FELIS carefully loosened the blood-soaked cloth from Glit's arm, her sharp intake of breath betraying the sting of pain. He lifted her arm to his face, examining the wound with a critical eye, searching for any sign of infection. "What's your take, Rowan?" he asked, glancing at his one-eyed companion. "You've seen more of this kind of thing than I have."
"Because I lost an eye, right?" Rowan shot back with a smirk, his single eye narrowing as he kissed his teeth in mock annoyance.
Felis chuckled, shaking his head. "Maybe you should consider adopting her, make it official," he suggested with a grin, the tension in the air lightening. Even Glit managed a laugh, though it quickly turned into a grimace of pain.
"The Severance family," the little girl wheezed, trying to stifle her giggles as the adults laughed alongside her.
It had been three days since the incident, and they'd finally managed to escape the Death Zone, only to find themselves on another island—a little less deadly, but still far from safe. This island was part of a chain, a cluster of three, each with its own set of dangers. The biggest threats here were the poisonous plants that filled the terrain. The animals, thriving on these toxins, were equally dangerous; eating their flesh would likely be a death sentence.
Felis rewrapped Glit's injured arm with a fresh piece of cloth, one they'd cleansed and dried with Kay's fire abilities. "You're tough, you know that?" he remarked as he secured the makeshift bandage.
Glit let out a weary chuckle. "More like reckless," she sighed, leaning her head back against the rough bark of a nearby tree.
Rowan glanced at her with a sly grin. "You are, no doubt," he agreed. "But you've got a good heart, and that counts for something. You can always work on the reckless part. Maybe then I'll consider taking you in," he added, tapping the patch over his eye before giving her a playful wink. "Come on, let me help you up," he stretched his hand towards her.
While the adults were gathered trying to help out Glit, the three boys circled around each other talking in hushed tones. "So how does it feel when the fire comes out?" Ash asked. "Does it hurt or doesn't it burn your skin?" He demanded.
"I definitely feel a little hotter, but it's not really from the flames, it's from my chest… I can't explain it but something is burning right in my chest… I think it's the potion… the sigil or whatever it is called," Kay tried to explain.
Mute signed to the three of them and Ash turned to Kay for translation. "He asked why I got the fire ability and I don't really know, sincerely. I feel like I can do other things, but that fire just felt like a part of me!"
They discussed more, the three boys sharing their curiosity with one another, the entirety if their journey they've tried to get answers from Felis and Rowan but both of them were a little focused in Glit, even though the girl clearly stated that she doesn't want to be treated in any special way but they couldn't help it.
"Come on guys! Let's go!" The three boys glanced back to see the rest of their crew ready to move. They'd earned a fifteen minutes rest as they've been walking for hours, even though none of them was really tired or comfortable. Facing death once made them want to get out of these islands as fast as possible.
Soon enough they were traveling again, Rowan using a compass and a map he'd fished out from the wreckage of a ship they came across to tell their location. Ash glanced at Glit as they transversed the vast tree covered terrain of the treacherous island. "Does it still hurt?" He glanced at her, they haven't really been able to talk.
"It does a bit, but I am fine, the main issue is, I forget…" she sighed.
"You forget what?" Kay asked from behind.
"That it's not there again," she sighed. "I try to lift something and I realize oh… it's gone. It is like losing a friend that's always had your back…" she paused and glanced around. "Oh, I am sorry, I don't mean to sound… dull. I am fine," she nodded.
Ash glanced at her. "You need to talk though," he cleared away a bit of her brown hair from her face.
"I will, just not here… let's uo we can get back on a ship or a civilized environment, there I will cry even but not here!" She said.
Rowan laughter echoed across them and they glanced back. "Guess we were worried for nothing," he smiled. "How about we talk about something fun…"
"Cryptids?" The boys quipped before he could even complete his statement.
"Okay, alright," Felis chuckled. "What do you want to know?"
"First of all, why are the abilities different?" Ash demanded. "I remembered then that you called the Navarch an Hazard and it seems that's what you are too, why can you punch a ship into smithereens and he can shift his shape… it's all confusing, what powers will I get?"
Felis smiled. "Okay, let me try to explain to you." He sighed then began. "There are three groups for the seven sigils. The Hazards, The Hexes and the Arcane," he said. "These groups were formed because, the sigils in each of the group, both possess a baseline that connects them. For example, for us Hazards, we possess the ability to interact with the physical world only." He glanced at them and they all seemed lost.
"Okay, you know how Kay can bring forth fire, and I am incredibly strong, those are physical abilities. Kay assimilates the Sigil called the Sapphire which grants its wielder the ability to control nature. I assimilate the Amber, that grants a supernatural physiology."
Ash nodded. "So each of those Sigils possess a given set of abilities?"
"Yes!" Felis said.
"What if someone drinks all the sigils?" Glit demanded.
Felis nodded, a serious edge to his voice. "That brings us to the three types of Cryptids. First, there are the Thrones; people like me and Kay. We can only harness one Sigil, and trying to use another will lead to blood poisoning, and almost certainly, death." He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "And it's not just any Sigil either; only one resonates with a Throne's soul."
He glanced at Rowan, cueing him to take over.
The one-eyed pirate leaned forward, his voice gruff. "Next, you've got the Alloys. They can absorb all the Sigils within a specific group. For example, if Kay could also assimilate Amber and gain super strength, he'd be an Alloy. But mixing Sigils from different groups? That's a death sentence." He paused, then added, "And then, there's the most dangerous of them all—the Fluid. These Cryptids can absorb any Sigil, no limits. As for why these differences exist, no one knows. It's just the way things are."
Ash furrowed his brow. "So, if I drink the Sapphire potion, I'll be able to manipulate fire too?"
"Not exactly," Rowan replied. "You'll manipulate a force of nature that aligns with your innate talent. When Felis took the potion, all he could do was heighten his sense of hearing. It took rigorous training to shift that Sigil's power towards enhancing his strength and speed."
Mute shook his head, signing something that Kay translated. "He says this is all confusing."
Felis chuckled as they pushed through the dense forest, a warm breeze brushing past them. The trees parted, revealing a vast clearing with the next island in sight. A large, weathered sign stood ahead, its letters stark against the backdrop of the sky.
"Welcome to Alkatraz."