LesbeanAda

  The tunnels we travel through are much the same as the ones we’ve gone through before, the only distinction I can find is that they aren’t on the map yet. It’s a quiet journey, my new companion moves with a silent grace I can barely match, at least with the added weight of Mia on my back.

  It feels like hours pass before things start to change, where once the walls of the tunnels were barren, small strands of mycelia starts covering them instead. The mycelia is just quietly sitting there, its purpose not entirely clear.

  The journey continues, and the mycelia starts to grow denser and denser, until it eventually begins to cover the ground too. My guide avoids them deftly, though I am not as agile at the moment, and accidentally step on a sprout of it. The contact causes an immediate reaction as our surroundings light up in a gentle green light, the mycelia glowing from within as pulses rush across it.

  I stop in my tracks to admire the dispy, and my guide patiently waits for me, clearly unbothered by the light show, and luckily, not panicked either. Eventually I turn back to it and fsh a short apology, which only earns me a mostly indifferent response before we continue along our path through the tunnels.

  We continue for another hour or so before my guide slows down; the mycelia is covering everything now, each step we take elicits more light from it. Light which rushes ahead of us and into a cavern that I can now see partially into. The cavern is rge, not as rge as the previous one I encountered, but this one is also very lifely. The mycelia provides gentle glow throughout all of it, illuminating giant mushrooms several times my size. Underneath them, small forms are scurrying about the pce, some of them stop as we step into the cavern.

  They’re mostly creatures I do not recognize, though some have some resembnce to my guide. My guide, which just continues along the edge of the cavern as we are left unbothered by its inhabitants. I wish I could take the time to explore this pce, but the weight of Mia on my back is a constant reminder of what I have to do. She’s relying on me to keep her safe, to make sure she lives, and I do not pn to disappoint her, I’ve lost too many important people in my life already.

  As we continue along the edge, another creature joins us; this one is made almost entirely of some kind of roots, twisting into themselves to form a body that doesn’t resemble any animals I know.

  It just follows along with us, and I can feel its attention on me, and more specifically Mia. Apprehension fills me when I notice magic flow from it, though it quickly subsides as I note the simirity to the magic emanating from the amulet around Mia’s neck. If it wants to help, I am not going to stop it. And help it does, the effect is small, barely noticeable on her body, but her halo becomes more firm again; it’s still a faint echo of what it was before, but it is not as faint.

  The three of us continue until we finally reach an exit to the cavern, our new companion does not follow us, so I fsh my thanks to it. I can’t tell how much it has helped, but every bit is something I appreciate when it comes to keeping Mia alive.

  My guide seems to say goodbye to the healer too, the way it communicates is different to my body patterns, but understanding its expressions is rather intuitive. We leave the caverns behind and the tunnel we enter is just as overgrown by mycelia as the one we took to get here.

  Our journey after that is rather uneventful as the mycelia thins out and eventually disappears entirely once more. We are back to traveling through the dark tunnels of the mountain. Though before long, the surroundings start shifting ever so slightly again; there are signs of passage, and not the subtle type of the cave dwellers. These are signs of animals, and maybe even humans, crossing through these caverns. It seems that we are close to reaching the surface again.

  Energy fills my step as we continue on, my guide notices my renewed vigor and picks up the pace to match. We don’t take much longer before the tunnels start to brighten ever so slightly from sunlight spilling in, and then; we reach the surface, it is the middle of the day, there’s some wild animals nearby, though they scatter when they notice us.

  I slowly lower Mia to the ground and turn towards my guide, flickering my appreciation across my skin. The creature tilts its head in thought for a long few moments, before something unexpected happens. “You’re welcome, stranger. You were in need, and I helped. I hope you find the aid your friend needs, we sadly did not have the means to heal her.” The creature's voice is low but melodic, a pleasant sound to hear. Though I am not any less shocked that it can speak, not to mention that I can understand it.

  “How? I- sorry. I didn’t expect you to speak, or that I can understand you. I’d have asked if we could take shelter if I knew.” A slight bit of shame passes through me as I realize that I just… barged in on it, and then just made myself at home when it didn’t show aggression.

  The creature just seems to be amused at my words. “I did not mind. Travelers seeking shelter should be given shelter, so long as they do not show aggression. It would have been a transgression like no other for me to refuse you in your time of need. No, all I ask is that you do the same in the future.” It gives me the equivalent of a smile.

