CAMADA'S POINT OF VIEW.
I watch as Yal rambles around;
-It appears he's not even concerned with finding food anymore-
He is presently on the bare floor, face to the ground;
-'Examining magic soil'; he says-
After a few minutes of watching him taste sand, I decide it's time to call him to order;
"Yal... aren't we looking for food anymore?" I ask anticipatorily.
He jerks upright and spins to face me;
"As you can see Camada, there aren't any trees around and that basically equals no fruit so...no food" he mutters softly.
My brows furrow;
"Well...we can't possibly wait out the remaining days without eating... so I suggest we hunt a beast down and ea-" "-Are you some sort of barbarian?!" Yal interrupts me with a shriek.
He wraps his arms around himself tightly;
"We've barely escaped being hunted by creatures and now you suggest we hunt after them? Besides just who would eat beast meat?... what kind of ridiculous suggestion is that?!" he yaps impudently.
I sigh heavily.
"Well suit yourself then...all I know is that it's far better than eating sand" I fold my arms and walk off.
-Truly, it isn't the slightest bit wise to scout for Beasts, but as it is, beast meat is our best bet at having a meal-
I walk a short distance and regard my unfamiliar environments meticulously;
-Come to think of it, I can't seem to perceive any Beast aura-
WAIT;
-Perceive?-
Since when could I perceive Beast aura?
A rustle from behind me snaps into my thoughts.
I turn sharply, unconsciously fwipping out the knife Sesugh lent me, from my pocket.
"Hey hey, calm down!" Yal quivers, his hands lifted up in surrender.
My lips press together and I take a sharp breath.
"I thought you were too busy eating sand" I snicker.
He smirks knowingly;
"Yeah, yeah have your fun, but I'm not particularly ashamed to admit that I'm too scared to face a beast alone"
I just look at him.
"Whatever..." I blurt smugly.
He shrugs;
"Have you found any beasts yet?" Yal ventures quietly.
I nod sarcastically.
He gives a tight lipped smile, his eyes narrowed, then he looks around astutely;
"It seems the Beasts disappeared along with the trees and grass..." he gives a light chuckle;
"Maybe they actually want to starve us to death" he adds blithely.
CAMADA'S POV END.
THE HOODED ONE'S POINT OF VIEW.
"So Gazo is sick huh?" I laugh;
The Mage messenger just stares at me in puzzlement.
I drop my book, and stand up to move to my shelf.
"Sir...he would like your assistance to continue the Screening simulation" he quivers after some minutes of silence.
"What makes him think I can do that?" I ask menacingly.
The Messenger trembles;
I smile to myself at his reactions;
-After all he IS in the presence of the Hooded Monster-
"Uh, I apologize sir... but nobody gave me any details about..."
I silence him with a dismissive wave of my hand.
He bows down curtly and steps out.
I have only counted to five when someone barges into my room;
"NO-NAME MAGE HOW DARE YOU?!" Gazo marches in and slams his fist upon my reading table.
He is incredibly disheveled, visibly plagued by illness he is pale and breathes in and out with difficulty.
"Oh no, I thought you were ill dear Upper Mage 3... shouldn't you be napping?" I peeve.
Gazo grits his teeth;
"Can't you do me a favour just this once? Please, please, please?" he pleads softly.
"I told you before Gazo, I'm not able to directly influence anything going on in that realm...I simply spectate" I state matter-of-factly.
Gazo exhales deeply.
"I want you to use my Soul" he mutters quietly.
I cock my head sideways;
"What are you talking about?"
Gazo sighs; "Can't you do it?... I mean temporarily take over my body through my soul... that way automatically have access to my abilities... isn't that what you do?"
I chuckle;
"You could have put it that way right from the beginning"
I muse;
"But why so much passion in this Screening? You usually don't care" I ask feigning oblivion.
Gazo scrunches his face up in annoyance;
"My essence is too weak to even control my realm and if I'm not fast enough to take charge back quickly, then all the applicants might die...my position is on the line here!" he yells exasperated.
I cannot help but cackle.
