Previously: galaxy brought echo into town to get what she needs.

"so, go in and announce myself to the whole town and explain everything about the wolves and lions?" galaxy laughed. 

"how about ill get food and you sneak into your house and grab your phone, leave your parents a note with no specifics, and then we can meet back here and go get anything else you need."

"no so fun..."

"i know. but if you're spotted then you'll be swarmed and if you dont get to the forest by midnight every night than you'll die violently, and possibly destructivly."

"you sound like frost if she actually cared about me." galaxy smiled,but only for a moment. she looked sad for echo.

"she did care about you before. i dont know what ill be like when i start to change, i can't make any promises either. and you'll probably change to. at least over time. i dont know how. maybe when you change you'll suddenly be a totally different person, maybe when you change you'll be yourself and gradually shift into a different mindset. i cant say."

"and what about you?"

"i dont want to think about it." echo nodded and they split up. she had up the hood of the beat up jacket she wore, and tried to get to her house quietly. and then she was presented with the problem of getting inside without problems. her parents would be at work, but people were walking down the sidewalk. it felt so foreign to be standing here. galaxy said she would change, but she already had. she was not jumping to tell her parents about the magic or hug them, or ancios to get back to the forest and explore. she was nervous and jumpy, she wanted to get in and out quickly. she clenched the note in her pocket, a final goodbye. it read:

Mom, dad, i have to leave. i cant explain why, but you wont be Able to find me and i wont be able to come back. you wouldn't even recognize me if i did come back. ill be ok, nobody is Going to kill me anymore. If they were, i would already be dead. you Cant find me, and if you did you would die. i loved you, i think. i cant remember anymore. i wish i could come back, but maybe this is for the best. echo.

(have you noticed someone goes missing every 10 years?)

maybe she should cross out the part where she mentioned the wolves almost killed her... she walked on, and doubled back, slipping behind the house quietly, keenly aware she could never have managed this before. she would have giggled and tripped or something. she took out the door key and went in. somebody left music on upstairs. she eased the door shut and listened closer. it was crying. her parents were home. that was bad... what day was it? she glanced at the calender. saturday. good, they weren't supposed to be at work. if they quit their jobs on account  of her dissaperance it would be awful. 

she pulled it out and left it on the living room table, then crept into her room. she took her watch(so she could keep track of the date and when midnight was), her phone, and a couple other things she cared about. she wanted to take clothes but they were to bulky.

she and galaxy meet back up at the forest border, galaxy with a lot of food of mixed variety. enough to last a while.

"how'd it go?" 

"turns out its Saturday, so my parents were home."

"you weren't caught?"

"no."

"what else do you need?"

"clothes, a pillow and light blanket, and..." wow, this was possibly the last time she would be in civilization. what should she get while she was here? she wanted to get everything but they obviously couldn't. what else did she absolutely need? nothing. she couldn't think what else to say. so she was going to leave forever and only take with her bedding and food? but what else would it be wise for her to get? she wouldn't have electricity, and she could probably ask the wlves for anything else she needed. but it was so hard... what did she absolutely love to do more than anything else? paint. but it wasn't really on her mind since she had been abducted.

"can we get art supplies to?"

"of course. wait here and ill get you some clothes to blend in, then we can get everything else.

"ok." they got everything and returned.

"am i really leaving for the rest of my life?" echo tried to blink back tears. it wasn't fair to make galaxy deal with it, galaxy had been so nice, unlike frost. she even betrayed her pride to help her. but the enormity, sorrow, and loss of the moment overpowered her. this wasn't how she imagined magic. it was supposed to be some kind of neverland, full of happy adventures where she could always come home, and where her friends all stuck with her and cared if she died. it wasn't this. galaxy laid a hand on her arm.

"i-" she lapsed into silence. she had been about to comfort her, but what words could? a tear fell down her cheek, wiping a trail thru the dirt of a couple weeks of living in the wrong magic. she turned and picked stuff up, trying to get rid of the tear.

"lets go, you need to go back to your pride." galaxy silently nodded and they went back.