The Assignment: Part 2

Aless and Aisha rushed through the forest, following the set of hurried footsteps that stretched around the line of tents marking the military encampment. Aisha looked down at the tracks, the individual footprints stretching almost impossibly apart, almost five meters apart each. Either the thief was a giant, or had some sort of bodily enhancement, similar to the two girls. Aisha looked at Aless, as she vaulted off a tree trunk.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked.

"..."

"Because-"

"No." Aless huffed out, breaths coming out unevenly. "It's… as much my fault as it is yours. And- *huff-* getting angry isn't going to get the package back."

"Mmm."

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Aisha spotted a fallen tree trunk in front of her, and quickly jumped over it, looking behind her to see Aless furiously smash through it, sending splinters everywhere. She opened her mouth to comment… but decided to keep her fat mouth shut for once, seeing the dust that the solid trunk had been reduced to.

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(She wasn't lying when she said she wasn't mad at me. But she is mad... ) Aisha observed. (Is she mad at herself?)

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Aisha shrugged. Whatever.

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The two girls broke out of the forest and into what looked to be a large plains, with dry, yellow grass carpeting the flat ground. Aisha looked to her left and could see tents in the distance - the military encampment of the humes. She guessed that to her right was the encampment of the Sakura empire.

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As she ran onto the yellow grass, she heard Aless's labored breathing get further and further away. Looking back, the woman was stopped in the middle of the field, catching her breath.

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Aisha glanced at Aless, her fists balled and chest heaving for breath. Her teeth were clenched, and she was almost visibly shaking with anger. But at the same time, Aisha recognized the signs of exhaustion. She couldn't run anymore, and needed to take a break.

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"Keep chasing." Aless commanded. "I'll catch up with you."

"Uhh..."

"JUST DO IT!" She growled.

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Aisha took off, not wanting to meet the same fate as the tree trunk earlier.

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After a few minutes of running, Aisha saw a little black blob, moving along in the grass at a walking pace. By the way that the figure moved unevenly, Aisha could tell that it was also tired and out of breath, just like Aless. Which meant two things- that firstly, the figure was definitely the one who had taken the jewel box, and secondly, that it was the perfect time for Aisha to get close and strike.

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Aisha decided to discard all semblances of stealth and sprint towards the black-clad figure, rushing through the grass, and making plenty of rustling noise. The figure turned around at the sound, looking surprised, as Aisha barreled towards them, sword out and ready to cut.

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The figure calmly turned around and placed their hands on the grass, body glowing yellow as they gathered mana in their body. Aisha spotted the tell-tale sign of magic casting, and watched carefully, but was surprised when the ground underneath her began to shift, her boots sinking slightly into the ground as her weight started to submerge her into the ground. Quicksand!

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Aisha tried to pull her feet out of the quicksand, but was forced to divert her attention as she heard a whizzing sound from in front of her. Pointed shards of rock flew at her body at high speeds, each the size of her forearm, and numbering about twenty in total. Aisha attempted to dodge out of the way, throwing her weight to the side but stumbling, the earth catching on her boots and toppling her over dangerously. Aisha grunted as a shard of rock cut open her cheek, opening a long gash, and another one embedded itself in her thigh, sending her crumbling to her knees in the quicksand.

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Her knees, too, began to sink into the ground, and Aisha winced as her injured leg protested her efforts to pull it up, forcing her to use her hands.

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Her efforts were cured as another volley of rocks flew towards her, and Aisha took another dive into the quicksand, face-first on the ground. She spat out dirt as the rocks whizzed by her above her head, landing far behind her in the solid ground, but hissed at the pain that seared through her right leg at the movement.

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Aisha curled up on her side, protecting her vitals as another volley of rocks shot at her, closer to the ground this time. Some of the shards landed in front and behind her, but an equal amount of shards shot true, piercing into Aisha's right arm and leg. Blood flowed freely into the quicksand, painting a pool of red around her.

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She glanced at the rocks embedded in her right side and winced. She wished she had brought her crossbow with her! She had nothing to shoot back at the bastard, and she was sure that the thief would just continue to shoot rock shards at her until she bled out.

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Her eyes were drawn to a shard, piercing through her right arm. Her eyes watered as she ripped it out of her forearm, sending blood gushing everywhere as she propper herself up into a semi-standing position.

