The Tainted Glade
As they fell, Raven managed to pull herself free of the beast's jaws and kicked it away from her, but once the canopy met them, she found herself bouncing off of thick branches and burning her arms on vines she snapped through until she eventually tumbled down the trunk of a leaning tree, rolling into a large ditch. If the foliage hadn't slowed her descent, she might have broken something but as she laid on the fallen leaves, staring at the hole in the canopy she'd just made, she felt achy and battered but mercifully escaped with only cuts and bruises, the worst of which being the claw scratch from the leopard itself, which was oozing somewhat. Sitting up with a groan, Raven looked around for the wild leopard that had fallen with her. If she survived the fall, there was a chance it did too. Shakily getting to her feet, she checked the area for tracks, paw prints specifically, likely with a limping gait. All she could find in this clearing was a strange swirling pattern across the dirt. What could have caused it? She dabbed her finger in the path of one of these swirls and placed it on her tongue, only to wretch at the putrescent taste. She'd tasted plenty of the muck while falling into the ponds and it was all normal earthy tastes. Something wasn't normal about this part of the jungle. She had to get back to the treehouse immediately.
However, no sooner had she stood back up to begin her journey back up to where Vita was surely waiting, than a slithering sound came from behind her and something large and blunt smacked her in the back.
XXXXX
"Hey." A fuzzy voice called out to Vita. "Are you okay? Can you open your eyes?" It was a little louder that time.
"Hey!" The silver haired boy had been searching for Maleficent's new charge for a while and even had to hop over from the world they had meant to go to. Maleficent would kill him if he lost her. And he really couldn't afford to lose the bed and board he got from the woman. His instinct was to search from higher ground but when he approached the large tree house structure, he found signs of a fight and a kid in a Gi passed out on the floor. It appeared some kind of crate had fallen on top of them and shattered. He needed them to wake up, not only to make sure they were okay, but they might have seen Raven around this world.
"C'mon wake up!" He took out a potion vial and gently poured it in the person's mouth, tilting their head so they didn't choke on it.
Feeling the strength return to her body, Vita slowly sat up as her vision cleared. "Why... was I taking a nap in a place like- RAVEN!" She leapt to her feet - seeing no sign of her friend or the beast they'd been fighting, she glanced up at the sky. The sun had definitely moved.
Taking a deep breath and trying to steady herself, she turned back to the boy who'd been standing over her. "Thanks for waking me up - you didn't see a girl with black hair fighting an overgrown housecat, did you?" 'Black hair... silver hair?'
"...Long shot, but your name isn't Riku, is it?"
Taken aback at her sudden movement it took a moment for him to register what she had said.
"You should really rest- huh? Yeah, that's me but you said Raven! You know her?" He got to his feet as well. "An overgrown house cat? Fight? You're not making any sense. Where is she? Ugh, please tell me that idiot didn't get into trouble." Although his words were a little harsh, it was clear he was worried for her safety.
Vita turned to look at him, blinking once, slowly. Clearing her hazy head a little, she pointed to a break in the railing, where the pair had tumbled down. She stumbled a little before catching and righting herself. "She was here - we got attacked by a jaguar or something, and both of 'em fell off the side there. I bet the fight's over by now, but if she's not already back here, she might be hurt." Rubbing her eyes, she rolled on the balls of her feet, trying to wake her senses back up. 'I'm in no shape to use my full strength. Better not push it like that again.'
"Trust her to get caught off guard like that." Riku rested his head in his palm as Vita explained the situation.
"So, you're the 'Riku' she was looking for. Nice to meet you; I'm Vita, a traveling martial artist. Now that we know each other's names, do you wanna swing down into the jungle and try to find her?" She hopped onto the railing, testing her balance and coordination. A little wobbly, but satisfactory. It'd be enough to get to the ground without any problems. "She gave the beast a nasty cut with her claws earlier, and her spell singed it bad, too. It'll be easy to track them down by smell... if the blood isn't enough."
Unsure if she was in a shape to be swinging down, Riku recognised the determination, so he didn't speak against the idea of setting off.
He vaulted the railing and began scanning the treeline until he spotted the irregular gap in the canopy. "There's broken branches there. She must've landed around this bit." He started hopping down from tree to tree, following the path of breakages. He waited for Vita to catch up but the area he'd landed showed no sign of his companion. "Tch of course she didn't stay put." He rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Swinging down on a vine and landing next to him with a light touch, Vita sighed. "In the jungle, it's a bad idea to stay in one place - especially if you smell like fresh blood. But if she didn't return to the treehouse, then where could she have gone...? If she was too hurt to climb back up, then she can't have gotten far."
She closed her eyes to listen for distant sounds. Either Raven was hiding somewhere nearby, or she had a reason to be running anywhere but shelter. And the most likely reason was that she ran into something even more dangerous. The sound of cracking twigs could be heard in the distance. If it was her, she was moving at a decent pace.
Riku started scouting around the area, using any broken debris as reference. "She can't have gone far. Then again, we don't know how long you were out for. What a pain."
"Hey, got some tracks here." He pointed to some fresh paw prints. "And over there." He indicated some very human boot prints further up. The issue was it hadn't seemed to rain for a while so the ground wasn't soft enough to leave a solid trail of prints. "They're heading out this way. But if whatever attacked you guys is still around here, it's not a good idea to call out to her. It'll just draw attention to ourselves."
...No, she wouldn't be moving that fast after a fall like this. Besides, these prints were far too big and led another way. Perhaps there were other humans in this jungle?
"I think I was asleep for about an hour, maybe two at most. That's a lot of time. But the idea was to get up to the treehouse, so she'd be easier for you to find. So, the fact that she wasn't there is kinda... worrying. Still, it was a good idea, since you did show up there."
Looking around, Vita tried to see if there were any splotches of red – the leopard's blood. The wound hadn't looked terribly deep, though, so it was a long shot that there would be many visible traces, aside from perhaps at the impact site where they'd hit the ground. In fact, were they so sure she hadn't managed to clutch one of the many vines and swing away in time?
Thinking back to how they'd met... no, that seemed unlikely. Not impossible, but if she wasn't coordinated enough to handle vine-swinging when she was prepared, her managing it after an unexpected fall, while wrestling with a beast twice her muscle mass at least, would be nothing short of miraculous.
"So, uh, where ya from? I got to talk with Raven for a while, but I didn't have time to ask much about you. And your clothes don't really tell me much. What's your story? Why are you learning magic?" Vita asked as they searched.
