Slime — Roleplayer Guild

Helvana, the Corvian Witch
Level 1 Demi-Goddess
Might: 6
Followers: 3

Several days had passed since Helvana, Lloyd and Gwyn had departed to the White Ocean. From what she could tell from the map that Vestec gave her, they were still ways from their destination; it could take months until they reached the White Ocean. They had long since ran out of food from what they gathered from the village before departing, so they had to hunt for more. Since Lloyd was still recovering and Gwyn was too young, Helvana was the one taking care of it.

But for now Helvana and Lloyd were taking a break and resting beside a campfire while Gwyn was looking around the place and playing with the crows. Having just finished their meal, Helvana began to peel off the black rubber over Lloyd's left arm and he moved it around to test its state.

"How are you feeling?"

"It feels a little numb, but it doesn't hurt at all. I just need to get used to it again and I'll be fine."

"That's good to hear. But what about your eye?"

She said reaching towards the impromptu eye patch and peeled it off. There was no scar left by the cut, but the iris was now blank.

"I can't see with it after all..."

"That's a shame. I don't think I can heal it more than that. Would you like to keep the eye patch?"

"No, it feels better like this. And I don't care how cool I look with it on."

"Aww... Fine. You better work that arm back into shape then. I'm not going to be doing your work now just because I'm stronger than you."

"... If I keep the eye patch will you let me off the hook?"

"No."

"Alright, it was just a joke anyways."

He stretched his arms, relieving the tension on his left arm after being immobilized for almost a week, and laid down on the ground while Helvana kept on staring into the fire.

"Are you sure it's alright to let Gwyn wander off like that?"

"Yes, my crows will keep him safe. You can entrust his safety to them."

"Well, if you say so. Still, I'm used to worry about him. I've been like that for a few years now.

"I understand, but he's being cared for, so you can relax. Besides, don't you enjoy spending time alone with me?" She flashed him a smile.

"A little. I don't like your teasing sometimes, but you're nice overall, so I let it pass."

"Just a little, huh?" She tossed a lump if darkness into the bonfire and laid down as well, wrapping her hands over her stomach. "Well, I did cause you two a lot of trouble, so I suppose that's fine. Anyways, we have time to spare. I told you to keep that arm strong, but you can rest for now." She then closed her eyes, intent on taking a short nap. "Let's hit the road when we're done digesting our meal."

"Okay." Lloyd was a bit drowsy from the meal himself, but he kept on thinking of his village. In just two weeks Helvana flipped his world upside down, but he somehow didn't mind leaving his old life behind. Maybe he didn't have much of an attachment to the place to begin with and he just didn't know it.

Still in thought, he looked to Helvana, her face sporting her gentle smile as she calmly breathed in and out. Lloyd sighed and smiled himself. "Honestly, you're so much cuter when you sleep." He closed his eyes and was soon taken into sleep.

When afternoon came, the three gathered their belongings and continued on with their journey. The day was bright and the sky had almost no clouds in it. Helvana had previously stated her dislike for staying in the light for long, but it didn't annoy her to the point that she'd avoid it. Apparently the darkness that composed her cloak would deteriorate over time by receiving light of any sort and she would have to use some of her power to maintain it, so to save her the trouble and the energy, she kept it inside Lloyd's bag.

At some point Oscar cawed to Helvana and she extended him her arm. He cawed again, delivering a message only Helvana could receive.

"Hmm, that's interesting. What else do you know?"

Caw.

"I see. Warn me if anything else happens." She scratched Oscar's neck before sending him back to scout duty.

"Did something happen, Helvana?" Gwyn inquired while looking up to her.

"A metallic bird showed up and my crows are keeping it away from us."

"Metallic? I don't think that's normal."

"It most likely isn't, but if it was dangerous I would be on my way to deal with it right now. We don't need to bother with it."

Lloyd and Gwyn looked around and in the distance they saw crows flocking over something; that was probably where the metallic bird was. The thought of such a strange thing being around made them worry a bit, but they decided to trust Helvana in this and continued on.

A good week of traveling had passed. The trio was taking shelter from rain inside a cavern and had just prepared a bonfire. They removed their boots and left them near the fire to dry them up, then sat down near the fire themselves.

They kept silent for a good while, but out of a sudden, Helvana groaned and started to rub her temples.

"Are you alright, Hel?"

"Not at all. I'm feeling one annoying headache right now."

"Did you get sick?"

"No, it must be this place. I'm feeling a powerful aura in this region, most likely the work of a god. Can we leave yet?"

"We just settled down, Hel. We'll be holed in here until the rain stops, so can't you bear it?"

"Aren't you two feeling it though?"

"I'm feeling okay."

"Me too. If it weren't for you we probably wouldn't have known of this aura in the first place."

"Wha... *sigh* Fine, I'll try to bear it for now." She said while massaging her temples. "Do we at least have anything to eat?"

"Some leftovers, I guess. I'll see what we have, just give me a moment." Lloyd began to rummage his bag in search of anything that might be left from the morning.

