Mundivagant
adj. wandering through the world
It was too easy to come to an agreement and follow it as it came. Nishiki learned this the hard way, because even though Flannel said they could still be friends, there was some hesitation within him that prevented him from approaching Nishiki as normal. In the days following their romantic fallout, Flannel avoided Nishiki more often, and when they were together, he seemed unenthused at any attempt at conversation.
Nishiki grew despondent, in turn, and as the days continued on, he found less and less energy to deal with Flannel. It stung, to be ignored, just as it did to be yelled at, although if he had to pick between the two, he found himself wanting the latter. At least then, Flannel would confront him, and he would be so angry, he'd have no choice but to face Nishiki head on. It wasn't anything like now, where Flannel was clearly displeased over everything.
The only thing that seemed to placate Flannel was stewing in his own hate and jealousy. He was a ferocious being to face in battle, but the pent up emotions showed themselves whenever Flannel faced another foe. He brought them down to their knees within minutes, and most of the time he lacked the mercy to spare them, so he was bloodied and bruised at the end of each day.
Nishiki, at some point, would have comforted him, or have begrudgingly asked if he needed a bath in the hot springs (to which Flannel would always deny). Although, he was highly discouraged from doing such a thing, because of Flannel's recently spurned behavior. So as the days went on, the two of them saw each other less and less, until they blatantly avoided one another.
Flannel was in his tent when he looked over his magic medallion in hand. Nothing would make him happier right now than to chip the paint off, crush the wood into splinters, or set the bauble aflame. The frustration built up inside of him, and he threw the medallion against the ground, hoping it would crack in the process.
He was disgusted to find out that it was in one piece. The stupid charm reminded him of Nishiki, and thinking of Nishiki reminded him of that fiasco with Orochi. The more he thought about that, the more the fire within him burned, and the heat was too much to take at times.
Defeated, Flannel picked up the medallion, and mentally cursed at himself all the while.
What a pain.
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Nishiki was drained after another unsuccessful attempt at talking to Flannel. The wolf wasn't even subtle when he ignored Nishiki, this time, and it didn't do the fox any favors to remain in such an uncommunicative environment. Thankfully, he was called away to some mission (clearing out Nosferatu nearby a small orphanage), so he could have a valid excuse for being away from Flannel, for once.
On the way back, he spotted Princess Sakura and Princess Elise, who were both seated underneath a large cherry blossom tree. Nishiki joined them, and curled up beside them, burying his muzzle in the bushy end of his orange tail.
They consoled him gently by running their fingers through the strands of his fur—Elise humming and Sakura giggling all the while. He fell asleep to their rhythm, with heavy eyelids and a reluctant mind.
He dreamed of Flannel.
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"Flannel, Pieri knows that you love to hunt, but what's the point of being in a hunting party if you're just going to leave everyone behind?"
He scoffed, face contorted into an angry smolder. "It's not my fault if you guys can't keep up."
"Pieri kept up just fine," she countered. "Especially when she had to carry all the animals back herself since you didn't even bother. Is it her fault when you don't want to help?"
"Ugh," he whined. "Fine. I'm sorry, okay? Won't happen again next time."
"...Something is bothering you," she merely said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Liar! You're lying to Pieri."
Flannel should have felt anger. He should have exploded on her, face gone red with flushed indignation, eyes burning with the force of a thousand suns. He should have felt everything and anything just then. Instead, there was only cold apathy brewing within, and he struggled to make an expression at all, let alone one that was a proper reaction to her outburst just now.
"Even if I'm lying, I'm not telling you what's wrong."
"And why not?"
"Because it's none of your business!"
"You're sulking around like a baby and Pieri has to clean up because of it! And you're saying that it's none of her business?!"
"Yup, that's exactly what I'm saying," he sneered. "So back off already. Who cares if those animals were heavy? And even if it must've sucked to bring them back by yourself...well, I'm not sorry!"
"Are you or are you not sorry? Pieri hates how indecisive you are!"
"I just said that I'm not. Why is that even a question?"
