Dark Elves and Dark-Elves
Dark Elves and Dark-Elves
“Sigh…” No one looked… “Siiiigh…” And again… no one looked at her… “HELP!!!” The whole group turned around! Callo drew out his weapon, Yuna summoned dark energy and Ledah prepared to shoot fireballs on anyone who dared hopping out of the bushes. Ifrit lay on the ground… the scream had caught him off guard and he had slipped over the wet ground with one of his famous ‘Ifrit-steps’.
“What is wrong!? Where is the enemy!?” Callo whispered, his eyes scanning all over the terrain, spotting every movement of the trees, leafs, branches and grass.
“You didn’t listen!” Ary stated and took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you turn around on my sighes!? Usually you ALWAYS react on them… I’m hungry! I need a break!” The group looked at their youngest member with an expression somewhere between anger, fury, surprise, laughter and agreement.
Callo sighed… the girl was about to drive him into madness one day… his heart nearly stopped beating when he heard the scream just a few seconds ago… “Stop acting like a little kid! This is no field-trip!” He relaxed and put the rapiers back into their hilts. “But I have to agree… we walked a lot today… maybe a break is the right thing.” ‘You killed my nerves… Now I need a break as well…’ Callo mentally giggled at the thought and looked around. “This is a nice place by the way… I think we won’t find a better spot for a rest soon anyway, so let us stay right here…”
Callo was right… it was an open clearing and the bushes were rather small so no larger monster was able to hide him- or herself there… The trees were high enough to spot any kind of movement around them and in the middle of the clearing were a few stones, perfectly to sit on.
“Hey, Ledah. Why don’t you use that fireball and set up our camp?” Callo barked at Ledah. The confused Enwa looked at his hand and the fire playing around between his fingers...
“Oh, right… I totally forgot about the fireball…” He shot them on a branch lying on the ground and set it on fire.
The group settled down and everyone searched through their packs for something to eat. Yuna and Ary shared a sandwich the demoness made during the morning-break, Ifrit offered Ledah some of his pancakes, but he rejected. Callo mumbled on something that looked like a piece of stew… but no one dared asking what it was in fact… How did the tan elf survive that long with this kind of food anyway!?
Ledah nodded his head aside, musing the older man… How little he knew about him…
“Say, Callo…” Ledah received one of Callo’s death glares… well, his fault if he interrupted him while eating… “Sorry... uhm… I just wondered… what… are you anyway?” He rubbed his arm, a little ashamed of the stupid question…
“What do you mean with ‘what’ I am?” Callo’s ears twitched back, making his eyes turning to small slits.
“Uh, well… You… seem to be an elf… but you have tan skin! I never head of elves with tan skin!” Ledah looked aside nervously… ‘Why did I ask anyway!? Stupid, stupid half-breed!’ He mentally slapped himself.
“…” Callo relaxed again… Ary patted Ledah’s shoulder and comforted him a little. Her face showed an expression of deep amusement… She knew way to well what kind of conversation was about to come. “I’m a dark elf. We are not really different than the elves living in the forests… we just prefer dark- and steel-magic over nature- and earth-spells…” A small smile appeared on his lips for a hint of a second.
“Dark-elves? But… aren’t that mixtures of elves and demons? They have white or black skin and silver hair... not gold!” Ledah looked at Callo in disbelief. Ary and Yuna, for some odd reason, started whispering and giggling with each other.
“Not Dark-Elf! Dark Elf!”
“What is the difference!? Dark-Elf and Dark-Elf!? That is the very same!!”
“It is not.”
“It is.”
“It is NOT!”
“But there is no difference!” Ledah tried to dodge a flying dagger but he was pinned to the ground by a second and third one. “NO FAIR!” He tried to free himself to escape from the ‘Dark-Elf’s’ wrath.
“No listen, Half-breed!” Callo stood right in front of his face now. His death glares sent a chill down the young man’s back. “I am a dark elf… dark elf, NOT dark-elf! There is a difference! The dark elves are tan! We have all kinds of hair-colors!” His eyes pierced into Ledah’s eyes with a promise of painful death if he dared calling him dark-elf again… though he still didn’t quite get his problem… Dark-Elf, Dark Elf… he had no clue… Callo sat back on his stone and turned towards the girls who were now laughing out loud leaning on each other. Ifrit laughed with them, even though he had no clue why they were laughing… He was just happy they were happy.
“But that’s just totally un-logical! It is the same name for two totally different races!” Ledah slapped himself mentally again… why did he care anyway!? He shook his head. “Sorry, don’t mind it!” Too late… Callo turned around with lightning speed. His face was now right in front of Ledah’s. He knelt in front of the young man and grabbed the enwa’s shirt.
“For the last time… there is a difference… it is dark elves and it is dark-elves!”
“But-“
“No buts!!”
“May I interrupt you two sweethearts?” Ary managed to speak in between her laughter… she went through this conversation multiple times by now…
Callo turned towards Ary shooting her a death-glare. “S…sweethearts!?” He sounded pained in a weird way. Ledah only looked at the young summoner, thankful… He knew Callo wouldn’t have reacted if Ary wasn’t teasing him.
“Ledah, a different name for dark elves, the kind Callo is, are desert elves. Most of them live in the desert, that is the reason they are called this way… but Callo prefers the Dark Elf variation!” She grinned and patted both men’s shoulders. “Now stop fighting, I need a nap and I can’t sleep with you two guys yelling at each other.”
“… but why don’t you call yourself a desert-elf!? It would be so much easier to understand!” Ledah closed his eyes… what was wrong with him today!? This conversation was going to be suicide if he continued like that!
To everyone’s surprise, Callo let go of Ledah and sat down in front of him. “I left the desert ages ago! I do not intend to ever go back to the colonies and I am one of the only ones living outside… I don’t like the name desert elf cause it remembers me of where I come from. You prefer the name Enwa over the name Half-God as well. It shows you that you are different, but it does not discriminate you in what you are.” Callo nodded his head aside, smiling a little before he stood up again walking towards the trees. “Let us stay here for tonight… I’m kinda beaten. I will hunt us something for dinner.” And before awaiting an answer he went off.
“Wh…what was THAT!? Why didn’t he cook him alive!?” Yuna stared at Ledah in disbelief.
“They are sooooo cute!!” Ary laughed and hold her belly as if it was going to burst. She loved teasing the two boys so much…
“Wow… I never thought of it this way…” Ledah sighed and tried to get up from the ground just to notice he was still pinned to the ground by the daggers. “Uhm… mind anyone helping me?” Ary and Yuna only laughed and turned back to their little game they were playing and Ifrit… well… “Hey bro! Come on! Free me already!?”
“Sorry, Led.” He smiled and joined the girls. “But the girls enjoy seeing you pinned on the ground. I don’t want to make them sad!”
Ledah chuckled… he knew he had lost… but why did he ask anyway…? Maybe he saw Callo much more as a friend than he expected…
Ary, the lil'devil...
Ary, the lil devil…
“Are you sure, he won’t mind it?” The young demoness shook her head in disbelieve. “I know your puppy-eyes work really well on Callo, but THAT!? I doubt he will let you get away with it…” She patted Ary on her back and smiled weakly in sympathy.
“Oh come on, Yuna! It’s not THAT bad…” Ary tried to effort a smile but failed. She knew it was really hard and Callo sure would not be satisfied with it at all…
“Okay, Ary. Wish you good luck! See you tomorrow in school!” Yuna hugged her friend and ran towards her house in the outer area of Wehrheim.
“Hopefully…” Ary sighed and headed home as well.
xxx
“Hey Ary! How was school today? Sorry that I didn’t manage to pick you up from school today…” Callo smiled and threw a new dagger towards Ary. “A little present from my latest job. Want to have it?” Callo awaited a cheerful ‘YES OF COURSE!! THANK YOU!!!’ from his favorite protégé, but the cheerful thanks never came…”Uhm… you alright?” Callo jumped up from his seat rushing towards Ary, checking her for any kinds of injuries, illnesses or whatever might bother the young girl.
