mersedeh

Atmeas stayed crouched in silence atop one of the many buildings in the city, axe in one hand while the other rested across his knee, watching the shambling hoard of human corpses move along. He could only occasionally see a demon or two of some sorts pop up, slipping back into the crowd after looking around.

Atmeas…wasn’t a big fan of humans. He didn’t hate them, don’t get it twisted, but he would rather keep his distance. Ulthane’s a fool for what he’s trying to do. A big, stupid, guilty fool.

He couldn’t bring himself to be all too harsh on his fellow maker, he had known Ulthane and his brother since they were children, Ulthane was always rather stubborn. Hard to shake out of a mindset once he was set on it. He didn’t think the idea of saving a race was bad, in the wide view of everything it was probably needed. But it seemed damn near impossible, trying to save a race that was as fragile and self-destructive as humans were.

He turned this over in his head, getting up from his crouching position and moving along the rooftops, following the hoard. Atmeas wasn’t sure why Ulthane was doing this all in the first place, but based on how Thane had spoken, he didn’t know either. But Ulthane’s behavior before he left the Forge Lands was concerning enough for Thane to ask Atmeas to go with him. Atmeas’ frown deepened as he thought about it all. Thane would’ve been even worse at this, now that he thought about it, that maker was a whole different species of fool compared to Ulthane, at least Ulthane’s stubbornness could be reasoned with, and it was almost laughable imagining Thane trying to handle a human with what gentleness Ulthane was able to pull off. 

It was…oddly quiet as he continued his ‘walk’. There wasn't much sound at all, save for the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance. It was getting dark, the overcast weather didn't help much at all, and he still hadn’t found Mallory. He would be lying to himself if he said he didn't care, although it was more due to the fact she was a kid than anything; she didn't seem self destructive, really, more just a bit…dumb. Dumb like any young kid would be. He remembered how Thane and Ulthane had been as young makers, getting into shit they shouldn't've. Atmeas couldn't really say too much for himself though, he really hadn't been much older when the two of em were kids. 

Atmeas could remember the news of their father getting outcast for creating something terrible. God knows what that could've been, he certainly didn't know, but it seemed to have scared Thane into not wanting to create, to not want to end up like his father had. It didn't deter Ulthane, that stubborn ass of a maker however, it really just seemed to push him further. Atmeas was a creator himself, although he wasn't much of a fighter really. He’d rather spend his days carving and building than anything. It was the one thing his mind could shut off while doing. 

“Hey Atmeas-!" 

Words could not describe how his ancient soul nearly left his body when his peaceful silence was so quickly shattered by that voice, his entire body locked up as he swung around, eyes wide under his brow as he braced to swing- ah. It was just Vawula.

“AGH my god ye scared me. Quit sneakin’ up on folks like that, or else you’ll scare someone that won't be as nice as I am about yer tendency t’ spook people,” Atmeas quickly barked at the young maker, and she scoffed lightly, throwing her hands in the air. “Youre easier ta’ spook than Ulthane is.” “Not my fault he’s got better hearing than I do…” “You’re just salty cause you're old.” “Yer actin like I'm as old as Eideard.” Atmeas scoffed, turning to continue his travelling, Vawula following close behind him when she quipped up again. “Oh you’re gettin there I think.” “Bah, what do ye want?” 

Vawula’s eyes shifted up, a s if she were trying to look into her head to find the answer she was told to give him. “Ulthane found Mallory, she’s…alive. He wanted me t’ come n check on ya and tell you about it an’ ta get any humans you find while on yer….” Her hand made some vague motions to him and the surrounding building roof. “...expedition.” Ah, okay, Mallory was found. Good. He didnt wanna be around Ulthane while he was sulking again. His brow twitched a little bit at her last few words though.  “Im busy makin’ sure these lovely lil rascals-” Atmeas made a motion to the crowd of corpses below "-don't get t’ the tree. Ye know, somethin’ probably needed to keep whatever humans he gets alive?” 