"Huh? Oh, uh..." He seemed genuinely taken aback by the questions, not expecting small talk. However, it could be a time before they found Raven and his new companion had been making friends so why shouldn't he? "Looks like we'll be here a while so sure. I'm from this place called the Destiny Islands. It's a tiny world, surrounded by endless water. Or it was. It... was consumed by the Darkness." He crouched down to examine a scuff along the ground where something made impact, but it was too large to be caused by Raven.
"Consumed by...?!" She was bewildered, but anyone could tell it was a sore subject, so she decided not to press further.
"That's how I ended up at Hollow Bastion. I'm not really learning magic like Raven is. She was hand-picked by Maleficent, I just sort of, landed on her doorstep. But she gives me a place to sleep, and food and she's agreed to help me look for my friends as long as I help her out in return. Seems more than fair. Plus, with Raven there now I get to sit in and try out the spells for myself. And we can spar together, properly. Everyone on the islands was too soft, easy to beat, I couldn't truly test my skills against them. But with her, I can really start to grow as a warrior." He spotted a few broken branches on a leaning tree over a ridge and picked his way through the brush to investigate.
"Huh, so you were a bit of a big fish in a small pond, weren't 'cha? Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get stronger as long as you've got that kind of go-getter attitude about it!"
"What about you? What brings you to a backwater world like this?"
"Me? I'm just a vagrant. Go wherever the road takes me - or I guess just wherever. I just sort of ended up in the middle of the forest before I even knew it. Man, what a place to get lost." She laughed at the absurdity of it. "One minute you're walkin' on rolling green hills, the next you're in the jungle! I'm grateful for the shade, but the air's just so thick with water. One thing's for sure, though, it's good endurance training, for the body and mind. I haven't been able to really relax since I got here. You feel it too, right? Bloodlust."
She shook her head, trying to avoid focusing on that too much. "Uh, ha-ha, anyway, so you're getting a chance to learn special skills? Sounds like the time I spent at the temple - just training and learning with the monks. I guess I didn't learn a lot of fancy moves, but I never felt so rock solid before that!"
"It's definitely a hostile environment, that's for sure." He replied, pushing through a thicket of vegetation in his approach of the leaning tree, still keeping an eye out for signs of his companion. "Fancy moves are all well and good, until someone's faster. I prefer speed and power over elaborate tricks." He smiled to himself a little. "Sounds like that kind of training would suit me fine. I don't know her very well yet, but Raven seemed to enjoy the pageantry of battle when we sparred. But that was just sparring, I've not seen her in real action yet." He paused in his assault on the thicket.
"What do you think of her? I know you've only just met her I just..." He rubbed his neck, mimicking the same thing Raven did. "Look, I'm not the best with new people. I mean I grew up with the same people around all the time. No newcomers and everyone knows everyone. I guess I just want someone else's opinion."
"She's really enthusiastic." Vita said without hesitation. "Eager to prove herself, get out there, and learn. She's a lot like me! It's almost a shame she's already partnered up with you - I'd ask her to wander around with me, but that's a hard life. Ain't much of an offer compared to learning magic from a master. Plus, how could I take away your rival? I'm not a monster."
She chuckled at the idea. "Still... I get the sense that she's a little too eager to stick her head in the clouds. She's far from stupid, but if she rushes ahead, she needs someone to watch her back and keep a cool head."
Thinking back to how Raven had spoken of Riku, and his brusque demeanour, she took her focus off the search for a moment. "I get where you're coming from - it's hard to trust strangers when you're from a smaller circle. But life's more fun when you open your heart. Try it sometime; you two might become good friends if you give it a shot. And good friends make the best rivals... or so I hear."
"Well, you're not wrong there." He smiled, thinking of his many competitions with Sora, resuming his battle through the foliage. "I guess I haven't got much of a choice if we're both working for the same person. It'd be a pretty miserable time if we didn't get along somehow." Having reached the top of the rise, he stretched his arms. "I just hope she doesn't make a habit of finding trouble." As he said this he looked at the large ditch on the other side and saw a spot where something had definitely landed. His concern was focused on the large sweeping trails made in the dirt that led in another direction.
"Hey, Vita. Over here." His tone had returned to its more serious state as he skidded down into the ditch and headed straight for the landing patch. There was a small splatter of unmistakable blood.
Vita herself opted to leap down - these sandals weren't great for sliding. "Alright, this looks like the spot they must've landed. Looks like it was a rough one." She examined the blood and the surrounding area. If it were the leopard or whatever that had crashed down here, they would've landed on their paws, most likely. If there weren't paw impressions somewhere nearby, then that meant it was probably Raven's blood...
"Did they both land here?"
Kneeling down, Riku examined the area more closely. No paw prints. Just these strange swirling patterns. Following the small drops of blood led to a scuff that looked like something might've been backing away on the ground, and a single handprint confirmed it was human. "She was definitely here. I don't see any signs of paws..." Following the scuff marks revealed "Footprints!" He pointed and sure enough, half covered and distorted by the weird swirls, was a boot print. "She had to have gone this way." He continued in the direction of the shoe and soon found more half concealed prints leading out of the clearing.
Seeing the handprint and the strange markings, Vita looked around at the trees. All the bushes and branches going out in one direction had been smashed aside. Examining the break on a nearby tree, she frowned. "This looks fresh. They all do. But that stupid cat couldn't have crashed through all of these. Maybe the scent of blood attracted something worse..."
She took a few trotting steps in the direction of the mild devastation. The more she looked, the clearer it seemed to form a trail. Occasional hand and shoeprints, obscured by the same swirling pattern. The soil was strange, too. It seemed like it was faintly stained with something putrid.
"...We'd better hurry! I don't know what made these, but I don't think Raven's in good shape to fight it alone!" She said, taking off as fast as she could. This proved to be a bad idea fairly immediately, as the acceleration caused her to nearly pass out again. She tripped, but recovered and regained a modest pace. 'Right, I'm still running on empty... might have to make a meal outta whatever we're chasing.'
Riku immediately started running with her, overtaking quickly but realising Vita wasn't able to maintain full speed and slowed his own pace. The air gradually became stagnant, then quickly became foul-smelling the closer they got to whatever was chasing their friend. Something glinted on the ground and Riku slid to a halt to examine it and pick it up. "One of her gauntlets." Sure enough, the obsidian blades were unmistakable. "We have to hurry!" And he took off again, the smell beginning to burn his nostrils. Were they heading towards a bog?
"You don't wanna eat me! I taste bad! I'll be all gamy and stringy!" It was Raven's voice. They were close.
