August 23rd, XXXX, Before departing the Aldrich Guild...
It was the next day, around 10am in the morning, Blake and Blazera were getting to head into the arctic, and Blake was dressed in many layers of clothing when Blazera stopped him.
Blazera> "Why are you dressed like that? Just wear what you normally wear. I can warm you up."
Blake> "So you have the ability to regulate other people's temperatures?"
Blazera> "I'm a fire wizard… obviously."
Blake> "Alright, I'll put it all away."
Blake went back to his room to take off his layers and to put on something more casual.
Shashin> "And where are you going?"
Blake> "Someone is up early."
Shashin> "With all the noise you're making, anyone could be awake."
Blake> "Me and Blazera are going on a trip?"
Shashin> "To Irina? You look dressed for it."
Blake> "You could say I'm paying a visit to my brother."
Shashin> "Right… sure he will be ecstatic about that."
Shashin was suspicious of them but decided not to pry.
Blake> "I want to explain everything to him."
Shashin> "It's about time, don't expect him to forgive you so easily."
Blake> "I don't need forgiveness, I need understanding."
Just like that, Blake left back to the entrance of Aldrich with Blazera.
Blake> "Shall we go?"
Solaris> "Wait!"
Blazera> "What is it, Solaris?"
Solaris> "Just be safe… don't make me worry."
Blazera> "You know you don't have to worry about me. We'll be back soon."
Solaris> "Right… I'll cya."
She seemed sad about Blazera's departure.
Blazera> "Goodbye."
Fin> "See ya both!"
Johnathan> "Have a safe trip!"
Ren> "See you soon."
Blake> "Let's get going. This will be a long journey."
And just like that, they left on their way there, by foot so that barely any evidence that they went to Irina was there.
Solaris> "I know she's my Sensei and all, but I still do worry about her."
Fin> "It's only natural to worry about someone you care about."
Solaris> "I suppose that's true."
Shashin entered the room, since he was basically woken up by Blake.
Ren> "Someone is up early."
Shashin> "Yeah… no kidding."
He seemed a bit grumpy about being woken up.
Ren> "Not a great awakening I see…"
Shashin> "I've spent the whole night thinking about all that's happened, trying to make sense of it all."
Johnathan> "Oh goodness… and such a young boy worrying about this. You can leave this to the adults-"
Shashin> "I can't simply do that."
Ren> "Shashin is a brilliant kid, you shouldn't underestimate him for his age."
Johnathan> "Apologies for my ignorance…"
Shashin> "I get that a lot, it's fine."
Fin> "I can see how you didn't sleep well then. Sorry to hear that."
Shashin> "I'll live."
Solaris> "Oh gosh- please don't tell me you did that thing where you have a whole board and everything on-"
Shashin> "It's too late to stop me now, it's already done…"
Solaris> "He's gone too deep…"
Ren> "Wait… you mean…"
Valorie> "What are we babbling about?"
Shashin> "You don't want to know."
Fin> "Well… it sounds like you need some rest or a mental break honestly."
Solaris> "Great idea! Y'know, why don't you come with me so you can take your mind off this all?"
Shashin> "And where would we even go…?"
Solaris> "Let's get you some fresh air."
Shashin> "Not feeling it really…"
Fin> "It would be good for your health though."
Valorie> "No kidding, this kid looks like he hasn't seen daylight in years."
Solaris> "Yeah, so uh- who cares what you think!"
Shashin> "Do I have to…?"
Solaris> "Yes, you have no choice."
Shashin sighed.
Shashin> "Okay, fine…"
Solaris basically forced Shashin outside to take a breath of fresh air. As they were walking, Solaris was trying to keep the energy high by being enthusiastic about their surroundings, and trying to cheer up Shashin.
Solaris> "You know, I always liked how they made the roads of cobble in the capital, it's so much nicer than having it as asphalt."
Shashin> "Yeah…"
In the process of trying to cheer him up, Solaris quickly realized Shashin was consumed by his own mind and not really paying attention to the current moment. Shashin was looking at the ground as he walked, and his head wasn't held high. It was a combination of both being tired and thinking too much. Solaris then changed her approach to this all.