“I’m alright, Callo. Thanks for the sweet present.” She tried to smile but again failed.
“Ary, I KNOW something must be wrong! Usually you hop around and glomp me to death if I get you a new weapon! So what is it?!” The tan elf demanded Ary, putting a hand on her shoulder, seeing deep into her emerald green eyes.
Ary looked aside and thought for a few seconds before answering.
“Can you promise me something, Callo?” She looked at him with her giant eyes, sparkling in the soft light of the room. For a 16-year old she knew how to use puppy-eyes pretty well…
“Of course. As long as you tell me what’s wrong with you!” He looked at her worried, prepared for anything… nearly anything…
“Okay, I will tell you what’s wrong but you must promise me NOT to interrupt me until I’m done with talking, okay?” Ary smiled, grabbing Callo’s strong hands, swinging them around as kids used to do with each other.
Callo blushed a little, not sure what to think of this whole situation, but in the end nodded in agreement. “Okay, Ary, now what is it?”
“Okay, where to start best… I met this guy yesterday while you were gone for that new job! He looks so great and he is sooo nice to me. I really really like him! He has those wonderful blue eyes and his brown hair… and that BODY!! He-“
“Ary!?” Callo tried to yell more in shock than mad or angry, he nearly lost his voice.
“Callo!! You promised!!!” She pressed the tall man’s hands and continued. “He asked me if I want to date with him yesterday and I agreed… We met each other yesterday night… it was so wonderful…” Callo grew paler and paler as Ary continued. His usual brown skin seemed to lose all its color and Callo could feel how the thoughts started to spin around in his head. “Well, anyway… so we made… this one thing… you know?” Ary nodded her head aside, blushing. “And today he asked me if I want to marry him! And I said yes!! I like him soooo much! He wants me to move in his house in Nihil! You know? That desert-town you once told me of! And I really can’t wait to get there! I want to see it so badly! Who knows? Maybe we will get children soon! It’s so wonderful!!” Ary grinned brightly.
Callo was beaten… he couldn’t speak a word anymore… he felt as if his feet were going to crack under his weight. The room around them moved in circles around him…
“A…Ary…” He tried to croak more than speaking…He shook his head, trying to regain his thoughts, confidence and anything that just got lost in these 2 minutes… “You CAN’T be serious!!! That’s ridiculous!!!! I won’t let you—“ Suddenly Ary placed her fingers on Callo’s lips, silencing him.
“Was just a joke, Callo. I don’t have a boyfriend! I just got a F in that math-exam today. But you see? It could be much worse!” And with an evil grin Ary left for her room, leaving a shocked and startled desert-elf behind.
A girl-friend for Callo
A girl-friend for Callo?
It was a hot day… The whole group rested in the shade of one of the rare trees on Nihil-Field. The next town was only 10 minutes away, but they just couldn’t afford walking any longer… Ary was hanging somewhere between the branches, asleep already. Ledah used his wings to cool himself. Yuna tried to catch some of the air whirled around by the blood red wings. Ifrit lay in the sun. The sun made him happy, as did the heat. He could feel all the fire-mana within him boiling through his veins and that was a great feeling for the Fire-God. Callo leaned on the tree, his blond hair curling slowly from the sweat and the heat… it was a weird sight to not see his all so smooth hair in such a shape… It was proof enough for all of them that a break was necessary… even though it was only a short way to town.
Suddenly a wave of heat surrounded them… the whole group groaned. In a flash of red, the Great Spirit of Flames appeared in front of them. Flamera looked at the exhausted group in surprise.
“What is wrong?” She stood next to Ledah now, looking down on him with a superior grin. “Is the heat too much for you to take?” Ledah only frowned but didn’t say a word.
“…of ice, I call upon you by our pact! FROSTA!” A yell from above them was heard… then only a giant splash and what was left was a soaked wet Fire-Spirit and a frightened Ifrit. Everyone looked up at Ary with a thankful grin.
“Be gone, Flamera. Last thing we need is your heated aura here. Go back into the desert where you can’t bother anyone!” Callo stood in all his glory now. His hands played with the hilts of his weapons, showing to anyone the he was ready to fight if necessary to get rid of her.
“Pish, you are such a spoil-spot, dark elf! No miracle that you don’t have a girl-friend so far!” And with a ‘Flamm’ she disappeared again.
“Fortunately…” Yuna sighed and hang herself on Ledah again to get more of the air he whirled up with his wings.
“…But isn’t she right?” Ary hopped down from the tree, landing next to Callo, musing him all over. “He is so pretty and still doesn’t have a girl-friend!” She nodded her head aside.
“P…pretty…” Callo looked uncomfortable… He didn’t like the direction this conversation was leading towards…
“Doesn’t make me wonder at all... if he goes to a bar and a girl tries to speak with him, he growls at her and she runs away crying!” Ledah grinned, receiving a smack from the tan man. “Ouch… but honestly… you are over 100 years old and never had a girlfriend!?”
“What about your brother!? He’s five times older than I!” Callo tried to find another person they could tease with this…
“Ifrit is not really what I call… a dream guy. Sorry, no offense, bro.” Ledah looked at Ifrit, blushing deeply.
“Oh don’t worry about it.” He giggled and sat down next to Yuna, now using his wings as well to cool them down. “I know I should act more… adult… to make the girls like me.” He smiled. It was an honest smile: He really didn’t mind it.
“Okay… so back to Callo!” Ledah grinned evilly…
‘His demonic side must be really strong today… he KNOWS what this conversation will lead us to! Such a sadist! Just wait till tonight…’ Callo groaned and turned to avoid them. No way…
“I totally agree with Ledah! You are too handsome to be single! Hey, why don’t we search for a girl-friend for Callo in Nihil?!” Ary grinned brightly and hopped up and down in excitement.
Now the rest of the group seemed to grow all active again as well… The exhaustion vanished a cheerful giggling and chitchatting. They all seemed to be ready to travel on to town!
“Great, let’s go!” Yuna smiled and grabbed Ifrit’s arm. The rest followed them. Callo made his way to Ledah, taking his wrist. Surprised he looked at the elder.
“I promise you this: Tonight will be the worst night in your whole life! I will tell Ary we are going to training and I won’t hold back a bit! You better take as many healing items with you as possible if you want to see the sun rise again!” Callo’s whisper was too silent to be heard by anyone beside Ledah… His death-glare was as cold as ice… somehow it was refreshing for the young Enwa.
“You know, Callo… that’s worth it.” A mean smile appeared all over his face… he looked like a real demon in this particular moment… “Hey Ary!” He ran forward towards the summoner, breaking free from Callo’s grip. Today Ledah was the winner… question was who it would be tonight…
___
“No… her hair is all black… looks weird next to Callo…” Ifrit really had a talent in picking handsome girls for Callo… anyone stared at him in surprise… But he was always right! He selected the best matches for the tan man with incredible effectiveness. “Look at this girl. She COULD be perfect, but if you take a look at her hand, she wears a ring, so she is taken already… too bad… But the woman over there is cute! Her brown hair and middle-tan-skin matches perfectly!” Ary and Yuna stood by Ifrit’s side, musing his targets. It was a great choice indeed!
“Okay, I’m going to ask her!” Yuna laughed and ran towards the woman. “Excuse me, Miss! May I ask you something?” She smiled in a sweet innocent way at the older woman… she was probably 30 years old, human,…
“Of course, young Lady. What can I do for you?” She smiled.
“Please take a look at the man standing over there!” She pointed at Callo who snarled annoyed… this was already the 7th woman they tried to couple him with today… “Don’t you think he looks… handsome, pretty and really sexy?” She grinned and turned back to the woman. Ledah stood a little away from them all, holding his belly in hard laughter.
