Submission (#3598) Approved

Morning came and Darcy exited his rented room. He stretched outside the door before heading downstairs to the tables so he could grab some breakfast. He hoped to say goodbye to Nether and the two kittoms with her—Maia and Anima. He felt it wasn't a job well done without sending them off with a farewell! Luckily, Nether was sitting at the table already, carefully picking through a plate of fruit and meat buns.

"Good morning!" he greeted, sitting down across from her. "I hope you had a good rest."

"Yes, I rested fine," she replied, popping a large piece of brightly colored fruit into her mouth. A bottle of potion sat next to her plate, half-empty already with a cup of water sat next to it. "Thank you for the recommendation. I will come back here the next time I come to Zevija."

"Yeah, no problem!" Darcy smiled at her then seemed to get distracted by the smoke waving around beneath her neckline. He didn't want to seem rude to ask, but it seemed his staring gave it away.

"It's the corruption," she said, trying to select the next fruit piece.

"Oh, sorry about that," the fae sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his head. "I've seen a few corruption cases, but... " Words drifted off as he wasn't sure how to place his words. Nether was a wonder to him, it was interesting to see how corruption could twist the body.

Nether shrugged and opened her mouth to say something, but her attention was caught by something behind the faenin. Darcy peered behind and saw Maia standing on the staircase by herself, giving a look of uncertainty and fear. Nether sighed, Darcy turning back to her, wondering what was going on.

"She's gone again."

"Anima? Well... this cave area the village is in isn't all that large. I could take you to a place I'm thinking she might be." Darcy stood up, forgetting about his appetite. He would eat in celebration after they find the wandering kittom.

"Please do," Nether stated as she picked herself up from her chair and paused to let Darcy lead the way. He wondered if this happened very often, or maybe if Zevija was just too much of a temptation for Anima. So many places to explore, especially with caves having tunnel systems. Nether seemed to know the dangers of this land too.

The village was mostly sprawled out against one face of the cave, the majority of houses nestled into the rock that was dug out with precision. Some of the buildings were wooden and sat against pillars of rock. The flooring was dusty but had speckles of vegetation. Oddly, the deeper they went into the village, the more dense the flora was. Some houses were surrounded by grasses and moss, the air damp with humidity.

The ambiance of a waterfall could be heard deeper inside and a trail they followed forked into a deeper part of the cave. It wound down to a large pool, this one not heated by the volcanic activity of the region. This pool was one with life; cool contrast to the warmness of Zevija. Green algae coated the rocks beneath while swarms of lily pads surrounded the edges. The waterfall was small and hardly visible in the darkness of the cave, but it was loud enough to pinpoint it toward the back.

Darcy would normally pull out his lantern as the lights from the village did not reach down there, but flora hanging from the ceiling glowed bright enough for them to see. The cobbling leading to the end of the trail was disintegrating, water pooling between the cracks.

"There's an abandoned house up ahead, I figured she might be there exploring." Just as he explained, the silhouette of the house appeared, inside an empty shell and was darkened by the depths of the cave. There was no life in this abandoned home, one Darcy knew quite well. He had explored around before, the owners nowhere to be found. They left nothing behind except an empty husk of a home.

With Nether following close behind, the both of them entered the abode, the dust picking up on their feet to leave behind trails. He saw no indication of a third set to show Anima had been through, but she could've gone another route. The house was set up so there were two different sides as if two different houses were married together.

"Anima?" Nether called out, veering into one of the sides and looking into the rooms to try to find her. Darcy went opposite to check the other side. He turned his lantern on in order to see better. Despite the glowing flora outside lighting the surrounding property, the inside was near pitch black. He explored the empty rooms, the walls chipping from age and graffiti etched into some parts. He never saw people come down toward the pond, but the walls told a different story.

"Well.. she's not over here... I wonder if she's in the back." Darcy pondered for a moment, still searching the rooms thoroughly despite no furniture adorning any of them. Once he was done, Darcy made his way to the middle again, Nether meeting him there.

"She is not on this side. I suppose she is not on that side, either."

Darcy shook his head but gestured toward the back of the house where another door sat. "She could be by the docks that overlook the pond."

Nether hummed in thought. "She does like water, I feel you may be right. Lead the way." Darcy led the elnin toward the back door, pushing against the rotting wood that moaned in protest. The fae wasn't quite strong enough to force it open, but Nether was and easily swiped it back. She proceeded forward, searching around the backyard of the abandoned abode, Darcy staying behind to look around once more.

Following the path Nether once took, he looked around the vacant rooms. The walls were still chipping with writing garnishing smooth spots. He didn't quite want to read them.

Darcy turned to head back to Nether and possibly Anima, but a glint caught his eye. A shiny gem sat neatly on the floor. He thought this weird as Nether either didn't notice or didn't care for such a treasure, but it sure was a nice find for the fae. He figured this would be payment for all the trouble he went through. Anima did disrupt his gem hunting after all. Not like he wasn't grateful for the job of guiding them through Zevija though.

Tucking away the little morsel, Darcy skipped out of the house, waiting by the trail for the two strangers. Eventually Nether came from the house with Anima trailing behind. This child was a hassle, he thought. She was lucky to have a guardian like Nether to care and search for her.

"Ah, you found her! I'm glad," he said with relief. "I think I'd like to stay down here for a little while longer, but I imagine you'd like to head back out of Zevija. I'd see you off on the border but..."

As he trailed, Nether shook her detached head. "No, you have done much for me. Please, take this." Nether fished out a few more coins and offered them. Darcy shook his head and sat down on a boulder cushioned in moss.

"It's alright! I was happy to help, save that to get something for the girls." Maybe a child leash for Anima. Nether pondered for a moment before putting back the coin and setting a hand on Anima's head.

"Thank you, Darcy. May we meet again in the future." Nether bowed before ushering the kittom with her along the trail toward the village. Darcy waved until he could no longer see them.

"Just be safe, yeah? That girl is a handful."