The boy's mind was a place of pure black, save for thin furls of coloured fog for every emotion shared within the dark. It was a terribly boring place at times, nothing to hear but Gavin's thoughts, and the only things to see being whatever lay in the rounded display of the boy's vision.

Some called the eyes a window to the soul, but Eldrazi would argue they were more a window for the soul to peer out of as he glanced up at the winged Dávoln in front of them, her unamused face breaking up the empty world of darkness he was currently resting in.

Lynette stood there, raising a brow at them in an expectant look, but if the lime-green thread of emotion slowly wrapping around Eldrazi's boots meant anything, Gavin was far too anxious to handle the situation.

So, with a roll of his yellow eyes, Eldrazi felt for their bond, like a warm rope within his chest that he could give a light tug, asking for more give. Gavin obliged, and then his perspective was flung forward, the inky headspace falling away until he was back in the real world, in a real body. Pointed ears pricked up in pleasure as a fanged sneer pulled at their face. That was better.

Finally he faced the white-haired girl, a challenge in their voice. "So, you know what we're doing. Are you gonna stop us then?"

"Eldrazi," he could hear Gavin nagging within his thoughts. "Don't be an amdain. She could tell one of them, and then this falls apart in an instant."

Something about the plan falling apart did sound alluring. Already, Eldrazi could picture it: the way they would all turn on each other, yelling, arguing, maybe even turning physical, which could be fun, but Gavin would hate that. The fun, that is— so Eldrazi would hold off. At least for now. Gav... I know what I'm doin'. Trust me.

Then he focused back on Lynette scrawling more Tercian runes onto the page. Once she was done, Eldrazi took it from her, tail twitching behind them in curiosity as he read: "Actually, I'm not planning on stopping you at all. I'm encouraging it."

'Ow fascinatin'. The smile on their face curled higher as he raised their brows. He handed the page back. "Really? 'ow come? Surely most people wouldn't want their fellow friends backstabbed and betrayed by the first set o' strangers that saunter in through the door, no?"

"Eldrazi!"

Relax... he told him as Lynette wrote more, his eyes taking it in as she handed him another few lines:

"If this was Aoife's plan all along, she would've started off by kicking down the door, shouting it at the top of her lungs, and rushing into it head first, so I have no doubt this is your doing. But, the way I see it, it isn't betrayal at all. Unlike everything else we do around here, getting the Relics could actually work. Ever since my one mission with Aoife years ago, Róhain has held us back. We used to fight against the Cearte in waves, break into the capitals, and I think deep down, his plan was to eventually have us collect those Relics."

"But then I got hurt, and I think he became too scared. Now we sit and barely do anything at all. I'm tired of it, so if weaving your little web of lies is what makes him finally move, then so be it. Just know you're not fooling me."

"What does it say?" Gavin was clamouring to know, his eyes continuing to flick over the loops and swirls of the Eunsi language as much as Eldrazi tried to raise them to Lynette's freckled face. He eventually did, taking note of her elegant features set in determination, the brown-tipped feathers of her white, winged ears pressed back in seriousness, and most importantly, the ice cold energy in her chest holding not an ounce of anxiousness. She was telling the truth. That much was certain.

She knows what we're trying to convince Róhain to do, but not why. Apparently, ever since some mission with her and Aoife, he's been holdin' back, and she's ready to try again. Speakin' of...

He broke off the mental connection to Gavin, reaching to wrap a single arm around Lynette's back to walk with her. The tall, slim girl easily slid out of his grasp though, and so he let it be, pressing on only in words. "So, this s'posed mission you got hurt on... What 'appened then? Is it why you two seem to 'ate each other so much?"

He leaned forward to try and meet her eyes, a difficult task given how much she pulled her bangs into them. It was quite rude of her honestly, considering that Eldrazi was giving her the opportunity to gaze upon his truly spectacular self... but he would let the insult slide. "Come now, I'm dyin' to know."

Sighing, she wrote on the paper one last time. "We were in Tercia, fighting against the Cearte regime there in hopes we could rescue a few of the Rougeailian slaves. But I was caught, and Aoife had to pick between rescuing one of the women, and stopping the Cearte from running his spear through my throat."

"Ah... I see, I see." Eldrazi nodded solemnly, making sure to draw their brows together, lips and jaw set to not show a single trace of the laughter threatening to burst out of their chest. "And which one did she choose?"

Lynette only gave him a deadened stare.

Then it erupted from him, Eldrazi clutching at their stomach as he wheezed. "Sorry, sorry. It was too easy though, you gotta admit."

