Amends

Chapter 6: Reword

Back in Northwind, Nakiri and Jerome are still scrambling to work out where their Voltaris Master has gone. They fear the worst when they run ragged across the territory looking for any signs as to how he had disappeared

When they reconvene to compare notes, they find that they've been looking at their problem all wrong from the start

Author's note: slightly shorter chapter than the others; but you'll see why it would have been tricky to match a 3k word count as you read

anywhoozle - back to my favourite OC duo! I love these two XD

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Also in the dead of night, guidance lit only by the pale moon of the wintry sky, Jerome and Nakiri ran ragged between tents and social groups, pulling people aside and asking where they had last seen their Voltaris Master, asking if anyone had heard word from another Voltaris settlement deep in the snowy wastelands of his unexpected arrival. He had left unarmed for his sword still laid slightly under his makeshift bed and Voltar stood silently in the corner, unmoved from where Jerome had placed it after they returned Ingressus to his tent following his dissociative episode the evening before.

The two of them had split up to cover more ground, growing more and more desperate as the night went on, their search evermore fruitless with nothing gained since they had begun – they were no closer to understanding his absence than they were when they first found him missing. Every time one of them pulled another Voltaris aside, they would aid their search for a while, suggesting others that may know of his whereabouts, naming the remaining elders of the clan whose infinite wisdom may guide them to an understanding; but even they lacked answers short of telling them 'to relax,' and that 'he will come when he is ready.'

Nakiri was sure that it wasn't total ignorance that led her to these answers, but she couldn't help but tense up and grow impatient with their leniency as she reminded them time and time again that Ingressus was unwell and that he is in danger alone – especially if he did not leave of his own accord.

This was not the first time that Ingressus had wandered off on his own – aside from the monthly ventures that he went on to a destination or person unbeknownst to them. He was prone to sleepwalking and not all of his hallucinations warranted his walls of defence or his force of attack; but each time that he had wandered off alone, he would either return of his own volition and alert Nakiri to his confusion and findings, or they would find him not far out from the camp, most often by the edge of the lake, frozen or otherwise, merely sitting there calmly, eyes fixated on the water or his toes as they dabbled in the light stream. Sometimes he would be found still amidst his sleepwalk or dissociated state, and sometimes he would be awake and conscious and choose to remain there for a while. Either way, Nakiri always found him and checked up on him to ensure that no harm had befallen him in his mental absence; and she was always there to listen if he wished to tell her anything.

Not that he had much that he was willing to say short of a childhood anecdote or two.

However, this was the first time that Ingressus had disappeared and not returned on his own, nor could they find him in any of his usual spots. When Nakiri and Jerome reconvened after eight long straight hours of searching, exhausted, they had found that they had almost searched border-to-border between their camp and Nestoria. Short of crossing into the mountain villages and towards Hailstone, or crossing into Nestoria or Sendaria, they could find nowhere else to turn. Even as they spoke to one another, they remained on edge, anxious and worried, and they struggled to find words for their lungs empty in fear.

"Nakiri, I have a horrible feeling..." Jerome paced beside the campfire, his hands all over his face, rubbing his skin firmly and pressing his digits into his eyes.

Nakiri stood with her arms folded, however and rocked nervously from side to side, shifting her weight carefully between her hips, and she didn't once look up from the low-burning flames of their light source aside the moon.