Fantasy Dappled Light [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

Ava could only offer a shrug of her shoulders at the comment of being hopeful. She wasn’t so certain that was true, but then again, she knew the Renascence must believe in what they did. They must have hope, too. Perhaps their hope was that it would simply work itself out – but that was hope, right?

Lil Leonas, as she’d likely continue to think of him, no matter that he was Lucan, said a bit of his story. He was a wanderer, which was expected. He was particularly interested in the reach of Renascence, “Likely, not across the sea, though I don’t know, really,” it was a guess, and she still wondered how places were doing beyond this land.

Were they worse, due to proximity from Ersetu – or were they better?

Did they know what had happened?

“Wait you can do a backflip?” All thought of other things were lost, “Like, from standing, or do you have to be moving? Can you do one now?” They’d reached the intersection of one road, and Ava had started to turn down to the next – the butchery wasn’t on the same road as the cobbler, even if it would have made sense.

At least it did to her – leather and meat.

“I can’t do a backflip. That’s a lot more interesting.” Sure, she could dance, to some degree, but nothing like backflipping.

 

[Melpomene]

Beyond the sea, Lucan had not even thought of. The lands across the sea seemed too distant to worry about when the land he was standing on was already dying. He had heard tales of some of the the things which could be found there, but he was not jumping to get on a boat and sail.

What caught Lucan off guard, however, was Ava's sudden interest in his ability to do a backflip. In all honestly, when he had first left his troupe he had forgotten that it was impressive for a man to be able to do something like that. It was one of the only things his smaller stature gave him an advantage for, most of the taller and larger men struggled to do the things he had come to be able to learn with m moderate ease. He was quick and limber, with strong limbs despite them being so lean.

"Uh... both." he said in reference to her question of whether he could do it from standing or had to be moving. as he scratched the back of his neck. Damn it, this was supposed have changed the tides and brought back to her.

Lucan, in truth, was unsure of what to do now. Perhaps because most people who figured out he could do one had simply seen him doing it rather than him making the bland claim because most people didn't want to talk to him like this odd woman.

"Maybe not here," he said as he looked at the people milling about. That would certainly bring attention to them. "I was part of one of those traveling troupes when I was younger, so I got good at it." he said to placate her. Ersetu help him, he should have developed his conversational skills. "Lived in Hilbes all your life?" he said instead, once again trying to turn the conversation back to her.

 

[Lucyfer]

Both!

Ava’s eyes remained bright and alight as Lucan expressed what part of his past was – clearly, before this Ersetu business. He was part of a troupe, and her hands came forward to clap together once in delight at the thought of him in a traveling troupe. It was hard to imagine him that way, but Ava had imagined stranger things.

So, she tried.

Her lips remained lifted in a smile as she nodded, then realized what he asked, and shook her head, “No, I’ve traveled a lot, though the only other place I’ve actually lived was Ner, but I don’t remember it from back then – my father moved here.” She had visited it since then, but hadn’t stayed long.

She wouldn’t have been able to explain why, beyond a feeling that she didn’t belong in Ner, and did not want to linger in Ner so they could figure that out. “I’ve seen some of those troupes here,” she mentioned, “I’ve always enjoyed the shows – they have such skill!” A performer herself, she couldn’t help but add, “I had considered joining one, once – running away with the troupe to be a musician – but I quickly realized it wouldn’t work out too well. I never thought of people leaving the troupe, though! Why? Why would you leave such a life?”

Her excitement remained, her eagerness present – and though she stumbled backwards on the curb, it barely faltered. She was able to catch herself with a bit of pointless flapping of her arms, before she was back to walking backwards, across the street, to where the butchery would soon be – it was visible from there, by sign at least, on the other side.

 

[Melpomene]

Lucan felt his brow crease for a moment. She travelled a lot? She looked like a sapling, and she had apparently graduated from the Academy, which certainly meant that she had to have been there for a few years. Either her father was quite the wanderer or she was able to jump from one place to another in a very quick amount of time. Either that, or she was much older than she looked. Lucan had learned the hard way that one was not supposed to ask a woman her age, so he did not. But he could help but feel a tugging at the back of his mind that something was... off about her that he could not quite put his finger on.

But the conversation quickly came back to troupes. Now Lucan regretted bringing it up, he had not thought of anything else to tell her , as he knew she would be interested in how exactly he had learned to become so accomplished in tumbling, as he likely wouldn't have had it not been for being born into the troupe. And she was right, after all, very few people actually left a troupe, but his always got people left and right trying to join because they could hold a note.

Lucan stepped forward when she stumbled out of instinct. "Walking forward tends to help one keep their balance," he said dryly, more because if she fell over and cracked her skull then he would be back to square one. This woman was going to be the death of him, he could already tell. If this went on for too long he would crack.

