Tisis

The parasite (N)

...oh Garkla, how am I going to get out of this?
I poured my heart out, told him that he's my first actual crush...just a little more and I probably would've been begging.

Very mature, Nym.
Very 'respecting his wishes'.

I let out a deep sigh, while we're wandering towards the den of the dogs, but Sirus, who walks a little ahead of me, doesn't even slow down.

Probably didn't hear it...or maybe he just ignored it.
I couldn't even blame him...after all, I made him relive a painful memory...unless of course he just made all of that up to shut me up?

No...no, I can't think that way.
I must not think that way.
I need to trust this guy...though maybe...

No! Get a grip of yourself!
You are Nympromedonalas Voxamy Lushomagan, proud daughter of the Asmodean race, child of Garkla.

You are better than that.
You are stronger than that.

I take a deep breath.
Think. I need to think about this rationally, not emotionally.
Emotions are a luxury I cannot afford any...

I look at Sirus back and remember my time on my ship.

That's wrong...I could never afford them.
I...always had to be the captains daughter.
Always calm and collected...the perfect little princess.

Sirus...is the first person since Thaxlamsho'm, who even just cared who I really am...

Thaxlamsho'm...the man, who betrayed his entire people, who helped overturn my father...claiming to do it, so he could protect me.

A noise makes me startle from my thoughts.
Sirus and Ray also stop and Sirus is quick to ready his spear.

Where are we anyway?
I've been trailing after him for a while now, but didn't really watch, where we are going...once again, I've put my life and well being into his hands...without even thinking about it.

If this is what 'being in love' is like, I'd better find a way to stop that soon...that's hazardous to say the least!

Ray is cowering down and growling...that's not a good sign.
A certain suspense is in the air, while the noise seems to circle around us, but is nowhere to be seen.

What is it? Where is it coming from?

I carefully pull my bow from my back and put an arrow on the string.
We're surrounded by bushes and trees, which makes visibility really poor...good for hiding in, bad for detecting threats.

Okay, standard procedures, if your eyes can't help you, rely on your other senses.

I close my eyes and sharpen my other senses...something I've gotten remarkably good at, all things considered.

How many are there...is it just one creature?
Or is it a pack?
How large could they be...?

Another one of those situations, where I'd rather have been born a specialist than the captain's daughter...the ocular implants for night vision or the olfactory amplifier with an integrated chemical analysis suite or any other sort of specialization would have been really handy a number of times now.

But what could a princess possibly need 'super smell' for...or any other 'super sense'?
No, I was blessed with full access to the ship databases...the cumulation of all our knowledge. Which have been destroyed, leaving me without any sort of edge but the little knowledge that is actually stored in my brain.

Eh, can't help it anyway...

However suddenly, the noise and the accompanying presence are gone.
But somehow I still have a bad feeling about this.

And one look at Sirus' face tells me, that he feels the same.

"...something's not right," he states, still gripping his spear tightly.
Ray is also still growling, looking towards the bushes...however, all of a sudden, he starts to whimper and backs away a little.

...he's scared.
But...of what?

All of a sudden, a blackish shadow comes shooting from the bushes we are staring at and Sirus just barely manages to grab me and pull me to the side, before a large black tail which ends in an equally large sting penetrates the ground just where had been standing mere seconds before.

As it retracts, a purplish liquid remains.
Without doubt a venomous substance.

Now the creature the tail belongs to breaks from the bushes with a lunge...it looks a lot like one of those wolf type of creatures some of our clothes are made off, except for a black...carpet of sorts on its back, which seems to grow along its spine...and the tail that just attacked me seems to grow from the...carpet?

Wait...

"Sirus! Whatever you do, do NOT get stung!" I yell.
"Didn't plan on doing it, no worries!"

I pull back the string on my bow and sink the arrow right between the eyes of the creature...but the creature doesn't even flinch!

"Oh come on!" I shout out, while the tail starts dancing again, this time aiming at Sirus.
Before I can even react, it shoots forward, but Sirus steps to the side and whacks the thing away with his spear.

"Shouldn't that thing die...?!" he asks, nervously eying the creature with the empty remaining eye.
"It...it must be a parasite! It's connected to the spinal cord and controls the movements of the creature!" I shout, while getting a move on.

I take a brief look around, but Ray's gone...probably booked it in the meantime.
We should really do the same...but can we outrun this creature?
No...no, that wouldn't work.
Its host can run way faster than the both of us.

Still, there must be something we can do...

I sink another arrow into the creature, this time aiming for the side, where the carpet is, but the creature again doesn't budge.

Oh Garkla, how are we supposed to...

I blink twice and then shout, "Sirus, think you can keep it busy for a moment?! And remember, don't get stung! Keep your distance, you hear?!"

Sirus evades another sting and gives me a nod.

I nod back and recede into the bushes, hastily collecting the things I need.
The good thing about forests is, that they are always full of materials.

I just hope this works...

In the distance I hear Sirus shout, "Oh no, you don't!"
While the battle rages on, my shaking hands fail to produce the spark I need.

"C'mon...c'mon..." I mutter.
I take a deep breath and mutter, "I sure hope this works..."

Finally, the bark starts to smoke and only about a minute later, I have a small fire burning.
That should do it.
It just has to.

I take an arrow and use its rock tip to open the bark of a nearby tree, letting the sap flow over it.
It'll burn out quickly, so I need to be even faster.

I look out of my cover at the battle...they are now moving around fast...right, make the hit even more difficult...

Just then, Sirus steps to the side, evading another hit and knocks the creature down with an overhead smash.

Now or never!

I tip the sap into the tiny flame, yank up my bow and let the arrow fly.

For a moment, I fear that the fire could go out before it hits, but Garkla is with me.
The arrow drills itself into the bloodstream of the creature, the flame connects and the entire creature bursts into flames from the inside out.

Sirus just stands there, breathing heavily, as the creature sways and eventually, without even making the slightest sound...falls over and dies.