The Immortal War

@ sun spirit

Florence gave a little nod before settling back into her chair to continue her reading. Being Time meant that she had to work with most of the other Immortals at some point or another, but she was still quite shy, and small talk wasn't her forte. So, she was quite content sitting in silence as she read through the journals of previous Fates, wondering what exactly it could be that they were looking for. She didn't really think old baking recipes or gossip would be particularly useful, but Cat must have had a reason to have them looking.

---

Jonathan frowned as he listened to April refuse his offer, dropping his hand back to his side when he pulled away. He couldn't believe that her hatred of the other Immortals outranked her desire to save the world. He let out a sigh, giving April a long look before stepping around her to stand by Fate once more.

"You and I both know that we wouldn't be able to save Florence if the apocalypse began. Once it starts, everything it out of our hands, we can only act now and hope everything works out. Please, April, if not for me then for Florence. She trusts Fate, and she wouldn't lie to you." He pleaded with a frown, hoping that April would change her mind, although he doubted that she would.

@ katahdin

Skylar was a little disappointed when Florence simply gave him a nod and went silent, rather than continue the conversation. He knew it was probably better to focus on what they were supposed to be doing, but he liked talking, especially to people he didn't know well. He took her silence as a hint though and started reading the book in front of him in earnest. It went much faster thanks to Florence's magic transforming the looping script into something easier for him to read, although the journal wasn't exactly an intrigue novel. Mostly, it seemed like someone who was trying to continue living their normal life after becoming Fate and talking about the normal things they were trying to continue to do. Skylar picked up a little speed in his reading by beginning to skim through passages, until he abruptly encountered a passage on magic where the Fate he was reading about had discovered that not all magic was limited to the certain abilities each Immortal had and could be shaped to do different things. This Fate had started experimenting. "Hey," he said to Florence without taking his eyes off the page. "I think I found the Fate who made those note thingies that Cat used on us." Not helpful in stopping the apocalypse… but cool.

---

April fully expected Jonathan to come around to her side, especially as someone who was largely avoided by the others just as much as she was. Which was why, when he stepped around her to once more stand by Fate, she could only stare for a long moment. He was actually set on helping the others. "I know she wouldn't lie to me, but I also know she doesn't know what it feels like to be ostracized the way you and I do. You're both being too trusting of them. I won't help you, and I'll figure out a way to save Florence." She gave Cat a long, hard look. "Don't bring her back. Or Nature."

@ sun spirit

Florence looked up when he spoke about the Fate who had created the magical notes, leaning a bit closer so she could glance over the page before looking back at her notebook. "This one seems to have been a historian, going on about the history of the original Immortals, and the relics they created and left behind... I dont know if it's real or just a legend, but it's a start." She explained with a little sigh. "Do you think they'll be able to convince April to help? I dont know what we'll do if she refuses.." she frowned, looking over at him worriedly.

---

Death frowned as he looked at April, upset that she hadn't taken his word and was being too stubborn, especially about Florence. Time would die if War went ahead with whatever it was that she had planned, and if they couldn't figure out a way to stop it then nothing would change that. "Fine. Cat, let's go." He said, turning and, not waiting for her to take his arm like before, simply grabbed her arm before transporting them to his home, needing to pick up a few things that might be helpful for the task they had ahead of them.

@ katahdin

"Original?" Skylar whistled. "Man, that must've been written a long time ago. Then he paused. "Didn't Cat mention something about magical objects that could help us though? Maybe you're in the right place for that." His eyes drifted back to the page of his book as he was asked about April, though it only lasted briefly, and he was soon giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine. You and Jonathan are her friends, right? So she's bound to listen to him, even if she doesn't like me or Cat much. Besides, even if she's War, it isn't like she really wants to kill everyone, right?" He was trying to alleviate the clear worry that showed through her eyes, even though he wasn't sure if he believed his words or not either. The longer Jonathan and Cat were gone, the more he wondered.

