#spoke for itself. good lord.... oh wow..... collapses

[bruhstation]

Go away even if I cry. The burning shadows of human hands are far too much for a single life. The things I see are a dread I must withstand.

Uncanny by GHOST

Happy birthday @bruhstation have a Gort tormented by visions! Your art is amazing and your Gordon makes me want to chew on cardboard. I am throwing him in the microwave and shaking it.

[eyeofthewolfe]

Ninjago & TLNM: To Be Green

Chapter Nine: History Never Always Repeats Itself

Lloyd thought his high school day couldn’t get worse. It came in the form of History Class.

The good news was that all six of the ninja shared this class. After Physics, Nya took Lloyd back to his still partially open locker and gave him a thick textbook with a huge “History” on the front cover with collected images of villages, people, and what looked like Ninjago City. In the middle was a yin-yang symbol.

Finally, Lloyd thought to himself. A class I can actually excel at. I know all about Ninjago’s history, thanks to Master Wu and my dad.

One glance into the History book confirmed everything Lloyd knew was a waste. He didn’t recognize any stories within the pages. Even worse, when the teacher wrote two words on the board, Lloyd had no idea where to start.

“The Ebon Year.” The teacher droned, her voice tight and lacking energy. “Who knows what that is?”

A girl a few rows over raised her hand. When she was called on, she answered, “It was the year Lord Garmadon attacked the city of Ninjago for the first time.”

“Okay,” the teacher responded as Lloyd felt his eyes widen in surprise. “And what makes the Ebon Year stand out in Garmadon’s years of conquering?”

After a pause, the student finally said, “It was because there wasn’t ninja, right?”

Lloyd finally flipped to the page in the textbook where the chapter was recounting the events of the Ebon Year in great detail. And on the front page was none other than the four armed king of shadows himself.

“Close. There were no ninja, so who protected the city?”

The class spoke a very tired chorus of “police”, “coast guard” and “soldiers”.

Loots. Kidnappings. Death. Destruction. The more Lloyd scanned through the chapter, the worse the feeling in his stomach felt. He remembered when his dad was evil like it was yesterday, but it was never this bad.

“Now,” The teacher grabbed a piece of chalk from her rail. “Who can tell me the most important date from that year?”

“The Darkest Day. July 12th, 2015.”

The answer came from Nya, who was to Lloyd’s right. They met eyes, and Nya gestured with hers to look back at the book.

Sure enough, there was a large section just about the Darkest Day. And the pictures...

“What makes the Darkest Day so important?” The teacher followed up while writing the name on the board under “Ebon Year”.

“It’s the first day Garmadon attacked using mechanical weaponry.” Nya replied plainly. “The destruction was uncanny, and it was the first time his attacks almost overcame the police force.”

“Very good. Someone did their reading.” Nya grinned. Lloyd however, was about to throw up.

Finally, the teacher spun on her heels and her eyes snapped right onto Lloyd. “I’ll let Lloyd go ahead and say what happened next.”

Oh no, Lloyd panicked in his head. Oh no, no, no, no-

“Um-“ Lloyd took a shaky breath and quickly flipped to the next page, where he suddenly saw a very familiar green ninja head off the chapter. The chapter name? The Green Years.

“The start...of the Green Years...?” Lloyd hesitantly answered. A few giggles rose from some of the classmates.

“You sound unsure,” The teacher chuckled lightly. “Have you forgotten about your own personal history, Lloyd?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he felt his cheeks go red. With a wink, she turned back to the rest of the class and began to ask for important dates from the Green Years. Lloyd however, began to read as much as he could in the history book as fast as possible.

Suddenly, it just ended. The next chapter was about culture, not true history. There was no mention about how the “Terror Of Lord Garmadon” ended in the book anywhere. Does that mean....?

The bell went off. Lloyd shut his book and joined his friends. Kai looked like he had just woken from a long nap, and Cole still looked as if he was still mad at Lloyd. Uncomfortable, Lloyd clutched both his book and lunch nervously. “So, uh....now what?”

