Zool

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie placed her hand on Fenna's back; a silent thank you as they parted ways once in camp. The frenchwoman returned Adam's smile as she walked past the fire, then sat down on a small rock that was flat enough to make a comfortable seat, just next to the log-turned-bench. Covering her mouth as she yawned, she realised that she was absolutely ready for bedtime.

Seeing Clive for the first time without his hat on was quite the surprise. MacKensie wasn't sure what she was expecting so that she could be so surprised, but suffice to say that the red-headed farmer did look very different without his wide-brim hat.

She smiled as Joji apologised and went to finish his cigarette away from the group, acknowledging that the large man might look intimidating, but he also had manners. Her father had smoked cigars. Not often around MacKensie, but she'd smelled tobacco smoke enough times that it didn't really bother her. Perhaps now that same smell would be a comfort.

In her peripheral vision, she realised the presence of Lillianna's shelter and she looked over to see it, unsure of how she'd manage to miss it in the first place. The new woman was certainly industrious. As she looked on the pretty, white haired wizard, she realised that it would be probably best to make an effort to get to know her. After all, there were six men in the group and only three women - it might be comforting if Lillianna, Fenna and herself all had eachother to confide in. But that time seemed it wouldn't be now as Zell called everyone to attention. And it sounded important.

"...I've got something important to show you. Might be the difference between life and death as an adventurer, so gather round."

MacKensie got up and went around the back of the log to look over the broad shoulders of Zell and Joji at the shapes in the dirt, listening to Zell explain his idea for their battle formation. Her keen mind took it all in, visualising them all in it. She was no strategist, but when Adam, Fenna and Joji backed it as a good plan, MacKensie nodded along.

"I will do my part," she told everyone.

It was strange to hear Zell actually take something seriously. The entire day, no matter how intense, serious or scary things had gotten, the englishman had managed to treat everything like one big joke. But he'd been gathering information somehow and had put together a thoughtful plan. For this moment, it was clear in his voice and body language that he was... I don't know, she thought. Stronger? Whatever it was, it was nice to see. Like it was his better side coming out, if only briefly.

“This reminds me of when my friends and I tried to fish. My friends would always catch the biggest fish, while I would always get a boot or some kind of garbage.”

MacKensie laughed as she retrieved a plate and cutlery from her backpack and took some fish that was on offer. "Thank you so much, Adam. You are really looking after all of us so well." It was true. Adam had been there for all of them - making sure they didn't get lost and now making sure they were fed. He was taking this mission and their sense of comraderie very seriously, and it only inspired MacKensie to do the same. She made a promise to herself that she would let him know her gratitude at some point in the near future. She copied Fenna and added some rations to the fish on her plate to make a substantial meal. As she did so, she replied to Joji.

"So Joji, was that your past-time? To fish?" she asked, hoping he would talk more about it and maybe his life surrounding it. "I have never fished before, but it sounds like it could be fun, no?"

When Fenna spoke about taking turns keeping watch, as if on queue there was a wolf howl in the distance. MacKensie felt a pang of fear. "I can do that. Perhaps I could take one of the later turns, as I am about ready to collapse and this food will be the end of me. If we maybe have four shifts? That will be eight of us and one lucky person who can sleep all night," she chuckled. "I will take the last shift with someone, if that is okay?" Then she an idea. "I will ask Adam or Lillianna to join me."

Yes, if Adam joined her, then she could have a chance to express her gratitude for his hard work today. If Lillianna joined her then she could get to know her fellow female comrade a little better. She stayed with the group to enjoy the conversation and food for a while, but later, she went over to the pair at the shelter, told them about the watch-shifts and asked one of them to join her on the last shift.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

True.

