Hexus: Neo

~29~ Volume

[1:53 PM, January 19, UTC +08:00]

"Oh great, the cavalry's here!"

ADRIANNA squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to fight off the queasiness that came with teleportation before quickly looking towards the source of the voice. The woman was several feet away, dressed in what looked like an oversized mauve robe, with dark wavy auburn hair cascading down to her waist. She looked a lot like Nathan, with a slim face, a slender nose, prominent cheekbones and twinkling grey eyes, but unlike Nathan's usually downturned mouth, she had a pout that gave her the look of being permanently amused. Although she looked friendly, Adrianna shuddered with revulsion at the way the orenda acted around her, like a massive erratic mess of charged disruptive energies slithering with avarice and malevolence.

"Someone's missing," the woman – Moira – said, looking around. She made a show of thinking it over before raising a finger as though she had been struck by an epiphany. "Aha! The bloodsucker. Although, the only thing he's sucking now is your dick, isn't it Adam?"

Adrianna only then noticed that Adam was in front of Moira, bowed on one knee and surrounded by Proles who were restraining him with a band of energy. He was breathing heavily, looking at Moira with a confused expression as sweat poured down his face. Adrianna tried to stop her hands from shaking, but there was no helping it. Adam was supposed to be their most powerful player, and she had been hoping to just be the back-up in this situation, not the actual fighting force. Ivan was standing off somewhere to Moira's side, his sharp fangs glinting as he grinned.

"Where is Ecru, really?" Ivan asked.

Adam's confusion seemed to resolve, his face returning to his usual controlled calculating expression.

"He isn't with us," he said coldly. "Not anymore."

Ivan narrowed his eyes, and then snapped his fingers at the Proles. Adrianna felt the rise of energy poured into Adam's restraints, and Adam choked on a scream and convulsed as a hissing sound and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Ivan snapped his fingers again as he walked towards Adam and the Proles released their energy binds and stepped out of the way. He leaned over and grabbed a fistful of Adam's hair, and yanked up so hard that Adam's knee left the ground and their faces were practically touching.

"It's cute that you're trying to protect him," Ivan gritted out, "but I'm running out of patience. Where is he?"

Adam only groaned. Ivan hissed and released his grip, and whirled around and kicked Adam in the chest with superhuman force. Adam flew back as blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he crashed to the ground in front of Paula, who crouched to help him up while simultaneously looking around anxiously.

"He's somewhere over there," Moira said, pointing a finger upwards and to her left, "Don't look so scared, I haven't killed him yet."

Paula stiffened, but she still looked in the direction Moira had indicated. An elf owl was perched on one of the support pillars, watching them through wide yellow eyes. Adrianna could see the bubbling of the orenda around it, like a response to the raw primal energy contained within the small animal. The bird took off, and as it flew towards them, it stretched and morphed fluidly, enlarging and elongating into Damilare's hulking human body. He immediately rushed towards Paula and crouched beside her and Adam.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. Adrianna would have thought the question was meant for Adam if Damilare wasn't looking directly at Paula. Adam was making slurring noises as blood poured through his mouth, and Paula looked tense as she shifted her gaze between both men.

"Not really. I..." She trailed off and she looked conflicted. Damilare turned and looked over his shoulder towards Moira.

"What are you really hoping to accomplish?" he asked, his voice laden with irritation.