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It lunged for Damon, unintelligible words spewing from the mouth of this strange being. He managed to grab Damon by the shoulders shaking, voice growing louder with every word. The words seemed urgent almost like a plea. What they meant didn't matter for Veera was already in motion. Sweeping her leg out, Veera dropped low and kicked the feet out from beneath the stranger.
"Auughh!" A flood of pain washed over Veera. Her thoughts went blank as the man stumbled back caught off guard. Veera was now on the ground cradling her leg, between the two forces her leg was the lesser force. What is this man made out of? He's built like a tree! Veera thought.
Damon was already on the move though. Rushing the stranger Damon aimed for his torso to no avail. The man simply swatted him away, hands flailing about voice pleading once again. He seemed to be pleading once more. He turned about scanning the surroundings with his hazel eyes. They seemed to be searching for something. Veera ceased trying to incapacitate him and began watching the stranger. His breath was heavy and when she looked close, appeared to become faster and more frequent. He turned to Veera once more, questioning and pointing to the sky.
"I don't know what you're saying! What do you want?" Veera scrambled up from the ground as the stranger began to approach her again. She could see Damon behind the man recovering from being thrown off earlier. Damon might not have scored the highest in their training but he was still heavy with his height. The strength to throw him that far was no small feat, especially considering how casually the stranger shook Damon off. Veera made a note to proceed with caution. Unfortunately, Damon did not.
"Get away from Veera!" Damon leaped to tackle the man from behind. it would have caught a normal person off guard but the stranger turned right as Damon was on him. Bracing for the impact the two rolled across the canopy until the man was atop Damon. Shaken Veera started running to get them apart. Words were coming faster from the man now. Strung out as if tied together he kept talking. Damon was being shaken hard with no stopping it.
"Get off him!" Veera was pulling the man to no avail. He had a vice-like grip on her friend and was built like a tree. His weight alone was too much for her to handle. From the ground Damon had no leverage to push him off; deadlifting the man was out of the question. "Leave him be! Get Off!"
The stranger was breathing harder now, his words accompanied by strong and short intakes of breath. He appeared to be breathing harder after exerting so much force. Damon resisted as best he could, but Veera was experiencing similar efforts in pulling the man off of her friend. His words were less frequent now and the stranger's eyes started to fall. Suddenly, the man fell forward and passed out on top of Daman. Caught in the adrenaline Damon had yet to notice his assailant's lack of consciousness.
"Get off of me you beast! Get off!" Yelling and pushing Damon was getting nowhere close to his goal of being free.
"I think he passed out," Veera said probing the man's shoulder to verify her assumption.
"What? Why would he do that?" Damon exclaimed, still in fight mode as he kept shoving at the torso that pinned him down.
"Grounder couldn't breath." The wind replied. That's odd, Veera thought. Why would he risk coming up here if he couldn't breathe at these elevations?
"I don't think he is used to the air up here," Veera said.
"Well, it's convenient for him to pass out right on top of me." He panted, with the weight of the man on his chest Damon was struggling to breathe now. "He's really heavy. Are you gonna help free me, Vee? Or you just wanna watch me die a horrible and embarrassing death crushed by a sick man?"
"Don't be dramatic. I would leave out the part where you lost and suffocated to death in my report." Veera said putting her weight on the shoulder of the man to try to roll him off. "Work with me here, and you might not die after all."
"I'm doing my best Vee." Damon shoved once again with a grunt. "How bout we rock him?"
"That might work. On three." Veera said. "Push with me, One..."
"Two.." The body started to rock with their combined strength.
"Three! Ughh!" The man rolled off Damon with an elegant thud. Finally, free Damon got up from the ground. He wasn't too roughed up. His shirt was a bit worse for wear, but there weren't any visible marks on his body. It would take a considerable amount of time to detangle the rat's nest created from the interaction. Damon's face was flush with exertion, and sweat was dripping into his brown eyes. He was bent over, hands on his knees, looking at the man. "What do we do with it?"
Veera studied the strange man. His body was limp and barely moving. The only indication of life was the subtle up-and-down rise of each breath. His clothes were nothing but dirty rags. A dingy white, loose canvas draped over his body wrapped tightly around him from being rolled over. The stranger had torn brown pants tied loose to the hip with a scrap of fabric. Upon further inspection, Veera saw the edges were crispened black as if burned in passing. A patchwork bag was hung over his back and shoulder, stitched together with scarps. Soot clung to his body in a thick layer of dirt and grim. Asleep his features relaxed and loosened. A hardening line across his forehead indicated a stressed life Veera had yet to experience for herself. His feet were bare, rough, and cracked with callouses spread across them in a net over his skin.
"Maybe we should tie him up before he wakes up?" Veera suggested, crossing her arms over her body.
"That sounds good. Do you have any rope with you Vee?" Damon said poking the man with his foot.
"There should be some in the patch kit. Check there."
"Oh, you're right." Damon rummaged in his pack pulling out a length of rope. "There's not a lot here. We can probably tie his feet and hands though." Damon took the sheers and cut the rope in two.
