Shoulders bared under the morning sun, Yukio strode over leaf-strewn soil. Irregularly spaced trees rose on either side of the dirt path, little more than a well-trod hunter's path amid the patchy underbrush below. Knee-length dress dark against their pale skin, the half-fox's steps were characteristically soft as they followed after a pair of figures – one slender, long-haired and in matted furs, the other hulking and encased in rusted plate armor.

Laughter and the beat of wings drew the healer's attention upward. Naomi, now armored in a tightly coiled green vines, darted from tree to tree, breaking up and down through broad gaps in the canopy. Yukio's eyes lingered on the swords on the imp's waist, and bow hanging from their back, however.

“…you have a dispel prepared?" They murmured, gaze shifting right.

“Of course." Keeping pace at the healer's side was Knox, her tailored robes swishing softly about her currently pale-skinned and pink-haired form. “Don't worry so much." The wizard waved dismissively, “If Naomi's magic goes wild, I'll suppress it."

“…this really isn't the place to take risks, Knox." Yukio murmured, eyes still tracking the frolicking imp.

“We'll handle it." Knox repeated, “It's been fine through the last few jobs."

“Merger ended those fights before they began," Yukio replied, nodding toward the hulking figure ahead. “The Grand Forest is different." Their eyes slid back to the black robed woman at their side, “You know the stories."

“'None who enter return,'" the wizard rolled their eyes. “Well," she scoffed, crossing the broad sleeves of her robe, “this is our third time inside, and we're fine."

The half-fox's gaze lowered to the detritus-covered ground they moved over, eyes lidding. “…I'd feel better about this," Yukio eventually murmured, gaze slipping sidelong to Knox, “if we were being paid."

The wizard groaned. “We've been over this!" Her voice was loud enough to draw the attention of the long-haired man ahead. “Half-price on potions is a big deal!"

“We're risking our lives," the dark-haired healer replied, coolly, “for the privilege of paying the client."

“Potions run for hundreds of thousands of gold." Knox responded, arms crossed, “It'll pay for itself in no time."

“If we pay for it first," Yukio countered, flatly.

Knox sighed. “Well," the wizard's arms fell to her side, a tiredness creeping into her voice. “You find the next job then."

Yukio's watched the dark-robed woman out of the corner of their eye. There was a slump to the wizard's posture, her eyes downcast to the forest floor, as the silence stretched between them.

Maybe I will.

The crunching of detritus continued as the group moved deeper into the treeline. Ferns and moss began to fill in the space between the trees, trunks thickening rising higher and higher into the sky. The canopy thickened, boughs entwinning to bloat out the pure morning light. A faint emerald haze set into the air, as Naomi descended from above – taking point to guide the way through increasingly narrow paths among trees and underbrush.

Abruptly, the treeline terminated.

An expanse of muddied water, dotted with the twisted trunks of massive trees, opened before them. Large patches of sky were visible in the breaks between their branches – bright light driving the haze away and reflecting bright off the stagnant water below.

As Naomi slowed to hover over swamp's edge, Merger broke past the winged creature. Water crashed as the rusted mass of plate armor plunged below, drenching him and drawing yelp from the imp, caught in the spray. Sputtering with indignation, the imp was still shaking itself dry as Merger forged ahead. A more modest splash announced the long-haired man's descent into the swamp, but moments before Naomi darted off after the construct.

“You're not serious." Yukio blanched, stopping at the water's edge.

“'course." The leather-clad man glanced over his shoulder to regard the half-fox with subtly glowing gold eyes. Stubble covered his cheeks, brown like his shoulder-length hair. Leaning on his staff – long and carved from dark wood, in the likeness of a hissing serpent – the man's elfin features were at ease, despite the stagnant water rising past his knees. “This is the most direct route to the first ingredient."

Yukio looked down at their dress, eyes lingering on the fine material and delicate brown edging, as the other man turned away. “…I'm really not dressed for this," they muttered, Knox coming up beside them. She laid a hand on the healer's shoulder.

“Come on Yukio." She muttered, drawing a wand from within her sleeve. Knox waved it over herself, chanting a verse in a strangely echoing language, and a faint blueish tinge swept over her body. Without another word, she stepped off the bank and dropped into the swamp. The water seemed to retreat subtly from the glow that surrounded the wizard, and there was no splash when she touched down – just the slick impact of her boots against the mud below.

