Location: Siang Institute, Arx Time: Mid afternoon, February 10th Status: @kitwhitriver
Nil still wasn’t answering. She’d arrived in the city hours ago and Nil hadn’t answered her once. All she’d gotten in response to her attempts –Nil, where are you? I’m here. Please say something—was unbearably, sickening silence. She’d circled the city for hours up in the air, high above the violence and the screams, imagining each one belonged to a throat that could easily be her brother’s. But no matter what magic she wasted, Nil didn’t respond, and she had to conserve some power to hide and protect herself on the off chance she was caught up in the fighting.
But Nil wasn’t the only one in Arx she had to worry about. She’d received a message from Lavender yesterday, explaining that she was holed up in the Siang Institute, safe for now, but only so long as the gates held. If Thalra’s heart could hammer in her chest any harder with fear, it would surely break free from her rib cage at this point.
The sun was beginning to drift lower into the sky, and Thalra had caught no glimpse of white hair that could have been her brothers. She could only hope this meant he was well hidden instead of the catastrophic alternative.
Invisibly, she flew down through the pillars of smoke towards the campus and landed in a secluded spot outside one of the buildings. All the doors to the main buildings were locked and heavily guarded, but by disguising her face as a city guard, Thalra got passed them easily until she was inside the University properly. Dropping the illusion when no one was watching, Thalra entered the room where most of the survivors from the attack were huddled, waiting for their demise behind heavy, massive doors. It took Thalra a few minutes where her fingers went numb and she had to clench and unclench her hands into fists, but finally she heard Lavender’s voice among the hushed whispers. Turning in the direction, she was simultaneously struck by a flooding relief at seeing Lavender unhurt, and a crushing disappointment as she noticed immediately that Nil wasn’t among the group Lavender was in. A foolish part of her had hoped he’d made it to the Siang Institute, and she felt his absence like a stab to the gut as she called Lavender’s name from across the room.
Thalra didn’t remember running over, or the instant her expression of removed detachment broke, but the next thing she knew she was throwing her arms around Lavender and breathing in the wild, distinct scent of her beyond the fear and anguish that permeated the room. “Thank Mask you’re alright,” she gasped as she held onto her as tightly as she could.
