A bound blue demon with white tattoos hung and flailed by the side of the moving cart in a panic.
"
Kalika ignored the demon's plea. Instead, she leaned over the edge of the cart and watched in amusement as the demon continued to flail around helplessly, trying not to have his face scraped by the road as the cart was pulled along.
"
Donovan glanced at this scene. "Again!?" Kalika sported an uncharacteristic glee that threw him off.
"K-kalika! Knock it off already. We can't find Bjorn if that demon's dead!"
Kalika glared at Donovan. She grumbled but relented to Donovan. She pulled the bound demon back into the cart and laid him down over the pile of plumped bags.
"I already told you to stop hanging that demon out of the cart. I know you're upset that Bjorn was kidnapped, but we still need that demon alive."
Kalika stared at Donovan, confused. "Who cares about Bjorn? He'll probably fall from the sky at any point now."
"Dream logic again!?" Donovan thought, "No. At this point, she has to be using it as an excuse!" He exhaled frustratedly. "Calm down, Donovan. Once we find Bjorn, then we can get to this Oar's place to find that alchemist."
"Uh, hey Donovan?"
"Yes…?"
"Is it normal to foam at the mouth?"
The cart abruptly halted. "KALIKA!!"
********
In the newly dimming night, Kalika and Donovan sat around the campfire looking through many of the few bags they had stolen with the cart.
Kalika glanced at the bird-like beast that was strung to a black tree. It was enjoying a chunk of meat, pecking and biting hard into it. Suddenly, a piece of meat was flung the bird's way, tempting it to nibble away and gobble down that piece too.
"Of course, those things eat meat too…" Donovan said. "At least it doesn't attack us."
"
Kalika glanced at the demon that was also tied tightly to a tree.
"
"What did he say?"
"He said he likes the quiet."
Donovan raised a brow. "O-oh… Okay?" He went back to shuffling through the items in the bags and some of the other unusual supplies they had. Within, they found some of the same cooking supplies, some cutting tools, blood blades, and an assortment of processed leather that could be used.
Looking through another bag, Kalika was surprised to find some combs made of bone and scissors fit for a peasant. Digging in deeper, there were a few other assortments of ribbons and hair pins, each one decorative and hand-picked.
Curious, Kalika pulled her hair into view, comparing the colors of the ribbons with the black hair. "Hmmm..."
She dropped the ribbon and picked up the plainest hairpin she could find and fiddled around with her hair. She puffed her cheeks, frustrated at being unable to figure out how to use the hairpin, and threw it aside.
She turned and picked up the scissors from the pile, then eyed Donovan, who still rummaged through the bags and boxes.
"Donovan," she called.
He glanced up at Kalika and saw her holding up a pair of scissors.
Kalika averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Cut my hair."
"U-uhhh…." Seeing that she was getting increasingly impatient, he relented. "Alright. Alright. Hold on."
"Make sure it's still below the shoulder." She suddenly said.
Donovan froze. "O-okay." took the pair of scissors and hovered it over the first strands of hair.
His hands shook from a sudden reluctance.
"What's taking you so long?"
"S-s-s-sorry…. I-I… It's been a while since I cut a girl's hair."
"You did this before?"
"Y-yeah." Donovan took the first snip and moved to cut more. "I had a stepsister, but she would always punish me if she didn't like how I did it."
"Punish you?"
"Yeah… She would sometimes have someone hang me by my leg or drag me by the horse. Sometimes she'd even leave me in the middle of a forest. Th-they were the best times." Donovan snipped another piece.
"What about your parents?"
"My parents? Heh… my stepmother was more covert and disliked me as much as my stepsister, and my father never batted much of an eye… He was too concerned with keeping in the good graces of my so-called new mother…"
Donovan paused for a moment. "In Celestine, she was known as the daughter of one of our nobles who served under Lord Kaiser… she had the very power to make anyone disappear if she wanted…"
Kalika glanced back with piqued interest. "She could make people disappear?"
"Yeah. That's sort of how I ended up in the army." Donovan, oriented back to the present, snipped another piece of Kalika's hair away. "And honestly. It's probably the best thing she's done for me thus far. It gave me a new lease on life… Even if it didn't last too long."
Donovan chuckled.
Kalika brought herself in deep thought as Donovan continued cutting away at her hair. Halfway through the cutting, she suddenly spoke up. "If I could make anything disappear it would be this damned dream…"
"Huh?"
"I'd like to wake up in my rose-scented room with my old maid. I want to talk to Lily, maybe even father… and maybe talk…"
Donovna stopped at once as she continued to talk.
"It's funny, I can't even remember my old maid's name. Perhaps I'll try to remember it this time…"
Donovan struggled to find the words. After a few seconds, he snipped at the hair again. "I-I see… W-well… If I could make anything disappear, it would probably be all the pointless fighting we had to endure."
