At least for now, the mess is necessary. It's organized chaos: sellswords and zealots suddenly rile themselves up for different reasons. Those in the know aim their aggression at different people than those who have only gotten the bare minimum to get them to work.
He'll deal with the perceptions of others later. The fight is yet, unavoidable and necessary, but this time Alhaitham makes it quick. At least quick enough to leave most people wounded.
As he follows after Kaveh and whoever that was, a few dendro cores burst behind him as his cape brushes past them. They make something sing and sizzle, but Alhaitham has no time for that now; grits his teeth as he pushes himself forward to dash through the tunnel.
Where exactly is this heading? Who was that and what was her goal? There are a myriad of questions, hypotheses and connections running through Alhaitham's mind, but he knows only one thing for certain, and it's that he can't let Kaveh out of his sight.
Edited (pressed enter too soon! ) 2023-06-18 21:47 (UTC)
"T-Traitor," she utters once the two collapse into the depths of the cavern. There is only so much the lasting effect of his cores can salvage. He's still scratched, the fabric on his forearms and elbows ripped. A vision can grant mortals more sturdiness, which is why he's still capable of standing up while she's in worse shape. Despite all the unknowns working against him, Kaveh offers his hand to help her up.
"What do you mean? Were your friends up there not the ones who attacked first? I didn't know I would run into you all," he coughs and glances up towards the sounds of blades and bodies impacting one another. "You're one of us now, you swore your loyalty to us by signing the contract with our boss. If you still think of turning against us and helping the Scribe, then I'll have to kill you." "Wait what-- What if you just tell me how that would benefit any of us? You'd be breaking your own contract with the boss if you suddenly got rid of me based on empty accusations."
The rain outside is also getting stronger, putting their site at a high risk of a flash flood. Water is already trickling from the space above Kaveh had fallen through and inside his cavity, the earth around them rumbles. Dangerous as it might be to stay directly near the steepness of the rock, Kaveh knows Alhaitham would soon follow his same fate. The fighting from above seems to have ceased, but he also has to keep his eyes on the woman.
Thankfully, Alhaitham can teleport through short distances. With a dash of flared dendro, he arrives at where the drop begins and instantly lets out of sigh of relief upon hearing Kaveh's voice. He presses his fingers to his headphones, the tech inside scanning around him and picking up on the sound outside instead.
A contract. With the eremites, no less? No wonder they called him a traitor. He'll give credit where it is due: whoever webbed this intricate network made it with care. How unlikely, considering zealots tended to lose themselves in the details of things due to the feverish grandiosity of their beliefs.
The water runs from the mossy cave they had all been in and over the cliff. The land and rocks are somewhat porous, which means that they're either near or at a phreatic level.
Hopefully the water needs to go down further before it hits bedrock. Alhaitham just stays there, crouched, listening in.
Perhaps luck is on his side for once, as the woman holds onto to her bleeding arm watching him. She’s in no condition to keep fighting, yet she still has a knife latched on a leather sheath by her belt. Kaveh has Mehrak, and the water below his feed that could inflict more dendro cores if he chooses.
He glances up towards the hole they had fallen from, “Alhaitham?” Worry bounces off of the cold stone around him, echoing. He’s sure he would have made it now by now, and he can’t hear anyone else’s voices. She laughs the moment the name escapes his mouth. “Then consider this part of your job. The building boss wants to build wants this underground tunnel incorporated as our trade routes. Construction would also take place here.” “Huh?! That’s too dangerous. Can’t you see around you?! Any strong rain would loosen up the foundation and put an entire structure at risk. Trade routes? We have those above ground!”
But then she laughs. Alhaitham releases a huff as he listens to the rest.
"Clearly they think they bought your complacency and your silence," he says as he teleports down. Scanning Kaveh's form quickly for bruises and injuries, he then focuses on the woman instead. "Have you considered why the boss would want to create underground routes? I thought we were working on making things more transparent."
