59 Newfound comfor (2/2)
The two remained in silence as they kept running through the labyrinth.
Part 2
”You tricked me!!”
[Eh...?]
”You said this was a shortcut!! But look at this!!”
Ashley just finished exiting the shortcut her copilot advised to take only to encounter a huge wall on the other side.
”This is just a dead-end!! Why did you bring me here??”
[Would you just calm down!? Look up there.]
Ashley aimed towards the top of the wall and realized some kind of rock formation hanging from the ceiling. Among the formation, another hole could be found.
”What's that?”
[A secret passage to the garden. Just get there and we will reach our destination in no time.]
”How am I supposed to do that?? You want me to climb this wall?”
[No dummy, just throw your vines...]
”My... Vines...?”
[You are a dryad right now... Extend your arm towards your goal and release a few vines to push you upwards.]
”But... They are so far away... Will I even be able to reach it...?”
[Well, it is my body you're using... So you should be fine...]
”Should be...?”
[Yeah, I mean... Even if you fall, you won't get hurt... Much...]
”That's not what I want to hear...”
[What was it that you told your sister...? Something like ”Don't worry!! We will be fine! Trust me! Humans suck and demons rule!”. Something like that.]
”That last part was clearly made up... But sure... I'll trust you... My pain will be your pain after all.”
[That's my girl. Now start dryading!!]
Ashley aimed at the rocky formation and tried to create vines from her arm. She kept trying to concentrate but nothing worked.
”Nothing is happening!!”
[I can see that... Just try to focus on your arms extending and growing. Stop thinking like a human and think like a plant!]
”What does that even mean?? How am I supposed to know what a plant thinks like??”
[Didn't you help your sister find her affinity with magic once? And isn't your brother some kind of really amazing mage? Why can't you of all people just let your mind flow and feel the power inside you?]
”Ah... So that's what's happening...”
[Huh...?]
”This is just like when I tried to learn magic...”
[Mmm...? Oh yeah... I forgot... You can't use magic can you...? Oh my...]
”Yeah...”
[Oh, so many memories of failed attempts are starting to appear now... Oh! You even tried to use your sister's crossbow while she was asleep once!!]
”...”
[Man... You really, really suck...]
”... Yeah... I know...”
Ashley bent down and started to hug her legs. She was feeling really depressed after being reminded of how much she failed to obtain something she desired.
”...”
[Are you... Crying...?]
”...”
[Ugh... What a pain... Humans are such a pain...]
”...”
[Can't be helped I guess... Let me give you a hand...]
”Huh...?”
[Just give me a little bit of control over my arm... I'll raise us both...]
”...”
[Come on!! I don't want to be here all day!! I want to see the sun again and hurry up to get my body back away from you!! Now stop crying and let me help you!]
”... Fine...”
[Finally!]
Ashley tried to focus and concentrated to let the dryad take over half of the control of her arm.
[Now, here is how you do it. Can you feel a surge of power flowing into your arm right now?]
”... Yeah... Yeah I can feel it... What's this?”
[I'm gathering my energy and trying to focus it on the tips of my fingers. Dryads have the power to channel the magic energy that covers our world and channel it to alter our bodies' structure.]
”Wait... What...? You mean... Dryads are made from the same material as the channeling tree?”
[Wrong! The tree is made from the same material as dryads. When we are born, our residual energy is absorbed by the ground and converts it into a tree that is able to imitate our abilities.]
”That's amazing!”
[Of course I'm amazing! Now, try again. Focus your energy with me!]
”OK!!”
Ashley tried again, this time with the help of the dryad guiding her and before she noticed, vines started to come out from her fingers until they reached the rock formation on the ceiling.
”I- I did it!!! I used magic energy!! I did magic!!!”
[Congratulations! Now start pulling us!!]
”R- Right!! Thank you so much... Miss...”
[... What...?]
”I... Don't know your name...”
[Demons don't have names... Just call me whatever...]
”Ok... How about... Drya...?”
[... Are... You serious...?]
”... You... Don't like it...?”
[Drya the dryad??? Took you... What? Three seconds to come up with that??]
”Huh... Sorry, sorry... I'll think of something else...”
[Ugh... It's fine... After this is over I'll never see you again, so who cares...]
”R- Right...”
[Come on!! Pull us already!!]
Drya seemed really annoyed and couldn't wait to get away from Ashley, who on the other hand, was feeling better than ever for finally being able to perform a small act of magic for the first time on her life.
”I can't wait until Evlin sees this!!”
[Hey... Don't get too used to it... After we separate, you will be on your own...]
”Oh... Right... That's right...”
[Yeah, so hurry up and get me out of here...]
”Right... Sorry...”
And suddenly, all of her joy disappeared once she realized that after she separated from Drya, she would go back to being her old self who couldn't perform magic.
”Don't get too used to it... Don't get too used too it...”