Chapter 6: Ambush

Nova, David, and Carthy's mission begins on the wrong foot as different view points quickly spark arguments. Can they put aside their differences when a mysterious figure attacks them from nowhere?

After only a few hours of hiking, Carthy was close to her wit’s end. When she agreed to accompany the two Mercenaries, she wasn’t expecting them to be so annoying. With David’s constant need for breaks and Nova’s non-stop talking, Carthy was ready to turn back and help rebuild Noam. However, she already gave them her word so she had to stick with her decision. This was the fourth break they had taken since leaving the small village. Carthy sat on a stump as David lay in the tall grass, which was still wet from the dew. Nova was sitting on the low branches of a tree, swinging her feet back and forth.

“For a Mercenary,” Carthy said, staring at the boy as he ran his fingers through his hair. “You sure take your sweet time getting to your objective.”

“He’s still new to the Mercenary experience,” Nova replied, now hanging upside down. Her legs were wrapped around the branch to keep herself from falling. “I’m sure he’ll get used to it soon enough. These things just take some time.”

“Wait, still new? How many missions has he been on?”

“Oh, at least a dozen by now,” David chimed in from the grass.

“Are you kidding me?” Carthy’s face was engulfed by the palms of her hands.

“Nice try, David,” Nova teased. “We both know this is only your fourth mission.”

              Carthy groaned loudly.

“Mercenaries are placed throughout Magraan, right?” Carthy’s voice was slightly muffled from the hands over her mouth.

“Yup!” Nova said cheerfully, playing with the last lock of brown hair in her green mane. “We’re stationed all over. Esrai Forest, Nsy Valley, Loets Lake, you name it. Our post is the Outer Brim so this is the first time we’re really exploring outside the area.”

“Yeah, great. So with all of these Mercenaries in mind, someone decided to ask you, of all people, to kill Dyterag?”

“You betcha!”

              Carthy let out a loud sigh as she knocked the knuckle of her right thumb against her forehead, the leather glove cushioning each hit. David got up from the ground, stretching as he looked down at the imprint he left in the grass. Nova was now upright on the branch, looking up to the blue sky above her. The clouds looked soft enough to lie on. The sun was shining brightly over the forest. Nova’s smile was unchanging.

“Taplica’s doomed…we’re doomed…” Carthy whispered to herself as she looked up at Nova. She stared, puzzled, at the girl. “How are you so happy? Shouldn’t you be taking your mission a little more seriously?”

“It’s too sunny to be serious,” Nova said, jumping down from her perch. Carthy stood up, cracking her back as she did so. David put his pack on after drinking some water from the container. Nova readjusted her cloak. “You ought to look on the bright side every now and then.”

              Carthy rolled her eye as the trio headed north-east into the forest. She was leading the way because she told the Mercenaries that she had done the trek before. While true, she mostly wanted to lead so she could have her space. This, however, didn’t mute Nova’s voice.

“So,” Nova said to David, leaning over to look at the pistol hanging from his left hip. “What are you going to name it?”

“It says ‘101 Scout’ on the side here,” David replied, tracing a line with his finger across the engraving on the weapon. “So I think I’ll keep it as ‘Scout’.”

“Name it?” Carthy sounded confused. “You seriously take the time to name your weapons?”

“Of course,” Nova said. “They’re just like humans, with different personalities and everything. They’re a part of us so we name them.” She took out her sickle and ran up beside Carthy, showing her the blade. “For example, this is Madeline.”

“Cute.” Carthy continued to look forward, walking steadily. “Why’d you choose that name?”

“I don’t know,” said the young Mercenary, her voice being quieter this time. “It just popped into my head after I forged her. It feels familiar, though. Like I heard it before from somewhere.”

“Hmm, that’s actually kind of interesting.” Carthy smirked a little bit. Nova grinned upon hearing her comment. David picked up his pace, taking out his dagger. He was shoving it in front of Carthy, which made her stop in her tracks and glare at him.

“This one is named Lobo,” David spoke with enthusiasm. “My dad said that it means…”

              He didn’t have time to finish his statement before Carthy took hold of his wrist, ceasing his waving of the metal. She looked at the shocked boy, displeased with his actions. David stared back at Carthy, trying to move his captive right hand free. It wouldn’t budge.

“For the love of all that is good in this world,” Carthy enunciated. “Don’t bring that blade so close to me. I’m really not in the mood to have to cover the left side of my face with bandages too. Got it?”