Yukio concealed a grimace.

Wish I could do that.

With a last mournful look at their clothing, the dark-haired man stepped after the other four – dropping into the brown water below. The swamp instantly soaked through their dress, coming up to their thighs and rushing into their boots. Boots sticking unpleasantly with each step, they began to plod after the others.

The water quickly rose, past Yukio's waist. With Merger breaking trail, and Naomi flitting back and forth overhead, they moved deeper into the swamp. The treeline retreated around the swamp's edges, shadows growing thick beneath the boughs against the sunlight pouring overhead. Most of the sound came from Merger's crashing wake in the fore.

Space grew between them – Knox on the right, Yukio in the middle, and the gold-eyed man on the left. The trees they passed rose out of the swamp on tangled nests of roots, offshoots spreading outward to form a network of firm footings below the water's surface. Fallen leaves and broken branches floated above – nearly still, barely moving in the weak current.

* * *

Leaning against the cool wood of a tree trunk, Knox breathed a sigh of relief. Still glowing blue, the wizard stood atop one of the root tangles – one with comparatively gentle inclines, leading down into the swamp. As she wiped the sweat from her brow, Naomi shot past – quickly gaining on Merger's position at the front of the group. Ahead, the brown expanse of the water continued – filled with the debris of broken trees.

Still no sign of the other side.

Knox sighed again.

Above, the sun had not quite reached its zenith, but the chill of the morning had faded from the air. Grasping the shock of hair shielding half her face, the wizard gently drew it away – the purpled strands lengthening between her fingers, as she drew it back and secured it behind her ear. Flipping her hands through the rest of the strands, a quick thought caused it to grow out – down past her shoulders.

As the wizard added a wave to the strands, a splash drew her attention. Faint ripples marred the otherwise unbroken expanse of brown water between herself and the staff-bearing brunette covering their left-flank. Knox's purpled eyes met the man's gold, a tightness passing through her chest.

Where's Yukio?

A pulse of white light erupted below the brown water, snapping Knox and the man's eyes to the ripples. Knox swore, gripping her wand tight. A sudden yelp from Naomi pulled her gaze right again, in time to see a massive dark scaled lizard – four-times the size of any of them – hang suspended in the air for a moment, before crashing back into the swamp. The imp had flown higher to avoid its snapping jaws.

Beyond, she could see Merger whirl – surging forward, rusted greatsword now drawn. Another of the creatures – Great Crocodiles! – erupted from the swamp, lunging at the armored construct. Smoothly, root-like flesh bending fluidly, Merger slipped aside –sword raking down the reptile's side in a shower of blood as it surged past.

Knox snapped her eyes back toward where Yukio had been. She caught a flash of surprise from the long-haired man across from her, before he was pulled beneath the surface. Shit. Heartbeats later, a massive wolf's head burst from the dark waters, its brown furs soaked through. The form of an equally large crocodile broke the surface after, jaws locked around lupine's midsection – thick and furred, though long and serpentine instead of quadrupedal.  Loosing a howl, the wolf-serpent's head dove into the back of the other monstrous creature, as they plunged below the water again.

Fire exploded behind her, as one of Naomi's arrows denotated against the swamp. The wizard leapt from the tree's root – the water retreating from the soles of her feet again as she touched down. Charging to where the healer had vanished, a longer chant began to spill from her lips. There, swamp thrashed, broken by reptilian bodies and briefer glimpses of pale limbs; the water reddening faintly.

Vaulting over the melee, Knox released the last word of power. A sucking sound filled the air, her robed form collapsing into a swirl of blueish, brown and white hues. Vortex-like, it pulled a mass of the water with it, before collapsing soundlessly. Water rushed in to fill the space, crocodiles continuing to tear at one another – but without any pale flesh left between them.

* * *

Darkness.

A liminal space spread outward. The scent of decaying vegetation was gone, and the late-morning sunlight with it. No sensation of water-soaked leathers, or the sucking of the muddied earth beneath. The crashing of an armored body ahead, the beating of leaved wings, and sound of lapping swamp water – all gone. All still.

Stillness…

A patch of brown water, unnaturally still, even amid the weak current filling the mire. The slow, dawning realization of what was coming. Grasping for components within one of the secret pockets of their dress. A veil of illusion, closing around their body –

Not enough.

