He hadn't seen his shadow-soul in so long.
By the end of day one, he'd been beside himself. By the end of an entire whole second day, he'd been frantic. So it would be no surprise that when he sensed the shadow magic near, his own tugging him toward it, he stopped whatever he had been doing and bolted.
He wasn't even sure how far or near he'd been. Time seemed to stop, his mind numb, until he was there. He was still a little boy but older now, not quite old enough to be a teenager. Not quite old enough not to cry openly either, and tears streamed down his face, his expression broken as he saw Ether lying on the ground in what shade he'd been able to find.
Cimmerian didn't even notice the girl, just a passing sensation of some other presence nearby. All of his attention was on Ether as he threw himself down next to him and buried against him with a soft sob. "Ether!" he whispered, scrubbing his tears against him.
He still wasn't aware of his magic, but it leaked out of his skin, stretching to blanket around his shadow-soul. Once it had covered him, it unloaded, pouring darkness into him as deep as it could reach as if it could fill him up. The drain of it pulled on Merry's energy, and his crying slowly grew quiet. His senses dulled and he blinked, lifting his dark head and peering around at the girl he finally noticed.
A small frown wrinkled his young brows. He hadn't seen her before. She didn't look like the family. His head tilted, then drifted down, down, and his eyelids slid closed all on their own, he was sure of it. He could only manage a breathy whisper before his body sagged.
"Do you have magic?"
[ Cimmerian ]
try to make a fire burn again