Neil

Through the transparent blue window in front of me I watched as the arrow traveled towards me in slow motion.

I had just enough time to wildly throw my hands up in front of me, although I needn’t have bothered, not because the arrow missed but because I missed the arrow completely and I think I looked like an idiot flailing his arms around in front of him.

I felt an impact in my stomach, just to the left of my belly button and although it didn’t hurt at all it did knock me down onto my ass.

I was just considering if I had enough time to get up and stab the snake girl before she fired another arrow at mewhen I looked at her face and saw that she looked as panicked as I felt. Her eyes and mouth were wide open and I’m not sure but I think she was screaming. She had dropped her bow and her hands were in front of her mouth making her look like a caricature at the moment.

My fight with the slime seemed to have left me fairly drained because as soon as I noticed that she had dropped her bow my body seemed to run out of adrenaline and I was left to deal with the pain on my own.

“Oh God.” I said without realizing it as my hands went to the arrow sticking out of my stomach trying to stop the blood from leaking out around the arrow shaft. As my hands became slick with my own blood I tried to remember everything I could from a first aid course I had taken 6 years ago back when I was still a Boy Scout.

“O.K. if you get impaled don’t remove the object because its acting as a cork and keeping your blood in. Instead use bandages around it to slow the bleeding and get to a hospital!” I said outloud feeling pretty proud of myself. At least until I realized there weren’t too many hospitals on top of magic mountains in the middle of nowhere.

Looking down at it I gasped as a fresh wave of pain swept through me, actually seeing the arrow sticking out of my stomach made it all too real. Alright first things first, I needed to find my first aid kit and get some bandages on this. If I was going to deal with this on my own I needed to move fast.

Now I’m certain that it had been in my pack because I had definitely wanted that near me when I was exploring. Looking at the ground where it had spilled its contents when I had taken it off and thrown it on the ground. The small red and white first aid kit was in between the snake girl and I. I didn’t think I had time to try and get her to bring it to me and if she was going to finish me off she probably would have already so I took a deep breath held the wound even tighter and started edging my way towards the kit.

Even going as slowly as possible while trying not to jostle the arrow I was in an incredible amount of pain. Every time I moved my stomach clenched and I gasped as it felt like my intestines were being torn up with every movement.For all I knew they were. I really hoped not removing the arrow yet was the right call.

When I judged myself close enough to the first aid kit I reached for it while laying on the ground on my back. Unfortunately I must have misjudged as no matter how much I tried to strain and stretch I just couldn’t reach it and trying was just causing me more pain.

The snake girl chose this time to move towards me causing me to recoil in fear but all she did was pick up the case and hand it to me. Looking at her shockingly human face I was surprised to see tears in her eyes. I guess she really did feel bad about shooting me.

Taking it from her I was happy to see that it hadn’t been melted by the slime or otherwise damaged. Opening the latches I poured everything on the ground not caring about getting things dirty, everything was being smeared with my blood anyways.

Finding the hydrogen peroxide and bandages I threw the bottle aside. I could worry about cleaning the wound after I get it stopped bleeding. Crying out in pain as I put it down I saw the snake girl turn around and leave back down the stairs. Wow, if I wasn’t in so much pain I would have been surprised someone could move that fast with just a tail.

Focusing on the task at hand I considered the arrow, I knew you were not supposed to remove them, but I also knew that eventually it would have to come out. Getting a few bandages out I placed them on the ground near me with shaky hands and opened one with my teeth and one free hand. It took me longer than I thought it should because my hand kept shaking and my teeth kept chattering.

Finally I got it open and placed the bandage on my stomach, I grasped the arrow in both of my hands took a deep breath and pulled it out as quickly and smoothly as I could. It was amazing how much blood was coming out of the wound when the arrow was in me, and it was terrifying how much more blood was coming out of me after I had removed it.

Picking up the bandage I held it to my stomach as tightly as I could, it was stained red immediately from the blood on my hands, and it was soaked straight through after just a few minutes of being on my stomach. Picking up another bandage I desperately tore at it trying to open it to hold it to stem the blood flow certain that this was how I was going to die.

That is when she came back.

I was surprised to see her again, I thought that she was long gone but there she was with an armful of plants that she threw on the ground beside me. Kneeling down she picked up the cook pot from where I had thrown it on the ground back before I had taken my shirt off she quickly moved to the pool and filled it with water.

Coming back to were I was I watched as she picked up some of the plants. Curious I asked what the plants were looking at the pile.

The ding should have surprised me more than it did but he supposed all the shocks he had endured today must have numbed me, either that or all the blood loss I thought reading the description of the plants.