Vawula’s eyes lit up like she just remembered something important, and she smacked her forehead with the base of her palm. “Ah! Yes, about that, Ulthane’s got 3 more since yer departure this morning-” “Three more??? Where in the abyss is he getting these from???”  “Well one was found with Mallory, that one’s Jones…but he said he’s a horseman. Not sure if he’s lyin or not, and two more we snagged from a buildin’.”

Atmeas stared at her, his eye twitching a bit. “…so…only three known humans of the supposed four? And one says he’s a horseman?? He’s just taking in anything that looks human now?” Was Ulthane stupid?? Trying to save human kind and taking in a whole liability? A horseman. 

Why would a horseman even bother dealing with us? They got better things t’ do. Like following the Council’s every whim. 

 Vawula frowned a bit, tilting her head as she thought back a bit. “No, he seemed pretty upset figuring out that Jones wasn’t human. Started threatening him n’ everything, he only let him stay cause he knew where to find those other two humans at. Makes me wonder if he’ll ditch him if he ever shows signs of being a threat. One of the new humans was fightin me the whole way back to the tree before Ulthane took him n told me t’ come over here to meet up with ya.”  Atmeas stayed silent as Vawula explained, piecing together what he was being told. 3- no, 2 new humans in the past 6 hours. Wow. He almost thought Ulthane wasn’t stubborn enough to be this fast with getting ahold of more charges. How long ago was the tree built…2 weeks? It had taken Ulthane over a week to find that human youngling, and then it didn’t take long until he got two more. At this rate he almost believed it would be possible to complete this task Ulthane wanted to do.

“...so he’s headin back to the tree. You left him alone with 3 rowdy humans to deal with?” Vawula put her hands up in a motion that seemed defensive when she responded. “Well no. Mallory’s not bein’ very rowdy, she got nicked by one of those lil bastard mimics n’ seemed sorta outta it. Ulthane said he could handle the other two just fine.” “So the frailest little twig I think I ever saw speak and walk got attacked, yes? And she’s still breathing?” “Yeah, I’m sure Ulthane would’ve gone and wiped out the rest of the demonic population if a human he finally got ahold of died, she’ll be fine.” Ulthane wiping out the demonic population seemed like a good idea right about now though, although Atmeas withheld this thought and grunted, turning to look down at the shambling hoard of corpses. Without much more than a hum and a look, he jumped to the nearby building, steadying himself as he felt the concrete beneath his boots tremble, before making a motion for Vawula to follow once he was sure the building wouldn't give way under him. “...they’re movin too well coordinated…did ye notice that?” Vawula muttered, leaning over the edge to peer down. 

“Yeah I did…it's why I haven't just jumped down n’ dealt with em all just yet. Might be an Ars Goetia, it's not exactly like Ulthane made his presence here very stealthy.” Atmeas scoffed a humorless laugh, rubbing his eyes as he peered over with Vawula. An Ars Goetia being here wouldn't be the worst news he’s heard, but he wishes he could have better. Most are smart lil bastards, with most being more versed in the sciences and functions of the universe than any old maker like Eideard, downside is most of them are awful flimsy, too cocky for their own good, or they’re smart enough to not deal with the war for earth, like Samael. For how strong that demon was, he seemed….weirdly reasonable from the one time Atmeas had seen him. Although, he was the exception considering how most other demons weren't as quick to be diplomatic. 

“If it were Ars Goetia…why would one of em use a hoard of dead humans to hide?” “Eh, that's lost on me lass…whatever it is, it’s herding the hoard along the outer edges of the main city. It hasn't tried to guide em towards the center just yet.” “Why do ya think that is?” “Not sure. I reckon it knows we’re here.” Atmeas walked across the roof of the building, nudging aside what looked to be a barrel. “Ye reckon we outta get more supplies for Ulthane? At this rate he’s gonna have enough humans ta’ from a small army.” Vawula laughed, a hearty sound that made his lips twitch a bit. “God yeah, we do have those two crates of cans, and those jugs of water…should we go get more fabric?. Ulthane had to use his cowl t’ cover Mal when he was having to carry her back.” Atmeas lowered himself down from the edge of the building as she talked, slowly making his way down to the ground. “Ah, he finally took that ragged thing off?” “I know, he looks so odd without it…havent seen him without that thing in so long.” Vawula laughed as she followed him down, landing with far more grace than Atmeas could ever pull off. “Eh, we likely won't need more. We got a fair lot of it last trip.”

