Chapter 3 -- Thorn

AIO: The spacing options on Honeyfeed are intriguing. I'll have to get used to them!

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Reach and Tomo walk unto a bright, new day.

Tomo: "I'm..."

Reach: ?

Tomo: "...Hungry..."

Having walked for several hours between mountain passes, Tomo was feeling the fatigue.

Reach: "That's fair."

Reach: "It must be because of my disease, but I don't really get hungry."

Tomo: "You..."

Tomo: "...Monster..."

Tomo regularly huffed as he walked.

Reach: "Let's stop for a moment."

The two sat down on a comfortable stretch of grass. They were surrounded by trees as far as the eye could see, and multiple dirt paths allowed for rough navigation in different directions.

Reach looked around in awe.

Reach: "The power of nature is limitless."

Tomo didn't care for the sentiment.

Tomo: "This is not the time for your pretty words."

Tomo: "Do you have any food?"

Reach smiled.

Reach: "I do."

Reach pulled out something wrapped in a grey paper-like material.

Reach: "I cooked this last night."

Tomo: "When?"

Reach: "When you were bathing."

Tomo: "I didn't know you could cook things at your house."

Reach: "I can't."

Tomo: ?

Reach: "I have a firepit setup a few hundred metres away, in the forest."

Tomo: "Are you telling me you caught and cooked something in that time?"

Tomo: "I know you're fast but you're not th-"

Reach seemingly teleported next to Tomo, placing a plate of meat by his side.

Reach: "Dine meat."

Reach: "It's not warm but it's cooked and edible."

Tomo: "Gah!"

Tomo: "Get away!"

Tomo swung his arm at Reach as if to 'shoo' him away.

Reach smiled and dodged the playful swing.

Tomo looked down at the food.

Tomo: "Hmm... This looks nice."

Tomo: "I can't remember if I like Dine meat."

Reach: "At least you remember what it is."

Tomo: "Yeah. Large flying creatures. Definitely not human."

Tomo: "I didn't know you had them around here."

Reach: "I see them occasionally. I think there's a big flock nearby."

...

Tomo: "You don't want any?"

Reach: "I'm okay. They're personally not my thing."

Reach nibbled on a small bag of beans.

Tomo took a bite of the Dine meat and seemed to enjoy it.

Tomo: "So, where are we going?"

Reach: "Anywhere."

...

Reach: "Is there a direction you'd like to head?"

Tomo: "Not particularly. I can't even remember the way we went after leaving town."

Tomo smiled earnestly while chewing his food.

Tomo: "This is fun."

Reach felt glad.

- - - -

The two walked on a trail now descending from a far mountain. The sun directly above.

Tomo: "How old are you, Reach?"

Reach: "I'm 26."

Tomo: "Nice. That seems like a good age. Not too young, not too old..."

Reach: It's not like I have a choice..

Reach: "How about you?"

Tomo: "Ah..."

...

Reach: ...

Reach: "From the look of you... I'd guess maybe 20? 21?"

Tomo: "Yes... That could be right..."

Reach: ...

Approaching the base of said mountain, they noticed a thin horizontal river with a bridge and approximately 10-15 small brick buildings in the area.

A large man sat on a chair near the bridge, drinking from an undisclosed bottle and staring at Reach and Tomo.

The man spat on the ground.

Tomo: ...

Reach: "Let's walk past."

A group of men emerged from the nearest few buildings, each holding an item of some sort - drink, food, tool, or weapon. The men varied in size and mostly wore ragged clothes.

The air smelled like smoke and alcohol.

The man on the chair, once again spat on the ground.

????: "No women."

Tomo: ?!

A few men returned to the buildings, while others kept watch as Reach and Tomo steadily advanced.

A different man spoke this time.

????: "Hey! You two."

...

????: "Do you know any women?"

The man appeared to scratch his genital region.

Tomo: "D-Disgusting..."

A third man spoke.

????: "Don't look at me. I'll fucking kill you."

