A scratchy gurgling bubbles out from the Mind Thief. The creature’s tentacles writhe, twisting and undulating with intent. Alkara ducks behind a tree. A moment later a sizzle and thud impacts her cover.
Alkara smiles savagely to herself. The thing is running out of spells. She almost has it. She whirls back around the tree and looses two more mythril arrows at the creature, bursting one brain sack and landing another arrow in the creature’s jaw.
The battle had been brutally fierce. Covered with burn marks, caustic welts, cuts, and scratches, Alkara’s breath comes hard and ragged. Guen has her fair share of battle wounds as well.
Alkara grimaces. They wouldn’t have taken nearly as much damage if her initial plan of attack hadn’t been cut short and basically ruined by some damned bell ringing out of no where from somewhere around Guenwyvar. The creature had immediately known where they were and attacked them. They’d managed to recover, but they’d paid for that mishap dearly.
Gotcha. Alkara looses another mythril arrow into one of the mind thief’s last functioning brains just as Guen forces it to rear up. Thanks Guenwyvar. Just one brain sack left. And the creature looks like it’s not long for this world either.
The thief whips around with eyes flared. It bounds toward Alkara. Guenwyvar rakes its side and receives a spurt of blood for her trouble. The Brain Thief doesn’t pause. It streaks towards Alkara with quickness she’s still having trouble adjusting to.
Shit. Run or hit it with an arro-
The creature’s speed forces her hand. Alkara begins to draw an arrow back but the creature clasps it before release. A sickening crunch follows. Alkara screams as pain shoots up her arm. Her vision swims as the arrow falls useless to the ground. Another snap. The shattered pieces of her bow fall to the ground.
The brain thief pulls her into a tight embrace. A lover’s embrace. Her scream cut short with a grunt as the creature sinks its teeth into her side. Alkara gasps in pain. Moments pass. And more. Slowly. Mercilessly.
Guenwyvar vaults over the creature, starting time once more. She scratches and bites at the last brain sac. Each snap is accompanied by a growl. The creature flails and flings Alkara from its mouth. It rears back, grasping at the panther.
Coughing up blood, Alkara lies there in shock, barely able to see. Tingling radiates from the bite wound. The pain diminishes. She blinks at her blurred vision. A memory comes rushing back…
“Your chances of success are insignificant. If you die–“
“Then I’ll die.”
She growls and punches her functioning hand into the dirt. The pain draws focus, sharpening her thoughts. She uses it to push herself up to her knees, faltering a moment with the strangeness of the bite continuing to wrack her.
So maybe he was right. Whatever. I’m gonna finish this.
She staggers up to standing and pulls out another mythril arrow. She’s only gonna have one shot at this. The last brain is at the top. She spits out some blood and barks at the thing. “Hey! I’m not dead yet. Why don’t you come over here and finish me off?!” The taunt costs her. Her head spins, she stumbles forward, and coughs up more blood.
The thing turns to face her, once again leaving itself open to Guen’s swipes. One of its legs twists weirdly with the impact. It staggers to one side. Imbalanced.
The creature thrashes furiously. Alkara dashes forward and earns another swipe in the shoulder but manages to avoid the rest of the flailing blows. She uses the broken claw to jump up and drive the arrow through the last brain and into the creature itself.
As it dies, Alkara lands on the ground and tries to stumble away but she catches one last blow on her back. She lands hard on her wounded hand, crying out in pain. She desperately tries to push herself back up but collapses. The creature’s thrashing stops. Alkara’s breathing is harsh in her own ears.
Guenwyvar circles the thing. She sniffs at it. With every few strides she swipes at it with careful, calm movements. After a couple rotations she pads over to Alkara. The great cat whines softly and snuffles her face. Alkara winces as the panther’s bristled tongue slides across her wounds. Alkara rolls onto her back, struggling at first before Guen helps her.
Alkara stares up at the sky, barely conscious. As Guenwyvar pads into view Alkara notices something on her collar… a bell?
Surprise and confusion swirl in her mind and chest as she slowly reaches up and fingers it, whispering, “What the…?” She shudders with pain, mentally searching while her thoughts grow more and more sluggish. Wait… She finds it and her eyes snap open with surprise. “Tharan?”
Unable to hold her arm up any longer, she decides to let it fall. She’s so tired. She’s just going to take a quick nap. Guen will… keep watch… won’t she?
Alkara’s arm droops down and away from the bell. Her breath leaves her just as the last clear moments of consciousness do. Guenwyvar paws at her. Friend-person is dying. She yowls. Louder. And louder. The yowl twists into a Snarl. Alkara doesn’t move. Her eyes are pinned to the sky. Unseeing. Guenwyvar touches her nose to Alkara’s cheek and flinches from how cold it’s already grown. She decides to snuggle in next to her, trying to keep her warm. New friend-elf said to stay with her. Could save friend-person’s life. So that’s what she would do.
After a few moments of stillness, the bell around Guenwyvar’s collar rings once more.