“Now,” Nya beamed. “We all go to lunch!”

_______________________________________________

“Gosh Jay!” Nya yelled over the alarm as they all ran out of the room. “It’s way too loud!”

“I’m sorry!” Jay shouted back. “I just installed it a few days ago, remember!! I haven’t tinkered with it yet!!”

“Forget the alarm!” Lloyd joined in the conversation. “What’s the threat?”

The ninja burst out of the doors of the temple and tore across the lawn that was still scattered with training equipment. “Bank robbery, armed, with hostages.” Zane informed them all.

Cole groaned. Lloyd stared at him in horror. “Another bank robbery? Wasn’t there one last night?”

The team nodded as they approached he edge of the island. Then, each with a twisted face of effort, they jumped off one by one.

“What the-“ Lloyd shouted in shock as they dropped into the sky. Then, they were suddenly surrounded with a colorful cyclone-tornado thing and they hit the ground safely.

“Airjitzu,” Kai told Lloyd. He was the only one who hadn’t of jumped. “It’s gotten harder lately, but it still has its uses. Ready?”

Lloyd stepped back, terrified. “What? No!”

Kai raised an eyebrow. “You don't know Airjitzu? Do you even know Spinjitzu?”

“Of course I know what Spinjitzu is,” Lloyd snapped back. “But...this flying stuff is messed up.”

“Noted.” Kai nodded. “Then hold on!”

Before Lloyd asked to what he should hold onto, Kai grabbed his arm and pulled them both off the edge.

The screaming came immediately. The air rushed past them in a way Lloyd had never felt before. He was dropping faster and faster and the road below him where the ninja were getting into weird vehicles was getting closer every second.

At what seemed to be the last second, Kai wrapped his arm around Lloyd and suddenly the area around them shimmered red. The air under them felt like it thickened, slowing their descent. No, it wasn’t that, the “Airjitzu” had made them fly upwards, but at the speed they were falling all it did was grant them a relatively soft landing.

Kai let go of Lloyd and the blonde teenager promptly collapsed onto the ground, panting for his life. Kai grinned a side smirk. “I hope you enjoyed the ride!”

Still gasping for breath, Lloyd lifted a finger to point at Kai. “Don’t- don’t ever do that again.”

_______________________________________________

Lloyd trotted next to Jay on the way to lunch. Jay was having a grand time telling the blonde teen all about the giant cat and the adventure to the Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon.

“-and then boom!! I exploded the door and we all ran out and escaped!! Master Wu and all of us sped back here to stop your dad and then we battled more and I zapped so many of their planes out of the sky- and then the cat ate Garmadon but you talked to the cat and then it spat him out and Garmadon has been good ever since.”

For a few steps, Lloyd let Jay’s words settle in his mind. “And how long ago did you say this was?”

The curly haired teen squinted his eyes. “Like....two weeks ago?”

So for two weeks Garmadon had been good. He thought back to when he had defeated the Overlord and his own father had been relieved of his evil. Within two weeks the two of them had become inseparable. If he was captured by his ex-generals who had tried to kill him...

Finally the group arrived at the huge cafeteria. Walking up to what seemed to be a table at random, Jay and Zane took their seats while the other three walked off to join the long lines to get school lunch.

As Lloyd plopped down and opened his bag of food next to Jay, Zane watched Lloyd carefully. “What?” Lloyd asked as he pulled out his food.

“How old are you?” The robot finally asked. “You do not appear to be sixteen.”

Lloyd snorted. “Sixteen? You’re funny. No I’m older than that.”

Jay and Zane exchanged a look. “But...” Jay wore a puzzled expression. “You just turned 16, like...two weeks ago.”

A lot happened two weeks ago, Lloyd couldn’t help but think. “I’m not entirely sure how old I am, but I’m definitely not 16.”

Kai, Nya, and Cole chose that moment to rejoin, each with a very basic looking lunch on a tray. Kai ripped open his milk carton.

