Of Humans, Demons and Magic

Ashkara's body suddenly went limp as, for the first time in several years, one part of her mind willingly gave up her body to another. The soldier stayed back from the temptation of freedom, knowing that if she went then it would only end in death, allowing the vow bound girl to go instead. At least, at least, she hoped that she would stick to her word and not hurt the boy.

Her eyes snapped open, already using the gravity that stuck the sand to her face in order to push the grains away with each batting of her eyelashes. The tightness of her suffocating lungs and urge to inhale was painful to the point where she almost didn't care if sand was taken in, so long as some amount of air did as well. That was foolish thinking though, and she knew it. With her chest aching in desperation and her new-found vision beginning to blur, she expanded the extent of her abilities, wrapping it around the sand nearest to her in large balls of light weight earth that each part of her body kicked out at. Her right arm pushed towards one with no resulting movement, meaning that way was down, with her legs moving experimentally with some resistance to what she believed was left and right. Meanwhile, her left arm was able to shove away a surprisingly large portion, which identified as that way being up. Ashkara pushed harder on the lighter, compact section of dirt, feeling something close to joy when it successfully gave way to the surface and a weak ray of light shone through in welcoming to her escape.

Once out, she allowed the sand cloud that was precariously floating near her head to fall, after blowing it away from her with an unnaturally large breath. 'Now, help him!' a tiny, annoying voice begged, making her roll her eyes in recollection of her word. It seemed so much more bothersome to keep, now that she wasn't in any immediate danger of death due to her other mind's stupidity. She never broke her promises though, none of them did, and they each knew this about the other. The girl took in a deep breath of air and allowed gravity to no longer rein over a majority of the spilled dunes, before lifting and pounding an extremely heavy foot against the ground, causing a 'thud' to reverberate back at her from some far off rock, deep under the ground. The sand shook and shivered violently upon impact, spreading more easily than it normally would have been able to should it of weighed more than it did. The only thing that was not meant to be effected by this though was the boy, so it was with little surprise that she immediately noticed a small dip in the ground from where the sand was beginning to sink in where the boy was. She smirked with a small laugh. Easy.

She strode over so the growing hole and thrust her entire arm deeply into it, feeling around for something to grab onto. She frowned in confusion, fingers meeting something like leather, unable to place what it was until recognizing the shape of a foot. Any of her lesser selves would have sighed and felt empathy towards the boy, instead she felt only annoyance at the difficulty of getting a firm grip on the leather due to his position. With a small grunt, she released the sand to how it was previously and focused on the weight of the boy, immediately being rewarded by the shift of his body until his entire being was free from the clutches of the earth, on his back and facing the sky. "There. All done," she said in exasperation. She had every intention to walk away and leave him, unconscious as he was, to go off to explore the Sahara and her rarely permitted, physical release. 'What of the hybrids, demon and the very fact that his breathing is shallow?' the soldier questioned in slight amusement. "What of it?!" she snapped. 'You promised you would help him, thankfully, you didn't specify what with. So, I speak for the passive one when I remind you, help him.' She internally cringed at the truth of her other self's words, cursing herself for her own stupidity of forgetting the importance of specifications. Shaking out the remaining sand from her jet black locks of hair, she placed her palm in front of the boy's mouth, testing his breathing strength, again cursing at the result. In a gesture that would appear to any less inexperienced in the procedure of those who have drowned, as a kiss, she bent down and pressed her lips against his, breathing out oxygen into his starving lungs.
 
He stayed still for several more puffs, until he finnally woke, coughing and hitting his chest with his hand, the fool had swallowed some sand from earlier and he spit it out as soon as his lips had neen freed, he looked over at the girl softly, "Thanks." He whispered softly, looking up at the dark sky, the beast from earlier was gone now, "Okay ... anyways ... to the oasis ..." he said, brushing himself off.
 
Ashkara pushed herself up into a standing position from being bent over him, straightening out her clothes and spitting briefly to the side. It wasn't because of the sand, so much as to rid herself off the lingering taste of his mouth on her, and she certainly wasn't about to offer her hand out to assist him in his own standing. There were limited to the word 'help' that she was not willing to pass the boundaries of, seeing as how he could probably stand very well on his own. At his thanks, she gave only the slightest of nods, looking away to take in the desert around them. "What's at the oasis?" she asked, golden yellow eyes narrowing and suspicion. "The memories of my other self are usually... foggy." Not to mention that she hardly knew this boy and only a few minutes ago would have gladly sliced his head off in the heat of blood lust.
 
He looked at her slightly confused, "I thought I told you ... well anyways, there will be some food, and water there, and we need some if were to survive in this desert, he looked around, scratching his head, his sense of direction now off because of the earth demon, "Which way is North East?" He asked.
 
