Perspective : Thor Gild
"Eeek .. shhhih.... ".
I experienced a sudden, unexpected quivering sensation in my body.
"Ha".
"It's kinda funny... I can't feel much of my back anymore".
"Well that's a small price to pay for someone's life".
"I anticipate that it will return to normal soon after it is free once again".
I shifted Ron up a bit. Cracked my neck, as it made a satisfying popping sound.
"I wonder how Falisha is doing".
"Haven't seen her ... since I left the tribe".
"I guess she is still taking care of those sheep, left behind by that wandering shepherd once".
"Always caring... that one".
It was a start of a new day, inside that god forsaken cavern.
The only difference was,
We had been walking and walking since we all fought those large swarm of ants. Inside that weird chamber. Followed by some occasional run-ins with other swarms of ants.
But these times, we evaded them. Carefully, scouting even before we blindly rush an empty suspecting room.
Turned out, our friend Robin here had a handy little trick called "Clairvoyance".
A spell used by treasure hunters and thieves alike to check suspiciously spacious locations.
Now, we knew what's inside a room, even before we barge in.
My eye lids felt heavy, tears of fatigue and drowsiness were blurring my sights.
Afterall we walked the whole night. Try as we might, we never found a suitable spot to "Call it a day".
Everyone looked super pissed.
Including me.
One part of having a numb and sore back is that, sometimes I could feel certain sensations that doesn't make any sense. Like sudden itchiness, sudden unreasonable sharp pain, and sometimes it would feel like, as if someone's touching me.
However those sensations were purely subjective.
The similar kinda feeling I was getting then.
As usual, I reached out my hands to check, what's on my shoulders. To my surprise, It was someone's hand.
It was Ikbal, and he said,
"Drink this mate".
The thing he was handing me was a bottle full of fizzing liquid. A stamina potion.
As he peered into my eyes, with his eyes wide opened, one could see the small nurves running across his white sclera, and red hue near the corners of his eye balls. Clearly the result of, what someone would call "Substance abuse".
Like I was grateful and all, however, the offer wasn't tempting, prompting me to decline.
"No thanks .... I don't need that".
Infuriated by my denial, he said,
"I AM BEING FUCKING NICE TO YOU RIGHT NOW".
"EITHER YOU TAKE IT ... OR I WILL SHUV IT UP YOUR ASS".
I replied,
"Well that's exactly the reason, I don't want it".
"Look at yourself ... friend... you look insane".
"How many of those have you .. had now?".
He answered,
"Not much ... like 14 ".
He said nonchalantly.
I responded sarcastically,
"Not much ".
He continued,
"I am not the only one.... Emilia had 6 of 'em ... look at kyle, he is chugging one right now".
"Come on you need it.... take it!".
I declined,
"No thanks".
He added,
"You look like ... you can fall over anytime....".
"Huh ... I offered you earlier... but you refused".
"What if something ambushes us again ... what then ... do you think, you can fight in this condition".
"That's why FUCKING TAKE IT".
"Ohh ... sorry there.... I don't know why but ... I am really sorry for STARTLING YOU".
He occassionally had this usual, upstream rage outburst.
And I think I knew the reason why?.
However he also stated valid reasons. I would never turn a blind eye to that.
So I accepted his offer. He handed me the bottle as he blurred,
"Okay come on drink it!".
Truth be told, I never had the luxury to try out any kind of potions. Due to our strict tribe rules. So, I was kinda curious, how it would taste.
Anticipation held me, in its grasp.
Now, I had to drink it.
As I took a sip of that stamina potion , I could feel the fizziness tingling on my tongue, instantly awakening my taste. The liquid surged through my body, bringing with it a surge of revitalizing energy. Fatigue seemed to melt away as the drink coursed through my veins, invigorating my weary muscles.
With each passing moment, a renewed sense of vitality washed over me, replacing the heaviness with a newfound lightness. It was as if a burst of energy had ignited within me, fueling my determination to continue on my journey.
And then, unexpectedly, a burp escaped from within. It was a spontaneous release.
However, now my heavy eyelids were wide open, as if something was preventing me from closing them.
"I wondered what those dark marks beneath everyone's eyes were".
"And now I know".
As I drank the whole thing, my body felt a new surge of energy, coursing throughout my body.
Followed by a new kind of fatigue.
I expressed my gratitude to Ikbal as I took a long sigh.
While we were chatting, some different kind of commotion brewed towards the front lines.
As a sudden loud voice, pierced through the silence.
"YOU TAKE IT BACK RIGHT NOW".
It caught us off guard.
It was Keira arguing with Brandon.
Meanwhile, Yuna was urging Keira to calm down.
"You are over reacting ... let him go".
Brandon wasn't a push over either,
"I WON'T.... BECAUSE IT'S ... IT'S A FACT".
