Curse my green fingers

[Anonymous]

Rime resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at the mage. He couldn't see her anymore, so it wasn't as if he would be able to notice if she was taunting him. She would just look silly.

She couldn't understand the incomprehensible conversation between the two mages. She could understand the words; she just didn't understand why they were using them. The mage seemed to think that he was actually better than Rime's mage, which was obviously untrue. On the other hand...he and his companions had some wonderful magical items that Rime would just love to taste.

"Wait, no!" she said, stepping out from behind...Jemima. "Don't kill them, please? With a mutated cherry on top?" She looked pleadingly at Hex. Of course Jemima could just slaughter all of the group, but chances were that at least one of them was going to activate his or her talisman, which meant that Rime wouldn't be able to eat the magic in that talisman. That would be bad.

She spoke quickly, so that Hex wouldn't have any time to object. "As for you," she turned to look at the group. "I have an offer for you. Me in exchange for you letting the slave girl go. I'm priceless. And beautiful, talented, intelligent, conscientious, educated, superhumanly strong, unique, and absolutely wonderful, while she's just some stupid slave girl without even half of the talent, beauty, and modesty that I have." There was actually no point in her listing all her supposed virtues(which Rime actually thought she had); she could have just mentioned she was "priceless". "So, why don't we just ride off into the sunset together back to civilization and leave the stupid girl behind?" And then she'd stab the mage in the back, get his companions to give her their trinkets, eat all the magic, and ride triumphantly back to where her buffet waited.

She saw no reason to bother the group with the details.

[Anonymous]

Hex couldn’t believe it, any moron could see through the Homunculus’ act but the master’s son, Kalvelis, actually looked like he was considering her offer. Well if he was going to be stupid enough she wasn’t going to persuade him otherwise. It would get him out of her hair.

     Then again what he said next did not surprise her in the slightest.

     â€œWhy just take one when I can take both.â€?

     He motioned for his companions to dismount as he did and they surrounded the two girls.

     â€œDon’t be an idiot Kalvelis!â€? Hex said, “We both know I’m a much better magic user than you!â€?

     â€œBetter than me?â€? Kalvelis laughed arrogantly, “Your pathetic trick with flowers is better than my magic?â€?

     Hex smiled, “How do you know that’s my only ability?â€?

     She glanced across at the homunculus who was looking at the group like she had been at Hex earlier, like they were her next meal…Hex wasn’t going to complain if she wanted eat them then fine, Kalvelis certainly deserved it.

[Anonymous]

Stupid, stupid meat. He was just an accident of fate, while Rime was the result of years of study and magic
 
Rime was going to tear him to pieces. She was going to eat his heart and gouge out his eyes, not necessarily in that order. She would learn to use the dagger just so that she could carve mystic sigils into his skin.
 
What a foolish, ambitious, instinct-driven piece of meat he was. He was not only rejecting her offer and trying to capture her, but also trying to take her property away from her. Somehow, she was starting to think of Hex as he property.
 
"Can we stop the banter, please? I mean, it's really amusing to watch you guys tear into each other with words, but can we do some actual tearing now?" she asked Hex peevishly, shifting impatiently. "I'm getting hungry." Her gaze shifted from Hex to Kalvelis, her expression that of a piranha confronted with a foolish, injured critter.
 
Rime was very, very hungry. How fortunate for her that Kalvelis and his little band had turned up just when she was running low on fuel. It was almost enough to make her believe in a god.

[Anonymous]

“Of course,� Hex replied actually starting to the like the homunculus’ thinking.

     Hex placed her hands in prayer position before separating them and slamming them palm down on the ground.

     For a moment nothing happened. However then a rumbling could be heard and vines sprung up from the ground and flew towards the group. Then the branches of the surrounding trees turned sharp like daggers, lengthened, hurtling at the unfortunate men.

     Their horses in panic and confusion abandoned their masters running for freedom from the death Hex was creating. It could hardly be missed that these things veered off course whenever they were about to hit Hex but she wasn’t too bothered for the other girl’s safety so didn’t command them not to attack the homunculus.

[Anonymous]

Well, the mage was obviously in a mood to show off, Rime noted distastefully. Waste of power. It was just like throwing food away just because you had lots of it. Hex could have just given it to her faithful sidekick. Really, some people had no consideration.