“Oh yes, he looks great.” The woman stared at the tan elf in awe and fascination.
“Then this is your lucky day! We are searching a girlfriend for him!”
“What? Oh, fantastic! I was looking for a boyfriend right now anyway! He’s such a cutie!” The woman’s eyes seemed to bore into a now blushing Callo. Even his best death-glare didn’t manage to frighten the human, she already had a total crush on him… “Oh, that must be my lucky day!” She giggled in a shrilling high voice. Her giggle was so hysterical… Ary joined them.
“Uhm, sorry to interrupt. I listened to what you said just now… and as a friend of this man let me tell you: He is gay… sorry!” She grabbed Yuna and staggered her away from the now beaten woman… “Are you crazy!? That woman laughs like a hyena!!! I can’t stand this shrill hyper-voice the whole journey long!!” She whispered into Yuna’s ear.
Callo…who’s keen ears helped him to hear the whole conversation was now just as beaten as the woman they left behind… “Can’t we just go back to the Inn now?” He groaned and pressed the hilt of one of his rapiers to calm himself…
“Sigh… alright… maybe we will have to search in a different town for a girlfriend for you… It doesn’t seems as if there are any handsome women matching with you left…” Ary yawned, now feeling her sleepiness again. “Let’s go…” They picked up Ledah who was leaning against the wall of a house to not fall to the ground laughing. They needed a couple of minutes and a Frosta-shower to calm him down again… However it didn’t take very long for Callo to show Ledah that he didn’t forget what was going to await him tonight… With a single glare, he remembered again… Ledah only gulped… but as he said before: It was really worth it…
Twisted World
Twisted World Part 1
“Ary! Watch out!!” Ledah jumped in front of the young summoner to shield her from a blow of the mighty monster they were just fighting against. He blocked the hit but was sent back flying against the young girl.
“Bro!” Ifrit was shouting but he had enough work to do by dodging… well… tripping would be a better word… the attacks of the giant manticor’s tail.
“Take that you stupid old—Ouch!” Yuna was sent back flying against a tree by the wing of the monster. Ary and Ledah seemed out cold as well…
“Ifrit!” Callo jumped over to the magician just in time to prevent him from being pierced through by the monster’s tail.
“We… can’t beat that thing…” Ifrit whispered, shivering while trying to gain some distance between himself and the pointed tail that was now stuck in the ground. The manticor did his best to release it though.
“We can!” Callo opened his arms and starting a chant. “Oh, daughter of Luna, servant of darkness…” The Mana of Callo’s body seemed to float all around the air as he prepared the spell.
“Great idea! I know a might light-spell!” Ifrit started chanting as well… white Mana streamed out of him like a river.
From afar, Ary slowly rose from the ground, still dizzy.
“Ouch…” She held the spot on her head Ledah had been flying against and tried to locate the monster. She spotted Callo and Ifrit…
“Huh?! No guys! Wait! You mustn’t use darkness and light at the same time! That will nullify-!!” Too late…
A giant beam of light and a dark twister appeared around the manticor. Ary could only hear a painful roar and two screams while the light of Ifrit’s spell illuminated her.
“Callo! Ifrit!” The young summoner shouted as the vision turned clear around her again. Ledah slowly tried to stand up as well… Somehow he felt all dizzy… He took a look around. His breath stopped for a second as he saw the motionless body of his brother lying on the ground. Callo laid right next to him, seemingly dead as well.
“No!” He jumped up, running towards them. “Please be alive, please be alive!” He whispered under his breath as he tried to find Ifrit’s pulse…
Budumm… Budumm… Budumm…
“What a luck…” Ary sighed and fell back on the ground, relieved. Yuna ran up to them now as well. “They are alive… But we can’t just leave them here!” She took a look at the manticor’s dead body… it seemed to turn to dust… as if it had aged a thousand years in only a short moment. “An absolute no-go…” Ary sighed and looked at Callo.
“Hm?” Ledah and Yuna shot her a confused glare.
“Callo had always told me to never ever trying to use light- and darkness-magic at the same time. But guess he did not see Ifrit’s spell while he was chanting… Anyway, let’s get them out of here!” She nodded towards Yuna who helped her carrying Callo by taking his one arm. Ary carried him by his other arm. Ledah took care of Ifrit. They hurried back to where they knew a town was supposed to be…
“Ugh…” Callo slowly moved around in his bed… He rubbed his chest sleepy while trying to open his eyes slowly… He was just too fatigue… What had happened anyway? There was… wait… there was this fight… and the others were all out cold except of that useless God and… then he summoned Shade’s Mana within him… Hm… but why had he lost consciousness? Had the manticor hit him? Maybe he was poisoned… But he felt okay! Weird enough… he felt awesome! Somehow so… light and full of energy even though he was all tired…
He slowly moved his fingers through his long blonde hair as…
‘Where did my hair go!?’ He tried to find his long golden hair, but it was no where until… ‘Ah… there it is…’ He found a little pony-tail instead… but that was still not as much hair as he was used to at all! Maybe the manticor had hit him and cut his hair in the process… He prayed the monster had died with as much pain as possible… “This was the work of thirty years letting them grow… all gone…” His voice was weirdly high this morning… He shook his head and lowered his head into his hands frustrated… While he was sitting there… he took a look at his hands again… What was THAT!? He… was not tan anymore!! And this room… why laid his mattress on the ground!? They usually only did this for Ifrit so he did not fall from the bed every morning!
*Klong* “Ouch!” Callo turned around. From another room he had heard a weird yet well-known sound… And that voice… that was HIS voice!
“Ifrit!” Callo jumped up from the bed and ran towards the door. He took a short look down on himself… a red shirt and white trousers! No doubt-those were Ifrit’s cloths! He pushed open the door and ran towards the room he had heard his voice coming from. He pushed the door open and ran in.
“Oh, morning Ifrit!” Ary smiled at him and… just helped up someone that looked like… Callo!
“Ouchy, ouchy, ouch…” The tan man slowly stood up and rubbed his head, sending the long blond hair flying wildly around, ending in a complete mess. It was such a weird sight…
“Uhm… Ary… would you mind, leaving us alone for a second, please?” Ifrit… err, Callo? WHOEVER the guy that looked like Ifrit tried to speak in a sweet voice, that made it sound all the more weird… Ary just gave him a strange look and shook her head in disbelief…
“Well, sure thing!” She said chuckling and left the room, shooting one last glare at the sleep-dazed elder with the messy long hair…
The man that looked like Callo turned around to see who had entered the room and… fell back in shock, tripping over his own long dark-grey jeans.
“Uah!! A clone!!” He shouted while pointing at the freckled blonde boy… “Wait… what happened with my voice!? And my skin!!” He glared at his arms and down his chest… “Wow, damn I look hot!” He chuckled and received a death-glare from Ifirt…
“So I guess… you are Ifrit then?” The pale man knelt down in front of his darker self and eyed the man lying in front of him.
“C… Callo, is that you?” Ifrit, trapped in Callo’s body looked at his companion in shock and blinked in surprise. “Does that mean… I am you?” He took the little necklace hanging down his neck and eyed it curiously.
“Hey, don’t touch that, that’s fragile!” Callo –in Ifrit’s body- slapped it out of the other man’s hand and shot him a deathglare.
“Wow, I should really stop eating all that sweet stuff before going to bed… My face is all round!” Ifrit chuckled while still lying on the ground. Callo only shook his head frustrated and looked at the mirror hanging on the wall. He really looked exactly like Ifrit… but how did that happen?!
“I wonder how this happened!” Ifrit chuckled and tried to get up. “Wow, the world looks so different if you are 10 cm taller than before!”
“Yeah… and I feel… so short…” Callo shook his head and kept staring at the mirror in disbelief. “And so weak… honestly boy, you need some serious training! This body is so… slow! No reflexes, no… no anything! You are like an incarnation of fluff and uselessness!”