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She saw the thief with his hands pressed to the ground, more rock shards ripping out of the ground and ready to fly at Aisha, about twenty meters away. She narrowed her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath, and with her uninjured left arm, launched the spike in her hand at the black-clad figure like a javelin.

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It flew true, and while it bounced off the thief's mana shield with a hollow noise, a visible crack appeared in the shield, startling them out of their spell. The shard of rock they were about to send at Aisha fell to the ground with a muted thud, as Aisha ripped another rock out of her shoulder, left arm pulled back, prepared in another throwing motion.

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She threw the spike, but it was shattered on impact, as a wall of rock emerged from the ground, which the thief quickly dove behind for cover. Aisha cursed. She had no way of getting around the physical barrier, and she was bleeding heavily.

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She glanced at her arm, leaking dark blood out, flowing like rivulets down her shiny dragonhide. The scales of the armor had stayed completely intact, like dragonhide should, but unfortunately, the same could not be said of the chainlinks underneath that were holding the armor together. It had separated at the seams from the heavy impacts from the stones.

(This shit doesn't protect me at all against physical projectiles… I'm going to bleed out… )

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Aisha prepared for another attack, wielding her spike like a sword, ready to deflect any projectiles, but the plain was calm, only the sound of the wind audible. It looked like the thief was trying to collect their thoughts… giving Aisha time to form a plan as well. She felt her body slow down as a coldness swept through her body, and her mind accelerated, adrenaline rushing through her.

.

(I have to do something soon. I'm bleeding out. It's only been about a minute since I jumped him. Aless won't be here for a while. I'll probably die if I don't wrap my arm.)

.

(My right arm is completely useless. My leg is damaged. I can still run, but I can't dodge very well. I've got no weapon, except for this spike. I can throw it, but...)

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Aisha looked around her. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Five spikes in arm's reach. And… one left in her body, planted deep in Aisha's shoulder. The spiked were conic - if she pulled it out, though, she would certainly die of blood loss before Aless arrived.

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(My opponent is cautious. He could try to finish me off right now, but he is avoiding close combat. He does not know that I can't use magic, but he is probably wondering why I'm not blocking his attacks. He's going to try to take me out, since I'm pursuing him. He takes about three seconds to cast a spell.)

.

(I've got to get close to him. There's no other option. I'll bleed out otherwise...)

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Aisha quickly picked up the five rock spikes and stuffed them into her sash, starting to slowly wade out of the quicksand. She couldn't throw her shortsword. If she did, she would be left without anything to defend herself.

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Her progress was slow, but she could see where the dirt began to solidify. She was almost out, but…

Aisha hissed in frustration. She was already beginning to feel weak. By the time she was out, she would probably be halfway dead. Also...

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(Something's wrong! The guy hasn't done anything!)

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Aisha looked below her just in time to see the ground shift below her. She stumbled forward just in time to avoid the massive, jagged spire that shot out of the ground, the tip as large as she was, but as the thing rose out of the ground, it only got wider and wider, the jagged edges threatening to shred Aisha's skin off her body. It was placed right between Aisha and the solid ground she was walking towards, effectively blocking her path.

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(Ugh… that's how you want to play it...).

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Aisha grimaced as the pillar stopped rising, about a small building in height. An idea popped into her head, and she placed a hand on the spire, ready to climb on top of it, but quickly lost her footing as the formation retreated back into the ground, just as quickly as it broke through the ground.

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(He's not going to let me do that...)

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Aisha fell onto her hands and knees, attempting to catch her breath, but her eyes widened as she saw the ground beneath her shift slightly. She barely rolled out of the way in time as once more, the jagged rock formation broke through the ground, fast as a bullet, Aisha throwing herself onto the ground and landing on her injured side. Pain lanced through her body, and her hood caught on the structure, jerking her body backwards, as the spire retracted quickly into the ground again, not giving Aisha any time to use it.

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(He's not going to let me use it. And I can't walk out of the quicksand.)

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(...)

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(I see what I have to do.)

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Aisha felt cold run through her body as once more, her breathing slowed and her perception started to accelerate. Aisha felt her head slowly tilt down as the ground beneath her bubbled slowly. She could see the way that each pocket of air slowly rose from out of the quicksand, and track each particle of sand as they flew out from the quicksand.

