Claire got her party inside the carriage quickly after Ursa returned. She said her goodbyes to the Blue Bulls far too quickly and set off in the middle of them. They didn't mind, since they had to get back on track themselves. They weren't supposed to even be here and had planned on relaxing in the nearby village. But both Vanessa and Heather urged them to come out.
Claire was driving while keeping the horses calm. They were hard for her to control while actively running alongside wolves, but she wanted to hurry. She feared for Jasmine and Samira's safety with that other party being close by.
It was exactly like Jasmine feared. She found Samira, but so did the other party. She tracked their movements with the wolf pack, finding Samira's snake tracks along with the party's footprints. From her best estimate, the party was an hour or so behind Samira. Jasmine quickened her pace.
Most of the wolves split off from her after finding Samira's tracks. Their intelligence surprised Jasmine, since she expected them to stay longer. She wasn't expecting this level of coordination from them. She sprinted through the forest with only three wolves beside her now.
It took only an hour for her to catch up at her own pace. The wolves beside her slowed down and held back the closer they got. She came across a clearing where six adventurers were huddled. She stopped mid-stride and hid behind a tree. She observed the surroundings for any other members, but couldn't find anything. She'd need to move around the clearing, since it's far too open for her to move through.
Patiently, she waited for the group to move on. It took almost ten minutes for them to move, letting the wolves slowly sneak closer to Jasmine. Another wolf had split off now, with two remaining. Jasmine worked her way around the clearing, curious as to what the party was inspecting.
Upon getting to the spot they had huddled around, she found a piece of cloth. It looked like a piece of Samira's shirt, from what Jasmine could recall of her appearance at least. Now it made sense why they were here for so long. Clothing like this isn't something you'd find when tracking monsters. If you did, it'd be covered in blood.
This one was snagged on a fallen branch. There were no blood trails, no signs of struggles from potential victims. Nothing you'd find when tracking a regular Lamia. They were likely debating whether Samira had a victim with her or not.
Jasmine continued after them. If they noticed something was off about Samira just from finding this piece of cloth, maybe they can be reasoned with. She kept her distance while tracking them, even listening in on their conversations. She guessed right about them catching on to Samira being different.
She also learned that they weren't here specifically for Samira. They heard rumors about a Lamia being in the area. Judging by their accents, they were from the western coast, too. So they weren't even locals. Whatever they were originally here for must have been dangerous. Not often do they get adventurers from that far away.
She could even judge their age and relative skill from this distance. They were in their late twenties and probably ten or fifteen levels over Jasmine. So fighting them would prove to be lethal. She'd need to be more than perfect if it came to that.
It was after they stopped to inspect another piece of Samira's clothing that Jasmine decided to finally overtake them. She snuck around the group as best she could, never once underestimating their perception and awareness. It took some time, but she made it ahead of them before they noticed her.
The two remaining wolves met up with her after clearing the group, surprising Jasmine yet again. She didn't know if wolves were always this smart, or if it was Ursa's magic doing it. Either way, she was impressed.
Not long after, she caught up with the woman in question.
The first thing Jasmine noticed was how thin the lamia looked. She remembered how striking the woman's curves were upon their first meeting, yet now, she could see detailed ribs through her skin. It showed in her face, too. Her eyes were sunken, her cheekbones protruding, and overall, she looked on the verge of death.
Jasmine felt a pang hit her heart.
She recognized the look on her face. The depression, the guilt. All of it was showing in her expressionless face. Her eyes were zoned out and distant, her slither slow and unfocused. It was like she was marching to her death. All because of what she was used for.
Jasmine took a deep breath. She had water and food for Samira, thankfully. But she didn't know the best way to approach her. Just pop out? Or maybe make her presence known?
Snap! It was decided for her when the wolves split off from her. One of their paws broke a branch, causing Jasmine to flinch. She looked back at them, already bounding in the opposite direction. She turned, expecting Samira to have noticed.