Solaris> "So… would you like to talk about it?"
Shashin> "Huh?"
Suddenly, Shashin snapped back to reality.
Solaris> "Your whole mood has changed back to what it used to be before the Games… I'm worried about it all, because you're going back to isolating yourself and thinking to yourself again. And you obviously haven't even cared about taking care of yourself… I mean, look at your hair! It's a mess!"
Shashin> "I just can't help but notice something, yet I can't make any sense of it right now."
Solaris> "And is that why you're acting like this? Because you are stuck?"
Shashin> "Yeah… I suppose it's just because it's all stagnant now."
Solaris> "Well, I don't want you to be that Shashin, I want you to continue being how you were the past couple of days, full of energy, curious and involved."
Shashin> "Solaris, that's not me, that's who you want me to be."
Solaris> "No Shashin, it's who you have the potential to be. But you always hold yourself back by isolating yourself, overthinking it all and being lazy. It's time you step out of that shell."
Shashin> "How when there's nothing I can do right now?"
Solaris> "Well, you said you noticed something, what is it?"
Shashin> "It's just a hunch, but there's a specific amount of demons in this world, in fact, they are rare to come by. The last couple of days, is the most I've seen ever. Quentin didn't tell you the full story like he told me, he told me every detail Kronos said, quoting his words. Kronos mentioned two things that stood out to me…"
Solaris> "Which are…?"
Shashin> "He said that Abbadon was just a group of demons and lost humans that banded together to make the dark forest liveable in… Meaning, they didn't actually come from the dark forest. Another thing that he said was that he didn't choose to be this way… which I found an interesting thing to say, backed up with the fact he was being silenced, he clearly knew something we didn't…"
Solaris> "That's definitely interesting…"
Shashin> "There's more. I had a friend in the capital who was a demon, he's the only demon I knew of that came here, and Kronos even mentioned the only ones he knew came to the dark forest. Meanwhile, my friend chose a different direction. My friend also told me, he wasn't sure where he came from, or how he was even born. But why did most go to the dark forest? If you think about it, the dark forest is an easy place to get lost in… and the only reason I see for someone willingly going there is to flee from something and intentionally become lost."
Solaris> "So… you think these demons were running away?"
Shashin> "It's just a hunch, but why else would they willingly run away into the dark forest?"
Solaris> "This seems a bit absurd…"
Shashin> "Also, if they all really did run off there, how come they can't remember?"
Solaris> "That too…but Shashin, you don't need to always have the answer right away. Sometimes, it will come to you."
Shashin> "I guess I was overanalyzing it too much, I just wanted to make sense of it all."
Solaris> "Enough of that, take a break and be present in life."
Shashin> "Alright, I'll take your word."
Shashin took a deep breath in, and exhaled to release his current energy. He then took a moment to get himself back into the present moment here with Solaris.
Solaris> "Better?"
Shashin> "Yeah. A little."
Solaris> "Now then, wanna go to the Aldrich Library together?"
Shashin> "Sure, why not. I can show you a couple of books you might like."
Solaris> "Sounds like a plan!"
They both headed back to the Aldrich guild hall, and made their way to its library together. The library was a huge tower that had a spiral staircase all around with bookshelves on the walls and at the top of the tower, there was a floor with desks to study at. It was truly a sight to behold.
Solaris> "It amazes me every time…"
Shashin> "It is impressive how they managed to pull this off."
Solaris> "Well, you know the layout, right? Guide me to the books I'll like Mr. Detective."
Shashin walked up the spiral stairs and Solaris followed.
Shashin> "It doesn't take detective skills to know your personality… You just need to know that you are both curious about this world, and have a need to learn about it more and more. Meaning, fiction isn't your thing. Not so hard to narrow it down."
Solaris> "Touché. So, what are you going to show me today?"
Shashin> "I'll think about it as we climb to the section."
