When A Regent Dissapears.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

"I have plans to put in motion." He told Polgrath and Hera.

 

"I have loose ends to tie up." He told Kaila in her clinic.

 

"I'll come back to you." He said simply, to Clavonita.

 

"Stay safe, I will return." He had told, to all who would notice his absence.

 

And an absence it was. A day later Artimec Akkaris was nowhere to be seen, the halls of Ac'talareh of where he would so often stride around were devoid of his presence. His roll of medical supplies, untouched, and still on the counter of the Salvian clinic. By all accounts, the elf had dissapeared.

 

In the depths of the Elven forests, far from Malinor, one might notice a dim fire, and a shadow hunched over it. The shadow doesn't speak, nor move.

 

Not a word was sent to anyone, and those who cared were left to rely only on his word.

 

"Stay safe, I will return."

 

Art had yet to fail in delivering on such a promise.

 

 

[Nekkore 641]

Seyer walks in the base to a brief day, the silence of the base as he always find fond of.

Watching the passing members, concealing his face, the shadow over his face pulling his hood forward to conceal more of his face.

Sitting on his normal corner taking note of his friends and guild mates attendance, noticing that someone is missing from the crowd, but unable to point his finger on it.

"Who is it missing...?"

Placing the palm of his hand on his face, peeking through the gaps between his fingers. His Dark Geared cross guarded sword by his side.

"Stuck in an icky situation again I suppose?"

Shifting his eyes left and right, leaning his head forward to hide his face as he starts sleeping, keeping his sword close and tightly gripping it.

"We all come back anyways..."

[CraftPrime 35]

Smoke is seen sitting down, legs straight using a pillar to support his back. His arms are hunched over his head, his eyes peering the room as if analyzing  any suspicious differences and hoping not to find anything wrong. Sadly, he himself could feel an empty feeling. He continues to ponder, tapping his mask to continue concentrating, and the footsteps of the delvers crossing the path where he sat was not helpful one bit. He performs tricks with his knife on his right hand, twisting and turning it as if it were designed to, and with his left hand, he strokes the tip of his garbed chin.

 

His eyes were closed for a moment, suddenly narrowing them after lifting his head back up as if he had an epiphany.

 

"Does it have something to do with a bandana?" he said to himself.

[hex37 737]

Deep in the woods, outside an old shack, Black Aliss appears at the doorway. She knocks on the ragged looking wooden door, crooning "Oh Broooootherrrrrr, I found yoooooou~"

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

Low and behold the shack is empty, a small fireplace at the back of the room smolders, dying. A slightly rusty pot hangs over it, almost looking depressed at it's misuse. In the corner lies a small nightstand, on it, a knife, and a coil of rope. Someone was obviously here recently.

 

Footsteps are heard from behind, the heavy trudging of leaves crushing underfoot growing louder and louder.

 

Art drops his bundle of firewood to the floor, and his mouth gapes open in shock, he blatantly stares at his older sister. Almost to stunned to make a sound.

 

"No way...You can't be real..." Is all he manages.

[hex37 737]

 

Aliss giggles. She instantly charges Artimec, jumping into a somersault and landing on him in a huge huggle, probably bowling him over.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

((OH GOD THAT IS ACTUALLY LEGITIMATELY TERRIFYING...))

 

Art instinctively takes a step back as she lunges for him, eyes widening. The two collide and Art is sent driven to the ground in an aggressive bear hug. He makes an 'oof' as he hits the floor. Art lays there, pinned to the ground. He blinks blankly, it's obvious this elf hasn't seen another living soul in months. Maybe he wanted it that way?

 

Nevertheless, he opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. He just lays there in stunned silence.

 

"H-how did you find me...?" He finally manages.

[hex37 737]

Black Aliss cackles, it is darn near witch-like in its sound and tone. A massive grin forms on her face as she pins Artimec down by his shoulders and digs her bare feet with painted black nails down into the squishy swamp mud.

 

"I found you~ because your in my swamp~! Fartimec!"

 

Black Aliss begins to do her usual ritual of playing with your face and hair. Aliss was always far too hands-y with her brother. She begins by pinching Art's cheek.

 

"You didn't think you could just come to your Big Sis Aliss's neck of the woods without saying hello, did you~?"

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

Art's eye dart to the table where the knife and coil still lie, he quickly diverts his glance back at Aliss, wrinkling the left side of his face uncomfortably. He never did like having his cheek pinched. He stutters out words as he tries to push himself to his feet.

 

"This is...oh...oh...I had no idea. I was just here to..." Art freezes mid motion, and silences himself, he doesn't say anymore, and hopes Aliss had not picked up on that.

[hex37 737]

Black Aliss lets Artimec stand, only to wrap her legs tightly around his waist, keeping herself hoisted and latched onto him as he stands. She begins grabbing for the bandana, attempting to put it on her  own head head as she stabilizes herself with a hand on your shoulder. She takes notice as he freezes. Her wide grin becomes wiry, and snakelike.

 

"Oh~? You had to what?"

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

Art seemed oddly docile to the fact his bandana has been removed, perhaps a family thing. Strands of matted brown hair partially cover the long deformity of a scar running the length of his forehead. He stands rigidly on the floor, clearly uncomfortable at the level of contact in this situation, as he always had been. He fails to make eye contact, looking forward and down as Aliss clings to him.

 

"I...er...Had to do some thinking...On my own..." He says hesitantly. "I would have said hi." He says quickly, a tinge of guilt in his voice. "I might have forgotten you always liked muddy places, Malin knows why..."

[hex37 737]

Aliss laughs, She arches her back back backwards, releasing her grip on Artimec's waist and preforming, of all things, a hand-stand.

 

"Of course I like muddy places, Less sharp things to trod on. It's squishy!"

 

Aliss rotates herself, still upside down, to look at you. "So, What'cha thinking about?"

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

Art quickly paces over to the nightstand where the swipes the coil and rope behind his back, he turns quickly back to face his sister.

"Er...Imighthavemaybebeenconsideringsuicide..." He slurs, speaking in a muddled voice. "Oh! But where have you been? I haven't seen you in decades Ali!" This is said with sudden enthusiasm.

[hex37 737]

Aliss's Grin fades. In a single lucid movement, she sets herself upright, standing the doorway. She opens the door, and walks into the house.

 

"Fell in love, fell out of love, joined a cult, left a cult- kept the tattoos, found the creator in my life, proceeded to fall out of favor with the creator in my life, became addicted to nightshade, went cold turkey, and ended up living in a swamp. Enough of that bullshit, what's this about you trying to off yourself?"

 

 

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

Art gives a slight throw of his arms in the air, shaking his head as he paces around slowly. He finally stops, speaking in a rambling bitter tone.

 

"You want the long version or the short version? Because the short version is this: I find a shred of hope and good times, someone or something feels the need to stamp it out of recognition, and it only took roughly a hundred and fifty years for me to figure out this pattern will continue up until the point I'm a corpse in the earth. I think it runs in the family. Except for Lumina, she was lost when Asulon fell."

 

He pauses his pacing, and exhales.

 

"This is why I tried to isolate myself from people for the time being. Can't take opinions, had to be my choice alone, as cliche as that sounds. And frankly...I don't think I could have brought myself to do it anyways."