A/N: EDIT: Added some more content, though I won't say where. Hope everyone enjoys it!
Here we are, Another speedy update!
Bit of a delay, really, but that just makes the chapter all the longer.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story...and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs with ever increasing hours so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that.
Two jobs keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Now for thine questions, comments, and concerns. We'll keep it brief this time.
Q: Save! Latenna!
A: Hmm? Oh, you mean her...
Q: How fare you in Elden ring?
A: Finally manned up and did the ending. Was pretty good. Still not going into New Journey yet.
I MAY have gotten addicting to beating the Elden Beast. My level's already rocketed into the hundreds.
Q: Is the "Tarnished" around?
A: Make no mistake, they are. As state, their role depends on you, the reader.
Q: Can we expect some new Elden Ring stories, soon?
A: Please don't tempt me. I've got a bunch buzzing in my head. Naruto reborn as Miquella, a young Naruto discovered by Marika/Radagon/Godfrey, a Naruto who takes it upon himself to burn the Lands Between...the list goes on and on. I've actually written them, and the plot bin's driving me mad.
Q: Best girl when?!
A: Ah, but who is best girl in Elden Ring? That title is hotly contested at the moment!
Q: We gonna be getting questlines and characters here?
A: We'll be going through a fair bit of quests, yes. Boc, Alexander and the like, we'll see just about all Elden Ring has to offer...excepting THAT quest.
I'm sure you all know exactly which one I mean.
Haven't touched it yet. And I still won't.
Seriously, it disturbs even me.
Q: Just how done is Melina with Naruto? Methinks she's gonna be properly pissed at him for getting yoinked like that.
A: You thought she was frustrated with him before? Ha! She expected to guide him, direct him...but we all know our favorite blond likes taking his own path. He's going to exasperate her to no end; time will tell if she comes around. Should be fun~!
Alright then, this old man has kept you long enough! I'll let you enjoy this sappy little story.
As ever, I own no quotes references, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one!
Now then, I'll not keep you. Get ready to smile~!
Minor verbatim for ingame dialogue.
"Why would you show such kindness to me...?
"Lemme answer your question with another question. Why not?"
...you are very kind. Would you perhaps grant me the honor of your name...?
~?
Blonds and Broken Things
"Fool of a Tarnished!"
Melina kicked out at a nearby table with a shriek and sent it flying, books and candles all. Near the door, Ensha rewarded her with a flat look for her tantrum. He went summarily ignored. As well he should! Gideon's man could glare at her all day for all she cared, his ire would avail him not a jot! For you see her anger was not directed his way.
She almost wished it were! Things would be so much simpler!
"My lady?" Coryn dared to peek round the corner. "Are you alright? I heard a crash...
Melina glared bloody red daggers at the Prophet and he withdrew. Good man. Wise man. He knew not to mess with an angry woman. Unlike some!
Never in her short life had she been so singularly frustrated by a single being-nay! Utterly confounded by one man, a single soul such as this! Yet here she stood, seething like some churlish child. It galled her to no end. Bad enough that Naruto paid little heed to suggestion or such, bad enough that he seemed content to wander without a worry in the world, BAD ENOUGH that he'd proven himself wholly incapable of doing anything the easy way, but this?
This was too far. Even for her.
ATrish was positively aggrieved at his abrupt disappearance and Roderika feared him dead. He was not of course.
Even now their pact persisted; she could sense him. Which was precisely what alarmed her so.
By the Erdtree, what was he doing in Caelid?
At first she'd thought he was off seek General Radahn but no, he was puttering about the wilds with...with a dragon of all things! It rankled her to no end! T'would be a simple matter to decorporealize herself and go haring after him, but even that would take time. Days perhaps, to track him down. She could hardly teleport to his side at such a distance after all. Even if she could, she would not be able to drag that Tree Sentinel after her so easily, let alone the Spirit Tuner. Their place was at the Roundtable Hold she reasoned, out of sight, out of mind.
Wasn't it?
