SWNOVELS Chapter Alex XI
She was nearly the same as the last time he saw her.
Her silver-white hair was covered in dirt though and it was stringy, though that could have been due to the sweat and splashes from the water. Her bangs still hung near her eyes, over her forehead and her hair was still styled in that side braid that she’d had when he met her. Her eyes weren’t as clear as they once were, there seemed to be a gold tinge in them which hadn’t been there before. She still wore her dark blue shirt with long sleeves, though they were torn. The fur skirt with the spikes was still worn by her. And the belt with the skulls. All in all, she was the same.
Aside from the darkened skin under her eyes. As well as the bruises, and the split lip. And now the limp from the hyena bite. She was slightly thinner than he remembered as well. But nothing too much had changed. Nothing too drastic.
“Don’t you look dashing?” she spoke teasingly as he extended his arm for her to grab. She needed to see a medic, but he couldn’t force her to do anything. “Finally dressed in something half decent.”
“Well, this dashing young man could carry you back to camp, if you’d like?” he gave a smirk that made her roll her eyes as she got to her feet. Though she put all of her weight on her uninjured leg.
“Ghostdrum, Fogdream, take some of your men and go after the other hyenas,” Omdrus ordered. “Kill them.”
“Yes, sir,” Ghostdrum and Fogdream obeyed before taking off after the remaining beasts. Aria’s head turned to the big wolf and all she could do was stare at the wolf, in its imminence.
The Great Wolf, Omdrus. As long as Alex had known her which was admittedly short, she’d maintained that Omdrus was just a story, not real at all. But here he stood before her.
“You’re a wolf,” she spoke as she watched him. “The wolf, I should say.”
Omdrus chuckled. “And you’re the Stormrider I’ve heard so much about. It is a pleasure to meet you.” he bowed his head to her. “Call me Omdrus.”
She cleared her throat. “Omdrus, right.”
“Well, I must be off,” Omdrus spoke. He turned his head to Alex. “It would be wise to have her taken to the medic and looked at.”
Alex bowed his head to Omdrus as he sauntered past on his four strong legs. His walk was almost like a prowl, though there was no malice in it.
“So, he’s real,” she spoke inhaling as she turned and started to walk as best as she could to walk back to camp. “That’s interesting.”
Alex chuckled as he walked alongside her, slowing his pace to be polite. “Yeah, it is. He is.” he cleared his throat. “I know I was just joking before, but would you actually like me to carry you?”
“Does a snake have fur, Alexander?” she questioned. He snorted.
“No.”
“Then you have your answer,” she told him firmly. He extended his arm for her to grab, knowing that she was just being stubborn. With a huff, she wrapped one hand around it. “Only this once.”
“It’s nice to see you again, Aria,” Alex spoke. “I know that Octavia’s going to be excited.”
“And what of Edward?”
“He’s free, Omdrus freed him the moment that we arrived.” the black-haired boy assured her.
“Oh, that’s good,” she spoke. “I was worried that I’d have to kill him.”
“Don’t tell him that, he might believe you,” Alex stated. “Well, he’s actually quite brave given... everything. And he should be afraid, but he’s not.”
“Do you admire him, Alexander?” she spoke. It sounded like a tease. But he wasn’t sure that it was.
“Well, yeah. That kid’s been through hell and he’s bounced back like nothing’s ever happened,” Alex replied. She nodded.
“I’d very much like to meet this version of Edward,” she admitted. “Though I hope that this time around, he won’t hate me. Or at least look like he wants to kill me.”