Spark in the Abyss

Andromeda isn’t a fighter.

Neither in body nor in mind. Not only is her body physically weak - she’s quite small, for one, and barely has enough muscle to carry a stack of tomes across her library at home - she just isn’t good with confrontation. Conflicts aren’t something she usually likes to find herself in and, when she does, she always chooses the path of nonviolence. Sorting things out through words and compromise rather than through blows or force.

When it comes to combat prowess… she’s got virtually none. That isn’t to say she isn’t magically inclined; quite the opposite, in fact. She’s had an exceptional talent for Astral magic since she was a small Browlet and can perform a vast array of spells even for her young age. She just doesn’t like to use it if she can help it, for… reasons.

Now she must decide who to follow: Angea to the outskirts of the city to track down the items taken by the ink, or Cteno into the deep, dark underbelly of the realm to track down the beast. Her hand absentmindedly goes to the place where her quill pen usually sits snugly against her waist. It was her weapon, more valuable to her than any sword or shield, her means of expression against the canvas of her journal. Those ink creatures had snatched it right off her hip.

It’s not just any Quill pen, either - it’s enchanted to have an endless supply of ink without the need for an external bottle or source. Such an artifact is priceless for her travels where she can’t easily return home to refill her ink bottle or be able to find a market. Alongside her journal, it’s become an important staple in her journeys; naturally, she would want to find it as soon as possible.

On the other hand, she thinks about the multi-eyed creature that dripped ink and consumeS all the light it touches. Her curiosity is highly piqued by that black beast and, despite the fear she felt when it stared her down, she feels a strange pull to follow Cteno. To discover what other mysteries lie in the heart of this world that outsiders were never meant to see.

Ultimately, she chooses to go with Angea. She thinks she’s better suited to helping find everyone’s stolen belongings here on the surface of the world rather than end up useless on the field of battle. She’ll be sure to get all the details of their trip from Cteno later once they all return - hopefully safe and sound.

So, off they go, out of the city proper and into the scarlet fields surrounding the rocky island. She’s seen the crimson meadow from afar, but it’s even more breathtaking up close, blanketed as far as she could see in chthonic clovers. They’re known to grow only in places where death and the abyss is a tangible thing, and she’s never seen one in person. It didn’t surprise her to find them in a city that’s literally suspended within the Deep Void in a hidden pocket of the Celestial Seas. The rich shade of red combined with the connotations of death and despair make for a morbidly beautiful combination.

She’s broken from her trance of staring at the flowers by the shouting of another Browbird a way’s off, saying they’ve spotted one of the ink creatures. Her eyes snap to where they were pointing. Sure enough, a pile of black goo stains the red grasses and seems to taunt its pursuer. She watches the brow run to try and catch it within their bottle, only for the creature to dissipate into the ground at the last second. She tries her best to stifle a giggle. It’s not funny, really, but she can’t help but find herself amused by the creatures’ playfulness. Similar events unfold all around her: she sees a small blob with several eyes slither a step behind a Satyr, but every time they turn, it disappears into its shadow. Another draconic-looking creature flaps around a Kitbull’s head, fluttering in and out of reach. It’s a relief to know that these things couldn’t possibly be evil.

After appraising the situation before her, she gets to work in actively searching for the one that took her quill. Under rocks, in the roots of trees, through the tall scarlet grasses… Finally, she sees it: a lone Kettlecat-ish figure sitting in the middle of the clearing. Staring at her with all three - four? They keep morphing in and out of its body, making it hard to count - Of its eyes. It’s almost as if it’s been waiting for her. There’s a mischievous glint in its many eyes that makes her think of a real cat.

Their goal is to catch these creatures… but maybe she could befriend them, instead? She creeps forward, slowly, hands held up before her threateningly. The last thing she wants is for it to run or disappear with her precious item. Once she steps close enough, she can see the feathered pen poking out from behind… or inside the Kettlecat, and her eyes light up in anticipation. She could just try and make a mad dash to grab it, though judging by the other’s attempts, that approach doesn’t seem to work.

Instead, she simply sits down a safe distance of a few feet away. The inkling tilts its head inquisitively as if it wasn’t expecting this. It probably thought she’d charge it or try to bottle it up like the others did to its brethren. Deciding to make a gamble, she pulls a particularly delectable piece of candy from her backpack: a large lollipop. It’s one of the treats she’d been given during the festivities earlier, before all this craziness began. She was planning on saving it for herself once all of this was over… but this mattered more to her. Tentatively, she holds it out with one hand and points to the feather quill with the other. A trade.

There’s a long, too long, silence that follows as the faux Kettlecat and Browbird stare at one another, neither moving a muscle. And then… The ink creature lunges forward, and faster than Andromeda could even blink, the candy in her hand is replaced with the feather. She looks at the former thief and sees the lollipop already in its mouth, and even though she isn’t completely sure, she thinks it looks happy. It makes her smile.

Reunited with her precious pen once more, she spends the remainder of her time in the Scarlet fields immortalizing her adventure in the City of Ink in the pages of her journal.