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The tip of the spire appeared from underneath Aisha, but she did not move. Even as the jagged tip approached her shoulder, she did not move. It was only when the tip pierced into her shoulder, and a searing pain shot through her body that she used her good arm to grip an edge of the pillar, preventing it from going entirely through her. She rose to a good height, each second agony for her, but soon she could peer over the edge of the shield that the thief had cast in front of him, as she began to rise, higher and higher, carried by the spike dug into her body.

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The thief's head was ducked down, forehead creased in concentration as he channeled his spell. Which meant he wasn't watching her.

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Ignoring the pain in her arms and legs, she used the last of her strength to unimpale herself on the rock structure and leap off in the direction of the thief, soaring through the air in an upwards arc. With her uninjured arm, she took out all five shards of rock from inside her sash, and threw them all in a fan towards the thief.

.

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The black-robed man looked up in surprise at the metallic sound of his mana shield being activated, stumbling back as five jagged shards of rock buried themselves into the shield, jagged tips all pointed towards him, but stopped midair by blue mana. He wiped his brow, surprised at the force at which they would have to be thrown to actually pierce through his shield, but saved from death.

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Of course, the shield did not save him from Aisha's entire body falling on top of him, shattering the barrier as Aisha slammed her good leg on top of his head, sending him immediately into unconsciousness.

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Aisha stood victorious over the thief, breathing heavily over the unconscious body, limbs bloody and body tired. She crumpled to the ground as the adrenaline left her system, blood pooling around her.

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[

"Come on Aisha, let's go!" Lorian said excitedly, tugging on Aisha's arm and pointing to a large building in the distance. "I wanna go!"

"Huh?" Aisha said, disoriented. "What's…?"

.

Aisha looked around and found herself… back in that small town with… with mistress. She looked down at her side, to find that her hand was interlocked with mistress's. She spotted the small fountain in the middle of the square… and even the small little buildings that she saw everyday when she was walking to the empty lot. She clutched her head in confusion. What..?

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"Aisha?" Lorian asked, bending down to meet the girl eye-to-eye. "Something wrong?"

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Aisha met Lorian's gaze and responded by taking both of her hands and meeting Lorian in a desperate, sloppy kiss, right there in the middle of the road, tongue interlocking with hers in a rushed passion. When she finally pulled away shyly, all that was left on Lorian's face was a pleased grin, as she pat Aisha on the head and giggled.

.

"Aren't you eager today." Lorian smiled. "Is it because we're going to the fair?"

"The… what?"

"The fair!" Lorian said, jumping up and down, her massive breasts heaving.

"I don't… remember this." Aisha muttered, putting both her hands in front of her and turning them over. Lorian took one of them in her own.

"What do you mean, you don't remember this?" She said, smiling and rubbing Aisha's hand. "We've never been to the fair together before!"

.

"Mistress..." Aisha said dejectedly. "This is just something I'm seeing while I'm bleeding out. This isn't… real."

"Oh." She said, her smile slowly fading away, as Aisha's face became more despaired, not only because the experience wasn't real, but also because she had disappointed her mistress. But surprisingly, the smile came back just as fast as it left, and Aisha looked at her mistress with a pair of raised eyebrows.

"Wanna have sex in public?"

"Mistress!" Aisha exclaimed in shock, as dream-Lorian pounced on her...

]

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.

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"...Aisha!"

"Huh…? Am I… dead?" Aisha muttered.

"No."

Aisha groaned as light streamed into her eyes, and she was suddenly made aware of a pain and soreness that permeated her entire body like a boulder on top of her, pinning her limbs to the ground painfully. The sensation was remarkably similar to when she had cut her hand off, and was slowly dying of blood loss in some alleyway. She tried to move her limbs, but all that succeeded in doing was sending an agonizing pain through the right side of her body.

"Ouch." Aisha said. "I feel fucked." Her mouth was dry.

"That's because you are fucked." Aless muttered, taking a bottle of water and slowly trickling some into Aisha's mouth. "You've lost an entire person's worth of blood. "

"Cool."

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Aless sighed. "You're incredibly lucky, you know."

