“Alright. When we get there, don’t make any sudden moves.”
Sakasu, Naomi, Nova, Sara and I follow the leader of the Blades into the Forest of Vibrance. Snowie bounces around us. As we make our way towards the Yasei’s mansion, everyone keeps an eye out for traces of Corruption.
I can’t help but cross my arms after Kori speaks.
“Why not?”
Kori looks back at me. Instead of her cold glare, she offers a softened sense of sternness.
“Tyris doesn’t like that…. Trust me.”
Sara takes hold of Kori’s hand. The girl smiles at her girlfriend, but there’s an unidentified flame in her eyes.
Seeing them hold hands… I think about the moments before we set off. Allisa’s glowing, happy face is still in my memory as if it’s right before my eyes.
Nova looks up at the two Blades.
“Where is their home anyway?” She asks.
Kori glances at her. “Mansion.” She corrects. “And… well, they’re pretty far into Vibrance. Farther than the cottage.”
We keep walking. Naomi and Sakasu hold hands. I walk alongside Nova in silence. Snowie continues to bounce around.
“New people!” Snowie barks “I’m so excited. Maybe they’ll give me belly rubs, and-”
“I highly doubt it,” Naomi interrupts. As the three-tailed fox looks up at her, she frowns. “The Yasei’s aren’t the nicest.”
The fox pouts. “Aw…”
Soon enough, we reach the mansion. I see that Naomi grips onto Sakasu’s hand a bit tighter. Nova watches Kori approach the door.
“We’re here.” Kori whispers. “Everyone try to be quiet and respectful. Please.”
Kori finally knocks on the door. Sara cracks her knuckles before taking Kori’s hand again. We hear movement.
“Just a moment!” A voice yells.
Within moments, a taller elven man with sunkissed skin stands there. He has dark hair and eyes like flames. He looks down at the Blades in front of us.
“...You two.” He mutters. “And you’ve brought a crowd.” He looks at the rest of us before glancing at Kori again. “To what do I owe this occasion?” He says with sarcasm.
Kori sighs in frustration. “We just need to talk, Tyris. It’s rather important.”
Tyris rolls his eyes. “Fine, fine. Come in.”
I glance at Sara.
“So is this the first time you’ve seen Mr. Yasei?”
Sara looks at me after I telepathically speak to her in private. She doesn’t let go of Kori’s hand.
“Direct face to face, yes. I’ve seen him in passing.”
Tyris leads us inside. Within the mansion, there are beautiful tapestries, fine pottery, and delicate trinkets. The man is dead silent as we enter a meeting room with fine wooden desks and journals galore.
Within the room, an elven woman with long, strawberry blonde hair and sunkissed skin sits at a desk. She writes something down before looking up. Her cocoa eyes look at us before she scoffs. She stands, showing us how short she is compared to Tyris.
“Tyris, dear.” She speaks. “Who are these commoners?”
“Blades, Olivi. And their friends.”
The woman scoffs again. “Ah.” She narrows her eyes. “So they’re Written folk. Why are you here?”
Sara nods, smiling softly. She attempts to speak to the couple.
“Kaen has been missing for weeks, and we were wondering if you heard from or seen them. We have reason to believe Kaen is in danger.”
The two don’t seem to react. Olivi narrows her eyes again. As I glance over them, I don’t see any sign of Written jewelry on them.
“Well?” Olivi speaks sharply. “Are you going to say something?”
Shoot. I don’t know if Sara will be able to communicate with these two very easily.
I wince. I nod at Sara before looking at the Yasei parents again.
“Sorry, she tried to speak telepathically to you both. I don’t know if you heard her, but I can relay.” I offer. “Kaen, your child, has been missing for weeks, and we’re wondering if you have heard from or seen them. They might be in danger.”
Tyris scoffs now. “You mean that Written trash?”
“That wasn’t very nice!” Nova yelps. “Isn’t she your kid?!”
“A kid with magic,” Olivi states, “probably got himself into trouble thinking they’re unstoppable with magic. All Written are like that.”
Naomi glares at Kaen’s mother. “That isn’t true.”
Sara glances at the rest of us. “Ask if they’ve seen Kaen. I highly doubt they will have, but it’s worth a shot.”
Sakasu nods. She looks at the two adults again.
“But that isn’t what we asked.” She speaks up. “Have you seen Kaen at all? We seriously believe she might be in danger.”
Snowie sits beside her bonded human. “Mhm! We need answers!”
Tyris crosses his arms. He closes his eyes.
“No. We haven’t. We haven’t seen them since we kicked him out.”
My heart drops. So they did kick Kaen out. Just because they’re Written?! I thought people in Destiny were accepting of this.
“Why did you kick Kaen out?!” I ask. “You realize you could have put them in more danger because of this, right?!”
Olivi and Tyris glance at one another. They seem to have a silent conversation, but I know they’re not. Soon enough, they shrug.
“They shouldn’t have accepted that Charm of theirs.” Olivi sighs. “She was fine without magic. I don’t see why he needed it.”
Kori grits her teeth. “Because that’s what he was destined to be.” She states. “And now they might actually be in danger of losing their life because of Corruption. Does that not scare you?!”
“The Written have done nothing to try and stop the spread.” Tyris claims. “At this point, it will take an actual miracle to figure out how to stop it.”
Olivi sits back down. “And frankly? It isn’t our problem. Not like we can do anything.”
Sara is seen staring blankly at the two adults. I ball my hands into fists. I want to yell- I think we all do. But…
I can’t.
I close my eyes. I take a deep breath.
“If this is how you’re going to communicate with us…” I open my eyes. “Then I don’t see a need in us continuing to search for information from you.”
I see Sakasu and Nova make a glance at one another. They both seem confused. I hear Kori sigh.
“I think Iki is right. No use in wasting our time.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Sara mutters in telepathic.
“Good.” Tyris sneers. “Don’t come back here.”
Snowie hangs her head. “You guys are awful.” She whines before leading us out.
As we leave the room, I hear Olivi say something under her breath. Something that makes my blood boil.
“God, that magic is a curse.”
We leave the mansion. Once we’re outside, I sigh.
“That was peachy…”
Naomi frowns at me. “I heard the Yasei’s were horrible people, but that… that was something else.”
“No kidding,” Sakasu says, “What did Written magic ever do to them?”
Kori crosses her arms.
“If I remember correctly, I think the Yasei’s haven’t ever had magic. So I think they came to resent it over the years… but then Kaen got it, and… you’d think they’d finally be happy.”
“Still doesn’t warrant their behavior.” Nova mutters.
Snowie nods. “Yeah!” Her tails lash as she stamps a paw to the ground. “They were rude!”
Sara walks with us. She finally lets go of Kori’s hand. “So that lead us nowhere. Now what? Do we wait for the others, or just start looking again?”
I look up.
“Maybe we should talk to Allisa,” I offer. “She said her mothers might know something.”
Sakasu and Naomi share a knowing glance. The two grin as Nova looks confused.
“It’s worth a shot,” Sakasu finally says.
Snowie bounces around. “Mhm!! Let’s try it.”
“Well, you’re our brave, fearless leader.” Sara looks at Kori again. “What say you?”
Kori takes a moment. She nods.
“Alright. Let’s see if that can work.”
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