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haha. sorry. dichotomy means two things that are in contrast. usually, big brother characters are side characters, not the main protagonist… though there are exceptions. so I just used dichotomy to highlight that although he is the protagonist, he is also the big brother character of the story.

haha. this made me laugh.

 

Abirami

Ku was standing over me, eyeing the man I’d healed with a wary glare.

Great. Ku wasn’t very trusting of strangers to begin with. If she doubted you to begin with… I just had to hope she wouldn’t do anything rash.

I could tell the bleeding had stopped, but the pain was nearly unbearable. It flashed with each breath. Memories of my past wounds came to mind, and I tried not to chuckle, since it increased the pain.

I’d had worse. Wasn’t that a sad thought.

My vision blurred in and out, but something moved in front of me, and I blinked to clear my vision.

The man I healed looked down at me. “You’re the lad who healed me?”

I nodded, slowly.

He kneeled down and looked me in the eye. His brow was furrowed. Had I done something wrong?

“Why?” he asked.

Oh. He’s confused. Perhaps he’s proud, or suspicious by nature, like Ku.

I tilted my head into a more comfortable position. Wasn’t it obvious?

“I… attacked you…” I strained out the words between breaths, trying to keep the pain to a minimum. “under false…” My vision blacked, but I fought to regain it. I needed to finish my answer. “I had to… fix my… wrong.”

The man turned to Isella. “The man’s delirious. Mi lady, may I ask what transpired while I was out?”

“He’s not delirious, you buffoon. The question is, why did he attack you?” Ku had her quarterstaff extended over me. “What did you do?”

My mind was working too slowly. The man thought I was delirious? Oh. The he hadn’t seen me transform. Of course. I cringed as I reached out my hand. I had no energy to spare, but I didn’t want to wait for his reply. Ku was typically rude, but I hadn’t the energy to intervene should things get out of hand.

Focusing with all my might, I tried to conjure the image, but the pain doubled, objecting to my efforts. I pushed through it, the veins in my neck throbbing. The hand came into view, and I quickly grabbed ahold of it. I felt my hand elongate, and I reached out and placed my transformed paw onto the man’s knee.

“No, no, no.”

Ku’Aya sounded worried, butI couldn’t think of a reason why. No matter.

The man turned and jumped backwards onto the ground upon seeing the aemirok’s paw stretching out from my arm.

“What devilry?”

The image broke, and my hand transformed back to normal.

“No!” Ku’s voice rose, echoing throughout the hall. “We must run. Now!

“What is this?” the man asked, picking himself up and brandishing his weapon.

“Why?” asked Isella, nearly at the same time.

Pain arced through my body as Ku grabbed under my arms and tried dragging me back.

“Ku-” I couldn’t speak, the pain was so bad.

“It’s coming. We have to leave, or we’ll be killed.”

“What is coming, foul creature?” someone asked. I could barely register the words, no less who said it. My vision worsened, but I fought to stay conscious through the pain. It felt like I was being dragged across a bed of nails.

“Shut up and listen to me.” Ku barked. “If you stay here, you will die. Could care less what you think of me, but…” Ku took a deep breath. “Please help me get Abirami to safety. Please.”

I felt small hands on my feet, and I rose off the ground, but whoever it was struggled to keep me aloft. “What is coming, and where should we take him?” Isella asked.

“I… I don’t know,” said Ku. I could hear the fear in her voice. “But at the rate my spies are dying, by the time whatever it is hits us, it’ll be too late.”

Ku’s voice muffled, and her voice projected away from me. “You all need to come too. Unless you want to die a most sudden death.”

I rocked back and forth as they moved me, and after the noise of a conversation faded, more hands joined in carrying me.

The pain was at least less than before, but I still fought to keep conscious.

“So where to?” asked Isella. “If it’s a sudden death, how do we escape it?”

I could sense Ku’s hesitation. “Up. We have to go up.”

“Up where?” asked a voice.

“Just follow me.”

 

[major plot twist. =)     So…. my plan is, a misty, slightly purple, poisoned cloud is going to filter into the room we are presently in. The trap was triggered by Ku’Aya’s fly agents – accidentally, and it will flood the entire floor, so we must escape to the second floor, at least. Ku’Aya’s bugs, thankfully, have also found these stairs… only question is… will we be quick enough to escape the poisoned gas?  And are there potential obstacles in the way of reaching the stairs? Have fun, and alter it as you see fit…]