Hello again readers! Back a little sooner than expected, but I've been getting quite a few things done and wanted to get this new chapter up for you to read! As you will begin to see, as more characters from Beauty and the War are introduced, there's going to be some jumping around with different scenes every now and again. To the lovely people there, I FINALLY played the demo as I was able to get my laptop running again- after playing it myself, I did have a better insight into certain aspects of the characters, so as I go along, I will be fine-tuning and most likely adding to what I've written along the way to enhance the story. I've rambled for long enough, so please enjoy, everyone!
Arsenik was overseeing Viktor as he trained, seeming to float rather than walk as he did so in slow circles. Every once and again, he would advise his nephew on his technique. "Viktor, you're slouching. You must intimidate your enemy. You must be flawless. Radiating with confidence, flow, and efficiency will help to overcome even the most brute of foes. Remain poised, like a moving statue. Nothing can penetrate its stone. Not blade, nor arrow, nor intimidation or manipulation. Simply appearing to be fearsome is not the key to overcome the enemy, which is why it is something the Hulder does not embrace."
"Y- Yes, Uncle." Viktor said as he returned to his position, sparring upon a designated field. The keep which they called home stood a short distance from where they were, the structure of intricately designed stone a piece of architecture which they boasted with pride. As Viktor continued, a Hulder scout approached Arsenik, bowing his head lightly before speaking.
"The message you requested the delivery of was received anonymously as you requested, sir."
"Good. If everything is as I hope, then we should see results quite swiftly." Arsenik smirked, glancing over at his nephew. "It will be a very important lesson for my nephew in the game of politics which he must learn to play. He must not just be a participant, but he must be a powerful contender to conquer his opponents." He took in a deep breath of air. "Tell one of the other scouts to monitor the thin trail of the western woods, keep a fair distance from the Trold. They already know of what to seek out."
"Yes, sir." The scout said, bowing his head before departing. Arsenik returned to circling about his nephew. "Keep up your focus, Viktor. Yes, that's the way."
King Barium sighed lightly, looking over several parchments and rubbing his forehead. He suddenly felt hands upon his crimson colored shoulders, kneading them as he leaned back a bit. "Bo, I must address these accounts."
"You're overworking yourself again, love." A cheerful voice spoke, the young woman with curly, red hair leaning forward a bit. "The parchments will still be there in time, but then so will your sanity. Oh! You know what helps me when I'm stressed? Pudding! I can fetch some for you if you like."
"It will also be there when the parchments are NOT here." He sighed. "No, that won't be necessary. That back rubbing is a big help though..." Just then, there was a knock upon the door. "Come in." He groaned.
A figure entered, their face unseen by the slender but strong armor they wore, almost like a body suit. When they spoke, their voice had a slight echo to it as a result, making him sound almost unearthly, artificial in the way. "Your highness, I have received an urgent eyewitness report."
King Barium rolled his eyes, waving his hands. "Onyx, I haven't got time to waste on silly things like this. Tell them I'm looking into it and then mention it to me later."
"Sir, with all due respect, it is quite a cause for concern." The one called Onyx replied.
"Okay. Onyx, unless it's something catastrophic like... a raging fire, or a mass murder spree, or the sky falling, it's not something I need to worry about right now, okay?" King Barium said as the young woman, Bo Peep, continued to knead his shoulders quietly.
"... that is interesting that you were able to deduce the issue in merely three guesses, sir. The eyewitness account claimed to have seen an individual fall out of the sky and their whereabouts on the island as well as their identity is currently unknown." Onyx answered.
King Barium blinked, raising his eyebrows. "Uh... alright then. Just... send out a few scouts, don't make this a big thing. If they see anything unusual, have them report back to me."
"As you command, sir." Onyx replied before taking his leave.
"See, my darling? How intuitive you are. You stress for no reason." Bo Peep smiled as she leaned down to kiss his cheek from behind him. "Now can you take a break, pretty please?"
