"Your awake" I said as I bit down on a green fruit.
The skin had the texture of an orange peel but the insides are soft and seeded like a kiwi.
Jasha opened his eyes slowly, the wound on his midsection was small and a clear through and through not hitting any major organs.
It was bandaged in the front and back by fibrous leaves I chewed on and mixed with some herbs.
The beam left lingering mana in his body, the area around the entrance and exit wound was red and inflamed and it looked like it was spreading.
"You should have killed me boy, I swear on the gods above and below that we will end you"!
"We bring you into our home and treat you as an honored guest and you take a blade to one of our own in cold blood"!
He coughed heavily and stared at me leaning against the root of a large tree.
"I apologize for that, I didn't mean to kill him" I smiled softly while dropping a fruit next to him.
He spotted his friends bow and quiver full of arrows and gnashed his teeth.
"Your a monster" he growled while reaching for a dagger that wasn't there.
"Well things happened and here we are, tell me why your following me around"?
I sat cross legged in front of the young man who looked like a cornered wolf.
"I also want to know what you did with your hands, and everything you know about the mana arts".
I stared at him, my small smile was a stark contrast to the cold dark eyes boring into him.
With every passing moment reality set in and his situation became ever clearer.
The eyes full of malice a few moments ago are now darting around looking for a way out.
"Stop plotting and start talking" my voice was soft but the glow of mana behind my eyes promised pain.
"Do your worst you scum"!
"The goddess should have killed you the moment you stepped into our territory"!
"So this is some sort of vendetta against me"? I asked while dropping his bag along with a round silver ball I recognized, I had one of my own given to me by Mislin.
"What is this thing"? I asked picking it up.
"Die slow! I disobeyed my god, death awaits me no matter what happens here".
That surprised me, it insinuated the Kata told them to not come after me.
It made sense after some thought, if she wanted me dead I would be dead.
"But you, no matter where you go you will never have a home, they will hunt you in Olim and Terra! Your blood and your children's blood is tainted forever, cursed to be cattle"!
He didn't slow down at all, the verbal assault came in multiple languages.
Biting my index finger I placed it above his diaphragm and a tendril poked out slowly seeping into his body.
A small circle was made controlling the energy that was going in.
He screamed and tried to thrash around but I hooked his wrist on my neck and applied pressure to the elbow breaking his arms, one after the other before placing my finger back on his chest.
With each crunch of his bone the cries rang out louder, and with my energy rolling around in his body he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.
Ignoring his cries of pain I focus on the tendril.
He had a mana core and it was well developed, but nothing compared to mine.
Where his had milky streaks mine was a bright star.
My tendril went from his mana core to his brain slowly latching on and soon I began to receive thoughts and sensations that are not mine.
It wasn't like a normal human interaction where I was mentally crushed with the others thoughts and sensations, I was able to sift through them but as I did I moved around in his brain.
It helped that he wasn't older than twenty.
The two way connection turned into a one way with me doing the receiving.
I found that some places I applied pressure to allowed me to send thoughts where others allowed me to receive them, and this was all in the central part of the brain.
Most people die before I can get this far and there life flashes before my eyes.
Although I didn't have a blood array back then so things might be different.
After only a few moments he passed out and his breathing slowed.
He was at the edge and I put him there, I backed away from him and waited for him to cleanse the foreign energy from his body.
Using mana vision I can see he is having a hard time.
Unlike me who had aura to drive out foreign mana this kid was raw like a regular human with a weak mana core that was pulsating heavily trying to cleanse his body.
I learned nothing besides some early childhood memories.
'This is a pain, you want to try'? I asked Ava who sent me a stream of disapproval.
She was so disgusted by my actions she remained as a stone and didn't contact me.
Since she had no form and mana was the only way she had to interact, this specific form of torture really made her empathize with the victim and made her think about her fate if ever she should be found by another mage... or thought about running from me.
As a wise man once said, 'She knows too much'.
"You just lucked out" I mumbled while rubbing the back of my neck and glancing at the limp young man.
If Ava was to take over I am sure she would be able to get whatever information she wanted.
It reminded me of a genie in a lamp, all that power in a teenie weenie living space.
Picking up the last fruit I bit into it while pondering my conundrum.
I wanted the information in his head, but If I pushed too hard and too fast he would die of shock.
If I spend too little mana his mana core would reject my energy.
His body was battered and broken but he was young and full of vitality, he wouldn't die too fast.
I spend the next few minutes in deep thought.
I never had a mage to experiment on besides Isla, I didn't want to ruin this opportunity.
Getting up slowly he attempted to flee but my fist hammered his had from above.
When he fell I grabbed his ankle and embraced his leg in a hug while breaking the leg in three different places.
His howl filled the blood red sky as the sun set over Zefria.
"Just answer my questions and we both won't have to go through this, I hate doing this it makes me feel horrible to hurt such a kind person like you".
I rubbed his head as he cried, gripping his forearm I grind the broken bones in his arms together.
My knee was on his the small of his back while the gentle rub turned into a forceful push that grinded his face in the dirt.
"No more please"! he begged in between screams.
I pretend not to hear him while repeating the same words.
"I don't want to hurt you, please tell me what I need to know so I can stop".
My voice was soft and steady trying my best to soothe him while my hands are like a vice no matter how he wriggled and moved I continued to hold the loose part of his arm in place and jam the bones together.
"It's going to be okay, I promise I will stop" I said while tears and snot rolled down his face as he screamed for his mother.
Soon all that could be heard was his voice, all the beasts and creatures moved on past Jun territory.
He went from defiance to shame, quickly followed by pleading and bargaining.
I released him from my hold and sat cross legged as he moaned and wept with his face in the dirt.
"This didn't have to happen, it still doesn't" I smiled gently and rubbed his head.
He shivered at my touch and tried to move away but only ended up scratching his face on the ground.
The only limb functioning was his left leg it dug a small hole underneath it due to all the thrashing about.
Now that I was sure he wasn't going anywhere I waited for him to recover enough to answer my questions.
I didn't want this to be another Standish moment where I get a general summary of a life.
I felt like there are gaps missing and even though the thoughts linger they are not in sync with the sensations so its hard to discern them.
I wanted information and I wasn't going to let him die until I got it.
I crushed a few grapes by his cheek and the juice rolled into his mouth.
"It's going to be fine, you can make it past this, just tell me what I need to know".
"What are those hand signs"?
"They are a way for me to form an array"
"Bullshit".
"Bullsh?... AHH Noooo"! he cried as I pinched the place I broke on his arm.
This kids pain tolerance is crap, Isla would be spitting at me about now.
"You have no aura".
"Please I'm telling you the truth"!
I let him go and scooted away letting the darkness provided by the shade of the large tree swallow me.
The full moon up high meant that predators are stalking tonight.
"Go on, tell me more" my voice whispered in the night.