Elara’s Post-Possession Hangover
Elara’s head hurt.
Like, really bad.
It was the kind of headache that made her want to throw herself back on the floor and pretend she didn’t exist.
Unfortunately, her friends were still here.
And they were staring at her.
Jax smirked. “Sooo… you good?”
Elara groaned. “I feel like I got run over by a dragon.”
Lucienne snorted. “Accurate.”
Sienna nodded. “You did try to murder us, like, five minutes ago.”
Elara blinked. “…I did?”
Jax clapped. “Yup! You threw Lucienne like a ragdoll. It was amazing.”
Lucienne scowled. “I hate you.”
Jax beamed. “Love you too.”
Sienna cleared her throat. “Anyway. Do you remember anything?”
Elara paused.
And then—
“Nope.”
Silence.
Jax sighed. “Great. So that was useless.”
---
Avoidance is Key
Elara stretched. “Okay! New plan! We never talk about this again.”
Lucienne raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Elara nodded. “Yup. I’m repressing all of it.”
Sienna sighed. “Of course you are.”
Jax shrugged. “I mean, fair.”
Lucienne crossed her arms. “We should at least figure out why you got possessed.”
Elara pointed at herself. “Nope. Not my problem.”
Lucienne sighed. “Elara.”
Elara patted her shoulder. “Lucienne.”
Lucienne glared.
Jax whistled. “Tension.”
Lucienne shot him a look. “Shut up.”
Jax grinned. “Make me.”
Lucienne pulled out her sword. “Gladly.”
Jax ran.
Sienna sighed. “Why are we like this?”
Elara shrugged. “No idea. Anyway, I’m gonna go take a nap.”
Lucienne groaned. “ELARA.”
But Elara was already gone.
---
The Post-Near-Death Debrief
An hour later—
They all sat in a circle.
Mostly because Lucienne forced them to.
Jax yawned. “Why are we here?”
Lucienne rubbed her temples. “Because we almost DIED, Jax.”
Jax shrugged. “Yeah, and? That’s, like, normal now.”
Lucienne groaned. “I hate you.”
Elara sipped her tea. “I also hate him.”
Jax pouted. “Rude.”
Sienna cleared her throat. “ANYWAY.”
She turned to Elara. “Let’s start simple. How do you feel?”
Elara thought about it.
Then—
“…Hungry.”
Lucienne sighed. “Oh my god.”
Jax clapped. “Great! Food break?”
Lucienne stabbed the ground. “NO.”
Jax pouted. “Booooo.”
Elara leaned back. “I don’t see why this is a big deal. It’s not like I’m dying.”
Lucienne glared. “YOU WERE FLOATING AND GLOWING.”
Elara paused.
“…Okay, fair point.”
Sienna sighed. “So. You don’t remember anything?”
Elara shook her head. “Nope. Just vibes.”
Lucienne facepalmed.
Jax nodded. “Honestly? Mood.”
Lucienne grabbed a rock. “I swear to GOD—”
Sienna cut in. “Okay! New plan! We go find answers!”
Silence.
Elara frowned. “…That sounds like effort.”
Lucienne gritted her teeth. “I am going to kill all of you.”
Jax gasped. “Lucienne. Violence is NOT the answer.”
Lucienne raised her sword. “Oh, but it is.”
Jax ran again.
Elara sighed. “We are never getting anything done.”
Sienna nodded. “Nope.”
And honestly?
That was fine.
For now.
---
The Existential Crisis Meeting
Elara was still in denial.
Lucienne was still mad.
Jax was still Jax.
And Sienna?
Sienna was two seconds away from throwing all of them into the nearest river.
“Okay,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Let’s go over this one more time.”
Jax groaned. “Again? We’ve been through this, like, five times.”
Lucienne smacked the back of his head. “Because you’re not listening.”
Jax rubbed his head. “I am listening! I’m just choosing to ignore it.”
Elara snorted. “Honestly? Valid.”
Lucienne stabbed the ground. “We almost DIED, Elara.”
Elara shrugged. “We almost die, like, every other day.”
Lucienne twitched. “That’s not the point.”
Sienna sighed. “The point is, we need answers.”
Elara leaned back. “Okay. And how do we get those?”
Silence.
