Afraid of the Dark

Chapter 9: Very Weird, Very Specific

Is Reela a bad friend for her first thought being how impressive it is that M'Venaas - this tiny Tus'Felnis woman - is effortlessly carrying a full-grown centaur man? Even though his form is reverted to his human one, it's still impressive as shit.

But when M'Venaas tosses Corb to the floor at Avinalyn's feet, she sees that across his shoulder is a set of gashes that look too thick to have been from her claws. Those must have been from the werewolf...

'Wait is this cat girl a werewolf?'

Avinalyn slowly kneels over Corb and grabs his undamaged shoulder to roll him flat on his back. They study his wound for a moment and sigh as they glance back over at M'Venaas. "Were the claws really necessary, Ven?"

The Tus'Felnis shrugs carelessly. "What? He was annoying her."

"What did you do to him?" Reela demands. "What's going on? And where is Todo?"

M'Venaas snickers and steps closer to grab Reela by the throat and force her to look up at her. She does it far more roughly than Avinalyn does, and threatens her claws against her neck and jawline. "None. Of your business," she hisses and Reela feels her draw a little blood from her throat just below her chin.

But she's stopped when Avinalyn appears at her side and grabs her wrist to pry her hand off of Reela's neck. "Your job is done," they state coldly. "Go back to Narvadin. I will deal with things here."

M'Venaas scoffs and pulls her arm free. "Thank fucking lunsaetus. But don't think you do not owe her bigtime for this."

"I always pay my dues," they nod and calmly hold their hands behind their back.

'Damn right you will,' Reela thinks to herself as she looks back over at Corb, who is still unconscious on the ground in front of her. What the hell are these people doing and why? And where is Todo? She swears to fucking Maze, if that idiot has gotten himself killed, she will murder him.

M'Venaas snickers and lifts her hand. A shimmering blue glow radiates from her palm that she uses to draw a circle in the air in front of her.

The circle remains sparking with tingling magic as she glances back at Avinalyn. "M'Venaas looks forward to collecting," she purrs before simply flashing them a wink and stepping through the magic portal. Almost instantly, both she and the magical ring are gone.

Avinalyn sighs and shakes their head, but Reela pays them no mind as she is still staring at Corb, trying to see signs that he's at least breathing. It would be just like him to get himself killed simply for being annoying. Reela herself has considered it a few times, but at least she has some modicum of self-control.

"Your friend will be fine, Reela," Avinalyn says and rests their hand on her shoulder, making her jump as they once again disrupt her train of thought. "M'Venaas may get carried away at times, but she never stumbles on a job," they say as they release her shoulder and start walking over to Corb. "And besides, if she had killed him, I assure you there would be less of him left than this."

Reela scoffs and shakes her head. "How so very reassuring," she growls. "Why is he here?"

She watches them walk further back into the cellar and return with another chair that they place directly across from Reela. "Because I asked Ven to retrieve him," they state and Reela wants nothing more than to slap them. They pull a rope from their bag and situate Corb in the chair, pulling his arms back and tying them together behind his back. "I had hoped to acquire both twins. For leverage, if nothing else."

Reela huffs spitefully and leans forward in her chair. "So you're using him to make me talk," she spats.

Avinalyn shrugs. "Perhaps. Or using you to make him talk. Whichever works quicker," they state as they stand up and step around Corb, watching him curiously before they stride to their bag across the room.