'...What?' he said, somewhat numbly.
Was this... some kind of sick joke? Did the man think it was funny?
...no. There's no way even he would joke about something like this.
But then...
Those deep, red eyes were still regarding him from the surface of the mirror.
'Quickly, now, Arin,' said the white-haired man lightly. 'The longer you wait, the worse it becomes for you. You know that already. You cannot delay the inevitable.'
Arin sucked in a deep breath of the cooled night air.
It was dark. Dawn was still a couple hours away.
His gaze shifted to look at the small bundle of cloth on the ground before him, before sliding over to see the silver dragon where it lay, peacefully asleep at the edge of the clearing.
There was a softer breeze down here, amidst all the trees. It made their leaves shift and rustle in a soothing way.
There was no other sound.
Arin pursed his lips.
'What do you mean?' he asked at last. 'Why do you keep saying that? I am talking to you, aren't I? How could I be doing that if I were still stuck within the distortion?'
There was gentle laughter. 'At this very moment, you are indeed speaking with me. And how very convenient it is, that you've made it to this point. What a truly... benevolent... distortion you've faced.'
The white-haired man smiled at him, before elegantly moving to rest his chin upon his long, laced fingers.
'How perfect that you are here, Arin. Still safe, and speaking to... me. But -'
The man's smile widened.
'- are you, really? Are you truly speaking to me, Arin?'
Arin said nothing in response.
He swallowed hard. He then let out a shaky breath, before stumbling a few steps away, and slumping to rest his back against the rough bark of a tree.
The contact glass slipped from his hands and fell to the ground. There were a few more flashes of light, before it fell silent. Its surface slowly faded back to that of a regular mirror, reflecting nothing but the dark of the night.
Arin ran a hand through his hair.
At the back of his mind, part of him worried his constant tugging would cause Rin to suffer from premature balding. Not that it would matter too much; the guy had a pretty enough face, with or without his locks framing it.
Then, he laughed to himself at the absurdity of having such thoughts in a situation like this.
He hadn't noticed.
He hadn't noticed at all.
He had no idea when it had happened.
Had he wasted too much time back at Silvershade? Had everything he'd done been in vain?
How many people would die because he'd screwed this up?
... because he'd failed.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it!' he muttered to himself.
He noticed his dragon crack open an eye to glance at him, before apparently ultimately deciding he wasn't worth the lost sleep. The creature huffed softly, then shut it again.
How perfect. How convenient.
Too convenient.
Arin shook his head to clear it. Then, he suddenly straightened up, and strode over to the bundled-up blanket in the middle of the warmed clearing.
Crouching down, he uncovered the girl's head, and shook her shoulder.
'Elara. Elara, wake up.'
He shook her again, a little harder this time.
'Wake up, Elara.'
The girl in the real world was incapable of awakening. She would remain trapped within the distortion, no matter what she tried in the dream to leave it...
'Wake up. Wake up...'
As Arin kept shaking her shoulder, the young lady's brows wrinkled slightly. She frowned in her sleep.
'Wake up!' he yelled.
And with a small gasp, the girl's large eyes snapped open.
She gasped again, sucking in a mouthful of air. Her confused eyes, sparkling in spite of the dark, slowly turned to land upon his face.
Elara blinked.
'Sir Rin?' she asked hesitatingly.
Arin looked down at the baffled expression on the girl's face. Then, he pulled away from her to sink heavily to the ground.
The girl in the real world was incapable of awakening. But within the distortion, there was no reason for her to be that way.
He knew there was no reason for her to be that way.
And so, suddenly, she wasn't.
He let out a short bark of laughter.
Meanwhile, the girl had pushed herself up to sit. Pulling the blanket tight around herself, she'd been looking around at the clearing with her large, wondering eyes.
At the sound of his voice, she stopped. 'What... What is the matter, sir Rin? Where are we?'
Arin shook his head.
'Sorry,' he said. He turned his head to one side, refusing to meet the girl's eyes. 'I'm so, so sorry, Elara.'
'...Huh? Whatever do you mean by that?'
Arin didn't answer immediately. He didn't think he could stop his voice from breaking if he did.
'Fine. Forget about that.' There was a playful, annoyed-sounding huff. 'Instead, tell me where we are. I last remember...'
He glanced back to see the girl frowning again, clutching at her head with one hand.
'Were we not -! Were you not... saving everyone!?' she suddenly exclaimed. 'I was peering out a window, and saw those - those insects you'd summoned.'
'I only had a moment to realize their purpose before one alighted upon my face, and -'
Elara's hand had slid down to lightly touch her lips.
She smiled wryly. 'Well, even in that brief moment, I knew that wouldn't save me. But I remember being immensely grateful to you, for discovering such a... gentle way, for everyone else.'
'And that's the last of what I remember.' Elara shrugged. 'You may ignore my earlier questions, sir Rin. I just hope you can help me understand why you are still here.'
The young lady raised her brows, offering him a small smile.
Arin tightened his jaw. This time, he didn't keep her waiting for an answer.
'I just... wanted to save you too.'