Well, I had a post idea but it's gone right out of my head now. I'll be back later or tomorrow.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Milady lol unecessary @Saiyan

@Zapdos I did kinda hint towards this in PMs last week Zapdos: that we should give other people a chance to do stuff. I really enjoy your writing but 3 posts in 4 days is a little on the fast side. Especially when others have already expressed difficulty keeping up.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@TeyaoNot a fan of the Fate franchise so I don't get the references but it was still a great read. Thanks for sharing this xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

<Snipped quote by Calle>

If any of you decide to vote, read all the entries and vote seriously

I did the poem partly as a bit of fun for us but mostly to support @Calle's hard work on the site. She's made a great competition for people who like that kinda thing to enjoy

@Saiyan

That was an epic for the ages lmao

I can't vote as I feel too comprimised, but I read all the entries and had you winning xD

Great job @Calle for hosting such a good show! I'll keep an eye out for future competitions and stick my head in to read and vote when I'm not so biased.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Fenna & MacKensie

With the while she'd spent away from the group, it was only a matter of time before being alone with her thoughts would finally get the best of MacKensie. After getting down from the tree branches, she walked along the stream-side, her eyes welling up as her mind raced with imagery and memories of her mother, father and younger brother.

"Oh Papa," she croaked as she tried to hold back the tears. "Mama. What am I to do in a world without you all?"

She sat down behind a boulder, hoping no one from the group would find her. Although a fair distance away from the camp site, she still snivelled and sobbed as quietly as possible.

As everyone seemed to settle at their camp, Fenna decided to do a quick round around the camp to see if it was safe (the last thing she wanted was snakes slithering around and biting them) and what plants grew here. Some wild herbs could make their meal more appetizing, whereas others had medicinal uses. She kept the stream-side in sight as she examined the plants and crouched down to inspect a flower that looked a lot like one back home, but were the plants really the same here? Would it be safe to try and use them even if they looked the same? She sniffed it. Of course there were ways to test if a plant was poisonous, and maybe that could be applied here too.

A soft sound that didn't fit in with the sounds of nature broke her train of thought and she tilted her head in the direction it came from. It sounded like... sobs? First she glanced back to the camp to see if everyone was still there and checked off those she could see. Carefully she went in the direction of the sound and rounded a boulder.

"MacKensie," she whispered when she saw the young woman. She approached her and sat on one knee next to her. "Do you want to talk about what troubles you?"

MacKensie's head snapped up in the direction of the voice. Fenna. Goodness gracious, the woman was as silent as a predator. As much as she didn't want anyone to see her like this, if it had to be anyone, MacKensie was glad it was the older woman.

"No," she squeaked out, shaking her head, but her body leaned over towards to woman. She desperately needed a hug right now. "They're gone Fenna." The floodgates opened and she cried without restraint, holding the woman next to her. "I've lost them forever. It's not fair, I never even got to say goodbye."

Fenna gently held the crying woman in her arms. "No, it's not fair," she said with a soft voice. "And it's okay to grieve. If you want to talk about it you can, or we can sit in silence if you prefer. We'll stay here for as long as you need, the others don't need us right now." Her mind went to her husband and children as she held Mackensie close; had she lost them forever? Had they all really died? It was a possibility she struggled to believe, but Mackensie and most of the others seemed to be certain they had. For now, the hope that whatever magic had brought them here could bring them back kept her going. Valheim would have the answers.

"Just keep in mind you're not alone," she assured the young woman. "We woke up in this realm together and I don't understand the bigger picture yet, but we're in this together." She paused. "Which, taking into account some members of our party may not be as reassuring as I meant it to be..."

MacKensie cried it out for a few more minutes in the motherly comfort of Fenna's arms, appreciating her offer to stay as long they needed. She started to calm down, still crying but able to hear Fenna's remark about unnamed members of the party. She choked a single note of laughter inbetween sobs. She could guess one man in particular Fenna was talking about. His face and that cocky grin lightened the mood for a brief second as it flashed in her mind.

After a while of silence, she realised her selfishness. She wasn't the only one hurting. She unburied her face from Fenna's embrace and looked up at her. Such a strong and beautiful face, one she'd quietly admired from the moment she saw her. Fenna seemed to have a noble, dignified presence about her that somewhat reminded MacKensie of her mother, and she didn't seem shaken at all. But surely she was hurting.

"Here you are, comforting me, but you must be grieving too," she noted, wanting to ask just who she'd left behind when brought to this world. A husband maybe? Children? It felt too personal to ask a stranger, but she hinted at the question out of curiosity. "Your family must be missing you greatly."

