Azukai
Zuki
On the Road to Recovery
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri
Speaking was a chore for Camilla, which was the exact reason why she hadn’t immediately returned Sam’s call given the vertical distance between them. Nonetheless, relief washed over her face seeing that her unofficial uncle was alive and well. Her attention shifted over to the sheep-like being on her chest. She could ask the obvious questions of who the being was, but the simple fact that the sheep-spirit was actively healing Camilla served as proof enough that they had allies in whatever realm they found themselves in, and that was good enough for her. Instead, she used what strength she had to ask a better question; “The others-.. are they-...?”
“See for yourself.” The spirit announced in a bubbly tone as she hopped off Camilla’s chest and landed on her right side. There she pointed in Camilla’s left facing direction where a familiar face was beginning to stir.
The ambient commotion was enough to spark Lucy’s conscious away from her dreams. She was exhausted, her energy completely spent from the shield she had put up, still having no idea if it even worked. Slowly, her eyes fluttered, with each blink revealing a strange face, like some sort of dream. However, after a few shutters, the girl jolted upward in shock, her eyes opening wide, staring toward the strange figure before her, who too, jumped in response to the girl’s sudden movement. Lucy’s eyes darted around in shock, though no words left her gasping mouth, confused and startled. “W-w?” She began to mutter uncontrollably, fearing the worst, as she glanced at her strange surroundings… Still unable to piece together what exactly was going on.
“Shh, shh.” The spirit was quick to recover from her excited state. Being the tallest of the fawns, she knelt down by Lucy’s side where she began gently humming into the girl’s ear. Whilst doing so, she cupped the girl’s hands into her own and held them in a firm, yet comforting grasp. “You are safe, my dear. Be at ease.” Usually the girl would have recoiled from the notion, not knowing anything about the spirit, yet something about the gentle humming relaxed Lucy, her eyes now slowly moving between each strange cloud.
Nonetheless, there wasn’t much for Lucy to see apart from the infinite stretching clouds, all in a similar shape and only a fraction acting as a platform for her companions. As she looked downward; however, several clouds were being rapidly dissipated by a pillar-like structure that rose at frightening speeds. In a matter of seconds, the pillar had reached a height that was level with her platform, causing her to recoil slightly, and on its tip was a new entity who sat with an aloof smile. Like the personal spirits that accompanied each patient, the new creature was sheep-like in nature, having large spiraling horns that jutted from her head and hooves that acted in place of her feet. In her hands was a smaller sized staff that spiraled along the length of its body and ended with a fluffy ball of wool. Most notable, however, was the levels of energy that radiated from its presence; an obvious testament to its identity as a Zodiac and subsequent owner of the present limbo. “Hmm, so everyone has awoken except for the critical patients. The job here is well done then, ya know?” She wove her staff which caused each of the occupied platforms to float to her level, all while the accompanying spirits vanished into thin air. “Each of you have been treated to the best of our abilities, though some of your kind have yet to escape the criticality of their wounds. And in some cases neither have you lot.” With her initial explanation complete, the spirit pointed its stave in Camilla’s direction, which caused a burst of cotton to explode from its end. Unlike the gradual healing performed by the lesser spirits, the current spell enacted a rapid heal over time effect that began repairing her wounds. In addition, it provided her with a sudden burst of energy, albeit temporary for the upcoming conversation alone. “You lot are a curious bunch, ya know? The Phoenix is in critical condition, that girl has Byakko’s power, and above all yall been afflicted with a condition that I cannot heal. It hurts my pride, ya know?” With nothing more to say, her expression turned sullen and she began kicking her legs, almost as if she were throwing a small tantrum in regards to her closing statement.
The added burst of energy that was transferred into Camilla’s being was more than enough for the girl to sit upright upon the floating fluff, yet rather than bombard the zodiac with all sorts of questions, the speedster was more than content with visually affirming the wellbeing of Lucy and Sam. “You’re both safe..” was her immediate response as a heavy sigh of relief followed soon after. Her gaze fell to her hands - which were now working in tandem with one another thanks to the healing of the unknown spirit.
