The Drake Hunt

[

The sound of a roaring campfire… it was one Aisha was far too familiar with at that point - her inner mind-space, or whatever the hell it was called. She shook the vertigo out of her head as she tried to adjust to the fact that she was, in fact, not laying down - she was standing up. Or perhaps it was the other way around?

.

"Why am I here?" Aisha gasped. "Ugh… why does my stomach… I feel hungry…"

"Well, isn't that the question."

.

Aisha turned towards the voice, sighing, before recoiling at the sound of ravenous snarling.

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"What the hell is that?" She asked Xelos… Sen.

"I know about as much as you do." He sighed, patting the metal cage he was sitting on, holding a snarling mass of… blackness. Aisha saw something akin to a mouth, but was surprised to see nothing inside, no teeth, or acid, or anything.

.

"Interesting, isn't it?" He observed. "No teeth. I don't know if I could hold it if it did."

"Isn't that a bit too literal?" Aisha asked.

"Perhaps."

.

"...What is it?" Aisha asked again, resisting the urge to reach out and touch it.

"I just told you-"

"Give me your best guess." Aisha sighed. "You're my logic and reasoning, right?"

"My best guess is that it's the mass of souls that you put into your body." The tall man rolled his eyes. "Remember?"

.

"...Yeah."

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The monster thrashed against its bars again, Sen's body wobbling on top of the cage.

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"What do we do with it?" Aisha asked.

"You're going to have to do something…" The tall man motioned out into the blackness. "Out there. You said that you're hungry, right? Eat something."

"But I don't know what to eat!" Aisha said, frustrated. "Can't we just… I don't know, wait?"

.

"It's getting stronger." Sen said. "That's not an option."

"Wouldn't feeding it also make it stronger!?" Aisha said incredulously.

"That's true." He closed his eyes. "But the fact that it's here means that it's a part of you. And so if it dies, you'll probably lose your powers. Or worse."

"Why don't we try letting it loose?" Aisha suggested.

.

Sen raised an eyebrow. "Because that's a stupid idea. Look at it."

"But…" Aisha bit her lip. "I… want to see what will happen."

"..."

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"You turn into a mindless beast."

"I don't think that will happen. There's two of us, right?"

"..."

"Let it out."

"No."

"We're going to let it out eventually, right?"

"The idea is to find a way to not do that."

"..."

"Whatever." Sen muttered. "Stupid girl."

.

Sen vaulted off of the cage, the solid metal dematerializing underneath him as he quickly made a large distance between him, and the now free black monster. Aisha watched carefully as the mass shifted, looking around for a second, before suddenly realizing that it was free, dashing over to the fire, still flickering with her memories-

.

"NO!" Aisha shrieked, absolute panic filling her heart as the blob made its way over to the fire, her mistress's form smiling inside-

.

Aisha dashed towards the fire, hand reached out in panic, but she could not stop the monster as it reached her precious, precious memories, and leapt in. Aisha just stood shocked, as it writhed in pain, the mass shifting, its cries echoing throughout the emptiness of Aisha's mindscape.

.

She watched as the cries became… more human. Less… animalistic. It's shape began to shift again, but instead of shifting randomly, it began to condense, turning… human.

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Aisha's heart leapt in her chest as for a brief second, the shadowy mass transformed into her mistress. Sen physically held her back from leaping towards her. But soon, it changed again, mistress's form morphing into the guards… Sen… Mistress's friends, the Vayura, then the succubus… the annoying adventurers, the guild girl, the old guy, her boss, the annoying guy, the second annoying guy, the chocolate man, the tall woman, the short girl-

.

"You really can't remember any of their names?" Sen said, irritated.

Aisha shrank. "No?" She offered.

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Sen just shook his head, as the shadowy mass settled on a form - that of Aisha herself. Aisha took a deep sigh of relief as it rose, and she could still see her memories blazing, bright as ever.

.

Shadow-Aisha turned towards Aisha, letting her see the doppelganger's purple, pupil-less eyes.

.

"HUNGRY!" It screamed, leaping towards Aisha-

]

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"EYAHH!" Aisha screamed, jolting awake, grass and dirt stuck on the side of her face as she leapt upright, thrashing around blindly in front of herself. She toppled over as vertigo once again hit her - planting faceforwards on the ground, or at least, would have, had Sui not caught her.

.

"Are you okay, friend?" Sui asked.

"No." Aisha gasped, feeling at her stomach. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry." Amir grumbled unhappily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What the hell were you yelling about?"

