Looking down on the sleeping Abby, Etrius wondered if there was a better place to sleep. Before it could do anything about it, Etrius heard the doors behind it open up.
“Sorry for the wait.” Torie’s familiar voice called out.
Standing carefully so as to not jolt Abby, Etrius turned to see Torie entering the room. Close at her side was the maid, Zen, that she was with in town. Though she smiled at it, Etrius couldn't help but notice that her eyes were becoming even more clouded. Instead of the blue it previously saw, it was so filled with gray clouds that Etrius wouldn’t be surprised if she was unable to see. As if sensing its gaze, she smiled.
“Ranger Washington.” Torie called out.
“Lady Haywood.” Etrius bowed lightly.
“Mu…” Abby shifted in Etrius’ arms.
“Ah, there she is.” Torie said. “Mind if I hold her?”
“Go right ahead.” Etrius said.
Moving to Etrius' side the two carefully exchanged Abby who just appeared to be waking up. Opening her eyes confused, she looked at the two during the middle of the exchange.
“Au?” Abby asked.
“Wakey wakey dear.” Adriana smiled. “Did you have a good nap?”
“Mu.” She said.
Still seemingly tired, Abby wiggled closer to Torie in an attempt to get comfortable. Smiling still, Torie took a seat next to Etrius.
“So, do you know why I called you here?” Torie asked.
“I have a few guesses.” Etrius said.
“Regardless we have all day, if you are free that is?” She asked.
“I have time.” Etrius said.
“Excellent, though with Abigail with us and the weather turning, I don’t suspect we’ll be doing much outside.” She said.
“From the looks of it, Abby is quite comfortable here.” Etrius said.
“Mu…” Abby muttered.
“Indeed she is.” Torie said, patting her head.
The two watched a lazy smile appear on Abby’s face as she drifted off to sleep.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Torie asked.
“She’s okay.” Etrius said.
“Darli- never mind.” She sighed.
“She’s kind of got a weird face.” It said.
“She has your face.” She argued.
“Never said that she didn’t.” It said.
“Darling.” She sighed in full force.
“I know, I know.” It said. “She’s adorable.”
“Yet you still call her ‘little idiot’.”
“Looks and intelligence have nothing to do with each other.”
“What about me? I’m cute and smart.”
“You keep thinking that.”
“And what is that sposto' mean?”
“Like mother, like daughter.”
“You and your jokes.”
Rocking her gently, Torie turned towards Etrius.
“So, how are you settling in?” She asked.
“Surprisingly well considering the circumstances.” It said. “My only real worry is if I have enough firewood for winter.”
“Should things become too unbearable, feel free to spend the winter here.” She smiled.
“I wouldn’t want to impose upon you, especially considering your family's view of me.” It said.
“There’s no need to worry about them.” She said. “They love spending time in the capital. I doubt that they’ll come by any time soon, especially in winter.”
“I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with them.” It said.
“You know, Abigail would be lonely without you.” She said.
“That's not fair.” It said.
“I’m sure that when she can’t see you she’ll cry for her father.” She said. “Oh my, how sad. I’m tearing up just thinking about it.”
“Alright I get it. If it gets too bad I’ll consider staying here.” It said.
“Did you hear that Abby? He’ll only consider staying here.” She whispered in Abby’s ear.
“Muh…” Abby muttered sleepily.
“Don’t give her any strange ideas. I’ll visit as often as I can.” It sighed.
“We look forward to your visits.” She smiled.
“Yeah, well there are still those dinners promised to me after all.” It said.
“Aside from those dinners, feel free to visit often. If not, I’ll request our local ranger to make regular reports directly to me.” She smiled.
“Right right.” It smiled.
As the two smiled, a maid entered the room with a cart. A pot of coffee by the looks of it. It was odd considering the time of day, but it was nothing that Etrius didn’t welcome. As their cups were poured, Etrius watched carefully to see if the scent bothered Abby. Sometimes when Etrius was cooking, certain foods seemed to have a negative effect on her. She wasn’t necessarily allergic to them, but they did irritate her senses. Onions especially seemed to cause her discomfort. Luckily coffee didn’t seem to bother Abby, which was a good thing for multiple reasons.