---

By the time Cat got a chance to open her mouth, Death had already moved them, and she was standing in an unfamiliar house, frowning as she looked around. "Where'd you take us?" she asked as she took a step away, looking to him. He didn't seem uncomfortable, albeit possibly a little pissed, and she sighed softly. "We'll figure out a way to stop her, hopefully without hurting her. It was a long-shot anyway, especially with how much she dislikes me and Sky. I meant what I said, and I don't want to hurt her if we have any other way."

@ sun spirit

Florence nodded a little, agreeing that she was likely on the right track. "If I can date this notebook, I should be able to look back in time at what was happening, and maybe find something useful.." she thought aloud, flipping through the pages of the old text carefully but quickly, hoping to get an idea of exactly how far she needed to go back or a location, as it would narrow down where she'd need to look. Time frowned as she listened to him go on about War, her friend, looking down at the stack of books between them. "Everyone, no matter what century, has always ostracised War and Death.. Some humans worship them, but they're few and far between these days, and they're constantly scrutinized and treated differently because of their jobs. April wants to put an end to it, and I think she'd do whatever it takes to make it happen.. Even if it means losing everything she loves too." Florence spoke softly, glancing over at him for a moment before clearing her throat. She'd clearly seen something unsettling when she had looked ahead, but because the future was constantly changing, she didnt really want to share what she saw, as it wasnt set in stone yet.

---

"Home." Jonathan said gruffly, releasing her arm to move down the hall to his study. He'd transported them to the entryway of his home, which was quite nice, with a wooden staircase leading upstairs, although it looked like no one had been up there in a while. Once in his study he began pulling old books that would put the notebooks Nature and Florence were looking at to shame, some of them practically crumbling in his hands. Deaths before him had also kept journals, and as one of the more prominent Immortals, the early ones tended to know a lot more than they shared with others. "There might be something in here that will help. I'll bring them back to Florence and Nature to look through." He sighed, looking st Cat after a while with tired eyes. "April wont stop unless someone physically makes her. We're going to battle, to war, with War. And I wouldnt bet on us."

@ katahdin
(I honestly forgot about this for a minute )

Skylar nodded a little, glancing up at Florence to find that she wasn’t looking in his direction and didn’t particularly seem to be talking to him as she quickly flipped through pages. He started to look back down at the book he was reading when an idea crossed his mind. “Wait wait wait!” He slapped the side of the chair Florence sat in beside him, eyes wide as he grinned. “I’m Nature! I can tell you exactly what natural materials were used to make that book. That could help you narrow down the time, right? Like, if some plant was used that people used only inside of a hundred year span, then you know where to search, and I’m basically a walking database of plants and animals.” He was obviously excited, happy to be able to help in a way outside of just boring old reading. When Florence talked about War though, Skylar deflated immediately, seeing how truly worried she was. He wasn’t sure what she’d seen, but he knew it couldn’t have been good, given what she was saying. “Well, hopefully we can stop that from happening, right?” It was the best he had.

---

Jonathan didn’t seem to be in a talkative mood as he transported them and promptly walked away without a word of explanation. Cat didn’t let it ruffle her feathers though, and rather than follow as he walked away, she looked around. It wasn’t an opportunity she’d had in the past—to really take in the place that Death called home—and left to herself, she walked around, letting her hand trail over furniture as she took it in. It was almost… airy. Not the sort of place one would think of when imagining Death’s home. When Jonathan came back, he held a stack of books that towered high enough in his arms to cause Cat to step towards him and relieve him of half the load as he spoke. “I’ll help too. I’m not sure we really have any other leads,” she responded, straightening a little and giving him a look that could only be called obstinate. “She might be War, but we’re Fate, Nature, Death, and Time. I wouldn’t bet against us.”

