Crabbit
Several campfires flicker in the plaza of the AMTP compound while torches light other pathways, still buzzing with recruits despite nightfall. Some of Tia's peers are nocturnal by nature and begin their training after sunset but the activity is distinctly muted compared to daytime. Tia listens to the murmur of nearby conversations, seated against the trunk of a tree. She drags fingers over the palm of her hand with a sullen expression, the skin miraculously unmarred and marked only by mild redness. Flames dance on the other side of a pathway, Tia wondering if she should find someplace dimmer to sleep. Her mind still buzzes, trying to make sense of the rapid events which occurred not an hour before. An intense glower ferments on her face, gradually worsening and leaving passerby perturbed. While those meandering the plaza laugh and chatter, these sounds only remind her of the humiliation she had just experienced. |
'at's quite a look Euan sounds, stepping before her Hev a rough time o' it? |
Leave me alone Tia mumbles, drawing her knees to her chest as tears pool in her eyes |
His eyebrows shoot up seeing her in this state. |
Things go 'at badly? Euan questions more gently, squatting down in front of her |
Tia releases a long, unsteady breath, tucking her face into her arms. She doesn't respond so he leans back, crashing into the grass across from her. He eyes the tapestry of stars above as he continues on casually. |
Mine wis fine Euan speaks plainly, his dialect bleeding through his fatigue Some on ma unit are th' grim sort an' one o' them comes on pretty strong. But ma roommate! Euan gives a raspy groan, catching a glance from Tia Prissy, suave nyaff. |
My roommate attacked me and kicked me out Tia complains in a wobbly, acidic voice, staring at a bonfire past him And everyone else laughed. |
Shite Euan curses Ye okay? Not hurt? |
I was… but I'm okay now. Mostly... Tia answers vacantly, staring at her palm again |
Am surprised they actually got t' ye Euan muses, earning a glare Buuuut, if ye want, Am down tae get some payback with ye! |
Tia sinks her face into her arms halfway with a dead-eyed stare. |
I just- she blurts and then sighs I just don't want to be here.... |
Weel 'at Euan answers, jumping up and dusting himself off 'at I can help ye wi'! |
Tia tilts her head at him and Euan chuckles, offering her a hand. She hesitates, tentatively taking hold of it and bracing herself for the rush of magic she was slowly becoming accustomed to. Euan's is predictably wild and bursting yet contrastingly silken if not soothing--shadow and fire. Euan double checks that security isn't watching them as he pulls her up. |
Try no' t' skirl! Euan whispers, conciliatory, pulling her into the shadow of the tree |
Euan's grip is firm as his feet slip through and Tia feels herself sinking into it as well. The shadow resists Tia, pressing against her feet stubbornly, but as it lets her past, a peculiar sensation slips across her skin like a satin cloth and leaves her skin tingling before giving out entirely. Tia and Euan fall into a pitch black sea but there is no wetness, there is nothing at all. As the light goes out around her, Tia blinks hard and glances around as the darkness again fades into a thin smoke. Tia sees Euan then, grinning and cackling as she gawks at this new world around her—far more complex to their eyes yet totally dark with ordinary vision. |
They float just on the other side of the shadow they had passed through. Portals are strewn out across the inky nothingness, spilling pale charcoal smoke into a plane which imitates the physical world. Each shadow is a window overlaying their home and the clarity of that window depended on the intensity of the real corresponding shadow. The darker the environment in the physical world, the clearer the imitation within this plane. Whispers of one world overlay this one and connect both places to each other. Thanks to nightfall, the portals are plentiful and well defined, constructed of oblique smoky imitations. Yet while the shadows here mimic their world, Tia finds herself light and weightless, a total lack of gravity swallowing the plane. There is no solid ground, only a stygian sea of silken umbral curtains undulating below the smoky imitations while endless charcoal clouds hang above the entirety of this sunless dimension. Tia feels surprisingly at ease here and something indescribable tugs at her from within the black sea below. Somehow, she feels she knows this place already. |
I wis gunna take ye reit through Euan chuckles, his voice both echoed and muted simultaneously Most cannae see an' they hev a gluff. |
Really? Tia responds vacantly, still eying the plane |
How can ye see in here? Euan questions and Tia's head whips back around Yer no' using yer moggy eyes reit now an' I ken they still need some kind o' light t' work. |
I don't know! Tia gripes and he shrugs off the mystery, for now |
Tia questions this herself as he searches for a suitable portal. Euan hadn't begun mapping out the compound yet but he had a good spatial sense after years of exploration, skilled at guessing distances. Upon spotting a portal an appropriate stretch away, he starts jumping and kicking off of shadows. To Tia's surprise, they begin moving as he does, the charcoal mist a solid foothold under Euan's feet, and they move in fantastical, dreamlike movements. As they travel, Tia notices a small creature skittering in and out of shadows behind them. |
What's that? Tia asks, pointing as Euan drags her along |
Dinnae ken
(Don't know) Euan shrugs Bin seeing it popping up since I got tae th' capital. Got th' Step magic n'all I guess. Some beasts hev it too. |
They reach their destination. Euan pops his head out first to check then climbs right through the portal, grabbing the ground on the other side and, as he crouches from above, pulls Tia up and out as well. |
An' here ye are! Euan sighs, waving at their surroundings. They were in the shadow of a bundle of rocky outcroppings along the river and Tia could see the compound in the distance to their south. A'll come back fur ye in an hour or two, aye? |
As her eyes rest on Euan, Tia regards him softly and she offers him a warm, genuine smile. She practically radiates with gratitude. Euan blinks, not having seen her direct such a smile at him before. |
Thank you, Euan Tia imparts gently I'm sorry I've been so... |
Crabbit?
(Cranky) Euan teases and her face wiggles as she tries not to frown at him Haste ye back, moggy!
(See you soon) Euan calls before jumping backwards into the shadow they came through. Tia chuckles at his theatrics and unfamiliar parting words, considering questioning him about her nickname later. |
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