"You're pokey and mean today," she bemoaned. "You're never like this. Let Pieri guess, you're mad about Nishiki, aren't you?"
He stiffened at her words. Of course Pieri hit it right on the head! Ever since he first met her, Flannel knew there was more than meets the eye, and spending more time with her as he did allowed him to see that she was shrewd and discerning, underneath all that bloodshed. And she was brave enough to confront him about something that everyone else would rather avoid.
She deserved much more than whatever obstinance he showed her just now. But he'd seldom admit his own faults.
With a reddened face, Flannel grumbled, but gave into her demands, nonetheless. "Maybe I'm just not used to being so, I don't know. Disappointed, I guess."
"You're disappointed in Nishiki?" Her tone softened considerably once she breached his walls. She even stepped a bit closer to him, and dared to put her hand on his arm. Pieri's hands were usually covered in metal and armored, but there were slivers of exposed skin, and those parts were wondrously smooth and warm against Flannel. It was a comforting feeling, as much as he hated to admit. "Well, did you try talking to him?"
"No," Flannel simply answered. His eyes were wide and innocuous as he asked, "Why would I do that?"
"You're kidding! Then why are you so surprised? Don't you—"
"Listen," Flannel cut her off, voice rising in irritation by the second. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't think I want to talk about this with someone that hasn't—"
"Hasn't what?" Pieri's warm voice turned cold in an instant, and the visible eye had an anger to match its color. "Why don't you want to talk to Pieri about this?"
"Because you don't know what it's like!" Flannel snapped at her. He tried so hard to rein in his emotions, but they escaped from out under him just a moment too late. "I care so much about him, and he just goes around and kisses people behind my back? Goes around and gives his love to someone else? I don't do that, Pieri. And he knew it, too. But he still—"
"For Gods' sake, you are such a baby!" she cried out. "Are you mad because he was with Orochi? They're friends too, right? And so what if he kissed her! Are you saying that you're willing to destroy a relationship over a tiny kiss? I thought you cared about him!"
"Of course I care about him!"
"So why are you pushing him away over something so stupid?"
"You think this is stupid? I'm taking this seriously!"
"Yeah, too seriously, if you ask Pieri."
"Well, y'know what? I didn't ask you." His face twisted into a grimace, hands twitching for the urge to throttle someone—badly. "I never asked you for your opinion. You practically begged me to talk, so I did, and now you're trying to tell me what to do!"
"Pieri is trying to help you, Flannel! She's worried about you, and she's tired of idling by while you go and act all...gross," she complained for lack of a better word. "Everyone notices it. And Pieri tries to be understanding, she really does, but some things aren't easy. You're not making them easy!"
"Oh, you think you got me all figured out, huh?"
"She does! She thinks that very much so!"
"You don't know me. No one here knows me. And if I don't need Nishiki—" the words spilled out of him now, faster than his mind or heart could catch up with them, spiraling into a pinpointed pressure that collected in his chest, and left his body in loud, laborious breaths— "then what makes you think that I need you?"
He realized the error of his words as soon as he finished saying them. His voice reverberated with a screech-like hate, and although they were by themselves, he felt utterly empty and alone as his voice echoed throughout.
Pieri was completely silent. At first, she didn't move a muscle. Nothing in her face or body posture changed to indicate that she understood what he said. He almost ran off in that moment, wondering if it was safe to stay around her for any longer.
Then she moved, and it was the quickest, guiltiest, most painful instant in his life. He watched as her eyes narrowed, tears brimming along her lashes, face scrunching up to some gnarl and knot of hatred. He saw the barest sliver of white, clenched teeth as she dug her mouth into a sneer, remembering how fast she moved. So quick, it was as if she were a machine, instead.
She raised her hand, and—with as much strength as she could possibly muster—brought it up to his face, swinging with a wide motion that showed the passion, fury, and impulse of the movement.
The sound of her metal gauntlets making contact with Flannel's face rang pitifully. It was sharp and succinct, then muffled by the fact that the edge of the metal cut into his face, and tore across his cheek with little difficulty. It wouldn't be like the x-shaped scar on his lower cheek, however. This injury was meant to maim, remind, and injure—never to scar.
