Water Bugs

In the purple hue of 906, a figure's wide loom edged toward Vectus who had only just withdrawn from his lair. It was at a time where the usage of fire for light was discouraged; albeit Neon Light had managed to reveal the figure's visage. 

Vectus' heart throbbed hard at the sight of Bael. What was he doing here? He had not been for several days. Was he going to visit the lair? He stopped in his tracks as Bael approached. 

Bael stopped. "Doctor."

"Why, Sir Bael," Vectus said, "greetings."

"I told you that you can cut the formality," Bael folded his arms.

Vectus scoffed. "So I can't greet you now? Is your prowess getting to your—"

"You know what I mean, Doctor," Bael stared at him. 

The quiet stifled Vectus. He held some of his warm breath. His neck craned to make eye contact with the menancing, cloaked giant. 

It was as though Bael's stature had been kindled to deter heads but Vectus' resolve to keep the recent tragedy involving Zya covert coaxed his eyes regardless. 

"It's not my fault you're petulant," Vectus said. 

"I something…" Bael trailed off, "wrong, Vectus?"

Vectus swallowed. Bael saw through everything. He could detect a lie or a secret just as good as he could detect a Voidmonger among Satharians. 

"No, nothing's wrong," Vectus'eyes burned. "If something was wrong I certainly wouldn't be calm—you know I struggle with conduct in troubled times."

"Have you seen the spawn and his conduit around?" Bael looked about. 

"Not at all. I figured they must have found themselves a place to settle."

"Zya hasn't shown up to the gathering this dusk. I haven't seen them around at all."

"Yes, it's strange … but the gathering part I can understand—Zya doesn't care much for meetings. She goes to them so that she can continue being a conqueror. Perhaps she got into a sticky situation."

Bael shook his head. "I'm going to force her to step down from being a conqueror."

Vectus frowned. Zya had earned her place as a conqueror through sheer chivalry. Her bravery was always amusing to him: the fact that she feared not a word, nor a sound, nor a spawn. He did not think she feared death either.

Vectus quailed at the truth. Bael was never content with her behavior before he even knew her name. And the fact that she chose to foster a spawn despite his caveats made her seem unpredictable and rebellious. 

"Perhaps she has a reason, Bael," Vextus said, "I'd say if she does, then she should be spared."

"It better be one damned good reason," Bael turned around. "If you see them around, tell me."

"Alright," Vectus said, "have a good sleep."

Bael simply nodded off. 

֍֎֎

Asher crept through the benighted, vacant slums in pursuit of Delia who weaved through silence and structures without interruption. He struggled to keep up, his hood over his head, Sal's warning that dusk was not a time to dally etched behind his mind, and discretion coaxing his every step. 

Delia paced. Fast. She snuck through the darkest corners, avoiding the purple lights, meandering and rounding houses, steps and breaths indistinguishable from the silence itself.

"Keep up," her voice slipping out like butter, smoothing across the ambience.

To Asher, dusk did not look any difference from dawn besides the decreased likelihood of fire lights. He had no clue how they told the difference. 

If you guys get caught, none of you are conquerors, Sal's words in his head, that means a lot of trouble.

But Delia had sworn to have done it a thousand times, sneak through at dusk. She had even admitted to have seen others doing the same. 

Sal had allowed them to go—he had even encouraged it—despite his warning because he could not endure their friendly chatter and banter amidst such a perilous situation. 

"Why don't you guys go see those waterbugs?" Sal had asked as he held Zya. 

Asher smiled as he mulled, rounding a corner, panting. Delia looked happy to take him to the bugs. In their chatter, they talked about Satharian folklore. That there was a man called Seizure Bump who would enter one's dreams if they did not sleep at dusk and cause them to shake unto death. That, at dusk, a waking one's shadow would betray unison, mocking them, taunting them, and threatening them. 

Asher's smile fell. The things he had seen since he roused from the Void frightened him. What if there was a Seizure Bump like Sal insisted? What if there were defiant shadows that haunted at night? There was no reason to not believe they existed. 

Asher had followed Delia to Block Three. She stopped afront a shuddy concrete building, moss swathing its rough, grey walls, two pots on either side of the hollow opening with a malleable substance that glowed bright purple. 

Delia looked over her shoulder. "Almost there."

Asher nodded as she looked forward again and paced into the building. He followed her, walking into the dimly lit room. She faced him as he stopped.

A trapdoor lingered a pace away from Delia's foot. She bent over, clutching her hand to the iron handle. She dragged the handle to the left, the door sliding and rattling and revealing a hollow opening with purple light underneath and a rusty ladder extending to the below. 

"People don't think they can break into here simply because they're afraid of night," Delia said.

Asher grimaced. Why would it be underground? Was the Void not rising from the latter.  "It's underground?"

Delia simply smiled before climbing down the ladder.

