The figure in the thin mist was clearly female. As she drew closer, Shade determined that she was a witch, at least Twelfth Order, perhaps even Thirteenth Order.
Her footsteps on the black beach were very soft. She approached in a daze, only stopping when the light of the bonfire startled her. Then she raised her head and looked towards the front.
Her eyes merely swept over the two men by the bonfire on the left before moving away, then stared fixedly at the small boat beside the pier.
"I really came here. It's time to leave."
Both Shade and Mr. Nelson heard her Whisper. She had just been about to continue walking when she suddenly turned to look at Shade, as though she had only just realized what she had seen.
The unfamiliar witch widened her eyes in disbelief.
"What?"
She had sensed what was unusual about Shade.
Whatever she had been thinking before, the witch gave up on immediately boarding the pier and instead walked straight toward them. Mr. Nelson immediately shifted away from her, while the witch paid him no attention at all. She bent down and very rudely grabbed Shade's wrist. After meeting his gaze for several seconds, she let go and stared at her own palm in disbelief.
Shade had already grown used to their rudeness. The moment she grabbed him, he knew she was a genuine Thirteenth Order. He had no confidence that he could have avoided her.
"I've been here so long without meeting anyone who wanted to sit by the fire. I never expected two to appear at once."
Mr. Nelson muttered softly as he continued moving away from the obviously unhinged witch. That was common sense for surviving in the Fifth Epoch.
Shade did not move. He thought that since his