Of course, not being invited to the other-dimensional consciousness-party going on in Emilia, Electi, and Kaida's heads right now, Eira had no clue of the quickly-degrading familial hierarchy going on. She could hear no hint of anger, no scorn, no distaste in their voices; she couldn't even fathom what they might be saying to each other, though of course, with Emilia as furious as she was, it surely wasn't going to be about sunshine and roses. Right now, the only thing that she had to concern herself with was Aeizith.
That, however, was not going particularly well.
Eira had always been the most empathetic of the family; it was obvious simply because that was the one thing that had gotten her ostracized from her siblings. When you felt so deeply for everyone, and especially those that her family scorned, it was hard to stick with the group, not to go your own way. It was that which Eira had done, and she had never regretted it, but sometimes she wondered if it wouldn't have been much easier to just be cold and calculating like most of the rest of her family. And oddly, right now, she found her patience wearing thin.
"Yes you can, Aeizith," she urged, truly reaching out to grip his shoulder now. She gave him a little shake, desperation mounting in her chest. She couldn't do this alone, and yet right now, it felt like that was exactly how she was. Alone. Big surprise; she'd made herself be the lonely one for most of her life. But right now was really not a good time, as was evidenced by the stirring form of Emilia a few yards away.
"Come on, come on, come on-" She breathed, bracing herself to bear his weight - but then, with a liquid flicker, Kaida - or rather, one of her apparitions, perhaps - darted forward, snatching their brother out of her elder sister's grasp. She felt a mounting flare of frustration. Why did everyone always have to intervene? Was she really perceived to be that weak? But in a family where strength was power, it was no surprise that everyone wanted to be first.
At the last moment, hand still clutching empty air, Eira's eyes lifted. The ball of flames was gathering in Emilia's mouth - she had no time! - and then expelling themselves. Acting purely on instinct, she flung the grasping hand up; the earth immediately responded, throwing up a thick wall of dirt and stone directly in front of her, slightly curved at the top to allow the fire to flow over it. At the same time, feeling herself growing more and more tired, she turned her eyes to the ground beneath her feet. With a circular flick of her wrist, a hole opened in the earth beneath her; her feet dropped down into blackness several feet deep, and a thick covering of soil blocked the top. Trickles of dirt ran onto her face, dusting her hair - but she was alive. Well, buried alive.
For a creature that was, inherently, created of fire and sky, being in the ground was, in a way, terrifying. True, Eira had done it to herself, and she had a strong tie to earth, but being in a pitch-black hole only slightly wider than her body and with only a foot or so above her head, this was hardly a picnic. The dragon girl trembled slightly, eyes closed, forcing her breathing to regulate while she waited for the blast of fire to pass overhead. She gave it an extra couple of minutes, feeling her heartbeat slowly increase, until she was sweating with nerves and could finally reach up. With another wave of her hand, the covering of earth that had protected her crumbled around her.
Eira gave an exhausted jump, hands catching at the crumbling lip of the hole and dragging herself back into daylight. The smoking ruin of the forest around her broke her heart, but there was nothing she could do besides drag herself out of her self-made grave, filthy from head to toe and panting. As she crawled a foot away and flung herself on the ground, Eira cast her glance toward Aeizith and Kaida's clone. "And you all wonder why I never come to family reunions," she huffed sardonically, letting her eyes fall closed for a moment.
