Swallowing One's Pride [Private]

“God, this is boring.”

It had been yet another uneventful day in the Seal of Light’s life, which seemed far more often than not. There was a certain unfortunance that came from being attached to the soul of a police officer, for lack of a better description. Mythal was unlike other people within the Rune Knights but he still had duties, especially since he was some kind of general. That meant he had meetings and reports and responsibilities to check on things that just couldn’t be further from the Lightbringer’s interest. He had suspected that the rise in meetings lately had been so Mythal and Serilda could actually have alone time with one another, without either Seal harping at them. If it was, he hadn’t caught any actual evidence despite his trying. He’d attempted to sit in on several different meetings but each and every one had bore him to death.

So rather than waste time on a silly investigation that would only lead to more trolling, he had ventured away from the current meeting to wander about the Rune Knight headquarters. With his powers slowly starting to build up in strength, he had enough reserves to travel quite the distance from Mythal before he reached his limit. It gave him ample opportunity to roam the complex, whistling as he walked along through the hallways. At this point, most of the Rune Knights had been warned about the lingering Seal and his antics in both speech and insults. No one was ever really surprised to see him, though many turned the other way to avoid him or simply walked by and ignored him. That was fine – a boot had no time to toil with an ant unless it was for entertainment.

But unfortunately, nothing else was happening. It was one of those settled and relaxed days that proved to be utterly dull. He sighed and rolled his eyes as he easily passed through the outer walls and stepped into the courtyard, catching sight of several Rune Knights training in the yard. He idly lifted himself into the air and floated up onto the roof of the nearby stable, walking along the uneven surface without ever really touching it. It was on days like this that he did have time to reflect on his current situation though; as he came to a stop near the end of the rooftop, he settled down onto it, hanging his legs off the edge and starting nonchalantly at the front gates.

Mythal didn’t quite understand the weight that came from their peril. Kingdom Darkness was out there and, what was worse, he and Serilda had pissed off its ruler. Faera was powerful, as were most of the Absolute Divines and without his full range of abilities, he didn’t stand much of a chance of keeping her at bay. If he were able to access Mythal’s body and take it over, his powers would probably return at a quicker rate but… he unfortunately couldn’t force a takeover like Victoria had. The God Slayer had literally too much darkness for Lux to push through to even begin laying foundations. Over time, he would certainly be able to overwhelm it but that was what he was missing – time. Faera would make her move before then, he felt it in his nonexistent bones.

He had been staring at the gate, drifting off into his own thoughts. He’d noticed a child had approached the guards and then left shortly after, clearly turned away because of his age. That was a bit of a surprise, considering there were other members of the Rune Knights that were seemingly young as well. His thoughts shifted to the ever annoying Wren, who had put herself right in Lux’s metaphorical target when he eventually had a corporeal form. He chuckled a little to himself as he imagined how she would look in a brilliant shade of blue as he choked the life out of her. It was then that he noticed another guard returning from his recent patrol, allowed back into the headquarters by the two posted sentries. But as Lux looked at him, he noticed that this guard… was in fact the small child that had come and been sent packing before.

Why had they let him in? It only took the Lightbringer a second to realize it was an illusion spell – his expertise in bending light made him keen on noticing and seeing through such things. This child had the magic touch and was using it to get inside the compound! “That sneaky little pipsqueak,” Lux said, amused at the sight. But what could he do?

Well have his own fun, of course! He jumped to his feet and instantly vanished in a dazzling shower of light that quickly faded. He reappeared within the headquarters of the Rune Knights, materializing before Victoria, who had gone her own way during the meeting. “Vicki, how would you like to raise a little hell with a little kid? Never mind, rhetorical question, you’re doing it. Follow me!” He beckoned her, waving at her as he phased through the closest wall. Knowing that her curiosity would get the better of her, he led her right to the courtyard, his glowing head peeking through the wall as he quickly figured out where the intruder had gotten to. He’d just set himself up in the shadows and was removing his illusion.

