Thunder Dome deja vu

the rain falls like a thousand shards of ice, stinging her skin and blurring her vision. the thunder rumbles in the distance, a deep and endless growl, while the lightning cracks through the blackened sky like a beast in pursuit of something beyond the horizon. with every step, the cold seeps deeper into her bones, but it’s nothing compared to the emptiness that often plagues her.

she’s not sure why she’s here, why she felt so compelled to climb this mountain, to fight against the storm that has swallowed everything in its wake. pure boredom, maybe — or perhaps she was tired of feeling lost.

the world around her feels so vast, so unreachable, and yet, there’s a sense of connection—the storm, the howling winds, the overwhelming beauty of destruction—everything seems to make sense up here, even if she doesn’t.

and then, as if the storm had carved a space just for her, she finds him.

sitting alone on the peak, his fur drenched and matted, his shoulders hunched as if carrying a weight no one could see. he looks as though the storm itself had claimed him, stripped him bare, and left him here to perish in solitude. the sight of him, so broken and so desperate, makes her chest tighten.

she doesn't call out to him, not yet. ahe lets the storm roar between them, and in the silence, she simply watches. she’s always been one to see, to listen, to feel when others are too lost to find their own way back.

she steps closer, the rain blurring her vision, her heart pounding like the thunder above them. it’s only when she’s near enough that her words break free—soft, tentative, as fragile as the storm around them.

"are you alright?"