Part 2 of 4
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri
Speaking was a chore for Camilla, which was the exact reason why she hadn’t immediately returned Sam’s call given the vertical distance between them. Nonetheless, relief washed over her face seeing that her unofficial uncle was alive and well. Her attention shifted over to the sheep-like being on her chest. She could ask the obvious questions of who the being was, but the simple fact that the sheep-spirit was actively healing Camilla served as proof enough that they had allies in whatever realm they found themselves in, and that was good enough for her. Instead, she used what strength she had to ask a better question; “The others-.. are they-...?”
“See for yourself.” The spirit announced in a bubbly tone as she hopped off Camilla’s chest and landed on her right side. There she pointed in Camilla’s left facing direction where a familiar face was beginning to stir.
The ambient commotion was enough to spark Lucy’s conscious away from her dreams. She was exhausted, her energy completely spent from the shield she had put up, still having no idea if it even worked. Slowly, her eyes fluttered, with each blink revealing a strange face, like some sort of dream. However, after a few shutters, the girl jolted upward in shock, her eyes opening wide, staring toward the strange figure before her, who too, jumped in response to the girl’s sudden movement. Lucy’s eyes darted around in shock, though no words left her gasping mouth, confused and startled. “W-w?” She began to mutter uncontrollably, fearing the worst, as she glanced at her strange surroundings… Still unable to piece together what exactly was going on.
“Shh, shh.” The spirit was quick to recover from her excited state. Being the tallest of the fawns, she knelt down by Lucy’s side where she began gently humming into the girl’s ear. Whilst doing so, she cupped the girl’s hands into her own and held them in a firm, yet comforting grasp. “You are safe, my dear. Be at ease.” Usually the girl would have recoiled from the notion, not knowing anything about the spirit, yet something about the gentle humming relaxed Lucy, her eyes now slowly moving between each strange cloud.
Nonetheless, there wasn’t much for Lucy to see apart from the infinite stretching clouds, all in a similar shape and only a fraction acting as a platform for her companions. As she looked downward; however, several clouds were being rapidly dissipated by a pillar-like structure that rose at frightening speeds. In a matter of seconds, the pillar had reached a height that was level with her platform, causing her to recoil slightly, and on its tip was a new entity who sat with an aloof smile. Like the personal spirits that accompanied each patient, the new creature was sheep-like in nature, having large spiraling horns that jutted from her head and hooves that acted in place of her feet. In her hands was a smaller sized staff that spiraled along the length of its body and ended with a fluffy ball of wool. Most notable, however, was the levels of energy that radiated from its presence; an obvious testament to its identity as a Zodiac and subsequent owner of the present limbo. “Hmm, so everyone has awoken except for the critical patients. The job here is well done then, ya know?” She wove her staff which caused each of the occupied platforms to float to her level, all while the accompanying spirits vanished into thin air. “Each of you have been treated to the best of our abilities, though some of your kind have yet to escape the criticality of their wounds. And in some cases neither have you lot.” With her initial explanation complete, the spirit pointed its stave in Camilla’s direction, which caused a burst of cotton to explode from its end. Unlike the gradual healing performed by the lesser spirits, the current spell enacted a rapid heal over time effect that began repairing her wounds. In addition, it provided her with a sudden burst of energy, albeit temporary for the upcoming conversation alone. “You lot are a curious bunch, ya know? The Phoenix is in critical condition, that girl has Byakko’s power, and above all yall been afflicted with a condition that I cannot heal. It hurts my pride, ya know?” With nothing more to say, her expression turned sullen and she began kicking her legs, almost as if she were throwing a small tantrum in regards to her closing statement.
The added burst of energy that was transferred into Camilla’s being was more than enough for the girl to sit upright upon the floating fluff, yet rather than bombard the zodiac with all sorts of questions, the speedster was more than content with visually affirming the wellbeing of Lucy and Sam. “You’re both safe..” was her immediate response as a heavy sigh of relief followed soon after. Her gaze fell to her hands - which were now working in tandem with one another thanks to the healing of the unknown spirit.
Part 2 of 4