Cheth: Open your eyes...
Phaedra squints her grey eyes shut behind Cheth’s hands and a moment later, when she feels them pull away, she blinks them open- blue now. She’s kneeling on the dark surface of the waves, her companions sprawled behind her, and the ebb and flow of the ocean tide has changed to the touch of a gentle seaside breeze. Behind her, a light that may be dawn is tingeing the horizon with pink. Her blond hair has been replaced with blue and her skin has gained an eerily white pallor, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
Phaedra: We… We’re back? The surface! We really made it back! We’re alive! Thank Cheline, We’re all alive!
She stands and turns to face her friends- but stops to stare in shock when she realizes that something is wrong.
Phaedra: Guys! I did it! I saved you! We… Wait. No- what’s wrong with all of you?
She looks at her hands, noticing her complexion and her surroundings at last. There is no ship, no land, no lighthouses, only open ocean.
Phaedra: What… what’s wrong with me?!
Cheth: Oh dear… Looking a bit pale today, eh Phaedra?
