Hammer followed Rain into her rooms. Everything was as he had left it, aside from the door which was now closed. Melted chairs now refrozen in grim shapes. The strange holes in the floor and that ring of ashy dirt on the wall. Rain had a couch, which Hammer fully intended to make use of. Right after eating something. He was starved.
He leant his sword against the distorted table. “Let's eat.”
With a sly grin, Rain spoke, “that's a little presumptuous of you, isn't it?”
Face red, all Hammer was speechless until he realised Rain's humour. The power was still out, so he opened and closed the cooler box quickly, retrieving a pack of cured Tom's Tasty Salamander Strips as it didn't look like they would be able to cook anything else in there. Rain was rummaging around in the pantry, and came out with some snacks. She didn't have any pet food, so she took a salamander strip from Hammer and threw it to Rajin.
Hammer was chewing the tough strips. His stomach growling with desire and aching with the pain of being used after so much time unused. After about fifteen minutes of silent eating, Rain prepared them some cold tea. The leaves would be as effective at soaking up the salt as if the tea was hot, but they would take a little longer to do their work, so they had to wait.
Rajin was lying on the floor, playing with her salamander strip.
“Look at that!” Hammer exclaimed, “she isn't eating it!”
What do I do with it? Rajin responded.
Hammer laughed, his belly rumbling in pleasure. “You put it in your mouth, chew, and swallow!”
Rajin attempted to do just that, but seemed to have trouble.
This is not good for me. I cannot feed on these foods.
“What can you eat then, Rajin?” Rain asked with concern. “Are you a herbivore?”
No, I need energy. Being near you is enough. You have much energy when you release it.
“You'll still need to eat something. That body isn't made of energy. Try again.”
Rajin dutifully obliged while Hammer thought about what Rain said. How did she know so much about Rajin? They must have shared more knowledge earlier than he'd realised. Feeling a little outcast, he sipped at his cold tea. It was bitter and still salty, causing his mouth to twist in disgust. The power was still out so there would be no fresh water.
The power seemed to be out over the whole complex – Rain had lost her notepad at some stage so she couldn't try hers, while his notepad hadn't worked at the entrance, but, then again, it had stopped working earlier in the temple, and the buzzer had failed to ring or receive a response from an attendant. That was also not unexpected, but in combination with his notepad not granting them entrance and the power being out here, it pointed to a complex-wide problem.
Unexpectedly, Rajin leapt at him with a snarl, lunging for his neck, jagged fangs biting and tearing. He batted at the creature, his sword having somehow crossed the room and appeared in his hand, swinging in strokes that, despite being fast, were still too slow to strike this speedy animal. Then Rajin was pulled off him, flung away, and pressed up against the wall. He reached up to the fire in his throat, and his fingers came away surprisingly unbloodied. His hardened skin remained unpenetrated, though there would be some bruising.
Rain had her hand out, fingers splayed, pressing Rajin against the wall with a sheet of power that flowed continuously from her palm. After a few seconds, the creature cowed, it stopped, forming a rope and tying the now-quivering ball up.
Hammer was hungry again. Really hungry. He had a craving for sand, of all things.
***
Rajin noted the change in Hammer's demeanour, his look of feeling ostracised. Conflict was about to begin and she had to choose a side. Rain was too powerful. The fighter's sword was out of reach. Coming to a conclusion, she pounced at the blue skinned man. Instinct guiding her teeth to his throat to tear at the jugular, unleash that crimson flow. Her teeth glanced off his skin. No wonder there was no life sustained by pure energy here; it was so hard to come by for such a small reward. He had his sword now, somehow. It swung at her, and she dipped her head. He was slow, this man. He should have been taken down by now. She lunged again, this time intending to crush his windpipe. Remarkably, that skin resisted crushing and tearing. Then she was being pulled away, slammed into a wall with a dull thump. Her body hurt.
Tied up now, she realised her mistake. These two worked together, with a single purpose. And she had been working with them. Or at least, not against them. Now they would kill her for sure. Unable to help herself, she began mewling in terror.
***
“I was waiting for this,” Rain said, surprising Hammer. She had formed a curtain around Rajin so that the bird creature couldn't hear them speak. “Rajin's only understanding of cooperation is in the balance of mutual terror forcing two entities towards some goal. It is better that this happens now than later. I'm glad we'll get this out of the way.”
If she knew this would happen, shy didn't she say something earlier? There was probably no real opportunity. At least, none in which Rajin would not hear them.
Rain continued, “I don't think she will attack either of us again. In fact, I think she will be fairly loyal, but for now I think we're both tired.”
Hammer nodded.
“Hammer, you're practically falling asleep on that chair, if it can still be called that. Go into my bedroom and have a sleep. I'll watch over Rajin and come wake you when I can't stay awake any longer. Once I've had a rest, we can sort this out some more.”
Hammer saw the sense in this, in the way that people who have worked closely together for years understand each others' mannerisms and thoughts. Wordlessly, he headed off to bed.
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