Isher Notra

Stella:

Her gut was liquefied.

"F-Fucking hell..."

Her eyes slowly opened to glimpse the ground, covered by the branches, dead leaves, and roots of the countless trees that composed this section of the woods, from a strange distance. It was almost as if...

...

Oh. The young girl was hanging on a branch herself, her belly bending over the reliable wood, her flimsy, powerless limbs granting her a kinship with a wet towel poorly hung out to dry.

That freaking tornado got her good. She was pretty sure Gentō's scheme would be the sorceress's downfall, especially after-

......

Lien. Where was she?

Slowly pushing through the ache, Stella positioned herself to sit on the thick branch.

"Lien?!" she called, still somewhat breathless. "Can you hear me?!"

"Over here!" Of course, the young pup's sharp ears could hear her. A furry paw, covered in bright Saniya, waved at her at the base of a nearby tree. "Damn, girl! You were thrown THAT far!?"

"I didn't climb this on my own, that's for sure!" The Human chuckled, shaking her head as her hand clutched her stomach. Before her consciousness was briefly disconnected from the world by crashing against the hard, rough bark, she had formed a Saniya barrier around herself. If she hadn't, a tummy ache would have been the least of her problems...

"Have you seen Gentō!?" Lien loudly asked as she made her way up the tree, the visage giving Stella goosebumps as a flash of her unpleasant memory with Jólakötturinn. Just the thought made her bladder feel heavier...

The Human girl grimaced. "Crap. You can't find the bastard?"

The canine Monoke shook her head while finally reaching her packmate's side. "Nope. I can't sense his Saniya around here."

"Just what we needed..." Stella muttered, rubbing her temples.

Then again, the Baku wouldn't be any more useful now. He was utterly spent with all that crap he pulled with covering the entire clearing with his mist, those illusions, and-

...Was that intentional, or did it all come from Yuki-onna's mind? Gentō's plan was to pull out the sorceress's greatest desire, hoping to be enough of a distraction for her to no longer resist his Dream Mist. In the end, not even the cocky dream stealer could hide his terror, shaking in his crocs as if he opened Pandora's Box, unleashing evil that threatened to tear all three of his components apart.

Whoever she was talking to under the influence, her tear-filled eyes were bearing such an intense warmth, overwhelmingly jarring compared to the cold indifference or the oozing hatred she had carried thus far.

"Her 'niracle'..." were the two words Stella heard before the Yūrei started breaking free from the mist's deception. They rang inside her mind as her face took on a wintry wind, her eyes staring at the direction it blew from, knowing exactly who stood there.

"Lien?"

The pup's tail flickered curiously, her ears twitching as her eyes widened.

"Can you still feel Yuki-onna's Saniya?"

The Wolf sat in silence for a few seconds. In contrast, her tail lashed on the branch as if it were slowly creating sapience of its own.

"I can. It's much smaller than before, but it's noticeable."

Stella leaned closer. "Can we take her?"

Lien's head lingered in the direction contrary to the frigid currents, then it tilted slightly at the Human. "I... don't know."

Uncertain. A brief yet fitting summary of the couple's luck so far.

"You sure you want to fight her again?" the Wolf questioned.

Stella looked at her hand, clenching it as tightly as she could. It wasn't to test if she regained complete control of her once-dulled limbs. Instead, she wanted to assess her own resolve on the matter.

"I guess..." she answered, unsure.

"Huh?" Lien's head tilted, visibly questioning this out-of-character demeanor.

"I got a new idea. Something to try out before we go fists blazing again." Stella explained, her legs carrying her back to her feet.

"If you say so..." Lien joined her, her voice still charged with reservation as her paws gently anchored the Human to a safe equilibrium. "Whatever happens, I'm here to guard your back!"

Stella clung to her furry arms, her mind put at ease while her heart warmed by the pup's unwavering loyalty. "Appreciate it, Lien." Her lips press against her muzzle, prompting the Monoke's mane to bristle immediately.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

So cute.

"Well?" In one swoop, the Wolf sweeps the Human into her arms, like a helpless princess carried by her devoted knight. "You ready?"

The girl chuckled, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly, accustomed to her girlfriend's boldness at this point. "Sure! Whenever you're-"

A dull pain echoed through her very core, sending ripples of discomfort that momentarily drowned the ones already surging from her gut.

...

......

"Uh, Lien?"

"Hm?"

"We'll need to take a quick stop first."

It's official. Heights have some effect on her bladder.

The night was silent, a void filled only by Stella's boot pressing and cracking rogue branches and dry leaves.

Moonlight broke through the canopy, a grim reminder of her early days in Sayama, of her blind march through pending dangers. Although Lien was right beside her, strutting as she readied herself for action, she couldn't shake the thought of Yuki-onna being too mighty a threat for them both.

Then why? Why was she bothering to walk straight towards a path where her chances of survival lay dangerously low?

Pride? A thirst for retribution for all the atrocities committed to get to her? A self-esteem so low, fed from the sorceress's claims of her character, that she would sabotage herself to the point of suicide?

Who could say? Even Stella herself was unsure. Perhaps it was a little bit of both: ingredients carefully put together and thrown into a boiling pot to create a gory disaster.

What the Human knew for sure was this pull towards the Yūrei. A ravenous dissatisfaction, growling to eat away her own flesh until a husk was all that was left.

