◐ ⚜ Elaina's POV ⚜ ◑

Elaina watched the scene unfold between her younger self and the two men. She sighed heavily when Erosvent took off. She remembered this all too well, this was the moment her eyes opened to the world around her. The world had been far grander then she had imagined, and she was nieve to the dangers it held.

"Shit!" Zeph cursed as he slouched against a nearby tree.

"Aren't you going-

Elaina in her slightly translucent form frowned as the scene around her suddenly froze mid sentance. Perplexed, she walked over to herself wondering what had happened. It was now eerily silent, not even the sounds of the leaves rustling in the wind or the chirps from crickets in the brush could be heard.

It was as though someone had hit the pause button on the memory, stopping it like it were a play. As she thought about it, it made sense that it would stop here since Eros wasn't anywhere near them. He didn't actually know what had happened here at this moment. But she did... could she use it to her advantage somehow? Was this an opening in his memory she could take advantage of as Ersiena suggested?

Her frown deepened. She was no dream walker or even a spirit user like Eros and Ava, how was she meant to do this? She didn't know the first thing about magic, or rather essence. Everyone else called it essence, magic was a fairy tale that performed miracles, and essence was the source of all power. Honestly, she couldn't tell the difference, the essence the people around her used looked like magic to her.

Think Elaina, Think! 

Recalling when she'd seen others use their abilities, she noticed that touch was likely a key element. Not always, but it was worth a try at the very least. Looking down at her slender hand she then looked up at her past self. She Reached forward as though to touch her own shoulder. however, on contact her hand disappeared within as though absorbed, instead of passing through like it had been before. Her eyes bulged. Trying to retrieve her hand she couldn't, it was as though she was stuck, or rather being drawn in. The sensation was bizarre, A chill ran through her as she felt as though pins and needles filled her hand that had disappeared with her own figure.

Taking a slow deep breath she held it and stepped into herself. This was going to be an interesting story to tell the others when this was over. Darkness engulfed her as she tried to embrace the odd feelings flowing through her body.

Blinking her eyes open she felt strange, looking down at her hands she saw them be corporal and solid, testing the movement she smiled. She was now in control of this version of herself within his memory.

Elaina's head whipped up, startled by the sudden voices that echoed around her. She remained quiet and listened to the strange beings as they spoke as though she wasn't aware of them. It seemed they were aware of her presence, but not the fact that she could hear them was concerning, she'd needed to be careful when she tried to wake Eros up from this dream state moving forward. Had she slipped into more than just a body by doing this? Was she now in between his dream and their veil, as they called it? This felt all too surreal.

Turning her hands over as though still studying them she took some metal notes that she would relay to Erisena later. It sounded as though there were two different beings. They mentioned her getting through the veil unnoticed because she was human. And they could sense and block Erisena, which likely meant they could with anyone who wasn't human. Anyone that wasn't stronger than the two of them combined.

When they fell silent she looked over to Zeph's still-frozen form.  He hadn't aged a day, he still looked exactly the same, and so did Erosvent but it was still surprising to witness given how far back in the past this was. Even though she'd taken this body the scene didn't continue to play like before. The deafening silence was beginning to put her on edge.

To the rear, in the opposite direction where Eros had run off, the scenery appeared to be flaking off and fading into nothing, leaving behind a blinding white that was slowly creeping forward, consuming the area. The same white she had escaped from only minutes ago. 

She shivered, her only way was forward, literally. Not giving it any more thought, she ran. Her feet hit the ground hard as she flung herself forward. Moving this body was a little sluggish at first but she appeared to intergrade with it quickly. It wasn't exactly real or physical, only a memory, and yet she had control of this portion of it, for now.

She knew where she had to go, she had done this before after all. Though she knew she was ahead of schedule, she actually hoped that would help. This was the moment in her life when she learnt was Eros truly was. She remembered it clearly, not wanting to believe was Zeph told her, but it had been hard to deny what she had witnessed in that room.

But it had been the anguished look he had given her before he had run away that had pulled at her heartstrings, it all began here. She knew that wasn't true for him. But this was the day she fell in love with him. He had appeared lost, grieving and disgusted with himself over what he had done. She understood better now than she did then, the suffering he endured that day.

Bursting through the trees she skidded to a hold to find him slumped against a tree his head in his hands. The sound catching him off-guard he looked up at her with a frown.

"What... You shouldn't be here yet." Pushing himself off the tree he turned to face her, his expression morphing to suspicion.

Exactly what she wanted! He was attentive and noticed differences in his memory. She reached forward and attempted to speak.

We're inside your dream, you've been trapped and you need to wake up!

As she spoke no sound came out. Her eyes bulged and she clasped a hand to her throat. 

