"Please, I have a wife and child. If it's money you want I can, AHH!"
-Heard by the governor of Iri on number 1,494.
Careless walked behind Green by a few steps, frowning at him. More specifically, she frowned at his aura. What could have happened to cause that? Careless questioned.
There was a large hole in his aura's center. Something she'd never seen before. It wasn't like the aura flowed away from one area like others sometimes did. But it seemed the aura was deliberately avoiding his core.
That shouldn't be possible, she thought. Though she'd never been taught what different reactions meant, she knew something was wrong.
She caught a whiff of the basket he carried again. It smells horrible, she thought, I know it's keeping us alive, but still. The smell reminded Careless just how badly she wanted a bath, a nice soak in hot water with sarlay soap. Unfortunately, there wasn't a way to get hot water out here, so she continued to bear with it. But it wasn't too long before…
Careless gagged, "can we stop?" She said it with a groan, fed up to the point where public decency could flame off.
Green stopped, looking back at her. "Just decrease your senses," he said it as if it was an obvious decision.
Careless began to speak but paused, then she turned away. After a moment she spoke in her usual sweet tone, "I'm just tired, can we please stop?"
"Sure, we'll stop for a quick break," he looked around, surveying the area before nodding to himself.
He dropped the basket, sat down in a crisscross position, set down his bark, and continued to draw their path. Somewhere along the way, Green had cut a large piece of bark off a tree and was using his knife to draw out a map.
He kept looking back and forth from the map to the surrounding area. Careless struggled to move the basket he'd set down, not wanting to be away from Green, but still wanting to be away from it.
She strained, how does he carry this thing? Careless thought. She tried not to breathe it in, but she couldn't keep the smell away. Eventually she got it a good distance away, and looked up to Green staring at her with a raised eyebrow.
She blushed, then moved and sat down next to him. She looked over his arm to his map.
It was very good, she could tell where they were based on the time charts and landmarks. Landmarks like a rock that was a bit spoon shaped they passed earlier, the areas the Borxt had eaten the grass, as well as, strangely, stretches of vine.
They're path was strange, they weren't moving in a straight line or a swerving motion, they were moving erratically, uncoordinated. It looked as if they were either lost, or were trying to lose someone, or something.
The longer she looked the more detail she saw. He wasn't just drawing lines to show a path though, but actually drawing out the area, the detail was amazing. Considering he was using a knife on wood.
"Why do we have to keep track of where we've been?" Careless asked.
"A detailed route in the Septaroth forest will be worth some money," he responded. "And if we get lost we can navigate to a more favorable spot we've been to, then make our way down a separate path that could lead us out."
"Huh," she nodded, though she didn't really understand. "Why don't we just go in a straight line?" she asked. "You know, going north or something."
"West," he responded, "and we are. But you can't just walk straight through a forest. People naturally go in circles, and considering the sun is blocked out by the trees, we can't rely on it. I can check to make sure we're going the right way by climbing the trees every once in a while. But climbing up every twenty steps we'll just keep us here longer."
"So then, how much longer we'll be be here?"
"It varies, but we've been moving for four days, so it'll probably take around three weeks to reach the next town. Maybe more."
Three weeks?! Careless thought, twenty-four days of walking, drudgery, feeling, and smelling horrible. Careless had been taught by her elder sisters that the more you go without something, the more you would appreciate it.
In fact, throughout history, Chreign would often take pleasures from entire peoples. Sometimes years at a time because they had begun expecting it to be a part of life.
But three weeks without a bath, she thought, why did it have to be a bath? Even imagining it was painful, she signed, a nice hot bath, one with bubbles and a flow in the water, like a natural hot spring running downwind. I wish there was something like that here.
"I wish I had a bath," Careless paused, then immediately blushed and shuffled away in embarrassment.
She held her hands to her reddening cheeks. She didn't intend for that to be out loud. She looked back to see Green smiling. "I didn't, well, I didn't mean to," she groaned in embarrassment.
"It's alright, I understand the desire," he replied, "but I don't think there will be any bath houses around here." He said it with an insufferable slight smile while still looking at his map.
"You know, it's completely natural for a lady to want to be clean." His smile widened, "I don't see what's so funny about it."
