My mind shifts from a half-asleep state to a half-awake one, my feet almost slipping off the table. A quick scan of the room through my sense reassures me that Aisha isn't doing anything, she's laid on the ground, chained up to the stove. She's actually snoring a tiny bit which I once again find cute. I let myself slip away.
--- --- ---
The morning sun peers through the window and filters past my closed eyelids. I straighten up in the chair, a bit dizzy and panicky as I check my surroundings. Aisha is awake but still chained up and the shackles activated. I shiver and check the fire in the stove, finding that it ran out of fuel.
“Good morning.” Aisha says with a wide yawn.
“Sleep well?” I ask.
“Decently enough for how you left me.” She replies with a grimace.
Aisha shakes her wrists to punctuate her complaint. The two bracers fall off. I stare blankly as she gets up and starts stretching her back. I open and close my mouth a few times, trying to say something before first figuring out what it is I want to say.
“Whoops?” She teases with a corner smile.
“I... definitely should have seen that coming.” I groan painfully as I use my symbiont's sense to scan her, finding that she has a twisted nail hidden behind her ear.
“Indeed, you can't hold this girl down... not without incentive.” She replies with a wink and a wide grin.
“You realize we have to change location now.” I tell her, sighing and trying not to look amused... or tempted.
“I didn't run, didn't attack you, didn't do a thing, Elizabeth.” Aisha tells me a bit more seriously. “I've played by your rules so far, you need to trust me a tiny bit.”
“I trust that you stayed because it's the best way to get what you want.” I reply sharply.
“We didn't help you on the Izla because it was the only path available.” She replies, frowning. “I didn't cut that bitch's throat because it's my mission to contain this, I did it because of what she said and did to you. I know I fucked up, several times, but you can't forget that I've kept my promises.”
Her response is unexpected but it smells prepared, feels like a manipulation, and that annoys me past the point I can bear after yesterday's stunt. I lose control of my emotions, the sadness and guilt I buried in my lonely heart rouse out.
Aisha flinches at my expression, her eyebrows turn down in concern. That only makes my mood sink further. I reach up to my collar and pull my shirt off. The strip of cloth covering my breast isn't wide enough to hide my breast completely but I care not, the point is to show her consequence.
“This is the price I paid.” I utter with difficulty.
Her eyes cannot help but stare down at the innumerable scars on my stomach. The clean cuts and shredded rips in my flesh all healed but never returned to their original state. Her, today green, irises then turn to the tendrils protruding just beneath my skin around the shoulder.
“Look... at it.” I say, voice breaking.
Aisha lowers her gaze down to my left breast, to the flat expanse which is evident from the way my improvised bra is wrapped around my chest. Her illusory face turns stony but she is biting her trembling lower lip underneath.
I slip my right hand under the cloth and start undoing the straps tying the leather around my torso to hold it in place. I slowly pull the sleeve glove off my left arm, letting it drop to the floor.
I order my symbiont to coil on itself. It rescinds beneath our left armpit, the string-like muscles roll up, gathering the strength that can be used to break through flesh and bone both.
The symbiont, that usually looks normal despite a few clearly distinct traits, is evidently and distinctively inhuman when in this position from the bulging of the upper arm, just above mid-biceps. Aisha's expression is inscrutable, her true face appears shaken and regretful.
“This is the price I'll keep paying for my whole life.” I growl. “I look like a monster, because of you, because of what you did.”
“I'm sorry.” She whispers.
“I lost my arm, my breast,... my sanity.” I pause because what I'm about to say echoes Suxen but I do not keep my silence as I need to get it out. “The person I used to be... died. She faded away little by little with every being I killed.”
“...” Aisha stands silent, taking my words in with rising concern.
“What you want, it cost so many lives, it ruined mine.” I insist, hammering it in. I hope to witness anything resembling regret in her but refuse to accept that which I detect in her expression. Involuntary tears break through the corner of my eyes. “I'm a monster because of you and I'll always be a cripple because of...” I pause. “Her.” I finish with fond, passionate, resentment.
