Mother of Midnight

Chapter 156 – Someone Else

Rava froze, her instincts warring between caution and confusion. “Who am I? Who are you?” she demanded, taking a step forward. “Vivienne, is this some kind of joke?”

The woman flinched at Rava’s approach, her breath hitching audibly. “D-don’t come any closer!” she cried, holding up her hands in a feeble attempt to shield herself. “I don’t know you! Just—just stay back!”

Kivvy, still perched on the wagon, frowned. “Rava, I don’t think she’s faking. Look at her—she’s terrified.”

Rava’s jaw tightened. She lowered her voice, softening her tone to try to calm the stranger. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you to take a deep breath and tell me who you are.”

“I don’t know!” the woman exclaimed, her voice cracking. She pressed her hands to her temples, trembling. “I don’t know who I am, or where this is, or—or why everything hurts.”

The vulnerability in her voice made Rava hesitate. This wasn’t the Vivienne she knew. This wasn’t even someone pretending to be her. Whoever this was, they were genuinely lost.

“It’s okay,” Rava said cautiously, her hands raised in a placating gesture. “No one’s going to hurt you.”

The woman’s eyes flicked back to her, narrowing in suspicion. “How can I believe you?” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. “You look—” Her gaze darted to Rava’s sharp features, her brawler’s stance. “You’re one of those wolf people! Please don’t kill me, I don’t even support the war!”

Rava sighed, the weight of the situation settling deeper in her chest. She softened her gaze and spoke with quiet patience, “Look, let’s get the fire started, and we’ll talk. Panicking isn't going to help anyone.”

The woman’s lips quivered, tears welling again as she nodded wordlessly. Her hands were trembling as she wiped them over her face, but as the black tears clung to her skin, she gasped, her breath hitching. “W-what’s going on with me?” she whispered. “Why are my tears... this sticky and black?”

Rava exhaled slowly, choosing her words carefully as she settled closer, watching the woman’s fear radiate. “You’re not the first to go through something like this. It’s overwhelming, I know. But you’re safe with us.”

Kivvy jabbed the stick into the fire again, sending a flurry of embers dancing into the dark air, their brief glow a fleeting contrast to the suffocating shadows of the wasteland. She didn’t look at the woman, but the tension in her movements suggested she was just as unsettled by the situation as the others.

The woman’s eyes flicked between Rava and Kivvy, her breath shallow, chest rising and falling in quick bursts. Her gaze darted from one to the other, seeking something to hold onto, but each second seemed to deepen her growing dread. She wiped her tear-streaked face again, but the black substance clung to her skin like oil, slick and unnerving. It was as if the very essence of her panic was manifesting on her body, a physical representation of her fear.

“What am I?” Her voice was soft, fragile, as if speaking it aloud might unravel her completely. “Where are we?”

Rava sighed, a deep, weary sound that escaped before she could stop it. She took a moment, her eyes narrowing as she watched the woman’s frantic movements. “For the second, we’re in the northern wastes. We were on an expedition... that is, until you showed up.” Rava’s voice was calm, yet there was a certain detachment to it, as though she were trying to separate herself from the situation. “For the first... well, it’s complicated.”

The woman’s hands trembled as she wiped at her face again, her eyes filled with confusion and desperation. “Complicated how? I’m human, aren’t I?”

At that, Kivvy let out a sharp, derisive sound, like a bark of laughter that had no humor behind it. “Pft.” She was already bending to set up the spit, the thornback meat sizzling slightly as she placed it over the fire. She didn’t pause to glance at the woman, though there was an edge of something—anger?—in her voice.

Rava, on the other hand, held the woman’s gaze. Her golden eyes were unwavering, sharp and probing. She studied the mousy woman before her, the nervous, trembling figure who couldn’t seem to stop looking around in an attempt to find something familiar. But Rava’s thoughts were elsewhere, conflicted.

She’d dealt with countless strangers before, but none quite like this. Her mind raced. Should she just tell the woman everything? Would the truth even help her? The last thing Rava wanted was to overwhelm her even more. Would it be better to wait it out, stall for time, and see if Vivienne would return to her senses? She wanted to believe the woman could handle the truth, but what if it broke her completely? Rava’s lips pressed together, the weight of the decision pressing down on her.