Eerie laughter echoed around her, mocking her. 

She let a frustrated groan. That noise came out but when she tried to speak again all she managed was to move her mouth as though her vocal cords wouldn't work. Those bastards knew exactly what she was trying to do and had made it so that she couldn't speak about it. How was she meant to tell him now!? Had it all been pointless!? Her thoughts and feelings cascaded down as she was on the verge of tears.

"Elaina?" His voice had changed. Softer and more concerned.

She felt a gentle hand clasp her own shaking limb, drawing her attention to his concerned gaze. She tried to smile as her bottom lip trembled.

"I-I can feel your emotions... but we're not bonded yet, how is that possible?"

Because this isn't real!  She tried again but to no avail. She let out a heavy sigh.

"Not real? I wouldn't say that, they are memories after all."

Her head shot up as he spoke, he'd read her lips! She beamed with happiness.

He chuckled gently pulling her closer. She let out a breathless gasp as her body collided with his. She knew this was a dream and yet it felt so real. The gentle caress of his hand around the nape of her neck, the warmth from his body seeping into hers. Her face grew red, a slight flush covering her cheeks. Butterflies lined her stomach as she very nearly lost herself to his touch.

"I've missed you, beautiful."

His hushed tone was lined with a deep yearning she knew all too well. It sent a shiver down her spine, her body eagerly reacting to his desire. But this was hardly the time for that! Closing her fist she gently pounded it against his hard chest as she sternly glared up at him.

"Your right, your right." He chuckled again. "It's extremely odd to have you in a memory dive like this, how'd you get in? Not even I could do-" He cut himself off as her attention was diverted.

The action was subtle but he'd caught it. She hadn't moved but her eyes shifted suddenly as though she were focusing on something else.

Elaina shoved Eros away from her and forcibly toward the tree. He frowned but gave her little to no resistance. She couldn't be kicked out, not yet. The only option she could think of was to play out the scene, we would try to slip in a bit of what was happening to him while they played it out. These beings that held him here, they wanted something from him and she could work with that... or so she hoped.

"What are you-"

He couldn't even finish his sentence as she darted away back to the tree line she had emerged from earlier. Popping her head out from the protruding tree line she gestured with her hands in a circling motion as though to say 'start rolling'.

Dream eaters!? Not dream walkers? Elaina tried to remain completely composed as she tried to get Eros to understand her intention. Dream easters were a folk tail, something she'd heard of as a child.

Thankfully Eros turned toward the tree, he dug into the bark with his nails and nodded once.

It was uncanny as the atmosphere around them completely changed. The air came alive, the wind taking her slightly by surprise as the night filled with an abundance of sounds again.

"Eros?" She tried. She couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Not exactly in the script for this scene but it was good to finally hear the sound of her voice again, and she'd never thought she'd think that.

She gasped as he whipped his head around to leer at her. She reflexly took a step back toward the brush behind her, her hands clenching together at her chest.

"Get away from me!" He boomed.

She flinched turning her head slightly away. Her body was shivering, a mix of fear and anxiety. "I-I can't leave you like this. I don't want to be the cause of you hurting someone else." She'd made up her mind while talking to Zeph moments before, she remembered this so clearly. She'd seen it as her fault, Eros was in this beastly state because of her, and she could help him.

"I will hurt you." He growled. The sound had been intended to be menacing and threatening, 

But to Elaina, it came off like a wounded animal trying to protect itself. "I-I don't believe you."

She tried to push the fear aside, claiming her breathing as best as she could. Zeph had told her exactly what she needed to do and how. She willed her arms to unclench and lowered them to her sides. She remembered thinking herself insane at this point. She'd already accepted the fact that if she died here tonight it wouldn't be a great loss. She was grieving and was lost, he was either to be her salvation or her demise.

She never forgot the sound of his clawed fingers scrapping along the tree bark. His movements were slow and calculated like he was stalking his prey. He turned toward her, she always wondered if he had expected her to run, if she had things would have turned out very differently.

With each step toward her, she took him in. His beautiful grey eyes fixated on her, they were heavily bloodshot and his brows were angled down. Though his face appeared more torn and anguished than it did threatening. Vains were clearly visible on his forehead and neck as though he were holding something at bay within himself.

"You. Need. To. Run." He was inches away from her now. It was all a scare tactic, she knew that, and yet the tone in his voice had her second-guessing herself. "I smell your fear." He added with a harsh whisper.

She swallowed the lump in her throat as he took another step toward her. With a shaking hand, she reached up to her neck. Her hair, long since having fallen from the neat braid she once had, lay loosely around her shoulders. Pushing it aside she tilted her head to the side exposing her neck to him.

"Take what you need from me, you have my permission." She stated in case the clear invitation hadn't been enough.