Nevin stared at the spot where she had been for a few moments after her disappearance. This was - what? Why in the name of the sweet Flow - if he hadn't been hanging on the ladder out of the basement, Nevin would have thrown his hands up in exasperation.
The Fae, Asteria, had been shrieking at him, furious and enraged, then distraught over the fate of her child - and then mischievous as she kissed his cheek. Nevin officially did not understand what the hell had just happened. And it was clear the Fae wasn't going to clarify things any more, as her little vanishing act showed.
So Nevin growled and continued his climb. Sure enough, he was under the hatch that he had destroyed the latch on earlier, and he emerged back into the first floor with a grunt as he shouldered the hatch open. His feet almost carried him out of the tower - until he remembered there was a chamber he had not explored. He couldn't take the chance that the Fae child was trapped there - so with his leg burning in pain, Nevin climbed the stairwell once more.
The door was surprisingly easy to open - and when Nevin walked in, he felt like he had stepped into a greenhouse gone wild. Plants covered every inch of the interior and looking down, the redhead could see he was walking on a thick carpet of clover. He sneezed, hard, at the sheer amount of pollen in the air, and covered his nose and mouth with one sleeve as he ventured further into the room, looking around.
The plant life here was not twisted and mutated like that stuff outside - in fact, it almost seemed healthier than any he had ever seen before. Vibrant and blooming - even plants he knew weren't in season right now. This - this had to be the work of the Fae child. There - tucked in the corner of the room, almost entirely overgrown, was a small stone slab, with blankets piled on top of it. Nevin felt a stab of sorrow. Ezoreth had made the boy sleep on that?
But, no. The Fae child was not here. He must have escaped after Ezoreth passed on. Nevin cursed under his breath as he slowly made his way out of the overgrown chamber, and back down the stairs. His leg was burning in pain, overwhelming the anesthetic properties of his threads, but still he pressed on - he could not stop here.
Nevin didn't know how he made it out of the tower, or the forest, safely. All he knew was - he had to get home. At some point, he stopped thinking, focusing only on putting one foot in front of the other, trudging across the distant that felt like it stretched on forever, as he headed back to Stonevale. He knew he could make it - or, he thought he could. He was wrong. Somewhere along the way, he collapsed on the side of the path, and a frantic Aphrael shot off to find help.
A voice, one he knew. But wrong, where was three emotion he knew should be there? There was concern, and confusion, but - he gave up, thinking about this was too hard now.
~Fin~
