81 - Vivi II

Exhausted and injured, Vivi looked down at the collapsed form of the blonde woman. She was barely conscious, holding a wound on her stomach where she’d been gored through by the monstrous boar’s tusks. If Vivi had been even a second later in intervening and taking the Gorebeast’s attention, she certainly would not have survived.

That the woman had lasted as long as she had against the full-power monster was an astounding indicator of her strength. She had nearly killed it, and yet Vivi had only struggled to hold her own against the monster—after it had been fatally wounded. She’d come out victor, but only due to it already being nearly dead. In this fight, Vivi had been the scavenger, the interloper between two greater opponents.

As Vivi stared down at the woman, the woman stared balefully back. Vivi wasn’t entirely sure why, but hatred smoldered in her eyes even just looking at her. Why? Vivi had certainly never seen her before, and in fact, she’d just saved the woman’s life.

Then again, she might not know that. She might be expecting Vivi to kill her—to swoop in and steal two kills, not just one.

Vivi considered her next action. Her [Halfdragon Form] came with significant defensive downsides, and more than that, it was unpleasant to be in; she much preferred her bulkier draconic body. That said, the Servant-like form allowed her to do things she simply couldn’t otherwise. Namely, speak. And she needed to speak to this woman.

She wasn’t sure why language had come to her so easily, or why she even recognized that was odd in the first place—but compared to everything else she’d been through recently, it was the least of the oddities.

The blonde woman was far too weak—nearly dead for that matter—to pose a threat to Vivi, so she accepted the increased vulnerability of her halfdragon form. A cloak of shadows wrapped her bulky body, enveloping her entirely for a quarter-second, and she was left standing on two legs, a black scale tail sprawling out behind her, two black horns sprouting from her head, and her usual collection of pelts adorning her body.

She crouched down next to the woman, who stared, but with shock replacing the burning hatred that had been there a moment prior. Vivi frowned at her.

“You almost died,” Vivi said. “You’re lucky I came.”

The woman’s eyes widened in even more pronounced shock, hearing Vivi speak. She failed to find a response, mouth opening and closing. The blood loss probably wasn’t helping her composure.

Vivi tutted at her. “It’s admirable to strive past your limits. But death is the ultimate defeat—and therefore humiliation. You should have run when you saw you were outmatched.”

The woman’s brow furrowed down, seeming perplexed by the words. She still didn’t reply, but that didn’t bother Vivi. She glanced at the woman’s wounds.

“You’re dying,” she said. “You should do something about that. But first, this is mine now.” She grabbed the woman’s spear and pulled. The enfeebled woman struggled, her grip wrapping around the weapon, but in her state, she couldn’t stop Vivi. “Your armor, too,” Vivi added.

“What?” At Vivi’s claim to her weapon, the surprise on her face morphed back to the original fury, and she finally found her words. “You vulture,” she spat. “What is this? Get it over with. Kill me. Why rob me first?”

“Kill you? I saved you, you idiot Servant.” These creatures really could be vexing. She didn’t know why she tolerated them. Well, yes she did. They were warm to lay on, gave great pets, and generally knew their place as Servants. But they were still annoying at times. “And for that effort, these are now my spoils.” It was the way of the world. Vivi herself had lost much more—her entire hoard—when she had been bested. This woman really ought not to complain so much. “And why are you still bleeding? Do something about it.”

The woman’s expression had finally settled on a healthy mix of both confusion and fury—though the latter seemed to have wilted somewhat at the revelation Vivi wouldn’t be killing her. Perhaps Vivi should, even. It would be simpler. But her thoughts went to her previous Servants, and she decided against it. Killing beasts and monsters she thought little to nothing of, but people? Vivi didn’t like the idea. Except for the golden-armor man. Those who tried to kill her were obviously an exception.

“I—I don’t have any healing skills,” the woman eventually said. “And my potions broke.”

“Broke?” Vivi asked irritably. “How did you let that happen? You’re so helpless.” Then again, all Servants were. Her previous ones wouldn’t have lasted more than a week without her there to guard over their house. They were oblivious to nearly a comical degree. That helplessness was endearing in a way, she supposed.

She rummaged around inside her pelts, then slipped a hand into a pouch and dug out a vial filled with red liquid. She tossed it to the woman, who tried to catch it, but failed to; it hit her on the shoulder and rolled to the floor.