As their cups were placed on the table, Torie set to work sweetening it with cubes of sugar with Etrius’ remaining as it was. As Torie was about to drink from her cup, she hesitated and looked down at Abby. She was not so reckless that she would hold a drink over Abby, let alone a hot one, but the coffee seemed too irresistible. Realistically she could simply hand her off to Etrius, but knowing it, would hold her in one hand and coffee in the others. Though that being said, she was sure that Etirus wouldn’t spill any on her.
Hearing Abby’s gentle breaths, and feeling her small hands holding onto her shirt, Torie couldn’t help but smile. Though she hadn't known her for long, Abby was their child. With enough room on the couch, Torie pried her hands open and lay Abby at her side, between herself and Etrius. With her hands now free, Abby’s sleeping face looked troubled and she reached out. She tried grabbing onto the couch, but was unsatisfied. Before she started crying, Etrius let her grab some of the loose fabric on its robes. Seemingly calmed by this, she turned to face it. Once she was settled in, Torie grabbed her coffee and took a small sip, savoring the taste.
For a moment, the two sat in a comfortable silence, listening to the slight breeze outside. Closing her eyes, Torie leaned her head against Etrius’ shoulder, listening to the gentle hums and ticks of its bodily functions. Hearing them, she opened her eyes, reminded of something.
“I know that this may be a bit abrupt, but what of the Dark Age?” She asked. “Has that happened or not yet?”
“We’ve been on one for the past few hundred years.” Etrius said.
“Have we?” She asked.
“Yea. Did you not notice?” It asked.
“It’s hard to tell out here, and when I was in the capital I didn’t go out much.” She admitted.
“Well, we’re in one. It should be ending in the next few years.” It said.
“Well, that explains the lack of adventures.” She nodded.
“It keeps the witch hunters from going wild as well.” It added.
“Speaking of hunters, what of that request from the hunting guild?”
“It was just a stray demon. Nothing too major.”
“In the middle of a Dark Age?”
“It's why I think the Dark Age is going to end soon.”
“I see.”
Dark Ages were an odd thing. Instead of the catastrophic, civilization ending event that one may think of, it was rather a common occurrence. In Dark Ages, magic in the environment would thin out and few would be capable of using it. Aside from witches and witch hunters, there were few exceptions. Because of this regular occurrence, magic tools became weaker or non-functioning. One of the easiest examples were streetlights. Those powered by magical crystals, most of them, stopped functioning, giving people a clear sign of a Dark Age. This territory, being mostly a backwater place, had no streetlights and very few magic tools.
In the capital however, many of the magic tools were simple tools that could function without magic, though not as efficiently. For the average person, this wasn’t a big issue, though commerce and travel became more difficult as the airships that were around no longer worked and normal ships traveled slower. Though it wasn’t all bad news for the Dark Ages. In dark ages, Magic weapons didn’t function and monsters from the devils realm didn’t appear. As for the devils themselves, they didn’t leave their planet, or rather it was extremely difficult to do so in a Dark Age. Currently, neither humans or devils could even reach the moon, let alone pass it, without airships.
Frowning slightly, Etrius looked out the window. The moon, though not in sight, was distant and dangerous. Aside from the risk of wandering across a devil, there were also the dragons that lived there and in the in-between. Though that being said, they were not as dangerous as the Deacons, any of the shadows, or the rare Occidian. People could at least fight dragons. Some of them at least. As for the dragon that created the devils, Etrius wasn't sure if there was any human or devil who could fight it. Though it has been dormant for quite some time. There haven't been sightings for the past several hundred years. Maybe it had gone to another world?
Letting its thoughts wonder, Etrius glanced down at Abby. Though she was not from this world, could she use magic? Magic users, though not rare, weren’t all too common; it was impossible to tell if someone could use magic in a Dark Age without directly consulting with a witch. Pushing that thought out of its mind, Etrius drank its coffee. Given Torie’s attitude, whatever she called it here for could wait. For now, it simply enjoyed her presence.
