Stephen bounded after her, trying hard to keep his feet at would be normal human speeds but it was nearly impossible to restrain himself. If one were to look closely enough, perhaps they might see that he was extra-ordinarily graceful, that his feet seemed to lift abnormally, that his body was airy and almost weightless in it’s agility. His midnight black hair darted wildly around his head and a bright smile spread across his face, stretching from ear to ear. Here, he was at his most happy, darting in the wind, feeling the breeze against his face, giving chase- taking wing. Freedom he found, was always when he took to the skies and though he did not have his wings unfurled, the joy from racing behind Zane was enough to remind him of the days he rushed through the heavens to deliver sacred messages in God’s favor.
“You should be!” Stephen called out to her with a laugh, referring to her ‘meat shield status.’ “Maybe it’s just an excuse to get you pressed up against me.” he smirked, enjoying her playfulness, feeding off of her emotions. Though the worries of Dark Water were sure to come crashing back to his mind at some point, Reesyn could not be further from his thoughts. For now he’d let Markus take responsibility for the woes and strife of the group. If he was going to be such a stiff either way, he might as well.
True to Zane’s words, there wasn’t anyone else in the hallway. So, the two made their way down to the ground floor. At the sight of the sunlight bursting through the open double doors, Stephen stopped in his tracks and stared with wide eyes. The scenery had suddenly changed from the moment they’d looked out of the window upstairs. How could something like this happen so suddenly? In just the short moment they took to get down the stairs? Was he halucinating? If he went back upstairs, or down again, would the world change again?
When he’d peered out the window he’d seen green grass fields busy with strange creatures and a forest that stretched out to a mountain range. Now there was nothing but a snow covered landscape, barren... white... dead... This place was getting stranger and stranger. Steph noted his labored breath vaporing before him in the chill of the air and turned his head, looking back up the staircase, then outside again in confusion.
“...what in the...”
The chill was immediate and if his eyes were playing tricks on him then well, he could rely on his bones to reveal the cold. Gazing over at Zane, his playful nature changing to something somewhat more cautious, he stepped out before her and felt his feet sink in the snow.