  I nod in acknowledgement as I lift Mia back onto my back. “I thank you then, my name is Ada, and I am in your debt. I hope I can visit again sometime though… I did not expect there to be so much life underneath the mountain.”

  “You are welcome to return, Ada. We do try to keep hidden, in the past we’ve had some bad altercations with the humans here.” It motions to the summit. “Not something we wish to repeat. As for names, you may call me Trill.”

  “Alright Trill, thank you. I think I’ll have to get going now though, I don’t know how much longer she has, and I don’t want to dey in finding her help. She said there’s someone in the forest that can help her, I don’t suppose you’d know where?”

  Trill considers for a moment before they reply. “No, I do not know much about the woods, my duties keep me in the caverns most of the time.” They start walking back into the tunnels, before they stop and turn back one st time. “May the spirits guide you, friend.”

  “Thank you, may they keep safe.” I reply as they turn away and disappear back into the darkness, and I am left alone with Mia once more. Time is still my enemy at this point, every moment lessening Mia’s chance of survival. Thus, I do not linger, instead I head into the forest not far from where we emerged, beckoning my magic to hide us as I do.

  As we delve deeper into the forest, the world around us begins to change once more. It’s not the same clinging darkness as in the cavern, but it is a gloom suffused with life. Unlike in the mountain, the forest bustles with pnts and animals, every step I take I spot yet another unknown creature. Some of them still resemble animals that I know, just with various additions, like a horned hare, or an eight legged deer. There’s also the ones that are completely foreign to me, only having a passing sembnce to any other animal. It is an odd sight every time, and one that puts me on edge.

  Is this what magic does to the organisms it gets its influence on? Or is this something else? Maybe different magics result in different outcomes, as I am fairly sure that my own magic would not turn me into something that I would hate. It’s a curious thought, that surety that my magic is there for me. I know it is its own actor, but I also know that it is not antagonistic.

  My thoughts continue to drift as I continue deeper into the forest, the occasional creatures and critters do notice us despite my magic, it’s not a surprise considering I am having to cover Mia too. Though in the end, the ones that do notice us, seem to give us a wide berth, leaving us to our own devices.

  I carry Mia deeper into the forest, my senses peeled for any changes, but there is nothing; no sudden group of people coming to meet us, and, luckily, no random predators either.

  Our journey continues until the gloom of the forest begins to grow darker, night is falling and I am no closer to saving Mia’s life. Dread sets in as I abandon the thought of rest for the night, instead, I press on deeper into the forest.

  The dwellers of the night begin to make their presence known not long after nightfall. Most of them are peaceful, like the ones we encountered during daytime. Though I can’t help but notice a small group of presences starting to circle us.

  My paws continue to carry me quickly through the underbrush, as I try to find a pce to secure Mia while I take care of our pursuers. They continue to close in on us, and I start to ready myself for a fight while having to keep Mia safe, when another presence makes itself known.

  A deluge of magic washes over us and forces our pursuers to abandon their hunt, as at the same time it makes me stop in my tracks. The magic is powerful, almost as strong as what I’ve felt from Mia before, which means, it is not a fight I am likely to win. Nevertheless, I lower Mia to the ground next to a tree and leap up into the crown, trying to get an eye on the steadily approaching presence.

  Whoever, whatever, they are, is powerful, and knows exactly where Mia is, as I can feel it stride directly towards her. It steps into sight, and I can see that it is humanoid, smaller than Mia, but still bigger than me, whoever they are is hiding themselves beneath a bck robe.

  Their approach stops a few meters away from Mia though, just as I get ready to intercept them. And then, they speak, the voice is strange, ethereal in a way I have not encountered before. “You can come down now. I mean you no harm.” It moves its head to look towards me, shadow clinging to their features in a bid to obscure them from me.

  I consider my situation for a short moment, whoever they are is powerful enough that they do not need to py nice with me, not unless they want to. Should I trust them? The answer is rather obvious in the end, I have to trust them, because they might be the help Mia has mentioned before.

  My body nds with a simple grace as I nd in between the stranger and Mia, my tails swaying in the air behind me. I remain silent, watching the stranger in front of me. They in turn seem to watch me, before finally they speak again. “You and Mia… have been traveling together then, I assume?” They look towards her ying on the ground behind me. “She’s clearly hurt, we can help her.” There is a familiar inflection to her voice that I can’t quite pce.

  I hesitate for a moment, before stepping back towards Mia, allowing the stranger to step closer. “Yes, she has helped me. We got ambushed on our way out of the mountain, she’s very hurt.” I wrap one of my tails around Mia’s abdomen.