“Mind f I correct you, dork?” Ifrit tried to imitate Callo’s death-glare, failing completely. “YOU are the incarnation of fluff and uselessness right now! I feel awesome!! Haha!” He jumped up and down with ease… tripping over his jeans again… “Ouch! Why does this hurt so much more here than in my body!?” He nyorned… Callo looked at his precious body and sighed frustrated.
“Would you mind not breaking all my bones?! I need all my flexibility and… wait a second…” He looked at his back… There were… muscles… he could feel it… but how to use them? “Urg…” He tried his best the press them as hard as he could as suddenly. “Woah!!” He fell forward as two mighty white wings came out of his back, crushing full-speed against the wall. “… Hey, you are right… tripping doesn’t hurt at all in your body…” He rose from the ground slowly, patting the dust off of himself. The wings seemed so light… He did barely feel that they were out even! He concentrated and tried to find out which muscles it needed to move them…
*flap* *flap*
Slowly he got a hang on them.
“Wow, you learn really fast!” Ifrit clapped his hands and smiled his usual bright grin.
“Would you mind stopping that? On my body that looked even more ridiculous than on your own…” Callo barked while trying to lift himself off of the ground.
“Hmpf…” At least Ifrit’s protest resembled Callo’s typical bad-mood-face…
“No one is supposed to find this out, alright?” Callo shot a glare at Ifrit from midair as he slowly flapped up and down. He really learned fast…
“Oky~~~” The other man grinned with glee and jumped up from the ground.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door…
“Hey, Callo, are you alright? May I come in?” Ledah’s voice echoed through the door.
“Yes, come in!” Callo – in Ifrit’s body…- shouted towards the door in reflex. He slapped his hand against his face and shook his head… he was Ifrit now… Ifrit! I-F-R-I-T! Ifrit!
“Oh, hey bro!” Ledah opened the door and smiled warmly towards what he thought his brother was.
“Hey b—mmmmh!” Ifrit looked up at his other self that was covering his mouth hesitatingly.
“Uhm… H… Hi, little bro! How are you this wonderful sweet morning?” Callo couldn’t think of anything typically Ifrit-ish right now… besides… “Uah!” He let himself falling forward, tripping seemingly, and landing flat on the ground… Tada-an Ifrit-step…?
“Oh Callo! Why didn’t you catch him!?” Ledah ran up to Ifrit, helping him up slowly. “That was a weird trip… you sure you are alright? Didn’t… really look like you at all…”
“I’m fine, I’m fine…” Callo barked, visibly hurt that his Ifrit-Step was not as good as the original.
“Are… you sure?” Ledah looked deep into his eyes, concerned. “You seem… just totally different this morning… And after that incidence yesterday… well… Maybe you are not as alright as you think!” Man, that boy knew his brother really well…
“No, I’m fine, really!!” Callo hesitated before pushing the Enwa out of the room. “You know what? I’m hungry! Why don’t you tell Ary to cook us something nice?” Ledah nodded a little confused about the harsh way his bro had sent him out of the room, but then walked down towards the kitchen.
“That was soooooo mean!!” Ifrit stood on the wall, tears in his eyes… “Why did you push him out!? He was just worried!!” He sniffed… Callo looked at his body in concern… He just prayed no one would see his body in this condition… it just looked so… unnatural!!
“Okay, Ifrit… some little rules to make this easier for us all… You are Callo Moerbin from now on! This means… You chase Ledah away from Ary if he comes to close to her, you go training every day, you won’t eat any sweet stuff and … for goodness sake… STOP GRINNING SO DUMBLY!!!” He shouted frustrated as Ifrit smiled at him with his usual Ifrit-smile.
“Okay, okay… So this means I have to be in a bad mood the whole day?” Ifrit whimpered.
“Bad mood!? I’m not in a bad mood all the day!” Callo replied confused. “Not at all!”
“And what is that?” Ifrit made an angry face… now he really looked a lot like Callo…
“Wow… uhm… well…” Callo was not sure what to say… “And… guess I… have to be in this cheering dumb mood all the time…” He tried to counter, but… man, his brain seemed so slow!
“Now, first of all, we should dress like always, right?” Ifrit tried to stay serious… a hard job for him…
“Correct. So why don’t we start with that golden fluff-ball on your head? Give me the brush… I will help you…” Callo sighed and tried to get his original hair back in order… Ifrit searched through Callo’s bags in the meantime for a set of fresh cloths.
“Hm… maybe I should do the woman-world a favor and just stay shirtless today?” Ifrit chuckled but was interrupted by Callo who stoke the brush down his new hair with such a speed all of a sudden, that he had the feeling his head was falling off every second… “Okayokayokay!! Got it!!Got it!!”
“Hmpf!” Callo replied and looked for a gummy to make it easier for the other man… in the end, maybe Ifrit tripped over his hair!? No way… not his precious long hair…
“Oh good morning, guys!” Yuna clapped her hands together with glee as she saw the two men coming down the stairs. “We were so worried when you were out cold!” She smiled and hopped up to who she thought Ifrit was. She hugged him in her usual playful manner.
“D… don’t bite him, okay?” Ifrit-in Callo’s body- looked at the demoness nervously.
“?? I don’t bite him… very often…” She giggled and looked at the nervous man she had just glomped.
“Get off, Yuna… If you dare biting me, I swear I will—“
“Wow, If, you sound like Callo today!” She chuckled and let him go. “Don’t dare, making poor Ifrit the same way you are, got me, Callo?” She barked at the startled tan man in front of her before walking off to the dining-room. As she already passed the door-frame she turned again. “Before I forget… We are in the house of a friend of mine… She’s not at home this week but she allowed us to stay in her place as long as we want. So don’t break anything, Ifrit, okay?” Yuna chuckled and walked on.
“…” Callo looked at his other self. “If you break something by accident and there are no other witnesses… tell them I was!”
“Who you? You or I?”
“What?” Callo looked at Ifrit in confusion. “It was me!”
“So it was Callo?”
“No it was Ifrit, you dork!”
“But that’s me, not you!” Ifrit played around with the long golden hair hanging down his back, seemingly uninterested in whatever their conversation was about…
“This is going to be the worst day of my life…” Callo shook his head and went to the dining-room…
In the room, Ledah was sitting on the table already, drinking a cup of hot chocolate while reading the newspaper. Yuna counted her Gar-coins while chewing on some pan-cakes and Ary ran around in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled awesomely delicious…
“Leeeedah!” Ifrit, still trapped in Callo’s body, hopped up to his brother, sitting down next to him, staring over his shoulder into the newspaper.
“… you… you alright, Callo… If you want the newspaper, just tell me, okay?” Ledah moved his chair away from the desert-elf nervously and in disbelief… “Or did I do something wrong again!? I swear I didn’t touch Ary while you were out cold!!” He moved another inch away from the confused and now sad older man…
“Hmpf!” Callo replied from behind Ledah, snapping the newspaper out of his hand.
“Ifrit?!” Ledah looked up at what looked like his brother… but that definitely was not his brother. “Okay, who are you and what did you do to Ifrit?!” He jumped up, summoning his flame-sword.
“Uhm, What are you talking about, lil’bro?” Callo tried a sweet honey-drenched voice… He was never good in such stuff…
“What are you talking about, Ledah? Put down your weapon or I will force you to take it down!” Ifrit, in Callo’s body, barked from his chair, his ears moving up and down in high-speed.
Callo nervously pointed at his ears to tell Ifrit to stop flapping with his ears so much… a sign the God did not seem to understand.
“…” Ledah pulled down his weapon and sat down again, drinking the rest of his cup. “Sorry, Ifrit… I just… thought…”
“Don’t worry about it!” Callo waved with his hand and tried to smile cheerfully. Something on his back moved… Oh no! He had his wings still out!