XXXXX
"Please don't eat me!" Raven shouted, her remaining gauntlet was stabbed into the ground, and she was clinging to it desperately as the horrific monster had laced one of its tendrils around her leg and was tugging. Why did she have to drop the other one? Stupid!
The putrid mass of vines and teeth gave a sharp tug, causing the claw marks on her waist to stretch painfully. Her hands slipped from the only anchor she had. She was dragged across the dirt before being lifted up high above the gaping maw, its purple tongue lolling out and dripping a horrendous saliva that made the undergrowth wilt. The smell alone nearly knocked her out.
"You don't wanna eat me! I taste bad! I'll be all gamy and stringy!" She struggled, dangling by one leg she tried to reach up to grasp the vine that had captured her ankle, but the foul odour meant the motion of curling against gravity made her incredibly dizzy, so she resorted to kicking it with her free leg, but the vine wasn't budging. It had a blue head with leafy teeth to this and three other tendrils, the one around her ankle had anchored by latching onto itself after three loops, making it nigh impossible to undo without severing. Or burning! She held her hands close to each other and felt the heat generating but it fizzled out. "No!" Was this it's doing?
She was waiting to be lowered into the giant maw of the monster when out of the surrounding shrubbery, Vita made a mighty leap and performed a diving kick straight into one of its glowing yellow eyes. Putting the full weight of her body and all the force she could currently muster into the blow, after it had connected, she sprung back, landing on her other foot, before turning and kicking it again, while it was hopefully surprised by the pain. She certainly hoped it was, because all this stopping and starting put tremendous g-forces upon her brain. Shortly after delivering the second kick, he wobbled a bit, leg still out. Completely dazed. The adrenaline was about the only thing keeping her conscious at all, now.
The monster howled in pain and rage, thrashing at the unexpected blow. Its painful roar emitted more if the noxious vapour.
"Whoaaaoaa!" With the hold on her leg tight still, she flopped around the air as it failed its arms. There was a flash of something silver, yellow, and blue and Raven felt herself fly free, the momentum from the thrashing creature launching her away. She didn't have time to reorient herself and prepared for impact. But when it came, it was significantly softer than she anticipated. Opening one eye, she saw why. "Riku!?" He had caught her mid-air, acting as a shock absorber.
"About time I found you, what mess have you got into?" He scolded but his expression was one of relief. He handed her the gauntlet he'd picked up. "Think you'll be needing this." He stood up and brandished his demon wing sword. Getting over her moment of surprise, she untangled the severed head and vine that was still around her ankle, donned the gauntlet and stood. Seeing she was alright and ready to fight, Riku leapt into action charging at the Heartless and battling one of its unsevered tendrils. Scanning the area, she located her other gauntlet on the other side of the monster. It was still recovering from its partial blinding, now was her chance. She sprinted towards the black blades, grabbing it by the handle and taking up her own stance.
"Vita! You okay?" She called over to her friend, concerned, as she charged in to where the traveller stood, putting her back against hers so she could defend as the creature regained its composure and roared terribly. Raven choked on the smell. "I think this thing blocks certain abilities; I couldn't cast Fire against it."
"Hoo... I gotta take all this spinning and jumping a little easier." Coming back to her senses, Vita pulled back her leg and set it back on the ground. Oddly, she had been stiff as stone, but now she swayed a bit. She didn't seem like she'd fall over, but it was certainly strange.
This did not seem to impede her from turning aside one of its tendrils as it swung for her head. She planted her feet firmly, caught the edge of it with and open palm, and simply nudged it high enough that it missed the both of them, the thick appendage colliding with a not-too-distant tree with enough force to shake its entire trunk, and splinter the bark on contact.
The martial artist wrinkled her nose at the vile stench of the creature, something she hadn't noticed in her mad dash to interrupt it. "What in the world is this thing? It looks like plant life, but... it's unnatural... like some kind of bad fever dream come to life!"
"It's a Heartless!" Raven replied, pointing to the symbol emblazoned between its haunting yellow eyes. "I've never seen one this big before." Another tendril came barrelling towards them, Raven nudged Vita aside so that it shot past her, and she brought her claws down on top of the leafy head, not quite severing as the blades sank into the 'flesh' and lodged. "Oh no!" The momentum pulled her forwards, and it threw her aside with a whip-like movement.
Meanwhile Riku was on the back foot, redirecting and parrying any that came near him. "It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't stink!" He grimaced, slashing one of the tendrils it used to move the bulbous mass about. It howled again and more noxious vapor poured from its maw, making Riku recoil and cover his eyes, staggering at the burning sensation of spores in his eyes.
"It's a plant, so cut along the grain!" Vita shouted, woefully unable to take advantage of this idea for herself as she, too, was assailed. She was able to fight them off with careful strikes, but they were clearly not even dealing appreciable damage. Seeing both of her allies rendered prone by the 'Heartless' creature, she grabbed the next vine-like tendril aimed at her and grabbed it with both arms, clutching it to her chest.
With a mighty wrench, she pulled hard enough to nearly tear the limb off - but she succeeded in taking the creature off-balance, buying the others a second to recover. This unfortunately had two major consequences for her. First, she was already nearing her limit and a sustained effort like that wasn't doing her any favours. And second, it had gotten the monster's attention focused entirely on her. And it was livid.
As another dizzy spell took her sight and strength, the damaged tendril desperately squirmed free of her grasp and knocked her to the forest floor. Then she saw the creature's maw. It was still some distance away, but she hadn't counted on it spewing forth noxious fumes, and she had no way of moving out of it. Whatever these spores were, breathing them in hurt - fire might've been preferable. The stinging brought her back to clarity, but as she made to scramble out of the poisonous fog, she found herself unable to move, her body simply not obeying her.
Muscles and nerves failing, barely able to breathe through the choking, and barely any strength left to martial, she wasn't really able to do much as it used one of its limbs to toss her into the air, and another to swat her out of it, and directly into that damn tree. Not content with that, it swung at her again before she even had time to fall.
"Vita!" Recovering from her ride on the vine, Raven saw Vita getting thrown like a rag doll, but also saw Riku swatting blindly at the tendrils around him, trying to make his way out of the cloud. She was torn and panicked. 'What do I do? What can I do?' Seeing the second hit on Vita, Raven's instincts took over and she sprinted towards her friend, thankfully avoiding the spores' radius this time. "Leave her alone!" She leapt up and as Vita had said, raked her claws along the grain of the latest attacking vine, guarding with her other, but unable to catch Vita.
