The world can leave you feeling tired

It just felt nice to state it out loud, the fact that they weren't carbon copies of the former rulers. While they of course were connected to them, their fate and path was not set. And that fact alone made Buffy rather happy, because she didn't want their life spoiled by reading books about things yet to come. No, they were their own people, in charge of their own destiny - at least somewhat. He spoke about getting some scrolls, and she felt a little saddened by that fact. Of course she could never ask him not to work, but was it bad she wanted to be selfish and spend time around him? He then suggested bringing them here and she nodded, smiling at him as there was nothing she wanted more, well besides touch him.

As the days passed, Buffy was slowly adjusting to the darkness around her, but it was making her weak. Some days she struggled to even get out of bed, and other times she needed Saoirse's help to get around. It felt almost humiliating to rely on her daughter like that, but Saoirse had truly grown so much since last she had seen her. Together that day they had agreed for the young hybrid to show her around, and as she did they reached the garden. It was so clear that it had once been alive and thriving, but now all that was left was decay and barren roots.

Saoirse looked up towards the study, frowning a little as she worried that her father was reading more than he was actually trying to experience this world. But she seemed happy to have her mother there, having her tell everything with Amos, though most of it saddened her a lot. She didn't want him to be hurting. In fact she had left with her father to stop him from dying off of that infection. How many years had she not been in mourning over what she had lost with him? And how much of that time had she thought of how things would be once she returned - if she ever did.
Reaching out she grabbed on to her mother, "careful," she said, guiding her around some dead thorns sticking out of the ground on black vines. "I've been meaning to look over this garden, but I can't seem to make anything grow," she sighed, shaking her head a little defeated, looking at the soil that might as well have been filled with salt so little was able to live here. "Can I be honest with you?" A silly question, she knew, but her mother nodded with a smile, "I think you and father are too couped up in getting to touch one another when clearly you are both connected to this world ... And if the balance is off, then you'll never get to be together for real."

The small creature drew nearer, and Buffy's eyes widened as she looked at it. It looked practically like a child, but it's skin was different and it's beady eyes felt like it looked directly in to her soul. The small creature seemed searching, asking for royals, or was just repeating words it had heard, perhaps? It decided that they were not the ones it was searching for, but as it fell over and got tangled in some branches, Buffy couldn't help herself. Though she was weak, she walked over, kneeling down by the small gnome being. Her hands reached out, touching the dark branches that seemed to scorch at her touch, turning to ash - or so it seemed.
"There you go, my friend," she said in a gentle tone. She didn't know why she felt the need to be sweet to this creature she didn't know. Perhaps because something in her told her to be kind to it. "It's alright, you can run along ... Find who you are looking for," she said, getting up on her feet, rustling the branch she had touched and as the ash fell away there seemed to be a fresh growing branch beneath.

"There you go, little fella," she spoke sweetly, watching as the small creature scurried off in a hurry. She didn't blame it. Everything probably looked big and scary when you were that size. Taking a few steps back, rejoining Saoirse, she noticed the purple eyes that were now peaking out at her. Taken aback she stood still for a while before she decided the best option was to sit down in the dead grass. "It's quite alright," she told them, looking at the bushes as she smiled softly. Why was she so trusting of her own instincts? Perhaps because it had lead her down this road already. "You don't have to be scared of us, right Saoirse?" she smiled, looking up at her daughter that was a bit more weary, but she ended up sitting down next to her mother regardless. Maybe it would help them not feel like they were being towered over. "My name is Buffy ... Who are you guys?"

Buffy looked at the small creatures, then at the one she had saved that seemed to hurry right back to her to introduce itself. Eek. And the other small being was Mir? She just smiled, feeling like she was actually quite amused by these small beings that now stood around her as she sat here on the ground. Her daughter seemed more weary, but in the end Saoirse had to go handle some of her chores and work. Buffy stayed in the garden, smiling at the small creatures. "It is so very nice to meet all of you," she said, holding her hand out for them to inspect and touch. She was the light of this world, but it was so clear how weak she was surrounded by all this darkness. "How long have you been hiding here?" she asked, not sure if they had a concept of time.

The light was kind but these creatures still seemed skeptical. Not in the way they acted, but there was a sense of awareness, keeping an eye that she wouldnt just reach out and grab one of them, even if she never would. "Since the beginning of time." Eek answered, the rest humming in unison. Eek was studying her features, narrowing it's eyes as if it was trying to figure out why she seemed so familiar. "Before the darkness, before the infection." it further explained, looking down at it's hands that had the same purple streaks where veins should've sat nicely under the pale skin. "World now, is so cold. We long for the old times, when the sun was high in the sky and no darkness looming above." Eek explained, before he looked down and sighed. The dismay was clear on his expression. Then he looked up at the light. Narrowed his eyes lightly, leaning slightly closer as if he inspected every detail in her face. "We knew the princes and princesses of this place. Prince come by from time to time, looking a lot like you." he said.