“Got it.” David nodded and Carthy’s grip released. “Anyways, my dad said it means ‘wolf’ and that these creatures were proud hunters before going extinct a few years after the Taplican Raid. He said they hunted in packs and could only be tamed by the best of Mercenaries.”

“Extinct, huh?” Carthy looked down at her shoes, the blue fabric contrasting against the green underneath them. “That’s terrible…” Her neutral expression dropped into a discouraged frown. She stood silently for a few moments before she turned her back to the pair of Mercenaries. “Come on, let’s keep going,” she said quietly.

Nova and David looked at each other briefly before following Carthy’s lead. Trying to think of something to lighten the mood, Nova thought of a question.

“So, what did you name your weapons?”

              Carthy remained silent, walking around a fallen tree. Nova moved closer to her, thinking she didn’t hear the question.

“Did you ever name your weapons? I’m sure they have great ones.”

              There was no response once again. Nova then moved beside Carthy, who was looking at the sun. It was now at the 11:00 position.  

“Hey…are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Carthy finally spoke. “I’m fine. Let’s just keep moving.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Because if you need to talk to someone, you c-“

“I’m fine, okay? Seriously, can you just shut up for once!”

              Nova looked at the soil and slowed down so she could walk next to David. He patted her on the shoulder to comfort her but she looked away from him. He sighed and glanced up at the forest, the trees towering over them. He looked to the left of him and noticed something in a tree. It was too far away, however, to make out what it was. He tensed up as he continued to walk. He looked to the left again a few minutes later. He saw the same figure in the trees. He began to get suspicious of it.

“Do you two see that?” David pointed in the direction of the figure, only for it to quickly vanish out of sight. Carthy drew her weapons as she followed David’s finger to where their observer once was. She sighed once she noticed nothing was there, sheathing her weapons and placing them on her left shoulder.

“Hilarious,” Carthy muttered. She turned around and continued making her trek towards their goal.

“No, I-I swear there was something there! It’s been following us for a while now.”

              Carthy turned around and glared at the boy.

“I’ve already had it up to here with her,” Carthy raised her left hand to be level with her eyebrow. “I don’t need you adding to that. Enough games, let’s keep going.”

“He’s right, though,” Nova said, her hands clasped in front of her. “I sense something around here and it isn’t natural. We should be careful.”

“What did I say about you and your talking, sunshine?”

“Get off her back, why don’t you?” David raised his voice. Carthy stormed towards him, grabbing the top of his head with her right hand.

“Excuse me?”

“Just give Nova a break, okay? She was only trying to be helpful back there.”

“A break? Yeah, says the newbie who can’t walk for an hour without needing to sit down. I’ve given both of you more than enough breaks as it is.”

“Whatever you say, captain.”

              Nova watched as David and Carthy continued to argue. Her attempts to intervene were unheard over their constant bickering. From the corner of her eye, she saw something glisten in a far-off tree. She became uneasy.

“Hey, guys…” She spoke nervously. “I think we need to get out of here.”

“…and as long as I’m around,” Carthy continued to rant at David. “You’re going to listen to me. That way, you don’t get us all killed.”

“I take orders from Nova, not you,” David snapped back.

“Guys, come on,” Nova said more urgently. “We need to leave. Now.”

              They were still not listening. Nova was about to shout when her ears picked up a faint high pitched sound coming from the same tree. A blue light flashed from the foliage and then grew brighter, the noise getting louder as it rapidly approached the group. It was an ambush.

“Get out of the way!” Nova yelled out, quickly pushing David and Carthy to the side. The blue light sped its way towards Nova as she unsheathed her sickle and held it out to protect herself. The beam collided with the black metal, causing an explosion that sent Nova backwards. High in the air, she flipped around and grabbed hold of a tree branch, her feet flat on the trunk, as she examined her surroundings for the attacker. David and Carthy got up from the ground and looked at the singed circle of grass the explosion created.

Seeing something come out into the clearing, Nova pushed herself off of the tree towards it. As she descended, she swung diagonally from her right side as a surprise attack. Though caught off guard, the attacker was able to grab hold of the sickle with his metal hands before the hit landed, leaving Nova shocked. In defense, the figure threw the girl towards the others forcefully, causing her body to knock the others back down.

