"T-talus?"

Talus could barely answer through the sharp, burning pain racing through his arm. He knew Gavin was asking, given the thick, Durnish accent, but his mind was too consumed by pain, his senses too concerned with the cold, black blood dripping between his claws. A shaky laugh left his lips. Oh it hurt. It hurt a lot more than he expected, actually.

"Oh gods!"

Aoife's voice knocked Talus out of his shock, and he managed to tear his gaze away to see her rushing towards him, face contorted with worry. "Are you all right?"

"What? No!" Talus cried with a grimace. "No, I am not all right. I'm bleeding! Ow..." He drew out the last word as he gripped at the shaft still protruding from his skin.

That was going to be a nightmare to get out. Not that he could blame Gavin for shooting him, given that he had snuck his way out, and maybe been a little more terrifying than he'd intended. Actually, now that he thought about it, perhaps that hadn't been as funny of a prank as he had thought.

Ow.

Well, the past was the past, and Talus highly doubted that sporting an arrow in his arm was the new fashion statement in Durne. Besides, the green feathers were hardly his colour. So, feeling for the hollow core of his energy, he gripped the shaft harder, prepping to tug it out.

"Wait!"

He stopped at Gavin shout, turning to see him darting forward, a hand outstretched to stop him. He couldn't see why though. What was he supposed to do? Let the arrow sit there forever? Not when it burned, each beat of his heart pushing an unbearable heat through his veins. There was a second feeling behind the sting, something comforting and alluring, but it spoke of death.

And Talus considered himself a bit of an unusual fellow who preferred to not die, so he reached for his magik, feeling for its cold, empty bite. Or perhaps he ought to call it Not-Magik. After all, according to Lynette, magik wasn't supposed to hurt. It was an ask, a prayer. Immortals would simply close their eyes, reach out with their mind, and feel their god or the All-Mother watching them. It was only then that they could ask to borrow a portion of their Will and use it as their own.

But, whenever Talus closed his eyes, he saw nothing, felt nothing. That was how it always was: an empty place where most sensed a god. Such was the life of a heathen, he supposed. Perhaps that was why the Shar Drak'na were hated so much. Power stemming from the individual, with no regulation from a higher power? It only made sense for the Cearte to be jealous of such a thing.

Well, whatever their reason was, it mattered little to him. Magik, not-magik, all he wanted to do was shift where the shadowy marks of his body lay until the arrow was encompassed by the Nothing, and he could wrench it out.

Except when he closed his eyes now, there was an image.

What? His face screwed up as he attempted to mentally squint, letting the dark tendrils in his mind stretch towards it. It was a blurry picture, but he could tell there was a tall figure with dark hair and skin. Most of the rest of them was out of view, Talus unable to make out age, nor gender, if they had any at all. But one thing was clear as they put a black claw over smiling lips sewn shut:

He could feel someone there, and with that, his energy flared, the blackness in his mind growing darker, more powerful.

Who are you? Talus thought, hoping the words would reach. It couldn't be a god. He was a heathen, godless, and besides that, the figure didn't feel as though they had a Will. It was just... Nothing.

"Don't!" A soft hand was suddenly clasping Talus' own, yanking him back into the real world with a shout. "You're going to—"

Talus jolted, and the shaft eased out of the black, void-like portion of his skin with an abrupt tug. Not that he could feel it. He couldn't feel anything where his Shar Drak'na features lay. Except light. Light always felt far too warm.

Unlike the blood continuing to drip down his arm. Talus looked at the trail, feeling that strange, twitching itch starting to grow in his chest. The same itch that told him to do most things. He reached his arm up, sticking out a long, pointed black tongue to lick it off. The urge fell away, the chaos pushed off. For now, at least.

"Why did you do that?" Gavin asked, though it was closer to a yell than a question, despite Selatan's harsh shushing behind him. "All you did was spread the venom and make the bleeding worse!" His hands trembled as he stretched them out, although for what, Talus didn't know. He doubted a Snake Demon gave him the power to heal much more than himself.

"No, don't worry! It's fine. Really." Talus raised his own hand with a shaky smile, waving the notion away. It was almost adorable, how concerned Gavin was for his well being, but whether it was because of the image in his mind before, or something else entirely, his energy felt far more easy to control than normal, each shadow bending to his command as smoothly as silk, as opposed to the jerky, chaotic motion he normally had to wrangle with. It was a simple thing, pulling the night closer, letting the hollow feeling fill him until the blackness stole his wound, drawing it back like ebbing waves to a shell upon the shore.

But Gavin continued to panic in front of him, his fingers fumbling together, fangs showing with his mouth open so wide with unease. "But they're poisoned. You're... you're going to die from poison!"

