Ainsley chuckled as Aumrauth stalked off. He seemed so inpatient. It wasn't like they had anywhere else to go after they found the heart! For now, at least, they had all the time in the world. He followed closely behind, holding his wrist over the map so he could track their progress.
Elias had ended up alongside Mel now. In all honesty, he had been so absorbed in the odd powers of Aumrauth that he hadn't taken the time to observe his other companions. They seemed far more agreeable than the elf, and aside from Mel's strange ability to control light they appeared to be normal. Perhaps there was a better chance at a secure alliance with these two than there was with Aumrauth. "How are you holding up?" Elias asked cordially, smiling hesitantly at Mel. "It was quite remarkable what you did back there."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Well, at least they all agreed on something without much argument. For once.
Mel started to walk behind Aumrauth and Aisley leading the way, and Elias had turned to her to compliment her abilities and ask how she was doing. She beamed at him.
"Aww, thanks!" she said brightly. It was nice to be noticed, especially by people much older than her. "I'm a little tired, but nothing I can't handle. I'll take that over almost dying by a sea serpent."
Her gaze then drifted to his wet clothes. She was so preoccupied by Amurauth's smelly bloody robe, she didn't even ask if he wanted something else to change into. He smelled like icky lake.
Elias glanced down at his waterlogged clothes, cheeks flushing. He certainly hadn't forgotten their miserable condition, but the prospect of changing into one of those shapeless, motheaten monstrosities wasn't appealing either. "Thank you for the offer, but I would prefer to maintain some semblance of control over my person," he replied with a grimace. "I can dry them off if we ever decide to stop and rest."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Mel shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said, and then looked ahead at Ainsley.
"What about you, Ainsley? Want a robe?" she asked.
There was no reason for him to wear it, really, except for style. She was already wearing one just 'cause, and Aumrauth was wearing one because... well, that was all he was wearing. Everyone wearing matching robes with different colors seemed like an adorable thought that kept entertaining her mind.
The old man coughing was annoying, but Raptor wasn't especially scared by it. He doubted he could catch a cough - if the old man had something contagious. But Nikolai seemed frightened by the cough, and Raptor couldn't figure out what that meant for Nikolai's identity and missing memories.
"It's okay," Raptor awkwardly reassured him. He hesitated. "Are...Are you okay?"
Nikolai pursed his lips while he thought of a reply to that. "We'll see," he said quietly as he dusted himself off. It wasn't a great answer to Raptor's question, but he wasn't sure what else to say. He didn't know why he was so scared. He might be trying as hard as he could to remember a possible reason, but besides that tiny memory flash of another person coughing, he couldn't recall anything.
After a few moments, he slowly looked back at the two of them. He kept his distance from the old man, who was almost certainly sick with something, but he was doing his best to calm down at least. Nikolai remembered the concern in Raptor's words, and he tried giving him a small, hesitant smile that was a little sad.
"But thanks for asking," he added softly.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.
The old man was half-collapsed back against the wall. He watched the pair with feverish eyes, arms wrapped loosely around his gaunt frame. "Krak?" he murmured hoarsely. "Krak."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ainsley glanced back at her as he walked. Mel was wearing a robe herself, as was Aumrauth. He chuckled, entertaining the thought of the majority of the group wearing matching clothes. It was better than letting his mind drift back to the what if's surrounding their journey thus far. What if they couldn't find the heart? What if this is all a trap? What if they die before they can escape? What if—
"Sure," he shrugged with a small smile. "Why not?"
He wished there was more he could do to help Nikolai. He knew he wasn't supposed to get attached to people - that was never a good thing for a magician. But he couldn't help but be worried about Nikolai. He couldn't help but feel like this was the start of...
He stared down at the ground.
...a new friendship.
Then the old man murmured something. The word was one that he had used earlier: krak. Raptor tried to remember what that meant. He had made an eating motion before when saying the word; he must have been weak from hunger.
But they still had no food.
Raptor shook his head.
"We don't have any food," he said. "No krak."
Of course, with his luck right now, the old man would be convinced they weren't giving him food out of spite. There had to be another way to do this, one that didn't involve drawing and trying to overcome a language barrier that made his head hurt.
Raptor placed his bag on the ground.
Then he carefully started to take out its contents.
First was the chalk, visible but wrapped in a thin, worn cloth. He carefully placed the makeshift pack close to the bag, not wanting any of the pieces to go rolling away from him. There was the large, black cloak that was frayed and tattered at the ends; he carefully folded that and put it beside the bag, too. Then came a much smaller bag filled with little green emeralds. He made sure to open that bag up so the old man could see it.
The last was the one he was the most careful with: an incredibly dark red liquid that ominously - and silently - bubbled from within a sturdy glass bottle. He gently put it down on top of the cloak.
"No krak," he repeated as sincerely as he possibly could.
The slightly sad smile stayed on Nikolai’s face as he watched Raptor start unpacking. He had nothing they could eat either. He wondered how long it would be before that became a problem. Although he hadn’t been especially hungry all his time here, it might become harder. Maybe he’d had a meal soon before arriving here, although he wouldn’t know... The old man and Raptor, however, might not have eaten in a while.
His eyes widened a bit when he saw the emeralds. Those had to be worth a lot. Were they for trading? He wasn’t sure what other reasons anyone would have to carry around their gems. Or maybe they weren’t what they seemed, just like the blue glass orbs he had with him. But the last item caught his attention the most.
“That doesn’t look like something to drink,” Nikolai said uncertainly as his gaze landed on the bottle full of a red, bubbling liquid he didn’t recognize. The color reminded him of blood, but he didn’t think it was that.
Was it poison, or something harmful? It didn’t look good. Would Raptor really be carrying around poison, though? He frowned, deep in thought. Raptor was being very careful with it. Maybe that didn’t mean it was something dangerous, but something precious or valuable. Something useful.
“Is that a... magic drink thing...” He mumbled something under his breath in Russian, then snapped his fingers as a word came to him. “Do you call it a potion?”
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.
Mel smiled in delight, pulling the first crumpled robe out of her bag. It was a plain beige one. It wasn't a pretty one, but she had the most of these, and plus an ordinary-looking one oddly fit Ainsley.
"Here you go," she said, tossing it over to him.
She then turned to Elias. "Are you sure you don't want one?" she asked. "We could all be matching..."
"I'm quite alright, for now." Elias nodded slightly. "I do appreciate the offer, but I'll refrain from wasting one."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"It is," he confirmed. Almost absentmindedly, Raptor moved the cloak and potion a little closer to him. He wasn't sure if it was because he was worried about the bottle spilling and losing its contents, or if he was worried about it spilling and ending up on someone else. "It's a special potion. I wanted to restock, but I haven't had a chance to."
