Blackfeather Woods breathe, just breathe

She had closed her eyes as he spoke; the vivid colors inside her mind seemed less invasive than the maelstrom of blurred images that met her on the outside. But at his words--if you see anything that is not really there. . .keep looking at Cicero--they popped back open, and she opened her mouth to ask him a question and left it hanging dumbly there.

Cicero had two heads. Then three. Then four.

Maegi closed her eyes again and shook her head once more, trying to clear the image of the many-headed monster that had taken the place of her uncle. When she opened her eyes, just a slit, Cicero miraculously had just the one head.

"Oh," she said faintly, feeling quite dizzy. She sat down when they had left the clearing, hoping he would notice and wouldn't just leave her behind. "What's 'poisonous'?" she called out, remembering his earlier words. She didn't love this feeling, but she didn't quite hate it, either.