"Just left," he wanted to leave it at that. He hardly talked about why he left the troupe with the branches. It wasn't fun for him, nor was it a choice to be part of it. He just happened to have parents who were obsessed with that way of life and he was forced into it behind them.

"That the butcher?" he asked as he jerked his chin towards a woman with dark hair that had an apron on over her front. She looked large with wide shoulders and hair cropped to the base of her neck, she had a cigarette in her mouth when they walked up, her foot resting against the back wall. She was watching them approach, and quickly put out her cigarette before ducking back into the shop, likely to get behind the counter so she could sell.

Lucan let out a breath of thanks, as he wanted nothing more than for this to end.

 

[Lucyfer]

Lil Leonas offered no answer about why he left. Not a satisfying one, anyways, and Ava’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout. “But—” she didn’t complete the thought, the plea, for more, as he drew attention.

Ava spun around on one heel, catching sight of the familiar woman. “Yup!” She agreed, leaving off the matter of his history, for now. She’d ask more later, or get a backflip out of him. One, the other, or both. Usually, she got both.

“I like her,” of course Ava did, she liked most people, but especially ones who kept her well-fed. She led the way in, opening the door and holding it for Lucan, “Hi!” She greeted brightly, “Sorry to interrupt – we’ll be fast!” She said, not sure how much they minded the interruption to their break.

“I know Lil Ivan wanted some jerky,” she could have said Leonas, but that felt wrong. Most people liked addressing others by first name. She just liked Leonas because it was closer to Lucan, in her own mind, anyways. She wanted to remember what Brean said. "I'm not sure if he cares what kind of meat, I'll let him brief you." Her own eyes were going over the offerings, noting it was...slimmer, than usual.

“I…what’s freshest today?” She lifted her gaze from the offerings, noting the slim pickings.

Was the meat getting bad now? ‘Please no.’ Plants, fine. Okay, not really fine, but darn it, she didn’t want to have to start hunting again. Not so close to the academy, not so close to Hilbes, that was better saved for the road.

 

[Melpomene]

Lucan let out a soft sigh. At the very least, now she was distracted by the butcher, as was he. Over the years he had learned to ignore hunger pangs, it was probably what kept him so slender compared to the other men in the branches. Jerky was not necessarily a meal fit for kings, but it would hold him over for the day before he had to get on the road again, in the next town he would pick up something better, perhaps.

"Heh," the woman said as she smoothed down her apron. "Don't apologize for bringing me business," she said as she turned from her counter to look at the jerky they happened to have for the day.

"Jerky for... Lil Ivan?" she asked, her lips curled up as she tossed a look over her shoulder at the nickname. Lucan sighed heavily.

"It's just Ivan," Lucan said. "And if you have any goat that would do me just fine." he hoped Ava would not take the liberty to introduce him to too many other people. He pressed his hand to the purse he kept at his side.

"How much for a good twenty pieces?"

"Mm... three foxtails if ya will," the butcher said, already beginning to wrap the pieces up in the paper. It was getting more expensive, but Lucan had the coin. He fished the silver pieces out and placed them on the counter, quickly taking a piece to chew on.

"As for you, Ms. Ava." the butcher said as she looked up at the pickings. She let out a soft hum. "I would say the beef is the freshest, slaughtered those cows a day ago. A bit on the thinner side though..." All animals were on the thinner side in recent times. "Lamb ain't as fresh, but a little fatter."

 

[Lucyfer]

Ava kept a straight face even as the butcher said Ivan’s name with the addition. Oh yes, she would forever introduce him with that addition, when she had the chance. Which, probably wouldn’t be often, so she’d just have to do it as much as possible while he was here. She was half-tempted to mouth ‘it’s not’ at his protest, but didn’t.

She looked over the beef, and the lamb, as the jerky was sorted and paid for, sucking part of her bottom lip between her teeth as she considered. The fattier meat was tastier. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the lamb. She wasn’t scenting anything off, and she knew she’d never intentionally be sold foul food from the butcher.

“I think I’ll do the lamb then,” she wasn’t going to keep it around long, after all. It wouldn’t spoil, “Shoulder should work.” More than enough, really, and she could either store the rest of it at the Academy or put it into a stew. Henry and some of the others might appreciate that with this chill weather. And they’d just appreciate a meal, in general.

Hopefully there were some plants that hadn’t gone to rot that could be thrown in.

Probably store it. She might want more the next day or a little bit after the venture.

“How much for that today?” It was always changing – she could probably do a good impression of Steffan and ‘back in my day’, but it wouldn’t be too funny for anyone. Not even her.

 

[Melpomene]

Lucan felt his eyebrow raise at Ava's request. It simply seemed like quite a bit for someone her size. Though, perhaps, she simply wanted to get some for the entire week so she did not have to worry about it. Lucan would be more worried about the meat she bought rotting before she could get to it from how quickly the plants seemed to be going in the days that were coming. He silently wondered how much longer the wheat would last to make bread and the likes.