(What's up with that guy with picking fights, with people for no reason?).
The gripping scene before me was,
Keira's hand firmly clasped Brandon's neck, his fingers tightening around it. Both of them displayed signs of weariness, their bodies slouched with fatigue. With furrowed brows, Keira's eyes pierced through Brandon's, conveying a mix of anger and frustration. His grip exerted a subtle pressure, causing Brandon to slightly arch his back, his face contorted with a mixture of defiance and exhaustion. The tension emanated from their locked gazes.
"One of the potion's side effects I think."
"It builds up a sense of frustration and anger".
"I think I can .... too feel it".
"These extreme emotions whirling inside me".
"This is bad, .... we need to stop them".
"This could go ... side ways quick".
Brandon with a demanding tone said to Keira,
"UNHAND ME! ... DON'T YOU HAVE THE WILL POWER TO EMBRACE THE REALITY".
"I THINK YOU KNOW IT TOO".
(What are they talking about?)
Keira responded, with a hint of nostalgia and denial,
"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW HIM THE WAY I DO".
"So you have no right to say that".
"Take it fucking back ...".
(Is he sad ?)
Brandon responded,
"What right are you talking about?".
"That sniveling son of a bitch ..... was in cahoots with that old gezer .....".
"He bought us here.... In this fucking hell hole".
That was when the puzzle painted a full picture, they were arguing about Kyle.
Unexpectedly Keira was defending him.
(I thought he hated him)
Keira responded,
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT SHIT".
"IT'S NOT HIS FAULT... YOU CAME HERE".
"WERE'T YOU THE ONE WHO NEEDED GLORY AND GOLD".
"YOU DID ... I DID".
He added in a slow tone
"EVERY FUCKING... ONE OF US ... DID".
"IT'S NOT... HIS .... FAULT".
As, he tightened his clasp over Brandon's neck, Brandon's face started to exude a shade of red.
Even then,
Brandon replied,
"LOOK AT YOU ... ROUNDING ALL OF US UP ... YOU FEEL LIKE A FUCKING HERO, DON'T YOU?".
Followed by a spit in Keira's face.
(Ohh god ... that is not good)
(He won't react kindly to that)
Keira responded,
"Now it's about me .... heh, heh".
With a scornful laugh, Keira shared glances with all of us. before locking eyes back with Brandon.
Followed by further tightening his grip on Brandon's neck.
He said,
"You know what the problem with societal rejects like you?".
"You lot don't think much... before blaming others for your hiccups".
Now his grip came to a point when he actually started suffocating Brandon.
Keira added,
"And don't even get me started... with all that ... It was you!".
Keira said assertively pointing his finger towards Brandon,
"It was you who messed with that BITCH ... Regina".
"IT WAS YOU... WHO caused Kyle to loose his temper".
He added in a slow pace,
"If it weren't been for that ... we'd be all together right about now".
[Sheela and Yuna trying to stop them,
"Guys cut it out".
"It's not the time for that".]
Now the argument had become pretty much one sided, as Brandon was in no condition to defend his side.
Keira added,
"You think we didn't noticed or what".
Slowly, Keira drew his face towards Brandon's suffocating face, uttering the words,
"You know what! ... let me make this clear... the reason why we all detached from Kyle wasn't because we didn't believed in him ... ".
"Do you want to know what it really was?".
"It was you lot ... ".
"This environment is contagious ... you can see... how I am acting, right... It can change a person's character"
"Who's to say ... Kyle won't react that way ... with contaminating bugs like you hanging around".
"Who's to say ... he won't loose his cool .... Infact he almost did .... didn't he?".
"I don't know about the death spell .... and neither do I care ... because my friend would .... never... harm me".
"You know who would get bummed though.... It's you".
"With the way you act!".
"Ohh ... you were surely going to get killed by him".
With a shift in tone, he withdrew his face.
"And don't even think for a minute I did that for you".
"It was Kyle ... If he kills you, his conscience is going to be burdened by that ... for the whole of his life".
"I DON'T WANT MY FRIEND TO DIRTY HIS HANDS WITH YOUR FILTHY BLOOD".
Keira was serious, and Brandon was suffocating. His eye balls rolled upward, as he was about to lose his consciousness.
(I don't think he heard that)
[Sheela finally managed to calm Keira down,
"Keira that's enough! let him go ... we don't want him too, slowing us down".]
After Keira had finally calmed down and quelled his anger and frustration, he forcefully removed his hand from Brandon's neck, causing Brandon to fall onto the ground, gasping for air in a state of hopelessness. As a final warning, Keira raised his hand and pointed at Brandon, firmly stating,
"Don't you ever forget that".
"And don't you ever get on my nurve".
"Fucking again".