"Actually, I'm sure whomever made the eyewitness account is simply out of their mind. The last thing I need is the sky to start raining people." He sighed, leaning back as he closed his eyes, Bo Peep moving her hands to massage his temples. "And for the love of all that is sacred, make sure my brother doesn't find out about this. He would not appreciate me wasting the scouts' time on this nonsense."
"I can speak for myself when I say a word will not pass my lips on the subject, but I can't speak for everyone else, love." Bo smiled. "Don't worry about that sourpuss."
"That's what I was afraid of..." King Barium sighed.
Chase barked out one more threat against the mysterious creatures from before, curling his lip as he scanned the area. The air slowly returned to normal, the darkness dissipating and lifting through the trees. He looked down when he heard coughing near him, crouching down to help Kapra to sit up.
"Hey, are you-" Chase stopped, his eyes widening when he saw she had coughed up a bit of blood, taking in deep breaths. "... did they do this to you?"
"Huh?" Kapra asked, wiping her mouth. "No... at least... it's just..." She sighed. "This happened the day I first saw them. This started... and I just haven't been able to get rid of it."
He knelt down, supporting Kapra with his hands. "What are they, Kapra?" Chase asked after a few moments.
"I don't know, but they invaded my world. They're going to do the same here. It may take a while, hiding and coming out when they want to, but... it's going to happen."
"Hey. Nothing's going to happen." Chase said, wrapping an arm around Kapra's waist to help her to her feet. "I've got to get you somewhere safe."
"Where would that be? Chase, I'm not dragging you into this mess." Kapra said.
"I got you dragged into my family's mess. It's only fair, right? Those things have got nothing against me." He smiled, but Kapra could see a small hint of concern in his features. Something had happened. She knew it did. She had seen the creatures in real action. Despite this, she smirked lightly.
"I could have used a friend like you back on Earth." Kapra shook her head. "Somehow, people say they're there for you until things get hard. Then they disappear."
"Well, that sounds pretty dumb. I like making friends, but not one likes being friends with these." He held up his blades.
"I don't mind being friends with these as long as they aren't planning on gouging anything on me." Kapra snickered, the pair laughing.
"Sir Chase?" A voice suddenly called.
Turning around, Kapra looked past him towards the source of the sudden, but gentle voice. Along the path, a woman approached, her long, raven hair swaying lightly as she stopped a few feet from them. She wore a simple dress of mostly red ribbons, revealing the ivory skin of her face and arms.
"Oh! Ambrosia!" He beamed. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"
"It is good to see you also, sir Chase." She smiled gently before turning her attention to Kapra. "Who is this?"
"Oh yeah, um-" He cleared his throat. "-Ambrosia, this is my new friend, Kapra. Kapra, this is my... not-as-new friend, Ambrosia."
"Hey." Kapra smiled a bit, coughing lightly as she cleared her throat. "What's up?"
"What is… up?" Ambrosia glanced above her. "Well, I see some birds overhead, the sky… clouds… a peculiar question to ask, is this a customary greeting where you're from?"
Kapra bit her lip, exhaling slowly. "Yeah, just… never mind."
"Oh yeah, and they do this hand shake thing too. Here, like this." Chase demonstrated by shaking Kapra's hand, who laughed as he did so. She swayed a bit then from still being a bit light-headed, Chase gasping lightly as he kept her stance stable.
"Oh dear… is she very unwell?" Ambrosia frowned, approaching as she noticed blood on her shirt, inspecting it silently.
"Yeah… Kapra's had it pretty rough. She kind of fell from the sky, then got captured from the Valkyrie, then I helped her with that but then she was kind of almost eaten by my brothers, but then these nasty shadow things were following us, and they made me feel weird, but I chased them off pretty good because well... that is my name, right?" He smiled, but it faded a bit after a moment.
"What a very perilous story... so she is the one that others are speaking rumors of... but is something troubling you?" Ambrosia questioned.
