A flash of sympathy passed through Sakiko, but only for a fleeting second. All pitiful feelings were gone, as if there were no traces of it ever being there. The mage gritted her teeth and spat,

"And what, do you think I care?"

The mage laughed bitterly, her rage uncontrolled. Her eyes burned black, wrath shining through her midnight orbs. Sakiko sneered,

"You expect me to burst into wimpy tears for your pathetic little life? It seems you're damn proud to be a vampire, so I don't think that's necessary. And guess what! You're a worthless blood sucking little brat, and you're gonna pay for what you did!"

Sakiko lifted her hand, which was pressing against her wound, and waved the blood stained hand tantalizingly. She smiled coldly, her heart burning with sheer hatred for this creature.

OoC: Woah. you're colder than these kids are... Oh yeah, the reason his HP's down by half is because he spent to much energy possessing me.

IC: The vampire possessing Arrika merely looked at Sakiko, her face expressionless. "You're all the same," she hissed. "And for second I thought- never mind. You think you can defeat me? Think again!" With a piercing scream black energy erupted around the Sheikah, her eyes rolling in her head as she collapsed on the ground. The vampire boy appeared, his eyes gleaming maliciously, his hands turning into claws, although his breathing was harsh and labored. "I'll even let you try to strike first. Generous, aren't I?"

Vampire: 22/40
Arrika: 27/35
Sakiko: 18/25

Sakiko stifled a gasp as she saw what was being done to Arrika. She again raised her staff, and pointed at the vampire boy.

"Generous or not, you're still digging your own grave!"

Running rapidly and with swiftness of feet, Sakiko raised the staff in motion to strike the boy.

OoC: The vampire has double my speed, so 12 AGI. And he has 3 STR.... that could be a problem. But then again, I chopped his HP down for you...

The vampire sidestepped Sakiko's staff easily, his cold laughing echoing through the night. "To me, you mortals are frozen in time, moving so slowly-" He pulled back his arm and lunged forward, his claws extended and nothing more than a dark blur, "-That it sickens me to watch you!"

His attack is too fast to follow with your eyes and before you know it you're bleeding from a large gash across your stomach. The vampire looks bored, almost, as if you're nothing more than a waste of his time.

Vampire: 22/40
Arrika: 27/35
Sakiko: 10/25

Arrika forced her eyes open, wanting nothing more than to drift off and sleep. There was a stench of blood surrounding her, and she could taste it on her tongue. She held back the urge to throw up again, instead forcing herself to stand and drawing her dagger. She signaled to Sakiko and prepared to Stealth away, her body disappearing and become part of the natural shadows of the night.

OoC: I'm not abandoning you, and you can either think I am and the vampire will either become more wary or he'll laugh and say that even your best friend can abandon you when they see Death coming. Or you can be smart and say nothing, and he'll notice I'm gone and talk about abandoning.

Sakiko growled, frustrated. She tried not to cringe at the pain rippling across her stomach, which would only reward the filth standing before her. Her voice crackling, the mage spat,

"It sickens me that you're alive."

The mage stared as Arrika blended into the night, as if she had never been there. Sakiko frowned, fighting the urge to yell out strings of curses. However, a realization struck her that Arrika was not abandoning her, but that she had something in mind. Sakiko nearly smiled in relief, happy that she wasn't the only one fighting against the vampire boy now.

The vampire looked lazily over his shoulder to where Arrika had been. "Oh, what's the little thief trying now? But, I have to admit, she is rather skilled at dealing with the shadows. Normally I'd still be able to see someone under a Stealth or Shadowmeld, but this time," he said, swiping the air randomnly, "I can't sense a thing. Or maybe she's left?" He turned to grin back at Sakiko, his pointed teeth stained red. "Do you understand what just happened? She started thinking about her own interests and wisely fled. I do admire a person who abandons their comrades that way. So much I can almost cry," he added. "Then again, I've never cried in my existence, so what would I know of the feeling of sadness? Hatred I feel, but sadness, grief? Another mortal thing I'll never understand."

Arrika's dagger slashed through the air at that moment; you couldn't see the blade moving through the air, but you could certainly hear it, as if it were slicing the air itself. A floating leaf swirling along the breeze fell to the ground, chopped neatly and exactly in half. The blade sunk into the vampire's right shoulder, until Arrika ripped it back out and causing him even more pain.

Vampire: 15/40
Arrika: 27/35
Sakiko: 10/25

The boy hissed with pain, his eyes narrowing even more with a look of murder in his already lethal eyes. He grabbed at his shoulder with his left hand, looking around him and swiping at the air again. Arrika had moved away right after withdrawing her dagger, and with a pang realized that she had left a trail of the vampire's blood that dripped off the dagger to her. Unable to hold onto the darkness anymore, she felt the reassurance of invisibility slip away from her.

