You caught it's eyes, and kept moving towards it. It does NOT like that.

It 'turns', and scrabbles full speed towards Thea, just like last time...

But it's fine. This time she has a thing to look after her, and it'll show up, because that's what it does. Right?

... Rrright?

She tries looking for an on switch again. She doesn't care that she might be imagining the whole thing, she wants to have a thing to protect her, and apparently this is how.

Nnope, no on switch—

— But despite the lack of on switch, it would appear something's happening anyway.

She gets surrounded in a sort of translucent haze, an approximate copy of her, which then steps forwards and away from her, solidifying into... a copy of herself? A pretty-much-perfect copy this time, not a weird misshapen one.

It steps forwards and raises an arm, a knife appearing in its fist from nowhere, and then brings it down in time to slice at the blob.

The shadow gets cleaved nearly in half, and it 'stumbles' backward. It promptly gets turned to dead-mist by Libby finishing the dissection with a blade of wind. The Shadow is dead.

Cynthia stands in combat-mode, Libby in front of her. "You still don't make any sense."

The copy turns around to face Cynthia, arms crossed.

Thea looks at the copy, sees that it's not likely to respond, then asks, "I'm sorry?"

"I hate it. I really do. First you show up on a full moon, and now it LOOKS NORMAL. Did you even do anything to bring it out?"

Cynthia is holding the plastic sword from her bag, holding it like an actual weapon.

"I mean, I tried looking for its on-button, and there wasn't one. Then it just appeared, all... stabby."

It­... changes, then says, "He."

... Um. "Excuse me?"

"Eeeeeverything in me is saying to RUN. You are still making NO SENSE."

It – he – rolls his eyes.

"Um," continues Thea eloquently. "I have no idea." She shakes her head, then says, "It—"

"He."

"– He doesn't look dangerous?"

"Is that a look or a feeling?... Can you send him away, like you should be able to?"

"I mean, I don't know? I haven't tried, and it seems kinda rude when he's right here and not doing anything bad?"

"It's you. It isn't rude. Better to know if you can control it now."

"Other option is that I attack you both, and see if you're linked properly. That instinct works." Cynthia wants none of this.

"Uh, okay," she says, then tries to get him to leave.

"Seriously?" he asks. "Ugh, fine, whatever, I'll go then."

He walks towards her, getting translucent just before he touches her, and disappears.

"Happy now?"

A few moments pass. Libby relaxes a few seconds before Cynthia does.

"Probably. Still doesn't feel right to me, though. I'll keep it to myself for now..."

"Okay..." she responds tentatively. "So what are we doing now? Not having me attack other weird monsters?"

"Can if you want. Along as you stick to the blob-likes you should be fine. Just... Nevermind."

"Never had anything planned for afterward for that matter."

"You mean, I should be fine to what? Stab them with my non-existent knife? Or you'll be okay if I get out my Libby-equivalent again? Whatever his name is."