Kivvy gave the fire another poke, pulling her attention back to the present as she leaned over, turning the meat with practiced ease. The faint crackle of the fire and the scent of roasting flesh were the only sounds for a moment. Rava’s gaze softened, though her internal conflict was still very much alive.

The woman fidgeted, her fingers trembling as she tried to make sense of it all. “Please… just tell me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, strained. “What’s happening? What’s happening to me?”

Rava glanced briefly at Kivvy, her golden eyes narrowing slightly in warning, then turned her attention back to the trembling woman. She crouched down, lowering herself to the woman’s level, her voice low but steady, carrying a weight of restrained emotion. “What you’re experiencing… I don’t really know. What I do know is that you most certainly aren’t human, or at least… that body isn’t human. It belongs to…” Rava hesitated, her ears flicking as she searched for the right words. Finally, she hissed softly, the admission grating against her sense of control. “It belongs to a very close friend.”

The woman’s lip quivered, her gaze falling to her hands, where faint black streaks stained her skin. “Oh,” she whispered, the word heavy with unspoken questions and unease. After a pause, she added quietly, almost to herself, “Is that why I don’t feel the cold?”

Rava nodded slowly, her ears flattening slightly. “Among other things.”

For a moment, the woman stared at her hands as if hoping the answer might appear in the black stains marring her skin. Then, her breath hitched, and fresh tears began to fall, mingling with the dark streaks already on her cheeks. “I’m… I’m a monster,” she said, her voice breaking as the weight of the realization sank in. Her shoulders trembled as she sobbed quietly, the sound like a fragile thing that might shatter at any moment.

Kivvy, who had been turning the spit absently, glanced up. “Yeah, you are,” she said matter-of-factly, her sharp goblin features illuminated by the flickering firelight. “A monster that eats monsters.” The bluntness in her tone hung in the air like a whip crack, and Rava’s head snapped toward her, her golden eyes narrowing into a glare sharp enough to cut.

“Kivvy,” Rava growled, her tone low and edged with warning. “Not. Helping.”

Kivvy shrugged and muttered something under her breath as she returned her attention to the spit, though a faint smirk played at the corners of her mouth.

Turning back to the woman, Rava softened her expression, though the irritation lingered at the edges. She reached out a padded hand and gently placed it on the woman’s back, her touch surprisingly tender for someone with such a commanding presence. She gave the woman a soft, steady pat, a gesture that was both grounding and, in its own way, affectionate.

Rava’s mind churned as she tried to reconcile the fragile, weeping figure in front of her with the vibrant, abrasive Vivienne she knew. It was a jarring contrast—Vivienne’s sharp wit and unshakable confidence replaced by raw fear and uncertainty. The absence of her friend’s presence weighed heavily on her, and the loss felt like an ache she couldn’t shake. “What is the last thing you remember?” she asked gently, her tone laced with a rare softness.

The woman sniffled, her tears slowing as she tried to gather her thoughts. Her brows furrowed, and she hugged herself tightly, as though trying to shield herself from the reality closing in on her. “I-I… I think I was running,” she stammered, her voice uneven. “From something. The sky… the sky was on fire, and… and I think monsters were coming out of the ground.” Her eyes glazed over, the memory distant yet vivid, like a half-forgotten dream clawing its way to the surface. “Everything was burning. There were people screaming, and I—” She choked on the words, clutching her coat tightly. “I don’t know what happened. I just… I ran.”

Rava’s ears twitched at the mention of fire and monsters, and a cold knot formed in her stomach. The description was eerily reminiscent of tales she’d heard about the Sundering, the catastrophic event that had forever altered their world. But that was impossible… wasn’t it? She kept her face neutral, not wanting to alarm the woman further, but her mind raced with questions. Could this be a fragment of something older, something far beyond their understanding?

They sat in silence, the crackling fire filling the uneasy quiet as the woman occasionally stole glances at Kivvy. Her eyes darted nervously to the goblin’s sharp features, her green skin catching the firelight in an almost eerie way. She quickly looked away each time Kivvy shifted, as if afraid of being caught staring. The tension hung thick in the air, until Kivvy finally broke it with an exaggerated huff, tossing the stick she’d been poking the fire with aside.

