Author's Notes: Sorry for the lack of updates. It took me a while to get settled into Year 11, and I haven't had much time to draw, much less write. Not to mention ideas weren't flowing (I should have written them down…) Also, Whoosh! will be progressing even slower, since getting together to collaborate is really hard right now. This chapter I'll be trying out something similar to what I did in my one-shot in this chapter. Let's see how I go this time…
Disclaimer: Because chronic laziness is overcoming me (i.e. My level 7 Procrastinate is kicking in), this will be the last disclaimer for this fic. Ragnarok Online doesn't belong to me. Yup…
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A line of blood appeared on Lorianne's cheek. With a growl, she swung her sword at the annoying little gnat that grazed her face, but the insect flew up out of her reach. Scores of hornets littered the grass around her until there were only the large, purple bodied ones. Guarding the airborne insect queen herself, they were Mistress' elite bodyguards. They may have been larger than the dead hornets, but they were much faster and didn't mindlessly charge at her. The insects even had some kind of attacking and defending formation! Lorianne's distaste for the Mjolnir Mountains was worsening by the minute. Why was she back here again? Oh yeah, the alchemist…
Keilith looked slightly frazzled with the huge amount of dodging he had been doing, and he was starting to cough again, but he seemed mostly none the worse for wear. Despite the fact he carried an axe, the alchemist was almost useless in battle. She couldn't rely on him to help her out, or even to keep her poring safe. The damnable insects targeted him almost as often they targeted Lorianne herself, and she was in no position to help him. Concentrating on keeping the hornets at bay, she swung her sword at the bugs again. Suddenly, she saw a very familiar axe flash past her face and bury itself into one of the purple hornets. Going down with a horrible screech, the bug plummeted to the ground. Spurred on by the death, the hornets turned their attention to Keilith at Mistress' high pitched command. Realising what this meant, Lorianne made a mad dash towards the alchemist…
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Ragnarok Online
Things Unforgotten
Chapter 3 – Mistress Night
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See Dawn,
Where the sun wakes,
High in the sky.
Watching the world,
Running and turning,
Before she sleeps,
Wrapped in the shroud
Of Dusk.
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Lorianne thought she had seen the last of Mount Mjolnir, but it turned out that the alchemist needed some plants from the area, so the unusual trio ended up backtracking to the hills. Sheez, alchemists were always so obsessed with plants. And explosions. She couldn't forget the explosions. She couldn't understand for the life of her why they'd dedicate so much of their time over greenery and things that were likely to spontaneously self-combust. Why the hell had she invited one of those walking time bombs to join her anyway?
The knight stole a quick glance to the alchemist in question. He seemed to be enjoying their break from walking to the fullest, relaxing by the lake nearby. He lay on the grass, lost in his own thoughts of who knows what. There was something in that smile of his. Something that screamed, 'I don't care,' to her. For some reason, she liked that. But then, of course, there was that fact he was an alchemist, i.e. one crazy bastard. She didn't like that. But…
Lorianne watched her poring half-drag a whole flower towards the alchemist. Keilith sat up as the poring neared him, seeming mildly surprised as he praised the creature, taking the plant. Lorianne frowned, inwardly surprised at Poing's unusual friendliness. The Poing she knew did not help out. He was often the cause of many mishaps and much mischief, especially to strangers. That was one reason she enjoyed having her pet with her almost all the time. The fact that her poring was associating so freely with the alchemist…disturbed her…
Relinquishing her place in the shade under a tree, she walked over to Keilith and plonked herself down near him. With a blink of his beady eyes, Poing joyfully hopped into the knight's arms. Lorianne gave him a loving squeeze before turning to Keilith, who wore back his old – she couldn't find a proper word for it – smartass smile.
"So, you decided to join us after all…"
Lorianne didn't even bother to reply. The alchemist sighed at the lack of response and lay back down on the grass, but not before he stowed the plant away in his bag.
"You know, seriously," he began, lightly chewing on a blade of grass, "Why the hell did you bother asking me to join you if you're just going pretend I'm not here?"
She didn't grace him with a reply. Aside from the fact she had no idea herself, she wondered if he would go away if he got bored of trying to talk to her if she didn't reply. But it seemed he had a lot of patience, pestering her with questions even after they left the lake far behind them. 'Why are you such a grouch?' and 'Why do you have a poring?' were some of the many pointless questions he bugged her with. It was kind of like having a gnat constantly buzzing in her ear. The alchemist only shut up when Lorianne began to walk faster with large strides, making the alchemist jog to keep up. She was slightly worried when he started having to stop to cough long hacks, like his lungs couldn't handle so much stress, but it was either that or having him talking her ear off.
…She was kind enough to stop and take rests for the alchemist's benefit though.
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"I'll never give up! I'll fight to the very end!"
The knight shook his head sadly at the injured swordswoman. "It's all very well to have courage and determination, Sharielerin, but you need to learn how to hold back sometimes. You're endangering yourself when you jump into battle, and when you are assigned to a team, you will be endangering your party members."