She propped Aisha up into a sitting position, putting her arm behind her back to support the weak girl.

"But you are incredibly skilled." Aless muttered. "I didn't think you could take a ninja."

"Nin...?" Aisha asked weakly. "What?"

"I'll tell you later."

"You sure took your time." Aisha mumbled. "How long was I out?"

"Well, I only took five minutes from when we split up." Aless said crossly. "You've been out for only a couple of minutes.

You're lucky I keep a health potions with me." She said, holding up an empty tube in-between three fingers. "But one isn't nearly enough to do anything but stop you from dying."

"Mmmnn..." Aisha groaned. "What about… the guy."

"He's out cold." Aless said darkly. "I'm going to interrogate him, now that I know you're fine."

"Wait!" Aisha exclaimed, as the woman turned her back. Aless turned her head back in response, and Aisha held out both her arms in a weak gesture. "I want a hug."

Aless sighed. "Later."

"Nnn..." The fey girl grumbled.

.

Aisha struggled into a semi-sitting position, dragging her back on top of a rock nearby and giving her a good view of Aless walking over to the unconscious, black-clad thief with a menacing gait. She ripped the complex hood off his head, before her hands started to crackle dangerously with an intense electricity.

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It only took a millisecond of Aless's hand on his head for the ninja to jolt awake screaming, eyes going wide as an unimaginable pain shot through his entire body, Aless having directly stimulated the pain center of his brain.

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He screamed in an unknown language, scared, looking around. When his eyes locked onto Aless, his expression twisted into a horrified one, and he fell onto his back, trying to scramble away. Aless growled as her hand shot out and caught the man by his wrist, squeezing with an audible crack. She forced the man to face him, as she shot him a disdainful expression that Aisha couldn't see from her position.

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"So." She said coolly, crouching down to meet the ninja eye-to-eye. "What are you doing here?"

Aless's words were cold and flat, as if she already knew the answer to the question.

The man screamed again in the same language, clearly distressed, but Aisha didn't understand a single word.

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The ninja started to hyperventilate as his eyes darted around to find anything, as sweat began to drip down his forehead, cold. His eyes locked onto Aisha.

He yelled, making eye contact with the fey girl.

Aisha gave him a confused look, as she didn't speak Sakura. Aless's eyes narrowed.

The ninja began to beg, tears beginning to stream down his face as Aisha watched, but couldn't understand.

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His begging was cut short as Aless put a finger at his temple, sending millions of amps through his brain and killing him instantly. She dusted off her pants as she flipped the lifeless body onto it's back, kicking a bit of dust on top of his corpse with her boot. It had been an execution.

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"Short interrogation." Aisha observed.

"Yes." Aless muttered. "He didn't have any information we needed."

Aisha didn't bother addressing the fact that she didn't even ask him more than a single question.

"...You speak Sakura?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm half." Aless said, as she picked up her pouch, affixing it back to the side of her leg.

"You're half fey?"

"I don't like to talk about it." Aless said quietly. "Can you walk?"

"No."

Aless sighed. "Then I guess you're going to get that hug you wanted."

.

.

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"This wasn't the kind of hug I had in mind." Aisha complained.

Aisha felt her chest being forced into Aless's shoulder, as her head repeatedly knocked into Aless's back, the woman carrying her like a sack of potatoes. Her arms flopped weakly as she whined, not even able to reach Aless's toned backside to squeeze.

"This is what you're getting. And besides, we're almost there."

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Indeed, Aisha was already able to hear the bustle of the military tents. Hearing was the only thing that she could use, since all she could see was the back of Aless's cloak as her head was repeatedly slammed into it.

She was still disappointed. though.

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Slowly, the sounds from the tent got louder and louder, and Aisha knew they were inside the encampment as tents appeared in the sides of her vision.

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"Halt!" A stern voice said. "Who are you?"

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Aisha felt Aless rustle a bit in her pockets, before taking Raxas's pin and holding it up to show the guard.

"...What's that?" The guard demanded. "I don't know what that is!"

"It means I outrank you." Aless said simply. "By a lot. Let me through."

"...I..."

.

Aisha heard a hurried whisper as someone else, probably another guard, spoke to his friend. The blood loss rendered her hearing a little dampened, but she still could make out a few words, namely, 'that message we recieved earlier' and 'this sucks.'

