The trees groaned in protest as Velene’s boot crushed a luminous mushroom. Its death-squeal sounded suspiciously like a Dominion hymn played backwards.

  “Charming,” Fayra remarked, flicking a speck of glitter from her sleeve. “Even the fungi here are dramatic.”

  “Focus,” Velene snapped, her spear tip carving precise circles in the air—a Dominion reflex, as if geometry alone could tame Eidolon’s whimsy. Her armor bore jagged scorch marks from Kalyn’s final attack, but her posture remained rigid, polished. If perfectionism were a weapon, Velene would have been the blade.

  Ami sat apart, her back against a tree that kept subtly inching away. Silver threads of Dominion magic still flickered around her fingers, stubborn and frayed, while her other hand glowed faintly violet—Anna’s signature.

  “you call that a victory?” Velene turned on her abruptly, her golden eyes narrowing. “You toyed with chaos like it was a toy, not a live grenade.”

  “It worked,” Ami muttered, avoiding her gaze.

  Fayra tossed a pinecone into the air, where it sprouted wings and flew off. “Relax, Vel. The grenade had style. Did you see Kalyn’s face? Priceless!”

  Velene’s spear clattered to the ground. “This isn’t a joke. Every spark of chaos you two indulge weakens the containment field. We’re here to stabilize Eidolon, not feed it!”

  The forest inhaled.

  Moss crept up Ami’s legs, tendrils probing the threads around her hands. She recoiled, but the moss purred—a sound like wind chimes made of bone.

  "they like you," Anna whispered, her voice intimate against Ami’s eardrum. "can’t say the same for miss goldenrod over there. dominion reeks of fear, and fear’s boring."

  Fayra crouched beside Ami, her tail flicking toward the encroaching moss. “Down, Fido. She’s not your chew toy.” The moss hissed but retreated. “See? Just gotta speak their language. Mostly swear words.”

  Velene scoffed. “Your methods are as reckless as her magic.”

  “Says the human chandelier,” Fayra shot back. “Your armor’s so shiny I’m surprised the trees haven’t hung ornaments on you.”

  Ami stood abruptly, her threads flaring. “Stop. Both of you.” The forest floor rippled underfoot, eager. “Kalyn’s gone. We’re alive. That’s what matters.”

  "alive," Velene echoed coldly. “For now. But every time you use that—that Eidolon filth, you crack the field wider. You’re jeopardizing everything.”

  A gnarled root burst from the ground between them, splintering Velene’s spear. The forest cackled.

  "shame about the stick," Anna mused. "though you’re better without it, darling. dominion’s rules can’t follow you here. only you. only us."

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  Fayra nudged the shattered spear with her boot. “Hmm. You think the forest’s playing favorites?”

  “No,” Velene said icily, retrieving the broken haft. “It’s playing games.”

  Ami’s hands trembled. The violet glow spread to her wrists. “I didn’t ask for this.”

  “But you embraced it,” Velene countered. “And now we’re all paying the cost.”

  As twilight bleeds into the forest, the trio makes camp. Velene sharpens her spear in silence. Fayra hums a jaunty tune. Ami stares at her hands—one gold, one violet—as the trees lean closer, whispering.

  Anna’s voice curls like smoke: "they’re right, you know. you’re not dominion’s daughter here. you’re mine."

  Velene’s golden eyes burned into Ami. “What was that?” she repeated, her voice unflinching. “You wielded chaos like it was nothing. Like it didn’t almost kill us.”

  Ami flinched. The accusation hung in the air, sharp as a blade.

  Fayra flicked a petal at Velene’s boot. “Oh, come on. It worked, didn’t it? Loosen your corset a little, Vel.”

  “Enough.” Velene’s spear clattered to the ground as she stepped toward Ami, her posture rigid with Dominion fury. “You think this is a joke? That magic—it’s corruption. It’s why we’re here. Why Eidolon must be contained. And you—”

  "you’re scared," Anna whispered through Ami’s lips, her voice slipping free. Velene froze.

  Ami clasped a hand over her mouth, but Anna’s laugh echoed anyway. "darling, she’s terrified. not of kalyn. of you. of what you could become."

  Velene’s composure cracked. For the first time, Ami saw it—the faintest tremor in her hands, the shadow of something raw behind her glare. “You have no idea what you’re playing with,” she hissed. “Chaos doesn’t save. It consumes. I’ve seen it. Done cleanup duty for the fools who thought they could control it.”

  Fayra’s tail stilled. “Vel…?”

  The forest exhaled.

  Then the ground ruptured. Conflict

  External: Eidolon’s chaos coalesces into serpentine vines tipped with eyes and teeth, drawn to Ami’s unstable magic.

  Interpersonal: Velene hesitates to fight, paralyzed by memories of past failures. Fayra’s humor falters under real fear.

  Internal: Ami must choose: suppress Anna and risk her friends, or embrace chaos and risk losing herself. The first vine snapped toward Fayra. Velene moved on instinct, her spear slashing through the air—too late. The creature coiled around Fayra’s ankle, yanking her off her feet.

  “Velene—!” Ami’s threads flared silver, lashing out wildly.

  “Don’t!” Velene barked, slicing through the vine. “Your chaos will just feed them!”

  Anna seethed. "she wants you weak. dependent. break her rules or break your friends, darling. choose."

  Ami’s hands shook. Fayra rolled to her feet, daggers flashing. “Less lecturing, more stabbing, Vel!”

  Velene faltered. The vines thickened, their eyes pulsing with Ami’s own panicked magic. Outcome

  Ami fused Dominion precision with Eidolon’s wildness, weaving threads of gold and silver into a net that ensnared the vines. The forest recoiled, hissing.

  Velene stared at her, breathless. “You… blended them.”

  Fayra grinned, blood smeared on her cheek. “Think of it as art, Vel. Explosive, unstable, slightly homicidal art. Your favorite.”

  Anna purred, triumphant. "see? they’ll never admit it, but they need us."

  Velene turned away, but not before Ami saw it—the grudging respect in her eyes. “We keep moving. And you,” she said, jabbing a finger at Ami, “rein it in.”