A Real One
"Oi! You've got a monster hanging off of ya you bleeding idiot!" A soldier cried out as Markim stumbled past him, sheathing his sword even as he struggled to keep his shoulder even.
"I'm aware! I can't really think of a good explanation right now, but don't kill it!" He yelled right back, even as he stepped into the safe confines of the gates
"What the hell's d'ya mean you can't think of a good explanation?!" The same man cried out while Markim collapsed against the wall. Holding his right shoulder away from the wall as to not squish the wolf hanging off of it. He set the cat that the wolf had strangely trusted him with down onto the ground before him. Its chest was rising and falling slowly and his hand was covered in its blood. The monster probably didn't have long to live. Then he peeled the wolf off of his armor. They didn't have long to live either. Searing blue visible in intricate lines across their skin.
"Mana burn, what the hell was this thing doing to get mana burn...? Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm gonna need a healer, and not for me." He grumbled out to the dismay of the ten or so people standing nearby him.
"Mark what are you talking about? Just kill the things and be done with it." Another soldier offered a hand to Markim, though he waved them away as he stood up.
"Can't do that I'm afraid, like I said it's a little bit odd to explain. I'm not entirely sure what's going on with these two, but the wolf was able to use mind magic and communicate with me. It's clearly sentient and aware of itself, so you'd have me hard pressed to just kill the thing. Not sure about the cat monster but the other monster at least seems to care about it." Markim scratched around the base of his neck as he spoke. "Either way, I'm gonna need a healer on the job. The wolf might end up living through the mana burn but that cat's definitely dead without any help. Somebody go grab somebody who can do something about it." Markim grunted out as he walked to the side. Grabbing some dressing for the feline's wound, to at least staunch some of the bleeding.
Before he crouched down, he looked around to see everybody standing still in minor shock. "Right, stop standing there like a horde of Minor Gossifixes and get moving! More soldiers on the field and grab a damn healer, hurry up!"
That seemed to snap them out of their funk, as their priorities were making sure that the place they lived in wasn't sieged by endless hordes rather than keeping watch over two injured monsters. So they got to moving as soon as they were reminded to do so.
...
"Alright who the hell said they needed monsters healed?!" An irrate voice pierced into Markim's ears while he stood over the two unconscious creatures. Or well, one of them was incapacitated and still vividly suffering, but the other was out from blood loss.
"That would be me." He responded evenly as he turned, but felt his blood run cold when he saw who exactly it was that had come to help. "Mira?! What the hell are you doing down here!?"
"Magic was running low and they thought I should take a moment to recover. Now, here I am on my short break being told something needs healing, but next I hear, that something is monsters!? Now soldier, tell me, why in the world are you treating fucking monsters with our supplies?!"
"Look, can you just-"
"No! There will be an explanation before I do absolutely anything, am I clear?!"
"Ghh, fine! Fine. I got separated from my squad while we were out in the flux, I thought I was doomed for certain. I was sur-"
"No shit you'd be doomed, how could you let yourself get separated like that? You're lucky to be al-"
"If you'd let me FINISH." Markim quickly grated out to the abrasive mage. To which she did not respond, instead holding her hands up.
"I was surrounded by monsters on all sides and stranded on my own. Which would be when out of nowhere this wolf," he gestured to Mia, "started slaughtering everything nearby me."
"So what? That just means you're lucky. Inconceivably so, but still lucky regardless."
"That's what I thought at first as well, but after it jumped up on it's hindlegs and started dancing around in front of me-"
"Pff, what?" Mira suppressed a laugh, though quickly shut up with another glare, still smirking wryly though.
"DANCING, around in front of me that I started to question that. After that, it had started helping me back towards the town gate. Though part way there, it managed to use a mind spell and told me to "protect" the second monster here. At which point it got MANA BURNED! And still continued fighting to protect it, and me by extension."
Slowly, Mira's expression was turning from that of amusement to one of confusion. "I've never even heard of a monster weak enough to be affected by fluxes being that smart, let alone displaying any traits like that. Are you sure you weren't just delirious from blood loss or something?"
"Really?" He asked Mira incredulously.
Mira sighed and walked closer. "Fine, let me see them."
Markim obliged and stepped to the side, letting Mira get a clear look at both of the monsters. "I'll be damned." She uttered, utterly shocked. Remembering one of the monsters she'd been sent to deal with in recent memory looking suspiciously exactly like this one. "That is just the damnedest coincidence." After a short moment, Mira casted a spell and looked at the two again.
"The wolf will make it, though the pain they're experiencing from such a severe mana burn might be traumatizing to its senses. The other monster, which is a Whispering Calico by the way, rather annoying species, will not make it without outside assistance."
"Without outside assistance you say, I take it that it'll be fine?"
"Of course." Mira shrugged, before focusing mentally for a short moment. "Alright, the cat's fine. They'll be weak for days but it's not like that'll impact this particular specimen much. Now, the wolf. I've actually got some vested interests in this one, so as much as I'd love to leave it to its own suffering I think I'd rather it not be crippled for weeks. Maybe for life." Mira waved a hand and crouched down closer to the wolf.
Her eyes continued to glow with the light of a spell, before she held her hand up to the air and conjured a white staff from thin air, the ephemeral tool glistening brightly. "For a monster smart enough to be using magic at a proficient enough level to communicate with other races they sure aren't the brightest. They made this burn infinitely worse than it had to be." She mumbled as her eyes flicked around, before she took a step back and pointed the glistening staff towards Mia.
"Mana Purge, Mend Body," she spoke in an even voice as the staff she held began to glow brighter. With a bright flash, scratch that, a chain of consecutive bright flashes spells went off rapid fire. Mira repeating the words "Mana Purge" with every single cast. Though with every flash her concentration wavered, until eventually, she fell to one knee panting heavily. Holding herself up with the staff before it vanished into the air in motes of light. "Well, so much for taking a break." She spoke in a breathless laugh.
Markim looked between Mira and the wolf, worried for the mage for a short period of time, though those fears were quickly assuaged when she just stood up. Rather then that, he took a look at the wolf. Overall, the scars of mana burning across her flesh had dimmed considerably, now only a dim cyan, almost entirely removed from her body. And slowly, they stood up.
They were still shivering to a heavy degree, but the convulsions of pain had mostly stopped. Their chest rose and fell slowly. When their eyes widened Markim's hand drifted to the sword he had in his sheath, in fear that they may have to fend off the monster they'd effectively just vouched themselves for, but to his relief they instantly turned around to face the cat, immediately dropping down and putting their ear to it's chest. A moment later they rose to their full height and turned back around to face Markim and Mira, eyes considerably less wide. Though when its gaze crossed over Mira, it returned right back to "shocked".
"Oh this should be fun." Mira barely held in a laugh as she stood to her full height.