After laying on the grass wet with sweat for a while Myron got Rhamon, Syl, and Mery together to organize something fun. He told them it was a bath, but modern. It was easy with their curiosity garnered.
A thick tree grew with a few Aether pulses from. So wide that it could fit a car inside of it. Rhamon chopped that off turned it around. Embedding the top of the tree back into the ground. Myron wasn’t going for double at first, but here he was.
He then had Syl and Rhamon empty those trees and create deep holes in them, making sure to soften the wood and rub the splinters away with a soft wind. Mery then filled everything with water and Rhamon concentrated light above them to heat the water.
Myron then took out a little bar of soap Syl had bought. “Immaculate planning, Good job.” He commented and dove into the bath-tub even as the sunlight, gathered and cast down by Rhamon kept the water warm. He enjoyed his bath, changed the waters for his tub and let another pair have a go.
Of course all of this didn’t happen with them staring at him, or with Myron wearing his clothes. He wasn’t some pervert. He simply enjoyed a good bath now that he could have it with a bit of energy spent.
Back in the City, the Metropolis of technology and home to millions of people, baths where a thing of the past and a thing for the rich. Everyone always had the smallest bathroom possible and a shower in the corner, making a mockery of the term ‘bathroom’.
When everyone was clean, fresh, and rested they destroyed all evidence of their existence - after packing up their things - turning the earth on itself and then had Syl grow a soft patch of fresh grass above the upturned dirt.
“Ready?” Hana asked having skipped on taking a bath, rushing to get further away from Great Oak City and into perceived safety. Though with how Rhamon’s coat felt at her touch, she was feeling a tad jealous.
Myron went to answer, when he stopped. He sniffed and frowned, pulling back. The sun had risen well and truly over the horizon, bathing the world in its soft yellow light.
Clouds gathered near it, casting long shadows on the meadow and leaving enough room for the rays to peak through, cascding past the edge of the clouds to warm Myron’s skin.
There was that smell in the wind when rain was coming, Myron had noticed. It brought him back for a moment, but then another smell mixed in. It was burnt, dry, sick.
He followed it.
“Myron, where are you going?” Mery perked up and turned to him, she had been taking a nap as she had gone through the last shift, and was thus, sleepy. More so than the rest of them.
Myron kept going, past the wire of enchanted Hard light which Rhamon has set up in a perimeter to catch any would be assaults.
“Don’t you smell that?” He asked as he marched atop a nearby slope, the meadows spreading behind him.
He reached the top and stepped atop a small boulder to see further, his mind buzzing. It was familiar, and not.
There a little distance away, a stream gurgled softly through a bank in the ground. He picked up the pace, not hearing Mery’s answer. He hopped and skipped down, his arms holding him balanced. Syl shouted after Mery who followed him. Myron didn’t listen.
He saw what he was looking for and a small weight fell upon him. He cringed a bit at that and tried to push it away. His mind fell back to earth, the heaven he had surrounded himself with crackling away to nothingness.
All the things he had thrown away, and all the things that he had to do. All the responsibilities he had taken upon himself, all the excitement and hope. All the giddy moments, watching Aimon do their Magic, and being fascinated by it. He had kept it with him.
But had discarded all the damn death. Not the death he caused himself. Crone never weighed heavily on his mind or heart. No, what he remembers now is the death of a world at the stake, Nature itself put up to a witch trial.
He stepped through the stream, boots up to his knees soaked with water and mud.
There, knelt before the water, just a palm’s width away from the live giving water, Ylo, the Psychic Aimon
“What are you doing?” Mery asked right behind him when she saw Myron raise his hand delicately.. He placed a finger under her pink nose, and felt his skin tickle against her wool. It burned him. She was breathing.
She opened her eyes, one of them was white and gray, filled with dry blood, mangled. The other locked onto Myron.
“Fancy seeing you here.” Myron heard her say. But she didn’t speak. She simply took in a little breath. “Human.” She said not unkindly.