  The stranger steps closer, but hesitates for a moment when they hear me speak. “I see. There is something familiar about you, but I can not quite pce it.” They shake their head. “Mia takes priority over my curiosity though, we can talk as we move.” Leaning down, they start to reach for Mia, but I pull her onto my back again instead, stabilizing her. They hesitate again for a moment before rising back to their full height. “Protective, I see. That’s good. Come then.” They move with an unearthly grace as they head into the forest once more, and I quickly move to follow.

  We walk for a minute or so before I can’t help but ask. “So… you’re with the resistance then?” I hesitate to ask their name, to ask about Celine, to ask whether Mia will be okay.

  It takes a few long moments before they respond. “Yes, I am. She must trust you a lot if she’s told you about that. Rest assured, we’ll do our best to help her live.” They continue to lead us through the woods, in a pattern that I can not make any sense of. “We’re there soon, so I’ll ask before we get there. What is she to you? And who are you?”

  The question catches me off guard, and I almost stumble. “She’s a friend! And my name’s Ada! She… found me. Out in the pins.” There is a moment of silence before the world around us shifts and we find ourselves in a valley, somewhere else entirely. The change in locations causes me to grind to a halt, my cws digging deep furrows into the earth beneath us. Before us, the valley stretches far, a vilge next to a ke, and fields of crops nearby. There are many people moving around that I can see from here, but we are only greeted by a few people covered in leather armor, wielding bows and swords.

  One of them steps forward and salutes to us, their eyes falling on Mia a moment before they speak. “Maria, go get the healers ready. Celine, welcome home.” Maria, I assume, dashes off towards the vilge as I turn towards Celine, hope surges in me, but I leave it be for a moment.

  Celine for her part, gives the others a nod and reaches up to lower her hood, revealing a changed, but still familiar face to me. Her skin is paler than I remember, and light crimson lines cover most of it, almost like a kintsugi. The most standout change though is the ethereal green eyes that have taken the pce of her blue ones. “Thank you Jolene, please also inform the enchanters. I am not sure how long my wife’s magic will st, or whether they can track Ada here.” She motions to me as she speaks. “Our basic wards will suffice for the moment, but we will need security.” Turning towards me, she gives me a small smile. “Well then, Ada, let’s not dally and get Mia to the healers, see what they say? We’ll also have some privacy to talk when we’re there.”

  I give her a nod and we move towards the vilge at a fast pace. Clearly this is the Celine I knew, but changed by centuries of strife. There’ll be many things to talk about once we have the time, I am sure of it. She’ll probably have as many questions for me as I have for her, but for the moment, we both need Mia to be safe.

  It only takes us a few minutes to reach the vilge, and subsequently the house where the healers are gathered. It’s a medium sized pce built in a somewhat rustic style I do not recognize. It’s clearly meant to hold several patients at once, though we are the only ones there when we enter. We’re greeted by a group of five women of various apparent ages, the one that speaks to us first is a woman that looks to be in her 60s, old but still very much graceful. “What have you dragged in this time, Celine?” She motions us towards a bed, and I pce Mia on it. She and the other four step closer to take a look at Mia as I wait anxiously next to her, one tail still wrapped around her wrist.

  Ever so slightly different fvors of soothing magic start to flow over Mia as they inspect her, before the old dy speaks again. “She’s badly injured. I… we can’t fix her. Not as is. We can buy her time, but we can’t heal her without some potent natural treasures, treasures which we do not have. And even then, we still have no way to break her curse. We can just treat her symptoms.” Her expression is apologetic, and her voice is soft.

  Celine kneels down next to Mia, and takes her hand into her own. “What do you need? I’ll find it.” There’s a note in her voice I can’t quite pce, worried, and caring, but also something more.

  The old woman shakes her head. “You can’t go. The fact that you left today was already a massive danger to everyone here. If you leave for longer… No. You’ll need to find someone else to get it for you. As for what it is that we need exactly. A few things, I’ll make a list, but the hardest part will be a leydrake’s heart, or something with simirly pure magic.” Celine seems to defte next to me, defeat creeping into her face.

  I reach out with one tail and touch her side. “I’ll go. I’ll find what we need, I’ll just need a bit more details on where and how to find them.” I try to be confident, but my voice is still weak with worry. “I can’t let Mia die. I have to try.” The head healer turns to look at me, and she considers me for a few long moments.