Her Tarnished did not want for distractions, and as such she would endeavor to keep him on track. She had been crated with a singular task in mind. Nothing more. She knew her purpose. Her goal. Clearly this Tarnished did not know his. Someone would have to beat it into his head, and t'would not be her. He could not save everyone and everything. He'd merely been lucky thus far.
One could only hope Caelid would teach him that lesson.
Melina prayed it would. She shuddered to think what his plans might be.
Who knew what manner of depravity he was getting up to without her guidance?
(.0.0.0.)
"Letch."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever."
Greyroll pursed her lips and glared at his back. "Thou art a knave."
"That's nice." all she received was a halfhearted wave for her efforts. "You're pretty, too."
She hissed. "Do not ignore me, you fiend!"
He still didn't answer her of course, the absolute fiend. Instead he kept right on marching; forcing her to follow him or risk being left behind...left to fend for herself in her weakened state.
As she was know, she knew such would be a death sentence. She was the mother of dragons, and yet in this current fleshy form, her own children scarcely knew her. They did not recognize their matriarch. To linger in her barrow now would surely spell her doom. They would have to fend for themselves for a time until she regained her strength.
Her true form was large and powerful indeed, but she'd not moved for...how long?
Greyroll missed a step. The answer escaped her and the dragoness realized with a bleat of panic that she didn't -couldn't!- recall how long. Many moons had passed since she first found herself entrapped by that wicked witch's rot. A very long time indeed, then. Accursed demigod. Her barrow had been both bountiful and peaceful before she came along. How many children did she lose when that foul flower first bloomed? How many eggs had perished in clutches hence? More than she cared to count.
Wretched Melania. She would suffer when they met again.
In the meantime, she would follow this one. Like her kin Lansseax before her, she would wear this human guise for a time, but only that. A short while. Little more. She would stay with this one until her strength was recovered, and not a moment more. She would not be tricked. She would not be beguiled into falling for a mere mortal as her daughter had with that fool Vyke. Feelings had led Lansseax astray, as all humans oft did. Where had love led her? Nowhere. To madness and despair.
She would not succumb to such!
...you know, if you keep glaring at me like that, you're gonna go blind."
Grrrrr! T'wasn't her fault! She could not feel free without her wings and tail; she dare not conjure them in this fleshy guise for fear of falling over outright. Merely holding this form at all threatened to exhaust her, but she would not consent to ride the fiend's horse. She was a proud warrior. She had no need of a some simple steed! Not she!
"C'mon, now." again his voice rose to mock her for her failure. "You're falling behind. Keep up!" he clapped his hands. "Chop, chop!"
A trickle of fire escaped her clenched teeth. "Whose fault is that?! Thy legs are too long! Thou walketh too fast!"
"And you complain too much." Came the answering titter. "Try smilin' a little!"
Greyroll huffed. Who was he to talk to her as such? She was the mother of dragons. He was just a squishy mortal. A mere Tarnished. T'was his fault she was in this mess! And really, where was he leading her?! He didn't seem to know himself; down, down, down they went, deeper into the Caelid wilds pausing at odd intervals, but never lingering in one place for long. More than once they stumbled upon embattled soldiers facing horrid abominations. The latter he put to the torch. The former he spared. Still he did not stop, even to bask int heir thanks.
After some time, his goal became apparent to her eyes, if only partially.
He was in search of something. Or perhaps someone? Though she knew neither what nor who.
"Why are we wandering, letch?" eventually, she asked him. "This pointless posturing avails you naught."
"Alright, I tried." Here at last, Naruto finally looked over his shoulder, betraying some irritation. "Would you stop calling me a letch? I ain't done a thing to you." He squinted back at her, briefly resembling the mighty beast he housed within. "If anything been perfectly pleasant."
Greyroll's face flamed, even as her horns twitched. "You saw every inch of mine body! You touched!"
"Lady," he countered, with all the exasperation of a parent explaining something to a small child, "I got you out that rot. If not for me you'd still be lying there, wasting away. Cut me some slack."
Hmmph! Slack, he said! She crossed both arms before her bosom. "I would have freed mineself eventually."
