Meeting an Amani Berserker
"Here we are, Frontera. Just where I need to be!" Phantasy said as he climbed off the Pegasus, proceeding towards the town's open gates. Upon entering, he could see the despair everywhere he looked; piled up corpses wrapped in white blankets, families mourning their dead and soldiers waiting for the inevitable. It was a horrible sight, but what could he do, other than give his condolences?
With a heavy heart, he made his way to Fraya (the high elven woman teleported there to assess the situation and collect info) to be briefed on what needed to be done. After receiving orders, the popori set his destination for the quarantine zone; a sealed of area in the tropical jungle of Val Palrada, filled people infected with the mutation plague.
However, before Phantasy could begin his trek, he took it upon himself to visit a nearby merchant, buying the necessary potions and health kits that were needed for this type of mission. Now fully prepared, he set out for the road atop his horse.
Along the way, the leopard could hear a fierce battle going on somewhere to his right. Normally, he'd go about his merry way because it was pretty common in Arborea, especially in the wilds like where is now, but a gut feeling he had told him something was off.
With piqued curiosity burning in his mind, Phantasy decided he should check things out to make sure that whoever was putting up a good fight was at least safe, and with a compantion. As he hopped off his horse in a nearby outcropping of tall bushes, he peeked through to see what was happening.
And what he witnessed in that moment, was a sight that made his blood boil. There, in the middle of the field was an Amani berserker, clad in dark red heavy armor, struggling to stand. Visible cuts and bruises could be seen all across his face, as well as some on the exposed midsection of his body. He was gripping a giant, metal axe in front of him for support, but with the apparent damage done to him, along with physical exertion, he knelt back down with a pained grunt.
The culprits behind this were devas; dark humanoid bandits that were once brothers to the castanics, now pilfering any sort of loot from merchant and adventurer alike. There were six of them surrounding the Amani, who had more than likely been ambushed when the opportunity presented itself, and was now on the verge of death itself.
"Tch! Like hell I'm going to stand here and watch this unfold," Phantasy muttered under his breath, grabbing his staff from his back and prepared a healing spell for what he planned to do next. Without hesitation, he came out of the bushes, let out a battle cry and charged into the fray, successfully startling the devas, giving him enough time to get into an accurate range and cast a white, glowing circle where the Amani knelt.
With injuries being mended, and renewed strength coursing through his body thanks to the cast spell, the warrior slowly stood and swiveled his head around to locate the source of the noise. To his left, he could see Phantasy weave his way through until finally closing the distance between them, a small smile formed on his lips.
Huffing and puffing, the popori gazed up with a proud grin. "Well, hello there! Looks like I saved ya just in time!" He laughed, earning a chuckle in response, but the mood quickly left them as the devas recovered from his daring rescue. "Oh boy, looks like I did not think this through..."
Ignoring the commentary, the Amani gripped the end and base of his axe with both hands, lifting it up with practiced ease, then shifted his body slightly to the right. "Stand back," he ordered, bringing the cutting edges of the weapon with him, (while scaring Phantasy a little because it was close to his face) and waited.
What's he planning?
Phantasy watched on in silence, his body tensing as the devas formed a tight knit circle, all six pairs of eyes gleaming with blood lust. Is this it? Were they going to die here? These thoughts swam around in his mind as he felt them approach closer and closer, with their weapons pointing straight at them.
In that moment, time seemed to slow down as they rushed in to deal a fatal blow. But as they were inches away from the duo's bodies, the Amani's axe began to glow a faint red hue, gradually becoming brighter to the point where it became almost blinding. With a mighty roar, he swung his body around with axe in hand, performing a cyclone.
Now realizing what was happening, it was too late for the devas to pull back as the cutting edges of his axe connected to all six in that range, dealing serious damage. They were sent flying a few feet before crashing to the ground. Gasps and sputters could be heard, then stopped as they began disappearing into ethereal lights.
"Whoa," Phantasy breathed out a sigh of relief, putting away his staff, then turned to face the Amani with a smile, "that was amazing! I thought we were goners for sure!"
