Dëerios

O•II |Two and the Same|

The crowd instantly made way for her as she approached her position. Miriam could feel them rubbing their shoulders as if trying to repel the ominous sensation she sent their way. She kept her eyes to the ground and moved past them, their wary glances burning her back. Her tassia flickered in her belly. She held her breath and counted her heartbeats. The wave of her power died down.

To keep herself distracted, she sized her ground and made an attempt to catch a glimpse of the army of yisels ahead- beasts almost twelve feet tall- but to no avail. There was only darkness that welcomed them to the giant cave.

"Traublaze Jennet!" Miriam recognised the voice and turned to find Leader Bernhar approaching her. He stopped at a good distance away from her. "I want you to avoid engaging in battle today unless absolutely necessary. Fall back and wait for my command."

He didn't wait for her response and trotted away. It was not unusual for the execution of a small pack of beasts. She was only a back-up plan, for the lack of a better word. A part of her was relieved at the order.

She jogged to one of the trees behind the unit, the one which gave her a clear field view, and crouched down, drawing an arrow towards the ground. Just in case. In the second row of the unit, she spotted Aeric, his hazel eyes moving in all directions. Definitely searching for her. He kept massaging the mark of bonding at his temple as if reassuring himself that it hadn't vanished. She shook her head. The attack hadn't even begun yet.

"Traublazes! Unsheathe your weapons and ready your arrows! The yisels have sensed us. They would be here any moment now!" The Leader's voice echoed in the clearing. The archers mounted their horses while the others followed the discussed formation.

Anticipation and thrill pumped in her blood. Adrenaline rushed through her bones as her heart raced. With a start she realised an emotion was coursing in her mind. She willed her mind to empty itself. She imagined the calm ocean. Anything that would calm the adrenaline in her veins-

But too late.

The tassia pushed against her mind. Begging her to be let out. Her blood vessels roared beneath her skin and she panicked, digging her fingers into the bark of the tree.

She should have shut out her heart.

Miriam glanced at the unit. Mere some feet away. If the sky exploded now then they would-

Her throat began to close at the pain and the power surged to her ears, leaving her skin scorched. She cursed. She wasn't supposed to feel anything. She hadn't been careful. Even a hint of an emotion and she would end up killing everyone. She had known but yet she had let it flow through her.

Her eyes burned until tears rolled down her face. Let me go, her tassia seemed to say, let me go and it would be over. She bit down her lip to contain her scream. 'Aeric', she tugged at their bond but he was too far away. This distance didn't allow her thoughts to reach him.

There were fifty people in the vicinity. It would be a massacre.

Another wave hit her and she smelled her skin burning. She sobbed, clutching her head. Stop, she pleaded to the monstrosity, please. Clouds began collecting overhead. Any moment the sky would burst if she didn't contain this.

Trembling violently, Miriam palmed through her sack to fish out an arrow. She felt it farther than she had expected. She must have thrown the sack away in the pain.

A wound would satisfy it. At least, until this assault was over. The tassia would feed on her blood and she would be free of this head-splitting pain-