Eryl adjusted the sleeping girl in her arms as Hecatolite’s tail wrapped tightly around her waist. Any concern she had about Hecatolite’s health was answered as she pulled herself tightly into Eryl’s chest; though it did little to answer the growing list of questions Eryl had.

What was she doing way out here in the forest? It was the simplest question and thinking about it rationally, Eryl came to the most likely solution, she probably just got bored and wandered off to eat or something. She struck that question from her list.

All the mud is likely from running around as well, but the blood? She scowled slightly looking down at her own robes. She knew Hecatolite had acidic blood meaning the drying black liquid on her arms and chest would likely eat through the cotton fabric, though she was thankful that, though it will make short work of her clothing, the increased durability of her own body should be more than enough to fend it off.

She doesn’t look injured. Giving Hecatolite a quick once over she amended that statement slightly. Cuts and scrapes along her legs, she may have fractured bones, finding a large bruise on Hecatolite’s side supported that there could be more damage than meets the eye. Could that be it? internal damage, that would explain why it looks like blood was coming out of her mouth and nose…

 Hecatolite shifted and Eryl looked at one of her ears, realizing for the first time that they were slightly pointed at the top. Nothing as dramatic as an Elf’s ears, but they were clearly not human. Maybe a malformation in the spell that created her body, then again it is Hecatolite. I should check Amethyst’s ears when I get a moment. 

Her own ears drooped when she realized she had gotten off track, the important thing here was the dried blood that caked her ears meaning she had been bleeding from them as well. It didn’t add up; the injuries she currently had and the amount of dry blood that caked her body, this was far too much blood. If it weren't for Hecatolite’s unique blood, Eryl would have thought she had simply gone on a rampage and not cleaned herself after. Or if it had started when she collided with me I would understand, but that just adds more questions. She was able to hit me hard enough to cause my own reinforcements to falter and just bounce off, how hard would something have had to hit her to actually cause damage like that? I should have Himari check her when we return, though for now. She channeled a small amount of mana into her palm and carefully checked Hecatolite for any broken bones or bruises, the tiny cuts on her feet closing as she passed over them. 

She tapped the black bruise on the side of Hecatolites ribs and noted it vanished almost immediately, well, she didn’t break any ribs and I don’t see any signs of internal damage… just what happened to her? 

With a sigh she started walking, she knew that particular question would have to wait until Hecatolite woke up. Then again, now that the bruise was gone no one would know that Hecatolite, great and powerful as she is, has such a plain weakness; one that even she doesn’t know herself. Gravity, specifically falling out of a tree while sleeping. Her own body was thankfully sturdy enough to survive the fall that would cripple a normal person with little more than a bruise.

As she walked Eryl moved on to more pressing matters, such as how did Hecatolite find a nearly extinct Thunder stag to chase around? Why did the Guardian of the forest let Hecatolite chase it? Moreover, why did the Guardian who seemed to want Hecatolite out of the forest give her “gifts”?

It seemed to think she was looking for food, though it thought she had… a pack? No that’s not right, Eryl bit her lip as she thought back on the brief “conversation” with the Guardian. To call it a conversation was an overstatement, it was always difficult to communicate with such creatures after all; having to interpret their feelings as a rudimentary form of communication often leading to misunderstandings.

It obviously wanted Hecatolite out of the forest, that was clear. As to why it didn’t remove her itself, Eryl could only speculate that it had to have somehow recognized Hecatolite as a threat. It's clear emotion of wanting her out but not attempting to make her leave was proof enough of that; how it recognized her… Eryl didn’t know. It could simply be cautious of the new creature it knew nothing about… that could be why it thinks she has a “pack”, it must be able to feel Amethyst as well. 

Ok, so that explains the rabbit. She glanced at the bag on Hecatolite’s hip where she had stored the rabbit. She ignored the abundance of flowers and honey that covered the bags inside, assuming Hecatolite wouldn’t mind if the rabbit got coated itself. But why did it give her a thunder stag skull? 

The off-white skull was a true oddity to Eryl. It was significantly smaller than the one the Guardian wore leading her to believe it was either a younger male or a female skull. The hand sized crystal horns made it clear, either way, that it was not an adult; though it was still big enough for Hecatolite to wear as a hat. Eryl knew this because the Guardian had placed it on Hecatolite’s head as if testing it before ushering her away.