It wouldn't be the first time Kaveh falls into a world of scams, although he is technically not bought yet considering he's still missing his money. He's a little roughened up, but he has no major injuries besides that of losing his patience in a place like this.
The woman then replies, "I know why, are you suggesting I'm not trusted by the boss?" Alhaitham doesn't just get under Kaveh's skin, clearly he has similar effects on others. Except Kaveh would never draw a knife to him, unlike the woman now reaching for hers. She has already noted Alhaitham came in bandaged up already.
As Kaveh steps in to prevent the two going head to head, the cave rumbles again. This time, loud and strong enough that the first chamber with all the men gets blocked off entirely by a large fallen stone. Silence only follows as Kaveh and the woman stare up at it. "They..."
Alhaitham takes no chances, he uses the distraction. Throws one of his swords right into the blade of the woman's dagger, making the weapon scatter away from them all. He's not going to engage in a fight here if he can help it, not with Kaveh around, not with himself already drained from the fight from before.
"They were already leaving this place when I left them," this is aimed at both Kaveh and the woman. Meant to reassure and also, maybe, highlight that he does care whether these people live or die. Never mind that he just did something extremely dangerous that would have probably injured the woman at least if it weren't for the Scribe's own skill. Still, he's focused on the fact that just because their attackers were on the move, doesn't mean that the slowest people aren't trapped. "We need to move fast if we're going to check. This area is too unstable."
Alhaitham's words can only bring so much calm to Kaveh. It's not enough in this situation. Kaveh's initial spike of adrenaline is subsiding and his injuries are becoming more focused, the pain is sharper. They've been walking all day, too, and Kaveh's stamina isn't as great as Alhaitham's, but he hides in his silence. He glances at Mehrak. "Make sure you keep that knife with you, Mehrak."
They have no choice but to move forward through the labyrinth, and it naturally gets so dark that only a few fungi in the distance emit enough light for them to not accidentally slip through another hole. Kaveh glances at Alhaitham through the dim light. The woman is in the lead for now. Without a weapon, strength, and bleeding, she has little choice but to walk them through the cavern. Only she's familiar with all the incoming set of traps after all. "Are you okay?" He finally asks Alhaitham, he's tired of the silence, and now his thoughts are better gathered.
The architect's inquiry about his well-being hints at a deeper weariness that goes beyond their immediate predicament. Kaveh doesn't exactly mind silence. Not really, and especially not when they need to be focused, be it due to work or something else. When he does this, Alhaitham already knows that he's slowly careening into exhaustion, running on fumes.
"Hm," he cants his head in what he hopes is reassuring, and folds his arm to tap at his own forearm to indicate his roommate's, that he should be concentrating on himself, too. He's not about to assess and highlight both their injuries in front of someone who could turn on them quickly, but... "You're lucky I don't do a bad job when I can use both hands to bandage up."
Kaveh can't help but sigh through his nose in disapproval of Alhaitham's gestures. Sure, he might be right that keeping to themselves will benefit them in the presence of an enemy. She's hurt, too, the chances of her attacking them again is more unlikely.
They enter a large dome that is less claustrophobic than the previous tunnel. Places like this do inspire Kaveh under other circumstances that isn't so perilous. Mansions with underground, secret tunnels is something he'd like to explore with building at some point.
There are some boxes stacked against one of the stone walls, sealed shut by nails. It would appear they were smuggling something, not that it matters now. Kaveh glances at Alhaitham again, he stands closer to him. "It would have been worse off had I not intervened and you know it. Anyway, you, where are you taking us to? And how much longer are we supposed to delve? I do have blueprints to finish for your boss. He will be unhappy if I don't get them finished in time and it'll be your fault."
Alhaitham can't help but interrupt his scanning of the place to look at the architect, his head snapping so fast that it's a miracle that he doesn't get whiplash. Kaveh is a terrible liar, the diva act doesn't suit him at all, but then again, Alhaitham knows that he's privy to many things about the architect that most people don't know. For a second, he thought that he was actually serious about considering working with the zealots despite them trying to take down Alhaitham himself.
