Fragile Balance

Classes had concluded for the day and Sophia was tiredly making her way down to the Great Hall for dinner. She was contemplating an early night, but not before she got Collin ready for bed. It was hard to believe that he was one already. Asric Collin Chaos Junior was a happy baby, easily contented. Though he had a variety of nicknames, the one that seemed most likely to stick appeared to be 'AJ'.

Feeling a bit better at the thought of seeing her son despite her exhaustion, Sophia turned towards the last set of stairs separating her from the ground floor - only to pause on the top step of the Grand Staircase as she was caught in a Vision, eyes turning an unearthly blue.

He was breathing heavily, moving as quickly as he could through the alley. The boy couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen years of age. As he fled, he kept shooting terrified glances over his shoulder.

She was pursuing him silently. No. Not her - another. Sophia paused to let them pass her.

The pursuer was also a boy, about the same age as the one who was fleeing, though Sophia could not see his face for the shadows in the alleyway.

The boy fleeing tripped as he was glancing behind him, sprawling headlong upon the ground. Scrambling to his feet, he started to run, but tired of the pursuit or impatient, his pursuer caught up to him, slamming him against the wall.

"I'm sorry!" he babbled in terror. "Please! Please! D, I'm so sorry, please don't kill me! Damian, please!"

Sophia's perspective had changed so that she was now standing beside the two boys, looking into the face of the first one's attacker. He was older, eyes colder, but she recognized him. It was Ric's apprentice - Damian Gray.

"Say it again," Damian told him, tone calm, almost pleasant. His gaze was full of malice, though.

The boy pinned against the wall began to sob. "Damian, please," he choked out.

Damian's lips curled upward in a cruel smirk. "One more time."

"Damian, pl-"

Whatever else the Vision contained was abruptly lost. An inattentive seventh year, not paying attention to his surroundings, collided with the unmoving woman.

Currently unaware of her present surroundings, Sophia didn't even try to catch herself as she fell forward, tumbling down the stairs to the Entrance Hall floor.