HERBS

CREEPING VINE FLOWER

The Nectar of this flower has powerful healing properties and can be used in healing potions or simply on its own.

TELERATH GRASS

Used as an emulsifying agent in some potions, it does not have any special properties on its own but can allow for increased synergy when mixing ingredients.

OVERRIPE MOON FRUITS

These berries have many restorative properties, this fruit is almost rotten which has increased its potency.

Lazily closing the window with one of my hands I started watching her as she squeezed several of the Berries into the pot and she tore up some grass, dropped it into the water and stirred the entire pot with her fingers as she pulped the two ingredients. After she put the pot down she picked up a bright yellow flower and began poking at its insides with a long thin knife that she took from a belt that hung on her hips.

While I was aware that what she was doing was important I couldn’t help but stare at her face which was the picture of concentration as she mixed added more berries into the potion apparently trying to get the mixture just right.

It may have been the blood loss or the fact that she was trying to save my life but at the moment she looked like the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. Her hair was a vibrant green cut into a short pixie cut, her eyes were a vibrant purple color that I am certain does not exist on earth and her face was very beautiful. Her nose was small and complimented her face which while screwed up in intense concentration was nonetheless very pretty.

With a smile she looked down into the pot and looked down just in time to see her add another pinch of mushed up grass into the pot which was now filled with a blueish liquid, which turned slighly green as she stirred in the grass.

I was so enthralled by watching her that the ding took me by surprise.

By finding a teacher you have learned the basics of POTION MAKING, continue your lessons or practice to become more proficient in this skill.

I had learned potion making? Cool,if I lived through this I would definitely take the boxes advice and practice that.

With a cry of success she straightened up, moved my hand away from the wound wincing as more blood gushed from the wound and poured some on the wound. Immediately the pain lessened, after that she held the pot to my mouth. I tried to get another window to pop up but for some reason I couldn’t. Oh well, they were plants with healing properties and if she wanted to kill me there were simpler ways than making a poison.

I opened my mouth and started drinking the potion gagging at the taste of freshly mown lawn and sour berries. However I drank the potion as quickly as I could but found myself frustrated as she slowly tipped the potion into my mouth. As I drank it the relief was immediate. The pain in my stomach lessened then disappeared and my head felt clearer by the second. Moving my hands to the pot I tilted it up a little more, drinking as quickly as I could but still spilling some over my chin which she chided me for.

Once I finished the last of the potion I was amazed at how I felt. Moving my hands down to my stomach I felt the slick blood there but the wound was just a small bump that only gave a small twinge of pain when I touched it.

“Thank you for the potion.” I said looking at the snake girl.

She responded in a language that sounded a little like French, I assumed she said something like. “Your welcome.”

The ding this time didn’t even make me flinch.

By talking to a native speaker and using context to decipher what they are saying you have gained the skill SIMPLE LAMIANESE. Continue your lessons, and use your new skill to improve your grasp of this language

Wow, now that was helpful. Could I learn anything now just by working hard enough at it? Although I suppose I could have always learned anything just from trying hard enough at it. Still I never picked up any French from exchanging a few words with someone.

Moving the bandages away from my stomach I wiped away some of the blood and looked at the wound. It wasn’t completely healed but was now scabbed over circular cut. Touching it still hurt but breathing no longer felt like something that would kill me so compared to a few minutes ago I felt amazing.

Looking at her I could see relief etched into her all too human features. Gesturing to myself I said “My name is Neil, who are you?” I continued gesturing to her.

The ear to earsmile she gave me lit up her face and told me that she understood at least some of that. Gesturing to herself she said “Shassala.” Then a few other things that I took to mean it’s nice to meet you.

Sticking out my hand I said “It’s nice to meet you Shassala.”

After a moment she stuck out her own hand and said. “Allu yadsu Neil.”

Grasping her hand gently I repeated back. “Allu yadsu Shassala.” Before letting her hand go.

Her even brighter smile told me that my pronunciation must have been pretty good.

I tried to move my hand back but her grip lingered on my hand for a few moments before she snatched her hand back with an embarrassed blush.

Slowly I moved to stand up, I was covered in my own blood and the clearing I was laying on was too, it looked like we were sitting in the middle of a butcher’s shop. Shassala tried to stop me from standing up by gently pushing me down, and she may have had a point. My stomach still gave a twinge of pain. I really hope I wasn’t opening the wound again or doing permanent damage but right now I was absolutely starving, and I really wanted to get some of this blood off of me so I gently pushed myself up despite her protests and got to my feet. When I didn’t give up she actually gave me a hand and pulled me up, she was surprisingly strong.