“So,” The spiky haired teen put his elbows next to his tray and stared at Lloyd from across the table. “What are you not telling us? You’ve acted weird in every class today. Something’s really up.”

“It’s what I’m trying to tell you guys,” Lloyd replied as he ripped open his sushi. “I’m not your Lloyd. I’m from somewhere else.”

Cole’s head perked up some. “Like...from a different world?”

Lloyd shook his head. “I don’t think it’s the same thing. I’m from a different realm, a different reality of Ninjago. My best bet is that your Lloyd is there in my place, and that we somehow switched.”

Silence. They all stared back at Lloyd with blank expressions. Lloyd stuffed some sushi in his mouth. “Wha I thouwght.” Lloyd mumbled. To his surprise, Kai suddenly drained his carton of milk and crushed it in his fist.

“I believe ya.” He finally told everyone, but especially Lloyd. “Lloyd could never lie, and by the sounds of it you are telling the full honest truth, even if it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Wow Kai,” Cole snorted as he picked at some greasy broccoli. “That was the first thing I’ve heard you say that actually makes sense.”

The group all giggled, Lloyd included. Suddenly he forgot he was at school, in a new realm, or even surrounded with what really was a group of strangers. He felt back at home.

Home.

It felt like a ton of bricks had dropped on him. It did feel like he was back at home... and suddenly Lloyd realized that he had a mission in this world. For the first time, his circumstance felt like it had a purpose. There was something he- and they- had to do.

The other ninjas have seen their Lloyd’s serious face turn on many times before. But even that had a hint of easiness he could never rid himself of. But when the Lloyd sitting at the lunch table suddenly sat up and put on his game face, every ninja couldn’t help but feel his sheer confidence radiate off him like he was a power source of seriousness.

“After school we are going after those shark-wanna be’s.” Lloyd announced to the table. A small grin grew on all of their faces. With one last nod, Lloyd picked up another piece of sushi and excitedly said, “We are going to go save Lloyd’s dad.”

_____________________________________________

Once Lloyd finally found his breath, Kai pointed at a car on the edge of the road. “There’s yours. Hop in, we don’t have much time.”

His breath was gone just as fast as it came back. The car was sleek, powerful, and best of all- green. “This is my car?!” Lloyd shouted with enthusiasm. He jumped in and grabbed the weird half-wheel.

“No, it’s Jay’s car!” Jay replied sarcastically.

“Actually, it’s my car!” Nya inserted pointedly. “I built it. But I built it for Lloyd just a month ago. I call it the....the....”

“Names aside, I love it!” Lloyd grinned ear to ear. Then, feeling back in the zone, he pulled his mask down dramatically, revved the engine, and shouted, “Alright ninja! Shout out your call signs!!”

The comms fell silent. Lloyd waited a few seconds. Finally, Jay spoke. “Uh...ninja...go?”

“You all don’t have call signs?” Lloyd gasped. “How do you all get ready for a fight?”

“I dunno, we just...go.” Cole replied. “Speaking of going...can we go now?”

Right! There was a robbery right now. “Oh...uh, yeah! Zane! Lead the way!!”

Zane nodded from the seat of what appeared to be an ice tank. It wasn’t like the one he knew...this one was an actual war-like tank ready for true battle. Cole, in an off road looking buggy swerved after him, followed with Kai and Nya on matching motorcycles. Finally, Jay saluted to Lloyd and took off on a blue bike of his own.

Lloyd quickly adjusted his seat (gosh the other him has long legs) and then sped off after the ninja into the city.

It didn’t take long to get to the scene of the crime. The police were still in a stalemate with the robbers on the inside, but the ninja parked far enough away so the crooks didn’t know that the cops had back up. They jumped out and off their vehicles and quickly grouped up. For a second, they all looked at Lloyd, then Kai cleared his throat.

“The game plan,” he started, but Jay interrupted him.

“Who said you were giving out the orders, flames for brains? When has one of your plans ever worked out?”

