Shadow Snooper

Euan locks his door before changing, donning an outfit which covers nearly every inch of skin. He pulls on black pants, a turtleneck and leather boots and clips his modified cloak into place, covering just one of his shoulders while otherwise acting as a jacket. A mask is sown into the hood, concealing all of his face except for directly around his eyes. Finally, he pulls on dark leather gloves, strapped on over his sleeves up to his elbow with little holes left over each fingerprint for his Touch ability. Once Euan activates his form, his eyes and the skin surrounding them going dark, he is the picture of stealth. 

Euan hops into Azowyr's Plane and begins jumping from portal to portal about the compound, slipping his head through each shadow and snooping on those nearby as the sun continues to set. Many he comes across are fast asleep already, exhausted from their first real day, but Euan continues mapping out the compound. He pauses in the common area under a bench, spotting Andrea, Renard and Leon waving off Orin. 

"Did he seem off to you?" Andrea questions once Orin is gone, the three of them lingering around a fire pit.

Renard snickers at her suggestion and Euan quickly recognizes him as the sunny support member from his own unit. He is surprised to see the amicable little guy spending time with these two.

"I heard," Renard comments enthusiastically, "He lost to two foreigners and the Minx heir today!"

"Yeah right," Andrea ridicules, frowning when Renard doesn't laugh with her, "She couldn't beat you if she tried!"  

"They defeated Ifani, too," Leon adds in, smiling as Andrea's eyes widen with disbelief, "Of course, it was four to one. Not that that Huaren girl knows how to direct her drake properly," he sniggers, "Such a waste of a good familiar." 

"Now you sound like Zetian," Andrea bites with a clear intent to offend but her tone doesn't phase him, "I hope being on that pitiful unit doesn't make her go soft," Andrea speaks bitterly, "She's the only rival worth my time!"

"Right," Leon flashes a sinister smile and Andrea's eyes narrow, "Your 'rival'."

"Havering snobs," Euan grumbles to himself, lowering back into the plane.

Euan continues exploring the compound, pausing again as he stumbles onto Zetian and Longwei in front of their building. Zetian seems to have been waiting on him. Longwei sucks in a breath at the sight of her, immediately bowing and keeping his eyes averted down. 

"There's no need for that here," Zetian hums, "I just wanted to congratulate you!"

"Con... congratulate me?" Longwei questions, rising but still retaining a deferential demeanor. 

"Yes," Zetian chimes in her strange, disingenuous tone, "You're already fulfilling your purpose so well! Much quicker than I expected."

"My purpose?" Longwei gasps. A touch of excitement enters his expression as he imagines what he might've done to please her followed by tenuous hope.

"I wasn't sure about it at first," Zetian continues, prone to sharp inflection, "But what better way to show the kingdom we want to move forward together, to put the past behind us!" she watches Longwei with a hint of a smile, "I mean you fought so well with her today, not a hint of hesitation or malice," she peeks significantly at Tia and Ifani's room, "What a powerful message, a Zhou fighting alongside the sole Minx heir!"

Longwei's breath leaves him all at once, eyes widening as he realizes her meaning. Euan squints at Zetian, not having a clue what they're jabbering about but disliking the joy in her face while Longwei looks as if he might shatter. Seeming satisfied, Zetian swivels and makes her way inside without another word. Euan also takes his leave, feeling bad for the little guy. He decidedly resolves himself to prank Zetian later, when he has the time.

"Whits wi' all o' th' drama tonight!" Euan gripes, meandering through the plane.

He lingers in front of a number of unexplored portals, trying to pick one out. As he pops the top of his head through another, he finds himself in the pantry just behind the mess hall. The building has been locked up for the night, not a soul in sight.

"Jackpot!" Euan grins, climbing all the way out.

Euan moves quietly through the pantry, scanning the shelves and plucking up a snack or two. He munches on these while he continues exploring, quickly locating the wine cellar. He uses the plane to bypass the locked doors. Once inside, Euan peruses their selection, popping bottles out at random. With an armful of wine, Euan makes his way back into the plane. It was not how he left it.

A seeming storm cloud has gathered east of Euan, billowing into life silently. Even the shadows around him seem to gravitate towards this massive pall. Euan keeps a close eye on this while moving towards his room and the storm worsens steadily. He hoists his loot through under his bed before turning back toward the strange phenomenon.