Fangs snapping, cutting through cloth like nothing. Shock and surprise dulled the pain, as sudden jerk pulled them below into the brown waters. Blood welled, and pain – sharp as knives – intensified. The illusion unravelled before the second bite broke their wards – filling the underwater space with brilliant light for the briefest instant, before another shock of pain.

Then darkness.

Yukio looked down at themself. A pair of faintly transparent hands, attached to a transparent body met their eyes – glowing in the darkness, but casting no light. They were naked, but a glance to their stomach found no wounds.

I guess…they chuckled, reaching up to touch their face – the shape was as they remembered. A brush over their head found hair – white and glowing like the rest of them, the triangular vulpine ears atop still intact. …I died. A glance behind themselves revealed their tail – it wagged with a thought.

At least my soul is in one piece.

They looked up again – and stopped. Distant, so distant, a pair of violent lights had appeared in the darkness.

Yukio felt dread grip their chest.

This isn't right –

A strangled gasp escaped their throat. A hand, cold and gnarled, closed upon it. Black – blacker than the void – it leaked darkness against their pale glowing form. Rough as wood, fingers squeezed, closing – lifting them from the ground. The violet lights were close now, hovering – pyre-light beacons, inches from their face.

Below, the air split. A maw of flames, purple to match the eyes boring into their own, yawned wide. It distended – growing wider, then beyond wide. Wide enough to swallow –

* * *

Yukio screamed.

Bolting upright, their hands snapped to the neck – finding flesh, solid and warm. As the trembling in their limbs slowly subsided, they felt dull pain radiating from their back and sides instead. By their ear, a voice – familiar – was saying their name. Panting, they slowly raised their gaze to find Knox – kneeling in front of them, hair longer, but still faintly blue.

Bursts of incandescence drew their attention downward. A small green blur flitted about over the swamp, bow in hand. String thumbing, it launched arrows at the glimpses of the brown-scaled reptiles through the dingy water. Flames erupted where the arrows struck, some large enough for the heat to be felt where the magicians perched, just below the canopy.

Their eyes returned to Knox, finally processing the worried expression on the wizard's face. In one of their hands was an emptied potion bottle. Yukio dabbed their lips – flecks of red liquid transferring to their fingertips. There was an unpleasant iron aftertaste in their mouth.

Grizwald's blood-blend.

“…thanks." They breathed.

Knox collapsed back, tension leaving their body in a rush. “Phew!" She smiled, “Had me worried for a second there." The wizard returned the bottle she carried to one of her side pouches. Her expression turned smug, and she grinned at Yukio.

“Told you potions pay for themselves."

“…" Yukio continued to rub at their throat, “...you can heal without them." They croaked, eventually – drawing an indignant sound from the wizard - before glancing down from the tree to the swamp below again. “Situation?"

“Giant crocodiles." Knox replied, following Yukio's gaze. Immediately below was a smouldering corpse, floating above the water, still afire. “Merger and Naomi are cleaning – "

There was a sharp crack.

The two casters shared a look of horror, before the branch gave way beneath them. There was a moment of weightlessness, before pain exploded from Yukio's back again – and darkness swallowed them once more.

* * *

The eyes were back.

Oh no.

Below, the darkness split.

“Such a brilliant soul."

The words rumbled through Yukio's incorporeal form, deep and resonant. As the mouth twisted into a predatory grin, they willed themself to move – and met resistance. Shadowy tendrils resolved, wreathing their glowing limbs, branch-like and gnarled. The half-fox fought against them, but they did not even groan from the exertion.

The face winked out.

Yukio's eyes searched the darkness, teeth gritted. The branches remained – crawling upward over their chest, sharpened tips prickling against their skin. The healer swallowed the pain, struggling still. A fine black mist was leaking from the puncture wounds, digging deeper and deeper –

Hot breath on the back of their neck.

Yukio stiffened, a claw of gnarled wood gliding, roughly, down their cheek. “To fall…" The voice was a hiss in their ear. “…twice!" A hand of gnarled branches formed overed their face, cupping their cheeks. Clawed, it dug into their luminous form, more of the dark miasma pouring out of the shallow wounds.

“ I will savour this…"

* * *

Yukio gasped.

Laid out on one of the oversized roots at the base of a towering tree, the healer gazed up to the noon sky. With effort, they lifted an arm – the sleeve of their dress dry, and remarkably in-tact – to shield their eyes. Discomfort pulled at their side, but they concealed it behind a serene expression.