.

"...Right." The first one said. "I can let you through… but... err..."

"Fuck." He muttered under his breath. "Fine. Go through. But I'll be keeping an eye on you."

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Aless gave the guard a stoic look as she strode through the tents, headed directly through to the largest tent, Aisha slung over her shoulder.

"MMmmm…" Aless mused, sighing. "We're slightly late..."

"We can deliver it now." Aisha said. "You can take me to get healed later."

"I was more thinking that I just give you to someone else." Aless said tentatively, slowly, as if she was afraid to offend.

Aisha's eyebrows furrowed. "...Hey!"

"It would be faster." She mumbled.

.

Aless forced her way into what was clearly the command tent, being much larger than all the others, ignoring the "Hey!" that came from the two guards behind her. She immediately made her way to a desk in the back of the tent, where a middle aged man pored over a document.

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Aless took a chair and sat in it forcefully, placing Aisha down in one nearby. She overestimated Aisha's ability to balance herself, however, and the girl yelped as she slid off the chair and onto the ground. Aless apologized profusely, picking up Aisha as the man removed his attention from his document, but couldn't get Aisha to sit in the damn chair without collapsing.

Eventually, she gave up, frustrated, and moved the chair over to hers', letting the girl rest on her shoulder, her own cheeks going slightly pink.

.

"Where's Falo?" She demanded.

"...And who are you?" The officer asked in a tired tone. His eyes locked onto Aless's arms, wrapped protectively around Aisha's waist.

"Doesn't matter." Aless said threateningly. "I just need to see Falo."

"..."

The officer was clearly having a difficult time taking Aless seriously, with Aisha looking quite content cuddling up to the stern woman. Aisha tried to get the man to meet her eyes, tilting and bending her neck, but it was clearly not working.

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"Where's Falo?" She asked again, but with a hint of frustration in her voice.

"I'm at no liberty to divulge that information to... " The man drawled. "...You... lovers."

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Aless grew furious, and her body ripped with electricity, massive arcs of lightning flashing throughout the tent, emitting a bright light, visible from even the other encampment. The officer cowered in fear, shielding his face with his arms, and when he finally had the courage to look again, there was a black mark on the ground where his desk used to be. A few papers fluttered to the ground uselessly.

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Aisha grumbled as she felt her hair frizz a bit. Surprisingly, Aless had the control to not kill her, although Aisha would be lying if she said that her heart wasn't racing.

.

"I'm not in the mood right now." Aless growled, as tens of guards stormed into the tent, brandishing their weapons. "I've had quite the frustrating day, and we're late. Where is Falo?"

"L-look, I've got no idea!" The officer stammered. "I don't know who you're talking about!"

"He's got this pin." Aless snarled, brandishing Raxas's insignia. "And he's dressed like me."

"S-seriously!" The man cowered. "I don't know! Honest!"

"I-" Aless started furiously.

"He's not lying." Aisha interrupted, before Aless did something she would regret.

"Tch."

.

Aless slung Aisha back over her shoulder, striding out of the tent with long boot falls as she shoved her chair aside. A pair of guards moved to block her path, hands pulsing dangerously with mana, but Aless shoved them aside easily, knocking them into a pile on the ground.

"Out of my way!" She snarled.

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She forced her way out of the commanding tent, heading to a more pale looking, beige tent in the distance with a large red cross on top.

"Stupid fucking bureaucracy." She muttered. "Fucking Falo."

"What do you think happened?" Aisha asked.

"He's late!" Aless said, frustrated. "It's the only explanation. Now Raxas will think poorly of me."

"Mmh."

.

Aless made her way over to the white medical tent, where Aisha could hear even more bustle as nurses and doctors frantically made their way around, healing burnt mages and soldiers. A small nurse looked up in the midst of bandaging a wounded arm, and quickly made her way over to the two girls that had entered the tent.

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"Sorry!" She huffed. "What's the problem?"

"She's lost a lot of blood." Aless explained. "Multiple severe puncture wounds on the right side of the body."

"Oh my." The nurse said, gasping in shock. "That sounds awful! I'll get you to an empty stretcher!"

.

The little nurse ran up to a soldier, staunching the bleeding of his own wound, and dumped him off the mat he sat on.