In all of his years wandering the plane, Euan had never seen this kind of activity. He approaches furtively, the figure within the storm becoming more opaque as he moves closer.

To Euan's surprise, Azowyr himself is hovering before a portal and outstretching his hand into it. He had only seen this entity on the rarest occasion, generally when Euan had managed to offend the shadow-man somehow. This was most common when Euan was still a boy. He had always found Azowyr to be melodramatic and conceited despite seeing him as an odd uncle of sorts, his only company within the plane. Especially when he treated Euan like an impudent child misusing his plane for mischief—and Euan often did. With his curiosity peaked, Euan pops his head out to see what's happening on the other side.

In the physical world, shadows flicker and spread around a milky haired girl as she faces off against his cousin. Euan can see through the shadows which conceal and waft about her and finds something oddly familiar about her. Yet, he cannot place her identity. As he studies her closer, he notices particularly opaque, hand shaped shadows grasping her from below. When Euan looks into the plane again, Azowyr is reaching through the girl's shadow and into the physical world. 

"Oy!" Euan shouts at the entity. Azowyr glances in his direction, giving the girl the moment she needs to break out of his manipulation. 

"You're in the way!" Azowyr hisses.

With a wave of his hand, Euan is tossed violently aside, travelling at an incredible speed and distance before realizing what's happened. Euan grips the surrounding shadows, using them as an anchor to slow himself down. This eats up a terrible amount of his energy. He can still see Azowyr at a distance, just barely, and begins leaping back in his direction. 

Not even a quarter of the way back, the girl and a black beast arrive, seemingly pulled in. The storm morphs into a violent, raging typhoon with Azowyr at the center. Euan is only able to grip the shadows around him, waiting out the storm as everything is swallowed up in this tempest. Then, just as suddenly as it began, the storm disappears completely. Euan continues his journey back, watching the girl come and go from the plane again before he reaches the compound. He drags himself back into his room, slumping onto the edge of his bed and sighing as he removes the hood and mask. Two crimson, glowing eyes flash open across from him. 

"Shite!" Euan startles, springing to his feet as Danut leers at him, "Fuckin' gonny no dae that!" Euan clamors, lowering back onto his bed with his heart pounding. Danut sits up, crimson orbs raising and lowering as he looks Euan over.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Danut questions, his tone becoming more harsh, "You've been out thieving haven't you?"

"Oh, reit," Euan sasses, "I wis a bandit so if Am out at night the only thing I could be doing is 'thieving'?" 

"Why else would you dress that way," Danut answers with a deadpan demeanor, "Assassination?"

"Relax, bat-daddy!" Euan teases, earning him another scowl, "All I 'stole' tonight wis stupid gossip an', well," Euan pauses to pull a bottle from under his bed, wiggling it at his roommate, "I guess yer too good fur any o' this then?"

Danut blinks, stupefied as Euan pops the bottle open and takes a swig. Euan smirks, rolling another two bottles out from beneath his bed with his foot. Danut appears as though he might protest at first but his leer falls away into a chuckle. Euan tosses him a bottle. 

"Oy, flower boy!" Euan barks across the hall and Florio emerges swiftly with a discontented expression. Euan grins at him from the threshold of his own room, another bottle in hand, and Florio's face lights up. 

Walking Nightmare

Night descends over the compound and while most recruits were exhausted, the evening still held many surprises. Tia wanders the plaza, eyes peeled for her bandit friend. She had continued this effort for more than an hour and was beginning to accept she would need to find an alternative. 

'I've got his form,' Tia reasons to Duff, wherever he was lurking, "Why don't I just-"

'Absolutely not!' Duff shuts down her suggestion with surprising fervor, 'I already told you to avoid that place.' 

'Yeah,' Tia remarks, her tone too cheery, 'You did... and absolutely nothing else!' Tia shouts within her mind, still cross with his secrecy, 'Maybe if you would explain anything to me I could trust doing what you say! But let me guess," she pauses, glaring into a fire, 'Yup, silence!'

'You're acting like a child,' Duff scolds. 

'And you're acting like a weird old man!' Tia retorts with harsh bite. As Tia had grown accustomed to, Duff goes silent. 'I'll just... walk out the front gate then,' she continues to speak to him as she turns away from the fire, 'Whatever this procedure is, it can't be that bad!'