Shredding one of its limbs however, granted its ire on Raven instead now, the one she was parrying, changing direction and whipping around to hit her in the back and fling her into the air, where it's putrid tongue shot out at far greater speed than its vines had, and struck her full in the stomach, latching on it then pulled her straight down into the ground, the saliva and the vapor coming off of it burning her skin and throat. It raised her up, the sticky appendage suckered onto her middle, and she weakly tried to cast fire again, but again, the sparks fizzled. She instead stabbed the prehensile muscle, making the creature incensed as it started thrashing her around more violently. 'I think I'm gonna puke'.
Riku had finally made his way out of the spores and blearily blinked his vision back, and saw Vita ahead of him, using the monster's distraction to run over to where she'd landed and pull her arm around his shoulders. "We gotta get to cover. Can you stand?"
"...Ugh. Yeah, I still... huh?" She held up a hand, pulling it into a fist and then moving her fingers. "I was paralyzed a second ago, but... what is it about this thing's breath?"
Accepting Riku's aid for just a moment, Vita caught sight of Raven being swung around. "Get... get ready to catch her, alright?!" Patting him on the back, she broke off from him, eyes following the movement of the abomination's tongue for just a moment, before she leapt in front of one of its sweeping motions, between Raven and the creature's main body. Raising both hands, she caught the middle of the poisonous thing between her fists, driving them together like a machine press, flattening the flesh and nearly punching a hole in it.
Needless to say, the monster was quite unhappy with being given a surprise barbell piercing. Its vines reached up and swatted Vita aside with frightful vehemence - though in the process, its grip on Raven was loosed, flinging her away.
Now the monster recoiled, sparing them its wrath for a scant moment, during which Vita crashed into the sharp brush. She stood up quickly, but was covered in small cuts, and her knuckles burned from bare contact with the creature's saliva. She counted herself fortunate that it had panicked instead of simply breathing on both of them while they were in the line of fire. Still, she trudged out of the bushes, breathing heavily, but surprisingly not dead for the sheer abuse she had taken in quick succession.
"This thing's getting my blood flowing!"
Having heeded Vita's words, Riku kept a laser focus on Raven, jumping up to grab her arm and pull her down as she was flung into the air, putting his other arm under her. "You okay?" He asked putting her down but dragging her behind a large tree and signalling to Vita to do the same.
"A little woozy, but I'll be okay. Ugh that thing's scent is on me." She peeked around the tree. "We should go for it now, while it's staggered." She made to leave the cover of the tree, but Riku's hand on her shoulder held her back.
"You need to recover. Stay put." His tone left no room for argument, and he shoved a potion bottle into her hand. As he ran out from the cover, able to cast Fire at a longer range than Raven could and staying out of the monster's range for its breath. He was still susceptible to the tendrils but without the spores blinding him, he could duck and weave with ease. He wasn't kidding when he said he preferred speed. Small fireballs soon littered the air, zoning in on the creature's main body, although it had enough sense to block these, the flames still charred it's extremities and one of its chomping heads made the mistake of biting one, setting itself ablaze. It was clear fire was prudent against this foe, but Riku was a novice with magic still and was quickly becoming sluggish as he sacrificed his speed and agility for more mana.
'A weakness. I need to find a weakness. Fire's no good if I can't get close enough to use it.' Raven wracked her brain as she used large leaves from nearby plants to wipe the excess saliva off of her so it would stop causing welts and blisters and she could heal herself.
Tiring of getting singed, the creature swung its heavy tendrils in Riku's direction, making large swipes to try and keep him off-balance. Belching out another cloud of noxious gas and poisonous spores, it buried one of its tendrils in the earth, racing towards Riku from under the ground. The dirt cracked and rose visibly, and slowed the appendage's progress, but the vile cloud made it harder to track its movement.
When it reached far enough to get under Riku's feet, the monster's tendril burst forth, striking up from under the ground at him, scattering dust and chunks of earth before retreating swiftly. As it performed its subterranean assault, the monster's main body lurched closer to the silver-haired boy, attempting to blast another cloud of its horrible breath at him now that it had closed some distance. In all this, Vita had tried punching it from behind. It didn't feel like her strikes were really impacting it much. It would take a real coup de grace to put it down, it seemed like. Knocked down by the attack from below, Riku couldn't escape the doubly dose of spores and his eyes were immediately assaulted, making him oblivious to the strike coming from above which slammed down onto his back and winded him, raising up for another strike as a second limb had already landed its own blow.
Watching this as she waited for the potion to finish its work, Raven could feel herself panicking again. Her friends were in danger because of her blunder. She smacked her head. 'C'mon think, think! A weakness. How to find a weakn-' She retreated behind the tree and took a breath, closing her eyes. She had to steady her breathing. Opening her eyes, she looked around the tree again, only this time, her view was slightly different. Two orbs of light were attached to her friends' chests and in the centre of them was a giant black mass, dripping continuously, hovering right between the monster's eyes. Looking back to her immediate surroundings, she saw a trickle of sap leaking out of the tree she was hiding behind. Sap was flammable.
Gripping her claw handles tightly, now fully rejuvenated, she used the creature's vendetta on Riku to her advantage and ran out, around the edge of the clearing and came in at an angle so as to avoid the clouds of spores. She darted almost gracefully between the flailing vines, almost to its main body. A stray limb caught her in the face, knocking her rolling to the side, but she bit her lip so as not to alert the creature she was anything more than a log. Scrambling to her feet, she sprinted through the brief opening and leapt up onto the spiny back of their foe and, balancing precariously, ignited a ball of fire between her hands and divided it, using the flames to ignite the sap that coated her claws gave her two fiery weapons she could begin assailing the creature with. Slashing the smaller headed tendril before it could round on her, she destroyed the leafy head, moving on to repeatedly stab the creature's crown of spines, weakening it so that her target could be reached, almost digging into it.
With it now fully distracted by its food dancing on its head and burning into it, it ceased its assault on Riku, leaving him groaning on the jungle floor, trying to crawl away blindly.
Raven grabbed hold of the last remaining headed tendril as it flailed, letting it carry her around until it provided the perfect upward momentum for her to fly up into the air and upon descending, she pointed her claws down and began spinning, the red flames on her claws spreading and becoming a brilliant blue colour, yet they didn't harm her at all. Faster and faster, she spun, corkscrewing directly on the emblem and while she was met with resistance, the twirling only grew faster until she pierced it, igniting the whole creature as she blasted through it, opening her arms out to tear it to shreds, its shrieks of pain fading as it collapsed, and a sparkling pink heart rose into the sky.
