Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
(low, rifle useless in the failing light): “Can’t see a damn thing down there. They’re too deep for a clean shot.”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
(already half-turned toward the ravine): “Then we don’t need one. Stay here.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
“I’m not staying anywhere while you walk in alone. What are you planning?”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
“Shadows. They already know the dark better than we do. I can turn it against them.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
(eyes on her hands): “Your hands are shaking.”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
(quietly): “It answers too quickly. That’s all.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
“That’s not nothing. I’ve seen what happens when that stuff decides it’s done listening.”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
“So have I. Which is why I’m still the one holding it, not the other way around. Cover the edges. If any of them break past me, you shoot. Don’t wait.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
(after a beat, shifting his stance): “…Fine. But if those shadows start looking at you the way they look at the wolves, I’m pulling you out. No arguments.”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
(a faint, tight breath): “Understood.”
The recap · Ended 24 October
Shadows in the Ravine
At dusk, Bram and Aeloriaey Vaelshira spotted wolves trapped in a ravine too dark for his rifle to be effective. Aeloriaey decided to descend alone and use shadow magic against them, though Bram noticed her hands trembling. She explained the magic answered too readily and too quickly, but insisted she still controlled it. Bram agreed to cover the ravine's edges and shoot any wolves that escaped, on the condition that Aeloriaey allow him to pull her out if the shadows turned on her. She accepted his terms, and the scene ended as she prepared to enter the ravine.