Amentia

Chapter 46 - Volatile

When Meiko left her room the next morning, about twenty minutes before the alarm rang, she found Nati standing in the doorway of Omylia's bedroom looking in. She was leaning on the frame of the open door languidly, as if it was the only thing holding her up. Meiko walked up to her and took a peek into the room. If she hadn't known different, Omylia could have just been having a nice little rest before the start of the day... the alarm would go off and she'd startle awake, go downstairs and do vocal warm-ups while she drank her tea like any other day.

"I wonder what she's going through right now," said Nati, her voice weak, her eyelids low as she looked at the unconscious body on the bed.

"Nothing pleasant," replied Meiko in a similar manner. "But she's better than the humans in the village, just a little bit."

"This caravan really has been a safe haven, I think. But I guess it was just a matter of time."

"We will find the answers and she will be okay," said Meiko, trying to sound more confident than she felt. She put a hand on Nati's shoulder, moving her long, heavy dark hair aside. She made an effort into putting warm energy on her hand. Nati leaned in on the gesture and sighed; she lifted her head and nodded to Meiko with a tired smile.

They went downstairs together to have breakfast; a warm beverage was always a good remedy for sadness. The alarm went off not too long after and the troupers' sleepy faces slowly began appearing at the bottom of the stairs. Meira and Almar were the last ones.

There were now two elephants in the room, and they were taking their toll. It was difficult to rehearse a comedy when the circumstances were so bleak. But becoming other people and being in a different place was always a nice shelter, however temporary it may be.

"I hope you know this is a business outing; I do not chaperone dates," commented Maylin to Meiko and Anna as they walked through the park. The couple was holding hands while Maylin was carrying in her arms a most delicate and gorgeously-crafted mirror wrapped in a silky cloth; it was to be bartered for face paint, which was running low after putting on so many comedies with extravagant and exaggerated make-up.

"You are no fun at all, Maylin," replied Anna wrinkling her nose at her.

"That is correct."

As they approached the bridge, they saw people running in their opposite direction and advising others to do the same. The three troupers looked at each other and kept walking in a silent agreement. There was a very violent fight going on at the riverbank; someone was lying dead on the ground, blood coming out of his eyes, nose and mouth, as if his face had exploded from the inside. The remaining four participants were separated in twos, facing each other like some sort of street gang from a bad movie. Except this was very real, and they were not holding knives or guns: they were holding magic weapons. One was a curved horn that glowed and emitted destructive sound waves when blown at the tip; Maylin said that's what had killed the creature there, a nasty way to die and a very coward way to kill. On the opposite side of the fight the weapon was a strange contraption that looked like a mixture of a crossbow and a sword: it expelled tiny shards of stone at a quick velocity when activated, and based on the opponents' bloody appearances, they were very sharp and hit their mark with extreme force.

Maylin stood in front of Meiko and Anna like a mother bear, but the participants were not paying attention to anyone but each other, cursing and claiming things they'd done to one another that did not sound even remotely grave enough to warrant a fight to the death. They were blocking the entrance to the bridge, so everyone had to wait for the violence to end in order to walk through, as this was the fastest and nearest way to cross the river to get to the Plaza. Enforcers were nowhere to be found, as it was becoming usual, so there was nothing to do except watch as these creatures killed each other over a burnt meal and a poorly fixed cart. It didn't even take five minutes, but it was a carnage. These tools were not meant to be used on living things; they were too destructive. Limbs flew off, blood spurt from places it shouldn't, bones were shattered. No one won the fight; there were no survivors, despite Meiko's fast reaction to go check on them once the last one had fallen to the ground. As strong as her power was now, she could not bring the dead back to life.