Lo and behold, people Skullius had attached the moniker of 'stalker' to had finally caught up to him despite his efforts to keep his activity hidden. For the past six weeks, Skullius had gone under the radars of many including these three.r
Until now.r
"Don't look so excited to see us," Darwel said sarcastically with a dazzling smile. She was adorned in a beautiful, transparent silver dress that exposed the shorter white one underneath it.r
On both her sides were the figures of her loyal guards Viccil and Sevill who bowed to Skullius respectfully.r
"It has been a long time, Lord Luminant Festos," they both said in unison, much to Skullius' cringing funny bones.r
"How did you find me?" he asked.r
"You do know that if I truly wanted to impose on you without regarding your opinion I could have, right? I have the Governor's son seeking my glance at any and all costs and he in turn has a wide array of means to track anyone," Darwel said as she took steps to reach closer to Skullius.r
Right.r
She wasn't wrong.r
At the end of the day, Skullius' means of hiding weren't extraordinary. They mainly relied on the fact that he wasn't all too well known. No one really cared for what he was doing except for a select few individuals.r
Perhaps the illusion of Darwel not dropping by the Bryne Family Residence every day or so after the first couple of times made him think his basic incognito utilities were actually working!r
Damn it.r
"You've made your point. Now, what do you want? I have plenty of things to do here," Skullius said in a harsh and blunt tone.r
"Could you be any more tactless? I just wanted to see what you were up to. You've had your fun going about your business alone for now. Let us tag along."r
Skullius deflated even further.r
"Well, I was just on my way back to Genhuis City," he said.r
"Didn't you just say you had plenty of things to do here?"r
"I was being too optimistic." r
Skullius began strutting in a completely different direction than the one he had intended to go in before, the manner in which he made his motions making Darwel giggle.r
"There goes all the dignity I attached to the name Luminant. You definitely aren't what my parents will be expecting," the El Sif said.r
"I don't think I've ever presented myself with dignity," Skullius defended his dishonour. "And, I don't think I'd like to present myself to your parents."r
Darwel began laughing. If there was anything beside Skullius' hidden bloodline that amused and fascinated her, it would be his personality. She discovered how much she enjoyed talking to such an eccentric character like Skullius after the first few times she did as she had promised a�" barging in on him within the Bryne Family Residence only to be kicked out minutes later by the Hybrid Luman.r
His tone, his temperament and random inclusions of words like sockethole, flesh and bones where they did not fit grew on her especially.r
"I don't think either of us have a choice in that matter. Though, I was actually thinking about introducing you to my parents as a lawfully wedded husband the first time I go with back to Opungale. The look on their faces would be hilarious!" Darwel pitched with a devious smile.r
Sevill and Viccil felt a chill run up their spines. As did Skullius.r
If that were to happen, Skullius would be dead before Darwel even had the time to explain herself!r
"Your Highness..." Viccil began.r
"It's a joke, Viccil."r
"Mas-, Ahem...Sir Festos. I'll be going back to my post," Red Rage who felt like the odd one out here suddenly said.r
Everyone turned to him.r
"Ah, I barely noticed you there," Darwel said with a dismissive glance. r
'LIES!' Red Rage hissed in his mind.r
He had been introduced as a devout follower of Skullius during the first time that Darwel and her crew intruded into the Bryne Family Residence.r
As such, he hadn't been taken as a key character, especially with fact that in open areas, Red Rage usually kept his long cape hidden, as he had done after leaving the Cluster just now.r
"You can go," Skullius said to which the Pelvic Arbiter responded by weaving through the trees of the woodland they were passing through at a rapid speed, disappearing from sight.r
This wasn't a tactic retreat.r
It was a desperate escape.r
Just like Skullius, Red Rage did not wish to become a well known figure.r
To ensure that the subject did not hang on his Apostle, Skullius quickly introduced a new topic.r
"Since we're already at this point, please tell me you know other methods for me to get to use [Son of Luserus]," Skullius asked.r
Darwel wore a baffled look.r
"Wow. That's all you have to say? I told you how to visualise and you up and skipped our mandatory meet ups thinking it would be easy to use that ability with just that. Now that it hasn't worked, clearly... You are VERY bold."r
"Thanks for the compliment."r
"It's really not," Darwel shook her head with an exhausted smirk.r
"In any case, I was going to drop by to speak about this eventually so what's the problem here?"r
Skullius once again began defending his dishonour while Viccil and Sevill silently followed them as they trekked through the woodland.r
That was until Sevill stopped, her long ears twitching.r
Her eyes suddenly shot towards her left, her focus reining in on a particular spot.r
Viccil after noticing Sevill's halted movement also stopped and wordlessly lowered her stance.r
Skullius and Darwel saw the grave reaction from the two and raised their guard.r
What was going on?r
Sevill could hardly call what she had sensed just now a threat or even a sentient creature watching them. She couldn't confirm what it was as it had only showed itself for a fraction of a moment, not enough time to appraise it.r
However, as someone trained to always be on high alert, she wouldn't disregard anything that she perceived, even if it was just a passing wisp of malice.r
A few minutes passed like this.r
No one made any movements.r
Even Skullius held himself back.r
If Sevill and Viccil had noticed something that even he couldn't then that meant it was probably out of his league one way or another. Besides, they were far stronger than him, so he might as well let them handle the situation.r
"It's gone," Sevill said as she turned to Darwel. "I've scoured a ten mile radius from where we are. Whatever it was that I felt is gone."r
Darwel nodded while relaxing from the tension she felt.r
She had faith her guards and in the fact that they took her sensitive identity just as seriously as she did.r
Even leaving the city without informing anyone hours before had been after Darwel tussled with the two.r
Skullius on the other hand was left shocked by the simple sentence Sevill had uttered just now.r
'I've scoured a time mile radius from where we are...'r
What the flesh was that supposed to mean?r
Was it a matter of semantics?r
No. That couldn't be it.r
For people as dedicated to keeping Darwel safe as as these two...r
'Is she trying to say that this whole time... she was...' Skullius found this hard this hard believe.r
He had his senses stretched out for miles and he didn't sense Sevill move at all!r
Still, he kept his cool and took a breath.r
What mattered was that the situation at hand was settled. Sort of. If Sevill said the threat was gone, then it was probably gone.r
*r
Hidden unnaturally within a partially leaning tree 13 miles away from the group of four, a rather tall woman dressed up in the thick fur of white ice bear shifted uncomfortably.r
"Too keen. That confirms it then. I can't carelessly advance. Opungale has growing its strengths too it seems. <Sigh>. I have already dragged this on for too long. I hope the First Horn won't have my head for this," this woman said to herself while crawling out of her hiding space.r
With nimble movements, she followed her targets from this outrageous distance while making sure not to let out even a sliver of her presence.r
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