"It seems we have a new specimen." A voice says curiously. You back away from the person you ran into, muttering apologizes. When your far enough away, we can finally get a view of the person. Well, sort of, the dim alleyway didn't have much light to begin with. The person you ran into merely studies you with their eyes, not acknowledging your apology. After a second they reveal a wide grin full of razor sharp teeth.
"Oh, Valdemar!" A voice sounds from behind the person. "Can we go now? I am so very hungry."
"Not yet, Volta." The person, presumably Valdemar, snaps. "It'd be wasteful to leave behind a perfectly good specimen."
You step back, you don't like the sound of this. Faust seems to agree with you as she wraps herself around your neck.
"Run!" She hisses.
You don't hesitate. You turn to flee but are instead grabbed by another person from the shadows. You struggle, but the person holds tight anyways, getting a grip on your neck. You feel as if you're suffocating.
"Now, now, Vulgora." Valdemar tilts their head. "I would like to keep my specimen alive."
The person holding on to you lessens their grip, "Right, but I get to crush the living daylights out of one of them!"
"We will see." Valdemar replies coolly.
"Oh please, can we go now?" The one you think is Volta comes from the shadows, tugging on her face. "I need snacks!"
You feel a gnawing in your chest when you look at these at people, but you can't tell what it is. It's almost as if they seem familiar. Still, how could you know them? This isn't Vesuvia, you don't have any memories here.
"Vulgora, you have that one?" Valdemar asks, walking down the alleyway.
"Nice and tight." Vulgora pushes you forward and you start to follow Valdemar. Volta follows you as well. You can hear her stomach growl in the dark.
You reach a spot where two bodies are crumpled on the ground. That's where the scream must have come from.
Valdemar picks up one of the bodies, "Vlastomil, take the other, Volta will eat it if she takes one."
"Only a bite." Volta whines.
Another figure appears from the shadows, reluctantly picking up the body's arm, "Oh, if we could just leave the bodies for a bit longer, they'd be able to attract worms-"
"Enough, you fools!" Valdemar hisses. "We need these bodies in shape for the incantation." They continue down the alleyway, extra careful with the body they held.
"Yes, but we will get snacks beforehand, won't we?" Volta scurries along.
This is bad, you think. They're performing some kind of magic? Looking at the dead bodies, you assume it's safe to say it's not a good kind of magic. You have to get to Asra...
Faust slides up to your ear, "Duck."
You don't waste any time on that. You bend your head down as far as you can while being restrained, which confuses Vulgora.
"What are you-" Before they can get the rest out of their mouth they're being zapped. They stumble, letting you go.
It's Asra, his face is cold and angry, you've never seen him this mad. When he looks at you, though, his face softens, "Are you alright?" He demands.
You nod and he helps you up. By this time the people that had attempted to take had fled, leaving the bodies behind.
Asra doesn't attempt to chase them, instead he holds your face, looking for any sign of scratches or injury.
"I was so worried, I came back to the room and you weren't there." Tears well up in his eyes but they don't fall. He pulls you close, hugging you tight. "I thought something bad happened to you."
Well, something bad did happen to you, you just weren't hurt in the process. After a minute of hugging you Asra calms down, pulling away.
"What were those people doing?" He asked, moving closer to the bodies.
"Magic." You whisper, following close to him. You don't want to be in the alleyway any longer.
Asra scrunches his face up in thought, "Well that's no good." He says, biting at his lip. You can this worries him. "Did you get a good look at their faces?"
"One had bandages." Even now forming sentences was difficult. Internally, curse your tongue. Your thoughts are as sharp as knives but when you speak it comes out about as sharp as a spoon. "Valdemar."
"Valdemar?" Asra seems shocked. He squints his eyes, "This is... troublesome."
"Why?" You ask.
Asra shakes his head, "I want to look more into it before I jump to any conclusions. Besides," Asra smiles and takes your hand, "Let's get out of this alleyway."
That sounds perfectly fine to you. Asra leads you back up to the room, where the two of you get ready for bed.
You set Faust onto the bed as you change. She slithers over to one of the pillows, making sure to make herself comfortable. Asra comes in and laughs, watching Faust.
"Have you already claimed your side of the bed?" He asks, grinning.
"Mine!" Faust replies.
Asra shakes his head, "Does that mean I get the couch?" He chuckles.
You flop down on the bed next to Faust, staring at Asra, "We can make a little room." Faust sticks her tongue out, seeming to agree.
"Oh, thank you so much." Asra takes his shirt off, tossing it to the side and climbing in. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you close. You rest your head on his chest, listening to the sound of his shallow breathing. Gently, he runs his hand through your hair.
"Tomorrow I'll show you around the city." He promises. "All the good spots too, I know the best places to shop and visit." You smile against his chest, that sounds wonderful. You fall asleep holding each other, both unaware of what ritual was attempted that night.
