Once they were capable of walking again, Alexis insisted that they keep moving.
"Less likely to be chased and if we can find the sanctuary before nightfall, great."
Markus rubbed the seal on the hilt of his sword as he walked, remembering the crest he had seen back in the cave.
He shook it off, not wanting to reopen old wounds. Instead, he lagged behind a little, following Noah and Alexis as they talked about what Reyn was probably doing.
"She's definitely pouted for a day. Lord Amari's a total sucker for that face."
"She is very pretty..."
"Damn, Noah. You can say hot, I won't tell."
They walked for hours at a stretch before Cain held up his hand.
They were in a clearing, the sounds of the forest nowhere to be heard. He kneeled down, wiping dirt away with his palm.
In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
He whispered, barely audible, but enough. The ground shimmered, like a wave washed over it. A glowing ring appeared around them, bordered by runes.
Then they were falling.
Markus landed hard on his stomach, the wind knocked out of him. Before he could get up, Noah landed on top of him, making him fall face first onto the stone floor.
Alexis landed on her feet, used to falling from high places. She stood next to Cain, watching him as he surveyed the area in confusion.
They had landed in what looked like a dungeon. Stone walls and floors with unnatural orbs glowing at intervals, providing dim light.
"Kinda empty, isn't it?"
He frowned, pointing to a fork in their path.
'Noah, take this route. Find anyone or meet back here.'
He gestured at Alexis to follow him.
She pointed at herself. "Me? Okay." She glanced back at the others before following him.
"Uh, Cain said we should, um-"
"Search for anyone we can find?"
"Yeah...that." he scratched his arm nervously as they took the second path. The long winding corridors freaked the hell out of him but Markus seemed calm enough for both of them.
'I see why Alexis likes him so much.' He thought. 'Why do you do this to yourself?' He chided himself.
He poked his head in through every door they came across, the place was unnervingly empty and had been for quite some time, judging by the layers of dust they kicked up.
"Where is everyone?" He wondered out loud.
"Probably heard that Cain was coming back so they packed up and left." Markus deadpanned as he opened another door.
"That's mean." He protested lightly, more nervous now.
Markus just shrugged. "You're too nice." He paused, looking down at the boy who was fiddling with his scarf. "Not that that's a bad thing. Just-" He trailed off, not knowing how to express it. "Nevermind. Let's head back."
'Way to go, Markus. Go kick a puppy next.'
"What's going on?" He asked as he saw Alexis waiting for them at the entrance.
"Oh, hi. Cain's going a little crazy." She said casually as Cain strode by, manic aura surrounding him as he checked and rechecked the hallways. His hair stuck up in tufts from where he had been pulling it and he was red in the face.
He gestured wildly, wanting to convey that there should've been someone here. He made the same motion, bending his arms and stretching them towards the floors until Alexis finally had enough.
"Cain, look at me," she cornered him, forcing him to face her. "Yeah, hi, you're spiralling. Don't do that yet."
His eyes were blank, prompting her to shake him a little.
"Snap out of it. There's no one here. Doesn't mean they're not close. Is there any place you can think of where they could be hiding?"
He swallowed, shaking his head.
"Okay... Is there anyone who lives outside the sanctuary that we can see?"
He closed his eyes, nodding.
"Good boy." She patted his cheek. He didn't bring up the fact that he was older than her.
"Should we stay here for the night or keep going?"
He shook his head, too tired to walk further.
"You sure this place is safe?"
Cain narrowed his eyes at Markus, opening his arms dramatically, indicating that the place was called 'sanctuary' for a reason.
"How are you so annoying without talking?"
Cain held his hand up in a single fingered gesture, making the guard turn away in irritation.
"Okay, it's been a rough day. Let's just continue in the morning." Alexis rubbed her hands together, trying to defuse the tension.
"You two need to sleep apart. Can you handle that?"
Her joke was met with slightly rude expressions from both parties as they moved to opposite ends.
Few hours later, Markus woke up to a sudden thought, his inner mama bear activating. He tried to see across the room to where Cain slept.
The warlock was curled underneath a blanket, his hand clutching it like he was holding on for life. But he wasn't twitching or having a nightmare.
Slightly appeased, Markus settled back to sleep, only to wake up two minutes later.
He trudged across the room to sit near Cain, his internal monologue being, 'Shitshitshitshit...'
"Stupid," he muttered as he closed his eyes.
***
"Aww, I knew you couldn't sleep alone."
Markus rolled his eyes violently while Cain gave her a look that said 'Die.'
"Besties." She crooned, slipping away before they smited her on the spot.
Markus followed her, knowing that she couldn't be trusted while preparing food.
Noah waited until Cain was alone before approaching him.
"Hi...Cain? Are you busy?"
Cain raised an eyebrow. 'Literally how?'
"I- I wanted to ask you about the tattoo thing you have... The weapon?"
He glanced at his bicep, the black marks curling around it.
'What about it?'
"I ..was wondering..if I could...maybe-"
He trailed off, scratching his arm vigorously.
'You want a blood weapon? Why?'
Noah looked around, making sure the others couldn't hear. "Yesterday, at the cave, I felt more useless than...ever. Markus and Alexis fought for us, you saved us with that shield and I-I didn't do anything, okay?" His eyes were downcast but Cain could sense how he deeply he felt about it.
"I thought, if I could atleast fend for myself-"
'Fine.'
Noah looked up in surprise. "Huh?"
'Need a blade. And fire.' He walked up to where the other two were making breakfast, casually pulled Alexis's dagger from its sheath, holding the point over the fire they had started.
"Cain, whatcha got there?"
He held up the dagger.
"I see that. Why?"
He mimed stabbing Noah.
"It's okay, I asked for it." Noah defended him.
"Remember when I said you were too nice?" Markus narrowed his eyes at the warlock who was now moving his lips in a silent spell.
He pushed Noah into a sitting position, nodding at Markus to restrain him.
"You gonna tell us first?"
"A tattoo thing. It's fine. I'm fine. It's fine."
"Great, you broke him."
Cain ignored him, pushing Noah's sleeve up to expose the soft skin on the inside of his wrist. His eyes flickered up for final consent.
The boy nodded, feeling Markus's hand on his shoulder, the other one holding his right elbow steady.
Cain dug the point of the blade in, bit by bit, then dragged it around his wrist in a spiral thrice, similar to his own tattoo.
Noah bit his lip and held on, not wanting to scream or cry out but once he felt the spell take hold under his skin, he struggled, gasping.
Cain exchanged a glance with Markus, the latter resorting to wrapping an arm across Noah's chest to stop him moving completely.
"Noah, love, it's okay, you're gonna be okay." Alexis leaned forward, distracting him from the marks Cain was making on his wrist.
"Just look at me." She smiled, squeezing his other hand as if to share the pain.
When it was over, Cain stepped back to admire his handiwork.
'Flick your wrist.'
He did. Nothing happened.
'Harder.'
This time, a whip lashed out from his wrist, almost hitting Cain. The other end was looped around his wrist so he wouldn't drop it.
The non-Arts users stared.
"Permission to swear?" Alexis whispered to Markus.
"Granted."
"What the fu-"