“Hey, Ifrit! You better hide your wings! We don’t mind them, but what if someone else sees them?” Ary came out of the kitchen a pan with vegetables, eggs, ham and noodles in hands.
“Ah… yeah… of course!” Callo tried to remember how it felt when the wings had been in… but it didn’t work! How did the God usually make his wings disappear!? “Maybe I better keep them out! I… feel a little dizzy and they help me keeping my balance!” Callo tried to think of a good reason to not hide his wings… and this seemed like a nice one!
“Led? Do we still have some more of that chocolate-milk-stuff?” Ifrit asked cheerfully while leaning back- and forward on his chair.
*CLANG*CLIRR*
Ary had accidentally dropped her pan while Ledah had dropped his cup all of a sudden.
They just stared at the other two men while Yuna complained about the mess on the ground.
“I… Ifrit, is that… you!?” He pointed at Callo’s body and looked deep into these brown eyes… “Yeah, that’s you for sure!”
“And this is Callo!” Ary ran up to what looked like Ifrit and hugged him tightly.
“How… did you figure that out?” Callo looked at his protégée with a mixture of pride and confusion.
“You hate chocolate-milk!” Ary and Ledah replied in the very same second. Yuna only sat there and shook her head.
“If you are playing tricks on me, forget about it!” She hopped up from her seat, running towards Callo. “Stand up and clean that mess!” She demanded in a rough tone.
“Oky~” Ifrit grinned and jumped up, running towards the kitchen.
“You… are right…” Yuna sweatdropped and sank back on the ground…
“How did that happen!?” Ledah barked at his brother before slapping the hands over his mouth. “S… sorry, Callo… old habbit!” He stepped back a little before looking at the tan man that was cleaning the ground right now. “Ifrit, how did that happen!?”
“Uhm… dunno, I fell out of my bed this morning and then I was him!” Ifrit scratched his cheek and sat down on the ground, thinking… right into the mess of vegetables and noodeles he had just tried to clean.
“Gra! Ifrit, watch out! Those are my favorite trousers!!” Callo walked forward, pulling his body up from the ground.
“Whoops… sorry…” He replied, nervously.
Yuna rolled on the ground by now, laughing so hard, she had tears in her eyes. Ary had to chuckle hardly as well, but she restrained herself… Ledah didn’t think of the whole situation as funny at all! But the sight of Callo tripping again and again on their breakfast on the ground made him bite his lip in amusement.
“I have a theory there…” Ary interrupted all of a sudden.” Everyone turned towards her. “Back when we fought that manticor… Callo used dark Mana. At the same time, Ifrit had used a light-spell. Usually light and darkness erase each other but both attacks hit the manticor with brute force… They should have just neutralized each other instead… Maybe the flow-back of Mana from the attack that returned to your bodies was corrupted in so floated into the wrong body instead of its original user…” Ary smiled and looked at the others.
“Uhm.. would you mind explaining that for me again?” Ifrit chuckled nervously while hanging in Callo’s-err- his arms to not trip again…
“Okay, but just because you look soooooo sweet when you are clueless, Callo” Ary chuckled and received a death-glare from the real Callo who was holding his precious that –by now- was covered with bruises… “I will paint you a picture, Ifrit. Your Mana are sweet little white sheep, while Callo’s Mana are mean old goats!” She received another deathglare. “Now all of your sheep and Callo’s goats meet on a field and get all mixed and confused… and instead of returning to their own stable, all sheep go to the goats stable and all goats go to the sheep-stable.” She grinned. Ledah and Yuna could barely hold back an outburst of laughter at that one…
“Oh, now I got it!” Ifrit nodded eagerly, punching Callo against his chest by accident. “Ups, sorry!”
“My poor head…” Callo shook his head in frustration and let the elf in his arms fall down… There was nothing to save anymore anyway…
“But… h… how can we… turn them back?” Ledah had a hard time, speaking while holding his belly. He really wanted his older brother back to normal, but seeing Callo like this was just too awesome!
“That’s the big question…” Ary scratched the back of her head in thoughts…
“Why don’t we send all the sheep and goats back on the field, hoping they find their right stable this time?” Yuna bit her lip and looked from Callo to Ifrit in amusement.
“That won’t work…” Callo shook his head and leaned against the wall. “It is a miracle we didn’t erase each other’s Mana the first time… I guess there is a chance of 0,0001% that this is going to happen again…”
“I don’t get it again…” Ifrit complained and looked at Ary and Ledah, searching for help.
“Oh bro…” Ledah shook his head. “Think of Callo’s Mana as wolves instead of goats!”
“I like wolves!” Ifrit nodded happily.
“Those wolves usually eat all your sheep! It was a miracle they didn’t do that before!” The enwa completed.
“Oh… I don’t like wolves anymore…” Ifrit moved a few steps away from Callo just in case…
“Okay, I got an idea! Everyone thinks of a way to get them back to normal and in half an hour we will meet again and then try out one way after another!!” Yuna hopped up and down, prepared for the fun. Ary nodded amused… Somehow Ledah and Callo both doubted that they were really serious about that…
“Whee! Awesome idea!” Ifrit grinned and stood up. “Meet you in half an hour!” He smiled and ran back to his room. The others just watched him as he ran back. A loud ‘klonk’ was heard from the stiars, followed by an “Ouch!”
The rest of the group kept staring at each other…
“Very well… let’s hope we find a way to get back to normal before that boy breaks all my bones…” Callo moved out of the dining-room, followed by the others.
Twisted worlds Part 2
“You are kidding…” Callo, still stuck in Ifrit’s body, looked at the small box in front of him… “This is no game, guys…”
“I think it looks like fun!” Ifrit clapped his now tan hands and rushed forward to the box with the suggestions of their companions, how to get them back into their right bodies…
“Sigh…” Callo shook his head, missing the feeling of his long hair, whirling all over his back… He walked forward, towards the box. He was too focused on the box to see the chair in front of him… “Uah!” Callo managed to catch his balance with ease, but suddenly someone was grabbing his arm, pulling him right backward and he landed right in Ledah’s grip. “If you don’t let go of me, I swear by—“
“O- oh! Sorry!” Ledah dropped the body of his brother, sweatdropping. “Old habbit…”
“Yeah, bro always catches me when I fa-AAAAAAH!” With a loud crack, Ifrit landed right on the table, sending the message-box flying through the room. Ledah only blinked and tried to suppress his laughter… “Why didn’t you catch me, Led!?” The whiny face of Callo looked up at his brother, hurt. That was too much. Ledah bursted out in laughter, receiving a smack from the real Callo, or at least the one in his brother’s body…
“Guys, you are really acting like kids right now…” Yuna chuckled and knelt down to grab the suggestion-notes again. “Alright, who of you two guys wants to take the first note?” She grinned evilly. Ifrit and Callo both gulped at her mean face…
“Somehow I have the feeling as if this has nothing to do with helping us anymore…” Callo tried to catch Ary’s gaze. But her grin was even worse than her friend’s…
“Oh we thought about ways to help you… but this doesn’t mean it is not going to be fun!” Ary giggled and played with her hair.
“Ary…” Callo bit his lip in foresight while Ifrit smiled like a total fool, and this with Callo’s face, what made Ledah laugh even harder.
“S… Sorry,… guys…” Ledah held his belly as he tried to sit down to keep his balance and not falling forward on the ground.
“Ugh… just give me the stupid box!” Callo ripped the box out of Yuna’s hands and took a small white note. He unfolded it and started reading. “Unleashing Mana and then running with high-speed against each other.” Callo blinked, unsure if he should take this as a joke or killing Yuna right away. “That’s your handwriting, isn’t it?” He grid his teeth, deathglaring the young demoness, but with the freckled round face and the soft blue eyes, this was as useless as throwing feathers against glass to break it…
“Aaaaaand?” She chuckled, folding her hands on her lab. “Alright, shall we try it?” She looked over at Ledah who was deathglaring her right now as well. “Oh don’t look at me like that, Ledah! I won’t hurt your big sweet baby-bro!” She laughed and patted the angry enwa.