While she waited, Gwyn sat down near hear and touched her arm to call her attention. "Hey, Helvana, do you want to go outside?"

"Yes, I do."

"Will it make you feel better?"

"Probably."

"Then let's go together."

"Huh? But you'll get wet if you do. What if you get sick?"

"But we're all wet already. And you can use you cloak too, right?"

"Well, yes, but at least we have a fire to warm up in here."

"We can keep warm if we play a lot."

Helvana sighed then smiled gently. "Are you spoiled or just trying to make feel better? Fine, I'll make a cloak for you too then." She caved in rather easily. Helvana created a lump of darkness in her hands and carefully molded it while adding more darkness to it.

"Hey, Hel, I found some leftovers from breakfast. I'll warm them up for you."

"You don't need to worry about that anymore. We're going out for a bit." She finished the impromptu cloak and handed it to Gwyn.

"Yay. Can you put feathers on it like yours, Helvana?"

"Sure, just return it to me later."

"Wait, you're going to play in the rain with Gwyn?"

"Yes. I'll take responsibility if he gets sick." She said while standing up and picking up her own cloak and putting it on. "Come Gwyn, let's play a bit." She offered a hand to Gwyn, who took it with a smile.

"Wha... H-hey!" Helvana and Gwyn left the cavern whilst ignoring Lloyd. He sighed in annoyance and placed the leftovers back into the bag, then sat down near the fire again. "She just does whatever she wants, doesn't she? Still..." He looked outside and saw Gwyn happily playing with Helvana. It was nothing more than jumping on small puddles and dancing in the rain, but they did it with smiles. "I don't remember the last time Gwyn was like that, even when playing with other kids wasn't the same as this." He said to no one in particular as he continued to watch them play.

Helvana lost track of time while playing with Gwyn, her headache had ended at some point too even if they didn't get too far from the cave. Only when the rain stopped and rays of light shined through the clouds did they return to the cavern. Lloyd had already put out the fire and was preparing the bags.

"Are you two quite done?"

"Yeah.""Yes, that was great." Helvana and Gwyn said smiling. "Are our boots dry?"

"Yes. Put them on and we'll be ready to go."

Helvana and Gwyn took off their cloaks and put their boots on leisurely, then bagged their cloaks.

They left as soon as they were ready, but Helvana stopped in her tracks soon after.

"You know, I've been thinking..."

"What is it?"

"We'll take a long time to reach the White Ocean, right? So I've been trying to think of a way to get there faster."

"You can fly, right?"

"If you think I'll carry all of you and our bags all the way there, then you'll be disappointed."

"Do you have an idea then?"

"Yes, I don't know if it'll work, though." She whistled and soon after a crow landed on her outstretched hand. She hugged the jet-black kindly and whispered. "Accept this gift of power." As she infused her power into the crow, it thrashed and cried out as it jumped off of Helvana's arm.

"What are you doing?!"

"Hopefully something I won't regret." She said with her face full of worry. The crow's thrashing diminished as the demi-goddess' power settled down and its frame began to grow. It's beak became serrated and the tip arched downwards like an eagle's and its talons grew sharper. The crow grew and grew until it was as tall as a tree and then it spread its wings, they easily spanned over seven meters.

"Wow..."

"Amazing..." That was all the brothers could mutter in their amazement.

Helvana reached out her hand and the crow lowered his head to her level. She gently held the crow then embraced it. "I name you Frederic. May you serve me dutifully." She released Frederic, who turned around and lowered his body so the travelers could hop on his back. Helvana climbed on the crow's back and looked at the still dumbfounded brothers. "Well, boys? Will you be coming or not?"

"Y-you can't be serious...right?"

"Come on, Lloyd, we're gonna fly! How cool is that?" Gwyn pulled on Lloyd's hand eagerly.

"B-but what if we fall off it? This is too dangerous."

"Pfft, wuss!" Lloyd shot her an angry glare.

"You just have to hold tight on it. Right, Helvana?"

"Of course. And even if you fall I'll just catch you. Or do you want me to glue you to his back?"

"That won't be necessary. I'll go..." He climbed on Frederic's back looking as pale as its master. Gwyn on the other hand was as excited as one could be.

"All set? Then let's go!" With her command, Frederic beat his wings took to the air, the strong wind generated shaking even the trees. In just a few moments they were tens of meters off the ground.

"Waaaaaaaaahhh!!!" Lloyd desperately clung to Frederic.

"This is awesome!" Gwyn on the other hand laughed loudly without a care in the world.

After a long time of flying, Lloyd calmed down a little and Gwyn lost most of his adrenaline. Despite the speed that Frederic was flying, the wind wasn't hitting them with much force, but they all clung tightly all the same.

Gwyn and Helvana were now looking down to the ground, while Lloyd still clung tightly to Frederic. "Hey, Helvana, what about the other crows?"

"Don't worry about that. They can keep up." As if to reassure that a few crows flew by them, only to quickly fall behind them again. "I made sure they could keep up with Frederic. I thought of everything before I did this."

"Hey, Hel." Lloyd called from behind.

"What is it?"