Having leapt back as she saw the approaching blaze, once Vita was sure the creature had been reduced to nothing, she wasted no time falling onto her back, sighing in relief. Whatever it was, it was dead now. She tried to sit up, but the adrenaline was wearing off, and she found it easier said than done. Wearily pulling herself back up, she managed it after a bit of struggle. "Man, that was nuts. I didn't think there was anything alive that could take on all three of us at once and nearly win..."
Granted, she knew little of Riku's abilities prior to this, but from how Raven spoke of him, and just from his appearance, Vita could tell right away that he was no slouch. And yet, they were still so hard-pressed... her exhaustion and hunger were transient problems. 'I suppose I need more training after all.'
"...Do you guys know what that thing was?" She paused, trying not to sound accusatory. After all, it had attacked Raven. "It had some kind of symbol on its body. It wasn't any more native to this world than you or me, I think..."
"Urgh, it was a Heartless. And a big one. I don't think it was one of Maleficent's." It was Riku who replied shakily getting to his feet and rolling his shoulder.
The last flames died out around Raven, and she looked at her arms and hands bewildered before falling to her knees and then down onto her stomach, exhausted. Riku stumbled over to her and knelt down next to her.
"She's... Sleeping? No just exhausted." Seeing she wasn't hurt, he relaxed into a sitting position. "How are you holding up?"
"I~~~~'ve been better~!" Vita gave a somewhat-strained laughed, suppressing the groan of pain from the bruises forming all over, acid-burned palms, muscle fatigue, hunger pangs, and the literal poison in her system. "...Got any more of that healing juice you could spare?"
She looked over at Raven. No doubt she was exhausted, but that was a little odd. Whatever she'd just unleashed, it was likely a power beyond her current limits, attained from desperation and the rush of battle. There was some kind of strength sleeping within her. What strange friends they'd made today...
"I should have one left." He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a bottle of the green liquid. "Idiot forgot to bring any of her own. Well maybe this will have got it into her head." He muttered leaning over to give the potion to Vita. "I'll give her a few more minutes but we can't stay here. Who's to say there aren't more heartless nearby. Usually one means more." He stretched his arms above his head, a satisfying click coming from the decompression.
"Oh, right. You wanted to know what they are. Well Heartless are what happens when a person loses their heart or gives in to the Darkness. They're like a rogue heart running around with nothing but negative emotions fuelling it. Most of them are just a nuisance but easily controlled if you're strong enough but that one was..." He shook his head, still not quite believing how powerful it had been. And how weak he was by comparison. If he had been on his own, he would be dead. If they'd not found Raven when they did, she could be dead. He didn't like that notion.
Hesitating a little, Vita chugged about half... maybe two-thirds of the potion, before thrusting it back into Riku's hands. "Drink the rest yourself or split it with her, then. I'm not the only one who took a beating. ...People who gave in to the darkness, huh?"
The realization that this was possible visibly weighed on the young traveller. "Then what we just took down... was probably what was left of some poor soul. And that could happen to anyone who encounters 'Darkness', huh? Is that the swelling force hiding beneath the worlds' faces? This strange undercurrent..."
'Maybe there's something I can do about it? Or is it arrogant to think one person could really fight against such a thing?'
He finished off the bottle. Raven had managed that last feat relatively unscathed. The bitter liquid soothed his throat and aching bones.
"If they fell to the Darkness, what we did was the best thing for them. Whoever it was, they weren't in there. Darkness can be useful, but only if you're wary enough to not be consumed." He sat forward and gently shook Raven's shoulder. "C'mon, you've gotta wake up now." She groaned and swatted at him. She was fine. He persistently nudged and prodded her until she accepted her fate and sat up.
"Okay, okay. I'm up." She looked at her hands again, checking for any sign of burns or a change. "What... Was that?"
"No idea, but it helped us out in the nick of time." Riku had stood and offered his hand, pulling her to her feet.
Vita quietly sighed with relief. 'Glad she was zonked out for that part. I dunno if she's ready to think about dilemmas like... mortality.'
With her body back in... semi-decent shape, she stood up, only to immediately almost collapse again from the anaemia. She really needed to hurry up and find something more substantial to eat. 'I should find some medicinal plants, too. Whatever those drinks were, they did fix up my wounds, but I think I'll want some salve anyway. My hands sting like crazy.'
"If you're awake, let's get the heck outta here - I wouldn't wanna run into another of those things. Let's make for the treehouse and camp out there for a bit." She ambled over back the way they came, stopping to lean on a tree and catch her breath. Thankfully, it seemed to be around early afternoon. This whole affair had taken fairly little time, and they were in no danger of losing the light.
Raven hurried over and put Vita's arm around her shoulders. "It'll be less strain if you let me help." Vita nodded in thanks - she wasn't going to let herself be dead weight, but the support was appreciated. With Raven's help, she was able to move at a consistent, if not fast pace.
The trio meandered through the Jungle at a semi-decent pace all things considered. Riku had spotted some figs high in the trees and showcased he was significantly more capable of vine swinging than Raven in order to reach them.
"I think it's the smell from that thing, but it's leaving a weird aftertaste at the back of my throat." Raven commented as they started the steady incline.
"Well, I boiled and strained some water this morning. There should still be some left in my flask. Hopefully it didn't burst in the fight... well, guess I'd know if it had. You're welcome to a drink. You too, Riku. I'll just boil more when I put up a campfire."
"You're going to have a rest. We can make a fire." Raven scolded half seriously. The trip up to the treehouse was a lot shorter now they knew where it was. Raven set Vita down in some remains of a sail so it was at least marginally more comfortable than the floor. There seemed to be an old fireplace from when the structure was habitable and Raven set about gathering dry debris while Riku went out to look for more food. He was the quickest so any trouble, he could come straight back. Remembering this time, Raven created a bright flame and got the fire going a lot quicker with magic. One of the many pulley systems attached to a water supply which meant she at least didn't need to leave Vita to get replacement water.
"C'mon, no need to baby me that much. I didn't break anything." Even so, Vita relaxed on the strip of cloth that constituted her bedding right now. It'd been a while since she'd been able to leave things up to anyone else - traveling alone had its downsides. Breathing a little easier, the young wandered reclined, listening to the wind whistling through the trees, and the distant sound of waves lapping upon the shore. "...Thanks, though. Hehe."
Glancing at Riku, however, she felt compelled to ask. "Hey, uh, you two were supposed to go somewhere else for training, or work, or on-the-job training, weren't you? Are you gonna be okay, spending so much time here?"
