Chapter Text
She remembered falling. The feeling of weightlessness, not knowing where you’ll land, is a feeling you’ll never forget.
The next thing Emira felt was something wet on her face. When she opened her eyes, she realized the water had been falling from the sky. She panicked but didn’t feel burned like the rain normally does.
That’s when she realized she didn’t recognize her surroundings. Everything looked different. She looked around and saw Luz frantically opening and closing a door, while Amity, Hunter, Gus, and Willow looked panicked.
Luz turned around with tears in her eyes; Amity stepped forward to hold her.
“Wait,” Emira panicked, “where’s Edric? He was right here with me I-” She cuts herself off when her vision fully cleared, she realized where she was.
The human realm.
And by the look on Luz’s face, going home wasn’t an option.
After walking in the rain for a short distance, Luz knocked on the door of a small house. Emira had zoned out at that point, too focused on the fact she had never been this long without her brother.
Next thing she knew she was inside the home with a towel wrapped around her shoulders as Luz talked to what looked to be her mom.
Emira saw Amity clinging to her girlfriend's arm. Willow, Gus, and Hunter were huddled together. Emira was alone. She had always said that her greatest fear was being stuck with Edric forever, but now that she’s separated from him, she can’t help but wish she could take it all back.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Luz clear her throat.
“Guys,” Luz began carefully, “This is my mama.”
Everyone nods and gives a small hello before cowering back in on themselves.
Amity sees the look on her sister’s face and gives her a pitiful look.
“How are you feeling?” Amity asks her, walking over and putting a hand on her shoulder.
Emira felt everyone staring at her. She didn’t like it; she was supposed to be the strong one. That’s what she’d always been.
“Yeah Amity, I’m okay.”
It had been two days since Luz had gotten home when Camilla had sent her back to school. With Luz gone, nobody really knew what to do. Willow, Amity, Gus, and Hunter talked amongst each other while Luz was gone.
Emira was lost in her head, thinking about her mother, even though she wasn’t a great person, awful really, she was worried about her. The day of unity took hold of everyone with a coven sigil. She thought about her father too; he wasn’t around much, but she still wondered if he was okay.
Mostly, she thought about Edric. He wasn’t branded with a coven sigil, but who knows what’s going on. They could be rounding up and branding everyone that isn’t branded.
She looked out the window to the backyard; she’d been out there once since they got here. The fences made her feel trapped.
“I’m going for a walk.” She said to the group who was sitting on the couch.
Before anyone could reply, she grabbed one of Luz’s extra beanies, both to keep her warm and hide her ears, and a jacket and went out the front door.
She walked for a while before stopping at a park. She sat on a bench looking at what seemed to be a bunch of ramps, rails, and a giant bowl in the ground. There was one person standing at the top of a tall ramp, standing on a thin wooden plank with wheels.
Emira watched as the girl kicked off with one foot, then planting both feet on the plank and rolling down the tall ramp. Her red flannel waved in the wind as she sped down. It was already a second too late when she realized that the girl was headed straight forward.
Emira braced for the impact, but it never came. When she opened her eyes, the girl in the flannel was standing in front of her holding the wheeled plank.
“You alright?” The girl spoke up.
Emira was about to answer as she looked into the other girl's eyes, then over the rest of her face. Her black hair was tucked mostly into a backwards hat she had on.
“Uh, um, yeah, I’m okay.” Emira stuttered out, scratching the back of her neck.
This girl was pretty. Like, really pretty.
“I’m real sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t mean to almost run you over.” The black-haired girl had an accent of some sort that she couldn’t recognize.
“It’s okay, really.”
The girl smiled and extended her hand. “I’m Jordan.”
Emira stared at the hand in front of her, not sure what exactly she should do.
“You’re normally supposed to shake it, but that's fine I don’t like germs anyways.” She tucks her hand into her pocket. “So, what’s your name?”
“Emira.”
“Weird name. I don’t think I’ve heard that one before.”
Emira shrugged in response.
“Where are you from? I haven't seen you at school before.”
Her eyes widened slightly as she panicked. “Uh, me and a few others are visiting some family here. In this town. Because that’s a normal human thing to do. And I do normal human things. Because I am a normal human. I’ve been talking too long.”
Jordan nods slowly. “That’s quite the explanation.”
Emira face-palmed internally.
“Well, I gotta get going. I’ll see you around.”
Before Emira could say another word, Jordan had picked up her plank and rolled off.
Once she was out of sight, Emira face-palmed outwardly this time. “Great going Emira. You see one pretty girl and all the sudden you spill everything.” She shook her head as she walked back to the house.
When she walked in, the others were sitting on the couch, staring at the box with the moving pictures on the wall.
Amity stood as she saw her sister enter. “Where have you been? We were worried about you.”
She smiled and sat on the couch.
“I just went on a walk.”
Amity sighed and sat back down, knowing that getting her sister to talk about her feelings was pointless; they all sat and watched the wall box.