Another hard look.

"Eh, don't give me that. You said this was years ago, Aoife's Human so she was what? Fourteen? Fifteen at the time?"

Lynette shrugged, wings twitching behind her.

"And you wanted a child to pick between an Eunsi being a slave simply because she was born with red wings, puttin' up with torture and bein' caged for life, or you being hurt. What an interesting dilemma."

Eldrazi tapped their chin thoughtfully, ignoring the spike of anxiety Gavin felt the need to shove into their chest right now. He'd fix that later. For now, he gave Lynette a sly smile. "Would ya've rathered she'd chosen differently?"

Her head instantly dipped, eyes staring through the floor. Eldrazi's smile curled higher. That made that a no then.

Well, that was all he wanted to know, so he gave her a mock salute, turning on his heel. "Anyways, I'll leave you to your existential croi'sis now. Thank you again for supporting our noble cause against the nobles. We will continue to carry on as we were." Then, he left the winged girl to stand there to search the rest of the hallway, looking for wherever Aoife went.

She didn't follow, and besides, it wasn't far, an exit door sitting at the very end with a window only covered by blue curtains. Standing on tiptoes, Eldrazi drew them aside, peering out.

There lay a clearing, the single path of black water running through it completely blocked out by paved stone. On top of that was a log, occupied by Aoife and the Demon with orange hair, striped with white. They sat there, staring at the water under the shade of a weeping willow tree, arms over each other's shoulders in a disgustingly romantic way that someone ought to fix.

And he did consider himself to be a someone.

Backing up, Eldrazi lifted a single boot, slamming it into the door with a barked out laugh. He'd expected it to bang open, the hinges giving way to swing out and give him the dramatic entrance he deserved, but instead there came a snap. His eyes shot wide as the wood cracked, then a hole split, their body falling forward as their foot was thrust out of the door.

"... Who's there?" he could hear Selatan calling out, seemingly more confused than threatened.

"Your worst enemy!" Eldrazi shot back, hopping on one foot to try and tug his other out from the hole. It stuck though, leaving him to continue to tug and twist and trip as Aoife and Selatan drew closer, frowning at him through the window.

"... Gavin, did you kick a hole through the vaelocing door?" Selatan asked, pointed ears dipping down in disapproval.

"No. 'Tis I, Eldrazi! Let it be known that it was Eldrazi, The Undyin' Serpent, to be the one to 'ave brought this door down after its tyrannical decree that I should be blocked from the outside world!"

Selatan grabbed the handle, twisting to have it swing in to the house, not out, making Eldrazi stagger back awkwardly until he was pressed between the wall and the bent back door like the strangest torture table to be invented yet. The man peered around it, raising a single brow. "You do know Róhain will need someone to pay for the damages, right?"

Eldrazi gulped. "Let it be known that it was Gavin, the Annoyin' 'Uman, to be the one to 'ave brought-"

"Oh stop it," Aoife interrupted, giving Selatan a small punch to the shoulder. "As if Róhain would have the heart to ask him for money."

Eldrazi felt Gavin perk up at that, a pear-like flavour hitting him as the boy gently tugged on the bond. "She brought up Róhain herself. I can take this from here."

A wry smile pulled at Eldrazi's face. You don't trust me to 'andle it?

"I'd very much prefer you not."

All right then.

A loose, empty feeling filled Eldrazi's chest as Gavin came to share their body more, as though they'd been stuffed with cotton, and someone had eased it all out like a doll with too much love done to it. It tickled, but only for a moment. Then his hearing dipped to Gavin's horrid level, the world's colours softened a bit, and half of their body felt numb, or at least out of his control for now.

"Speaking of Róhain—" Gavin began before noticing their foot was still in the door, and Eldrazi felt the smallest flicker of annoyance.

"Ugh." Gavin turned it to the side, easing it out until they stood normally in the hallway, staring up at Aoife and Selatan. "I'm supposed to pass along the message."

The two teens glanced at each other, Aoife's dark brows knitting together only for Selatan to shrug, just as lost. "What message?"

"Well, I suppose it was more of a plan than a message..." Gavin trailed, and Eldrazi could feel their hands lifting in a fake explanation, their face moving into a more nervous expression as Gavin went to bite at their lip. "But, have you heard of the Three Relics of Akasha?"

Aoife blinked at them, crossing her arms as the confusion on her face continued to spread. "That old faerie tale? What about it?"

"Actually, that's the strange thing—" Gavin cut himself off, and Eldrazi felt another push for control from him.

"I can't move our tail right now. You have to wrap it around our ankle so we look more innocent."

