Call me : Darkness

Malyen

"Dak," Aurora murmured, touching the surface of something blurry.

"Well I cannot stay outside all the time Aurora, I have work," Aleksander gestured to the paperwork. (If anyone knows any other work the darkling might do *besides Alina* then pls inform me im tired of writing paperwork over and over)

"Ack!" Aurora sniffed and sat right before the man with eyes like hers.

At first, Aleksander didn't mind the eyes staring at him, but then he couldn't help but feel like he offended the girl in some way.
Through the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Aurora who was still staring at him, hands locked over her chest.

He sighed.

"I'm leaving today and I need to finish this, end of discussion." He informed in a formal tone, though he was sure the brunette didn't understand one bit.

She did.

Aurora nodded solemnly and vanished.

Aleksander blew out a frustrated breath and went back to his unfinished paperwork.



Malyen hadn't prepared anything much for food, cooking wasn't one of his professions. But he knew he had to feed something to Aurora before Alina comes back.

His glacial eyes glanced at the brunette.

Subconsciously, his fingertips dug in his palm in anger. Everything about that girl was wrong.

"Mama bei ba' an papa weel be 'aapy," Aurora babbled to herself as she clasped her fingertips together in midair. Giggling at times.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Mal rushed to open it and immediately melted into Alina's arms.

"Hey Mal, I missed you too," Alina smiled and dug her face further in the crook of the tracker's neck. She inhaled the familiar scent of fresh grass from the coller of his shirt.

"Oh Alina, everything was gloomy without you," Mal mumbled and pressed his lips against Alina's.

But Alina pushed away in a few seconds.

"Where is my baby girl!" The sun summoner beamed and skidded over the dusty floor to where Aurora was.

At the familiar sight of a bright smile and soft brown eyes, Aurora jumped up and clapped her hands, hopping up and down like a bunny.

"Mamaa!" Aurora exclaimed and was grabbed by Alina.

Alina adjusted her grip on her daughter  and swung her around, fits of giggles broking pass her lips. Aurora giggled along.

"My little bunny missed me, you did, didn't you?" The mother gave the briefest touch to Aurora's nose from hers, only to be interrupted by her daughter's ineluctable "ya, ya, ya."

"Aww, well guess what? I missed you too my sunshine," Alina swung the child in her hands, many times, until her joints felt like they were on fire.

While on one hand, the atmosphere was one of bliss, but on another, it was rippling anger.

Malyen glared daggers at the child, but what truly infuriated him was how much Alina loved it.

In the blink of an eye, that thing had stolen away Alina from him. His Alina.

He replayed the whole incident, how desperately he had awaited for the brunette only for her to run pass him to the girl. Malyen recollected the memory of pure joy in Alina's face when Aurora came in view. The way her eyes twinkled and a slight glow emitted from her face, making her cheeks glow in a perfect shade of red.

It wasn't just the relation he hated between the mother-daughter, it was the fact that Alina would be dissapointed after all.

The tracker recalled those tough moments when Aurora was months old; how Alina used to stay up all night, cradling the baby. She used to spend her entire day with Aurora. Her entire schedule was based upon the child.

But after all this time.....

.....Monster

"

It's late, you should sleep," Mal blurted without thinking. He wasn't wrong. The night was already spreading its wings like a hawk, devouring the sky. 

"Right," Alina swung Aurora from left to right, "Mama needs to sleep, no? Aurora is sleepy too, isn't she?"
Alina plucked the little brunette off her hands and clasped her close to her chest, and swung in a complete circle.

"Today, Aurora will sleep with mama, how does that sound?" Alina beamed and Aurora beamed alongside her mother.

No one would have noticed, or maybe it was just a trick played on the tracker by his brain, but he was sure that the faint light that encased the mother-daughter duo was not the one made by a lantern.



"Alina, wake up," Malyen's hushed voice spoke in Alina Starkov's ear. She mumbled some words of nonsense in her sleep and clutched the covers tighter with her fists.

"Alina?" Malyen whispered again.

Alina didn't budge. The fatigue of the past few days of running and hiding had a hard grip on her body.

"Alina!"

Alina woke up with a jolt.

"Mal - wha-"

Her next words automatically died in her throat as she felt a glacial grasp of bracelets around her wrists.

She didn't need to look down to know what caused the chilled feeling.

"Malyen, what is this?" Alina demanded, hands raised, cuffs rattling.

Malyen didn't respond, instead, he hauled Alina from her bed. Only to be interrupted by a harsh slap across his face.

"What are you doing?" He hissed, a hand enclosing his tingling cheek.

"You will tell me right now what is happening."

Malyen considered his options.

There weren't many to begin with.

With two confident steps, he towered Aurora's wooden cradle. The child lay asleep. Her pale features seemingly sharper at the dimness of the lamplight.

Malyen didn't use his gentle grip.

He yanked the baby off the comfort of its bed and literally threw her besides Alina

Alina screamed.

Aurora startled.

In a moments time, Alina was prying her fingers on Aurora's dress helplessly.

"She summons," Malyen hissed and jabbed a finger at the little girl's direction.

"Mal stop this!" Alina begged, cuffs rattling at her movements.

But Malyen was beyond stopping.

"Summon you useless thing!" Malyen roared at Aurora's direction.

For the first time, Aurora felt real fear. Her limbs felt detached from her body and her pale features were paling further.

'What is wrong with me...' she chided herself in misery.

Her papa was standing over her petite body, potentially with the potential to crush her without a second thought - Aurora had a feeling he would have done so ages ago.

"SUMMON!" He screamed again and this time, with a start, a faint glow tinged her body before it vanished.

"You see, you see," Mal hissed in Alina's direction, whose mouth was ajar in shock.

'She's like me' was her first thought.

Under different circumstances, she expected Malyen to celebrate this.

She's not a Darkling.

But as the apparent 'papa' of Aurora stood over Alina and her daughter, the sun summoner couldn't help but think how would have Aurora's real father reacted.