They're both exhausted or skittish. The Scribe instead decides to check everything around them, crouching and touching the water of a puddle as though to check for something in it.
Instead, he focuses on the temperature of his wet finger once he gets back up. One side goes slightly colder than the other. There's an opening, another exit nearby. It's only up to her to see if she's trying to bluff or buy more time instead.
The woman takes his bait for the time being, grumbling as they tread into the depths of the cavern. Kaveh remains close to Alhaitham, it's a more clear indication that his concern for his well being is more pivotal than whether or not he gets a paycheck from this. In fact, Kaveh wouldn't be in a position to accept it anymore, not when Alhaitham has been hurt through this process.
"What are you thinking about?" He asks this in regards to the curiosity on water flow, or whatever it is he's inspecting. He keeps his voice low when he speaks, muttering at best so the sound doesn't travel to unwanted ears.
"There's a draft," Alhaitham tilts his head towards and lowers his chin, eyes cast low as he mutters softly near Kaveh's ears. He thinks this is enough to let the architect know what he's thinking— there's an exit nearby, which means there can be a way for them to leave, or some other people to come in.
If she's stalling, then it means she's hoping for backup. He lets himself stay there in that position, waiting for Kaveh to make any comment or question, but instead he just hears the woman practically roll her eyes and mutter something about 'lovebirds'.
Luckily Kaveh doesn’t hear the comment from her, or his voice might have made it through all the mapped tunnels underneath Sumeru.
Kaveh’s gaze is potent on Alhaitham— his admiration for him has never subsided despite everything between them keeping them apart. He trusts him.
“Can’t we make a run for it, then?” These are words that suggest that any he’s planning to use any extent of their laws to void whatever contract he roped himself into with these people. Even if he’d be walking out on money.
Alhaitham shakes his head, and he makes it look exasperated instead of answering his question by reaching up to pluck some dirt off Kaveh's hair absently like it's the most natural thing for them to do. He looks at the flick of his fingers as they shift in the air to make the dirt flutter to the ground beside them, and holds onto the architect's wrist gingerly as though he's examining his injuries.
In a way, he's concerned. He knows that Kaveh needs that money—to leave their home, build a new future for himself, to settle his debt, to finally revel in the tranquility that comes with it. But somehow, there seems to be some odd karma on his end, where every opportunity comes with a dire catch. "She's stalling, we may get caught," he tilts his head, whispering and tutting as though he's upset that the architect's clothes are ripped at the sleeve. "There's an adventurer's commission from the Matras."
Alhaitham's speech eloquence always follows statements, even when they're derived from all the goodness of his heart. Even so, who's to say that Kaveh will accept a reward from the guild when he isn't part? Still, it is their duty as alumni and representatives of Sumeru to gather the higher-ups who threaten the peace of their city. Kaveh glances down at his wrist being taken, too exhausted - emotionally - to bother with using his energy for bickering's sake.
He also likes it when Alhaitham touches him, not that he'll ever admit it, and reward him with that satisfaction completely free. Yet there's nothing else Kaveh truly wants or thinks about. "What are we supposed to do, then?" He pulls his hand away, crossing his arms over his chest. "She keeps looking at us. It makes me feel uneasy."
If he spends a lot of time thinking about the void that itches within his chest when Kaveh withdraws his hand, he doesn't show. Instead, Alhaitham does look at the woman who brought them there. If there's an exit, at the threat of a collapse, she'd be more inclined to leave. The fact that she's stalling could only mean she would rather remain buried with them both instead of escaping, which is at the very least, concerning.
"You're right to," he doesn't nod, but he does rub the back of his neck as if he looks a bit out of sorts about being rejected. The woman rolls her eyes, and he thinks he hears something about a spat of sorts.
"You know what this reminds me of? Of that one time we started running in the House of Daena. Do you remember that?"