“Phew." Their vulpine ears twitched at Knox's familiar exhale, “Gonna run out of magic at this rate." She muttered, rising from her kneeling position over the half-fox. The wizard stretched, grunting with exertion. Then, with a deft motion, she tucked the light wood of her wand into a case beneath her wrist. The blue veil over her had finally evaporated – leaving her pale and pink-haired as before.

It was silent, but for the sound of a heavy form – Merger probably – moving through the swamp, and a more distant sawing sound. Yukio made to sit up – grunting as their back protested sharply. They did not conceal their displeasure at the sight of their clothing – everything below their breast was shredded, the skirt holding on only by threads. Much of the skin on their stomach was visible – and tender, from the newly sealed wounds.

“I used a hot-air charm to dry you off," Knox supplied, turning her attention outward, toward the swamp about them. “You've been out a while."

“Thanks," Yukio raised their eyes –

Distant – far across the swamp – concealed beneath the shadowy boughs beyond the shoreline, a pair of violet lights hung, disembodied in the dim.

*

A terrified scream snapped Knox's eyes around. Brilliant light detonated from Yukio's body – driving Knox back a pace as she instinctively raised a sleeve to shield her eyes. Ephemeral petals, lavender-hued, effervesced to flutter delicately downward. Pale tongues of pink-purple flame burst where they landed, burning away the browned hues of the tree Yukio still leaned against, and leaving bleached wood behind.

“Yukio!" Knox snapped, falling back as multiple petals ignited over her upraised sleeve, “Chill the fuck out!" Unlike the tree, the black hues of her robe withstood the flames. Below the root, the surface of the swamp water was paling – creating a slowly spreading void of colour.

“No!" Frantic, Naomi swooped in from Knox's left. “Yuk – !" The imp let out a cry of pain, its flight path pulling too close to the fluttering petals. Swerving higher as purple-pink bursts showered them, the imp growled. “ You're hurting the tree!" Voice dropping to its demonic two-tone, the imp's claws ignited –

“Enough!" Knox shouted, snapping her wand out. Red light flashed, bursting over Yukio and reducing the petals to a shower of sparks. As the light faded, the half-fox was left in in a fetal position, formerly black garments now bleached as white as the would wood circle below. She threw a withering look at the airborne imp, who flinched –  the flame in their hands gutting.

“Both of you," Knox repeated, lowering her wand, “enough."

“Hmph!" Naomi pouted, crossing their arms. Glistening blood covered the creature's forearms and lower body, red now interspersed with white, where Yukio's petals had touched “Don't hurt the forest!" They snapped, before another glare from Knox drove them away. The imp landed on the corpse of one of the crocodiles floating distantly in the swamp. Drawing their wooden shortblades, they resumed carving into it, grumbling.

“…query." Merger's synthetic voice drew Knox around – the automaton stood at the base of the root, thigh deep in the swamp. Blood covered much of his armor – dried and diluted by water, but visible. The being's sword was driven point-down into the swamp below, hands loosely knit over its pummel, while his head was turned over his shoulder to regard the pair. “Why were they glowing?"

Knox's expression grew guarded, following Merger's gaze. “…Radiant Consumption," the wizard began, as she began to pad to the healer, “it's an aasimar's self-defence." She waved a hand in front of the half-fox's face, “Earth to Yukio!"

No reaction.

Knox knelt in front of the healer, gently pressing their arms away from their face.

“…secondary query," Merger continued, as Knox guided Yukio's face upward – the expression vacant and eyes unfocused, “are they not a kitsune?"

Knox glanced back to the automaton, “…not exactly." She waved another hand in front of the healer's face, before snapping her fingers rapidly by the aasimar's vulpine ears. The sudden sound jolted Yukio, who grabbed Knox's sleeve and pulled it close. “Just half." The pink-haired muttered, before sighing and leaning in close.

“What is it?" Knox hissed.

“There'ssomethingintheforest." The words tumbled out of Yukio's mouth in a rush. “The shadows." They pointed toward the far back.

Knox followed the half-kitsune's gesture – but saw only darkness beneath the boughs. “Merger." The wizard's tone was sharp, “Do you sense anything dangerous?"

“Negative." The response was immediate.

Knox sighed, returning their attention to the healer. “You hit your head pretty hard," she said, beginning to gently pry her robe from Yukio's hands. “You might be seeing things."