“You have become so weak,” the figure said in a deep distorted voice. “That you now rely on pitiful bodyguards for protection? I expected more from you, Ms. Ethoros.”

              As Nova lifted herself off of her partners, they finally got a good look at their assailant. A glossy green helmet curved in the front to cover his right eye and spiked in the back. His face was covered by a red mask, though part of the right side was exposed to show skin underneath. A piecing blue eye scanned the trio. His tattered black sweater and blue jeans revealed metal underneath them. The left side of his neck was plated with more metal. The hands were bright yellow with a blue orb on the back of each one. The fingers were silver and pointed at the tips.

“Who are you?” David said as he pointed his newly acquired pistol at the figure.

“I am Unit XVI of the Destruction Authorized Cyborg Project,” the figure replied. “I have been sent to retrieve Ms. Ethoros and deliver her to His Greatness, Lord Dyterag.”

“Again with this s**t…” Carthy drew her weapons and didn’t hesitate to ignite the bells. She glared at Unit XVI as the flames hardened into blades of stone. “Listen to me! I’m not going back to Taplica with you, got it? I already told the legion of officers you sent I wasn’t so I suggest you leave now before I turn you into a heap of junk!”

              A sinister laugh came from Unit XVI as he pointed a silver finger at the woman.

“Your insolence is pathetic. I suggest that you step down from your fictional pedestal and return back to Taplica. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to take drastic measures.”

“She’s with us,” Nova called out, raising her sickle to a ready stance. “You’re not taking her away.”

“Stay out of this,” Carthy replied as she used one blade to block Nova from advancing. “This is between him and I.”

“He looks pretty tough,” David said nervously, his gun shaking. “I think you might need us for this one.”

“I said stay out of it! This isn’t your battle.”

“It is now,” Nova exclaimed. “Friends stick together, Carthy. No matter what.”

              A high pitched noise rose over the conversation as a blue light eradiated from XVI’s right hand. The Mercenaries ran to the left as Carthy leaped to the right, all three of them dodging the beam. The sound of several trees falling rang out as Carthy went for an over-head slash on the cyborg. The attack was stopped by his left hand and he used his right to swipe at Carthy’s arm. Claws dug into the right sleeve, causing her to recoil in pain. XVI seized the opportunity and punched Carthy in the gut, sending her crashing into a tree. As he approached the fallen target, several bullets struck his body in random places. He turned his focus onto David, who had unloaded a clip of fifteen bullets to stop the cyborg’s attempt to capture Carthy. All the bullets, however, ricocheted off his metal exterior and inflicted no additional damage. He then advanced onto David.

              As David tried to quickly reload his weapon, XVI took the gun from his grasp and tossed it away. David’s dagger almost found its way into the unprotected side of XVI’s neck but it was stopped by his left hand, raised to intercept the blade. The cyborg then kicked David into a patch of rough dirt as Nova took a swing at the enemy from the right. He moved out of the way and Nova recovered by thrusting the sickle towards his abdomen. The strike dented the metal underneath the black cloth. In retaliation, XVI ignited his right hand, the appendage becoming a holo-sword’s blade. Nova quickly jumped out of the way as the blue energy blade swung horizontally. The blade then came down from above and Nova halted it with her weapon.

“How?” XVI spoke between grunts of effort, pressing his blade harder against her metal. “How is it possible for a weapon such as that to resist Taplican-grade artillery?”

“Madeline and I are stronger than you think,” Nova said as she pushed XVI away and swiped at his chest. The sickle tore through the sweater and left scratch marks in the plating underneath. She continued her assault, pushing her enemy back with a flurry of strikes until she finished her combo by slashing upwards to send XVI into the air, his body crashing down moments later. She then loomed over her fallen opponent, his eye fading in and out as he panted.

“You’re not taking Carthy,” Nova said sternly. “You can tell your Lord that we’re going to Taplica on our own terms, not his.”

              XVI grunted as his raspy breathing continued. His eye became more intense in colour as he moved more. Nova was about to turn away until she saw a foot rise. Before she could react, she was sent across the clearing, crying out in pain as her back slammed into a rock sticking out from the ground. XVI rose from the soil as he moved his silver claws around to make sure they weren’t in need of repair. Confirming that they were in good condition, he walked towards the crippled Nova, who was on the forest’s floor holding the small of her back. She peeked through squinted eyes to see the cyborg come closer. In an attempt to protect herself, she grabbed her weapon and got herself to her feet, wincing at the pain that coursed through her body.