"Did you think of how to feed a bird this big?"

"Guh... Ah, yes! of course I did. You don't have to worry about that."

A couple more days had passed since then. They were forced to make a detour because a volcanic eruption covered the sky in soot, so they headed further north. They would take a few more days to reach the White Ocean because of it.

The sky was mostly covered in clouds that day; it didn't seem like rain was coming, but a cool breeze blew by.

The three had just set up camp near a small lake and Lloyd made a bonfire, while Helvana and Frederic went out in search for food. The sight of several dozen crows in the sky would certainly scare most animals into hiding, not to mention a giant crow, so only Oscar accompanied her while Frederic had to search for his own food somewhere else. Positioning herself over a hill with Oscar circling above her, they scanned the plains for anything that moved. The grass was quite high, so things would go unnoticed by Helvana, but not by her servant. This was mostly a game of patience now, hopefully it wouldn't take too long before something showed up.

After a few minutes something caught Oscar's attention. He cawed to Helvana, who leaped into the air and threw several quills in the direction Oscar pointed at. She walked to where the quills had landed and under the tall grass laid a hare pierced by her projectiles. She picked it up and glued it to her dress with her tar-like darkness then moved somewhere else to repeat the process.

When she was about done hunting, a good four hares dangled from her belt. "This should be enough for us. Alright, let's go back, Oscar."

When she got back to the camp, Helvana found the bonfire and two sets of clothes abandoned. She looked over to the lake and saw the two brother bathing and they hadn't noticed her return yet. She left the hares near the bonfire and went to the shore. "Hey, boys, I'm back." She called them.

"Wha-" Lloyd ducked in reflex to hide his naked body.

"Welcome back, Helvana." unlike his brother, Gwyn waved at her with a smile.

"I managed to gather some food. We can start our meal anytime."

"Okay, just...give me a moment." Lloyd said, a bit awkwardly.

"Take your time, I'll freshen up a bit before eating, too." She removed her boots and undid the sash holding her dress then removed it too. She then entered the water and headed to where the brothers were.

"Hey, wait, we're here right now!" Lloyd said as he turned his back to Helvana.

"So what? It's not the first time you saw me naked anyways." She reached the brothers, the water reaching only up to her stomach. She lowered herself until the water covered her breasts then let out a sigh. "So this is what bathing is like? Sooo refreshing." She almost went underwater in experiencing the water's cool touch.

"Hey, Helvana, come play with me before we eat."

"Fufu, aren't you pushy. Okay, we do have plenty of time."

"I-I'll go get the food ready. I'll call you two when it's done." Still hiding his body under the water, Lloyd went to the shore. Left alone with Gwyn, Helvana spent her time playing with him.

A while later, after Gwyn had already left the water himself, Helvana still swam around in the lake without a care. She even found places where the water went deeper and dived a few times to explore the lakebed. At some point while diving, she sensed something faint somewhere on the bottom and looked around for it.

After returning to the surface several times to catch her breath, she finally pinpointed the source of what she felt and dug into the dirt until she found something, a ring. She swam back to the surface and stopped somewhere she could have a foothold and analyzed the strange ring: it was jet-black in color and smooth with nothing covering its surface. It looked plain, but it was the power it gave off, even though she didn't know what it was, that caught her attention.

She would've been studying the ring for gods know how long if it weren't for Lloyd calling her. "Hel, the food's ready. Come while it's hot."

"Eh? Ah, I'll be there soon." Now back to real world, Helvana slipped the ring in her right ring finger and left the lake. "I'll study it more after I'm done eating."

After they had finished eating, Helvana returned to studying the ring. Lloyd and Gwyn suspected there was something wrong with her as they noticed that she had eaten little given that there were leftovers. Not only that, but she also ate quickly, as if she was in a hurry.

"Helvana, are you okay?" Said Gwyn with a worried look. At first she didn't react to their approach, but she looked at them when they called her.

"Hmm? Yes, why do you ask?"

"You got quiet as soon as you finished your food and you didn't eat as much as you're used to. Did I overcook the hares?"

"Of course not. In fact, it was delicious. It's just that I found this ring on the lakebed and it has some sort of power in it, so I wanted to study it more." She stretched her hand to show them the ring.

"Ooohh. It looks good on you, Helvana."

"And did you find something out about it yet?"

"So far I can tell that this is a divine construct, that is, it was made by a god. And I'm seeing Vestec's hand in this... To think that I would find a relic made by my own father. This is quite the lucky find. Other than that, I can tell that another god I don't recognize took part on its construction."

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing."

"Maybe your daddy sent it your way, Helvana?"

"That would be great wouldn't it? To be cared for." She displayed a faint smile on her face, but it looked more melancholic than happy. "But that's unlikely. Vestec said himself that he'd only help me if I directly called for him or if I was in danger. This is probably just chance finding." After she said that, there was an awkward silence, though it only last a few moments. "Well, that's quite enough sulking. Should we get going or will we rest a while longer?"

"I'm fine with leaving. What about you, Gwyn?"

"I don't mind it."