"We should be okay. I did what she wanted and the mission she was sending us on was more so we could get used to other worlds. Even if it wasn't intentional, I'd say we got plenty of experience in survival here. If it had been one of her real errands, I would've taken off as soon as I found this idiot. Maleficent may be giving us food and shelter but she's not a patient woman." Riku was preparing some more fruits he'd found, dividing them equally and handing them out.
"I shall suffer no fools!" Raven imitated as she watched the boiling water bubble. "She's very strict. Hopefully she'll understand it was just a mishap with the teleportation magic."
"It wasn't a mishap, you jumped out before we landed!" Riku accused.
"I thought I was going to puke!" She defended.
"Magic seems kinda dangerous, huh?" Vita mused aloud. "I guess I can't be too jealous of you two for learning it, then. Plus, this teacher of yours seems like a real taskmaster. Then again, I guess the monks were pretty harsh with me during training, too..."
She thought back to the lengthy exercises she'd had to do - maintaining a stance for ever-increasing durations, practicing every move hundreds of times, striking unyielding dummies with bare hands... Yeah, training for any kind of discipline was tough, it seemed like.
Of course, thinking back to it made her want to get up and do some exercise - but the twinge in her back told her to stay put for now. "...The second I'm back to fighting-fit, I'm hunting up a feast. I could eat a whale right about now."
"I can go hunting!" Raven piped up. She seemed excited at the prospect. "I mean it was my fault that leopard got away, and I ate one of your fish earlier. I'd like to prove I'm not a total dunce." She gave Riku the side-eye. "Besides, I am a hunter. I'll be sure not to go too far!" And before anyone could object, she ran out of the treehouse and towards the jungle.
"If she gets in trouble, I'm not saving her again." Riku said flatly, taking over on the water boiling.
"I don't think you'll have to." Vita said, mostly confident. She waited until Raven was definitely out of earshot before adding, "Why do I get the feeling you totally would, though?"
His ears turned slightly pink.
"She has to learn to get out of things herself, otherwise I'll have to swoop in every time." He sighed. "It's our first outing and she's found trouble this quickly. I just don't want it to become a regular thing, that's all."
"Heh, I get it, I get it. I'd want my friends to be able to look out for themselves, too." She chuckled to herself, trying not to laugh too hard. "I'm sure you floundered a bit when you first started traveling, didn't you? I was the same way - got found half-dead on the road."
She reminisced briefly on that time. Nearly dead because she hadn't thought to bring water. She'd had to learn how to hunt for food, cook, prepare safe drinking water etc.
"We were building a raft to sail to other worlds. Before the islands disappeared and I landed in Hollow Bastion. Knowing how it works now, we wouldn't have made it. That piece of driftwood would have sunk or broken, or we would've run out of food. Looking back, we were so stupid. But there's no use dwelling on it. I have to use what I now know to find Sora and Kairi. Then we can go on adventures like we promised." He seemed both melancholy and determined, giving Vita the now full water skin.
"How'd it happen to you?" He asked, prodding the flames.
"Oh, how'd I leave? I took the train to the last stop and started walking into the forest, since there were no roads. And I just kept walking. I dunno if a raft would've been better or worse, honestly. But y'know, I think I get it - the open sea is a romantic idea! Who wouldn't wanna sail on a vessel of their own?" Leaning back, Vita stared at the dusty ceiling of the makeshift treehouse. Nobody had been cleaning this place, that much was plain to see, but that didn't stop the more daring creatures from coming and going. Despite being abandoned, there was life in this place.
"I'm sorry you got separated from your friends. Still, I'm sure you're gonna cross paths sooner or later!" She gave him a friendly bump on the shoulder. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, too - but he left town before I did. Hey, if you run into a twiggy li'l guy named Aleri, you gotta tell me about it! Promise? And if I see your friends, I'll let you know."
"Thanks. I'm not sure we'd be able to contact you but if we bump into him, we'll point him your way." He returned the friendly bump, if a little awkwardly.
XXXXX
It wasn't much longer until Raven returned carrying a decent sized deer-looking creature with stripes on its haunches. Looking at the carcass, it was clear it's death was quick, dealt by an experienced Hunter.
"Poor thing was limping. Lucky I found it before something else did." She said, putting it down near the fire. Noticing the wide eyes that Riku was displaying, she asked "You guys aren't squeamish are you?"
"Nah - even if I were, I'm not in the mood to turn down a meal. Though, how are we gonna cook this thing? Spit roast the whole animal?" Vita shrugged at their predicament. She'd largely only caught smaller animals for food, since she couldn't carry much with her.
She gestured to her knapsack, laying a short distance away. "I've got a small hunting knife in there. It's not much, but, uh... there's a lot we gotta do to prepare the meat, and our hands don't cut it."
Rising slowly from the floor, Vita did a couple of stretches to assess her condition. As the others could tell by her grimace, still not great. However, "I think I can at least do a little work. And the sooner it's done, the sooner I get some protein in me."
"I'm not squeamish, I've uh... Only really dealt with fish. That's all."
"That's okay, Riku, you can set up a spit and me and Vita will carve it up. Roasting the whole thing will take forever but a couple of legs and some of the meatier bits of the body will feed us plenty and not take too long to cook. Plus, a bit less preparation." She positioned the carcass and started framing it up with her thumb. "Anything left over you can take your pick of Vita and the rest we'll give back to the jungle. I'd hate to waste such a fine beast but there's no need for us to take it back with us." Seeing her claws would butcher the butchery, she turned to Riku, who'd started looking for good sticks to make a spit. "Can I borrow your sword, Riku? I need to cut the pieces off before we start skinning. Otherwise, we'll be here all day skinning the whole thing." He seemed reluctant to have his new weapon used as a carving knife, but he was very hungry and so summoned the demon blade and handed it to her and she set about sawing off one of the uninjured legs.
By the time they'd managed all the messy work, cooking the meat they could and returning the rest to the forest (as well as cleaning up the area - it wouldn't do to have the scent of blood attract more predators) the sun was beginning to set.
Fortunately, it seemed Riku's sword was self-cleaning - Vita noticed that when he returned it to... wherever it came from, vanishing into nothing, the grime and blood simply fell to the floor. It was reassuring to know that the 'Heartless' creature's unique aroma would not be added to their meal by accident.
The group had found a ladder to the roof but agreed that it would be too much strain to actually all go up there - so instead they opted for sitting on the second-floor balcony to eat their food and keep watch for a while. There was something goofy about them munching on gamey meat and watching the sky turn crimson. Perhaps it was the combination of the romantic setting, and the mundane, very un-romantic thing they were doing.
