Chapter 2: Roadside Trouble

We were already on the road when I finally woke. The air was filled with warmth from the day in progression, the bright golden sayk of the soluar ring above banded through the titian head of the sky. The light casted down was broken by the remainder of the violet leaves on the branches overhead. A march of leaves littered the ground, their dissident fellows left clinging loosely to their stern mat branches. The season of dwindling was well underway, the forest was winding down ready for its long slumber.

I have not known anything but this forest, it seemed to go on forever. The few times I poked my head above the canopy, there was not I could see but an ocean of giant plants and scattered chunks of green land hovering with plum caps of yet more foliage.

We had made it a plan to hop from village to village, but seeing how most settlements were hidden within the towering plant life, we had no clue how far any town was from one another. We were at the mercy of the scarce roads linking areas of intelligent life, and would probably lost eternally if we were to stray.

I stretch my mind to prepare for our continuing walk through the day. It was not new, walking from rise of sayk to the shift to zuyk. And the repetitive sights around ever had my mind racked with boredom. Walk, hunt if given the chance, idle nods others traveling the path, and walking more, a mundane existence as far as I knew.

Last night was the first truly interesting thing to happen since we left home. We had known abandoning father and the others would be perilous, but brother assured me it would be for the better. As brother took the reins of our muscles, I had only myself to entertain. Thinking was what I did most times, but every now and then brother allowed for more.

“So you’re finally awake, you have a good night's sleep Cha?” Brother’s voice shook me from my thoughts, it was unusual for him to make note of things happening routinely.

“It was fine, I’m well rested and ready for anything now.” My nothings of conversational trivialities didn’t fly by brother, he knew me far too well.

He nudged me in the side, “I bet you would have wanted the thief to get away, you sadistic nut?”

I was in defeat, “no, not at all. I just, kinda, wish more fun stuff would happen. It’s so boring doing nothing all day.”

“What do you mean? Remember when that wild phoenix swooped down on us, It nearly singed our hair clean off.” What brother said was true, yet what happened the night prior was different.

One can go anywhere and be attacked by a beast, but it’s something wholly different and exhilarating when having conflict with another rela. I know it’s not the safest and I don’t like to hurt others, but it’s none the less exciting. The world is enormous, I’ve heard of places with little to no plants, unending lakes, cities spanning countries, and many other wondrous sights. It’s way too big not to try to experience all one can. Conversing or having conflict with so many different beings is one experience I would like to have more of. I say this, but even when Father would bring in a new face, Brother was the one to talk to them. I would stay back and merely observe until edged to do otherwise.

My mind continued to wander, what would it be like out of the forest or even after the next town. We’ve visited so many towns, each differing slightly from one to another. Before My mind rapidly comes back to the world, I catch a sense of another’s malicious intentions.

Normally this is no big deal as it is usually another using the road and passing us by. But my sense is not the largest, so I usually see them before I would sense them. No, whoever this was, was very close and didn’t want to be seen. Grabbing the spear, I scanned the brush lining the side of the stone road. It must have been more bandits, probably a group that the one last night retreated to.

Catching my urgency, brother halts our advance. He nods to a thick bush, his thoughts tell me he thought he saw movement. We cautiously sidestep closer to where brother thought they to be. Spear in hand, he shouts at the invisible stalkers to show themselves.

Moments pass without a peep, maybe we were both wrong and on edge. He yells again, asserting that we will do what we have to, they had better come out. The bush refused to speak or give up it’s contents, the air laid thick with anticipation. It was too much for brother who snapped and stabbed into the bush.

A small shadow shoots up from the bush, familiar dust falling behind it. The same bandit from the last night, there was no doubt. It swirled around us, it’s dust molding images of things that were not truly there. Before we could ready ourselves for a fight, the wyvern stops, hovering above us just out of reach.

“I mean no harm,” it’s toy voice would not persuade us to thinking it’s harmless. My brother argues with the wyvern, saying that it was stupid of it to try to steal from the same people twice. He took a jab at it with the spear, forcing it to careen out of the way. It perched itself on a branch yet higher, “truly, no harm, I’m not trying to steal from you.” Why would we have believed her, all we knew is that she was a thief and stalker. “My name is Xanrei,” it bowed to us, “I need to know, why do you talk like you are two?’

My arm goes limp, dumbfounded at the abrasiveness of her question. Brother was still hyped up, making up for my sudden lack of strength. “It’s none of your business thief, why don’t you go bother some weak old man instead,” brother takes an empty stab towards the wyvern.

“I would, believe me I’ve had much easier prey.” it wiggles in exuberance, “it’s just that when I first heard you yesterday afternoon, you sounded like two people. Yet you’re only one body, my curiosity just wouldn’t rest, you don’t even look like you’ve completely taken over your host.” It beats its letheren wings letting more dust fall, forming an image of us.

Brother’s arm lessens his grip on the spear, “again, it’s none of your business, leave us alone.” Brother allows for his thoughts to be heard by me, saying we should keep walking, with me needing to keep my eye on her.

We started again down the road, the wyvern pursuing us. We were unceasingly beleaguered with questions by the wyvern, our quiet morning shoved aside.

A flash of fur and scales blew over us, our belly now to the ground. It was brother that threw us down, just in time to avoid the creatures pounce. The wyvern screeched and flew high into the trees, out of sound and sight.

Panicked, my arm instinctively reached for our spear, it having been knocked away by our sudden fall. Arm trembling I swung the spear up just soon enough to pole the pouncing predator over us. Brother scrambles to our feet, preparing for its next strike. He grips the spear tightly and aims at our assailant.

I finally get a peek at our attacker, a pupfitr. How unlucky were we, to be attacked by one of the top predators native to our country, Thyoshir. Brother had been told by father to be wary when venturing out into the unclaimed woods, lest he be taken as a snack by a pupfitr.

It was long and lean, muscles rippling underneath its plated back, amethyst fur peeking out from under each broad scale. It snarled at us, revealing great fangs, its slitted amber eyes judging what we would do next. Keeping low, it moved paw over paw, trying to encircle us, its tail methodically swished through the air.

My thoughts raced, what could we do? It was just me and brother to fend off this horror, no one around to help us. Before I could have any plan of action, it dove at us. Without thought I chucked the spear, it clanked uselessly against the creatures hard scales. It’s heavy body crushed down on us, pushing us down onto our back. Brother had outstretched arms pushing against its powerful chest, keeping it just short of it snapping off our head.

It’s putrid breath of rotting flesh spilt over us as it gnashed and raked it’s heavy claws at our torso. All that went through my head was how little we had done, how could we die here when we had so soon left home. Our core burned with lacerated flesh, but brother held fast keeping it’s jaws just out of reach from tearing out our neck.

We kept the struggle up for a good while, adrenaline being the only thing keeping our withering arms extended. Though I could not see it, I could tell our chest was a bloody mess of racked skin and mangled muscles. Its paws were only long enough to wreck our surface, the only way we were able to continue on defending as we had.

A deafening crack suddenly resounded through the woods. The pupfitr, with the startling speed with which it attacked, leapt off of us. It’s assault was stopped, it’s body alight in a torrent of flames. It ran in circles, rolling on the ground, trying to put out the unexpected fire. It’s agonizing screams filled the air, fading off as the pupfitr faded.

We were held to the ground, our chest stinging as though ablaze. Dulled, My consciousness drifted then quelled, lost to the pain.