"Alright then." Helvana stood up from the ground and put out the fire. Then she looked at what was left of their meal. A whole hare and a small amount left by Gwyn remained. "The leftover food... No, I already ate enough. We'll keep it for when we need it."

"What's this? You really aren't going to wolf down what's left? The world must be ending."

"What's that supposed to mean? I know I eat a lot, but that was mostly me learning about new tastes... Probably." She averted her eyes, but then looked back to Lloyd. "Besides, it's good to have a stock, we won't always find food lying around. And I don't know if I can grow fat at all, but I'm not willing to test that."

"It would be bad if you did. You'd only slow us down."

"Oh? Did you learn that attitude from me?"

"Maybe."

"Hehehe, you two are getting along well."

"I wouldn't call picking on each other as getting along, Gwyn. But anyways, let's get going." The three of them collected their things and Helvana whistled to Frederic, who landed near them shortly after. Before climbing on the bird's back, Helvana made a bag of sorts from her darkness to stock the food. "Is it safe to eat that now?"

"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it?"

"Well, I thought... Never mind. We'll see if it's edible later."

"Wow..."

"It's...so big..."

"Really impressive...isn't it, Hel?" They had finally arrived at the White Ocean after weeks of traveling. And now, blue as far as the eye could see, before them and above them likewise. It was the first time any of them had seen so much water in one place, so it was indeed a breathtaking sight. But Helvana was by far the most impressed. In fact, it was as if she was frozen in place with such a sight. "Hel, are you still there?"

"Why..."

"Hmm?"

"Why... Why... WHY?!"

"H-hey, Hel, what's the matter?"

"Why is it not metallic?!"

"... Huh?"

"This is the White Ocean, right? The Metallic Sea. Why is it called metallic if it's not metallic?!"

"I believe you mean Metatic?"

"... What?"

"This is the Metatic Sea, not Metallic. When you first mentioned it I thought you said it wrong."

"And how do you know it's Metatic and not Metallic?"

"Some traders and travelers that visited our old village talked about the White Ocean and they always called it Metatic."

"I see..." Helvana's face was twitching for some reason. Was her being wrong that shocking to her? "I bet you're laughing at me right now, daddy! I don't even care, laugh all you want!" She said as she pointed to the sky.

Somewhere, in his realm, Vestec sneezed. He looked around then grinned. "Someone must be saying good things about me. I didn't even know I could sneeze. The things you learn."

"Sorry for acting like that. When Vestec called it Metallic I expected it to be made of liquid metal or something, so I was somewhat disappointed."

"Why bother over it though. It's easy to confuse between the two. I don't even know if Metatic is a word, actually, so maybe some people thought it was meant to be Metallic."

"It's just... It feels as if I was tricked. By my father no less. Anyways, shameful outburst aside, let's set camp for now."

I reached the edge of the ocean the hunters called White. It was not white. Only its foam, and the stinging reflection of sunlight on its surface. Maybe that was what they had named it for. There might have been other reasons.

At the start of my life I was reluctant to enter water; Whether I was wiser then I cannot say, but that is no longer the case. There seemed little reason to change the course of my journey now that there was an ocean in the way. I thus continued into its waves. Below them, there was a great meadow of sand and seagrass, where dugongs grazed alongside conch and ray. Life moved slowly there, and, perhaps in pointless imitation, so did I.

The water was a new medium and I wasn't used to moving through it. I tried walking, and found that I didn't have the strength, nor sand the stability, to go anywhere fast. Weaving myself into other shapes allowed me to swim, in the way the ribbon-eels did. Later still, after experimenting with many different shapes and arrangements, I found a large colony of salps, and imitated them, becoming a tube that pushed water through myself with my fibers. This seemed a far more efficient way to move, though I did not give up swimming or walking until the waters became too deep to easily submerge for long. My attempts to dive to the bottom were increasingly met with nothing but silt and rocks, but I explored it anyway.

There were few fibers to consume in the ocean, and I began to grow smaller. My answer- If answer it is, for I still don't fully understand the mechanism by which it works- Was found on a piece of driftwood where algae had grown. These green threads I absorbed easily, and yet found not so easily discolored. Nor did they stop growing once I had absorbed them, so long as I did not spend too much time in the depths. The sensation of having living things growing within me may have been disconcerting, or exciting. I'm still not sure. Is it the same substance as the leaves of trees in Mesathalassa? Possibly.

I spent many weeks in the open sea. Eventually a bright light was visible on the horizon whenever I surfaced in daytime. It was white. I do not know how the hunters could ever have seen the white edifice in order to name the ocean after it, if they ever did. But I tasted the light of God flowing from it in great streams, and so I fled. After that there were no more islands in the great sea, only whales and hunting tuna.

Now the water is growing shallow again. I see coral in the silt, though I cannot hope to predict that I will find another seagrass meadow. The fish are colorful, the dolphins frightening, for they pursue me and try to tear at me like a toy. Perhaps it is their way of being social. Perhaps they simply see me as a threat. I was forced to blow one apart in the end. After that they did not come. The not-quite-bird, however, has never left the sky above me. Maybe it was always there.