Tomo looked down as they kept walking.

Reach: "Ignore them."

Tomo glanced at Reach.

Tomo: ?!

Reach's face was filled with a pure dark, murderous aura as he looked straight ahead.

The two approached the bridge.

The man on the chair spat for the third and final time, on Reach's foot.

Tomo: ?!!

Reach kept walking.

The man on the chair sneered.

????: "Fucking pussycats. Gahaha."

Tomo followed Reach across the bridge.

Tomo: "R-Reach...?"

...

Reach maintained a consistent pace. Tomo caught up.

Reach: "Not worth it."

Tomo: ?!

Reach's face remained cold and expressionless. The darkness of his eyes blooming.

Reach: "You'll find scum like them everywhere. No matter where you go."

Tomo: ...

...

Reach: "It is truly rotten."

Tomo: "W-What is?"

...

Reach: "Humanity."

Tomo stopped for a moment, breath taken.

Tomo: I-I can tell...

Tomo: He seems angry... But...

...

Tomo: He's actually holding back.

...

Tomo: He's doing everything in his power... Not to kill those men on the spot.

Tomo smiled, looking at Reach admirably from behind.

Tomo: There's no reason for you to be that good.

Tomo: Whichever path you take, I will follow.

Tomo once again caught up and tapped Reach lightly on the shoulder.

Tomo: "You okay?"

...

Reach closed his eyes and exhaled.

Reach: "Sorry about that. People like them get me worked up."

Reach looked at Tomo.

Reach: "Let's keep going."

Tomo: "Yep!"

- - - -

A day passed. The two seemed to venture through endless mountains and woods.

They bathed in rivers, mostly ate plants, and slowly grew their friendship. It was fortunate that Reach had also packed two very thin mats to sleep on. Reach wondered what Tomo actually packed, after all.

The early afternoon on this next day had the sky vibrant in a gentle yellow. Clouds were noticeable but not symbols of production.

The two stumbled upon a large lake - the water so white and clear it was practically transparent. Next to it spread an open area filled with flat navy stone.

The sight was a welcome change opposed to the norm of greenery thus far.

Surrounding the flat navy stone were several large navy boulders that reflected beautifully in the white water. The faint yellow sky combined with white and navy created a unique setting.

Dirt paths connected both to and from this place.

Reach and Tomo transitioned from their dirt path onto the flat navy stone and sat on a small boulder nearby.

Tomo: "Pretty..."

Reach noticed dirt footprints and some old clothes that had been left behind.

Reach: "Perhaps this is a common rest place for travellers."

...

Reach: "It is peaceful."

Reach glanced at the opposite dirt path.

Reach: "I get the feeling there is a village near here."

Tomo: ...

Reach: "It will be interesting to see which villages are free of conflict, and which ones are nothing but."

As the two sat, drinking some water, a woman emerged from the opposite dirt path.

Step... Step... Step...

Tomo: ?

Reach: ...

There were no changes in her stride. She calmly walked in the direction Reach and Tomo had come from, towards the mountains.

The woman had long, vibrant green hair in a middle part. Almost lime in colour but not quite, similar to that of a pristine patch of grass.

She wore an almost-complete set of silver armour - a full chest piece, thigh-length skirt, arm attachments from the elbow downward, and long leg greaves up to the quad. Between the greaves and skirt she wore thick black stockings. The only visible skin was her face, neck, and upper arms.

Her build was similar to Reach and she was clearly physically toned.

As she passed Reach and Tomo, they noticed two curved, light green blades on her back.

Reach: Another explorer? Or warrior from a distant land?

Tomo: "Oh!"

Reach: ?

Tomo: "Hey!"

Reach: "What is it?"

The woman paused, glancing at Tomo.

Tomo: "Elial! It's you right?"

Reach: "Who?"

Tomo: "That's my sister!!"

Reach: "What? Really?"

Tomo walked up to her, smiling.