"You can do the hands, Vee, I'll take the feet." Damon tossed one length of rope to Vee and began twisting and knotting the rope around the stranger's feet.
Veera got to work on the hands. She noticed there were several cuts on them, some were fresh with a bit of blood still lingering on them. Others were healed and scarred over. White lines riddled his palms crisscrossing over layers of callouses that must have taken years to accumulate. What kind of life did this man live?
"All right, all done!" Damon stood brushing the dirt from his hands off. "what's it look like over there? Finished yet, Vee?"
"Just about." Veera cinched the last knot tight. "Do you think we should take his bag?"
"Don't know. I don't see how he can reach his back like that, but it wouldn't hurt would it?" Damon grabbed the bag and untied it from the stranger's back. "What's in here anyway?"
"let me see." Veera peered into the back. There wasn't a lot some dried-up bunches were tied together next to a rolled piece of paper. a canteen made out of the strangest animal hide Veera had seen. It was worn and well used but Veera could make out vivid colors that had faded with use. She's never seen an animal hide like this before. The pattern was rippled and gradually faded between colors. Rummaging through the bag Veera uncovered a dim soft light. It glowed in soft pulses. Almost as if it was breathing. What's this?
The wind was suddenly ecstatic, a current of life flowed through it stemming from the orb. Grey-purple light pulsed out of a palm size orb. It was translucent but didn't appear to be made of glass. It had veins wrapped around it that sunk deeper into the orb. The shape reminded Veera of stones she had seen the tradesmen import for them.
That's impossible though. Veera thought. Stones didn't glow and they were too expensive for someone who looked so malnourished. Veera was perplexed, the tradesmen sold stone at exuberant prices. The risk of touching the ground for long enough periods to gather the items made them luxury goods to Veera's people. Veera's family was well off enough to purchase a mirror but many families relied on pools of water to see their reflections. The metals that were mined from the earth to make them were just too expensive for many of her people. She knew she was blessed to live in a family well off enough to know the material.
Curiously life pooled in the middle of the orb. It drew Veera to it. It was different from channeling or gift-barring. This life was unique. It's almost alive. Veera thought reaching in to touch the orb.
At that moment the stranger sprang awake, sitting up with a great force. It startled Veera enough to drop the bag. Damon jumped back from her startled as well. The man was still, cautiously watching the pair of friends. Slowly he began talking once more. His words were calm, steady, and low his voice indicated cooperation. He raised his hands outstretched, palms up to show he wasn't fighting. The man turned his head toward his bag and motioned it forward.
"You want your bag?" Veera asked.
"No, no way. Who knows what that orb does." Damon said turning back to Veera defensively.
"He doesn't appear to want to fight. He could have very easily hurt you Damon but he didn't. There's not even a scratch on you, or me for that matter." Veera said. "I say we give him his sack while he's cooperating with us. We won't be able to contain him if he decides to fight us and we still need to do something about him. It's not like we can just stand out here forever. We'll need his cooperation to take him anywhere. Plus there's no knife in that sack. He's not getting out of the ropes on his own." Veera picked up the sack motioning to Damon.
"I suppose you're right. Here I'll hand it to him. If he kills me tell my family I died a brave death and not to mourn me." Damon took the bag and walked toward the man. "Wait on second thought, yes morn me. Let there be a memorial put up in my honor. I want there to be much crying and weeping."
"I'm sure you would- get a move on. I'm not sure how we're going to bring him back yet and I want to get this over with quickly." Veera said. The man was still on high alert. His voice was calm but his face betrayed a glimmer of tension. He was motioning Damon forward again, gesturing at the sack. Tossing the sack Damon leaped back and gave the man some space. Snatching the bag the man looked inside inspecting his belongings.
"Well, aren't you brave? I'm guessing you want me to lie to your family about the way you died huh?"
"You won't have to lie now, I survived my brush with death. It's called strategic maneuvers." Damon said puffing out his chest.
"I hope your 'strategic maneuvers' can figure out a way to get this man back to our outpost without alarming anyone," Veera replied. The man was now staring at the pair again, waiting for them to move.
"Why don't we just take him to this outpost? It's where we're assigned and it's closer." Damon asked leaning back on his arm.
Veera thought about it. It would be quicker but this outpost was too close to the gates. The whole reason they had been assigned here was that this outpost was helping with receiving guests. If they brought the stranger there it would cause a huge commotion. Plus he could get loose and harm the children who were present. No, Veera thought, it would be better to bring him to their outpost where Cade and Katrina could assist them in moving.
"There are too many bystanders at this outpost. Plus we have the tradesmen here. They might want to get involved. I'd rather bring him to our post where we can deal with this quietly." Veera was doing her best to be cautious but she was unsure what they would do once they got to the post.208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYS9UG7CoKv
"That makes sense. I'm sure Katrina and Cade would be able to help us move him too." Damon replied.
"You're right. I hadn't thought about moving him. I don't know if I'll be able to lift him while flying."
"No, we'll have to walk. If you want us to go unnoticed we'll have to take the back roads." Damon said.
