Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Feel better?" I ask, still hugging Ihra.

 

"Yeah. Oh well. Let's just hope that no one tries anything too aggressive."

 

"Most certainly. Of course, that usually didn't save them from their fate."

 

"Mmnuu" she utters, still working on emptying the honey jar, her grip not loosening.

"Nobody's going to be aggressive. They don't know how she died, they think he killed her when she was going all-out. From what Ihra told me, Vei mopped the floor with him in the majority of the timelines he tried, before he messed up and she took the blunt of the damage."

The child's happy demeanor disappears as they slink nervously away.

 

"Do you want a present?" I ask.

 

"Not if you'll kill me... I wanna find mama before I die." They say nervously, peeking out from under another table.

 

"In that case, hopefully the most we get is suspicious looks. But we should be fine."

 

I just keep hugging Ihra, trying to be comforting.

 

"Suspicious and begrudging looks should be it. The Hive Master programmed every killbot to avoid Vei knowing they had no chance. Even the most elite prototypes were made to take care never to get caught out by her. She was straight-up terrifying. Hell, even the resistance feared her."

Sgavrinn and Iruk stop holding the others from you as Ihra starts to calm down slightly.
"Hey, Aj. Get Ihra back on track?"

 

"Right, uh, what were we doing?" I ask, letting go of Ihra and drawing Shadow Katana.

 

"I don't know. We were just telling the rest of the group that you're not exceedingly popular here. At all."

Ihra slowly collects herself off to the side.

 

"As a fine queen once said, it is better to be feared than to be loved." I say.

"Oh no." Abigail says worriedly.

 

"You could say you're the reason they started trying to learn light magic. Nobody understands why you're friends with a light mage."

 

"I'm glad, it's starting to feel more and more like Earth. It's a shame they haven't tried summoning any Shadows yet." I say.

 

"You're not trying to kill them... are you?" Iruk asks, suspicious.

 

"I guess I'm neutral at this point. If they attack me, I attack them." I say.

"Aj, may I speak to you for a moment?" Myria asks.

"Oh, ok." I say.

Myria and I walk off, out of earshot.

 

Iruk pauses.
"Artemis... Do you have any idea why Myria has been acting a bit shady lately?"

 

"Mother is just concerned for everyone's safety. Father told me she was a death guardian of legends, so I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Artemis says.

"She's also seen multiple visions of our futures and has been planning to get the jump on some of our upcoming enemies, or at least keep us alive." Abigail adds.

 

"Maybe she could help Ragnyon, then."
"Just... why would Aj want us to be able to summon shadows? Nothing ever good comes to those people..."

 

"Anyone who summons a Shadow nowadays gets killed, because they've begun to rebel against being summoned and bound to contracts. I'm still surprised how Stephanie didn't get killed." Abigail says.

"Shadow Stephanie is kind...she helped me in my time of need." Stephanie says defensively.