Once Victoria arrived, he pointed the kid out. “Got ourselves a little trickster. Changed his face so he could get inside. One can only wonder what kind of mischief he could get up to.” Given the bright grin on the Lightbringer’s face, it wouldn’t take the other Seal long to figure out what he was thinking.

By the time Albafica had decided to move further into the compound, he would find himself without many guards patrolling his area. But at the first major corner he would turn, he would find no one there upon first glance and then immediately the space would be filled by the Lightbringer and, assumingly, his spouse. “Hey there champ,” Lux greeted the intruder with a friendly smile and a wave. “Look at you, sneakin’ into the camp all secret-like. Ten points for the spell by the way – though I personally would have kept it on until I actually got to where I was going.”

If Lux cared about Victoria’s threats, he certainly didn’t show it. His Seal-sister was less than pleased over the prospect of following him, choosing instead to remain in her place and stand irritably against his demands. But her better nature won out -- that nature, of course, being that she was sure that Lux would cause some kind of mischief on his own and then attempt to fib about it. Granted, that wasn’t always true but the Lightbringer certainly wasn’t planning on playing nice with the little infiltrator either. So soon enough Victoria was following after him, stopping to stare at the boy that Lux pointed out and described in great detail. After the Seal of Light explained exactly what Alba had done, that certainly caught his sibling’s attention. Now he had her hooked on a cause she could get behind.

And the little bugger was good too; he took careful steps to adjust his path, keeping himself from being spotted by the patrolling guards. Minus ten points to Rune Knights on their observation skills but then again, the kid was young and agile so it was an understandable error. But that didn’t keep him from practically walking right into Lux and Victoria, waiting for him around one of the bends. Each of them had their own look; the Lightbringer was heavily amused and Victoria was her usual sour-puss self. While Lux tried to tease the kid, the Seal of Conquest just insisted upon details about the boy’s person and place.

“Ugh, Vicki, why do you have to be such a hardass? The plan was to toy with him and here you are going all by the book,” Lux groaned, rolling his eyes. “Sorry for my stick in the mud partner over here, she has no sense of comedic timing. Anyways, you were saying something about the guy you were disguised as coming back and you being found out and… I’ll be honest, I was barely listening,” the Lightbringer said, shrugging. He was so often caught up in his own world, with his being the center of it, that he forgot to listen to other people’s remarks. Even Victoria’s threats from earlier seemed completely missed.

But he did catch as Alba puffed out his chest and stood up for himself to Victoria, seemingly refusing to give her an inch. “Oh ho ho!” Lux said, sliding from Victoria’s side to Alba’s, looking as giddy as a school child. “This kid’s got balls on him. Or girl balls -- I’ll be honest, I have no idea if you’re male or female. Humans are all kind of disgusting, asexual blobs to me most of the time. Insects worth stepping on, you know how it is,” he said, seeming to try and nudge Alba but his body simply phasing through the boy. “So, Mr. I-Don’t-Belong-Anywhere, if you’re in such a place of nonexistence, why did you decide to bring your emo, down-the-street-cutting butt to the headquarters of the Rune Knights?” the Lightbringer wondered, tapping his chin as he walked around Alba in thought. “Oh! Is this one of those suicide by cop things? Because I’m sure Mythal and Serilda will probably have something against that. They’ll probably try and save you, despite all you causing a ruckus and blah blah blah. Though I dunno, I’ve seen Mythal lay in some pretty heavy punches. And Serilda could give ice the chills with some of her stares.”

Lux paused, having gotten lost in thought. “The hell was I talking about again? Oh right!” He turned to face Alba once more. “So what’s the deal, kid? You here for a real reason or-- what the hell is that stench?” Lux made a face, contorting in disgust. The boy’s poison air had finally hit the Seal’s nose and, rather than causing him agony, had seemingly just grossed him out. “Is that you? Did you roll in a pile of shit or something?”