Eldrazi tried not to roll his eyes. They were sharing fairly evenly, to the point there was no way that Aoife wouldn't see it. You're overthinkin' again.

"Please stop arguing and just do it."

"What's strange?" Selatan asked, his amber eyes narrowing at them. "Spit it out already."

Eldrazi twitched their tail into whatever spot Gavin apparently required for his master plan right as the boy went to speak. "The Relics. Róhain said they're– They're real."

"What?"

Aoife's jaw dropped open, and Selatan moved to slam the kicked in door behind them, pressing his back against it as fear filled his eyes. "How is that possible?"

"I know!" Gavin whispered back fiercely, and Eldrazi made sure to widen their own in mock surprise. "I couldn't believe it when he brought it up either. All I did was ask what he meant with certain plans being possible now that there were enough people, and apparently, he'd found out as a Cearte that the Relics are real. And, with all of our combined skills, we could possibly get a hold of all three of them, and use the promised wish to get our freedom!"

"Are you serious?" The last word came as a screech as Aoife clenched her fists, wisps of purple flames flickering around them.

Eldrazi instantly tried to jump away from them, but his legs were numb. Frozen. They were Gavin's for now, and he was stuck watching as the ribbons of light trickled further up her shaking arms. "I leave for a few minutes to see Selatan, who- mind you- I haven't seen in a year, and that soih of a librarian has the audacity to drop an entire plan while I'm not even there! Does he even care about what I think at all?"

"Aoife." Selatan reached for her shoulder. "I'm sure he was just excited to talk about this plan. I mean—" He sighed, running a hand through his slicked up hair. "It's sudden but... he's wanted to have us be free for a while now. If he's been waiting for us to have enough forces, of course he would jump on the opportunity as fast as possible."

Aoife whirled on him, her hands scrubbing her temples. "But wouldn't he ask me first? Or let me spend a bit more time with you? Or..." Her arms fell weakly to her sides. "I don't know! I walk away for a second, and now I'm being told that a supposed myth that lets anyone gain the powers of the Goddess is real. None of it makes sense."

Then she paused, staring off into space until an idea seemed to strike her and– much to Eldrazi's pleasant surprise– it didn't seem to be a good one as she suddenly whirled on her heel, storming off down the hall. "Róhain!"

"Aoife, wait!" Selatan shouted, taking off after her. That left Gavin and Eldrazi to stand alone in the hallway, watching them go.

"...You're smirking. Don't do that. You're going to get us caught."

"Ah Gav," Eldrazi crooned as Gavin finally started moving their body after Aoife to discover whatever happened next. Something terrible, Eldrazi could only hope. "Let me enjoy a little chaos, would'ja? I'll get rid of it before we get there."

And sure enough, he switched to sticking the tip of their forked tongue out, rounding the corner to find the others gathered in the dining room. Talus glanced up from his seat, sticking his own black, pointed one out at them playfully. Lynette also gave them a quick glance, but most interesting to Eldrazi was Aoife slamming her hands on the kitchen table, glaring at the horned man sitting directly across from where she stood.

"And like I said, if you want to do this, I won't stop you," he was saying, and Gavin could see his hands rubbing against each other nervously.

"Well it doesn't seem like I have a choice, do I?" Aoife shot back, tipping her head at him expectantly.

"You do, actually. You can choose not to do this at any time. In fact, I encourage you to do so."

"Oh, so now you don't want us to be free? Or is it just me you don't trust?"

The laughter was threatening to return as Eldrazi pulled their lips into their mouth, biting them to avoid smiling. But it was so funny, the bickering, the blaming... Of course, if he and Gavin allowed it to go on for too long, eventually someone would say something that would point out where the miscommunication lay, but in the meantime, Eldrazi could certainly enjoy watching it all fall apart.

As if on cue, Gavin walked them further in, raising a trembling finger to interrupt whether Eldrazi wanted him to or not. "I-I'm sorry. I... didn't mean to start a fight. I just wanted to let you know what I'd heard the plan was."

Ah yes. 'You.' Such a nice little word, letting itself pertain to anyone and everyone who wanted it to speak to them. Perfect for situations like these. Despite himself, pride swelled up in Eldrazi's chest. He'd raised the boy well.

Róhain's eyes flicked over to them, and he winced. "Oh no Gavin, don't go blaming yourself. This has nothing to do with you. I... should've expected this to happen, honestly."

"Damn right you should've," Aoife huffed, plopping down in a chair. "And I bet you even know where the Relics are already, since you were a Cearte. You just didn't want to tell us that they exist 'for our safety'." The last few words came out in a mocking tone as she kicked her feet up onto the table.