@ sun spirit

Florence squeaked and jumped in suprise when he slapped the arm of her chair, looking at him with wide eyes as he began to explain his idea. She nodded slowly as she thought over his idea about identifying the materials used to make the books. "Yes, that could work.. If you can identify what the paper and ink are made of, I should be able to date it and then I can go back and look.." She spoke, carefully passing him the notebook in her lap so that he could do whatever he needed to to identify it. "Be careful, the paper is fragile.." she warned softly, shrugging a little when he asked if they'd be able to stop War from starting the Apocalypse. She didn't really want to think too much more about what she'd seen in her vision, shaking her head a little to get the image from her head. "Yeah.. hopefully."

---

Jonathan carefully passed her a few of the books in his stack, although he still held most of them. "Hopefully they've already made some progress on your notebooks, and will have an idea of what they're looking for when we give them these. I'd tell Florence to get whatever journals past Times have kept, but she's practically her own journal... Of course not all Times have absorbed the sands into themselves like she has, so maybe there's something lying around her place that would be helpful." He mumbled mostly to himself, trying to work through all of his thoughts. He frowned a bit as she said that she believed they had a chance, shaking his head a little. "I hope Nature and Time share your optimism.."

@ katahdin

Seeing how surprised and wary she looked all of a sudden, Skylar attempted to scale back his excitement at his idea, watching her with held breath as she considered his words and then passed over the book, agreeing it could work. “I will be,” he promised as he accepted the notebook from her, keeping a finger pressed to the page she’d been reading before closing it to examine the cover. As he ran his fingers over it, he let his magic brush up against it, not quite entering it but examining, and it both told him the type of rabbit the cover had been made of as well as offering him a picture and information on its species, including habits, habitats, the types of food it ate—the list went on. He considered pulling back to give the name to Florence, then paused. They were trying to pin down a specific time. Every bit of information would help.

Skylar held out his hand, aware that the very place he’d concentrated his powers, his fingertips, had turned green. “I don’t know if this will work… but maybe if you took my hand, you could know everything I do and maybe even track down the time it was alive at the same time?” He offered her a little smile. “At worst, my powers will just try to read you. I’ll see that you’re a human female, which subspecies of human and other things about humans in general. Nothing invasive.”

---

Cat accepted the books Jonathan allowed her to take, not pressing him to even the stack more, figuring that he was perhaps a little protective of them. Understandable, given that they were accounts from previous Deaths and his to guard. “Well, we can always ask, and if she has something, we’ll look at it too,” she told him, smiling a bit at his skepticism. Unable to help herself, she winked playfully and stated, “It rubs off on others.” Since their stop at Death’s seemed to be finished, the opened their transport back to her house, inclining her head for him to go.

@ sun spirit

Florence watched him curiously as he worked his magic, having never seen a Nature actually use their powers before, as she rarely had to speak with them under normal, non-apocalyptic circumstances. "You should try to date the ink.. the book could be far older than the words written on it.." she suggested lightly, leaning a bit closer so she could get a better look.

She looked down at his hand when he offered it, frowning a little as she looked back up at him. "Jonathan always says that combining powers is dangerous.. But I suppose we don't have much of a choice." She murmured, slowly taking his hand. Her eyes almost instantly turned the brilliant golden that they had earlier when she had used her powers, little golden strands wrapping around their joined hands as she muttered softly to herself. She could see everything that he saw and more, she saw the rabbits birth, it's death, the man who had shot it and sold it's pelt to be turned into this book. She also saw little bits and pieces of Skylar's life, before he was an Immortal. His birth, the first time he rode a bike by himself, when he lost his front baby teeth, the moment he became Nature. She hadn't meant to look into his past, especially without asking permission, and she hoped he wouldn't be mad at her, knowing how the other Immortals liked to guard their previous life.