With one last snip of the scissors, cut the last piece of hair off. "Because at least that way, we could get the hell out of this pit faster," he joked.
Kalika cracked a slight smile and shook her head.
"Oh? Was that a smile I saw?" he teased.
"No." Kalika turned her head, defiant, leaving Donovan to chuckle at this reaction.
With the back hair done, all that was left were her bangs. He moved in and cut away each piece quickly and precisely until it too was done.
"That's everything," he said. "Is that good?"
With her hair freshly cut, Kalika turned and dove into her bag of things, fishing out a mirror. Looking inside, she saw the reflection of her past self, only with this new haircut. She smiled briefly with a wave of relief washing over her. Feeling her hair, however, she slowly reverted to that of a blank disappointment. She grabbed the comb and used it fiercely, untangling her lumpy hair.
With a piqued interest, Donovan looked at the mirror Kalika had. Gazing inside, he saw the reflection of himself, only he was in his old prisoner's clothes. He glanced at himself and back.
"What's with this mirror?" He wondered.
He grabbed the piece of the mirror and flipped it around. On the other side, there was dirt and dust. He wiped some of it clean, and upon looking into it again, he saw no reflection, only the pit sky behind.
"That's weird…."
"Hey! Leave that alone, it's mine!"
Donovan fumbled the mirror and dropped it on the ground. Kalika quickly snatched it back in her hands, clutching it tightly and glaring at Donovan.
"Sorry, I was just… Curious… That's all."
Kalika spoke in a calm and quiet voice. "Well, don't touch it next time. This mirror belongs to me."
"Right…Right…."
Donovan watched on as Kalika slowly returned to fixing her hair. "That mirror… Is it showing her her past…?" He scrutinized the mirror that Kalika held. "Bjorn will probably know about that. So for now, all we can do is track down the demons responsible for taking him."
********
As the morning arrived, Kalika and Donovan prepared themselves for the trip ahead. They cleaned themselves and dressed in their newly purchased clothing.
Kalika hid behind a tree and fiddled with the laces on her garment. She tried to loosen them to fit her chest more comfortably, but she kept tying them too tightly for her liking.
Donovan, finished with dressing up, approached from behind. "Do you need help, Kalika?"
Kalika glanced in his direction and saw that he now wore brown shoes and trousers, with his holster tied around his waist. He also had a new white short-sleeved undergarment with a brown vest that could be mistaken for armor.
She shook her head. "I'm fine, I think I have it now."
Satisfied with the adjusted laces, she released them and stretched around. "That's better."
She took another look at the new clothes she wore, and grew more skeptical by the second. "I'm not sure if I like this…"
Kalika adjusted her body, examining the clothes that she now wore. Her eyes traced down the gray laced vest-like garment that cradled her chest, which still wore the fur bra. Then to the trousers and new gray short skirt that was better crafted and weighed less on her hips.
She kicked her feet around, looking at the different angles of the new boot-like shoes she had, and cringed, still unsure if she liked her latest attire.
"Are you sure you don't want to wear the white shirt?" Donovan asked.
"I tried, and it feels suffocating wearing it."
"What about your arms and stomach?"
"Who cares?" Kalika retorted. "It's not like it's going to help if I get stabbed and cut in this dream anyway."
Donovan blurted a chuckle. "I guess you're right."
I probably look like a peasant in these… Oh well." Kalika thought. She then knelt, fixing her shoe.
"Don't forget this." Without warning, Donovan suddenly draped Kalika with her new black fur hood over her head.
Kalika stood back up and grumbled as she fixed the fur robe onto herself. She glared back at Donovan and quickly turned her head. "Hmph!"
Donovan gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. He then dressed in his hooded robe made of tan leather. He then handed Kalika a belt with a holster, just big enough for a small weapon. "Here. wear this too."
She took it in hand and looked at it curiously. "What's this for?"
"It's for your dagger. It's faster to draw your weapon out than it is to conjure it in your hand. N-not to disregard it or anything."
"Alright. Fine…" Kalika fit the belt onto her. "I still don't fully understand needing these robes and hoods."
"I already told you. We should remain as inconspicuous as possible. Otherwise, this dream can become more violent or weird."
"But we'll probably still get attacked."
"If that happens, then we fight like hell like we did in that town. Hopefully, it doesn't come to that, though." Donovan placed his wooden mask on his face.
"It will," Kalika said. "Weirder things happened."
Donovan could only sigh at her response. He gazed up at the sky and the crystals above, and saw them become brighter.
"If you're ready, we should bring that bird and demon to the cart. There's no telling how long the trip will be today."
Kalika simply nodded and followed Donovan as he moved to untie their captive demon, and with Kalika's assistance, the demon was brought back into the cart. With the hostage secured, Donovan dug in a nearby bag and handed Kalika a loaf of bread.
"Here, just feed him and give him a drink. I'm going to grab the weird bird… thing…"
With a bit of hesitation, Donovan dropped down from the cart. Leaving Kalika with the savage demon.
