“You should have been more careful” Grey said, nearing their small camp. “It could have ended badly if it was something serious,” Rose felt his grip grow tighter around her, “I don’t need to lose you too” he finished.
Aww, how sweet, Rose thought, amused by his concern. “Don’t worry, I’ll never leave you here alone” She said, resting her head against his chest as she did.
Once back at the camp Grey set her down on her sleeping bag and took a seat next to her. “Maybe we should head back up,” Grey started. “I mean, we aren’t even near the marshes and you were already attacked.” His tone was filled with concern.
“Worrying about me, hmm?” Rose replied, sprawling out so that her back rested on his lap. “You already forget the beating I gave you earlier?” she recalled memories of Grey being embarrassed by his sister shortly before the slime’s takeover.
“Come on, I’m being serious” he said, “think what could have happened if I didn’t hear you” he continued, grabbing her left hand. “And the everglades are supposed to be infested with those things…” he finished. Seeing his sister in a helpless state was making him reevaluate the journey they were about to partake in.
Rose withheld a laugh. “I guess you’re right, it could have been a lot worse.” She said, breaking her hand free from his grip to caress the side of his face. “I’m lucky to have a brother like you”. This is too easy, she thought to herself. “Fine, if you’re that worried, we can head back north.”
“You sure?”, he paused a moment then started up again, “I just mean… where will we go?”
That is a good question, where should I start? She then recalled a large human city to the west , surrounding a large citadel from which many aqueducts sprang from, running throughout the area. In addition to this, the journey there was littered with smaller villages they could stop at. Perfect. “We’ll head to Paxamos” she answered, sitting up from Grey’s lap. “But first, it’s your turn to go and find food.” she finished in a more cheerful tone as her stomach made an audible growl.
“Well, we did skip breakfast. You sure you’ll be fine by yourself?” Grey asked.
“You’re never gonna let this go, are you?” She said. Rose sighed, “I’ll be fine, promise.”. As Grey reluctantly went off, Rose stared at him. The slime inside could see the power within him, a great ocean of energy bursting at the seams. Then, a flash of memory; It was night, yet everything was lit like it was still day. Around her she could hear the screams of not just humans but a multitude of creatures. Looking around she saw beings moving(most just crawling) to and fro, unrecognizable under the charred skins that were their flesh. Ahead of her was a huge torrent of flame spiraling into the sky above. In the epicenter of the inferno was a dark figure obscured by the wall of fire, kneeling on the ground. Around him were bodies garbed in armor, aflame and motionless on the ground. Rose, the original, went towards the figure as the burgeoning flames threatened to engulf her. Still she moved towards the figure, whose weeping could now be heard faintly under the fury of the fire. Rose reached out with her right arm, grabbing the figure as fire licked her. In a quick movement she pulled the figure from the torrent. It was Grey, completely untouched by the fire that had begun to vanish as he was removed. The memory faded with Grey in her embrace.
The slime smiled maliciously. I will make that power mine, one way or another.
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