The waves are breaking again. They are not so different to the waves in Mesathalassa, though I have traveled very far. I do not know what lies beyond.

The purple-black thing washed up like a drenched sock with no particular shape, beaten by waves and evidently not strong enough to pull itself up, at least not while it was weighed down with seawater. After an hour or so spent drying on the sand, it pulled itself up and wrung itself out, forming two rather catlike legs, then a torso, and then a head and arms, both rather pointy. A forked tongue lolled from its 'mouth' like a ribbon, and vivid red patterns emerged in its woven 'skin', glowing faintly. A bone ring glinted on its long finger.

Very cautiously, as if completely new to the concept of dry land- And who knows? Maybe it was- the fabric creature took one step forward, looked around, then suddenly dropped to a low crouch, startled by the sound of a crow. It promptly got distracted by the texture of the dry sand at its feet, and lifted some in its hand, watched it fall. Then it looked up at the crow again. The two stared at one another, equally baffled, and the bizarre fiberling seemed to come to a decision. Very slowly, unraveling and creeping like a mold, Violet closed the distance towards the resting bird. Just as it was about to pounce the crow, something else stepped on the sand near them. Startled by the presence, Violet bolted in the opposite direction, only to be struck by something heavy and sticky. Despite this, Violet's movements weren't affected much and it kept on running away, but, again, it was struck and this time not one, not twice, but four times. The sticky dark mass solidified and prevented Violet from altering its shape and all it could do now was wait for the attacker to reach them.

"Now what would this thing be?" A hand grabbed Violet and lifted it up. "A bundle of hair? And moving on its own at that." The woman moved Violet around, inspecting it further. "Still, trying to attack my crow like that. Maybe a punishment is in order, hmm?" She narrowed her eyes and grinned impishly. Violet seethed, making a sound like rough fabric grinding against itself as the woman's adorned ring finger passed close by. She didn't yet notice the significance of the movement, and passed it off as fright. "So you can feel fear. What an interesting little thing you are." The woman removed most of the sticky substance covering Violet and it regained some mobility. They immediately started writhing in the woman's grip, but to no avail; Neither escape nor assuming its preferred shape was possible. "Don't struggle too much. You look fragile, so if you try too hard you might tear yourself up." Hearing that, Violet eventually complied. Unheard thoughts buzzed tensely in their head. The human-but-not-quite-human was still wearing that ring, and while she did so, Violet would not dare escalate the situation with magic of its own. And given how small Violet was at the moment, the woman could just as easily capture it a second time. "Don't worry, hairball. I've taken an interest in you, so I won't hurt you."

After that, the woman took Violet to a camp site. It rustled audibly at the sight of the bonfire, but the woman reassured Violet. "I said I wasn't going to hurt you. If you don't like fires, then I'll just keep you away from them."

"You're back, Helvana. Why did you dart off like that?"

"... What's that on your hand?"

"Just a little thing I found on the beach. It was about to attack one of my crows, so I captured it." Helvana. So this was the woman's name. "Good job on alerting me, Oscar."

Caw.

At her command the bird took off and returned to his scouting duty.

"And what exactly is this thing?"

"Ohh, it's soft."

"Be careful with it, Gwyn. It didn't attack me, but I don't know if it's violent. I still don't know what this thing is, but it's alive and sentient." She said glaring at Violet.

The smaller male probably-human ran his hand over the mass of black and red, which promptly gripped back, matting into a talon-like hand once again. Gwyn gasped in surprise, then cautiously pulled away his arm and most of Violet came with him, emerging from the mass first to the wrist, then the elbow, then a full shoulder and head reaching out of Helvana's grip with no obvious source for where the extra size was coming from. Four long, pointed ears twitched in the air. Violet wasn't new to being treated like an animal, but these people were either rather more confident or far less wary than the Mesathalassans, and the sorceress with the ring was deeply disquieting. Weaving their mass into something recognizably humanoid might be a step towards getting her to let go. Maybe. Possibly.

"Wow..." Gwyn voiced his surprise and gently held the "hand" Violet had made of itself.

"Imitating a human form... You must be sapient then."

"What're you gonna do with it?"

"I'll probably release it. So long as it doesn't attack my crows or the two of you I won't harm it either. I did take an interest in it though, so I'd like to keep it if possible." She smiled a bit while looking at Violet.

"Hel, it's a bit late for me to say this, but...you have a weird taste in things, don't you?"

"Excuse you. It was this weird taste of mine that got me interested in you two as well. Besides, so what if it's weird?"

"Well, it's not as if it matters. But I don't know if keeping this thing around is safe, even if it can understand us."

"Don't worry about it. I don't know if it's safe either, but we can at least agree to not harm each other. What do you say, hairball? You can't speak, but you can nod that head of yours at least."

These probably-humans were talking, but Violet either did not recognize their language or had forgotten it since Mesathalassa. The human-but-not-quite-human, on the other hand, was very much clear. That was... Concerning. Especially when she posed Violet a question.