.

"..."

"A nightmare, right?" Sui said, quietly. "My… my other friend has them a lot."

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Aisha took a deep breath, and a large gulp of saliva. What she had, had been a lot more real than a nightmare.

.

(Are you sure it was real?) Aisha wondered. (You don't know that.)

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Uncertainty gripped her heart, but the sinister pull she felt in her gut reaffirmed her. No, rather, it was logical. She had… taken something that was not… her. Into her own body. She felt sick to her stomach, a sensation different from the gnawing hunger.

.

"Urgh…" Aquila groaned, rubbing his face through his mask. "It's too early for this. I'm going back to sleep."

"We have to go." Amir said sternly. "Get up."

"We don't." Aquila yawned. "There is no time limit on the contract. It's more important that we're all well rested. Unless there is a time limit."

"...I... I guess...There isn't." Amir conceded, although his hands twitched. "But I still think we should-"

.

"There's no harm in a bit more sleep!" Sui interrupted cheerfully. "Sleep is the most important thing for the human body."

"You look like you're wide awake." Aisha said accusatorily, the adrenaline pumping through her body preventing her from going to sleep.

"I got enough sleep!" Sui replied.

"You went to sleep after we did." Aisha said suspiciously. "And you were awake even before I was."

Sui smiled innocently. "What's the issue?"

Aisha glared at the cheerful girl. "You-"

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"No fighting!" Amir snapped angrily. "Who cares, if she says she got enough sleep, then It doesn't matter! What's more important is that we're in a team, so just go the fuck back to bed!"

.

Sui nodded, although Aisha didn't say anything, still glaring at Sui suspiciously. Amir didn't care nearly enough, although perhaps he should have, instead being content with there no longer being any talking.

.

Before long everybody had gone back to sleep, except for Sui, who smiled nervously as Aisha stared daggers into her.

.

"What's wrong?" Sui asked softly. "What's the problem? Why don't you like me?"

"You aren't hume." Aisha accused in a low whisper. "Your eyes don't move with any emotion. You don't have a smell. You don't sleep. And there's a strange noise. A humming."

.

Sui froze, and Aisha narrowed her eyes as the annoying, piercing, high-pitched hum quieted into silence.

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"What sound?" She asked shamelessly, rubbing her forehead. "The others don't hear it!"

"You haven't sweat." Aisha glared. "Even though you just wiped your forehead."

"It's a spell." Sui offered, completely ignoring Aisha's accusation.

"I have never heard of such a spell that makes that noise."

"It's a new one!" Sui smiled brightly, no shame evident in her expression whatsoever.

.

Sui was so confident in her deception, that despite how flimsy her reasoning was, Aisha almost was inclined to believe the girl. But something in those still, luminescent eyes, reminded her of… Sen, or Feng. They moved… Mechanically. She would blink, but in a rhythm. Her eyes would move, but… too perfectly. They would move uniformly, instead of moving quickly back and forth like a regular human…

.

"Whatever." Aisha muttered. "I guess it doesn't matter."

"It actually does matter!" Sui affirmed, stepping close to Aisha, much to her surprise. "I like you! You are interesting! I want you to like me back."

"I don't trust you." Aisha said coldly. "You could be lying, for all I know."

"Ah… then how can I get you to trust me?" Sui smiled. "You know, we're actually quite alike! We're both girls, short-"

.

"Take off the cloak." Aisha interrupted.

"I cannot do that." Sui said, her smile fading.

"Why not?"

"If I did that, then it would affect the data."

"What data?" Aisha demanded.

"I…" Sui's eyes widened, and she bit her lip. "I cannot tell you. I'm sorry. Isn't there some other way I can get you to like me?"

"No."

"You seem to trust that woman with the ram's head." Sui accused, crossing her arms. "You ate her berries. And I know you don't know anything about her."

Aisha hesitated. "That's different… She's…"

.

"...How is she different?"

"..."

"It's because you think she looks pretty, don't you!" Sui accused.

Aisha stumbled back, surprised at how easily Sui came to the correct conclusion. "No, I-..."

"AH! I knew it!" Sui exclaimed, pointing a finger at her face. "Am I not cute enough for you!? Is this face not appealing enough!? If I had F-cup boobs, would you-"

.

"SHUT UP!" Amir yelled, from his bed roll.

.

