196: The Healer's Light, Part Three

The Healer's Light, Part Three

[God, this outfit is so fucking slutty...] 

Trying it on, Neve swapped out her Angel Set for this "outfit". 

In reality, it was like having a bunch of bloodstained bandages loosely wrapped around Neve's body, with a nun-like black hood over her head. Some ripped cloth around her arms, a scarce bit around her chest, barely even covering her nipples, some around her thighs, and, thankfully, a lot of it around her hips. 

For someone who was not terribly fond of showing off her body, Neve was deeply unsettled by this "clothing". But, its practical uses were just too good to ignore. 

"So, uh," Neve said, trying to prevent her voice from shaking as she turned toward Erin, whose snake-like eyes had been roaming Neve's body this entire time. "How do I look?" 

Erin's half-lidded eyes delayed a little, but eventually moved up to meet Neve's. 

With her voice as deep as Neve had ever heard it, she replied: 

"If you showed up like this in front of me back at the tent, there is not a force in this world or any other that could keep me from ravaging you. But," she inhaled deeply, "I struggle to see the real purpose behind this... well, what can loosely be called a set of clothing. You're going to fight like this?" 

Neve sighed, looking away. 

"I'm, uh... I'm gonna use this to try to convince Aphria to help us." 

That had been "Part 1" of this outfit's use. 

The other part would not be relevant until later. It was both a short-term and long-term investment. 

[We could just keep going through the Floor normally, pick up the pieces and breadcrumbs Tamira probably left for me to try to convince her with, but the world is literally falling apart as we speak. I don't have much time to waste, so if this outfit lets me skip all that lore and questing and whatever, then, I'm fine with wearing it.] 

Erin arched an elegant brow at her summoner. 

"You're going to *seduce* her?" 

Neve's face reddened. 

"... If I have to," Neve replied with a shrug. "Whatever it takes to get her to help us out." 

Erin smirked a little and Neve rolled her eyes, turning away. 

[Whatever. This is the best idea I've got, so I'm going through with it.] 

On that note, Neve and her summon walked away from that miniature arena. 

As they returned to the safe zone, the healer found Aphria still at her seat, sipping from the same cup of tea that looked like it had been refilled before Neve's return. 

Suddenly feeling a little bit self-conscious, Neve and Erin exchanged a look. 

The lamia threw up a thumb to tell her "good luck" and slithered away. 

Neve inhaled sharply. 

[Okay... Let's do this.] 

The healer walked through the camp and arrived at the table with as straight a face as she could manage. 

Sitting down opposite the angelic NPC, Neve said, with the steadiest tone possible: 

"So, uh, you... wanna come with me?" 

Aphria tilted her head, confused. 

"Sunset, I believe I made myself rather clear last time you asked, no? I have no intention of going back." 

Neve pulled back, stunned. 

[What?] 

Suddenly, Tamira popped up in Neve's ears. 

"Hehehe, I suppose I should have said this earlier. Neve," she told the healer, "the outfit you're wearing doesn't grant you mind control, it just makes you more persuasive." 

[Well, yeah, but the buff to my "persuasiveness" is 100%. So, what's the practical difference?] 

"Allow me to put it this way," Tamira told her, in hopes of getting a better explanation across. "Imagine for a moment there is an enemy in front of you who you want to convince to pick up a gun and shoot themselves. Mind control would be if you could simply say, 'pick up a gun and shoot yourself' and have them do it. Persuasion would be if you instead, list a few possible reasons why they might want to save themselves the trouble of fighting you, ultimately ending with a suggestion that they should, perhaps, end their own life. Understand?" 

[Ah.... I see.] 

What Neve was hearing was that it was not enough to simply say what she needed Aphria to do. Aphria would not just agree like a mindless robot. 

She had to present an actual argument. 

[So, that's the challenge now,] Neve thought, nodding to herself. [Okay. I'll play your game. It should still be easy, thanks to the fucking insane buff this outfit is giving me. I just need to find "the right words", right?] 

"Precisely," Tamira told her.

[Fine, then. Let's see...] 

Aphria's eyes remained locked on Neve as the healer thought this through. 

"I encountered a few enemies," Neve told her, in hopes of kicking off a conversation. She needed a bit more information. "My friend and I barely made it out." 

