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@rose-colored-fancy

That’s an entire mood but I hope you feel better soon

Ooooh yeah this is basically my perpetual mood but it’s fiiinnneeeee XD

Ooff, I know that. XD I actually didn’t notice anything weird about it.

Well that’s good at least lol. I mean, he was literally chuckling in the back of my head like “see if you can write me now!” but I think I beat him in the challenge. He’s now sorting herbs which he does when he’s bored…

I think Aydin would actually like the company. I feel like he’s actually an extrovert he just doesn’t feel safe around people in general.

That’s such a thing though! I mean, I’m like that. I’m an extrovert but I don’t like people in general (which I know makes absolutely zero point zero zero sense, but it’s greattttt)

Yayyy another heavily traumatized character!! This will be awesome! Nice characters what are those?

Lol!!!! TRAUMATIZED CHARACTERS ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them… Oh, what? Oh oops I meant other heavily traumatized characters…

I love her introduction this will be so much fun!

Lol my main goal right now is to prevent her from becoming a brown-haired version of Yila. XD

Okayyyy, I did NOT expect that! I thought Aydin would tell Niarok to go talk to her but he changed his mind and went to talk to her instead. Huh, that was cool!

Lol I did NOT see that coming!!! That was awesome though!!!

As usual, Denali, change anything! I don’t know how in character that was for Niarok, I just thought it made more sense for Aydin to reveal it to him first in private.

That was great. It was sooo Niarok and I loved it!!!

Niarok

“Your sister will want this,” Aydin said as he slid the knife across the floor.

Niarok caught the knife. “Thanks,” he said quietly. Both of them stared at the knife for just a moment, and Niarok felt the irony of it. It would have been amusing if it hadn’t been so tied up in his past.

Aydin raised his eyebrow, like he was expecting Niarok to leave, but beneath his gaze Niarok saw the turmoil. He didn’t want to be alone, but he also thought Niarok was just there to hurt him further.

Why did the castle have to do this?

At least everything was on the table. Almost…

His eyes caught on the dagger at Aydin’s side. It was on his left, but his left hand was clearly clumsy. Why didn’t he use his right hand?

Aydin snuggled back into the wall, his eyes still scanning Niarok. He couldn’t quite manage to hide his discomfort, and Niarok berated himself.

He was going about this the wrong way.

But Aydin also didn’t want to be alone, so hopefully that would take precedent.

“I’m not going to harm anyone but I’m not giving you my other knife,” Aydin said. His voice was low, threadbare. He was tired of being treated like a criminal.

And yet Niarok couldn’t help the slight pang of derisive amusement that warmed his chest. Of course, the first thing Aydin thought was that he wanted his knife, not his friendship. It was so much like the man that Niarok couldn’t believe he hadn’t even thought Aydin would think that.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to,” Niarok replied, an inner voice laughing at him.

All your discernment and you still couldn’t read something that obvious.

Oh, shut up.

He smirked slightly. The irony of the whole situation was overwhelming. They were stuck in a castle that clearly had malicious intent to kill them all slowly and unbearably, and Niarok couldn’t even carry on a conversation with a person who was so similar to him it was like looking in a mirror.

How did it come to this?

Okay, time to focus on something else. Niarok had never been this pessimistic in his life before and it was slightly terrifying. He was sick of the Castle’s mind games.

All this time Aydin was staring at him, silently begging him to say whatever he wanted to say already.

Niarok hadn’t been planning to say anything in particular, but since this was already such a messed up situation, he decided to address the last secret between them.

“Your knife is on the wrong side,” he said quietly. Of course, Aydin’s right hand was either paralyzed or missing, but he wasn’t going to just call him out on that.

Aydin saw right through the game, although he also seemed to appreciate it.

“Not everyone is right-handed,” he said, and had he been the arrogant type, his nose probably would have risen a couple of notches.

Niarok raised an eyebrow and shrugged. If Aydin wanted to share, he was welcome to.

“It was an… accident, a few months ago. Extensive nerve damage resulting in paralysis from the wrist downward,” he said after a pause.

He looked up, meeting Niarok’s eyes, and Niarok sensed that this was something more like “botched assassination” rather than “accident.” Too many explanations.

He knew the feeling.

He glanced out into the cavern, letting Aydin have some space after his confession, and realized how heavily Leytera was breathing. Her eyes cast about the cavern and sweat glistened on her forehead.

Claustrophobia?

She leaped up and ran down the tunnel.

Yes, definitely.

Niarok had struggled with crippling claustrophobia for at least half of his lifetime. Only extensive training and desensitization had allowed him to conquer it, and even then it still appeared randomly at inconvenient intervals.

He was about to chase Leytera down to see if he could help her, but then a different girl appeared in the shadows of the entrance.

He could see the light glinting off her narrowed eyes and brown hair.

She scanned the room, eyes lighting on each person in turn. She was calculating threat levels, and her hand clutched a dagger.

She looked about ready to fight any person who posed a threat, and Niarok saw a younger version of Yila in her eyes.

When she met his eyes, he raised his head so she could see his whole face. Her expression softened slightly for just a moment, and Niarok suspected he reminded her of someone.

Her gaze swept past him, and he saw a glint of fear beneath the angry exterior.

Then she stepped all the way into the light.

“What is this place?” she demanded. Her voice was clear and calm, but her eyes betrayed the tension within her.

Aydin stood up slowly, and she jerked towards him.

He approached, and Niarok couldn’t help the relief that overtook him for a moment. He didn’t want to approach her in front of everyone when they were all staring at her.

Aydin halted a good distance from her, and she relaxed slightly underneath her crouch.

“I don’t know. We all ended up here. I’m Aydin,” he said quietly.