A Meaning (Echo Faust)

[Slaughter]

Barefoot, the girl was always barefoot.
One foot after the other made a soft imprint in the snow, seemingly unfeeling, and immune to the harsh temperatures around her. Her black hair made for a brilliant contrast to the blinding white ice around her; she had really done it this time. Gotten herself the most lost she possibly could. She didn't sense it however; she didn't sense anything in this state.

"Where is the sun today?" she said solemnly, and to no one as she came upon a decomposing tree, splintered and rotting in the below freezing weather. A morose Slaughter, slowly sat down by it, letting her weight rest against it. Her breathing was uneasy and staggered, and once again her brain had wiped itself clear of its previous memories. She had no idea where she was, why she had come, or even the faintest idea of who she was anymore.

The girl tenderly lifted her head to look up at the opaque sky, her pupils barely even visible in that sea of red. The amount of energy and resources consumed by Slaughter's elevated pseudo-pure Ooccan state took a heavy toll on the girl's health. Her body was weakened and more prone to environmental damage if left in a prolonged state, which is exactly where she found herself now. It was as if she could feel her heartbeat slowing; she felt as if she were dying, and the worst part was that she wasn't even aware of why it was so. The fragile looking girl resembled a wounded animal, bleeding, and moments away from expiring in the brutal winter snow.

However, as Slaughter's eyelids closed and she slipped into unconsciousness-- a consequence of not expending her energy and staying in this elevated condition for so long-- her body went into autopilot, releasing a wave of red energy that spanned across the lake, cracking the top layer of ice, before it eventually faded into nothingness.

Slaughter's black locks were dyed blonde once more, and her frame went limp against the tree as she fell into a heavy slumber, shivering every few seconds as she slept...

[Echo Faust]

As Slaughter would find herself asleep, Echo would slowly begin to open her eyes from an existence she thought she for sure had perished. Floating there above the darkness all around her with her back towards the 'ground' and the rest of her limbs hanging limp towards the nothingness below her, Echo slowly does what she can to maneuver herself in that space and time to right herself.

A weak willed hang slowly found it's way to her face, rubbing at it to try and clear her eyes and get a sense of feeling back; to possibly kill the pain radiating from her skull. It was then and there that she realized that she was floating in a pull of blackness, that there was nothing built or shaped around her. Just where is this place!? What was the last thing that had happened!? How did she get here?! ...It all came back in a horrifying flash, and her confusion and anxiety slowly turned into a realization of pain.

Somewhere between her hysteria and her sudden realization that she is probably far from where she was that day in Slaughter's arms - between all of the pain her mind was slowly reliving, somewhere in that blackness she saw the outline of a familiar figure floating below her! She had a good idea of just who it was, but she couldn't explain why they would be here in a place like this with her! Echo attempted to maneuver herself towards the figure, but she looked like a fish out of water! Eventually, of course, she found her way over to the body; it turned out to be just who she thought it was, just who she hoped it would be: Slaughter!

A arm outstretches forward as far as it could till it grabbed onto Slaughter's arm, Echo reeling herself and Slaughter towards the center point of emptiness between them before their tiny bodies collided with one another. Recoiling back from the soft impact, Echo quickly wrapped both of her arms around the female to hold her tightly against her chest; one arm had found itself around her waist and her other hand found it's way to the back of her head. Quietly Echo floated there with Slaughter's image in her arms, not bothering to question where it is she may be right now; this, right here in her arms, is all she needs.

[Slaughter]

Augusta! Your name is Augusta! You are a child of August! Child of the sun! So what are you doing out here all alone in the harsh winter weather!?

I don't know.

All around her Slaughter could see swirls of purple. She couldn't remember where she was, but she wasn't alarmed. Ever since she had grown stronger, this was a common occurrence-- losing sight of reality was a common occurrence. Had she wandered into a black hole of some type? She had heard stories about other realms in which the was possible-- stories she used to be terrified of, but now not so much. She reached out a hand as if to touch her purple surroundings, and was immediately overwhelmed by a familiar scent.
She closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to retrive the memory of who the scent belonged to.

Echo Faust. It smells like her.

She remembered her scent clearly; nothing could strip her memory of the day that she held Echo for the first time. Every time she thought about it, all the feelings, all the sounds, all the smells were just as vivid as they were that night, despite the change in conformation she was going through at the time.

She opened her eyes, and gasped. There in her arms, pressed against her chest, and holding her tightly, was her dear apparition. The one who came without reason into her life and haunts her more than she will ever understand.

Slaughter looked up at Echo, her eyes meeting those vibrant indigo irises. However, something was off about Slaughter's own eyes. One of her irises was its normal hue, but the other was dyed red. That wasn't the only peculiarity-- Slaughter's blonde locks were also beginning to grow by the millisecond, spiraling all the way down her hips within seconds, but the color was all wrong. Though the roots were her natural blonde color, as the hair grew, the bottom was tinted black.

You came back, Echo, she said, enraptured by the feel of Echo's skin against hers once more. This was where she wanted to be; this was what felt right.