The Beginning of the Bond

Blood falls. And so do I. Still hundreds of feet in the air, I fall. Now what? How do I get out of this? How do I break my fall? Why did the fox Chimera come up with this stupid plan? Is there a body of water nearby? There's none. My heart races as questions, and more questions cloud my thinking. Maybe I can use my grenade's explosion to break my fall? How does that even work?

The fox Chimera leaps into the air and catches me, cradling me in its arms like I'm some damsel in distress. "I've got you," it says with a warm smile. The rain finally stops, and streaks of light break through the dark clouds, dazzling its long orange hair and turning it into dancing flames.

My chest tightens as I feel the heat rising around my face. This sucks. I turn away from the fox Chimera's eyes.

"What sucks?"

"Nothing."

"Fine. Don't tell me. But hang on tight. We're about to land."

"No."

I hear it sigh and chuckle next to my ear, making me groan.

As the fox Chimera sticks the landing, I instantly jump out of its arms, twisting the handle of my blade to collapse the greatsword back. Holstering my weapons, I wipe the blood with my sleeve that's still spilling from my head.

"Here, let me help with that."

I smack its hand away from the gash. "Don't. Touch me."

Its expression looks dazed at what I just did, and then it averts its eyes down, frowning.

"I can handle myself." I pull a pouch from my back that contains bandages and unzip it. But the contents inside are all soaking wet. I sigh heavily. Now that the fight is over, the gash starts to pulsate like it's pumping more blood out. I wipe it again and hold it.

My arm is pulled, exposing the wound to the fox Chimera.

I try to resist, but against a Chimera's strength, I am weaker. "Stop!"

"No! Your bandages are useless now, and you'll get that wound infected with your bloody sleeves.

The fox Chimera shoves me down and presses its human hand against my forehead. A gentle red light glows from its hand as a warm sensation washes over me. The gash feels like it's sizzling but doesn't hurt or feel like it's burning. Instead, it feels kind of comforting, like a hot shower after a long day.

"There. All done. However, it left a scar though. I can't get rid of that, unfortunately."

I shove the Chimera off of me and pat the wound; it's gone, and it doesn't hurt. As it said, a triangular-shaped scar is left behind as well. I stare at the fox; it smiles back at me, tilting its head and shrugging playfully. "Huh."

Rising up to my feet, I dust off the dirt off my jacket and then check my inventory. A few pistol magazines, one last SMG magazine, and a sandwich flattened like paper. I toss the wet bandages to the side, then zip my small bag up.

"You're heading for the tower, aren't you?" asks the fox Chimera

"You can read my mind, so why even ask?"

Its footsteps clop as it approaches closer to me. I glance at it, catching a glimpse of its brow furrowing. "I also need to get to the tower. Can I come along?"

"No."

"There are dangerous Chimeras out there. You can't make it there alone."

"I made it this far."

" You got lucky. You almost died twice today. If it weren't for me."

"If you're so strong, why do you want to tag along with a human like me?"

"Because I'm curious."

I raise my eyebrow at the fox Chimera.

"I'm curious about humans. I've been in the labs for all my life, watching my human creators through a glass tube and reading books about humans. Why was I created? What is my purpose?"

Words form in my mouth to brush the fox Chimera off, but instead, I listen, holding my tongue.

"I want to know what it means to be human."

Thinking to myself that the fox Chimera could be useful and can really make the journey to the tower more easier. After all, it's weird fire magic? Has helped with the fight with the falcon Chimera. At least it doesn't look hostile enough, but I still have to keep my guard up around it. I sigh. "Fine. But only until the tower, then we go our separate ways," I point out."

The fox Chimera smiles brightly, almost looking like it's blushing as it slightly hops on its toes. "Yes, thank you!"

A gust of wind blows from the north, where not only my goal is, but also the fox Chimera's as well, lie the tremendous tall black tower. Its sharp structure impales the parting gray clouds like an obsidian sword, glimmering in the dusk.