The Rainlands: Grand Delusion

Chapter 31: Just Shut Up Dummy

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"I don't know!" Jasmine practically moaned. "You were all confident a second ago! Do something!" Levi felt terror flood his system. Oh gods. Oh Raingods! She's depending on me! And I'm going to let her down again! This is not happening! The men crashed through the undergrowth, their companion still screaming for help on the ground behind them. They raised their swords, Levi saw gaps in their armor, a missing bracer, a tear in the leather between plates. He glanced back at Jasmine out of the corner of his eye, saw her closing her eyes behind her mask in pain. Even still, she readied her knife but she didn't look in any condition to fight.

Take them. They're just men. Weak, cowardly men. Show them what happens to those who stand against you! Levi remembered words from the distant past like he'd actually heard them in his own ears. Strike the gaps in their armor, let them know what it means to attack someone above their station! He dashed forward, his heart practically exploding out of his chest. Each step felt languid, too slow, the soldiers seemed to be moving too fast. But they were surprised when he engaged them, expecting Levi to run away. Suddenly when he looked at the men, everything changed. He didn't know what they were going to do, but he remembered what they probably would. Levi saw it in the back of his mind, phantom images of a distant past superimposing over the present. He saw different men, also armored but definitely different, rushing him in another time. But he approached them without fear, with lightning at his fingertips and dealt with them leisurely.

"Come on then!" One of the men barked at him. "Come to die, boy?" The man readied his sword as the other caught up, raising it over his head. Levi didn't grace him with a response, dashing in fast and sure, something he never would have done normally. Though Levi was acutely aware he had only just barely learned how to use a sword, and this soldier had probably received proper tutelage from a teacher, he still swung his blade sideways, then twisted it at the last second. The soldier's expression was something to behold as Levi completely bypassed his sword and smashed the blade into the armor of his neck. Damnit, missed! Levi swore as his sword bounced on the metallic collar of the man's breastplate. He had missed the exposed skin of the neck joint by less than an inch.

"Y-!" The man gasped as he was knocked down from the strike, but he was by no means dead. His companion arrived and slashed viciously at Levi who was caught unprepared. He swayed backwards with far more grace than he ever knew he had, his back popping, the blade swishing past his naked body, only to hit the top of his thigh.

"Ahhh!" Levi couldn't hold back a noise. Before he could gain a respite, the second soldier took another step. Turned his sword sideways for a deadly cross cut. But then the man went down as Jasmine flew out of nowhere and tackled him, shoving her knife into the gap in his throat armor. Levi didn't hesitate this time. He pounced forward feeling almost like a Direwolf himself as he brought his sword to bear on the first soldier who was still dazed on the ground, lying on his back. This time...he didn't miss.

Levi looked around wearily, saw that the last man, was still preoccupied with his missing leg. He pulled his sword free of the dead man's throat, and walked over to the dying one. Behind him, Jasmine followed after a second. When they arrived, Levi grimaced. Raingods. That's a lot of blood. Even after killing a man, the sight of this man's ruined body was enough to cause him to want to puke. By the looks of it, he'll die on his own. But by the Raingods...it might be a kindness.

"P-Please..." The soldier on the ground was still capable of speech. To be honest, Levi was amazed. As he approached, he stepped in a soggy patch of dirt and knelt down beside the man. Jasmine came from behind and even she seemed a bit at a loss. After a few precious seconds passed, she raised her knife and held it over the man's terrified gaze.

"I can make this quick. Or I can make this very slow and painful. Your choice." She said menacingly. Levi could only imagine how the poor soldier felt staring up at the impassive fox mask while bleeding out. The man stubbornly clenched his fists, keeping his eyes fixed towards the sky, avoiding looking at her knife.

"I won't say anything." He declared, and Jasmine shrugged, bringing her knife closer to his eye.

"Suit yourself. I think I'm going to take my time and enjoy this then." She turned to Levi. "Do me a favor, Levi. Grab me a bandage. Let's tie off that leg of his, he'll live longer. It will give him more time to...consider." The way she said it, it made it seem like saving his life was the worst possible thing that could happen to the man. He grew terrified, but then his eyes glassed over, and his fists released. Jasmine sighed.

"Damn. He's dead." She took a step away from the blood and dropped onto the ground. "And I feel that way too." Levi eyed her arm worriedly. Jasmine, seeing his look, turned away. "Relax. It's just a flesh wound. Bleeds a lot more than it hurts."

"Doesn't look like a flesh wound. Are you sure?" Levi remarked critically. He rose from the dead man and dropped his backpack on the ground, rummaging inside for some bandages. "Too late for this guy, but I hope not for you." He offered the roll to Jasmine but then realized that she couldn't do it herself with one arm. Oh...I'm stupid. Carefully, he undid the roll whiles she looked away and took a good look at the cut, ignoring her protests. After a quick look, he felt reassured. It was about four inches long, and maybe three-quarters of an inch deep. Painful, but it's not going to kill her. I think. Levi unscrewed his water bottle, and poured a little on the wound. Jasmine remained silent though he saw her ball her fists while he did so. After he was sure anything in the cut was gone, he tightly wound the bandage around it, tying it off with a little bow knot. She relaxed when he was done.

"Thanks." Jasmine said, leaning back tiredly, her backpack squeaking. Levi reached over and took the straps off her shoulders for her on a whim before sliding down to the ground himself. Jasmine didn't stop him, though he wasn't sure if it was because she was just tired. "We...got lucky."

"Yea." He replied, staring up at the sky, shaking off the straps of his own pack and putting it up behind his head as a pillow. The scratch on his leg itched something fierce but he didn't care. "Yes, we did." Everything seemed so peaceful. The sun was setting. I just killed another man. His thoughts were scattered, disorganized. He didn't care. The adrenaline which had accompanied battle left him in little ebbs and flows, until he was just exhausted. He began to shake a little. This is crazy. Everything's gone crazy.

"You okay?" Jasmine asked. Levi didn't really know how to respond. Am I okay? What kind of question is that?

"You're the injured one. I just got a scratch." He continued to watch the clouds drift by. I can't relax. Why do I feel so tense? His teeth began to chatter, and his vision became blurry as the world seemed to return, but duller than before, greyed out. Then...a spot of warmth appeared. The scent, even through the blood, which he recognized instantly. Jasmine. She pressed up against his side, providing her body heat, and after a second, he wrapped an arm around her neck. "You didn't have to do that."

"But I want to." She replied. Despite her answer, her voice was dull and he knew that she was just as tired as him, and wounded. "Just shut up, dummy."

"Shouldn't we get off the trail a bit more? Set up the tarps in case it rains?" Levi asked. But there was no answer, and he wasn't sure if it was because she was sleeping or pretending. He didn't care. I'm glad you're here.