As Tia makes her way out of the plaza and towards the east gate, her weary body still heavy and lethargic, she notices security seems far more wary than the night before leaving her uneasy. They watch each recruit with anxious apprehension, assessing them as they pass by as if seeking something specific. Tia finds herself averting her face from them.

When Tia nears her destination, her heart drops. Ben Stahlmann lingers at the gate, chatting casually with security and wearing one of their black uniforms. Tia manages to dodge out of the torch light just before he turns, slinking down with her heart racing. Panic runs cold in Tia as she crouches in the shadows, her breath terse and rapid. Feeling the need to unexpectedly evade Ben brings her back to that night abruptly, a fog washing over her already groggy mind.

When Tia opens her eyes again, Ben aims his orb at her once again and the sheer plunge into the forest is at her back. Outside of her perception, Tia reverts to her true appearance and the shadow she lurks within begins grasping up at her, darkening. The air around Tia becomes desolate and frigid while opaque shadows stretch across her skin. A blurred layer totally obscures her appearance, leaving Tia veiled and embraced by a murky wool.

In Tia's walking nightmare, Ben releases his orb and it begins a sluggish, exaggerated path towards her. Yet unlike that night, Tia senses power gathering around her from below—surging, eager and pliable. She pulls and gathers this power together, directing it effortlessly with her fingertips. Tia condenses it into sinister, murky shards as icy fingers overlay her own, guiding her hand. This eerie material feels hollow, freezing and even hungry as it hums within her grasp, enthralling Tia.

This esurient hunger grows more potent as Tia returns her attention to Ben, the shards humming and hovering about her violently. They enlarge as Tia's resentment builds, as she recalls how Ben had hurt her and how he took her mother from her. The orb cuts its way toward Tia, agonizingly slow, and she directs a dagger sized shard into it. The orb detonates in Ben's hand and knocks him from his horse. The beast screams and flees past but Tia's eyes remain on him.

Ben staggers powerless, vulnerable and alone on the mountain path before her. Tia hovers forward, her movement uncanny and inhuman as she skates across the shadows and the empty space between them shrinks away in quick leaps, Tia halting only when she is face to face with Ben. She glowers at her once attacker, collecting her shards together into two jagged blades and closing them in around the man. Tia peers into his eyes, relishing Ben's terror and satisfying desperation. A smile pulls at her lips, his helplessness leaving Tia as hungry as the material she wields.

Then, the nightmare fades from Tia's sight and they are no longer on the mountain. Ben is pinned by her blades against the stony wall of the compound. He shivers in terror, the obsidian blades which close in around him carving the stone totally unimpeded, the cuts facile. Yet Ben is transfixed as the shadows peel away from Tia's face.

"It's-it's you!" Ben's voice wrenches and he chokes.

Tia carefully observes the emotions which pass over his face, leering at him pitiless and wrathful, his piddling regret not nearly enough to slake her rancor. Ben and Tia are caught in this fervent exchange until Ben squeezes his eyes shut, consigning himself to her retribution.

Tia's head swims and she nearly loses herself to the fog again. She can still feel the blades humming in her hesitant fingers and the silken shadows gripping her body urge Tia to shred him, to take what she deserves. She can almost hear this being whispered into her ear. One of the blades slide across Ben's face, splitting his flesh apart with the slightest graze, and Tia revels in his pained reaction. 

'Tia,' Duff leaps out from the bushes, 'You must stop!'

Tia turns to Duff, loosening her vice-grip to glance to him. Ben seizes his opportunity, ducking and scurrying out of sight. Tia blinks in his absence and tries to clear her addled mind, observing herself. Shadows embrace and radiate out from Tia, consuming her like a ravenous flame, and an egg of the black material she manipulates encases her. 

"Duff...?" Tia questions breathlessly.