  “It’s your decision, but you will need rest. And supplies. We can keep Mia alive for a month, maybe two if we get lucky.” She sighs a little before she continues. “Celine, go get our new friend here to rest a bit, I can tell her exhaustion from here. Also, if you two stay here, you’ll just be in the way, so get going already. I’ll have the list done by morning.”

  Exhaustion is slowly creeping up on me, she is right in that, but I am reluctant to leave Mia. I lean towards her and brush against her cheek with my snout. “I’ll be back, you’ll be alright.” I then let go of her and step away, Celine follows suit.

  “You heard her, let’s get you rested, and we can talk a bit in private.” She starts to lead me to a set of stairs leading upstairs, where she then directs me to a small room. “You can rest in here.” The room is sparsely furnished, a bed and a chair alongside a small wardrobe.

  I hop onto the bed and curl into a ball, my head resting on my tail as I look towards Celine. “So… I don’t even know where to start. Mia told me how much time has passed, and here I am… I… don’t even know how to really say what happened to me, I just… I was at my wife’s grave, and then the world broke. Next thing I know I wake up, my entire body changed and hundreds of years have passed.”

  Celine takes the chair and looks at me, quietly listening and only speaks once I have finished. “I see. I had wondered what happened to you. I got lucky, the bar wasn’t directly hit by the Genesis, so me and most of the patrons managed to survive. The rest of the vilge… they weren’t so lucky. Most of them died on the spot, others… they changed. It’s not something that most people know nowadays, but the Genesis didn’t just induce small changes in people. It broke them, made them into something else all together.” She shakes her head. “Not many are still alive from back then. Mia, my wife, and I are the only ones with the resistance. The kingdom has some more, and I assume the other factions do too.” She hesitates for a long moment before continuing. “Markus survived. He-” I interrupt her before she continues.

  “I know. I… met him, and didn’t? Some kind of projection. He doesn’t recognize me. He was quite upset when his trick broke, though I am not sure why it broke, I just swiped at it with my tail.” Anger fills me at the thought of Markus. If I ever get my hands on him, I will not grant him a swift death.

  Celine gives me a nod. “I see. He does still like to gloat. He’s the kings advisor, a little weasel that ensves the minds of lesser men. Loves his parlor tricks, but we’ve yet been able to find where he actually hides, he’s never shown himself in public, always using those illusions of his instead. As for you breaking the spell, it’s possible by disrupting the magic, it’s not a particurly material connection after all. Projections like that can’t be, otherwise they open him up to harm.”

  I perk up at those words. “He did seem surprised that I broke it though, and looked in pain. Maybe he made a mistake when casting it and my swipe delivered through it? I don’t think I know how to disrupt a spell otherwise, unless my magic just did it on its own.” I tilt my head a little in thought. “But… I don’t think that matters right now. How have you been? It’s been so long, and you said something about a wife? I am gd you finally found someone!”

  She chuckles a little and nods. “Yes, I have. Almost had two even, but… it didn’t work out with Mia. Not after the incident with the curse. We parted on uncertain terms, but I think she’s moved on now.” A smile pys across her lips at those words. “I am gd for her, even if I still care about her. As for my actual wife, her name is Valerie. She’s up in the outpost currently, doing some work as an artificer and her job as our spymaster.” A wistful sigh escapes her.

  “Oh, I think Mia went to her before we left! She got that amulet for herself, and one for me to store things! Though I ate that one. I hope she won’t be too mad?” Celine’s reaction is quite amusing, her eyes almost seem to bulge out of her skull as she looks at me.

  “You… ate it. I think you have to eborate on that because I am not sure you even can eat a spatial storage without being torn into pieces.” Amusement flickers across my skin and I let her hang for a few moments before I decide to eborate.

  “It’s less of an eating, and more of… I absorbed it? It wasn’t intentional, just… kind of happened while I was finishing up my new body. Oh, on that note; you seem pretty much the same as before, did nothing change for you? Other than your voice.” Her voice does still have the same ethereal quality as in the woods, like it is an echo from somewhere beyond.

  She shakes her head slightly. “That’s quite something, finish your new body? You mean you have control over the changes the magic brings to you? What else is there? I’ve never heard of magic like that, not on a personal level at least. Even biomancers take decades to become powerful enough to even graft new parts onto someone without killing them.” She thinks for a few moments before changing gears. “As for me… well, I survived the Genesis, at least, in the broadest of terms. I am sure you’ve noticed the scales on Mia’s body, I underwent simir changes. Much like she is kind of draconic in nature, I am very close to another being of myth from before.” She opens her mouth, and shows off two long and sharp fangs. “Got turned into what most would call a vampire, just that I feed on the magic of the living and not their blood.”