Atmeas did some vague math in his head as he and his fellow maker walked down the street; The hoard was moving rather slow, and seemed to be going around the area where the roots of Ulthane’s lovely gardening project had decided to tear through the ground, at this rate they’d make a full loop within the next 4 days, and reach the Maker Tree within the next two if they decided to turn east. Unless they detoured or changed direction of course. They’d have time at the very least.

“I’ma head back to the tree, I’d rather not leave him be with 3 humans and a “horseman”.” Atmeas didn't even try to hide his sarcasm with the last word. He marched on down the street, hearing Vawula trail behind him as he hoisted himself up onto one of the many roots, grabbing Vawula’s hand and helping her up. “I think you’ll like the three new humans there, they’re all grown at least.” Atmeas huffed a skeptical sound, his thick brow twitching. “I ain't fond of em, Vaw. I'm only here to help Ulthane out n’ nothin more, I dont wanna get attached to any of em. Ye can go do that all ya want, but I won't be involved.” 

Vawula, to his surprise, seemed to pause at this, looking at him as if she were trying to read his thoughts. “...Ye dont seem to hate em with how ya talked to Mallory-” “‘Cause I don't hate them, I'd just like to keep them at an arms length if ya will.” This response didn't really seem to satisfy her by how her brow creased, but she left it alone, following along behind him as the two made their way along the thick wooden root. It was completely dark by now, the only real light source coming from the maker tree, blue and pouring from the core where the thicker branches extended. 

Atmeas was quite impressed with what Ulthane had managed to do. Usually a maker tree was a group effort, made from multiple members depositing magic into a sapling or a plant over time to grow such a tree. Ulthane managed to grow this damned thing on his own in a burst of magic that Atmeas was both appalled and impressed by- no maker could do such a feat and stay healthy afterwards without having to resort to sleeping, eating, or drinking. Which, now that Atmeas was thinking this over, had not seen him do. Even though Ulthane’s maker tree wasn't very big in the grand scale compared to a proper community tree, it was still enough to cause that sapling to rip through concrete, buildings, and still have enough magic pour-over to glow in such a manner. 

Thane had told him to help Ulthane. And if that meant beating the maker unconscious to get him to rest then so be it. Atmeas knew some medicinal practices, his sister had gotten into the field when studying to become a shaman, it’d hopefully be of help here…if Ulthane would be so kind as to NOT decline the help.

____________________________________________________________________________

Mallory was exhausted. Little sleep from the past 2 months, little food or water, and now a throbbing cut across her back was not helping. She was barely awake for most of the walk back. But she knew Matthew was in Ulthane’s other hand. She knew because of the occasional yelling or swearing, and the fact Ulthane kept sighing real deep every few minutes or so told her he wasn't in a good mood. Her exhaustion was enough to dull what wariness she had of him. At least she was being carried. She wasn't quite sure where Andrew was; perhaps Jones was dealing with him. 

She was still wrapped up in the cowl, laying at an angle to avoid putting weight on her broken arm or back. She could feel a familiar feeling growing in the back of her throat; a nausea that seemed to be slowly creeping up on her as she rested. The walk back to the tree felt like it took forever as she drifted in and out of consciousness, a migraine forming right at the base of her skull and behind her eyes. She opened them, squinting as the blue light from the tree entered her vision. Matt had gone quiet at least…although her headache didn’t let up. 