"I don't think it's funny."
"You're practically grinning ear to ear."
He turned to her, now with a more tame smile on his face. Something in Careless clicked, stones, she thought, he's kind of cute when he smiles.
It wasn't cute cute, but more rugged cute. Like, this person hasn't smiled in years, so its rarity alone makes it attractive, like a gem. She stared at him, transfixed. The wild makeshift eyepatch he'd made added to the effect.
"What?" Green asked.
"Uh, nothing."
She looked away, shuffling back further to lean back against a tree. Now that she was thinking about it, that was the first time she saw him smile. He seems so serious all the time, she thought.
She hugged her knees, and when she settled, she started rocking back and forth. Eventually however, she glanced back up at him, his attention had been put back on his map.
He had put his face right up against the bark to see detail. His right eye, which was visible to her at this angle, was striking.
It glowed slightly, something that wouldn't normally be visible. Though the low lighting seemed just right to notice. The eye wasn't a standard ruby color, but a brighter shade, like a spinel.
This had her puzzled, it had been a darker shade when they were running from the Septaroth. She flushed at the memory of being carried.
The thought of his eye made her curious about his left, the one he always kept hidden by the makeshift patch or by simply keeping it closed. She wanted to see it, but he had made her promise not to sneak a peek while he was asleep. It tickled at her, made her want to do something rash, something she knew she shouldn't.
He glanced back at her, causing her to immediately look away. Did he see me looking at him? She thought. She shook her head, renewing her determination. She had only promised not to peek while he was sleeping, they had no agreement that said she couldn't look while he was awake.
What's the worst that could happen, she thought, it's just an eye. Maybe he's just taking my light stomach in consideration. She did have a light stomach, but she had seen mangled eyes before, in fact her teacher had actually had been missing an eye.
So, despite being aware she might be doing something very stupid, she stood up, and walked over to stand behind him. She loomed over him, pretending to want to look at the map at a different angle.
Then, slowly, she grabbed the small vine tying the patch to Green's head with her thumb and pointer finger, and, after getting a fair grip, she tugged.
It came free, she only had a split second to realize this however, as Green spun, grabbed her left leg, pulling it to force her down, and causing him to drop his map.
They toppled over, ending with Green holding the leg he had grabbed to his side, and had the other hand where her heart was, pinning her down. The force on her chest was enough to knock out her breath and keep it out.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Careless looked on in horror at Green's one ruby eye, the other closed with a thick pale scar on the eyelid that extended sideways to the root of his nose. His open eye gazed at her with a much darker, more primal shade than it had been only a moment ago.
His deep crimson aura pushed away her desire to live. He gazed at her, devoid of all emotion, like he was looking at her soul, and rejecting it. Her limbs wouldn't move, her heart felt as though it would burst
"Green?!" Careless said weakly, fear clear in her breathy tone.
Green stared for an extended moment, an eternity, before his eye shifted color. Despite her fear, and her inability to breathe, she couldn't help but look on in fascination at the shift.
It didn't just turn from dark to light, the brighter shade came in as a small glowing dot that swirled until it expanded to the entire eye, shifting the shade. The moment the color brightened completely, he blinked his now lighter eye and seemed to realize he had her pinned.
"Oh, sorry," Green apologized, getting off her, and helping her up.
He seemed like he had only just realized what happened.
She caught her breath and Careless felt her body limp even as Green helped her stand. His aura had gone back to the normal silvery glow as he turned to pick up his bark and knife.
The shift was daunting when considered. He acted so polite, so kind, but the way he had looked at her before made her shiver. His aura changed so quickly, Careless thought to herself. She'd seen auras change before, but change did not happen overnight, let alone in an instant.
An hour later, Careless was walking behind Green, no longer to his side. She was still mulling over what she'd seen.
"We should stop here," Green said. Careless didn't understand, "Carrie," how could someone be two people at once? "Carrie, earth to Careless, hey!"
"Hm!" Careless's head shot up, was he talking to her? "Uhh, sorry, what did you say?"
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she blushed, she'd completely missed what he had said.
"We should stop here for the night," he said.
"Night? The sun's still up," she looked up to the enormous trees above blocking any source of light.