Maybe she had tried to take its skull? Was it trying to keep her from returning for it? If that’s the case, why did it feel apologetic when it gave it to her? The whole interaction didn’t make sense to her, and the more she thought about it the more questions she ended up with; which bothered her, Eryl was used to just knowing things. And anything she didn’t know off hand she could have used the system to find out, yet now here she was carrying an unconscious Hecatolite through the forest with no answers and no way to find out…

Hecatolite shifted in her arms; a slight groan escaped her before Eryl felt a small, slightly sticky, hand on her back as Hecatolite pulled herself tightly into her now nearly exposed chest. Eryl was sure she had seen a flash of red… “Are you awake?”

Eryl cocked an eyebrow as Hecatolite didn’t “answer” her, but she did shake her head no as she buried her face in what remained of Eryl robes. Eryl didn’t understand why the small gesture made her feel warm: or why, for some reason, it made her smile despite the foolishness of it. “I see.” She cleared her throat.

Eryl didn’t necessarily mind carrying Hecatolite, it… it would be a waste of mana if she were to run through the forest barefoot again. I did just heal her feet after all. And it's not like she is heavy by any means… She paused as a new question popped into her mind, distracting her from the warm feeling in her cheeks, as if pushing the emotion out. 

Why is she so light? Hecatolite was indeed small, the young woman barely five feet tall and despite her eating habits was actually very thin. Not that that in particular was odd, it was an oddity to see a “large” mage given the amount of energy casting magic of any kind took. And Hecatolite was very active leading her to have more muscle, muscle that should have added to her weight… and there was the tail currently wrapped around Eryl’s waist.

Hecatolite’s tail nearly doubled her size, being as thick as one of her legs and being as long as she was tall. She should weigh… well a lot more than this. Is it a weight reduction skill I don’t know about? She thought as she absently bounced Hecatolite in her arms a few times, soliciting a protesting groan from her. 

Eryl rolled her eyes as she stopped, if nothing else at least Hecatolite was persistent in her “sleeping” act,  though her tail did tighten when Eryl jostled her around. 

Eryl didn’t bother trying to talk to Hecatolite while she walked after that, sure she had questions for her but it could wait, besides Hecatolite was determined to “sleep” as long as she could. After all, she wasn’t sure what happened, or why she had woken up in Eryl’s arms. But it was nice, Eryl was warm, and soft, kind of like... 

I miss Saffron… She knew Saffron had told her she didn’t mind if she slept with other people, even if she got another wife but that didn’t make her feel any less guilty about it. Not that it kept her from snuggling into the beautiful elven woman’s bosom, she did however silently vow to be better to her wife. After all, even if I get a whole harem, Saffron is my first wife. I need to be the best I can for her, I already got her a nice ring from the pirates… it's not enough though… I know I’ll get her gifts from everywhere! What do the elves make that I can get her though? I should ask Eryl, she knows everything, I bet she knows where to get the best gifts. Then when I get back I can do it right this time, down on one knee and everything, that’s the least I can do for her… Why is Eryl bouncing me around so much? My danger sense isn’t going off… Am I heavy!? Oh, she stopped, maybe she was just adjusting me, it doesn’t feel like we are walking any slower. Ok, I should still pretend to be asleep… she’s so warm, and her chest! Why is her shirt open? Maybe it’s a weird elf thing? I mean… I’m not going to complain, but it’s strange… What was I thinking about again… why is Eryl carrying me through the forest? I guess it doesn’t matter really, this is nice. Hecatolite snuggled close to Eryl, trying to enjoy the moment as much as she could while still “sleeping”. After all, if she was awake she would have to walk, and this was a million times better in her mind.

Thankfully the trip back to town was much simpler, knowing the path and the lack of wildlife making travel almost pleasant; if they ignored the entourage of elven soldiers and the Guardian of the forest… at least they are keeping their distance. Eryl glanced back at the elven guards who scattered into nearby brush to hide, though their attempts at stealth are… lacking.