Mallory felt her rather comfortable spot move, and she was set down onto the floor, and it took her a moment to regain her bearings, struggling to sit up with the pain in her back; she didn’t want to know what it looked like. She felt a sharp tug to her sling, and she grimaced as she turned to look, only to see Jones undoing the sling. “Take off your jacket real quick, gotta see the damage done.” Mal was rather slow to oblige, the gears turning in her head, and with her good arm she started taking off the thick jacket, peeling it off to reveal the coat she had under it. “…Why do you have two jackets on?” “I just get cold easy-?” Mallory didn’t miss how her words sounded almost slurred, her hand undoing the worn leather belt around her midsection while she tried to stretch her jaw, opening and closing it in a rather futile attempt to try and talk normally. 

Andy slowly inched over, and in her peripheral vision she could see him move to stand by Jones to look. She heard him hiss through his teeth, muttering an “oooh…” as she got her second coat off. “..how bad is it?” Mallory groaned, letting her broken arm hang limply down, now finally getting a good look at the bruise surrounding where she could only imagine was the broken bone in her forearm. “It’s not ‘You’re about to die’ bad, it’s stopped bleeding at least. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Your jacket took the most damage if anything. We’re gonna need to get you a new shirt sooner or later though.” Jones muttered, moving some of the fabric out of the way.

Mallory sighed, closing her eyes to try and soothe the ever growing headache. “How big is the cut-?” “Cut? This looks more like a tear than a clean cut, but it’s not deep enough to show bone or anything. It didn’t get to your spine.” That must’ve been Andy. She turned- or tried to- turn her head to look, wincing a bit. Jones sighed, shifting the torn fabric of her shirt to cover it before giving her a firm pat on the shoulder; a rather nice gesture for how shitty she felt. “We just need to bandage it up for now. Ulthane-!” Malloy turned to try and find him, watching as Ulthane stood still, a very pissed off Matthew squirming in his hold, biting the space in between his thumb and index finger. “Hmm?” “You got any more fabric?” “Yeah, should be in one of those crates over there-” Ulthane pointed with his free hand to the crates stacked rather neatly along the wooden wall. 

Mallory sat still, blinking blearily, her foggied mind going through the events of the past 48 hours…god a lot has happened hasn't it? She shivered, fumbling to try and find the blanket she had, before her hands found something cold, worn, familiar- ah. Her gun, she felt her shoulders sag a bit as she lifted it up, exhaling slowly. Jones came back with a wound-up roll of plain white fabric- it looked like it had been apart of a table cloth of some kind…whatever. If it worked it worked. She watched as he sat down next to her again, tearing the fabric into a strip about 4 feet long. “I know some medical stuff if you’d like for me to do it-?” Andy muttered, leaning in a little to offer what help he could give. Jones gave a nod, handing the strip over. “You probably got more knowledge than I do, I'm no medicinal practitioner.” Mallory felt her mental gears stutter at the last two words he said, shifting her good arm up to let Andy start wrapping around her torso and shoulders. “You…you mean a doctor?” Jones seemed to think for a moment, shrugging as he stood up. “Sure, let's go with that.” 

It was silent for a few minutes, and Mal looked over to glance around the tree; Ulthane had sat down against the entrance of the tree, staring at Matt, who must've been put down at some point since he was now standing still, staring at the maker blocking his way to freedom like he was about to do a pistol draw contest, the staring competition staying unbroken through the conversation she had just had with Jones and Andy. “...Thanks..uhh..Andrew was it..?” “Mhm, Andrew. This might hurt a bit..I need to close the wound edges, brace yourself-” Andrew slowly pulled on the edges of the bandage after wrapping it tightly around her chest and shoulder, covering the cut and pressing it down. Mallory grimaced, tensing up before Andrew tied the knot. “There we go. It's actually not too bad, and wounds almost always look worse than they actually are.” “Oh, my dad used to say that a lot to me.” Mallory spoke carefully around the slight dryness in her mouth, her thoughts starting to wander. 

A memory came back to her just then; the first time she rode a bike without training wheels, she couldn't have been older than 7. Her dad had taken her out to the creek properly, taking his old trail bike to ride with her. The memory was fuzzy, like a colored pencil drawing made by a child that’s somewhat legible. It had just finished raining, and her tire had slipped and she had slid into the creek, getting mighty scraped up in the process. God, she remembered how she had started crying, trying to pull herself back up that mud bank and watching her father make that same dire mistake she did, albeit his fall looked harder than hers had.