She tilted her head, then noticed the slight glow around them. The vines, the ones Green had been tracing, were glowing, not much, but enough to see by. She gasped, gaping at the beautiful sight.
The vines were different from the ones that covered the trees. They hung from the end of the tree branches, and glowed slighting in small specks around.
"What is this?" Careless said in awe.
"They are called morphel vines," Green replied, looking down to set up a makeshift cushion, "but their more popular name is starlight's grace. It was named that by Halcome, the lost king, after he lost his way in these woods for seven years. Only to walk out wrapped in these vines." Careless looked to Green with a sharp motion and Green met her eyes. "What?"
"You seem to know a lot."
"I have a very diverse education, yes."
"It's more than that, you seem to know about everything."
"Example?"
"You knew about the Septaroth, the Borxt, the fact that you can eat bark, and just now you gave a detailed explanation on not just what these vines were, but their lore and history. What else do you know." She said it as if she was suspicious. Like having knowledge is something to fear.
It is, Green thought, he shook his head. "I've had to travel through these woods before, so I made sure to know everything there is about it. My knowledge isn't so strange as it is necessary."
"And the Septaroth?"
"I've told you that I've fought them before."
"You did?" Green looked at her with a befuddled expression. Careless just shrugged.
Green raised an eyebrow, "you remind me of my sister, you know that?"
"I do?! Thanks."
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
"Realy, why?"
"No reason in particular. Look, we have a long way to go, I need to check if we're going the right way. I would recommend you get some sleep."
"Allright," Careless pulled her cloak closer,"but how are you going to check?"
Green didn't respond, just started walking away. "You have the mucus with you and shouldn't run into any trouble. I'll be at the top of the canopy."
"You're going to the top? Can I see the stars with you?"
Green paused, but shook his head, "It's more dangerous up there then it is down here."
"How so?"
"Trust me, you would rather stay down here, or at least I rather you stayed down here."
Careless nodded, laying down. He jumped, soaring a good twenty feet into the air before landing on a branch and jumped again. The arts were amazing, he's amazing, Careless thought.
It wasn't the strength or the fights that drew her eyes. She'd already seen him nearly die, seen him covered in dirt and blood and still stand tall. That wasn't it. It was something else—the calm that stayed even when everything else was chaos. The way he never spoke sharply, even when she asked foolish questions.
I'm… drawn to him? she wondered, surprised by the thought but not alarmed. It wasn't the kind of attraction she'd read about—it was warmer, softer. Like the way fire felt on cold hands.
He was so strange. So steady. He didn't rush, didn't snap, didn't seem afraid. He thought before he spoke. He made her feel like her words mattered, even when they probably didn't. It was nice—nice to be listened to, nice to be noticed.
How else could she even describe him? He was clever, but never used it to make her feel small. Strong, but quiet about it. Serious, but not cold. He didn't worry for himself, but for others.
In short, he was… grown. In every way she wasn't.
But there was more. Something hidden behind his eyes, something she couldn't quite name. Like he was always watching for danger that no one else could see, and keeping it away without telling her. There was a comfort in that—a quiet, protective strength that wrapped around her like a cloak. Oh stars, she thought, is this what liking someone feels like?
She smiled at the thought, though she didn't fully understand why. He was an elf too, so maybe it wasn't impossible—but that felt too big to think about. Don't be silly, she told herself. You've only known him a few days.
Still… those few days had been full. He had saved her life, carried her when she couldn't run, fought monsters she could barely look at, and somehow still answered her endless questions with patience instead of annoyance. He even seemed to care about what she said.
That thought made her heart skip. She rubbed her face, embarrassed. It was foolish. But the days they'd spent together felt longer than they were—like a tiny lifetime.
She remembered how he'd changed their route after that first night, how he'd taken on extra work just to give her a chance to see more of the world. She hadn't even asked; he'd just… known.
A sudden feeling of dread ran down her spine like a chill. Uncomfortable, she sat up, then slowly began glancing around. She saw them a moment later. Not physically, but she could see their aura.
Dark nothingness slowly began to surround her, the dread following it. One stood up, rising from the ground like a plant. A red dot flowed up its body until it reached the head. Her heart and breathing quickened, as the thing was joined by others, and each began making their way in her direction.