The warrior did not respond right away as he sheathed his weapon, but after giving a heavy sigh did he turn around to face the popori. "We would have been, had you not saved me and brought about a distraction" he chuckled.
A crimson blush appeared on Phantasy's cheeks, apparently not used to such praise. "Ahh, it's no problem. I just felt like I had to help was all." He laughed a light hearted laugh before cocking his head to the side, "so now with that over, why are you here anyway?"
The amani hesitated, scratching the side of his cheek, now being his turn to blush, but he spoke nonethelss. "I was with my master, fulfilling an order from Fraya. Everything seemed fine until he asked me to forage some ingredients in Feral Valley, and after I was done he vanished, nowhere to be seen."
"Hmm...and I'm assuming you searched for him around here, then ended up being ambushed right?" Phantasy questioned. After receiving a nod in response, he sighed and crossed his arms, tapping his foot in rapid speed. "I can't believe someone would do something like this! How could they leave you, a loyal companion out here to die?! Oooh that just makes me so..ugh!"
"Oh, don't be angry. He'll come back...eventually." Nervous laughter escaped the Amani, not knowing how to calm down the seething little ball of fur.
"How can I not me mad when-" Just then, something clicked in his mind. "Okay, wait. You said you have a master, and just now told me that this is a male. You're this guy's servant right?"
"Correct"
"What sort of relationship did you two have?"
"Pleasant and mutual"
"What race?"
"Castanic"
Nothing more was said out of Phantasy as he processed this information. For as long as he knew, Castanics were a race known for their...explicit activities, and among other things. The Amani never bowed down to any race, for they had stubborn pride and believed their race was far more superior. As he connected the dots, he came to a dramatic conclusion that made his eyes widen like saucers. "Wait, s-so you mean...oh my..."
The amani just nodded, confirming everything that had been thought of. "Yes, we have that sort of relationship."
Phantasy stared, dumbfounded by what he just learned. Never in his wildest dreams would he ever come across something so scandalous as this. There were no words to describe how he felt on this situation, and try as he might, nothing could come up. "But you're so big and-" he shook his head, clearing the pervasive thoughts that were beginning to cloud his mind, "a-anyways, where did you see him run off to?"
He shrugged, "unfortunately, I do not know."
"Lovely…and you have no idea what to do, don't you?" After receiving a shake of the head, the popori sighed and crossed his arms, pondering on how to fix this. There was no way they'd go around trying to track this guy down with no idea where he could have gone, and it would hurt more than anything if he abandoned him right here with no companion around. There was only one thing that could make this situation better, " alright, so...what's your name?"
"Noixid"
"Nice, my name's Phantasy." He idly scratched his head with a paw, round ears flicking down for a moment before turning upright. "Okay, since we don't know where your master ran off to, and seeing as how I don't want to leave you stranded here," a smile began to form on his lips, "how about you accompany me? I need someone with muscle anyhow."
Noixid beamed brightly down at the popori, apparently loving the idea, then knelt down, effectively startling him. "Of course. And for saving me, while also granting me this opportunity, I will protect you with my life and deem you as my new master."
Phantasy's fur bristled at the sudden proposal. "W-wait, what? I never said-" He facepawed and groaned, the crimson shade of red coming back with a vengeance. "What have I gotten myself into?" he muttered, then shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Fine, if that's what you want."
The amani nodded, then stood back on his feet. "Thank you for accepting me, little master."
Oh, I'm gonna enjoy having this one around…
Ignoring the title, Phantasy made his way back to his horse with Noixid following closely behind. "We'll be heading to the quarantine zone to deal with the mutated. Umm, where's your horse by the way?" He questioned after noticing his was the only one around.
"Back in town," Noixid responded casually.
"Alright then, let's head back." With that said, the popori trudged on back with the Amani in tow. As they traveled, his eyes roamed over to the amani, noticing that the armor he wore showed some skin, and he stared unabashedly before quickly shaking his head.
Maybe this won't be so bad, after all...