Arcane: Painted Tapestries

[Westside - The old timeline]

"Where are you leading us?!" Yelled Callian's newest companion, who was desperately struggling to keep up with his unusually proficient deftness.

The pair tore down the Westside street, finally reaching the boundary between where the colony ended and the outskirts began. *

"A safe house of mine." He called back, sparing a glance toward the panting woman.

She cried out in frustration loudly, her pace temporarily quickening before beginning to slow down.

"We lost those thugs over five minutes ago! Why are we still running?!"

Callian just snorted with laughter at her wailed complaints.

"Better safe than sorry." He replied.

The teen was inwardly amused by how unfit she was.

They had only been running for about eight minutes, and she looked for all the world as if she'd been forced to run triple that distance in half the time.

Definitely a Pilty.

As they raced past the dilapidated buildings and through the run-down streets; the prominent green glow that lit up the entirety of Westside began to lessen, and the streets gradually faded into a pitch darkness.

It was only now that they had crossed the border did Callian slow down to a halt, allowing his companion to catch up.

The road ahead of them was dark.

Impossibly dark.

"Where's this safe house?" The woman gasped out, panting and collapsing against a wall to their left.

The blue-haired teen stared her down impassively. She looked pale - more than usual - if that was even possible.

"What's your name? I can't keep calling you a stray." He asked, ignoring her question and crouching down to where the final street lamp on the road lay broken and decrypt.

He took out his knife and carefully inserted it into the lamp's head, his hands scraping past the shattered glass and cutting a small tuft of the glowing fungus contained within.

The teen hissed in annoyance as a particularly jagged shard cut a thin red line onto the back of his forearm.

"You were calling me a stray?" The woman muttered in disbelief, staring down at his squatting figure. "Shala." She finished. "My name's Shala."

The teen separated himself from the lamp, standing up once more, his hands slick with the plant's luminous lifeblood.

"Come here, you'll need this too." Said Callian, pocketing the knife and holding out his hands toward the woman.

She did so, and he took her hands in his own before smearing the sticky fluid all over them.

She looked at him curiously, intrigued by his methods, and there was not a trace of disgust in her expression.

How confusing.

Was she a Pilty or not? Most topsiders would be disgusted by this.

Once the blue-haired boy confirmed that Shala's hands were suitably lit, he dropped back down and returned the tuft to its original place within the lamp.

It would rebind to the original glowing mass, if given enough time.

Callian straightened up, ignoring the curious expression still ruling the woman's face.

"Let's go." He said.

The teen headed into the shadowy abyss of the outskirts, frowning slightly as he tried to remember a route they could take to reach this particular hideaway.

Callian's hands were outstretched in front of him; glowing with that dull green light that the fungus had, providing the boy with just enough luminescence to illuminate his path ahead.

They were going to one of his older, abandoned haunts; as he sure as shit wasn't taking a stranger to any of his newer ones. Not unless he was planning to kill them afterwards.

He heard Shala cough wetly behind him, and a second later, cleared her throat hesitantly before starting to question him again.

"How far is this safe house?" She rasped, hastening to catch up with his unaccommodating strides.

"Not far, we're basically there already." He replied, suddenly taking a hard left and continuing down into a well-concealed alley.

"Good." She muttered under her breath, a comment Callian's sensitive ears were barely able to pick up on.

The teen reached the end of the alley, rapping his glowing knuckles on a dusty wooden door that was carved into the stone wall. He crouched down next to the door, fumbling around in the piles of trash that were strewn in front of it.

It had to be here somewhere; unless someone had actually come down here since he had left. Though, no Zaunite wanted to spend time out here in the blackness, so he doubted it.

However, it wasn't completely out of the question.

Never mind, there it was.

His sticky fingers scraped the cobbled ground below, clasping tightly around a small, shapely metal object.

It was rusty, degraded by the poor conditions he had left it in.

It was a key, or more precisely, the key to the door that stood in front of him.

After leaving this place, he had locked it up and dumped the key down uncaringly; he wasn't planning on ever coming back here. The teen chuckled at the irony of his situation.

Callian was still a bit amazed however, that in all that time, nobody had come down this alley even once.

It was amusing to him how badly even the residents of the Undercity avoided traversing the darkness of the fissures.

Though, he could understand why.

He slid the heavy key into the keyhole, shuddering as he remembered his experience of being trapped in Eastside with no light.

It had taken him a week of crawling around in the shadows to finally navigate his way back to a habited area.

Fuck knows how he managed to survive.

He had never gone into the outskirts without a proper source of light ever again.

Callian pushed the door open, listening absentmindedly as its hinges creaked unhappily from its lack of use and his religious upkeep.

The inside was dimly lit; the green fungus he had transported here all those years ago having escaped their fragile confines and spread across the bleached stone walls, forming an intricate web of glowing lights.

Numerous blankets lay strewn across the floor of the small room; little drawings covered the walls, some scratched into the stone, some painted over the top, courtesy of his far younger self.

Seemingly random trinkets dotted the floor too; either trophies from his older gigs, or just items he had stolen after taking a liking to.

It had been his small patch of peace away from the dangers of the Undercity, safe from every consequence.