That a woman capable of fighting the [Tectonic Gorebeast] at full power couldn’t even catch a vial tossed at her was a damning indicator of her health. Suddenly much more concerned, Vi crouched back down and uncorked the vial, then handed it to the woman.

“Drink,” she instructed.

“Where did you get this?” the woman asked.

“Drink,” Vivi repeated.

The woman hesitated, then did as she was told. She didn’t have much choice. Vivi got the feeling she was staying conscious through sheer willpower—and maybe curiosity over this whole event.

When the woman finished the vial of liquid, she sprawled back into the dirt, hand still clutched her stomach. She coughed several times, then asked, “Why are you doing this?”

Vivi ignored the question. “Who are you?”

“Who am I?”

“A name. I want one. Mine is Vivianara.” She wasn’t sure why she asked. Curiosity, she supposed. Curiosity had always gotten her into trouble, but it was a trait she couldn’t kick.

Still laying down, the woman turned her head toward Vivi and studied her. After a long pause, she responded. “Zae. My name is Zae.”

“That’s a weird name.”

“Okay, Vivianara.”

Vivi wasn’t sure what that tone meant, so she ignored it. “You’re not going to die, right?” It would be annoying if she went through all this effort and she died anyway.

“I … should be fine. Where did you get that potion? One so strong?”

“You’re not going to die?” Vivi repeated. “What do you mean should?”

“I probably won’t.” She shrugged.

Should? Probably? Vivi wrinkled her nose at that. She dug into her furs and pulled out a second of the vials, then waggled it at the woman. “I’ll give you another after you give me your armor.” A second potion ought to ensure she was fine.

“Why after?”

“Because if you’re too healthy, you’ll attack me. You seem like that sort of ingrate, to attack your savior.”

Zae just stared at her. “What kind of dragon are you?”

Confused, Vivi looked down at herself. “A black one. I guess. Now hurry up. Or I’ll peel your armor off myself.”

Zae grunted and pushed herself to a sitting position. Vivi could tell she was still much too weak to pose a threat to her, though Vivi was mildly concerned—she was greatly weakened in half dragon form.

“Where are you from?” Zae asked. “How did dragons return? How many of you are there?”

“Stop asking nonsense,” Vivi said. She waved impatiently for Zae to hurry up. “I’m waiting.”

Another grunt, and Zae started to do as she was told. She at least recognized that her life had been saved, and in the end, having her weapon and armor claimed by Vivi was a far preferable alternative. She obviously didn’t seem happy about the situation, though. Vivi didn’t care. She’d lost, and so her armor and weapon were Vivi’s spoils of combat.

“I need to know why you saved me,” Zae said. “It doesn’t make sense. Dragons don’t do that.”

“A Queen’s duty is to her Servants.” Vivi sniffed pointedly, making it clear how ridiculous the question was. “And I don’t like being told what I do or don’t do.” Typical Servant behavior—as if they could possibly understand her motivations and goals.

“And you’re a Queen?”

“Of course.”

“Of what?”

“Of whatever I lay eyes on.”

“You’ve got the arrogance,” Zae said flatly. “But dragons don’t care about their subjects, and I’m not even yours. So why help me?”

“All humans are my Servants.” Though, she supposed that was only true in her old body. It carried over here too, though. For that matter, it brought up a topic she was curious over. “Do you have cats? Here? In this world?”

“ … cats? In this world?”

“Yes.”

The woman stared, baffled, for a second. “Yes?”

“Where?”

“ … there’s some at the Slayer’s Guild? We use them as mousers.”

“Use them?” What an arrogant way to phrase her kind’s benevolent assistance. She shook her head in irritation, then waved a second time for Zae to hurry up. The healing potion would continue working on the woman, and Vivi didn’t want to be here when she started to feel even half-way recovered. She knew that between the two of them, Zae was the more powerful, and Vivi didn’t trust her halfdragon form to hold up to any concentrated attack. She wanted to claim her spoils then be gone.

Vivi declined any further questioning—of which Zae provided an annoying amount of—and instead she insisted Zae strip her belongings off. Vivi scooped them up, tossed another healing potion at the woman—then a third, just to be safe, since she really didn’t look great—and finally transformed. In her gigantic black-scaled dragon form, she took the air, leaving the confused blonde woman behind.

Servants. They were a rather slow sort, weren’t they?

It was why she needed to look after them.