Aspirations

Chapter 8

I Nearly Get Killed by Some Foot Prints

This Aspiration was different from all the others. From what Hyrumn had told me on the way there, this Aspiration was like a good luck for hunters. They would go to it for good luck, no matter what they were hunting. It would help them find animal trails and prints better and quicker. Though, that didn't mean it would always work in their favor. Sometimes someone could be out looking for rabbits and stumble across a huge grizzly bear. It just depended on the Aspiration's mood.

This this Aspiration was smart. It was quick and strong and it even threw Hyrumn off balance a couple of times. It got to the point where I could no longer see her having the fun she usually had and her smile faded. She went serious, which was something I hadn't seen before and it scared me. But what scared me more was the blood-thirsty Aspiration on our hands.

This place was a cave, so it was already hard to see. But that didn't matter because this Aspiration was invisible. The only way to spot it was from the variety of foot prints it formed. It left a trail of it's prints, though they quickly vanished. How what she supposed to seal this thing?

I stood in the corner with a net Hyrumn had thrown me. She told me on her call to throw it over the Aspiration. But they'd been fighting for awhile now and I was starting to get worried. Even though she could float, it could walk on any surface. And even though she was quick, it's speed of changing prints and attack methods were faster. It went from duck to dog to squirrel to deer in the span of seconds. And what was even scarier was it wasn't just the prints it left, there were also claw and teeth marks. She already had the sleeve of her jumpsuit ripped open and I couldn't tell if she were bleeding or not.

Hyrumn was getting serious now, and this was not good.

"If you would just," She kicked off the ceiling and dove straight to the ground where two paws stood, her dagger high above her head. But the paws darted and it clanged against the cold stone. "listen to me," the paws ran at her and she rolled aside. "then we could work something out." She pointed her dagger at it, "I could make you a deal."

There was a growl in response and she huffed. "No, you got me all wrong." Another growl and she rolled her eyes. "What is up with that? Why does everyone keep saying that?"

The prints moved and Hyrumn zipped aside. She turned, dagger high, whenever everything went silent. I frantically looked around, but I couldn't see any prints. Hyrumn twirled the dagger in her palm.

"Where'd it go?" I asked, my voice quiet. She shrugged.

"Probably deeper in." I watched as she clenched her fists in frustration. "Which I really don't have the time nor patience for. But it doesn't matter, I'll just- WATCH OUT!"

I glanced up at the sudden change in her voice to see paws the size of a large tree stump resting above. I didn't even have time to scream as I braced myself for the worst. I squeezed my eyes shut as it swiped, but instead of a searing pain I felt a warm embrace. I was tackled to the side, but not a scratch was on me. I peeked my eyes open to find Hyrumn over me, like a barricade. I could tell on her face she was in pain, but she still managed to smile.

"Deal's a deal." She jumped off me, leaving me panting on the ground. She faced the Aspiration, dagger in hand. "And now I'm going to deal with you."

There was no playfulness she usually had in her voice. It was cold, angry. And I noticed from her back that four long and deep claw marks raked across it. But, not just claw marks. Underneath the bloody mess was a large black design that resembled a tattoo. I didn't have time to think about that though, Hyrumn needed me.

She was fighting differently now. And I noticed a faint red aurora around the Aspiration. And with a move so quick I couldn't see she threw her dagger pinning it against the wall. It cried out in pain and she grinned slightly.

"Now Henry, the net!" I scrambled to my feet and threw the net over the Aspiration. It went still and it's prints disappeared. All that was left was the faint outline. I carefully approached Hyrumn as she unstuck her dagger and sheathed it. Her eyes seemed to pool out red smoke. I backed away. "I tried to ask politely but you wouldn't listen."

She stuck the stamp to the center of it's forehead and the outline disappeared. I kept my eyes to the floor as Hyrumn took several breaths to calm herself down. I only looked up when she spoke.

"Well that was something." She said with her usual grin. Her eyes no longer glowed and she looked back to normal. "Didn't think it'd take that much effort."

She gathered the net and handed it back to me to carry. As she did, she noticed the hole in the arm of her jumpsuit.

"Aww no, I liked this jumpsuit." She examined the hole, sticking her fingers through.

"You should see your back." I said. She turned her head around and gasped.

"Shit." She whispered. "Oh this is bad. No wonder why my back stings though."

"Yeah, it ruined your tattoo." I said. She cocked her head at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Tattoo?" She asked. She looked at her back again.

"Yeah the black design thing. That's a tattoo, right?"

"Whatever you humans call it." She patted my head as she walked passed me. "Don't worry though, it can be fixed. I'm just more worried about how the eleven are going to deal with it. Especially Eleven."

We walked out the way we came in and were back in Time Stop. I've heard so much about Eleven and none of it was good. If he was the big guy of them all, if Hyrumn was afraid of him, I should definitely not cross his path.

As we walked I kept looking at her back. Even with the scratch marks, it was a weird tattoo. It looked like it really meant something to her. I wonder why she had it but I had something more important on my mind.

"Hyrumn, I just wanted to say thank you." She turned to me, but she wasn't floating like she usually did. "You saved me back there and took...that. So thank you."

"I made a deal with you." She turned back around. "And I may be known for being deceiving, but I never break my deals. And that reminds me, when we get back to my house, stay close to me and don't say a word. Everyone will probably be there and they won't be too happy. But I promise I won't let them touch you."

"All eleven will be there?" I gulped, thinking about how I was dead meat.

"I promise you'll be fine. Pinky promise." She turned back and held out her pinky to me. I took it and she giggled.

"See? You'll be ok, don't worry."

"Yeah, I trust you on that, but," I creased my eyebrows. Maybe I was a little concerned for her. And maybe it was because I had grown to like this side of her. "Will you be ok? Your back..."

She flashed me a grin. "Oh, I'll be fine. It's just a scratch. It's not like I can die anyway, I'm already dead." I stopped in my tracks.

"What?" Hyrumn's already dead? But how? She's an Aspiration she can't be dead. But she ignored my question completely.

"Hey look, the door! I can't wait to crash into my bed and sleep. Come on, I'm tired." I hurried after her, but didn't forget about anything she said. I'd ask her about it later. I'd figure out who she really was. But for now, sleep did sound good and I was going to crash right along with her.

I actually wrote this story after watching Toilet-bound Hanako-kun and got an idea off of it

If any of you have seen it, then you know that it isn't Toilet-bound without Tsukasa

Just a small spoiler