Talus chuckled, shaking his head. "Again, don't worry, I'll be fine." Already, the shadows were drawing back until his pale flesh returned to show no injury at all. "It's gone now. Into the Nothing, so it doesn't matter."

"Well then!" A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump. With a start, he yanked his head back to find Selatan looking down on him with a far too tight smile on his face.

"Now that it's confirmed that you are indeed fine, mind explaining why you're out here when I remember Róhain clearly specifying that you were going to stay with the Eirímach?"

He gave the Demon a nervous grin in response. Right. Explaining. The thing that usually was supposed to follow his actions despite how much of a struggle reasoning tended to be. "Selatan... have I ever told you that you're my best friend?"

"Talus." This time Aoife was stepping forward, the fire in her palm extending towards him.

He immediately flinched back from the light, adjusting the eye patch on his face so the light didn't shine into the corner that had been knocked askew. He knew she didn't mean any harm, but already the purple light of her flames were pricking at each dark part of his skin painfully.

"We are right in front of Lorne, and there are Cearte on that wall." She huffed, fingers drumming against the side of her long, grey coat. "So before you go getting us caught, how were you invisible, and what are you doing here?"

Finally he sighed, shoulders drooping. So much for getting around it. "I just... wanted to come with you guys. I'm sick and tired of you all leaving me behind, and—" His gaze lingered on Aoife, at the stubborn expression on her face.

"And what?" Selatan pressed.

Another sigh. "Aoife only just got back after being gone for a year, and based on what I've heard, both of you and Gavin have been in and out of prison more times than I can count. I can't have you all getting captured again. Not when I know I'm strong enough to help."

He tucked his claws behind his back, mind trailing to only a few hours before, when he'd snuck past Róhain's room to knock ever so quietly on a certain Dávoln's door. "So, I talked to Lynette, and she put an illusion on me to trail you guys. But!" He interjected before Selatan started with his nagging once more. "This also means..."

He took a step back, feeling for the soft, gentle touch of Lynette's second soul still lingering around his shoulders like a drafty room he could never leave. Eunsi magik.

He tugged at the almost non-existent feeling, catching sight of the light blue glimmer around him. If the mirror Lynette had placed in front of him earlier was still there, he would've been able to watch the dark, swirling patterns leaving his body, his ears rounding themselves out. Now he could only see the dark red of his bangs shift to a light, sandy brown, and the other's astonished faces as he looked entirely Human. At least with the eyepatch still in place anyway. There was very little Lynette had been able to do about that. "Ta-da! I blend in, so can you pretty please let me go now?"

"Hold on," Gavin cut in, continuing to glance over the illusion. Talus didn't see why. It wasn't real. Eunsi magik never was, simply a useful trick so long as no one touched him to know otherwise. "Why didn't Lynette do that for the rest of us then?"

"Oh," Aoife began for him, tapping a finger against her chin. "Let's just say Lynette really doesn't care if I get captured again." Then she shrugged. "Besides, I'd much rather die to the Cearte than escape with the Relic all because of her magik." She stuck out her tongue in a disgusted expression. "I don't need to cheat."

"We also don't need to die," Gavin pointed out, giving Lorne's walls a quick once over. He faced the rest of the group, green eyes landing on Selatan as he gave him a gentle, sheepish smile. "Actually, I'm glad Talus is with us. We're going to need all the help we can get if we want to take them down."

Talus nodded along with him, crossing his arms. "Wise words. I agree."

"No one was asking you." Selatan rolled his eyes, shaking his head before moving back to the front of the group. He stole a glance over his shoulder though, eyeing the rapier Talus had taken with him, sheathed tightly against his left hip. He turned back. "Well, come on then. We don't have all night."

"You're going to let him stay?" Aoife asked, voice cautious as she fell to the back of the group, where Gavin walked. Talus tried not to wince at the sound of her voice. She had every right to be concerned, but...

He looked down at his hands, so pale and round with his Shar Drak'na half hidden. That was so long ago. I'm better now. Older.

"Do we have a choice?" Selatan shot back, a growl to the edge of his words. His pace began to pick up, fists clenched at his sides. "He's just going to follow us whether we like it or not."

Talus perked up. Right. Now wasn't the time to think about that. Instead he slipped alongside Selatan, giving him a joking shrug. "That's true. You can never be rid of me."

A small snicker sounded behind him, and Talus twisted to find a smile slowly fading from Gavin's lips before he took note of their surroundings again. His expression quickly changed to a more serious one though, and he reached back to grab for the green hood of his cloak, casting it over his bright, blond hair.