“Elizabeth, I...” Aisha's voice dies down.
“Yet, you want me to trust you who made it happen? You play with me!” I shout. “Is this a game to you?”
“You're not a monster, Elizabeth. Far from it.” She says, reaching out to me with her hand. I shove it away. “You look good.”
“You, l, ie.” I affirm, voice cracking. Yet, her words make me feel better.
“I really don't have any excuses, I'm sorry.” She tells me in a soft voice. “I'm doing level best to get us through this like you are, Elizabeth, I'm moving forward to get the Rykz out of Caeviel.”
I try to swallow the lump in my throat but fail. I slowly and carefully uncoil my symbiont, reaching out with my left hand. Her eyes fall on my nail-less inhuman fingers just as they seize her shirt.
“Should I just roll over and expose my throat because you can sweet talk?” I scoff.
“No, but the contrary could get us both killed in the institute.” She gently tells me, looking back up with no fear of the symbiont. “I need to be able to make moves without you immediately jumping to the conclusion that I'm betraying you, Elizabeth.”
I frown and release my control of the symbiont. I leaving it free to make a decision. I trust its instincts towards threats more than my own compromised thoughts towards Aisha.
It releases her collar and moves upwards, towards her throat. I tense, and so does Aisha, as it moves around it. I worry that it's going to just kill her so I prepare to stop it, yet it feels odd that it would since I don't feel it thirsty for blood.
Weird since I haven't eaten yet and it is usually more aggressive when I haven't, it might have been a miscalculation to do this now but I tire of our uncertain relationship.
After a few nerve-wracking seconds, I realize that my symbiont has on intention to attack her, it passed around her throat to shift our hand behind her, down to the small of her back to pull her closer to me, making us hug.
I freeze on the spot, my face brought close enough to Aisha's breasts that I could bury myself in them, my breast touching her upper belly. She relaxes and lightly places her left hand between my shoulder-blades.
I worry, as our proximity means that a lightning or air-blade would injure us both. She could kill or disable me with a construct, neither I nor my symbiont could react from this position, the most it could do with its reflexes is retaliate after the fact.
“You're stiff.” She complains. “But so warm.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
I retake control of my symbiont. It made its decision but it didn't solve my misgivings, I'm still suspicious of her. I bank on the fact that I'll just stun us both if she does anything and wrap my other arm around her. I squeeze her as much as I can to cause a bit of pain without injuring her, forcing the air out of her lungs.
“Oof.” The small sound escapes Aisha.
I allow myself to wallow in the awkward embrace for a few moments before pushing her away. I wipe my, now dry, eyes and assemble a fire construct to restart the stove, without wood this time but I have plenty of flow and a few portions won't matter now that we're a few days away.
I don't say anything more and slip my shirt back on. She has the good sense not to press me. I've thrown her enough threats and too much happened for us to resolve this.
At least, venting my feeling did allow me to gain some peace of mind. I accept that I need the Shade and that I've done all I could to ensure that she wouldn't turn on me. I've gone through more than I should have to get here, I cannot sabotage it all out of baseless paranoia.
The gruel I throw together isn't as good as I usually make it, it feels a bit too grainy to be fully enjoyable, my unstable emotions influenced my cooking. Aisha doesn't complain and finishes her bowl just as I get started on my third.
I train with my scimitar for the entire morning. Aisha watches me swing it at the air for a few tens of minutes before starting to make odd but precise gestures with her fingers, apparently training her flow skills.
It makes me realize that I forgot to take the energy she regenerated during the night from her but I decide to let her be. It's a tiny risk to let her refresh her skills but it's one that is lost among so many that I can't keep track of them all.
At lunchtime, I finish the pot of gruel by myself as Aisha says she's had enough. By then, my reserves have regenerated to their fullest, which is now about twenty-six portions. I store half the energy inside my scimitar.