She sighed when she spotted the bleached white skull, the Guardian making no attempts to hide as it kept vigil on the two. Then again it had no need to hide, neither did the elves for that matter but if they wished to waste energy who was she to stop them. They had to know that hiding from someone who knew you were there was pointless… right?

Suddenly Hecatolite twitched, her eyes snapping open as she turned her head towards the village. 

“Finally giving up on sleeping?” Eryl asked as she cocked an eyebrow, the small woman in her arms turning her head side to side as if thinking.

Hecatolite’s entire body tensed as she muttered, “Can… can you hear that?”

Eryl stopped, both her ears raising as she scanned the forest for anything out of place. Not finding anything she closed her eyes and cast a small wind spell to hear; she didn’t want to risk trying to cast mana sense in the forest given the abundance of energy around her. She could hear the elven guards behind her, their heavy steps like drums in her ears now as she tried to filter out the sounds. After a minute she managed to pick up the faintest sound of voices, but that wasn’t too strange, they were close to the town after all… “No?” 

“The whispers…” Hecatolite shuddered as she turned to look at Eryl who froze at the sight. Hecatolite’s porcelain white skin stained with grime, her bright red eyes shimmering in the light of the sun as she peered at Eryl through her tangled bangs that were illuminated by a strange red glow coming from the center of her forehead… 

What in the Mother’s name is…

“Amethyst!” Hecatolite hissed as she violently twisted out of Eryl’s arms.

It happened in the blink of an eye, too fast for even Eryl to follow. One moment she was looking down into Hectolites eyes, wondering about the strange glow in the girl’s head, then suddenly she was standing before a pair of footprints with pure white energy crackling in them. 

Eryl abruptly realized there was a slight breeze in the forest, the cool air causing her chest to tingle as she blinked several times as her mind tried to catch up to what just happened. After a moment she began to curse as she broke into a dead sprint, following the path Hecatolite had carved through the forest.

Just tell me how far away Hecatolite and Eryl are! It was like her name called to her, a ringing in her ears that brought them all into focus, a single point for her to latch onto. Like a dam breaking Hecatolite could hear them, the whispers, the barely audible voices that always sat at the very edge of her mind, only now they seemed… clear, loud… angry. 

Damn elves think they can just get away with it.

It’s those girls, they planned this. They are going to turn us in for the bounty.

We should take the ship back. Without the elf and the other girl here…

She’s shaking, without the other two here she’s not so strong.

Too bad that elf ran off too, I would have liked to… 

Damn humans, we should have just sunk their ship.

Finally, something to do besides guard duty.

I wonder if we can wrap this up before lunch.

Will the elders let us take a few of them as prisoners?

Why should I listen to that bitchy mage, I should be the captain.

What should I do? I need to stop them…

He looks so gallant, why can't the others just do what he says…

They flashed through her mind at blinding speed, only able to hear snippets of each of them, some of them she wished she hadn’t. Then she could hear only one… the one that caused her blood to run cold, “help.” It was such a small word, a weak word but… but it was Amethyst. Her voice, her cry for help.

“Damn it!” She screamed as she careened off a tree, ignoring the crunching sound as her shoulder slammed into it. “Fuck this,” Hecatolite, ground her teeth as she slid to a stop, digging her feet into the dirt she yelled. “Inutil!”

The sound of shattering glass reverberated through the forest, shaking the ground itself as Hecatolite rocketed into the air; flying higher than she ever had before, then with its usual crack of thunder, a terminal appeared above her. Hecatolite barely noticed the flashing words, “”ME”: (Defragmentation)//failed. (partial segregation: of “ME”: and “006”:) //Reinstated. “Overseer”: (Initializing)”, as she slammed into it.

“Took you long enough, dumb box.” She hissed before, not waiting for a reply, she kicked off it, sending shards of obsidian raining down into the forest below. Barely a thought spared for the terminal as she made a mental note to yell at it for taking so long, Seriously, I don’t call it for half a day and it goes on vacation. She flew through the sky, not realizing the trail of obsidian shards that flashed a deep crimson behind her.

“Even with her own body it’s still too much.” Overseer’s voice fading behind her as the shards vanished, “I guess we will have to wait for the other one.” With its final words, the whispers faded back into background noise, no longer the crisp clear voices, but silent murmurs just on the edge of Hecatolite’s mind.