Sakiko didn't bother to smirk, as time was slipping away. The vampire boy was in pain, and this was the time to strike. She muttered to herself, "Hope...this..works." Gathering the energy left in her, Sakiko groaned in pain as she bent her back, trying to gather the energy needed. The powerful rush of energy accumulated quickly in her hand, building up. The mage gathered her fists around it, and made a motion to hurl it at the boy, hoping to strike him right at the heart. [[elemental burst]]

By a lucky shot Sakiko's spell hit the vampire straight in the chest, the demonic bloodsucker getting the full blast of it. Arrika grinned triumphantly with a great, "HELL YEAH!" He stumbled back for a few moments, dazed and confused, his eyesight flashing and blurry. "Curse you... foolish girl... you- will- PAY!" He charged at her, albeit rather blindy as he couldn't really see, hand as lethal as a spear. He gutted her right in the stomach, twisting his hand similar to the way Arrika had brutally pulled out her dagger, finally wrenching back, Sakiko's blood staining his already crimson hands.

Vampire: 6/40
Arrika: 27/35
Sakiko: 2/25

Arrika grimaced for Sakiko, determined to end it right there. Spinning her Deku Dagger expertly in her hand so fast it was no more than a flashing, rotating blur, she lept forward and aimed for the vampire's heart. The Sheikah's weapon embedded itself completely, the vampire making a shrill and piercing shriek as it felt its endless life finally slip away from it. The boy collapsed, falling on his knees and gasping for air, although he didn't need it. "So you see... even the immortals will fall back to old habits...." He choked out. "I, who have not needed to breath my entire existence, I feel myself wishing I could, just once-"

Arrika raised her black boots and gave him a swift kick to the head, enjoying the snap of his neck as he finally lay still.

A blur overcame Sakiko's vision, her black eyes quickly returning to light silver. Her pale face became chalky white as she stumbled about, her legs feeling as if they were not there. The pain washed through her in waves, torturing every nerve of her body. The mage collapsed on the ground, her silver hair sprawled about her like spider legs.

Her lips were coated with blood as the Hylian began to cough out warm, red liquid. Sakiko closed her eyes with a flutter of her eyelashes, all energy seeping out of her limp body. She wanted to raise her hand, to celebrate the victory of the vampire's death. However, her reluctant arm would not respond, all senses of it being there disappearing.

The mage made a move to open her lips, and to her immediate surprise, her body responded. Painfully, Sakiko gasped out,

"Arrika. Help me."

Not being able to say anything more, the mage made a weak gesture inside her robe pockets, where her herbal bag lay. Her book that had notes of herbs were also inside, which the mage hoped that Arrika would find.

"Sakiko! Sakiko! Oh goddesses- that bastard, I should have killed him earlier, or you wouldn't be- damm you, don't you dare pass out on me! You hear me, Sakiko? If you die I swear I will torture you myself in Hell!" Arrika said, trying to calm herself down more than Sakiko, who was acting very mature for being gutted alive. She rushed to the mage immediately, rummaging in her robes for her herbal bag, which she opened and began to search. Apart from oddly shaped and scented dried plants there was a thin book, which she showed to Sakiko. It's okay. Don't waste your energy talking. You're a mage, so you're somewhat telepathic, right? What exactly do I need to do? Arrika mentally asked her.

Sakiko closed her eyes completely, already knowing the whole book by heart. She was the author of it, after all. The mage whispered hoarsely,

"Page nine. Bottom."

To keep herself from focusing on the pain, the mage began to run through the notes that she had written on page nine.

Plants to treat bleeding and immediate wounds:

If bleeding or suffering from deep cut, take clean bandage. Take out two stems of plant, slice in two, crush with rock. Smear unto bandage, wrap wound tightly. If done correctly, should stop bleeding immediately.

After the short paragraph, a picture of a tiny leaf with a rather large stem sprouting of it was shown. The edges of the book was stained with blood, but a small and neat handwriting was scribbled there.

Caution: Overdosing leads to death

The Sheikah read the few sentences quickly, then knelt searched through Sakiko's bag further for the right herb. After wiping her dagger clean on her cargo pants she sliced the two stems in half neatly, then ground it all onto a rock. She stood up and dug into one of her pockets for a clean bandage, muttering, "C'mon.... I know I've got at least 2 rolls in here..." With relief she finally found it and applied the herbs, hoping she didn't do something stupid like use 2 and a half stems, causing the whole overdosing death. She raised the bottom of Sakiko's robes and wrapped it around her wound quickly, praying to Farore that the blood would stop. Sakiko looked even paler than usual, and Arrika was sure that she looked just as ghostly or even more.

