"Oh, no..." Sophie swallowed. She could take a hint. Either Fate was drawing the story out, increasing the tension, or he was trying to get her to fight. She dearly hoped it was the former, so she might be able to watch Xino take on the withergeist army in his full glory. That would be marvelous. But... he seemed to be struggling. She ran through all the tropes she could think of. Could it be that she would have to be the one to run out there? A part of her wanted to, she found. But she was absolutely terrified. Her heart was beating quickly with adrenaline. Please, she begged TVG. Please don't make me do this again. Of course, the only answer she got was silence. Until, however, her eyes were drawn to movement from the corner of her eyes.
Astral sat up to find that things had not gone the way she had intended for them to go. Yes, the massive hoard of withergeists were gone... But in the sky was gathered a great host of them and standing before her only friend was Withy, who she had heard about from her time on the thread. She narrowed her eyes. No one should ever attack like that. It was so lazy, so utterly un-impassioned. Withy wasn't moving a muscle. But what really made her angry was the sight of Xino getting pushed back by the dark barrage. For he was giving everything he had. The Queen of Shadows stood, summoning her black blade again. She had mostly recovered from the burst of light from before. "Why you little..." She trailed off, running forward. "Don't you TOUCH HIM!" she yelled, rushing to help Xinoehp.