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Where… where am I?She blinked a few times. A dark blur moved swiftly before her. What looked like a torch was to her left. She struggled, trying to free herself, but the ropes were tied too tight around her. She felt them wrapping her bare fur. A fresh breeze, probably produced by someone passing near her, made her turn her head around.
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Hello?The blur stopped. Even though without her glasses, she could tell it was a Klyros silhouette, with the wings behind the figure. The unidentified Klyros stared at her for a while and continued doing her business.
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Where am I? Hello?She squinted a bit, trying to focus on the moving blur. Suddenly, it stopped before her and slapped her with energy.
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Ssssh! -The blur sounded amused-
We don’t want to get caught, do we? That’d only mean I’d have to torture you…-
What the~ what am I doing here?-
It’s simple, dear Mishka! –The voice was a female’s voice, sweet and musical, with a slight crazy tone-
I don’t like you. You’re way too important.Mishka frowned deeply, trying to get a look at the Klyros girl’s face. Unfortunately, she was masked.
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Who are you and what do you want from me? – Mishka asked, growling a bit.
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Don’t growl, honey. You have a good voice to go around growling at people. And I won’t tell you who I am, there is no point in that! I’m going to kill you… actually you are already dead. Your friends are all crying and sad –the Klyros started mocking Mishka-:
Boo-hoo, our friend is dead, we have a big sad, boo-hoo! You should have seen that Clamod… Zalya is it? Yeees! Oh, oh, and the little healer!The Klyros laughed manically. It reverberated in a way that Mishka could tell they were in a cave. She struggled with energy, trying to get free, only getting another slap, harder than the first one, in response. The fenki yelled at her loudly, and not precisely pretty things. The Klyros frowned and got closer to Mishka’s face. She could feel her cold breath, which made her shiver, and caused the fur on the nape of her neck to fluff for a second.
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The bait worked. Now I can have all the fun I want with you. It’s a pity you won’t enjoy it as much as I will –Mishka could see a small blade gleaming on the Klyros’ claw-.
The bait worked so well, and everyone is so convinced you are dead, that I will keep you here for longer. So, tell me, cutie, why do you need to be so popular?>>”You are nothing but a weak female Enkidukai. Where is daddy? Oh, he’s dead. And mommy? Dead, too, but I guess you like it that way? What a shame. If I had a daughter like you I’d be ashamed. But that may be because you are like her, a crazy and revengeful fenki. You hide yourself between that mask you created, the strong warrior, the kind mother, the playful friend. You’re dead on the inside, aren’t you, Mishy? You’re but a carcass. I guess killing you is the greatest favor anyone has ever done to you, and I am sure I should be honored. You’re disgusting, Mishka. You left your husband, the only man that ever loved you with all his heart, in cold blood, because you were unable to love him? Oh, come on… You did NOT deserve him.”The Clamod stared at the figure wide-eyed. This one put her spectacles on her muzzle so she could have a better look at her mask, and laughed softly before continuing:
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Look at yourself… naked, tied up. Defenseless. Poor, poor Mishka. Anyways, I have to go now. Oh, and don’t try to burn the ropes, you won’t be able to. Your glyph sacks are now in your bag, and your bag is near your corpse. Well, not your corpse –she chuckled-
, but you get my point. It was pretty hard to find a good bait. I will be back soon for your first session, honey. We’ll have looooots of fun…The Klyros left, laughing out loud. The cave amplified the laughter so much Mishka lowered her ears and closed her eyes, thinking it’d get muffled. It didn’t work.
* * *
The lonely yulbar sniffed around the ground and raised his leg, peeing on what he thought was a tree. The velnishi hissed at it, and the yulbar bolted off, yelping in fear. He stopped when it hit something… something furry, soft. The yulbar rubbed himself against the furry, soft thing that smelled like lavender.
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Hello, little one, can you help?The yulbar, startled, looked up, to see a tied up fenki smiling kindly at him. Suddenly, not knowing how, he jumped on her lap and started trying to lick her face. Mishka purred softly, smiling.
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Yes, yes, I’m happy to see you too, little one. Who is your owner?The yulbar simply stared at her, wagging his little tail. Mishka asked him, without many hopes, to bite the ropes. To her surprise, the yulbar understood her, and the fenki was soon free. Guided by the small pet, she got out of the cave, finding herself on the road to the Eagle Bronze Doors. She started running to Gugrontid in the middle of the night, tripping on rocks, roots and others. She didn’t even care.
* * *
The big stalactite with the stone houses showed before her. She hugged the yulbar tightly, crying a bit, making the small creature squeak and squirm, and ran towards Gardr. Kra was keeping some clothes for her, and she quickly got dressed, and put on a new set of chainmail. Mishka looked at the yulbar, kissed its nose, and smiled:
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It’s time I get back home; they’ll all be missing me.The yulbar licked Mishka’s nose back, and squirmed a bit to get free. She let him down, and the pet rubbed himself against her legs before hopping a bit and running off almost as quick as a rivnak. Mishka stared at it, surprised, when a beam of light struck where the yulbar was, making it disappear. A soft, warm breeze, carrying a sweet charmflower smell, blew around her.
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I think it’s about time I change… the Klyros was right. I should be on the inside like I am on the outside.