Night 59: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[train_tracer]

[from here]Just like last night, Vino turned the bend to find that he was first in the main hallway again. He couldn't decide if he preferred it or not. Patience wasn't his favorite virtue, but he supposed he'd have to wait. The two meeting places he would have to be at were right next to each other, right? So that was fine. If he had to wait a

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[ultimagi]

Finally: the answer. It lit up inside her with the same sort of intensity as the bright flare against her eyes. He'd struck her as different from the other few patients she'd met in this institute, and on some level he had struck some resonance with her -- she who could recall no past, no friends, no family. This, she thought, must have been what she had known all along but could not name.

As Edgar cleaved through what remained of the burned, disintegrating webbing, the girl had stilled in her struggling against the binding, her mind racing. He and Locke both knew about her magic, and told similar stories as to how her power had been used in their world. Her body sagged momentarily when Edgar finally cut her free, but aside from a staggered moment of lost balance, the girl paid it no mind. Her arms sank to her sides, but her eyes were wide, searching Edgar's face in the returning dark.

If he was the same as her, why hadn't he said anything? Why did he keep insisting she needed to discover in time what reverberated so strongly within her, if the answer were so simple as this? What did he gain from leaving her to flounder with confusion over a little spark of fire?

How much weren't they telling her?

[girlsandgadgets]

Ready to move as Terra fell from her webbed bindings, Edgar turned once more, looking down both ends of the corridor for the wounded creatures. The one that had disappeared into the darkness near the eastern end of the passage remained there, the sounds of its skittering away having ceased; the other was still writhing, its feeble attempts to stand met with no success. He headed for that one first, taking the blade of his shovel and stabbing it through the spider's eyes again and again. After a few more hisses, the monster stopped moving, its many legs falling limply by its sides.

Shaking some of the blood from his sleeves, Edgar turned to wait for its brethren to come back. His eyes landed on Terra, who was neither trying to remove the webs still entangled in her hair, nor preparing to attack the creature upon its return; she was simply standing there, striking him with a look he couldn't quite decipher. He listened, trying to ignore her eyes on him. His breath was still heavier than he would have liked and made his efforts mostly for naught; sweat trailed from his temple from the heat burning within him.

Nothing came at them from the darkness. Edgar gave Terra another glance, her eyes still boring into him. She didn't look like she was hurt, so what was it? It briefly crossed his mind that his magic may have triggered something within her, but he was unsure of how to approach it.

To other things, then. He swallowed harshly, finding his voice. "While I'd like to be optimistic and think it's gone, we should go see for ourselves. It'd be unfortunate if it came across another patient in its irritated state, especially if they weren't as capable of defending themselves as we are."

[ultimagi]

And not a word about his power, either. She frowned, looking away from Edgar, down the hall where the supposed second creature might be lurking. Occupied with the first, the girl hadn't noticed sight or sound of a second creature, but it seemed likely to exist. There'd been two birds the night before, when she and another traveled together. She couldn't help but wonder if these things, like the others, were targeting her specifically.

Though, if Edgar were the same as her, wouldn't he be equal in their sights as well? She didn't know, and couldn't. Everything was still so confusing and uncertain...

She pulled at the webbing stuck to her clothing, peeling at her neck and tugging out weak strands of hair. "... Then let's go," said the girl, the tilt of her head and the roll of her slight shoulders indicating the beast's retreated path.

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar caught the frown that appeared on Terra's face as she turned away from him. Though she hid it well enough, he knew there was something unsaid between them, a lingering question that needed answering. He paused, gripping the shovel with both hands; the breath he pulled through him stifled the fire in his chest for only a moment. That energy he recognized as magic still channeled through him, ready to react should he call upon it again.

It seemed for the moment they were safe, relatively speaking; however, Edgar wasn't ready to drop his guard yet. They'd seen numerous corpses on the way, but nothing that size- to find two large spiders setting webbing traps for them was unnerving. Had they simply been unfortunate? Or were the more sizable creatures drawn to those who were capable of protecting themselves?

He pushed another breath through him- that was idealistic thinking, he reasoned. It was likely they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and it was a minor blessing it had been them who stumbled upon the creatures rather than someone else.

Following Terra for a few steps, Edgar finally broke the silence again: "What was that look for? The one you gave me just a moment ago?"