Tia focuses her eyes fully, the material encasing her growing transparent, and finally perceives the security staff surrounding them. Weapons crash against the shell ineffectively and Tia's eyes pop as she looks to Duff for guidance, painted by fright. Subduing his own hesitation, Duff jumps into Tia and pushes both of them into Azowyr's Plane. All of the dark manipulations fade in her absence, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

However, for Tia and Duff the chaos persists. The shadow plane has transformed into an ocean of charcoal waves pushed by invisible, silent gales. The portals are islands amid this sea, tossing them violently akin to Tia's nightmare. Duff steps atop these stygian waters and tries to pull Tia toward a different portal, dragging her while she is left disoriented and overwhelmed by the impossible touch of these umbral waves. The same shadowy hands clasp Tia, trying to drag her deeper into the plane and beneath the waves as if to drown her. Tia clings to Duff as he bites into these hands with a vicious snarl, repeating this dance two or three times. Duff refuses to allow him to take her. 

"What are you doing?" Azowyr booms, possessing the same voice from Tia's nightmare.

A man comprised of utterly opaque shadows reveals himself in the eye of this storm—Azowyr himself. He hovers over them, directing the storm with his gestures.

"You're moving too fast!" Duff roars, his voice actually audible, hovering over Tia and shielding her from him with his body.

"I've waited long enough!" Azowyr refutes with intense accusation and the waves assaulting Duff become more volatile. 

"Not for me," Duff insists, "Give her time. You know who she is!"

"Do you believe you are protecting her, sparing her?" Azowyr cackles, the sound echoing about the plane, "Stifling her will not prolong the inevitable," the storm begins to dissipate as he speaks to Duff, "The child has been suppressed long enough!"

"Don't pretend!" Duff  gives a bleak growl, lowering his head, "We both know that, to you, she's only a utensil for restoration!"

As the storm calms, Tia scrambles to an upright position and glances around the plane, too disoriented to follow their conversation. She startles as Azowyr drifts into sight before her. An undulating shadow maintains a humanoid figure, wisps rolling off him like smoke. He gathers before Tia while shadowy hands still restrain her. The entity has an ethereal but ominous presence, the plane distorting around him.

"What the fuck are you?!" Tia hisses, trying to rip away from the silken shadows but failing. Azowyr leans closer into Tia's face, seeming to appraise her. Tia scowls back and rapidly swats at his immaterial face. He retreats with a hiss, annoyed. 

"You are nothing like her," Azowyr declares with a peculiar tone, his voice carrying both satisfaction and disaccord as he dissolves away entirely. As the plane returns to normalcy, completely mild and quiet, the shadows fully release Tia. 

"Duff?" Tia whips around, desperate to find him. 

"This way!" Duff calls, moving west along the plane.

Duff waits by a portal in an alleyway, hopping through as she arrives. Tia takes a deep breath, trying to dispel the lingering fog in her mind before stepping through after him. Tia meanders towards the light almost impulsively but a human hand pulls her back into the darkness. Two security staff sprint by, one pausing by the alleyway. The man who stopped Tia hushes her attempt to question him, swinging Tia around to block their view of her.

"What are you doing in there?" the staff questions him. 

"Can't a man take a piss in peace?" he shouts back at her. 

"Ugh," the woman recoils, moving on. Tia can't help but join in on his snickering. 

"Wow," he laughs, "Not how I thought I'd see you again!"'

"Again?" Tia questions him, trying to appraise his face but can only make out his silhouette. He was abnormally tall and bulky.

"Ah," he answers wanly, "I guess you don't remember." He peeks behind and Tia squints at his face in the light.

"It's you!" Tia gasps, her mystery rescuer standing before her.

"Still running from soldiers?" he teases, "I'm impre-"

Tia spots a staff jogging towards them and grabs her rescuer, pulling him with her back into the shadows. 

"Whoa!" he exclaims, spinning freely and blinded, "Are we in a plane??"

"I'm-I'm sorry," Tia gasps, trying to steady him, "I didn't mean to get you into trouble!" 

"Hey, don't worry about it," he tries to comfort her, hearing her distress, "They didn't see my face!" Tia sighs, feeling less guilty but still overwhelmed, "Sides, I needed to get out without one of those nasty imprints, this is perfect! Think you can take me through?" Tia is left speechless at first, surprised by his casual, calm demeanor despite the chaos she hadn't even begun to process. 

"Sure," Tia agrees, pulling him towards the river, "I never got a chance to thank you!"

"That was one crazy night," he agrees emphatically but then teases her, "You get into a lot of trouble with this face, its lucky you have more than one!"

"You knew?" Tia peeps, her anxiety jumping.