He wished she acted more cruelly towards him.
She only cried. "You idiot!" Her voice sounded more remorseful than vengeful, and her voice warped as tears and reluctance flooded her at once. "You think that I—that Pieri needs you? You think that she needs anyone? You're wrong, Flannel! You're wrong! It's your fault!"
Flannel wanted to speak, but the taste of his own blood trailing into his mouth distracted him, and Pieri didn't relent. "I don't need you. I don't need anyone, either! I—Pieri, Pieri never needed anyone. Everyone left her, you know! Her mother was killed before her very eyes! Her servants were secretly hurting her all this time, and she couldn't do anything except kill them back! So she killed and she killed and she killed everyone, until there was no one left. Did she need anyone back then? Did she need help to bury their bodies? No, because she did everything by herself!"
"Pieri—"
"And when Lord Marx saved her, she accepted his offer, and was so thankful that he gave her something else to look forward to. So there you go, again, acting as if Pieri lives to serve you! That she lives to please you! Pieri never needed you, Flannel. She only wanted you as a friend! As an ally!"
Halfway through her rant, her voice broke down completely, shattered like glass. Although her cadence was normally disjointed and crazed, there was something new about this despair that made her seem weak, unhinged. Flannel wanted to cry out for her to stop, but was powerless as she descended on him, like a hawk unto its prey.
Like a wolf unto its prey.
"But if this is how you treat your friends, then you can forget it! If you don't want to try being friends with anyone, then you can play and kill all by yourself, since you're such a big, fat, baby! You're a baby and maybe it's better that Nishiki doesn't talk to you anymore, because you don't deserve it!"
"I—"
"I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" She stormed off, teary-eyed, red-faced, totally embarrassed as all of her feelings spilled out at once. She didn't even know if she really meant all of what she said, but she couldn't take it anymore, and so she ran at the first opportunity. That was something that Flannel admired about her, actually. He liked the way that she stood up for what she believed in, even if she was completely wrong, or even if the entire world was up against her.
If only Flannel could be the same. Yet he knew the divide between them was great, and that it was only made greater because of this argument. So rather than dwell on it (because it would eat him from the inside out if it got the chance), Flannel had to move on, for his sake and his sake alone.
Oh, what a lonely venture, that was.
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There were rumors about the forest they were passing through. Asama started them, but some of the other soldiers believed the tale, and it spread around camp like a disease. Stories told around campfires, behind trees, inside tents, beside each other's breaths—stories of a forest haunted with spirits of the dead, and a witch that cursed people who walked through, turning them into stone.
Orochi wasn't as worried about turning into stone like some of the other superstitious people were. She feared a punishment much greater than that, something awkward yet terrible that would destroy her world, and turn her insides to mush all at the same time.
She feared being grouped up together with Nishiki or Flannel. Her worst fear was being stuck with the both of them, somehow, because she would be seen as the third wheel that made the wagon stop working.
So, naturally, that was exactly what happened. As the soldiers marched through the supposedly haunted woods, Kamui spoke with their siblings, and divvied up their forces to fan out and investigate, as they all slowly made their way through the forest. Fate had it in store that one such scouting party consisted of Orochi, Nishiki, Flannel, Pieri, and Kamui, all five of which had some awkward encounter with another member at some time before.
Needless to say, no one really looked at one another in the eye. Orochi was thankful for Pieri and Kamui, at least, because they hadn't grown to hate her guts just yet. But with Flannel in their group, and with Nishiki rather despondent since his and Flannel's falling out, it was only a matter of time before they despised Orochi, as well.
She broke the silence, as stifling as it was. "So, how come it ended up being us five out of everyone here?"
"I spoke with the others, but it was Marx and Ryoma that decided on the groups in the end. You can complain to them if you want," Kamui groaned. "It's not like I...never mind."
"Pieri doesn't want to be here, either," she admitted. Her voice was so quiet, low, and subdued that it sounded nothing like her, and yet the airiness of her tone couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. "But she'll survive, somehow. She always has."