Talus squinted at him, curious. Sure, back at the Eirímach, Gavin was constantly flipping back and forth between him and his Demon, bickering and joking and honestly being more fun than anyone else in the shop— which he had to admit was nice, considering the heavy, suffocating tension it had always been filled with before. But he was already keeping Eldrazi on a leash, if the lack of freckle-like scales on his cheek bones were any indication. So what more was there to hide?

Unless... Talus let his eye wander up the walls surrounding the Human city. He'd never been to Lorne, or really any part of Durne. He'd only heard the stories that Róhain shared with him, most of which involved their security getting far tighter as they continued their search for The Undying Serpent that had unleashed a powerful Wolf Demon upon their lands, bringing their prosperous town to ruins. A heavy feeling tugged at Talus' heart, and he found his gaze drawing back to Gavin, surveying it all with a tight frown. Unless he's so well known that even hiding doesn't work.

"Who goes there?" A deep voice called out, breaking Talus out of his thoughts. Turning, he spotted two guards at the gate, a man and a woman, moving closer. They didn't seem to be Cearte, judging from their grey vests and padded armour. Still, it didn't mean they weren't a threat as they continued to inspect them, Gavin slipping ever further into the group's centre.

Talus went to answer, but Selatan put a hand in front of his chest, stepping forward. "We mean no harm," he replied, delivering each word smoothly. "We are simply travellers from the port town Aigéan looking for shelter within the capitol."

"Shelter?" the female guard asked, a gloved hand landing near the sword on her belt. "Shelter from what?"

Selatan's gaze trailed over his shoulder once more, looking ever so slightly in Talus' direction. "There are rumours of Shar Drak'na trailing people from that town, wreaking all kinds of havoc. Not to mention that it's near the ocean. If any race wanted to landlock Durne in the war, we would all be on the brink of battle. So my company and I left before it could get any worse."

The man gave a curt nod, glancing over each in the group. "Very reasonable. Still, I'm sure you can understand that, given the war, we must check each and every person entering the capitol for magik and such."

Selatan nodded, and Talus could see his own hand beginning to reach behind his back where his broadsword sat. "Yes, of course."

A sharp breath pulled through his nose as he caught onto Selatan's plan. But just because they had brought weapons didn't mean they had to use them, right? Of course, eventually they'd have to attack, but just a random guard doing their job? His heart began to beat rapidly within his chest. That wasn't right. That was what they were all trying to stop, Aoife, Selatan, Gavin, Eldrazi... they all wanted to end the senseless killing that happened every day with the Cearte in charge.

"W-wait!"

Everyone's heads turned to where Talus stood, and he froze, panic webbing through him as he quickly glanced around, looking for something to say. Anything. Finally his attention landed on the path they'd been walking on. "But uhh, there's no time! What if the 'oh-so scary' Shar Drak'na that likes to follow people is right behind us, waiting to make his move?" He gasped, hoping that would add to the tension.

"Then the Shar Drak'na better learn to sit this one back and stay out of our business before he messes everything up." Selatan's boot began to tap a warning against the stone, eyes shooting daggers.

"I'm sorry," the woman began again, shaking a long, dark ponytail behind her. "Is one already trailing you? Lorne has enough threats with Ulnter's soldiers at our doors. We don't need a godless getting in."

Godless. He tried not to let the word sink in as he continued to point down the path. For now, it was better to agree. "Yes, exactly! You can't have them getting in. That's why you have to let us in right now! Look!"

He stepped forward, reaching to throw an arm over her shoulder while the other pointed down the road. "Don't you see it?"

Perhaps there was a god for him, because even while his veins still burned- no doubt from the venom Gavin had mentioned- for some reason his magik was more powerful right then, and he couldn't have asked for a better time. It was practically child's play to urge each shadow cast along the road by the three moons out to where they could more easily be seen. They reared up under his call, forming black tendrils that crept forward at a slow, steady pace. "It's over there!"

"Dear Akasha, the boy is right!" the man cried, drawing his sword and moving in front of both of them, completely focused on the movement. "Stay back!"

"Absolutely! You're more than trained to handle heathens like this." Talus lifted his hand off the woman's shoulder, using one inching finger to form the darkness into a more person-like shape while he forced his own shadow to break away from beneath him and raise a wispy hand behind the guards' backs. He aimed that one towards the unguarded gate as if to say one message: Run.

The others didn't take long to catch on, and he could hear their footsteps echoing frantically along the road into the city, fading the further they got away.

"H-hey!" the woman called over her shoulder. "You still need to be inspected!"

"Forget it. We need to take care of the Shar Drak'na!" the man shouted back at her before taking another wild swipe at the silhouette continuing to dance in front of them.

Talus bit at his lips, trying hard not to smile, but it was so funny, watching them chase after it as if it was real. They were all so scared of a little darkness, something that, for as Human as he was, he would never understand.