"The fact that you did is rather impressive in itself," Aphria said quietly. "I guess you aren't just a pretty face." 

Shifting in her seat, Neve took note of that remark and stored it in the back of her mind, before saying: 

"They looked a lot like you, though." Aphria visibly tensed up. "You told me you were willing to give me some advice earlier. It would be nice to get a better idea of what I'm going up against. Could you tell me a little about this place? About those enemies?" 

Reluctantly, Aphria agreed. 

"The monsters you fought are corrupted versions of my people," she explained quietly. "Warriors who went mad, had their bodies altered by the Unity Trials, and were absorbed into our opponents' ranks, fighting on behalf of our invaders. All while maintaining the same skill level they held when they were still sane." 

[It worked!] Neve celebrated as she heard the explanation. [Okay, one step at a time, then.] 

"As far as the city is concerned..." Aphria continued. "It's hard to know what's relevant information to give you, because, as I'm sure you've witnessed firsthand elsewhere, there is likely a barrier preventing you from visiting certain places. You may be better off searching through the place yourself." 

"No," Neve quickly countered. "I'd be better off getting someone who knows this place well, a local, maybe, to help guide me. That would probably be ideal, actually." 

"... Indeed," Aphria conceded. "But, I don't think that's going to happen." 

Neve, however, thought the opposite. 

[That was a lot less aggressive of a "no" than she gave me just a second ago.] 

Speech checks were not an uncommon part of RPGs, and Neve was beginning to see how this situation played off that mechanic. 

[It's like a conversational minefield,] she thought. [I just need to avoid the bombs. So, how about...?] 

"Is it that you just don't want to fight those guys?" Neve asked. "If that's it, you don't-" 

"No," Aphria quickly clarified. "I do not wish to see them. At all." Her voice turned soft. 

[... Is that why she ran all the way here? She doesn't want to see her people in this state?] 

In all honesty, Neve could relate.  1

Especially given how she'd begun her own Unity Trials. 

Shaking her head, she set that aside. 

"You don't have to," Neve told her. "All I'm asking for is some directions. You could stay back, stay out of any rooms where fights are about to happen. You can stay as uninvolved as you want." 

Aphria remained silent. 

Crossing a pair of muscular arms, she tapped her left index finger against her right biceps, while her eyes practically burned a hole through Neve's head. 

"... How do I know you won't pull enemies to me?" She asked. "That you won't drag a fight to my position, in hopes that I'll help?" 

"..."

Neve blinked.

[I, uh, was thinking about doing that already, if I'm being honest. Oh well.] 

"You have wings," Neve shrugged. "If that happens, you can just fly back here and give me the silent treatment for the rest of my stay. But," Neve leaned forward a little, "I would really appreciate it if you could help me find my way through this city. My own world is kinda falling apart right now. It would save me a lot of valuable time." 

Aphria's wings furled a little upon hearing that. 

She looked guilty, all of a sudden. 

However, after pondering what Neve just said, she finally responded: 

"I do not... I mean, what's in it for me, if I choose to do this?" The lady narrowed her eyes at Neve. "This seems like a rather one-sided deal." 

Neve could feel it. 

The lady had all but been convinced already. The {Bloodstained Rags} Neve wore had done their job. Now, all she needed was one last push. One last tap on the back to get her feet walking. 

And, Neve had an idea of what to do now, to put a cherry on top of this cake. 

[Alright... I don't think anybody in their right mind would agree with what I'm about to say here but, with +100% persuasiveness? I might just pull it off. Sure, like Tamira said, it's not Mind Control... But, let's be honest, it's pretty damn close.] 

Plus, although there was a lot to this confusing lady that Neve had questions about, mainly who she was and why she sounded so haunted when she talked about her people's corruption, there was one thing Aphria had made painfully clear. 

The fact that she thought Neve was hot. 

The healer stood up, trying to keep her rapidly beating heart from bursting out of her chest, and placed a hand on Aphria's cheek. 

"I'll be very, very grateful," she stated with the subtlety of a pile of bricks falling onto the hood of a car, as the two of them locked eyes. 

"..."

After a couple of seconds, Aphria sighed, reaching up and pulling Neve's hand away from her face, as gently as possible. 

"Fine." 

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