“I guess we both made a run for it in the same direction.” Myron shrugged moving forward to gingerly support her weight as she tittered forward.
“Did I make it?” She asked, the sun bloomed on her lips. The clouds gathered but for that single moment there was light. Beam fell on her and through her. The world breathed in tandem.
“Who are you talking to?” Mery approached, she placed a hand on Myron’s shoulder. Syl stood atop the slope right above the stream with Dakini and Rhamon not far behind her. Scanning.
“Will you take me with you?” She asked. “I don’t want our struggle to be forgotten.” She continued and a deep sadness grew in Myron as he felt his hands begin to phase through her form much like the rays of the sun. Which where now gone, hidden behind the gray clouds.
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“I’ll keep you close, Ylo. I can at least do this much.” Myron nodded and closed his eyes. The next moment she was gone with the wind, ash from the top of the pile near his knees rose up with a swirl to the skies.
The ash swallowed his fingers, welcomed him. From them he pulled out a crystal. A Crystal burning with a Pink light, resplendent the sky at dawn.
“Son of a Bitch!” The furious call sounded out from the skies above. The cry of a harpy followed.
“Good job, Ylo.” Myron took the Crystal and whispered. He scowled up the foul mouthed rider that had just made his appearance known to all.
“Who the fuck are you?” He called out and Hana put a hand against her mouth. “Language!” She called out and Myron waved her off.
“Fucking Mongrel! Don’t recognize me do you? You Stole my Emeramantis and now you steal my Psychic type! Crazy Bastard! I’m going to flay you!”
“Hopbun, Catch my Fall, Falcorina dive down and kill that motherfucker. Deryn! You better catch up! I found her Corpse! They stole it!” He shouted as a bouncing Bunny man appeared and caught him in a princess carry before plummeting hard to the ground and bouncing safely.
“Mery, [Aqua Bullet], ranged. Dakini! Sprout around us. Dakini hide amongst the trees!”
‘Burrow underground, attack the Hopbun where it lands.’ He gave the followed up order as he took the crystal and put it in his one his pockets before running to cover and diving into the water, catching onto a growing batch of grass to not slip further down.
The Falcorina clashed with Mery who was thrown back, spinning. “Unleash your [Charge]!” Roulon shouted and Myron countered with [Surge] before he even made his way through the sudden copse of trees that had formed.
Dakini flashed before him, turning into a mole with huge arms and dove into the dirt through other other side of the stream, rocks flew out of her hole even as Myron stepped over it to see what was happening.
Syl jumped atop a tree, her claw reached for Falcorina but not quite getting her only for her to be med with Rhamon floating in front of her. He pushed on a platform of hard light and cut her open. Blood splattered everywhere like rain.
“[Shrieking Mandrake] into [Bind]. Don’t kill them.” Myron called out. Syl quickly followed his orders and Rhamon picked up the bound bird and threw her far away, gagging her plugging her ears two with bunched up leaves.
Meanwhile Mery waited for her shoulder to pop back into place as the Hopbun flew around her, making great use of the trees Syl sprouted and its strong springy limbs to bounce about and score passing blows with its enormous pair of front teeth.
“Chop!” Myron called out and the blow took the wind out of the Hopbun’s sails. Before Mery could follow up with another Aqua Bullet it pulled back rapidly. “Rousing Cry.” Roulon called out right as Deryn reached the battlefield. He jumped down from his slow but bulky Aimon.
“Mazard, Burn it all.” He ordered with a yawn and his Aimon belched out a tidal wave of molten rock. It rolled down the hill with speed uncharacteristic to lava. “Mery, [Surge]” Myron called out and the wave flew before he could even finish. Steam rose and fell upon the valley between hills. Ruining visibility even for those with the high ground.
“Syl, form a wall, fell the trees if you have to.” He said as he moved further away from danger. She didn’t need to it seemed. The Next moment she was next to him and rising up the hill towards Hana missing just a few Points of Aether. Myron thought about his options in that sudden stalemate.
