"I need you to stay here!"
"You can't leave me!" Eris shouted back at Rezo the Red Priest. She didn't back down, though the tears started whelling in her eyes. His posture calmed.
"If you truly wish to help me, then go to the labs in the mansion." Eris was disarmed by sudden curiosity. Rezo began to walk away. "Prepare a chimera spell: 1/3 human, 1/3 golem, and 1/3 demon. Have it ready in two days." Damn him! He knew she could not follow, when she needed to stay behind to help him. And if he wanted a chimera body ready in two days, she would have to get to work now. Rezo continued out the door and onto the road. Eris's eyes already poured with tears, and now with her Rezo-sama about to disapprear across the horizon, she buried her face in her hands.
But a voice tugged at the back of her mind. Once he was gone, he would become a villian, doing anything to get the Philosopher's Stone. Perhaps he could not stand for her to see him like that. But she could not stand not seeing him again. Once he started down the dark path, there would be no returning to an untarnished life, nor to her. In a decision not made in other worlds, Eris whispered, "I will follow... where ever you lead, Rezo-sama."
"There's no way you're following me!" Lina quickly about-faced and stalked quickly away from Naga the White Serpent.
"Follow YOU?! Oh-hohohohohohohohohoh!" Lina's ears tried to recover from Naga's laugh, but she quickly wished she hadn't. "May I remind you, Lina, that I am the great sorceress among us. If anything, you are following me as my sidekick!" Naga posed with authority - right before being fireballed.
Lina had had it. Naga had been following her around for a year now. She had put up with that terrrible laugh and intolerabe arrogance, not to mention only having a tall, big busted woman to compare her figure to. Lina grined her teeth in envy. She marched away, down the path, as fast as her angry feet would permit. If she wasn't so occupied with irritation she would have been able to run away, she also wouldn't have spoken to herself outloud.
"I just want to raid that bandit group up ahead and get some treasure, without Naga. Is that too much to ask?!"
"Oh-hohohohohohohoh!" Lina turned. "So you were planning to attack the Dragon Fangs without me! Eh, Lina?"
"Dragon Fangs?" Since when did Naga have more info than Lina? Lina had not heard the name of the bandits holding the fort, further up the road. Where had Naga picked it up? Oh, that's right. Lina left the tavern as soon as she heard the gossip about the nearby successful bandits. She hadn't bothered to stay for the name. Obviously, Naga was a little slower to leave the place, and had picked up the last of the over-heard conversation. Of course, now Naga knew where Lina was going.
"Ow! Augh!" Lina sat on the ground, clutching her stomach. Naga eyed her questionably. "I think all that fast walking after eating so much gave me a side cramp." Lina moaned.
"Well, you shouldn't have tried to leave the last village so quickly. In fact, you almost lost me!"
Yeah, that would have been a shame. Lina rolled her eyes. "Listen, Naga. Why don't you go on ahead and start a preliminary attack on those bandits. I'll do a healing spell and catch up." Naga posed, hands on hips.
"There will be no need for a secondary attack, Lina! The Dragon Fangs will buckle and run in terror from the power of the great, Naga the White Serpent!" And off she went. "Oh-hohohohohohohohohohoh!"
Lina sighed in exasperation, got up, and ran in the opposite direction.