---

Jonathan chuckled faintly at her wink, shaking his head a little as he stepped through the portal and arrived back at Fate's house, carefully setting the books down on her counter. He frowned deeply when his eyes landed on Skylar and Florence, not because they were sitting close together and holding hands, although that set off a red flag in the back of his mind, but because they were combining their powers to study one of Cat's books. He'd warned her a thousand times against it, and she'd still done it anyway. He walked over to her worriedly, kneeling down in front of her, casting a sideways glare at Skylar for likely encouraging this before he turned his attention back to Florence.

"Time, I need you to stop. You don't need to risk getting lost in time just because we're desperate for an answer." He warned. The previous Time had died after spending too long navigating the Sands of Time and hadnt been able to snap out of it. Florence had come dangerously close to that happening before when she first became Time, but he'd managed to pull her back. Her powers were dangerous enough to her without the addition of Nature's.

"No... Almost.. there.." she murmured softly as she gripped Nature's hand a little tighter, so close to seeing the point when the past Fate had started his journal.

@ katahdin

Skylar had never heard anything about combining powers being dangerous--wasn't even sure it was possible until Time confirmed it--but rather than back away from the idea, Florence instead took his hand, apparently willing to try. Again he concentrated on the book he held, on the material it was made of and the information he knew from it because of his own powers, and as he did so, there was a little jolt, as Time's powers latched onto it as well. Events washed over him, one after another, as he saw what she did, and almost before he knew it, he wasn't seeing the rabbit but himself and his past as a human. He wasn't sure why, wasn't even aware of himself, really, wholly aware of what Time saw, until suddenly another voice intruded on it, one faintly familiar.

It was by following Jonathan's gaze that Cat noticed Skylar and Florence grasping hands, and much like him, realized fairly quickly what was happening. The sands surrounded both of their hands, and Skylar's fingertips were all green, his eyes as unseeing of the real world as Time's as the two sat next to each other. Combining powers could make them stronger, but it was dangerous too, since it also held the potential of overwhelming one or both parties. She set her stack of books down as Jonathan rushed to Florence and made her way over, though she hesitated from touching either of them and accidentally adding herself to the chaos or being a distraction. Though Jonathan had cautioned them to stop, however, when Florence denied to, Cat decided to try a different method.

She, too, crouched, though closer to Skylar, and watched him as he spoke. "Nature--Sky--I don't know what exactly the two of you are looking for, but whatever it is, you're Time's anchor right now. If you get caught up in what she's doing, you're going to get lost, and it might end badly for both of you, so I need you to concentrate on what you're doing, not what you're seeing through Time. She's drawing on you. Find the information she needs to connect to." Given his position, Cat doubted this was going to win her any points with Jonathan, but if she could talk Skylar through this, then maybe everyone would get out of it okay and with important information.

Cat's words helped refocus him, and Nature once more applied his concentration to the book, the things its parts had been made of, the hide of the leather, the trees that had created the paper, and even the ink. It felt as if Time refocused as well then, and it was as his powers dissected the origins of the ink, fingers stained green where they clutched the book, that Time was at last able to land on the Fate who had written the journal.

@ sun spirit

Jonathan's hands lightly rested against Florence's knees, glancing over at Cat sternly while she encouraged Skylar to stay rooted, upset that she was encouraging this, but he understood why she was. The information they were looking for must be important, and anything they could find would be helpful. At least Fate understood the severity of the situation. Jonathan watched Time as her brows crinkled in concentration as Nature refocused, continuing to rub gentle circles onto her knees in the hopes it would keep her from wandering too far.

With Nature shifting his focus back to the book, it was much easier for Florence to find the information she needed, quickly figuring out which Fate had written the journal, as well as a date range for it. When she finally felt she had all the information she needed she released Skylar's hand, slumping back in her seat as she rubbed at her eyes. They always felt like they had sand in them after she used her powers, and she supposed in someway they did. When she looked up she was staring at Jonathan's angry face, and she offered him a weak smile, knowing there wasn't really away to avoid him scolding her. "I was being careful, I promise, Jonathan.."