Apparently the mage-girl didn’t seem very concerned about Rime’s safety, she noticed with disappointment. And she’d thought that they were becoming friends, anyways. Shooting a glare at Hex, she scrambled to get out of the way. She didn’t think that getting trampled by horses could kill her, but it sounded very painful.

She wondered how long it would take for the horses to calm down. She wanted a pet, and a horse sounded good. She actually wanted a homicidal snake, but the gods hadn’t seen fit to grant her one. So a horse would have to do. Maybe she could tell Hex that they could make their getaway faster if they were on horseback.

It never occurred to her that Hex wouldn’t want to travel with her. Rime was very good at ignoring things that she didn’t like; it was a talent she’d been born with. Created with.

[Anonymous]

Hex laughed manically as she watched the destruction. Kalvelis and quite a few of his companions already lay dead or wounded on the ground. She glanced around revelling in the blood.

Then her sanity kicked in.

      “What have I done…â€? she gasped slumping to the ground.

     Did the homunculus cause this? Is that what her teacher meant when she said they could make you lose your mind?

     â€œWhat have you done to me!â€? Hex shrieked at the other girl.

     The vines subsided and returned to the ground and the trees returned to normal.

[Anonymous]

Rime gave her companion a sidelong glance. It occurred to her that Hex was a few flowers short of a garden. Or possibly even borderline insane. How else could one describe someone who laughed at bloodshed and slaughter?

Now the girl was lying around limply, moaning about how stupid she was. “Well,� Rime said helpfully. “You’ve just killed all your enemies and scared all the pretty horsies away. Can we go and get them back?�

She blinked suddenly at Hex’s sudden change of temper. Wait…the mage was blaming her for the mage’s own loss of temper? Hey, it wasn’t Rime’s fault that she’d encouraged the mage! Well, obviously it was, but it was Hex who had done the actual destroying. The human could have just ignored her.

So like a meat creature, Rime thought. Always blaming higher beings for their own mistakes. “I didn’t do anything!� she said. “Although it would be really great if I had…� Manipulating people’s minds sounded like a great power to have.

She looked wistfully in the direction of the fallen group. She still hadn't eaten yet. "Can I go and eat now?" she asked, fidgeting impatiently.

[Anonymous]

Hex made a resigned motion with her hand to indicate to the homunculus that she didn’t care what she did.

     Had her loss of control been her own fault? She knew it had happened before, but last time nobody died. She glanced across at Jemima, even it was too scared to go near her.

     Sighing, she waved her hand and Jemima became a regular flower once again.

[Anonymous]

Oh, good. Rime had been afraid that the girl would object. Humans tended to object to people robbing the dead.

She didn’t understand that at all. What was the point of protecting the dead? It wasn’t as though the dead could object to theft. Their souls weren’t in their bodies anymore, so how could they?

Not that it would have mattered if they could. Rime would have still robbed them anyways.

She headed gleefully for the group and began searching. The group seemed very well-to-do; she found many coins and amulets, even a few precious gems. She sucked the magic out of the amulets, noticing unhappily that they weren’t as tasty as she’d hoped. Oh well, Hex would keep her well-fed from now on.

 She pocketed them all and tossed a small ruby towards Hex.

“Here,� she said generously. “Your share of the cut.� She thought that she was being magnanimous. She’d already forgotten that it was Hex who had killed the group.

Rime didn’t care at all about Hex’s loss of control. People always died; people always got hurt. She didn’t mind, as long as she wasn’t the one who was hurt or killed.

[Anonymous]

Hex left the ruby on the ground where it was as she stood up, she wasn’t interested in treasure. She had made a decision, she didn’t want to be a slave again but she knew that if she wandered round on her own she might get caught or lose control again. So she would let the homunculus travel with her. At least then it would do the killing instead of her.

     â€œYou can come with me,â€? Hex said to homunculus.

     It might have changed its mind and if it had so be it. She would just have to be a slave again…

[Anonymous]

Rime’s response was lackluster. In her mind, Hex had agreed long ago and was only stating the obvious. “Right, so where are we going next?� she asked, taking out an emerald and stroking it possessively. “Not Reajh, I hope?�

She wanted to go to Zantaric. It sounded very nice over there, with lots of pretty baubles that she could pocket. And of course she would be among kindred souls.

She looked up, putting the emerald back. There would be time to count her treasures later. “Let’s go and get some ponies!� she said. “So we won’t have to walk all the way, because walking is stupid.�

[Anonymous]

Hex sighed; did the homunculus not see how she made the flower creature? Why bother finding a horse when she could just make one?

