Chapter 12: A Confrontation Beneath The Stars

Sakura

The usual way one bonded with a companion, whether spirit beast, spirit, or just a regular old creature, was to show it you meant no harm. And then to have it associate you with good things. Like free food, or belly rubs in the case of my brother's celestial hounds.

At least, that's what all my teachers, the books, and my parents all said.

But how was I supposed to do that with a snake?

I guess I could give it a belly rub, I thought.

King swung his head back around towards me and glared at me with a single, head sized eye. He snorted his disapproval. I agreed, but I couldn’t think of anything else.

You could try talking to it. It might be intelligent.

Have you met a Sky Snake that could talk?

No.

Exactly.

But you could try.

I sighed. Fair enough.

I stepped forward, cycling my chie through my whole body just in case I had to make a quick get away.

“Hello there, snake.” I felt dumb even saying those words. But to my suprise the snake's eyes locked on me, and he squinted in my direction even as he began devouring the eagle again. “Uh . . . I don’t know. King, what am I supposed to say to a giant sky snake I'm trying to befriend?”

Try telling it you want to be its friend.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I fought my teenage instincts and gave it a try. “Hello snake, uh . . . I would like to be your friend.” I took another step towards it. I was nowhere near striking distance, but it was closer. And the snake's eyes watched me closely.

What would you have said to the tasty bird?

It clicked, and I felt very foolish.

Right. Ritual words.

“Lets see, snake. There are three elements to forging a relationship with a beast like you. I mean, short of being there at its birth, hello King.” King rumbled happily.

“Or,” I chuckled. “Being a total moron and devouring your core without cleaning it first.”

I nearly started laughing at that absurdity. It's not like someone would be THAT stupid. Right? I mean, they’d be fighting the creature's spirit for dominance over the body at every turn. Sure it would mean increased power, and speed of growth. But, who would be that desperate, or that dumb? Perhaps it was just the tension in the situation that brought that unbelievably foolish cenario to mind.

But cleansing this creature's core would take way too long, I thought. Best just become friends.

“First is, provide an offering. Well, I guess that bird counts. I did distract it for you, so you could catch it.”

The snakes eyes narrowed and I felt an oddly distinct sense of annoyance at me as I spoke. “So, you’re welcome.” I took another step towards the creature. “That food is yours. Consider it my offering. The second is the ritual supplication . . . Let's see.”

What would I have said to that bird again? Right. I’ll just replace Bird with Snake, and hope for the best.

Sighing at the indignity of it, I raised my hands above my head, showing I was holding no weapon, and began to chant. Filling the words with mana and chie. The words really didn’t matter, but the intent and meaning behind them, as well as how solemnly one had prepared and said them often conveyed deeper meaning than just the words themselves. It usually meant a higher chance of success.

The original words I had prepared were: Cristaline Eagle. Creature of sky, earth, and moon, hunter of prey, and beast of beauty. I present myself and this offering as a gift to you. Let us become allies, friends, and companions. Let our fates intertwine.

But that didn’t really seem to fit this creature.

“Snake of . . . Sky, Snow, Rock. And . . . scales.” The snake's eyes locked onto me with an intensity I hadn’t seen in it before. It seemed to try and speed up its eating of the bird.

Maybe it thinks I'm going to try and take its meal. I’ll try and make it feel better. . . but how?

“Hunter of . . . Birds? Beast of slithering and . . . and venum.” The Snake hissed, but the noise sounded . . Well, not really angry with me. It sounded almost pleased.As if it were happy something other than itself was recognizing its own glory and purpose.

Okay little guy, let's see if I can make the rest of this up on the fly.

Say something about its shimmering scales. I always like it when people compliment my shell.

“Slitherer, stealthy one, with . . . ever shimmering scales.” This is absurd. “I present myself and this offering as a gift. That we might become allies, companions, and . . . and friends. Given enough time.”

Given enough time, anything can grow on you. Right? I hoped so.

“What say you?!” I raised my voice, and the last words echoed around me. The moon was bright high overhead, as the snake finished its meal. I stayed there frozen, waiting for an answer.

It's going to give me an answer right? That's the third part. Not to give an answer is very rude. Right?

Yes. Even if he’s not smart, his instincts will kick in and he’ll show you. Yes, or no. Unless he's a total blockhead.

The snake finished its meal, and then slithered up the side of the mountain. Disappearing into the snow drifts and rocky outcroppings without so much as a second glance behind it.

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That guys a jerk.

“You can say that again.”

“Were you just trying to bind that sky snake?!” I cringed as the voice of Taitha filled my ears, ruining my night even further. Her little lackies laughter didn’t help my ego in the slightest. “Oh you poor thing, I had no idea you had fallen so low that you need to consort with literal verman to find a proper companion!”

She laughed, her three little toadies laughed, and King’s shell warmed considerably.