A quiet thud sounded, causing the dark aura's to melt back into the ground. Green's quite silver aura showed a moment later.
He had stopped ahead and leaned against a thick-barked tree, his map case resting beside him. The forest pressed close, shadows breathing with the wind.
Careless hesitated. She wanted to ask if they were close to getting out—or what the stars looked like from where he sat—but the words caught in her throat. He looked tired, and she didn't want to bother him.
So instead, she sat nearby, hugging her knees. She fell asleep like that—listening to the forest breathe and knowing he was there.
Green woke up with a start, breathing heavily. Had he raved? He wasn't aware of his position in his dream this time. He looked around to find the girl sleeping, suppose I didn't then.
He stood up, and glanced at Carrie sleeping. Carrie's a nice enough name right? He thought. The original name was crude, and he always felt bad calling her that when she was anything but. She cares more than most, so why should her name be an insult?
He stretched, not wanting to use the arts without warming up first. She said she wanted to see the stars. He nodded to himself, then cut out the outer layer of bark on the tree he laid next to.
He jogged about a quarter mile away, making sure to stay on the path he had drawn out. He wanted to get a different perspective, and didn't want to risk waking Carrie up.
He looked up and around for a good tree, after spotting one… strength, weight, he thought. His veins burned and his blood felt like ice. It was a strange, severely painful, sensation.
He jumped, landing on the first branch.
The arts were notoriously difficult to control. It was an ability all Elves were born with, yet actually using them took a considerate amount of skill. Simply increasing one's strength didn't require just the thought, but required knowledge, and mental strength.
Sure any elf could increase their strength the moment they were born, but without the knowledge of anatomy. Green shook his head. Without the mental fortitude, you'd be unable to control whether you affected strength, weight, balance, senses, speed, or any other ability.
But those things didn't just help one control the power, it kept you from going insane. Using the arts made your body and mind feel as though they were on fire, a raging burn on the outside and a deathly chile on the inside.
It was torturous, without proper mental and spiritual strength, one could easily be torn apart by its effects. It usually took around fifty years to achieve a beginner's level of mastery.
Green leaped once again to land on the top. He sat on a fairly sturdy branch and lifted his bark and knife. He looked up, then began to sketch, it didn't take long. It was a fairly clear night, the clouds took the most time.
He drew the few faint clouds with smaller scratches and softly scraped the insides with the side of the knife. The stars, and consolations came next. He couldn't exaggerate much, a drawing with a knife on bark wouldn't give much for anyone.
But he did have vines. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small glowing vine he had cut off earlier, the starlight's grace. The name gave him the idea. He crumpled up the vine and squeezed.
A glowing liquid spilled, coating his hand. He lifted his hand, pointing his pointer finger down, this caused the glowing liquid to flow to his finger's tip. He let the liquid drop here and there.
After he finished dripping, he smeared the liquid decisively. He avoided the clouded areas on the drawing, and carefully made sure the stars he had drawn had a bit more glow then the rest of the drawing.
He evened out the stars, leaving more glow to brighter stars. Then added a slight glow around to mimic the moon's shine around the clouds,
Vitality, he thought, causing his lung capacity to increase, but only slightly. He took in a breath, then gently blew on the drawing. After a solid minute of blowing he tested the still glowing liquid to find it had solidified.
He nodded in satisfaction, this one was good, not one of his best. But good enough considering his options for a canvas. He put the bark under his arm, then put his knife at the back of his belt in its sheath.
Green's eyes shot open, his instincts kicking in as he straightened. His body dropped. A four foot long, scissor like beak snapped together, just missing Green's hair. He looked up as the beast swooped past.
Pteranodons, Green thought. A nest? He hadn't seen one. He let go, dropping between two branches. Above, the enormous, featherless creature perched.
He met the beast's gaze—it held. Fool. He let himself drop again, just barely missing the beast's companion. They hunt in groups you idiot, they meet your eyes to distract you.
He lightened, falling soft and landing silent. He snapped his head sideways and leaned backwards, barely dodging a Pteranodon sweep from the side. He caught himself, sweat dripping down his brow. He jumped to his feet. Darkness wouldn't hide him from eyes that sharp.
