The two still hooded figures continued walking away, chanting softly. Their robes began to shine, enveloping them in a cocoon of light. The light winked out and they were gone. The tall figure pulled back her hood, long red hair swinging free of the confines. She continued to stare at the old man for a long moment, green eyes glaring, brows furrowed heavily. Groaning lightly, he lay back against the ground, grey-brown hair ruffling in the breeze, eyes closed. "No need to worry about me dear, I’ll manage." She huffed, turned sharply and vanished in a flash of light. The peak fell silent, an artificial eye in a raging storm.
232 AT. In the south eastern edge of The Gloom, a vast forest to the west of the Thy’gath mountain range that stretches as far as The Glaring Wastes in the north and the Twilight Ocean to the south.
Mico knew he was dreaming. It was impossible not to know, he'd had this dream almost every night when he was younger. He always remembered the dream upon waking, though questioning Cutter on it had yielded no response. It had stopped suddenly about five years ago, after they fled to the forest. On it's return he felt as though the dream was clearer than ever. As though, if he could just focus hard enough, instead of seeing a vague figure throwing balls of white light he would see a face. He concentrated so hard that it felt like his brain was burning. Gradually, his perspective swung around and the figure was in front of him. He looked straight at them, briefly glimpsing a woman's face before a ball of light appeared in their hand and he blinked. His eyes opened to sunlight beaming into his eyes he yanked the blanket up, sighing. Somehow, his eyes were wet. "Stupid sunlight" he muttered, dashing his arm across his face. Mico climbed out of bed, dressed quickly and rushed out the door. He moved fast, hoping to avoid Cutter. That hope was dashed almost instantly, "I shouldn't need to wake you for you to be up on time boy." Cutter always called him boy instead of Mico when he was annoyed. Nodding rapidly, Mico broke into a steady jog and headed south. If he maintained a good pace, he could see the ocean on his morning run and be back in time for breakfast. Mico loved the ocean, something about it soothed him, the edges of his emotions getting pounded away by the steady sound of crashing waves and the soft, muted light.
Around 20 minutes later he arrived at the edge of the forest and burst out of the treeline to an open grassy area. In front of him, no more than 100 paces away, the ground suddenly disappeared. Slowing as he approached the cliff edge, he took deep breaths, revelling in the scent of salt in the air. He stepped as close as he dared to the sheer drop then paused. He flung his arms wide and closed his eyes, drinking in the light. His draw rate had increased significantly since he turned 7 and, as he breathed deeply, the air around him dimmed slightly. Or, not exactly dimmed but, somehow seemed less warm. Breaths already slowing, and feeling refreshed, his eyes opened. Immediately, he spotted a Morphwhale offshore. Incredibly rare beasts, at least outside of those tamed by the Grey People, it was a stunning sight. The light scattered off it's skin as it breached, casting multiple shimmering rainbows into the air. Mico was completely mesmerized by the sight, and it was many minutes later when he suddenly started, "Breakfast!" He was about to turn and resume running but, as his eyes dragged ashore from the sight of the Morphwhale, he saw an irregular lump on the sand below. Squinting, it resolved into the shape of a body splayed out on the sand. He hesitated for only a moment before turning to the right and dashing across the cliff line to a narrow break in the sheer face. Mico hurried down the gully, his bare feet quick and sure. A few minutes later he arrived at what was definitely a person, splayed out on their back on the sand. Having arrived, he wasn't quite sure what to do. "Ummmm, hello?" his voice squeaked embarrassingly.
Eventually, Mico concluded that he needed to check if this person was even alive. Noticing his own heavy breathing inspired him and he got closer. Awkwardly brushing aside a thick mess of dark brown hair revealed the small round face of a young boy. At least, he was pretty sure it was a boy. Feeling uncomfortable with how close he was, Mico turned to the side. This coincidentally placed his ear close to their mouth and he happened to catch the sound of a breath drawn in. It sounded tight, restricted. Not really sure what to do with that, Mico decided that his best chance of helping lay with Cutter. He sat back, eyebrows furrowed and mouth twisted. This boy, though their face seemed similar in age to him, was definitely smaller. Mico squatted in front of them, lifted a floppy arm up onto his shoulder and gripped the torso firmly before heaving. Though only 12, Mico had spent much of his young life exercising regularly and his muscles were unusually developed. Despite that, he barely managed it, straining desperately to lift the inert body up to his shoulder. Just managing to get upright, he almost lost his balance as the boy's upper torso flopped onto his shoulder. As their stomach pressed against him he felt a convulsion, followed by spluttery coughing, and a spray of warm liquid down his back. Immediately after, the boy went completely limp again. Still hearing the occasional strained breath, and trying to ignore the gross feeling of liquid down his back, he began trudging along the beach. Having immediately realised there was no way they'd both get up the narrow gully Mico was heading further west, about 200 paces down the shoreline, to where the cliff line smoothed out briefly.
