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Ven's head was a maelstrom of thoughts.
Her boots clicked on the cobblestoned paths of The Sylvas, Aularia's grand gardens, droplets of water trickling down the tree leaves resting atop her cherry red hair.
She sighed in exasperation. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Visabutents had allegedly infiltrated the palace for the second time the previous night. The way Tempest had described it... she sounded almost... agitated?! But, no, that couldn't be so. Ven knew Tempest since childhood. Any hint of compassion and worry the girl may have felt then had completely vanished now. Tempest Blaine, Princess of Aularia, was a cold, stoic miscreant. She delivered orders effortlessly and cared for no one except herself.
Ven came to a halt in front of the strawberry bushes. Earlier that day, she had consumed a dozen vanilla-flavoured cookies, stuffed with raspberry jam. Obviously that was not going to prevent her from treating herself to more delicacies. She gently collected a handful of strawberries in her palms and tossed one into her welcoming mouth. They tasted just the right balance between sour and sugary. Ven squeezed her eyes shut and simply let herself swim in the sensation, swirling around the garden and giggling euphorically. A nearby guard eyed her incredulously and raised his eyebrows in puzzlement, but Ven merely let out another jubilant chuckle.
Twirling as she was, Ven's boot cracked a twig, eliciting a yelp from the girl. The startling noise itself was adequate enough to shove her back to reality. Her duty, which was to cross the Perasma, the passage that connected Aularia to Penuria, the bleak slums. Tempest insisted on sending her Lieutenant out in Penuria frequently, so Ven knew the spooky slums like the back of her hand. Although, sometimes she wished she didn't.
Because, while Ven had managed to bond with two teenagers from Penuria, she was loftily aware of the dangers they beheld. Not merely due to the recent "reappearance" of the Visabutents, but because of the sketchy characters lurking the streets. Reluctant though she was to admit it, Ven often thought that her own friends could be involved in such "pranks". Truth was, the three youngsters had shared a number of risky secrets. Ven trusted the pair, foolish though that may sound. Which is why she never shared that part with the Princess. They would basically discuss the outline of Penuria and make speculations. Ven ensured that conversations between herself and Tempest never endangered her destitute friends.
So, her mission for this day was to investigate the slums discreetly, and note any suspicious behaviour, using her mind-reading ability. Ven conjectured there was a second part to that plan, but she had not pressed Tempest on the matter. She knew her efforts would prove futile.
There was no use lying to herself. Ven clearly felt chills down her spine at the mere thought of encountering a Visabutent. For cookies' sake, these... blokes were likely capable of maiming her with a simple wave of their hand. Naturally, she was wary of heading out to Penuria under these circumstances. But Tempest wouldn't knowingly put her life on the line... right? Ven let out a weary sigh and leaned against the trunk of a cherry tree, reminiscing her earlier dialogue with Tempest.