Ashkara simply watched the boy for a moment, simply pondering on whether or not to tell him the truth of the direction, but then, she couldn't think of an excusable reason of why not to. Settling for what would appear to the male as a direction chosen at random, she gestured with a nudge of her head towards the way she believed them in need of going. If it were night, she would go by the stars, by day the sun and during a storm, her instinct for the gravitational pull would always show the way North. "That way," she stated, sounding almost bitter at having to go with him. She needed food and water though, and his mentioning of it had only made her more aware of the need.
 
He nodded a bit, "All right come on." He whispered, beginning to lead the way as they trekked through the desert, in search of his oasis he had told her about, if it was even real, after all, desert's usually played trick's on the mind and soul, however he had claimed to have been there, so there must have been one.
 
She dutifully followed beside the boy, for reasons similar, yet also different to her previous ones. Walking ahead of him left an opportunity for him to stab her in the back and although she doubted he was that kind of person, it paid to be cautious, and she refused to follow behind because it made her feel too feminine. Silly, perhaps, but she viewed herself as equal, at the very least, to this stranger. Which reminded her, "What's your name?" she asked out of the blue, glancing over at him. She didn't know, nor care for how long they had been traveling so far, but during the time, she had spent a majority of it removing traces of sand from the inside of her sword sheath and hair. It has been quite bothersome, actually. Now mostly satisfied that it was gone, aside from that she walked on, she pulled a scrunchie free from her wrist and tied up her recently changed, coal colored hair into a loose ponytail.
 
"Xenel ..." he replied quitely, walking quickly beside her, then looked over at her face, noting the change in hair color, "And you?" He asked, followed by, "And your others?" Since he realized how diffrent she had appeared, changing 3 times, it wasn't natural.
 
"Xenel..." she repeated, testing the name out on her tongue, casting him another look before nodding to herself absentmindedly. Her mouth twitched at his returning questions, a conceited smile finding its way to her face, her voice turning low and bitter by the twang of hate. "Actually, myself and the one before are the 'others' to the first girl you met." She left shortly without humor or amusement, the fake smile quickly turning into something closer resembling a sneer. "Her name is Ashkara. They aren't too bright when it comes to names and originality, so They call me 'Ash' for all the attempts I've made at burning down there bloody Organization and the pacifist They call 'Karra' for convenience sake. Idiots." She shook her head in disbelief, eyes seeing some far-off memories. She hated Them more than anything or anyone, yet it seemed that the only way she could curb her rage was to take the lives of the innocent who were even remotely related to Them, even if the creatures didn't know it yet. They found her short temper quite useful in controlled situations, but in the open it was a horrible inconvenience and a bigger mess for Them to clean up afterwards, after returning her to her 'original' self's mindset, of course. Their little robot to do with as they please. It disgusted her, even when the other two didn't seem to mind very much.
 
He nodded a little, backing up slightly, feeling her hate pented at him a bit, "Sorry ..." he whispered gently, and stuck his hands in his pockets deep in thought, a tree within sight in the distance, with a pool of water, and several bushes around, "There ..." he said, lifting his hand out and pointed, "Though watch out for Greg."
 
She looked up suddenly at the unexpected apology, used to hearing it spoken in fear, not sincerity as Xenel had said it. It was different and she wasn't sure how she felt about this new form difference, although it didn't make her feel like punching him in the face. Yet another unaccustomed feeling, or rather the absence of a feeling, that almost made her want to reassure him that he didn't need to apologize. She wouldn't though, the courtesy not being in her nature. He then raised his hand in a gesture of direction for them to follow, it already being quite clear where the destination was. "What is Greg?" she asked, burying her remaining anger within her for later use. The question of Greg, sounding strange without using 'who', seemed more natural to her, confident that anything that she had to be careful of was no longer human.
 
He smiled a little, "A friend of mine ... i'll make sure he doesn't attack ... okay? You understand how crocodiles live in the nile though, correct? Think of a 40 foot long one, that is half human. A giant of sorts." He answered, descending the sand dune. He lookeed back up to the Ashkara, sighing gently and noticing she hadn't moved yet, "Are you coming?" He asked possibly a bit impatiently, maybe he should give her a break, she had after all saved his life from a sand creature, then again, she tried to kill him. He shook his head, whatever.
 
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(( Sorry >.<' I think I'm going through some kind of writers' block. ))

She tried to picture the length of something being eight times greater than her height, and nodded in understanding. For any kind of creature that resembled one of natural origin, that was quite the size, especially if it contained some human attributes as well. Angling her body sideways, she allowed herself to gradually slide down the side of the dune at an equal speed to the boy, keeping her gaze set on the oasis ahead. "If he attacks anyway, that's fine with me," she added as an afterthought. A small smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth closest to Xenel.
 
((Ahh alright, you could've told me/ if you want to quit though you can ... I mean ... I know i'm not ... the best ... but ... you know, / ok.))