The afternoon goes by similarly for me but Aisha likely ran out of flow because she spends it looking me go through my stances. Occasionally, she comes out with sober compliments about my form.
Surprisingly, she doesn't throw in any innuendos and even gives me a good piece of advice by informing me that I sometimes extend my thumbs out to press on the handle, which exposes them.
By nightfall, the two of us both start fidgeting in our chairs as Tsek should be getting ready to steal the schematics from the Shade during the night. Aisha and I wrap ourselves in blankets after dinner. To pass time without falling asleep, Aisha teaches me how to play a game I've seen sailors play.
“It's called Knucklebones. You normally use bones but we'll use rocks since we don't have any.” She tells me, dropping five small flat pebbles on the wooden table. “You throw these up and catch as many as you can on the back of your hand. There are more complicated ways to play but we'll stick to this simple version for now.”
“Alright, let me try.” I say.
I take hold of one of the tiny rocks and take a look while discreetly injecting flow inside it. I find no hidden construct so I grab the other four and repeat the process. Once certain this isn't a trick, I throw a couple in the air and flip my hand around to catch them.
The pebbles hit and bounce off. I hum for a bit as I think it through and make another attempt. This time, I lower my hand as they land to compensate. I manage to catch the first one but it falls off when I try for the second one.
“Pretty good for a beginner.” Aisha comments. “My turn.”
She takes all five of them in hand and throws them up in the air one by one. The first she threw is almost down when she launches the last. She flips her hand and catches it, inclining it upwards so that the rock doesn't fall off when she moves to intercept the second's fall.
Aisha's hand flashes left and right, catching four but not the fifth as it hits one of her knuckles and bounces off. The dexterity involved convinces me that I don't stand a chance to win but, as I am a good sport, I keep playing.
“What about this, if you catch half as many as I do, you win.” She proposes, upping the ante. “This way, if you catch two, I have to get five to win.”
Apparently, the lack of challenge is boring her. I fake ponder her offer for a while because I've been wondering about how my left limb would do at this if I could communicate the rules to it. I do consider cheating with lion strikes but the issue here isn't speed or strength.
“Alright, deal.” I nod.
I pick up the rocks in my right hand and reach to my symbiont, communicating to it that the rocks have to be caught but with the back of the hand. It almost playfully moves one of its tendrils over my rib-cage. I take it as a sign that it understands and relinquish control.
“So?” Aisha asks a bit impatiently.
She has the oddest character, patient and impatient, empathetic and indifferent, warm yet cold. Perhaps we simply have very different values. I notice that her cheeks are heating up, making me realize that I've been staring at her chest for quite a while.
I look up, finding that her illusion construct is hiding her blush. I don't think Aisha's embarrassed and I would be beyond surprised if she was shy. I even doubt that she gave up on trying to seduce me, she likely simply switched from overtly doing so to a more covert approach.
I can't help but frown at this illusory barrier which creates a very real one between us. It is feeding my suspicions about her. My gaze seems to be agitating her as her cheeks drop in temperature.
“What?” She asks.
“You look good even in those.” I tell her, glancing at her galley-slave clothes.
She perks up and grins at the compliment but doesn't blush, confirming that she indeed isn't shy or embarrassed. She must've thought I was getting into a mood which isn't far from the truth, I've actually been able to loosen up even if I remain attentive to everything she does.
“How about you owe me a thousand thousand gold coins if I win?” I propose a bet with a ludicrous number.
“Alright, game on!” She exclaims. “But if you lose... you'll owe me a million thousand golds!”
I nod in agreement, fully aware that neither of us have any intention of paying up if we lose. I focus on my symbiont, making sure it's ready and throw the stones in the air one at a time.
My symbiont's arm flickers left and right, up and down, catching each of the stones as soon as they leave my hand... in its palm. I bring my right palm to my face as Aisha explodes into clear hearty laughter.
