Time is Broken

*Warning Notes: Mentions of injuries and ptsd

Time is broken. The world is frozen, from the ocean’s waves in mid form, looking more like frosting, to the leaning trees that look like they’ll break. Nature is frozen, and only a few of the world’s creatures still move. A young girl sits on the edge of a cliff, staring out at the scene in front of her. The sun is frozen in front of her, half cut off the edge of the frozen ocean. Her gaze is dulled with heartbreak and confusion. Time is broken.

She is aware. She’s aware that time won’t move anymore. She’s aware that people are hiding from the monsters that absorb the darkness and use it to become stronger than they can control. People know she works with some of the monsters, helping them to control themselves. Some of them fear her, and others respect her. She is used to them. Its familiar. She is aware.

She has a friend. He is large. He is larger than most of his kind. He is called an alpha. His dark green scales crawl up over his back, while the lava red ones on his stomach show he is not one to trifle with. The leaf like blades coming off of his body are sharp and deadly. To him, she is a child to protect. To her, he is a mentor and friend to care for. She has a friend.

He cares. He hasn’t cared in a long time. Its cliché and he knows it, but its true. He’s grown to care for the young human by his side. They argue. They yell. They fight. At the end of the day though, they fight together against those who wish others harm. They patch each other up. They take care of each other, make sure the other is fed when they neglect themselves. He gives a small smile at the thought. He cares.

She is Dawn. She chose her new name when she lost her old one. She remembers nothing of the world she came from. She was lost, scared, and confused when they met. She is no coward. She is a child. She lives in a world adults are afraid of. She deals with creatures that scare grown men. She wishes to be the light at the end of the dark. She is Dawn.

He trusts her. Its strange to think about, but its true. He was alone for a long time. His last friend... he betrayed them when he realized he didn’t trust them or their vision for the world. He regrets not being able to convince them to join him. He found her. She chose to follow him. She listens to him without judgement, but with her own mind. She hears and responds. She is her own person. She is a child in a world of monsters, willing to fight among them in place of adults who fear them. She has saved his life more than he is willing to admit. In the end, it has led to this. He trusts her.

The sound of silence is telling. She hates silence. Usually she fills it with chatter, humming, singing. Anything to get the ringing in her ears to go away. When one claims the land is silent, she argues that everything makes a sound. She’s not wrong. Her senses are heightened like one of the creatures, but she is a human. Other humans look at her as though she’s wrong for it. Those who had children themselves pity her and are impressed by her self-control. There are a few that understand it though. She hears everything from the shifting of her clothes as she stands up to the faint crunch of the grass as someone steps on it. The sound of silence is telling.

He's impressed by her. She heard someone coming before he even mentioned it. She stood at the ready, hand at the wooden sword on her hip, ready to draw. She hates fighting, but isn’t afraid to if need be. She’ll always try to talk first. Words don’t always work, but she’s more willing than most. He likes that about her. He likes that she tries, despite how most see it as a hopeless thing. He’s impressed by her.

She’s a healer. The first thing she notices on the person who came near them is that he’s injured. He’s being supported by a ghostly creature. The ghosts and shadow monsters usually draw energy from the darkness that has surrounded the world. It was strange to see a ghostly one care for a human, but she didn’t care. She pulls her health kit out of her bag as the ghostly one wails, hoping for help. She calms them with soothing words. She’s a healer.

Her eyes are grey. She looks over the man in white with a critical gaze as his ghostly companion whimpers. Her own friend stands guard. He’s not much of a healer, but he is a good defender. Dawn undoes the man’s coat. He’s tall, thin, and malnourished. Malnourishment is normal for most in the world at the moment. That’s not the biggest issue at the moment though. The scars on his side are. She glares at the bleeding tears in his skin, as though to will them away. Her eyes are grey.

She knows what she’s doing. Somehow. Someway. She knows. The first thing she does is remove his shirt properly. The man is barely conscious as she acts, her hands swift and precise. She’s murmuring to the ghost as she does. The ghost is a fire ghost, capable of burning lost souls for fuel, but also of warming up those she cares for. Dawn keeps her hands moving, and her voice soft. She cleans the wounds and bandages them, all before the man can fully rouse. She knows what she’s doing.

Dawn’s eyes are blue. They shift as she works. They shift on occasion. She knows this, but not why. Sometimes her whole form shifts. One moment, she’s a child, the next a teen, and then an adult. Then back again. All the while, she is unaltered at the same time. Time is broken where they are, and Dawn has become a shifter. She’s not anchored to a set time at the moment like most. She is anchored to her emotions though, and is surprisingly aware of them. She glances at her partner. Her eyes are blue.

His name is Grov. That’s what she calls him at least. He’s been around for far longer than most. In the world, age doesn’t work right. Time is a mess. He hasn’t aged since arriving all that long ago. He was wild, not willing to work with humans, but not caring so long as he could fight. Eventually he calmed down enough for his morals to kick in. The darkness no longer held his mind like it did so many others. After leaving the dark ones and their side, he found the kid, he found Dawn. She named herself. He had no name before then. She gave him a name. His name is Grov.

Her eyes are green. The final of her three colors. Her most serious of looks is on him now, as she asks him over. She needs an assistant. She guides his clawed hands to the man’s injuries, having him keep pressure over the bandage while she makes medicine for him. Grov rolls his eyes. He knows what she’s really meaning. She can’t lift the man on her own to properly wrap the bandages around his body. Grov lifts the man. Dawn nods. She fixes the bandages, wrapping them tightly around him, causing the man to hiss as his eyes flicker open slightly. His eyes are silver, much like his hair. The man in white is alive still. Dawn sighs in relief as they lay him back down so his ghostly companion can look him over. Dawn starts making the medicine. Her eyes are green.

He will live. The man in white is no threat to them. Not really. He is dangerous, as are most, but he is kind. He wishes to go home to his family, much like everyone else. Dawn wishes to help him, so she does. She makes some of her strongest medicine from the plants and herbs in her bag. She uses few chemicals in her work, but knows them just as well. One medicine is a salve to add to his injuries, one is for ingesting. She explains each one to the ghostly fires as she works. The ghost listens attentively. The man in white is the ghost’s family. Dawn will save him. He will live.

He's alive. He regains consciousness rather quickly. It feels that way at least. Time is a mess after all. His ghostly friend coos and snuggles up to him, careful not to let her flames burn him. He soothes her, apologizing for getting hurt. The man in white thanks Dawn and Grov for saving him. Dawn repeats the rules about the medicine and hands it over. He nods and they go on their way. He’s alive.

Time is broken. She returns her gaze to the ocean as her eyes dim back to grey. She knows there has to be a way to fix this. One that adults and others have forgotten. She is determined to find a way to bring back what little she remembers of her past life. She wants to swing as the wind blows through her hair on a warm spring day. She wants to swim in the cold water on a hot summer afternoon. She longs to play in the cold snow from winter and drink warm cocoa once more. She misses all this and more from her scraps of memories. She will find a way to deal with this. She is determined, and he trusts her. Time is broken.

…but she will fix it…