A Court of Distrust and Darkness

Sea Serpents

(Above is Lyssa)
Keres's point of view:

     I sat at my desk reading various reports sent up from my commanders. The reports were repetitive, nothing of importance, but the repetition was calming. The task of flipping through reports and scanning for any important comments allowed my mind to wander. Other thoughts were soon taking precedence over the original task.

   Specifically, my mind was drifting to the man who had been surrounded by darkness when I saw him. He sat not a day ago in the chair behind me, but I still felt his presence in this room and smelled his scent. Nyx had shown up unannounced without ever actually meeting me. I didn't even think he knew about me, but he probably questioned his sister after the assassination attempt.

It was a complete surprise when Nyx offered me a position to work with him. He seemed to say that this was for the greater good, but something about his motives seemed off. His concern for my well-being was probably the most unusual thing of the entire experience. He was clearly concerned, though, and the second Nyx had heard Alis approaching, he left the very second to prevent our discovery. His goodbye was quick and formal, but it was to make sure I stayed in the clear. It didn't help my confusion.

     My shadows flowed gracefully over my pens and knocked the cup over. I sighed as the sleek metal pens scattered noisily across my desk. I picked up the scattered pens with an annoyed glare towards the now scattering shadows. They were mischievous, that's for sure. Especially when they knew I was distracted. Despite their current playful nature, they seemed to be trying to distract me from my thoughts.

    They weren't at all concerned about Nyx and his motives. Maybe the most concerning thing about that introduction was that my shadows liked him, which was odd as they barely tolerated anyone else.

I sent them away to keep an eye out as I continued my thinking. I realized after they left that I couldn't remember what the previous report had said, so I had to pull it back out from the pile with a sigh. Despite my focus on the report, Nyx still weaseled his way back into my thoughts.

While I was confused at Nyx's worry over my safety, I assumed the concern came from my relationship with Asteria. She is a valued friend and someone who I assume Nyx relied on greatly for advice. It said a lot about their relationship, though. He seemed to have a considerable amount of faith in his sister if she had been the cause of his concern over my safety. Their relation seemed to be a way to explain why Nyx's so concerned about me.

However, that concern would be preventable if I didn't join the group, so if they were so worried, why ask me at all. The half-assed excuse that I had more information was a blatant lie. But I had no other idea why Nyx would want me on the team while being so concerned. The concern contradicted with wanting to work with me.

Nyx may act arrogant, but he seemed to be caring towards me. He was concerned for me almost excessively despite barely knowing me. He definitely wasn't normal. His visit, however, left me with an odd imprint on me. Not only did he feel like an annoying thought that kept recurring, but his nature was plaguing me. His confidence and cocky nature were frustrating but still entertaining to banter with. He just seemed oddly at ease with me. Either he was overly confident in his own strength to not worry about me as a threat, or he doubted my abilities and thought I was too weak to be a threat.

I snapped my pen in half and sighed as the thoughts were getting to me. I tossed the pen and went to wash off the ink from my hand. I knew I would just have to ask Nyx about it. If I hadn't been so shocked by his presence, I probably would have when we were talking. The thought had completely slipped my mind during his visit because my heart had felt like I'd just swam the channel from here to Hyburn.