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POV: Karin & Alark
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A set of synchronised steps clapped against the ground with a slow and consistent rhythm.
For some time, the two demons had silently and seemingly randomly meandered through the multi-layered web of openings.
The homogeneity of the dull expedition did little to keep Alark from his thoughts; the only minor semblance of reprieve came from the gradual change in colour gradient of the walls.
He had been silent the whole journey, staring at the ceiling and excusing his silence for focus on gauging his direction. Karin knew he had walked this route hundreds of times, but she let him keep to himself while she too found herself pondering on the mysterious Imp in her arms.
She only found herself running in circles, unable to figure out where they had come from. They were just not from here. There was a distinct hue, a distinct scale pattern... Not reminiscent of Mother Gaian, nor of the noble bloodlines she had read about at all.
Then there was the magic...
'Is it even possible for an imp to awaken magic?'
She was certain that magic would only be awakened during the evolution ceremony, yet here a complete anomaly lay in her arms...
This world was strange. Karin had heard countless stories about reality being stranger than fiction; after all, their history was long, but she never expected to personally experience it.
'These engravings... just who carved them?'
She scarcely had knowledge of runes but was familiar with many of the constructors; yet the more complex engravings on the shoulders had none within their design.
Choosing to believe that it was purely aesthetic, Karin shook her head and refocused her vision onto the now-forming black cobbled path beneath her.
The two exchanged a glance and a slight nod before picking up the pace and passing through an arched opening into a vast expanse.
An old, fairly wide black-stone bridge stretched outwards into the void directly in front of them. At least, the always active blindness mirage spell that coated the air made it appear as such.
It was the only indication that they had passed through a barrier, and only a few sets of amber lanterns ran parallel across the bridge, repelling the spell and illuminating the way.
Karin knew it was a close proximity nullification to the blindness spell, but she couldn't help but lightly run her fingers through the faint mystical glow emanating from the light source while reminiscing on the comfort it gave her as a child.
She faced Alark and saw him baked into the shadow.
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It was sad that the darkness was of their own design, and then so too was the comfort of that light—a light no different from that of the cave they had not given even a passing glance to moments ago.
"Are you alright, Karin?"
A cool voice carried itself freely through the quiet air and broke her from her introspection.
"Ahh. Yeah, can you hold her for a moment? I'll speak with the sentinels this time."
She hoped that this interaction would help him break out of his stupor and be more responsive to the child.
He sighed but replied assuredly.
"Sure... Wait, her?"
Karin flashed him a smile.
"Intuition."
She said, with a playful look on her face, before turning and walking off at a brisk pace.
Alark didn't really pay the Imp much more attention; he simply didn't like her and didn't want to change that. Instead, he found himself staring at Karin from behind, before distracting his gaze with the vague outline of the tall gates not far ahead, at the mid-point of the bridge.
He slowly strode forward and allowed the details to come into view. The motifs adorning the pillars had aged and withered over the long but relatively short history of this place. The minute carvings that once depicted an ancient history were gone, leaving only the rigid, confounding layers of stone, opening up at the base into waves that drifted into the sloped path of the bridge.
Karin was happily chatting with the two stationed sentinels, her arms elegantly swaying through the air with an exaggerated expression, clearly guiding the conversation in directions she likely did not care for.
She never had many friends despite being good with people, and his stoic face softened knowing she didn't do that with him. Many turned manipulative towards him when he, like many others, set his eyes on the Capitol, but she pushed him from behind every step of the way.
When he was younger, he thought that maybe she had fallen for him. He could scarcely believe the thought at the time, and her encouragements had allowed him to grow comfortable in his dreams, and more so in their strong friendship.
One of the sentinels suddenly looked up, then looked at the imp in his arms and back at him again.
"I see... Alark! You can step through the gate. I hope you aren't punished too hard, hahaha."
The sentinel called out to him, and a slight grimace crossed his face.
He couldn't see under their cold, smoked-grey helms, but he felt a slight mocking gaze, though he knew it was likely his insecurity.
Receiving a light punch to the arm from his partner, the sentinel only turned with a confused posture, as if to say, "What?"
There was no response to the motion other than a shaking head, and they both wondered back to their posts toward the side of the gate.
Karin had already made her way through, so Alark picked up his pace to stand beside her.
"Did you have to tell them everything?"
He said, quizzically throwing her a look.
"Well, only what was necessary."
She shrugged while looking at him.
Alark cocked an eyebrow in response, to which she looked away.
"Which was pretty much everything, I guess..."
She looked away and spoke quietly, but loudly enough to be heard.
Alark smiled, a faint laugh leaving his lips. He could see her poorly hiding her grin whilst looking off into the non-existent distance.
They came up to a gateway, veered to the side, and walked up a set of well-maintained stairs.
Both of their living arrangements were tied to their work, and they both resided within The Curators residence, and so, passing through a passage keenly located between different sets of walls, they reached the heart of the outpost town.
However, the moment they stepped through the barrier, a searing pain came from Alark's hands. He reactively dropped the imp to the ground, and both he and Karin stepped back at the thick arcs of lightning reactively bursting from the imp's body.
He felt a rush of anger but kept himself steady, merely deflecting the electric bursts with his dark aura.
Karin had noticed the Imp wake up, but only after she had been dropped to the ground.
The immediate confusion of the situation had now vanished, and Karin saw a calculating glint in the child's eyes, one far removed from the usual thoughtless but acquiescent expressions of the imps she worked with.
"Shit..."