[Celtic]

The bruma chuckled to herself; It was only a matter of time before the girl came to this world. Her light had begun to dim, always a sign that the girl was about to switch worlds. She was surprised though, Raylianna had managed to stay put for five more years than usual, not that she would remember that. The girl had been reset this past life, a sad fact. In the one before that, the bruma had been allowed to keep a constant contact with her and they had managed to form a solid relationship. Something her heart ached for, something the bruma wasn't allowed. She wasn't only banned from contact with Raylianna, but also from any of her own kind. Not that that mattered, she had only ever come across one other Changer and they had only nodded to one another before having to move on. In that one second though, she had seen a reflected sadness in the other's eyes. A want for someone to confide in, to talk to. Something to end the lonliness. A refuge they both knew would never come. Something that she shouldn't even bother dreaming of.

[1]

[Celtic]

Her apartment was so insignificant, the banging on the door she knew she would never be able to get, she was too weak. Her mind was barely there, just waiting, praying, begging to be let out, to just be snuffed out like a candle. This existance was worse than none. It was being stuck. She couldn't do anything but lay there, unable to think, unable to move. At some point, Rayli knew that if she could just put her necklace back on, everything would be okay, the pain would fade and she could live again. But right after she made that realization came the onslaught of attacks on her head. It felt like someone was carving her out from the inside. Like she was going to burst open from too much pressure any moment. But that moment never came. Rayli just waited. She waited for things to end, she waited for things to begin, and she waited for some form of rescue. The banging on her door was enough for her to know that she was late on rent, and if she had been able to focus for long enough, she would have known that she had been like this for two weeks. Two weeks of pain, of nothing, of sacrifice. She didn't even know why, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to stop existing. And for a couple minutes she did.

[1]

[Celtic]

The bruma suddenly grew serious. Her face hardened with concentration. It was time. Time for the floater to become a dreamer for a mere number of seconds, to give her mind a little rest before taking what she had to take when she was transported here. The wise creature knew how important those few seconds were, after all, before her life as a Changer, she had been a Floater and when she had finally made her way back home, all those memories came back. Even times when her soul was nothing but a mass of particals that didn't form any shape or anything. Reliving those times were strange. Having the knowledge that you didn't technically exist in those moments. And yet, those moments were full of such pure relief, only tainted by strands of bliss, that they were easy to relive, becoming relief themselves. Having such memories were always strange, but now was not the time to dwell on that fact, she needed to help dear Raylianna.

The bruma closed her eyes, seeing the girl curled up in he rmisery, the necklace only a mere inches away and she envisioned both to spin. Only slightly, she didn't wish to cause any more discomfort than what the poor thing had already gone through. After a couple spins their material forms had been released, allowing the bruma to see the slightly colored wisps of smoke that embodied their souls. This was the tricky part, keeping every part together. Every time she got better, and every time she still lost a little bit. But that was normal, one way or another everyone loses bits of their souls, it was just a little more accidental this way.

When she had the wisps into a form that seemed to resemble a creature from this world, the bruma joined them and let go of her hold on the souls, knowing that now they would appear in front of her real eyes, whole and confused. Very, very confused.

[2]

[Celtic]

Rayli was certain no other fate could be worse and that was the only thought she could hold onto. The only thought that remained steady, because pain was something she could focus on. Grab a hold of. Until it started to slip away. At first, Rayli thought it some form of relief, her suffering was ending. But as it left and was replaced by nothingness, her mind began to panic, to cling to the memory of the pain. She didn't want to fade into nothingness, no matter how she had prayed for it, it was not something she wanted. Rayli thought of her friends, her jewlry, and lastly, her aunt. If she simply faded away, what would become of everything she worked on, her hopes and dreams? How would she do anything? There were so many questions, but Rayli could only think of a few before the world began to twist and turn. Though she knew it could not be real, Rayli felt comforted, like someone was trying to ease her journey and she felt like she was in the paws of a giant bear, wishing her well. Then, her mind was dark. Conscience, but unable to think and unable to tell anything. It was blank, yet every emotion until finally relief drove everything away. Rayli had become the essence of an emotion, for what seemed to be an eternity, and the shortest time in the world.

