[Mira fizzled into existence behind Lizzie. Her form was still glitchy and unstable, stars glinting under her skin, and her three sets of bright, feathered wings spread wide.]
[She didnāt say anything, preferring to just watch for now.]
[Lizzie was walking on one of her lilypad islands, specifically the one owning her garden. The vegetation was overgrown and honestly unkempt, but had a certain allure to it in its own way. There were blossoms of color amidst the sea of green, a bush of crimson red azaleas here and a patch of snow white magnolias there, among many others. There was a thin dirt walkway among the foliage, the vines and leaves brushed away to make room. Lizzie herself had little to no botanical knowledge and henceforth had spent little time in the garden, but had felt an urge to clean it a bit after a visit to The Overgrown.]
[Lizzie could feel it immediately. An unsettling presence, dread seeping into her bones the very moment Mira appeared. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as her skin prickled with goosebumps, a cold sweat already starting to form upon her brow despite the chilled breeze.]
[She swallowed despite her suddenly dry mouth, her muscles tensing. She did not know what awaited her when she turned around, but she did know that she couldn't simply ignore it. She steeled herself as he slowly started to turn, her gaze dragging behind before locking onto the figure in front of her. A startled gasp escaped her lips as she took in the woman before her, from the three sets of wings to the glint beneath her skin. Her eyes finally stopped on the figure's own, sea blue meeting galactic purple. The former flicked back towards the ground mere moments afterward, suddenly filled with uncertainty.]
[There was an uncomfortable silence, stretched thin between the two and filled only with the sounds of the world, and the faint breathing of both women. Finally, Lizzie slowly took a step forward, the crunch of the dirt under her feet far too loud within the tense atmosphere. She momentarily lifted a pale blue hand, but it soon fell back to her side. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. She took a deep breath, and her gaze returned to Mira's once more.]
[She spoke quietly, her voice far more timid than usual. She paused after that first word, swallowing once again as she placed an open hand on top of her chest.]
