Afraid of the Dark

Chapter 16: Instincts

Avinalyn sighs as they stand with Mog, watching the scene unfold.

Reela is pacing back and forth in front of them. It's hard to tell if she's about to have another breakdown or just punch the first person to speak next while she's getting her little tantrum out of her system. They were unaware that this girl would turn out to be so emotional.

"Nope. Nope. Not possible," she keeps repeating to herself, briefly pausing between her now limited vocabulary to let out delirious laughs. Honestly, she herself isn't sure if she's about to snap again or not. But at this point, she thinks she's had enough breakdowns in the past two days that she doesn't have the energy for another. Fuck rule of three. She's done.

She claps her hands together and laughs again. "Nope. Last I checked," she stops her frantic pacing to point at the now-closed front door. "Aramora was fucking destroyed! Not sure if you were aware of that! Just a minor setback for the world, no biggy! I'm sure it's blown over by now!"

Mog clears her throat and steps forward with a careful smile. "Um... Reela? I hate to be the bear of bad news, but..." she calmly grabs her by her shoulders. "...I think it is a biggy," she says softly. Reela just stops and silently turns her fuming glare up at her.

"It was destroyed," Avinalyn states which pulls both of their attention to them. "The continent itself wasn't, though. Just the surface things that were within the blast range. You know, the cities and people therein, as well as other man-made structures that would never have been able to stand to the test of time, let alone an explosion like the one that wiped out Aramora."

"So how did this place survive?" Reela snaps.

Mog giggles and leans down to look her in the eyes. "Magic."

Reela growls, but Avinalyn answers. "Because the castle was out of the blast range," they say. She fucking knew it was a castle. "Too far north, just barely. It still took some damage, but it was far enough away that it was mostly superficial. Everything closer took the heavier hit. Like the Divine Temple? Gone, along with the island where Ecrin resided. Lost to ashes scattered in the Recharn Sea," they explain.

Reela shakes her head and steps back out of Mog's hands. "But... Even if that's all true, I thought Varagores invaded Aramora after it was destroyed," she darts her cautious glare between both of them. "Are you working for—"

"No, amazingly!" Mog states proudly. "That was actually the one thing I didn't lie about!"

Avinalyn nods and steps towards Reela. "This castle is safe from the Varagores invaders, at least for now. We're far north, well beyond where the city of Whiteridge used to be. Orcs don't do well in the cold, and the same goes for Tus'Felnis," they explain and Reela slowly nods as she starts to understand.

"Which must be why the orcs are now targeting Adaliaens," she sighs. "Extend their reach. If they get enough Adaliaen spies, they could travel further north. Take the rest of Aramora and officially invade Letroseli..."

Mog giggles and sidles back over to Avinalyn. "I think she's learning," she whispers too loudly to them, getting Reela to glare at her, making Mog grin widely. "You're doing great, sweetie!"

Avinalyn sighs and takes another step towards Reela. "You are safe here, Reela—"

"I call bullshit on that!" Reela snorts and steps back. "Now let me go. You must have some magical fucking way of getting to and from here, yeah? How else would you have gotten me from Ceelyaer to here over-fucking-night?"

Avinalyn chuckles. "I used my 'sparkling personality.'"

"Ass," Reela mumbles and reaches up to rub the burnt spot on her chin, just below the corner of her mouth. It's not as severe as the other burns she's gotten from Avinalyn in the past, but it still stings like a bitch. She knows she should be trying to process exactly what the fuck was happening in the moment before Mog barged in, but she figures that's a later problem.