novelzi Ch 2.33: Recovery
Ch 2.33: Recovery
Ch 2.33: Recovery
Everything was gone at the same time, the hostage, Elaina’s bag, even the ropes. Not just from sight either, but from [Restraint] too. Elaina always had a mental map of anything she considered a restraint around her, a way to tap in and feel the item, but even the most basic thing like rope was invisible to the sixth sense her aspect provided. Temmie was gone, no way to track her down, and in her place was another platypus cub, one obviously very angry that its prey had disappeared, and only a few feet away from Tira’s unconscious body. It turned towards the girl, screaming into the sky as it waddled towards her.
“Hey, over here!” Flora shouted. Elaina turned to see the girl sprinting from the one platypus she’d just rescued, sundress slowly slipping down her figure. “Like what you see you big duck-beaver?” Both straps had been snapped, and the dress had a number of gashes besides, causing the entire thing to fall, first to her waist and then her feet before she kicked out of the garment entirely.
And as the dress slipped off, as she was finally naked, the monster looming over Tira looked away, letting out a chirp-like growl before turning away from the obvious prey and going after Flora. Did platypuses care about naked women? No, Flora’s skill attracts enemies the more skin she’s showing off. And that was enough for now, three of the monsters restrained, two occupied with Flora who could hold her own at least for a little while. Elaina had bigger problems to worry about.
“Carline, where is she? Where’d she go?”
Carline was scanning the area, eyes filled with despair. “I— I don’t know, she’s just gone again! I can’t even feel her with [Health].”
That settled it for sure then, someone was using an aspect to mess with them, to make the girl invisible. Had they followed them the entire time, just waiting for an opportunity to try and let the girl escape?
“Elaina, what is happening?”
Temmie? The voice had come from the direction of the tree line, was moving towards the forest as it shouted. Elaina couldn’t see anything there, couldn’t feel anything with [Restraint], but that had been her voice.
“Temmie, where are you!”
“Here!”
“Temmie, are you still there?” Elaina whispered.
“Yes, I am.”
“Good... I thought you were gone.”
“I would not have been ‘gone.’ My main core is still at the academy regardless. Still... I was fearful myself. I am still confused as to what happened, as I cannot see out of the bag at present.”
“I’ll explain later,” Elaina said, walking towards Carline and Flora.
“Okay, that one’s down,” Carline said, letting out a heavy breath. “Can you choke the other one now? It helps me calm them down.
“Yeah, sure,” Flora said, grabbing the platypus by the scruff of its neck before swinging around and placing her elbow around its throat as well.
“You look ridiculous,” Elaina said. Carline laughed, but Elaina hadn’t meant it as a joke; it was just a fact that sort of slipped out. Still, it was true, the nude girl wrangling a giant mythical creature cub wasn’t exactly something you would see everyday.
“I’m sure I do, but you’re not one to talk,” Flora said with a smile as the platypus’s eyes began to droop, “not with what you’re carrying around.”
Elaina was confused for a moment, then looked down. Her bag had reappeared, at least visually, in her arms again. She was also holding onto the rope she’d tied the hostage with, still keeping it all together, bundled up with [Restraint]. But those weren’t the only two things she had. Stuck together to the rope and bag were a number of buttons, a drawstring, and what appeared to the remnants of a black, lacy bra. Elaina thought back to the struggle she’d had over the restraints with the invisible thief, how hard it had been to wrench it out of the woman’s mundane grip despite Elaina’s immense strength with her aspect, how she had felt a very distinct snap that was eerily similar to that of a bra strap breaking.
“Oh.”