.

"Go do that somewhere else!" She scolded.

"But my leg is cut open..." The soldier complained.

"You can crawl, can't you?"

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The soldier grumbled as he limped over to a corner and held the gauze to his wound once more, shooting a glare at the nurse as she helped Aisha on top of a mat. She fussed around with Aisha's ripped clothing, slipping off her armor and uniform, leaving the girl in just her undergarments, to the hoots and hollers of the other soldiers in the camp. The nurse glared at them, holding up a jug of rubbing alcohol threateningly, before taking unwrapping Aisha's blood-soaked bandages and taking a look at her wounds.

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"Oh dear." The nurse muttered. "Are you still conscious?"

"Yeah."

"That's good!" She said excitedly. "Must be that fey biology!"

"Uh… Oh yeah. That's right. Aren't you fighting against…?" Aisha said tentatively. Now that she thought about it… she was getting many a death glare from the other soldiers in the medical tent. The nurse waved her off.

,

"Eh. Don't worry about it. No enemy would just waltz into our base, make a big commotion, and then ask to get healed."

"Wasn't me." Aisha muttered.

The nurse ignored Aisha's statement, twisting around and shouting into the tent. "Galen!" She yelled.

"What is it?" A voice shouted back from across the tent.

"I need you here, stitch boy!" The nurse yelled.

"I'm busy!" Galen shouted back.

"This is more important!"

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Aisha watched as a white-clad man in a mask waded through a mob of injured soldiers to make his way over to Aisha and the nurse. His nose crinkled as his eyes found Aisha's ears, his expression twisting into one of distaste.

.

"What's that doing here?" He said uncomfortably. "We're supposed to be killing those, not-"

"God, she's clearly not an enemy." The nurse sighed. "Come on. Fix her up. I have to go see other people."

"I had a guy with a cut nine- aaand she's gone."

.

Galen sighed.

"Girls, am I right?" He said, turning to Aisha. "Oh, wait."

"..."

He scratched his neck nervously, as he turned Aisha on the mat, taking the unraveled bandages off her right arm. "Ok, let's take a look at what's wrong with you."

.

His face scrunched up again as his eyes caught sight of Aisha's arm, pocked full of holes like a sponge. He avoided looking at the gaping holes, the muscle and blood still running freely from her limbs, somewhat out of professionalism, but also because the sight was quite garish.

.

"Ooh." He said, pursing his lips. "Uh… I don't know if… stitches are going to do. How are you still conscious?"

"Why do you all keep asking me that question, as if I would know the answer?" Aisha said, irritated.

"Right, right." He muttered, taking out a clear, plastic flask. He dipped a cotton ball in the liquid, before moving over Aisha.

"This might... sting." Galen said slowly. "Uh. No. That's a lie. This is going to hurt a lot. But I have to disinfect the wound."

"Whatever." Aisha sighed.

"Ok then." He said, pressing the cotton ball to one of Aisha's wounds. The girl hissed, and her face twitched, but after getting used to the sensation, her face returned to a tired expression.

"Where's the other nurse?" Aisha asked glumly. "I want her. Where's Aless?"

"...What's wrong with me?!" Galen said indignantly. "And your friend… left."

"I just like girls." Aisha sighed.

"..."

"..."

.

Galen paused in his examination to stare at Aisha with a blank face, locking eyes with the prone girl. For a while, there was nothing. Just the sound of the yelling of everyone else in the tent.

"Why are all the cute ones lesbian?" He muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

.

Galen took a pair of surgical tongs and a scalpel, and began to remove little shards of rock from Aisha's arm.

.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Listen, since you're not a soldier… we can fully heal up your wound, instead of just packing as much shit into it as possible to keep you alive for as long as we can."

"...Ok."

"But our healing magic is slow. Much slower than the church's." Galen explained, ripping out a particularly large chunk of rock and throwing it on the ground. "Basically, I'm just going to accelerate the natural healing process. And I have to make sure the wound is clean to do that."

"Why can't you get a church healer here?" Aisha asked.

"Church is separate from the military." Galen said offhandedly. "Something about keeping the church out of politics or something… I don't get it. One of those miracle girls would sure help out a ton, though..."