The moment it sounds like there's some untimely but nostalgic flirting going on, the woman tries to distract herself with something else. That's just perfect. She doesn't know which dynamics ran between him and Kaveh, only knowing that they were close enough for all of this to be a problem for them both. Alhaitham moves his eyes down, looking uncharacteristically bashful and lowering his voice with it. "You never could tell when I was pretending to run so I could ambush you. That was fun."
The longer they remain in the depths of the world, the more he begins feeling claustrophobic. In the same way, Kaveh is connected to his heartstrings, as a vision holder, he's sensitive to the unforgiving forces of nature. It is in the same way that he and other vision holders can last inside withering zones.
Yet he still struggles to heal or understand the withering of his heart. When Alhaitham brings up the House of Daena, Kaveh's gaze becomes rigid and offended. His kneejerk reaction makes him click his tongue and roll his eyes away from him and into the past. His bruised arms cross over his chest. "Really," is it really a surprise that Kaveh turns to him again with poison on his tongue? "I seem to recall events quite differently."
It's not until Kaveh fully assesses the look on his face that something in him simply clicks. "And?" He side-eyes her briefly and then the other tunnel, lowering his voice.
Alhaitham reaches for a wrist once again, stepping close and giving Kaveh a pointed look. It's tense, somehow, once he does near Kaveh's warmth, the air between them stifling, added to the humidity of the cave. His grip is strong but careful not to wrap around any injury and make it worse. He watches the way his fingers wrap around it with a cautious gaze, only for him to look up. And nod.
"Then guess who's it, now," and he tugs Kaveh as he teleports them both halfway towards the exit.
Before Kaveh gets the chance to shake Alhaitham off as he would, their dendro element encompasses them and everything turns dark. Kaveh isn't used to this type of transportation, although Alhaitham has made him experience it in the past. The woman immediately tries to chase after them at what could be described as a snail's pace in comparison.
Once teleported, they're still inside the cave, but through another tunnel that will eventually lead to the outside world again. The pouring rain from outside is still rushing down, creating a small creek on the area they teleport to. Kaveh keeps running beside him, short of breath, every muscle burns with the exertion and lack of stamina. "Where... Where are the matras?!"
It's giving them some advantage, at least, as he runs towards where he had last felt the draft come from, tugging Kaveh along as carefully as he could without hindering his gait. Alhaitham looks over his shoulder, then around. Taps on his headphone.
"Outside, we have to get outside," he pants, the lack of proper sleep making him run on fumes. He's not sure they're there, but if they are they should be waiting for people to evacuate the network of caves.
The steepness makes it feel like he's fighting gravity itself. Every splash below them is a reminder of how fast they're moving toward the exit. Somehow, Kaveh's forehead has a trickle of blood running down his temple, it mixes with his sweat and the water that soon greets them the moment they make it out to the pouring rain.
It's not just rain waiting for them, but a large group of ten. Some of them are familiar faces from the cave who had managed to escape via the opposite exit. "Alhaitham," he's panting, he can hear Alhaitham panting, too, and he wants to look at him but he can't take his eyes off of them. We can't take on them all, even with visions. "Stand back," he warns Alhaitham firmly, letting what's left of his energy drain into the puddles around them and creating a radius of pure dendro. The countless cores that bloom from this action could be enough to render an average person hospital-bound.
Still, it's not enough, so he's forced to take this weapon despite his efforts. He knows Alhaitham, will, too. They taunt him with nonsense like, "you'll regret turning your back on us, Kaveh," as metal clashes all around them. It's hard to tell how they're herding them away from one another in the heat of it all. Kaveh turns just in time to witness something out of pure nightmares. The woman previously left behind in the cave had only just made it after chasing them through the tunnels, and while Alhaitham crosses blades elsewhere, she strategically attacks from behind using her knife. She cuts through leather, through shirt, through flesh, through muscle. Kaveh sees red in all senses, he feels his blood boil, he watches as the puddles turn opaquely crimson, and he's running towards him. He can hear a river nearby, it's a thought that rushes as quick as adrenaline, "stop it, no! Haitham! Get away!"