“Jay’s right,” Cole butt in. “We need to listen to me-“

“I wasn’t supporting ‘Team Cole’ either!” The shorter teen snapped. “If anything we should listen to Nya! She’s the best strategist here, no question.”

Zane blinked. “Wow, Jay, I’m hurt.”

“Suck it up roboto, the truth hurts sometimes.”

Lloyd couldn’t believe his ears. Here they were, standing nearby an ongoing robbery, and they were arguing over who to lead them.

Finally, Lloyd snapped. “Listen up- I want three teams to infiltrate. Jay, Kai- you guard the front door. No one leaves. Cole, Zane- you are the first wave. Use your brute force to hold them back. Nya- you and me are going to deal with the hostages while Cole and Zane distracts the crooks.”

All five of them blinked in surprise. “That...is actually a good plan.” Jay muttered.

With a nod, Lloyd dispersed the team. Nya quickly grabbed something long from inside the car Lloyd drove in. “You may need this.”

Lloyd accepted the long samurai-esque sword. His name was engraved on the metal in red. He nodded his gratitude at Nya. She placed her hand on his shoulder.

“We saw how good you are at dodging this morning,” Nya told him. Glancing at the sword, she added, “Now show us how good you are with combat.”

[aromatickindling-blog]

Zenith: The Land of Contracts (1/2)

With the recent talk of everyone’s own summoner OCs, I thought I may as well put down the introduction I gave my version of Kiran mentally into words. Don’t ask why she initially considered Anna the grim reaper: instead take the easy route by blaming the scorpion venom and dehydration. It’s not the quality and quantity headcanons can usually give for cheap, but it does expand on why my Kiran mentioned running away from Anna to Alfonse in my previous story.

But since it became rather long, I’ve decided to split it into two parts. I’ll finish the second part sometime later; it’s all just dialogue right now. Hope it’s not too cumbersome to read. The rest is under the cut.

To think, just one moment ago she was contemplating her own demise in an empty desert basin at the hands of a walking photon anomaly. Yet here she was, still delusional from scorpion toxin and thirsty as a dog in front of a red-headed woman all too excited over her appearance. The ear-splitting whoop didn’t help her mood much either.

“I can’t believe it! It actually worked?!”

Yeah, the poison running in her veins really didn’t help. Venom did make for odd bed-fellows with fear, as the poor girl soon dealt with a train of thoughts all drowning her in a desire to run.

If this woman was so enthusiastic over her despite being strangers, she may as well have been kidnapped.

Nothing good ever comes of that.

“Ahem...Oh Great Hero from another world! Thou hast come so far-”

And now this lady spoke in gesticulating dramatics. With how tired she had become, this dialogue only translated into speech made from gargling rocks. Amplified by a sadist holding a megaphone.

She held up an open hand to stop the stranger.

“Just. Who...are you?”

“Wow, that’s quite a wispy voice you have there. Now that I think about it, you look terrible. All that dust staining your clothes...oh. OH.”

She soon had a canteen shoved in her face. Oh thank goodness. Glorious water. Maybe now her mind and throat would clear up. Against her better judgement, she greedily downed it all. All while making the most grateful face she could muster as her body sunk to the ground.

...She must have looked like a pathetic little gargoyle with how mussed up she was.

“FOUND YOU!”

Nerves jolting, the canteen loosed from her grip. She swore she could hear her neck snap from how fast it redirected itself at the source of the noise. Her strange new benefactor took to her side before smoothing into a defensive stance. She only now registered the heavily decorated axe wielded in front of her.

Just what kind of fever dream was this?! Was it the Renaissance Fair she attended last week? The D&D session her co-workers invited her to? The games she indulged in over the days where work threatened to take her sanity? Probably a mix of all three at this point…

Red hair parted as crimson eyes made contact with hers. Her companion’s lips moved, but her own mind failed to take in their meaning. With a bounding leap, she sped off, axe raised.

Both her red-headed companion and the helmeted loudmouth took to enthusiastically exchanging blows off each other’s axes.

