[ En: Cht White Chrysanthemum ]

by RandomCanis

Contact: Part-4

Light filtered through the swaying leaves. Reflecting off of shattered glass and cascading droplets from the damaged roof sprinkles. Blood painted the puddling water as it drained out of the fennec fox’s wound. Hugging the panting swift fox’s legs as he stared down at the dying vulpine. Her chest was crimson as her life dwindled. The water washed the blood off of standing tod’s sword. The blade was adorned with cracks and dents as it trembled with his hand.

The fox snarled heatedly, the cascading water did nothing to cool his seething rage. Only worsening the stings from the place where the vixen bit his left bicep. How dare she? He thought as he tightened his fists. How dare she die with that smile? After all the sleepless nights. After all the lives he was forced to take. After all the trouble she and her lunatics caused. How dare she die with a peaceful smile!?

The swift fox’s shoulders shook with rage, his claws deep enough to draw blood. The bloodied water and air rippled violently as he tried to control his rage. He shouldn’t regret what he has done. Yet here he was, angry at himself for killing all those fucking cultists. He should be angry at them. Loathe them for all the things they put him and his family through. But all he felt was disappointment in himself. The black-furred fox closed his eyes. Letting the water cool him down this time, focused on the stings they caused on the scratches and wounds on him.

His whiskers twitched as another presence swayed by him. The scent of autumn breeze and oak wafted to his nose. So he opened his eyes to the beige-furred wolf looking at the expired fennec. Her eyes were blank as she kneel beside the corpse. Fur and clothes were immaculately dry despite the torrents of water from the sprinklers. And her bare feet rested on top of the water. An amused smirk adorned the wolf’s muzzle as she looked over the corpse.

Rutherford huffed and looked away, ears and tail twitching. When had he grown used to her presence? Usually, he would’ve had difficulty breathing when the wolf shows up. And how long has it been anyway? He went over all the encounters he had with the wolf. If she even was one, which he doubted. Counting their first encounter and the ones that followed afterward. Two years, he realized. They’ve done this little dance of theirs for two years now. He didn’t know whether he should be proud or scared of himself for getting used to the wolf.

“And another one bites the dust.” Sawyer chuckled as she stood up. “I believe this is,” The wolf stopped with a glance at the sprinklers. “Your twenty-seventh kill. The numbers are increasing, Liraeti.” Rutherford flinched, looking away from the wolf. He didn’t need to see the proud (?) smile on her face right now. That’ll only make him use the sword again. Sawyer hummed as she looked around. To the rubbles and fallen trees, the gently glowing crystals, and the fizzling light bulbs in the greenhouse. Her eyes settled back onto the fox, noting the tense shoulders and the grip on the sword. Still angry at the fakers, she thought with a glance at the corpse. And she smiled.

“You know,” She drawled out, just enough for the fox’s ears to turn to her. “Most fools tend to not take their deaths easily. They rather beg, cheat, or claw their way out from death.” Sawyer turned away from Rutherford as he turned towards her. Good, she smirked inwardly as the fox adjusted his grip. “But this one took her death with a smile. No struggles, no begging, and no fear at all. You must be disappointed, right Liraeti?” The fox already had his sword raised. Both hands were on the handle as he struck.

Only to miss when the wolf vanished. Rutherford stumbled, cursing slightly to regain his balance. The air shifted, mana coiled somewhere, and he turned. The wolf’s smile greeted him as he pinpointed her location. Sparks turned into a gleaming rod before it roared towards him. The fox stumbled once more as his sword clanged. Sending the rod spiraling through trees and bushes as a fracture appeared on the sword’s edge. “First deflection, pup. Well done.” Sawyer cheered as the mana bent to her. Gleaming rods hummed as the fox raised his sword. The drizzling water stilled and moved towards the blade. The wolf launched her spell and the fox replied in kind. The trees swayed as the two clashed, the fox dodging through the rods. He drew closer to the lupine with his blade.

Sawyer tilted her body to let the sword sing past her. She danced, and the fox followed, his blade only struck the drizzling water. Rutherford growled and rushed with a roar. Only for the wolf to punish him with a clanking chain that whipped his stomach. He crumbled to the floor, his ears splayed when another chain sailed to him. The fracture expanded as Rutherford blocked the whip. Sparks erupted as the chain dulled the edge. The harsh sound ended as the vulpine got to his feet with a hop. He tried to close the distance again. But the wolf’s chain made him retreat every time he gained an inch. A precise strike to his bitten shoulder reminded him of his wounds. Rutherford faltered and Sawyer’s chain slithered through the air. Sawing through the trees in their path.

They didn’t do that before, the fox thought to himself as he ducked under them. The chains chased him as he ran around the trees. Rutherford finally noticed the fracture when a good chunk of his sword broke off. So he switched tactics. The wolf raised an eyebrow as the fox veered around and charged at her. Her tail twitched, and the chains swam towards the vulpine from the side. He dropped to the floor, sliding under the whips and on the grass. Pooling puddles conjoined with his sword, swirling into a harsh ball. Rutherford growled as he slashed skyward. The swirling water uprooted stumps, trees, and boulders. The wolf simply vanished from where she stood before it reached her.