He did not comment any of that but rather enjoyed his blessed silence as he carefully kept on chewing on his jerky. It was nice to have Ava's attention on someone else now, after tonight he would not have to worry about her probing into his past, and hopefully they would never see one another again.

"Alright, then, Ms. Ava." The butcher said as she turned and took the lamb down, turning her back on them to set the large slab of meat on the table behind her and pulling out a knife to begin cutting the shoulder off. "That will be about 5 foxtails" she grunted, looking behind her for a moment before returning to expertly separating the meat from the bone. It was certainly not the thickest rack of lamb that Lucan had seen, but it was not too bad.

It seemed the animals had not been hit hard yet, at the very least. Probably were suffering from the lack of plants.

Lucan could not help but ask a curious question.

"How have the animals been looking?" he asked.

"Hm? Can't say too bad." The butcher turned back around, wrapping the shoulder in the same brown paper she had Lucan's jerky and then tying it together with twine. "Skinnier than usual. But, seasonal, eh?" she looked strained.

She was smartly watching her words in case they were Renascence, Lucan figured. He nodded and continued chewing on his piece of jerky, a well-deserved piece of food after all this time.

 

[Lucyfer]

The sight of the meat being cut was a pleasant one for the half-siren, who was mentally scolding herself for salivating. Not that it was spilling over her lips or anything, but it was still hardly proper in such company. She dug into her pouch and produced the five foxtails, noting that she needed to add coin to her pouch before she set out again. She hadn’t anticipated on spending so much, although she’d considered the minder might be dear.

“Thank you!” She said, as she reached for the bound meat. Hardly necessary to wrap it up, but she wouldn’t mention that, either, as she wished she didn’t need to breathe.

She really was hungrier than she thought. Of course, her whole intent had been to just get some minder and go back to the academy, not these detours. She would have had a breakfast there of whatever she had stored about, or whatever she could convince someone to part with.

This was worth the trip, though. This would be a tasty treat.

“Well, hopefully we’ll figure something out for the season, soon,” Ava said, “But I’ll still be around to buy meat when you have it!” She promised. Her business was all but guaranteed. “I think that’s all we needed,” she adjusted her burden, practically hugging the shoulder to her chest as she looked up, “Was there anything else you were going to get, Lil Ivan?”

If not, she supposed she could walk him at least as far as the cobbler’s shop, or the tavern, and then be on her way back to the academy. Check in with Henry. Eat. Realize she left most of her tea with Steffan when she brewed an entire pot. Mourn.

 

[Melpomene]

The butcher counted out the coins and then slid it into her hand to drop into the box of funds. She brought her hand up to wave to both of them as they stepped out. It was another day to worry about how slim the meat was beginning to look. As long as she had something to sell, she would. Until then, there was no point in feeling some sort of unneeded anxiety when the word was already anxious enough.

Lucan ducked out of the shop with a piece of jerky still hanging from his lips as he turned back to look at Ava. Thankfully it seemed that, in only a few minutes, he may have gotten the silence he was looking for and be able to rest peacefully up until they took the manor.

"I don't have anywhere else, but... Do you mind pointing the way to the Academy?" he was certain he could find it if he needed to, the manor was not hard to miss and if it leads directly to the academy than neither would be out of his sights, but he didn't want to take chances, specifically, though, he had a better question as he lowered his voice. "And where should I meet you there? An entrance?" they would be using it to get in, so obviously she would take him in eventually, he just was unsure how they would take to a lingering stranger who they did not see connected to the academy at all.

Other than that, it seemed they were more than ready to prepare for what most would call a suicide mission.

"And stop calling me Lil Ivan," added hotly as a sudden afterthought. "At least to others, this entire damn town thinks that's what I go by now." He let out a huff and then turned to walk back towards the cobbler.

 

[Lucyfer]

Ava’s look turned to one of innocent surprise, before flushing with that, as she realized that yes, she should in fact show the stranger the academy, and probably show him where to get in at. She didn’t interact with many people who just, well, didn’t know where the academy was. “You really are new here.” She noted, more to herself than to him.

However, she lifted her nose up at his request, “Then I’ll call you Lil Leonas. Or the other name,” Ava said, her threat not a real one, and her attempt to be haughty failing miserably with a bit of laughter, “It makes you seem nicer! And you don’t seem very nice without the Lil addition.”

Maybe he didn’t want to seem nice.

“I know you’re carrying guns and have seen some things, but around here, it’s better to be nice, or appear that way. People don’t ask too many questions if you smile – but since you’re not gonna smile, I’m just gonna call you Lil Leonas and let people think you’re a grumpy jackalope.”

