Imperium

Chapter 19: Search and Remember

Cree shivers as he hurries through the door, returning to the warmth of the abandoned house they've set up in for now, just until they find anything useful that might set them on Edith's trail. This place may be about as airtight as a blanket fort, and it's a pain in the ass trying to be discreet when entering and exiting to avoid unwanted attention from officers who might take offence to them illegally squatting here.

He quickly shuts the door and rubs his arms, trying to shake the chill out of his bones. He turns and sees that Regan is sitting against the far wall with his notebook in his lap, writing something and whispering to himself. Reela is just walking around, looking at everything in sight with bug-eyes, doting over how different everything already is compared to Aramora.

He can see how both she and Regan are shivering, and he can't blame them for complaining about the cold as he's right there with them. At least those two have experience living in cold conditions, being from Sage and Whiteridge. Cree, however, is freezing his ass off and hating the fact that with the increased Imperium officer patrol around every corner has made it not safe to set up a fire again. Best thing they can hope for now is a lead so they can get out of here.

Reela smiles bright and rushes towards Cree when she sees him enter the house, throwing her arms around his waist and holding on tight.

He smiles as well and rests his hand on her back, gently rubbing and feeling her shivering so he takes off his jacket and wraps it around her, stifling how cold he is for her sake.

"Hey, kid. How're you feeling?"

Reela loosens her grip and leans back to look up at him and he sees that there is a bit of strain behind her eyes, but she looks better than she did last night.

"My head hurts still... But I'm getting better!"

Cree nudges her off of him. "Good. You should grab some blankets. Warm up until we can leave," he says.

Reela nods and rushes over to the pile of blankets she has been using to sleep, bundling herself up with them and nearly tripping over Cree's jacket, which she is practically drowning in.

He takes a deep breath, which puffs out with frost, before he makes his way over to Regan and kneels beside him.

With his focus on his notebook, he doesn't even seem to notice that Cree is here. To grab his attention, Cree reaches over and goes to nudge his shoulder.

Before his hand can even make contact with his arm, Regan throws his hand up and swiftly catches his wrist and for a brief second, darkness surfaces on his skin and his eyes flash black, but it quickly fades away and Regan gasps, letting go of Cree and placing his hand over his heart.

"Ty! I—Sorry! You startled me!" he takes a deep breath, his hands shaking a bit and he dropped his notebook.

Cree holds his hands up slowly. "Hey hey, it's alright. You're okay. Deep breath."

Regan nods and takes another breath, letting himself calm down and he clears his throat.

"Forgive me, I... I was lost in thought. Anyway, what's it like out there?"

Cree sees his attempt at swiftly trying to avoid drawing attention to that sudden burst and he humors him, letting it slide for now.

"Well, the sky opens up and the continent loses power, and the people are demanding answers. The Imperium's trying to explain why this all makes sense without revealing the fact that there are barriers, other continents, rifts or magic. You can imagine what it's like. It's full-scale pandemonium out there."

Regan sighs and shuts his notebook, setting it and his pencil aside to throw his head back with a groan.

"Wonderful... increased panic breeds chaos, which means more security wherever you turn. That's sure to make avoiding the authorities a walk in the park..."