hoping the “usual drill” wasn’t anything too specific that she’d have to attempt to mimic, she nodded briefly, following behind him as he made his way quickly, yet quietly, to the armory, she glanced both ways as they ran–the coast still seemed to be clear, and they were mere steps from the opening of the armory. the footsteps were getting closer, and the sound of armor clattering with each step was now audible, and kiara flinched as when, in the last few steps, she could see the figure turn into the corridor out of the corner of her eye.
…there was no doubt. with the noise of their own footsteps and that blur of her disguise’s bright, vibrant clothing…they must have been spotted.
❝ …hey!! is anybody over there?! ❞
the man’s voice clearly unsettled the young child besides her, as when she looked over, his face was pale and his hands looked ever so slightly as if they were shaking. kiara wondered if he, too, noticed the clattering of the armor, signifying that this was possibly the worst enemy for a thief–an armored knight. and he was strong, at that, according to his level of quintessence, stronger than the other ones she had encountered in the castle. however…he was certainly not too strong for her, who had been collecting quintessence and increasing her magical ability tremendously over her travels. yes, kiara could decimate the threat within instants…
…at the cost of her disguise, of course.
however, it was clear now that the knight was approaching the armory, where he must’ve seen the last traces of the yellow-orange blur, and her disguise had little to no importance if she valued this child’s life. but…why did she value this child’s life? she certainly didn’t know him, and yet it felt so…nostalgic, to speak and be around such an independently strong child–one who most likely didn’t know what they were truly getting themselves into. gripping her fenrir tome beneath her cloak, she narrowed her eyes as she made her final decision. readying her hand, she began to focus her magical power, muttering a small, ❝ stay here. don’t move. ❞
tensing and preparing to launch out of her hiding place and strike, she knew that it shouldn’t be too difficult. just one or two strikes would surely bring the knight down, and with her speed and ability, it would be over in mere seconds. exhaling slowly, a small smile crept onto her lips, and she murmured only one more thing before she leaped into the corridor and struck, the faint essence of her dark magic crackling from the tips of her fingers.
❝ …i’m sorry for deceiving you, kid. ❞
When the knight came around the corner and called out, he could’ve sworn that his heart had either leapt into his throat, stopped, or dropped out of his chest altogether- It was a relief that none of the three were the case, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he guessed that it would happen eventually when the guy got his hands on them, even if Lugh was with him- He has to live, Lugh has to survive- And with this on his mind, fear clouding his logic, the thief turned around, the words ‘run’ and ‘i’ll cover you’ on the tip of his tongue, but dying before they could fall.
Because the mage leapt out first, magic at his fingertips, clearly intending to meet the knight head-on, and Chad was about to scream, protest, but he couldn’t stop him, and the spell that formed- It wasn’t anima magic, it was too menacing to be anima, it wasn’t Fire or Thunder or Elfire, it was dark, dark magic- But it wasn’t Ray, Lugh doesn’t know how to use dark magic-
It didnt make any sense to him, still didn’t make sense as he watched the other strike the enemy down with almost disturbing ease, and the thief suddenly felt very, very sick. Maybe this was some sort of hyperrealistic dream? Nightmare? Drightmare? For some reason, he doubted that was the case. There’s no way his brain could construct anything like this.
But all that aside, it was obvious that the person he’d been running through the corridors with wasn’t Lugh. But if not, then who-?
And why were his hands shaking so much, anyways? Forcing himself to calm down, his grip on his knife tightened as he took a shaky breath.
“This- Is this some sort of bad joke? I-- who-- who are you?”