Sylara Thorne, Age 9 – The Dreaming Hollow
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It began with a smell.
Not fire, not ash—not Riftkeep's smoke-laced corridors or the bitter scent of burnt runes. This was different.
Wild.
Like pine needles crushed underfoot. Like fur brushed against bark. Like wind tangled with starlight.
Then came the cold.
And then the snow.
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I opened my eyes, and the sky above me was a deep lavender, choked with slow-moving constellations. Trees loomed silver and quiet. Snow crunched under my boots—except I wasn't wearing boots. Or shoes. Or anything.
I looked down at my bare feet.
"Nope," I muttered. "Definitely dreaming. Or cursed. Possibly both."
["Bit dramatic for a girl with soot in her teeth" ]
I spun. A voice—female. Smooth. Young. Slightly bored.
And very much not mine.
There, sitting like she owned the entire frozen glade, was a wolf.
Her fur was black streaked with firelight. Her eyes, glittering silver. She was massive, more shadow than animal. She stretched out her front paws lazily, like she'd just woken from a particularly decadent nap.
I blinked. "Are you… talking?"
["I mean, if you're asking rhetorically, yes. If you're shocked, also yes. But honestly, shouldn't you be the one answering questions, Flamelet?"]
"Flamelet?"
["Mm-hmm. You smell like scorched ego and unresolved issues. It's adorable."]
I crossed my arms, realizing only too late that I was still barefoot. "You're a hallucination. I've finally gone insane. This is what happens when you flunk a sacred rite and live in a place where people whisper like you're a plague."
The wolf gave a dry huff that might've been laughter.
["Insane? Darling, you're the sanest girl in Riftkeep. You just happen to be... inconvenient."]
I squinted. "Are you real?"
["As real as you are."]
["Let's get introductions out of the way. I'm Nyx. I've been living rent-free inside your soul for, oh, seven years now. Cozy place. Bit crowded with trauma."]
I narrowed my eyes. "You're in my soul?"
["Yep. Right between the self-loathing and the sass. I'm basically your emotional support apex predator."]
"…Why?"
Nyx tilted her head. The snow caught in her fur glittered like embers.
["Because once, a very stubborn goddess poured everything she had into memory. Into bloodlines. Into wolves and girls who didn't know they were more than just broken magic."]
["Because you are not a mistake, Sylara Thorne. You are a secret. A wild one. And secrets like us? We don't die. We wake up."]
A Wolf and a Girl, and All That's Between
I stared at her. She wasn't just a beast. She was beautiful. Ancient. Infuriating.
And—something inside me whispered—mine.
"So," I said cautiously, "you've been watching me?"
["Goddess, yes. Do you know how dull it is listening to you brood in mirrors and monologue at incense smoke? You really need a hobby. Or friends."]
"I don't do friends."
["No kidding. You talk to rocks more than humans."]
I snorted despite myself. "Maybe the rocks are just less annoying."
["You're not wrong."]
We shared a look.
And just like that, something shifted.
The silence between us wasn't uncomfortable anymore. It was warm. Like a den. Like safety.
Nyx went quiet for a beat. Her head lowered slightly.
["You wonder about her. Your mother."]
My throat tightened. "Sometimes."
["You think she left you alone in this world. That she threw you into the fire and didn't look back."]
I didn't answer.
Nyx's voice, for once, softened. No bite. Just snow, falling slowly.
[ "She didn't leave you,not intentionally. She hid you. There's a difference."]
["And when you're ready, we'll remember her together."]
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We sat in the snow until the dream began to fade.
The cold didn't bite. The night didn't press. It simply held us, quiet and real. The wolf beside me. The girl with ash under her nails and runes stitched into her skin.
Just before the world turned to smoke, Nyx leaned close.
["You're going to be terrifying, Sylara."]
["You're going to be loved."]
I looked at her, at the flicker of fire behind her eyes.
And whispered the one truth I didn't know I'd been aching to say:
"I think I already do."
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Here you go , Nyx and Sylara's first meeting amd Sylara showing her emotional side!
Did you like their banter?
What will happen next?