Written October 16th, 2020 11:46 PM

As far as days went, this was definitely one of the weirdest Ailith had experienced with The First and Last. The old king had attacked that morning, only to be defeated handily. The new king was a few dice short of a gaming set, insisting they travel with him for several months across the country as an acting troupe. They had gone behind the king’s back and brought his guards into the castle to help protect him. And finally, the king’s right had man had turned into a huge demon monster at dinner. All in a day’s work.

The fight was going well. They made a good team; Ailith and Talus throwing punches in the midst of the fight, Xiv not far off throwing their vials, Ace hovering within range for healing, and Feyra staying far back firing arrow after arrow into the fray.

Ailith had managed to stun the creature, hitting it just right, allowing her friends to attack viciously and without fear of immediate retaliation. Feyra in particular just kept hitting her target, leaving the demon bloodied and furious. Ailith felt a familiar pride swell in her chest as yet another arrow lodged itself in the slowly stirring creature’s chest.

Roaring, the demon swung around to make an attack, but it’s eyes focused instead on Feyra standing on the balcony with her bow raised. The creature snarled, bounding away from Ailith and Talus. It didn’t take long to understand its goal; Ailith lashed out desperately with her cane, the diamond pulsing energy as it connected with the demon’s leg. The demon barely stumbled, still moving towards Feyra with single-minded determination.

Feyra remained where she was, loosing more arrows even as the demon closed in on her. Reaching Feyra, it grabbed her in one of its massive hands. 

Ailith stopped breathing.

Feyra struggled, kicking against the demon’s fist. Chuckling, the demon moved to the edge of the balcony. As it did, Talus ran to it and unleashed a vicious blow, carving into the creature’s torso. It stumbled for a moment, Feyra still held in it’s grip. Ailith felt the world slow down as the demon gave a pained groan and crashed through the railing, gravity taking hold and sending it plummeting down to the ground below. As the creature fell, it let go of Feyra, who landed in a heap at the ledge of the balcony, the momentum of the fall threatening to send her over the edge.

“No!” Ailith gasped, shaking herself out of her stupor and running to Feyra. She reached down to help Feyra up, willing her hand to stop shaking. “Are you okay?” Ailith demanded, the question coming out harsh in her worry.

Grabbing her hand, Feyra hauled herself to her feet. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay,” she gasped. Ailith watched Feyra dust herself off, scanning the other woman’s body for any obvious injuries. Seeing none, she relaxed, hands fidgeting at her sides as she resisted the urge to check Feyra over herself.

“Okay. You’re okay,” Ailith murmured, relief coursing through her. She didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Talus hadn’t gotten to the demon when he did, or what she would have done if Feyra had gone over the edge. Ailith knew she would have followed, plummeted down after Feyra just like she had for Xiv. There’s nowhere you could go where I would not follow.