NEMO: Into The Depths

Chapter 25: A Fated Meeting

"Have you heard any more news from Lati?" Elyza spoke, biting into the salted meat strip she held, the touch of her saliva unlocking the explosion of spices forced within it. She looked at her partner, sitting opposite to her, his cloak cushioning the rough movement of the carriage, resting his eyes.

His hand delved into his shadow, his brow falling to meet his nose, putting his full focus on the task, before yelping, cutting off the sound with a rageful yell, "NO CAKE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY, YOU DAMNED, SCALY TROGLODYTE." The words would have been more impactful if Alex hadn't started smiling halfway through them, his hand gripping onto a neatly folded paper, a small bite mark on his index finger.

As he unfurled the paper with a snap of his wrist, he carefully read it whole before speaking. "The beastmen have reached the capital... around three days after we left, which is pretty fucking fast, even with a martial escort," He recapped, taking another look at the paper before continuing, "Most of what they told us on the day seems to collaborate with what they're telling the Guild, and Lati's taking point of getting the families situated in the neighbouring farms, with an unknown, and extremely philanthropic financier. For some reason, I also picture him as unconventionally attractive."

Even without him grinning through the last sentence, there was no doubt in Elyza's mind who he was talking about, her entire body sighing impulsively as her partner added, "The orphans fall under the patronship of Artemis, but I have enough leeway with both Lady Diana and the organisation to get them settled in my own place of upbringing. Hopefully, the sea air will give them some peace, and Lady Callisto won't be too disappointed that I didn't visit with them."

"Let us pray that none of them turn out as you did, especially Nadia," She remarked, a smile playing on her lips as she took another bite of the jerky.

"Technically," Alex retorted without any hesitation, "I'm not the worst person they can become, since Red was at the orphanage for way longer than I was."

"Have they found any connection to the Temple?"

"Mmm," He raised his finger, clarifying, "We can't say that there exists one, yet. As far as we know, the priest was acting on his own volition, but I can't be too sure, and I don't trust anyone else to do it properly. We'll have to conduct our own independent investigation when we get back to the capital, which is saying something, since around... half of Luminae worships, or at least works under someone associated with Hera."

Alex held out an open hand towards her, stopping her from devouring the last morsel of her snack, and instead sighing as she tossed it towards her partner. He caught it with ease, the meat falling directly into his mouth. His spine slammed into the carriage's wall as he settled into his seat again, a grin spread across his face as he chewed, floating a wink across the wagon.

Elyza sighed at his flourish, her partner asking as he cracked his fingers, "Anything else you're curious about?"

Her mouth had barely opened when her ears picked up the flutter of wings, her eyes jumping to the back of the carriage to see a crow peering at them. Its talons etched claws into the wooden plank as it plopped into a roost, a deep caw escaping its black beak as its beady eyes locked onto her, its head tilting to a side. It was big for a crow, its inky feathers reflecting a vivid combination of purples, blues, and dark greens, as if oil had spilled over them.

"Alex," She began, her head tilting towards him as she whispered, "You see that giant crow too, correct?"

"I believe that may be a raven," Her partner replied, his hand delving into his pouch and returning with some more jerky wrapped in grease paper, tossing a strand of meat towards her and the bird.