"When I found you, you just screamed," he shouts into the plane, "Newborn shape shifter!" Tia blushes and laughs with him, relieved he doesn't seem to care, "No way you were anything else." They arrive by the river, Tia struggling to pull him out and having to let him do most of the work. 

"I'm Tia, by the way," she pants once both of them are on solid ground again. 

"Call me Niro!" he answers as he activates his form.

The bottom half of his body begins changing, tearing up his clothing waist down as his lower body morphs into that of a horse. Niro towers over Tia, taking on a centaur-like form. The sable coat of his horse body matches his own short dark hair and compliments his almond skin tone.

"Good luck!" Niro shouts as he gallops south. 

Tia turns to face the compound, all bright lights and clamor as security scours every inch for her. Duff waits at her side, watching with her.

"What am I going to do?" Tia shudders, trying to find comfort in his company, "What just happened?"

'Come here,' Duff instructs, his voice gentle.

Tia kneels before him, holding his head as he gazes into her eyes. They have a mesmerizing glow, shining almost blue. Duff presses into Tia's mind, gathering up all of her memories of this night, starting from their argument and up to this moment, and locks them deeper within Tia's mind. Tia's head spins as the magic goes into effect. She blinks at him and then at their surroundings. 

"What happened...?" Tia mutters.

'You wanted us to go through the plane,' Duff implies, 'And we did.' Tia blinks and tries to focus, the memory coming together with his suggestion.

"Right..." Tia agrees and then appears confident, "I told you it would be fine!"

Duff finally relaxes, stretching and laying by the river. Tia takes a deep breath, enjoying the night air before jumping into the water.

Sanctuary

Niro finally arrives at his destination, gratefully landing at his father's front door. He nods to the guards, their familiar faces a welcome sight. He slips on a new set of clothes hidden away by the door as he enters but pauses, surprised to hear the murmur and laughter of conversation further inside.

"Whoa," Niro breathes, spotting his father's guest as he meanders inside, "Deja vu...!"

"There he is!" Supay grins, spreading his arms out as his son joins them, "Pachacutec!"

"Dad..." Niro groans, Supay wrapping an arm around his shoulder with a proud, beaming smile. Mina marvels at how similar they look as he continues, Niro practically a smaller doppelganger of Supay, "Niro is fine!"

"You don't have to use that name here!" Supay insists, his face dropping into a serious frown.

"Nobody in Accia calls me Pachacutec!" Niro complains as he shifts his eyes away in annoyance, "And Niro is shorter." 

"Bah, names!" Supay dismisses and makes his way back into his lounge. He crashes into a hammock strung up by the window.

"Well, at least your son has the decency to wear pants!" Mina's eyes follow Supay as she gestures to Niro. 

"You know how many he goes through?" Supay complains, annoyed by the mere idea of attempting the same, "Stashing them away everywhere... too exhausting!"

"He inherited that ability?" Mina questions, eyebrows raised.

"Of course! Well," Supay grins, "Half of it!"

"Soooo..." Niro hums, looking between them. 

"Right!" Supay gives a barking laugh, "This is a very old friend of mine Ch- No... what were you using again?"

"Mina," she reminds him patiently. 

"Mina," Supay echoes, "And she's got a favor to ask." 

"It have anything to do with a little sister or a daughter?" Niro questions, catching them both by surprise, "Tia Minx?"

"You've seen her?" Mina gasps, rising swiftly and flitting to him with teary eyes, "Is she alive? Is she safe?" 

"Whoa, slow down," Niro responds, throwing up his hands, "She's fine!" Mina's shoulders drop with relief and Niro guides her back to her seat. 

"Please," Mina entreats him once settled, Niro sitting across from her, "Tell me what you know?"

"Well, I only hear so much in my position," Niro notes with a shrug, "But she had a big 'introduction' in the capital as an official 'House Heir' and all that," Supay's face sours hearing about Accian politics but Mina is attentive, "And of course she got recruited like all the rest of us. But... well..." Niro frowns, glancing to his father before continuing, "She isn't really... human anymore."

"Not... human?" Mina questions carefully and Niro presses his lips together, hesitating to break the news. Mina's fingers tap her chest and she closes her eyes, steadying herself with a deep breath. "Tell me," Mina requests in a firm voice, "Please."