  I can’t help myself as excitement brings me to speak again. “But blood holds a lot of magic! Not as much as a heart, but I’m sure it’s more efficient than someone trying to feed you some other way!” Celine raises an eyebrow at that.

  “You… do I even want to know?” She pauses for a short moment. “Of course I do, actually. And yes, the blood carries magic, I know that much, but I don’t exactly need a lot to function, so outside of… other activities, I tend to just draw a slight bit of magic from someone instead. But, why do you know that? You’ve not exactly been around long, and I admit, you don’t exactly have the same… presence, as me.” She studies me for a moment before continuing. “I am usually quite good at telling apart those like me, we all have the same type of presence, like we’re an echo left on the world… I try not to think of the implications. But, for you? You’re grounded in the here, in this world.” Her eyes squint as she continues to watch me, waiting for a reply.

  “Oh I, uh, ate an ocotfiend? Can’t say I was entirely myself when I did, or maybe I was. Doesn’t matter now though! Its blood was really tasty! Lots of magic! But I was still hungry after drinking some of it, so I ate the heart!.. It kind of felt like it was calling to me… no, like my magic really wanted to consume it. The same for the brain. They were really tasty though! Mia said I apparently don’t get all the nutrients I need from non magic food, so it was nice to eat something that made me feel full! Oh, and then I made another cocoon, that’s when I ate the amulet! Sorry about that again.”

  Celine shakes her head slightly. “I see. That… feels like I should be concerned, but you seem alright now. Be careful, yes? Magic is still somewhat of an unknown, it sometimes does things, changes things, that we do not expect.”

  I tilt my head slightly at that. “I know my magic wants what’s best for me! I can feel what it wants, and it just wants to eat, and to make us better, more us, more me!”

  She remains quiet at those words for a few moments. “I… see. That’s the first I’ve heard of something like that. I never really considered magic to… well, be sentient? At least not the magic in us, it sometimes almost seems sentient when a lot of it is gathered in one spot, but that’s exceedingly rare.” She looks at me and thinks for a bit. “That might be able to help with Mia’s curse though, if magic is sentient, and it’s not just a special property of yours, or, I am sorry to say, a delusion. Then there is reason to believe that the curse pced on her could be subsumed by her own magic, or someone else’s.”

  I nod at her words. “Mia said something like that too, that maybe I could help fix her! I am not sure if I actually can. My magic… consumes. It might hurt her in the process, if it even can do that. But maybe if Mia learns how to talk to her magic, she can have it help her! Hers seemed quite irritated at being… restricted, I think, not able to be at its full potential!” My eyes narrow towards Celine at that, as I try to get a read on her magic. There’s only faint traces of it around her though. “I can’t feel yours.” It’s not surprising considering I’ve only felt Mia’s to such a detail before. “There’s so little of it. Are you hiding it?”

  Celine chuckles a little at that. “Yes, sort of. The magic I consume from others assimites into the natural magic around us, and then fuels my body, it also cloaks my own magic. A small benefit at least! Though it is surprising you can… see? And feel? Magic, at least of others, most can only sense their own.” She gets up and steps closer to me, pcing a hand on top of my head, brushing a finger along the root of my tentacles. “They’re cute. Your magic though… it’s different. I can feel it, not very clearly, but it’s there. There’s no ambient magic in you, is there? That’s odd, I have to say. Most people’s bodies draw on the ambient magic to fuel themselves, even beasts do.” Confusion flickers across my skin, and she shakes her head. “It’s too long a topic to get into right now. But for the short of it: our bodies are fueled by the ambient magic, the heart slowly converts it into our own, the unused excess is stored in it and the blood. You just seem to skip that entirely, the ambient magic disappears the moment it enters you, entirely subsumed by your own.” She slightly shakes her head and takes away her hand. “I think we’ll need to talk about that sometime, but not now, you need to rest.” With that, she stands and heads for the door. “I’ll get you in the morning, we can talk more then. Sleep well, Ada, I am gd you’re alive, I honestly thought you were gone for good.” A sad smile covers her face for a moment, before she steps outside.

  “Good night Celine!” I curl up on the bed and throw the bnket over myself, sleep is a good idea, after all.

  LesbeanAda