9. Triumph?
Authors Note:
Do you know what they're doing? :o
To be continued with an answer, of course.
"Oh my god, he's leaving - this is too good to be true!"
"You know," Harkat breathed with a grin, " This obsession with sugar… can't be good for you."
" It's not an obsession," the half-vampire shot back, " It's more of hobby, really, but that's beside the point..."
Harkat couldn't help but roll his eyes at the boy.
The two were crouched in a shadowy corner of the storerooms, Darren with a look of utter determination engraved onto his features while his partner-in-crime fidgeted, face twisted into a nervous grimace beneath the mask that kept his lungs healthy and functional.
It was a beautiful twist of fate, how the candles had melted over their sconces and were dribbling down the walls, slowly snuffing out in little puffs of whitish smoke. The failing lights flickered madly, and only a moment ago the quartermaster, Seba Nile, had pushed himself to his feet and set off to the back of the room for another crate of candles and matches. After all, how was the inventory to be taken when it was too dark to see? His muttering about defective candles had faded into the sound of dripping water and the scratching of rats' claws.
"Come on, then!" Darren whispered, quietly rising from his crouching position and crossing the distance between them and the mountain of supplies with great enthusiasm. This time, he reassured himself, he had a plan – a good plan, rather than his previous endeavors.
He glanced down the aisle into which Seba had disappeared (the storerooms were easily comparable to a maze, so even Darren knew this precaution was less pointless, with the chaotic isles created by the shelves and supplies) and moved over to the pile. Searching through the bags, the boy let out a little grunt of triumph when he finally came across what he had been looking for. Darren held it up in the dim light so Harkat could see, a wild grin plastered across his face.
The item in question was long and hollow, narrower at one end than the other, and ridged along one end in a whorl of plateaus and waves. Harkat was at a complete loss as to what it's function was, but he accepted the object when Darren handed it to him, feeling the smooth, cool texture of metal as he eyed it distrustfully. A few yards away Darren continued to dig in the pile, pulling out a few more of the apparatuses and digging further to grab a few rough swathes of woven canvas and three miniature tin buckets. A nail or two followed and Darren pulled away from the pile, clapping harkat on the back and taking back the strange little device. He wrapped all the small pieces in the fabric and dropped them into the bucket with a soft thud.
" Eh… Harkat? Would you mind carrying this for me? If Seba caught me with anything he'd be suspicious, but he doesn't think you'd help me." The boy inquired, holding out the packed bucket with pleading eyes that Harkat knew he'd never be able to resist. Puppy eyes were an irresistible temptation for the squat little man, strange as it seemed, and Darren was more than willing to use somewhat questionable tactics to get his supplies after so many failed tries.
"I suppose… but I'll remember this, Shan." He answered with a warm grin, taking the bucket with an over exaggerated bow, " Shall we, then?"
"Course. Wait 'till I show you what we're gonna do!" Darren whispered enthusiastically, grabbing his friend by the hand and tugging him into motion
The two ran over to one of the side entrances, caution abandoned, and exited the storerooms. A few yards beside the exit, a candle burst into life, casting flickering shadows over the triumphantly grinning face of Seba Nile.