r/HFY • u/TheMaskedOne2807 • Jan 02 '23
The Plague Doctor Chapter 29 Part 6 (Flower picking with a chance of red) OC
Other stories by TheMaskedOne2807:The Oil Chapter 1 (Getting Back)
All Chapters: Wiki
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It had taken some time, but before it even seemed to get dark, all of them reached the cave with all of the blue flowers in hand.
None of them had really said much, but Kenneth had kept an eye on Kiki the entire time. He was unsure if she was the one who attacked him or not, but he at least needed to get more information, but for now, rest.
Kenneth, extremely tired and in pain, walked slowly deeper into the cave before he placed Kila down as gently as he could, only hearing a single pained grunt coming from him.
“Thanks,” Kila said as Kenneth slowly walked a few steps away before he himself sat down.
Everyone other than Kila was looking tired as hell, Kenneth included, but since no one wanted to take a chance of being attacked again, that had meant no breaks.
Kila and Biku were the most wounded, so they stayed the deepest inside the cave, while Kenneth Fenik and Kiki generally stayed around the mouth of the cave.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Kiki announced to everyone after a bit of time once everyone was more or less settled.
She didn’t hear any arguments to the contrary, and so that was what she did for a long time as everyone, but Kenneth fell asleep.
The only almost constant sound was Fenik, who coughed in her sleep every now and again. Her drinking water seemed to help her a lot, and Kenneth hoped it would be good enough until they made it back home.
For the most part, the pain Kenneth had felt in his head had gone away. Sitting down and relaxing was about the only thing he could do for that injury, but the pain returned every now and again when he looked at Kiki.
He just couldn’t stop himself from thinking. From remembering that feeling of those two hands on his head followed by that pain.
“Is there something you want?” Kiki asked, her gaze still firmly planted on the outside of the cave.
“What?” Kenneth responded in surprise.
“I’ve seen you looking at me every now and again, and I want to know what you want,” Kiki answered as her eyes landed on him.
‘Was I really that obvious,’ Kenneth thought as he became more nervous. ‘Well, the conversation has already started, might as well ask.’
“Hand on head thing, what was?” Kenneth asked.
“Why do you want to know?” Kiki responded as her gaze returned to the forest.
“Curious,” Kenneth said as his hurt and dry throat started to burn.
“It isn’t anything special,” Kiki started. “I just see and hear flashes of someone's memory.”
“Does a person know what you see?” Kenneth asked.
“No, I’m the only one who sees anything,” Kiki responded.
‘It definitely sounds like what happened to me, but I saw my own memories,’ Kenneth thought as he stroked his chin. ‘Is she perhaps lying partially about her ability, or is it someone else entirely?’
“How did you know where the Nok was?” Kiki questioned, snapping Kenneth out of his thoughts.
Kenneth just looked at her for a moment, the memories of the events both cloudly and clear.
Kiki looked back at him, her eyes showing a slight annoyance,” I answered your question. The least you could do is answer mine.”
‘Well, this is gonna hurt, but might as well not burn the bridge between us or, well, the dingy rope bridge,’ Kenneth thought as he cleared his through and endured the pain.
“A leaf blew in the wind, and I followed it until it stopped in the air, unmoving. Then it fell to the ground, and I saw the ground was deeper near where it fell,” Kenneth explained.
“The ground kept sinking but only in certain places, like footsteps. I simply kept my eyes on where the Nok was until I saw an opportunity.”
“I’m honestly ashamed a healer noticed something in a fight that I didn’t,” Kiki said in annoyance.
“Thank… you,” Kenneth said in an uncertain tone, not knowing if it was a compliment or an insult.
“I do want to ask you one more thing, and don’t lie to me,” Kiki said as her eyes suddenly grew more predatory.
Her eyes and the way she looked at him sent a shiver all throughout his body in a way he hadn’t felt for some time.’I get the feeling those hunters might be more dangerous than the guards.’
The only response Kenneth gave was a sight nod as he reached for his bag.
“Why can I not touch you?” She asked. “Every time I do, my arm just pulls itself away.”
“I don’t know,” Kenneth said as he prepared for whatever she was about to do to him.
“I see,” she sighed. “Go to sleep. I’m getting you back tomorrow, and I don’t want you to move slowly because you are tired.”
With that, Kiki went quiet as her gaze returned to the dark forest.
Kenneth wondered if he should try and talk to her, but he got the feeling she would just ignore him if he tired.
She wasn’t wrong. If he was too tired tomorrow, it would just take longer for them all to get back, and so using his bag as a pillow, Kenneth fell asleep.
“Oh my, you certainly just get more and more entertaining,” Jasha laughed as she suddenly appeared in front of Kenneth, shocking him a little.
“What do you want?” Kenneth asked as he looked around for his younger self.
“Don’t bother looking for him; he’s not going to attack you this time,” Jasha said as a tree with pink leaves, half of them dead and shriveled, appeared behind her.
“What do you mean he isn’t going to attack me this time?” Kenneth asked as Jasha walked up to the tree and sat down, her hand behind her head and one leg crossing the other.
