Ritual ( ͡๑ ︵ ͡๑)

Max woke up as the bag opened once more, the light temporarily blinding her. That was all it took for a gloved hand to reach out and grasp her just below her head again. Max unconsciously wrapped her body around her captor's wrist as she was pulled out. White circles and all kinds of colors moved across her vision and she adjusted to the brightness of her surroundings.

While adjusting to the sudden change, Max tried flailing about to see if she could get away before her potential doom, but to no avail. Lettuce-head had a firm grip just below her jaw. Even if she tried dripping poison, the way she was being held wouldn't make a difference. It'd just land on the ground or worse, if she wasn't already being taken to be milked, then taking that action would just speed it up.

Why was she so against them milking her for her venom? It could take her anywhere from a couple of days, to even weeks to regenerate her venom supply. That was if she was going by Earth standards. Here? Anything was a go and her survival life depended on that venom, otherwise, she'd just be easy pickings for any passing predator. Which meant that she'd have to get very creative.

Unlike before where the canopy of the trees was so dense, that barely any light made it to the ground, she was now in a village of some kind. The structures were unlike what she was used to back home, with all of its high rises and tidy parks. Here the buildings looked organic. The residents used a mix of trees, stone, and earth to build their homes. It was definitely in line with the fantasy theme she was starting to pick up on.

Max scent the air with a little tongue and began salivating. The smell of herbs, cooking meat coated the air. Gah, what wouldn't she give for a steak. She was sooo friggin' hungry.

Max shook her head. Now was not the time. Max started to thrash, making sure to whip at the stupid lettuce-head as her tail came that way. She was too small to do a good job wrapping around and applying any much pressure, but using her body like a whip? Yep, she'd make it sting lettuce head more than her!

It didn't last long. Max got in 5 good thwacks before she was forcibly restrained. Lettuce head said something to an older lettuce head and started walking towards a stone bench. Wait a moment, Max stopped herself. Benches are not a thing in primitive civilizations, are they? At least ones at the center of the village right? Max's azure eyes went wide as struggled the closer they got.

The village's housing encircled a fifty-meter-wide circle, and at the center of that circle was a tall bench- no altar, Max corrected herself. This thing was definitely bigger than it had initially looked. The area was laden with smoothed black stone and, Max squinted her eyes, covered in thousands of small runes interlaced with circles. Max could almost make sense of it, that niggling feeling of grasping a concept just out of reach, but ultimately got nothing.

The closer they got to the obsidian altar, the more Max thrashed. Go figures, Max thought, get reincarnated they said. It'd be fun they said. Sage had seriously overrated the settings that they had given for her reincarnation. Couldn't she have started somewhere easier? She wasn't even a boss! She was a snake! A friggin' snake!

As Lettuce-head got closer to the altar, the vegetable crew chanted, their melodious voices blending not just together, but with the wind, and the whispering of the trees. Proverbial gloves off now. Max let out a warning hiss she started ejecting her venom. Yes, it would take her time to regenerate, but she'd have to be alive to do that. Dying here was unacceptable and Sage would never let her live it down if was off'd this early into Max Version 2.0.

The tomato-head was the first to notice the venom and nudged at Max's capturess. Tomato reached in his satchel and pulled out a small container. Lettuce took it with her and stuffed Max's head on the side of the cup. The older lettuce head murmured something questioningly, but the Cauliflower responded back with a somewhat agitated tone.

Well, there goes that plan. Max thought dejectedly. She tried to stop her venom supply from being but maybe due to the positioned of her jaw and fangs, she couldn't get it to stop. This was not looking good for her. As small as she was, Max needed every advantage she could get. Mentally groaning Max settled down to wait. The best that she could hope for now was that when they set her down on the altar that there would be a moment where she would be able to get away. Hopefully.

As the group of five made their way closer to the altar their steps and voices synchronized in an odd hypnotic way. Max grew heavy eyed and her mind grew hazy. Max tried to stay alert but it was so difficult with her mind clouding.

More and more people had started to come out from between the buildings and entered the enscripted circle, but whereas the vegetable crew continued through the middle circle and into the inner one, the others waited in the outer circle. It was odd Max thought ideally, as soon as she was in the inner circle the white fluffy clouds began to darken. In the background, the villagers stood solemnly and began a low resonant hum. Max blinked blearily trying to stay conscious.

Thunder rumbled while the winds made their presence known. Hmm... This looks like a potential bad guy entrance or Sage is irked. Please let it be Sage! Max pleaded. Newly reincarnated or not, it was traumatic being boob-punched into the realm of the dead, but sacrificed? No. Max's eyes snapped open. Not today! Max's brain sluggishly complied as she forced herself to reconsider all of her options. All she needed would be just one opportunity just one, and she would be free of this.

Lettuce laid her down making sure to keep a firm grasp as she chanted while Cauliflower, Corn, and Tomato and Carrot begin pulling out various objects from the satchels that they had tied to their belts. An array of small flowers, quartz, even what appeared to be delicate bones of a sort were placed around her captive form.

Max hissed threatening at the group. Just you wait. Kill me once, I will find you and hunt you down. Contrary to her easy-going character, Max was a petty vindictive bitch when the situation arose, and this time there was no Arin to keep Max from crossing that line.

Her tail flicked agitated, and they soft azure glow that had given her away in the forest brightened. With everything she had, Max struggled. It hurt as her fangs were hooked over the edge of the cup but dammit, she was not going to die here. No way!

Lettuce tightened her grip just below Max's head practically strangling her. Gah, it hurt. It hurt so much. Max wanted to cry as she gasped for air but she never stopped moving.

Next to Lettuce-head, Cauliflower pulled out a knife and lifted his face to the growing storm above. His grew louder with each word spoken, and in reaction, the clouds darkened more and more.

Max started losing consciousness, as she suffocated from the death grip around her neck. This was embarrassing. She was going to die? This wasn't how it was supposed to go. There had to be something she could do.

The lack of oxygen made it so hard to think and gradually her world darkened to a pinprick of light.

'Come on!' Max yelled at herself, 'You can't stop here!' Even with all the yelling she did though, there was nothing she could do. She was pinned down by a being exponentially larger than she was with a killing grip on her throat while another was probably going to gut her.

Just as a that last light started to flicker Max's world went boom.