Jax clapped. “We could just… vibe until the plot finds us?”
Lucienne threw a rock at him.
---
The Unwanted Lore Drop
Unfortunately, the plot did find them.
In the form of an old man with way too many layers of clothing and a staff that looked like it could one-shot all of them.
Jax leaned toward Elara. “Why do old men always have the most lore?”
Elara nodded. “It’s the beard.”
Lucienne glared. “Shut up.”
The old man stared at them. “You are not supposed to be here.”
Elara crossed her arms. “Okay, but we are.”
The old man ignored her. “No human has entered this realm in over a thousand years.”
Jax raised a hand. “Oh, funny story about that—”
The old man continued, not listening. “The only ones who can pass through the barrier are those of mixed blood.”
Silence.
Lucienne frowned. “Wait. Are you saying we’re not—”
Elara blinked. “Oh. So we’re not human?”
Jax gasped. “Plot twist.”
Lucienne facepalmed.
Sienna sighed. “I hate everything.”
The old man squinted. “You truly did not know?”
Jax shrugged. “Nope.”
The old man sighed. “Then I suppose you have much to learn.”
Elara crossed her arms. “Oh, we could just ignore it.”
Lucienne hit her. “NO, WE CAN’T.”
Jax beamed. “I vote we ignore it.”
Lucienne picked up another rock.
---
Existential Crisis Break
Two hours later, they all sat in silence.
Jax leaned back. “Sooo… this is a lot to process.”
Elara nodded. “Yup.”
Lucienne glared at them. “Can you two take this seriously?”
Sienna sighed. “Lucienne, they’ve never taken anything seriously in their lives.”
Lucienne groaned. “I hate all of you.”
Jax grinned. “Love you too.”
Silence.
Elara clapped her hands. “Okay! New plan! We continue avoiding this until we can’t anymore.”
Lucienne stabbed the ground again. “That’s a TERRIBLE plan.”
Jax nodded. “It is. I love it.”
Sienna sighed. “We’re going to die.”
Lucienne pointed at Elara. “YOU are especially going to die.”
Elara shrugged. “Probably.”
Jax beamed. “Same.”
Lucienne groaned.
And once again, absolutely nothing was accomplished.
---
The Group Meeting That Accomplishes Nothing
Lucienne was done.
Sienna was so done.
Elara and Jax?
They weren’t even aware that being “done” was an option.
“So, let me get this straight,” Lucienne deadpanned. “We are stranded in a foreign world, possibly not even human, and the first thing you two want to do is—”
Jax raised a hand. “Start a business.”
Lucienne twitched. “That’s NOT what I was going to say.”
Elara nodded. “But it’s what you should have said.”
Sienna sighed. “Lucienne, just give up.”
Lucienne clenched her fists. “No. Because SOMEONE has to be the voice of reason.”
Jax gasped. “But we don’t DO reason.”
Lucienne picked up a rock.
Jax immediately put his hands up. “I take it back.”
---
The Side Quest That Wasn’t a Side Quest
While Jax and Elara were busy being menaces, Sienna had found something actually important.
A village.
A village that was way too quiet for it to be normal.
Sienna narrowed her eyes. “Something’s wrong.”
Lucienne stepped beside her. “You feel it too?”
Sienna nodded. “It’s… eerie.”
Behind them, Jax and Elara were still talking nonsense.
“…So if we start a business, do we make it, like, medieval Starbucks or—”
Lucienne turned. “CAN YOU TWO FOCUS?”
Elara blinked. “Oh. Plot?”
Jax sighed. “I hate when the plot interrupts our fun.”
Sienna groaned. “Just follow me.”
---
The Super Obvious Trap
The village was abandoned.
Or, well… it looked abandoned.
Elara crossed her arms. “Okay, place your bets. Is this a ghost town, a bandit trap, or—”
Jax gasped. “A haunted bandit trap?”
Lucienne sighed. “It’s obviously a trap.”
Sienna nodded. “But why?”
Jax looked around. “I dunno. Free food?”
Lucienne facepalmed. “Jax. I swear—”
Suddenly, the ground shook.
Elara tensed. “Oh. That’s not good.”
Jax grinned. “Or is it?”
Lucienne kicked him. “NO, IT’S NOT.”
The moment she said that, they were surrounded.