Rise of The Fallen

–Elazar–

Lightly tracing my fingers over the tracks in the mud, I stared ahead at the darkened forest. The light was starting to fade as the suns slowly disappeared over the horizon, leaving the forest in an orange glow that wouldn’t last much longer.

A line of trees ahead of me were marked with the bones of animals and others of my kind, warning that anyone who entered the area was trespassing into Drakov territory.

This was the same place I’d chased the small female to before. I thought she had simply come here to deter me from chasing her any further, but if that was the case then why would she come back?

I knew something was off when I’d crossed the river and spotted the animal trail through the twisted trees while following Kora’s tracks. Had she been chased by the Drakov, this wouldn’t have deterred them from following her, so the only other explanation was that she was hiding out near the edge of the territory.

I glanced up at the marked trees. Had she placed these to keep track of her movements?

She must have a decent hiding place if they haven’t found her yet.

Their territory was large for how small of a tribe they were. Hunters and scouts probably didn’t come around this area very often, or if they did, their paths hadn’t crossed yet. But that didn’t mean I should simply walk in danger without caution.

Getting captured by the Drakov was currently my biggest worry. They would not hesitate to turn me into a ritualistic sacrifice for their ‘god’ if they found me. I feared they would also do the same to the human female if they found her.

Standing up straight, I gripped my spear tightly as my tail whipped back and forth in agitation.

I have to make sure she is okay.

Ignoring the warning bones, I continued forward, following the marked trees. Every so often, I came across an occasional track left behind by Kora’s strange footwear.

It didn’t take too long to come across the last marked tree near the bottom of a cliff. I glanced around for any other markings but found none. The only thing I did find were more of Kora’s tracks, leading straight towards the cliff wall.

Vines and moss covered the rock face and I could faintly make out a fissure behind all the foliage, hidden away from plain sight.

Walking towards the rock face, I pushed the hanging vines aside and crouched down to crawl inside.

I barely caught movement out of the corner of my eye, just managing to shield my face as a tree branch came flying towards me, followed by an angry, feminine screech. I stumbled to the side, grabbing the arm of my assailant as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave.

The small figure grunted, trying desperately to swing the branch at me.

“Fik ku!” the figure screamed, her voice achingly familiar.

Kora?

I snatched the tree branch from her grasp, wrapping my arms around the violent little human and holding her protectively against my body.

She screamed, and wriggled in my hold as I tried to stop her from hurting me or herself.

“Stop, Kora! It’s me!”

Grunting, she kicked at my legs. I spun her around to face me, pinning her arms to her sides. “Kora, it’s me, Elazar! Stop this! I am your friend!”

She paused, looking up at me with those big golden brown eyes and squinted. “E-elazar?”

“Yes.”

She relaxed into me, and after a moment’s hesitation, I released her, taking a step back. She leaned against the cave wall, breathing rapidly as she struggled to control her breathing.

She’d attacked me blindly without even waiting to see who walked in. She must have known that she could have been trailed by someone dangerous. I did not see signs of anyone else trailing her here, so she probably sensed danger back at the pond and fled before they saw her.

It was completely dark now inside the cave, with the last of the day’s light gone. I could make out a bit of my surroundings, although not perfectly.

We were in a hunting cave. Had she been living here?

Kora mumbled something before slowly moving around the cave, using the wall as a guide. I tilted my head to the side, watching as she felt around one of the shelves, looking for something as if she couldn’t see.

She managed to grab a flint rock, and turned it over a few times in her palm to confirm it was what she needed.

Are humans unable to see in the dark?

I stepped towards her, and grabbed her hand, earning a startled squeak as her head shot up in my direction. Her eyes were dilated but she couldn’t lock onto my face.

“Let me help, Kora.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion as I guided her to the sitting area next to the campfire, and had her sit on a fur blanket laid out on the ground.

Once she was seated, I took the flint from her, and grabbed one of the jars off a shelf. I opened it–sure enough, there was fire jelly inside. Grabbing the discarded branch that she had used to attack me with, I smeared some jelly on one end, and used the flint and my tail to create a spark.

The fire jelly instantly ignited with a blue glow, lighting up the small cave and startling the human female.

She watched the blue flames in awe as I dropped it into the campfire, and proceeded to add in a few sticks that were gathered by the doorway.

Having the cave lit up enough to see, I glanced around. There were very few resources or necessities. The jars that usually held salt, fire jelly, and other things were almost empty, the tanning rack was bare, and there were only three old worn down furs in sight.

The water basin was nearly dry, and half of the tools used for basic needs were either broken, or scattered about haphazardly.