She had never actually seen a jackalope. She wanted to. She used to want one for a pet and it drove her father half-mad since he couldn’t find one, but was compelled to try. If only she’d known how bad her voice could really be, back then.

She adjusted the weight as the cobbler’s shop came back into town, and pointed, “Just head down the main road. Really, it’s hard to miss – and if you can get the library, go there. Otherwise just ask around for me. Everyone knows me.” For better, or for worse. “Ooor I can show it to you,” but they were almost to the cobbler, and she expected he’d want to drop back in to see the Father.

 

[Melpomene]

"I did just get here this morning, yes," Lucan said as he pressed his hand to his temples. It was, by far, one of the worst towns he had stopped in. He figured it would be far from fun for him, the towns never were great places for him to stay, the closer to Solvit he was, the more likely the Renascence had taken up home there. There were a few towns that had fallen to such beliefs that were far out, sprinkled around the plains every once and a while, but the most egregious bases were places like Hilbes.

He just happened to be unlucky enough to find the more insufferable non-Renascence member he had ever met, which was amazing seeing as he had gone to so many places before now. For a brief moment, Lucan wondered if he would prefer having her as an enemy. However, she seemed very friendly with everyone in the town, and he did not need to be hated.

"Grumpy... jackalope?" he asked, there was a hint of amusement alongside confusion. He had been compared to many animals in the past, but that was truly the oddest one he had heard of. But she was at least right in the fact he did not want to smile, nor was he trying to seem nice.

"Not gonna be here that long anyway... but I can't change your mind," he said as he pinched his nose. He never was able to. Galhad was the worst offender of that nickname and getting that man to change his mind was the exact same thing as pulling teeth. Everyone would be cranky and frustrated by the end. For a moment a near smile came to Lucan's lips as he thought on how well he and Ava would have got on. Either that or they would be at one another's throats. He could never be sure with personalities like theirs how it would go when they met one another.

"Just pointing it out is fine," he said as he waved his hand. "I can make my way from there, you're probably hungry. " 'And I need blessed silence.'

 

[Lucyfer]

There was something more benign to his nature. That he hadn’t lashed out at Ava was one notable thing, given his evident dislike. That he could still feel some humor was another. It was in his tone as he questioned the jackalope comment, “Mhm!” She readily agreed to his curiosity.

He also could not change her mind.

Long, or short, he would be known as ‘Lil Ivan’ during his time here.

“I am,” she agreed, “Then I’ll see you this evening, Lil Leonas!” She said, stepping ahead, dropping into what might have passed for a curtsy in an area that only heard a curtsy described, given she only lifted a part of her skirt with one hand, the other still clutching sheep to her chest, and then spun right back around to hurry off towards the Academy.

It wasn’t an eventful walk, nor an eventful return. She did step into the library to let Henry know she had returned.

“And what took so long? Was minder that hard to find?”

“Oh…no,” Ava shook her head, “I got sidetracked by Father Brean,” she could see the exasperation in Henry’s gaze as she mentioned him, “and then by an old friend of Father Brea. Then I decided I wanted fresher meat, so….” She hefted the wrapped meat, as if there was any need to draw attention to it.

“Are you really going to eat all of that?”

“Maybe,” she was, “if I don’t, I can set some aside for a stew?”

Henry just waved it off. Her money, her meat, her choices, but he was consistently surprised by how much she could eat. “Then I’m going to go prepare this, and I’ll be back to help you go through more books.”

He nodded, “I took some of the rotted things from the garden, and I’ve planted them in clay pots. I have some ideas, I thought we could at least start using them as test subjects since,” well, what else were they going to do with them? His shrug was a bit hopeless.

They weren’t to the point of trying to treat rotting or sick humans, or even animals. Likely, some would have welcomed experimentation, but they didn’t know how to keep it from spreading from infected to healthy. With plants, so far, it didn’t seem to be spreading except to other plants.

Another reason to get them out of the garden. “All right,” Ava agreed.

They didn’t have much yet that they’d seen results from, but, what choice did they have?

Ava would leave the library for her own small dormitory. She could have afforded better, but she wanted to be close, and so she remained on campus, continuing her studies, degrees she’d earned years ago. The academy and its students were a bit more aware that she wasn’t so young as she looked, even Henry, given when she acquired those degrees.

Occasionally, she did have to remind people she knew what she was on about, that she wasn’t some fresh-faced freshman.

Thankfully, her dorm was not a shared one, and she did absolutely nothing to prepare the sheep except unwrap it, remove her gloves, and then strip meat from bone with haste and practiced cleanliness that certain carnivorous fish would be envious of.

It was always a pain to get blood out of clothes, so she had learned how to avoid that over time, maneuvering the wrapping, or where she was holding the meat, so that any blood that did fall, fell onto the stone floor rather than her skirt.

Then it was a simple matter of cleaning off her fingers and nails, double-checking her appearance, mourning that she truly did eat it all, and rejoining Henry in the library.