"It happened the night I met her," Niro narrates in a grim voice, "Some idiot soldier knocked her off a mountain," Mina tenses, realizing immediately the circumstance, "But by the time I got to her, she had already been changed. The beast saved her life but..." Niro sighs, averting his eyes, "She's a shape shifter now." 

"Shape..." Mina peeps and struggles for breath, shuddering and falling into contemplation before continuing, "The beast," her tone is high, fear of the worst hanging over her, and she speaks hesitantly, "What did it look like...?" 

"A black wolf," Niro answers and Mina squeezes her eyes shut. She appears frozen, not even a breath passing her lips, her face slowly tightening as she digests every implication and consequence. Mina knew better than most what lay ahead for her daughter now.

"It's my fault..." Mina's voice is quiet but shrill and she shudders, holding herself as though she were on the edge of shattering, "Not my Tia, not her...!" The air within Supay's home begins to thin and chill. Supay glances around as loose items begin to rattle. 

"Shit!" Supay curses, leaping to his feet as his eyes dart to his son, "Out!"

"Wh-" Niro begins to ask as Mina quivers, her skin blackening and hair gleaming. 

"Now!" Supay booms, rushing across the room and ushering his son towards the exit. Niro glances back, gaping at Mina's full form on his way out.

Tia gathers herself at the edge of the water, peeking her head out and assessing the cave before reverting back. Al has made himself comfortable in a nook set aside for reading, so comfortable he's fallen asleep. Tia grins, emerging from the water as quietly as she can manage. She tip toes towards him, looming for a moment and watching him. Stifling a giggle, Tia flicks water onto his face.

"Wha-" Aldric shoots up, gasping and glancing about wildly. Tia bursts into laughter while Aldric's face heats, almost pouting as he speaks to her and dries his face, "I almost thought you weren't going to show up!"

"Sorry," Tia's laughter tapers down, "I had a bit of trouble getting out." 

"Really?" Al questions as Tia perches on the same flattened stalagmite, "I didn't run into any trouble."

"I..." Tia is hesitant to admit but speaks hurriedly once she begins, "Might've spaced out during orientation and missed the bit on how to leave?"

Aldric tries to stifle his laughter, almost deferring to the dignified "prince" persona, but as Tia chuckles at herself he reminds himself he doesn't need to, allowing himself to laugh freely.

"So, Al," Tia offers him a smile, "Where's this map you promised?" 

"Right," Aldric answers and begins digging through his bag, plucking out a map and rolling it out over his little shelf, "The procession," Al explains, pointing to their current location in the valley, "Will head west first, through the canyon complex," Tia watches as Aldric drags his finger along a path into the canyon, "The mesa is full of caves and mines but if you follow this river to its source above," Aldric points to the lip of the mesa, "There's a cave behind the waterfall, too close to the top for most to attempt exploration. And here's the compound," Al taps near the central city of the region.

Tia scans the rest of the map to find several locations have been circled with handwritten directions scribbled carefully along the margins. 

"Wow," Tia chuckles, "This must've taken you forever! It almost looks like a treasure map... How did you find all of these?"

"Well," Aldric answers, a bit surprised by her analogy, and his eyes graze over each location, "I was always looking for somewhere to get away. These were my little sanctuaries."

"It really is a treasure map then," Tia speaks softly, tracing her fingers over the locations, and Aldric blinks, "S-sorry," Tia tries to laugh off her musings after noticing his silence, "I can be a little... weird sometimes."

"No, you're fine," Aldric tries to reassure her, "I'm just... not used to people..." he pauses, trying to find the right words, "I'm not used to people being sentimental around me. But I'd gladly take your awkward candor over flattery, pandering and manipulation any day!"

"Awkward candor," Tia sounds with bright laughter, offering him a grin, "Well I've got plenty more awkward left to offer if it doesn't bother you!" Both find themselves cracking up, the carefree laughter jostling their shoulders. Tia sighs as they quiet down, sliding herself down a wall and sitting on the cave floor.

"Flattery and manipulation though?" Tia remarks, "That's a bit over my head."

"People just..." Aldric complains, imitating Tia's motion and they both sit on the cave floor, staring into the water, "They all want something and I'm a tool for or fast-track to that desire," Aldric explains, "They aren't speaking to me, they're speaking to the keystone of their aspirations. They'Il only ever show me the person they think I want them to be. I always have to keep that in the back of my mind."