"I'm mostly worried," Fenna replied after a moment of silence. "I don't feel it as a loss yet because I have hopes, misplaced hopes perhaps." Her face wrinkled as it showed pain and sadness she hadn't shown before. "I have two children and I miss them" she admitted. "A lot. It hurts knowing how far away I am from them and knowing how they must have felt when I didn't come home. But I choose to hope, so it's too soon for me to be grieving."

MacKensie's heart broke for the woman as Fenna spoke of her family, but her demeanour changed when she said that it was too soon to grieve and there was still hope. She nodded whole-heartedly in agreement. There was hope. This world was magical after all. There had to be hope that someway, somehow they - or at least Fenna and the others who hadn't died to come here - could return. "If there is a way, we will find it, Fenna. I know this."

Fenna showed a small smile when she realised Mackensie had stopped crying. "If you're ready, maybe we should go back, before the others get worried and try to find us."

They shared the smile and MacKensie agreed that they should get back. "Thank you so much, Fenna. I really needed that."

After wiping her face of tears with her sleeves, they headed back together.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Warning/Request: Please don't come across MacKensie in the trees, as my post is a setup for her next post. Thanks xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie enjoyed the conversation with James as they travelled. To hear about his life in Mexico was both interesting and extremely impressive. He'd seen and experienced so much of his country and was rising through the ranks in a big-time business, and had life not tragically ripped him from their world, who knew where his talents would've taken him in the following years. It made her wonder just how gifted the others in the group were too. She told him about the wonder and beauty of Paris, speaking briefly about the sights and architecture, alluding to it's storied history, but she tried not to bore him with overly long rambles. Also, a part of her was acutely aware that she came from an extremely wealthy family - French society's elite - and that she only had access and experience in the highs of France's capital, with no experience of it's lows. Being a student in sociology and engaged politically, such an awareness sometimes made her pause for thought in certain situations. She did not bring this up though, keeping the conversation upbeat and pleasant as they moved ever north.

Later in the afternoon, when the falcon came swooping down, MacKensie almost drew her crossbow against the beautiful bird. Fortunately her fear did not make her do anything so stupid and she looked on the bird in awe when it went to Fenna.

She cooed in delight to get such a close-up of the bird of prey. "Magnifique," she said in awe, her gooey eyed expression darting back and forth from the bird to Fenna and back again. She stepped towards the older woman tentatively, hands clasped together. "How are you doing that? Can I pet it?"

Later...

When they arrived at the place they would set up camp, MacKensie felt like a bit of a spare part, trying to help but unsure of what to do. She did not know how to build a fire, she didn't know how to cook, it didn't even cross her mind that she would be able to use her marksmanship to aid in a hunt. She sort of just mulled about trying to give a hand to others in what they were doing.

Before long, she decided to go off for a wander around. As she went past James, she caught his eye, looked at him and then at Zell, then said to the wizard, "Two peas in a pod," and walked off, letting another in the group know that she would be back soon.

Off down the hill she went, into the trees where she could no longer be seen or heard. She stopped and raised her left arm in front of her to finally examine the magical gauntlet she'd been wearing this whole time.

"What are you?" she asked aloud.

It was obvious it was magical, ornate in design and unmistakably attuned to her. She'd felt it when she first put it on, and after James' magical blessing earlier, she knew what magic felt like. But what did it do? Perhaps it enabled her to fire some kind of fireball.

She pointed her left hand at a large boulder, double-checked her aim and then tried to will it to fire. "Fire?-Aaaaaggghhh!"

Something fired alright! A faint blue beam/wire fired from the gauntlet and attached itself to the boulder not 30 feet away, before instantly dragging her toward said-boulder at breakneck speed, her body fully horizontal as she went. "Aaagh! Stop!"

The beam/wire detached from the boulder and zipped back into the gauntlet as MacKensie flipped herself in mid-air and landed feet first against the boulder before pushing off and hitting the floor in a rolling heap. Fortunately she was not injured. "Sacre bleau," she cursed, breathing heavily as she got to her feet, brushed herself off and examined the gauntlet. She looked around to make sure none of the group had heard her wail and come running down. Luckily she was far enough away that no one heard.