"Yeah, um... see... she's really sick, Ambrosia. She said she has something from her world that medicines can't cure. Well, she's using some weird medicine she has, but... it doesn't cure it completely? It's a little confusing." Chase said, scratching his head.
"Oh, I see... that sounds very worrisome. No wonder the message I received was so urgent." Ambrosia said. "I shall be sure to do my best to restore her health. It was good you found her and brought her here safely."
"Message? Who sent you a message?" Chase tilted his head.
"Why, I did."
The three turned towards the voice, Arsenik approaching with one of his scouts. "I received word of you traversing this path as I requested, miss Ambrosia. Your assistance is most appreciated."
"Oh, good afternoon, Sir Arsenik." Ambrosia smiled lightly, the two greeting one another politely. Chase, however, did not return the formal greeting.
"Hulder!" Chase exclaimed, moving Kapra behind him protectively as he curled his lip. "She's in bad enough shape as it is without you sticking your nose in our business!"
"'Our' business?" Arsenik chuckled. "Foolish, foolish Trold. Look at her. She is far worse than when I first discovered her. You've done quite enough, I shall take things from here, as I should have when I first found her with the Imugi further south."
"I'm not letting you take her." Chase narrowed his eyes.
"Really? Do you think you can offer her the care she requires? What plan do you have in place? Will you hide her in little holes in the ground, as you do the meat you feed upon to keep her from your savage kin? Will you continue to expose her to the elements, dragging her from place to place rather than allowing her to heal and recover until she is completely and utterly spent? You have no such resources to provide what she desperately needs." Arsenik smirked. "So, Trold, if you have any care for what you've made your little pet, you will step aside."
"I've been taking good care of her without your help!" Chase growled. "You're just going to use her for your latest scheme for something."
"Clearly, you have, to your standard- tattered, bleeding, falling apart at the seams, most likely malnourished and exhausted. She can barely stand, and you expect me to believe that you should continue to be responsible for overseeing her well-being? I think not."
Chase didn't budge, Kapra looking from one to the other as Ambrosia intervened. "If people back on Earth fought over me like this I'd have no idea what to do with myself. Not that I have an idea now, anyway."
"Gentlemen, please, there is no need to bicker like this. We need to think of lady Kapra's needs." She said.
"I wholeheartedly agree, miss Ambrosia. This is why I feel she would recover best within my keep. Plenty of stocked remedies are there for you to use to assist in her treatment. Not to mention, she can be kept in a warm bed with attendants assigned to her beck and call. She won't get any better sleeping on the ground or in the trees like an animal." Arsenik spat the last sentence.
"Hey, I'm the one who freed her from the Valkyrie when they had her tied up! Where were you then, Hulder?" Chase spat back.
"Miss Ambrosia, I will apologize upon the Trold's behalf for this nonsense. He simply refuses to cooperate."
"Uh... can I say something?" Kapra asked, all turning to look at her. "You have a habit of forgetting I have a mouth." Kapra raised a brow at Arsenik, who cleared his throat.
"Of course, miss Kapra. Do forgive me for neglecting your word." He bowed lightly.
"Being I'm in the middle of what seems to be a barter... again..." Kapra shook her head a bit. "Jeez… I'm going to make the same deal as last time. What Chase said is the truth. He helped me, a complete stranger. So I'm not going to stand here and let you completely discredit him."
"Ha! In your face, Hulder!" Chase grinned.
Arsenik thought for a moment after shooting Chase a look. "Hm... perhaps it is karma, my dear... you restored that Imugi when I first encountered you. The kindness of your heart was returned to you... I would have never imagined it would be a Trold making such a delivery." Chase grumbled lowly at this. "Nevertheless, at your request, I shall honor it as I did the first. I do apologize if my insults against the Trold have caused any personal insult towards you."
"He has a name. It's Chase." Kapra corrected.