"Mmmmh…"

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Aisha grunted as Galen finished pulling out the last of the stone shards and started to take out a needle and thread. He began to sew up the massive holes in her arms and legs, but just like before, the process went relatively smoothly as Galen quickly patched her up. He put away the needle and thread and then clapped his hands together loudly, startling the people close to him.

.

"What's that?" Aisha asked, as Galen's hands began to glow with a soft, red light.

"It's healing magic. Well, uh. Kind of. I'm just adding energy to your body. Kind of. To speed up your body's natural healing." He explained, as he put his hands on top of the stitched areas.

"...It's warm." Aisha observed.

"The kind of healing we use is derived from fire magic." Galen explained, forehead creased in focus and exertion. "It comes from a kind of... uh, experimental study of magic. That our 'elemental' magic isn't really based off of specific elements, more from specific types of objects. It's derived from... science. Don't tell anyone though."

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He reached Aisha's knee and stopped his magic, rubbing his hands together once more to stop the process. He pat her on the thigh and got up from his sitting position, starting to walk away to another wounded soldier.

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"Come back in a day to get those removed!" He called from behind his back. "Oh, and eat something!"

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Aisha tried to get up and put her clothes back on, but found that her body was still weak, and while she could slip her arm back into her uniform and chestpiece, she found herself unable to get up beyond that point.

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"Nnnggg..." She grumbled, as she tried again to get up.

"Dammit..." She said weakly.

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A shadow fell over her vision, and Aisha resisted the urge to roll her eyes as a gruff soldier, with a massive gash in his forehead, loomed over her vision.

.

"You're one of them." He growled. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm clearly not one of them." Aisha retorted, but she couldn't muster any strength into her voice. "Dumbass."

"You know what happened to the dog that gave me this?" The man spat, pointing to the still-bleeding wound, ignoring Aisha. "I twisted his head off his neck with my own two hands!"

"Okay." Aisha replied sarcastically.

"Shut up!" He yelled. "You know how many people have died because of your kind?!"

"No."

"I..."

.

Aisha knew that the man would probably try to re-admit her into the hospital tent, but all that she could muster up was just a completely out-of-it expression, with her mouth slightly open, and tired look in her eyes.

.

She knew his type. The type of person who was so passionate that he became completely irrational. He probably had just gone through some humiliating defeat, or had lost someone close to him, so there was literally nothing she could say or do to make him not angry. The best she could possibly even do was make him slightly angrier, since apparently her existence was an affront.

.

Back at the village… that type of person had been one of her… "friends."

.

She vaguely recognized a fist coming for her forehead, but even though it was in full view of her eyes, she could only just stare at it as it slowly made its way closer and closer to her head. She almost yawned, it was so boring...

.

Another hand snatched the fist out of it's path to Aisha's zoned-out face, twisting the man's wrist and throwing him away, surely giving him a new set of injuries.

"What are you doing?" Aless demanded. "Why didn't you defend yourself?"

"I'm injured." Aisha said simply.

Aless's expression softened, as she saw the pitiful sight of Aisha, struggling to get up on the mat, bandages and blood all over her. "...You're still healing. I'm sorry. Come on, let's get out of here."

.

Aisha closed her eyes as Aless scooped her up into her arms, mumbling softly as Aless exited the tent.

"I'm sorry." Aless apologized. "I've been too harsh on you. You've fought well, defeating that ninja."

"Mmmm..." Aisha groaned. "Where are we going? It's cold..."

"I got us our own tent." Aless said. "I'm sorry I left you in the hospital. We can wait there until Falo is here, okay?" She said softly.

.

Aisha let out a deep breath as Aless set her down on a firm, uncomfortable military-style mattress. It was kind of like laying down on a rock, and Aisha squirmed in discomfort, holding out her hands in a pleading manner and begging Aless to cuddle up with her.

The tall woman sighed. "Come on..."

"You've got nothing better to do, right?"

"..."

.

Aless reluctantly slid off her boots, placing them neatly on the side of the bunk, before laying herself down sideways on the bed and reluctantly letting Aisha wrap her small arms around her chest.

"Thank youuuu..." Aisha cooed. "Mmm..."

.

Aless rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but put a hand on Aisha's fluffy little head, patting her to sleep.