Solaris> "Always spontaneous I see…"
Shashin> "It comes to me when it does, okay?"
Solaris> "Just teasing!"
Shashin> "So… your mother went off with Blake somewhere?"
Solaris> "Yeah… I'm not really sure why but-"
Shashin> "Blake told me that they are going to tell his brother everything. I don't believe it's just that, however, it seems a lot more complicated like that. Plus they weren't even taking a train, they didn't have any tickets with them. So they are going by foot, which is even more strange."
Solaris> "Yeah… that's a bit odd isn't it? I mean why not make your trip faster?"
Shashin> "Don't know, but clearly they don't want their visit there to be in the system."
Solaris> "Well… I just hope she doesn't get into any trouble…"
Shashin> "Yeah, I wouldn't want that for her either."
By now, they made it to the non-fiction / history section of the Aldrich guild. Which was near the top where the study was. Shashin was a bit winded after the climb so he took a couple of breaths before he picked out some books for Solaris and went to the study at the top so that he could explain them to her. They both sat next to one another at a desk, as Shasjin placed the books on it.
Solaris> "So, what did you get?"
Shashin> "You probably know the history of the Aldrich Kingdom by now, but let's move on to the more present history of it. The fall of the kingdom, and creation of the city of it, in more detail."
Solaris> "Wow… that sounds like it's one hell of a story."
Shashin> "That's why it's a long book."
Solaris> "What are the shorter ones?"
Shashin> "The creation of the Aldrich Guild, and What life was like in the old Aldrich Kingdom."
Solaris> "You really know how to pick them for me, wow."
Shashin> "Like I said, it comes to me."
Solaris opened the biggest book of them all, which was the fall of the Aldrich Kingdom and creation of the capital, and started reading it at an insane speed as always.
Shashin> "You know Solaris, every single time we hang out here at the capital, it's always been at the library."
Solaris> "Does that bother you at all…?"
Shashin> "No, it's actually kind of relaxing. I'm not sure where else we'd even hang out."
Solaris> "Well, as long as you're fine with it, I can always change it up."
Shashin> "I don't mind either way."
There was a long moment of silence after that, as Shashin sort of just sat there, looking at his surroundings and just relaxing with the company of Solaris. He did have a thought that not really saying anything could be awkward, but at the same time, he actually didn't mind the silence between them too in each other's company. He also knew that Solaris didn't seem to mind it as well, since she was occupied with reading the books anyways. While reading the book, Shashin noticed that Solaris seemed to be moving closer towards him, but he didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't seem to think much of it. While an hour had passed, Solaris began to become tired of reading, since reading at her speed is exhausting. She placed her head on his shoulder and said…
Solaris> "Sorry… I'm just a little tired."
Shashin> "It's fine."
Shashin was again, unphased by her, clearly trying to get closer to him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he was supposed to react or something, but he was indifferent about it. There was a silence as Solaris had her head on his shoulder, and didn't seem to want to take it off. Again, this didn't bother Shashin. It was a couple more minutes of silence before Solaris finally spoke.
Solaris> "How do you feel?"
Shashin> "About…?"
Solaris> "Don't play dumb, I know you know…"
Solaris was blushing.
Shashin> "Yeah… I knew for a while."
Solaris> "So, how do you feel…?"
Shashin> "Solaris… I'm not really sure how this all works."
Solaris took his hand, and put her palm against his palm.
Solaris> "Neither do I, but… I know how I feel."
Shashin> "I'm sorry but, I don't know how I feel about this."
Solaris> "...I see."
Solaris suddenly pulled away and continued to read, sort of ignoring Shashin. It was really awkward after, since Solaris didn't speak. She wasn't angry, but she seemed disappointed. Shashin had the sudden urge to leave, so when he saw that Solaris was invested in her book, he left and went to his room to think about what just happened. He was confused about his own feelings, he didn't know what love was or felt like. Later on during the afternoon, David K and Alvina were talking to Alvina…
Alvina> "So… Now that the games are over, it's time we find out some stuff about Verna!"
David K.> "How do you plan to do that?"