“New target acquired,” XVI growled. Nova swung from the left side but was easily disarmed by a quick counter from her assailant. Defenseless, Nova couldn’t stop XVI from grabbing hold of her neck with his right hand and lifting her a few inches off of the ground. “Commencing execution protocol.”

              Nova began to squirm violently as XVI’s grip slowly got tighter, cutting off any intake of air. David saw his partner in a bind and quickly raised his pistol. However, from where he was lying, he risked shooting Nova in the back rather than her aggressor. Still weak from the strong blow from earlier, he aimed as best as he could. Before he could pull the trigger, a stone pillar smashed into XVI from the left, causing him to drop Nova and fall to one knee. David quickly turned to see Carthy getting up, aiming her left weapon at the cyborg. Her right arm was bleeding from the deep cuts ingrained in her skin and the cloth of her blue shirt was shredded. She began charging a fireball from her weapon as she walked towards XVI. Nova was coughing and wheezing as her lungs inhaled all the air they could. David ran to his partner despite his own injuries.

“They may be annoying,” Carthy said angrily, her eye directly on the cyborg. “They may be amateurs and they may not be the best fighters. But their hearts are in the right place and I gave them my word. We’re going to Taplica together. You’ll have to go through me if you want to hurt them.”

              David helped Nova up and brought her to a safe distance. The two Mercenaries stared in awe at the woman, who not long ago wanted nothing to do with them. Nova held Madeline tightly as David made sure his friend could stand on her own. XVI began to chuckle.

“As you wish…Ms. Ethoros.”

              David noticed XVI’s right hand glow blue as he ignited a new holo-sword blade from it. He quickly let go of Nova, who didn’t have enough time to hold him back, and ran towards Carthy. As the blade began to swing towards her stomach, David unsheathed Lobo and slid in between his friend and her opponent, his dagger stopping the holo-sword’s attack. He pushed back with all his strength as Carthy pulled the trigger to release the charged shot, unaware until the final moment that David was now in range of the blast. Her eye widened upon the discovery as the fireball went past David’s shoulders and landed at the feet of XVI, a mere foot of distance between him and her guardian.

              The explosion went off, causing Carthy and David’s ears to ring. The force sent all three warriors into the surrounding foliage, colliding with the trunks of the thick trees with a loud crunch. Nova was knocked back by the wind, falling down as a mushroom cloud rose above the trees. She lost track of her friends as the smoke cleared. Worried, she got up to start looking for them, walking slowly due to her back injury. Grass was still burning and another circle of dead herbs was formed on the ground. She hobbled towards the left where she heard some groans and rustling of leaves. As she peered over the low plants, she saw Carthy and David lying next to each other with XVI farther away, his dented body ejecting small sparks. David’s face was scratched up and bloody, ashes collecting on his jacket. Carthy’s hair was full of twigs and leaves and her arm was dripping crimson. She was mostly in good condition, though in a lot of pain. Nova feared that David took most of the impact.

“Unit XVI, what are you doing?” A muffled voice came from XVI's communication outlet. “You are in need of much repair, you cannot continue to battle after that blast. We are starting a recovery transmission to bring you back. Your mission is a failure. It is time to retreat.”

“No…n-not y…et,” XVI stuttered. “I can s…still fight. Let me finish my mi…miss…ion…”

              XVI’s body shut down as he went limp in the dirt. Moments later, a bright light flashed from him and soon disappeared, his body nowhere to be seen. After making sure he was gone, Nova rushed to aid David and Carthy.

“Are you guys okay?” Nova’s voice was frantic, worrying that the explosion messed them up. Carthy was slow to start moving her full body again, groaning with every movement she made. She rubbed the side of her head as she sat up.

“Yeah, I think so,” Carthy said, her eye blinking quickly. “I can still see, at least. All I remember before the explosion was David holding that robot freak off and…oh s**t! David!” She began to quickly look around her and saw David, unconscious, on the ground. She moved to him and sat on her knees, examining his body. “This isn’t good…this is not good at all!”

“Why? What is it?” Nova was leaning over Carthy’s shoulder, watching her examine David’s body. She was holding back tears.

“I think he hit his head on something really hard,” Carthy removed her left hand from the back of David’s head and showed Nova. It was tainted red. Carthy removed the pack from David and handed it to Nova. “Go through it and find the bandages, rubbing alcohol and a cloth. We need to treat this right away.”