"Oops." Sui whispered. "Listen, you-"

"A big girl has never done me wrong!" Aisha argued. "They've been the only ones in this world to like me-"

"Do you know how silly that sounds!?" Sui hissed in a whisper. "And besides, flat chested women are clearly the best! And-"

"Big is better!" Aisha said, immensely offended. "Clearly! Wha-!? I can't even-" She spluttered.

"Name one reason why big boobs are better!" Sui demanded.

.

"They're soft, and you can squish them, and when you hug a big-breasted girl, you feel warm inside!" Aisha yelled.

"That's dumb! Big boobs just get in the way of hugs! When you hug a flat chest…" Sui looked up dreamily. "When you hug a flat-chested girl, you're closer to her heart!"

"W-well, big breasted girls have bigger hearts!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Sui shrieked "Where's the data!?"

"You don't make any sense! A tall, flat-chested woman is basically a guy!"

"WHaT!?" Sui exclaimed indignantly. "TAKE THAT baCK!"

.

The two girls continued to argue throughout the morning, all through the morning, until eventually their bickering woke everyone up.

.

.

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"What happened?" Aquila asked, looking at the pissed off expressions on Aisha and Sui's faces. Ordinarily, the sight would have probably been concerning, but the angry expressions just looked cute on the two short girls, with their puffed out cheeks, and pouty expressions.

.

"They're not allowed to be next to each other." Amir mumbled. "That's what happened."

"Huh."

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The mute adventurer smiled as she walked over to Aisha, patting her on the head in a conciliatory manner. Sui could only bristle at the sight.

.

.

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"We should be close." Amir muttered. "Get ready."

"Got it." Aquila confirmed.

"Mhm." Sui nodded.

"Alright."

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The mute woman nodded her head, drawing a dagger from within her cloak. The sound of massive footsteps could be heard in the distance, the steps able to even be felt at such a far distance. The plains around them transitioned into swamp, the trees sickly, and the ground starting to turn watery and algae-ridden.

.

"Okay." Amir sighed. "Aquila, do you think you can tank?"

"Tank?"

"Draw its attention." Amir elaborated. "And then take most of its attacks."

"Sure." The warrior nodded.

"Ok." Amir sighed. "I think… Then, we will do front-to-back."

"What's that?" Sui asked.

"Everybody just stands behind Aquila." Amir said, glancing warily at the lightly-armored swordsman. "And, well, we just rain hell at the drake, and ideally, we down or kill it before Aquila falls. If you've got the energy, you help Aquila shield. Otherwise, just send your most powerful attacks."

"Simple." Aquila nodded, in his gruff voice. "I like it. I'm no good with complicated plans."

"Sounds good to me!" Sui chirped.

"Question." Aisha blurted out.

"...What."

"What's a drake?"

"Are you serious!?" Amir exclaimed, as the rest of the party shot her a worried look. "We-"

.

Amir was interrupted by the sound of splintering trees, and a deafening, draconic shriek, piercing the air. The party was suddenly made aware of a massive, lizard-like monster barreling straight towards them, its scaled feet sending swamp water splashing all around it, in plumes of green, infected water. It moved alarmingly fast for a monster its size, about the size of a building, but moving at the speed of a jackal.

.

The beast was green and sickly looking, fins pocked with holes and littering its entire body, viscous green liquid oozing out of every orifice and wound. Its jaws seethed with dangerous, viscous looking venom, spewing everywhere as it shrieked and gnashed it's jaws, which also looked decayed, the bone showing through the skin in some locations. Massive wings laid on top of its body, but it clearly wasn't able to fly, on account of the massive tears in the membranes of the bony appendages.

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"It's a poison drake!" Amir yelled, although his voice was inaudible over the cacophonous noise. Aquila quickly made his way to the front of the party, turning his shoulder to the beast, clearly intending on blocking it.

.

Looking at the muscular, but still lean man, Aisha did not trust his ability to stop the drake at all. Although she drew her crossbow, her legs tensed, prepared to bolt as soon as he was inevitably barreled over.

.

Surprisingly, though, when Aquila slammed his shoulder into the chin of the drake, a shockwave radiated out, and he was the one who won the exchange, the sickly creature shrieking as it was flipped over by the force of his charge. It landed on its back, and Aquila let out a roar as he rushed towards the drake, ready to attack it while it was down.

.

Shocked by the lean man's strength, nobody else attacked it while it was down, and it was only when Aquila was knocked back by the drake's flailing limbs that Aisha sunk a bolt into its body. It screamed out in pain, but its flailing quickly set itself upright again, Amir's arrow, and Sui's blast of magic plinking harmlessly off of it's thick hide.