"I don't care about pain! I won't be endangering my team if there's nothing there to endanger them!"
The knight slammed his fist on the table. "Listen to yourself, Sharielerin!" he shouted. "If you keep on recklessly charging into battle, you'll wind up dead!"
"I don't care about dying!" she screamed back at him. "I live for the glory of a good fight, and if I die, so be it!"
"You're a berserker, Sharielerin, do you understand? You're a person that puts everyone in danger!" The knight quickly calmed down after his outburst. "I've walked with Death several times, but I have yet to feast my eyes on Glory. There is no glory in dying stupidly. There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and you're walking on the side of stupid. Don't live for death, Sharielerin. Don't go out just to seek death. Find something else to live for, to protect. And maybe, just maybe, you'll want to stay alive."
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The hornets' stingers hurt like crazy, that was to be sure. Somehow, they insects had managed to evolve long, retractable stingers that could puncture through even the toughest of armour. Lorianne could feel their venom coursing through her body, like rain seeping through cracks in the ground. It felt as if thousands of little arms were pulling at her limbs, trying to hold her back. Her sword felt heavy in her hands, its tip almost dipping into the ground. She had never held her broadsword so sloppily since she was a midgety little brat. More and more hits rained down on her. She could barely move, much less try to cut the annoying little shits down from the air. Her sword slipped from her lax fingers. There was no way this could be the end for her. Lorianne refused to accept that she was being beaten down by a bunch of insects.
Suddenly, she saw Keilith's axe bury itself into another of the purple hornets. Briefly, she wondered when he had the time to retrieve the weapon; she swore the other dead hornet was at least five feet away. The insects' loud shrieks rung in her ears, but she couldn't quite see them properly. Everything was starting to blur before her. Strangely, they seemed to be getting softer…
Dizziness overcoming her ability to remain standing, Lorianne dropped to one knee. There was a…something there, near her foot…What was it? Forcing her arm to move, she reached out to grasp the what-ever-it-was. Potion shaped…Must be a potion of some sort. Her mind was working agonisingly slow. Trying to put two and two together took an excruciatingly long time. Potion. Alchemist. Poisoned. Potion. Antidote? It was worth a try…
Getting the stopper to open with her limp fingers was almost as hard as forcing herself to swallow the liquid that was trying to slosh down her throat. Strangely enough, the potion was sugary, as if she had taken a swig of the lemonade she used to drink as a child. It was quite unlike the bitter taste she usually associated with potions. A stinging sensation began from her stomach and spread through all her limbs. Shortly after, she finally felt like she was back to normal, albeit a little bit sore. The first thing she saw was the alchemist running around like crazy, being chased by Mistress and her swarm. If it wasn't for the fact he was kind of half screaming, she would have found the scene very amusing. Picking up her broadsword, she experimentally swung it a few times to get the feeling back into her arms.
"Alright, you little shits, you're going to pay for that!"
Charging into the fray, she managed to dispatch two of the hornets before they turned their attention to her. She focused on taking out the hornets, not afraid to take a few hits if it meant she could cut one of the hornets from the air. She was so focused on the hornets that she completely forgot about the queen bee herself.
"Lorianne! Mistress is casting!"
Lorianne turned to see Mistress in the finishing stages of the Jupitel Thunder spell. Knowing she had no chance to interrupt the insect's spell casting, she instead took a defensive stance, preparing to take the most of the powerful spell. It would hurt a lot, she knew, but she could survive it…
It turned out she needn't have bothered. At the very last moment, she found Keilith standing protectively in front of her, shielding her from the brunt of the spell. Lorianne raised her arms to block out the light that burst upon the electric globe's impact against the crazy alchemist. Soon, the dazzling light faded away. Lorianne watched Keilith sink to his knees before collapsing to the ground.
"Idiot!" she snapped. "Why the hell did you do that?"
The alchemist gave her a weak smile and opened his mouth to say something. But his strength gave out, his grey eyes fluttering closed.
"Bastard…" Lorianne clenched her fists, not noticing how much her hands were shaking. Unexplainable anger burned through her more intensely than she had ever felt before. This time, though, instead of welcoming the anger with open arms like she usually did, she pushed away the red fog. The burns on Keilith looked terrible, peeling horribly. She gave an involuntary shudder and shook her head. There was no way she could deal with Mistress with the downed alchemist occupying her thoughts. Sheathing her sword, she picked up the alchemist and, hoping that the burns would not be aggravated too much, ran away for the first time in her life. It went against everything she had stood for in the past, but there was too much at stake to risk finishing the battle with Mistress…
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"You're so weak you can't even protect yourself! How the hell can you say that you will protect others?"
The acolyte scratched at her head. "Maybe I didn't word what I meant correctly. I may be weak physically, but my job is to make sure you stay alive, and yours is to make sure that we both do. Alone, you might only be able to handle the second level, and I only perhaps the first. But together, we can go deeper into the caves."