Watching him start laughing instead of crying like she had got her to stop at least, she remembered breaking down into giggles watching him get up laughing. Her ma had looked…displeased, seeing her husband and daughter come home a right mess, covered in mud and grass and rain, and demanded they hosed down outside with the garden hose before even thinking of coming inside. 

She missed her Mom. She missed her Dad. She wished she would’ve hung out with her sister more while she could’ve.

She rubbed her eye with the base of her palm until little white dots filled her vision, as if she were trying to scrub out any tears that might've started forming, and she picked up the blue fabric that had been her sling. “Could you help me put this back on please-?” “Yeah, I haven't had to tie a sling in a long while, good practice.” Mallory let him gently move her arm up to a near 90 degree angle, and he frowned, examining her arm for a moment. “Does it hurt to twist your wrist?” “Hurts like hell- ow yeah right there…” “It's swollen, but the bruise doesn't look all too bad…how’d you break it?” “Andy asked as he tied the sling. “Uhm…well I- Ulthane broke it” “Ulthane?” “Him.” Mallory made a vague motion to the maker, who was still in that staring competition, only breaking it to look over when he heard his name, but quickly looked back at Matt, who had made a move when he looked away. 

“...He broke your arm?” Andy whispered lowly, eyes widening a bit as he angled himself so Mal could see him. “...well he probably didn’t mean to? He made the sling in the first place after, if he had meant to I don't think he’d have done that.” Mallory glanced between Andy and Ulthane, hearing Ulthane sigh. “Nope, didn't mean to. I still feel awful about it all. Yer very….brittle.” 

Mallory would have been offended had he not been right. She was pretty brittle, compared to him at least, granted anything would be thin and brittle to a maker she imagined. She blinked hard, before exhaling slowly and looking at the rifle in her hand, rubbing her thumb over the little “T.D.” engraved into the wood, staring at all the little scratches and nicks and counting them mentally, trying to get her mind off of the nausea in her throat and the growing headache.

Andy sat down near her, nodding slowly and watching the staring match continue, before Matt’s head swiveled to the two, his eyes narrowing before flicking to the rifle in her hands. Mallory’s eyes followed his, and he marched over as she looked down at it, before it was rather rudely grabbed, Matthew yanking it from her weaker grip “Gimme that-” “No! No give that back!” Mallory stood as quickly as her body allowed her to, her hand grabbing the stock of the rifle and trying to pull it from him.

Mallory knew, reasonably, that she wasn't gonna be able to win a fight against Matt physically. But she would be damned if she let the one part of her father she still had get taken away. She used her good arm to try and twist it from the man’s grip, struggling against him as she was dragged along, her heels digging futilely into the wood. “LET GO! LET GO THIS IS MY DAD’S!” “Give me the damn thing so I can get us all outta here-!” Matt gave a firm yank, causing her to tumble and fall, wincing as all her weight was put on her good wrist as she caught herself. “Matt give it back to her we’re-” “Shut yer mouth boy! You don't know what’s good for you!” Matt snapped back at Andy, who seemed to almost recoil from the yell. Andy had gotten up, and was slowly walking towards Matt, his hands up. 

Matt took aim at Ulthane, who had started his way over to the commotion, but froze once that rifle was pointed at him for the second time in a row. He simply stared, narrowing his eyes and taking a few steps forward, putting his hands up as well to try and show some sort of surrender. “...put that down. I ain’t gonna hurtcha, just give it back to ‘er.” Matt’s gloved hand fumbled along the side of the gun, grabbing hold of the bolt handle and pushing it forward, and Mal would’ve tried to stop him…had she had ammo loaded in that gun. And by how Matt froze, he quickly realized that same thing. 

