Jade Fern Grove I was wild, chasing stones.

She didn't know how to do this. This, the whole, being around other people that weren't your brother, thing. It was easier with Ereshkigal because they were both girls, both eager for the bond of sisterhood. Here, with this stranger, Ibis couldn't help but feel like a fish out of water; her giggling was met with the pale boy's own laughter and in hearing it, she felt the embarrassment fluttering inside of herself die out. 'He probably thinks I am absolutely batty,' Ibis thought as she took a deep breath, trying to push away the rest of her emotions before they could sweep in and take over. The last thing she wanted to do was open that door and let the sadness through.

Hey, he quipped, what's so funny? And she wanted to say, nothing, because that's all she had right now to give him. Nothing. All she'd been left with after trying so hard with everything and everyone. For a moment Ibis watched him and her eyes glossed over a little bit, blurring, transforming him from the charming boy to a smudge of off-white. She was thinking of all the paths she could take, considering where this one might lead.

Soon she snapped out of it; it wasn't more than a few heartbeats.

Its like a fairytale, she tried to explain, placing another practiced smile upon her face. I mean, 'A lost girl roams the forest in the moonlight, and who should find her, but a white knight,' doesn't that sound a little funny to you? He did not look like a knight really, but maybe one day. He was young, well kept, and seemed to be healthy as well as pure of spirit so far. Ibis wondered what sort of tumult lived beneath the cloud-like exterior; what struggles did he keep locked away and buried deep? It was impolite to ask such hasty questions.