Qlipha

You feel like you've been pacing for hours. You can't help it, it's almost time for you to go on stage and you're nervous. What will the other actors think? Will the audience like you? You really hope they will. You look just like your sister, after all, and everyone loves her!

Sure, you're a lot... smaller than your sister, and sure, you're 'cute' instead of 'sexy', but your sister said it makes you look like a doll, and that's good, right? And you've got the same inhumanly pale skin and pure white hair! You're not so sure about your dress but it doesn't look *bad* and your sister was pretty insistent on you wearing it. You're not sure why, it's not like your sister wears anything on stage, but there's probably a good reason.

At least it looks kind of like your sister's wings if you squint. It's pure white like they are, and all the frills look *kind of* like feathers... The lavender petticoat doesn't really match anything, but it adds a nice accent, and your dress really doesn't like anything like your sister's wings at all, does it?

Oh well, it's too late to change now, hopefully no one will notice. Or maybe your dress will get blown away by the other actors! You know it can get pretty rough on stage. Sure, it's almost as tough as you are, but your sister won't notice you letting it go a bit early, right? She's really observant, though... Maybe you should just keep it on.

And there's your cue, the director practically screaming it into your ear. You wish he could quiet down a bit, but he's the boss, so you take a deep breath, school your face into the calm smile you practiced with your sister, and step onto the stage.

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Today's play seems to be set in a city, going by the crowded street you find yourself in, and while you don't see any of your fellow actors, you're sure they'll show up soon. Hopefully you can keep the audience entertained until then! Just like you practiced, you let your pure black crystals flow out and spread across the street, covering the asphalt, concrete, and surrounding buildings in a crystalline film.

You really like how the larger crystals jutting out away from you resemble a flower, and judging by the audience's screams, they like it too! Even the audience members you've caught in your crystals look like they're having a good time. Audience participation is really important, so your glad they're enjoying it. It'd be a shame for someone's last show to be a bad one, after all.

You know the other actors have arrived when one of them punches you in the face and sends you crashing into one of your crystals. She's winding up to punch you again when another crystal bursts out of the ground beneath her, throwing her into the air and tearing a hole in her costume. It's a pity, you really liked how her costume looked. The deep blue spandex with yellow thunderbolt designs reminded you of shooting stars.

Thankfully, one of her friends catches her before she falls, swooping down through the air and sweeping her up as another actor sprays a stream of liquid fire from his hands right at you. More of your crystals spring up to protect you, but judging by the splash, it probably wouldn't have hurt you anyways.

As the show goes on, more and more actors arrive, most trying to blow you up with some power or another. Your crystals keep getting in the way, though, so they're having a hard time. Some of them have started trying to destroy the crystals first, which you think is really clever, but its not going much better. You can always grow more crystals, after all.

By the time you've covered half the city, most of the actors have left the stage. You don't blame the ones who ran away, acting is hard, but you like the ones who stuck around until the end a lot better. You're a bit disappointed though, your sister told you about plays with hundreds of actors, but you only had ten or twenty to keep you company. Maybe next time will be better. At least the tiny crystals spreading through the survivors' veins means the second act will be good, even if you won't be around to see it.

You don't even get to see your siblings' plays! Sure, your sister tells you all about them, and she's a really good storyteller, but it's just not the same. You wish you could rest in the sky like she can, but no, you're only allowed to rest in your boring dressing room. It's totally unfair.

Oh, there's the curtain call. You must have finished covering the city while you weren't paying attention. It didn't take very long, did it? Cities are a lot more fragile than you thought.