Then, she was on a cold dusty floor, coughing, looking at a creature she'd never seen before.

[2]

[Celtic]

The instant the lucain appeared, the bruma's light brightened, illuminating the stone room they were in. She looked at her charge sadly, poor child. Her head was probably still swimming from the emotions and if the bruma knew anything it was that Raylianna's head would instantly go into panic. It always did without fail. But what else was the girl to think? She went from being one two legs (a form the bruma knew wasn't too uncommon here) to being a furry canine of some sort. After all, she had been prepared for switching bodies and even she took some getting used to of this body. The fur was something she had had before, but the light and the sheer size of her new form was... Strange. The changer was used to being some limber thing, usually slight with wings. But apparently it was time to change that stereotype, although she had no clue why. One didn't usually question what the universe did because you never got an answer. It was simply a waste of time.

The bear-like creature focused her attention again on Raylianna who was staring at her and seemed ready to bolt. She had better take care of her before she did though, the last time she decided not to listen she'd ended up nearly killing herself for good. "Raylianna," Her voice was gentle, yet captivating, making sure the child listened to every word she said, "I know you don't understand right now, but you're on another realm, one you've never been to before. You're in a different form, but you need to understand that you're still the same Rayli you were in the past body, just different looks." That was the easy part of her speech, the next part was a little bit harder to explain, and she knew Rayli wouldn't believe her for a second, "You are a floater. You don't belong to any planet you know, or even any dimension. You're goal is to find your way home, which is not where you were 'born.'" The bruma paused, that was the tricky part, getting her to understand she was looking for something she'd never experienced, without any clues, "Its going to be hard, but you must understand that the next time you take off that necklace, you won't remember this, or your past, you start over. That necklace is in essence your life, but it is also the key to your- our world." Our, every time she said that the bruma was reminded of how finding her own way home depended on Raylianna. Every time. And now, she had to leave. She couldn't tell Rayli any more, no matter how she wished to. She was allowed that speech and barely that speech. Now, the girl was on her own. On her own to find someplace to live, on her own to figure it out, and on her own to find herself. If only the bruma could have some faith in her. But after the first few transferences most lost hope. That, that was the hardest part. Feigning some form of hope to get home, when she had none.

[3]

[Celtic]

Rayliana, Rayli, didn't have a clue what was happening. Her mind was still trying to desperately clear it of the relief that prohibited her to think clearly. The bear in front of her didn't look natural, the antennae was glowing, along with her eyes. It gave the bear a creepy look, but at the same time she was comforting Rayli by being there. Like she was remembering the times the one across from her had helped out, when they had been friends, but Rayli didn't know that. Those memories had been locked away, sealed tight in a place her mind was unable to reach. When the bruma began to speak though, all Rayli wanted was for her to shut up, to stop speaking, stop telling her these things she knew to be true. Rayli looked down, saw paws and brown fur, felt the deep blue stone on her chest, cold but warming from her heat.

She felt an extension of bone, no three, and tried to move them. She created a small draft that cleared a small area of dust. Rayli tried to process everything, she tried to listen to the bruma, she tried to ignore the fact she was now an animal, not a human and lastly, she tried to think of where she was, where she could be. But she already knew that she wouldn't find the answer in her head. The bear had told her she was on another realm. That meant she was on a whole new world, she would find nothing she knew of here.

By the time the bruma was done speaking, Rayli wanted to bolt, she wanted to stay, she wanted so many contradictory things that she just sat still, unable to process anything. Her eyes fixed on a stone in front of her and she didn't breathe. Her mind was on a stand still, in shock. Rayli  didn't know what she was going to do. Somehow she knew that the bruma wouldn't be sticking around to help her and she felt sad. She didn't know how to go about figuring out this world. She didn't understand anything it seemed. But when her mind finally cleared from the shock, Rayli knew she had to leave. She had to find something to hang onto. Something or someone to tell her what was going on.

The lucain shakily managed to stand up and with a nod to the bruma, Rayli left the room. Scared and secretly praying she would follow. Even though she knew the prayer would go unanswered and when she looked back, the bruma was gone. Like she knew it would be.

[3]