"You could have gotten lost. You could have gotten Nature lost. That's not being careful, that's being foolish." He said angrily as he stood, looking between the two. "I can only hope the risk was worth the information. You're not doing it again." He wouldn't lose his only friend. He couldn't. Time was the only one other than War who showed him any kindness, he couldn't just stand by and let her risk her life when there was always another solution.

@ katahdin

Cat didn't relax until Florence let go of Sky and both sank back in their chairs, coming back to themselves. It felt as if a tense breath left her, but whereas Jonathan seemed angry, she was simply relieved that they were okay. Poor Skylar looked a little shell-shocked though. "Never say never. We might have to combine powers again before this is all over. And before you yell at me," her eyes met Jonathan's frankly, "I'm not suggesting we make a habit of it or that we will. I'm just saying it's a possibility, and we need to be careful if we do."

It took Skylar a moment to let go of the information he'd been drawing from the book and several breaths longer before he was able to shake off the mind-boggling amount of stuff he'd just seen through time. He hadn't even been sure that would work, much less that it was apparently dangerous to do, and he looked between the three other Immortals as they argued about it. Sometimes it sucked being the youngest one... it felt like he was always discovering things the others knew that they'd just forgotten to tell him. "What do you mean... lost? What would've happened if we'd been "lost"?" he asked, looking between them.

Cat winced. "You could've gotten lost in time, mentally. You and Florence both. We wouldn't have had a way of bringing you back."

"Wouldn't you see if that was going to happen?"

"You know better than that. I'm not omnipotent, and I don't see everything that will happen."

@ sun spirit

Jonathan snorted as Cat spoke to him, glaring at a spot on the wall. He knew deep down that she was right, but he wasn't about to let anyone else know that. He especially didn't want Florence to hear it, knowing that if anything happened to her there'd be nothing preventing War from going all out and ending everything. Time was the only thing April cared about, he had to keep her safe. He watched as she attempted to stand before pushing her back into her seat when he saw her knees wobble, shaking his head. "No. You're going to sit in that chair and rest. And if you complain, I'll send you home and won't let you return until you've gotten your strength back."

Time pouted up at Jonathan, huffing as she looked over at Cat. "The Fate who wrote this journal did so about ten thousand years ago. Hopefully that will help you piece together some more of the puzzle." She sighed, adjusting the blanket over her lap before looking at Skylar as Cat explained how they could have gotten lost. "Most Times have died from getting lost in the sands... I'm sorry I didn't mention the risk before." She murmured, looking down at her lap. She also wanted to apologize for looking into his personal history, but it had been an accident, and she didn't want to say anything about it in front of Cat or Jonathan, knowing how the immortals liked to keep their personal lives private.

@ katahdin

Cat let his stare slide off her, instead giving Florence a grateful smile as she revealed the information she'd found. "That's amazingly helpful. I know I don't look like the most organized person, but this house is actually dated by time, so knowing how far back I have to go is great, especially if this Fate left more things. Jonathan's right about you resting though. That's twice you've expended yourself today, and you need to rest. You can read if you have to, but no more using your powers for now. We even brought back some journals from the previous Death, so there's more research for us to do." She stood up as Florence spoke to Nature.

Skylar's eyes widened. "I had no idea, or I wouldn't have suggested it! Sorry, I'm still learning," he said sheepishly, grateful when she didn't bring up about what else she'd seen. He didn't like talking about how he'd gotten Nature's office, and it was hard enough being the youngest of everyone without them all knowing about his childhood. He glanced at Death, almost afraid to find the other Immortal glaring at him and blaming him for the screwup. He seemed really protective of Time... "I guess I can just stick to reading now."

Seeing how uncomfortable Skylar was, Cat patted his shoulder assuringly, to let him know he was fine. "That sounds like a good idea. The more information we can find, the better. Jonathan, why don't you get started on a journal too, and I'll go see if I can find where the Fate from 10,000 years ago left his stuff and if there's anything helpful there." She stuck her hands in her back pockets, hiding her hands. Death was aware of her shaking, but she didn't want to worry or press the others, make them feel like they had to do more than they could too soon, especially Florence, who was already extending herself. Cat could control herself.