But she didn't
She just kept walking forward, or well, slithering forward. Didn't even stop to look back. It was obvious that the lamia didn't care.
Jasmine sighed and called out her name. "Samira."
The lamia kept moving forward as if nothing had happened.
"Samira," Jasmine repeated, running towards her. The lamia didn't even flinch or look back, even when Jasmine's feet made noise. It was only when Jasmine grabbed her arm that she reacted
Her formerly vibrant brown eyes looked darkened. The purple from her magic blended with the brown to make an almost black-looking iris. "Wh-who? Are you real?"
Jasmine blinked. She was at a loss for words for a moment. "I'm Jasmine, remember. The woman who rescued you from those thugs."
Samira tilted her head for a moment. It slowly came back to her. A faint smile appeared on her face, "Ah, the sneaky woman. Was her name Jasmine?"
Samira's voice trailed off into a mumble before she turned and kept moving. Jasmine watched her walk away for a moment in confusion. Samira was rambling about something incoherent. Something about missing someone's birthday, then about a chore she forgot. Then nonsense again.
She snapped out of it and grabbed her hand again.
"Samira," Jasmine gripped her hand tightly. She could feel just how thin the woman had gotten and how dehydrated she was. Her skin felt rigid and not elastic like healthy skin would. Jasmine felt another pang of pain hit her heart. She looked deep in Samira's eyes this time. "I'm real. I'm here to save you."
Samira's eyes focused this time. The purpleness slowly left her irises as she focused on Jasmine's face. "Y-you're real? But why? Why save me? I'm a monster."
"No," Jasmine pulled her close. She reached for her canteen of water and uncapped it. "You aren't a monster."
"I am!" Samira shook her head and pulled away from Jasmine. "I controlled them. I forced them into servitude. Made the children experiments for their drugs. And, I'm a lamia. I'm a monster to my core."
It was pitiful how easy it was to overpower Samira. She was fighting with absolutely no strength behind it. Jasmine was easily able to put the canteen up to her mouth, but getting the woman to drink was another story. She wasted a cup of water trying to get Samira to open her mouth. After a minute of struggling, almost all the water was trickling down Samira's shirt.
"Fuck, we don't have time for this," Jasmine muttered. She took the canteen and filled her mouth with water. She knew of one good way to make someone swallow liquid. And Samira may not like it.
Then, she gripped Samira's face and kissed the woman.
She could feel the shock of her actions overtake Samira's body. At first, she resisted, then she gave in. Her hands weakly pounded against Jasmine's breasts in an attempt to get away, but to no avail. Jasmine pushed the water into Samira's mouth, causing her to gulp involuntarily. It wasn't a whole lot, but her body needed whatever water she could get.
Jasmine pulled back and wiped her mouth with her lips. "I'm here to rescue you, dumbass. We do not have the time."
Samira looked shocked at Jasmine. She opened her mouth to say something, but Jasmine was quick. She forced a ration into Samira's mouth, then gripped her mouth closed.
"Chew."
Samira blinked rapidly. She obeyed without even realizing. She finally let herself feel her body screaming for water and food. She chewed what turned out to be dried meat in her mouth for a moment.
"Now swallow."
Again, she did what she was told. Jasmine pulled her hand back after making sure Samira had eaten.
"Again," Jasmine sighed. "I'm here to save you. We promised your village that we'd find you. Claire promised Mara."
"NO!" Samira shook her head and screamed. It was surely loud enough for that party to hear. "I don't deserve to live!"
"Gods," Jasmine bit her inner cheek. Had Samira been a normal woman, she'd have thrown her over her shoulder and run. But her snake half posed an issue. So she needed to get Samira to move. "Lily spoke with Jolder."
Samire stopped cold after hearing that name. "M-mom?"
Jasmine could see tears begin to well up in her eyes. "She told Lily to pass along a message: 'Tell her that I love her, and that I already miss her.'"
Samira went weak in Jasmine's grip again. She could hear the woman sobbing, so Jasmine pulled her into a hug.
"Cry later. We need to get out of here."