"Ho? Is that so?" his tone told her she'd had blundered into an altogether trap, but she for the life of her, she couldn't see where. "Well, if you say so...
Was that his angle? Did he think to impress her with his prowess as dragons had before?
"I will not mate with thee, if that is thine desire."
"Wasn't asking you to!" His right eye began to twitch. "Ya know, I thought a dragon turning into a human would be pretty cool an' all, but you're starting to kill the appeal!"
"Then seek Lansseax if I offend you so." she bared her fangs in a sneer. "But be warned, mine daughter is far less kind than I!"
It was not her kin's fault. Vyke's descent into madness after touching the Frenzied Flame had left little Lansseax quite distraught. Even now she sought a way to cure her beloved Dragon Knight. Silly girl. The only cure for the Three Finger's touch was death. Still a better fate than that of poor Fortissax...
Naruto scoffed. "If this is kind, I'd hate to see a pissed off dragon...
He paused suddenly, touching a hand to his head.
She frowned. "Does something ail thee?"
"Not you." he waved a hand halfheartedly her way. "It this place. There's so much pain in this place." he touched a hand to his temple, gritting his teeth. "So many emotions. Negativity in spaces." those eyes drifted shut, paying her little head. Gotta fix this place. Have to fix it."
Something twitched in the wyrm's heart. It felt like pity. "You are but one man. You can only do so much."
...have you not seen the clones I've been sending out?"
"Mere copies." she'd seen one vanish with a single hit. "They will avail thee naught-where are you looking now?!"
Because his eyes had snapped open suddenly and his head whipped around, startling her terribly. But those wild blue orbs weren't fixed on her. They pivoted, regarding the distant spire of a crumbling church. Narrowed. Then he was off, shooting forth like an arrow loosed from a bow. All that remained was a fading plume of dust.
Greyroll balked. "Wait!
She stumbled after him, cursing her human legs all the while.
"I say, wait!"
He kept running.
"Wait at once, blast thee!"
(.0.0.0.)
There was so much to fix here in the Caelid Wilds.
Too much for one man, certainly. It would taken an army to undo the damage here.
The longer Naruto wandered, the more certain he became of this immutable thought, and in time, thought became fact. And the more he wandered, the more clones he'd sent out, desperate to stem the side of rot and all the pain he felt here. Kill the monsters, save the soldiers, fix what he could, smack down those who wouldn't listen.
Unfortunately in doing so, he'd made a bit of a blunder; one he'd realized too late to correct.
With so many perspectives -dozens, easily- taking in so much as once, his mind was beginning to fray. He experienced it all. Every moment of pain. Every death. Every twisted sight. Creating more to compensate for the deaths of the first wave only made it worse.
Yet still he persisted. He had to. He must.
'If don't, who will?'
"You need to stop. Its only been a day, and already you're reaching your limit. If you don't rest soon, you'll break."
Oddly enough, he felt the ring on his finger pulse in agreement.
"M'fine." he slurred. "Just a little longer...
Limgrave might've had a rotten ruler in the form of Godrick, but at least the landscape itself wasn't actively rotting. Not like this place.
How could he rest when everything around him was suffering?
His senses twisted again, pinpointing another pulse of pain. Numbly, he followed it. There. To the east. Coming from that crumbling church on the hill. He sensed life. Harmless human life. Not mindless or mad like those wild beasts, nor those twisted knights shambling through the swamps. to cut him down like those soldiers.
Faint. Flickering. Fading, like a dying flame.
Really, the Wilds were the worst. Everything-bar a certain surly dragon girl-wanted to kill him!
As he crept closer to the ruined stone edifice, he realized it wasn't quite as abandoned as he'd first surmised. Closer inspection revealed a pair of ghastly guards manning the entrance, spears in hand. They were even more monstrous than those giant hounds.
A small sigh escaped him as he rolled up his sleeves. Blue eyes flashed gold.
"Well," he grumbled, "At least they ain't ghosts...
The pests did not die well.
(.0.0.0.)
The rot burned.
It vibrated in Milicent's veins, seethed in her soul, fouled her very flesh.
