"So, you knew that monster? Are you two friends, or..." Jeff kinda trailed off. He'd spent at least a mile trying to sweet talk information out of our new acquaintance. He was doing a fine job of it, so I busied myself with trying to figure out exactly what kind of mess we were in. Hope was running out on that front.
Mystia was silent for a moment. "I'm neighbors with someone of fits the description but- and no offense- but I don't think you could stop Rumia-chan. There are plenty of other..." She paused for a moment. "Did she have a ribbon in her hair? Red?"
Jeff leaned back. "Nope. No ribbon. There was a lot of blood on her. Maybe it fell off?"
"Ha, no, she's taken more than a few beatings without losing it~."
"Beatings, huh. And we wouldn't have a chance?"
"I hope that doesn't put things too far into perspective. Don't worry, though. Most people on the other end of the beatings probably wouldn't target you specifically."
I spoke up, "How far up does the power ladder go, Mystia?" Jeff gave me a nod. At least he knew where I was going.
"Well, there are at least a few gods on it. Pretty high?"
"Anyone who could send us back?"
Silence. "A few."
"How would we go about doing that? Sounds like people like us show up kinda often."
"...Depends. You don't smell like the rest of them. That... increases your chances? But..." A couple of yards passed. "How much do you want to go back?"
"What do you mean? On a scale of..."
"Is it worth your life~? Innocence~?" The allure of her voice dulled. "How about your soul? I'm sure one of them is willing to trade. Even if you never make it back, I'm sure they'll hear your request."
That dampened spirits for a while. Jeff piped up, "You said we smell different. Is there a specific reason you mention that, or are we like the chosen ones, or something?" Mystia didn't answer for a while.
"There is a very specific reason. I'm going to leave it at, it's a blessing and maybe the solitary reason you're alive right now." She thought for a long moment. Just as I was starting to get the 'gingerbread house' sort of feeling, she added, "Keep your eyes on the side of the road, for just a moment."
Jeff and I stared into the darkness. Vague outlines of the lake, of reeds, a few trees. "Mystia, I-" There. Movement. Hair stood up on my neck, breath dead in my throat. A sort of hunched figure froze, unbreathing. I would have thought I was just seeing things but... It did nothing to hide its eyes.
Mystia spoke, tearing our attentions from the shape, and it was lost in the darkness. "There are rules here~. Some are smart enough to follow them~."
Jeff fixed his eyes behind us."Hey, Mystia. Is it just our smell? Keeping us safe?" Mystia hummed, darkening the lights for a moment.
"Amongst other things." A patter of feet could be heard. Slowly catching up to us.
"What exactly do you sell? To eat, I mean."
"I'm glad you asked~! Lamprey, mostly. I can't stand the thought of selling poultry!"She started to slow down. Rattle-rattle. Stop. A figure, step-by-step came into view, silhouetted except for the yellow eyes. Mystia came around the side of the cart.
"Mysty-chan, did you save one for me?"
"Of course, Wriggle-chan~. Don't I always?"
Author's note
Lotta dialogue. Lot of it. If I had to choose what I'm best at, probly dialogue. Doesn't mean I'm good at it, but better than my action scene. Practice makes perfect. And sorry about the cliffhanger (what little of it there is). I really didn't see that coming, honestly.
Also quite a bit shorter than the previous one, but that was the first. First should be longer. Probly.
Also-also! Probably. See, I can spell it. Huh.
