Jackal Among Snakes

“I don’t want her to hate us, but I understand why she does,” Argrave nodded as the dryads grew closer. “So long as she knows that we did what we did to hurt Erlebnis, not her.”

“Please, give this to her!” Anneliese called out, retrieving a paper from her pockets. She dropped it in the air, and then grabbed Argrave’s hand. With that left behind, she cast shamanic magic to transport them elsewhere.

When Argrave adjusted to his surroundings, he realized they were once again outside the Bloodwoods at the fringe of the giant redwoods where the battle between Kirel Qircassia and Sarikiz had taken place. He looked for Anneliese and asked, “You wrote a letter? When?”

“At Elenore’s office.” Anneliese crossed her arms defensively.

“Well… we know she’s alive,” Argrave said with as much brightness as such a statement could muster.

“We have to keep visiting her.” Anneliese told Argrave. She generally always made suggestions instead of demands, and Argrave was surprised to hear her speak so absolutely.

“If we receive the same reception every time… we’ll be burning through the spirits painstakingly collected from Chiteng’s sacrifice,” Argrave reminded her.

“I believe that would be more prudent than allowing a force of dryads persist in the center of allied territory. A force that might seek revenge against the elves at Onychinusa’s behest,” she rebuked in turn. “Please, Argrave. I will go alone henceforth to conserve spirits. I was the one that insisted on this to begin with. Let her be my responsibility.”

Argrave sighed and stepped away, thinking on this. He was greatly hesitant to allow spirits to be expended for something that might not even work. But then… this was Anneliese. She had been promising to die with him not days ago. Thinking of that, Argrave felt a little guilty for his hesitation.

“She’s too old for adoption,” Argrave looked back. “And we’re both too young for a child that age.”

Anneliese smiled, knowing from his disposition he wasn’t genuinely refusing her. “It’ll be practice.”

“Alright, go ahead.” Argrave threw up his hands. “But be very careful, Anne. Promise me that.”

“Of course.” Anneliese nodded. “For now, you must work closely with the elven armies. I shall visit every day until I am no longer refused.”

#####

her A-rank ascension. She could not transform her body into magic and dance through the air… indeed, she could not even reconstitute herself as her

head in the time after the emissaries’ attack. In the first few hours after her report to Erlebnis, she hated the dryads for interfering in that moment. She clung onto some vain hope that she might’ve remedied things with Erlebnis… but that hate vanished in wake of their earnest devotion,

with

emissaries had been fully ready to attack her, to kill her. The red chain of liquid metal came from a spell she did not know, but it had been on-hand for the sole purpose of ending her life. She could not cope just thinking of it, and denial pushed her to hate those that had caused this—Argrave and Anneliese,

as she realized that Erlebnis only cared as much as she was useful, so too did she blame the royal pair for turning Erlebnis against her. And when she learned they had returned to this forest, to deliver a message… she was livid enough to crawl to hunt them down. Her futile crawl only served to reopen the wound on her leg, though. The dryads kept her safe as was their duty, but her hate burned hot enough to

was what they offered after destroying all she knew. Onychinusa heard Argrave’s message, but refused to read the letter for days on end. Still Anneliese came, again and again… offering words, offering comforts. She knew they were lies. As had always been the case, the

stoked Onychinusa’s fury, and she ordered the dryads resume their assault redoubled. She was angry at herself for allowing her fire to wane, and so read the letter

had been the source of her greatest misery, so too did she understand precisely what that misery was. And with that taking root, Onychinusa’s feverish swings between wrath and solemn sadness came

commanded, “Place me beneath the tree in the clearing where

thought they seemed almost eager to obey. Onychinusa slept

And when Anneliese arrived…

the moment she stepped into sight, holding her hand near her mouth in shock.

but she was still unversed at talking to people. As her head grew white with rage, she only managed, “I hope

stepped closer, coming to stop at a comfortable distance. “Because it’s the most painful

forest to stand near her protectively. “Stop coming

regenerating magic… but… is that chain stopping it?”

Lord! Stop coming here! You don’t care,”

“I will help

assault, but Anneliese vanished, carried away by her

next Anneliese came, she brought the name of the spell she’d been hit by. Onychinusa barely paid attention, thinking only of what she might say to hurt

Onychinusa stayed. Day after day, she stayed in that clearing. And in turn, Anneliese’s

anger behind her words. She had thought about the situation half a thousand times, and Anneliese had explained

emissaries had attacked her… they gave not a single word of it. Yet Anneliese… still she came, day after day, no matter how much Onychinusa wished her dead.

spurred by the inequity of it all, Onychinusa simply asked, “Why did Erlebnis give up on

for an answer. Eventually, the

but as she sat on