Every breath was an agony, the very act of keeping her eyes opened threatened to drain what little life she had left. Even her mind -her last bastion of refuge!- was not spared. Whispers hunted her every waking moment like so many buzzing flies, stealing away even the petty semblance of peace that madness might offer.
Truly, if there was suffering worse than this, she did not wish to experience it.
Worse, she couldn't die, not truly.
Not as she wished.
The Rot prevented even her own demise...for now. It would not grant her the destined death she sought, no matter how much she wished for it. She could only lay and waste away. With each passing hour she felt herself slip further into the abyss. How it burned. How it stung. It would be so easy to give into the whispers. To simply let the Rot out and bloom and bloom until nothing remained. Accursed rot. Why did it have to be her? What had she done to deserve this? Fate denied her even the memory if it. Was it not enough that she'd severed her own arm? How much more would this foul taint take from her...and why was it dark all of a sudden?
Against her better judgement, Milicent looked up.
Bright blue eyes beamed back at her, set within a whiskered face framed by unruly blond hair. Those same cheeks dimpled in a sunny smile; one that was decidedly offset by his haggard appearance.
"Hiiiii~!" the young man chirruped happily. "You alright, there?"
Alright? Her temper stirred and the rot in her rose with hit. Alright?! Of course she wasn't-no, no, no, don't take the bait. No doubt this was another figment of her addled imagination; another specter come to torment her for failures she could no longer remember. Had it chosen the guise of hope this time? She knew not this stranger.
Milicent hung her head, lacking the energy to even shoo him away.
"Please," she croaked. "Leave me me. You're just another hallucination. I shan't be tempted...
She would not give into the rot. She knew not why, only that she shouldn't. She mustn't. The tiny core that was her soul, which had forgotten so much, still remembered the warning she had given her, even now. Sweet though the whispers were, she knew she must never heed them.
Do not bloom, little Millicent. You mustn't bloom. Nay, never bloom.
"Huh." a low chortle reached her ears, cutting into the memory. "Hallucination? That's a new one. Never been called that before?"
A spark of irritation seethed within the rot. With it, came a tiny surge of strength.
"What, still here?" a weak growl tore free form her. "Begone with you!"
"You know, you're being pretty rude." Much to her chagrin, the "hallucination" knelt before her. "I'm just trying ta help...
Did he not understand? Her lips curled in a pained grimace. "I cannot be helped."
He leaned back on his haunches. "I disagree~!"
Still he persisted! She was not having this conversation. She would not speak to this golden ghost...and yet he seemed determined to drag it from her regardless. Had she control of her legs, she would have simply walked away from him. As she was now, she could only turn her head to the side and sulk.
Was this to be her end, then? Tormented by the madness?
"There you are!"
Now what?!
Milicent could no longer raise her head. That brief burst of strength had faded, taking what little she had left. But she heard the voice, saw the pair of pale, almost grey feet pad into her field of vision. Yet another figment of her imagination come home to roost? T'was a woman. And this one had left her ankles exposed. How unseemly.
"Oh, hey." distantly, she heard the blond specter speak. "You caught up. Good. Think you can help me with this?"
The woman scoffed, sniffed, then recoiled with a yelp.
"Impossible." her lower lip curled with disgust. "She's infected by the rot. I would not touch her for all the gold in the Lands Between. I shan't be entrapped again."
Milicent heard the man sigh. "Grey-
"I shall not!" she snapped. "And neither should you! Keep away from her!"
...remarkably sensible, for a figment of her imagination, this. "She's right. Leave me be...
"Nope."
Two fingers flitted out to flick her forehead. Little more than a poke.
And yet.
Milicent jolted upright, gasping in surprise. Her body screamed in protest at the sudden movement, but she forced her eyes open once more, if only to regard the baffling blond looming over her. A trembling hand rose to touch her forehead. She...she'd felt that! Pain! Minor perhaps, but she'd felt him touch her. Hallucinations could not do such!
...you're real?"
