Having finished their meal, Asrael led Neda down the stairs and back out into the night. The atmosphere was unnaturally still- undoubtedly a result of whatever controlling magic Thomas had cast on the premises.

Along the alley of tall trees leading out towards the mist, lanterns lit the backside of Thomas’ carriage, but even without the magical lanterns, Asrael assumed he would’ve seen the black carriage as it disappeared out into the white fog. It seemed a second, dimmer illuminance bled out from the bricks of the castle itself, though what spectrum of light the rays belonged to were beyond his understanding.

Neda intertwined her fingers in Asrael’s and rubbed her full stomach to belch loudly into the still night’s air. Her gaze was firmly locked on the tall, sculpted hedges and trees- formed in all manner of zoological shapes. She urged him on- dragging him unwillingly over the gravel as he wafted the air before his face with disgust as he smelled the digestive processes breaking down the wine and the meats in her stomach.

“Goodness, woman... what did they feed you?” He muttered aggressively. Neda took advantage of his relatively good mood and steadied her grip on his arm with a smile.

“Well, you fed me, so you should know. C’mon- I wanna see what those things are!” She stated joyously as she dragged him onwards and paused by a tree sculpted in the shape of a tall, winged, bipedal, snouted beast. Asrael did not try to break free from her clutches- he had already conceded to her tortures for the evening and informed:

“That is a sculpted tree. It is a form of artistic expression- a waste of skill that might’ve been put to some actual use.” Her urging expression conveyed that he was yet to answer what she actually pondered. Sighing, he said: “This tree is shaped as a gargoyle- a certain subspecies of golems. As with the rest of magic-dependent fauna, the Blight has killed them. They could not sustain themselves in a world as void of magic as ours was and so, they all perished.” This was the first Neda had ever heard of the mass extinction event that had killed most of their biological diversity and she signaled her continued lack of understanding by cocking her head.

Sighing, he recounted: “The phenomenon has been dubbed ‘The Great Dying’. We- alongside all other animals still alive in this world- are relatively independent on magic. We can sustain ourselves on little and instead metabolize chemicals- food, if you will, whereas these beasts were wholly dependent on magic to sustain their bodily functions.”

In a rare feat of insight, Neda scratched her chin and questioned: “So... they’re like you, right? You don’t eat food, so magic keeps you alive?” He blinked several times. He had failed to consider that he was, in fact, not at all unlike the now-dead beasts.

“I-… Suppose you are correct, in a sense...” She could see how it discomforted him to be caught unaware. Not to lose his focus, she dragged him onwards to the next station- a tree in the shape of a winged drake, mid-swoop. As if relieved to have something other than her surprising mind’s acuity to think about, he offered: “A dragon. Capable of flight, but curiously with a propensity to nest underground. They are said to have been capable of expelling vast amounts of their elemental magic to scorch, freeze or shatter entire cities... thankfully, they were amongst the first to strangulate as the flow of magic ceased.” Neda stared at the immortalized being in awe.

“Were they really this big?” Asrael scoffed.

“They were rumored to be the size of cities. This is a miniature- a small-scale representation of a much larger object.” He could feel her arm tighten against his as she excitedly tapped her feet against the gravel. Aside from the Wall, she had never seen anything as large as what Asrael was describing and for a moment, she found herself hoping that one would still be alive out there, somewhere. That is, until Asrael muttered:

“It is said that, in their death throes, they converged on Capita and reduced it to a ruin. All that remained was a single structure- the Tower. Of all the things the magi have missed from the world of old, I believe not a one of us- even the zoologists- have wished to see the Dragons return.” With her free hand, she scratched her chin and looked up at the dimly lit sculpture of green.

“I’m sure you’d be able to keep me safe from a dragon, right?” Asrael raised his left brow and turned to look at his foolish companion with disbelief. Her sheepish smile- those glazed-over eyes, those thin, dreamy lips.

“Of course not- I just told you, they destroyed whole cities! Even if I could, I-” Her smile faded to an uncomfortable, tremoring frown. Ushering him into sighing and stating: “Of course. I, alone, would take up a sword and kill the dragon.” Thankfully, Neda seemed incapable of processing most his sarcasms and her smile returned. She gripped his arm and leaned over to rub the side of her head against his arm. He knew that this was not healthy for the girl- this obsession of hers, yet he had let it continue thus far. He remained still as he shook his head and spoke:

“Neda... I believe it high time we discussed this.” With his free hand, he motioned between the two of them. She could hear the dark tone of his voice, but she remained stalwart in her stance- refusing to look up at him, as she knew he would once again attempt to dissuade her from her care. This was not the first time for it, after all. He took a steadying breath, before calmly stating:

“You seem to want for something that I cannot give you. I have already explained my goals to you, yet you seem to have deluded yourself into believing we are in some sort of a... relationship...” He shuddered as his tongue spat the word. He could feel her head jerk from side-to-side.

Without looking up from his shoulder, she muttered: “Can we not do this now? We’re having fun- like Maribelle said we could.” His shoulder grew tense as he hesitantly explained: “These are bonding-rituals, woman, and I’ve no desire to bond with you or anyone else, for that matter. Perhaps you should stay with Thomas- he-”

“Shut up.” She displayed a surprising strength as she clamped her fingers down on his hand. Taken aback by the sudden shift in her voice, he remained silent for her to continue, sternly.

“I don’t want to be treated like he treats them... it’s disgusting.” She muttered. Before he could protest, she jerked upright and raised their conjoined fingers in the direction of another, green sculpture- a tusked elephant carved from limestone in the midst of the maze of hedges.

“Let’s go check that one out! Tell me all about it, I wanna learn more!” Whatever this was, this mixed feeling of dread and something else, he had long since come to the conclusion that Neda would not be taking him up on his many offers of freeing her from his service. Whether or not this was a good thing, still remained to be seen.

“We are never going to conclude this conversation, will we?” Asrael spat sourly as Neda dragged him down the graveled road, her head swinging as she shook her head.

“I don’t know what that word means, but probably not!” He found the corners of his lips curl up into an unexpected... smile. He had to touch his face to verify it, something that pleased the blightlander clenching his hand in hers.