Róhain pushed them off with a cough. "Actually, I do, but it's late, and if I'm being honest, I think we've had enough action today. Do we all agree?"

There was a general nodding from around the room, including Eldrazi as Gavin made sure to eagerly follow along. "Good. Then I think it's best if we discussed this in the morning, and gave each other time to process all these changes. If- if this is what we're doing then..."

Róhain paused, pushing up his glasses to scrub at his eyes. He looked old, worn, Eldrazi noticed as the man adjusted them back in place. Of course, the man was by no means Immortal, but Eldrazi knew he was close to thirty: an age most Humans would've been dead by, but a Dávoln? What a lot o' unnecessary stress. Man should learn to live and let die every once in a while.

"...it's live and let live, 'Drazi."

Not at the rate 'e's goin'.

The silence was broken by Róhain's sigh. "I'll draw a map tomorrow to the best of my memory if I can, and we can work from there, but for now, can we put the questions aside and go to bed? It's been a long day."

The room fell quiet again, only the drumming of Aoife's fingers on the table until Talus shoved his chair back, legs screeching obnoxiously the entire way as if it too, wanted to drown out the argument. "Well what do you know? I sure do feel tired just by you saying that, so I agree. Let's all pack this away and come back to it in the morning!" His form twitched for a moment, and he moved to Gavin's side faster than should've been possible. "What say you, my scaly friend? Ready to head off to sleep?"

Eldrazi felt his focus tear away from the redheaded teen, Gavin choosing instead to watch Aoife grit her teeth, nodding reluctantly to Róhain. It wasn't until she'd left the room that Gavin turned back to Talus, choosing to smile weakly at him. "I suppose. I guess I was a little excited to hear what it is we all were going to do, but it can wait. There's no rush."

Another lie for the tally, Eldrazi noted as Talus continued to talk to them, leading them back past the books, past the shop front and to the stairs up to the room they would share.

Then again, he supposed he couldn't blame the boy, neither in his falsehoods nor his impatience. After all, who knew what Tachir' was doing while they waited here, planning and prepping for the proposal Gavin had convinced them all into doing. It had been five years since Cynwrig had lost control, and each day the war was only getting worse, all sparked by that single day.

Deep down, Eldrazi didn't care. After all, wars were rather exciting, not to mention important. If being Immortal once had taught him anything, it was that people– no matter their race– couldn't be trusted to do the right thing the first time around. No. They needed to fail, and fail brilliantly, going through the absolute worst of it in order to ever hope to do better for the future. And, if Eldrazi had played a hand in being the very worst that would push them in the right direction, then he couldn't say he wasn't a little bit proud of himself.

But Gavin had this wondrously strange preference for a concept he liked to call 'basic morals Eldrazi', and even more strangely, these morals dictated that he should not be invoking the wrath of a crazed Demon on all of mankind.

In fact, they even went so far as to say that Gavin should be doing whatever was in their power to find Cynwrig and fix the mistake he continued to blame himself for. Now this- in Eldrazi's humble but overall correct opinion- was ridiculous, because he was quite sure his morals said to stay very, very far away from Tachir'. But, here they were, now sharing a bedroom with a ragtag group of rebels in hopes that somehow, they would help them collect the source of the Cearte's magik after so many failed attempts.

"–and so that was how I discovered people tend to not appreciate beetles in their drinks."

Eldrazi snapped out of his thoughts at that, wrestling Gavin's tongue from him to hop into the conversation with a laugh. "Sorry, what'd I 'appen to miss?"

Talus stopped talking to blink at him before seeming to put it together with a smile. "Oh wait, are you the Demon? Sorry, I forgot your name, but nice to talk to you finally."

"Yes yes, I'm Eldrazi, but you can worship the ground I stand on later. What is this about putting beetles in drinks?" Now that he was paying attention, he could see they were back in the bedroom, the light of two of the three moons illuminating the two beds pressed up against opposing walls, covered by simple blue sheets. Eldrazi moved over to one of them, jumping on it before looking back at Talus.

"Oh!" The boy moved to his own bed. The dark, swirling designs on his skin were harder to pick apart now, his body almost seeming to blend into the shadows on the walls until much more couldn't be made out save for the twinkle in his one, blue eye, and the white gleam of his pointed smile. "I was telling Gavin about the time I found a beetle in the dirt outside and slipped it into Selatan's mead." The smile spread further. "His face was hilarious."

"I'll bet." Eldrazi's own mouth moved to match. "Sounds like somethin' I'd do if I got bored."

