Maximus was now approaching Tide, an evil smile spread over his face. I did not have time to make it to her. Not giving up I tore up two more of the cobbles from the ground. Not sparing any strength I threw the first right in front of Maximus, blocking his path. “Leave my friends alone!” I bellowed at him.

Maximus looked up from Tide to stare at me. We both glared at each other but I did not feel like prolonging this any longer. I raised the second cobble over my head ready to throw. I was not going to let him get another step closer to Tide and I wanted him to know it. Not letting the stone down I inched my way over to Tide as I watched his every movement. Maximus hesitantly took a step back as I neared. 

I could feel power start to surge in Maximus as a black ball started to swirl in his hand. A rock would not be much help against that death but I was not about to drop such a good deterrent.  I began to gather my own powers. I pushed them to my free hand and caused them to start circulating just as he had. A sphere of light formed just above the palm of my hand, constantly trying to find an escape, trying to find a plant to bring life to, but I did not allow it. I continued to feed power into it while forcing it to grow tighter and tighter. And though the ball grew smaller I could feel it swelling with energy.  

I kept my eyes on Maximums watching his every move. The freed energy from Maximus, Tide and myself, had mixed with Faun’s energy that had been hanging in the air. It made this winter day remind me of an oppressively moist summer day. 

But I did not let this strange feeling distract me from Maximus. His ball, though deadly, was wispy and barely coherent. I could see frustration on his face that I was able to so quickly steal his skill and do it better. He was no match for me once I found out his tricks and he knew it. 

In his frustration, I saw his eyes quickly dart over to Istan and Gray who were a few steps behind me and to the left. Not wanting to give Maximus another target I sidled over a step putting myself between them and Maximus. I would be able to defend myself against his attack with my power. 

Maximus kept his eyes on me as I watched his wicked grin grow. What on earth is he thinking? I clearly have the upper hand here. I can attack and defend but from what I have seen he has to choose. 

This stalemate of waiting for the other to make their move continued. Without warning Maximus broke eye contact and turned to my right, sending the ball of death flying. 

“No!” I called while throwing my stone but it was just a second too slow. Maximus’s ball was already flying when the stone crushed his arm and landed in his chest. He went down hard with only the briefest cry of pain and didn’t move. I flung the glowing green sphere at his ball trying to intercept it but I knew as soon as it left my hand that it would not make it. “Leafy!” I cried. 

She saw the ball coming but instead of getting out of the way she stood in front of the fountain protecting Mist. The world slowed down as I watched Leafia raise her already injured arm to receive the attack, her face contorting in pain from the harsh movement. Blackness filled the air as the ball crashed into her arm. Even before the light had returned I was running as fast as my legs would carry me to the fountain. Finally I could see again but Leafia was not there. 

Panic fueled me as I crashed into the side of the fountain to see Leafia laying in the water looking dead. I hopped over the small wall pulling her head onto my lap to keep it out of the water. There was a gash along her arm, but nothing serious. Much more frightening were the black lines making their way up her arm like a bunch of wiggling worms. But despite the spreading blight there were still shallow breaths. She was still alive.

Not wasting a second I put a finger in her mouth and started to push medicine into her. Her breathing started to get deeper and more steady. I made it in time, my medicine has never failed me. Suddenly Leafia shuddered in pain. I pushed more medicine in her trying to ease her pain but her shaking only grew worse. 

I stopped the medicine and after a few seconds the pained look on her face faded. But that did not last. The black filth continued to crawl up her arm, sending a new wave of pain. Not willing to give up, I tried probing her with my powers but as was to be expected I could not see anything. Not a plant.

“What am I supposed to do? She is going to die soon. Why is my medicine not working?” I asked myself, a tear streaming down my face.

“Faun,” came a watery voice barely more than a whisper. Mist! How could I have forgotten that I was sitting in her? And she was right too.

I looked over to see Istan holding onto Faun helping her to stand, while Gray was near Tide, still looking around intently. I was glad for his vigilance. Maximus was down with a shattered shoulder and none of the remaining guards seemed to want to fight, but it was wise to have one of us alert. “Istan, I need you to bring Faun here.”

Faun looked a little reluctant to move back over to this corner of the yard but she must have seen the look of desperation on my face since she did not say anything. 

The minute it took them to walk over felt like an eternity. I wanted to yell at them to hurry. Leafia needed help now. The death did not stop spreading up her arm. I could even see a few flecks of black mixing into the water that was already tainted pink from the flow of blood from Leafia’s arm. 

“Faun, I tried to heal Leafy but my medicine didn’t work.” I looked up to Faun with pleading eyes.

I was grateful that Faun did not even spare me a look as her eyes bored into Leafia. “That death is feeding off your medicine. Using it to make itself stronger.” 

Faun’s words deflated me. My medicine was only making Leafia worse. As if to emphasize how unhelpful I was, Leafia convulsed in pain as the blight spread up her arm much faster than before. “Faun, can you help her?” I pleaded. I did not want to watch a friend die in my arms. Faun did not reply but stretched forth her hand getting as close as she could without stepping into the fountain. 

The hope at seeing a spark of Fauns power faded with the golden light from her hand. Istan staggered a little, evidently supporting more of Faun’s weight as she started to droop. In a resigned voice Faun muttered, “I will not be able to do anything until I can cleanse my body of the poison that creep has been forcing me to eat.”

My panic increased as I looked at Faun with eyes full of concern. She feebly waved her hand trying to show it was ok but she clearly saw that this was a failed attempt. “I just need a few days and clean water,” Faun said. “The freak did not want me to be able to use my power except when he wished for it.” 

I stared into Faun’s eye trying to make sure she was telling the truth. But that did not last long before a new shake from Leafia demanded my attention. “Is there anything I can do?” I asked while not taking my eyes off Leafia. 

“I am not su-” 

“-push it out like with me.” Faun started but was cut off by a faint whisper from Mist. An image filled my mind about how I made my energy so dense that it did not allow any of Mist’s energy to escape. 

Katuwarrior

We are getting close to the end of what was supposed to be the mass release. This also means that we are getting close to the end of the tension for those who want the fluff back. For those who like the tension... We can always have Laurel and Tide bicker.