Violet had a way with questions.

After several long seconds of twitchy glances, unraveling and rewinding, shuffling red patterns and vague tugs on Gwyn's arm without any real purpose or meaning, the bundle eventually nodded, once, then paused, as if stunned, then nodded again several more times as if it had only just discovered that it could. Then it disappeared back into a shapeless ball of fur, almost frightened by the infinite possibilities it had opened with this decision.

"Alright." Helvana said with a smile, then looked at Lloyd and Gwyn. "Get ready." Lloyd picked up one of his cooking knives and made Gwyn stay behind him. Slowly, Helvana retracted the darkness that held Violet and in no time they were set free. Free to move, but not to do anything suspicious, however, as Helvana was still keeping a close eye on them. Sunlight glanced off the smoothed surface of the furball, faint waves of movement showing the way it had molded itself to its prison, however temporary. A few threads wound into a ropy peak to one side, cautiously, waving until it found a low-hanging branch and towed itself rapidly up. Violet netted into the canopy and stopped, the outline of a humanoid form faintly visible again. It was looking down.

Helvana looked up to Violet with a smile. "See? The hairball seems pretty harmless to me."

Lloyd lowered his knife, but kept on holding to it. "I guess, but I still have my doubts."

"Lloyd, can I get near it?" Gwyn asked, then came out of hiding. Violet twitched in his direction, a little startled.

"Okay, but not on your own." The brothers approached Helvana and looked up to the tree as well. "You better take full responsibility for this thing."

"Of course I will. Do you think I'd just dump it on you two?"

"Umm, Helvana, can I touch it again?"

"You liked it that much?"

"Hey, Gwyn, what did I just tell you?"

"But I'll be fine if Helvana is with me, right?"

"Yeah, I have a feeling that the hairball won't hurt any of us so long as I'm around, so I'll make sure to protect Gwyn."

"Don't get too cocky just because you're a demi-goddess, Hel. What if this thing is secretly stronger than you and you just don't know it?"

"I understand your concern, but I promise I won't let Gwyn get hurt. If it really is dangerous I'll just throw myself in front of it while you escape with Frederic, alright?"

"Don't be so selfless like that, you idiot. But so long as you're around I guess it'll be fine."

"Alright, I'll give you a lift, Gwyn."

"Okay. Sorry for making you worry, Lloyd." Helvana picked him up and she slowly lifted from the ground until they were on the same level as the tree canopy. Helvana flew closer to the humanoid Violet and Gwyn reached out his hand. "Easy... I'm friendly, you see?"

It took a moment, but eventually the furball moved, hanging by its back legs, monkey-like. The boneless and oddly jagged hand made a reappearance, copying Gwyn. For a moment they were mirror images, each as new and curious as the other. They locked hands again, boy and bundle.

This time it was Violet who did the pulling, though not on purpose, it seemed. The fabric creature pulled itself down and hung from Gwyn's arm by knotted fingertips. A ribbon poked out of its mouth like a forked tongue, flapped vaguely in Helvana's direction as if tasting the air, which actually surprised her. And then the shape of the face was gone- Only a long strip of cloth draped generously over the boy's forearm where a second ago there were lanky limbs. This one, the tangle had decided, this one seemed safe to touch.

Gwyn looked over Violet with a beaming smile and innocent laughter. "Look, it likes me too. And it's so soft too." He said while running his hand over Violet.

"Good to know you made a friend, Gwyn." She said with a smile, though it was half faked. Something told Helvana that Violet didn't like her. "Let's get down now." She lowered herself back to the ground and let go of Gwyn.

"Look, Lloyd, what do you think?"

"I still think we should be careful with it, but maybe this thing's not so bad." He slowly traced his fingers on Violet. "Wow, it really is soft." He gently petted the hairball, seemingly entranced by its softness.

"Huh, it was easier to convince you than I thought."

"T-this doesn't mean I trust this thing yet, okay?" He said, forcing himself to stop touching Violet's soft fabric.

"Sure. In any case, the hairball issue is out of the way now. We can laze out a bit more before setting off."

"Fine by me. I'll stock the left overs for now."

They all returned to the bonfire to rest a bit more. Gwyn made sure to stay a bit further away from the fire in order to not disturb Violet, though he found that wrapping the odd critter around his neck rather than his wrist kept him warm enough anyway. The gentle sea breeze and the distant waves relaxed them and invited them to sleep. Oscar's distant call interrupted that thought, however, and Helvana stood up to receive the bird's message. He landed on her arm as usual and cawed several times.

"He says there's a second metallic bird around."

"Another one?"