‘Wait, if this is supposed to be a dream, then why isn’t...’

The metallic rebounds sounded too sharp to belong in her dreams. Was this a lucid dream? Her nose told her otherwise, as her nerves took to knotting her muscles. Dear lord, this was the worst time to gain nausea.

Red splatter flew through the air in front of her. Her now dubious companion’s axe sliced across the soldier’s torso with disturbing ease, becoming caked in a scarlet splash. The resulting shrill of pain only amplified its color.

This lady was no companion, she concluded. No. This was the grim reaper in disguise here to take her soul, with-or-without her permission.

At least, that’s what her addled brain could muster trying to rationalize everything with all the heavenly imagery surrounding her: from the abundance of clouds to the white-and-gold plating outfit to the Greco-Roman style stone structures surrounding her.

“Whew! I sure took care of him!...Uh, are you okay there?”

Startled at first, her face straightened out into a neutral expression as she strained herself to stand. She fought down bile threatening to purge itself from her body; may as well nod her head and go along with her for the time being. Best to run when a better distraction comes along. If that included shaking the hand of reaper, so be it.

“My name’s Anna. I’m the commander of the Order of Heroes. We- uh, I’ll save you the rest for now. Maybe after you get some rest back at camp. It’s not far from here.”

“Mmm”

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Shit.

   Anna, commander of the Order of Heroes and trusted advisor to the royal siblings of Askr, had found herself in a perplexing situation. Out of desperation for help against the Emblian Empire’s forces, she found herself taking the legendary weapon Breidablik to perform the rite of summons. Normally, she would have called the weapon as she usually did: the legendary paper weight. No one in Zenith could use it. Not her, not the Emblian royals, nor the Askran royals. But the legend attached to it kept it safe from being pawned off. Originally, both Embla and Askr traded the relic every half-century as an act of good will towards each other. But with Veronica and her father’s aggression towards Askr, it had been kept in their care longer than anticipated.

She may as well have made use of it anyways. What it gave her in return, however…

Anna turned her head at her newly-summoned aid. Breidablik must have granted her pleas for help in reverse; this young woman summoned as the ‘Great Hero’ looked closer to collapsing than toppling Embla’s forces.

   To think she had hoped for the Radiant Hero Ike to come and save them; better yet the legendary tactician Mark of Elibe to bamboozle the enemy lines into surrender with the meager forces they had. No. Instead, she now had a half-lucid lady in odd clothing limping alongside her to the Order’s camp. What should she tell Prince Alfonse? That the Breidablik malfunctioned?

She sighed. Maybe she’ll have a better idea as to why the Breidablik summoned her once she got some rest; then she could show a side of her that would explain why the Breidablik chose her.

“Kiran, it’s only a little further until we get back.”

“Mmm”

“Too tired to talk?”

A nod.

“Well, I should at least give you an idea of where you are. Care to listen?”

Kiran locked half-lidded eyes on hers. Pleased at finally gaining her attention, Anna began.

“This place is known as the World of Zenith. There are several kingdoms here, but the most important are Askr and Embla. I come from Askr, heading the Order of Heroes against Embla. Long story short, Embla’s been invading Askr recently and I used the Breidablik to summon you. Lucky us it worked!”

She paused. Kiran looked ill, clutching her head with one hand while guarding her mouth with the other.

“Need a break, Kiran?”

“THERE SHE IS! GET HER!”

More soldiers, at the worst time possible. Life did try hard at testing Anna’s patience.

“Drat. More of those Emblian soldiers. I can’t defeat them all by myself, and you’re definitely not equipped to help me. You run while I hold them off.”

Shoving the Breidablik at Kiran, Anna changed her lilt to the more commandeering tone she used on the battlefield.

“Take the Breidablik and get out of here, Kiran! Go!”

