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He knew he was supposed to stay close to Nikita, to stay close to Piramida, but a moonglow firefly caught his attention and he chased it far from his new home. When the moonglow firefly flew higher than he could reach before disappearing in the flurry of snow that was descending down around him. Finally aware of his surroundings, Illuga realized he no longer could see the glowing lanterns of Piramida, hear the gruff voice of Nikita as he shouted out orders, the soft murmurs of the Lightkeepers and the quiet but casual conversations of the other refugee's. He couldn't hear that bard anymore either or that one Snezhnayan merchant trying to sell those odd wares of his.
Illuga turned around, then turned around again, and then again, only seeing stretches of snow covered land and the grey haze that obscured one's sight of anything in the distance. Illuga sat down hard onto the snow covered ground, his little legs tired, and he honestly did not know which way to go. So he sat, waiting, hoping that someone would come looking for him and he wouldn't stay lost forever.
Nikita ran a tired hand over his face as he walked back to his office. Dealing with Fatui that just happened to be "passing by" always served to give him a rather nasty headache. He had also just finished giving orders to start pulling patrols as an oncoming snowstorm was soon to hit. As he entered his office he immediately knew something was off. Not just off, completely missing. Looking around, he knew immediately what it was. Little Illuga was gone. Sighing, thinking the child had wandered off to explore Piramida again, Nikita turned around and began his journey to find the boy.
Nikita could not find Illuga. He checked everywhere, nothing. He had already called back the patrols, asking each one as they came in if they had seen Illuga only to get a negative all across the board. Now he was starting to worry. Snow was starting to fall, thick and heavy but not yet the storm it could be turning into shortly. As Nikita neared the edge of Piramida, something blue flashed in his peripheral vision.
"Flins." Not a drop of surprise coated his voice as he turned his attention to his most wayward and eccentric Ratnik. "I am in no mood for your games. Illuga is missing and—"
"Illuga? That little one you rescued not long ago? Have you checked absolutely everywhere in Piramida?" Flins stepped beside Nikita, looking out into the dense snow fall.
"Of course I have! No one's seen him. The only thing I got out of a few refugees is that they saw him chasing a moonglow firefly earlier." Nikita's jaw tightened, dread filling him as he tried his hardest not to go down that train of thought that Illuga had wandered out of the safety of Piramida.
"A Moonglow firefly you say…" Flins sounded thoughtful. Then, grabbing Nikita by the bicep to stop him from stepping out into the pending snowstorm, Flins said, "Stay here, I'll go find him."
"Flins, you don't even know what the boy looks like let alone where to even start looking." Nikita growled out, glaring scornfully at the Lightkeeper stopping him from searching for his adopted son.
"You're right, I don't. But that moonglow firefly will, besides, he will be the only child out in weather such as this. Do not worry, you know I am the only one who can traverse this land in the state it is in right now." Flins fixed Nikita with a hard stare, unyielding in his stance until Nikita finally gave in, knowing each passing second Flins wasn't out there, was a second closer to losing Illuga.
"Alright, you're right. Go. Just be careful, don't scare him. The boy's been through enough." Nikita's gaze turned back out, barely able to see a foot in front of him but he knew Flins could see farther and clearer than he could due to his…nature.
"If I remember from your letters, the boy has survived the Wild Hunt. The sight of me would be far less terrifying than the sight of those monsters." Without another word, Flins was gone. Nikita watched as a blue light flashed through the thick snow until he couldn't see it again.
"It's not that I don't doubt you, but I hope you find him in good health and in one piece." Nikita mumbled to himself before reluctantly turning back to Piramida itself to make sure everyone was inside and those that could weather the storm were in place.
It didn't take long for Flins to find Illuga after tracking down the moonglow firefly that had distracted the boy away from home. It still contained his scent that was mixed with Nikita's which helped him identify that this was the child he was looking for even though he wouldn't leave a random child out in this storm anyway. He zipped through the falling thick curtain of snow until he saw a small figure just sitting on the ground, the hood of his coat was down, white hair lightly tousled in the wind that was beginning to pick up, snow falling around him as he stared up at the sky.
Flins didn't turn into his human form, he was far more engaging to children in his current form and it was easier for them to explain what led them home than some tall, strange and slightly scary looking ratnik with blue hair and pupiless yellow eyes walking them home in the middle of a snowstorm. People know stories about the blue flame that can either lead a person home or lead them astray but children were always the exception, being led home each and every time.
"Little one." Flins ' voice was calm, trying his hardest to make it sound warm and not sure if he was successful. The little boy turned to regard him, staring at the ball of blue flame just hovering before him.
"Who are you?" His voice was soft, really soft, making it nearly inaudible to the human ear but Flins could hear him perfectly fine. Wide, silver eyes stared at him without a single indication of fear, just as Flins had suspected. Somehow though, he didn't feel vindicated in his earlier deduction, instead he felt a sharp pain as sorrow almost flooded through him. He stamped it down, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.