Matt stared at Mallory’s rifle, staring at it like it had abandoned him, before he whipped around to look at Mal, pointing accusingly, “You don’t have any ammo??” Mallory threw her hand up, sighing as if she were as disgruntled as he looked. “Oh and you tell me where I can get ammo so I can blow my hand off when I try and fire that rusty old thing, it probably doesn’t even work anymore-“ Ulthane interjected, seemingly not caring that Matthew had just tried to shoot him, “Ye don’t have ammo for that thing?? So ya WERE bluffin!” “I never said I wasn’t! Now give it BACK-” 

Mallory would’ve gone for her gun again, but Jones was far quicker. He seemed to lunge to get the man down onto the ground, ripping her gun from his hands and tossing it aside, grumbling and dragging Matt up, holding his arms behind his back as he dragged him to one of the wooden posts. “Oh you bastard! Do you want us to die here!?” Matt yelled, trying to rip his arms from Jones’ hold, and Jones snapped back quickly, using one hand to keep his arms pinned while the other reached for one of the coils of rope. Ulthane took a few steps, growling low under his breath. “Jones…careful with what ya do next to him.” His tone was low, more of a grumble than anything. Jones scoffed, pulling Matt’s arms around the post behind him, starting to tie him to it. “Bah I ain't gonna hurt him, I'm doin’ us a favor for a little bit.” 

Matt struggled against his restraints, before groaning, sounding increasingly angry. Ulthane sighed, his hand coming up to rub at his eyes and run over his forehead as he stood up from his spot, stumbling a bit before straightening. Mallory could see bags under the maker’s eyes, his usual stoic expression faltering. He looked exhausted. Mal had seen him sleep that morning, but…clearly that hadn't been enough. Their conversation from earlier came to her again, about him needing to eat, drink, and sleep since he drained himself of magic, whatever that magic was at least. 

Mallory picked up her rifle with a shaky hand, and shuffled back to her “bed”, laying down and shifting so she was half-way on her stomach, most of her weight being put on her left side as she sunk into the worn fabric, closing her eyes and trying to get her headache to go away, Andy had sat down next to Matt again, and the two were conversing, she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. 

Mallory felt a chill run down her spine, not that “I'm afraid” chill, no, it felt like that sorta chill you get whenever something feels deeply wrong. She felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her face as she tried to breathe in deep, gasping as a shot of pain went through her back and chest. Her headache spiked, a throbbing pain that felt like she was getting hit with a hammer over and over again in the temple, nausea crawling up the back of her throat rapidly as she tried gasping in breaths of air through the sudden pain and cold she felt. It felt like her heart was about to burst from how fast it was beating, the sound of blood flowing through her head clouding her hearing. 

You need to get up. Now.

Mallory managed to pull herself up, coughing heavily as she got herself to stand, nearly falling forward into her steps as she moved towards the exit of the tree, her shambling set at a quick pace. It felt like something had turned her bones to solid lead, her muscles feeling bruised and weak as she pulled herself forward like a puppet, like a shark that was desperate to keep moving or else it’d stop living, her eyes squinted and barely focused as she stumbled her way to the exit of the tree, before her knees gave out. She landed with a hard THMP, barely managing to get herself to her knees as she started coughing harder, nausea still boiling in her throat as she tried to fight against it. 

“Hey- Mal, what’re you doin?” Jones turned to look after hearing her fall, his crossed arms loosening a bit. Andy looked over, starting to get up before Matt stopped him with a loud “Sit down.” “I- hhh…haahh.. I need to keep moving-” Mallory managed to croak this out, still breathing heavily as she tried to reign in her symptoms, her eyes watering as she tried to keep breathing deep. Through her swimming vision and foggy hearing, she could only vaguely make out Ulthane’s voice and footsteps as she sat there on her knees, gasping for air as she fought against that false nausea that wasn’t even there. “Ye alright lass?” 

Mallory felt the weight of two fingers on the middle of her back, a reassuring weight in what was a…nasty feeling situation. “Hhh…hhk- no, no…” She heard Ulthane sigh real low, and even though she couldn’t see his face she imagined what his expression was; he always seemed to look the same when he sighed like that. “The damn thing might’ve been poisonous…you got a headache? Nausea? Ye feel weak all o’er?” Mallory just kept nodding as he listed off symptoms- granted she had felt weak all over for the past 2 months, but the weakness she felt now was nothing in comparison. She felt like her arm was gonna buckle under her own weight just sitting here with her palm planted in the wood.

