Title pending || @alterdetective
There was no way to effectively describe what had just occurred. One mispronounced word within the chant, the wrong sort of crystal offered, threw her out of reality’s fragile grip, into drowning madness. The world and galaxies tore into a rush of colors, the shrieks of stars and spirits stabbed into her ears. She gasped for breath, her arms clutching protectively around herself. The screeching winds were like fire, blazing into her speckled skin and scales. There was no air, her eyes screwed shut to save herself from the blinding storm roaring over her.
Then, she felt it, a soft breeze. The celestial kirin trembled, one glowing, amber eye hesitatively opened to peek at the new surroundings. Large buildings and dazzling rainbows of lights towered overhead, the scents of smog and life overwhelming her shaken breaths. She lifted one hoof, eyes staring blankly as she dragged it along the greasy asphalt. The ground felt solid, she could hear it scrape beneath her touch. This was real, but it was certainly not the world she took refuge in. This place buzzed with countless souls. Some vivid and restless, others dulled by the passage of time and hardships. Still, they roiled within her just the same, pushing her into that returning panic. What was this place? What made it so haunted? Was she in danger?
Footsteps, the thrumming of life, both rose above the ghostly whispers. Someone--he-- was here and approaching. Doe-like ears pinned back, her slender frame retreated into the ally’s shadows. She decided to watch and wait, surely to bolt out would be a lethal decision.