Try Me, Witch
50th of Summer, 514 A.V.
50th of Summer, 514 A.V.
There was something eternally soothing about water. It seemed no surprise to Tinnok that such an element had been her first when the skill of Reimancy had been awakened in her, why it was a serene pond with not a single ripple in it as imagery that helped her meditate from day to day.
It was the reason why, despite the many dangers the scenery around the Kandukta Basin held, she still felt serene as long scaled legs slowly strode into the comparatively cool water, a Winged Leech resting on one shoulder, long tongue resting upon her shoulder, wings vibrating slowly. Now the fish and creatures of the basin seemed magnetized to her, fish nibbling on her skin gently, a massive snapping turtle taking up a spot to nap on a large rock beside her. She walked into the water until it cupped her breasts, hands hovering just below the surface as fish, turtles, and insects coalesced around her. She heard and saw the news on the basin today, Myrians fishing on the far side, a single Dhani swimming warily to the east. Despite the wariness of the creatures of the basin, there was a peaceful quality to the whole place as well. This was just another day in the life of the creatures of the jungle, who cared little for the affairs of sentient beings. They would come and go and the jungle would be forever, and this filled the witch with peace, of which she seemed to have little of these days.
Tsuya was in Zinrah. Tinnok hated taking the girl out of the city, making her way around the Myrian blockade was hard enough for her to do alone, never mind bringing a young child along with her. It would be necessary on her return to the Tear of the Clouds, however, they needed to return the ruins of old beyond them, to ensure her work from the 30th was well and done, and though Tinnok would prefer sparing the girl any horrors they might find there, if she was to be a Witch someday, it would be better for her to come with her. The good thing Tsuya was more than fascinated both by the Dhani of Zinrah and the caverns that inhabited it. Salamanders, bats, and insects of the cavern flocked to her in droves. Depsite her not being marked by Caiyha, the inherent gifts the Goddess seemed to have given her were potent enough in their own right, and at the very least, Tinnok wasn’t worried about the girl being lonely in her absence.
And allowed the half breed witch time to think about how drastically her life had changed in the past year. She had gone from a devote follower of Myri to a twice marked Witch living in the very bowels of Zinrah. If someone had told her this would have happened to her a bit over a year ago, she probably would have challenged them to a fight, slapped them, or laughed in their face. Glowing yellow eyes closed. If that nameless undead woman had her will…the jungle would be alive with hate, though she knew not the woman’s plans nor her true intent. After seeing the cult of the Returned…that horrifying woman who had floated up in a viscous cloud and goaded the witch, however, she knew all she cared to of Uldr and the things he made of his servants. How could one serve a being so twisted by hate?
But something Tsenrika had said struck Tinnok then, he had said she had had no choice. But if she truly had been forced into that God’s service, why not end one’s life? Seek repentance from Dira and re-enter the cycle, born again into the world? The witch shook her head, knowing the reality could not be so simple.
But what was simple was the fact the undead thing was manipulating Aka, just as Mamoru had. The Reimancer was powerful, skilled, intelligent to a point, yet it seemed she was easily manipulated by those with ideas, plots and plans. She knew not where that devious Dhani had gone, but if his presence was no longer in Zinrah, winding Aka around his finger, so much the better, it was only that she was around a different one, and one Tinnok suspected, was far more insidious.
Lids fluttered and opened as the half breed felt something considerably larger than a fish bump against the palm of her right hand. Yellow eyes flickered to see a massive crocodile, nose tip pushing her hand out of the water, staring at her with a gaze the same shade of yellow, mirroring her own with reptilian accuracy. Her fingers ran over the bumpy scaled nostrils of the great beast, taking a step further into the water and passing a hand beneath the creature’s belly, nails scratching the softer sections of flesh there, much to the massive reptile’s delight. She heard a rumble in its throat, and as she scratched her mind connected with its feeling an idea of the pure power the muscles in its tail and jaw held, and how it utilized them to snap up small deer, birds, and even the occasional predatory cat. Today the male croc was lazing around, full from a small freshwater dolphin, absorbing Syna’s light and gaining energy from her warmth to fuel its cold blood.
Tinnok smiled, listening to the crocodile, her mind finally stilling from her roiling thoughts, but her moment of peace shifted when the hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she felt a roiling in her gut that now…now she knew all too well.
“I not think I see so soon, dead thing with no name.” But Tinnok did not turn away from her crocodile, even though some of the wildlife in the waters scattered, perhaps also disliking Evalin’s aura.
Word Count945
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