Arsenik raised a brow. This one was indeed bold, even in her deteriorated condition- she intrigued him more and more the longer he was around her. "Of course… I shall credit the Tr-… Chase… with freeing you from the Valkyrie. A noble act on his part. However, with all due respect, miss Kapra, you are in no condition to be engaging in the activities and lifestyle he leads at this time. I greatly beseech you to join me and place yourself under my- miss Ambrosia's care."
Kapra sighed. What was with everyone here? On Earth, she had been utterly ignored a majority of the time- here, she had people either hunting her down or fighting over her company. What the hell was this? "Okay. I... just give me a minute." She said, still a bit weak as she stumbled a bit. Chase noticed she had become paler than she had started as she brought him to the side. "He seems adamant on taking me with him."
"Yeah, what does that say...? I told you, you can't trust them."
"I need to figure out a lot, Chase. I need to figure out how to stop the dark ones from destroying another world. Look, I was brought here for a reason, and whatever reason that is, I need to use that opportunity to save this place from what I couldn't save Earth from."
"But... they WANTED me to leave you."
"What do you mean?"
"Those... things." Chase said. "I could hear them, even though I couldn't really see them talking. It was like they were right next to me. They really need you for some reason... so I don't know about you, but I don't want to know what that reason is." He said as Kapra stared at him quietly, listening. "You know, for a second, I almost listened to them. I can't explain it, but I almost did. But then... I snapped out of it. I told you that you could count on me and I don't want to mess that up. But the Hulder? If there's something they can get out of it, they'll give you up in a second."
"Chase... I can't thank you enough for what you've done, and... I don't want this to be goodbye forever. But I don't want any retaliation falling back on you. If what you say is true, then they may try to kill you to get to me. I don't want that." Kapra took Chase by surprise when she hugged him. "It's hard to find people who really want to look out for you. I need you to stay alive, and safe."
Chase's expression softened a bit, smiling as he hugged her back. "Hey, don't worry about me. Just... be careful."
"I will." Kapra said. "I promise, we'll cross paths again." She thought of something, reaching into her bag, taking something out and putting it in Chase's hand. "Take it. It's a bracelet. Sometimes on Earth, people exchanged them as a token of friendship." She explained. She tied the woven bracelet on his wrist, and he smiled as he looked at it.
"Huh, I like it." He nodded. "Kapra… thanks. And don't worry... Ambrosia will keep an eye out for you. You'll be okay as long as she's around."
Kapra nodded back, Chase placing her bag on her shoulder and walking her back over. It killed him to hand her over to the Hulder, like feeding her to a pack of lions. He grimaced as Arsenik's long, slender fingers drew her to him.
"Rest assured, Trold- Chase… she is in good hands." Arsenik said.
"She better be, or your head's gonna be in mine." He said.
"Sir Chase, please don't be cross with sir Arsenik... he means well." Ambrosia said, bidding him good day as Arsenik bent down to lift Kapra up, bridal-style. Chase hopped up into a tree, watching bitterly as his new friend was snatched away from him in a heartbeat.
"Someone in your condition should be specially accommodated. Poor thing... how worn you are. It should be a crime to have allowed a lady to suffer like this. A proper gentleman would have not placed you in such unfavorable conditions." Arsenik said as Ambrosia walked alongside them.
"Well... most of it was not really within our control." Kapra said, glancing to the side. "Besides... he did what you should have if you're going to be preaching about it. You could have come and got me away from those women, but you didn't."
"No, I did not. You have every right to be critical of my actions. I left your fate to chance. I took a risk, one that a part of me regrets taking."
"A part?"
"Yes... the other part is impressed that you have lived through this hardship, fascinated. It has allowed my respect for you to grow." He smiled at her lightly.
"Yeah... thanks." Kapra said. "So how did you find me, anyway?"
"I have had scouts trying to track your movement. When it was reported to me where you were, I called upon miss Ambrosia to assist in treating any wounds you may have accumulated since your arrival here... unfortunately, that number has only increased in the past night."
