arms pumping wildly up and down. Jamil ran after them, had to be him with those cinder blocks he had for boots. Kit tried to evade him, knowing they wouldn’t be able to outrun him. Sure enough, his hand caught their arm after only a few minutes. Kit wheeled around and hit his arm with their closed fist, pulling to get away but he didn’t let go.

“What are you doing, idiot? You’ll get lost out here!” He shouted at them, not even breathing hard from chasing them down. Kit was struck with how very human they were, and how inhuman Jamil was. It scared them.

“Let go! And don’t yell at me!” Kit did not give up struggling, hitting Jamil’s arm over and over again until he finally released them with an aggravated shove. He scowled at Kit but they glared right back.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Jamil said, not shouting now but still sounding quite angry.

“Don’t call me idiot,” Kit huffed, turning their back to Jamil; he immediately grabbed their arm again and they shook it off with an agitated grumble. “I’m not gonna run again! I wasn’t even gonna go that far, I just…needed to be alone for a minute.”

Neither of them spoke for a long time. Kit stared at the ground, at the leaves and grass that looked almost normal unless they looked too hard, and then came the tears they hadn’t realized they were holding back. Clamping both hands over their mouth to stifle their sobs, their shoulders shaking, they cried out everything that had built up over the last few chaotic days. All the fear and anxiety from being hurled unceremoniously into another world, the danger they were in, the divine destiny they didn’t ask for and didn’t want…

At some point Jamil closed the space between them by wrapping his arms around Kit’s shoulders, and they didn’t push him away. He didn’t say anything; he didn’t have to. Kit could feel what he felt now, just like when they had felt his fear after Mutehall. It made them feel a lot better.

Footsteps behind them made them both look up, and Arte froze mid-step. She offered an awkward smile.

“There you two are. Everything okay?” She asked, concern thinly veiled in her voice. Jamil nudged Kit gently, softly repeating, “Everything okay?” Sniffling, Kit nodded and wiped the tears from their puffy eyes.

“Y-yeah, everything’s okay. Just…got a little overwhelmed, is all.” They stepped away from Jamil, absently patting his chest. His ears reddened slightly.

“I’m really sorry if I caused any upset.” Looking embarrassed, Arte bowed at the waist. The formality made Kit wince, and they asked her to stand.

“Please don’t do all that, it’s really fine. It’s…a lot has happened recently.” Sighing tiredly, they glanced at Jamil. He gave a short nod, and they both turned to Arte.

“Come with us, Arte.” Kit extended their hand; Arte hesitated for a moment, then took it. As soon as their hands touched, Kit felt the tingling flare to life as they gave Arte a memory-vision of everything that had happened since their arrival in Ava Mara.

Kit didn’t even know they could do that.

~