"I see you were successful," Lady Ishizu said in her ever-present serene tone.
Joey dropped the Aviary's broken protection charm in Malik's hands with a derisive, "Hmph. Sure we were. Goes without saying the governess requests this be repaired."
"We'll take care of it immediately," the Oracle replied.
"She also gave us details of the incident," Yami added. "She said that the Aviary was assaulted by a group of shadow creatures, who injured one of their own and broke the charm. She also thinks the attack was to test their defenses so they can eventually invade the Delphine."
Malik and Lady Ishizu exchanged a worried glance. "Shadow creatures?" the boy asked. "That's impossible."
"Not necessarily," Lady Ishizu said. "Remember the surge of magical energy we felt the end of last quarter, right before the woodrot set in." The travelers turned to Bakura, and he nodded his agreement with the timeline.
"That's also around the same time the His Highness fell ill," Joey said thickly. Serenity discreetly pat his back in consolation. "He was cursed," he elaborated.
Lady Ishizu's eyes widened, and it was the largest reaction the companions had seen from the Sorceress. "Cursed? That is evidence of only the most powerful magical practices." She tapped her chin in thought.
"Is it possible that it's a coincidence?" Malik asked, though he also looked worried.
"Yes, but we must be cautious anyway. There are potent forces at work here." Her blue eyes flicked up at Serenity, who started at the sudden attention. "Potent enough to call upon an Otherworlder, apparently."
A breeze rippled through the drapes, letting sunlight filter into the fire-lit room briefly, and the Oracle closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, the atmosphere had lightened, and her natural quasi-smile was reaffixed to her face. "All the more reason to send you on your way. As thanks for completing your task, I'll lend you my Necklace." She removed it delicately and placed it in Malik's waiting hands.
Marik was the closest, so he hopped up to meet the other halfway and save him some of the trouble. Plus, he supposed with amusement, some of his helper-Golem tendencies lingered.
Marik's fingers closed around the Necklace, and he brushed against Malik's. The moment was instantaneous but enough to trigger something. Sparks shot out of where they had made contact, and white specks of light started snowing around them, unbothered by the strong winds that suddenly started blowing around them.
But Marik was distracted from the spectacle by the tightening of his stomach and chest. All of a sudden, he felt lightheaded and like he'd float away any second. The only thing grounding him was the mirrored confusion and pleasure in Malik's eyes.
The lights had barely faded when Marik's attention was snapped to the front of the room by the sound of Lady Ishizu's chair scraping against the ground. She had shot up out of her seat and was walking over to them, her white wrap billowing out behind her.
Marik dropped his hand and gripped the Necklace tight, bracing for some kind of reaction. He was overwhelmed by emotions that, even though most feelings were foreign to him, he recognized as not his own. The onslaught left a dry taste in his mouth and clouded his mind, and he almost longed for the clear-headed wit that had come with being a Golem.
He suppressed a flinch when Lady Ishizu lay her hands on his shoulders, half afraid of being dragged under the wave of whatever that was.
"The Quickening," she said with a grand smile, and Marik thought for a split second that she could suddenly read his mind (and Malik's snickering right after he thought that convinced him that he could). He realized a second too late that she was responding to a question one of his friends had asked. "It's a rare experience, but a momentous one. It happens when two Equivalent souls find each other, forming an unbreakable bond between them, though that bond is yours to do with what you will." She sighed happily and let Marik go. "I had only heard rumors about the Quickening, I never thought I'd see it before me. And my own brother, no less!"
("Brother?" Joey muttered to the rest of the group.)
"Me and him?" Marik asked. In retrospect, he could have predicted that something was bonding him to the Oracle's advisor, though he never would have guessed something so serious and permanent sounding. No, what surprised Marik the most was that some higher power determined that he had a soul. Not three days prior, he was hardly more than animated rock and clay, but now this.
Marik was shaken out of his thoughts by a sudden piercing through his chest, and he winced before automatically turning to his...well, he didn't know what to call him. "Is there something wrong with that?" Malik asked softly. His façade of indignation did little to hide his self-consciousness, especially when the ex-Golem could feel it.
He reached out before thinking twice about it and lightly touched Malik's forearm, causing a shudder to pass through them both. "That's not what I meant," he said, quiet yet emphatic. "This...is new to me."
Malik half-smiled. "Join the club," he replied softly. Then he turned to Lady Ishizu. "May I?" he asked plaintively, half the question implied in his tone.
"Of course," she said with a regal, heavy nod.
Then Malik turned back to him, his eyes downcast self-consciously. "If you'll have me," he began, "I-I'd like to accompany you." He looked up and over to the rest of the group. "A-at least until the next town. And we'll bring an additional carriage!"
"Sure," Joey said as the others mumbled their consent as well, "if it's okay with him." And he nodded to Marik.
"I'd like that, too," Marik agreed.