   Both shock and disbelief colored Kiran’s eyes as she spotted the relic. Anna could only gesture frantically at her to leave as she examined the relic with lightly-scarred fingers. She then gripped the handle almost naturally, all while Anna grew more desperate to shove her away from the battlefield. What was she thinking?! Kiran turned away from Anna, shifting to aim the oddly-shaped relic at nowhere in particular. Before she could yell at Kiran to run yet again, the relic started to glow.

“What’s that?! That bright light, coming from...”

Light shot out of the Breidablik, forming a slightly disheveled figure who quickly straightened out into a formal pose. A neatly-dressed noble wielding a silver bow greeted both Anna and Kiran. The latter, at this point highly disturbed, took to staring down the Breidablik’s supposed barrel in disgusted confusion.

“I am Virion, the finest archer of the fairest of realms. Delighted to be of service.”

Anna could only restrain a fraction of the excitement welling up inside her, as her hands gripped Kiran’s shoulders in an attempt to turn her into a living bobble-head. This was it; this would be the power that tipped the war in their favor, and she had found it!

“How’d you do that?! You summoned a Hero, Kiran! You just picked up the Breidablik, and you’re already able to use it!” Anna’s beaming smile faded as her attention shifted back to the Emblian forces, “but there’s no time to chat now. This Virion and I need to get to fighting.”

Both she and Virion left to fight, as Kiran could no longer hold in her gastric fluids from the flashes and sudden shaking. A nearby rock became her pillar as she sunk down to retch. But a glint formed in her eye as she noticed Anna’s absence.

Another axe fighter and an archer; an even fight awaited them. Raising the Nóatún in an arc, Anna barked out orders to Virion.

“Virion, take the right flank. I’ll show this fighter how to really use an axe!”

He swiftly agreed, swiping an arrow from his quiver to his tight bowstring in one clean motion. A horrible gurgling noise came from his feathery gift to the enemy archer’s neck.

“I should expect no less from myself,” he chortled as made a mocking bow toward his downed opponent. Yet his arrogance caught him a spare nick in the shoulder from the dying archer. He didn’t mind too much, save for the sharp pain and the embarrassingly high-pitched noise he made from it.

Meanwhile Anna’s Nóatún exchanged blows with a hefty silver axe. Despite how sturdy her opponent was, she acted as lightning, redoubling each strike that came her way.  

“Utterly blinding, fair Anna. Or are you an exception to the naming rule?”

Knocking a second arrow at Anna’s opponent, Virion continued. “You don’t seem to wear the merchant clothing your sisters wear.”

“What sisters?”

“Bwah? Erm, are not all of you related?”

She took to guardedly circling the Emblian soldier.

“Not when we come from different worlds, no.” One more blocked strike attempt pushed her back into circling.

“Gods above, I’ve been summoned to the Outrealms, haven’t I?”

    Noticing an opening, Anna decided to focus on striking the axe fighter’s exposed thigh. Ducking lower on her swing, she made a clean slice into the Emblian’s leg. They buckled with a grunt of pain, trying to guard their vitals just with a silver axe. It was not enough to survive Anna’s consecutive blows. With a breathy sigh, they collapsed into a growing puddle of their own blood. Blocking her own disgust, Anna looked away from the sight to Virion and smiled.  

“We won! And it’s all thanks to-” She turned to where Kiran should be.

Barren earth stood where she last left Kiran. No, no, no, this – wait. She did tell her to hide, to run. She must be around here somewhere. Yes, that’s it. Cupping hands to her mouth, she called out to her surroundings.

“Kiran! We took care of the Emblian soldiers! You can come out now!”

She paced around. 1, 2, 3...no response.

“Kiraaan! The camp is waiting for us! Fresh water and warm food awaits you!”

Nothing. Air hitched in Anna’s throat. Did she miss another soldier? Had Kiran been –

Virion languidly walked over to her, tapping her shoulder and pointing to the ground.

“Oh dear, seems that charming young lady you’re calling for has left.”

   Footprints led into the surrounding hillside forest. If Kiran had run away at the start, she could have had at least a mile’s worth of land covered over them – well, if she didn’t pass out from exhaustion. Wait, right, that poor girl looked sick before they started the battle. She couldn’t have gone that far. Right, she could find her before dinner and tell Prince Alfonse the good news. Still, no guarantee...

