𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 犬夜叉 ♡ ; 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚡 𝚘𝚌

PURPLE INSECTS

mei continued on her journey for about an hour or so, relating to the position of the sun, until settling nearby a riverbank for the night. "Its not use in exhausting myself before even making it to these "ordained riches",".

she placed emphasis on the 'ordained' with a roll of her almond eyes.

"i'll surely not kill myself over the matter, not with the neighboring villages speckled about the countryside that seem far, far easier to loot than this mysterious castle far off into the forest, quote the merchant." she sucked her teeth in annoyance as she unfastened her boots and set them to the side.

"mei," she continued to ponder aloud "have you let your greed overcome your common sense? there is no sign of human, animal, or insect life, maybe i should turn around.. maybe," she stiffened her yawn with the back of her hand that seemed to carry on for minutes, the corner of her eyes watering up from strain "maybe i should rest, and clear my head. even if it is close to mid - day, i just need to rest." fatigue and irritation began to set onto her psyche, and she was growing irritable, even as she disrobed and set her clothing, armor, and pendant neatly on top of eachother she felt even these efforts were for naught. but nonetheless, as she dusted off her shoulders and loosened the tie in her hair so her locks could dance carlessly down her lower back, she didn't care much for the dramatics or romantics, she just wanted to bathe!

with a whip of her hair over her shoulders and a steady toe tip into the water, she felt relief that it wasn't ultimately too cold or too warm, it was to her liking. mei carefully planted her feet on the affixed mounds under water until she was navel high against the mild current. she waded further and further out until finally settling onto a large boulder; she ducked her head under the water, allowing the cool temperature to create a homeostasis around her.

"hah!" she gasped above the surface, her eyes remained shut as she leaned her head against the boulder. the goosebumps roamed across her body, nipples erect and senses higher than normal. to some the temperature was uncomfortable and not exactly ideal for a bath, buut mei enjoyed it, it heightened her senses and put her in a state of personal meditation.

mei turned on her stomach, wading closer to the edge of the lake as she rested her arms above onto ground level, her raven hair swaying above the surface as her entire body remained underwater, but she didn't fight the waves. she was... at peace.

- - - - -

who knew how long the time had passed since mei meditated in the secluded river, all that was heard were the whistles of the wind dancing among the trees, that until a faint buzzing echoed far off in the east.

bzzzzzzzzzzz

mei's eyebrow twitched, but her face remained relax as she continued to focus on breathing, in and out, her body swaying left to right according to the current.

bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the sound grew closer, and that was when mei opened her eyes, her focus remaining on the eastern forest with a hint of curiousity. "just what in the spirits could that noise be? there wasn't an animal hear nor there in the entire forest?" she continued her focus on the east, the buzzing growing closer and closer until a rather large flying insect floated above the trees, its position fixed in the sky but its large, greyed eyes looking down at mei with an indifferent expression. mei returned her gaze, her lips pursing at the sense of discomfort she felt at this insect, but she knew not to leap first.

instead, she had an intense stare-down.

the insect looked down at mei as a monarch would a pauper before lowering itself closer to mei, her face remaining unphased and stoic, even as it sat itself atop the boulder she was resting on she wasn't afraid of a fucking bug. but when she made contact with this creature face to face, the energy felt.. off. she backed away from the insect, attempting to wade closer to her items without breaking line of sight; and it was successful until she heard multitudes of the same buzzing behind her.

"what the-!?" she turned her head to the many insects hovering over her clothing, her weapons, all with the same grotesque build and their wings the size of one's forearms, their bulging grey eyes focused on her possessions with the narrowing intent to steal.

"back away from that! you have no business there!" frantically, she swam to the other side of the river. using her strength to lift from the river bank, one of the insects unsuspectingly spewed some purpled mist from its mouth that caused mei to cover her nose and dunk back under the water.

[what the hell was that?! it burned my entire chest!] she waited a few seconds before rising to the surface, only to see the insects were now long gone. she hoisted herself out the water, disregarding her nudity as she frantically flipped around her items to note what was missing - clothing present, pendant still there and intact, but -

"my weapons, where is my sword?! where is my blade?!" she flipped over her items multiple times before growing frantic "how did those bugs take my sword!" she would have traded that sword for all of her items, she couldn't lose that sword even if her life relied on it.

bzzzzzzzzzzzz

"huh?" she looked up into the sky, clutching her clothing to her chest to notice three insects hovering over her with the hilt of her sword wrapped around each of their antennas. "you!" she seethed between her teeth as she quickly threw on her clothes and tucked her pendant in her waistband, careful to catch up to the insects before they were out of sight. "come back you fucking winged devils!" she ran on foot, careful to watch them from the gaps in the trees, her sense of direction blinded and unaware just how deep she was running in the forest.

she continued to run, the insects still a constant pace above the trees, she felt her legs weaken but she couldn't lose them. her vision began to shift until she saw 6 insects, and she knew the fatigue was starting to catch up to her. "ah, dammit!" she clutched her chest and clutched a nearby stone as she caught her breath, heaving for what felt like ages.

there was a faint drop nearby, it was her sword. when she heard this faint click she wiped her brow and continued on her mission. after a few seconds, she was in a clearing that seemed as though the land had been cleared, but she didn't care about any of that, she spotted her sword! As she grew closer, she felt the energy around her grow heavier and the pungency in the air caused her to cover her nose and wheeze "Ah, dammit to hell, what- what-" she felt like she was floating, and before she knew it, she hit the ground with a soft thud, her pendant falling out of her waist band and laid next to her motionless and still.

a few seconds passed, and a looming shadow grew its form in the distance, a demon. he dawned a dark purple kimono and black boots, his radiant black hair hoisted in a ponytail that even then rested on his lower back. his eyes a menacing red and a smile as sinister as hell crafted it to be. he crouched down above mei and shook his head with the same humored, wicked smile "hehehehehehe... such a shame young lass, you were right there. no sense in letting the animals get to you," he hoisted mei over his shoulder as if she weighed close to nothing, and began his walk deeper into the forest, the same insects manifesting around the sword and going ahead of the strange man, as if meeting him to an undisclosed designated area.