“I am not one to judge a spirit beast by its ancestor. I prefer to judge someone by their behavior. Laughing at someone struggling, would seem to me to be the exact opposite of the responsibility of a princess of the southern kingdom. But who am I to say such a thing? Only the daughter of your fathers greatest rival.”

I gave a mocking bow.

It was stupid of me. I shouldn’t have engaged. All it was going to do was make things worse. But I was sick of taking her crap. For the last three years, ever since she arrived at the sect to try and ‘rebuild bridges broken by unfortunate events elsewhere in the empire’, I had hated her guts.

She had been nothing but a mean spirited bully.

From her antics turning many of the younger nobility against me, to the rumor mill and petty lies she told about even her most close allies. She was a snake.

The time she had kidnapped my brother's younger two Celestial Hounds and released them in the middle of a blizzard had almost been the breaking point. Sure it was found to be the act of a confused servant, but I knew in my bones she had done something. Cast a spell, an illusion, something to cause it. She knew too much about it before the information went public not be have been involved.

Then came the time she had one of her buddies break into my alchemy locker and steal my three silkworms. Yes, technically they were contraband as they were not native to the area. But the silk they produced was vital to my alchemical experiments, and keeping my clothes in good order.

Worst of all she had played with my brother's heart, and broken it. A year ago, they had dated. I suspected she had even been his first real love. The entire duchy and kingdom had talked about the potential for reunification, for preventing the exile, and more.

But just as he confessed his love for her publicly she had shot him down. Turned on him, and spread all kinds of evil lies about his behavior. It had shattered his heart for a while.

In short she was a snake. No, that was an insult to snakes. She was a rat that had somehow gotten into the walls, and I was sick of living with its smell.

I pulled my twin daggers from their sheaths as her three buddies circled around me and King. One of them summoned a kind of lightning bird that flew overhead. It unleashed a cage of lightning to keep us hemmed in.

“We wouldn’t want our precious remedial student to get lost, now would we?” Taitha said, laughter in her voice. “Thank you for the invitation, dear Sect Sister. Let us learn from each other.”

Fire crackled around her in a mantle, as she entered a fighting stance. In a flash she was dashing towards me, fire trailing after her, a maniacal insane grin plastered on her face.

“RAAAH!” King met her head-on charge with, well, his head. Blocking the attack and throwing her back towards the edges of the electrical cage. I jumped over him, taking the offensive and charging straight at the princess.

King turned to engage the other three. They were all Silver. King was massive, strong, and had a powerful combination of magical types. But even he had his limits. Light erupted as one of the lackies hit King's shell with a golden blast from his fists. Another drew out a flute and began playing. Winter cold frost formed on the ground, and King's footing weakened, and his movements slowed with every passing moment in the growing blizzard

King charged them, sending their little formation scattering to the wind. The flutist kept playing, the golden blasts kept attacking, and the lightning thrower dodged away from King's snapping jaws.

If King ever got ahold of any of them, they’d be gonners. Defeated in an instant. But they were all too fast, too agile. Sooner or later, he'd be done for.

Which is why I need to take this bitch out now!

My blades flashed forward towards Taitha, but they were met with her fists wreathed in fire. The pristine steel of my daggers was scourged as she punch-blocked my attack. I moved faster, sending mana and chie pumping through my whole body. My legs burned, my arms ached, and my chest heaved with the effort.

“Pathetic!” Taitha screamed over the blizzard. “How delightful! I had hoped you’d put up at least a bit more of a fight though.” She dodged a wild strike where I had left myself open, my footing was weak on the ice, and I slipped slightly, opening my guard farther than I had intended.

She took full advantage and a flaming fist slammed into my face. I tasted blood, and felt the crunch of bone. Not just under my nose. My faceplate cracked and I felt like burning acid ran in lines across the shattered lines of my face.

“AAAAH!” I screamed and blood filled my mouth. I tried to recover to my feet by spinning and kicking at her heel, but Taitha simply stepped on my ankle and shattered it. I screamed anew.

Burning ash spread over me like dragon's breath, and Taitha yelped and jumped back and away. King stood over me protectively, but he heaved for breath and his shell was cracked in several places.

“She’s done.” The lightning student said, as he dropped the cage he had made. “I think we made our point well.”

“Yeah, we kicked her ass!” The golden haired boy said as he allowed the light of his own mana to fade.

“They will know not to lie about us in the future.” Said the music girl, whose words were bitter like cracking ice. She dropped her fluit to her side, and all three of them began to walk back down the trail.

“Where do you all think you’re going?!” Taitha demanded. “Get back here and help me finish her off!” Taitha’s voice sounded unhinged. As if something had broken inside. The floodgates of cruelty were unlocked, and the force of it would crush everything in her path.