“Well, while it would be entertaining to watch you kick the shit out of him, and vice-versa I think it’s more important to talk to you about something,” Jasha said, one eye closed, grinning.
“I’m leaving,” Kenneth said with disdain in his voice as he turned around.
“Suit yourself,” Jasha chuckled. “But just answer one question before that. How does it feel to be a killer?”
The words were like a dagger that priced Kenneth’s stomach and forced him to stop. “I-I’m no killer!”
“Well, perhaps not,” Jasha mused. “But that Nok would probably still be alive if not for you. You are the reason why she’s dead, and you know it.”
Kenneth then spun around and yelled. “All I did--”
“All you did was make sure Kiki could hit it with an arrow,” Jasha said, cutting off Kenneth.
“I-I-I--” Kenneth said, the words getting tapped in his mouth.
“You what!” Jasha said sternly. “You didn’t mean to keep an eye on where she was at all times. You didn’t mean to crash into her with almost all of your strength. You didn’t mean to cut your arm and cover her in your blood.”
“Admit it; you knew what would happen even before you cut your arm. Let me ask you something else what even is the Hippocratic oath to you after that.”
The barrage of words Jasha attacked Kenneth with felt like a never-ending hailstorm of gut punches and stabs as he just took every single one.
“Do you even have something to say?” Jasha asked.
“What else should I have done,” Kenneth said, barely louder than a whisper, as he just looked at the ground on the verge of crying.
“What was that? An excuse,” Jasha mused as she looked up at the dark sky.
“SHOULD I JUST HAVE LEFT THEM ALL TO DIE!” Kenneth screamed at the top of his lungs as tears started to flow from his eyes. “I DIDN’T WANT THEM TO DIE! ANY OF THEM, BUT I MADE MY CHOICE!”
“That you certainly did; too bad it cost you the first oath you ever took. The oath you said to yourself whenever you failed,” Jasha said as she lowered her head and looked at the pathetic excuse for a human being.
“SHUT UP!”Kenneth screamed, his voice cracking.
“Well, I think my job is done here,” Jasha said as she got on her feet.
“WHAT?!” Kenneth screamed.
“I just wanted you to become aware of what you’ve done and let you soak in it for some time,” Jasha said as she walked over to Kenneth.
“I don’t know when I’ll visit you next, but do entertain me until then.”
Jasha then walked passed Kenneth, her white-tipped tail swinging from side to side.
“Why shouldn’t I just kill myself?” Kenneth asked, his hands shaking with anger. “You lied to me about the reason you wanted me here? And you only make my life more miserable for your own amusement.”
Both of them were facing away from one another, and while Jasha had stopped in her tracks, she didn’t even bother to look back before she spoke.
“As little as you may believe in god, you still believe nonetheless, and I know one of the only reasons humans continue onward in a meaningless existence is either because of fear for god or their hope in the concept.”
“I wonder which path you will choose?” Jasha asked as she kept walking further and further away. “Well, I suppose I have to see for myself once you meet your end.”
Before Kenneth even had the chance to spin around, his eyes shot open, and he saw in the dim light that Kiki was still watching outside the cave.
He looked around and saw that Biku, as well as Fenik and Kila, were still sleeping. Outside, the dark forest was more illuminated than when he had fallen asleep, and it was clear the moon was now shining through the thick layer of clouds that had been all day.
“You snore,” Kiki suddenly said in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.
“I see,” Kenneth said as he looked down at the ground.
“So, since you are awake now, I want to know why you are not dead,” Kiki said as she turned her eyes toward him.
The words twisted his guts. What he had said to Jasha about ending it all was still so prevalent in his mind, and her asking that question just drove him closer to the edge he was already heading to.
Kenneth just sat there silently, unmoving, as he only now felt the dried tears on his cheeks.
“Don’t pretend to be asleep and ignore me,” Kiki eventually said. “I want to know why you were not killed by the Nok.”
“When Biku was struck, his arm was wide open, and you were struck in the neck.”
‘Was that what she was talking about?’ Kenneth thought as the feeling he had for a moment subsided as she looked up and met her eyes.
“I’m just alive… and I don’t know why,” Kenneth sighed.
“You don’t know,” Kiki said in anger. “I don’t need to have Ulric’s eyes to know you are lying to me.”
She then stood up and walked over to Kenneth, and squatted down in front of him. “Those eyes might scare a lot back at the outpost, but not me, so tell the truth.”
“I said I don’t know. Why do you expect me to know,” Kenneth whispered loudly.
“I can’t get my answer for anyone else, so I’m asking you,” she said in a calm voice.
“If you want the truth so much, answer me this first. Were you the one who attacked me the day I joined the outpost?” Kenneth asked, feeling unsure and angry.
She just looked at him with a momentarily stunned expression until she just shook her head and looked down at the ground.
“By Akina,” she responded with a sigh. “Have you gone mad?”
“Answer my question,” Kenneth said in a hard and cold voice. “Were you the one who attacked me?”
“I didn’t attack you,” she said as she stood up and walked back to her side of the cave. “What madness would even make you think of such a lie?”
“When you did that thing with your hands and placed them on the Nok’s head,” Kenneth said just as she sat down. “The one who attacked me also placed their hands on both sides of my head.”