.

"Pull back!" Amir yelled at Aquila. "Reset!"

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Aquila clearly couldn't hear Amir.

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"PULL BACK!" Amir yelled, louder.

"Huh?" Aquila turned around, to Amir's frantic hand gestures. "Oh. Alright."

.

Aquila hastily made his way back over to the rest of the group, where everyone was huddled together, barely an arms-length between them, as they waited for the drake to make its next move.

.

"We missed a kill opportunity." Amir muttered, dejectedly. "Fuck…"

"Don't worry about it." Sui said firmly. "Focus!"

.

The drake reared its head back, and green mana began to travel up its neck in a cloud, creating a green tint in the dark, cream colored underbelly. The beast opened it's mouth, and a cloud of green gas billowed out of its mouth, covering the swamp in a thick miasma.

.

As the gas corroded the trees, and even the dirt around them, turning everything into sludge, the party realized that the terrain they were in did not use to be a swamp.

.

"Poison gas!" Amir shouted. "Dammit… uhh…"

"What do we do?" Aquila asked.

"Just scatter!" Amir said in a frustrated manner, shaking his head vigorously. "Break formation! Try to space yourselves out!"

.

Everyone nodded, although their coordination was awful, and instead of forming a pentagram around the drake, there was more of a rectangle, with Amir, Aisha, and Aquila all on one side of the drake, Sui and the mute on the other.

.

"Hey-" Amir's eyebrow twitched. "Dammit, I'll move!"

Aquila threw his sword at the drake, the blade spinning like a boomerang, before clinking harmlessly off of the drake's scales, returning to his hand. "Shouldn't the faster one-"

"Fine!" Amir yelled. "I'll-"

.

They had no time to divide their positions among themselves, as another wave of acidic miasma began to encroach on their position. Aquila and Aisha made it out of the cloud fine, but Amir had a little more trouble, not being nearly as quick as either of the two adventurers.

.

"You good?" Aquila asked, green smoke just barely on Amir's tail.

"Yes, I'm fine-"

"Watch out!" Aisha yelled.

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A stray bolt of Sui's magic sailed over the drake, almost hitting everyone on the head. Aquila was forced to dodge closer to the drake, and when he did, the monster sank its jaws into his left arm, fangs dripping with venom.

.

Aquila grunted, using his good sword arm to gouge out one of the eyes of the drake. It screamed out in pain, shrieking and lunging backwards, knocking Aquila onto the ground, and leaving the man unarmed.

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"Aquila!" Amir yelled, rushing to his side. "Y-you…"

"Don't worry about me." He grunted out. "Ah… Damn, can't use that arm anymore."

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He looked at his left arm, which quickly decayed before their eyes, tissues turning decrepit and blood drying out. The drake's venom dripped out of the dead thing like acid, running into the ground.

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Something happened on the other side of the drake, and it turned around, leaving the three to fret over Aquila's wound, as sounds of firing magic boomed around them.

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"That's…" Amir's face fell. "That's fatal, man. I'm… sorry. I didn't…"

"Don't worry about it." Aquila said, even as green venom began to course through his body, lighting up his veins like roots on a tree. "I'll be fine."

"No, I…"

"I'll be fine." Aquila growled, his voice taking on a… unworldly whisper, even as he fell to the ground. "I've had worse. Besides, you have more concerning problems."

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Indeed, just as Aquila said, the miasma was beginning to completely surround the drake, in a massive range around it, poison as far as the eye could see.

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Amir shook his head. "Damn it… Already?"

"Hey, what do we do about the gas?" Aisha asked urgently.

"Get on top of a tree for now." Amir urged. "I… We leave him."

.

Aisha didn't bother lingering over Aquila like Amir did, quickly leaping up on top of the largest tree she could find, to find a vantage point and cover from the drake's venom. She could see over the drake, the outlines of Sui and the mute visible from her high vantage point.

.

Sui looked like she was doing fine. She danced around the battlefield, hopping and jumping around as if she had no weight at all, sending prismatic little beams of light casually at the drake, to very little effect. No doubt the girl was using some sort of air magic, the way she jumped around like she was on the moon. The mute had a little more trouble, the awful footing and massive attacks really putting a strain on her flexibility. Aisha watched as the woman slid under the drake's tail as it attempted to sweep her, her back almost completely flat to the ground.

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Amir pulled himself up to a tree next to Aisha, with much more trouble than the smaller girl had, even without the weight of her crossbow. He squatted down on a tree branch, which notably, splintered under his weight, as the tall man tried to catch his breath.