"No, it matters." Her foggy vision cleared, if only for a moment, to see them. "If you are wise, you will leave immediately." the stump of her right arm pulsed painfully and she gripped it with a gasp, strangling a whimper of pain in her throat. "My flesh writhes with Scarlet Rot. It is more than a simple disease; it is a curse. Not to be meddled with by man...
There. She'd said her peace. Real or not, this one would wish nothing to do with her now. To touch her would put him at risk of infection, agonizing sickness and finally, certain death. She tried to quell the tiny pang of sorrow that followed. It had be nice to speak with someone, if only in passing. But it could never be. Only those putrid pests loved the rot. All else should give her a wide berth. She closed her eyes and let herself drift, certain that boorish blond braggart would be well and truly gone when she opened them again...
The woman gave an annoyed in response to a question Milicent hadn't heard. "Do what you will. I'll have no part in this!"
The blond laughed. "Such a grumpy dragon...
"Mortal, I will bite thee!"
"Promises, promises...
.
..
...wait.
Slim arms encircled Milcent's waist.
Why was she moving? Rising into the air?
Pushing away the cobwebs from her thoughts she forced her eyes open once more.
The stranger had indeed walked away...for all of an instant. With her eyes closed, she'd not seem him spin around, swept both arms under her and...oh, dear. Milicent realized what must've transpired and squeaked; a sharp unladlylike sound she had made only once before.
"Cease!" she cried out! "Why are you carrying me like some princess?! You'll be infected with the Rot!"
"Ohhhhh, is that what this is?" His smile shone down at her, brighter than the Erdtree itself. The Rot in her tried to touch him...and was summarily repelled. "Heh. Tickles."
Tickles?!
Did he have resistance to it? No matter. It wouldn't last. It never did. Sometimes the Rot took one swiftly. At other times, slowly. As it had her. In the end, his fate would be no different than those of the Cleanrot Knights who had served Malenia.
...who was Melania? No, no! Focus!
"Leave go of me!" she kicked out feebly against his chest, feeling ever bit a child. "What are thou doing?!"
"This is no place to die." he looked down at her, heedless of the veins scrawling against his flesh. "I'm taking you somewhere safe."
A tiny, bitter laugh burst out of her. "This is Caelid. 'Tis not safe anywhere."
She was not prepared for the growl that followed.
"Then I'll make it safe."
Something in those words, nay, the noble presence behind them, stirred her spirit. A seed of something sprouted in her. Almost felt like hope. Even now she could feel the Rot writhing in her, potent as ever. It wanted in; to corrode and infect the stubborn young man who even now held her. It sought him as it had sought all others around, seeking another victim, a second means of infection. Tethers of death and dismay tried to coil around him as they had all before..and yet still he stood tall.
"Don't worry." Mistaking her silence for confusion, the whiskered warrior touched her forehead with his chin. "If I can grow back an eye, I'm pretty sure I can to the same for an arm...maybe."
Hope flowered in Milicent's heart and withered thrice as fast. What madness did he speak of?
One could not simply restore an arm, not even the sorcerers of the Academy. Maybe he was a hallucination after all; this could merely be a mad fever dream brought on by the Rot. Growing back an arm? Only a fool would say such. A fool among fools indeed, the greatest fool of them all...
The dragon woman snorted behind him. "Foolish boy."
Naruto clicked his tongue at her. "Angsty dragon. Go stand in the corner if you're gonna keep bitching at me."
The ghost of a smile touched Milicent's lips despite herself.
So he had a bit of spine after all.
"You dare?!"
Dare he did indeed; because he laughed and laid Milicent down against a nearby headstone. She scarcely had the strength to squint when his body blazed gold. A pitiful noise escaped her lips as she averted her eyes. So bright! If he'd shimmered before, then now he was well and truly the sun. Merely laying in his presence made her aching body feel warm.
As she squinted on, the blond rubbed his palms together. "Might wanna clench your teeth, miss...?"
"Milicent." she whimpered, dreading what was to come. "Mine name is Milicent."
"Naruto. Nice ta meetcha. Think happy thoughts."