Tomo: "Hey! How long has it been? You would know, I obviously can't remember."

????: ...

Reach: I do remember him saying he had a sister with green hair, but...

The woman looked confused.

????: "I think you have the wrong person."

Tomo: "No... Surely not."

...

Reach: Does she have inconsistent memory loss too?

Reach: I remember Dad saying siblings can get the same disease on rare occasions.

????: ?!

The woman now seemed to be looking directly at Reach. Their eyes meeting.

????: "You..."

Reach: ?

????: "I can tell..."

She stood up straight, grinning.

????: "You're strong."

Reach didn't react.

Tomo stood silent.

????: "Duel me."

????: "Right here, right now."

...

Reach: "Why?"

...

Tomo: "S-Sis, he's really strong. I'm not sure you want to fight him."

Tomo: Does my sister even know how to fight?

...

Thorn: "My name is Thorn."

Tomo: "Huh?"

Thorn: "And I, Thorn, challenge you to a duel."

Her light green eyes were set on Reach.

Reach: She's given her name...

Reach: "I don't see the point."

...

Thorn: "Hmm..."

Thorn: "You can call me queen if you like."

Reach: "No, that's not what I mean."

...

Tomo: "You're not... Elial?"

Thorn: "Of course not. Did you lose your memory or something?"

Tomo: Well...

Thorn put her left arm around Tomo. A light 'clanking' noise coming from her arm attachment.

Thorn: "It's not usually my style, but..."

Thorn gripped the handle of one of her blades with her right hand.

Thorn: "He's awfully close... Don't you think?"

Tomo: "Huh?"

Reach: ...

Reach: "Really?"

...

Thorn's grin changed into a subtle smile.

Reach: "You're bluffing, I can tell."

Thorn: "Is that right?"

Reach: "But I'll entertain it anyways. Let him go."

Reach stood up, leaving his bag behind.

Thorn lifted her arm off Tomo who quickly backed away.

Reach and Thorn faced each other some 15 metres apart.

Reach: "You won't have any regrets?"

Thorn: "None."

Thorn drew her two curved, light green blades.

The grin on her face, slowly returned...

...

...

...

The two sprung at each other. Thorn ducked a kick from Reach and swung her blades upward. Reach sidestepped to dodge.

Thorn jumped into the air and came crashing down, breaking the flat navy stone with her blades in a web-like pattern. Reach front flipped over her.

She turned quickly enough to block Reach's hardened punch with both blades, forcing her back a few metres.

Tomo, now hiding behind one of the large navy boulders, watched on.

Tomo: I still...

Tomo: ...Can't see a thing...

...

Tomo: Why does this feel so familiar?

Reach stood, placing his palm on his outer left shoulder.

Reach: ...

Reach: I'm not sure I'm going to come out unscathed.

Thorn vibrantly smiled at the excitement of a challenging battle.

Reach: She's strong.

Thorn threw one of her blades high into the air, spiralling above Reach.

Reach: ?!

Reach: She-

As Reach ever so slightly glanced upward, before instinctively telling himself to focus on the enemy, Thorn was already in his face.

Shink.

Thorn's blade came slicing sideways. Reach somehow dropped in time but still received a horizontal cut across the forehead, streaming blood into his eyes.

Reach darted away to create distance.

Thorn stood and caught her second blade.

Reach: Hmm...

Thorn paused and slowly raised her arms in Reach's direction. The handle of each blade faced Reach, with the sharp tips pointed behind her.

Reach: She's preparing for something.

Thorn seemed to exhale.

Reach: ?!

Reach immediately rips the device from his outer left shoulder. Strands of his black shirt float into the air.

Thorn mumbles to herself.

Thorn: "Striking... Hurricane."

Thorn speeds at Reach, leaving him no time to react despite facing her head-on.

Directly in his face, she seemingly drops both blades in mid-air right before his eyes.

Reach: ?!

Her after-image vanishes and she appears behind Reach.