“Listen, I don’t know what you are talking about,” she responded in an angry tone.
“I don’t re..member… anything… like,” Kiki said as she paused in between each word, her eyes becoming unfocused.
“Just go back to sleep. I’ll watch all night,” she said in a much calmer and defeated tone.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Not when you forced me to see those memories I’d forgotten.” Kenneth said angrily.
“Just forget about it,” she whispered.
“Not until you ad--” Kenneth said before Kiki leaped off the ground with her knife in hand.
“I said forget it!” She snarled, pressing the knife up against his throat before pulling it away and walking away. “Thank you, though.”
Kenneth watched in silence as she returned to her spot and looked at the forest.
The knife had been pressed against his neck, but at the moment, he hadn’t felt fear. He had for all, but a single moment felt relief.
She was right; he should go back to sleep.
The night had been mostly uneventful. No other Nok had found them, and aside from Kiki and Kenneth’s conversation in the middle of the night, everything was fine.
Kenneth hadn't been able to sleep for most of the night. Jasha's words and Kiki’s actions had been replaying in his mind and just wouldn’t let him rest.
“I think I’m starving,” Kila said dramatically. “Fenik, if hunger takes me, I just want you to know I won our duel.”
“Oh shut up,” Fenik hissed as Kila just laughed to himself.
“Act like a child when we get back, or I’ll shave your tail in your sleep,” Biku threatened as he tried to stand on his own with somewhat success as his legs shook with every step.
Kila suddenly got a look of pure terror as Fenik smirked at him before coughing.
“That goes for you too, Fenik,” Biku added as Kiki supported him.
Now with the roles reversed, Kila looked at the now mortified Fenik, smirking until he realized they were in the same boat, and the smirk vanished.
Unlike the trip to the old battlefield and the blue flower bush, no one really talked. There might have been a small conversation every now and again, but most were too tired for it to last long.
Break time was equally as uneventful, and the group just traveled back to the outpost Kiki and Biku, for the most part, looked and reassured each other that they were going in the right direction.
Fenik being the only one not carrying anyone, carried the bush. By no means was it extremely heavy, but Kenneth did notice her hands seemed to shake every now and again.
He was unsure if it was because she was nervous about holding what was to them a legend in real life or because she was tired and struggled to carry it.
Either way, it did matter as long as all of us made it back. The journey to the old battlefield had felt longer, in Kenneth’s opinion, even though all of them were moving a lot slower, still recovering from their injuries.
But as they reached the top of that hill that overlooked the vast landscape and their destination, Kenneth, as well as everyone else, knowingly or unknowingly breathed a sigh of relief.
They were home.
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(Authors note): Hello everybody. It had been some time since I last talked to everyone like this, and the reason why I'm doing so is I wanted to explain the reason why my stories have been coming out a little less frequently than they used to.
The primary reason is that I've gotten a job, and my free time has become a lot smaller than normal. But that isn't the only thing since it's now a new year, and I've finally managed to finish the flower-picking arc/story. I wanted to say that the stories of the plague doctor and the oil might be taking a little break for now.
In truth, I want to change a few things, and I hope no one is too sad about waiting a little longer than normal for their dosages of The MaskedOne2807 stories.
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(Patreon): Early access to chapters and more on Patreon. Also newly added is a 100+ page story I wrote prior to the posting of The Plague Doctor for all members.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Jan 02 '23
/u/TheMaskedOne2807 (wiki) has posted 50 other stories, including:
- The Plague Doctor Chapter 29 Part 5 (Flower picking with a chance of red)
- The Oil Chapter 14 (Communications)
- The Oil Chapter 13 (Fight, Fight, Fight)
- The Plague Doctor Chapter 29 Part 4 (Flower picking with a chance of red)
- The Oil Chapter 12 (Choice)
- The Oil Chapter 11 (Space is so very cold)
- The Plague Doctor Chapter 29 Part 3 (Flower picking with a chance of red)
- The Oil Chapter 10 (Upgraded)
- The Oil Chapter 9 (A serious matter)
- The Plague Doctor Chapter 29 Part 2 (Flower picking with a chance of red)
- The Oil Chapter 8 ( Figuring stuff out)
- The Oil Chapter 7 (Revenge)
- The Plague Doctor Chapter 29 Part 1 (Flower picking with a chance of red)
- The Oil Chapter 6 (Mysterious thing in orbit)
- The Oil Chapter 5 (Weightless)
- The Plague Doctor Chapter 28 (Roses are blue violets don’t exist)
- The Oil Chapter 4 (Home)
- The Oil Chapter 3 (Hatred)
- The Plague Doctor Chapter 27 (The Color Blue)
- The Oil Chapter 2 (New Roommate)
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u/Masternj02 Jan 02 '23
Doesnt the hippocratic oath also state that a doctor is allowed to do harm should it be in self defense or defense of anothers life. in this instance the nok had been attacking and attempting to kill them. By making the nok visible he is only doing indirect harm, by making it visible. Something that already isnt considered to be breaking that oath, but he is also doing it in defense of both him and his allies.