Others wouldn’t be long in joining them, as morning wore into afternoon, and they all opted towards different strategies with their test subjects.

It was as Ava was setting her plant in the window, and noticed a spider in a corner of said window, that another thought occurred to her. “Do we have any dried papaya?” Ava asked, once she had set her plant into the sun, “Or papaya, I’m not picky….”

“Why?” Someone else called out.

“Because it’s useful for necrosis, and I thought maybe putting some in the soil would help with the rot.” It was as good a thought as any, really. She’d used it in a powdered form on necrotic spider wounds – with some other things, but nonetheless, “Actually I’ll just go check the labs.” And so, Ava began the process of hunting down necrotic aids to mix into the soil like a fertilizer, eventually locating some, and repotting the plant into soil she’d more carefully mixed it into.

And singing to it, of course – hoping to get the vibrations to instill life, to instill growth, right in the plant. Trying to listen for it vibrating back – fighting back, struggling back – for life.

This would be Ava Vining’s day.

 

[Melpomene]

There was a certainly a steep excitement when she left, though not as much as Lucan had been expecting. He certainly appreciated the silence that followed, however, and not having to worry about doing a backflip for a woman he had never met before. He had done enough of those when he was younger, nimble though not as talented. A little piece of art for his parents to use to bring more people around to see the troupe, enchanted by the tricks and moves all of them did. Whether it be the contortionist or the actors and singers, and they always loved watching someone bounce and tumble in ways they were unable to. His practice was not easy and the fact someone so young was able to flip and pull himself in so many ways had ended up bringing the troupe a lot of coin.

Briefly, Lucan wondered if he should have just stuck to that rather than devolving into robbery.

He may never had met Gwaine, and perhaps would not be on this journey now, rather doing as he had been doing and performing, likely for only rich folks from then on out. But something told him that was not the case. That he was bound, in some way, to this fate which had befallen him. He was, in some way, connected to Gwaine in a way no other was. Lucan subconsciously reached his hand to hover over the patch which covered the marking on his eye. It was only when he saw Gwaine that he saw another like him.

Thinking of the past seemed obsolete now. He let out a soft sigh, he would prefer to just get to the tavern. In some ways, he wished it was evening already despite that being when he would be at his most vulnerable. And he would no longer be at peace, but he had trouble understanding what to do with himself when he was not doing anything of importance. It felt he was mostly just wandering from one place to another with no actual process in mind. By the time he had reached the tavern, sure enough, father Brean was already there, one of the only patrons perched on a stool while an older blond man began was absently cleaning the glasses at the front bar. He seemed to be distractedly listening to everything Brean was saying, likely retaining just enough to know when to grunt in acknowledgment or make a quick reply, but from what Lucan had seen, very few bar or tavern owners cared to listen to the same story over and over.

The moment Lucan walked in, however, the man, Charlie he deduced, gave him a slim smile when he walked in, setting a glass down on the countertop as he walked in. Brean turned as well, a smile quickly lighting up his aged face as he waved him over.

"My old friend! Lil Ivan!" Brean cried out. Charlie's smile grew. Lucan, once again, scowled. He did not even correct him this time. Instead, he just sat and gave his order, something he would nurse until the time came to leave, he was sure Brean may drink more but, he at least seemed in high spirits now that he was in his favored place of all.

"Whiskey." Lucan said lowly as he put a few Foxtails on the table, taking the drink gratefully and sipping on it quietly. Brean clapped a hand on his shoulder, beginning to tell stories of his old days, when he was the lead cleric amongst everyone in the Roots in Solvit, how loved and popular he was. All things that Lucan remembered clearly. In truth, it was nice to have that bit of familiarity. While he did not laugh and share stories as Brean did, he did quietly sip at his one cup of whiskey for a long while until the sun began to fall, three and a half after he had gotten up, gathered a hood from his belongings to throw on along with a bandana, though he did not wear it yet, simply coming to the Academy.

It was all that he had imagined. He had never actually been to an Academy, not to study or any of the likes. He simply asked for Ava when he came, they were more than happy to point him in her direction. He had taken his hair down, knowing it would help obscure his identity. Not to mention, despite how much he loathed it, it gave him a softer look. He did not yet have his bandana on his mouth, preferring to reach Ava first and making sure they were prepared before he was fully put into costume.

 

[Lucyfer]

Ava was still in the library when Lucan was pointed her way, but was not startled when he came in, even if others gave him an odd look. “Lil Leonas!” Ava chimed, once she had turned, and observed that that odd set of footsteps belonged to him. She didn’t yet have his gait committed to memory.

A few odd looks passed among those in the library, many looking from various floors down to where the fuss was. The library was fairly open as it stretched up and around with its walls of books and wooden bannisters.

