The tension between the two men wasn't doing Devin any favours. Yorrick's opinion of him was fast declining and while his kindness to the girl was noted, it did little to soften him. He simply rowed ashore, eyes fixed on Devin and the girl, more interested in the girl, especially given the state she was in. She had a colourful box with her, one that she claimed Linika had bestowed on her. From what the IA agent could tell, the Naerrik had turned out to be the more sympathetic of the two to the child's plight. She was the one that had risked her life and had managed to calm the child down before she did something stupid like sink her damaged boat prior to rescuers reaching her. Yorrick didn't have the same automatic prejudices that the Eídisi did, the very prejudice that had made Taysin ask him to take Linika off her hands. Still, it didn't stop him from distrusting them greatly. The ones that came to the city were typically loyal to Audrae and potential spies. They couldn't be trusted usually but this one... she surprised him greatly.
When they got ashore, Devin was left in charge of the girl but Linika managed to swoop in, despite the evident chill that had affected her. She hardly seemed able to stand and yet there she was pulling away her damp cloak and settling the warm, dry blanket around her more tightly. Yorrick found himself staring at her, searching her face for some sign of something to explain her motivations. It was while she talked, seemingly oblivious to what was going on, that he stood there and stared at her face, or more specifically her eye.
Xypha.
A Naerrik marked by Yvithia.
A Naerrik Xypha.
Taysin would never believe this when he told her; she'd be disgusted and horrified. Yorrick couldn't believe it at all. In fact, while that silvery blue mark was staring right back at him, the IA agent had forgotten about Elyne and Devin, hardly noticing the others who were rushing over. They were the very search parties that he himself had organised but right now, he was too shocked to think. When he managed to shake his head, to snap out of it a little, he realised that Devin was gone.
"Shit? Where did the weirdo go?" he gasped out, staring at where he'd stood just moments before.
"Damn! The unreliable son of a- We'll just have to go without him. We don't have time to wait around for him while he does... whatever it is, he's doing."
He gave orders for them to carry the girl to the Infirmary before he turned his attention to Linika, unwinding his scarf and placing it over the Naer's head.
"I can see your mark and you obviously didn't want anyone to know that it was there so... use that to obscure it a bit, put it in shadow," he warned her in a low hiss. For now, he was the only one who seemed to know about it and if she was wise, she'd accept the gesture of kindness and say nothing.
---
Devin had wandered off in pursuit of his stone, the one that he'd hidden from the view of others earlier. He would be able to draw back the blue cloth and remain undisturbed during the few bits it'd take to dig it out. He would find the stone warm to the touch as if someone had warmed it in the grasp rather than sitting on the floor of a cold and damp shed. When he laid hands on it, a gentle warmth would spread through him, doing wonders to combat the cold although after a time, he'd find it uncomfortable to hold as the heat would continue to build until he started to sweat and then feel drained and faint if he held on for longer. As soon as it went into his pocket, the massive heat that had built within him would begin to ebb, as long as it was no longer in contact with is skin.
However, while he'd been undisturbed, he wasn't unwatched. In fact, while he'd been digging, a fisherman had wandered in to get something but had stopped to stand and stare at the young man who was rooting away in a bunch of scrap. Once he'd untangled himself from the heap, the fisherman stared for a few more moments before he broke the silence.
"Are you one of those searchers? Do you not know they found the girl?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest as he regarded him with his head cocked to one side. He was human with long, dark hair and rugged features. He was young enough, in his mid-twenties, although he carried the bearing of someone older.
"The little thing looked half-frozen. They'll have a hard time warming her up, but I saw them heading off towards the Infirmary so if you want to catch them, you'd better make a run for it," he explained, jerking his thumb towards the Videnese tunnels. His eyes moved up and down he young man, a soft smile on his lips, eyeing him admiringly before he moved over to grab up the blue cloth that Devin had used earlier to cover his prize up, draping it over his arm, before he wandered away to examine the fishing nets, effectively dismissing him.
---
Meanwhile, back with Yorrick's party, the IA agent had chosen to support the Naer, giving her someone to lean on while she was still so weak. The child was being carried ahead of them, the men who bore her moving as swiftly as they could while the IA agent and Elyne's main rescuer moved as swiftly as
they could.
"I never would have believed that someone like you... well, I know that Yvithia moves in mysterious ways but this... this is a new one," he murmured.
