Diane dodged to her left taking a wild swing behind her grazing the right side of the wyverns face. It reared up from the pain the gash on its face caused. Diane was slowly wearing it down, but she had been fighting for the last eight hours and she was reaching her limits. The wyvern was leaking blood from many slashes up and down its body. Nisse was continuously pelting it with fireballs, but its thick hide was protecting it from most of the damage. Diane directed Nisse to keep distracting it while she prepared for a new attack. She envisioned exactly what she wanted her magic to do and she poured all her remaining energy into a frost spell. As soon as she was ready Nisse flew up out of the way, allowing Diane to launch a torrent of ice at the lunging beast. The wyvern's progress slowed till it stopped about foot away from Diane's outstretched hands. It was frozen solid with a six inch layer of ice surrounding it. "Now!" Diane yelled jumping out of the way. Nisse released the fireball she had been powering up, it shot from her hands sending her spinning backwards in place as she hovered in the air. When it struck the wyvern the explosion sent chunks of ice and reptile parts flying everywhere. The half that was still in the hole slid back down with a meaty smack echoing out. Diane leaned against a tree and then slid down to a sitting position at its base. She was trying to keep awake but her eye lids were too heavy to stay open.
Nisse flew over and saw Diane sleeping against tree. She tugged on her cape till she got it loose, and then draped it around the front of her, laying her down. She smiled at Diane feeling very proud of the path she was choosing for herself. She could see Diane's potential as a hero, and she wanted that for her more than anything else. She wanted the goddess Calypso to acknowledge Diane's greatness. And Nisse would make sure she reached her highest level. As she watched over her she heard the distant echo of a babies cry. The wind was blowing past them back into the dark forest. The arachnoids would be there soon drawn by the smells of blood and death. Nisse was gaining confidence of her own. She now understood that the legends of her mother's great strength and abilities was no exaggeration. She could finally stand toe to toe with her mother in a magical duel. Looking back down at Diane she made a tent of hardened tree roots to protect her while she went to confront their next threat. There were only four arachnoids. Just a few weeks ago she would have been paralyzed with fear. Now she hovered confidently between two trees awaiting their arrival. The first one that came into view was vaporized as soon as it came into the clearing. The next one climbed a tree and tried to jump at her from behind. It didn't make it far before it was swatted from the air by the same branch it jumped from. The force of the blow let if a crumple broken mess on the ground. It twitched two times before lying still. The last two tried to split her attention between them. But they didn't know what she was capable of. Nisse closed her eyes and let her area detection tell her where they were. She waited till the last second then turned invisible flying upward causing the arachnoids to crash together where she had just been. She then cause vines to grow and catch the arachnoids before they hit the ground. She twisted and twisted the vines until they constricted the arachnoids to the point she heard a loud pop followed by blood and other bodily fluids leaking out between the vines. Nisse flew over and perched in a branch directly over where Diane slept. Yes she was definitely more powerful and gaining in confidence. Soon she would be strong enough to challenge her mother. And when she did her mother would have to acknowledge her strength. She would have to recognize her as an adult and an equal, for that is what Nisse desired for herself more than anything else. And Diane was her ticket to that. Her love for Diane was growing everyday along with her powers. Diane was special, and she would protect that quality with her life. So as the night progressed, and she heard nocturnal predators awaking for their nightly hunt, she steeled herself for the busy night ahead.
Diane awoke the next morning feeling more refreshed then she had in a couple days. As she sat up to stretch her arms hit something hard over her. She reached out to Nisse and felt her sleeping in the tree above her. She felt Nisse's energy signature in the roots covering her. She tapped into that same energy to release their hold and send the roots back into the ground where they belonged. When Diane stood up to full stretch she froze mid-stretch and stared wide eyed at the massacre laying before her. There were arachnoid, Chricktar, and a feline creature she hadn't seen before lying dead all around the clearing. Some had large holes in their bodies with melted pieces of ice still sticking thru them. Others hung from vines with different body fluids dripping down to the ground. In other spots there were piles of ash that would blow in the slight breeze that passed thru the clearing. Nisse stayed up all night defending her at the potential cost of her own life. Diane couldn't begin to explain how touched she was by this gesture. Diane felt a tug in her mind and saw it was coming from Nisse. She thought Nisse was trying to communicate with her, but it felt different this time. She felt along the thread of energy and allowed it to guide her actions. When she reached up toward Nisse in the tree she could see hands of energy mimicking her hands motions. She used them to gently lift Nisse off the branch she was laying on and floated her down to where she stood. There was a slight strain when Nisse was far away, but with Nisse right next to her she felt weightless. Diane continued their eastward trek heading in what she hoped was the direction of Urenhiem. As she hiked thru the woods she spotted a deer with enormous antlers. She had run out of provisions the day before, so she was ready to kill and eat any animal that she recognized as edible. Placing Nisse on the ground she closed her eyes and felt for the tree that was right neck to the deer. It was looking around with a skittish look in its eye. Before it could run off Diane sent as Root straight up from the ground like a spear right thru its head. She floated Nisse back into the air and quickly went over to her kill. She used the same root to lift the deer into the air so she could bleed it out.