“You just, hahahah, you just tried to, hahahahahahahaha.” Aisha says, having trouble getting the sentence out. “Cheat, haha, didn't you?”
“Your turn!” I growl, pushing the rocks to her. She might fail in that state.
“Give me a second to, hahahaha, breathe.” She replies.
“Oh, you're forfeiting.” I say. “My win.”
“Hey, you took, like, hahahahahahahahaha.” She breaks out in even more intense laughter. “You spent like five minutes, haha, getting it ready, and it just... caught them. Phfuahahahaha.”
“Enough, play or you lose!” I exclaim with a mean smirk.
“Kha, fine, just got to catch one!” She says as she pick up the rocks. Her chest is bobbing from barely contained giggles.
“Two. You could catch one with both hands behind your back, it isn't fair.” I insist dishonestly.
She rolls her eyes but doesn't protest, taking the tiny bit of time she has to take a deep breath and compose herself. She throws them up in the air, the first two rather high while the last three she just quickly tosses.
Ah, I lost. The first two arrive one after the other with enough delay that Aisha catches them despite her slightly shaky hands, winning as predicted. I let myself fall flat on the table, forehead touching the wood.
“Kh, kh, kh.” She chortles. “Don't worry, I'll accept payment in nature.”
“Dream on.” I reply.
“Cheer up, the interest rate isn't too bad and I'm good company.” Aisha adds with a wicked grin and a slight rise in body temperature.
“Double or... never mind.” I grunt.
“You sure?” She asks.
“Yea, but I pick the game.” I tell her, rising back up.
“That's an obvious trap.” She hinges.
“Then we'll be even if I win.” I reply.
“Alright, I'm game, what do you want to play?” She says, gathering and setting the rocks aside.
“Arm wrestling, no flow, you can use both arms.” I grin, setting my left elbow on the table.
“No flow?” She asks.
“No flow.” I nod.
“Hm, okay.” She agrees.
Aisha takes hold of my gloved left hand with both of hers, showing no hesitation whatsoever at indirectly touching my symbiont. I find it impressive of her as she's seen it eat meat.
“You can start whenever you're ready.” I tell her.
She nods and adjusts her grip over my hand to have a good hold while keeping both of her elbows set on the table. She starts pulling and pushing all at once without warning, likely trying to surprise me, but all she achieves is to make my limb angle a tiny bit to the left.
“Are you sure, you're not using a construct?” She asks, baffled.
“Yep.” I grin.
“You could lift me up with just that arm.” She notes.
I hear a touch of envy in her tone but I dismiss it as no one could want this. I let her keep trying to beat my symbiont's strength for a few tens of seconds until she can't help but release the pressure, having spent her strength.
I gently start lowering my arm, pulling both of hers along. It takes a bit of effort on my part because my waist and back have to sustain my symbiont but most of its leverage comes from the table which functions as a fulcrum... and is starting to groan. Luckily it doesn't break before Aisha does, because it would otherwise be a draw.
“I thought I had a shot but... oh well. I admit defeat, we're even.” She says, exaggerating her disappointment with a pout.
“It's time to go anyway.” I tell her. “We want to be there a few hours before Tsek shows up.”
“I'm sure he did fine.” Aisha says confidently. “And he can always say I sent him if he gets caught.”
“If he's not here tonight, we'll likely get to the institute the day after tomorrow.” I tell her.
It's definitely not the best way to do this since it leaves Tsek with the Shade for a day longer than I'd want, but I can't make my preparations too early or leave Aisha alone while I make them so I didn't really have a choice in the matter.
I trust that he wants to impress me too much to immediately talk and, while he knows too much for comfort, he doesn't know enough to jeopardize the entire plan. He shouldn't be aware of my symbiont or much more that we're doing something with Suxen.
The problem is that, if Tsek doesn't show up at all in the time-frame I gave him, then I'll need to secure Aisha as a hostage to exchange for him even as I make my assault on the institute.