Kojo and Sharone sat in front of a fire that he'd made. They were roasting some of the bees on sticks. Kojo took one out and handed it to her.
"So," he began. "What's it like being a vampire? I'm sure life's fun. Well, minus the blood-sucking part."
Sharone laughed. "Being a vampire doesn't mean your life is fun."
"How so?"
Sharone fell silent and looked into the fire.
"I'm sorry if I—"
"Eight thousand years ago, I wasn't much different from you. I was just a normal girl living in a village with my mother. I shouldn't be able to remember that far back, but I guess remembering is a blessing that comes with this curse."
Kojo stared at her.
"It was during that time that a war broke out between two demon lords. Our village was attacked by a horde, and everyone was slaughtered. I thought I was going to die, but then he found me."
"Who?"
"Dracule Al'Vlad, the vampire king. He gave me some of his blood and made me his spawn. I became one of the first ones."
(This is interesting data.)
"Shhh."
"You must think life in Abysmia is a paradise. But have you ever been hated for the crime of existing?" She looked at him. He felt a sharp pain and touched his temple as a memory surfaced. It was him walking the streets of his school with people staring at him as if he was a demon.
"Dracule, my father, was the only one who treated me as a person, the only one aside from my mother who loved me as if I was his own child. Then he vanished. His wife, Queen Yellaine, made my sanctuary a living hell. I endured it for centuries, but when she—" Sharone paused.
"I couldn't take it anymore. I had to escape. I had to find a place where I could spend my seemingly endless days without feeling the urge to kill." Her eyes began to glow.
"Sorry," she said, regaining her composure.
"Nah, don't apologize," Kojo said, taking a bite. "I guess we're both kinda the same. We're both trying to forget our past and move forward in life, no matter how short or long it is. You did good. Not everyone has the courage to face their demons and fight for their freedom, no matter how fallacious such a concept may seem." He got to his feet.
"You know, I'm glad we met. I haven't had anyone to talk to in a while."
(Oh, so I'm in it now.)
"Technically, you are," he thought.
"I think we've rested enough. Let's keep moving. Oh, and," he tossed the bag of honey at her. "This is for you. Hope you enjoy it."
She looked down at it, then smiled. "Thank you."
Kojo smiled back. Then proceeded to get their stuff.
It was evening when they arrived at the village.
"This place is kinda spooky," Kojo said, looking around.
"Where is everyone?" Sharone asked. They noticed a mother taking her child into a house and locking the door behind her.
"Okay... Not the reception I anticipated, but their reaction is fair since there's a beast and all," Kojo said.
"Let's find this beast soon," Sharone said.
They went around the village, introducing themselves as raiders and questioning all who were willing to speak with them.
"Okay, so based on what we've gathered, this thing comes out at night but mostly lurks in the fields. It occasionally comes into the village to destroy stuff, then leaves before morning without a trace," Kojo said as he and Sharone searched the fields. He looked up at her. She was floating, red bat wings outstretched. A soft breeze blew. Kojo's eyes went to her skirt, which moved with the wind.
(Now's not the time, pervert.)
"I think I see something," Sharone told him and glided to the center of the field.
CLOUD.
Kojo floated up and flew beside her. They both hovered above what appeared to be a giant nest made of wood.
"Do you think it's in there?" Sharone asked. Kojo raised his hand and flicked his middle finger, tearing it open with a blast of wind.
"Hey!"
"Guess no one's home," he said, slowly descending through the opening. There was a melon-sized egg in the center, resting on a bed of dry leaves.
"That's sure gonna make a tasty omelette." Kojo licked his lips and took a step forward. Sharone grabbed his arm.
"We're not here for the egg. We're here for the beast that made it." Kojo sensed a strong presence.
(Something's coming.)
They heard the sound of heavy footsteps and the purring of a hungry beast drawing near.
"Your attack must have attracted the beast," Sharone said. The place suddenly fell silent.
"It's gone?"
The part of the nest behind them exploded, throwing up dust and wood. Kojo turned and saw huge red eyes peering at him from the dust cloud. The beast then stepped through, straightening to its full height, casting a shadow on them.
"You've got to be kidding me." Kojo took a step back, trying to control himself. He then went down on his knees. Sharone knelt beside him.
