TRASH

POV -> Katryna

A day had passed, and Justin had not bled through his bandages. In fact, none of the stains she had been closely watching grew, and his breathing, although shallow, held steady. The hourglass remained heavy at the top, the tiniest pinch of sand sitting at its bottom.

Katryna sat on the floor, surrounded by every plush pillow she could salvage from her house. Crisscross, back straight, with her fingers interlocked and wrapped in a thick film of webbing. She took in a deep breath, trying to empty her mind.

Normally, this was something she did where she felt the most at ease. Which was in her bed, with the door to her back locked. But the mass of pillows, and thick knit blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders for warmth was enough. Her primary familiar, Jeremy, had even added to the relaxation, the dog sized, hairy blue tarantula curled in her lap with his fuzzy pink paws twitching every so often as he slept.

She took another calming breath, pushing away her worries of today. Focusing on the darkness of an envelope. Searching for the little blue spider she had mailed off. A flicker of magic drew her closer, until she felt a connection, and opened eight twinkling eyes.

The world was monochrome through the eyes of the small familiar, spare some deeper hues of purples wisping in the air around passing figures and objects. The blurred distortion looked like souls trying to catch up with their bodies, but it was the magic that clung haphazardly to every surface. However small.

Her nose scrunched as she saw a woman pass the strap of a bag she was peeking from. The woman had a faint, warmer purple aura trailing off her body. Even without colour, she knew the young face well, and disgust crawled up her stomach. Eliza. One to avoid - Once she hitched a ride on her out of the room they were in.

Katryna maneuvered the spider back into the satchel, finding a folded handkerchief to squeeze her body into as she felt everything around her shift. A whistling tune thrummed around her while Eliza grabbed the satchel and fastened it to her waist.

She wiggled her way back up to the top of the bag as Eliza journeyed through the psyche ward, watching the monochrome shades of people pass. Voices continued to boom around her, in greetings and in orders as the staff buzzed through the corridors.

A cheery call came from behind Eliza, and Katryna looked away from the onslaught of bright purple. The concentration of magic wasn't nearly as bright as Caleb's, but an archon's magic always left spots in her vision. She had tried scouts in the psyche ward before. They were gleefully squished by Eliza, or their magic ran through on most occasions. But she'd heard about the new Archon she was chatting away with. Max.

Max was either too inept or oblivious to detect Katryna's magic.

Either way, she liked him for it.

Sithech was a different story. She had sent this scout with that archon in mind. It had a bare scrap of magic to let her see through its eyes, and that was it. Any more, and she would be obliterated by Ra'zerun's gift of True Aim before she could say "fuck the Heroguard".

Her scout had found a good spot before she connected this time. Eliza's satchel was close enough to her body for any of her magic to blend in with the nurse's. With enough luck, this one would last long enough for some actual reconnaissance. There was bound to be a healer locked up behind one of the doors.

She sat comfortably from her vantage point as Eliza journeyed around the ward, soaking up as many conversations as she could as the nurse distributed trays of food to her list. Sensing magic beyond its presence was something she had sacrificed in making an undetectable scout. She could see the intensity of magic, and the way it fogged and flowed around its host, and nothing more.

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Nothing was pointing to a healer from Eliza's curt conversations.

But there was no reason to panic yet. If her scout made it through the day, she would have the night to explore the ward.

Eliza continued handing out her meals, which eventually led her to the juiciest part of the psyche ward. In Katryna's opinion. She caught a glimmer of the rune laden doors, and pulled back into Eliza's satchel to hide. One of her first attempts to infiltrate the psyche ward was quashed by two hyperactive arcane hounds that had sniffed her out and crunched her between their pointy teeth.

She hated the damn things.

She felt Eliza shift as one of the hounds pressed against her, the walls of the bag becoming tighter as the hound pressed its snout to the fabric.

Katryna felt the folded handkerchief she had hidden in shift and come loose as Eliza pulled it free along with her. She found a rim of the fabric to snuggle into as the hound sniffed, Eliza's voice thrumming with irritation as the hound tried to prop onto its hind legs as she held it high.

"It's a sock!" She argued, as another force moved Eliza's arm and nearly flung Katryna's spider free again.

"Down." Max boomed, his magic flaring with his voice as the hound withdrew, its wagging tail drooped between its legs as it retreated back to its position, eyes never leaving the black sock in Eliza's hand.

"It's for Doc." Eliza explained, carefully folding the fabric back up to place in her satchel. "They must be picking up on the cushioning enchantment."

"Or they were excited to see you." Max hummed, his voice trailing as they moved into the next wing.

Doc. Katryna smiled at the name. Chances were looking up.

She moved out of the apparent sock she had mistaken for a handkerchief, wiggling her head out of the satchel to look around the wing. Eliza delivered her meals, humming to herself as she grabbed some supplies and headed straight for one of the doors.

"Doc, can I come in?"

Katryna chuckled with amusement at her luck, hungrily skimming the plain room as Eliza stepped into it. She saw the Follower's magic before anything else. Little purple lights fluttering in the air like a swarm of fireflies. The aura lingered around Eliza, a few orbs dancing in front of Katryna, before it all withdrew back to the Follower.

Her trance from the curious magic was broken as soon as she saw the ridiculous costume the follower was wearing. She'd been pecked to death enough times while looking through the eyes of her clutch. Seeing a big black beak was an unwelcome reminder.

Eliza spoke a soft greeting to the follower, giving Katryna little time as she suddenly reached back and ripped the sock out of her satchel. "Got you a replacement." She swore as Eliza's sleeve struck her, grabbing for the white fabric to cling to it. But her leg was unable to stick to the silky fabric for long, and she felt the scout's body slip once more, dangling precariously from a web it had deployed at the last second.

Katryna held her breath, painfully aware of how exposed she was to the audience she was spying on. She frantically climbed the string, the voices around her blurring as she focused down her single objective.

Just a little. Bit. More.

Katryna jumped as her vision went dark, her scout still alive but held still between two sheets of black fabric that pulled her away from the web she was dangling on.

"Hello little spider."

She let out a sigh of frustration at the Follower's muffled voice. That was it for her.

But then the light returned, the bright purple swarm of lights around her swaying like a thick fog as she looked up at a long beak. "You're a very pretty spider."

"Let me see." She heard Eliza, the nurse peeking into view. "Oh yeah, that one looks pretty cool."

Katryna held her breath, praying this wasn't the compliment fest before they squished her scout in a napkin.

Her world went dark again as the Follower closed his hands. And then, after a few seconds, he cracked them open, his hands pressed against the wall and lifting her as high as he could. She fled to the wall, only stopping when she was well out of reach. The Follower's voice came behind her, still soft and gentle. "Can I keep it?"

Eliza laughed at the request. "What's it gonna eat?"

"Frosting! Everyone likes frosting."

Eliza let out an amused sigh. "I can't argue that logic. Just don't scare it, or it might bite you."

Katryna pulled away from the connection, her senses returning to her own body as the webs wrapping her fingers loosened. She blinked the colour back into her vision, disturbing Jeremy as she shifted her legs to stretch them. The familiar prodded around the pillows she had kicked away, finding a plush one to cuddle onto and continue his nap.

Katryna gave him a head scratch, watching his eight eyes squeeze shut with joy at the cuddles. "We found one."