“Damn it...Virion, I know your contract’s with her, but please! I need you to help me find her!”

“But of course. She does owe me an explanation as to why I’m here. Oh, and do care not to look behind that rock; we have enough gruesome sights to look at in war.”

Anna looked anyway and gagged.

“So you’re a serial kidnapper in gun form?”

As useless talking to an inanimate object was, ‘Kiran’ still found some therapeutic value in it. May as well since she presumed her own death. Maybe she was in purgatory; that would explain the pain lingering in her aching legs and burning torso. But then why was her heart still feverishly beating at her ribcage?

Of course, ‘Kiran’ was only an alias here. If she ever saw her co-worker again, she’d probably have to apologize to her for taking the name. Ugh, so long as curses didn’t extend beyond this world...

Zenith...Anna had called it.

Shaking her head, Kiran took the gun-shaped relic, probing it everywhere for some switch or button.

“Just take me home. Please. I can’t even fight.”

A hot shower and heated consommé sounded deliriously heavenly. But the Breidablik denied her; the only grooves felt across its handle were decorative Celtic knots. Huh, didn’t know ancient Celts had an afterlife. If she ever got back home, it would be the first thing she’d look up.

She groaned, pitching her head back against the girth of one of the many trees around her. Life made no sense anymore. First it was the bark scorpion sting, then her loss of direction, then an empty canteen, then a light monster enveloping her whole, and now this mess.

Is this how a reaper works? Conscripting the dead to kidnap their targets?

Was she really even dead?!

She scraped a palm across her face. Thinking too hard about this place didn’t help. She needed to find water, food, and civilization, fast.

May as well give in to the madness that was this world. The Breidablik did put her in a bizarrely calm trance when she first fired it, so what was the point in trying to preserve the rest of her tattered sanity when it shot a living, breathing person out of it’s barrel?

Now, Askr and Embla were the two nations here, at war…

A single look at the Breidablik ruled out Embla. If any soldiers found her with it, odds are they’d gut her like a pig. That left Askr, and that meant Anna.

“Either way is doom, huh...” A despairing chuckle escaped her throat.

Frantic footfalls broke her thoughts.

“Kiraaaaan!”

“Kiran, come out and join us! It’s dangerous to wander here alone!”

Her body scrambled for cover at the familiar voices. Anna and her new conscription had come looking for her. Half a second later and her hands whisked the Breidablik out of sight. Bramble-laden foliage was the only barrier between her and Anna’s prying eyes. She prayed it would be enough to hide her.

Unfortunately, the Breidablik had other ideas, as it began to emit a gentle, pulsating glow.

“You. Little. Traitor.” Kiran seethed quietly through her teeth, smothering the light whole with her body as best she could.

“I thought I saw something near that thicket.”

“Really, Virion?! Is it Kiran?”

Gloved hands invaded the bramble, as Kiran’s breathing hitched. As she began to resign herself to being caught, more footfalls came.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY FROM US SO EASILY?”

“Ugh, not more of them! Virion, take the left flank while I deal with this lancer.”

“Very well.” Kiran just laid there as Virion’s brown gloves withdrew from the bramble. She nearly exhaled loudly in relief. With her heart jumping in her throat, she kept sifting through her options. She could shuffle away and risk being sighted to gain distance from them. Or stay here and risk Virion catching her.

   With no audible voices heard opposite the battle, Kiran opted to crawl away as quietly as she could. Running would come once she passed enough cover. Despite the Breidablik’s attempt at outing her, she couldn’t get herself to leave it. Somehow, it’s comforting presence gripped her heart with dread at the thought of leaving it. ‘Great,’ she mused, ‘I’m developing Stockholm Syndrome towards an object...’ With what little energy remained in her, Kiran willed herself into running as far as she could from Anna and Virion.

Unknowingly in the direction of the Askran camp.