Needle in a Haystack (Great Hunt: Ravenflight)

ANJALI

The village was further away than it had initially seemed, but after riding through the jungle for so long, Anjali found it difficult to judge distance over (mostly) flat land. It was easily a ten-minute ride, though that was likely in part thanks to the fact that she had to dodge more and more flying pieces of glowing green shrapnel as she crossed the open plain. The monster’s ire showed no indication of slowing any time soon. 

As she finally rode through the village’s gate, Anjali took in the ghostly quiet of the settlement. It felt as if every living being, in the middle of going about their day, had just disappeared into thin air. There were merchant stalls with coins still scattered across their countertops (something that made Anjali’s fingers twitch as she forced herself to look away), carts of fish and produce simply dropped in the middle of the road. Every single beast of burden must’ve been recruited for the evacuation effort; there wasn’t a single horse tied to a hitching post. It felt… eerie.  

Most of the village’s structures were still standing, so despite the absence of life, at least it didn’t feel ruinous. Yet. It seemed the monster’s influence hadn’t reached this far; the evacuation efforts couldn’t have happened at a better time. Except… there was still the possibility the settlement wasn’t completely abandoned. Assuming the woman’s son – Micah – wasn’t just caught up with another group (there had been a lot of people by the river), there was a chance he was still here. The village was certainly small, but combing through every single building would be a laborious task for just one mage. 

Anjali slowed her horse to an easy trot, finally stopping him completely before dismounting. He shuffled his hooves uneasily. She could cover more ground on horseback, but she’d be a lot noisier, and if this kid was here and he was terrified, she didn’t need him going even deeper into hiding. She cleared her throat and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Micah!” she called into the silence, straining her ears for any sort of response. What did she even say to try and coax this kid out? “Come on out, before you get pulverized by a giant bony chicken?”  

She held her breath, but there was no response. She sighed and looked back in the direction of the river. Why had she agreed to this, and without a second thought? She didn’t even particularly like children, and they rarely seemed to like her.  

The monster’s piercing cry broke through the hush, and Anjali suddenly felt a crushing heaviness wash over. She recalled the distraught mother, the hopelessness in her eyes as she realized she was powerless to do anything to save her loved one. A wieldy sadness gripped her chest, so powerful that she drew one hand up to clutch it. The shriek echoed throughout the valley, then faded out into another stretch of silence, but those feelings didn’t fade with it. Her eyes stung once more, and she blinked them furiously, shaking her head as if to snap out of a stupor. 

This is merely the beast’s influence, she had to remind herself, and she squared her posture, grasping her horse’s reins. She led him over to a nearby hitching post and secured him, patting his sweaty flank. “I’ll be back,” she said, and the steed huffed at her. She gave one good tug on the reins to make sure they weren’t going anywhere, and then she ran off, heading deeper into the village. 

---

LEVIATHAN

It had, truly, gone straight to shit. It could have been worse, oh it could have ended so much worse than it did. Morgana was lucky to get out with just a broken wing and sprained hand, Levi even luckier with a nothing but a slightly wounded ego. She'd locked up. She'd locked up and Morgana had to knock her out of it, risking them both, as the damned hag descended upon them. Levi had lobbed a fireball in its face and it'd veered off, heading east, but not before a powerful bite snapped a few bones in Morgana's left wing. Levi didn't feel guilty, perse, but she did feel responsible. 

Morgana was currently back at the outpost, getting her wing splinted while they waited for healers. Levi was camped on a ruined rooftop in the heart of an evacuated village, crouched low as to avoid detection. Honestly, she didn't have a plan and wasn't really fond of planning in general. Leviathan was known for her spontaneity and impulsive decisions, but she didn't have the ability to plan ahead. She'd figure something out, react when she needed to - she always did. So, for now, she remained on that rooftop. 

It was a few hours later when a woman's voice caught her attention. Levi's gaze followed the sound to the road, where she could see two forms: one obviously the horse, the other another human. Neither shape was very distinct, so Levi had a hard time deciding if the flicker of recognition she felt was a real thing. Levi also hadn't caught what the woman had called, so instead of answering the newcomers call she simply watched as she hitched her horse. The monster wailed once again and Levi gritted her teeth against the rush of emotion that, not for the first time today, rooted her to the shingles beneath her feet. 