              Carthy was holding David upright as Nova went through the pack for the required materials. She pulled out all three items and applied the alcohol onto the cloth. She passed it to Carthy, who treated the wound. Nova was then asked to wrap the bandages around his head to prevent further blood loss. With Carthy’s guidance, Nova did so and the two females looked at each other, impressed with their work.

“I think he’s about to come to,” Carthy said quietly, looking up at Nova. “Here, switch places with me.”

“How come?” Nova sounded confused.

“It’d probably be best if you were the first person he sees when he wakes up. He’s more used to you.”

              David’s body began to move slightly and Carthy quickly slipped from her position, pointing to where she was sitting with her free hand. Nova followed her request and rotated with Carthy, so she was the one holding David’s head up. Carthy smiled feebly as she closed the pack and put it aside. She began to pick the twigs and leaves out of her hair.

“David,” Nova called out. “Can you hear me?”

              David nodded as his eyes opened once again.

“Hope I didn’t scare you,” David said, laughing a little bit before coughing.

“You did, actually,” Carthy spoke, adjusting the bandages on her face. “Because of your stupid decision to intervene, you almost gave yourself a serious head injury. Lucky for you, Nova fixed you right up after she noticed you on the ground.”

              Nova looked at Carthy, wondering what she was doing. Carthy looked back and nodded, mouthing the words “go with it”.

“Sorry about that,” David’s voice was still weak. “I just saw that the cyborg guy was about to attack Carthy and…I just ran in there without thinking. I couldn’t let him…I couldn’t let him kill her…”

“I appreciate the thoughtfulness and all, but you really need to think these things through. Nova could have lost you in that explosion with that kind of thinking.”

“Yeah…yeah, you’re right.” David looked up at Nova, whose bright eyes were welling up. “I’m sorry, Nova.”

“It’s okay,” Nova sniffled. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” She then turned her head to look at Carthy again. “I think we’ve all had a rough day. Let’s say we just rest until tomorrow?”

              Carthy checked the sun that was just past the 12:00 position. Despite having more than enough sunlight to travel for at least eight more positions, she knew none of them would have the strength to do that hike after their battle. She looked at Nova and nodded, picking up her weapons and sheathing them on her left shoulder.

“Sounds good,” she replied. “Let’s take today off.”

              The moon was making its way to the 02:00 position as the fire began to dim once again. Carthy was taking the night watch shift, making sure no other threat approached the trio. She was sitting on one of three thick logs that Nova found while they were searching for firewood. She was staring into the flames when her focus switched over to David, who was still in rough shape before he went to sleep. He got a headache and even vomited around the 20:00 position but Nova was able to come up with a remedy out of several herbs scattered in the area. The makeshift medicine didn’t do a whole lot, but it was enough to settle David’s body until he finally dozed off. Carthy was still confused as to why David ran in to protect her. She knew the blade was coming but thought she had enough time to set off the charged shot. She would have been dead had it not been for David, but she couldn’t wrap her head around what possessed him to risk his life. She was still amusing that thought as she got up from her seat to get more firewood.

              As Carthy went towards the pile of wood the three made together, she heard the crackling of flames and logs shifting. She grabbed two logs and placed them under her arms, looking behind her to see what caused the noise. She was surprised to see Nova readjusting the logs in the fire. Orange embers danced in the air as she moved them to create a little more heat. Carthy walked back to the fire and placed the logs down. Nova lifted her head from her right hand and placed her weapon on the ground.

“What are you doing up?” Carthy was whispering as she placed one of the logs she brought into the flames. “Did I wake you?”

“No,” Nova whispered back, twirling her brown lock of hair. “I just had a bad dream, that’s all.”

“I see,” Carthy finished placing the last log in the fire, using her right hand to make the final adjustments. She sat down on her log and stared at the flames. “That’s no good then.”

“It’s alright…you get used to them after a while.”

“You mean you have them often?”

“Almost every night.”

“What are they usually about?”

“Oh,” Nova was surprised by Carthy’s interest. “Uh, it’s the same bad dream every time. There’s this big city and an army of Artificial are storming it, killing everything in sight and it’s up to me to save everyone. David is nowhere to be found and I always wake up before the battle ends…” Nova brought her knees up and rested her chin in between them. “I’m always too scared to know how it ends and I wake up.”