[ultimagi]

She didn't stop walking at the sound of his voice, but the girl did glance over her shoulder. "What look?" she asked, a note of ignorance to her voice and painted in her expression.

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar's brow knitted together, a stern look coloring his own features. He slowed his pace. "When freed from the webs. You simply stood there, staring. You didn't turn until I addressed you."

[ultimagi]

She mirrored him in parts, in a twist in her expression and the speed of her stride. But where Edgar's features and emotions had a confident force supporting them she had none of those things; confusion, uncertainty, and hesitance gave her all the rigid structure of a spring reed on a windy day. "I was thinking," she replied, her eyes sliding away from his face.

[girlsandgadgets]

His feet slowed again, finally coming to a stop as he watched her turn back to the darkened corridor ahead. "Thinking? Seems like an odd time to do that."

[ultimagi]

Her footsteps stilled only a moment after his did, her turn sleight, appearing caught halfway between Edgar's attention and their hypothetical foe.

"Why?"

[girlsandgadgets]

Though his eyes were trained on her, Edgar kept a watch over her shoulder, should the wounded spider return. It seemed like it might avoid another confrontation if it hadn't taken its chance yet; however, as this was one of the monsters of the institute, he wasn't willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. They had proven themselves a danger enough.

His attention flicked behind her for only a minute before returning. "With creatures attacking us on both sides? Stopping simply to think isn't exactly wise."

[ultimagi]

Once again she frowned, looking away. "It's all I have. Knowing what's wise or isn't, or odd, or normal... I don't have that luxury."

[girlsandgadgets]

"You have your instincts," Edgar said, taking a slow step toward her, followed by another. There was a degree of genuine confusion in his tone. "You know how to fight- you did just now."

[ultimagi]

"I was trained how to fight," she said, curling the shake in her hand to loose fists. "So I've been told. Even you said it. I was used as a weapon."

It was no small part of her, in weighing the determination they had for saying she was the Terra they knew, wondered. If she was meant to still be, or become, the girl they knew... did that mean she was meant to be whoever she'd been before that, too? And that question of human...

The girl shook her head. "Where do your instincts come from?"

[girlsandgadgets]

"I was also trained to fight," Edgar said, his eyes on her before tossing another quick glance to the darkness ahead of them. "An unfortunate necessity for many in the time we live in, but I would have been trained regardless because of my lineage."

He took a step from her toward his flashlight, which was still lying in the floor, illuminating some of the direction before them. Kneeling to retrieve his light, he wiped a layer of sweat from his brow- the heat was as intense as ever, the feeling of fire weaving through his veins still a foreign one. He was beginning to find little surprise in the fact that some who had undergone the infusion process had gone mad, Kefka included; however, he couldn't- wouldn't- allow himself that path.

"This may not be the best place for this conversation," he said, returning to his feet. He was dodging the topic in a way, but felt he had legitimate reasoning.

[ultimagi]

Again she frowned, disliking the evasions each time they occurred. But if he didn't want to say anything, was there really anything she could do to force him? Her teeth bit at her lower lip, expression thoughtful. What did he mean by lineage? If he didn't want to talk about it, did it have some relevance to her? There was no obvious answer. Eventually, she shook her head to clear the notions away, and remained silent.

[girlsandgadgets]

Another frown- her silence was met with an indistinct noise pushed from Edgar's throat, his frustrations beginning to manifest themselves. The situation wasn't so black and white at the institute as it had been in their time, when he'd known her before. While there was still the clear line dividing the sides- the patients from those who held them captive- there were shades of grey surrounding them in the form of the rebel, whose trustworthiness was still in question, as well as from their fellow prisoners. Not all were working toward the common goal of freedom.

That in mind, he was irritated more with himself than anyone at her apparent confusion. His avoidance, while he felt it was necessary, wasn't doing her any favors; in this place, he knew she may never find them at all. Still, being completely truthful with her didn't seem to be the right step, either- why would she believe him or Locke over anyone else?

"Terra..." His gaze fell to the floor before it rose again in mild alarm as he thought he heard something. Moving his light to the ceiling and finding nothing, he let himself relax, returning his eyes to her. "Let's find this creature first, then we can talk."