'Sister Alma,' he repeated, forcing his voice to remain steady.
Please be Alma. Please be Alma, and not some damned monster, or ghost, or -
'You are aware I cannot communicate freely with that much light violating my space,' said the voice, a faint hint of accusation apparent in its tone. It was stronger and clearer now, though it still retained its whispery quality.
'Please accept my apologies,' he said plainly. 'I should've known, but for being far too distracted by some troubles of my own.'
There was another rustle, followed by a soft sigh.
'Speak, then, brother Rin. How may I help you?'
Without allowing it to show on his face, Arin strained his eyes in the dark.
He could see nothing at all.
However, even when the dim light from the corridor had momentarily revealed some of the interior to him, he'd been certain of one thing; there was no one inside the room.
He already knew that, of course. The tower master had already told him about Alma being away on an assignment of her own.
But then, how was she...
...
Oh.
Relaxing his stiffened shoulders, Arin offered a small smile into the darkness.
'I have some need for the Mirror of Record you have in your possession,' he said. 'May I use it, sister Alma?'
'Oh,' the voice sighed again. 'What might you have forgotten...'
After another moment, Alma gave her assent.
'By all means, do as you will.'
Arin bowed slightly. 'Thank you,' he said.
'Hmm. You will find it tucked behind my bookshelf. You may draw aside the curtains, should you wish for some privacy. But know that I shall be otherwise occupied, all the same,' Alma's voice whispered slowly.
'Thank you,' Arin repeated gratefully.
The lady hummed. 'May it serve you well...'
There was, again, a soft rustling that seemed to move away from him in the darkness, before stopping abruptly.
'Oh, you ought to know,' came the voice from a little further away. 'Our senior brother is still angered by your recent offense. Take care...'
?!
Before Arin could ask her what she'd meant by that, there was more rustling, and then silence.
And even though he could still see nothing at all, he knew that Alma was 'gone.'
He stood there for a handful of seconds, blinking rapidly as he thought back to everything he'd done since coming to this world.
The only other fellow disciple he'd met had been Siel, who was not his 'senior brother', and had most definitely not been angered by any of his actions, as far as he knew.
Then, who on earth was this senior brother!?
After a while, he calmed down. Since he didn't remember having ever offended such a person, whatever trouble there was must've been between the original Rin and whoever that man was.
He'd just leave that for them to sort out between themselves.
For now...
Arin walked in the direction of one of the larger windows he'd seen earlier.
He managed to make it all the way without knocking into too many things in the dark. With only a slightly-injured little toe, he now drew aside the curtains, and allowed some daylight to finally flood into the room.
Even though Alma had assured him that she didn't care about listening in on his dealings with her Mirror of Record, he'd followed her consent to do so.
Alma's talent was probably related to the lack of light; she could manipulate, and even extend influence across distances, as long as it was done in the dark.
There might've been some limited, physical element to it as well, based on those faint, rustling sounds he'd heard.
For the most part, though, it seemed as though shadows could act as conduits of the lady's will, allowing for remote surveillance, and even carrying words to and from wherever she desired.
And while it seemed that some limited light wouldn't nullify her magic, the more there was - and the fewer shadows there were in turn - the less powerful it would be.
After a moment's thought, Arin undid the shutters too, and one-by-one, threw all the windows open, finally allowing all of the sunlight to enter the room.
With most of the shadows now gone, he could finally relax again, and act without worrying he was emoting too much.