Muritage
I awoke on the couch with a
splitting headache. I opened my eyes, then quickly shut them with a
moan. My sight was back, but extremely sensitive to the light. While
rubbing my head, a thought made me stiffen.
How had I gotten onto the
couch?
I bolted upright as a
familiar cackle echoed through the room. A wave of vertigo swept over
me as I forced my eyes open and scanned the room.
"Can you imagine my
surprise? Out of the morning light, a vartija aura swept across the
area like a violent storm." I found her floating near the
ceiling. Lying on a thick cloud of smoke and clothed in flames, a
vision of ifrit beauty watched me with a condescending smirk. Rolling
onto her back, the ifrit drifted lazily toward me. "I simply
couldn't ignore such a delectable surprise! So I followed the
lingering aura back to this place, only to find the vartija gone."
Now hovering beside me, she affectionately tugged my ear. The heat of
her touch called to my ifrit blood, but I forced myself to move away.
"Arielle, what are you
doing here? And drop the illusion." I said curtly. She gave a
pout, then waved her hand. The flames disappeared, as did some of the
unnatural beauty. With the illusion gone, she was revealed to be
wearing traditional ifrit travel garb: maroon pants, the loose legs
trimmed with copper flames. A shirt of the same coloration and
design, with sheer sleeves that ended just below the elbow.
"Why are you here,
Muritage?" She studied me, then gasped. "Oh, don't tell
me-" she broke off, hysterical laughter echoing through the
room. I winced as her laughter grated against my ears. I waved my
hand, conjuring a gag to cover her mouth. It muffled her laughter
only for a moment before she set the gag aflame. Being ifret, the
fire did not burn her. "You were tamed! Oh, this is excellent!
So how did you get caught? During that aura burst, or before?"
She looked at my sullen expression, then clapped her hands in
delight. "Before! Did the scary vartija sneak up on widdle
Murry?" She taunted, cooing the nickname from our childhood.
I knew she would never let
me forget this. But part of me was enjoying the taste of home that
the familiar teasing brought.
"Why are you back on
the central layer?" I asked sharply, trying to divert her
attention.
"I haven't slayed a
vartija for seven years! I need to finish my hunt." Sparks flew
off her as Arielle left the cloud to sit beside me. "I would
have burned the entire nest if that vermin hadn't sent me back with
his dying breath."
Seven years ago, Arielle
Fe'nu had come to this layer for a vartija hunt. Having found and
tracked one home, she watched him until discovering that he was
alone. Then she set an ambush, catching the vartija by surprise. With
his house burning around him, the dying vartija had somehow found the
strength to bind Arielle and send her back to our layer; trapping her
there for seven years.
"So you've come to find
his offspring?" I asked, watching as she nodded.
"I still have the
picture I claimed as a trophy." She reached into the cloud of
smoke still lingering in the air and pulled out a bag. Removing a
small gold frame, she stroked the top of it. "I can't let that
little girl grow up to become a hunter." Arielle said as she
studied the picture. "She should be, oh... sixteen by now? If
some other creature hasn't already gotten her."
She handed me the picture.
It had revealed a happy family having a picnic. The man had dirty
blond hair and wide green eyes. He was watching a woman laugh, while
their daughter stared toward the person taking the picture with a
childish smile.
A wry chuckle escaped me.
"This vartija has already been claimed."
"By who?" She
asked, reclaiming the picture.
"By me."
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