              Carthy turned her attention to the young girl. She was so used to seeing Nova happy that to see her frightened was almost surreal. She remained silent and tried to think of a response. She eventually reached out and placed her left hand on Nova’s shoulder, holding it gently. Nova looked over at Carthy, who was looking into the fire.

“I’m sure you save them all,” Carthy spoke softly. “After the stunts you pulled today, I have no doubt that you could handle yourself in your dream.”

              Nova smiled after hearing Carthy trying to comfort her. She moved her knees back down and stretched her legs out.

“Heh, thank you,” Nova whispered back. She looked past the flames to see David, lying on his side on a bed of long grass and leaves. She sighed. “Today was pretty crazy, huh?”

“No kidding,” Carthy chuckled. “I still don’t get why he did something so reckless…just to protect me.”

“It’s like I said before it all began; friends stick together. No matter what.”

“But…” Carthy exhaled. “But I treated him like crap before. Why would he want to protect me after that?”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself! Of course he would want protect you. Sure, he’s reckless and doesn’t plan anything, but he’s got a good heart. He’ll do anything for the people he cares about.”

              Carthy smiled a little bit and readjusted the logs in the fire, sending embers into the air. Nova continued to speak.

“I also know that you would’ve done the same for him.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you were really the one who treated his wounds earlier. You showed real concern for him so why didn’t you tell him the truth?”

“I just thought…” Carthy shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe I thought it’s what he wanted to hear. Or maybe I didn’t want him to think differently of me.” She then looked up at the stars. “I just wanted to make sure he was going to be okay for the rest of your mission. You’re on a very important one, after all. I’m just a pawn to get you into Taplica. If you two die, it’s all over.”

“Hey,” Nova said quickly. “You are not a pawn. You’re our partner. Our friend.” She reached over and placed her hand on Carthy’s shoulder, quickly reeling it back as Carthy turned her stare onto Nova. “Sorry…I forgot about your first rule.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Carthy said. “Forget those rules. I trust you.” She looked up at the moon, half-way through the 02:00 position. “After today, I think we’ll be ready for anything.”

“Yeah,” Nova looked to the sky as well. “I think so too.”

              The two women sat in silence. The fire’s crackling filled the emptiness as its flames lit the clearing comfortably. As Nova moved the logs once more, Carthy unsheathed her weapons and looked at them, laughing a little.

“You know,” she said, turning to Nova. “I think I finally decided on names for these things.”

“Oh yeah?” Nova’s eyes glistened in the fire’s light. They beamed with excitement. “What are they?”

“This one will be called Equidistant,” she moved the yellow-brimmed blade in her right hand. “And I’ll call this one Burst.” She then moved the blue-trimmed blade in her left.

“Those are some awesome names,” Nova gushed. “What made you choose those?”

“Well, once I got thrown into the middle of your situation, I felt like I was about to explode. Hence, Equidistant and Burst. Middle and Explode.”

              Nova laughed quietly, trying not to wake David.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Equidistant and Burst.” She picked up her blade and brought it closer to Carthy’s. “This is Madeline, she’s also happy to meet you.”

              Carthy looked at Nova, confused as to what she was doing. She decided, this time, not to question the girl and play along.

“It’s nice to meet you, Madeline,” she said back in a funny voice, moving Equidistant. “I’m sure we’ll be friends someday.”

“We already are, silly,” Nova replied back, using an equally goofy voice as she moved her sickle side to side. “We’re going to be best friends forever! I just know it!”

“I look forward to that,” Carthy used a different voice as she moved Burst around. “But we better get some sleep if we’re going to start the day right.”

“You’re right,” Nova said through Madeline, yawning. “My master’s pretty tired so I think she’s going to go back to sleep. Have a good night, you two! You as well, Carthy!”

“Good night, Madeline,” Carthy moved Burst. She then used Equidistant. “Tell Nova ‘thank you’ for us, for helping out our master earlier.”

“I will!” Madeline was then put away and Nova waved to Carthy, the two of them laughing from what they were just doing. Carthy sheathed her newly named weapons as Nova lay down on some tall grass to get some sleep. Carthy got off the log and stared up at the stars from the ground, the fire’s last embers burning out as her eye shut closed, a smile stretched across her face.

Author's Note

Please let me know how well you think the characters interact with each other and how the fight scene is written. These are driving forces of this story.