The pale girl stood staring at them for a moment longer, then huffed and turned aside, eyes casting about as though looking for something to kick. Settling on a particularly large chunk of stone debris, she did so, sending it to crash against the wall violently. She then shook the foot—the bare foot—but only haphazardly, almost lazily.
She looked back, eyes a-glaring. “Well? Well? Can you speak? I got the right language?”
“Yes,” Solis supplied.
She scoffed again in reply, then fixed him with a wide-eyed look, wordlessly challenging him to supply more immediately.
“But—but um,” he stumbled on, “we could use your help. Yes. If you’re . . . offering.”
She made a vague but somewhat rude gesture with a hand, then strutted forward, grey dress fluttering in its own annoyance behind her. She muttered something as she passed them by—in what language he couldn’t say, because it was mumbled too low to catch. Solis couldn’t help but notice how small she was, appearing to be no more than around nine years of age.
Somehow he only then noticed the growing rumbles and growls which announced the chasing monsters’ pursuit. Something yowled like an angry cat as it sprang from the tunnels, drawing the prompt attention of all three explorers. The girl was already approaching it, but now she stomped threatening in the thing’s direction— it was dark and hairy, but he got no better look than that—and just… kicked it. Like a kid an animal that displeased her. It gave a screeching hiss and then fell silent when it connected with the wall directly left of the tunnel access.
Solis suppressed a snort, but only with effort. Good thing, too, as she did not turn on him with her childlike displeasure but towards the rest of the monsters. It struck him dimly that she has some manner of glow about her, lighting the room better than before, vying for that of his flickering torch. Huge rats, spiders, and ghoulish creatures of vaguely humanoid shape appeared, rank things that needed to die only slightly more than they needed a bath. In the case of the undead guys, perhaps the bath would only cause them to break apart further, but who could say. The mystery girl growled in seeming frustration as only more monsters poured through, and then raised a chunk of… chalk?… to her mouth and ground down on it with, judging from the sound, inhuman teeth. She then thrust forward a hand and unleashed a blazing stream of white light, gushing like flame, into the tunnel. It swept through it, searing all life and undeath as it went.
She stood, neck cocked forward as she listened to the symphonic feedback of death from the tunnel. Then she turned, beaming at the group. “Ah, that always feels good. Blowing stuff up. Letting loose a little. It just—” She leaned to the side once more, cupping an ear for a brief moment. “Yep. See, I can’t step in except to help someone. And I can’t do that unless someone asks. Someone like you children.”
All right, that’s it. “Look, kid,” Solis said peevishly, “the attitude can stop. I get that you . . . did help us. Thanks, but—”
The girl stopped him short with waving hands and an equally indignant reply. “The insolence! Okay, just shut up now. I can only listen to Skylings for so long, and it’s about . . .” she held up two fingers pinched together “this long. Is it my look? You look at me and see a child, and so you just assume I am one? Did you see that soulfire? Maybe you just took a really long blink.”
Phoenix took a hesitant step forward. “No, miss, he just wasn’t thinking. We’re appreciative and we don’t jump to conclusions like that lately. Things have been . . . a bit overwhelming. And you are?”
“Oh.” The girl paused for a second, smoothing out her black hair flashing a smile. “Well, you’re more pleasant, now aren’t you, kiddo? I like the getup. I used to have one of those things for a pet.”
Phoenix’s eyes blinked away, then back at the girl. “Pet?”
“Yeah. A drake. It was a long time ago. Like reeeeeally long. Call me Sisina.”
“Oh, you mean the scales on my vest.”
“Well duh. Yeah.”
Sisisina. Sisina. “Sis . . .” Solis tried and failed to make out the name. “That’s hard to say. Surely we can shorten that.”
She gave him a droll look. “We could also shorten your neck a few inches. Try . . . mmm, Sissy? No, Sis perhaps.”
“I like Sissy,” Solis immediately said.
The diminutive humanoid shrugged. “Whatever. This whole language is sort of child-speak to begin with, so why not?”
“And are you our . . . test-giving person? Teacher?”
She shook her head. “I’m just, um . . . passing by. There are others like me, so I’m not giving you an unfair advantage or anything. I think you were intended to find me.”
“You think?”
Another nod. “Yep. I’ll lead you a ways from here. You wouldn’t find the first test otherwise. Or at least survive to see it. Yeah, I was definitely meant to be your guide. Here, follow me.” Without further explanation, their mysterious helper struck off through the tunnel, aiming between the tall statues and bound for the calling darkness. “Best case, we see some more monsters. Though they’re all boring down here. Oh well, better than none.”
Solis looked at his friends, then quickly made to follow Sissy.
“What do you think she is?” asked Telsan quietly, jogging up beside him. “A Royal? A Taiyoth?”
Solis gave a shrug. “Heck if I know. She’s a brat, though.”