Chapter 31 - Uh... What? (1/2)
Lydis ran towards the cliff, Valfafer hot on her heels. When she reached the bottom Valfafer expected Lydis to stop and face him but she kept running. Dodging the spikes and sprinting up the cliff Lydis didn't even slow down. She used her blade as a pick and scaled the cliff easily. Valfafer took some time to figure out what to do. He was a wolf so climbing was not his specialty, he had stopped running in order to watch as Lydis climbed it, and most importantly he was a bit intimidated. Shaking his head Valfafer retreated a bit to gain some running space and charged, using his momentum to propel him up the cliff.
Jumping off from the side of the spikes and climbing, Valfafer was excited. If only his pack could see him now they would be awed!
Seeing as Valfafer was distracted Lydis slipped into the hole she had dug out earlier. Valfafer passed her hole shortly after. She peeked out the hole and saw him slow down and eventually stop, his claws bared and gripping into the earth. He was stuck. On the way down were countless spikes while above him loomed the cliff edge which had become steep and curved sharply, making reaching the top impossible for him.
Lydis stared in disbelief. This idiot dog was actually stuck! She watched as his hind legs shook from the strain of holding a difficult position. What intelligent Wolf Lord? What insanely strong opponent? All Lydis could see was a dumb dog about to die. Slowly she crept out of her hole, making her way up towards Valfafer.
Valfafer on the other hand was terrified. His body shook uncontrollably. Both of his front and hind legs hurt from holding him there. He slipped a little but his sheer willpower allowed him to stay rigid and not move. Above loomed an impossible cliff and below awaited a painful death. How stupid he had been to follow that human up the cliff! Then the though occurred to him, where was that human? Craning his neck to look below him he saw a small embodiment of death heading towards him. Slow yet steady, the blazing red hair of the human moved towards him. Valfafer began to shake even more now. Not out of soreness but fear.
”H-hey human, we can talk this out can't we?” Valfafer's tail was quivering beneath him, his ears flat against his head. Lydis scoffed at Valfafer.
”Who was it that said 'escape is futile'?” She was close now. If she swung out with her blade then she would scrape the tendon of Valfafer's back leg but, she decided not to. Climbing to the side Lydis approached Valfafer's head. Once again he was snarling but it didn't intimidate Lydis as much as at first since the situation was reversed. Lydis stabbed the earth with her blade and climbed on top of it, leaning against the cliff to keep her balance.
”Now, how should I kill you?” Her eyes gleamed with joy as countless plans flickered through her mind. To slowly make countless cuts until he let go, severing his head in one swing, making him feel the ultimate fear as she cut the soil around his claws bit by bit or to just watch as he struggled to hold on for as long as possible. The possibilities endless. Sensing his own death Valfafer made a last attempt to survive by striking a bet with Lydis.
”H-hey human…” Lydis stopped daydreaming and turned her head towards Valfafer.
”Got something to say dog? Are you going to beg for your life? Maybe ask me to spare you? Oh, will you ask me to save you?” Lydis's ridiculing laugh almost made Valfafer snap at her but he stopped himself when a bit more of the dirt under his paws crumbled away causing him to slide a few inches.
”How about a bet?”
”Oh, the foolish dog wants to make a bet with me?” Lydis though about it for a bit and smiled. Amusement shining in her eyes. ”Tell me more.” Valfafer let out a breath of air and slid a few more inches because of it.
”If I survive this fall by jumping on my own, will you let me live?” Valfafer knew that the chances of living were slim to nothing but he still wanted a chance.
”Ha ha! Survive? And, what if you don't?”
”Then I'll die. Simple as that.” Lydis was pleased. This is what she wanted! For him to beg, to try anything to live, to entertain her till his last breath.
”Okay but, if you live you'll become my servant for the rest of your pathetic life.” Behind Lydis the sun just started peeking past the large mountain covering it. From afar Lydis might've looked like some sort of angel or goddess with her red hair glowing in the sunlight but to Valfafer she looked like a demon from the darkest depths of hell. ”Deal?”
”Deal.” With that Valfafer relaxed his muscles and pushed off from the cliff, making sure to distance himself from the spikes as far as possible. As he fell his red fur became lit up from the sun, a falling ball of flame. Lydis gripped the hilt of her blade and pulled it out slightly. She pushed down on and caused it to cut through the cliff's soil with ease. She held on and slid down the slope with the blade slowing her descent.
As Valfafer hit the bottom of the cliff a loud thud quickly followed by a deafening crack gave Lydis the impression that Valfafer had died. A thick cloud of dust rose from Valfafer's impact.
Lydis, who had just reached the bottom of the cliff wiped the dust away from her face. The earth beneath her cracked into a crater. She held her bald ready, even if the fall was huge she could never be so sure that Valfafer was completely dead.