She's clever, Alhaitham will give credit where it's due.
It's not so much that she stabs him, she just allows him to sink into the blade as he moves back. The woman barely had to move, and Alhaitham fell into it, the edge of it unfeeling until he does move again and every fiber that's been cut screams inside him. Until something in his spine tells him to move away, to squirm, to get away from the source of the pain, and it's only his own mind that assesses what's happened.
Her knife. Keep it in. Or he'll bleed out.
The Scribe takes hold of the hilt and wheels on his feet, and he thinks of every single outcome that he had been thinking about and the connections between them, and what begins from there.
Perhaps death. And with it, maybe his savings can go to Kaveh. And with his own demise, could come Kaveh's debt. And he'd live on happily and free at last.
A dome covers the sky and darkens the day further in the rain. A ceiling that then drips green down between the trees. Away from Kaveh's radius, two of the henchmen seethe and charge toward the architect, blindly pulling their punches.
All his reflections become shards, sharp. "Scatter," he commands as he falls to one knee, his weight only propped by the blade he sinks into the ground to hold himself up.
The dendro cuts through her, and the rest under the dome. It's all he can do like this. "What an oversight," he mutters.
He's trapped between the false comfort of his vision and how much more damage it could cause Alhaitham if he used it to defend himself. Never in his life has he wanted to take Alhaitham into his arms as much as now. He catches a few fists to his face, and he feels his world rattle under his feet. He can taste his blood, that is until the cores blast once again. He kicks a man out of his way and lands on both knees once he makes it to Alhaitham. The reality is devastating to him. He has both hands hoovering over him, unsure where he's allowed to touch. He's decides he doesn't want to see how bad his wound truly is, even if it means ignoring the literal knife on his back. If he doesn't look, then it doesn't truly exist and he can keep his calm. Then Alhaitham can keep his blood.
The lunch they packed had been long lost back in the cave, they're far from home and the rain is beating down on them. It's freezing underneath soaked clothes. "It'll be alright," he takes his arm and sneaks beneath him, "I'll carry you back. Who knows when others will show up. Recite to me your latest reading, the last thing you should do is fall asleep on me," because that might as well be a nail on a coffin. They both know this. "Ready? I'm going to stand up now."
He can't help the pained sound that he releases when Kaveh lifts him, the edge of the blade shifting with the new position. Alhaitham tries to slip his cape fully onto his back as opposed to sideways to cover the blade stuck in him from any contaminant or dirt in the air, but also to steady it somehow. He buries his nose in Kaveh's hair, the sweat in his neck somehow more grounding than the petrichor around them.
He's comforting. He's warm. This is the closest he's been to Kaveh in an age. He'd like to rest here, his mind says, as he closes his eyes for a moment.
He opens them. "Follow the river," he rasps, his voice sounding like the gravel under Kaveh's shoes. "The Matra will be doing the same."
Clearing his throat, he starts to whisper. ""All art, regardless of shape or form, is inherently political." This is a simple fact," he mutters, unable to not leave commentary. ""Ishkur asserts in his research that art cannot exist within a vacuum of apolitically, for “the artist’s ability to create art is shaped by their political environment just as much as art itself is...”"
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He'll deal with the perceptions of others later. The fight is yet, unavoidable and necessary, but this time Alhaitham makes it quick. At least quick enough to leave most people wounded.
As he follows after Kaveh and whoever that was, a few dendro cores burst behind him as his cape brushes past them. They make something sing and sizzle, but Alhaitham has no time for that now; grits his teeth as he pushes himself forward to dash through the tunnel.
Where exactly is this heading? Who was that and what was her goal? There are a myriad of questions, hypotheses and connections running through Alhaitham's mind, but he knows only one thing for certain, and it's that he can't let Kaveh out of his sight.
