Uncomfortable Realizations

Aether’s bare feet stepped lightly through the dew-soaked grass. In the starlit night, she was nearly a ghost— near-silent and near-invisible. She made her way towards the hill she’d taken to stargazing from, tracing the familiar path by memory. She needed some time alone to think.

“Going somewhere?” The Nightmare’s discordant voice rumbled as his many eyes glimmered to life from the shadows in the forest. 

She rolled her eyes. A few months ago, she’d have jumped at this, but it was mundane now. “Why ask? You already know. You’ve been following me out here for a while now, haven’t you?”

“I have.” He slunk out to join her along the path. His body shrank down, evaporating excess mass into the cloak of night that always shrouded him. That was a new trick-- of course he used it just to lock eyes with her. Only Nightmare would be petty enough to develop new magic just to squint at her funnier with. “Which means I’ve seen a few things. Have you been feeling alright lately?”

“Yeah?” She raised an eyebrow. “I mean, it’s been rather chaotic, but I think I’m doing fine.”

“And nothing weird is going on?” The Nightmare fixed her solidly in his gaze.

“I don’t think so?” She asked. 

“How is your little parasite faring?” He asked bluntly. 

Aether paused. She hadn’t even stopped to consider it in a while, but Fade’s voice hadn’t been intruding in her mind recently. “Well, I guess he’s been much less bothersome as of late. Why?”

“It’s strange. When I first met you, I could see you both clearly. I’ve been keeping an eye on that thing, and it’s like he’s hiding behind you. It’s like you’ve mixed two of your different herb-soup-things you like to make together.” He squinted at her— despite his eyes being pure light, she could feel it.

Her brow furrowed slightly. “I’ve told you before, it’s medicine. And what does that mean? For either of us?” She finally asked.

“I don’t know. I was hoping you would tell me.” He sat down in the middle of the trail, tail thumping softly on the ground. “I’ve had two theories though. The first is that your little friend is going dormant for some reason—“

“And the second is that you think he’s doing something to me.” She finished. The Nightmare nodded. 

“It’s more than a suspicion.” He admitted. “You started spending more time out here when he started growing fainter. And you’ve been colder, as you would put it.” 

She frowned. “I guess I don’t know what to say to that. I feel fine. Have I been neglecting you at all?”

“You have not. But I worry for you, and the others. Your unawareness of the situation is expected, but does concern me.” He rises back to his feet. “What do you know of the nature of your parasite? You never talk about him, even when I ask. You grow afraid, or uneasy. It’s almost more strange that you show none of that now.” 

It was true. Why wasn’t she scared that he would hear, and she would have to deal with the repercussions? That too never crossed her mind. And truth be told, she knew very little of Fade. She knew that he was some kind of thing from beyond the stars that relied on her as a host, and that he was hunted. And by extension she was hunted. More words sprang to mind the longer she thought about him— Typhon. He was from the Beyond, as it translated. Practically immortal, but he was far too scared of his mortality when it came to the other typhon chasing him. He was desperate, or he never would have found himself out in the chronoscape with her.

“That’s what I thought.” He poked her with a silvery claw. Eavesdropper, she thought. “You’re absorbing it.” 

“I’m what?” 

“You heard me. Your Fade-Parasite. You’re absorbing him. That’s why you haven’t been hearing him. You’re incorporating him into yourself and stealing parts of him, blending him into you. That’s why you’ve been weird.” He sounded both satisfied and perturbed. 

She couldn’t detect any lies there, nor a reason for him to lie, but she couldn’t believe it. “How the hell does that work? What am I supposed to do about it?” 

“We can figure something out. I think we should go to your stargazing hill after all.” He glanced further up the road. Aether could only nod.