"How did you- How did a Naer gain her favour?" Yorrick asked softly, careful to keep his voice low so that the others wouldn't hear.
He fell into a pensive silence, the group moving swiftly so they could get back to the Academy grounds and to the Infirmary. Yorrick wondered if Taysin's group had found any sign of the boy.
By the time Yorrick's group appeared at the Infirmary, it was almost evening, and Taysin's group had
not found the boy.
---
Taysin had answered Virikai's request for more information about the location by simply flashing images between the Infirmary and the Viridian Wing. The two sections were attached and in truth, they hadn't narrowed it down further than that. She'd also conveyed telepathically that she intended to try the Infirmary first. Thus, the lordling had been able to lead the way, his companions following. Amaris would have discovered a great friendliness towards the Tunawa, simply by virtue of her presence. The mixed blood might be supposed at their positive feelings towards the little creature, especially given that the two hadn't interacted. However, if Virikai had been the one to carry her, he would have felt it too; it was difficult to feel negatively about the plant-like being. It was something he'd discover if he had reason to touch her although he would feel it to some degree while in her near vicinity.
As she babbled away, mimicking the sounds that she'd heard as Tunawa were inclined to do, Leeloo was unaware that she was spouting highly useful information, vitally important to their search, although Virikai hadn't understood its significance when Treela spouted it. Besides, how could he possibly guess what corpses had to do with a missing child?
Once they reached the Infirmary, they'd help the other IA agents to search, watching Taysin grow more and more agitated as time went on. A thorough search of the Infirmary turned up nothing important and thus, they were sent walking through the corridors of the Viridian Wing. Labs, classrooms and everything vital to scientific learning was present here but they didn't reveal a child. It didn't help that they were sometimes forced to disrupt classes, things slowed down as the IA shuffled students out of the searchers' way. The only thing of note that turned up was near the Medical Cold Storage section: the clothes that Tollan was reported to have been wearing when he disappeared.
After breaks had passed, Taysin's little team of thinkers were gathered in the Infirmary once more, the IA still conducting fruitless searches. The Eídisi sat on one of the empty beds, her helpers ranged around her while she stared into space.
"I don't understand it. He's definitely here. There were witnesses although they were tricky to turn up but they've confirmed that no one saw him leave. Besides, he's naked. Where could he have gone naked? Especially with no one to see him," she pointed out, thinking aloud for the benefit of the others. She looked to Amaris, Virikai, Leeloo, others.
"Where could he hide?" she questioned in Common before voicing the same question in Xanthea.
Shortly after she finished her speech, the IA agent as close to despair as they were likely to see her, that a group of people burst into the Infirmary. Some bore a small body that they'd struggled to keep warm, talking to her constantly in an effort to keep her awake. With them came Yorrick and Linika with Devin sure to be trailing behind unless he'd simply decided to go home. Yorrick would help guide Linika to the necessary medical personnel before making a beeline to his colleague, a rapid exchange of information taking place under their breath as they filled each other in. He passed something on that made Taysin's eyebrows scale her forehead, shooting an incredulous look in the Naer's direction.
The Naer would be ushered behind a screen for privacy so she could peel off her wet clothes before being provided with plenty of warm blankets and fluids. If she chose, she could fight her way to rejoin those searching for the boy or she could get to the girl's side where her own treatment could continue.
"I don't understand how she didn't freeze and your boy, he has to still be here. If he went outside, this is one of the few places in the city where he'd find snow. He'd be at risk of hypothermia within no time at all. Do you think someone is hiding him for some reason?" Yorrick asked Taysin aloud, looking to the others in the group as if expecting input from them.
The Eídisi shook his head.
"There's nowhere for him to hide. We've even had certain agents - the ones with permission - searching the restricted levels. Every space, big or small has been checked, no matter how unlikely. The only places we haven't looked are the experimental tanks and the cadavers. There's no way he could survive in either of those places. He'd drown in one or melt, depending on which tanks you checked and he'd die of cold in storage. It's cold enough in there to stop the medical bodies from discomposing and the boy has no clothes. Even clothed, he wouldn't stand much chance," she explained briskly, shaking her head.
"I can't understand it. He can't have simply disappeared!" she groaned.
"Do any of you have any theories?" Yorrick asked those assembled.
