Aquis' Last Words part 2

Elin was torn. On one hand Kim had defeated the dragon, while on the other hand, she hadn't seen Jonas or Elmo surface in the river. Then there was the point that to get to where Kim was would take a while, given how much backtracking it would take.

However, it wasn't like she could think of where else she should go.

It wasn't like she knew where Elmo and Jonas might end up, but she at least knew where Kim was. So, even though it would take a while, she felt she should make the trek over to Kim.

While she walked, she had plenty of time to think. When Elmo had been knocked off the bridge by a flying Jonas, Elin had kept focusing on the dragon. She knew she didn't have much MP to spare when it came to launching her magic at the dragon, but she could at least do something.

When she stopped using her magic, partly because she couldn't say if any of the others might need any healing, she couldn't pull her eyes off of the fight.

It wasn't until the dragon had collapsed and the flames encompassing its body had disappeared that Elin had even thought to look her Elmo or Jonas. When knew which direction they had gone in, simply because of the direction the current of the river. Not that it told her how far down the river both of them might have ended up.

She could only hope that they were still alive and alright.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she did what she could to focus on what she did know and could see before herself. Mostly because she couldn't help but worry what might have happened to Elmo and Jonas. That they might be injured and she couldn't heal them if she didn't know where they were. That if they were injured, that it would make it less likely for her to see them again.

It wasn't until the sun was no longer shining down into the canyon, although she could still see some sunlight shining on the wall of the canyon, that she finally reached where Kim was resting.

Elin quickly ran over to Kim and found that she was asleep. Elin couldn't say that she wasn't surprised about that fact, she herself wouldn't mind taking a nap right then, but she still couldn't rule out that nothing else was wrong with Kim.

Elin felt Kim's body to make sure that there wasn't any significant injuries, and aside from a few blistering burns, she was relieved that Kim was alright. That there wasn't any major damage.

Elin softly called out, "Treat."

She felt the sensation as the MP left her to form her spell that quickly reduced the red color of Kim's burns. When she was confident that the burns had healed as much as her Treat spell would heal, Elin called out softly, "Heal."

While Elin wasn't sure how much MP she had left, she was at least confident that she had enough for this and even if she didn't, she felt the risk would be worth it. If she didn't have enough, at least then she'd share, in a way, the pain that Kim was feeling at the moment.

When Kim's body finished healing, Elin felt more at ease. Despite not knowing where Elmo and Jonas were, nor how they were doing. Still, if she was going to search for them, she would at least want Kim to be with her. Especially in case they encountered something that would be a threat to Elin, which was a lot more ground than it would be with Jonas or Elmo.

As the healing spell finished doing its job, Kim's eyes slowly opened. Elin couldn't help but feel immensely relieved that Kim was awake and suddenly felt a lot less alone than she had a moment ago. Not that she was aware she had felt that way at the time.

Kim groaned as she sat up. When she accomplished that, she looked around. Elin didn't say anything, though she did have a lot she wanted to say. She kept her peace mostly because she wasn't sure if what she wanted to say was appropriate at the time to say.

"Ugh, what happened?" Kim asked after she'd looked all around, sounding a little out of it.

"You defeated the dragon," Elin said, not sure if there was damage she hadn't healed. She hadn't bothered using her Assess spell, so she couldn't say if there was anything more that she hadn't healed.

"Yeah, I know that," Kim grumbled. "Where's Jonas? And on that same note, where's our mage? Uh, Elmo, I think."

Elin looked away involuntarily. She wasn't sure how else to say it, and was a little afraid of being the one to tell Kim this, but couldn't think of a reason to not tell her.

"They fell into the river," she answered simply, wishing she didn't have to be the one who said it.

Kim sighed. "I see."

Elin waited for Kim to have more of a reaction, and was more than a little apprehensive about what form it would take, but as the minutes passed and Kim didn't react more, Elin couldn't help but feel uneasy.

When Kim slowly got to her feet, Elin couldn't help but flinch. Why she felt this way, she couldn't say. Maybe it was because she expected to be blame for her inability to have done anything about what happened or maybe it was because she blamed herself and so expected others to do that as well. All she knew was that she was on pins and needles at the moment.

Kim didn't look at Elin, but merely walked over to the dragon, picked up her short sword that was laying on the ground, where Elin hadn't even noticed, and pushed the blade into the dragon, looking like she was cutting parts of it away.

Elin wasn't sure what Kim was doing, and was afraid to even ask. If Kim was cutting pieces for them to cook, Elin wasn't sure if she'd be able to bring herself to eat any of it. Even if it was the regular stew they'd been eating, Elin didn't feel like she'd even be able to keep that down.

Elin wasn't sure how long Kim was cutting into the dragon, but eventually, as the sunlight was fading, Kim pulled out her bastard sword. Elin watched, not really comprehending at first, as Kim walked back, sat next to Elin, and set the swords down next to them.

"You have anything with you to eat?" Kim asked calmly, like she was asking about the weather.

Elin blinked. She felt like she should say something, but her mind remained blank. She also felt like she should look for her pack, but she couldn't get her body to move. Like she had been paralyzed.

After a minute, Kim sighed, scooted closer to Elin and pulled her into a side hug.

Elin wasn't sure how to react with that. She felt stunned that it happened in the first place, but part of her wanted to pull away to be left alone. She couldn't help but feel conflicted at the moment. Nor could she say why. Even as tears started to flow out of her eyes, she just didn't know what to do or how she should act.

She knew she should have said something about food when Kim asked, but she couldn't say why she hadn't. She knew they had at least some food in her pack, although she had planned on using that to try again to make some stuffed buns, but never had the opportunity to work at it.

"I think Aquis was like us," Kim said quietly to Elin. "I think he just wanted to return to his world."

Elin blinked, feeling her tears continue to flow, blurring her vision. She didn't say anything, but listened. She didn't even know what the dragon they'd talked to before even had to do with the dragon they had just fought.

"If you're tired, just rest," Kim continued, soothingly. "Aquis mentioned that a fire dragon can burn its way through the barrier between worlds. He attacked us so he could fully become a fire dragon. He planned on burning a path back to his world, I guess."

Elin felt her eyes start to close on their own, though she couldn't say if her tears continued. It felt like they did, but at the same time, it felt like they'd stopped.

"Maybe if we had a way that could have gotten him back to his world he wouldn't have had to die like this," Kim finished. "Maybe his last words wouldn't have been so full of regret."

Elin felt like something about Kim's words should have triggered something in her mind. However, sleep had started to pull at her and she found it very hard to resist right then.

With her eyes closed, snuggled up against Kim, she felt a peace that she couldn't say where it had come from. Like it shouldn't have existed simply because of the events of the day. That there shouldn't be any peace until Jonas and Elmo had been found safe and sound.

Yet, as the peaceful feeling continued, Elin felt herself slowly slipping into slumber. The beautiful oblivion of dreams.