Thorn grabs the two blades from beyond Reach's neck, holding them in an 'X' formation.

Reach goes to turn around...

Shink.

Reach's head flails into the air.

Tomo: Ah... Deja vu...

Thorn stood, grinning.

BANG.

Reach's headless body spins clockwise, connecting a right backhanded fist to Thorn's temple which topples her downward into the hard navy rock.

Blood gushes from her mouth.

Her half-buried head reveals one unconscious white eye and a small puddle of blood.

Reach began to heal.

He picks up the device and waits a short moment for his head to fully return, before re-attaching it to the visible skin on his outer left shoulder. A drop of blood momentarily within sight.

Tomo emerges from behind the large navy boulder, joining Reach.

Reach exhaled loudly.

Reach: "Ahh..."

Reach: "That really, fucking hurt."

Tomo smiled, placing his arm on Reach's shoulder.

Tomo: "You did great. Thanks for saving me again."

...

Reach: "No, this time was different. She wasn't really going to kill you."

Reach: "Although she basically killed me.."

The two looked down at her.

Reach: "She's dangerous. Let's tie her up."

Reach walked over and grabbed some metal wires from his bag.

Tomo: What didn't he pack...?

Reach thought to himself as they slowly restrained the unconscious Thorn.

Reach: ...

Reach: I can't always depend on my disease.

...

Reach: I have to get stronger.

The two sat, drinking water, looking upon the mostly-cracked navy stone. Thorn, still unconscious, was placed in an upright position against a nearby boulder. Her blood now cleaned up.

Tomo: "So much for a quick rest."

...

Tomo looked at Reach.

Tomo: "I thought we weren't supposed to hit women?"

Reach: "I clearly didn't have that luxury."

...

Reach: "I can respect people who choose to die instead of hitting a woman, but I don't quite have the will."

Tomo: ?

Reach: "Besides..."

Reach looked at Thorn.

Reach: "What about her needs protecting?"

Reach smiled.

Reach: "She's a monster."

Tomo smiled, too.

Thorn: "Mmph..."

Tomo: ?

Thorn slowly opened her eyes.

Looking around, she noticed her wire constraints.

Thorn: "I see."

...

Thorn looked at Reach.

Thorn: "Hey."

Reach: ...

Thorn: "Why didn't you kill me?"

...

Reach: "I thought you might say that."

Tomo: ?

Reach glanced at Tomo.

Reach: "It's a known custom in some parts of the world, that giving your name when proposing a duel signifies a duel to the death."

Tomo: ?!

Thorn: ...

Thorn continued to stare at Reach.

Thorn: My head hurts.

Thorn: I didn't even realise I got knocked out... How did he do it?

Reach looked back at Thorn.

Reach: "Thorn, was it?"

...

Reach: "I never gave you my name, did I?"

Thorn: ?!

Reach stood up and begun walking towards Thorn.

Reach: "In other words, you just killed a man who didn't truly accept a duel to the death."

Thorn: S-So I didn't imagine it... I really did cut off his head. How is he alive?

...

Thorn: No... I already know the answer.

Thorn: He must have a disease.

Reach looked down on Thorn.

Reach: "My name..."

...

Reach: "...Is Reach."

Thorn: ?!

Reach stood for a moment, before returning to Tomo.

Reach: "Come on, let's go."

Tomo: "Okay!"

Reach and Tomo collected their bags.

Thorn: "W-Wait!"

Reach: ?

...

Thorn: "R-Reach..."

Thorn stumbled onto the stone, lying forward.

Thorn: I-I see...

Thorn: That disease... That makes sense.

Thorn looked up at the two.

Thorn: "Untie me."

Tomo: "Huh?"

...

Reach: "So you can kill me again, Thorn?"

Thorn grinned.

Thorn: "Don't you want to know where he is?"

...

Thorn: "The greatest scientist in the world..."

Thorn: "Your Dad..."

Reach: ?!

Thorn: "...William!!!"

[Chapter 3 -- End]