"Are you okay?" Kojo's body shook. Then he giggled. Before he broke into uncontrollable fits of laughter.
"I can't believe the terrifying beast is actually a giant chicken," Kojo managed to say.
The chicken squawked and eyed them.
"What's the worst this thing's gonna do, lay an egg?"
The chicken roared, and Kojo's laughter vanished. It kicked at them with a massive talon. Sharone was able to fly out of the way, but Kojo wasn't so lucky and was sent flying to the edge of the field. He used a cloud to break his fall.
He got up. "Ouch."
(Don't judge a book by its cover.)
Kojo looked on as Sharone tried to subdue the creature.
"Reminds me of Brian."
(Who's that?)
"A friend of mine. We used to call him Chicken B way back at school."
(Chicken B. He must have been quite an interesting individual.)
"Yeah. I'm gonna miss that scrawny guy."
(Well anyway, who knew we'd be fighting a Skwaak?)
"A what now?"
(Think.)
Kojo thought for a moment.
"Oh yeah, from the info we got from that sage monkey. It's a beast with metallic feathers, uncanny strength, and the ability to breathe fire. It normally doesn't attack humans but will do so to protect its nest."
The Skwaak knocked Sharone away with its wing. It opened its wings and flew upward, opening its mouth in order to release fire on her.
Kojo hit it with a snowball, causing it to miss. He then flew toward it.
"I wonder how a fire-breathing chicken will taste with hot sauce," Kojo wondered out loud. He dropped to the ground and banged the earth with his fists. Hand constructs shot out of the ground and restrained the Skwaak in the air. It screeched as it tried to break free.
"Get the egg," he yelled at Sharone. She was already moving toward the nest. The beast noticed and shot a fireball at her. She blocked and returned a shot of scarlet flames. The beast broke free and flapped its wings, sending its razor-sharp feathers flying in all directions. Kojo instinctively tilted his head to avoid one, then ran through the rest. He jumped over a stream of flames the Skwaak released, then froze its mouth before blasting the beast upward with a blast of wind from below.
(Seems Impulse is working.)
"Impulse?"
(Yeah. It's a skill you set into the character that enables you to instinctively act in time of danger before your brain can process what's going on.)
The beast was struggling to break the ice covering its mouth. It finally managed to break the ice. Then flapped its wings, knocking Kojo back with the wind. It then flew toward Sharone, who was making away with the egg. Sharone stopped running and turned.
"This is ridiculous," she said as magic circles appeared behind her, and she fired red beams of energy at the bird. They, however, bounced off its metallic feathers. She then combined the circles into one and fired a huge beam at the bird, which bisected the field. The chicken burst through the flames and knocked her upward with its beak. It then tried to swallow her, but Kojo caught her on his shoulder and landed a few meters away.
"You alright?" he asked, putting her down.
"Yeah." They both turned to face the beast.
"We need a plan, or this is going to drag on," she said.
"I've got one, but we need to hold that thing in place," Kojo responded.
"Say no more." She stretched her hand.
SCARLET BONDS.
Blood chains shot out of a magic circle which appeared from below the beast and wrapped themselves around it. It fell, trying to break free.
"You could do that this whole time?" Kojo said in surprise.
"I was bored," she responded simply.
"Guess I wasn't the only one," Kojo said, turning to the beast struggling in its bonds.
(Your plan has a success rate of 3.35%. Meaning if this fails, you're screwed.)
"Oh ye of little faith," Kojo muttered. He closed his eyes and stretched his arm. A strong aura of Arcana surrounded him.
"Hey Sharone, you said magic here is based on formulas, right?"
"Y-yes," she said in surprise.
"Gather." The aura became even stronger, the force blowing Sharone back.
"Compress." The energy shrunk into a small ball in his palm.
(Don't use all this energy, or you may end up destroying the countryside.)
"I gotcha."
He clenched his fist around the energy ball.
"Release," he said, flicking his finger at the bird. There was a blinding flash of light. The blast caused a shockwave that shook the surrounding area. All that remained were a few of the beast's metallic feathers in the crater where another field should have been. He looked at his hand and flexed his fingers.
"Guess I used a bit more magic than I wanted to."
(You're an idiot. But your plan did work, so I'm not gonna scold you. You should be grateful.)
"Sure."
(I knew you could do it.)
"Sure," Kojo responded sarcastically.