Chapter Text
‘Raisha ran.
The fisherman ran too, boots clomping against the planks of the dock.
She made it to the buildings by the docks, but wasn’t far ahead of the oncoming fishermen. Raisha darted down an alley between two of the buildings. What if she got cornered? How many people could Gerathon take out?
“What do I do?” Raisha asked.
The cobra gave no answer.
Raisha ran hard. She wouldn’t get caught. They were almost free!
At the end of the alley, the world suddenly went dark.
Raisha screamed as an unseen assailant yanked a large canvas bag over her head and shoulders. It covered her down past her waist. Gerathon thrashed and and hissed, trapper in the bag with her. Raises struggled too, but strong arms held the bag in place, and a sharp chemical smell was making her woozy.’
And then suddenly, the arms were gone and she heard a loud thump. It wasn’t her or the cobra, Gerathon was still hissing and struggling, the bag easy to move now that nobody was holding it in place.
“I know they’re goons, but c’mon, trying to drug a girl in an alley just seems cliché,” Raisha hears a voice say, sounding vaguely familiar and a bit cocky. “You would’ve thought with their plan, they’d be better.”
“I don’t think Zerif thought anyone would be here.” The name sends a jolt through Raisha. She wasn’t sure if it was dread that he wasn’t here or excitement that he wasn’t there to take Gerathon. “Beyond her. Hey, c’mon, it’s okay.” Suddenly steps were coming closer to her, and then the bag was pulled off from her head. Raisha blinks and looks around, seeing two men in red cloaks and masks staring at her. Then the one who wasn’t holding the bag snarls, stepping towards her.
“I can’t believe it, it’s you!” He hisses, raising a hand only for the other to step between them. “King, you know who this is!”
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Raisha asks, trying to sound as innocent as possible, she knew at least one person who wore a red cloak and had tried to stop her and Zerif.
“You don’t…you…” The one who clearly held a grudge stammered, she couldn’t see his eyes, but she would bet Gerathon that he was glaring at her.
“Worthy,” The one who had been called King says, holding a hand up to try and steady him.
“My brother still hasn’t recovered! Do you know the last time he smiled? Because I don’t!” ‘Worthy’ snarls and Raisha winces a bit, now she knew his voice. Devin Trunswick, brother of the summoner of Rumfuss. “And look who she summoned! This is just perfect! We should’ve let Zerif have her back.” Gerathon hisses, baring fangs at Worthy. Raisha was pretty sure he was doing the same back.
“Worthy, I know what she’s done, believe me. And I know what she’s done too,” King points at Gerathon, dropping down to knee level and growling a bit. “Do you remember me? Huh? Remember what you promised and took away from me?” Gerathon lunges and King backs away with clearly practiced precision. Raisha rests a hand on the top of Gerathon’s scaly head, steadying her for the moment. “Still as grateful as ever.”
“So why are we here?” Devin asks, still clearly uncomfortable with her. Raisha shared the sentiment. Maybe she could make a break for it while they were arguing. “Let’s just leave them on their own. If Zerif gets her…she deserves it.”
“We can’t do that, Worthy,” King responds, sounding a bit sad about it. “The more Great Beasts he gets, the more powerful he gets. Which means that we need to protect any we can…even this one.”
“I hate this,” Worthy says simply, looking at Raisha again. “I hate her.”
“And I hate her,” King says, Raisha having a feeling he was talking about the cobra. So did Gerathon, she could feel her tense up. Raisha was almost tempted to let her. She felt a bit of gratitude for her rescue though, just enough. “But we have to do this. And then…well we can just let the Greencloaks have her again.”
“Excuse me,” Raisha speaks up, finding her voice for the first time in all of this. She was still a bit shaken from almost having her freedom, and likely Gerathon snatched away from her. “But why should I go with you? I have no intention of letting those oafs get me again.” Gerathon nods and hisses, sharing her agreement.