“…come back inside, ain’t much for ye t’ throw up anyways..” Mallory felt his fingers move to scoop under her stomach and lower torso, no doubt trying to avoid her wounded upper-body, and she slumped down in his hold, the back of her head resting against the base of his wrist. She blinked blearily as his other hand came up, gently prodding at her makeshift sling, and she groaned, trying to prop herself up with her left arm, only for her elbow to give out and for her to slump down again. “Calm down..ain’t no need to rush t’ get up.” She huffed as a response, his footsteps and occasional talking being the only thing she could really process with her current state.

She let herself be put back in her “nest” of fabric, blinking blearily as she tried to overcome the shivers that wracked her body, Ulthane folding over the cowl over her side to tuck her in a bit better.  I feel all cold…is that normal? I should probably ask…no, no you’ll be fine. Just try and sleep it off. She laid there, watching Ulthane walk away, eyes barely focusing as she heard Andrew walking over, crouching down next to her bed. “Here, lemme check for a fever real quick.” She felt his hand press against her head, moving her disheveled bangs out of the way, and she watched him grimace. “You’re burning up-“ “But I feel cold..? Like really-“ Mallory tried to raise her good hand to show the shaking “…really cold.” 

She watched Andy nod slowly, before he reached out, adjusting the cowl around her. “Your body’s fever is so high it’s shivering to try n’ generate more heat…you did feel awfully warm earlier, but it spiked real quick. I'm surprised it didn't trigger a seizure, high fever spikes can cause that sorta thing.” That…made sense. Okay. She gave a weak cough, trying to move so she could lay more comfortable, sucking in a sharp breath as she got adjusted. “How do you..know about this stuff?” Andrew looked almost embarrassed by the question, taking his snap-back off and rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “My ma was a nurse- I just liked reading her college books and learning about it.” 

Mallory was deeply impressed. Not by the knowledge itself, no… who the hell reads college books for fun? What was this guy on? Was he just like that? Honestly, the more Mallory thought about it, she wished she could find joy in reading like that. Maybe she’d be smart if she had put as much effort into that instead of…”goofing off”. Being whimsical. But would she have been happier with herself? 

She shifted so she was laying on her left side, sinking into the thick fabric as she tried to sleep; she hadn't had a proper “bed” like this in a while. It was comfortable at least, and it kept what little warmth she felt contained. Mallory exhaled shakily, her eyes half lidded and struggling to focus, so she shut them, instead listening to the sounds around her. “...You don't even know what you’re doing do you??” That must’ve been Matt, his voice rough and sharp as he addressed who could only be Ulthane. She tried tuning out the argument, shoving her face into the thick fabric of the cowl with a groan, her good hand grabbing a fistful of the dusty blue fabric to try and soothe the throbbing pain in her back and head, her broken arm feeling more like a bad bruise than anything as she laid at an angle on her side. 

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, feeling how dry her throat felt, and she groaned again, trying to pull herself up to get her jug of water, her hand feebly trying to find the handle of the jug, and she drank down a few slow sips, her nausea not allowing for her to stomach too much at once. While her head was up, she watched as two familiar figures walked into her line of sight, through the entrance of the tree; Vawula and Atmeas. She blinked hard, watching them walk in, and she turned to look at Andy, who had shrunk back some, moving to sit next to Matt again. 

Vawula looked around, and she chuckled when she saw Matt had been restrained, before quickly covering it up by clearing her throat, looking at Mallory and walking over, her brow creasing as she looked at the girl’s current state. “...Ye look sick lass. Poison must've kicked in.” “mmhmm…uugh…kill me now…” “‘fraid I can't do that lass.” Vawula muttered, giving her a solid-feeling rub over the head before standing and going back over with Atmeas, who was now standing next to Ulthane, who was sitting against the wall. Ulthane was seemingly trying to explain the day’s events, the conversation hushed and too quiet for Mallory’s foggy hearing to make sense of even if she were interested in it. 