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"What do you mean? Were your friends up there not the ones who attacked first? I didn't know I would run into you all," he coughs and glances up towards the sounds of blades and bodies impacting one another.
"You're one of us now, you swore your loyalty to us by signing the contract with our boss. If you still think of turning against us and helping the Scribe, then I'll have to kill you."
"Wait what-- What if you just tell me how that would benefit any of us? You'd be breaking your own contract with the boss if you suddenly got rid of me based on empty accusations."
The rain outside is also getting stronger, putting their site at a high risk of a flash flood. Water is already trickling from the space above Kaveh had fallen through and inside his cavity, the earth around them rumbles. Dangerous as it might be to stay directly near the steepness of the rock, Kaveh knows Alhaitham would soon follow his same fate. The fighting from above seems to have ceased, but he also has to keep his eyes on the woman.
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A contract. With the eremites, no less? No wonder they called him a traitor. He'll give credit where it is due: whoever webbed this intricate network made it with care. How unlikely, considering zealots tended to lose themselves in the details of things due to the feverish grandiosity of their beliefs.
The water runs from the mossy cave they had all been in and over the cliff. The land and rocks are somewhat porous, which means that they're either near or at a phreatic level.
Hopefully the water needs to go down further before it hits bedrock. Alhaitham just stays there, crouched, listening in.
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He glances up towards the hole they had fallen from, “Alhaitham?” Worry bounces off of the cold stone around him, echoing. He’s sure he would have made it now by now, and he can’t hear anyone else’s voices.
She laughs the moment the name escapes his mouth. “Then consider this part of your job. The building boss wants to build wants this underground tunnel incorporated as our trade routes. Construction would also take place here.”
“Huh?! That’s too dangerous. Can’t you see around you?! Any strong rain would loosen up the foundation and put an entire structure at risk. Trade routes? We have those above ground!”
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But then she laughs. Alhaitham releases a huff as he listens to the rest.
"Clearly they think they bought your complacency and your silence," he says as he teleports down. Scanning Kaveh's form quickly for bruises and injuries, he then focuses on the woman instead. "Have you considered why the boss would want to create underground routes? I thought we were working on making things more transparent."
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It wouldn't be the first time Kaveh falls into a world of scams, although he is technically not bought yet considering he's still missing his money. He's a little roughened up, but he has no major injuries besides that of losing his patience in a place like this.
The woman then replies, "I know why, are you suggesting I'm not trusted by the boss?" Alhaitham doesn't just get under Kaveh's skin, clearly he has similar effects on others. Except Kaveh would never draw a knife to him, unlike the woman now reaching for hers. She has already noted Alhaitham came in bandaged up already.
As Kaveh steps in to prevent the two going head to head, the cave rumbles again. This time, loud and strong enough that the first chamber with all the men gets blocked off entirely by a large fallen stone. Silence only follows as Kaveh and the woman stare up at it.
"They..."
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"They were already leaving this place when I left them," this is aimed at both Kaveh and the woman. Meant to reassure and also, maybe, highlight that he does care whether these people live or die. Never mind that he just did something extremely dangerous that would have probably injured the woman at least if it weren't for the Scribe's own skill. Still, he's focused on the fact that just because their attackers were on the move, doesn't mean that the slowest people aren't trapped. "We need to move fast if we're going to check. This area is too unstable."
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They have no choice but to move forward through the labyrinth, and it naturally gets so dark that only a few fungi in the distance emit enough light for them to not accidentally slip through another hole.
Kaveh glances at Alhaitham through the dim light. The woman is in the lead for now. Without a weapon, strength, and bleeding, she has little choice but to walk them through the cavern. Only she's familiar with all the incoming set of traps after all. "Are you okay?" He finally asks Alhaitham, he's tired of the silence, and now his thoughts are better gathered.
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"Hm," he cants his head in what he hopes is reassuring, and folds his arm to tap at his own forearm to indicate his roommate's, that he should be concentrating on himself, too. He's not about to assess and highlight both their injuries in front of someone who could turn on them quickly, but... "You're lucky I don't do a bad job when I can use both hands to bandage up."