The aasimar looked incredulously at Knox, as the wizard stood. They glanced past the caster, toward where they had seen the purple lights – and only saw empty dimness. They threw a stricken look toward Knox's retreating back, as the pale woman waved her wand over herself – the blued-tint settling over her again.

“…I'm going to get Grizwald." Knox stated, looking back to Yukio.

The half-fox blinked, eyes slowly beginning to shift over the swamp. “Where…" They trailed off, looking to Knox instead. The wizard raised a hand, pointing out to a brown lump some distance off. Gold eyes focusing, the half-fox eventually made out a lupine head, partially submerged amid the dingy water. A neck of thick muscle quickly distended into a swollen serpentine midsection – within which, the outline of another creature was visible, but still.

“…he transformed at the beginning of the fight," Knox explained, “and now he's digesting the crocodile he ate." The pink-haired woman shrugged.

A look of surprise registered on the half-fox's face. “But…" their eyes shifted from the serpent to Knox, “…that will take weeks?"

The wizard gestured dismissively. “I've got this." As she began to descend the root, stepping into the swamp below, the water once more retreated from her form. “Remember to heal the tree!" Knox called back, eyes flicking up to the towering wood pillar the fox's back. “Dangerous Grand Forest spirits and all!"

Yukio looked down toward the circle of white beneath them, flinching suddenly, before snapping their gaze upwards and back – in the direction Knox at been looking. They turned quickly toward the main trunk, kneeling and then bowing toward it, “My apologies." They muttered, as a gentle white light began to spread outward from their hands. Colour began to return to the wood, spreading slowly.

Faintly, they could hear Knox and a raspy voice speaking some distance away.

“Merger!" Yukio's ears perked, as the last glimmer of their light faded. Sitting up, the healer turned toward the sound of Knox's voice – the blued woman now standing before the distended form of the wolf-serpent. “This monster ate Grizwald!" She snapped a sharp gesture toward the brown-furred creature, who was baring his fangs.

“Processing." Merger's upper body was turned toward the sound, “Query: Did you not say that Grizwald transformed into the serpent?" The automaton called back, synthetic voice carrying over the water.

“No!"

Sparks erupted from the rusted helm that covered Merger's head. The half-fox winced in sympathy, as the wooden musculature beneath his armor suddenly snapped toward Knox and Grizwald. “Premise accepted." He dropped into a fighting stance, raising his sword two-handed, “I will save you Grizwald."

* * *

Progress through the swamp continued slowly. Grizwald – returned to his long-haired elfin form and seemingly unharmed – picked his way forward with his staff, Merger – chassis clean again – keeping pace at his side. Mere paces behind them, Knox lingered close to Yukio, the wizard still dry behind her blue barrier. Yukio's dress appeared to have been repaired – once again dark and whole, but sticking close to the aasimar's slender body, saturated by swamp water. Naomi hovered nearby, the blood washed from their body, as they flitted from the fore to the van frequently.

The swamp was still and quiet around them, the sun passed its zenith. Eventually, a new treeline resolved – the shadows within giving way to the ambient green haze that seemed to fill the forest outside the basin. As the four climbed the bank – all but Knox leaving sopping puddles around them – Naomi descended to lead them. With gentle gestures and soft words, the winged equine carefully parted undergrowth before them, leading them deeper.

“We're here." Grizwald eventually rasped, when the treeline opened to a glade of grey-hued stone. Moss dotted the smooth surface, leading up to a modest pond of water in the clearing's centre. Fed by a babbling brook on the opposite side, the pool was clear under the dappled sunlight, peaking beneath a thinner canopy. In the centre, a small island stood, covered in long green tendrils. Full-looking red berries bobbed from them, bending the stocks gracefully downward under their weight.

“Hold." Merger suddenly thrust his arm out – barring the path. “Hostile presence detected." The glowing slits of the construct's helm turned to the clearing's left – as a slender woman emerged from the forest. Borne aloft by clear dragonfly-like wings, she floated over to the island in the clearing's centre.

“A forest spirit!" Naomi cried out, bounding upward in an excited beat of wings.

“Hm?" Hanging above the berry plants, the spirit turned her gaze toward the clearing's entrance. Skin dappled and doe-like, the fairy-woman – tall as Grizwald, and clad in little more than leaves and vines – righted herself in the air. She smiled, raising her hand in greeting, as a white tendril snapped around her ankle.