Wood that could, one day, rot. Just like their precious paper.

A few snickers – or perhaps some were merely benign chuckles.

Either way, Ava was quick to set down her book and move from her perch, sitting on a desk rather than within the confines of a chair. “Took you long enough,” obviously, it did not.

“Who’s this?” Henry voiced, still looking from his rotted plant. There was a guarded nature to his question, a suspicion in it that had nothing to do with how strange Lucan looked and everything to do with Ava’s reaction.

“A friend,” Ava said, “He’s going to help with getting some of Reamun’s old writings, he knows some things,” she wouldn’t say he was going to help her steal some of Reamun’s things, because no one needed to know that at all, but they could know this much, she supposed. “We’ll be back in a bit with it,” she said.

Henry didn’t take it at face value, still assessing the hooded stranger, but there was nothing to argue in that. And he had no reason to argue. So he went back to clipping the rot off his plant, in some vain hope it might help.

Ava started to reach for Lucan’s hand, reconsidered, and gestured, “It’s this way,” down to the base floor, and to the steps that led into the basement, which would then take them to the tunnel system woven throughout the Academy itself. “What do you think?” She couldn’t help but toss the comment out, and a gesture to the shelves, for his opinion on all that was there.

Many never saw so many books in one place.

It was definitely a point of pride for Hilbes.

 

[Melpomene]

Lucan had expected the odd looks, without the cloak he hardly looked like he belonged in a place of education and learning, but rather out working in some mine or hunting for whatever criminal had eluded the law that week. But they made no objections upon knowing he was with Ava. Perhaps people were used to her eccentric behavior and odd friendships.

How long would it stand, he wondered. And was there anyone else currently trying to write a book on the effects of the rot and the fall of Ersetu on the world? Likely, it seemed a place for academics like that.

The Academy was, truthfully, an impressive sight. Lucan was capable of reading, having learned the skill in Solvit of all places, but he was not an avid reader like others he knew. He did not see many books in one place let alone a collection, but an Academy had always been a place he imagined was packed full of knowledge, and thus all the writings of the past thinkers and religious men on the various creatures and sciences that packed the land.

"Can't say I've seen something like it before," he said as his eyes skimmed over random books, looking from beneath the edge of his cloak. "Never have been in an academy. Just in the Trunks and all they have is Bark."

He followed her through the academy. "How many years have you been here?" he thought to ask out of simple curiosity, she certainly did not look like she could have been there too long. And perhaps the normal conversation would have added a bit more of a natural edge to his appearance and make others less apprehensive. He tugged the edge of his hood further forward whenever he felt a passing gaze.

 

[Lucyfer]

It was one sad truth about the world outside, and Ava knew, she had been lucky to grow up in Hilbes. To be spoiled by all that was available to her, and to realize how much other places needed these things, too.

One day.

The Trunks did have little outside of Bark, though occasionally, Ava had seen a Trunk that doubled as an area of general education, too. Usually in towns smaller than Hilbes, but still more than a mere passing place.

“Well, I’ve been back for a year now,” Ava answered, “I was doing some traveling before,” that was honest enough. Also, evasive enough.

She knew only too well what saying something like 40 or 50 years would do to his expression, and really, did he need to know that? No.

She led him down into the basement, where the crowd would noticeably thin. Most didn’t use the basement passages, they were easy to get turned around in, even with signs. And there were, thankfully, signs, though the electricity that used to light it up was no longer working. Not even flickers. “Hmmmm.” Ava had forgotten about that.

She could go back and get a torch.

She could also keep talking and listen for vibrations bouncing back. She knew the turns, more or less.

Somehow that seemed like a bad idea. She wouldn’t run into any walls, but she was pretty sure she’d get turned around, and then that would be a nightmare. “I don’t suppose you have any sort of light, do you?” She wasn’t betting on it, already starting back towards the stairs, “I can go get one if we need it,” which she fully expected to need, now.

 

[Melpomene]

He felt she was still hiding something. All of her answers seemed so vague that they could be the same given by anyone. She seemed too bouncy and bubbly to be the type that enjoyed holding back information about herself, especially with how easily she attempted to dick into his past despite it being nothing of note, at least to him. Though he forgot how excitable people could get upon learning he could tumble like a professional.

But he would not push her for any type of answer if she did not want to give it. Perhaps there was a reason behind it, perhaps there was not. All he knew was that she would help him figure a way in.

The moment they descended into the darkness, he knew it would be impossible. It would be hell to navigate the twists and turns with noting but their sight. Even as his eyes began to adjust he could not see a feasible way to get through.

"Less you count a few matches as lights, I don't think I have anything that could help us." he said as he stepped back up the stairs. There was something eerie and unsettling about the passages down in the basement. Why did they even exist? He supposed they used to be better lit, but without Reamun to keep them up to standard and no one else needing to avoid the sun as he did, there was no reason to keep them up to standard.