As Arrika applied the bandages, Sakiko quickly felt her pulse quicken; a good sign. Blood that was being lost to her wounds quickly rose up to her face and hands, flushing her pale skin to healthier shade of flesh. The mage breathed calmly, laying on the cold ground for several more seconds before she sat up.

She turned to Arrika, seeing her pale face. Jokingly, the mage mutttered weakly,

"What, you're not even wounded and you're already dead?"

Slowly, the strong herbal powers gathered up her energy. Sakiko felt her usual self return, albeit gradually. The Hylian wrapped her arms around her stomach, and grunted her thanks. She scolded,

"Next time, try not to be so heroic, all right? When there's a burning house, let's leave it alone next time. Although I did agree to helping you, it was your idea. You almost died in the fire, I almost died being gutted by a stupid vampire brat. And besides,"

Sakiko paused for some air, feeling the pain in her stomach returning. She breathed in small gulps of air and continued,

"I thought you were going to get all dead on me. Two times. TWO times!"

Sakiko began to yell, angry at multiple factors. Her eyes remained silver, however, as she fell into a passionate ranting about being a cold and selfish human being.

Beyond Sakiko's furious lectures, however, the house was still burning. Its smokes curled up into fine wisps of gray, creating a heavy cloud of suffocating air. No one bothered to save it, or even give it a second look. No one, but a wandering nomad, a flute tied to her hips.

Thump

Thump

Thump

The girl's boots created small clouds of smoke as she ran furiously to the burning house, a bucket in hand. Large droplets of water dripped from it, creating dark, wet spots on the dusty ground. Her head like itself, red and spiky, was thrown back wildly, a burning passion in her bright emerald eyes. She swung her arms back, and threw the remaining contents of the buckets to the burning house.

Alas, only a small drop of water remained. However, it managed to create a satisfactory sizzle as it met the crackling fires. The girl, whose name was Zapheta, jumped up and down, a smile of victory on her lips. She punched the air, hooting a wild cry. She yelled,

"Heh, beat that, fire! What now, what now?!"

In the heat of the moment, she kicked a protruding lumber of burning wood. The tip of her boots caught on fire, and Zapheta hopped about, trying to put the annoying flame to its death.

"Yag, hey, hey!!"

She turned about helplessly, not expecting anyone to be there. However, to her delight, she saw two pale girls, one yelling and the other silent. How could they just sit there while a house was burning? And what were those pale bodies lying around with them? Were they sleeping or what? Zapetha screamed,

"Hey! Over here!"

"What, and leave whoever's in there to burn alive?" Arrika said angrily. "I know that lady was a bitch, but that's a bit cruel, don't you think?" The Sheikah was drowned out by the mage's outburst. She looked up to the dark sky as a drop of rain hit her. It started to drizzle but soon became heavier, mud streaks appearing on her face. "Well, I guess that saves the trouble of putting out the fire," she muttered, just as Zapheta started to yell at them. "And who the hell is that? I don't feel like dealing with anyone right now..."

Sakiko's eyes grew cold. She stated with unfeeling finality,

"I am selfish, I do admit that. I don't care if someone I have never known dies or gets killed by her own children. That's none of my business."

She turned to the yelling girl, who was hopping about madly. She looked pathetic, drenched in the now starting rain. Her red hair was dripping down her face, but her eyes didn't lose the spark.

Zapheta skipped over to the two girls, now completely unconcerned about the burning house. The bard squatted beside Sakiko, and grinned widely.

"Hey there! Name's Zapetha. Zeze for short. And you are...?"

Sakiko glared at the stranger, not wanting to bother with anymore people outside her concern. She replied shortly,

"Sakiko."

Zeze stared at the mage for a short second, her green eyes growing wide. Her face brightening, she yelled,

"Goddesses, is that really you?! Oh, my! Sakiko!!"

Shrieking with delight, the bard squeezed the mage, pure joy radiating from her face. The mage shouted in surprise, and pushed the stranger away.

"What do you think you're doing? Get away from me, horror!"

Zeze's face fell, her lips in a frown. She asked in disbelief,

"Wait, you don't remember me? Remember, Zeze from Kierko Town? Before the...fire?"

Sakiko glared at the girl, confused. The mage replied harshly,

"Perhaps you're mentally unstable, but it's none of my concern. I don't know what you're talking about."

Zeze shook her head sadly, but decided that it was not the right moment to discuss her childhood with her long lost friend, Sakiko. She was sure that this was the same Sakiko- gray hair, pale face, Sakiko alright. Shrugging, the bard smiled brightly at Arrika, totally unaffected by Sakiko's ignorance.

"Hey, hey, who's this?"

The nomad grinned, and broke into a song.

Who's this, who's this?
Being drenched by the rain?
Who's this, who's this?
with midnight black hair?

Who's this. who's this?
you look perfectly sane.
Who's this, who's this?
with complexion so fair?