The Explanation

"It all started out when I met my friend, Esper." Aunora murmured, eyes misting over. Her previous rude manner had been lost, now glossed with an air of pensive contemplation.

"I'm a demon horse, you see. My species has a lot of superstitions, especially including the birth of twins... So, when me and my sister was born, my parents had a choice: kill both of us, or leave one of us in the woods." she blew her spiky bangs out of her face, bitterness creeping up on her. "I got the short end of the stick, as you would expect. So, I was left all alone, just a young foal with no one to take of me."

Umbra frowned, shoulders slumping. "How old were you? A newborn?"

"Psh, nah. I was, like, six or seven in human years. Still too young be left out in the cold, though..." Aunora shook her head, like she was trying to chase away bad thoughts. "Anyway, that first day I was stuck out there, I had no idea what to do. I'm a little ashamed to say this now, but once my parents got out of earshot, I just curled up and cried."

"That's when Esper showed up. He's a nature spirit, you see, I guess I got dumped on his territory or something. Either way, he seemed really surprised to see me there, but helped me to the tree he lived in, nonetheless. Esper let me lie down on his bed and sleep some, and then he fed me some kinda weird, but nice tasting, fruit. That first night, we just sat there and talked, discussing our lives and who we were."

"After that, we stuck with each other. Esper didn't have any parents either, so we had to learn to raise ourselves. He could forage for fruit and stuff, and I taught myself how to hunt down the small animals that lived around us. It may sound rough to you yuppies, but I loved every minute of it. I loved Esper, and Esper loved me." She paused, swallowing hard. Umbra could see that she was holding back tears, and his heart felt a twinge of pity for the girl.

"I guess that's when everything went wrong. Around the time I turned sixteen, those crazy snake people started creeping onto the land we called home. Esper was really scared, and told me not to try to fight 'em, so I didn't attack the minute I saw them. But then, one night while we were taking a walk, those nagas ambushed us."

Aunora paused for a second, bringing her legs closer to her chest. "They...they took Esper. Literally ripped him away from me. Those monsters were muttering something about a 'goddess' or something, but I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. So, just like that, I was alone again. But I had gotten stronger since last time I had been stranded, so I decided to get into action."

Aunora smirked, clearly proud of herself. "I went to the human dimension. I started training my fighting and magic skills at whatever places allowed me to do it for free. I tried telling people about my cause, but no one seemed interested in helping me. As a last ditch effort, I posted that little letter on the forum, hoping someone would come."

Umbra gazed at her skeptically. "That doesn't make a lot of sense. How does necromancy tie into all of this?"

"You see, I heard those nagas talking. They're a real superstitious bunch, and they need their elder to select a new leader. But, I heard that their elder died, so they're having a bit of a succession crisis." she winked at Victor, "If someone were to, I dunno, perform a séance for them, well that would provide a mighty fine distraction for me to nab Esper."

Umbra glared. "I won't allow it. It's too risky, and there's nothing in it for me and Victor. He's too sick right now to perform that kind of magic."

Aunora looked at Victor, raising an eyebrow in concern. "Sick? What's wrong with him?"

Umbra blew his bangs out of his face, sighing. "He got bit by this strange spider before the nagas imprisoned us. I'm afraid he's been suffering ever since," Victor nodded in agreement, frowning.

"Spider? Wait, it wasn't big and black, was it?"

"Yes..." Umbra recognized the urgent tone in her voice, and his worries grew. "Why?"

Aunora grew deadly serious, eyes narrowing. "This kid needs help, now. Only the nagas have the anti-venom to that little sucker." A smile rose to her chapped lips, displaying sharp teeth. "Maybe they would give you the cure if you were to do a favor for them..."

Author's Note- Ugh, I think Wattpad deleted part of this chapter, so I had to rewrite it. I'm pretty sure this is how it went. I'm glad I'm reading over this thing...