"Get a torch," he said as he turned back. "I'm not spending the rest of my days stuck in a dark hell with you."

 

[Lucyfer]

Ava shook her head. A few matches would be fairly useless for the long-term navigation, “Torch it is!” His reluctance and dislike of working with her was terribly amusing, rather than offensive. He was, after all, a grumpy jackalope. She didn’t think it was all that personal, just who he was – he wasn’t really nice to anyone, after all. Maybe Father Brean. A little.

“Heeeey~” she called out, drawing attention of a few in the hall, passing by, “Can I get a torch, please?” the persuasion was in her tone, disregarding that it had no target, or that Lil Lucan was still well within hearing range.

“I can get tha—”

“I’ll be righ—”

“Sure! Just—”

The trio exchanged looks. Ava was quick to butt in, “Trini! Thank you!” Picking one who’s name she knew to disrupt any competitive attempts. The two others looked a touch disgruntled. A touch disappointed. It would wear away.

Trini was off with a smile on her lips to go fetch the torch. It wouldn’t take her long at all – they were hardly in short supply. Not every hall had window access, and torches were more prevalent for lighting up those halls.

 

[Melpomene]

There was something off about the way Ava asked for the torch. Lucan himself had almost been compelled to tell her he would get the torch despite the fact he had absolutely no idea where the torch was and that these people would look at him strangely while he wandered around in search of the elusive torch that he had just promised he would bring back. Usually, he would not feel so compelled to do anything for anyone, regardless of their gender or looks.

Lucan looked up from the shadows, watching the people that fought, at least verbally, over wanting to get the torch. A woman named Trini was who had managed to get the go ahead from Ava to get what was needed.

"You're pretty popular," Lucan commented from below, keeping a hand on the rail as he watched the other two slowly begin to go back to their own devices, despite how disappointed the looked to not be given some task that would have actively distracted them from what they were doing. She certainly did have a charm, and Lucan was convinced there must have been something about her that set her aside from a normal person. It almost reminded of Gwaine, how he got people to follow behind him so easily.

She never really questioned why Ava was so persuasive, nor why it felt like such an accomplishment to be told to do it. But she walked quickly to get the torches and turned around to bring it back to them, the torch warm and bright in her hand as she came back to the two of them. She smiled as she came back, holding out a torch and glancing down the stairs to see the shadow of Lucan down the stairs behind Ava. What an odd man. An odd friend for Ava to take on, but if anyone were to meet someone like him and make friends, she felt it would be Ava that would manage to do it.

She handed the torch to Ava with a smile. "There ya go," she said.

Lucan began to pull back when he saw they had what they came for and turned back to the labyrinth of a basement.

 

[Lucyfer]

“Mmmm, yeah,” Ava shrugged a bit at the suggestion of being popular. It was true. That wasn’t the reason that someone was going to get her a torch, though. She ought to feel more guilt for making the request in such a fashion, but in truth, she didn’t. Not really. It was a harmless request.

And Trini was soon back with it, looking happy for it.

If it made people happy, and gave them a sense of satisfaction, there seemed even less reason to feel guilty. “Thank you~” she chimed cheerfully as she took the torch from Trini, “I appreciate it! I hope you have a good day, Trini!” With that, she bounded back down the steps, carrying the burning torch with her, and illuminating the paths around them.

This was stone, not wood, and smooth – terribly smooth. Ava had wondered before how this tunnel structure was possible, underground, and of such smooth stone. There seemed to be no lines within it at all to indicate where one wall was placed, and then another. It was as if it were all just one long wall, with no breaks.

Magic.

Technology.

Something Reamun knew, no doubt, and hadn’t shared, like so much else. Like the lights which were mostly all dead, but occasionally, on would flicker, crackling in the dark.

It still caused her to flinch, even while holding literal crackling fire. “Despite all the places I’ve been, I’ve never seen this,” she noted, “I suspect it might be like this somewhere in Solvit, but…I don’t know,” she said, as she walked on, following the signs, as much as memory, “Have you seen walls like this anywhere?” He clearly was in Solvit for some time, maybe he knew something.

 

[Melpomene]

In truth, the labyrinth amazed Lucan to an extent as well. Vampire technology was seen as either a miracle or cursed black magic depending on who he asked, and opinions seemed to ebb and change over time, but there was no denying they always made something that seemed larger than life, perhaps things that should not exist. And this time of death and decay, it seemed impossible for it to exist.

Yet, here they were, walking through it as though it was good as new. Almost.

"I heard about it," Lucan said as he pushed back the cowl slightly so he could get a better look at the walls, the lights which he figured where the electricity would thrum. "I... never actually went to places where these existed, because mostly it was vampires and I'm sure you could figure most vampires weren't keen on letting any human walk through their property. And I never had a reason to, truthfully, not a good enough reason."