Buffy watched the small creatures, especially as Eek went on to explain just how long they ahd been here. It seemed like they had a lot of stories to tell, and she frankly wanted to hear all of them. But then something caught her off guard. Then mention of princes and princesses. And then a single prince who seemingly roamed still. They said he looked like her, but she in part knew that it was because of her connection to Boadicea. She didn't mind the closeness of the small creature, but she did worry for their well being as they clearly weren't meant to have the darkness in them. "I'm sorry your world is this way ... But I've come to help," if she could figure out her powers that was. It was another headache in it of itself and in a world without light, she felt drained most of the time. "I read about the garden in the books up at the castle ... It used to be used for medical herbs, right?" she looked around, seeing the sad disarray of unearthed roots and dead plants.

Help? The little creature didnt seem to understand that. How could she help? This was just how their world was now. They were longing for their old lives but had also come to terms that nothing could change this. The question about the garden made the little creature walk over to a withered plant, grabbing it and pulling. The root was strong, but the plant ended up snapping, a faint hint of darkness seeping from it’s now broken end. “Everything filled with darkness.” He said. “Herbs… food.” He said to answer her question, letting go of the root. He glanced up at the castle, noticing they were being watched. Stepping a few steps back into the shadows, he looked to the light. “Back to hiding we go.”

"Please, don't go," she said, reaching out to touch the root the small creature. To her surprise, the former dead root was now looking healthy, gasping softly as she moved back, her body having been drained. However the darkness soon took hold of the root once more, dying all over. Her heart was beating like crazy as she was unsure what had just happened. Looking around, she tried identifying what had scared the small creatures away, though as she was right now she couldn't really move. Her body felt weak, unsure what had happened with the root and if it had drained her.

Buffy heard the steps behind her, frowning a little as it didn't sound like any steps she knew of. Turning her head, she looked up from where she was sitting on the ground. Despite how worn and tired she felt, she perhaps looked the most alive in this place at least surrounded by all of this gloom and doom. "Hello?" she said, quite confused as she had heard Baal talk about how this realm had been abandoned. But she had also heard her daughter speak of a boy. What was his name again? Aurel? Auriel? It was hard to remember when you didn't have a face to connect the name to. "I'm terribly sorry, I can't really walk much these days ... My name's Buffy," she opted to stay nice, because she had no reason not to be.

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle softly as it was clear the poor guy was a little confused, "you could say that; I've just always liked that name," she confessed with a small shrug. She looked up at him as he drew nearer, not feeling threatened by his presence, so that was a good thing. "Freddy?" not the guy her daughter had been speaking about then, but he looked awfully familiar. As if he could be related to her with those pale strands of hair. As well as those eyes. "Well it's very nice to meet you; I'm sorry I'm not more well put together," the realm was like a giant shadow swallowing all of her light, and yet she would rather be here suffering with Baal close by than be in Gambion and be alone. "What are you doing here? I thought this realm was abandoned?" though there was still the matter of the small creatures that had hidden away.

It wasnt often that there were people around here; no, the only one he had met that he at least remembered was one sulky prince that seemed to look at him as if they knew eqch other and then there was library boy. Well, it seemed that neither was around at this time. “You dont really look like you belong.” He admitted, having noticed how most things around her seemed to come back to life by her presence alone. The question made him shrug. “I feel like this is some fever dream. A reoccuring one at that. Just yesterday was I at a party in Western and now.. this odd place.” he explained before he felt another presence near them. He turned.

Baal had felt the entries into the realm like flies annoyingly buzzing around his head. It was interferring with everything that he was doing and he couldnt remain focused. He pushed the scrolls away to go see what it was this time that had somehow wandered into this otherwise closed off realm. He saw the guy in the garden with Buffy. When he turned, it was like seeing them somehow mirrored to each other. Baal frowned. “He shouldnt be here.”

He looked like a very confused kid, and Buffy felt like she could recognize him in some way. At least enough to hopefully keep him talking. Who was he? The mention of Western made her eyes widen - had this poor kid fallen through a portal? And if so, how was he surviving in these harsh environments? She had a hard time just standing up! However Baal was soon there, and he seemingly recognized him to some degree. "Do you know this kid, Belial?" she asked, looking to her fiancé with a puzzled gaze, understanding that it wasn't everything he told her, but it also hurt a bit.

"Oh no, it's quite alright sweetie," Buffy said, smiling a little weakly as she remained on the grass. It was crazy how polar opposite that her and Baal had gotten, and yet she refused to stop loving him. Simply because she couldn't. He said he did know of this guy, and she therefor smiled softly at Freddy. He didn't seem like a threat, but Baal's cold tone made her frown as he left. She rolled her eyes, looking at Freddy with an apologetic look to her eyes, "you best follow him, kiddo - I'm not really fit to be walking these days," she disclosed.