Over the next week and a half, Levi grew strong. Well, perhaps strong was the wrong word for it. Rather, he grew experienced, learning from battles with the strange mutated monsters of the Shatterstorms. Over time he slowly began to grasp exactly what his Reincarnation was capable of. What he was capable of. Now, when he fought beasts, he could make his blade dance with surges of lightning at will. However, no matter how he tried, he could never figure out how to summon a bolt of lightning to strike his enemies down like the first time he had saved Jasmine. Always, he needed to use his sword or some tool to conduct the flow, but even still, the knowledge that he had a trump card made him confident. At times, it made him too confident, and Jasmine had to step in to save him against some strange new beast, but as the days went by, Levi began to take on more and more of the fighting, and Jasmine just watched. He thought it was because she was giving him a chance to train, certainly she said very little, except to give a tip here or there, but he noticed her holding her arm sometimes, and suspected it wasn't quite healed yet. That is...until she collapsed.
"Jasmine, I don't know if we should go to...JASMINE!" Levi's brain went blank as he heard then saw Jasmine's body on the ground. She was weak, her eyes blinking desperately, searching for clarity, and he watched her spasm, each kick of her legs sending flutters through his heart. What's wrong with her! "JASMINE!" He ran back to her, suddenly remembering how Jasmine used to lead the way, but lately had been letting him walk in front. Damnit, I missed the signs, she must have been hiding something!
"Are you sick?" He asked frantically, checking her over and feeling her forehead. Her breath was raspy and even before he put his fingers on her he felt a terrible heat on his hand. "You have a fever!" Jasmine tried weakly to push his hand away. Mid-push she seemed to forget that he even existed. Her hand fell to the ground, opening and closing weakly atop the dirt. Levi stared at her, trying to puzzle out what was wrong through the rising panic. The only thing he could think of was her arm. He checked it over. It's been so long though...Oh no! He saw blood seeping through the edge of the bandage, and immediately went to unwrap it.
"I'm okay! I'm okay!" Jasmine kept repeating blearily, completely oblivious to what was really happening. Levi ignored her and kept unwinding the bandage until he got a good look inside. He felt a jolt of panic run through him as he beheld the true extent of the damage. The cut had festered. Her skin was pale, her blue veins seemingly enlarged and swollen, practically popping out of the flesh. He could see pus forming, diseased mucus spreading from the wound. He grimaced as fear wracked his insides. No...no...I don't know what to do! Please, someone help!
"Jasmine, you're sick! Really sick!" He said to her, not expecting her to hear.
"I...I know. I'm sorry, Levi, I guess I was the weak one, huh?" Jasmine replied, her voice so weak he wanted to cry. How did I not notice this? HOW?!
"I'll get you help! You don't need to walk! We're close to the city, you got me out last time, I'll carry you the same way. Just sit tight, I remember how you did it!" Levi jumped to action having decided on a plan. Jasmine just laid there on the ground while he worked, and that scared him more than anything. The girl he knew was always moving, always efficient, working towards a goal. That she was willing to lie there and wait for him was terrifying. Jasmine, please be okay!
"Levi, it's going to be dangerous. Maybe those men we killed were the only messengers, but it's hard to say. You have to treat everyone in Daya as a potential enemy, they could all be out to get me. If you need to...leave me behind. Informing my father is more important..." Jasmine stayed practical even in her half fever-dream state, but Levi was having none of it. "A-Are you listening, Levi?" Levi didn't answer. He waited until he had some sort of sled constructed, and brought it to her, placing her on it. After he secured her, he leaned over her flushed face.
"You don't get it! You've never understood. I'll never make it to the House of Yi without you!" Levi declared. Jasmine shook her head, her hair growing sticky with sweat though the air was cool in the morning sun.
"You don't need me to get there anymore, Levi." She said sadly. A touch of pride entered her voice. "I haven't done much but you've already been taking care of all these strange monsters, and I trusted you to help me fight those men. You're so much more than the boy I met on that beach..."
"No! Before you came, I was a nobody. I completely gave up on everything in Neida. You were the one who brought me out here, and I can't finish this journey without you. So what if I can kill a few monsters, it's not enough! You've always been keeping me moving, without you, I'd still be at that tavern waiting tables. So just stay still, I've got you, and I'm going to keep us going until we find someone who can treat you!" Levi declared boldly while lifting the slid behind him. He straightened his legs and began to walk. I got you. This time, I'm saving you!
"Just...be careful, Levi." Jasmine stopped talking, and Levi pulled her faster. Panic flooded his veins. He practically started jogging, using the strength he had gained over the last few weeks to pull harder than he would have thought possible. I can do this! Levi struggled to keep his head up and stay alert for monsters while dragging such a heavy load, but he had no choice. It was several hours later when he had to rest and it became too dark to safely travel. Hauling Jasmine off the road, he set up a single tarp and took her off the sled.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, afraid of the answer. She mumbled something incoherent and he hoped that she was just sleepy and not delirious. He considered checking on her injury, but decided that even if he did, he wouldn't know what to do with it so he carefully stood watch for a while, only slipping into his dreams when he was sure that nothing was sneaking up on them in the dark. In the morning, he woke to Jasmine's screams. Oh no, it's happening again! He knew exactly what was going on, even if he didn't know why and he rushed to wake her.