"Do you think that the rumors are true?" Nishiki spoke up for the first time, and Orochi couldn't remember the last time she heard his voice.
Or rather, she didn't want to remember the last time she heard his voice. If she closed her eyes, she could envision the scene as it was: falling snow, a large oak tree, Nishiki's mouth meeting her own, the sound of someone's heart breaking, Flannel's eyes alight with indignation and frustration, footsteps in the snow that took Nishiki further and further away from her. She remembered it all.
When she opened her eyes, she found that her surroundings hadn't changed, as Nishiki's eyes radiated with hurt and melancholy, while Flannel's anger was palpable from just looking at him, as if his whole body were a smoldering flame that refused to go out all the way.
She barely registered the sound of Kamui's voice, answering a question formed by their resident fox. "All sorts of magic exists, right? I wouldn't be surprised if the rumors were true."
"Aren't we in danger, then?" Pieri sighed. "How do you kill statues, anyway?"
"And how long is this whole thing gonna last?" Flannel piped up with obvious regret as he seemed to prefer brooding to himself, instead. "If there's nothing to investigate, I want out."
"Me too!" Pieri suddenly agreed. She sprung to her feet with the usual energy, only her wicked smile was replaced with a deep frown. "Pieri wants to leave if there is nothing to be done."
"We have to make sure that the next area is safe," Kamui reminded them. "Don't get your hopes up, yet."
"Alright," Orochi said. She walked ahead of the group, well aware of their eyes trailing her figure with something like suspicion and wonder. She imagined the look on Flannel's face, too, and the unreserved hatred he must have towards her.
She smiled at the thought. "Well, don't just stand there, you lot! This forest isn't going to explore itself!"
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Halfway through their march, Pieri reunited with her horse. It was affectionately named Ore, which was a nickname for their first encounter, as it had been trying to eat one of the obsidian ores from the Nohrian Mines. The name stuck, and she loved the horse to near death. Her mother was always fond of animals, and Pieri herself was always skilled with riding. She was glad to have some comfort in this trying time, even if it was in the form of her animal companion.
"Hey, Ore," she greeted the horse. It breathed loudly, in a way that she understood it to be affectionate and concerned. "Don't you worry about me. It takes more than a forest to get rid of Pieri. Come on, let's catch up with the others."
It neighed in accordance, and she threw herself over its back, settled into the saddle and reins that were tailored specifically for her. Pieri recalled the moment when Lord Marx befitted her a steed of her own, and the way that his face melted into a soft, rare smile at the sight of her: crying, laughing, and so, so happy that she had something to call her own. The leather was well-worn at this point in time, but she always refused to replace it.
There was no replacing memories, after all. Pieri knew that better than most.
She and her steed trudged through the forest path, passing by other exploration teams and soldiers on the way there. Progress was steady, as most of the scouts—which were led on by the twins, Suzukaze and Saizou—reported back, stating that the paths ahead were clear, and the nearest boundary was in sight.
She also caught wind of a conversation between her Lord Marx and Lady Sakura, whose meek figure was almost lost in the midst of cavaliers and paladins. Pieri managed to hear something about a "potential base," and decided that it would be a smart thing to do in a forest like this, because it meant that they knew all the ins-and-outs, and they would have the upper hand on ambushes and things of the like.
Finally, she returned to her original group, and found the smile on her face quickly fading at the sight of Flannel. Pieri knew he was wrong, but she also understood that she said some hurtful things to him, as well. They hadn't talked about it since then, but she couldn't fight the feelings within her—ones that said it would be better for her to apologize first, and Flannel would surely follow suit.
But her pride was still maintained, and she decided that she wasn't quite forgiving of him yet. Not yet.
"We're almost done here," Kamui said. "The last area we were assigned is further up ahead. When we're done, we can regroup back at the main base."
"Finally," Flannel sighed. "It's about time."
"I've never seen them so fixated on a single place. Do you think they want to take this forest as a camp of sorts?" Orochi asked Kamui, desperate to interact with anyone that wasn't a beaststone user. "It could be useful, in that sense."