“No!" Naomi was off in a burst of green leaves, as the woman was suddenly pulled under. “No, no, no!" Their bow was quickly pulled to hand, a flaming arrow notched as they zipped over to the pond. They fired – and the arrow fizzled. With a cry of surprise, the winged creature danced upward as a half-dozen more tendrils snapped up from below, sweeping at them.

“Enemy detected." Merger surged, sword drawn. Grizwald growled an assent and pulled a vial from his pocket. Whispering words reminiscent of grinding stone, he broke it on the ground – and a dark grey smoke began to rise skyward. Far above, the sunlight darkened as he broke into a run after the swordsman.

“Com'mon Yukio!" Knox waved them forward, then jogged after the others.

Yukio's gold eyes flicked from the pool to a tree at their side. “…I'll sit this one out, thanks." They murmured, putting the trunk to their back.

In a burst of alchemic muscle, Merger launched himself from the pond's edge. Blue fluid erupted as the automaton cleaved the tendrils in a single lash of his rusted blade. Twisting, the automaton's greaves slammed into the rocky base of the central isle – cracking the stone, as he rebounded back to the shore.

As Merger landed, Grizwald let out a howl and leapt past him. Gold flashed along his body, and he reshaped in midair. Legs fusing, chest swelling and arms shrinking – a wolf-headed shark dove past the pond's surface, vanishing below. Above, Naomi began to swirl their clawed hand through the air. Behind them, through the canopy, ominous black clouds now roiled, blocking out the sunlight.

“Give her back!" The equine screamed, voice two-toned and strained. Grasping the air, they threw their arm down toward the pond. A column of wind whipped past, slamming into the water and driving it back to reveal a swollen mass of white flesh. Hand snapping to the haft of their bow, Naomi began to whisper – and coaxed an arrow from the weapon's wood. It ignited when loosed – striking the monster's flesh with a dull thud.

A volley of tendrils fired up from the water, converg –

Fire flashed, narrow and blade-like. Cauterized stomps, severely cleanly, fell to the water as Knox arrived behind Merger, the red-orange glow of her wand fading rapidly. Gesturing exuberantly, she flashed a grin up at Naomi. The imp nodded back – as Merger leapt from the bank, plunging blade first into the wind tunnel below. Naomi dropped after, drawing their own blades.

The air grew still, as the waters closed over them. 

Lightning flashed from the clouds above, diffusing through the pond in crackling bursts. A steady stream displaced water bubbled up just below the surface where Merger and Naomi had vanished – motion breaking the clarity of the surface and obscuring the shadowy shapes below. Cursing softly, Knox's pink eyes flickered back and forth, searching.

“Any idea what it is?" Yukio, still against a tree near the edge of the glade, called.

“Something with tentacles!" Knox snapped back.

“Great detective work!"

Lightning struck the water's surface again.

“If you're not going to help – " White light appeared at the top of Knox's wand, as she began to chant quickly. With a sharp gesture, she snapped it toward the pond. Deep below, pure white radiance suddenly suffused the pond. “– stay quiet!" The wizard shouted over her shoulder. Eyes searching again – she quickly located dark shapes, silhouetted by the sorcerous light. Two small, a third larger and – frowning – flickers of a fourth, larger than any of the others.

The bubbles at the surface stopped. Knox extended her wand, point down, tracking the largest shape. Whispering a soft chant, a point of pale blue appeared on the wands tip. There was a flash, the wand flicking up from the recoil, as an arrow shot from the tip – slipping into the water with the faintest splash. Resetting her stance, she continued to fire downward – one after another vanishing into the drink. Resetting her stance, the wizard continued to fire downward, one after another, as lightning crashed into the pool from above.

Lightning crashed into the pool from above.

“You know that's not very accurate, right?" Yukio called.

Knox ignored them.

* * *

A beam of sunlight drew Knox's attention away from the pool. Above, the sorcerous stormclouds were breaking under the afternoon light and beginning to fade rapidly. The wizard's attacks stilled, as a dark shape approached the surface. There was a burst of gold, as Grizwald's stubble-covered face broke from the water, gasping as the last of his transformation faded.