“Ah, right- that one is Matthew.” Ulthane made a gesture to the restrained man like he was trying to present a particularly mediocre rock. Matt was still sitting there, looking just about as angry as ever, his eyes squinted as he strained to look at the two, his bandana having slid off some as he sat there looking increasingly disheveled. He then motioned to Andrew, who was sitting next to Matthew, who seemed…incredibly unnerved now that there were two more makers. “That’s Andrew. He’s fine…he’s been helpful, same with…Jones here.” Ulthane muttered that last addition, motioning to the ‘Human’. Atmeas’ brow creased, and he gave Ulthane a side-eyed glance, crossing his arms. “I heard. Listen, I got some…news for ya. There might be an Ars Goetia or two about, but we have time till the hoard could get here, give or take 2 or 3 days.”

Ulthane nodded, going to stand up, but Atmeas planted a firm hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down. “Now about you. Ye haven't eaten, or drank, nothin like that. And I get you wanna save it for the humans n’ thats fine. But you haven't slept nearly enough to rest after making a tree that’s still glowing from how much magic you dumped into the sapling. You need to rest. Now.” Ulthane’s expression almost soured, his lips pressing into a thin line as he stared at Atmeas, his hand coming up to shove away Atmeas’ gloved digits. “I'm just fine. I need to get better rooms for the wee ones, or at least make some sorta system for them to get around the tree faster, I can't have them-” “You’re resting, Ulthane.” Vawula cut him off, grabbing the chain that connected his two shoulder plates. 

Mallory could make out the vague sound of yelling, something about resting and “I’ll hit you! Ulthane I’ll do it!” that sounded like Vawula. She heard a low bang, and the sound of footsteps approaching her bed, before Mallory felt a gentle pressure close around her torso and arms, lifting her up along with the cowl she had been wrapped up in. She must've made a sound of pain, cause she felt the grip around her loosen significantly, and she noticed the hands of whoever had picked her up were gloved; must’ve been Atmeas. 

She didn't even care about being manhandled right now. Her head hurt like a bitch and she felt like she was freezing, but she could feel herself getting carried closer to the commotion she could hear between Vawula and Ulthane, struggling to open her eyes to look, but she felt herself get put down again; this time against something warmer than the blanket on the wood floor. Silence between Ulthane and Vawula followed. “...There. The only damned way I can make ya lay still for a while. Rest or else I’ll find another way.” Mallory could feel whatever she was laying on moving slightly, a slow rise and fall motion that felt rather shallow…she tried to get her blurry double-vision to focus. “…snake.” That voice must’ve been Ulthane’s, and it was the closest..she must’ve been put on Ulthane, who was now laying rigidly on the ground, seemingly trying to not move an inch now that he had her laying on his torso. 

Honestly, she couldn't give less of a damn about being so close to a maker while she couldn't move very fast at all if she wanted to get away, she imagined if he wanted to kill her he would have done so already with how many chances her rather frail physical state had given him. 

At least he was warm, she was still bundled up in the cowl he had temporarily sacrificed for her to be able to rest decently without putting weight on her back and broken arm. She allowed her eyes to shut, the pounding headache being soothed some by the lack of visual input, and his breathing slowly evened out, no longer seeming like he was afraid to breathe. That almost unnerving feeling came back again, she felt so incredibly aware of how small she was to these things that have tried to keep her alive instead of trying to kill her like nearly every other damn thing had. 

Ouroboros is a magical golem/machine, conceptualized by Oz but crafted with the help of the Makers, using the remains of the Goliath and the same black rock used for Samael's palace. The machine is autonomous but lacks a will of its own ; it follows Oz's instructions, to whom it is bound.

The numerous seals engraved all over its structure allow it to absorb any kind of energy around it, redistributing it throughout the structure to enable it to move, fly, or cast spells. Energy can come from flames, explosions, lightning, but also from blows inflicted on the machine.

All the energy is stored in the machine's core and can be used to cast numerous spells. The more energy the core stores, the more powerful the spells can be.