Ears ringing, Levi shook her head and gripped the glaive resting on her crossed legs a little bit tighter. By now, she was learning to fight through the waves of despair faster than she had been... but it didn't mean the emotional swells didn't completely still her each and every fucking time. "Fucking bitch," Levi ground out, rising into a standing position. "I hate birds."  

Scarlet eyes cast around the village before landing on the newcomer, who was now heading in her direction at a dead run. "Where's the fire?" Levi called from her perch on the rooftop, moving to strap her glaive to her back.

---

ANJALI

The sound of another voice saw Anjali sliding to a dead stop, her boots kicking up a small cloud of dust as they skidded in the dirt. She craned her neck in the voice’s direction, squinting in the low light until her gaze finally rested on the source. Perched atop the roof of one of the abandoned homes in front of her was a mage. That much was made clear by the distinct shape of their long, curved horns. Their silhouette was unique, and stirred a familiarity in her stomach, but in the darkness cast by the monster, it was difficult to be certain. It felt like no matter how much time she spent in the cover of this darkness, her eyes refused to fully adjust. She took a few more steps toward the mage, and the massive glaive on their back caught a glint of the limited light. Recognition followed immediately, and Anjali furrowed her brow. 

“Leviathan?” she called up to the woman, taking in the characteristic mask occupying the lower half of Levi’s face, full of long, pointy fangs. I’ll be damned, she thought. An actual Order mage. At least, from what she’d heard, Levi still ran with the Order. Not that she believed for a minute the Incendiary’s loyalty to them was absolute. Levi very much did her “own thing,” but had never truly denounced her association, as far as Anjali knew.  

She took a moment to look around them, gauging whether or not there were any other living souls around them. The village was uncomfortably still; perhaps the other woman had come by herself. She sighed and returned her attention once more to Leviathan. “If there was a fire, I’d assume it was right in front of me,” she said finally, noting the slight rise in ambient temperature around her. At least she tended to dress lightly, but it still made the fabric of her shirt cling just a little too tightly to her torso. “Are you alone?” she asked.

---

LEVIATHAN

It was a long moment before recognition also hit Levi, even as her own name was offered by the woman, so she stared placidly at the other mage for a few long moments. Her masked expression was only broken by a slow lazy blink, immediately followed by a distinct dip in the temperature - as though Levi had been surprised. Did she look particularly surprised? No, not really, but it could be inferred by the fluctuation. "I'll be damned," The 'smile' in her voice could be heard and was near palpable. "Anjali." 

Now, Anjali and Levi had interacted on a number of occasions but Levi felt certain they weren't friends. Not that Levi really had friends, she had a lot of circles she bounced between but honestly, she was the ultimate social chameleon. She couldn't recall any specific incidents, but she was certain she'd gotten Anjali's horns at least twice during their time at Namarast together. Despite that, Levi sure was glad as hell the Sparkweaver was here. Anjali had always presented a bit like a tempest, and right now Levi could use a little bit of that force to keep her own head on straight. Frankly, she should have never agreed to bring someone as soft as Morgana to this place: someone with Jali's sharpness would have maybe been a better choice. Levi didn't really care that she wasn't associated with the Order any longer: a good mage was a good mage. The dull realization she should have brought the whole damn Order passed through her mind and she just let the thought roll off her back. Hindsight always was 20/20. 

In a swift motion, the Pyroclast rose to her feet and dropped down from the roof - wings fanning out slightly as though to break her fall. She landed softly, turning towards Jali. "Depends on the definition of 'alone'. Did I come here by myself? No." She gestured with a clawed hand towards where Anjali had entered. "Am I currently the only one in this village? Probably." A pause. "Why are you here?"

---

ANJALI

Levi seemed about as tickled to see Anjali as she always was; the other woman’s constant lackadaisical composure always made the Sparkweaver’s skin crawl for some reason. She was too laid-back, and yet she never seemed truly careless. Anjali almost wanted to call it arrogance, but it wasn’t quite that, either; arrogance didn’t earn her respect, and she certainly respected Leviathan. Most of the time.  

