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Firiko sank his teeth into her the instant he had a hold, his sharp claws digging into the bark of the tree on impact, his blue green eyes looking up at her in triumph.
Firiko sank his teeth into her the instant he had a hold, his sharp claws digging into the bark of the tree on impact, his blue green eyes looking up at her in triumph.
The creature let out a weak whimper, cradling its leg now bleeding sap.
"Alright," it spat vehemently in an adorably high-pitched voice. "What do you want to know?"
"What happened to the inhabitants of the lake?" asked Firiko firmly, wiping trees sap out of his mouth as he shifted back to human form, still latched onto the side of the tree.
"They were taken from the Lakes four nights ago," the creature recalled, carefully getting to its feet and rising to its full height of 2'7''.
"By who? And Why?" asked Firiko, his silver auras wrapping around the spirit's vicinity to prevent her escape.
The wood spirit recoiled against the warrior's aura. "By her," it squeaked. "Melinoe. But I don't know why."
"Got any other info on the topic?" asked Firiko, his auras coiling in on her lightly, still preventing escape.
The creature gave a terrified nod. "Yes, yes! They went willingly! All of them!"
"Willingly??" Said Firiko, nodding and finally releasing the spirit.
The spirit collapsed into a heaving pile of wood just as Jaoel inches into the clearing.
"That was… impressive," Jaoel told Firiko, looking him admiringly in the eye.
Firiko shrugged, looking down at him from his treetop perch. "Practice, and experience." he said.
"I'll take it," he answered vaguely. He knelt down next to the spirit.
"What did she tell you?" he asked grimly.
"Apparently they left the lakes four nights ago with some lady by the name of Melinoe." he said, jumping down from his treetop perch. "Apparently they went willingly too."
Jaoel inched to his feet, dread now firmly gripping his heart. "Melinoe," he repeated quietly, the name leaving bitter fear on his tongue. "They went willingly, you said? That doesn't surprise me."
"That's what it said" said Firiko, finding the other's reaction worrying.
"We have to go, if that's the case. Find a way in," Jaoel planned seriously, forgetting Firiko was not part of his world. "She's fast and merciless, and it might already be too late."
All of his light-hearted playfulness had gone, now, leaving only a man loyal to his kind. He was already halfway out of the forest, caught in purposeful stride.
Firiko shifted to wolf form, loping after him. "What do you mean? Who is Melinoe? What will she do?" he asked, "Remember I'm not from here, and I can't help unless you explain."
Jaoel stopped in his tracks, surprised that Firiko hadn't flown home already. "Why are you helping me?" he asked him. The question wasn't sharp or suspicious, but just a question. No one ever stuck around just for the good of others.
"One, I kinda need you to get home. Two, I have literally nothing better to do, and skills that can be used to aid you. Three, helping people out in these situations is in my blood, may as well step up and play along." said Firiko, "Four, I like you, and really do wanna help.."
A slight bit of his old trust slipped into Jaoel's expression, lighting up his face and returning it to its childish innocence. "I've never met someone as kind as you are," he admitted, studying his companion.
Firiko shrugged, shifting, "Not everyone has to be mean.."
"Mean is the golden rule in this world."
He turned away as a deep blush settled on his face, and launched into an explanation. "I don't precisely know who Melinoe is, but by her name I can tell you she's one of the rulers of the Neric."
"The Neric?" asked Firiko, unfamiliar with the word. "And trust me, mean is pretty normal where I come from too… especially in my territory. I just find it takes too much energy to follow suit."
Admirable.
"The Neric. The Dark. It's an overseas territory, ruled by 7 witches. No on ever goes there because, as the name indicates, it's full of unparalleled darkness. I couldn't name a single person I know that doesn't run away crying at the mention of it."
(just an apology for this crappy worldbuilding I'm making it up as I go)
(No worries, I might add in some of my own overlay as things go on though.. but it's your characters world.. so my options are limited.)
"Great.. I hate large amounts of water.." he said, "I take it this Melinoe is one of them?"
(Feel free to expand on the universe. We can work out a balance easily enough I expect)
"My guess would be yes. I only know of two of the witches, Artela and Erebos. I have no idea how to fight them, but an idea of who to ask. We have to go back to the village."
(Cool)
Firiko nodded, "Want to ride? We could move a lot faster that way.." he said.
Eyes widening, Jaoel looked over at Firiko. "Ride you?" he blurted out, the blush reappearing.
Firiko nodded, shifting. "Yeah, like I said, we'll cover more ground that way.."
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