"Haaa, my mind is running all the time because of these stupid Wind Minds, and each and every wind copy of mine is burnt out because of the constant hours...this work doesn't fit me, I feel. I work twenty forty-five/seven, and for what? I wish it was my breaktime now..." The man named Sil leaned even further onto the counter, barely propping himself up. He sent his will to the billowing streaks of tea green wind that had crowded around him in anticipation, which in turn received his orders and painted words along the wall behind him. The androgynous man sighed in relief, as more wind did not enter the white space he was in.
He did what he normally did to feel sane around the sterile white walls, which was to say the only thing he could do while remaining responsible for his job. He recounted himself and what he did mentally, stressing the importance of it to fight off the laziness that crept up to him in a fervor.
'My name is Sil. Last name? Not important. I'm the progenitor of my race, a Hanged Sylph. Since I'm the only Hanged Sylph, and since only my Ideal is strong enough to manage it, I establish Wind Minds across Uthreth and sort the data my Wind of Healing receives. I can fight just fine, but since I wanted a quieter life, I'm here combing all the information and sorting the applicable ones into requests, which I assign to Guides and Seers. Since I have thousands of wind copies, my winds simply cannot reach everywhere...but the information I do get is a lot more varied. I can't die...so there's no escape from work.'
"Ugh..." Sil looked around the white space known as the Crossroads, where Guides can get objectives and Messengers positively affiliated with them can get support or take up requests. The Guide looked forward to the brief interlude this particular copy of his would get soon, as he would have to teach a newbie some of the ropes. The time for the childe to 'graduate', as it were, from Amitha's care was marching ever onwards, and he had just received information that th boy had arrived in the Aboveground for the first time.
Tapping along the surface of the counter he was slumped on, he grumbled a bit more before driving his focus to keep working, even if each pocket of the Crossroads numbered in the thousands. That was a lot of wind copies to maintain...
--
Bie's starry eyes were graced by gloomy grey skies, yet the wide expanse without any walls made him feel refreshed. Although he very much enjoyed the environment in the Underground, his curiosity led him to wonder about any and every little piece of information he could set his eyes on. The ground underneath him was softer than the rocks he got used to stepping onto, but it was grey and almost lifeless.
"Ooh, this area? Not gonna lie, this place is pretty barren. There's a lot more…lively(?) areas around. But it won't be good for us deadies, because all that life will make us all hostile-like. We gotta get used to living creatures in small doses before we go into anywhere even vaguely floral Aboveground. Got it?" Amitha looked down, scanning over the child's expression. With a satisfied nod, she grabbed his hand after she saw that he was not freaking out from the change in surroundings.
Bie was shocked, but tightened his grasp on Amitha's hand as they made their way over the grey continuous surface. Sweeping hills and craggy mountains were seen in the distance, one's face trained on the horizon and the other searching for something.
They arrived at a concrete road, with lines of yellow paint intermittently painted on it. The road had cracks, some signs pushing out of the crevices. Scattered and smashed sidewalks aligned either side of the road, which Amitha and Bie veered straight towards it. She let go of Bie's hand before raising her leftmost leg up to her abdomen, before smashing feetfirst onto the terrain in a rampaging stomp. A grin spread across her previously blank countenance as she repeatedly battered the ground, each step revealing something.
Or rather, it appeared as if the revealed structure was actually emerging from the ground itself. The thudding sensation seemed to call out to a dilapidated building, one that only had two floors left as opposed to the multitude of stories it might've had in its prime. Regardless, the blown down checkered wall had massive gaping openings for the two Guides to make their way inside.
Bie took in the similarly checkered floors that were stained with rust, and fragments of the wall impeding progress to some of the rooms, as the insides were most likely a ruined heap that had already collapsed a long time ago. The scent of decay propagated by the fungi peeking out underneath the smashed debris was overpowering to living nostrils, but he and Amitha didn't seem to mind.
Amitha made her way to a collapsed pillar, sitting down on it. "Find yer own prey, it'll be good practice," she said, waving to the excited child as if gesturing to him that she got him a new toy. And for all intents and purposes, she had done just that. She affixed a watchful gaze on him while her antennae twitched along, subtly pointing towards a not-so-distant rickety staircase.
The movements did not escape Bie's perception, his eyes affixed to the staircase. He didn't rush towards it, however, as he had no idea how strong the so called 'prey' would be. What was easy game for Amitha might just be enough to snuff out his own life. Actually, he was sure that anything at Amitha's level could browbeat him with only a pinky finger, if even.
His hand made its way to the burlap duffel bag attached to his waist, pulling out a sharpened earthen pole. Bie pulled his arm back as he stepped, left foot forwards and right arm receding. With a deep breath that pushed his still blood along his veins, he sent the pole careening towards the staircase before rushing to the right whilst inching ever closer towards the staircase from where he was situated.
"Ma! Ma! MAMAMAMAMEMEMEMA-" A figure that crawled on three feet and had a face akin to an empty blackboard wailed in pain, showcasing the pole that had impaled its shoulder. The missing fourth limb that would've stabilized it was caught under the rubble that the smashed staircase had become, and cracks were rapidly forming along the pole that was stabbed into it.
With a triumphant grin, Bie pulled out a small hammer and aimed it straight for the pole, which hit the sharpened stone bar straight on! Both weapons let out squeals of protest as they collided, erupting into a fulmination that resulted in both of their states as weapon fragments being cemented. The shards dug deep into the creature's skin, who opened its mouth to reveal a tongue made out of what seemed to be teeth.
"Oh, that was straight on! Ya hate to see it, huh?" Amitha laughed along while pointing at the beast, insinuating that Bie should aim for the kill. Caught up in the sensation of victory Bie blindly ran forward and aimed his fist straight for the monster's head.