“But . .. Taitha. We can’t kill her.” The golden boy’s voice was a mix of fear, and confusion. “You know she’s . . .”

“I know who she is. And I'm not saying we kill her. But she hasn’t learned her lesson yet!”

“What do you want us to do?” The girl asked, confused but clearly willing to obey.

Taitha looked back at me, as I was desperately trying to reset my nose and staunch the bleeding. My ankle throbbed in sharp pain. It was also clearly broken. But I’d felt worse and survived. What I needed was to be able to see. Which meant I needed my nose, and the breaks and cuts on my face to stop bleeding.

“Kill the turtle. That’ll make sure the lesson is learned.”

“Woh,” the lighting boy took a step back. “I’m all for teaching a bitch a lesson not to spread lies about us. But killing a spirit beast companion? Really?”

So she’s been pinning her the times she’s been caught spreading rumors about her own people on me huh? That explains a lot.

“Leave then, if you don’t have the stomach!”

King, I . . . I don’t know what to do.

Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.

Gah! I set my nose, and the blood flowed more freely for a moment before it started clotting. I reached down and touched my ankle. It was clearly broken.

Grow me two sticks please. Can you do that?

Yeah. Hold on.

“But Taitha. They’re broken, look at them. The message was sent. Don’t you think killing her companion would be going too far?” It was glowy golden boy. He was trying to reason with her. Lightning kid had already sprouted storm wings made from his element and jumped off the mountain. He was gliding down to safety even now. “We’re silvers. They’re peak Steel. Facing them in a fight was already one sided. Doing more would be disgraceful.”

“It is true,” the player said. Her voice was quiet, and carried a smokey feel to it. “Any one of us could have defeated her. It goes against honor to . . .”

Taitha ignited her fist in fire, and started towards us. “None of you have the guts to do what's needed! Cowards!”

I braced my foot against King's back leg, the ground was slick with my blood. It hadn’t yet frozen because of King's heat. Which made what I was planning even possible.

King took a step forward with his other leg, and a moment later I heard a massive snapping sound as his jaws clenched tight on Taitha’s fire wreathed fist.

“Little bastard! That hurts, let go!”

I smirked. King might have been a slow mover, but the first thing you learned about snapping turtles was to never put your hand anywhere near their mouth. They’re faster than you think.

I kicked off his back leg with my working one, both daggers pointed directly at their targets. A heartbeat later Taitha screamed as both blades cut through his thick leather boots and sank into her thigh muscle.

The daggers were hard to pull free, but a moment later I was biting them deeper, higher up on her leg. King opened his jaws enough to let her begin to collapse, before grabbing her torso in his jaws and biting down.

It didn’t kill her.

But from the swearing she let loose it clearly didn’t feel like a summer's breeze either.

Taitha wrapped herself in red hot fire, and after a moment even King had to relent. He released her like a hot coal, grabbed my foot and pulled me away from the evil princess and back towards safety.

After a few moments, Kings injuries overcame him, and he collapsed. Unconscious. My foot was still in his mouth as he tried to pull me away from the fiery woman. His body began to dissolve back into light, as I recalled him into my Soul Vault.

I felt him, and my heart skipped a beat in fear. Most of his mana and chie had been spent. Normally he took up almost all of the space. And lately he had been pushing against its seams. I had been preparing to have a difficult conversation with him about needing to stay behind until I ascended into the next realm.

But now he felt small, diminished. He barely took up half the space.

My own body was broken. The cold stone had ripped apart my cloths, and shredded my skin during the dash towards Taitha. My spilled blood had only given me the ability to do it, not protected me from the consequences of grating my body against frozen jagged stones.

And I was still bleeding.

My vision began to weaken and swim, the stars overhead wheeled oddly. Beautifully. I felt an odd contentment rush over me. Then, they were replaced with Taitha’s hateful face. She lifted a fiery fist, about to bring it down and end me.

To snuff out my and King's life in a single blow.

I was ready. I had done my best, fought my fight, and hurt an opponent who had ascended to another realm entirely. I had done all I could, and had done far more than even I expected of me. And besides, there was no use in wasted effort at this point. Might as well go out peacefully.

While watching the stars behind her head.

She pulled back, and the fire burned even hotter. It felt oddly nice on my face and body given how cold I was. I let out a last breath, ready for her to strike.

Only . . she didn’t.

Instead a bright blue and white body, with scales wrapped around her arm and shoulders, and sank palm length fangs deep into her forearm.

Bite to protect! Bite to eat! This bite is good! Fire girl die! I bite, she die! Die, die, die!

The voice was alien to me. Strange. And yet, oddly welcome.

I was sure I was delusional from the blood loss. As I thought I saw Sect Leader Wu-zin descending from the heavens, a galaxy of stars swirling in a crown over his head.

Darkness took me, as one of the many stars overhead descended in a ball of bright white and blue light.