Snippet #2131066

"Where's Elina?"

Elina?

"Where's Elina?"

Why do you sound so scared?

Elina, that name sounded so familiar, but Keito just couldn't process it. He took another step forward, the snowy waist land disappearing and he was suddenly standing in the middle of an everlasting meadow with the sky painted with a flurry of pinks, oranges, and reds. In the distance two, glowing white moons floated above the horizon and a breeze ruffled the golden strands of grass, causing flecks of white to spread across the land from the dew reflecting the moons rays. Where was he now? He felt heavier this time, not as light and invisible as he did in the snowy waist land. Wait a minute, it was warm too.

He lifted his arm and stared at his palm for a moment. Was he alive this time? Is he started to exist? What was this pressure on his fingers?

"I need to find her. She'll know what to do, Keito. She'll know how to fix us."

The voice was louder this time, and he swore he'd heard it before. The pressure on his fingers slipped away and he took a step forward through the golden grass.

Eli...no..Layla.
___________________________________

The name suddenly clicked into his head and a heavy realization hit him. As if he'd woken up from a deep sleep, his eyes snapped open and he found himself sitting beside a snowy river bank, the white frost starting to rest on his head and shoulders. When had it started snowing? For a moment he thought maybe he was back in that waist land, but that image quickly started to fade to the back of his mind as if it had never existed.

Where is she..she drugged me..

Could he possibly be in Veilbrand? No, it was supposed to be the hot season there right now, so it definitely wasn't Veilbrand.

He turned his head from side to side, his vision blurring every now and then. The effect of whatever she drugged him with still hadn't warn off completely. He felt light-headed and dizzy and his legs were sore as well. Had they ran all the way to the mountains or something? He picked himself up off the ground, leaning a little but he made sure not to fall over as he rested his hand on the side of a frost-covered tree. His finger tips has started to turn a bright red color, and he was slowly starting to shiver a little. This was his most least favorite kind of whether and the worst kind to take a nap in.

Then something hanging in the tree caught his eyes. It was Layla's whip, the one he had broken with his sword. Right, his weapon was missing too, most likely dropped back where Jude was. He hoped the guy wasn't still laying on the ground, since he'd be covered in snow by now. Still, right now he wasn't concerned about that. Where was Layla?

She couldn't have..

He leaned forward a little, peering down into the waters of the river. His eyes widened for a second when he saw her, white hair, fair skin, and sitting at the bottom of the water with her eyes closed and curled in a ball. As if his body moved on his own, he jumped into the water and held his breath as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her out of the river. He set her down on the river bank, relieved to see she wasn't unconscious. Removing his long coat and relieving his long-sleeved black shirt, he threw it over her and wrapped his arms around himself.

"Do you want to die of hypothermia! What made you think it was a good idea to jump in a river while it's sno--"

His words cut off and he stumbled backward a little, dropping down into the snow and placing his hand on the side of his head as it throbbed a couple of times. He took a couple of deep breaths, then turned around and sat on the snow with his back facing Layla.

"Could you please put your clothes on at least.." He said, his tone showing a little irritation, but it wasn't too hard to tell he was just nervous and a little concerned for her.