Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 30: Strangers

Three Months Later, over the field of vibrant greery that stretched far and wide over the vast horizon, Altair stood, a mischievous smile on his face as he glanced back, dots of sweat dripping from his brow as he giggled to himself.

"She'll find me soon." He muttered, his eye searching for the ruins he saw days ago beath the moon's glow. He glanced down at the comb he'd snatched from Reina and chuckled, only to bolt north.

Barefooted with clothing battered by the elemts, Altair rushed forward, his speed incomprehsible to that of an average man as he dared not stop. Nor did he dare to glance back.

He'd traveled these vast woods and prairies for years and knew them like the back of his hand. Guided by his Animal Instincts, Altair hurried over a mountain, hopeful it would slow Raina down, and beamed at the sight of the strange structure piercing upwards towards the azure skies.

Curved arches like that of a ship's hull were on full display, with strange greyish material unknown to many.

"There!" He said to himself, hurrying down the mountain in a blinding flash just as the wolf's howl caught his ear. A chill he'd expericed many times tickled his spine as he picked up speed, hurrying at full throttle.

He stopped half an hour later, his chest hammering, his body wet with sweat. He stared up at the strange structure. A slew of bewildermt for the artistic design graved over what Altair could only presume was a ship's hull that stood like a tower, a blade that seemed to challge the very skies.

"What is this?" He wondered.

"A ship. An Ilvarin ship." Luna said as she flashed to his side. She looked up with a bitter expression over her serine face."How long has it be? How many Eternities have flashed away since I saw one?"

"Ilvarins?" Altair muttered.

"A very ancit race. Older than anything you can imagine right now. It will seem the Elemt of Time has ravaged this cruiser. Shame. The Ilvarians were known for their… well, it doesn't matter. They're all dead anyway.

Killed by a madman."

"Really… By one man?" Altair questioned, his purpose already forgott.

"Hmm. A Fall Angel, to be exact. I'll not tell you his name as his name holds power, but he is quite dangerous." Luna said and smiled. " She's here—"

'Who goes there? State your name!" A rugged bark boomed from up above.

Lifting their heads in tandem, Altair saw a dusty-skinned man with rough features draped in hide pointing down at him and Luna.

"A woman? Fucking right! " He hiccuped. "Meh cocks be dry for t years. Liam st yah?'

'Was he drunk?' Altair asked himself with a frown. He glanced at Luna indiffertly as she turned towards the North in the direction Altair fled.

"She's here." Said Luna, pointing into the distance to the feral grimace of Ria, whose bloodshot eyes locked onto the comb in Altair's hands.

"A~L~T~A~I~R," She shrieked, baring two eerily sharp fangs capable of tearing some of the strongest hides. Her voice blinded by a vgeful fury as she approached, her knees trembling with fatigue. "Give it back!" She thundered, "Give it back!"

Tak back, he glanced at the wood comb carrying her name writt in Enochian and tossed it back to her. "Here." He said, watching as she caught it. "It was your Mother, right? Did you really think I'd break it or something?"

Altair had tak note of the comb one night, along with her habit of vanishing every couple of days, forcing him to wait for her return. He meant to no harm; rather, he merely wanted to make up for lost time.

It had be three months, and according to Luna, they were behind schedule.

"YOU~!"

"A half-blooded bitch too!" The dusk-skinned man above spat in a drunk stupor from betwe a cracked hole. " I ain't ever fucked a half-blood. Ya seem a little young, too. Have ya had your blood yet? Ya, a slave bitch, right? The breeders will have a fun time tonight.

Fucking right!."

Reina's frown quickly became a scowl as she turned towards the tower, blocking the sun. She squinted him down, the sliver of patice in her mind waning.

"The Hells the Guards! Guards! Guards! "The man barked: " New arrivals, New arrivals!"

"What's going on?" Altair asked, and he turned to Luna only to see her missing, gone with the howl of the winds.

Unease rose and fell with the clanking of metal approaching rustling through the ship's hull.

"We need to leave," Altair said, lifting Ria into his arms in one fell swoop as he dashed towards the east, where the prairie met the woods. He could see her legs spasming from their earlier run.

"Don't let the bitch escape!" Came the vicious order. "Hurry it up!"

'How!' Altair thought through gritted teeth. 'That man is well over the age limit? How is he here?'

Eyes surveying his location, Altair's body reacted faster than his mind. His consciousness turned cold as stone. He spoke in a husk whisper: " I'm sorry, R. I… No." He paused, not letting himself be caught by guilt. " How long till you recover?"

"I need about five minutes," she said, reaching into her pocket for a small liquid jar fitted with a cork. She pulled out two, popped the cork of one, and placed one over Altair's lips: "Drink this. You're not at one hundred, right?"

Unable to argue, Altair relinquished his fate to Raina and swallowed the unknown liquid that tasted a bit like Cheery. It trailed down his throat like the finest wine, smooth, rich, and bold, with a sweet finish.

[Balm of Vigor Consumed]

Altair's heated body began to cool as he leaped up to a tree over sev meters long in a single bound. He paused upon a branch for a second, feeling his body cool and a comforting ssation racing through his mana roots.

'Five Minutes!" Reina cooly said. "You'll recover in five minutes."

"... Is this how you never seem to sleep?" He asked, pushing off the branch with excessive ease.

"I sleep once a week," Reina whispered in acknowledgmt, masking her expression over his back.

Altair couldn't see her, but he could feel her helplessness, pain, and sorrow in her voice. It was as if a massive weight was upon her.

"We can wait here," he told her, somewhat short of breath, inching his way up into a set of canopies of leaves that could mask their location for at least five minutes.

"Was I heavy?"

"You weigh a ton. I think an elephant would be lighter."

Tears practically fell as she glared at him, snorting curled up near one another. "Sorry"

"It's my fault. Why are you apologizing?" The boy said, resting his head over the bark of the tree's stem. "We were moving so slow… I thought taking your comb would increase our speed. It never occurred to me that other humans would be here."

"Here! Kitty Kitty!" A rough, grainy voice said from below, startling the childr above as they both looked down.

"She ain't a dog, Brad!"

"Fuck off, Rick! Ain't ya said she had dog ears? Sounds like a bitch to me. Them breeders up and running yet?"

Shadows were lurching below, flickering with movemt; Altair and Ria held their breath as they lay in wait. Their breathing was still as the dead, with eyes colder than a winter's breeze.

[Divine Being 'She who Hunts' looks on in Anticipation]

Startled by the message, Altair lifted his head, careful not to rustle the leaves, and backed down towards the shadows.

"You good to attack?' he whispered.

Despite only three minutes passing since he last consumed Ria's concoction, Altair felt his stamina was more than ough to deal with the two shadows below.

Reina nodded.

"Aim for the neck." He pointed to the carotid artery, pressing his finger over the surface of his artery. There was iciness in his voice that unsettled Ria. His voice was never this cold, never this lifeless.

She nodded again.

"Show me."

She looked at him strangely unsure why his words felt like that of a serin's song, a call of that of a young monarch. But her fingers ebbed towards his throat, just near the carotid upon his neck.

And Altair smiled: "Good. Let's do this."