“What?” Kivvy snapped, her voice cutting through the quiet like a blade. She turned her sharp green eyes toward the woman, her expression a mix of irritation and curiosity.

The woman flinched slightly but held her gaze this time, her nervousness palpable. “What are you?” she asked hesitantly, her voice soft but edged with genuine confusion. There was no malice in her tone, only the wide-eyed wonder of someone encountering the unknown for the first time.

Kivvy blinked, her brows furrowing as if she hadn’t expected such a basic question. “You never seen a goblin?” she asked, incredulity coloring her voice. She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest as a bemused smirk tugged at her lips. “Seriously? You’re telling me you’ve gone your whole life without spotting even one of us?”

“I-I-I don’t know. I’m s-sorry,” she stammered, lowering her gaze to the fire. Her voice trembled, and her shoulders slumped under the weight of confusion and despair.

“Never thought I’d miss Vivienne,” Kivvy muttered, poking at the fire with her stick.

The sound of deliberate footsteps drew their attention. Renzia approached the fire, her wooden frame creaking softly, the layers of canvas covering her lending an eerie fluidity to her movements. Her head tilted slightly as she regarded the woman sitting where Vivienne should have been.

“Miss-tress?” Renzia’s voice crackled with a mechanical rhythm, her tone questioning but unthreatening.

The woman looked up at the strange, humanoid figure of wood and canvas. Her eyes widened in alarm, fear twisting her features. She scrambled back instinctively, nearly toppling over in her haste to create distance. “What is that?” she whispered hoarsely, her voice quivering.

Rava moved quickly to place a reassuring hand on the woman’s shoulder, her grip firm but steady. “That’s Renzia,” she explained. “She’s not going to hurt you.”

“She just… called me… mistress,” the woman said, her breathing uneven as she stared at Renzia, the automaton’s expressionless face tilted slightly in what could almost be curiosity.

“Yes, because you’re in Vivienne’s body,” Rava said carefully. “Renzia is loyal to her. To you, I guess. But you’re not really her, are you?”

The woman shook her head slowly, her fear beginning to mix with guilt. “I don’t even know who I am,” she admitted, her voice barely audible.

Renzia stepped closer, her movements deliberate but not aggressive. “Miss-tress?” she repeated, the word slow, deliberate, as though testing its meaning in this unfamiliar context.

The woman stared at the mannequin, wide-eyed and trembling, her chest rising and falling in shallow, panicked breaths. Fear rippled across her features as though the sight of Renzia’s stitched and varnished wooden body was too alien, too incomprehensible to process. Her eyes flicked to the smooth canvas stretched over the mannequin’s joints and the faint glow emanating from the runes etched into her surface.

“Miss-tress?” Renzia repeated, tilting her head. Her voice was unnervingly flat, a sharp contrast to the tense, fragile moment.

The woman’s breathing quickened, each inhale catching as though she couldn’t draw enough air. “No… no, no, no!” she whimpered, clutching her head with both hands. Her fingers curled into her scalp, pulling at her mousy brown hair. “This isn’t real. This isn’t happening!”

“Hey,” Rava said, stepping forward cautiously, her hands raised. “It’s okay. You’re safe. Just breathe—”

The woman let out a strangled cry, then collapsed to her knees, clutching her temples as though something inside her head were tearing her apart.

“Vivienne!” Rava barked, rushing to her side. “What’s happening to her?”

But Vivienne wasn’t there to answer.

The woman’s cries rose to a scream, sharp and desperate, the kind of sound that made the hairs on the back of Rava’s neck stand on end. Acting on instinct, she clamped a hand over the woman’s mouth, muffling the sound. “Shut up!” she hissed. “You’re going to call every damn aetherbeast for miles!”

The woman’s body jerked violently against Rava’s grip, her sobs muffled but frantic. Her knees buckled fully, and she crumpled into the blood-streaked snow. Her whole body trembled, wracked by convulsions as she clawed at her own temples. Black tears streaked her pale skin, the viscous liquid trailing down her face like ink spilled on parchment.

“What the hell’s happening to her?” Kivvy asked, her voice tight as she rushed to Rava’s side.

“I don’t know!” Rava barked, trying to keep the woman from hurting herself. “She’s burning up!”