If Mery overdid it with [Surge] she would be down too many Aether points. At her current level she could pump four points of Aether into it from the original average of two. She did it constantly and deliberately and it would hurt her more than it would do good to return to flopping about with indefinite numbers.
‘Mery, [Water Whip] around you, and grow from there, do a sweep. Force the bunny into the Air.’ He said and she followed his orders to a tea, he felt and saw her Aether drain by twenty points overdoing it in the best way possible. They spun and spun whipping and crackling about in controlled madness. Trees cracked and feel, smoke rose as it stopped at the Wall of roots and wood, barely touching the stream.
To a backdrop of Roulon cursing at Deryn, his impromptu ally, the Hopbun was force out and above the cloud of steam.
“Protect him!” Roulon shouted, pointing at his Aimon which he didn’t even bother to call by name even though he knew it thanks to the System.
“Crunch!” Myron shouted and felt Dakini’s satisfaction as she jumped out of the Earth.
The Next moment Rhamon threw a spear of Light at the Hopbun, piercing into it and shooting off into the distance. [Sun Ray] he muttered afterward with a sigh.
Dakini returned from the sky, her lips red and her beak and feathers bloody. She dropped a pouch and a bag gripped tightly by her talons and transformed into a fox.
“Mery, can you wash my fur?” She asked and the Pygmaleon did so.
Myron picked the stuff up. ‘Syl, can you pick up the Falcorina?’ He asked while he did so and she moved without complaint.
“Let’s get a jog on.” He added.
“We’re going to take his Aimon with us?” Hana asked as they picked up the pace.
Myron finished sending some Aether back to Mery. He had noticed that Aimon didn’t like to feel empty of Aether and she had dropped to less than Five in that quick bout. Aether troubles are going to start being a thing. If he is going to start Cultivating his Attributes, and if both Mery and Dakini will be working hard to increase their Aether gain per level.
Myron remembered then that he still hadn’t taken a look at Mery’s status and cringed. Then sighed. ‘It’s had to always be on the move.’ The thought came to his mind unbidden and he felt the crystal in his pocket. He brought it out with his hand, caressing its round surface. It was dazzling, mesmerizing even. Yet also sad.
‘I couldn’t do anything more at the time. I got too involved in everything as is.’ He argued. ‘Yet could we have done more? Maybe we could have fought Taher instead of running away, and thinking that Choro or Killing her Pyrobill would be enough. Maybe I shouldn’t have run away from Roulon, Deryn, Syvan, and Hanau back then.’ He added but shook his head.
‘I knew nothing. I still know nothing about this World, about Aimon, about living a new life. I’m just trying to figure it out, and that was not the time or place.’ He reasoned.
“Myron! Myron, I’m speaking to you!” he snapped out of his thought and looked at Hana frowning at him.
“Sorry sorry. I was thinking about stuff. What did you ask?”
“About her!” She pointed angrily at the Falcorina who was looking at him with a peculiar look.
“Depends on her honestly. If she wants she can break her bond with that idiot Roulon right now and be rid of him…” Myron looked at the Aimon. “If you don’t then we will carry you with us for a while longer, and then throw you off somewhere. If we put enough distance between us he won’t find us.”
‘Guys, we should communicate this with Hana and Rhamon later, but the signs of our Battle with be surely felt. We need to change our path, sharply. Otherwise we’ll be caught… tomorrow even.’ A worry begun to build in him. There is a chance that they had stopped too early for training, wasting too much of their head start.
Myron then retreated into Dakini’s status for a moment as he noticed that she had leveled up.
Bonded of Myron
Name: Dakini
Level 11! Kitsune
Tier - First
Type: Dark/Fairy
Attributes
Aether: 42/42
Shield: 55/55
Strength: 12
Agility: 18
Intelligence: 13
Control: 22
Abilities
Terrorizing Howl
Astonish
Crunch
Night Slash
Dream-pull *
Induce
Transformation *
Energy Drain
Puppy-Dog Eyes