“I hope we get Ledah’s suggestion next…” Callo sighed and went outside together with the others.
“Alright… ready guys?” Ary waved with a flag to start the… game? Fun? They didn’t care but it was hilarious! Callo and Ifrit ran towards each other with all force and speed and even though Ifrit had a hard time not to trip in Callo’s body, they crushed against each other. Ifrit ran right over Callo, sending him back flying and rolling backwards all over the ground.
“Ouch…” Callo tried to get off of the ground… His, no, Ifrit’s body was aching… “Didn’t work…” He shook his head, regaining his balance. “Please tell me you don’t want to try this a fourth time…” Callo was desperate by now. Not even his deathglares wanted to work anymore… Ifrit’s whiny attitude seemed to slowly get on him!
“Awww…” Yuna and Ary looked at each other, but they decided to show mercy… “Alright, next one!” Ary clapped her hands and threw the box at Ifrit.
“Ui, my turn?” He hopped up and down in excitement, flapping with the long tan ears. Callo buried his face in his hands, praying this nightmare was about to end soon…
“And?” Ledah smiled and watched his brother, taking a note.
“That’s from me!” Ifrit smiled. “Look!” He pointed at his own note. Callo grabbed it and took a look at it, growing paler and paler.
“Let’s jump into fire. A firegod won’t get hurt…” Ary read the lines while looking over her guardian’s shoulder…
“A firegod won’t get hurt… but what about me!?” Callo took all his effort together to send a deathglare at Ifrit, and even with the soft face he had right now, he managed to make it nearly as good as with his usual body.
“Okay, guess that really is a stupid idea…” Yuna bit her lip, looking at Callo innocently.
“Next one!” Ary smiled and took another one out. “Oh, I got Callo’s!” At least some good news for the poor tan elf…
“Let me see.” Ledah took the note, reading it carefully. “That might work.” He nodded and looked over at his brother who had problems standing up after a trip. “Ifrit, stepp off of Callo’s hair or you will trip again.”
“Alright…” Ifrit slowly stepped aside, standing off of the long golden mass of hair. Callo bit his lip so hard now it started bleeding.
“Relax, Callo.” Ary laughed and patted the poor man…
“Are you prepared?” Ary grinned and waved with her flag again. Both men started running, but this time, next to each other. Ifrit had to carry some back-packs to get exhausted faster… at least he was stuck in Callo’s well-trained body right now… Ledah, in the meantime, flew next to them, checking on their status all the time. If Ifrit grew exhausted too fast, he lightened the packs and vice versa. They tried to get them totally exhausted in the very same second, so their Mana might return to the weakened body.
“How are you doing?” Ledah asked while flying next to Callo.
“As… soon… as I… am back to… my body…” He gasped with every step. “I will… send this dork to a strict diet!”
“Huh?” Ifrit ran with ease next to Callo, even though he carried about 30 kilo by now. “No wayyy! I want sweets!”
“…” Callo nearly broke down exhausted by now…
“Alright, If… Run a little faster the next round, alright? Callo will make a break.” Ledah stopped flying, landing right next to them. Ifrit looked at his bro a little hurt that he was sent away… but he continued running.
“Thanks…” Callo had to lie down on the ground to not collapse.
“I hope this is a lesson to you.” Ledah tried to imitate Callo’s deathglare. “We are not as good in such things as you, so a break every once in a while during our journey is really okay.” He grinned.
“Shut it…” Callo chuckled and tried to get up again. He could already hear Ifrit’s trips from behind him, so he was close already. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all…” He sighed and ran on again.
After half an hour -and 3 breaks for Callo later- both men were totally exhausted… Much to Callo’s disappointment though it just didn’t work! They were still stuck in each other’s bodies…
“I guess the main-idea of this was not bad…” Ledah shook his head. “But Mana is recovered by the body not the soul…” He sat down next to his brother, patting his shoulder.
“If you don’t take off your hands-“ Callo growled at Ledah. The enwa took off his hand in highspeed, his face blushing deeply.
“Sorry, I… I just can’t seem to get this into my head… I keep mixing you! Sorry!” He spoke with such a speed, Callo was surprised that he actually understood what the younger man had said.
“So, next note~” Ary ran up to the two men with the message-box in hands. Much to Callo’s surprise, there was only one single note left. He took it out and opened it. This was Ary’s hand-writing.
“Haven’t you… wrote one as well?” The elder gave Ledah a confused look. “Please, I thought at least one person who doesn’t take this as a game!”
“I just couldn’t think of anything… Sorry…” Ledah waved with his hands in front of his body in apology while leaning forward carefully to see what was written on it. “Just let it stay as it is, we are going to get used to it.”
“Are you kidding!?” Callo grew really pale right now. His head was so white, the freckles on his face seemed really unnatural! Ledah couldn’t believe his eyes. Callo seemed really hurt right now. Ifrit would have cried in such a situation and as it seemed, Callo slowly got affected by Ifrit’s attitude… He had a really hard time holding back his feelings. Ledah felt sorry for him right now…
“We should go to bed now… everyone.” The enwa stood up, trying to change the subject as fast as possible. “Tomorrow we can think a little clearer. Let’s sleep this all over again.”
“Alright.” Ary yawned and offered Callo her hand. The elder just looked away though, ignoring his protégée’s gesture. “…” Ary shook her head and walked back home.
“…” Callo bit his lip with all force. Blood ran down his chin but he didn’t even seem to notice. He was too deep in thought…
“I will go back now as well… but if you want to talk…” Ledah didn’t really feel comfortable in his skin right now… He wished he could just switch body with Yuna right now!
“It is alright… Please just leave me alone for a while…” The freckled man tried to hide his face with his golden hair, but Ledah could see how hurt he was in fact.
“Alright, wish you a good night…” Ledah sighed and headed off.
Callo returned in the early morning. He had been wandering around the whole night, thinking about the happenings of the previous day…
It was still cold and the soft mist of the morning covered the fields. Callo didn’t seem to feel the cold in Ifrit’s body though… whenever he had the feeling the temperature was about to get on him, his body had turned warm all by its own again. He missed the feeling of cold… It had given him the feeling of still being himself… but without being able to even feel heat or cold anymore, he really started feeling uncomfortable… And then Ary’s reaction yesterday… It made him insane… How did she dare telling him that she was going to get used to it!?
Sighing, he opened the door to the house, stepping in carefully to not wake up anyone. After walking up the stairs and entering his room, he fell on his bed. He was so mad he couldn’t even think clearly! And this loss of self-control worried him even more.
Something was wrong with his pillow… something hard was between him and the soft fabric that kept bothering him. He turned his head, seeing a piece of paper lying under him. He took it out and kept staring at it. It was a letter…
“If you want to apology, it is a little late, Ary…” Callo muttered to himself before opening it carefully. As he took a first look on it he recognized the young summoner’s handwriting right away.
‘Dear Callo, I am sorry that you feel mad on me, but—‘
*BANG*
The door to his room cracked open with such a speed, Callo nearly fell off his bed in shock. In the door-frame he saw his body, pale as a ghost. With a letter in hands. Ifrit seemed totally shocked, confused and frightened at the same time.
“Wh—what is wrong, Ifrit?” The elder asked while picking himself up from the bed.
“Did you receive this letter too?!” Ifrit seemed really short to tears right now. Callo felt really uncomfortable…
“Y… yeah, I was just about to read it.” He tried to smile to lighten the situation a little, but Ifrit’s face-expression didn’t really make it any better right now… “Wait a second!”
He took the piece of paper and started reading it.