"Maybe. I know Marx said something about that earlier, too. If that's the case, Nishiki and Flannel would be important in the art of natural-warfare," Kamui pointed out. "The fox and wolf tribes are hidden in forests, right? This is your playing field, if you think about it!"
"That's true," Nishiki conceded. He was hesitant to give the idea any serious thought, however, as he seemed preoccupied with other things. "Well, I hope it doesn't have to come to that. That's so much work."
"Tch. For you it might be," Flannel scolded underneath his breath. It was quiet enough that no one else heard, but loud enough for Nishiki's fox ears to detect. "Anyway, let's get this over with and—"
He was cut off by the sound of an arrow flying. It soared through the air, a black-and-red shaft with six red fletches marking it, barely missing Orochi's head. In fact, it would have hit her head, if Nishiki didn't yell "Watch out!" and dove after her, throwing her off balance but effectively saving her life.
She had little time to be grateful when a flurry of arrows followed afterward, and shrieks erupted around her.
"It's an ambush!" Kamui yelled. "Take cover!"
Pieri was caught off guard, but she had the upper hand in the sense that her mobility was greatly enhanced by Ore's presence. She spurred her horse into action, and ran her lance through the nearest enemy. It happened to be an archer (was it the one that just fired at them now?) and he keeled over dead on her lance before she could curse him.
More enemies emerged from the woods, and the sound of battle resonated like a gong. Kamui was worried about so many things at once, but mostly they wondered if the other exploration parties were in trouble, too, or if they just happened to be unlucky. They transformed into a dragon, nevertheless, and began snarling away at the trees and bushes, hoping to swipe enemies off their feet and disperse whatever crowds began to form.
Flannel took this opportunity as a chance to let out some steam, so one-by-one, he tore at the enemies, until their bodies flayed into pieces and their screams died out by the time his claws fully reached them. It was a habitual, almost cumbersome process, but he didn't let it stop him. As much as his personal feelings had affected him up until now, in a serious situation like this, it was necessary to be cooperative.
Orochi recovered from the initial shock of the attack and stood to her feet. Nishiki was at her side, already transformed, and so she revealed her magic scrolls, which began to levitate and glow with her initiation. On this fateful day, she was equipped with the spirits of a rabbit, tiger, and bird. One scroll glowed bright green, and the talismans separated and formed a circle around her. Then she shot her hands forward, and the soaring spirit of a bird flew out, and arced through the branches until it hit another sniper, who fell down to the forest floor with a thud.
Things were going well, and for a moment, everyone was sure that they would turn this ambush on its head, and emerge as victorious. However, once Orochi defeated the sniper, there was a hollow realization made.
None of the blood was there anymore. There was so much blood spilled, including their own, but now it was as if all the crimson had disappeared. There were no more corpses, cadavers, or carnage to be seen. Pieri thrusted her lance, only to witness it pierce the air, with no sign of the ninja from before having been there. Nishiki was the same, as he pounced on an enemy healer, but tumbled to the ground in the same quick manner, not hitting anyone at all.
The five of them regrouped in the middle of the clearing, and were totally silent as they tried to process what had just happened.
All the while, someone laughed at them. "Such naughty children, you are! To be playing around without stopping to think who you're playing with!" The voice was bright and shrill, completely amused in whatever awful spectacle this was.
"Who are you?" Kamui shouted. They were still transformed, and their draconic tails flicked angrily, while their head was raised in defiance. "Leave this place, at once!"
"How brave of you to demand things of us when you're the ones who are out of your league."
"Show yourself!" Flannel screamed. "Cowards, show yourselves!"
"As you wish."
The trees rustled, and everyone looked up to witness the congregation of their enemies. Somehow, the branches were upright, despite dozens and dozens of people gathered in their nooks and crannies. From the looks of it, it was quite the motley crew, consisting of Hoshidans and Nohrians, with mixed attires and weapons throughout. While it was reassuring to see other people who believed in the unification cause, it was also disheartening to know that Kamui's own tactic—bringing two worlds together—could be used against them in the same way.