Run back? Fool. They'd kill her first. Green heard a scream, Carrie, he bolted, increasing his speed as much as he dared.
He looked over his right shoulder to see a Pteranodon gaining on him. Flaming beast. He jumped, spinning midair. He halved his weight, power surging through his limbs. His veins burned to the point of snapping.
The beast hesitated—surprised—when he swung mid-spin and caught its beak. The creature's head fell with the sudden added weight.
He hit the ground hard, suddenly heavy. He skidded his feet on the ground, hoping his boots wouldn't let up.
He hit the ground hard, suddenly heavy. Green quickly let go with one hand, and slammed a powerful fist into the beast's skull.
The Pteranodon dropped. Green let the beak slip free. His breath hitched. Too heavy. He hadn't run that far—had he? Feeling warmth at his waist, he felt at it. His hand came back dripping with blood that was a little too crimson.
The beak. Of course. Don't worry about that now, Carrie's in trouble. He turned, running back to their campsite. Where were the rest? Then it hit him—they were after Carrie.
Careless screamed when she woke up to screeching and the sight of enormous, featherless birds. She scrambled back to the tree Green had been leaning against. He's not here, she thought.
Panic quickly set in after the thought, as three large creatures landed, and began to walk toward her in a predatory prowl. More of these creatures were parched on nearby branches, watching their fellows getting ready to strike.
"Run!"
Careless, as well as the beasts turned to see Green running at them with astonishing speed.
"Carrie, run!" Green shouted again.
She tried getting up, only for her legs to give out again. She began scrambling, then heard a loud bang behind her, and covered her ears. She glanced over to see Green with a gun in the air.
Green slowed to pick her up, and bolted, leaving both the map and the basket.
Green ran with everything he had. One hand to his bleeding side. Carrie wasn't moving. A few Pteranodons turned their focus on her. Green drew his shotgun and fired to draw them off. It worked.
They turned on him, but he kept running. The beasts dove. They met. Friction, Green thought, sliding to the ground as if he were on ice. He reset his friction and burst into a run, accelerating hard.
He scooped Carrie up, ignoring the slime and map.
"Use the arts," Green said, slowing under her weight.
She shook her head. He glanced back—the Pteranodons were closing in.
"I can't," Carrie responded.
"You can. I know it's painful, but—"
"I can't, I've. I've tried, I can't use the arts!"
He didn't speak. An elf without the arts was like cold fire This is a bad time for a confession, Green thought. He shook his head. Bad time to talk.
He zigzagged, pushing their speed to the limit. Carrie clung to him in desperation. Green breath was getting ragged. His stamina wouldn't hold—not with her weight. Gotta think of something quick, he thought. An idea hit him—but he didn't dare use it.
If he had his pulx pistol he could have fought them off. Think. The forest—what lives here? He'd used the Borxt to escape the Septaroth. The Pteranodons hunted Borxt—but not Septaroth. A three-way. Rock, paper, scissors.
He shifted Carrie to hang on, drew his shotgun, and fired. He fired in bursts, the special mag rattling. Even so, he only had six shots and had used one before.
He boosted his strength—but it cost him speed. He wasn't aiming to hit them, but to… An enormous tree trunk was moving in their direction. Not a trunk—a thirty-foot beast with spiked ribs and three glowing eyes. A beast Green had fought and survived, a beast that had tried to kill him, but was now going to save him.
He darted between its massive legs and looked back—the Septaroth struck, jaws full. The others wheeled upward, stabbing at the Septaroth. But the Septaroths scales deflected the jabs without a dent.
With the feast begun, Green and Carrie were forgotten. Eventually, something caught his nose, something sweet. He followed the sweet scent to a wall of morphel vines, dimmer than usual. He trusted his instincts, and ran directly into them.
He shut his eyes—the vines brushed past—and then he burst through. They fell, with Carrie landing on top. Green blinked. People? Walking? Someone came up to them.
"Please," Green said, exhausted. He was losing blood at an alarming rate.
He had used the arts to increase his stamina, but doing so was dangerous.
"Please," Green said again, "please, help."
The stranger kneeled down, and Green's vision went black.