They eventually reached the Hulder keep, Arsenik proceeding inside and entering one of the bed chambers to place Kapra down. As they had made their way, Kapra noticed other Hulder- each having similar blonde hair and blue eyes- staring at them. It admittedly made her a bit uncomfortable realizing that she stuck out among them, wondering if they would be hostile or if they were genuinely just curious. "There you are. Thankfully this should have helped conserve at least some of your energy. While I attend to some matters, miss Ambrosia will happily take care of you and examine your wounds."
Kapra looked around the room, which reminded her of a medieval castle somewhat. The bed seemed pretty comfy- it was certainly the most comfortable resting place she had seen in a day. "Sure… thanks, Arsenik."
"No need to thank me. It is my pleasure to offer you hospitality." He bowed once. "I bid you a good rest of your day. I shall be checking upon you after I return from a hunt." He said before exiting the room.
"Here, miss Kapra, your satchel." Ambrosia smiled as she handed Kapra her bag. "Please relax while I draw you a bath."
"Oh, um… I can clean myself off, it's okay." Kapra cleared her throat.
Ambrosia blinked, giggling lightly. "Very well. I will prepare it for you at least."
Kapra sighed lightly, setting her bag aside and resting back to stare at the ceiling. Her mind was spinning from all it had taken in within the last day. She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. She then sat up, going through her bag to take a count of how much medication she had left. "Less than two weeks worth… shit."
A short time later, she looked up when Ambrosia returned, leading her to the bath. It was a wide, marble basin, the room dimly lit.
"I have the feeling you enjoy more privacy than less. Please fetch me when you're finished. I have provided fresh under linens, I can examine you and address any wounds you have."
"Thanks… Ambrosia. Huh. Fruit of the gods."
"Hm?" Ambrosia tilted her head.
"Your name. On Earth, the ancient people of Greece- a civilization- said that if Ambrosia was eaten, it made the consumer immortal."
"Oh, how interesting. Are you a part of this… Greece clan?"
"No. They lived thousands of years before I was even a thought." Kapra chuckled.
"I see. I should like to hear more lovely stories from you. I'm sure you have so many." Ambrosia bowed lightly before leaving Kapra to herself. She wondered if it was a coincidence that with a name like that, if it was any surprise she was a healer. Could she truly do something about her illness? Kapra didn't want to get her hopes up...
The ground under his feet crunched softly as he moved through the forest. His hair flowed like the element he shared with his name. He slowed to a stop, growling lowly as he saw the Hulder keep in the distance.
"You've got to be kidding me... I can't believe that twerp was stupid enough to let her go. Although, I can't really talk, can I?" Wind glanced down at his leg momentarily, which had healed up nicely. "Man, I must be getting soft. Either way, something's going on in these woods. The air smells different. It's those things that came with her. Girls... why do they have to be so irritating? They're either helpless or they're trying to slit your throat. No middle ground. This girl has to know something. I'm not just going to sit around while everything turns to ash." Wind said to himself.
Before then, he had surprisingly done what Kapra had told him to help heal his leg. He wondered if the mouse knew about this mysterious salve as well.
After doing so, he had gone to where he saw her fall, the area of impact. He noticed a small clearing had been made among the trees, carefully and cautiously inspecting the spot. He looked at the trees, narrowing his eyes as the sides facing inward had begun to darken, the life upon them wilting and shriveling up. The spot itself had lost all grass, twigs, leaves, leaving blackened ground with what seemed to be something etched into the hardened dirt.
Then he spotted it.
It stood out, Wind crouching down. There, he saw three flowers. The one that stood out the most was white, the most lively, but he noticed the beginning of fraying about the tips of the petals.
The second, which was more withered, seemed to be the color of lingered blood, the kind that, like a grudge, it seemed to grow darker over time. It contained sharp, razor blade thorns that threatened to slice any finger that came near.
The third, the most withered of the three, was nearly indistinguishable. It seemed to had possibly been a soft, pink rose once, but the dark spots that now afflicted it, as well as its severe decay left the withered thing a sad sight to see, a shadow of its former beauty.