“It's dead!" He shouted, waving to Knox, before starting to swim to shore. Carrying his staff, weighted down by his leather armor and a leather satchel, his progress was slow and awkward. Waving off Knox's outstretched hand, he hauled himself to the bank with a growled grunt. Then, in a distinctly dog-like movement, the brunette shook himself – spraying water and drawing and indignant cry from Knox.

He collapsed to the stone with a relieved sigh. After drying herself with a burst of warm air, Knox knelt beside him. “Merger and Naomi?" She asked, before repeating the spell and directing a similar jet at the elfin shapeshifter.

“Climbing out." Grizwald jerked his head back to the pool. “Its deeper than it looks." As he spoke, Naomi's green muzzle broke the surface in a burst of iridescent leaves, fluttering downward to float atop the water's surface. The equine's movements were languid and slow, as though they were moving through a substance thicker than water.

Their magic went wild. Yukio frowned, as they closed the remaining distance to the shore. Dropping to their knees beside Grizwald, the healer's eyes flickered over the leather and furs armouring his slender body, searching.

“I don't see any wounds." Knox offered.

“The others?" Yukio met Grizwald's eyes.

The brunette scoffed, “Like that thing could hurt us." Collecting his staff, he pushed himself to his feet and turned toward the central island. The heavy-laden plants were untouched, despite the battle. Nodding to the pair, he began to walk around the pond – staff tapping stone – toward where the gap between the shore and isle was narrowest.

Still in slow motion, Naomi's head broke the surface several times before Merger's finally emerged from below. Stone cracked as the construct hauled himself from the pool, onto the bank. Across the way, Grizwald knelt on the central spar, carefully working a berry from its stem. He lowered it gently into an open glass jar – already half-full. Unbending, he quickly moved to another.

Heavy footfalls announced Merger's arrival behind Knox and Yukio, still at the pool's edge. The aasimar's attention was on the lake, where a host of pearlescent leaves floated, some less substantial than others. Beside them, Knox read from a worn tome – bound in dark leather. Neither reacted to the looming figure's arrival, as he took up a guarding position behind them.

The silence broke when Grizwald sealed up his jar. “We should proceed." Merger stated, synthetic voice firm, “Enough time has been spent here." Across the water, leathered brunette stood – moving to the side of the isle furthest from where he had forded. Letting out a low howl, he charged toward the gap – and leapt across.

“…" Yukio turned to look over their shoulder, “…you didn't find the fae." The dark-haired healer murmured, more a statement than a question. Past them, Naomi broke the surface of the water again – before diving back below.

“Affirmative." Merger replied dispassionately. “It likely was consumed within moments of being pulled under."

Yukio nodded, slowly. Folding their hands in their lap, the half-fox returned their attention to the lake before them – expression composed. Along the bank, they could see Grizwald stalking toward them, steps impatient. Beside them, Knox hunched lower in her book.

“…we should take a breather," Yukio murmured, once Grizwald was within earshot, “everyone could use a rest."

“Inefficient." Merger responded, immediately, “We have delayed enough."

“Naomi isn't ready to leave yet," the aasimar's tone was gentle, turning their gaze back to the construct, “and Knox has used up quite a bit of magical energy so far." There was a tension to the wizard's shoulders, as she turned a page in her book. “Grizwald and yourself aren't much better either." Yukio continued, nodding to the brunette and construct in-turn, before turning back to the pound, where pearlescent leaves floated lazily.

“There's no harm in waiting."

“Processing."

Yukio's ears perked faintly, as the silence stretched. Naomi broke the surface again, though did not so much as glance shoreward before diving in again. Out of the corner of their eye, they noticed Knox cautiously peaking up from her book, looking back to Merger with an uneasy expression. The half-fox was unsure if they imagined the faint scent of burning wood that touched their nose.

“…terms acceptable." Knox sighed audibly, tension leaving her shoulders. There was a heavy sound behind the pair, as Merger lowered himself to one knee behind them – drawing his sword and resting the blade over it. “Entering one hour's stasis." He confirmed, as Grizwald huffed in frustration. The brunette quickly stalked off to the clearing's edge, where he settled into a cross-legged position – staff against his shoulder, the serpentine fetish at its tip pressed against the trunk of a tree.

With no one looking, Yukio allowed themself a private smile. At least something went right today . Their fingers brushed a small pink orb concealed within the sleeve of their garments, expression eased. Still lucky. Their gaze strayed from the water's surface, toward the brook at the clearing's edge.

Within a pocket of shadows, there was a flicker of violet.