-I have never seen Gazo so worked up-
"How did you get so sick though?-" "-I have no idea!" he cuts me in.
I take my seat at the reading table, steepling my fingers;
"I will help you"
Gazo's face lights up, he leans towards me in excitement;
"Seriously?" He asks grabbing my hand to his chest.
I swat his hand away.
"Yes... but in exchange..." even before I've completed my statement, his expression darkens;
"You want to ask for direct access to my Essence pool don't you?"
I nod, he sighs heavily;
"What do you have up your sleeve you monster?" he is glaring at me.
-This is the most serious I've ever seen him-
I chuckle;
"Are we doing this or not?"
THE HOODED ONE'S POV END.
CAMADA'S POINT OF VIEW.
By now, we have drifted quite far off from where our group members are, and yet;
-We haven't seen any sign of a beast-
Yal sighs as he drops to the floor;
"I'm tired and hungry, it won't be bad to rest for a while" he comments nonchalantly.
-I am feeling dead tired-
I sit down beside him;
My stomach feels like a void.
-The absence of beasts would normally have been cause to celebrate, but in the present circumstance, I'm actually hoping we get to see one-
"Hey, you reckon that when we go to sleep... it's all going to go back to normal?" Yal asks quietly.
I sigh heavily;
"What IS normal?"
He turns to face me;
"We should get back to our group members, what if a Beast suddenly attacks them?"
-Yal being considerate?; That's a first-
"Hopefully then we can get some food" he adds.
-OH yeah, it's about himself after all; nobody can change within minutes-
My mind drifts off;
An enigmatic memory from my childhood drowns my consciousness.
-What am I trying to remember?-
I notice Yal staring at me in puzzlement;
I jolt upright and stand up while turning to him;
"Let's go back"
CAMADA'S POV END.
RAVE'S POINT OF VIEW.
My heart races as she assumes a position of offence;
For a brief moment, we hold each other in place with steady staring.
"Very well then" she suddenly hurls a punch at me.
-SMACK!-
The impact slams into my face.
I hold my jaw.
-That single hit was so painful I actually feel like my temple is dislocated-
She chuckles in thrill and lunges her fists forward again.
I move just in time to evade another strike.
I spin and glide away from her quick attacks then gaining momentum, I inch closer, my fists poised;
-PUNCH, PUNCH-
My knuckles bleed as they collide with her stomach.
-Why is her body as tough as a brick though?-
She groans as she briefly doubles over in pain.
I strike out at her;
-SNAP!-
I am stunned as her foot clashes into my backbone.
-How did she recover so quickly from my hit?-
-SLAM-
Her foot lands into my stomach with the weight of a boulder.
My body drops; as I cough out blood.
-The taste of blood in my mouth is both salty and sandy-
My eyes sting and my vision is blurred as sweat keeps dripping into my eyes.
-I can't be lying here defeatedly-
I try to scramble up to my feet.
She closes the small gap between us in steady confident strides;
"Aw...is that the whole performance you have to offer?" She chuckles as she trashes my face up with more jaw-shattering punches. She pummels into my face again and again.
Then her hands wrap around my neck.
-And tighten-
I gag as I struggle to breathe.
-Why did she mess me up so quickly?-
I struggle to price her hands off my neck.
She cackles maniacally.
By now, I am entirely unable to breathe, the blood rushes to my head and my heartbeat quickens.
Yet she increases her claw-hammer grip on my neck.
-I gag and gasp for breath-
"You could have just given me your body when I was asking nicely" I hear her whisper.
My eyesight fails me as the world turns pitch black.
Strength has been completely drained from my body.
"Goodbye Rave"
RAVE'S POV END.
NETYISHA'S POINT OF VIEW.
We are seated under a tree, fortunately I was able to convince Misty to drop locating who vexed me; I watch her actions in deep interest;
"Misty... can you transmutate anything?" I ask as I regard her transform a small rock into a feather.
"About anything, as long as it isn't living"
She stretches her hands forward, a bright light pulses from her palms and reflects onto the feather, the light pulsates and dims.
Now in place of the feather is an apple.
NETYISHA'S POV END.