Xenel sighed a little, "Alright, if he tries to attack us ... we'll beat him ... hopefully not though ... I haven't seen him for a while, so not sure." He shrugged a little, "Maybe he's dead, maybe he's not, maybe something worse is there, who knows?" He looked toward the oasis, still walking between a brisk and slow pace. He looked over to her now, "Why do they want me dead?" He asked suddenly.
 
(( *hugs again* Not going to quit >.< ))

His sudden question instantly recaptured her attention, Ash's gaze quickly settling on the boy now as she debated with herself, her actual self, on how she might answer. Her smirk grew into a mysteriously teasing grin when she remembered that Karra hadn't been able to recall why she had been sent out, and that was why he hadn't become any the wiser on the matter of his death. Ah, how pitiful... "I'll tell you only because it will anger Their 'soldier', Ashkara, and that is such a rare thing to be able to do." The world suddenly became blurred as if by tears, a faint outline of darkness at the edges of her vision threatening to engulf her and return her back to the world of emptiness. 'Don't,' the mentioned self warned in a flat tone, clearly not amused. Ash's grin only grew, her words coming out faster, eyes cradling a mischievous twinkle in their core. "You're a liability to the Organization. You may not remember anything at all, but you are, and with time comes the greater chance that you'll be able to use what you know against Them... You've been there. Trained there. Worked for Them. Just like us. You know more about-" Her eyes widened suddenly and a small gasp came from the girl, taking a quick step away from the male. 'Hit me,' she commanded, too late, already trapped within the mind of another.

Returned to the fresh air, Ashkara took the small liberty of a cool breath of air, eyes and hair once again returning to their emerald shade in a manner similar to someone having tipped a bucket of green dye over her hair. The color quickly spread across every strand like oil over water until her iris's too absorbed the shade. "Thank goodness," she purred softly, a beautiful smile crossing her features. "I was almost too late." In a single, graceful movement, she pulled free her sword from its newly cleaned scabbard and swung it at the male's head. "Goodbye, Xenel."
 
((Okay. :) ))

He backed up slightly, and fell over onto his back when she swung, barely missing his head. He sighed a bit, rolling over on the ground, evading her movement's and now standing, he turned his head away, about to pull his sword on traitorous woman, but instead merely turning around, and running his full speed toward the oasis, his chest burning from guilt and pain.
 
Ashkara sighed in disappointment, pouting slightly as she watched her quarry run. It was more entertaining when they stayed and fought, also usually allowing her other sides to feel guilt and a surge of bloodlust at his death, but she could make do with a chase as well. From the previous run, she knew she may not be as fast as the boy, but could probably kick up a good deal of speed herself. She quickly sheathed her sword with a soft thud as the handle met leather, and with a brief exhalation, she ran. Her strides were long and confident, kicking up only the smallest amounts of sand at the weightlessness of impact every time her feet touched and left the ground. 'Thank you,' a timid voice murmured, to her confusion, only to realize that the remark was not directed at her when another, gruffer voice answered with an annoyed, 'Shut up. You forced my hand.' She shook her head, determined not to get distracted by the voices this time. Although she couldn't remember just how much her other self had told the boy before the change, she was quite positive that the leakage wasn't lethal, so long as he didn't think about it too much. It didn't matter though. He would be out of her hair soon enough, becoming only one more profile to destroy when she got back to Them.
 
He arrived at the oasis, Greg beneath the wake of the water, he sprouted up slightly before he realized it was only Xenel, Xenel looked at him and they agreed in silence, right now was not the time for words, Xenel hid behind several bushes, knowing Greg would most likely defend his territory and the girl would be forced to leave from his impenetrable hide.
 
The girl skidded to a stop some fifty feet from the lip of the waters edge, a wave of sand showering ahead of her at the abruptness of her stop. Crocodiles were said to be slow on land, but that didn't make them any less dangerous, and their main vantage point came from their first, initial lunge at their unsuspecting prey when they came up from the water. The surprise and speed of the attack was what usually caught the victim. If they got away though, then it was fair game. Though, what if the crocodile was ten times larger than a normal one and had the unknown abilities that accompanied its human side? That was what worried her now, the unknown. Surely, a human could lunge repeatedly repeatedly ruthlessly, and the masculinity of the creature would have undeniably increased as well. Ashkara stayed just outside of the fifty foot mark, pacing slowly around the tremendous body of water and greenery that stood out so greatly against the paleness of its surroundings in the moon light. She hummed softly to herself, eyes remaining wary as she simply walked, looking for any point of weakness, while also keeping an eye on the ominously dark waters. There was always a tactical skill that could be applied to any situation in order to turn it to her advantage, be it speed, luck, planning, stamina or even deceit, as she had used just earlier that evening.
There's always a way.
 
Xenel stayed hidden in the brush and leave's, he sighed gently, surely she would turn back at the mere sight of Greg, he was rather large, and much to dangerous for someone on their own, if not, he would be rid of her.
 
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