.

"HEY!" He screamed at Sui and the mute, the green clouds beginning to close in on their location. "FIND COVER!"

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But they didn't hear him, the adrenaline rushing in their ears, or if they just decided to ignore him, nobody knew, as they continued to dance around the drake, not paying any mind to the poison around them.

.

Aisha narrowed her eyes when the drake locked its jaws around what looked to be the mute's entire body, and yet, somehow the woman slipped out of it's closed jaws, leaving the beast with nothing but a mouthful of daggers. Aisha wasn't close enough to tell, but something was… off…

.

"They can't hear us." Amir said, voice cracking in pure frustration. "Nothing is going right. I… We're going to…"

"What do we do?" Aisha asked.

"Huh?"

"What should we do?" The girl asked simply.

"...We… all we can do from here is provide covering fire." He muttered, drawing his bow, notching a clear, crystalline-tipped arrow.

.

Aisha nodded, pulling out a bolt, pulling the massive string on her crossbow back, as Amir fired his arrow at the drake.

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Surprisingly, it didn't plink off of it's back like the other projectiles, instead, it pierced clean through, the magics in the tip of the arrow wisping white as it flew through the air, and straight through the massive drake.

.

Aisha's bolt followed soon after, lodging itself a solid few inches into the drake, but not causing nearly as much damage as Amir did.

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"What was that?" Aisha asked, eyes widening.

"Diamond-tipped arrows with a piercing enchantment." Amir explained, notching another arrow. "Each one is half a gold coin apiece."

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Aisha nodded, although the good mood didn't last long, as the drake quickly turned towards the two, rearing its head back again. Aisha watched as Amir's arrow wound quickly closed itself, and she cursed internally. It had amazing natural regeneration - she should have figured that out, by the way that it's own venom corroded it's body. Something had to keep it alive.

."What's it doing?" Aisha asked. "It's going to try to shoot poison up here?"

"It's not aiming for us." Amir muttered, watching carefully. "It's aiming for… oh no."

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The drake shot a green fireball right at the ground, creating a massive explosion of fire, sending wisps of fire and sparks flying, igniting the massive amount of noxious gases around them.

.

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Aisha was helpless to watch as the battlefield lit up white.

.

.

After that, Aisha didn't really have any recollection of what happened. The sights around her turned into a blur as her body was hurtled at an incredible speed through the air. She could only guess how long she was airborne, but soon, an intense pain shot through her body, as she recognized that her body hit something solid, hard.

.

She didn't know how long she laid on the ground either, her head ringing. All she knew was that at some point, the sound of frenzied stomping cut through the ringing, and Aisha was suddenly made aware of the fact that she was on a battlefield.

.

She quickly stumbled her way onto her feet, looking around in a disoriented manner for something, anything to help her. Her crossbow, her sword, any of her team-mates-

.

Aisha's heart sank when she saw… a familiar face, but…

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"Ai… sha…" Amir rasped out, a tree branch sunken deep into his chest, blood pooling all around his chest and mouth. His words came out pained, and weak.

"What… happened?"

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Aisha opened her mouth, but it felt unbelievably dry, and she couldn't muster any words to say. She could only stare at… at her friend. As he was dying.

.

It wasn't a feeling she was familiar with.

.

"D-don't die." She whispered. "Please."

"Believe me…" Amir whispered. "If I had a choice…"

"N-no, I-... I'll figure something out." Aisha said frantically. "Things always work out in the end. I-I-I-"

"You're really lucky, you know that?" Amir laughed weakly. "For a while… I was really jealous. But… I'm happy for you. I want you to… do what I couldn't."

"What's… what's that?" Aisha gulped.

"Be happy."

.

The ringing in Aisha's ears returned, and she gripped the lapels of Amir's jacket tightly, as if he wouldn't die, if she just held on to him tightly enough. His mouth moved weakly, but Aisha didn't hear any of it, the ringing blotting out all the noise. She tried to think of something to do, something to say - there was nothing that came to mind. There was only that wrenching feeling in her gut, and an intense vibrating, that coursed through her entire body, as she watched one of her only friends die before her eyes.

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Perhaps she should have been paying a bit more attention though, as she was caught completely off-guard when Amir slung his body weakly over Aisha's, covering her small frame with his own, streaking blood all over her chest.

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"Take… care of Kayle." He whispered, barely audible, even though his mouth was right on top of Aisha's ears.