With Donovna gone, Kalika roughly pulled the cloth down from the demon's mouth. Just before she could give the demon his food, he spoke.
"
Kalika froze, hearing that name. She clenched her teeth and squeezed the bread in her hand. "Can't Hide"
Slowly, Kalika forced a smile and glared at the demon more intensely. She pushed the cloth back on the demon's mouth.
The demon shook upon seeing her menacing aura as she spoke. "
As Donovan returned, he looked over the demon grimly, seeing the results of his punishment. "Why…? H-how?"
Kalika glared away, indignant. "He had it coming to him."
********
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Kalika kept her scornful eyes on the demon right beside Donovan.
"Since you clearly can't be trusted with the demon, I don't have much of a choice." Donovan gave a glance back as he continued to the man, guiding the cart with the massive bird. Besides, he'll have ot point the direction of their village he was talking about earlier. The sooner we find this village, the better."
Kalika grumbled, leaning back against the cart wall as she kept her gaze fixed on the one demon. There was an unnerving calmness about the demon that left her on edge.
"It's okay, Kalika. If I need your help, I'll call on ya. Don't forget. I'm a proud soldier of the Celestine army."
"Whatever you say." Kalika leaned further back and closed her eyes.
The trip ahead passed by much more quickly afterwards. With the demon to point the way, they cut through paths, traveled past exotic plants and even stranger wildlife.
Aside from the occasional hungry horned rabbits, the trip was much more peaceful than either Donovan or Kalika expected.
However, the forest began to darken, and the rushing of water was heard. Not long after, they arrived at a wooden bridge. Donovan pulled the reins back, stopping the cart.
Curious, Donovan narrowed his eyes and scrutinized their surroundings.
"What happened?" Kalika asked. She poked her head out, curious.
"Don't worry about it… I-it's nothing…" Donovan whipped the reins again and began to cross the bridge.
As much as he tried, Donovan couldn't help but feel a wretch in his stomach. "Something doesn't feel right.. Everything so far has been awfully quiet…"
Their demon hostage suddenly snickered.
"What is he-" peering down the road, where he saw another bridge and river. "Another bridge…"
"It's a TRAP!!"
THUNCK
The bird beast fell to the ground hard
"Crap!"
Donovan jerked back, dodging an arrow that whizzed past him. Kalika froze, jarred by the sudden attack. She glared intensely into the trees, and like a ravenous animal, she conjured her dagger and threw it into the trees above.
"Damn Demons!" she shouted.
Their demon hostage quickly dove off the cart as the sound of the loosened string filled the air. Acting fast, Donovan jumped from the cart, nearly avoiding the arrows that painted the cart.
He drew his sword, readied a fireball, and fired straight into the trees.
Even more arrows were fired away, all directed at Donovan. They struck the ground below and grazed his leg. Donovan winced, feeling the pain from the arrow.
Unwilling to relent, he readied a new fireball hand, pointing to the trees. Suddenly, another savage demon attacked from the bushes, forcing Donovan to clash with the assailant.
Without hesitation, Kalika dispatched the attacking demon and took to Donovan's side. She scanned the trees and bushes searching for the perpetrators of the sudden attack. It was clear they were surrounded by all the movement and rustling of the leaves.
Soon, Donovan's vision became hazy and distorted. He wobbled, trying to stay conscious. "Ck. Ck. Crap. Did they poison the arrows too!?"
Kalika quickly took notice of Donovan's dazed state. "Donovan, are you-"
"Don't worry about me." Donovan's grip tightened. "We have to kill these demons!"
Suddenly, a new army of arrows rained their way, forcing Kalika and Donovan to separate and find cover. But as Donovan found safety behind the tree, he was met with two more savage attackers.
He dodged the first and blocked the second. He redirected the demon's sword into the tree and readied to strike, but before he could swing, his sword was pulled from his hands.
The first demon tackled him into the tree, forcing him to cough up blood.
Alerted to his plight, Kalika raced to help, only to be grabbed from behind and held in a chokehold. She could only watch as Donovan was stabbed into a tree. He cried out in pain.
Out of defiance, he readied to punch the demon, but found himself unable to retaliate, leaving him confused.
The demons laughed in his face, with several more jumping down from the tree as if they'd already won.
A deep anger rose in Kalika. She conjured her dagger, but before she would do a thing, her arms were grabbed by several more demons and forced apart.
She huffed and puffed, trying to free herself.
Unexpectedly, a tall red demon with white tattoos stepped up to her, stabbing an arrow right into her chest.
"
Their voices slowly began to distort."
"
"N-no. N-no. No!!" Slowly, her vision faded, becoming even more blurry.
"
"
Sounds of tearing flesh and screams rang out. A sudden pain enveloped Kalika's body as she felt herself being jerked around.
"
"K- Kalika!!!"