Chapter Text
She stretched slowly backwards, feeling a chill spread throughout her weary limbs. A crushing weight settled in her heart. The betrayal of one so deeply bonded, a secret love destroyed by scourge and boot. The ancient witch felt a tug from her chest, an ethereal tether of woven gold, pulled taunt. A sensation tightly gripped her very fibers as she began to meld into the resin of wood. A tear slid from the sapphire blue eyes as they fluttered closed. A whisper of "Tally" puffed into the cold air. There was no more pain, just a feeling of warmth, a welcome home embrace from The Mother.
As General Sarah Alder, after centuries of service and sacrifice, slipped from the plane of men, a ripple of disquiet moved over, under and through the grounds of Fort Salem. An unnatural chill felt by every witch, whether they respected, admired, envied, feared, loathed, or even silently loved their General, as was the case of one young cadet. The other witches nearby were too caught up in their own tumultuous thoughts to notice the thin, inky threads of magic that slipped quickly from the tear-filled eyes of the redhead.
Tally Craven was without words, struck mute by the clenching pain in her chest. She watched in despair as her heart, her everything slipped into the silver web of the Mycelium. She pressed the heel of her hand over her heart. She had seen the flash of a gold thread in the final moment as Alder disappeared. She felt like she was waking up and dying at the same time. She gasped suddenly, drawing the attention of her sisters standing by her side. "Tally?" Raelle asked quickly, her hand coming up to Tally's shoulder. The redhead couldn't respond, her eyes began to smolder a deep orange as she pitched forward into Raelle’s arms and slid softly to her knees, onto the cold floor of the Necro lab. She was lost to the world around her. Unfettered now, her mind skidded quickly backward through the recent timeline that led to this unthinkable moment. There were quick flashes, snapshots of memories as far back as the forest with Nicte, all those weeks ago. They were alone, Tally and the Spree leader struggled violently as the brunette resisted her apprehension.
Confused, she could smell the damp forest floor and hear the flutter of bat wings high above. Tally woke, dazed with a throbbing bloodied head. Nicte loomed over her, a sinister smirk on her face, eyes cold and harsh.
"Hey there Red, how's the head?"
Sitting up, Tally quickly scrambled backwards, her back pushed firm against a damp tree. The redhead pulled uselessly at the Work silencer locked over her mouth and neck. Nicte chuckled, "Oh yeah, my bad, well no need to answer. You'll have quite a headache, I'd imagine. Between the rather large rock…” Pausing as she dropped onto her haunches “… and the uninvited peek I took while you were napping there in the dirt."
Tally's eyes widened in realization as the terrorist continued.
"Oh calm down Red, it was just a quick look." Glancing up at the sky, Nicte’s eyes quickly slid back to Tally's "Never pass up a chance at free intel. A first year War College cadet with such clearance, that was an interesting find. A not quite defunct Biddy link though, fascinating" A chill slithered up Tally's spine as Nicte continued. "I could hear her voice, remnants of her thoughts." the brunette sneered. "But oh, the emotion I felt, her storm and your fury. Now that was a true treasure to stumble upon. Oh my. To know the plans of your enemy, a glimpse of their thoughts is such huge value, but to know her greatest weakness... well that is just priceless."
Tally's flicker of confusion morphed quickly into understanding, which caused Nicte's smirk to grow into a toothy ominous grin "Why yes, I mean you of course, Tally Craven".