He supposed he could have asked at some point, perhaps if he was a more curious young boy, but that type of stuff never got him as curious as guns and liquor. He supposed he was a rather stereotypical child.

"Some of the people I knew, they talked about things like this before-- Vampires somehow putting... energy into their homes, electricity that would power their lights. I, personally, never understood it, a torch seems to work just fine, but--" Lucan ran a finger over the smooth stone, gingerly as though he feared his simple touch would cause it to shatter.

"Have you seen it when it was lit up? I am sure Reamun kept it lit whenever he used it." Vampires weren't exactly keen on having less than perfect machinery for their uses."

 

[Lucyfer]

Lucan had not seen these kinds of things in Solvit, it seemed. Somehow, Ava had imagined it would be more common in Solvit, more out in the open, but apparently, that wasn’t the case. She should have spent more time there. As it was, now she’d never know how it used to be. Never truly know Ersetu in its glory. Of all the things she’d visited, Ersetu hadn’t been one.

A pity, now.

She always planned to go there, but first, everywhere else.

“Mm. I’ve seen it all lit up. It’s far more efficient than a torch. It brings the light everywhere, without needing to be changed so often as a torch does, if at all,” it seemed it had to be changed sometime, given the current situation with the lights. “I know, even before he died, things started to go downhill with the upkeep. He wasn’t here, of course.”

He was elsewhere, likely with Gwaine, with the newly formed Renascence.

“I wasn’t here then, but I’ve been told of it.” She, too, had been elsewhere. That it was a contradiction to the thoughts that Lucan might have had didn’t cross her mind – that she should have been there, finishing up a degree or something, even if she’d also spent some time away recently.

“It was a marvel. Reamun’s home, too, but you’ll see soon.” As they took a turn, following a sign that indicated as much.

Reamun wasn’t the only one to use the tunnels, after all.

Other exits, as they passed under Hilbes, would be noted on signs. Mostly up to streets, one or two businesses having the honor of being connected.

 

[Melpomene]

Lucan was thinking about things he certainly should not have been worried about. Ava was a strange woman and her explanations of her life just continued to get stranger. If anyone should have had a convoluted tale to tell, it was Lucan seeing as he was the one attempting to hide his identity, though it was easy to see she knew him well enough he only really had one secret that he had not yet told.

"Funny, seeing how he died, that he decided to make something that would not need fire," Lucan commented dryly. It was almost bitter, more so than he had meant. He was supposed to be a stranger to it all, but it was a difficult thing to act indifferent towards.

Because he certainly was not indifferent. Perhaps the Father showed his hatred more vehemently, but as far as Lucan was concerned, no one deserved the anger more than him. Was that a selfish thought? It may have been, but he had always been rather selfish, even when he served the tree. Though he was marginally less so when he actually had people he wished to see alive and well. He felt his fingers twitch at his side, almost hungering to feel the gun in his hand despite the fact the perpetrator was not here and it was only this annoying woman that he had to follow. Instead, he let a soft breath through his nose.

He glanced around again, the vampire would have used it to get everywhere during the day, he was sure, though it was surprising to see everyone used these tunnels. He supposed it was a quick way to get places and avoid people. Actually, Lucan would have loved this in Solvit, when he was beginning to get more well-known it was starting to become a pain walking through crowds.

"Did you know any other vampire?" he asked then. "Any?" he knew one, truly. However, obviously he could not speak to her. "I haven't been able to find any so far, they ain't loud but... they were seen, at least."

 

[Lucyfer]

“Mmmmm,” Ava wracked her memory for other vampires she’d actually known, and not just met in passing. A stray thought came to mind of one with ivory skin and golden eyes and she felt a flush run through her at the recollection of their long fingers, “Well – one – Lady Valeria – but it was more of a flin—more of a, um, brief meeting, but she was a very lovely woman.” How did she nearly forget that goddess like beauty?

Valeria had dripped with decadence. The word should have been her name. “I do not know how she is now,” the thought that Valeria might be dead bothered her, as she bit her bottom lip in thought.

Many perished after Reamun’s act, standing up against what he’d done and decrying him as a traitor. Had Valeria been one of them? Somehow it seemed both feasible, and hard to imagine. Valeria had been rather caught up in hedonism when Ava knew her.

Sweet, bloody, hedonism.

Dwelling on it was only going to deepen both her nostalgia, and her sense of shame. Valeria had entered her life at a strange time, shortly after her father’s death. Their appetites were close enough to compliment. “Is it true that many are being, well…killed? I still find it hard to believe.” But then again, Ersetu was gone.

Still – that was a tree.

Vampires were thinking creatures of long lives, with vast intelligences. To think that they could be slain en masse was…difficult.

It would only be a couple more turns before they were at the door to Reamun’s manor.