The fox wobbled back to his feet and was confused by a lighter heft. He glanced at his sword. Oh, it broke. His ear cocked to the sound of giggles. He turned to it, only to stumble at what the wolf held. Oh gods, not that bloody thing again! Sawyer smiled as the spear pulsed. Rutherford winced, his hands shaking as he pulled the cascading water to him. Forming a fizzling blade as the wolf threw her spear. Knowing what it was capable of, the vulpine struck the thrown weapon. Not to stop or to deflect. But to swing himself away using the water as leverage. He made sure to protect his head as the spear roared past him. Flinching when he heard the weapon slam through trees, boulders, and walls. Rutherford groaned as he lay still for a moment. Blinking wearily when Sawyer walked over to him.

“Not quite a deflecting. But it still worked.” She chuckled. Her hand soothing as she brushed his ears. The fox huffed as he pushed himself to sit. “Are we done?” He muttered while clutching his shoulder. “Are you still angry at that fool?” She got a shrug from him. “Good enough.” They lapsed into silence, the wolf stopped the sprinkles with a wave. When did this become a thing for them? Rutherford thought as he rubbed water off his face. Two full years of this exchange and he still found the wolf unnerving. “Did you ever tell me why you do all of this?” The fox said as he got to his feet. “I don’t believe I have. I don’t see why that’s important.” Sawyer turned to him. Her head tilted slightly to the side as the fox huffed.

“It’s because of this thing, isn’t it?” Rutherford tapped below his left eye. To the mismatched ivory fur that surrounded it. He felt the thing hum when he acknowledged its presence. So he shook his head and ignored the parasite. A frown replaced his glare when he saw the surprise on her. That was new. “When did you find out?” “I’ve known for months!” The fox paused, the lupine’s words catching up to him. “You didn’t know?” Sawyer shook her head and that only made his frown deepen. “How? Aren’t you always watching?” The wolf scoffed while closing her eyes. Rutherford could feel her rolling her eyes. That sparked some annoyance in him.

“Only when trouble finds you, Liraeti. Aside from that, you always stayed where you feel safe.” Her response made him recall all of their encounters. The times when she watched and hinted at possible paths. Or when she was always ready to clash swords, chains, and rods in her case, with him. The words she spoke during an encounter came back to him. “I’m not going to test you in your condition.” The words brought a ringing to his ears. “Why are you testing me?” The wolf hummed, “It’s because of the Parasite, as you eloquently named it.” She continued when he thought he was about to get a deflection.

“Not many get to know about it like you.” Rutherford scoffed. “Well, they know about it. That’s the only reason they keep chasing me.” The wolf made an affirming hum to that. “What does it even do? Besides making my skull its home.” He turned away and towards the exit. Willing the water on his body to stick to him as he did. He twitched an ear to the wolf when she joined his trek. “Many things. Both wonderful and horrid. But that’s up to you.” That was more than what he got through his research. Only vaguer and gave him more questions. But he’ll take it.

“Something like this?” He moved his good arm, opened his palm, and prod his ‘tenant’ slightly. Heat flowed from behind his left eye, down his spine, and to his hand. It felt wrong. The wolf leaned forward to look at the fizzling mana. Much like the gleaming rods she just used, a poor attempt. “Mm, weak replication. You’ll need to work on it even more but good effort, little one.” Now that was a proud tone that he didn’t imagine or ignore. He let the replica fade as they arrived at the entrance. “Who puts a blast door on a greenhouse?” He muttered to himself. “The owner of this one,” Sawyer answered and the door shook with a loud bang. Rutherford flinched away at the clear dent. The wolf looked to the right and over the fox’s head. Something he missed as a few more dents marred the door.

A swift whistle drew his eyes towards the wolf. Only to catch a sidearm thrown his way. A cartridge was kept from properly ejecting by the slide. Sawyer was gone like she always did when someone else was around. His left arm felt numb, so he reached into the air. Made it coil around the empty shell and the slide. And let it manipulate the weapon to clear the jam. Just in time for the door to fall off of its hinges. He aimed at the door, before lowering the gun for the familiar face. “Simone!” The snow leopard rolled her arms and cracked her knuckles. “Gonna feel that t’mrow. But there you are, you fox!” She strolled up and twisted his ear before he could blink. “Runnin off on yer own with gunmen on yer arse. Are ye daft? Did ye wank yer brain away? Go on, answer?”

“I will if you stop trying to pull my ear off!” The fox whined loudly as the leopard gave one last tug. He awkwardly rubbed the abused appendage while holding a gun. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” Simone rolled her eyes, “As if, we’re mages. We can handle some smucks with guns.” “Well, so are they. Some of them never got into a real fight before.” He rolled his eyes when she raised an eyebrow. “Except you. But my point still stands. Besides, I don’t want to drag you into this bullshit.” “Don’t care. Those arsehats are gonna kiss me knuckles for touching me friend.” Simone gestured to all the wounds on Rutherford’s body. A frustrated growl escaped from him. “This is exactly what I’m talking about.”

The duo jumped when the wall to their right crumbled. And two grotesque feral lupines stumbled through the new entrance. Rutherford immediately opened fire when they snarled. The slide locked into place as the fourth bullet fell one of the creatures. The second beast pounced, only for the leopard’s leg to tear the jaws off. She brought that leg down, coiled the other to her chest, and crackling bones were heard as she sent the beast away. The beasts lay still for a moment as their flesh and bones mended. The severed jaw crawled to reattach itself. Simone scrunched her nose at the sight. “Friends of yours?” The water on the fox’s body slithered off. Freezing into a vague sword for the fox and a pair of gauntlets for the leopard. “Never seen them before,” Rutherford answered. The beasts roared, claws scraping the floor as they charged.