Haze pt 8: SEPTENARY FALLOUT

Prima:

Oh look, sleeping not beauty is awake.

Segun:

Ug, I feel terrible. Why do I feel terrible?

Prima:

Could have something to do with how you were almost devoured by a rogue dragon monster, but that’s simply a hunch.

Segun:

That’s right, the race! What happened? Ow!

Prima:

Don’t move too much. Your wounds were deep and even with an expensive potion, it’ll take a while for them to heal. Don’t waste it.

Segun:

The pain is punishment enough. I don’t need the headache of you yelling at me, too.

Prima:

Yelling? Do you remember me yelling, because this isn’t yelling, but I could show you—

Segun:

Get out of my vat unless you’re here to tell me useful stuff.

Prima:

Learning the proper definition of yelling should be useful enough, brat. Alright, alright, don’t glare. Those wolf ears and eyes are more creepy than cute, you know.

Segun:

All the better to disconcert you. Tell me what happened at the end of the race. Did I win?

Prima:

Define win.

Segun:

Really? And you were going to teach me what yelling meant. I’m about to prove I know what it means.

Prima:

When Nil yanked you from the mouth of that gorgeous dragon—

Segun:

That monster nearly killed me.

Prima:

I kind of want to know what it tasted like. You didn’t happen to bite it, did you? Or get a little taste?

Segun:

I didn’t think of it at the time, but yeah, I probably should have bitten back the thing that was biting me, given it a taste of its own medicine.

Nil:

That is a horrible idea. Don’t fill her head with your stupidity, Prima.

Segun:

Nil? Why are you hiding just outside the door of my vat?

Nil:

Not hiding. There just wasn’t room for me in there.

Segun:

Will you tell me how the race ended since Prima’s useless?

Nil:

Come out of your vat first.

Segun:

Why? It hurts to move.

Nil:

Because that’s exactly what I’m afraid of. I want to make sure you can still walk. Can you feel your legs?

Segun:

Yes. They hurt.

Prima:

Nil’s just stalling because he thinks you’ll be upset he beat you in a race again. But you don’t care about that, right? You said you were fine coming in second if it was to Nil.

Nil:

Don’t make it sound like I abandoned her and ran off to finish the race.

Segun:

Then what happened?

Nil:

As I yanked you free from the dragon’s mouth, we fell backward over the finish line, so my back technically crossed it first. It should have been a tie, but that’s not how the Server ruled it.

Prima:

So, it’s like the Expert Race all over again: Nil in first, Segun in second. Except I, so regrettably, wasn’t there this time.

Segun:

Is Nil my rival?

Prima:

Hahaha, no. The kid doesn’t even race except when you get in a mess.

Segun:

And still I never beat him, someone who doesn’t even care about competing? Then why do I even try? Why do I only want second?

Prima:

The Streamers are saying you do it for the thrills, and frankly, that’s a fascinating reason. They say you rode that dragon the whole way with the intent of having it rampage on everyone else. That’s my Segundo, epically clever. She really knows how to make an entrance that gets everyone’s tighty-whities all in a knot.

Segun:

They say I purposefully sabotage races? That I’m just there to destroy others?

Prima:

This is where Nil would normally stick up for you, but he’s been awfully silent on the topic.

Segun:

Nil, do you believe I’m only here to mess things up?

Nil:

…I don’t trust the Server’s plans for you. It’s up to something.

Segun:

What is our purpose? Why do we race at all?

Nil:

Exactly?

Prima:

Nothing like saying it like you mean it, Nil. Don’t pull your hair like that, Segun. It’s even more unsightly than usual.

Segun:

Why should we care about a glitch curse? Maybe I should let this world be destroyed because what’s the point of it? What even are we? Why do we exist?

Prima:

Oh boy, those are some big questions.

Nil:

Segun, calm down. Breathe. Slowly.

Prima:

You were right, Nil. There really isn’t any room for you in here.

Nil:

Listen to me, Segun. You love to race. You love it when the audience cheers for you and physics turns in your favor because of it. How it makes the impossible happen and you can be a part of it.

Prima:

Don’t squeeze her face like that, Nil. She looks like a fish.

Nil:

That’s why we exist, to transcend the boundaries of impossible in ways only we can.

Prima:

Wow, ignored. Don’t ignore me, Nil.

Nil:

Ow! That kick was uncalled for.

Segun:

I… I want to be a part of what you’re saying, Nil. It sounds beautiful. Wonderful. But I feel like I’m running into a wall inside my own mind, like I’ve entered a room full of shredded papers and there’s no way out.

Prima:

Like you’re crying and whining for no reason at all, really. Hey! Kicking is rude.

Nil:

You don’t say.

Prima:

Hmth.

Nil:

Good, fly off. There isn’t room for you in here anyway. Oh hello. Did you want to come in and make Segun feel better, Tresca?

Segun:

What’s that she’s holding? It looks like a knife.

Nil:

Tresca, did you steal that from me?

Segun:

I don’t think either of you should be carrying around such a dangerous weapon.

Nil:

Calm down. It’s not a knife. Tresca, give it back. That’s a good girl.

Segun:

Then what is it?

Nil:

Oh nice, crossing your arms at me like an angry Master. It’s a Boundary Break, if you must know. I got it when I got your illegal Code Copy.

Segun:

So, you are a black market lord.

Nil:

No. I got it on a whim thinking it might help in the search for Knight.

Segun:

What a reckless thing, and then you left it somewhere easy for this child to find.

Nil:

I wasn’t going to actually go. You know me, coward to the core. But I liked the option. I wish I could have my friend back.

Segun:

Well, Tresca, I guess it’s just you and me, unless you’re planning on stomping off, too. You’ll be my friend, right?

Continued in pt 9

Thanks for reading!