Valkyrie Cain

Valkyrie had ended up letting Jessica wear her jacket while she had found a nice woolen overcoat that someone had been drunk enough to be willing to part with. She had to admit that Jessica looked pretty hot in it, even if it didn't necessarily go with her dress. At some point, she was going to have to convince Jessica to try the tight trousers and leather jacket look.

She was pretty sure that the pier had been the right way to go. The air was crisp and new and while Times Square hadn't been crowded, there were fewer people out here she didn't see anyone around that they knew. Privacy felt important right now, even if she totally wasn't nervous and those were not butterflies in her stomach. Not at all.

"I'm glad you suggested the pier," she said, squeezing Jessica's hand as they walked down the pier. "Perfect place to chime in the New Year."

Valkyrie had gotten used to the sounds of the jungle during her time on Tabula Rasa. She had already been accustomed to the sounds of the beach from home, but jungle sounds were a lot different from city sounds. For some reason, the absence of them startled her awake more than any other shift in her environment did.

The room she was in was bigger than her hut, she could sense that right off. Even if it was so dark she could still barely see out, the room felt big. She tried to control her breathing and act like she was still asleep, straining to see if there were any sounds that would give away where she was. There was nothing though, other than the generic sounds of a large building.

Sitting up, she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face as she tried to get a gauge on her surroundings. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she thought someone was playing some sort of trick on her.

She was back in her Uncle Gordon's home (although legally it was her home), back in Ireland. She'd had this dream before, although never quite so realistic as this. Did that pinching thing really work? Valkyrie pinched herself and sure enough it hurt. So, she was not, not asleep? Or something, that really had confirmed nothing.

There was one way to tell if she wasn't on the island though. She was almost afraid to try it, afraid that it wouldn't work and what that would mean. Holding out her hand, Valkyrie clicked her fingers.

And flame leaped to the tips.

"Yes!" Valkyrie shouted, laughing almost hysterically. It worked, her magic worked. She was home.

"I'm home! I'm really home! Skulduggery! Uncle Gordon! Anyone here? I'm home!"

She knew the chances of anyone but her and her uncle's echo, but she didn't care. She didn't care who it was from her world, she just wanted to see someone.