{-Farrar-}
He was impressed to see a figure, then surprised to see it become clearer. After that, hearing it talk didn’t startle him like it did Rhenei.
Calum must’ve had a lot more magic than Farrar assumed he did.
“Both of you, come on!” It wasn’t necessarily a pleasant voice, but it was one of general care. He guessed that the woman it belonged to was the mother to the two kids that came running out of another room soon after.
Both of them were young, one probably just old enough to walk and the other around five. A man—their father, probably—was walking behind them, making sure they didn’t get distracted with anything else in the house.
The mother smiled when she saw them, helping the younger of the two up on a seat. She wandered around the kitchen for a little longer; each of the objects she touched became more defined, to the point where, by the time she was finished, it looked like what it would’ve in the memory.
Finally, she sat four plates down on the table. “Eat up! We’ll head out to town once everyone is finished.”
Then the scene warped, slightly, to show the passage of a year or two. The older of the kids wasn’t there and the younger was just staring at the plate in front of her. Farrar still couldn’t find anything familiar about her, but with Rhenei’s silence, he assumed she bore at least a resemblance to Kalleira.
“Why are you still just sitting there?” The mother’s voice didn’t hold much comfort in it, not anymore. The hollow sigh made it seem like all warm emotions had disappeared, yet no other feelings had yet to fill in the space. “Eat. You have work to do.”
The girl mumbled some things, though they weren’t loud or clear enough for him to understand.
Her mother sure understood her, though. Her hand almost slammed against the table but, at the last moment, it just hovered over it. “Eat your food. Now.”
Still, the girl mumbled something.
The mother’s face changed but quickly calmed again when the father walked out. He gave one look at the situation and grumbled, “If she doesn’t want to eat, then don’t force her. She’ll just go straight to work. It’ll be her own fault for getting us into this mess to begin with.”
Then, finally, the girl’s mumbling could be heard. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Both parents shot her a glare that proved that they weren’t going to stop until she realized what she did… even if, deep down, perhaps everyone understood there’d truly been no fault made by the girl.
Rhenei was whispering to herself now, things Farrar decided he wasn’t going to try to listen to. Several more scenes played in front of them; scenes that he guessed weren’t too unfamiliar to her. There was yelling and misplaced blame, a kind of suffocating feeling that went deeper than just discomfort. Something close to fear showed in the girl’s eyes whenever her parents came closer. Yet there’d been nothing she could do but sit and listen, unless she wanted to make things worse for herself.
Finally, there was one last memory: just the parents, sitting at the table, oddly quiet for all the things they’d just seen.
“It’s almost… too peaceful, without either of them here,” the mother remarked.
“I’d say that’s what she gets,” the father grumbled back. “She was the one that thought it would be smart to run away from us.”
Farrar noticed the confused look on Rhenei’s face, the way she muttered things in an almost desperate way to figure it out. “I’ll wait outside for you,” he decided softly, then slowly went towards the door.
She could use the space.
Of course, the solemn mood he’d been in was completely replaced with something else when he noticed what was outside. It seemed the whole town was alive again, each with clear figures and voices like they were real. Farrar understood how much magic it would’ve taken to do something like this—in fact, he probably underestimated how much it would take. There was no awe or amazement to see it, just a single thought:
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Calum must’ve just done this in order to show off, then.
Farrar sighed and took to wandering the streets. The town wasn’t very big; he’d walk back around to Rhenei in a few minutes. If she needed him before then, it wouldn’t be hard to find him. Even with the appearance of a bustling town, it didn’t take much to understand they were still just illusions.
He almost enjoyed the stroll—there was a light breeze, chilly but in a more welcoming way—until he heard more voices. What distinguished them from the chatter was that they were distinct and far too confused.
“I thought you said this town was abandoned.”
“You saw it before walking in! It was abandoned!”
“So what’s all this crap about?”
“Well, either Vriuh let loose a couple dozen spirits, or someone’s got some powerful magic.”
“Those two kids weren’t mentioned to have magic like this. They said one of them didn’t even know magic.”
So, they’d been followed all the way out here. It wasn’t surprising.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Farrar grumbled as he approached the voices’ owners. “Hey, can’t you see there’s something going on here?”
All the members of the small group looked at him, then at who was likely their leader.
“Isn’t that one of the kids..?” one of them mumbled.
“It couldn’t be. I didn’t get the impression he was stupid enough to walk up to us.”
“I’m not stupid,” Farrar remarked, “I’m annoyed. And I’m sure you’ve probably been told by someone by now what happens when I’m annoyed.”
“Be careful, this is the one with magic,” another member whispered.
“Yeah, and we’re not getting paid if they come back with a few scratches.”
Farrar sighed. “I’m not going to start a fight if you don’t make me. I came to tell you to go home and stop wasting your time. Pretty soon the church is going to get involved in this and it’s not going to be in your favor.”
“And why should we believe what you’ve got to say?”
“My father’s the one who employed you, isn’t he? Just go back and tell him that, see how that changes his willingness to do this. We’re almost done here anyway—then I’ll head back to Hyasari.”
“What about the girl?”
“You’d do best to stay away from her, before you have bigger problems.”
He wasn’t surprised when that did nothing to deter them. But he smirked when he noticed something that would get them to leave him alone.
A way that just got way more convincing when he heard Rhenei’s voice. “Farrar?”
“Over here!” he called, completely ignoring the looks of the group.
She followed his voice and, when she saw the people in front of him, she frowned and backed away. “What are they doing..?”
The shadows were noticeably moving now, darting from one side of the street to the other. Farrar’s grin just grew as he said, “Don’t worry, I think they’ll be leaving soon.”
“Boss..?” one member whispered. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
The most-likely leader looked around him, saw the moving shadows, then moved his attention back to the two of them. “Just what are you two capable of..?”
“I think it’s best if you don’t find out,” Farrar remarked.
“I bet it’s just an illusion,” a member murmured. “Like all those people.”
“But is that really a chance you want to take?”
With Farrar’s warning, helped by his confident look, they nervously glanced at each other. There were a few mumbles; things he didn’t bother trying to decipher because he knew it wouldn’t matter. They’d use their common sense soon enough.
The shadows weren’t just moving now—they were taking shape into something eerily human. Something with a black figure ripped from the darkness around it. Something with red eyes that spoke of a certain hunger. Something that grew the white smile of an untamed monster.
And the group, seeing all of this, turned around and ran out of the village. They shouted things, but their words held no meaning.
Just as they left, the whole illusion ended with a few cries. They’d witnessed, in portion, what the town’s final moments looked like.
“Told you they’d be leaving,” he said, turning his attention back to Rhenei. “A life lesson for you: if the shadows ever start moving like that, you should do exactly what they did and get the hell out of there. When they actually start to look like something, you better pray Vriuh’s got a nice place for you. Those were illusion versions of Skiá.”
When she didn’t give a response, he asked, “Are you alright..? That was probably a lot to take in.”
“Let’s just head back to Calum,” she whispered. “I’m ready for something to feel normal…”