The swordie sat down on a rock and leaned on her sword. "I think I'm getting the short end of the stick in this 'partnership'. I have to protect both of us, yet you only need to occasionally heal me and bless me. I'd rather go solo, thank-you-very-much! All the other swordies that have to rely on others to get them through are weak, just like how you're weak to have to rely on me to get anywhere."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Lorianne," the acolyte replied calmly, not insulted. "Not everyone is as able as you. Not everyone's strength lies in the sword like yours does. My strength lies in helping others by boosting their skill and tending to their wounds. There is a reason why we are all good at different things. Maybe one day you'll understand that there's only so far you can go alone."
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Striking a match, Lorianne lit the pile of wood before her, carefully coaxing the small flame to stay alive in the breeze. The flames eagerly ate at the dry wood, growing larger on its dry meal. It was a nice night out, with all the stars dotting the sky in a myriad of tiny lights. Poing dozed by the fire, a small cooing coming from him with each breath. Normally Lorianne would enjoy such a night to the fullest, but tonight, something else was on her mind.
Worry was an emotion she was familiar with, from having a pet poring that often got himself into trouble. However, worrying about another person was a place she hadn't been before. Even though she tried to convince herself that the alchemist would be fine (albeit in a lot of pain), her treacherous mind kept on wondering, What if he isn't?
She noticed movement coming from the fallen alchemist. Continuing to poke the fire, she watched him struggle to sit up out of the corner of her eye. "You're a damn idiot," she said, tossing the stick into the flames and watching it burn. She was careful to hide her worry about his condition. "You know that, right?"
He grinned in an attempt to conceal his wince of pain, but Lorianne wasn't fooled. The burns from Mistress' Jupitel Thunder still peeled horribly, even after giving him some of his own potions along with cool water from the stream nearby. She couldn't find anything in his bag that resembled something for burns either. She was just glad the spell hadn't set off the explosives he carried, which would have turned him into a human marine sphere.
The alchemist managed a watery smile. "But I'm a very much alive idiot, so much the better," he said, oddly cheerful for someone in a lot of pain. He shifted slightly before wincing again. "Though pain is something I'd rather not experience again in such large quantities."
"If you're not accustomed to pain, why did you do it in the first place?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but seemed to change his mind and closed it again. His grey eyes avoided her own as he searched for an answer. "I…I…Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Lorianne could see the dead skin tearing off as he shifted again. "You saved my life earlier. It seemed only fair I pay you back."
For some reason, his words hurt her. Was this the reason why he didn't leave her alone in the bar when she was drunk? Because he felt the need to pay her back? "There is no time to think about 'paying back' in the middle of battle!" she snapped angrily, her voice harsher than she intended. "How can you keep track of how many times I save your sorry little ass? If I didn't need to save your life earlier, would you still 'pay' me back?"
She saw his grey eyes harden behind his glasses. "For your information," he hissed, "I would have still jumped in front of that Jupitel Thunder for you, regardless of whether you saved me or not. Although I'm starting to have second thoughts about doing so now…"
That stare of his…When his eyes lost that mocking smile to anger and pain, they were unsettling. His grey eyes were like a storm, clouded and dark with anger. Lorianne turned away to avoid his gaze, but she could still feel his eyes boring holes into her. "Get some rest," she said gruffly, refusing to apologise for her biting remark earlier. "You'll be needing it. I'll keep watch tonight."
"I don't need any more rest," he protested. "I've been sleeping all day!"
She whirled to face him, narrowing her eyes. "You will better damn well rest! I am not going to allow you to slow me down, and there is no way in hell I am going to carry you around Rune-Midgard!"
He was taken aback by the force she put in her words, and looked like he was going to argue his point further. Bracing herself for a sharp outburst from the alchemist, Lorianne was surprised when he quietly replied, "As you wish…" and lay down on the grass with his back turned to her. When she heard his soft breathing as he fell asleep, she felt her whole body relax. He must have been too tired to argue with her. Looks like he would live another day.
Poing cracked open an eye and gave her a wide grin that said, 'I know something you're not going to like the sound of.' Lorianne had a fairly good idea what her highly intelligent poring was trying to suggest with that snicker of his. There was no way in hell she was going to start getting close anyone any time soon. Especially that damn alchemist.
…But it would be nice to have someone that she could talk to without them turning away in disgust, or even trying to attack her. Poing was great and all, but he just wasn't the same as a person. And as far as travelling companions went, Kei had been the best one so far, despite his uselessness in a battle. She supposed she could just keep him around for company...
…Oh shit. This was a very bad sign…
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Author's Notes: Well, some of it doesn't quite flow right in my opinion…Personally, I'm more of a soloer, although I usually play soft, squishy characters (i.e. mage class, archer class) with no defensive stats or equipment whatsoever. There was something I was supposed to edit, but I can't for the life of me remember…Comments and critique appreciated.