A little scared but determined to try again, she hesitantly lifted her hand and pointed at a tree branch a decent distance away. This time she was mentally prepared. "Fire," she said again out loud, but also willing it mentally. Again the magical wire of blue light shot out, attached to the tree. Then as she willed it, it zipped her over and up to the branch where she grabbed the branch with both hands and swung up and around to flip and land on the branch. "Oh my," she exclaimed. "I am like Spiderman."

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Really? This I gotta see.

@Dark Cloud

True! If it wins, Clive's legacy will be forever cemented in the Hall of Fame xD

<Snipped quote by Teyao>

@Zool Lillianna, looking to MacKensie as the guys made their plans known very loudly and worryingly: "...I want to say this will go badly in a potentially entertaining manner, but would you like to get away before it all ends in disaster somehow? Or shall we wait to bail them out?"

@Crusader Lord

I'll keep my Netflix n chill jokes to myself and play it wholesome with you Crusader lmao

MacKensie shared a look with Lillianna. "Ummm, we shall wait for this inevitable disaster..." Then folded her arms. "...but there shall be no bailing out of any kind."

She shook her head tiredly and sighed. "Bloody boys."

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Her eyes sparkled with the distant threat of bittersweet tears as she watched him talk about his cousin. You could tell by his tone that he had a close relationship with her. Passion. Family values. It was all there. It might have been her imagination, but it seemed that his usual annoyed expression somewhat softened as he spoke of her. Funny how just one or two sentences could say so much. She brushed away thoughts of her own family that were churning up to stay focused on the conversation, which steered towards his counter-argument that she deserved an equal amount of credit.

"...the whole time I felt like Apprentice looked"

That one made her laugh. The apprentice healer did look like he was about to faint. In her own terror, she hadn't deigned to notice his comical demeanour. It felt good to be acknowledged for such a difficult task, for it had taken all of her willpower and then some.

"So thank you, Mac, you really saved him-us! back there"

Pursed lips in a solemn smile with a meaningful nod, she accepted his thanks, feeling a little closer to him for it. It was a truly lovely moment - one that the wizard decided to spoil by changing the subject and sending a shockwave down her spine. She bristled when she heard mention the name of Big Mouth and then James decided to double down on the blow by another accusation of...

"Flirt!?" she repeated, disgusted. "I would not be caught dead flirting with that caveman. I cannot stand him. Hmph. He is far too cocky for my liking, he thinks he can just flash that smile of his, and get away with..." And then she realised: She was putting waaaay too much passion into this. Eyes face forward, she paused, embarassed not for the first time since waking up in this world, but she gathered herself, then turned her ire on James instead, giving him a playful shove. "You are just as bad as eachother, to tease me so horribly. I have a feeling you will be two peas in a pod before long. Go and flirt with him yourself." She shook her head exasperated, but there was a small chuckle in there too. She looked ahead and saw Adam talking with Lillianna, imagining they were having a conversation that didn't involve immature unpleasantries. Honestly, she was a little jealous. "Why can you two not be nice young men, like Adam," she gestured ahead. "You could learn a lot from his example."

It was all in good fun, really, even if it was her that seemed to be on the receiving end of the teasing. In a way, it broke the ice between them all better than most things could have. For if you were relaxed enough with your comrades to tease them and trust they would not shoot you with their crossbow(!), you were more than likely relaxed enough to trust them to work as a team. Even that aside, the conversation took her mind off her family, her death and the surgery, and gave her a breather where she could simply pass some time with a person she could call friend. It was comforting.

"I cannot call myself an Olympian, for I never actually got to Japan to compete," she told James. "And no, I have never met Zell before today. I was born in Lyon, in France, but I was attending university in Paris. My dream was to win a gold medal and I worked hard to earn to a starting place on my national team. But to be honest, my skills won me much more than a gold medal, today. If I helped save a single innocent by fighting those monsters, then that is worth more than all the prizes and honours in the world. I am happy with that." She nodded to herself, then looked back at James. He looked the same age as her. "Where are you from? What did you do before this?"