Darkness had completely enveloped me. I couldn't move or feel anything. The only sensation present was the dull pressure from my body pressing into the mattress of my parents' bed.

It felt heavy, but weightless at the same time. Before long It started to feel like I was sinking into a river. The water surrounded me like a soft blanket, but also compressing me as I sank deeper and deeper, eventually losing all sense of awareness.

Suddenly I felt a rush of wind blow through my hair and my eyes shot open, rapidly taking in my new surroundings.

A grassy field stretched out before me, bordered by ice and snow. It was real, too real to be just a dream. I could feel the air sifting between my fingers as goosebumps appeared on my skin under my soft new clothes. Any sign of injury or illness was gone.

My hands felt weak. As I looked down I began to stumble, having to catch my balance, feeling like my center of gravity had changed. After catching myself I began to become more and more aware, realizing my clothes were different as well. My hair was much longer and darker than before. It was like my body wasn't my own.

The familiar orange sweatshirt I was wearing had sleeves that were just a little too long, hanging down past my palms. Bringing my hand closer to my eyes, I could see the cuffs were worn from being tugged on.

I placed my hands in the pockets of my cargo pants that had a similarly familiar red trim and felt the soft warmth from the lining. ‘Fur pockets...’ The realization slowly set in that I was wearing my favorite clothes from my past life.

I took a strand of my long black hair and began twirling it with my long slender fingers. I was in the body of my past life as well.

Even in that body, I had always been on the shorter side. I was only about 5 foot 2 inches, or 157 cm. No doubt that was the reason my balance was off, my body was longer than I was used to. The difference was fairly significant, so I ended up getting the feeling I was about a full foot shorter, probably around 4 foot 2, or 127cm

‘Guess I was a little taller than I thought…’ I thought back to my relative size. While Mara and Lu weren't all that much taller than me. My father was easily over twice my height. ‘He's over 8 feet tall!’

‘I guess I probably should have guessed that from how big he is… That means Mara is about 6 feet tall… Girls stop growing around 14, don't they? Am I really going to be stuck being that much shorter than everyone else?’

I let out a depressed sigh, trying to bring my thoughts back from the tangent they had gone on, and refocusing my mind to my current situation.

At first, I was unsure, but my thoughts were far too clear and coherent for it to be a dream. The beautiful scenery and the sun in the sky were both far too detailed as well.

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‘Is it possible that I died again? What would have killed me though? There's no way I was allergic to the healing magic, is there? No, that's ridiculous… well…’ Given just how frail I was, it wasn't entirely out of the question.

I pulled up my hood and pushed back my hair, gathering it on one side as my eyes shifted back and forth, examining the area around me. Tall lush grass gently swayed in the wind. Only one thing interrupted my vision as I scanned from one side to the other. A gazebo of pure white marble was sitting straight in front of me.

The floor and seats were the same as the rest of it, pearly white marble. As I drew closer I began to make out sparkling gold lines. They were so thin they added only a subtle detail, swirling together as they got closer to the table which had a large line of gold that looked like a lightning strike cracking straight through it.

I stepped inside, turning to see a boy sitting on one of the benches and sipping tea from a delicate cup. “You haven't given up, have you?” he asked. It seemed like his voice should have startled me, but instead, it was somehow comforting. Without so much as turning to look at me he spoke, and as if the wind carried his words straight to my ears I could hear his soft slightly childish voice echo in my head.

It was so calming and peaceful that I had trouble responding at first. Just hearing it filled me with the same joy I would get when listening to a beautiful song. My mind went completely blank as goosebumps formed down my arms as he continued. “We can… talk about it… if you think it would help.”

His gold and white hair blew in the wind as he turned to face me. He had the delicate face of a child, sharply contrasting his masculine physique. His eyes were a bright gleaming silver that made me think of a dancing fire, and his clothes made up a similar color palette with the addition of a dark green.

“If not that's ok too.” The wind continued to blow, but his eyes stayed wide open with an intense stare. To say he looked otherworldly would have been an understatement. Even his clothes, although simple looking in design, were unique and elegant.

His baggy white pants failed to hide the size of his muscular legs as the fabric gently shifted in the breeze, being held to him by the tight cuffs at his ankles. His black sandals were unique as well, in that the black coloring was somehow moving and continuously reweaving itself through them.

He raised his hand, moving it back and forth. “You there?”

I could feel my eyes dilating and struggling to focus.

“I-Im…” I wanted to respond, but my brain wasn't even rendering anything he had said, I was drawing a complete blank.

The elbow-length sleeves of his loose jacket fluttered as he moved his hands to his hips, exposing his tight shirt underneath. He smirked and shook his head before gesturing towards the table. “I thought you'd be better at this by now.”

His hands gestured towards a tea set that wasn't there before, and like coming out of a trance, suddenly I was sitting across from him, slowly regaining my line of thought.

Finally regaining my own ability to think, my brain rushed to catch up to where we were in the conversation. ‘Give up… talk about…? Better at?’ I looked up to him. “So… Am I dead?”

He slowly lowered his teacup to its saucer and gently placed it on the table. “Ahh. I see you've finally gained full consciousness.”

Before I could get an answer, my rapid train of thought shot through my mind and I just continued asking more questions. “Who are you, and where are we?”

‘His charming voice and appearance took me off guard, but only for a moment. It wasn't as if I were completely enchanted by him…’ I didn't have the slightest idea as to who he was. Because of that, my instincts told me he was dangerous, but at the same time, there was something warm and familiar about him.

‘I… was only out of it for a moment right…’

I thought back to the several times he tried to grab my attention while I stared at him, mesmerized. ‘Fireflies…’ I muttered to myself in disappointment.

He smiled softly at me, His eyes filled with pity, but I couldn't understand why.