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She was suddenly made aware of reality when the drake, now horribly burnt and charred in many places, tore another hole through Amir's chest, jagged teeth sinking into his chest in multiple locations. Aisha watched, horrified, as he was torn apart, the pain and venom not even registering in his expression. The drake quickly flung his dead body out of the way, and snarled as it advanced on Aisha, eager to give her the same fate.

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Aisha closed her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her face in a feeble brace against death, but once again, she was saved, hearing the struggling screeches of the decaying drake.

.

She opened her eyes, and to her shock, Aquila stood before her, grunting with exertion as he held back the drake by the jaws, his muscles straining with exertion as he braced himself between Aisha and the monster.

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Aisha could only stare blankly at the swordsman. Not only was his left arm completely healed, all signs of bodily harm were gone, save for the rips and tears in his armor, showing off his light green skin.

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"Y-you're an orc." She whispered.

"Not exactly important right now!" He struggled out, turning to face Aisha. She got a good look at his eyes, still solid and glowing, but a dark, sinister purple, instead of his usual bright gold beacons.

"H-how did you live?" Aisha asked.

"Again, it's-"

.

AIsha screamed out in pain as a ear-bleeding, incredibly high-pitched noise assaulted her ears, like if two massive steel bars were being forced into each other. The sound made her cover her ears and stagger back, although Aquila didn't hear any of it.

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A massive laser, the width of an entire door, blasted into the drake's side, incinerating everything in its path. Poison burst everywhere as some organ ruptured within the drake's corpse, a cloud spreading all around the entire party, now gathered around Amir's corpse. Aquila paid the venom no mind, and surprisingly, neither did Sui or the mute. However…

.

Aisha's eyes widened as the poison spread towards her, and she accidentally took in a breath. Automatically, she started coughing as pain fulled her lungs, and she began to panic as she began to cough uncontrollably, tears coming to her eyes as she was forced to breathe in more and more of the poison.

.

"NO!" She hacked out, tears coming to her eyes. "NO- *COUGH*- NO NO NO! NOT AGAIN!"

"I'm sorry!" Sui said, panicked. "Friend, I'm-"

"It… it never gets easier to see this kind of stuff." Aquila sighed. "I'm sorry, kid."

.

"No!" Aisha screamed, or at least… tried to, her voice weak. "I can't… die… I…"

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Blackness creeped up on the edges of Aisha's vision, as visions of her mistress flashed through her mind. Tears came to her eyes - everything was so painful, and yet so frustrating too. She was going to… die like this? Again?

.

.

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(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry mistress… I've been so stupid stupid stupid! I… please… )

.

.

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(It's so cold. I feel… so cold. Mistress… please… I want to hug you… I need you…)

.

.

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(I feel so empty.)

.

.

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(I'm hungry.)

.

.

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Aisha's eyes snapped open, and she took a deep gasp of poisoned air -

.

"What's happening?" She demanded, gasping for breath, looking frantically around herself. "Am I dead? I-"

.

Aisha was suddenly made aware of an awful, bitter taste in her mouth. Like spoiled meat. It was disgusting, and yet… there was something… fulfilling.

.

"Aisha! Friend!" Sui laughed, hugging Aisha, much to the small girl's distaste.

"Wow, she's really okay." Aquila mused. "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" Aisha struggled out, forcing Sui away. Her eyebrows raised when she saw the front of the girl's cloak smeared with venom-tainted blood, a torso-shaped imprint on her body.

.

Looking down at herself, the entire front of her body was smeared in drake blood, and there was something in her hand. Squishing it, Aisha could tell it was… some organ from the drake. The blood on her front clearly stemmed from it.

.

And there were bite marks missing from it.

.

Aisha went pale. "Did I… eat this?"

"Yes." Aquila said. "You asked for it. Don't you remember?"

"No?"

"Hm." Aquila mused. "Well, I guess you were close to dying. But that's quite the ability."

"Ability?" Aisha asked.

"You ate it, and then… you were completely fine." Sui said, fascinated. "Even though your lungs were destroyed. And on top of that, you can breathe the poison!"

.

"I…" Aisha looked down at herself. The cloud had somewhat settled, growing thinner, but it was still suffused in the air, eating away at the trees and dirt. And yet… Aisha was fine. Her clothes were starting to decay, and yet, her actual body felt fine.

.

Actually, she felt… great. She didn't feel hungry anymore - she felt quite energetic, power coursing through her veins. Her burn wounds were gone too.

.

"What…" Aisha put a hand on her forehead. "What happened?"