Diane was skinning the deer when she felt eyes on her back. She turned to see one of the feline creatures she had seen before. It was just sitting there looking at her with its head cock to the side like a dog that didn't understand what it was looking at. 'I felt a pull all night long and it stops here with the one floating behind you. What are you?' Diane looked around to see where the voice she was hearing was coming from. It felt like when Nisse spoke telepathically with her but more distant, like when someone talks to you thru a door. The animal cocked its head the other way but otherwise hadn't moved a muscle. Diane woke Nisse up thru the bond. She really wanted to let her sleep, but she needed her insight as to what was going on. Nisse rolled over in mid-air as if she was sleeping on an invisible bed. She cracked one eye and stretched a very tired yawn saying, "Oh look an allougar.... how nice...." Then she laid her head on her folded arms and went back to sleep. Nisse then jumped up and whipped her head over to the allougar that still sat with its head cocked to the side. 'I hope you are the smart one. I tried talking to this one, but she doesn't seem to understand normal speech. I felt a pull I followed all night and it led me to you. What are you?' Nisse and Diane looked at each other. "Did that thing just call me stupid?!" Nisse hid a chuckle by pretending to cough into her hand. "I think it is just as confused as we are." Nisse said. 'I am a Nymp, my name is Nisselila and this is my Mistress the warrioress Diane Peters. And you are an allougar.' Nisse answered the curious creature. 'I know what I am, I'm not like the dumb one there who can't answer people when spoken to. I just can't figure out why I was drawn to you and why I can't bring myself to eat you.' Nisse had to restrain Diane when it called her dumb again. 'Call me dumb one more time and I will make a nice coat or pair of boots from your hide!' Diane said giving it a glaring daggers at the strange creature. 'It does speak! Then you just have very poor manners to just ignore someone when they speak to you.' Diane clenched her fist, ground her teeth and rolled her eyes. 'I did NOT know it was you who was speaking to me. I was looking around to see where the voice I was hearing was coming from. I wasn't ignoring you. I'm not used to wild animals suddenly speaking to me out of the blue.' The allougar considered her statement for a while before responding, 'I can understand your befuddlement. I seem to be an anomaly among my kind. But there is still something I just don't like about you. Now Nisselila I feel as if I'm supposed to be with you. Do you know why this would be?' Nisse looked to Diane for help with this one. Diane shrugged her shoulders, she had no clue either. Nisse closed her eyes and felt for her bond. Where there was one before there was now two, one leading to this allougar. His name is Gar. Gar stood up and walked slowly toward Nisse with his eyes closed. 'I don't understand how but I bonded him last night. It must have happened when I started to tire out. I was pushing myself and I pleaded to the gods for more energy to protect you. Then I suddenly felt a rush of energy, it help me to defeat the last of our attackers. Then I flew up to the branch and fell asleep. I guess my bond latched out to him and I used some of his energy.'
'That makes sense and explains somethings for me. I heard the faint echoes of a distant battle and suddenly felt a tight pulling in my chest. Suddenly it felt as if all my energy was stripped from me all at once. I collapsed right there, I was too weak to move a muscle. When I woke a couple hours later I dragged myself to my feet and followed the pull till I came across you two here. Her back was to me and I thought I could make an easy meal of her to help regain my strength. But when I went to attack my body wouldn't respond. So I sat there pondering my next move till she turn around and spotted me. The rest you know.'
Diane looked at the allougar now that it was sitting right in front of her. Its body was that of a cougar, but its legs were twice as thick as a cougars with leathery scales leading to long curled claws on its feet. Its tail looked like it belonged on an alligator, thick, wide, and with leather scales and spikes. But the most surprising was when he yawned, and his mouth just kept stretching bigger and bigger with row upon row of sharp backwards curved teeth. Diane was reminded of a video she saw of a python swallowing an antelope that was three times its size whole. The way gar was built he would probably be at home in the woods or in a swamp.
'We have a very dangerous path ahead of us. We will be fighting constantly, and your life will be continuously put in danger if you come with us. But we will share our strength with each other and protect one another along the way. If you can live with that then you are welcome to come along.' , Nisse told Gar. Gar looked at Nisse, then Diane and finally to the deer that Diane had been in the process of skinning. 'Well I've come this far just to find you, as long as the dumb one is willing to share a meal with me I'm your man.', Gar said with a chuckle leaping backwards out of the way of Diane's foot. 'I've changed my mind I think she's going to be fun!'