"Jasmine! You're dreaming again! Listen to me, it's Levi! You're fine!" He continuously yelled in her ear, and after a while she stopped screaming and just moaned nonsense. She's getting worse. Damnit, I need to get her to a doctor now! Levi hoisted her back onto the sled and immediately started walking though the sun wasn't even up yet. Using what was left of the moonlight, he made as much progress as he could. Behind him, he could hear Jasmine's moans growing more and more faint but it didn't make him feel any better about the situation. If anything, he grew more worried that her strength was fading. A few hours later, he saw a sturdy wooden sign carved out on the trail. Ten miles! I can do this! We're almost there!
"Jasmine, just a little bit farther okay?" He crowed happily only to realize that she wasn't going to reply. Slightly shaken by the reminder that if anything were to happen, it would be entirely on him to save their lives, Levi became even more vigilant, eyeing every tree like it might contain some enemy. It's been a while since the last Shatterstorm. Hopefully anything which was affected by it has died or gone somewhere else by now! He knew it was a vain hope, but regardless, he hoped. After the first mile, things became tough.
Levi grunted as the makeshift sled slid in his sweaty fingers and then hit a rock, cracking one of the branches. Thankfully, the thing managed to hold up long enough for him to avoid dumping Jasmine on the ground, but she still groaned a bit as he set her down a little bit too fast. A quick peek at her eyes showed that they were closed behind the mask, fluttering crazily. He quickly went to another tree, using the knife he had taken from one of the dead men to hack off fresh new green branches and rebuild the sled. Huffing, he had just finished reconstructing it when demonic howls began to sound as the sun rose.
"Direwolves!" He spit it like a curse as he rushed to get Jasmine back on the sled. She was completely uncooperative at this point, and he almost fumbled and dropped the sled again as she resisted his efforts to put her on.
"NO! NO! I won't go with you! I left to get away! You can't be here!" She shrieked and Levi burst into a cold sweat. He resisted the urge to touch her face, scared that he would be transported into her dream again, settling for patting her shirt awkwardly.
"It's okay! It's okay, Jasmine, you have to keep quiet!" He tried to convince her. Begged her to stop. But she would not and he heard the howls grow closer. Damnit, they heard her! Levi gave up on stopping her screams, and picked up the sled and ran. He bolted out of the clearing, knowing that his strength wouldn't be enough to get them all the way to Daya at this speed, but not caring. His hands hurt from clenching onto the tough unpeeled bark sled. In his haste, he had forgotten to cut off the outer layer of wood and now the rough handles were rubbing him raw. Ow! He howled in his mind, but he didn't utter anymore than a slight grunt of pain as he continued to run, just gripping the sled even harder to try to keep it from slipping. His legs burned, his lungs couldn't get enough air, he felt everything cramping, the bruises from yesterday flaring into white-hot spots of pain on his chest and arms, but there was no time to stop. When the Direwolves came, who knows how many miles later, he saw them this time. Flickers in the trees which he would never have noticed before. But now, he was not Levi of Eastrain! Come on, you bastards!
"Sorry Jasmine!" He apologized as he set her down roughly, thankfully not hard enough to break the sled this time. Before the wolves could encircle them, Levi had his sword out. He rushed to a thick tree, propping Jasmine's sled up against its trunk. Then he turned and faced the coming monsters. They weren't stupid. Some instinct, born from their lineage and shared memory, compelled them to surround Levi, but the tree at his back kept them within his peripheral vision at least. Two came from each side, the exact same tactics they had used on the riders earlier. Levi expected this tactic. He chose one wolf, the one on his right side, and lunged towards it. Immediately, it shied away from him, letting its teammate go for the back of his legs while he was distracted. However, Levi was no stranger to how the Direwolves fought anymore. He continued his strike like the whole thing had just been one elaborate windup, spinning 180 degrees around, until he struck at the wolf behind him! This wolf had red fur, its yellow eyes looking bloody and distorted. Strange insect-like wings buzzed out trying to slow its hop. Levi was reminded of a giant fly, albeit one with teeth the size of his fingers. His sword came at it awkwardly, his feet twisting in the dirt and tearing it up as he shifted his weight and tried to bring it almost completely around. He reached and twisted. Come on make it!
KRAAAANG!
At the last second, his sword flared to life and when it touched the shoulder of the beast, a smoking sound came and it spasmed, dozens of insectoid wings all flaring at once as it lost control of its motor skills. Lightning wracked its body. Instantly Levi hacked again before rolling out of the way as the other wolf, now behind him, took the chance to attack his exposed back. Levi felt the dirt against his neck but then he was up on his feet again, and he immediately started running back to the tree as three more Direwolves had been sneaking up on Jasmine while he was separated from her. They snarled, turning to face him. Levi panicked realizing that if they attacked her now, he wouldn't make it in time to stop them. He brandished his sword while screaming!
"Look at me you damn mutts!" His voice caused their ears to flick towards him, but it was his crackling sword, blazing lightning, which got their attention. They didn't like that, and as much as they wanted to kill Jasmine, Levi's glowing weapon demanded their attention. The smell of burnt bug and flesh wafted through the clearing and the Direwolves' hackles raised as they saw what Levi had done to the downed wolf. From behind, the last of the first two wolves howled and they began to back away as the sun fully came up. Levi smiled, baring his teeth ferociously in response as they left. He waited a few precious seconds to be sure that they weren't faking it, then ran to Jasmine. Oh gods, they almost had her. That was too risky, stupid Levi, STUPID!