Snippet #2484658

June held back a grimace at that. She didn't want to fight, but logically her options were pretty limited. Still, admitting to herself that fighting was her only option seemed like giving in and accepting, once and for all, being the Magi was a fate she couldn't run from. And she wasn't ready to do that yet. Even as the tower loomed over her, an enemy waiting inside who probably knew more about her and her abilities than she'd ever discovered on her own, she still couldn't bring herself to give up on the idea that this was all temporary.

"There are ways to take care of yourself that don't involve fighting," she responded, tilting her chin up so the curve of her nose made her look positively snobby, which was just how she wanted it. "I have some Magic. But it's not for fighting," she admitted to him after a moment. There was no way she could hide that from him, at least. But she didn't have to explain to him just yet what the extent of that truly was. She liked to think the Wind wouldn't pick someone she couldn't trust, but who knew? Without the Tree, she had no guide, no one to tell her there was safety. There was none anymore.

June felt a sudden, sharp jab of pain as she again recalled the death of her mentor, the city's guardian. She hadn't even had time to pay her proper respects before getting caught up in this chaos. She reached into her small shoulder bag, the only thing she currently carried with her, and clutched at her wand for comfort. It was the Tree's last gift to her, though it certainly hadn't been the first. She had no doubt, however, it was the most important.

At that moment, she decided she was absolutely refusing to enter this tower without seeing her family. If she really did die, she'd be leaving them without a word, just as the Tree had left her. And she couldn't do that. "New plan, Salim," she said suddenly, looking back at the man (whom she still hadn't heard of). "Gather supplies separately. Get whatever you think you need and I'll do the same; I don't need you to hold my hand. Meet back up at the edge of the city in three hours, ready to go. If you're not there when it's time, I'm going without you. I seriously recommend you don't go without me."

She was sure what he'd hear when she said that: you're not strong enough to do it by yourself. Really, she just knew that dungeon was for her and her alone, and if anyone else entered, they'd die. That man, she already knew, had no mercy, and she was sure it would reject anyone else. It was built by a Magi, for a Magi. But if Salim took it the wrong way and got pissed off... well, then that was just one final thing to laugh about before things really got hard.