"Hmm... I must say I'm curious about these birds now. I should catch one of them for study later." As she thought about it, other crows were heard. It drew the attention of everyone and they all looked at a nearby grassy hill, then suddenly the crows near it flew off. "Go." Oscar immediately took off to scout what caused it while Helvana took the crow mask glued to her belt and put it on in preparation for what was coming. She accompanied Oscar with her gaze, waiting for his report. He completed his flyby and cawed. "Wolves?" Just when Oscar was returning to Helvana, a loud howl broke the silence and made her wince for a moment. Looking back up she saw Oscar plummeting to the ground. "Oscar!" She leaped and flew towards the falling bird and safely caught him, he was still alive, but seemed to have passed out. From above she could see beyond the hill and just behind it she saw the creatures: dog muzzles, tails, gray fur, standing on their hind legs and wearing light armor. "Pack-Minds." There were four of them in total. The robust looking wolves were glaring back at Helvana and spreading out with careful movements while occasionally snarling. Helvana quickly glanced back and saw that Lloyd and Gwyn were also out cold. "This is bad..."

Helvana quickly retreated to the bonfire and carefully placed Oscar near Lloyd and Gwyn. The wolves were slowly surrounding her, preparing to attack. She lifted her mask a bit and whistled loudly, one of the wolves barked in response and another one looked around. "You boys are pretty bad. I think you deserve a lesson you won't forget." She said ominously. Beating wings were heard and the wolf barked, drawing the attention of the other three to what it saw. Seeing the giant shadow of Frederic looming closer made them turn tail and run, but the giant bird had already set his eyes on his prey. With a swift movement, Helvana threw her quills at the fleeing whelps, making two of them trip and fall on their noses, while Frederic dived in and picked up one of the remaining two with his beak, killing it, then swallowing it whole. The other one met the same fate.

Helvana approached one of the pinned down wolves, he whined in fear and looked back at her. "You hurt my friends, now you'll suffer for it, beast." She stepped on his back and altered the black ring into a weapon: the crude sword resembled a pointy stick covered in thorns more than anything else, but it still had a worthy edge. The wolf whined and panted in fear, but they were silenced when the sword pierced his back and heart, robbing him of life. 

Suddenly, Helvana felt a churning in the barbed sword and she analysed it in search of any changes. "Did I just..." The wolf's soul was sucked into the sword. This surprised Helvana, but also brought her clarity. The ring, she realized, could assume the form of any weapon that the user's most attuned with, but she didn't know what other properties it had and now she found out. Shaking the surprise off of her, she looked at the other wolf, who desperately tried to free himself, and walked towards him. Without mercy, Helvana killed it like the other one and its soul flowed into the sword as well. With the crisis solved, she turned the barbed sword back into it's original form.

There were tearing sounds nearby. The four high eartips were visible again, gnawing- Or going through the motions while tangling and ripping fur from the first Pack-Mind. It was accompanied with hot snapping sounds and sizzles. The surface of the carcass was boiling, exploding under Violet's fingertips, its pattern perfectly hiding the blood. It hadn't fed well in months.

Helvana watched the scene unfold and upon noticing her gaze, Violet froze. For a moment, the ears disappeared and the face peaked, becoming a stuffed ragdoll imitation of Helvana's mask, and the fiberling raised a hand, their simple bone ring a pale mirror of the demigod's. Are we so different? the thing seemed to ask, with no obvious answer. Can we coexist?

There was a burst of its own magic and Violet fled into the showering dirt. It would return in safer company. It preferred to stay with the boys. Helvana looked back at the dead Pack-Mind as if in thought, then grabbed by its feet and dragged it back to the bonfire. Lloyd, Gwyn and Oscar were still out cold. Helvana checked up on them, they were still breathing and didn't seem to have been harmed. Sighing in relief, she removed her mask and put it back on her belt. Returning her attention to the Pack-Mind, she removed the armor it was wearing and then looked at Violet, who was back on Gwyn's side. "So, hairball. Are you still hungry?" Violet perked up their ears and after a few moments shuffled towards the wolf to feast. Helvana once again watched the process as the Pack-Mind's hairs disappeared into Violet and its skin boiled. "So you feed on hairs and skin." Violet nodded their head in assent. "You really were going to kill my crow, huh? Just don't eat any of them and you'll be fine."

When Violet was done with their second helping they were visibly bigger than before. Helvana offered them her right hand. "Come here. I won't hurt you, I mean it." Violet was a bit hesitant at first, but after a while they accepted and wrapped itself around Helvana's arm, but completely avoiding her hand. Finding that strange, she looked over her hand to see if there was anything on it, but the only thing there was the ring. "You don't like my ring?" Just then she heard Lloyd groan and shuffle behind her and she remembered the horrifying wolf carcass lying beside her. Grabbing it by the leg once again, she threw the carcass beyond the hill before Lloyd could wake up.

"What...happened?" He said, holding his head and sitting up slowly.

"We were attacked by Pack-Minds. They're wolves that walk up straight. Vestec told me about them, said they lived in the northern regions. I didn't expect them to be this far south. He also didn't tell me their howls can knock you out."

"And what happened to them?"

"I resisted their howl and killed them. If I weren't around... In any case, how are you feeling?"

"Dizzy. And I have a headache."

"Nothing else then. Good." She sighed in relief again. "We should depart as soon as Gwyn and Oscar recover. More of them could show up."

"Alright."