‘Dear Callo, I am sorry that you feel mad on me, but I think you got me wrong before. I wasn’t talking about that I don’t mind you staying like this. I just wanted to tell you, that you are still the same person and I like you for who you are, not what you are. Ledah and I will go back to the forest, searching for a way to get you back into your bodies. If I remember correctly manticor-poison can regulate Mana, so maybe if we gain some of it, we can cure you and Ifrit. Please don’t worry about us, we will be back in no time! Regards, Ary.’
Now, Callo was just as pale as Ifrit as well…
“Ledah wrote me nearly the same! He said that he can’t stand seeing me like this and that they will pick up the poison from a manticor to try to get us back to normal!” His hands gesticulated wildly while he stepped closer to Callo. “We had so much trouble beating the first manticor! How are they supposed to get the poison of one when they are only the two of them!?”
“We gotta get them!” Callo gasped and jumped off the bed, running to Yuna’s room. The demoness was still asleep and looked rather shocked as Callo threw her out of the bed.
“UAH!!! ARY!!! YOUR MAD FRIEND WANTS TO KILL ME!!!” The demoness started screaming.
“Yuna! Did you know something about this!? I swear… If you did, I will—Gra, it will be the most painful death you can imagine!!” Much to Yuna’s shock and surprise, it wasn’t Callo who was speaking… at least not Callo himself but Ifrit in Callo’s body… It really seemed as if they slowly started growing into each other’s attitudes… Ifrit waved with a piece of paper in front of her face.
“N-no I didn’t!!” The demoness robbed backwards, trying to get away from the over-protective hyper brother… It was weird how much Ifrit changed when his brother was in danger…
“Alright… You stay here just in case they come back!” Callo snapped, grabbing Ifrit’s hand, running back towards where they had first met the manticor the other day.
“Ugh… Are you sure this is going to work, Ledah?” Ary rubbed the back of her head while following the enwa into the deep woods.
“Do we have another choice?” Ledah grid his teeth nervously. The stunt they were planning was really dangerous and if only one thing didn’t turn out as planned, they would both meet their parents in the after-world much earlier than they had hoped for…
“Okay, okay, I got you… But… what when they won’t notice our notes?” The young girl rubbed her arms. It was still rather cold in the woods and she started shivering…
“Here, take this…” Ledah offered her his coat while still concentrating on the surroundings. “They will notice, don’t worry…”
“…” Ary shook her head, taking Ledah’s arm to secure herself a little. “We are risking more than a few broken bones here, you know?”
“Yes, but… I just can’t stand seeing Ifrit and Callo like this anymore. I have to do something!” He leaned against Ary a little while they walked on. “Come on. It is not far anymore until the manticor nest the Inn-keeper told us about!”
“Ary!? Ledah!” Callo ran on through the woods, trying to find his protégée. “Ledah! I swear!! If I get you between my fingers, you are DEAD!”
“Bro? Little bro!! Please come ouuuut!” Ifrit tripped every once in a while, picking himself up as fast as possible again to search on.
“I can’t believe they are actually doing this!” Callo growled. Suddenly he interrupted his running though… “Ifrit! Look!”
“Hm?” Ifrit’s mood lightened all of a sudden as he saw the fresh foodsteps in the soft grass. Two persons have been walking here not too long ago. The size was about the same as Ary’s and Ledah’s feet as well.
“We are not more than 10 minutes away from them!” With a satisfied grin, Callo ran on after the trace.
“Alright. Here we are.” Ledah gulped in front of a giant cave-entrance. “How far until they are here?”
“Not more than 7 minutes.” Ary nodded and prepared her spell.
“Alright… time for action.” Ledah bit his lip while forming a fireball in his hand. He shot the flames right into the cave, burning it from the inside.
Two loud yells were heard from inside… Ary’s heart started beating faster and faster as the heads of two full-grown manticors slowly started becoming visible in the dark cave. They stepped out their resting-place, eyeing the two intruders angrily.
“Ary, somehow I don’t think this was a very good idea anymore…”
“Me neither, but it can’t be helped now!” Ary’s voice was cracking in fear as she summoned Frosta in her weapon-shape. Ledah only gulped, taking out his flame-sword, ready to break some bones… or get some broken bones which seemed rather more likely right now…
The manticors didn’t wait any longer. They rushed forward, attacking the two persons daring to enter their realm. The two lion-like creatures attacked rather coordinated for monsters. They actually managed after only a few seconds to split Ary and Ledah up, so they stood all alone against the beasts.
“Ledah!” Ary screamed as she saw the manticor attacking the enwa using its pointed tail to kill the young man on the spot. But Ledah was faster, spreading his wings to fly away in time. Ary didn’t have wings, so she knew, she should better concentrate on herself if she didn’t want to end up as manticor-food!
“Ary! I will give you some time for summoning!” The blonde man suddenly shouted from above, landing right on Ary’s manticore’s head. “Come on! Time for some riding!” The monsters seemed to get more and more into a fury right now, trying to get on Ledah with both their teeth and tails.
“I call upon the burning fire, the red maiden, the flame-seeker. I summon the might of the flame, the light of pyre, the dark flames of hell… I demand your might by our divine pact! Flamera!” Ary chanted as fast as she could afford, seeing as Ledah was in a really tricky situation. “Fireburst!”
The flames hit the manticors bull’s eye, but Ledah was hit as well by the mighty attack. To the enwa’s luck, flame-spells were nearly useless against him. Nearly…
“Arg… Next time try to avoid me!” He snapped at a giant brand-wound on his left arm.
“Sorry, I didn’t know this was going to hurt you too!”
“I’m not a firegod as Ifrit! Flames get on me as we—UAH!” The tail of one of the manticores hit him right into the stomach, sending him back flying on the ground, unconscious. Much to his luck though, it was only the long side that hit him instead of the poisonous pointed end…
“Ledah!” Ary tried rushing forward, but the manticor that had just hit Ledah, stepped between her and the unconscious man. “No!” The remaining beast walked closer towards her companion. He had no chance! He was going to get eaten by that monster!! But right now, Ary wasn’t in a much better situation… She stood directly in front of the cave-wall… She was cornered and the beast came closer and closer, leaving her no space to escape! “Ledah, please… wake up!” Ary bit her lip while her heart seemed to strike so heavily against her chest, it started hurting. How was she supposed to help him!? He lay right in front of the wall as well, but between them was too much space to get to him!
“ARY!” A familiar rapier flew through the air, hitting the manticor into one of its wings causing it to growl in pain. Ary took the chance to run over to Ledah, standing between him and the second monster.
Ifrit and Callo came running out of the forest, stopping in front of the monsters.
“L… Ledah…!!” Ifrit gasped as he saw his baby-bro motionless on the ground. He shivered so hardly all of a sudden, Callo was unsure if he was able to even stand any longer!
“Ifrit! Get yourself together! Summon Drop to heal him! Hurry!” Callo snapped from aside, trying to get him back into reality.
“W.. what? Oh, alright!” The God shook his head to concentrate again. “Uhm… I call upon you, Drop! Come out and show yourself!”
Nothing happened…
It started getting really close now… The two manticors both headed for Ary now and she wasn’t going to leave Ledah lying on the spot!
“Ary!! Get away!” Callo shouted, now it was his turn of shivering as the manticors slashed down their tails into to ground while Ary did her best dodging.
“No way! I won’t let Ledah stay here unconscious and helpless!” The young girl snapped while slashing down her scythe again and again against one of the manticors tails.
“Bro…” Ifrit shook his head. “You must retreat, Ary! Please!! Ledah wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of him!”
“…” Ary tightened her grip on her scythe. She wasn’t going to leave any of her companions behind! Never!
“Dammit!” Callo growled, running forward and attacking the manticor that still had a stabbed wing with his other rapier. “Go to hell, damn monster!” He slashed the second rapier down as hard as he could, but within Ifrit’s body his muscles seemed so weak!
The hurt beast slammed its tail into Callo, crushing him right into the dark cave.