"That sounds exhausting," Tia answers, stifling a yawn. 

"You were right," Aldric chuckles, his face softening, "This... arrangement... it does make it easier to talk about this stuff."

"Right!" Tia laughs, her chest expanding with a sigh, "I really missed this. I wish everyone was this easy to talk to...!"

"Still figuring things out with your roommate?" Aldric questions, glancing over at her. 

"Things are a bit weird," Tia admits with a shrug, "We had to fight during that sparring session but we haven't really talked yet," Tia pauses to laugh, "I can't believe I made it through that whole fight, let alone winning!"

"You're surprised you won?" Aldric asks, raising a brow at her. 

"Very," Tia emphasizes, yawning again before she continues, "She is so much stronger than I am. I kinda just... stumbled my way through the fight somehow. The others did all the work."

"At least you can rely on your unit," Aldric answers optimistically, "Mine just... let me win. How am I supposed to get stronger or even know how strong I am if everyone lets me win?" Aldric glances to Tia when she doesn't respond and finds her dozing. Aldric rises, Tia jumping awake after hearing him shuffle about.

"S-sumimasen!" Tia gasps and scrambles to her feet before pausing, speechless. Aldric has cleared off his reading nook and laid a mess of blankets overtop.

"I-It's not much," Aldric stutters, a bit self-conscious, "But you're welcome to sleep here if your room isn't an option." 

"I..." Tia breathes and Al winces, wondering if he overstepped, but as Tia approaches the makeshift bed her eyes are dusted with budding tears, "Thank you, Al!" Tia turns to him, speaking emphatically, "But..." she pauses with a mischievous smirk, "I better not find you creeping on me in my sleep!" 

"Absolutely not," Aldric denies vehemently, "I would never!"

"Oh, man," Tia chortles and snorts while Aldric turns to hide his embarrassment, shoulders raised, "You're face is so red!"

"Goodnight!" Aldric blurts discordantly, stomping into the water before fading into the pool. Tia gladly slinks between the blankets.

Nothing

Security staff patrol the compound thoroughly, checking every dark corner for their "intruder". Ben is brought back to the lodge after having his face stitched up. He knows it will scar, much like his father's, as even healing magic is unable to mend such utterly sundered flesh. He's taking a smoke before debriefing his superiors when an owl swoops onto a branch nearby. He leers at the creature and it peers into his eyes in return. Ben finds himself in a bit of daze, broken only as the door to the lodge swings open. As Modeste steps outside, the owl slips back into the night. 

"We're ready for you," Modeste informs him.

Ben puts out his pipe and follows her inside. The Marshall and one other are waiting, the second woman dressed in the uniform of an instructor. His eyes jump from one person to another, still quite unsettled by his experience.

"Take a seat," Beatrice offers, gesturing to the lounge, "And try to relax." Beatrice sits across from him while Modeste and the other woman situate themselves just behind her. "Miss Claire is here to help us see what you've seen," Beatrice explains, Ben's eyes drifting to her again, "Go on, Joyce."

Joyce makes her way to Ben, offering him her hand with a simple gesture. Ben looks between Joyce and Beatrice once more before grasping her hand, completely enveloped by a pearly glow. 

"Walk us through what happened," Beatrice instructs. 

"We were changing shifts," Ben begins. As he speaks, Joyce projects an illusion matching the memory he recounts displaying what he saw and heard. "But there was something strange," Ben continues, the illusion focusing in on a nearby shadow as it bends and darkens, "And then she emerged," a bit of fear still touches his voice.

A girl, at first crouched over, rises to her feet. Shadows cloak her face and body, blacking out her appearance and seeming to have a life of their own. Even as the torchlight wavers around her these shadows do not fade yet the girl herself is disturbingly torpid.

"We tried to surround her," Ben narrates. The other two staff flank her, circling around cautiously. Ben readies a small orb in his left palm, drawing a sword with his right. As the orange sphere forms, the girl stirs and locks onto it. "But when she attacked," Ben's voice wavers, "There was nothing I could do."