"It does," Gavin answered, the words coming from Eldrazi's lips as he pushed to speak again. "Which is honestly terrifying."

He only gave a smug grin. "Good. I live to spread fear amongst the populace."

Talus nodded eagerly, moving to lay down on his side until his head was propped up on a single arm. "A little fear is good for the soul, I hear, if you're lucky enough to have one of those."

Gavin shook their head. "I think I've had enough dealings with fear and souls, and I wasn't joking, Eldrazi. At least Talus is half Shar Drak'na. You have no excuse to pull half the shenanigans you do."

"I could be a trickster race if I tried!" Eldrazi argued back, faking a pout. "I bet I'd be the best one there is."

"You don't need to try. Being attached to you has put me in some of the most wild situations there probably are. Sometimes I swear you're insane."

"No, I can't be," Eldrazi shot back with a chuckle. "I tried going insane once, and it got very borin', so I went back to being sane but with less effort this time around."

Gavin rolled their eyes. "Because when I think of a sane person, I think of the person who once had me steal every left sock in the house on a whim. Forgive me for not recognizing your mental stability sooner."

Their bickering was cut off by a snicker from across the room, and they turned to find the boy lightly floating above his sheets, although the term boy was a bit of a stretch. He was entirely shadow now, a Human-like silhouette, only missing the spiked tail most Shar Drak'na held as he hovered over the bed. "Maybe you aren't a Demon at all. I'd definitely steal a sock or two."

There was a shifting as Gavin kicked off their boots, letting them fall to the floor as he shifted underneath the blankets. Perhaps if they weren't cold-blooded, a warm feeling would've settled over the skin Eldrazi was borrowing, but instead all that met them was the soft touch of linen. Truthfully, he preferred the strong, sturdy feeling of a tree behind his back and moss between his toes, but warm beds were another thing Gavin had a liking for, so he kept that to himself as the boy went to talk once again. "Why do you do stuff like that?"

Eldrazi thought the question was for him at first, but instead, Talus shifted closer, the darkness of the entire room rippling with his movement.

It was quiet, until the white ring of his eye squinted slightly, as if he was mulling it over. "When you're a Shar Drak'na, there's just this... urge to do things. Like Chaos itself just whispered the most brilliant idea into your mind, and you'd be an amdain to not carry it out. It's fun to do and if you don't..."

He stopped talking, the next words almost seeming to come with a sense of regret. "It's like an itch. The longer you ignore it, the worse it gets. I've heard too many stories of Shar Drak'na ravaging towns, eating infants, sinking ships, anything to wreak havoc." Another pause. "I'd rather just get yelled at for having Selatan drink a beetle."

A small hum left Eldrazi's lips, though not of his own accord. "I'm sorry," Gavin finally said, letting the word sink into the dark room.

"Oh no. Don't be! I'm sorry for ruining the mood." The shadows lay back down, each falling to their rightful place as the silhouette returned to resting over the bed. "It's just... I don't usually get to explain that to the others."

"Well—" Eldrazi could feel Gavin pursing their lips in thought. "We're going to be working together from now on, so you can always come to me with that kind of thing." The boy's voice came strangely soft. "I don't mind."

"Really?" Talus asked incredulously, and Eldrazi had to find himself agreeing.

Gav. What is this I 'ear? Are you finally growing up and making yourself a friend?

"Of course."

"Of course not," Gavin continued mentally. "I just don't need these people to have any reason to dislike me while we do what we have to. I don't want to get attached." There was a small pause. "It would only hurt more."

Eldrazi smiled to himself as they rolled on their side, preparing for their own sleep. Gavin was a good liar, Eldrazi would give him that, but he couldn't lie to the person he'd been stuck with since birth. Deep down, he knew Gavin craved that. Friends, normalcy, everything he'd been denied for so long, and yet, he felt the need to hide it, as if the simple admittance would invalidate those 'morals' he was so partial to.

Ah well. It made no difference to Eldrazi, so he let it be.

"I— Thank you. That means a lot to me," Talus mumbled. "Well, goodnight."

"Good night," Gavin replied, closing their eyes.

"Oh, and Gavin? Well, both of you really."

Perhaps if Gavin truly did only see these people as a stepping stone to the Relics, Eldrazi would've picked up annoyance out of the small, muted feeling of Gavin's weakened emotions, but he was pleased to find the slightest bit of happiness at being asked one more question. "Yes?"

"I know I said it before, but I'm really glad you joined the Eirímach. I... I think it's going to be really fun working with you."