After all, who wouldn't love a force that welcomed him so fondly, letting him slip away from the world further and further until he was nothing more than a flat form against the brick? It was comforting, to disappear, reappear, jump from each shape cast along the ground...

Talus darted across each one, a wayward barrel, the sleek line of a tree branch spread between the alley way. Each time, he encompassed the silhouette, becoming something new, something fresh. It was a fluid feeling, fast and freeing. A breath of fresh air that let him live as hundreds of objects, even if only for a moment. But eventually his fun ended as he caught up with the others, spotting the forked ends of Aoife's tailcoat sweeping around a corner.

"Hello again!" he announced, even as his heart hung heavy from having to peel himself off the wall he'd become one with, eventually standing on the street in the same illusion Lynette had given him. Still, he forced a smile on his face, putting his hands on his hips. "Did you miss me?"

"There you are!" Aoife put a hand to her chest, relieved. "I thought they caught you."

"Nope!" The smile widened. "No one was caught or hurt thanks to my wonderful, brilliant—"

"-Absolutely dangerous and stupid plan," Selatan finished for him.

"Hey!" Talus snapped his head towards the Demon. Even with his face buried in a hood, it wasn't hard to miss the disapproving scowl on his face. "You wanted to kill them!"

"He didn't want to," Gavin muttered, his eyes landing on the ground as he tipped his head away. "It was just the plan."

Talus blinked at him in shock, surprised at how casually Gavin had said it for being such a shy person. "The plan? You all discussed this?"

"Of course, Talus," Aoife said. "We went over everything shortly before we left the Eirímach. You didn't hear it?"

"No?" he told her, eventually taking a seat on a box left in the alleyway, putting his chin in his hand. "It took me about an hour to convince Lynette to use her magik." That was, if convincing meant: 'Please?' 'No.' 'Please?' 'No.' for several minutes straight until it finally became a yes.

Apparently though, that answer wasn't the right one as Selatan palmed his face, letting his hand drag the skin downwards in frustration. "And this is why you shouldn't have come."

"Why? Because I saved you from having to hurt random, innocent people?" he asked incredulously, raising his brows. "You didn't even say thank you!"

"Because they aren't innocent, Talus!" The Demon threw his hand out, gesturing in the direction they'd come from. "Did you see how they reacted when I mentioned Shar Drak'na?"

Talus shrunk back, almost wishing the shadows would swallow him again as Seleatan raised his voice. "Did you forget what they called you?"

"B-but that's not their fault!" Talus argued back, trying not to tremble under the Demon's glare. He hated looking pathetic. "Shar Drak'na can be dangerous, and- and if I wasn't there, you would've hurt them. They have every right to be scared!"

No one answered, Aoife's gaze dropping to her boots in shame, and Talus continued. "That's why we should be going out of our way to avoid hurting others. Because everytime we do, it just adds to their reason to hate us. We have to prove we're not evil, or wrong or—" He circled his hand in front of him, looking for the right words. "I don't know, but we have to be better than that."

Finally, Selatan sighed, hands brushing back the cowl so he could drag his fingers through the white and orange stripes of his hair. "At the setting of the Crone."

Talus stopped, giving him a confused look. "What?"

"That's when Róhain wants us to break into the stronghold, when the last moon sets." As if to confirm it, he took a glance at the sky, where the Mother moon- the second of the three- was nearing the horizon. "It's near the centre of the city, and we will probably have to force our way in." He gave an exasperated sigh. "That means killing people, Talus, and if you're not comfortable with that, that's fine. You can always go home."

As silence began to settle, thick and heavy, for some reason, Talus found his eyes wandering to Gavin once more, at the way his friend stood there, determined. For an outlaw, he almost seemed like the hero, hand clasped around his bow, jaw set with one goal in mind: making the world a better place for all races, whether they had a god or not.

A soft feeling blossomed in Talus' chest, shoving aside worry, reluctance, the harsh reminder of what that bow had done to his shoulder, and what pain it could cause to others. The feeling was admiration, and it burned far stronger.

I... I want to be like that too. I want to make up for what I did.

He turned back to Selatan, ignoring the uneasy look from Aoife to shake his head. "No. I'm doing this, and there's nothing you can do to change that."

"All right." The Demon shrugged, raising a single finger towards the end of the alleyway. There sat a fortress coated more in moss than stone, a single path winding up the hill it sat on to mark its entrance, and no doubt swarmed by even more guards. "Then there it is."

Standing up, he drew his sword. Aoife followed, poi swinging at her ankles while Gavin slipped alongside him with his own bow. Selatan registered it all with a nod, and when he glanced over his shoulder, amber eyes meeting Talus', they glinted in the dark, extending that resolve to him. "Now prove it."