Wind bit his lip, his mind racing to determine what this strange omen could mean. Had anyone else seen this? Was he meant to be the one to discover it?
What did this have to do with the dark creatures that had descended, and the girl they brought with them?
As he thought, he saw something else then. How had he not seen it before? Just beginning at the ground at the root of the white rose, something seemed to be emerging stealthily through the ground, poking through the surface. It looked like the bud of another red rose, but this time, it was a fresher shade of red, like how blood appeared when first spilled. He was about to inspect it closer when it hit him.
Wind looked around him upon the odd etchings into the soil, tilting his head. He quickly went to the trees, climbing up one for a better angle and then looking at the spot before widening his eyes slightly.
The etchings, which the roses were sprouted in the center of, formed the image of a large, black rose.
Now, after having seen these disturbing omens, Wind remained crouched not far from the Hulder keep. In his heart he felt there was something far, far bigger to this- something that wouldn't reveal itself initially but when it chose to, it would rear its ugly head upon all of them.
"That girl has something to do with this. I need to figure out what." Wind said to himself.
"Hey, are you spying too?"
Wind hissed, scrambling back in surprise at the sudden voice next to him. "Trold- what in the hell do you think you're doing sneaking up on me? If you ever do that again, I'll rip your throat out. Now scram."
"Whoops! Sorry." Chase scratched the back of his neck. "Was kind of doing the same thing you were doing. My friend's in there."
"You mean the girl that fell from the sky? Guess that persistent bastard took her off your hands too, huh?"
"Hey, how'd you know that?" Chase asked. "I didn't see you when that happened."
"That's because you weren't SUPPOSED to, you twerp. I've been tracking her since that annoying scum took her off MY hands."
"Wait, you know Kapra?"
"Yeah, I woke up after she fell just outside my territory. Those shadow things hunted me down and then when I woke up from being knocked out cold, it was just her."
"Yeah, now I remember… I saw her fall because I was hanging out by the rock cliffs. I saw you too… hey, we should get her out of that stone prison together! They think they have all this fancy stuff, what she needs is some fresh air and-"
"I am NOT working with a twerp like you. You're too annoying."
"Come on, Imugi! Kapra needs our help! We can't just leave her with the Hulder. Those guys are sly foxes." Chase pouted.
"I'm waiting it out. If the king gets in on this, it's going to be an even bigger mess than it already is. The last thing we need is for him to get his filthy hands on her. Or worse yet, get her head chopped off. I hate to say it, but those idiot Hulders are the lesser of two evils right now, hopefully they can at least keep her hidden. Besides, you moron, you think we can fight a whole village of them? Even though I'd like nothing more than to slaughter the lot of them, we'd be squashed in a second. Even I'm smart enough to admit that. Not to mention that it will fall back on my clan... enough of them have been forced into slavery as it is." Wind growled. "But that's not what's really rubbing me the wrong way. There's been changes in the forest."
"Yeah, I've seen it too. Something's coming." Chase agreed.
"No, you idiot... it's already here." Wind hissed.
Kapra sighed as she changed into the under linens Ambrosia had provided for her, drying her hair with a towel. She cracked the door open a bit, Ambrosia waiting just outside the bathing area in a separate seating room.
"Oh, you look better already. I'm sure that relieved some of the aches and tension you had. Come, please sit." Ambrosia said, smiling lightly. She gently lifted Kapra's chin, looking over any wounds she had and bandaging any if necessary. "You're already well on the mend. I am very confident you'll be restored to full health in no time." She smiled, clapping her hands together once.
"Thanks." Kapra smiled lightly. Ambrosia realized then she had spoken a bit too soon then, Kapra wincing a bit as she held her chest. "Crap, how long has it been... I need my bag."
Ambrosia watched silently, taking the bag and handing it to her. She observed as Kapra took one of her pills, exhaling slowly as she recapped her water bottle. "This is... quite a strange action. This is no medicine I have ever seen before."
