Everkant series ep. 17 (1st draft)

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Amber wipes off the morning ash with a swift movement. Hector is ever present. More now than ever. The dark city can be seen in the distance. Its fires illuminate the sky at night and the fumes cloud the horizon during the day. As the crow flies it won't take more than two days. Hector stands still. No force of nature could move him when he enters what he calls his "place". One of Amber's favorite pass times is trying to guess things about Hector. He usually wins by persistence as it is hard to endure a child's incessant nags about whatever crosses their mind that day. This, however, Amber can't crack. He senses the heat coming off Hector. Peeking into his rotten soul he can glimpse the fire within, but the actual deed still deludes him.

'Say' Amber will do anything to get Hector's attention 'we're pretty close to Everkant, aren't we?' Hector doesn't reply. It would more accurate to say he didn't listen. 'Say' Amber insists 'What will these gods to do me when we get there?' He knows what will happen. Or at least some of the things that should. His inner self carries something valuable and he can witness others as they are. Their true selves. This confounds him at times when he sees Hector's soul decaying day by day. Yet the guardian remains himself, unchanged, stoic like a rock. A constant source of strength and crudeness he has come to admire. He's seen better men losing it for less. There's something about Hector that Amber will never understand. He's okay with this.

'Will they...' Amber's voice cracks like a child crying for his father '...kill me?'

This time Hector listened.