Kora lacked any real hunting supplies, she had no good furs or extra leathers, there was no food stored away and hardly any firewood. She was living off scraps, and her shelter was less than ideal.

Kora didn’t possess the furs I’d given her at the pool. Perhaps the scout took them when he noticed our little camp, then proceeded to wait to ambush me when I returned. A shame, considering how badly Kora needed supplies.

Looking over to her, I noticed her eyes were on me. Once she noticed my attention on her, she quickly looked away.

I had thought that maybe she had other human companions with her, but she was truly alone out here, fending for herself.

How long has she been alone out here? She’s been lucky thus far. Being on the edge of the Drakov territory, it’s a miracle they haven’t seen her.

We sat in silence for a while, watching the flames flicker and slowly consume the wood in the fire pit. Something caught Kora’s eye, and she sat up, concern shining in her eyes as she spoke.

She pointed towards my arm, her tone filled with worry. I looked down at the bloodied gash from my encounter with the Drav scout earlier. I had forgotten all about the injury. It wasn’t that deep, and most of the blood had dried so I wasn’t worried. I had been more focused on trying to find her than fixing such minor flesh wounds.

Kora stood, moving toward the back of the small cave. She pulled out some strange cloth before tearing a section of it and bringing it over to me.

She held the cloth out and I could only stare at it, confused by what she wanted me to do with it.

She rolled her eyes before sitting beside me, and pulling my arm into her lap so she had better access to it. She wrapped the cloth around my injury like a bandage before tying it off and smiling down at her work.

Was she concerned over my injury?

We both looked up at each other, stilling as our eyes met. The beautiful golden hazel of her eyes held me in a trance that I couldn’t break free from. I wasn’t sure I’d want to if I could.

She was the first one to break eye contact, her face flushing as she crawled back over to her spot on the blanket. She grabbed the satchel full of her things, and pulled out her notebook, flipping through the pages.

Looking around the cave once more, I took note of a strange drawing on one of the walls beside me, made from what I assumed was charcoal and red dye.

Moving closer to the strange drawing, I had a hard time figuring out what it was depicting.

One figure with long hair was lying on the ground in their own blood, with what I assumed was an arrow through their chest. Where there should have been eyes, ‘x’ markings crossed them out. The other figure was standing above the first, with horns on their head and a bow in their hand. They had many sharp teeth, and what looked like a squiggly line connected to their bottom.

As I looked between both images a thought came to mind. Was the one on the ground a human, and the other Xandisian? Wait, perhaps it was Kora and-

“No, no!”

Kora jumped between me and the wall, blocking my view. Leaning back, I looked up at her in confusion as more pink stained her cheeks. Stammering, she grabbed some dirt and rubbed it across the image, smearing it into an unrecognizable blob.

Once she was satisfied, she tried redirecting my attention by going over to the hanging furs in the back and grabbing them before bringing them over to me.

“To sleep.” She held the fur out for me, waving the blanket dramatically when I didn’t reach for it. “Sleep?”

Reluctantly, I took the blanket roll from her to make her happy. She went back to her own fur, folding a portion of her blanket to use as a head rest. She sat down across from me, though she didn’t go to sleep.

She seemed a bit unsure of my presence in her dwelling, often looking between me, the fire and the entrance. Perhaps it wasn’t me she was concerned with…

Is she worried about someone else finding us?

Following her gaze to the entrance, I stood up and grabbed my spear, sitting down next to the opening. I laid my weapon across my lap, and looked back at her.

“Sleep. I will keep watch.”

Her lips parted as if she was about to protest, but nothing came out of her mouth, and she simply turned her gaze away. After a moment, she laid down, looking at me once more before closing her eyes. It didn’t take long for her body to relax, and her breathing to even out as she dozed off.

Leaning back against the wall, I watched the fire crackle and burn as I became lost in thought.

There’s so much work to be done here, and I’m unsure where to start.

My eyes trailed back to Kora as she slept. She shivered slightly, too far from the fire to keep completely warm. I hesitated for a moment before moving towards her. Unraveling the fur blanket she had given me, I slowly placed it over her.

The small female happily snuggled up underneath the fur, and, unable to help myself, I sat down beside her, enthralled by her peaceful face. Earlier, I couldn’t bear the thought of harm coming to her. Even now, all I wanted was to see her smile.

Reaching out, I gently ran my claws through her mane. Seeing her sleeping so peacefully made me feel things that I couldn’t quite explain. My heart swelled, and it made me happy knowing she was safe. I didn’t understand why these feelings were so strong but…

Settling in beside the small female, I gazed at the burning embers, combing her silky mane as she slept.

Perhaps I do know where to start.