"Is it safe to carry you then?" asked Kat unwilling to leave Minor here if she was to move.
Minor nodded slowly, before turning her head to the side and coughing out blood. Kat was horrified and confused at this. "What! Why? You are shattered, and there is clearly no blood. Why now are you coughing up blood?" shouted Kat
As she said this though, a red light came over Minor's face and repaired the cracks that still remained on her neck as well as some of her chest. Minor clearly tried to answer but nothing but the same broken glass sounds managed to escape her mouth.
Kat glared at the fox. "Ok, I'll carry you then" said Kat
Reaching down, Kat went to pick Minor up in a princess carry, but as she lifted, she found something strange. Minor didn't rest in position, and was acting more like the broken glass statue she seemed to be.
Her skin felt smooth and solid, and while her knees did bend slightly there wasn't much warmth there. *Ok… I don't know if this is a thing to be concerned about…* Kat also noticed the Minor's tails were locked in place as well.
"Are you sure this is safe? I feel like I'm carrying a statue rather than a person" said Kat
Minor nodded once again, before turning to the side, and spitting more blood out followed by Minor's chest completely healing. Minor tried to speak again, and this time she succeeded. It was a raspy sound like there was still glass in her throat, clinking and grating against each other but there was clearly words. "I'll be fine. I'm going to pass out soon. It should speed up my recovery. Just don't worry, I can recover from this" said Minor
Kat glared down at Minor, and without her conscious choice, demonic energy moved to the back of her eyes making them glow as she glared down at the fox in her arms. Kat's mouth moved into a frown, and her horns started to glow as well. *I really, really want to chew you out for this Minor… but I suppose I'll just settle for ratting you out to Major and Enuko once this is all over.*
"I understand" said Kat
"Oh, and-" Minor was interrupted by a coughing fit, though there was no blood this time "don't break this scene. I'm pretty sure that Major is here somewhere… you just have to look"
Minor nodded once more before turning herself just slightly so that her tails stuck out in front of Kat and her head rested against Kat's arm before closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath.
Kat tried to fight down the rising panic as she realised the Minor hadn't continued to breath after that event, but she was able to keep herself together. Minor had said she'd be fine, and Kat could see the remaining cracks on Minor glowing slightly and occasionally shrinking. *Ok… it does look like she's still recovering. But Minor I will have to pay you back for this one. At least I know that this is the end, or close to it. Finding Major will be a big step forward.*
Once Minor was well situated in her arms Kat started to look out at the scenery in earnest. What she had originally thought of as walls, was actually tall wheat stalks. They swayed slightly in the end, but were densely packed together. This also explained the blue roof, which was just the sky.
Reaching out towards the golden rows of wheat, Kat used her tail to press against it so she could keep a good hold on Minor. To her surprise though, the wheat seemed to form an impenetrable barrier. Even empowering her tail and making a strike just bent them slightly.
*Hmm, so it seems I'm stuck following the cobble path.* Kat looked around following the path in either direction, but only finding wheat eventually blocking her view. *A Maze perhaps? Should I risk trying to fly up?*
Kat looked down at the girl in her hands and frowned. *If it was just my, I'd be willing to risk bashing my head against it, perhaps literally, but I'm not sure I want to risk the shock Minor's body might receive if I try. At the same time though… I'm not sure I want to wander a maze that could be endless for all I know…*
*But I'm not supposed to break this one am I. Perhaps I have no choice but to walk the path. If I start flying and the scene breaks before Minor shows up I have no idea what I'll do.* Nodding to herself for reaching a conclusion Kat started to head off, she simply picked a direction and moved.
In the end she turned left, it was the way she was originally facing before Minor collapsed and seemed as good a direction as any. When she reached the end of the corridor she found it branching off to the left and the right, before hitting dead ends, or perhaps intersections, it was hard to tell from her position.
*Do I just go with the old, keep your hand on the left wall? I mean, I'll use my tail instead, but I see no better way to get through this, and nothing that is rushing me.* Shrugging Kat decided to follow her thoughts and head left.
Taking the first left, led her to a second, then a third, and then a fourth… *Ok something strange is going on here. I can already tell. I've just taken four lefts down equally long corridors, or near enough I can't spot the difference, and yet I didn't end up back in the clearing.*
*Well, this is just great. I can keep circling I suppose? I wonder if it has a limit.* And so Kat set off with the most basic of plans in mind, which was to continue her looping. Time passed, and the loops showed no signs of ending. After the twentieth left turn Kat used her tail to scour a mark in the cobbled stone floor. Hoping to see it on the way around…
Of course, a full rotation later, and Kat was at a brand new intersection with no markings on the ground. Narrowing her eyes Kat scratched her mark once again and then waited. She let five minutes pass and saw no signs of the mark disappearing. Taking a corner, Kat very slowly walked around it keeping her eyes behind her looking at the mark.
As soon as her head past the corner, she then turned around and walked back the way she had come… and found herself in an open clearing with no other entrances or exits. Just a round circle with a little pond in the centre.
"Oh come on, at least try and make a bit of sense!" shouted Kat, in frustration. When she did this, Minor stirred slightly and Kat clamped her mouth down shut. *Note to self. Curse the maze internally, because I don't want to be responsible for waking Minor just yet.*
Kat did take this chance to examine her friend a bit more closely. She noticed that the cracks on Minor had certainly shrunk. They were closer to hairline fractures now. Still too large to be inconsequential, but much smaller than they had been.
Kat nodded to herself and examined the area. *Well should I just head back? I don't need to drink, I don't think… and I doubt Minor does either… but perhaps there is something in the pool?*
*Is it worth investigating? I don't want to jump into it or anything with Minor in my hands just in case something goes wrong. I… I guess I'll look but nothing else.* Kat moved forward and stood at the edge of the pond.
It was a perfect circle, and clearly unnatural. Despite the fact the path stopped slightly short and left it with some dirt around the edges it was the perfect circle. Staring into it's depths Kat could not see the bottom. Even enhancing her eyes didn't help, though the main limiting factor was the angle she was required to stand at to keep Minor from just hanging over the pond. Kat was taking no chances in case something was to jump out.
Kat let out a sigh. *I'm going to say that there is nothing here for us. Or if there is it can wait. I'll go along with Minor's request I carry her around, but jumping into potentially bottomless ponds in a dream world is not a risk I'm willing to take right now.*
Walking out of the clearing, Kat found herself at a crossroads, and of course. She turned left, again, and again, and again. *Perhaps I should be thinking up better strategies… or rethink the whole 'no flying just in case' rule I set for myself.*
For just a bit longer though, Kat was willing to walk the left path.. It was calm, and without danger, and the gentle swaying of the wheat put her at ease, and it was certainly the better option to jumping in the pond.