“Because you don’t have any other options,” King says, sounding a bit smug. “You can either go with us and deal with that later, let those oafs find you and your cobra now, or you can take your chances on your own, knowing Zerif can find you,” he says, and Raisha winces, her choices sucked. “And while you may hold some delusions of Zerif rewarding your loyalty…he won’t. He’ll rip her away from you, just like you’ve done to everyone else—”
“To my brother,” Devin chimes in, and Raisha could hear the venom in his voice. It was probably more than Gerathon had.
“He would. All that man wants power, he’ll use you until you’re useless. And honestly…you’re pretty useless now. You’re public enemy number two in Erdas right now, no more sneaking around. All you have is the cobra which he can take easily,” King continues, Raisha feeling any of her hopes fading away. She knew Zerif, and while she wanted to believe he’d understand that she would serve him faithfully, he would take Gerathon. He would. “So, what’s it gonna be? I figure we have ten minutes before someone shows up, and five before we go.”
Raisha looks at Gerathon. The cobra hisses, seeming displeased, but slithering closer to King. She made her choice so Raisha shrugged her shoulders and stepped closer.
“I trust the cobra,” Raisha says, in a far different context than she had a few seconds earlier.
“You shouldn’t.”
—
It turned out that King and Devin had a boat too. And they were off quickly, leaving the docks behind. Once they were sailing, King seeming to have an uncanny sense for it, she heard Devin chuckle.
“Cordalles isn’t going to be happy we’re using her boat for her,” He says, King chuckling right back, sounding humorless.
“Do you think anyone’s happy about this?” Raisha was tired of hearing them insult her. She only stayed her hand because of Gerathon, while she clearly didn’t like King and had some kind of history, she hadn’t tried to strike at him beyond that one time. She hasn’t tried to have him in striking distance at all times. That was good enough for her. It was better than with Dorell, who Gerathon clearly hated.
“So what’s the deal with him?” Raisha quietly asks Gerathon, tuning out the banter between the two men who clearly disliked her and her spirit animal. “You clearly know each other, right?” Raisha didn’t know a cobra could roll its eyes, but Gerathon did. Almost saying ’Duh.’
“How? War stuff?” Raisha had heard about the second Devourer War, everyone had, they’d lived through it. And she knew her cobra had been part of it. Gerathon nods, and Raisha thinks. She was smart and observant, she could figure it out. “You worked together…but he clearly holds a grudge…one of you betrayed the other?” Gerathon nods and Raisha feels proud. These red cloaked people may hate her, for good reason in some of their cases, but being on this boat beat prison. It definitely beat Zerif ripping her spirit animal away from her. Even if she wanted to believe he wouldn’t…she didn’t want to take the chance. It was a new adventure.
For the next few hours, Raisha finds herself exploring the boat, Cordalles’ boat if she had heard correctly, and that sent a pang of something through her, before laying down. She had gotten rest on Dorell’s boat, but it hadn’t been restful. She had been worried and Gerathon had been too. And she could feel it, at least a little, already. Now that made her smile.
“Y’know, I think a lot of people wouldn’t have been happy to summon you. I’m glad I did though,” Raisha says to Gerathon, petting the scales on her head again. It felt comforting to her, and the cobra let her, so she would. “Not just because of the possible powers, although that would be cool. What can you help me do? Can I influence people?” Raisha asks.
The cobra gives no answer.
“I just figured because you can control people or animals with your venom…can you still do that?” Raisha asks before taking a breath. “What about squeezing into small spaces? Snakes can do that, right? Enhanced strength like how you can crush animals?”
Gerathon once again gives no answer.
“You don’t know how this works either, do you?” Raisha finally asks, chuckling as Gerathon gives her the ’Duh.’ look again. “Guess we’ll figure it out. Hey, can you do passive state already?”
Gerathon makes a hissing noise, laughing, Raisha recognizes after a few seconds. Laughing at her suggestion.
“Okay, okay, we’re not there yet. You can ride on my shoulders until then,” Raisha offers, extending an arm down to Gerathon. And she crawls up it, wrapping herself lightly around her shoulders and neck, resting her head on her right shoulder. While most people would feel greatly terrified by this, the weight was already comforting to Raisha. This was real. She was free. She had a spirit animal. She had a Great Beast. This was the adventure of a lifetime, everything she’d ever dreamed of. She had stolen Great Beasts from under the noses of everyone like it was nothing, and then summoned her own. Her life was awesome!