From the tallest tree emerged a woman. She was shapely, tall, and dark. Her eyes were narrow and scarlet in color, accompanied with bright blonde hair worn in a severe pixie cut. Yet it didn't stop there, as the woman wore dark regalia befitting a basara—even though she spoke with a thick, heavy, Nohrian accent.
What was going on?
She smirked. "A word of advice to the court magician over there: bird spirits are too lighthearted, you see. If you want to do some real damage, you consult calamity. Or better yet, a dragon!" As if on cue, those two spirits ran out from the shadows of the woods, and soared over their heads with deadly intent. The five of them managed to dodge it, but they only succeeded in encouraging their enemies, as an uproarious banter formed above them.
Where were the other soldiers? How was no one else seeing this?
Their questions were answered with finality on the basara's end. "It's magic, in case you couldn't tell. You really thought you were winning against us, huh? I've gotta say, the hardest part of it was trying not to laugh when we watched you battle the air. Impressive, isn't it?"
"What do you want?" Orochi called out. "Enough with the games. Do you understand what you're doing here? You won't win whatever it is you think you will!"
"Dear court jester," the woman mocked, "shut up! I know exactly what I'm doing. But since you're so keen on knowing, I'll tell you." She raised a spear in her right hand, and pointed it at the two beasts standing in front of her. "I want them."
Orochi's heart sunk. The others matched her emotions in full. "What?" she squeaked. "What did you say?"
"That's right. We're poachers, you see, and our goal is to make the most money off of the most beautiful furs. I'll even strike you a deal, because I'm more of an entrepreneur than anything else." She twirled the spear around, now, flaunting her skills and boasting their numbers against Kamui's. Even though the five of them—Kamui, Flannel, Nishiki, Pieri, and Orochi—were highly skilled and powerful in their own right, they couldn't do much about the numerous enemies, especially when there was strange, indecipherable magic at work.
"I'm not interested in any deal!" Kamui insisted. "Leave at once!"
"Are you sure? Because the deal includes us sparing your life," she gasped, with mock concern. "How does this sound? You surrender the beasts to us, and we'll let your scaly self and those pretty ladies go free. We'll even leave your other friends in the woods alone, we swear it on our future graves! All you have to do is sacrifice two of your own. What a deal, am I right?"
"You can't be serious," Nishiki gawked. He turned to Kamui, his eyes wide and worried, even in fox form. "Please tell me you won't actually consider that."
"Of course not!" Kamui snapped. "Why would I ever agree to that? You two are important to me, and everyone else here. We're not going to bargain lives."
"That's surprising," Flannel quipped. "I thought you would be all for getting rid of me."
"Flannel, is now the time to really be—"
"Yes, Flannel," the woman cut in. "Is now the time to be so angry? It's not like you were ruthlessly killed, right? It's not like you were imprisoned, then torn to shreds by an ugly, foul beast who thinks himself a man." She grinned wickedly at him, matching his rising anger with her own increasing insanity. "You killed one of ours, so it's only natural that we get to kill you, too."
"One of ours?" Orochi asked. "What is she talking about?"
Flannel and Nishiki didn't answer right away. They both had their suspicions early on that this group was the "them" that the dark mage from before had mentioned. He said that there were more people like him, who wanted beast furs as their own, and they'd never stop hunting them. Even now, after all this time, they managed to find their way back to them.
Back to the treasure trove that was garou and youko fur—and leader garou and youko fur, at that!
They grimaced.
She laughed. "Do you see what I mean? You can't possibly stop us. We have insider information on you, after all. One of us gave up their lives so we could have yours. An equal exchange, if you will."
"You're crazy if you think we'll go through with any of what you're saying!" Kamui's temper flared, and they charged at one of the trees. The poachers on that particular tree moved with great speed, however, and dodged the worst of the attack. They growled helplessly. "We won't listen to you!"
"Oh, but you will." She stopped for a moment, pondering something. Then, with another threatening display, she pointed with the lance again, only this time at Orochi. "You will give me the beasts, or else I'll turn your precious diviner into a statue."
The rumor. Kamui's heart sunk at the realization. "You? You're the witch that the rumors were talking about?"