"...Man, there's nothin' better than a hard-earned meal, after all we went through." Vita gave a relaxed sigh, sitting cross-legged, with her back resting on the outer wall. She wanted to sit on the edge but had immediately met with pushback on that. At least she'd talked them into getting her up the stairs in the first place for a better view. "On an easier day, this food could really use some oregano or somethin', but from where I'm sitting now, it's the tastiest thing I ever had. Y'know what I mean?"
"Well, you seem a lot better now you've eaten. You really should've said, I wouldn't have eaten your fish." Raven smiled, tearing a chunk of meat off the bone she was holding. She'd taken her gloves off, so the grime didn't spoil her meal. "At the guild, big roasts like this are marinated in the chef's secret mix and then basted constantly during roasting. So tender it practically falls apart in your hands." She closed her eyes dreamily, reminiscing about home.
"We mostly eat fish on the islands, I don't think I've ever had meat from a creature that big before. It sure is tasty, I kinda like it plain like this." Riku had also taken his gloves off so as not to get Heartless stank in the food.
"Victory is the greatest spice! Or so they say. Something like that." Vita managed to say in between bites. It was true, she already looked somewhat healthier - though that was probably more because she was relieved to be avoiding starvation, and good company.
Staring into the shining red ocean, golden rays glimmering on the waves, she was briefly hypnotized by the sight. "...To be honest, I should've taken the time to catch more fish. But even before you showed up, I had a feeling I shouldn't hang around in one place too much." The monk tore off another chunk, wondering about the texture of the meat Raven described.
She once again made a mental note to pick up some herbs or spices when she got the chance, just thinking about trying to achieve a culinary wonder after a harsh journey. Seemed like that might be the key to true bliss. Swallowing her bite, she continued her musings out loud.
"See, at first I thought it was just because there were wild animals stalking the jungle, and I might've been lookin' like fresh prey. And when you showed up, Raven, the feeling got stronger. It seems like it might've been the Heartless making me so restless. Still," She smiled, wiping off her chin with one hand. "I don't think I coulda left you there alone."
"You make it sound like I attracted that thing." She pouted.
"You have caused quite a bit of trouble in the week or so since I met you." Riku put in. "You got lost in the castle and nearly went into a barred off area, you got separated on our first trip off world, then got separated from Vita and got lost in the Jungle a second time, running into a giant out of control Heartless. I miss anything?" She had gradually sunk lower and lower on the floor as he listed the incidents off on his hand, hiding her face behind the joint of meat she was eating.
"Please don't remind me." She groaned.
"I'm just saying, your track record isn't great so far." He leaned back, lacing his hands behind his head and sighing. "Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Guess I am just Maleficent's glorified babysitter for you."
"Hey! I don't need a babysitter! Besides, you're only, what, a year older at most? Don't patronise me!" She reprimanded, but it seemed to be entertaining the silver haired boy.
"Clumsy too. Banged your head your first day, rolling into a waterfall cliff." There was a smug smirk on his features, his eyes closed.
"As I recall, I won that race and the little duel we had after."
"Only because of a cheap shot."
"It was an accident!"
"Exactly. You're a klutz." It seemed he got great amusement from teasing her and she was easy enough to irritate, so eager to please and leave good impressions.
'Out of control' Heartless? Is he saying those things can even be controlled? I kinda doubt it...' Vita snapped down a sinewy morsel, watching them banter back and forth. For a guy carrying such a scary-looking sword, he seemed like he was pretty chill. His earlier brusqueness had just been because he was worried, huh?
"Eager to figure out the pecking order, huh? Wanna have a quick contest- oof, ouch, ow, never mind." She held back a laugh. Even if she was in better condition, she was more interested in the contest than the results. They seemed like good opponents, and good people. Today had been a good day for meeting new people.
Distracted from her companion's antics, Raven turned back to Vita and smiled, looking hopeful.
"Well, hey, maybe not right now, but if we ever end up on that Colosseum world you were talking about, we can duke it out there? When we're all on top form." She put her hand to her chin. "Although, in your condition, I can't in good conscience leave you in a place like this... Riku?" She turned back to him with a pleading look in her eyes.
"We can't take her with us." He said flatly, the brusqueness coming back. "Maleficent is already going to be furious with us, there's no way she'll take in another person, even temporarily. Besides, we do have a job to do you know." He folded his arms, punctuating that his word was final.
"Couldn't we at least drop Vita off somewhere better?"
"Oh, you suddenly know how to teleport, do you?" He retorted.
"Pffft, I can take care of myself!" Vita flexed a battered, but stable, arm. "I didn't push myself to the limit or anything, I'll recover in a bit. Did you know that's how your muscles get stronger? The fibres get torn from use, and your body regrows them using the protein that you eat, and it builds them back tougher than before. And meat's full of the stuff. Tomorrow, I'll be stronger than I was today, and so will you two."
She snickered at the pain that was gradually growing duller. "...Of course, I don't think bruises make you tougher when they heal or anything. But my point is, with a little R&R, I can make it outta here just fine. Still... I would kinda like to see how you budding magicians get around." A bit of that gleam of wonderment returned to her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sure it's great to watch." Raven scoffed. "But actually, teleporting is horrible. Spinning uncontrollably and you can't breathe properly but if you open your mouth you'll probably throw up!"
"Calm down, you're over exaggerating." Riku sighed, rolling his eyes. "You get used to it." He leaned forward to speak to Vita. "It is uncomfortable, but she's just being dramatic." He jabbed his thumb at Raven, and she folded her arms in a huff.
The monk just shrugged, scratching her shin with her free hand. "Lotta spinning, huh? I wonder why it's like that. I figure, you'd have to keep your orientation when you're moving, right? How do you know you're going the right way?"
"We don't! That's what's so infuriating! Maleficent controls it so we just spin until we land wherever she picked."
"Or jump out early and land in completely the wrong location."
"Will you let that go!? I'm sorry, okay!?"
"You don't even have control over where you land? Geez, count me outta that." Vita sighed. Well, not like she had much control of where she was headed, beyond picking a direction, but at least she was confident she could head back in the same general direction to retrace her steps. "I think I prefer taking it the long way to getting shot into whatever direction someone else wants me to go."
"It might be different if and when she teaches us how to teleport ourselves, but that's pretty advanced magic. And we only just learned Fire." Raven reasoned, looking at her hand, feeling the warmth but not encouraging it to flame.