Alvina> "I'm honestly not sure but maybe that library in the capital we can find something in!"
David K.> "I doubt they actually have some secret compartment there. My best bet is to look at files in the capital."
Alvina> "But that information is confidential, plus what if they are hiding archives there!"
David K.> "I think there's better ways you can do this."
Verna> "I agree, like… we can ask someone for help."
David K.> "Yeah, maybe they have some insight."
Alvina> "PLEASEEE, like who? Master could have maybe helped, but he's gone!"
Verna> "The people around us are resourceful, so maybe if they want they can…"
Alvina> "Like they actually would…"
David K.> "No offence, but not with that attitude they won't. Maybe if you ask kindly and have a more positive attitude towards this, people will help."
Verna> "I much agree! You really do need friends anyways… besides me."
Alvina> "No way! Why should we even trust them???"
David K.> "I mean, it was the Master's request on his deathbed to… well… work with them."
Alvina> "Oh please, Master never trusted them before."
David K.> "Well, from what I've seen, they are trustworthy. They all rely on one another and work together to figure things out. Plus, Master clearly changed his mind since he got the trust of Quentin."
Verna> "Meaning, we can trust these people if Kronos did… just give it a chance Alvina."
Alvina> "I'm just not comfortable with that, they aren't one of us!"
David K.> "Think about it, Master WAS one of us, and he trusted Quentin. He wouldn't trust so easily and we know that."
Verna> "Exactly! He wouldn't trust him without good reason anyways!"
Alvina> "I guess you're right… but-"
Darker was eavesdropping on the conversation.
Darker> "Nah, you can trust the guy."
Alvina> "Darker??? Why do you say that?!"
Darker> "Can't really say, but we had a talk one day, he can help."
Alvina> "Hm… Darker isn't really someone to trust people easily too…"
Verna> "So, let's ask?"
Alvina> "Okay fine. I'm convinced by you all. Ugh, this sucks tho…"
Verna> "Great, let's go then!"
David K.> "Yeah!"
David K, Verna and Alvina show up and Quentin's office and David K and Verna make Alvina take the lead by force. Alvina knocks on his door.
Quentin> "Come in."
Alvina enters alone while Verna and David K wait outside.
Alvina> "Hi…"
Quentin was a bit surprised by who entered.
Quentin> "So, why have you come?"
Alvina> "Well- uhm…"
Alvina looks back at Verna and David K who tell her to keep going.
Quentin> "There's no need to be shy."
Alvina> "Right, anyways- can you PLEASE help us out with something?"
Quentin> "Depends, what is it?"
Alvina> "So, my friend Verna died outside the dark forest… she doesn't remember much of her past life besides being a demon, so like- we are asking around and maybe you know something?"
Quentin> "Sorry, I don't really know much that can help."
Alvina> "Oh…"
Quentin> "However, I do know how I can help you know more about this."
Alvina> "Really??? So you can like- help us find out???"
Quentin> "Potentially… let's just say I know a person or two who can help."
Alvina> "Tell me- I mean- can you tell me who please?"
Quentin> "I'm sure with the help of Shashin and Mehkit, you can figure out a lot."
Alvina> "Okay so like… how?"
Quentin> "I'll devise a plan. Give me a couple of days and I'll have it all ready."
Alvina> "Alright- thanks I guess-"
Quentin> "I can tell your friend is important to you."
Alvina> "Yes… I'd do anything for her."
Quentin> "You're a good friend. Anyways, I'll update you."
Alvina> "Right, cya."
Alvina left with Verna and David K.
Alvina> "Never make me do that again! Ugh, being nice is hard."
Verna> "But you did it! I'm proud of you."
David K.> "It's a step in the right direction."
Alvina> "Yeah, yeah…"
And just like that, Quentin had informed Shashin and Mehkit about the request Alvina made, and since they had nothing better to do they figured they would help out. Quentin devised a plan then for them to go to Abbadon to visit the grave and gather clues there tomorrow and in the evening informed Alvina about this. All they had to do was wait until the day…