Which Poor Soul Is It This Time?

Ria opened her mouth to ask what a demon was, but Tyrant shifted on her face and she got a mouthful of moss instead. So she made a mental note to ask about demons later, along with the flower and why Nao sounded like a man. Hopefully the list doesn't get longer than that.

In the meantime, Nao was already moving again, weaving through the crowd of people toward a large rectangular block resting horizontally against the far wall. Ria followed, clutching the bamboo tablet she couldn't read and trying again not to whack anyone with Tyrant's beloved perch.

The outline behind the block was a woman shorter than Nao, with hair that swept back from her face.

"Natsume, we'll take this one," Nao announced, using that weird man voice again.

"Which poor soul is it this time?" The woman - Natsume, based on how Nao addressed her - said.

Natsume's outline shifted, and Ria sensed this Natsume woman leaning forward slightly, probably trying to figure out why this "poor soul" had a bird growing out of her face.

"Is she at least going to see her death coming?"

"She's a water mage. We'll be fine."

"Well, you do you."

Something scraped across the wooden bamboo tablet, which Ria assumed was another block of wood. Natsume was probably confirming the quest, though Ria had no idea what that actually meant.

Nao's outline then returned to Ria's side. "Is your bird friend going to get off soon or am I going to have to read the quest to you?"

Ria almost pointed out that even without Tyrant plastered across her face, she'd still need someone to read it. Water magic had many use but reading was not one of them.

When Ria didn't answer, Nao sighed and took the tablet. "We need to kill an ogre that's been occupying the forest near here. He learned Gyokurin is a raw materials town, so he's been disrupting travelers. Killing some, even, and hoarding their stuff in his hideout."

"Aren't you leaving out an important detail?" Natsume called from behind her large block. "Like the quest rank?"

"It's not important." Nao grabbed Ria's wrist and pulled. "Let's go."

They were outside before Ria could process what just happened. She now stood on a road that seemed to stretch endlessly ahead, and all she could feel beneath her feet are dirt and scattered stones as she walked. Nao walked beside her, silent again, which was fine. Ria had gotten good at walking without having to talk. Jin never talked much either when they walked together, unless he was drunk or feeling philosophical, which usually meant he was drunk and walking sideways.

Or maybe she's only being nice because I can't talk with Tyrant on my face.

At the thought, Tyrant shifted, the moss on his belly tickling Ria's nose. Since he hadn't moved, the ogre's hideout was probably north too, which meant he could continue inconveniencing her the entire way.

"We're close."

Nao suddenly grabbed Ria's wrists again, pulling her down behind a bush. The clearing opened up ahead, moisture pooling near its center where a stream cut through. The hideout sat at the far edge, a structure cobbled together from what seemed like pieces of tree trunks and branches, all jutting at odd angles like someone had haphazardly built it. Shapes cluttered the inside, too irregular to make out clearly, but Ria's senses caught a bit of water clinging to fabric, leather, and metal.

And then there was the 'ogre.' Huge didn't quite cover it. The thing was massive, easily three times Jin's height, with a torso that was shaped like a tree trunk and arms that looked capable of snapping its own torso in half. It paced near the hideout's entrance, each step sending vibrations through the ground.

"That's our target. Don't underestimate it just because it's a lesser-demon."

Ria opened her mouth to ask what made something a lesser-demon if it was that big, but got moss again.

"Are you going to be able to fight with that bird on your face?"

The question caught Ria off guard. Nao actually sounded concerned, which was… nice. What were the chances that the first person she met would be so nice?

"'M fim," Ria mumbled through feathers.

Nao sighed. "You're clearly not fine. Here."

Her hands grabbed at Tyrant, trying to pry the bird lose. Tyrant, naturally, took offense to this and released a cloud of spores directly into Nao's face, causing Nao to stumble back, coughing and waving her hands at the cloud of spores. Her foot caught on a root and she pitched backward, crashing through the bush.

The ogre's head snapped toward the noise.

Oh no.

The thing charged, shaking the ground. Ria's sensed tracked its movement, and it was definitely moving way too fast for something that size. It raised a fist the size of a boulder, aiming straight for where Nao had face-planted herself.

Ria quickly pulled water from the nearby stream and compressed it into a thin line, using it to slice clean through the ogre’s arm at the elbow. The limb tumbled to the ground with a wet thud, followed immediately by a spray of blood that Ria's senses picked up in vivid, uncomfortable detail.

The ogre roared as Ria found Nao's outline still on the ground, scrambling backward, but intact. Intact was good enough.

The ogre turned its attention to Ria now, cradling the stump that just formed on its arm. She pulled more water from the stream, readying another strike, when the ogre punched the ground. Ria dove sideways as the earth exploded where she'd been standing. Rock shards pelted her robes, her arms, her face-

-and Tyrant.

The bird shrieked, a sound Ria hadn't known he could make, then launched off her face in a cannonball of moss.

"'Wait, Tyrant!" 

But it was too late. Tyrant was already dive-bombing the ogre's head, releasing another spore cloud directly into the thing's eyes. The ogre swung blindly, missing by several feet while Tyrant zipped away.

Ria stood there, looking at the outline of a very angry bird currently harassing a demon three hundred times its size. That's when the ogre's massive hand shot up, fingers closing around the dandelion sprouting from Tyrant's head. The bird squawked, wings flapping uselessly as gravity did its work. The dandelion tore free with a soft pop, roots and all, leaving behind a perfectly round bald spot that gleamed in the sunlight.

Tyrant hit the ground and rolled twice before coming to a stop. The bird lay there, frozen, and staring at nothing.

This is bad. Tyrant hated being bald. Hated it. The dandelion would grow back in a couple days, same as always, but those couple days Tyrant would refuse to endure being conscious. The bird just...shut down, as in completely vegetable. Ria remembers one time Jin had accidentally plucked it once while drunk and Tyrant hadn't moved for three days.

The ogre's foot lifted, aiming straight for Tyrant's vegetable body.

Ria didn't even think before pulling water from the stream again, from the moisture in the air, from every available source within reach, and sliced. The pressurized jets cut through the ogre in a crisscross pattern, the same technique she'd used a thousand times splitting logs for firewood while Jin said he would "help" by napping against a tree. Only instead of clean halves, the ogre came apart in chunks.

Ria's water sense tracked each part as it fell in the air: arm chunk, torso section, something that might've been a kidney-

The dandelion!

It was still in the air, drifting lazily toward the ground. If Ria could catch it, she could stick it back Tyrant's head. He'd hate that too, but not nearly as much as being bald, and Ria would rather go with whichever option was less likely to result in being killed by a bird.

She lunged for it, arm outstretched, only for Nao to suddenly step into her path. Ria stopped short as the dandelion floated past them and vanished into the grass. Nao was now standing before her, dirt and blood smeared across her robes and spores still clinging to her hair. She glanced at the pieces of ogre scattered at the clearing, then back at Ria.

"Who exactly are you?"