     The plant mage concentrated her energy on the twigs and vines around her and used her magic to craft them into two frames. Frames shaped like horses.

     They awakened and neighed at their new sense of awareness. Then they noticed the homunculus and they seemed to be very interested in her. Hex guessed magical creatures stuck together.

[Anonymous]

Rime had seen very few horses in her life. This was certainly the first time she’d seen magic ponies made out of plants. In fact, until today, she’d never even heard of homunculi made out of clay. Most homunculi tended to be made of either clay or metal.

The horses were just so wonderful. They were so graceful, magical, and beautiful. And best of all, one of them was going to be hers. It looked as though Hex was good for more than mindless slaughter and food after all.

She was delighted when they began heading to her, seeing that as a sign that they liked her. She was barely able to keep herself from shooting a triumphant glare at Hex, because the horses liked her better. Only the thought that antagonizing her buffet would not be very wise kept her from doing so. That and the fact the horses were more interesting.

She held out her hand solemnly for the horses to sniff. “Hi,â€? she said, sounding almost nervous.  She wasn’t sure if they could smell her or not. Did they even have noses?

Well, she could smell them. They smelled of plant magic, strong and green. Not that she would eat the horses’ magic; she liked the horses.

She immediately took a liking to the smaller of the two. “She’s mine.� she told Hex, pointing assertively with her other hand. "You can keep the other one."

[Anonymous]

“They’re both male,� Hex corrected before pulling herself up onto the other horse.

     She wasn’t really jealous of her; the horses liked her because they had never seen a homunculus before. When Hex had been in the forest she sensed that the Trees were curious for some reason. They had never a homunculus before either.

     â€œYou can name him if you want,â€? Hex commented, might as well let the homunculus have some fun.

     It was probably better to keep it on her side, it seemed to be very volatile…Though she seemed to be as well…What a pair they made.

     Hex turned her attention to her horse and said, “Samuel.â€?

     The name just seemed right. She wondered what the homunculus would come up with. Then she realised, did the homunculus have a name?

     â€œWhat’s your name?â€? Hex asked.

(OOC I realised Rime hadn't told Hex her name O.o)

[Anonymous]

Since the two horses were both male, that would make them stallions. That was interesting information, although hardly worth knowing. Who cared if the horses were male or female?

"How can you tell?" she asked. "They're made of plant stuff." Could magical horses made out of plant material really have a gender? It was a really interesting question, one that would no doubt be answered if she put one of them in a stall with a mare in heat. She made a note to do that later.

She considered, trying to think of a name for the horse. "Bob" lacked a certain style, and she doubted that Hex would agree to "Kalvelis", seeing as that had been the name of her arch-nemesis. Mages tended to be picky about that sort of thing.

"I'll choose later." she decided, making a note to ask the next person they met for a random name. Assuming that Hex didn't kill that person first, of course.

"I'm Rime." she said, noticing with delight that the words rhymed.

[Anonymous]

“I brought them to life, that’s how I know,� Hex said, answering Rime’s question.

     â€œIs there anywhere you need to go or something?â€? Hex asked, “I just need to get away from here before my master finds out I killed his son.â€?

     She was starting to feel tired now; she wasn’t used to using a lot of magic at once. Even when it activated without her knowledge it still sapped her energy. Then she had attacked Kalvelis’ group and then made the horses. They would stay alive until Hex ordered them not exist or they were killed and they didn’t need Hex’s power to stay alive but creating them had used a lot of energy.

[Anonymous]

“We could go and pick flowers,� she said cheerfully. She’d never picked flowers before; it sounded diverting. Especially the part where one viciously pulled the innocent plant out of the ground.

“Or we could get a pet. I’ve always wanted a krait. They sound just so cuddly and cute, and of course there’s the benefit of them being good at killing people.� Rime said with a dreamy smile. Yes, that was what she wanted. A krait of her own, that she could put in people’s beds whenever she wanted…

"Can we go and get a krait? Please?" she begged.

[Anonymous]

“Rime is like a child,� Hex thought, “A sadistic one, but still like a child.�
     She had been excited by the plant horses but now she wanted another pet. However Hex decided to humour the homunculus.
     â€œOkay, if you want.â€?
       Where they would get a krait from she had no idea.