A Reunion Amidst the Mire (closed to Karuka)

[Taische]

Taische had huddled close to the grate, trying to ignore the cold, slimy water she crouched in and pretend that those were definitely cute little fish nibbling on her toes. Her breath came in sharp gasps and hot tears streamed down her face. There were people dying, Tao was dead, and the bad guys wanted to kill everyone else for no reason.

Part of her wanted to hide in the farthest back corner, where it was safe. The larger part was morbidly curious. She’d never seen battle up close before, other than her admittedly foolhardy venture into the Citadel. She’d only ever seen her mom use staves in training, and had never watched her attack uninhibited. She danced around the big dumb lizard man like she was a bird and he was a snail. The primal fury was hypnotizing, and the lightning that arced across the battlefield left gruesome paths through men and smoke alike.

She was so busy watching the fight that she failed to notice the figure approaching. A rough hand lunged into her hiding place, grabbing hold of her and hauling her out. She shrieked, kicking reflexively, but only found herself restrained with something sharp to her neck.

When the dirty man yelled, everything stopped, and Taische saw an expression on her mother’s face she’d never expected: helpless horror. There was nothing Karuka could do that would be quick enough to take out the pig man without also hurting or killing her child.

Taische’s fingers dug into the grimy arm around her neck. He was going to chop her head off, everything would go fuzzy black, but she wouldn’t wake up like she had last time. Her eyes squeezed shut, trying and failing to keep back terrified tears. Could she do anything?

If she tried to suffocate him, he’d have lots of time to kill her. Same if she tried to punch him with some water. If she burned him, he’d curl in. That left one thing, but she hadn’t had more than a little bit of a spark all day.

If yer gonna die on th’ field, fight wi’ yer last breath.

Her mother had said that to her soldiers before they went out to war. This was her last breath.

So she breathed, filling her lungs with air that reeked of blood and ozone. She dug deep, finding the spark and the pathways. She felt where her fingers met skin. And she let loose.

The man screamed, more startled than hurt, but his grip loosened enough that Taische could shove herself free. He swung at her as she scrambled away, opening a nasty gash on the back of her leg, but she was already bolting for her mother.

The lizard man was starting to rise between them, and Karuka’s fear turned to rage. Consequence plunged down into the scaly head, leaving a twitching corpse.