He looked back at Shala, who had stepped through the doorway after him.

"You, you made all this?" She asked, staring around at the room, stunned and wide-eyed.

Callian dumped the bundle on the floor, moving back to shut the door behind her, subtly locking it and hiding the key.

"Found it, did it up and lived in it - for some time at least." He said smoothly. "Not anymore though. I abandoned it a long time ago."

"Hah." Shala let out a disbelieving chuckle, momentarily forgetting what dire straits she was in.

It hadn't even taken them that long to get here.

How could a place like this exist in Westside?

Most inhabitants lived in fear of being raided by snatchers, during both night and day; so much so that they were forced to group together with others in search of comrades to keep watch for thieves while they slept.

But some random kid had a safe place like this? And had just left it? Unmanned?

"You don't use this anymore?" She asked, moving over to tracing the illustrations covering the walls with her long fingers.

"No." He replied curtly.

"Then can I-?"

"Live here?" The boy cut in, turning around to face her. "You can if you want to. But I'd rather you didn't tell anyone else about it. Backups are a good thing to have."

"Okay." She agreed, giving the walls one last furtive look before coming back to face him.

"After this." Shala hesitated, pulling her arms around her chest and fingering the left side of her torso self-consciously. "You'll give me the vial? No matter what?"

Callian's grey eyes narrowed. "If you introduce me to your buyer."

She looked at him hesitantly.

"Then…"

The woman slowly walked over to him, until the both of them stood directly in front of each other, mere inches apart.

She was two entire heads taller than him.

Shala brought up a hand and cupped it against his cheek gently, staring down at him.

"How do you want to do this?" She asked softly, looking down at him searchingly, seeking his approval before beginning.

"Take the lead," Callian replied detachedly, gazing up into her mud-brown eyes. "Show me exactly what I bargained for."

A faint smile curled its way onto her pale face.

The blue-haired teen quietly observed the unused nature of the furrows around her cheeks, which had slowly folded into place at her amused expression.

It was clear to him that Shala rarely smiled, likely not even bothering to throw on a fake one for show.

"So you were a virgin after all." She whispered, not waiting for a reply before leaning down and kissing him deeply.

And show him she did.

Shala's body was scarred terribly, which was perhaps why she had looked so nervous when offering her services.

The left side of her body was covered in a deep lattice of burns, stretching from the top of her shoulder blade and wrapping down to her calf. It looked horrific, and actually getting them had probably felt even worse.

He couldn't even imagine how such a thing had happened.

Maybe she had been telling the truth after all.

If her story was real, Callian could see why they had kicked her out now.

Most customers would not have liked that sort of thing, leading to the woman's lack of clients.

He didn't mind though.

No, it was more accurate to say he didn't care. Not in the slightest.

People's bodies were a tapestry; each one painted differently by the choices they had made throughout their lives.

Every scar told a story.

Those who couldn't recognise this fact didn't deserve to get to know the person underneath.

The blue-haired teen stiffened up as Shala began to whisper in his ear midway, her hot breath tickling the side of his neck.

"I love you." She murmured sensually, caressing his hair.

Callian frowned.

He knew it was a lie, and that Shala had probably said that to everyone she had ever laid with.

But…

It felt… strange?

It… Fascinated him.

Funnily enough, the teen didn't feel as detached as he usually did.

A foreign feeling stirred within him. Something new.

And then, it was over, and the two of them finally separated, slowly reaching for their discarded clothes.

They re-dressed in silence, bothwoman and boy lost deep within their own thoughts.

"Was that enough?" She asked, nervously locking eyes with the teen before her gaze slid toward the bundle lying behind him. "Can I… Take the vial now?"

It seemed growing up alone had affected him more deeply than he thought.

"Yeah," Callian replied evenly. "But don't forget our deal."

Shala's eyes lit up with an overwhelming relief, a reaction that was quickly smothered by the older woman.

He reached behind him, picking up the satchel that contained the vial before throwing it to her.

In her clumsy attempt at catching the bundle, Shala nearly dropped it; her long fingers visibly struggling to curl around the thin strap.

They looked… Stiff?

They were shaking too, albeit only slightly.

The teen frowned, how had he not noticed that before?

"Is there something wrong with your hands?" He asked, his grey eyes now scanning the rest of the woman curiously.

Now that he thought about it, her eyes were had taken on a slight red tint too, almost as if she had been crying.

But she hadn't been, not while she was with him at least.

Shala glanced at him furtively, turning the satchel over in her hands and opening it.

The look on her face when she saw what was inside…

Actual tears began pooling in the corner of her eyes as she stared down into the bag, before the woman blinked them away, quickly turning to face the door and hiding her expression from view.

Shala's pale hand grasped the iron doorknob, attempting to open the door and leave, only to find that she couldn't turn it at all. 

An uncanny feeling trickled down Shala's spine. She was afraid.

Why was the door locked?

"It's locked."

Callian's ever-critical voice echoed from behind her.

"We have a deal, so don't you dare go leaving without me."

The woman flinched at the accusation, gently clasping her trembling hands together.

She could feel it. It was starting.