@ sun spirit

Florence simply nodded a little at Fate's instructions, grabbing another journal to begin looking through it, although when Skylar began to apologize she shook her head quickly. "No, it's fine. Jonathan's just a worrywart." She offered Nature a faint smile, ignoring Jonathan's snort as he grabbed a few of the journals from the stack he'd brought before gesturing for Cat to lead the way to wherever the previous Fate they were looking for had kept their stuff. He noticed the way her hands shook, and figured it'd be best if she were alone for a little while while they focused on looking for what they needed, so he could double check and make sure she was alright to continue like this.

As everyone set about to their tasks it seemed like Time was going to drift off to sleep, eyelids drooping tiredly as she tried and failed to read the journal in her lap. After she was sure Jonathan and Cat were gone she let out a sigh and closed the book, settling back into her chair and tugging the blanket Jonathan had draped over her earlier around her. She glanced over at Nature nervously, biting her lip worriedly before speaking. "I'm sorry that I saw... I won't tell anyone, I promise." She whispered, hoping he believed her.

@ katahdin

It didn't sound okay, despite Time's reassurance, but Skylar kept that to himself as he picked up the journal he'd been reading, guessing everyone was about to get back to task since Florence did the same and even Jonathan picked up a few journals, though strangely, he followed Cat from the room. From the way Florence looked, Skylar guessed she was going to take a nap, but it seemed like, as soon as the others had left the room, she sat up, no longer half-asleep. He rubbed the back of his head self-consciously as she apologized and nodded. "It's... it's fine. It didn't seem like you were trying to pry or anything." He stared at his lap. "Thanks for not mentioning anything in front of them. It's not that I have anything to hide, really, it's just... I"m already the kid."

---

Cat was hoping for a moment alone, out of sight of everyone to just breathe, but that didn't seem likely when Jonathan gathered a couple of journals and made to follow her, despite her assumption that he'd want to stay and keep an eye on Time. She didn't argue though, leaving the others behind as she led him further into the house, until they eventually came to a room filled with relics. "You probably aren't going to find much space to sit down and read here," she warned as she carefully slipped in. Most of what they saw were preserved, recorded fates, written and drawn for the most part. She knew others didn't experience it, but she felt their power without touching them, a buzz that started up in the back of her head and wouldn't leave. "So, why didn't you stay with Florence?" she asked of Jonathan, to distract herself from the noise as she carefully picked her way through the room, struggling to hold her hands steady since there was no casual way of hiding them anymore.

@ sun spirit

Florence gave a little nod, picking at the blanket in her lap awkwardly as he spoke. "The sands are hard to control sometimes, I would never pry on purpose." She promised, glancing over at him after a moment, nodding in understanding as he spoke about being the youngest, and not wanting the others to look down on him. "I.. I can tell you about how I became Time.. Even things out a bit.." she offered softly. Ideally she'd just show him, but she knew Jonathan would be furious if she used her powers again today, and she was exhausted. "When a Time gets lost, they end up in whatever time they're looking in on, and generally the first person who comes across them ends up getting sucked in, and they become the new Time." She explained softly, fidgeting with her blanket. "That's why Times can be a bit weird.. some are from the past, and others the present, and it's tricky to sort out."

---

Jonathan glanced around the crowded room as he stepped in, knowing this room held a considerable amount of power, even if he could not feel it himself. "I'll manage." He said simply, pausing at the center of the room to watch her wander around. "Your hands." He said simply when she asked why he hadn't stayed with Florence. "Figured it'd be best for you to have a distraction, or have someone around to take the pen from your hand if it becomes too much." He explained, shifting the journals in his grasp a bit. "Florence will probably be asleep soon, anyway. No point watching over her when she's unconscious."