“You know, there’s something extremely funny about this picture.” A voice interrupts Raisha’s musing, King, staring right at Gerathon the entire time. “The girl who stole Great Beasts away from everyone else, one of the only ones to escape with her own. And the cobra, the very cobra who corrupted the essence of a Spirit Animal bond, now one herself. It’s ironic,” King says, chuckling. Raisha can feel Gerathon lunge without vacating her perch on her shoulders. It was halfhearted though, more out of anger than any desire to hurt. She still clearly thought going with these people was their best option.
“The two backstabbers, paired together forever,” King says, laughing still while Raisha glares at him. “Oh it’s true, how many people did you let think were your friend before you snatched everything away from them?” Gerathon hisses, and Raisha could sense anger on the cobra’s part. “Oh I know, I’m not one to talk,” he continues, as if he could understand her. “But still, it’s funny. On a boat full of bad people, you’re still the worst.”
“Is there a point to this?” Raisha asks, scowling. “I’m twelve, I was used.” She uses the same line she had on Urban, drawing a bitter laugh from King.
“So was I. The difference is I actually acknowledge it and not just say it as a way to try and not take any responsibility,” He says, and Raisha could almost sense the glare he was giving her. “You helped rip away Spirit Animal bonds from kids just like you, Raisha, yes you were used by Zerif, but you did that. You knew what he was doing and helped him. And you get to keep your’s. And you get to go to relative safety on a boat that belongs to one of those kids who’s lives you ruined.” King stepped closer to her, showing no fear of Gerathon. Raisha was almost impressed by his bravery.
“Consider yourself lucky you summoned her. Otherwise you’d still be rotting in the Mire. Now though, you get exactly what you want, a chance to make a difference,” King says, sounding angry still.
“How do you—“ Raisha tries to interrupt before being cut off.
“Oh please, I know all about you, Raisha. The least loved, least important child. The one who wants to take control of her own destiny. Newsflash, that cobra proves you’ve always had a great one. You’re so lucky,” King was hissing now, in an almost reptilian way, in one that could rival Gerathon’s. “And you almost wasted it. Working for the man who would tear it all away. But he didn’t, not like Cordalles, not like Dawson, not like Anuqi, not like Grif, not like Kaiina, not like Anda.” Raisha recognized most of those names, but not all. Had Zerif captured more without her? She felt a sharp stab of anger, she thought he needed her help!
“If you ask any of them, I’m sure they’d think it unfair,” King continues, oblivious to her anger, “Honestly, I do too. But life’s unfair, isn’t it? The people who don’t deserve it get second chances, the people with grand destinies don’t deserve them and the ones who don’t have them try to force them and fail. They fail. So Raisha, do you wanna know what I think you should do with this second chance?” King asks, snarling like Devin had earlier. “Gerathon, this goes for you too: don’t waste it. There are so many people who would kill to have that second chance you have right now.”
“Funny, I don’t think I need a second chance,” Raisha says, grinning a bit. “I think my first one is still working out pretty well for me.” Was she cocky about what she had done? Of course she was! She had helped rip away Great Beasts with ease! Summoning one was rare, but there would presumably be fifteen people who had done that. Only two had stolen them though, and she was one.
“You’re so naive, Raisha,” King says, and it almost sounded like there was pity in his voice. “I only hope you wake up before it’s too late. Before you find out that all your chances have been ripped away from you.” King starts to leave, presumably to steer the ship, but pauses again. “It’s never too late to try and do the right thing, Raisha. It sounds so hopelessly naive, and maybe I am. I don’t know if you even have it in you to do the right thing really, you summoned Gerathon after all, but if someone does believe in you, does believe you can do the right thing…don’t waste that.” With that he leaves, leaving Raisha to roll her eyes, feeling Gerathon coil a bit tighter.
“Can you believe him? He won’t even show his face and he tries to lecture me?” She scoffs and can feel the cobra do similar. “How pathetic.”