Now that I was standing I was able to get a better look at Shassala. She really was a snake girl. Her bottom half was entirely a snakes tail and this continued up to her hips which were entirely human, although she was wearing a miniskirt it was riding low enough on her hips I could see where her scales slowly transitioned into smooth human skin. She had a flat stomach with some impressive abs, likely due to how her body had to move in order to propel her forwards. She even a belly button that could have belonged to anyone. Shassala moved her hands in front of her hips with an embarrassed sound of admonishment and I realized that I had been staring at her somewhat rudely.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.” I said looking into her eyes trying to sound contrite.

She responded with something that I took to mean I was forgiven so long as I didn’t do it again.

With Shassala’s help I made my way over to the pool and looked at my shorts the waist band was covered in blood and I didn’t think any amount of cleaning would get that out. Oh well taking them off so I was just in my boxers I plunged them into the cold water hoping to get some of the blood out if I worked quickly. Also scooping some of the water out of the pool I cleaned off my stomach and chest as best I could before I hand washed my shorts. I did have one other pair of jeans so I wasn’t completely screwed if these were unsalvageable, but I hoped they would still be useful. When I finished cleaning myself as best I could I turned around and saw Shassala staring at me with undisguised curiosity.

“Hey, didn’t you just tell me not to do that?” I said with a small smile and a raise of my eyebrow folding my arms in front of my chest the same way she just had held them over her hips.

Her embarrassed expression told me that she knew she had been caught. Shyly she moved her hands away from her stomach and she once again started looking at my hips, stomach and legs. I felt a bit awkward at playing you show my yours and I’ll show you mine at this age but we were clearly both curious and both adults why not get this out of the way now? Besides she was fully dressed and I still had my boxers on, what was the harm in a little looking?

Looking at her again this time I looked more closely at her hips and tail. It was interesting how the scales of her tail stopped and the skin of her upper body started although because of the short skirt she was wearing on her hips and the belt she had as well I didn’t really get a very good look. The scales themselves were a lovely green color, practically emerald and fairly shiny. Looking up her body she was wearing a simple rough top that looked to be hand made and thin. To help with the heat maybe?

She clearly had breasts but with the loose top that stopped well above her stomach and just below her chest, not wanting to stare too much at her chest I couldn’t get see how big they were, just an impression that they existed. I instead looked at her neck and face. She really was very pretty with somewhat sharp features that worked well with her hair and made her look cool and confident rather than stuck up.

Looking at her eyes I noticed that she was staring directly at my crotch. Suddenly it felt a lot less fair that I was only in my boxers and she was fully dressed.

“Are you almost done trying to see that?” I asked hand on my hip. I honestly wasn’t sure how far I was willing to take this, I mean I was still curious what she looked like but I was displaying a lot more skin here.

Instead of looking embarrassed like I expected she instead had a coy smile on her face and she let out a small laugh that sounded more like an invitation than embarrassment. In a move that surprised me she moved her hands to the bottom of her shirt and started to lift it up but stopped after a few inches. Her head whipped around and I listened to whatever had gotten her attention and after a few moments I heard the faint sound of voices calling from the plateau. Washing her hands in the pool quickly she looked at me and gestured for me to stay where I was.

That done she raced back over to her bow her hips and stomach swaying side to side as she quickly moved. Picking up the bow she looked at me before going down the stairs. I threw my boots back on and followed her down the stairs. Peaking around the corner I saw Shassala at the far end of the corridor already yelling at two of her people. I couldn’t see them very well but it looked to me like they were men. They were clothed in skirts and shirts with belts similar to Shassala but they were a little larger and lacked the curves she had.

There was a lot of gesturing but before long the three of them turned around and headed back to the plateau. Crouch running after them I felt a few twinges of pain in my stomach but nothing serious. I made it to the corner just in time to see them arriving at the edge of the plateau.

Shassala looked back as the other two went over the cliff so I gave her a wave goodbye and was rewarded with a small wave from her.

I wasn’t sure why she had been so adamant they not see me but I would follow her judgement for now. Hopefully her people were nicer than she seemed to think they would be otherwise they would be very poor neighbors.

As my stomach growled again I looked down and saw that I had done a pretty poor job in cleaning myself and I still had blood smeared all over my front. As I walked up the stairs it looked like a scene out of a horror movie with the contents of my first aid kit scattered all over the clearing covered in blood. I would have to clean every bit of this I thought to myself.

As my stomach rumbled again, I decided it could wait until after lunch.