She bridled but a little as the whiskered one laid his right hand on her shoulder, lacking the strength to do anything else. Her spirit stilled as he reached out with the other to grip her remaining hand. Rough fingers worn by war threaded against hers, bringing a faint flush to her pale face. My. To touch her twice now without even commencing courtship. How very vulgar. He'd not even written her a single letter. Terribly forward.
"I do not see the point in thiiiiiiis!"
Her words piqued into a wild bleat of pain as the mangled stump of her shoulder burned with unseen heat. Something flowed down her ruined arm, burning hotter than the rot ever had. Her back arched, lips parting in a wordless scream. Every cell in her body burned; in moments she found herself doubling over, weeping, wailing, eyes burning with tears.
"Stop!" She gasped out. "It hurts! I beg of thee! Cease! Please!"
He listened at once, bless his simple soul, leaving her wasted and gasping for air.
"Something's resisting me." that tan face stood creased in a scowl. "Probably that Rot thing you're talking about. Still, it worked a little...
Milicent looked down and balked.
There was a stub there. Half her arm jutting out through her tied and tattered sleeve, just short of her elbow.
Her eyes bulged. "What are you...?"
"Someone who wants to help ya." his smile was telling. "Does it matter?"
She opened her mouth to argue, then deferred. "No, I suppose not...
On a whim, she made a reckless decision. Her days were numbered. She would rather die a warrior than a worthless wretch. She had been a warrior once. She was certain of that. She remembered the grief she'd felt as she severed her sword arm, that vain attempt to stop the rot in its early days, before her sisters cast her aside. This was a chance she would not let slip by.
...finish it." she rasped.
His brow shot up. "You sure? Its gonna hurt."
"Please. I beg of thee. Let me die as I lived." she raised her gaze, hoping to convey her intent with a steady look as much as words. "With both arms."
...alright, but nobody's gonna die on my watch."
She watched him like a hawk as he rubbed his palms together. That odd mark on his right hand seemed to shimmer softly in the low light. This time she thought herself ready for it. She was not. He laid both hands on her, exhaled softly, spoke something under his breath and then-
Pain!
Milicent cried out, gritting her teeth as bone and sinew erupted from the fouled flesh of her arm. A far cry from before perhaps, but pain nevertheless. She gripped at him with her good hand.
"Sorry!" She heard him mutter over her cries. "Just hang on a little longer! I've almost got it...there!"
Sobbing, hiccuping, she pushed against him, instinctively seeking comfort.
He held her, patted her head. Hummed a little. And finally, it was done.
Naruto laid her down to rest upon a softer patch of ground, and it was then that she saw it; felt it, sensed it. Bleary eyes blinked, gazing upon the pale expanse of her new limb. It twitched and trembled, fitfully at first as she exerted her will upon it. Move. It had to move. This would all be for nothing if she couldn't make it move.
Tremulous fingers curled into a fist. Milicent released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Just like that, he'd regrown her lost limb. A healthy arm, free of the rigorous rot that had once pervaded it...but not for long. Even now it ached and itched as the foul disease sought to eat away at it once again. Her spirits fell at the sensation. She'd feared as much. The reprieve he'd granted her was temporary at best.
"You have my thanks, but the Rot still writhes within me. I beg you, keep your distance...
"Ain't done yet."
..what? "I beg your pardon, good sir...?"
Blinking through teary eyes her gaze fixed on his chest, noting the faint shimmer beneath his ratted jacket. Her mouth went dry as she sensed the faint pulse of power within. The ghost of an old memory stirred within her; indistinct, faded by time, but prevalent nonetheless. She'd seen such a thing once before. But where...
"Is...that a Great Rune?"
"Yup." he smacked his lips and made her comfortable once more. "Got it from a guy named Godrick.
Godrick the Grafed. Memories came rushing back. He'd slain him, them. No mere Tarnished was this. Perhaps this was the one. The one to be accepted by the Erdtree. Destined to restore the broken Elden Ring, to make what was once fractured whole again. She looked up at him, and for a moment, she saw something in him. A glimpse of the future that might yet come to pass.
Long live the new Elden Lord.
"Alright," her savior hummed, "now that we've got your arm sorted, lemme try a different approach this time."