She knew the exact moment she stepped beyond her last chance of safety when a crimson glow caught her eye, peeking subtly through the woods. Once they were back at the clearing, they witnessed a somewhat unexpected situation: Yuki-onna, sitting on a haphazardly cut log, likely made through the intimidating weapon she still carried - lazily rotating the sickle end as her wrist barely moved.

"Finally," the Yūrei huffed, getting up with impatience carried on her frown. "I thought you'd actually run away like a coward. Either that, or you'd die defore we could have fun..."

To hear Yuki-onna's physical voice, raspy and strained beyond imagination, was nothing short of unsettling. Each word felt like it brought pain to utter, as if her vocal cords were on the verge of snapping with every use. Hell, maybe this was precisely the case...

Nevertheless, the sorceress readied her fighting stance, now spinning the blunt side of the kusarigama. "Ready?"

Stella stared at her for a few seconds, standing awkwardly before taking a deep breath to support her assinine resolve.

"Now wait a damn second," the child pleaded, holding a hand at her opponent. "I got a few words for you."

Yuki-onna's eyelids widened for a mere inch. "E-Excuse ne...?"

"Stella?" Lien touched her shoulder. "You sure this is the right time for trash talk?"

The Human flashed a shy grin, grasping at straws to alleviate the tension pressing against her heart at every angle. "Every time is a good time for trash talk." She cleared her throat, covering her mouth with her closed hand. "But that's not it."

"I couldn't care less adout what you have to say..." Yuki-onna hissed, venom dripping along. "You arrived here for a fight, didn't you?! So cease your cowardice AND-"

"Your 'miracle.' They were killed by Humanity, right?" Stella's mouth ran bluntly, not assessing for consequences.

Yuki-onna's shout ceased, her jaw never closing, and her eyes twitching periodically. The rotating chains almost slipped out of her grasp.

That much was easy to guess. Now came the tricky part.

"Not just that, but they were murdered by a Human you trusted with your life. Maybe not like Lien and I, but..."

Gradually, the Yūrei's appalled expression fought through the shock, contorting into a horrifying scowl. Lien's grip on her packmate's shoulder abruptly tightened.

"Y-You..."

Turquoise wisps flashed around the sorceress. Stella and Lien assumed their stances, expecting her to lash out, but...

...She closed her eyes, her chest heaving as the remnants of her Saniya faded from view.

"You're correct." Yuki-onna's eyes reopened, the preying gaze on the Human child sending shivers down anyone's spine. "Ny daughter was assassinated. Ny 'lover' cut her head off right dehind ny dack."

Huh. Although the hunch was strong, especially after remembering the sudden outburst the sorceress made at Lien at the end of their dialogue, Stella wasn't entirely sure she'd get everything right. Still, this hardly felt like a motive for celebration.

"However, why knowing this would change anything?" the sorceress questioned. "Detween you and ne, only one of us will exit Chikukei alive."

"I mean..." Stella's voice softened. "It's not like I don't get where you come from. Now that I think about it, even those Ogre bastards must have had a good reason to want to eat me. Even so, I'm willing to make a deal with you."

Once more, absolute confusion dawned on the sorceress. "A... deal? With you?"

Stella nodded, her tone gaining more confidence as her anxiety was drowned out by the words that flowed out. "Look, we can keep fighting just like you wanted and risk the Dragon's Guard busting you if you don't finish me in time. Or..." She raised a finger. "You can fly far away from here or hide in the bushes or in the caves or whatever. Meanwhile, I can point the guards in the wrong direction."

A long, profound silence ensued. Did Stella... defeat Yuki-onna by sheer perplexity?

"And... what do you gain with ny survival?" The Yūrei's eyes narrowed. "You hate ne. Don't you?"

The girl crossed her arms, her gaze still fixed on the sorceress. "I thought you were just another crazy person trying to trample over everyone to get what you want. Truth is, what you went through..." She grimaced. "...Well, it's rough. I guess I can't bring myself to hate you all that much."

More quietness. An entire minute of it.

Yuki-onna exhaled, slumping her shoulders, glancing downcast, her eyes covered by her unkempt hair, giving her a similar look to her betrayed companion. "You... are quite the sly one..."

A chill coursed through Stella, stiffening her posture.

"Was this how you convinced that clown? His cohorts? Hari-onagu?" Her head snapped back at them, a traumatizing grin cursing her cadaveric complexion. "Heartfelt words of selflessness! How cute!"

Long, slow steps like a slasher movie killer. Yuki-onna's head bobbed slightly with each as her unhinged stare narrowed solely on Stella as if she were her dinner. The curved blade of the blood sickle engraved a faint line on the dirt.

"I don't want your nercy..." the sorceress growled, her steps hastening in pace by the moment. "Even if I live in a cell for eternity, I will ensure this society's survival, whatever it TAKES!"

The slow walk had escalated into a clumsy, feral sprinting. Diplomacy was pointless in the end.

No, Stella couldn't say that. This conversation did help with one essential thing...

She watched Lien take the lead on their defense, clashing her natural weapons against the construct of blood and ice, forming sparks each time. Meanwhile, the Human closed her fist once more, her golden Saniya blazing and enhancing the grip.

Although it wasn't as intense as it was when she first stepped into this winter, her resolve was sturdy enough.

Yuki-onna didn't accept peace. Stella was content with this.

That meant she wouldn't get guilty once the bitch's face was mushed into red paste.

Asra would've been proud just for the attempt.