While they waited for Gwyn and Oscar to wake up, Helvana showed the leather armor she took from the Pack-Mind to Lloyd. Its size seemed to fit him well enough, though a tailor could adjust it into a better fit. Some minutes later both Gwyn and Oscar were up and about. Violet left Helvana's arm and returned to Gwyn while they prepared their things. Before long they were all set and departed southbound on Frederic's back.

Helvana and Lloyd rest after having their meal while Gwyn plays with the crows. Helvana removes the dark patches on Lloyd's arm and eye, his arm is numb from not moving for so long, but it's a matter of time before it recovers fully. His eye, however, has gone blind.

After a short nap they resume their journey. Oscar comes to deliver a message to Helvana, informing her about the droning bird, though not none of them knew what its purpose is. Lloyd and Gwyn worry about it, but Helvana reassures them and they ignore the spy.

A week later they reached the base of the mountain surrounding the Nice Mountains. They take refugee from the rain inside a cave, but the Valley's aura affects Helvana, making her feel a headache. In an attempt to help ease her pain, Gwyn convinces Helvana to play outside the cave with him, despite Lloyd's protest.

By the time they stopped playing the rain had already stopped as well. They left the cave, but stopped moments later as Helvana thought of a way to speed up their travel. She calls a crow, who she named Frederic, and infuses it with her power, making it grow gigantic. With this infusion Frederic's also able to control air resistance around him, allowing the surrounding crows to follow him and reducing the burden on those riding on his back despite his speed. (1 Might spent to make a giant crow.)

Several days pass since then. The volcano erected by Teknall forced them to make a detour, which delayed them slightly and steered them north. After setting a bonfire, Helvana left with Oscar to hunt for their meal. After catching some game, they return to camp. She notices that the camp is empty, however, and finds that the brothers were bathing in the nearby lake. Helvana joins them and plays with Gwyn, but Lloyd leaves to prepare the food.

Helvana continued to swim around the lake even after Gwyn left as well. She leisurely explored the lakebed, until she felt something nearby. Searching the lakebed, Helvana eventually found a jet-black ring - The Reaper's Scythe. She returns to the shore after being called by Lloyd and studies the ring as soon as she finishes eating, which caught the attention of the brothers. When inquired upon, Helvana talked about the ring and what she found out about it in a quick analysis, but glooms when stating that it was likely to be by chance and not Vestec's will that she found it. They left soon after.

Another week later and they had finally reached the White Ocean. Helvana and Lloyd have argument over her mistake in calling it Metallic instead of Metatic and she afterwards curses Vestec for giving her the wrong name. They then proceed to set camp.

Somewhere, under the sea's surface, Violet was dragged along the currents. The fiberling had spent months without feeding properly and had to make do with algae until it washed up on the shore. After drying up, Violet explores the area and runs into a crow and, just as it was about to pounce the bird, Helvana attacked Violet, paralyzing them with her darkness.

She brought the fiberling to her camp and introduced it to Lloyd and Gwyn. Lloyd was distrustful of the strange creature at first, but Gwyn was much more proactive and touched Violet, warranting a reaction from them. Helvana wasn't certain about Violet's intentions, but she set it free after discussing with the brothers. With Helvana's aid, Gwyn befriends Violet and Lloyd accepts that the creature isn't so bad.

After returning to the bonfire, Oscar informs Helvana that a second droning bird, the one that followed Violet, was spotted, and she's struck with curiosity as to what they are, expressing her desire to study them. But her thoughts are interrupted when a nearby murder flees from something. Helvana orders Oscar to fly over and tell her what caused it; he tells her it's a pack of wolves, but a loud howl makes him fall off the sky before he could return. Helvana catches Oscar before he got hurt and sees that these wolves are actually Pack-Minds and that Lloyd and Gwyn also passed out from their howling. Helvana calls Frederic for help and the giant bird makes the flee, but they're all caught. (This battle sequence looked cooler without a giant crow in it. I completely forgot to factor it in after going with that plan...)

With the crisis averted, Helvana approaches one of the captured Pack-Minds and forms a sword from her ring. Since she has no proficiency with weapons, the sword is very crude, but it still manages to kill the wolf. In doing so she learns of the main property of the Reaper's Scythe to store souls of those that are slain and she confirms it by killing the second captured Pack-Mind. Helvana then notices that Violet is feeding on the first dead Pack-Mind and attempts to communicate with Helvana by demonstrating that she also has powers of her own, but the flees back to the still passed ou Gwyn. Helvana brings the other dead Pack-Mind to Violet so they could feast on it as well in an attempt to befriend it.

After Violet was done feeding, it wrapped itself around Helvana's right arm while completely avoiding touch with the ring. Helvana notices it and inquires about it, but before she can get an answer, Lloyd shows signs of waking up and she hurriedly disposes of the mutilated Pack-Mind before he wakes up. (Zero respect for the dead!)

After explaining what had transpired to Lloyd, they waited for Gwyn and Oscar to wake up as well. As soon as they had recovered, they went south before more Pack-Minds could show up.

Starting Might: 6
-1 Might to create a giant crow.
-3 Might to level up.

Remaining Might: 2
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