"A friend here to help. I do suppose you are done chasing fireflies and are ready to go home?" Flins masterfully kept the sadness out of his voice, instead he focused on making sure the child didn't decide to just bolt away from him suddenly.
"I don't have a home. The monsters took my home away. They took my family away. They are all gone. I am alone." Illuga's voice was still soft, more faint now as Flins watched him rub his eyes. "I'm sleepy. Blue Flame, will I see momma and papa again if I go to sleep?" Flins felt something in his lurch, the familiar taste of grief pushing at the edges, flashes of devastation and destruction coupled with the screams of agony as well as fear crashing into him as memories surfaced. Not now, really not now, this is the worst time for that. He pulled himself out, forcing himself to stay focused on Illuga.
"Perhaps, but your eyes need to remain open. There is someone waiting for you and he is worried. Come, pull up your hood, grab hold of me, I'll lead you back." Flins drifted up a little higher, the small boy watching him.
"Someone…is waiting…old man Nikita. He is worried? I made him worry. I'm sorry." Illuga pulled his hood up, blinked up at the blue flame, reached up and watched as the flame extended, reshaped, and reformed into a semblance of a hand and half an arm. He blinked again, still unfazed, tightened his little hand, feeling the "hand" that gripped his back was far more solid but he didn't question it.
Flins gave a slight tug, a slight signal for Illuga to start walking. The little boy took the hint and walked, silently, silver eyes sweeping across the landscape before them as if he could see clearly. The walk back to Piramida took longer than it should have but Illuga, true to his age, was a curious child. He asked a plethora of questions from how did moonglow fireflies get their name to what the pretty golden light he sometimes sees to what those fluffy looking things with the big horns were. His grip slipped away from Flins multiple times, each time making the fae panic, shooting out to get Illuga, redirecting him back to the direction they need to be heading.
By the time they entered Piramida, into Nikita's sights, Illuga was in the midst of asking his new friend how he could speak and how come the flames didn't burn him.
"Illuga!" Nikita called out, watching as Illuga turned his attention to Nikita, a small smile crossing his lips. His little hand let go of his blue flame friend as he ran into Nikita's arms.
"Old man! I made a friend!" Illuga turned to point at the floating blue flame only to see it gone. "Oh…they're gone…" He looked around, seeing no blue flame. "It was a blue fire, they spoke really nice…they were nice…I…I thought I had a friend…" Illuga's eyes shone bright as he looked up at Nikita who sighed heavily.
"Well, remember that story you heard the first day you were here? The one about the blue fire that can lead a person home or astray, but it always leads children home?" Nikita watched as Illuga nodded slowly, watched as the little gears in that little head turned as Illuga processed everything.
"They are real. They led me here." Illuga looked out into the falling snow. "They are nice. They answered all my questions pa…pat…" Illuga's little face scrunched up in concentration.
"Patiently." Nikita supplied fondly as Illuga nodded his little head as Nikita scooped him up.
"Yes, that word." Illuga leaned his head on Nikita's shoulder as the older man carried him back to where Illuga now calls home.
"I see. Well, a good friend of mine has come to visit from across the way at the cemetery. He's rather patient, loves answering questions." Nikita huffed in amusement at the sound of a scoff of indignation that sounded more like a sudden shift in the wind but Nikita knew this friend was the cause of it. "Let's hope he's still there when we arrive." Illuga lifted his head, silver eyes wide.
"No! I want to meet them! Do they know more about the blue fire? Do they have stories! Old man, hurry up!" Illuga bounced in Nikita's arms, making him laugh. The growl he heard echoing in the wind made him laugh even harder. Flins may avoid being near adult humans as much as possible but Nikita knows just how much he can't, won't to be honest, refuse a request from a child.
"Oh, I'm sure he will still be there." Nikita chuckled, as he shifted Illuga onto one arm, he grabbed the door handle to his residence with his now free hand. The moment he got the door open and stepped in, he took note of the tiny gasp that came from Illuga, a smile spreading across his face but his beard mostly covered it. "Ah, so you are here." Nikita gave Flins the cheekiest smile that the other Lightkeeper fought the urge to roll his own eyes and grumble a fae curse word at him.
"Of course, you said you were not going to be long. Is this the little one?" Flins feigned ignorance perfectly, the act so seamless that if Nikita didn't know better he would have believed.
"Ah yes." Nikita set Illuga down, gently nudging him forward. "Go on, introduce yourself. I promise, he won't eat you." A bark of laughter left Nikita at the sight of the withering look Flins shot him.
"Um…hello…I'm…I'm Illuga…" His voice was soft again, gentle, and barely audible.
"Illuga—" Nikita couldn't finish as Flins immediately spoke over him.
"It is a great pleasure to finally meet you little Illuga. My name is Kyryll Chudomirovich Flins, but you can just call me Flins." He outstretched a hand, waiting patiently as Illuga looked at it curiously then looked up at him with the same curiosity he looked at Flins when he was in his true form.
"Sir Flins, the old man said you know stories. Is that true?" Illuga tilted his head in confusion because Flins' face blanched and Nikita sat heavily down as he was laughing so hard he could hardly stand.