Erica nodded before sighing and stepped in. She knew she'd be safe... until she got up to him.

That was the danger.

She had to actually reach him for him, and the closer she could get to the handprint she could see on his shoulder, the better.

She approached Ilias and sighed as she crouched down in front of him, she entirely realised that she'd likely be bit, but after she freed Ilias from the hell he's likely trapped in, he'd help.

She reached out, and laid her hand on his shoulder, her markings glowing as they canceled out the marking he had.

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Erica winced with the bites, and felt the instant effects.

"Ah shite..." She muttered as the mana from her finished its thing and Ilias found some clarity. She got to her feet and made her way over to one of the daggers that was on the walls. She grabbed it and approached.

"Stay still." She said after a moment or two. After he'd stopped struggling to get out of what was binding him, she set to cutting it all, freeing him.

"Feeling better?" She asked afterwards.

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Erica winced, pretty notably, as he bit her.

"Ah, ouch." She muttered afterwards.

"Thanks though." She added.

". . . that hurt more than your snakes." She muttered before getting to her fet again.

"Need anything else?" She asked. "If not, I have others I need to tend to." She said that quietly, something else to her voice, and it was then that he realised that he recognized it.

She was the one who he hadn't found behind her, that he knew had been there.

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Erica was silent for a moment before biting the inside of her cheek when he tripped. She helped him to his feet before opening the door, and holding it open for him.

"Ilias is good." She told the two men that were outside the room.

"Go take care of Mira. I'm going to find out who else I gotta get to, myself." She added as Ilias walked past her quickly.

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Erica just looked to Ty.

"Anyone else you can think of the needs me to clear this bullshit from?" She asked.

---

Mira was pacing in the room, her arms pretty much stone, her shoulders starting to turn to such,a nd it was spreading across her back.

Really, she was counting the days. She knew the protection that Kiah made them all take was going to wear off within the next 12 hours, and that it would be over once it did. She was just... waiting for the end by this point.

She didn't want to go out this way, but as it stood, it didn't seem like she had much of a choice in the matter.

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Mira paused before looking over to the one that had made his way in.

". . . . Ah. Hi." She said simply.

"Id' wave, but can't really do that so much anymore." She added with a sigh.

"What's up? Come to rub it in or some shit?" She asked before pausing. "Actually, if you're here to finish it off, I'd appreciate it. This is torture. Just let me say goodbye to Peyton first."

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Mira was silent as Ilias 'attacked' her. She didn't knwow hat it was that he was doing, at least not at first. As she felt the petrification starting to recede though, she sighed.

". . . You caused it... why reverse it?" She asked after he'd stepped back from him, wary. It wasn't hard to understand that for the moment though.

"Seriously... why?"

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Mira was silent for a moment before sighing.

"And there's the Ilias that we all know and love." She commented with a subtle smirk.

"... And while I'm not happy about it, and can't promise that it won't be held against you, I at least don't hate you for it. Thanks for saving me." She added before pausing.

" How long, you think, til its completely reversed, anyway?"

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Mira just sighed.

"Peyton will be back here shortly." She told him.

"Look. Are you ok? I don't know what happened, but that wasn't you. I refuse to believe it was, anyway."

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫

Mira was silent for a moment before shrugging.

"Oh, definitely. You did that completely entirely intentionally." She commented.

"It's not like there was something odd going on. You literally wanted to do it, and your claim of 'there was something in the background' was totally just a lie to make it that you could potentially get away with it." She continued before making her way to the bed and taking a seat.

"So yeah, we hate you. Why like someone who willingly chose to do something like that?"

♫Born of graves and left below ♪ Painted ashes, painted snow♫