The Land of Dawn (ML Fanfic)

46. a team

Akai was running blindly as his mind was racing, full of thoughts about Nana. His cat elf sister went missing when he was out shortly to hunt for food.

He saw blood droplets on the place where he has last seen Nana. And that exacerbated his thoughts about his sister's whereabouts and how she is doing. Akai used this circumstance as his clue to locate Nana.

After a whole bunch of running, he stopped for a bit to catch his breath. He wasn't trained to run fast. Plus, his body has accumulated fat because Nana fed him well when they were adventuring together. And now, she's nowhere to be found.

That thought alone motivated him to run again and locate his cat elf sibling.

Tired and breathless from all the footwork, he neared a vineyard and as he slid closer, he heard faint whispering sounds.

He stealthily approached the entrance of the yard which was laced by a myriad of hanging purple vines.

He parted one strand from the dangling lot for him to be able to see the inside of the clearing and what he saw took his breath away.

Nana was floating mid-air, with her hands dangling lifelessly on the sides. Her eyes were all white and her once pointy ears now lay motionless on top of her head.

And what seemed to be pink lights came tumbling out of her mouth, as if her mana is being sucked out from her.

Akai couldn't see the creature that's casting this somewhat enchantment; all he could see was green and black smoke supporting the weight of his sister as she continued to flay high on the air.

With saving her sister as his sole priority, he was almost to dash forward to the predicament in front him when he was suddenly grabbed from behind by what seemed to be a fluffy thing.

To his astonishment he saw Nana.

"What the.. you were supposed to be.." he whispered with exhausted breaths.

Nana pulled him and took Akai away from the vineyard.

"That wasn't me. One of my cats sacrificed its life to save mine. Now, we must go, before that necromancer finds out that I've tricked her." Nana explained using a tone that Akai never heard before. His sister's voice was full of urgency and authority. As if life and death were on the pedestal.

Nana ran and ran, pulling her brother along until she figured that she has placed enough distance between them and the vineyard.

"What was that about, Nana? Care to explain? I seem to be not updated here." Akai said, breaking the silence that weaved between them.

Nana coughed and let out a breath before she started talking. "When you went out to hunt, one of my cat elves alerted me that they sensed dark necrotic magic nearing our location. So they tasked me to hide and put out a decoy of myself to find out what was about to happen. Quin, the cat you just saw who took my appearance, never expected that she'll need to lose her life to protect me.

It turned out that the necrotic magic was emitted by the necromancer, Vexana. She's in dire need of puppets to control. And before she can have her puppets, she has to kill, harvest souls. And that was when Quin sacrificed herself for me to escape the jaws of the necromancer." She finished, her eyes welling with tears.

Akai laced his arms behind his sister's small back, and pulled her close to him. He gave her the tightest hug he has ever given someone in his lifetime.

He could feel the fear Nana has felt while telling the gruesome tale.

"Hush now. At least you have been spared. Your friend died a noble death, knowing a life has been spared in exchange of its own. Now, we must flee this part of the realm." Akai finished, as she grabbed Nana's little paws farther from where they once stood.