Asher followed behind her. Getting caught above ground alone would be a tradegy. Delia went down fast. After all, it was only a few vertical bars down. Asher reached the bottom, setting his feet on the stone floor. He turned around. 

A tunnel peirced through the underground earth; a stone ceiling and even, stone boulders at either side, dirt in the gaps of them, creating a stone path. To the very end of this path was a metallic door. 

Asher followed Delia down the stone path to the door at its end. 

"Let's pray they didn't fix the door," Delia said, putting a hand on the door.

The door was often locked. Since it was faulty, however, it did not budge when one wanted to reopen it and so they left it open, allowing nosey, crawling, intruders like Delia to sneak in. 

Delia pushed the door opened. It creaked. She gasped, looking over her shoulder at Asher with sparkling eyes. She looked ahead again, walking into the dim room, Asher following behind her.

Behind that door was a sizable expanse with wooden columns holding the dirt ceiling intact, glowing creatures that could merely be made out as purple dots as their bioluminescence remained more spark than their size.

The glowing dots buzzed in a perfectly mellifluous unison: a hymn that branded them members of the neron colony. They clustered on the ceiling and on the walls and, especially, on the ground in sunken pools of fresh water. 

Using air spaces in their bodies, they consumed air itself, condensed it, and released water droplets through the tubular projections that extended from their heads. 

Asher's eyes brimmed with awe, his body brightly lit by purple light. He kept his look even when Delia turned to look at him.

"Welcome to the Satharian Reservoir," she said, "the most important resource that is so awfully unprotected."

Asher looked around. "It's … amazing."

"Ah," she said, "it's alright." 

"Alright is an understatement. The most beautiful thing I've seen here."

Delia crouched down at a pool of water. She put her hands together and and cupped them. Finally, she plunged them into the water, carrying a small volume to her mouth. 

Asher hurried over, crouching down beside her. He cupped his hands together and put them in the water. When he raised it out of the water, nearly all the water had seeped through. 

Delia chuckled, gripping his hand and moving them to fix the little gap in them. 

Asher then dipped his hand in the water again, carried it to his face, and drank. He looked at her as he swallowed.

She smiled. 

"It does taste like water," he said.

She chuckled. 

Asher crossed his arms over his chest as he sat down and rubbed at his upper arms. He shuddered.

"Cold?" Delia cocked her head. 

"Just a little," Asher said.  So embarrassing, he thought, I'm the one with the thick cloak.

"It's because the neron bugs are abyssal creatures," Delia said, "that use Void power to do what they do."

Asher grimaced. "Really?"

"Yes."

Asher scoffed. "Well that's ironic."

"It's because Satharians are so against Void usage, isn't it?"

Asher pressed his lips together in a line, nodding. 

Delia looked up as a water bug bolted toward her. She put out a hand. It hovered over her hand, buzzing loudly in unison with the others. It landed on her palm before flying off again. 

"Not all of the Void is bad," Delia said. 

"If there's more like these bugs," Asher said, "then I'd like to believe so."

"There is a lot more," Delia said. "We … Satharians, we only look at the negatives …"

Asher said watched as the neron bugs flew around him. 

"There's a place," Delia continued, "that's notorious for heavy Void usage in here nine-zero-six."

Asher looked at her. "Where? What's it called?"

"It's west of Block One," Delia said, "Skotar is what it's called. I've been there before—let's just keep my little adventures a secret, including this little water bug voyage."

"Secret's safe," Asher said. 

"Void exploitation is part of Skotarii culture," she said. "They use it for all its good … like water."

"Could you get in trouble for going there?" Asher looked at her. "To Skotar?"

"If they are to find out," Delia kept her smile, "I'll be banished and on my way out of here, most likely killed by folks or conquerors."

"Banished then killed makes no sense," Asher said.

"It's because the people here have no respect for word of court," Delia frowned. 

Asher frowned. 

Delia turned to face Asher as she sat. She gawked, looking into his eyes. She crossed her legs.

Asher grimaced. Why was she looking at him like that? His skin tinged red. He averted his gaze. 

Delia's brows arched up as she frowned. "Are you really what they say you are?"

Asher glimpsed at her. "I don't … I don't know."

"Must be frustrating," Delia said. "You can't remember anything at all?"

Asher frowned. The dreams he had watched behind his mind. He remembered the one he had in the barn and the one he had while unconscious at Barry's Inn. Apprehensive, he had not told a soul about them. 

"Well," he said, "I get a lot of nightmares. I just don't understand them."

Delia cocked her head. "In the nightmares—what do you see?"

"I'm not sure," Asher said. 

"Okay," Delia said. "If you remember anything, you can tell me and we'll try to understand them … together."

Asher looked at her ethereal smile. "Thanks, Delia."

"We're friends, aren't we?" Delia smiled. "I don't mind helping out at all."

Asher finally rekindled his smile.