The woman that stood by the doorway was beautiful. She had a white outline in her pink iris that stood out even in the simple candlelit room, fair skin along with snowy white hair. Had the dravian's beaten clothes been a light color instead of brown, she would have seemed like a divine spirit. The white, spiked tail that rested just above the dirty ground. Swaying slowly and methodically. A feminine face with smooth features, the scales on the side of her cheeks and around her neck complimented the ancient beauty that the dragon attributes provided.
Olivia felt a bit incompetent in terms of looks comparing herself to the long-lived dravian, raven black hair that draped down onto the floor she sat upon, small waves throughout it and a slick oily shine against the candle. Slightly tanner skin than the dravian, but without its obvious health. She was thin, magic was the only thing keeping her alive for these two months. The young witch felt so hungry, unclean and tired.
"Will you put down the spell?" The dravian said to her, she seemed to have softened her voice now that they were face to face.
"What's your name and your friend's?" Olivia's voice was dry, no longer echoing in the home.
"I'm Lavia, the leech is Gawain." She said quickly. "Will you put down the spell?" Asking again, irritated.
"If the monsters are dead. I will." Olivia said simply, looking over to the boarded window. She could feel the presence of something dark approaching her home, it felt dark.
Lavia sighed heavily, her shoulders dropping lower. That seemed to make the dravian relax a bit "Your name is Olivia right?"
She simply nodded her head, her mind was focused on trying to identify the entity approaching her home. "Something's coming"
"Something? What do you mean?" Lavia asked quizzically.
"Zelim felt corrupted and twisted, the very existence of a ghoul feels like there is decay, mold and rot pushed forward by a dark curse. This darkness feels ancient, intelligent and strong." Olivia shivered, she could feel it standing right outside of her home. The door has already been battered in, the strongest of the corpses Ked was a pile of mush at her doorstep. Little protection but the trap she could create within the home.
There was a silence, Olivia could see that Lavia was thinking. She could see thoughts racing behind those pinks hues, did she know what that thing was outside her home?
"Olivia, are you sure it's not Zelim? If it is I'll go down and fight him." Lavia said looking back at the door.
Olivia who had been too weak to move suddenly leaped out towards the dravian's leg. The frail body lying flat on the floor, her hand weakly gripping Lavia's ankle. She panicked. "No, don't go down there! It's not Zelim. I don't know what it is!" Olivia sounded fearful, the being was walking through her spell. The darkness wasn't affecting him, it simply walked the halls avoiding the mess of em.
Lavia stared down at the girl who was too weak to raise her head when she spoke, a pitiful sight. "Are you sure it's not a ghoul?" She said softly.
"I'm sure, and it's in here. I can feel it's shaping inside the home. It's pretending to be a man" Olivia whimpered, her body shaking. She was trying to keep her mind clear, focusing on expanding her halls, lengthening it further, to create an illusion until the thing gave up. It felt futile, because like the dravian she could feel it's a long life. It felt eternal, immortal. Immortals were rumored to be patient.
"I think I know who it is then, let him up. Let him find us." Lavia sighed, crouching down by the girl. Olivia felt hands running down her hair, its tangles being undone by dainty fingers.
"No, it'll kill us." She yelled, coughing shortly after.
"I promise he won't." Lavia retorted.
"How do you know?" Olivia questioned, shaking her head. She was staring at the wooden floor, violet eyes seemed to swell from fear. There was a new monster, the spell kept her rats away and the evil trapped within.
"The leech. I'm sure it's Gawain in here." Lavia said with a soft sigh, a bit of relief in her voice.
"What? You don't feel like him" She looked up at the white hair woman, rolling on her back before trying to prop herself up on her weak arms.
"He isn't a dravian. I'm here because of him though."
Olivia hesitantly offered the thing stairs but kept the hall of doors.
"He's not ancient, his blood is I think," Lavia said thinking back on the man that had entered the vampire Queen's room. The other golden-eyed vampire seemed a lot more threatening than Gawain, even the queen seemed meager in his presence.
"Why does he feel so dark, it's menacing. I just wanna run." Olivia quivered, feeling doors opening.
"He'll tell you. I won't. Just let him in, and I'll protect you." Lavia said with a soft smile, only trying to comfort the young girl.
Olivia stared at the dravian's pink hues, she had no reason to believe her. To trust that darkness wandering her home. Most mages could sense magic if they focused, it kept them from being struck by unsuspecting spells. Olivia particularly had become keen on sensing the dark magics, ever since people turned into ghouls she had focused on how they felt to her mind and soul. She had felt them wander near her raised guards.
Necromancy wasn't something she was proud in using, it tainted her soul, sometimes she could hear whispers of something foul. She could feel the darkness in herself, but it was all she could do to protect herself. She was a healer, not a battle mage. Doing the reverse was easier than learning how to create ice or flames.
Her magic kept her body from giving away to her hunger, it kept her alive. So did know when to put up her barriers, her illusions, her guards. Now this dravian was asking her to drop all of that for the something she's never felt. Why would she? It was a stupid idea!
However Olivia wanted Lavia to like her, the dravian had managed to beat her undead. She was brave to enter the home of the witch, to be by the borders of a country at war with her kind. Beautiful in an animalistic way, pure, something beyond human reach in her eyes. It's has been fourteen summers since she has been born, today was the first time she's met such a strong woman.
"Alright," Olivia said defeated, releasing her magic. Crawling behind Lavia, so she stood between her and the door.
"Thank you, Olivia," Lavia said with a soft smile.
Suddenly, the door began to open.