#ooc: good luck Gav

[bestboygav]

For @myrkt - a semi-plotted random starter

It had only been a few days since they’d gotten news from one of Cid’s confidants down in Boklad. Waloeder soldiers had been spotted closer to the Dzemekys Falls, though nobody was sure why. Cid seemed concerned, though. More so than usual, which struck Gav as a little odd. If they were seen around the Falls, that meant they were interested in either Dhalmekia or the Crystalline Dominion, right? The look on Cid’s face as he pondered the information made him think there was more to this than he was understanding. 

Which was exactly why he was here, in Dhalmekia, looking for said Waloeder soldiers. “Stay out of sight and out of trouble. Any inkling of things going south, you return to the hideaway.” Those were Cid’s exact words. It had put him on edge the whole time he was getting ready to head out. Cid seemed to have noticed the change in mood, since he followed with, “You’ll be fine, Gav. It’s only a handful of Waloeder soldiers. Nothing you can’t handle.” Honestly, the flip-flop between his mood and words hadn’t made Gav feel any better before he left. 

At least everything seemed normal so far on his end. Dhalmekia wasn’t the easiest place to scout in during the day - what with the blinding sun and lack of real cover to hide in. Nothing but rocks and Fallen ruins around, so he’d been sticking to their shadows the best he could. Everything became a little easier once night came and he could get closer to their camp. It was still hard to hear what they were saying - the moon was just a little too bright, so he decided to err on the side of caution, hanging back a bit in the darker shadows.

Thankfully it seemed that whatever they were saying wasn’t important. They seemed to be drunk and having a good time, which made him start to wonder why they were even here in the first place. There was no acting commander - that he could see - so why were a handful of random Waloeder soldiers happily making camp in the middle of the desert? 

He’d almost started inching closer when he finally heard a new voice in the mix. It sent a shiver down his spine that froze him in place. He wasn’t well versed in the chain of command within the Waloeder army, but whoever this new voice belonged to had to be pretty important; after all, the drunken merriment ended as soon as a few words were spoken. Every nerve in his being was telling him to run. Flee. Escape while you still can. But he couldn’t move. He needed to. Cid had told him to come back if things felt off. Everything felt off. If he moved now, though, he’d definitely be spotted. 

Heart thumping against his chest, he waited in stiff silence. It had only been a few minutes, at most, but it felt like hours. And then everything was back to normal. Whoever that voice belonged to was gone. The oppressive air cleared and the soldiers from before were back to their drunken merriment. The experience had definitely shaved a few years off of his life, but he’d survived it. He needed to get a stolas back to Cid as quickly as possible, so he slowly started leaving the area, keeping an eye on his surroundings the best he could. The dark of night helped hide him, but who knew what was lurking just out of reach.