"I know a spell that turns any human into stone. I call it Petrify because I found it first, so I get dibs on the name. I'm also the only one in the world who knows how to reverse the spell once it's been cast," she pointed out. "If you want to keep playing around, then I intend to win."
Orochi noticed an archer with their bow taut, just a few branches below their supposed leader. She wondered if the deal was even good to begin with—how could they trust the words of someone that saw the lives of others as pawns in their game? Yet at the same time, they couldn't just do nothing and let their fates be decided for them by some crazy basara.
Orochi summoned a tiger scroll, and brought the beast to life. In a flourish, she waved her hand, and the golden light ran through the trees, ruffling up the enemies and breaking their formation.
Pieri attacked, this time stabbing one of the retreating archers as they tried to flee the magic. Real, palpable, crimson red blood poured from their wounds, and they screamed in genuine agony. Whatever illusions they cast last time didn't apply here, and Pieri relished in her first kill of the day. "That's what you get!" she shouted, and tossed the body aside, once it had gone limp on her lance.
Things got worse. Fights broke out as they were enraged by another death, and Kamui rushed forth and took the brunt of the hits with their draconic body. Flannel dove to the side of Orochi, and took out several mercenaries that were lying in wait, ready to strike from behind. Nishiki followed suit and went for the healers hiding in the bushes, who screamed and pleaded for their lives whilst his jaw snapped around their necks.
"My name is Mara, by the way," their leader said calmly over the chaos, like it was a meet-and-greet and not a life-or-death battle being waged. "And you won't get away with this." It sounded like rocks falling on top of each other, and Kamui and the others glanced to see what was going on, only to have the shock of realization hit them in waves.
It was a magical spellbook, different from the scrolls that Mara spoke about earlier. It was bound by silvery leather, the pages yellowed and crusted with unknown liquids. The writing on the page was scrawled, ink black, and impossible to read. But Mara read it with little difficulty, and summoned a jet-black amalgamation of a snake. It wasn't the kind of snake spirits that Orochi was used to seeing, but rather a large, formidable, python-like creature. Then the defining features of what was once a snake had disappeared, and in its place was pure light and energy, coiling around Mara like it was a faithful pet, still.
Mara lifted her hand, and the energy spiralled outward, aiming right at Orochi's head.
The diviner shrieked and rolled out of the way, barely dodging the attack by the skin of her teeth. She looked back up and summoned another tiger in her direction.
A spearmaster covered Mara just then, blocking the bulk of the attack with a wide sweep of his blade. Some of it got through, as evidenced by the pained look on his face, but ultimately he succeeded in protecting their leader—leaving Orochi at a loss for what to do since her counterattack had failed.
"Poor you," Mara lamented. "Don't worry, I promise that this won't hurt. Much."
She cast Petrify once again, and this time, her aim was too direct and too true to be avoided. The energy stream barrelled in Orochi's direction, powerful and fast in ways that couldn't be stopped, and she was only able to watch as mere seconds separated her and a fate worse than death.
Nothing happened, however, as her vision became obscured with black and white. A large monument of a creature stood in front of her, bracing itself and essentially taking on the full front of the attack. She heard a grunt, watched fur bristle and muscle tremble, and realized that it was Flannel who had protected her. Flannel ran in front of Orochi and used his body as a literal meat shield, taking on the full force of the spell.
"Flannel!" she screamed at him helplessly. "Flannel!"
Yet, he didn't turn into stone like the spell promised it would. Rather, his body huddled it on itself, and howlish pains escaped him in whimpers. But once it passed, he stood upright, and shook it off as if it were static electricity, instead.
It only works on humans, Orochi rationalized. It won't work on him! Or on Nishiki! We may have a chance, yet!
She was so excited about the new turn of fate that she almost didn't hear Flannel screaming at her to move, already!
It dawned on her why. Although they survived Mara's onslaught of the Petrify spell, they were severely outnumbered. When their momentum ran out, they realized there were still many, many enemies left. From ninjas to sorcerers to archers to mercenaries, there were dozens of eyes glaring in their direction, all with the intent to kill and maim.
