Blackfeather Woods and there is time to kill today

The more she spoke, the more grounded he felt. The efficacy of the poppies remained strong but it felt like he could see her, he could hear her as if witnessing her for the first time. Then Maegi began to recite the prayer and he became much more intense. The air around her seemed to shimmer; no doubt an effect of his high, but at the moment Mou couldn't tell what was real and what was the drug.

He saw a shadow creeping close, rising, lifting over the two of them. The shadow took on the shape of Maegi but it was blackness, a giant shadow he could see through but at the same time, he was looking in to her eyes and its eyes. They flashed, and he thought he saw red when she said wrath the first time; he blinks, and the shadow is gone.

She spoke of a battle—and maybe somewhere, the remnants of Titmouse Redhawk recognized the vagaries she referenced. Maybe a part of him was screaming deep inside of him. But Mou wasn't that person anymore and if any part of his mind retained that information, it did not surface here. The boy basked in the story that Maegi told him and found himself easily smiling. Whatever darkness she held within herself, he shared with her. They were both ruined creatures living in a place of blackness, but they were together and he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Then, he abruptly slurred, I love you Maegi. He looked like he was half asleep, but happy.