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They enter a large dome that is less claustrophobic than the previous tunnel. Places like this do inspire Kaveh under other circumstances that isn't so perilous. Mansions with underground, secret tunnels is something he'd like to explore with building at some point.
There are some boxes stacked against one of the stone walls, sealed shut by nails. It would appear they were smuggling something, not that it matters now.
Kaveh glances at Alhaitham again, he stands closer to him. "It would have been worse off had I not intervened and you know it. Anyway, you, where are you taking us to? And how much longer are we supposed to delve? I do have blueprints to finish for your boss. He will be unhappy if I don't get them finished in time and it'll be your fault."
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They're both exhausted or skittish. The Scribe instead decides to check everything around them, crouching and touching the water of a puddle as though to check for something in it.
Instead, he focuses on the temperature of his wet finger once he gets back up. One side goes slightly colder than the other. There's an opening, another exit nearby. It's only up to her to see if she's trying to bluff or buy more time instead.
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"What are you thinking about?" He asks this in regards to the curiosity on water flow, or whatever it is he's inspecting. He keeps his voice low when he speaks, muttering at best so the sound doesn't travel to unwanted ears.
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If she's stalling, then it means she's hoping for backup. He lets himself stay there in that position, waiting for Kaveh to make any comment or question, but instead he just hears the woman practically roll her eyes and mutter something about 'lovebirds'.
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Kaveh’s gaze is potent on Alhaitham— his admiration for him has never subsided despite everything between them keeping them apart. He trusts him.
“Can’t we make a run for it, then?” These are words that suggest that any he’s planning to use any extent of their laws to void whatever contract he roped himself into with these people. Even if he’d be walking out on money.
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In a way, he's concerned. He knows that Kaveh needs that money—to leave their home, build a new future for himself, to settle his debt, to finally revel in the tranquility that comes with it. But somehow, there seems to be some odd karma on his end, where every opportunity comes with a dire catch. "She's stalling, we may get caught," he tilts his head, whispering and tutting as though he's upset that the architect's clothes are ripped at the sleeve. "There's an adventurer's commission from the Matras."
Which means there's a reward, at least.
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He also likes it when Alhaitham touches him, not that he'll ever admit it, and reward him with that satisfaction completely free. Yet there's nothing else Kaveh truly wants or thinks about. "What are we supposed to do, then?" He pulls his hand away, crossing his arms over his chest. "She keeps looking at us. It makes me feel uneasy."
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"You're right to," he doesn't nod, but he does rub the back of his neck as if he looks a bit out of sorts about being rejected. The woman rolls her eyes, and he thinks he hears something about a spat of sorts.
"You know what this reminds me of? Of that one time we started running in the House of Daena. Do you remember that?"
The moment it sounds like there's some untimely but nostalgic flirting going on, the woman tries to distract herself with something else. That's just perfect. She doesn't know which dynamics ran between him and Kaveh, only knowing that they were close enough for all of this to be a problem for them both. Alhaitham moves his eyes down, looking uncharacteristically bashful and lowering his voice with it. "You never could tell when I was pretending to run so I could ambush you. That was fun."
Hopefully, Kaveh understands what he's saying.
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Yet he still struggles to heal or understand the withering of his heart. When Alhaitham brings up the House of Daena, Kaveh's gaze becomes rigid and offended. His kneejerk reaction makes him click his tongue and roll his eyes away from him and into the past. His bruised arms cross over his chest. "Really," is it really a surprise that Kaveh turns to him again with poison on his tongue? "I seem to recall events quite differently."
It's not until Kaveh fully assesses the look on his face that something in him simply clicks. "And?" He side-eyes her briefly and then the other tunnel, lowering his voice.
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"Then guess who's it, now," and he tugs Kaveh as he teleports them both halfway towards the exit.