@ katahdin

Skylar looked up from the journal to give her a little smile. “I’m still getting used to my powers, so I guess I get that,” he said, hoping they could just put the whole thing behind them. But then she decided to tell him how she became Time, and he listened as she explained how sometimes different Times came to be. “Really? So you just… got sucked in. That’s horrible.” He paused, and watched her. Part of him wanted to ask what happened with her, if she’d been displaced from wherever she was supposed to be, but he didn’t want to pry. She’d offered to tell him that just because she felt bad. “So, could that happen to Nature too, if I’d gotten lost?” It hadn’t happened, but there was just this morbid curiosity of knowing what could’ve happened.

---

Cat wasn’t surprised by the answer, nodding to herself as she picked around, trying to gauge where the oldest stuff was by the volume of the buzzing in her head. The voices of recorded fates faded with time, so she was trying to find the quietest part of the room. “After I summoned everyone, I packed everything I could create art with or on and locked it in a room with a sturdy door. Then, because I was worried I’d be tempted to open it at some point, I gave the key to Skylar,” she explained. “It isn’t that bad yet though.” She held up her hands for him to see, knowing the tremors were almost invisible. “It’s just like this… pressure that won’t go away. It doesn’t hurt exactly, but it isn’t nice either. Don’t mention it to the others though. I’m trying not to worry them, especially since they’re already trying to push themselves.”

@ sun spirit

Florence gave a little shrug, knowing that for as bad as it was, some people had likely had it far worse than her when they became Immortals. "It could have been worse. There was once a Time from Ancient Rome who became an Immortal during the 1800s. At least I didn't have that." She looked up at him as he asked if that could happen to other Immortals if they got lost, shrugging slightly. "Perhaps... It'd be different, thought, because I'm not sure how the powers would transfer. With Time, the two just switch places. The old Time took over my spot, while I became Immortal." She explained, shrugging. "I don't really want to test it out.. I'm sure you'd agree."

---

"I think you underestimate how quickly the urge will grow. Or how creative you'll get." He'd seen Fates attempt to ignore their visions before, and seen the results: finger paintings using their own blood, words scratched into wood or rock with fingernails. He didn't want to see that happen to Cat, needed to know she was alright, and be there to help her in case she needed it. He nodded as she told him not to tell the others, agreeing that it was best not to worry them. They didn't need to be doing anything dangerous this early, when there was still time for them to change April's mind. Reaching out he gently took Cat's hand, trying to hide his frown as he felt her flinch at the touch. He expected it, after all, who wanted to be touched by Death? With a sigh he traced a little symbol on the back of her hand with his cold fingers, hoping the little bit of old magic would help her fight the urge, or at least make it less painful.

@ katahdin

Skylar gave a sympathetic wince. "Okay, yeah, I see how that might suck. At least if you come from the future, you have an idea what the past was like. You don't have that if you're going forward in time." He wasn't entirely sure she would have an answer to the question he posed, so he wasn't too disappointed when she admitted she didn't know and quickly nodded his head, eyes a little wide as he quickly agreed, "No no no. Definitely not. Besides, I feel like I kind of have to pay back the previous Nature... I mean, you saw what happened. She basically died to save me. And I don't know why me, but I've always felt like I have to do something good to make up for it, you know?"

---

Cat glanced back in surprise at his comment; it sounded as if he had experience. "Well, I'm going to hold out for as long as I can," she replied softly, "and if it gets too bad, since you already know what's going on, I'll show you somewhere you can put me. We'll figure out someway I can't even hurt myself to make pictures, and that will buy even more time for the three of you to figure something out." She continued moving around, searching for the spot, and as she walked near Jonathan, felt him reach out to her. Though she'd been good about keeping control over the shaking in her hands though, a tremor went through them then, almost knocking him away. To her surprise, he held on and traced some invisible shape over the back of his hand. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you actually liked me," she joked with a half-smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but hey, if she didn't make light of a bad situation, what else could she do?