"I hope you never do. It's wicked stuff." Kapra sighed.
"Wicked? Oh, you should never consume anything wicked." Ambrosia frowned.
"Well unfortunately, it's the only thing keeping me alive right now." Kapra said as she plopped her bag down beside her.
"My goodness..." Ambrosia held the tips of her fingers to her lips. "What horrible affliction could you have to resort to such a method?"
Kapra exhaled slowly, looking straight ahead as she thought for a moment.
"Kara?" The receptionist called, smiling lightly. "The doctor will see you now."
"Thanks." Kara sighed, getting up and heading out of the waiting room. "Took long enough, jeez..." She said to herself as she headed into the small office. She sat down, the doctor coming in shortly after.
"Good morning, sorry for the wait... there's been a bit of a backup with all the accidents that have been happening lately. Pretty crazy out there." The doctor said as they shut the door. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Like shit." Kara sighed. "The last three days I've been having bad chest pains, I can barely breathe, coughing up blood, light-headedness... I mean, I'm not perfect, but I was pretty healthy. I've never had anything like this before. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do anything that would... cause this."
"I understand you're concerned. This is one of the most bizarre cases I've seen... I've been looking at your medical history and you're pretty golden." A sigh. "We've gotten results back from some of the tests and they're all negative so far."
"So... it's eliminating possibilities, but that means you can't figure out what... this is." Kara sighed.
"Yeah... that's where we are right now. We tested for TB, meningitis, lung cancer, emphysema, mesothelioma, heart disease, we've done the works. All negative. I'm looking at a couple meds for you to take right now to treat some of the symptoms, but until we can actually put a name on what you have, we can't make a solid treatment plan right now."
Kara nodded slowly. "Yeah... just... give me what you think will help for the time being."
"... 'The time being' turned into months. Months turned to... I guess indefinite at this point." Kapra sighed.
Ambrosia frowned deeply at this. "It just... came upon you suddenly?"
"Yeah. When I saw them... people thought I was crazy, but I knew what I saw. And then the evacuations started. Sometimes... I hate being right."
Ambrosia approached. "May I?" She asked, Kapra nodding as she placed a hand where Kapra's heart would be, closing her eyes. In the darkness concealed by her eyelids, she focused on a small point. The Phoenix has mysterious, but powerful mental abilities to complement their healing power. As she did this, the point descended, and the sound of Kapra's heart could be heard in her mind. Right now, it was slow, steady. She could not be in the now. She had to travel along the root. The root of the injury- that's where the Phoenix began, and worked their way upwards. As she descended further, the sound in her mind began to change rhythm, began to lose it. She furrowed her brows, the bright, white light beginning to tremble, losing stability. Ambrosia inhaled sharply as darkness began to close in, the erratic heartbeat increasing as incoherent whispers could be heard. Ambrosia was almost there, almost at the root-
And then she saw it.
Her entire body tensed as she saw the root begin to shrivel. Darkness, decay, erosion as it all seemed to swirl madly into something far greater, possibly more ancient and terrifying than anything she had ever experienced. It was being drawn back into something, stripping it of not only its life, but its very existence entirely. She gasped, jolting back a bit as she retracted her hand.
She had managed to see all of this in mere seconds, Kapra raising a brow as she looked up at her.
"Everything okay?" Kapra asked with a hint of concern.
"This is no illness or ailment I have ever seen. It is a different affliction entirely. It was not formed within the physical body, but latched to you. A terrible curse... something that will consume more potently than any sickness." Ambrosia said, feeling a chill trickle down her spine. "It will take a very strong, risky method to extract this poison from you, lady Kapra."
This certainly ended on an ominous note! Will Ambrosia figure out how to help Kapra? Will Arsenik help her as well? Will Chase and Wind work together and solve the mystery of the dark ones before the Vi find out about her? Stay tuned for more in the next update! Thanks again for reading, and see you next time!