She took a step back as the other mage sprang from the rooftop, landing a feet away from her; Anjali felt the breeze created by the woman’s massive, leathery wings. When Levi admitted that she hadn’t come here – presumably the Sunless Jungle – by herself, the hair on the back of Anjali’s neck stood up. Was she referring to the Order? Anjali was inclined to believe “no,” knowing them and how wonderfully they’d handled the last monster, but there mere possibility still made her suddenly angry. She couldn’t quite figure out why, but there were a lot of disdainful feelings there, and now probably wasn’t the time to reckon with them. 

Am I currently the only one in this village? Probably. That snapped her attention back to the conversation. Right, she was here for a reason, and it wasn’t just to outperform the Order. She cleared her throat and glanced back the way she came. She was far enough from her horse that he was no longer in view, but Anjali had the utmost faith that he could fend for himself if it came down to it. “I’m actually looking for someone,” she said finally, and then shrugged, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “There’s a non-mage back by the river who believes her son is still here, hiding somewhere.” She jammed her thumb in the direction of the distant riverbank. “Name’s Micah, I guess. I told her I’d… come take a look. This place is a ghost town, though.” She didn’t even know where to start, but she wasn’t about to admit that.

---

LEVIATHAN

The admittance that Anjali was looking for someone piqued Levi's interest more than she'd ever openly admit, though her eyes narrowed slightly when the Sparkweaver explained further. She'd been posted up on that rooftop for a few hours at least and hadn't heard a peep, it'd been just as deathly still as the rest of the jungle. Not counting the Crones occasional wailing, of course. The damn thing had some lungs. 

"They're doing a pretty good job of it," Levi stated, casting a quick glance around their general vicinity. "I've been here for a while, I haven't seen a soul other than you since I left Morgana at the outpost." A pause. "But, I also wasn't looking for anyone." 

Levi continued to let her eyes rove across the structures laid before them, as if gauging what the next best course of action would be. After a long moment, she lowered her lashes. "If you were a kid fearing for your life, where would you go to hide?" It wasn't clear whether the question was rhetorical or not, as softly spoken as it was. Scarlet eyes snapped open just as a familiar, slender form slunk into view. Fell. The normally vocal feline was eerily quiet, firelit eyes focused on Anjali and tail bones wrapped neatly around skeletal paws. 

"How do you want to do this?" It wasn't really an offer of assistance more than it was Levi declaring she intended to help and would not be denied. "Three bodies are better than one."

---

ANJALI

“That so,” Anjali said flatly, though she didn’t let herself get too disheartened by the fact that Levi hadn’t seen anyone else here. There were plenty of places for a young child to hide here, and they didn’t have long before the monster reached the village if it stayed on its current trajectory. At least they didn’t have to worry about losing daylight; there wasn’t any left to lose.  

“I dunno,” she answered when Levi asked where she’d hide if she were a little kid. “A closet probably. Or maybe a stable.” She didn’t sound as convinced of the second idea. “But there’s gotta be a lot of closets in this village.” She turned back to Levi and lifted an eyebrow, but as the Pyroclast continued, Anjali couldn’t hide the genuine surprise on her face. Wait a minute… “Three--?” It was then that she noticed the glowing crimson orbs in the corner of her vision, and she met the gaze of a small, skeletal cat. Leviathan’s familiar. Right… she’d forgotten how morbid they were. Even still, she didn’t know how effective the familiar would be in fending off a monster, and she couldn’t help but think that Fell was likely to send the child even deeper into hiding if their paths crossed. She held her tongue, not wanting to admit that. To be fair, the same could probably be said for Leviathan, and the mask did her no favors in that regard.  

Despite that, Anjali appreciated the sentiment. Anjali hadn’t asked for help – and was frankly hesitant to accept it – but it seemed Levi was already committed, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Splitting up is probably the wisest course of action, but…” She sighed heavily, feeling her shoulders sag. “Fuckin’ kids. Can’t just do what they’re told. What do adults know?” The last bit especially was laced with heavy sarcasm.