They had to run.
So they did.
Pieri absconded with Ore, but screeched when she felt an arrow pierce her shoulder. A second arrow flew out and hit Ore in the rear. The horse whinnied helplessly before falling down to the ground. Frenzied, Pieri threw herself in front of her steed, ready to take on the hits in its place.
"Don't!" Nishiki shouted at her. He pushed Pieri and Ore along with his muzzle, flustered. "We can still make it! Keep going!"
"But Ore is injured! We might—"
"Pieri, go!"
She listened to him as she dragged along her injured steed, who—thankfully enough—regained enough strength to stand up again. She spurred it into high gear, and watched as Ore ran through the forest at a breakneck pace.
She would have loved to have been on his back as he left, but she knew her weight would only hinder it, considering the injured state he was in.
Luckily, Nishiki was close behind her, and he even managed to nudge Kamui along, as well. Soon enough, the three of them were running through the forest (Pieri jumped on Nishiki's back since she had no hope of catching up to shapeshifters like them), until they reached the main camp further in, and collapsed in the clearing for all the others to see. Kamui was immediately swarmed by their siblings, and Lasward and Cyrus—as loyal as ever—went to Pieri's side to try and nurse her.
Nishiki saw Ore, Pieri's beloved horse, recovering with Elise and Camilla, who were picking arrows out of its backside. Elise noticed Nishiki in that moment, and shouted over her shoulder to someone. Soon enough, Sakura emerged from behind them, and ran up to Nishiki with tears in her eyes.
"Nishiki! What happened to you?"
"We got ambushed," he huffed. "Poachers. They're after us."
"You and Flannel?" Sakura asked gently.
"Yeah."
"Well, it's a good thing you're here, then. But where's Flannel?"
"What?"
Nishiki took in his surroundings. He met eyes with Pieri, who seemed equally distraught as they both had the same horrid realization.
Orochi and Flannel were gone.
.
.
.
"We have to go back for them," Nishiki pleaded. "Now! They might still be alive."
"I know," Kamui said. They brought a hand to Nishiki's face, and stared at him longingly. "I'm not giving up on them. But we can't just run in there! We need to rest for now and think of a plan to get them back."
"But I'm fine!" he insisted stubbornly. Nishiki tried to stand to his feet, but screamed out as sensations of pain ran up the length of his leg. He fell back to the ground, and reached out for the leg that was hurting him. He winced as he felt shards of a weapon stuck in his skin, oozing and leaking blood in thin, undulating streams.
It was the shards of a beast killer. Over time, poachers became more creative with their weapons, and rather than just normal lances or swords or bows of any kind, they created a line of weapons known as beast killers. The blades were embedded with an enchanted steel, and often they would be dipped in a coating of poison that was dangerous to beasts, yet harmless to humans.
Broken pieces of that monstrosity were sticking out of Nishiki's body, and he felt foolish for not realizing it sooner. No wonder the pain lasted longer than it should have. No wonder he couldn't deny Kamui's help, or Sakura's help, or Elise's help as they worked together to pull the shards out. No wonder at all.
"We'll get them back," Kamui promised. "We won't let this stand. And besides, this forest is huge, so they couldn't have gone far, even if there's a lot of them."
"Okay," Nishiki said. "Okay, you have a point. I'm just worried about them."
"I know you are," Kamui murmured. "Take it easy for now. I'll talk to Leon and see what kind of plan we can come up with."
"Thank you. I owe you now, don't I?"
The dragonborn smiled as they rose to their feet. They were injured, too, and yet they spent all their energy reassuring Nishiki. The way that they smiled made it hard to believe they were hurt in the first place, but Nishiki knew better. He saw the way that their arms inwardly moved, one hand over the other to still the painful palpitations, the other trembling ever-so-slightly. Not to mention the way their brows furrowed, smile looking more and more strained as they tried to restrain themselves from feeling the pain.
Nishiki's heart ached at the sight of it.
Kamui giggled. "Don't worry about that, Nishiki. This one's on me."