"She probably won't teach us until she's sure we won't just run off somewhere. Wants to make sure her investment is profitable." Riku said bitterly. He pulled out a small black bead from his pocket. "She gave me this to return us to Hollow Bastion once our task was complete. It won't send us anywhere else. I had to use it to let her know you didn't land with me. She's not happy but I think she'll let it slide this once. Just make sure you don't freak out again, I don't want to have to hold onto you. And I'm not taking the fall for you." He put the bead away and folded his arms. Rather than reacting defensively again, Raven seemed dejected.
"I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." But he nudged her comfortingly.
"Save it for Maleficent. I know you didn't mean for things to turn out this way." He kept his gaze on the horizon, but his words had comforted her somewhat.
"Just hold hands until you land until you're sure you can handle it alone." Vita suggested, blunt as could be. A silly grin spread across her face. "Or are you more embarrassed to hold hands with the opposite sex than getting chewed out by your boss?"
Both of them blushed. Riku more subtly, only the tips of his ears turning pink, but he didn't respond or break his gaze with the horizon. Raven on the other hand seemed to get a little flustered.
"Oh, no, we're not embarrassed! I mean, we're a bit old to worry about silly things like holding hands." She seemed more embarrassed by Vita's phrasing than by the actual act of holding hands with a boy.
Riku planted his hand on his face exasperatedly.
Vita just cackled as Raven tried to explain herself. She had to take a couple of wheezing breaths afterwards from how hard she'd been laughing. "I'm just messing with you a little. Still, try anything you can think of to make things work better for you. Sometimes the key to improvement isn't forcing yourself, it's adjusting things to suit you. Hard work is important, but you gotta work smart, too, am I right?"
"I suppose that's true. I'm still finding my feet in this new life and navigating around Maleficent's temper is... Experimental at best. Maybe I can work out something with her though. I just hope she won't take me off these expeditions because of this."
"If anything, she might just slow it down a bit." The monk bobbed a bit from side to side as she sat, taking bites whenever she wasn't speaking. "When I hurt myself trying to do some really advanced stuff, everyone at the temple pumped the brakes on my training a little. Back to basics for a month for me... but I needed it anyway."
Raven smiled a little and chuckled to herself. "My Master used to say 'Even an expert benefits from the basics. They're the foundations of a strong stance. Without a strong foundation, the rest topples.'" She puffed out her chest and put on a deep voice as she mimicked him, waving the bone around pointedly as she spoke.
"Pretty much exactly what the monks told me, too." Vita thought back to the hours of exercise - keeping the horse stance for longer and longer times, striking dummies, the balancing acts... all building towards a stronger self. "I guess any martial art is like that, huh? Riku, you didn't have a teacher or anything, what's your take on all this?"
He rested one hand on his knee, stretching the other leg out.
"Me? Nothing fancy like that, I just sparred on the beach with my friends. Sora gave me the most trouble but the others... Well let's just say I didn't have much of a challenge."
"I was the first 'real' fight you had then, right? And Maleficent did say I was supposed to help you train so does that make me your teacher?" She prodded him with the bone.
"No way, we're training partners that's all." He swatted her away. "You're not my mentor and anyway I'm technically the senior."
"Senior who got his butt whooped." She muttered.
"Point is, I didn't have any training. Just playing knights one day became sparring matches and contests. Eventually even having everyone gang up on me wasn't a challenge." He held out the hand resting on his knee and summoned the demon wing blade, examining it in the sun's fading rays. "I guess I have a natural skill, holding a sword just feels right."
With her bone completely picked clean, Vita indelicately set it on the floor next to her. "Well, just don't let it make you too cocky to improve yourself. Keep on climbin' if you wanna reach the peak!"
Riku still held his sword out to the sunset, a determined look in his eyes. "I know I haven't reached my potential yet. But I'll get stronger and stronger. I'll find Sora and Kairi and I'll be able to protect them both. We won't be separated again." His words were passionate yet there was something underlying his vow. Raven couldn't place it, but it felt off. She put it out of her mind, thinking it was probably just tiredness. After all, she would feel the same if their roles were reversed.
She stood up, stretched, and yawned; her muscles having become stiff. "We should probably get back soon. I can't put it off forever." Riku vanished his sword and stood up too, clicking his back. "Are you sure you'll be alright getting around on your own, Vita? It feels like we're stranding you."
Tensing her muscles again to assess their state, Vita gave an especially noncommittal shrug. "It's not like I can't leave this place. I'll just rest up until I'm strong again, and then set out. Even if an animal or Heartless comes, I should be able to take them down without much trouble. Besides, I made it to this world by myself, I'll leave it that way as well."
It was true that she wasn't in the best of shape, but one night of rest would be enough for her to be ready to continue her journey. Even if it wasn't, it would be enough for her to easily hunt for food on her own, and as long as she wasn't incapacitated, she could recover. It was strange that anyone could be so chipper after being savagely bludgeoned by a writhing monster, but her constitution was deceptively hardy.
"As long as you're sure, I trust your judgment." The dark-haired girl beamed at her new friend and held her hand out to shake. "I guess this is goodbye for now, Vita. It was so great meeting you, hopefully next time we can be in a less-life threatening situation." She giggled awkwardly.
Riku took the bead out of his pocket and hung back.
"Nice meetin' you two, as well!" The monk grabbed her hand and gave a firm, but gentle shake. She was a little sad to see them go, but she smiled anyway. "Hey, either we meet again in better circumstances, or I get a chance to show you how much I've improved by then! You two better not slack on your training, either, okay?" Vita held out a fist to Riku.
He looked a little taken aback but half-heartedly bumped his unoccupied fist against hers. "Same to you."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure this grump works super hard!" Raven lightly punched Riku's shoulder, grinning. "And we can show you the new magic we learn too!" She stood beside Riku and after a brief hesitation, hooked her arm around his elbow. "Stay safe, you hear?"
And with that, Riku activated the bead, and a flurry of acid green flames engulfed the pair, Raven still waving to Vita until the fire blocked her from view completely. The flames disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, and Vita was alone.
Waving to them as they went, Vita breathed a melancholy sigh once they'd vanished from view. "Guess it's just me now. ...Oh, no, I'm already talking to myself. I'm a goner."
Chuckling to herself, she returned to the interior of the treehouse, setting about hanging a hammock to keep her out of easy reach while she slept. ...Man, place feels a lot bigger all of a sudden.
Shrugging, she finished her work before the sun vanished over the horizon, turning in for the night. She'd set out the next morning for a new world. 'God, I hope there's working plumbing in the next place I end up. I would kill for a shower.'