Kivvy hesitated but pressed a small, clawed hand to the woman’s forehead. She yanked it back almost immediately, her eyes wide. “She’s hot enough to melt steel!”

The woman’s sobs grew deeper, throatier, devolving into something guttural and inhuman. Her pale skin shimmered unnaturally, and faint cracks began to form along her arms and chest, glowing with an eerie, pulsating light that seemed to come from deep within her.

Rava froze. “Skath. This isn’t good.”

“What do we do?” Kivvy asked, panic creeping into her tone.

Before Rava could answer, the woman let out one last piercing scream, louder than anything they’d heard so far. It echoed into the night like a predator’s cry, sending a chill down Rava’s spine. Then, with a sickening crack, her body seemed to collapse in on itself, her form splitting open in a grotesque display of twisting light and shadow.

The woman’s body unraveled like threads pulled from a tapestry, dissolving into two formless masses of energy. One was inky black, swirling and dense like smoke trapped in water. The other was pale and faintly luminous, flickering like moonlight on the surface of a lake.

For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. The two formless shapes wrathed in the blood-streaked snow, twisting and pulsating as though alive.

Then, with startling speed, the darker mass began to shift, condensing into something solid. The outline of a humanoid form emerged, the figure growing clearer with each passing second. Obsidian scales caught the firelight, shimmering faintly, as sharp claws flexed at the ends of long, powerful limbs. A serpentine tail flicked behind the figure, and four spiraling horns glinted like polished black crystal.

“Vivienne,” Rava breathed, her voice barely audible.

The figure’s head snapped up, five jet-black eyes blinking open in disoriented confusion. Vivienne’s voice, shaky but unmistakable, broke the tense silence. “What… what just happened?” Her gaze darted between Rava and Kivvy, her brows furrowed. “The last thing I remember was eating that delicious centipede…”

Kivvy let out a sigh of relief. “Well, it’s about time you came back. You wouldn’t believe the mess you—”

But her words faltered as the second mass of energy began to shift, drawing their attention. The pale light swirled faster, pulling inward until it formed a figure sprawled in the snow. As the glow faded, it revealed what looked to be the woman from before but far younger, now lying completely naked and trembling.

She let out a soft, shaky breath, her chest heaving as though she had just been dragged through an endless nightmare. Her eyes blinked open, wide and unseeing, staring up at the stars with tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Well, that’s weird,” Vivienne muttered, blinking at the naked girl trembling in the snow. Her five black eyes flicked over the fragile figure, her expression caught somewhere between confusion and mild annoyance. “Who the hell is she?”

Before Vivienne could say more, Rava moved with startling speed. The towering lekine closed the distance in a few quick strides, her golden eyes wide and shimmering with relief. Without hesitation, she swept Vivienne off her feet, pulling her into a crushing hug.

“Vivienne!” Rava’s voice cracked as she held the smaller woman close, her powerful arms encircling Vivienne’s frame. It was an embrace filled with equal parts desperation and relief, as though Rava were trying to physically anchor herself to the fact that Vivienne was here, alive, and herself again.

Vivienne let out an undignified squawk, her arms pinned awkwardly to her sides. “Rava! I—what are you—let me breathe!” she managed to choke out, squirming against the iron grip.

Rava didn’t loosen her hold, her muzzle pressed into Vivienne’s hair as she spoke, her voice muffled but fierce. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

“Do what?!” Vivienne snapped, her tail lashing in irritation as she wriggled against the overwhelming strength of her friend. “What are you even talking about?”

“Disappearing!” Rava’s voice rose, trembling with emotion. “Do you have any idea what it was like watching you just… vanish? Seeing her in your place?” She nodded toward the woman, still curled in the snow, her gaze distant and unfocused.

Vivienne blinked, her confusion deepening. “I vanished? I don’t—” She paused, her expression faltering. “The last thing I remember was eating that overgrown centipede. Then… nothing.”

Rava finally loosened her grip, setting Vivienne back on her feet but keeping her hands firmly on her shoulders. “You weren’t just gone, Vivienne. You were replaced. By her.” She jerked her head toward the woman again.

Vivienne turned her head to look, her black eyes narrowing as she studied the trembling figure. “So, are we just going to leave the girl trembling naked in the snow?”