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Half an hour later, Mico was exhausted. He'd just barely managed to reach the top of the slope before collapsing. He winced slightly at the awkward position the limp figure had landed in but couldn't muster up the energy to fix it. Trying to catch his breath, he was surprised to realise that the Morphwhale was still there, almost directly off shore. As he watched, once more mesmerized, it breached over and over again.
"Boy!" Mico started at the shout. Relief at hearing Cutter's voice warred with a sinking feeling from the tone. He glanced briefly at the awkwardly positioned figure, quickly adjusting them into a more comfortable state, before heading in the direction he had heard Cutter. Running for about 50 paces, he got to a higher point and spotted Cutter further along, near the cliff edge. "Cutter, come quick!" Once Cutter was heading his way he turned around. Cutter found him as he was trying to once again lift the unconscious body onto his shoulder. "What are you doing boy, put them down." Cutter approached rapidly and knelt down, placing his head near their face. After a moment he rolled him onto his side and tilted the boy's head back at an awkward angle before addressing Mico again. "You found them by the water?" Mico nodded, eyes wide. "Did they throw up, or did any water come out of their mouth?" Mico just grimaced slightly and nodded again. "Okay, good. There's nothing we can do." Standing, Cutter easily scooped up the small boy and started striding in the direction of their hut. Mico's mouth fell open and he choked a little as he stammered, "What do you mean, nothing we can do?!" Cutter grunted, "That was a bit unclear. I mean to say that they'll probably be fine with a good amount of rest." Mico's shoulders sagged, air whooshing out. Cutter, still striding steadily away, called out over his shoulder "Come on Mico, breakfast is waiting at the hut."
When they arrived back at the hut Cutter disappeared into Mico's room and came back out shortly after, arms empty. He immediately sat down at the table and dug into a bowl of boiled grains that was waiting there. He snorted in irritation, "Not as good cold. You're lucky you had a good reason to be late." Mico shivered slightly at the mild tone, having flashbacks to the endless chores he wound up with every time he'd been late for a meal. He glanced briefly at the open door to his room before joining Cutter at the table and digging in, suddenly ravenous. Both had just finished eating a second serving when a sudden yell shattered the silence. A pale face appeared at Mico's door and a shaky voice rang out "Who are you? What am I doing here? Let me go this instant!" Cutter, looking supremely unimpressed, simply gestured at the doorway. Edging awkwardly past them in the tight space, the boy got to the doorway and broke into a run. A few steps later he stumbled and flopped unceremoniously to the ground. Cutter simply walked to the door and stood there, arms crossed. The boy barely managed to roll to a sitting position and looked back at them, face pale. Cutter just waited, face completely expressionless. Mico stepped up behind Cutter, about to say something when Cutter waved him off. "Fine way to thank someone for saving your life." Instantly, the boy's small face went from pale white to red. He nodded sharply, "Sorry, I panicked." Noticing Cutter's expression tightening, he hurried to add. "Thank you, for helping me." Cutter nodded. "Don't thank me, I just carried you for a bit." He stepped to the side and waved at Mico. "He's the one that found you and got you off the beach." At the words '...got you off the beach...' the boy's expression cleared a bit and he looked at Mico. "Thanks. I.. uh.." Mico burst in, "Of course! I could hardly leave you there." Silence stretched for a full minute as the two looked at each other, unsure how to proceed. Cutter, seemingly satisfied, went back into the hut saying, "I'll have some questions about how in the light you ended up there later. For now, come and get some food. Your body will need that and plenty of rest before you'll be able to take more than a couple of steps without landing on your face." Wordlessly, Mico walked over and offered a hand up. The boy gave a small smile, accepting the help, and they both headed back inside. "So, Mico, was it?" Mico nodded, "Yep, and you are?" The boy tensed again, glancing at Cutter and unconsciously pushing some hair behind their ear. "I'm... Felix." Mico, busy getting some more of the boiled grains into a bowl failed to notice Cutter's eyebrows raise at the name. "Felix" said Mico, "Cool name!"