Milicent betrayed herself with a whimper. "I'm not ready...
The knight, for Milicent could see this proud, stubborn sod as nothing less, seemed to take offense at that. "Don't worry. It won't hurt this time." he hooked a finger in hers. "Promise."
"Truly?" her voice hitched.
The look he gave her was pure steel. "I'm gonna fix yer everything."
Milicent shook her head.
She'd could just imagine him, running about trying to help everyone. Its was admirable...and unbearably naive. She would appreciate the return of her arm, short-lived though her life was. T'was a boon she'd not thought to hope for, but he'd granted it to her. To hope for anything else would surely be folly. Wouldn't it?
"You've done enough."
He scoffed. "Who decided that?
"No, wait! I haven't prepared myelf-ah!" she bit her fist to stifle a gasp. "Oh!"
Rather than set to work on her arm and regrow the severed stump as he'd tried before, he went to to the work on the rest of her. Starting with her chest. She tensed at once, expecting pain. There was none. By contrast this was...warm. It felt quite nice actually. Very nice.
Her body bucked and her arms betrayed her, hooking behind his neck.
As if she'd been placed in a warm bath and left to simmer, so too did she feel the aches and pains of her body melt away. Little mewling gasps fled from her lips as she buckled against him, head buried into his shoulder holding on for fear life. Warm. So very warm. She could feel that strange energy of his working its way through her, flowing like a warm river. To let go now was to drown. Little fireworks burst beneath her skin, ripping the Rot asunder faster than it regenerate. Beating it back, tamping it down, containing it, sealing it...
"Do you have to make those sounds?" she looked up to find his face gone red, red as her hair. "Its kinda...distracting."
"Forgive me...! I...ah...!" another moan escaped her as her head tilted back. "I can't stop!"
It was as if he were bringing back every sensation she'd ever lost all at once; every feeling that had been dulled and blunted by the rot. In her fevered state, it proved too much. Far, far too much. She tried to endure, to keep herself consciousness as that strange red energy hammered its way into her, but she just couldn't. She hit her breaking point and plummeted over the edge with a sharp cry.
Utter sensory overload, complete and total. Milicent couldn't take it any longer.
Shamefully, she passed out before Naruto could finish mending her body.
And everything changed.
A/N: And there we be.
Have we rediscovered best girl? I'll let you decide.
Well? Did you like this story? Yes? No? Maybe? Speak out! Make yourselves heard! Your voice matters~!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs during the holidays so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas....Review, Wouldst Thou Kindly?
And have some previews. Some are quite off, but still...
(Previews)
"Thank you. A thousand times, thank you."
Irina squeaked.
"My eyes?!"
Latena raised her head where she lay. Scarcely able to move. "Who are you...? Have you come to kill me?"
Her wolf growled. Even on death's door, it shifted its great bulk to defend its mistress.
Naruto kept his hands up. "Hey! I come in peace!"
"You truly are mad! Ha! I think I might like you...
He took one look at the massacre in the courtyard. So many bodies. And those beasts...
"Nope." hi ax swung out, bissecting a cruel creature like wheat from so much chaff. "No mercy. Killing you all with fire."
"Maybe oaths don't mean much to you, but where I'm from, we keep our promises."
Grumbling to himself, he stomped forward into the marsh.
"Can't fix this world she says?! We'll see about that!"
"Huh. Neat little thing. And you call this a Talisman? Here ya go!"
"Why give this to me?"
"Don't need it~!
Fire splashed harmlessly off him.
"Huh." he blinked, gazing at his golden hands. "Apparently I'm fireproof. Lucky me! Unlucky you."
He blurred.
"You." a golden finger stabbed up into Gideon's helm. "I don't like your methods. Explain yourself!"
"Give me a good smack from behind with something heavy! Then I'll pop right out!"
A bead of confused sweat ran down Naruto's brow.
"Oi, oi, oi...
"Hey! Oi! Big guy! Down here!"
The fire giant leaned down, squinting at the golden speck.
Imagine his surprise then, when said speck waved a hand up at him. "Wanna be friends?"
R&R~!