#ixworlds

Ursa froze, watching the horror before him. The beast just had to turn, just had to look up to see Ursa standing there. But he had no power to move, frozen in shock and fear. …and guilt.

It was improbable, nearly impossible that that was true. But it was a repeating, echoing thought he couldn’t get rid of - ‘This is your fault.’ ‘This is your fault!’

He gave a small, involuntary whimper, and immediately clamped his hand over his mouth, for fear of being heard.

His head turns to the side slightly, all of his posture and positioning predatory in nature. He has not found the eavesdropper’s location yet, standing up from the body. It was expired, spent, no need for his attention anymore. But he knew someone was there. And they had to be dealt with. 

If anyone was looking for Jay, they would've found her on, chalk coating her hands like dirt, checking and double checking every sign, every sigil and mark she made. She was pacing like a madman, muttering to herself as she recited the spell. Jay had- if she was being honest, and she had to be, considering Earth's magic- no idea if it would even work. Oh, the runes made her heart break. Had this been made at her home, the chalk scratches on the old, faded court would have glowed with life, eager to fizzle in sync with each other as they guided her magic.

Eyes raked over the massive circle, the inscribed letters, and runes on the edges. It was better than perfect. It had to be, and it was the only reason Jay had spent more than ten minutes drawing it. Instead, it had taken her more than an hour to perfect something she had drawn and memorized to the point of muscle memory. Of course, the additional sigils and strings and circles that just emanated from it like a drawing of a solar system. 

She made a sound and then took her place. One last look with a critical eye and then her eyes shut, hands in front of her as familiar, cutting words slipped from her tongue. As the magic sluggishly moved, it brought a wave of homesickness with it. There was nothing else to do but to use it. Even with her eyes shut, she could see the surge of light, the almost unseen glow of earth magic, the budding glow of tension- She was so close/.

Ivakir was drawing something on the ground, and it seemed that she was absorbed in work. There was nothing strange about that an adult person was drawing with chalk on the ground, although this was usually considered to be an occupation for children. Strange things were absolutely normal for her. It was part of her job - to be normal abnormal.

The half breed will shake his head. “ No, I was asking the wall behind you---..” Pauses.

  “I don’t have all night, so if you could get to the gist of your story, that would really help move things along.”