The final rays of sunshine fell behind the outer wall, encasing the outskirts in complete darkness.
Small and improvised, wedged into a dense cluster of structures somewhere between the two walls, a forlorn shelter could be found. Within, a faint lantern illuminated the scavenged walls, causing shadows to dance as the flame waned and flickered.
One of these shadows was cast by a pale girl sitting in the corner, a book open across her knees, read with the attention of someone with nowhere else to be and nothing else to do. That was fine — the outskirts were not a place for her, and she had made peace with that a long time ago.
A frail arm flipped a page.
Then footsteps. Not the random sounds of the outskirts, but rather a particular weight, a particular rhythm. Out of habit, the book fled under the covers.
"Brother... is that you?"
Corvin appeared through the crack and looked more tired than usual. Pale even by his standards, his dark eyes scanned the room and settled on her, a smile forming. A heavy-looking pack slipped off his shoulders, and he leaned it against the wall with relief.
"I would hope so. Who else would I be?"
Mira sighed and uncrossed her legs.
"You're not funny."
The book returned to her hands.
"I'm a little funny."
Content with his rebuttal, Corvin crouched beside the pack and began pulling things out. The blanket first, then clothes, then the water containers with care that suggested they'd been jostled more than he wanted. Slabs stacked next to those. He was doing the count in his head — she could tell by the way his eyes moved.
"How are you feeling?"
Mira shrugged.
"Fine."
Corvin looked up from the slabs sternly.
"Mira."
Mira raised her arm enthusiastically and flexed her thin bicep.
"Perfectly okay!"
Chuckling, Corvin stood and shook his head. That was when Mira saw a scrape on the right side of his leg, a tear in the already worn pants.
Noticing, Corvin followed her gaze. Damn it... he thought he was in the clear. He turned his body so she couldn't see.
"Oh this? It's nothing, I just got caught trying to squeeze through an alley."
Mira glanced at her brother, unconvinced.
"Are you sure? You were out longer than usual..."
Corvin put on the most convincing smile he could, the fatigue weighing it down. His right hand whipped from behind his back.
"And I was out longer than usual... because I was trying to find this strawberry slab! Do you know how hard this was to find?"
Mira crossed her arms.
"No, 'cause you never let me go outside in the first place! Only when we have to move."
Corvin sighed. Internally, of course.
"Mira... you know it's not safe out there. Especially for you."
The young girl gripped the book tightly.
"When can I? I'd like to go outside too, you know."
Corvin walked forwards and sat next to his sister.
"Soon. I'll make it happen, soon. Do you think you can wait just a bit longer?"
She smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I can wait if you need me to..."
Her eyes darted to his hands.
"But I can't wait until I have that strawberry flavored slab!"
Corvin started to rip open the packaging, the slab about the size of his palm. A smile on his face.
"Yeah, yeah... now wipe the drool off your mouth before I need to go find a mop too."
Finished, Corvin handed her the food — if slabs could be called food — and just sat there for a moment. If he wasn't careful, he would fall asleep. As he was double-checking everything mentally, his eyes landed on the book open across his sister's lap.
"You really like that book Mom left us, huh? Is it that fun to look at a bunch of words all day?"
Mira shot him a confused expression.
"Fun? These are whole other worlds! Although, it's getting tiring to read the same stuff over and over..."
Corvin watched his sister's expression trail off with a smug smile.
She looked at him dubiously.
"What?!"
Corvin stood up with a jolt.
"Oh nothing... just that I found something that'll fix your problem."
As his sister tried her hardest to look unconvinced, Corvin paced back over to the unloaded pack and reached his hand inside for one last thing. Mira's eyes lit up when she saw what was pulled out.
A dusty old book.
"I found this in an abandoned hive earlier. Didn't get a chance to look inside... but I think it's readable."
Catching herself, Mira raised an eyebrow and set the book in her lap aside. She grabbed the new one with both hands. The cover was faded but the pages inside were intact when she checked — warped slightly, still readable.
"Thank you."
Mira's eyes found the supplies, then her brother's appearance. She held the book in her lap and thought about the fact that he'd gone out of his way to bring it back, whatever that actually meant.
"Corvin."
"Hm."
"Your leg."
"We covered the leg."
"I'm not talking about what happened to it. I'm talking about the fact that you're pale and tired and you came back with twice as many supplies as usual and you found me a book."
He met her eyes. Corvin sighed — she already knew.
"I have to go for a while. I'm not sure how long. The supplies should last; ration them. You know how to."
They looked at each other for a moment.
"Is this a good chance?"
Corvin subtly smiled.
"It is. In fact, it's so good that you might even be able to eat real strawberries."
She looked at the distance between them and said quietly:
"Okay."
Corvin turned back around and methodically approached the pack one last time. Supplying it with the bare minimum — probably just tonight's dinner — it fell around his shoulders.
He stood there longer than needed. The blankets, the slabs, the clothes... did he prepare enough? He took a step forwards.
She crossed the room before he reached the crack.
"Wait!"
He turned.
She was holding both books — the old one and the new one — and her expression was doing the thing it did when she was working hard to keep it in one piece.
"...I love you, okay? And I'm expecting strawberries!"
Corvin looked into her eyes. He'd get her those strawberries. He'd make it happen. No matter what.
"I love you too. And it's a promise."
***
The building was just as he had left it.
He had found it weeks ago on one of his longer routes through the outskirts. A building so thoroughly abandoned that anyone who looked at it didn't even consider it one. Out of sight, a room hidden in the back with a sturdy enough bookshelf to brace the door.
Technically, he was supposed to turn himself in to the guards. He had decided not to.
The drowsiness hit him harder and harder on the way there. Not the ordinary kind he was used to — something was different. His eyelids grew heavy, the world pulling back from him in increments, telling him to give in. An overwhelming desire to sleep. His thoughts were still running and his feet were still walking, but something was loosening at the edges of everything.
He made it to the building, found the room. Dragged the bookshelf across the floor — it scraped loudly — and blocked the door.
The corner was closest. He slid down the wall and put the pack behind his head. He wasn't fighting it anymore; there was no reason to.
The world went soft.
Finally... he was able to drift off into the beautiful embrace of sleep.
Within the darkness, a voice spoke.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial...]