Krackle! The sound of a metal can rang through the mostly deserted alley.
"Psh," Noctis hissed as little Lightning, who was surprisingly open to their little venture, accidentally knocked over a trash can while following him.
A bit uncertainly, Little Lightning's gaze wandered between Trisha and Noctis a few times, stopping on Noctis in the end.
"What is the purpose of this venture? Why are we here?" Lightning asked eventually, his expression revealing a certain familiarity with the surroundings.
'You ask now of all times? After coming this far.' Noctis lampooned internally.
Lifting a hand in response, a finger crossing his lips, Noctis pointed toward a sealed area, yellow-and-black striped strips of plastic loosely closing off any further access to the area.
When Noctis eventually spoke, having ascertained that no one was around, his voice was hushed, as if trying to hide something.
"This is nothing much… I'm unsure myself, really, what the point of it all is.
Mabyeeee we should…"
Interrupting his drawn-out words, Trisha spoke lightheartedly.
"This is just a small investigation, born of curiosity. You dont have to worry."
Seeing that her words did not seem to convince Little Lightning or Noctis, who had been unsure of his own Idea from the get-go, Trisha added, making the former's gaze light up.
"You could call it following a hunch of fate, if you will."
"Puh," Noctis barely suppressed a chuckle.
'You think that is enough to get him to go along with us…?Wai…'
Noticing Lightning's expression glint with a certain understanding before being replaced by determination, its origin unclear to both Trisha and Noctis.
Noctis let out a sigh, ridding himself of his accumulated prejudices. One simply could not judge Lightning's train of thought.
Trying to rid himself of his doubts, Nox could not help but complain internally.
He hadn't even had any of those to begin with, but why did Ouroboros have to start protesting the idea just when they had almost arrived at the goal?
He would just have to sneak into the place and maybe be able to satiate that annoying curiosity of his.
Why tell someone that they went wrong just after the point of no return?
Lamenting Ouroboros' horrible timing, Noctis let out another sigh as he took his first step forward, lifting aside the containment tape, each movement masked in confidence.
Stopping in his tracks, with nothing but the old, decrepit alley in sight, Noctis slowly walked to the side, just barely out of sight, gesturing for the other two to follow a moment later.
A bit confused, but not complaining, Trisha shrugged as she took a place next to him, Lightning following suit.
Five minutes passed in silence, the hint of confusion shown in Trisha and Lightning's eyes growing from bewilderment to annoyance. Funnily enough, the perpetrator of the whole seemingly pointless charade felt not the slightest bit of discomfort or doubt, as his gold-tinted pupils peeked from their hiding place from time to time.
When Trisha was finally about to speak, wanting to inquire, her words caught in her throat just a moment before escaping her mouth and making a sound.
The sound of steps was steadily growing clearer, her keen senses having caught onto them in a moment's notice.
Staying silent, none of them dared to speak. The thought of the guard going a step too far and discovering the three barely hidden around a corner hung heavy.
Well, it only hung heavy with two of them. Noctis, having calmed down- peculiarly more so than before entering the alley was quite certain that they would not be discovered.
It wasn't that they had hidden particularly well, and if the guard on his patrol went a few steps forward, he would most likely overlook them. No, quite the opposite, even.
As the steps neared, the clanking sound of the leather heels suddenly stopped.
It had stopped just a step before they would be discovered, but of course it had. The golden line showing her future had never gone past that point. Neither had Noctis's own fate indicated that he would soon be in a rush to run any other way.
Waiting for a few more batted breaths, no longer daring to peek at the location the guard was supposed to stand. He would not dare tempt fate by being overly careless. The steps suddenly resounded once more, making his heart jump for a moment. It quickly settled again as the sound steadily grew distant until, after a few more moments, it completely disappeared.
"Sigh," Noctis let out in relief.
Trisha and Lightning in retune relaxed a bit more aswell.
Coming out of hiding, Noctis' eyes drifted through the barren area once more, speaking with satisfaction.
"No one should be crossing our way anytime soon."
Walking out behind him, Trisha pretended to dust off her outfit, which looked a bit more festive than her usual clothes, but still mostly practical in use. A rather common style on the outskirts, making one wonder about her background.
Little Lightning was less expressive, nodding towards Noctis with a certain admiration that Noctis could not quite understand.
"You're a truly gifted seer."
Not quite certain what to do with the sudden compliment from a friend from a different culture, Noctis eventually simply thanked him for the praise, a bit confused.
"Thanks… I guess? I never noticed, since there are few of my kind to compare to within the city. Neither do I have the social skills to get in contact with the few that live here."
Getting an understanding nod, Noctis felt more perplexed than anything.
'What is that emotion in his eyes?…
Pity? Why'
"I noticed before, when fighting that beast grafted together from many others, but you are truly adaptable.
I myself am less so. This city and its great architecture and technology integrated within all aspects of life are truly unfamiliar to me."
Interest piqued, Noctis started walking through the alleyway once more, closing in on this small journey's goal.
"Your city is less advanced in that way?" Trisha asked the question Noctis had planned to ask himself.
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way. The ancestors put no value on technology."
Reaching a familiar door, Noctis put on his converter, the nice glove that had been so rudely modified by that mad man, and tried to open the door. Thoughts of Oracle Lightning's home flashed through his mind.
"Damit."
The door wasn't budging. It was locked.
Gaining the attention of his two compatriots because of the sudden curse, Noctis stepped aside, not hiding the problem.
"Anyone have experience in breaking locks?" Noctis asked in a helpless tone, his eyes closed as his expression grew slightly foolish.
He would have known how to break a digital lock, but this one was truly simple in construction, the keyhole for all to see. 'What kind of person even used such archaic methods?'
Feeling a bit wired for cursing the deceased, Noctis suppressed any further complaints as he took another step aside.
Letting out a sigh as if on command, Trisha extricated herself from the conversation as she walked to the door, looking at the keyhole. Suddenly stretching out a hand towards Noctis after looking at the hole for a minute or two, he just blinked in confusion.
She spoke with a bit of belittlement in her tone, hitting Noctis harder than he would have expected.
"What? I need tools to open it. Something thin and long, in the best case.
Thinking for a while, Noctis almost instinctively created a few threads, each hard and brittle, a few more less so.
"Will these do?" He finally asked, handing them over.
Looking at them for a moment, then twirling them in her hand, Trisha said nothing, but herexpression seemed satisfied, making Noctis, in turn, satisfied.
'You better be satisfied; those are created by yours truly.'
A moment later, surprisingly quickly, to the astonishment of the other two, the door opened.
Getting a smug expression thrown his way, Noctis just walked in, not trying to boost her bottomless confidence even more.
Walking through the place, the sight was even more barren and run-down than the alleyway before.
Not wanting to think about any implications, he hurried his step until he came to a complete stop.
There, in front of him, sat a man in a chair, his skin scorched and his head tilted back.