Gradual loss of her finer motor functions, just like she had been warned.

Fuck.

"H-hurry up then." She returned, refusing to turn around and face the strange boy who was still dressing behind her. "I'm on a time limit here, and it's starting to run out."

Callian bent down and retrieved the key from its hiding place, before walking up to the door and unlocking it.

"Ladies first." Said the teen, gesturing for the jittery woman to move past him.

As she walked through the door however, Callian suddenly grabbed her by the wrist.

Shala reared back in shock, whipping around just in time to see the easygoing smile off of Callian's face, now replaced with an unsettling disquiet.

The teen tightened his hold, the tremors wracking Shala's hand multiplying under his crushing grip. "And Shala, know that if you try to run without my permission, you'll feel my knife hit your back before you can even get ten paces - and be assured, I am a very, very good thrower."

She struggled to free herself, desperately trying to pull away from the small teen and failing miserably.

If only she wasn't so weak because of that evil man.

The woman stared down into Callian's soulless grey eyes fretfully, quickly giving up on the shoddy escape attempts she had been planning.

If he followed her, the boy was just going to get himself killed.

The people she served could not be bargained with, because they were fucking ruthless.

Neither Callian's quick thinking nor his uncanny ability with a knife would be able to save him if half of Westside was out for his head.

"Listen, Callian, these people will kill you on sight." She hissed, turning to the side and nimbly evading the boy's hand as he made a grab for the satchel. "They can't be reasoned with. You'll just get yourself killed."

"And I suppose you're saying this out of the goodness of your heart?" He snarled back, yanking the woman toward him by the arm and snatching the bundle off of her flailing shoulder. "Yeah fuck off."

Shala went tumbling back into the hideaway, once again smashing her already sore elbows into the ground.

"We had a deal!" She cried, twisting over on the floor, brown eyes widening in fear as she saw the blue-haired boy reach for the open door.

Callian replied harshly. "You're right, we did."

He slammed it shut, and Shala scrambled to her feet just in time to hear a key insert itself into the lock and turn loudly.

She jumped forward, grabbing the door handle and twisting it.

It didn't budge.

"Hey, hey wait! I'm sorry okay?" She yelled, starting to kick the door out of desperation.

Loud footsteps echoed from beyond the door.

Icy fear gripped Shala's heart.

He was walking away.

No no no no. Not like this. Not after she had been given so much hope.

"Callian, wait, wait! I'm a runner okay?!" The woman burst out, slamming her shaking hands into the old wooden door.

It didn't even creak under her attacks. "I was tasked with getting that chemical by my employer."

The sound of movement stopped.

"Who is your employer?" He asked.

The woman smashed her forehead into the door in frustration. The stress was starting to take its toll on her.

If Callian left her here she would be dead within a day, whether he came back for her or not.

"An Alchemist." She returned half-heartedly, resigning herself to her powerlessness. "He's one of the Revolutionary's inner circle. You must know of him at least."

The teen standing on the other side of the door froze in shock.

The Revolutionary?

What the fuck?

The obscure leading figure that Jason had warned him about? The one who supposedly controlled half of Westside?

That Revolutionary?

And this stray worked for them?

She had to be lying, right?

"He has an Alchemist?" Callian asked carefully, slowly reaching for the key to the door.

If it was true, what did Westside's resident crime lord need with an alchemist - and what did he need with this vial?

"Yes… And don't ask me what for, I just… Don't know." Muttered Shala, resting her forehead and hands on the door's cold surface. 

She balled her hands into tight fists.

She was completely at his mercy now.

If he didn't let her out of this place and instead decided to go looking for the alchemist on his own, she was dead.

Shala started to cry.

To the woman's utter relief however, not even a moment later, she heard the distinct sound of a lock clicking open, and she pulled back as the door was opened once more.

Callian stood framed in the doorway, his condescending grey eyes staring up at her teary face.

"You will lead me to your employer, just as you said you would." He said, jerking a thumb toward the two lifeless bodies behind him. "I can, and will take care of myself."

Shala swallowed, nodding reluctantly.

She reached out to take back the bundle before Callian slapped her trembling hand away fiercely.

"I'll hang onto this for now." The teen affirmed quietly, his dull grey eyes boring into her own.

Shala looked away shamefully.

Any sliver of trust she had managed to gain from their earlier interaction was evidently now null and void.

"You can have it back when you hold up your end of our deal, and not a second before."

His fingers curled around the knife in his belt, the threat as to what would happen if she argued left unspoken.

The woman nodded mutely, casting her eyes now toward Callian's still-glowing hands.

She gently squeezed her own together, trying to coax the tremors still wracking them into settling.

They didn't settle. Not even by a little bit.

"We need to run if we're to make it in time." She muttered unhappily, and Callian nodded.

"Let's go then." He answered, "Do try not to trip over anything, as if you knock yourself out, I'll leave you behind."

Shala shivered.

They were still in near total darkness after all.

—

* To clarify for any of you who may be confused; picture the outskirts as the connecting tunnels between the different colonies, not officially a part of any but present between all of them.

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My apologies for the delayed update, I've been extremely busy recently and had little time to write.

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(Total word count: 3203)