"Hold Your Breath"
by Aizhen Aschenhimmel
Disclaimer: We'll state this flat (as in Hammerfalled flat) to avoid redundancy. I don't own RO, no matter how much I adore it.
Chapter 1: Hold Your Breath
Byalan Cave.
Beneath the pleasant, scenic surface surrounded by the endless blue sea was an extensive labyrinth of damp, torch lit tunnels filled with cold water and inhabited by creatures of different kinds and temperaments. Some, like the crab-like vadons and translucent marinas, were placid and unthreatening.
And others were like this.
"Ah! Never saw that-!"
"Don't move too much Aza, I might cut your leg!"
Several quick slashes, and all but her friend's right arm were free. Severed tentacles writhed madly in the riverbed, splashing water around. Cathaline Amarre wasted no time. Rushing through the knee-deep water, ignoring the sharp tendrils cutting past her leg, she fluidly cleaved the hydra into halves. In a burst of greenish, sap-like liquid that tainted the water in an eerie color, it collapsed into a mushy heap of plant material, its tentacles drifting in the lazy river flow.
"Lovely," her mage companion whispered grimly, still sitting on the riverbed with the water reaching to her chest. She was drenched all over, the ends of her hair dripping, and there was a lonely, unmoving tentacle on her lap, but she barely noticed. She had been surprised by the attack, and the shock was still in the process of wearing off.
"You alright?" Cathaline asked, concern apparent in her face and tone as she approached the mage.
"Do not worry," Azariel Savoir assured her. There were reddish welts on where the hydra's tendrils had wrapped themselves when it dragged her down to the riverbed, but otherwise she was fine. "But I suppose that absent-mindedness is not something I should cultivate."
The swordswoman gave her a wan smile. "Yeah, that would be bad." She offered a hand to the mage. The latter took it and Cathaline helped her to her feet. "Though I can't really blame you. It's your first time here." She ran a wet gloved hand through her damp hair, her face somewhat rueful. "Or maybe I shouldn't have suggested it in the first place?"
Azariel shook her head, grabbing the dead tentacle and throwing it away. "No. It is my fault, and you saved me." She smiled faintly at her best friend. "Thank you, Cath."
"Hey, I'm your tour guide here," Cathaline said with a larger, warmer grin, glad that her friend was all right. Then she became more serious. "You still wanna go deeper? Hydras are not the only mean things down there. The Izlude Tourism Board said there's a really bad case of...what did they call it..." The swordswoman donned a thoughtful expression. "Yeah, monster overpopulation or something."
"As long as we do not drown," the other young woman replied. "All is fine with me."
The swordswoman seemed to consider it for a moment, as though she still had her doubts, but she gave an enthusiastic nod. "Alright! If you say so, Lady Savoir"--Azariel rolled her eyes at the address--"Let's go!"
They reached a dilapidated staircase made of stone, its cracks and cobwebs telltale signs of its age. It descended straight into the silence-shrouded darkness.
"I suppose this is our rabbit hole," the mage murmured, looking at the stairway with something akin to distrust.
Cathaline chuckled. "So our tour ends here, eh?" She asked in a teasing manner.
The response was a frigid look. The swordswoman merely laughed, amused rather than taken aback.
"I'm just joking!" She said good-naturedly, patting the mage on the shoulder. The latter's expression remained carefully deadpan, but Cathaline knew better. They were best friends after all. "But we have to be careful, okay?" The mage merely nodded. Cathaline's shoulders slumped at her friend's display of apparent disinterest. "You know, that coolness of yours scares me."
The mage stared at her with expressionless eyes. "It is not my nature to scream my head off."
The other woman slapped her forehead in resignation. "Someday I'd like to have a sword as sharp as your scintillating sarcasm," she said with a sigh. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, yes."
"Sweetness alright! Into the unknown we go." A smile was clear in Cathaline's voice. "Hold your breath."
A/N: First off, big thanks to the people in the Oh Porings forums - they helped alot! Cookies to Tela and to her wicked band :) I have too many versions of this first chapter. How indecisive could I get? (sweatdrops) This is the shortest version, and I thought that this is better than the astonishingly long ones I wrote first. I hope that I laid out the personalities of these two decently - reviews about characterization are very, very much welcome. Thank you!