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Once teleported, they're still inside the cave, but through another tunnel that will eventually lead to the outside world again. The pouring rain from outside is still rushing down, creating a small creek on the area they teleport to. Kaveh keeps running beside him, short of breath, every muscle burns with the exertion and lack of stamina. "Where... Where are the matras?!"
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"Outside, we have to get outside," he pants, the lack of proper sleep making him run on fumes. He's not sure they're there, but if they are they should be waiting for people to evacuate the network of caves.
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It's not just rain waiting for them, but a large group of ten. Some of them are familiar faces from the cave who had managed to escape via the opposite exit. "Alhaitham," he's panting, he can hear Alhaitham panting, too, and he wants to look at him but he can't take his eyes off of them. We can't take on them all, even with visions. "Stand back," he warns Alhaitham firmly, letting what's left of his energy drain into the puddles around them and creating a radius of pure dendro. The countless cores that bloom from this action could be enough to render an average person hospital-bound.
Still, it's not enough, so he's forced to take this weapon despite his efforts. He knows Alhaitham, will, too. They taunt him with nonsense like, "you'll regret turning your back on us, Kaveh," as metal clashes all around them. It's hard to tell how they're herding them away from one another in the heat of it all.
Kaveh turns just in time to witness something out of pure nightmares. The woman previously left behind in the cave had only just made it after chasing them through the tunnels, and while Alhaitham crosses blades elsewhere, she strategically attacks from behind using her knife. She cuts through leather, through shirt, through flesh, through muscle. Kaveh sees red in all senses, he feels his blood boil, he watches as the puddles turn opaquely crimson, and he's running towards him. He can hear a river nearby, it's a thought that rushes as quick as adrenaline, "stop it, no! Haitham! Get away!"
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It's not so much that she stabs him, she just allows him to sink into the blade as he moves back. The woman barely had to move, and Alhaitham fell into it, the edge of it unfeeling until he does move again and every fiber that's been cut screams inside him. Until something in his spine tells him to move away, to squirm, to get away from the source of the pain, and it's only his own mind that assesses what's happened.
Her knife. Keep it in. Or he'll bleed out.
The Scribe takes hold of the hilt and wheels on his feet, and he thinks of every single outcome that he had been thinking about and the connections between them, and what begins from there.
Perhaps death. And with it, maybe his savings can go to Kaveh. And with his own demise, could come Kaveh's debt. And he'd live on happily and free at last.
A dome covers the sky and darkens the day further in the rain. A ceiling that then drips green down between the trees. Away from Kaveh's radius, two of the henchmen seethe and charge toward the architect, blindly pulling their punches.
All his reflections become shards, sharp. "Scatter," he commands as he falls to one knee, his weight only propped by the blade he sinks into the ground to hold himself up.
The dendro cuts through her, and the rest under the dome. It's all he can do like this. "What an oversight," he mutters.
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The lunch they packed had been long lost back in the cave, they're far from home and the rain is beating down on them. It's freezing underneath soaked clothes. "It'll be alright," he takes his arm and sneaks beneath him, "I'll carry you back. Who knows when others will show up. Recite to me your latest reading, the last thing you should do is fall asleep on me," because that might as well be a nail on a coffin. They both know this. "Ready? I'm going to stand up now."
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He's comforting. He's warm. This is the closest he's been to Kaveh in an age. He'd like to rest here, his mind says, as he closes his eyes for a moment.
He opens them. "Follow the river," he rasps, his voice sounding like the gravel under Kaveh's shoes. "The Matra will be doing the same."
Clearing his throat, he starts to whisper. ""All art, regardless of shape or form, is inherently political." This is a simple fact," he mutters, unable to not leave commentary. ""Ishkur asserts in his research that art cannot exist within a vacuum of apolitically, for “the artist’s ability to create art is shaped by their political environment just as much as art itself is...”"
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beautiful
LMAOOO i'm so sorry
"is this a flirt? sorry, i have to go" LMAOO
JEEZ
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