“Oh no!” Ary was close to tears now. She was unable to move anymore. She felt just too weak. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her leg. She looked down. It was Ledah. He slowly got back up on his feet again. Finally! “Was about time!” Just in this second, the manticors tail hit both of them. They crushed into the nearby wall, falling to the ground. Ary had the great luck to land on Ledah again, so she didn’t completely lose consciousness this time. Ledah was in a much worse shape. The back of his head was bleeding, and even though Ary could feel his heart-beat from her lying-position, she knew he was badly hurt this time.
“Bro!” Ifrit was crying now. But as he saw his brother’s motionless body on the ground, something seemed to snap within him… “Enough… is ENOUGH!” He summoned upon the light hidden deep within his soul, not his current body, but his very energy. The energy he knew so well…
“This is for you… SHIMMERING LIGHT!”
“DARKNESS-STORM!!” A voice rang out from the cave as Callo’s dark spell hit right into the beasts in the opening.
It was a giant explosion. Callo and Ifrit stared at their destructive work… The manticors got ripped apart in the might that was just unleashed there. They seemed to age thousands of years in just a few seconds, falling to dust, blown away by the wind.
“…” Both man stared at the explosion as suddenly… A backflip of the attack crushed into them. Darkness hit Ifrit with full force and light slammed into Callo…
“… What…” Ledah blinked from the ground, looking into the faces of 4 worried persons standing over him. “Guys…”
“Thank goodness he is alive…” Ary sank back on the ground, sighing heavily. “Is there any fight you don’t end up out cold?!”
“Huh?” Ledah tried to get up from the ground. His body ached like hell…
“I healed you, don’t worry.” Callo’s body patted him on the shoulder while he smiled satisfied.
“Oh dammit! So it didn’t work!” The enwa growled and lay back on the ground, looking up into the sky frustrated.
“Uh… what didn’t work?” Yuna blinked confused.
“We hoped you would use your attacks in the fight again and get back into your real bodies! But it didn’t work! Look, this goofy smile can only be Ifrit’s!” Ledah’s finger pointed at Callo who’s face turned to an evil death-glare all of a sudden.
“But… I am back into my body!” Ifrit whined. “Did Callo change body with someone else?”
Ledah could feel his face growing pale as the tan man stood up slowly, piercing down on him with his glares that promised death the next time they were alone…
“Help…” The enwa turned, trying to get back onto his feet.
“Since you are back awake, why don’t we head back to town?” Yuna smiled and stood up, taking Ary’s hand, leading her on. Ifrit followed the two of them happily. Ledah stood up slowly, leaning on the desert-elf for a little aid.
“Ary said… you were the one having the idea for this whole stunt.” Callo suddenly stated flatly.
“Y… yeah. It had to be a real situation… if you would have tried using your spells again while standing in front of each other, I thought it wasn’t going to work as you would try to match with each other’s energy… That would have destroyed it.”
“I see… nice idea, but please, next time, I swear I will rip your head off if you ever think of such a nonsense again!” He smacked the boy’s head playfully before starting to follow the others.
“Sorry for… the comment before… On your smile! I just never saw you smile before.” The boy blushed a little as Callo stared at him first confused, then it turned into an evil twisted smile.
“Believe me, this was the last time you saw that smile!”
Noble?
Noble?
“…”
“…” The group didn’t really talk much during their trip. Callo walked in between the girls and the two ‘foreigners’ as he used to call them and Yuna counted her Gar… Ary just enjoyed walking and Ledah and Ifrit? They didn’t really dare talking much as they received deathglared whenever they even opened their mouth…
“…” Ary rose an eyebrow… as much she enjoyed traveling, the silence kept bothering her… So why not start a conversation with their new friends?
“So, you guys are rather wealthy I guess? Are you dukes?”
“Hm? No, not at all.” Ledah blinked confused at the sudden exchange of words within their little group. Two sentences! That was a lot compared to the utter silence hanging upon them since they started this journey!
“Oh come on! You don’t have to be shy! You can tell us!” She grinned. Now Yuna got interested as well.
“You guys really act like nobles… well, at least you do, Ledah… The way you walk, speak, behave,…” The demoness kept counting on her fingers while eyeing them curiously. She knew way to well what they really were…
“No… not really…” The young blonde bit his lip. This demon was a threat to anything they had planned! For her this was just a game and Ledah was unsure what would happen if she grew tired of playing…
“Oh… okay!” Ary smiled, walking ahead of the group again… Somehow Ledah had the feeling as if the subject wasn’t done yet…
“Time for a break…” Ledah sighed and put his back next to a tree…
“I agree. I need something to eat as well!” Ary grinned evilly and looked at Ledah curiously.
“What’s wrong? Do I have anything in my face?” He snapped annoyed. What was just WRONG with this girl?!
“Oh… nothing I just thought it might be painful if you carry your stuff later on and it is full with ants…” She pointed at the spot Ledah had put his packs to… The young man rushed over, taking the bag off the ground and patting the ants away. He had laid the pack right into an ant-hill…
“Oh my… Can I help you, Led?” Ifrit asked, worried before tripping over a root, landing directly in the anthill…
“This really isn’t my day…” Ledah sighed as he burnt the ants off his brother.
“Ups… thank you!”
Yuna chuckled and sat down next to Ary. They talked eagerly about something, but it was too quite to understand… Callo however seemed to understand very well. He looked as if he had a hard time suppressing an evil grin. He even bit his lip so hard, Ledah was wondering why it wasn’t bleeding yet.
“Uhm… Do you have some supplies left or do we have to hunt?” The blonde asked as he searched through his packs unable to find anything left to eat…
“Hunt?” Ary smiled innocently. “But why should we go hunting? Food is all around us!” Something in her smile worried Ledah… It looked so innocent… too innocent.
“If… you say so. And… where exactly?” He looked around. The trees were mainly oaks and no fruits hang on them. The mushrooms here grew on Asgard as well and he knew they were poisonous. There were only a few rocks and old tree-stumps lying around on the mossy ground…
“Look, I will show you!” The young girl jumped up, walking to a stone, lifting it. Underneath it were worms, larvae and all kinds of insects… “Those aren’t good… those aren’t either…” She pulled away some worms and bugs and threw them away. “Oh, there is a good one!” Ary took a fat white caterpillar with red head and threw it towards the boys. “Here!”
“Y… you are kidding me… right?” Ledah chuckled nervously.
“Huh? Not at all. It’s a delicatessen! A wonderful snack all over Midgard as they can be found almost anywhere you go. And they are good for your health!” The summoner smiled and searched for more…
“…” Ledah gulped. “Y.. yeah of course… now that you mention it, I remember… It’s… delicious…” He looked down at the slimy little creature in his hands and closed his eyes. ‘Just… imagine it was sweets… Just imagine it was sweets… just imagine it was sweets…’ Ledah tried repeating this mentally again and again before opening his mouth slowly. The movements of the little animal in his hands made it rather hard to imagine though…
Suddenly someone bursted out in laughter. Ledah opened his eyes, seeing Yuna rolling on the ground, laughing as if someone tickled her really hard…
“Oh Yuna!” Ary whined.
“Sorry, I’m really sorry, but… Ahahaha!!! I just couldn’t hold back any longer! Hahahaha!!!” She laughed so hard it was hurting. Now Ary had to laugh too. Ledah looked down at the little animal in his hand and back at the two girls.
“You were kidding…” He rose an eyebrow, unimpressed. Even Callo grinned now. He seemingly couldn’t suppress his amusement anymore either…
Ifrit didn’t get the whole situation. Ledah bet if he gave him the insect now, he’d eat it, believing them every single word…
“Sorry but… haha, something like that can only happen to a noble! No one living in a normal town or village wouldn’t recognize a willow-moth-caterpillar!” Ary grinned.
The young enwa wasn’t amused at all… Oh well… so he was going to play that game…
“Whatever…”
Now, finally Ary seemed satisfied, dropping this subject for the rest of their journey.
