"Voxea...we are never...doing that...again...", I groaned atop a pile of torn canvas, broken wood and what smelled to be salted fish. Evidently, Voxea's plan worked as intended, but she didn't account for the possibility of the wagon containing more than people. I'm surprised nothing broke from the impact.
[Oh come on, it wasn't that bad], Voxea said as she helped me get up from the pile of debris and fish.
[Ugh], she said with a grimace and holding her nose, [You're going to need a bath after this...maybe two].
[Ya think]?
"Honey, what's going on back there?", a deep and heavy voice called out.
"I-it's a girl and a humanoid majimonster? I think she's a binder, w-who are you and how did you get on our wagon?!", a high pitched, melodic voice yelled out. After tossing a piece of fish from my hair and cleaning myself off a bit, Voxea and I turned to see who the owners of this cart were.
The source of the melodic voice was a young petite woman a few winters older than me, wearing colorful merchant clothes and three studs in her right ear that were probably drajules, since I could sense faint traces of aether from them. She had dark skin, curly hair, an oval face, green almond-shaped eyes and a small nose. Despite how tattered her clothes looked from travelling, her personal appearance was impeccable.
The deep voice came from a man who was currently steering the wagon we were on. From what I could see,he had dark somewhat straight hair, tanned skin and drajule studs in his left ear. His build could best be described as somewhat wiry yet muscular.
All in all, they appeared to be a young married couple of binders. Adorable to say the least.
"H-hey, I asked you a question. Why are you on our wagon?", the woman said with forced courage. She gently cupped the drajules in her right ear, but I didn't feel the aether stirring from them in the slightest. I got the feeling she tried to use her monsters to fight the Omukade earlier and it didn't end well.
"Really? Bravado? Now? Can't you tell a rescue party when you see one?", I asked her bluntly.
[Oh you picked up some of my vocabulary! How cute!], Voxea commented.
"A rescue? How? You're not just a panic induced hallucination?!", the woman asked as she dropped her hands from her ear and used them to grab me by the shoulders. For someone so scrawny looking, she was surprisingly strong.
"Yes a rescue. I'll tell you once you let me go. No, I am not a hallucination", I answered as I recalled Voxea to her drajule. Once she returned, I reached into my breast pocket and pulled out Azalea's drajule.
"Now you two are going to have to trust me, and you're not going to like it", I said as the energy tuning fork began to form.
_________________________________________
"Come on Silvia...you can do it...pull another miracle...", Savina quietly hoped as she watched the little wagon getting chased by the massive Omukade.
"Vo...", Triton said as he placed a massive hand on Savina's shoulder as a show of comfort.
"Thanks big guy. You did great, now we just need to hope Silvia can do the rest".
From the distance she was standing, the Omukade appeared to be as big as Triton's fist, while the wagon itself was only as big as her fingertip. The moment it caught up with the wagon, it would be gone in an instant. She could only hope that whatever this [Body Double] technique was would work as planned.
Savina's expectant gaze of hope soon turned to despair, as she watched the wagon suddenly stop in the middle of the road.
"Nononono, what are you doing Silvia?!", Savina screamed in a panic as she watched the Omukade get closer and closer to the wagon.
"Triton! I need you to-", she began to order Triton, until she heard a giant crashing sound.
"NOOOOO!", Savina cried as she turned to see the resulting dust cloud of the Omukade crushing the little wagon. Tears began to stream down her face at the emotional turmoil caused by seeing her best friend suddenly dying in front of her. Rage, anguish and sadness. These three emotions raged inside her as-
*Pop*
"Oof!"
"Buuuu..."
When all of a sudden, Silvia appeared behind, in a dogpile consisting of Azalea and an unknown couple currently kissing.