Shadows begin leaking out around her, snuffing out the torches as the darkness expands. For a moment, she seems preoccupied with something unseen between her hands. Then, abandoning all hesitation, her movements and posture take on a vicious, sinister nature. She gestures and Ben's orb detonates in his hand, disarming him and sending him stumbling backwards. His back collides with the stone wall of the gate and he attempts to regain his balance.

When Ben opens his eyes, he startles as the girl is horrifically face to face with him. She brings her arms together gradually, one to each side of him, gripping unseen weapons which rend the stone to her whim. They carve away without offering any resistance and Ben instantly recognizes the danger he is in. His coworkers attack the girl but meet invisible, impenetrable barriers, unable to impede or even approach her. Yet she doesn't acknowledge or even perceive their presence. Her focus is wholly on Ben and he realizes he is utterly helpless.

"She stopped for a moment," Ben continues numbly. They watch as the inky wool peels away from her face and she glowers at Ben nose to nose.

"I..." Ben squints at Tia, her features seeming familiar, "I thought I knew her when it was happening but..." Modeste and Beatrice share a glance but wait for him to continue, "No," he huffs, the memory of the girl he chased up the mountain evading him, "I thought I'd die by my father's blades," Ben scowls at his shaking hands, "But that beast appeared and I was able to slip away." 

"Your father's blades?" Modeste questions, not fully familiar with her newest employee.

She knew Ben was demoted to this position but Modeste prefers to keep politics out of her division. Many staff within the program use their employment here to escape the trappings of nobility. Ben takes a breath before gesturing to the cuts in the stone.

"She was using void blades," Ben's voice is grim, a hand finding its way to his wound, "You can't see them without one of Vokda's blessings but... I know that cut." 

The illusion continues and they watch as a creature, exuding shadows and concealing its form as well, leaps between the girl and the other two. As the girl looks to him, Ben slinks down and rolls out of her sight. The beast jumps at her and they both sink into the shadow. Then, nothing. 

"Roll it back," Beatrice instructs, the projection moving in reverse until Beatrice motions for her to stop again. 

"Joyce," Beatrice questions and the woman practically jumps. She gestures to the fruitless attacks of security staff before continuing, "What's going on here?"

"W-well," Joyce speaks a bit sheepishly, "S-shadows are relatively harmless but void has many effective and devastating applications-" 

"Joyce," Beatrice repeats with a harder tone. Joyce clears her voice, flashing an apologetic smile.

"It looks like Vokda's Skin, ma'am," Joyce states plainly, "Only... expanded? Perhaps Vokda's Aura instead..."

"I'll ask you one more time," Beatrice speaks slowly, growing irritable, "What is going on here?" Joyce considers carefully before speaking again.

"While void blades can rend anything, expanding or cutting into the emptiness existing between all materials," Joyce explains as simply as she can muster, "Concentrated void, sometimes called void shields, instead make it impossible for matter to pass through or penetrate the space it occupies. Th-these were the Dark King's sword and shield."

"Why can't we see anything?" Modeste questions in response. Joyce blinks at her before responding.

"They... they consist of void," Joyce emphasizes, "Void is nothingness itself!"

"Nothing did this?" Modeste questions with furrowed brows, gesturing to Ben's face, and Joyce nods to her tentatively. She lets out a dissatisfied sigh, pressing her lips together and falling silent.

Beatrice gestures for her to continue the projection and has her pause again as Tia glowers at Ben with her face exposed. Beatrice and Modeste step before the illusion, scouring Tia's true face, a face to attach their superstition to. 

"Wielding both shadow and void," Beatrice notes and ambition sparks in her eyes, "White hair and a dark beast. This is the one his majesty wants!"

"We won't be able to overpower her easily," Modeste speaks plainly, "And she can escape far too quickly." 

"We're going to have to be clever," Beatrice agrees with a sigh, "If we spook her that's it, she's gone," she pauses, contemplative, before turning back to them, "We keep this under wraps," she instructs to all of them, "I don't want any recruits overhearing what happened. Everything moves forward normally."

"Normally?" Modeste questions, inflecting harshly.

"Normally," Beatrice confirms clearly, "We act as if she's escaped. Let her settle in with us. If we're going to capture her," Beatrice looks at Tia again with narrowed eyes, "We need to play the long game."

Wyrm flits by them in the form of a moth, fluttering back out the window to return to Lily with the good news. He knew already how delighted his master must be.