Enoria is preparing for war with Irithara, and the team sans Kaleth are doing the best they can to put a stop to it before it progresses even further.
Their plan? Find Mereria, get her help with killing Relioth, and save Kaleth in the process. They...
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Mel ran a shaking hand through his now damp hair as he tried to get his breathing under control. He'd at least managed to mostly stop crying, but he could see he still looked pathetic, even in the reflection of the metal wall he was staring at. His eyes were red and glassy, his hair clung to his forehead, and he kept trembling.
It was so silly how much the punishments always affected him. Logically, he knew he couldn't drown, but that didn't seem to matter because it always left him sobbing, anyway.
He couldn't let any of his friends see him like this. He knew they were too nice to say anything, but he was sure they'd all think the same thing—that Mel was too weak to be of any use to them.
Mel sniffled, a new tear making its way down the side of his face. He wished Kaleth were here. For more than one reason, but now mostly because Kaleth was the only person Mel would consider telling about this. Mel hoped the man was doing okay, even after whatever Relioth had done to him to make Kaleth help him.
When Mel suddenly heard footsteps behind him, he quickly wiped his eyes and nose with the sleeve of his hoodie and turned around, expecting to see another Umbra or one of Mereria's mortal followers. Instead, walking towards him were Alor and Nef, both looking alarmed.
"Mel?" Nef said, his voice quiet and soothing as if he was expecting Mel to run away at any moment. "You okay there?"
Mel didn't trust the strength of his voice enough to answer right now, so he only nodded. Judging by the look the two brothers exchanged afterward, his nodding hadn't been very convincing.
"Gods! We're sorry, man," Nef said, now sounding very angry. "We tried to get you out, but we couldn't get past the door." Mel's eyes widened in horror, but Nef didn't seem to notice and just continued talking. "And then this guy.... Wait, what was his name, again? Oh, who cares? Anyway, this one guy gave us a tour of this place, whether we wanted it or not, and we only now got away from him."
"Y-you can't i-interfere in these things," Mel whimpered, his voice trembling as much as his body was. "W-who knows what would h-happen if—"
"So what? Were we just supposed to let you get tortured?" Nef asked, raising his voice enough that there was a small echo in the long corridor.
Mel looked away. "I-I broke the rules. It's my own f-fault."
There was a moment of silence that got worse with every passing second, especially once Alor started closing the distance between them. Mel kept staring at his sneakers, not feeling brave enough to face Alor. He hadn't said anything yet. That couldn't be good, right? Was he going to punch him? No, Alor wouldn't do that, but why was he walking towards him, then?
Mel flinched when Alor touched him and then gasped as he realized that Alor was actually hugging him. That was probably the last thing Mel would assume Alor had wanted to do, but he wasn't going to question it right now.
