August walked through the blood red dusk, the trees around her casting dappled shadows over her and her surroundings like a blanket. Kirin trotted behind her, his eyes flickering around. It was quiet, only the faint sounds of crickets in the underbrush and their footsteps crushing the forest floor. Bimala wasn’t coming this time. It was too dangerous, and there were few ghosts here.

She came across a particularly dense patch of vegetation, and pushed aside some leaves to get through. The leaves seemed to give way at her touch, revealing an open space to the side. A little surprised, she looked over and inspected the opening. It appeared to be a hole dug into the side of the hill, a burrow-like structure. It was large enough to walk through.

This seemed suspicious enough. “You’re not going to fit in here, bud.” She looked over at Kirin, who tilted his head and tried to poke his head through. August chuckled and patted the griffin’s flank. “It’s okay. I need you to stay here and wait for me.” She took a breath, preparing herself, then walked into the burrow. 

The reddened light quickly faded as she went deeper into the side of the hill. August reached into her pocket and took out her phone, turning on the flashlight to light the way. She could only hear her own footsteps. 

Soon the small tunnel opened up, a soft light growing ahead. After a moment or so, August decided it was just bright enough to turn off her flashlight and put her phone back in her pocket. The space was like a small cave, except made of earth instead of rock. Bioluminecent fungi lit up the walls of the space with eerie blue and green light. It could only be the work of a witch. 

Then, August stopped. Before her sat a figure in dark clothing, crouched in a corner. Initially she did not recognize them, but even in this light the shape and shade of her hair was unmistakable.

“Arabelle.”

The figure looked up. A soft chuckle sounded through the space.

“So, you found my little hideaway.”

She bent down again, gathering what looked like tinder in her hand. Her fingers were so delicate and soft, it would be impossible to imagine they ever were used to kill anybody. Her golden braid was draped over her shoulder, glinting in the dim light. August’s throat closed up.

“I was looking for you.”

She paused. “Are you still angry at me?”

“Are you still angry at me?”

Arabelle set the tinder down inside a small circle in the ground made by stones. Her hand still gripped it and her eyes focused on it, and the tinder was set aflame. She leaned back and stood up, going over to August. Her angular features were highlighted in full force with the light, her sharp eyes nearly hidden by shadows. Leaning in close, Arabelle took her hand. She looked deeply into the other’s eyes, and raised her free hand to caress her cheek.

“I can never stay angry with you,” she murmured.

August stared back, entranced, yet ready to speak the sliver of doubt that had settled in her heart. She still remembered seeing the wild rage in Arabelle the last time they had seen each other. But her half open mouth was prevented from speaking by Arabelle’s lips. August was surprised at first, her cheeks blooming red. However, she soon leaned into the kiss, her eyes closing and her free arm going around her lost lover’s waist. She had missed this.

When the two parted, August had tears running down her cheeks. Arabelle methodically wiped them away. 

“What’s wrong, love?”

August sniffled. “You said… you said you didn’t need me anymore.” Her voice was quiet, a little shaking.

“Did I?” She tilted her head, frowning slightly. “I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t have meant it, right? I still love you.”

“I still love you too.” August gripped her hand tightly as her brow furrowed. “But that’s why I’m telling you that what you did was wrong, and that you need to come home.”

Arabelle frowned. “I can’t come home. No one except you will welcome me back.”

“It’s not about that.” More tears slipped from her eyes. “I’m worried about you. I— this isn’t you, Arabelle. I want you to come home so— so you can remember who you are. So we can be together again, like we used to be.” 

She wiped away her tears, like before. “But what if… I don’t want to go back to the way things were? What if I want to build something new?” She touched their foreheads together. “You could come with me, instead. We could live a new life together.”

August closed her eyes. “I don’t want a life that’s built on death. I can’t live that life, knowing what you had to do to create it.”

Arabelle pulled away. She looked at her lover, her gaze almost cold. “August… why don’t I show you something?”

She sniffled. “Huh? What is it?” 

Arabelle took her hand and led her over to one side of the space. “Did you bring Kirin with you?”

“Yes…” She tilted her head. “He’s waiting outside.”

“I see. Well, I found a familiar of my own.”

August’s head snapped up. “What? Really?” 

The wall they stood beside was covered with dead or dying vines. Arabelle touched her hand to them, her smile barely visible in the dim light. “Yes. Turns out we’re a great team. He’s just sleeping right now, but…” She pulled the vines aside.

The wall, it turned out, was not actually a wall at all. It opened up into another space, filled with glowing mushrooms. Inside was a large, scaly body, coiled up around itself. The white scales seemed to glitter under the bluish-greenish light. The body did not move, but there was the sense that it would uncoil and strike at any moment.

August froze, her eyes widened. “What is tha–”

“Giant serpent. It’s not a wyrm, don’t worry.” Arabelle chuckled. “Meet Venin.” 

“O– oh. Yeah. Okay,” she said stiffly. “And… why did you want to show him to me?”

“Wait.” She held up her hand. “One more thing.”

She put the curtain of vines back in its place before leading August towards the fire. She reached into a small crevice in the wall and brought out a medium-sized pot. A liquid swished inside of it. Arabelle held it over the fire, and the heat caused it to glow with color. Smoke quickly rose from it, and if August looked closely, she could see that it took the shape of faces, wailing in agony. 

August’s brow furrowed, and she leaned away. “Is that… what I think it is?”

“The elixir of life.” Arabelle grinned.

She shook her head, stepping away. “No.” It was impossible. “No.”

Arabelle’s grin dropped. “What? It’s not even done yet. I need more souls anyway.”

“More?” Her voice sounded hoarse. “Arabelle…”

“Don’t you see the progress?” She raised her voice slightly. “Can’t you see the life I’m going to build for us?”

“Stop. Stop this, please.”

“Just think.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Once it’s finished, one sip is all it takes. Eternal life will be ours. Nothing can hurt us ever again.”

August stared at her. Then her gaze moved to the elixir, swirling and smoking in the pot. Steeling herself, she walked over and kicked the pot on its side, the elixir spilling out in dimly glowing blues, pinks, and greens. The colors were soon absorbed into the ground, fading into nothing.

For a moment there was only the crackling of the fire. Arabelle’s shoulders shook.

“WHAT THE HELL, AUGUST!” She rammed into her, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her to the wall. August grunted, grasping at her hands and trying to resist, to pull her off.

“Weeks!” She seethed, keeping her grip. “I was working on that for weeks! And you just ruined everything!”

August glared at her. “Oh, whoops. My bad. Sorry, I guess.”

“You ruined our future!”

“No, Arabelle.” She grabbed at the hands pinning her to the wall. “You did.”

August shoved her off and moved away from the wall, but Arabelle grabbed her and pushed her back again. “Oh no you don’t. I have to start all over again. Maybe I’ll start with your soul.”

“What?” August squirmed, tears coming to her eyes again. “Then I guess you don’t really love me at all, do you?”

Arabelle’s expression twisted, but before she could respond, the sound of hissing drifted from the curtain of leaves and vines. The curtain parted to make room for the large, scaly head emerging from it. Its scales glittered like snow. Slitted, marbled eyes glanced around as a forked tongue flickered from the mouth.

“Venin!” She gripped August’s arm and turned to face the snake as it moved towards them. “Go back to sleep. Everything’s fine.