There go my plans of getting home by noon. Veera thought. If they had to walk it would take a couple of hours to get to their post. Hopefully Cade would be able to carry the man where they needed him once they got there. This was turning out to be a rather eventful day for Veera.208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzcgwQgSrg
"I'll have to until his feet. maybe I can communicate with him so he doesn't run away." Veera walked forward to try and talk to the man.208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5sVUR8BMR
"I hope so." Damon followed after Veera. "I'll be right behind you if he tries to flee."
Slowly Veera approached the man. He had been silent the whole interaction between the pair, just watching. With her hands up she began to talk to him.
"We-" motioning back and forth between her and Damon. "-need to move you." Veera walked her fingers across her palm. "We are going to have to walk. I'll need to cut your ropes. Snip, snip." She motioned at the ropes with her fingers closing like a pair of sheers.
"He's not a child, I'm sure he can tell what you mean by the hand, Vee." Damon huffed.
"Look I'm just trying to use simple words, do you want to try?" Veera turned to Damon.
"No, I think you're doing a bang-up job all on your own," Damon said.
"Then keep your opinions to yourself." Veera turned to the man. "We need you to follow us." She gestured to him and back to herself, once again making the walking motion. "Got that?" She tilted her head and raised her pitch to indicate a question
Slowly the man nodded his head. He couldn't have gotten the whole message but he seemed to understand that Veera was going to cut the ropes well enough. Little emotion was shown on his face, but he indicated a willingness to cooperate. Clutching his sack the man shifted and allowed Veera better access to his feet. Damon moved forward with the sheers from his sack and cut the ropes. The knots they had learned from training would be impossible to untie quickly and they were already going to miss their check-in having to walk back to the post. Damon grabbed the rope and handed it to Veera.
"Ok, we are going to tie a leash to your hands and help you up." She waved the rope around his bound hands. He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands forward exasperated. "Hey! I'm trying to be nice!"208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt093H5ysDB
"Haha! He has humor! Can we keep it, mom? I promise to water and feed it every day." Damon was enjoying the situation, now that the threat was gone.
"Shut up, it's not funny." Veera got up and pulled the man to a standing position. Do you think you could fly back and report to the outpost Damon? I don't want them to think we left work to be done without a reason."
"Will you be able to handle him by yourself, Vee?" Damon looked concerned.
"Sure I will, I did score higher than you on our aptitude placement remember?" Veera reminded him.
"Ok, but if he attacks you don't engage just fly up and get help. Promise me, Vee."208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8OL1Zi0lf
"I will. I promise. Here take my pack with you and return the gear for me." Veera unloaded her pack and handed it over to Damon.
"I'll catch up to you so go on ahead and stay safe." Damon leaped up and took flight, much to the surprise of the man. His collected demeanor was rattled as Damon's wings unfolded to show beautiful tan and grey feathers. They weren't the most vibrant of colors but to Veera they were beautiful, their earthy pallet was one of the only graceful features Damon could claim. The man appeared to think so too as he watched Damon take flight and disappear between the upper canopies of the Great Tree.208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasLbZXzAVg
"Ok mister, let's get going. We have a long walk ahead of us." Veera tugged on the rope and began her trek back, already dreading the long hike.
They had to walk on back roads and that meant winding paths and uphill climes. Unlike the main path that got walked on by young children and carriage carts, the back pathways had little maintenance by the patch workers. The large leaves of the canopy would buckle up leaving small mounds to climb over. Veera could easily fly up there, but her companion was lacking a certain skill set to follow suit. She would have to accompany him on each mound if she wanted to keep hold of the leash. It wasn't all bad though. There was scenery with the back roads. Wildlife hung down from the upper canopies twisting and flowering along the path. Their vibrant colors pop against the deep green of the lower canopy leaves.
There wasn't much vegetation along the canopy floor. The leaves were too thick for any roots to grab hold of. They preferred the branches of the tree that would pock out at odd intervals. Moss did seem to grow within the gaps of buckled leaves and on top of the sap that the patch workers applied to bind the leaves together. The lower level was much harder to manage than the upper ones. Thick branches pocked through at odd intervals and the bottom canopy was larger than any other by far. Her people did their best to manage the space but they couldn't coax the branches into place like they could the upper levels. Still, her people did fortify the lower canopy more than any other, it was much thicker at least by four or five more layers. To tear through that many layers of sturdy plant stock was no small feat. Veera wondered what made the man do such a thing. It would have taken hours to saw through the bottom layer with the knife he had, even considering his strength.
He had enough energy now, that was certain. Breathing remained more difficult for him than Veera but at least his breath was evening out. He didn't appear fatigued either and they had walked a considerable distance since Damon had taken flight. Under the layer of stoicism, the man had schooled his face into. was an awakening curiosity. Veera could see his eyes following the various plant life that laced the trail, and it did not go unnoticed when he briefly paused to watch the twin-tailed squirrel cross earlier in their trek. Slowly though as the walked on she noticed the tension in his body ease ever so slightly. He must have gotten more comfortable than Veera realized because not too long after he began to talk. 208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQRtPg5Hfd
"Save your breath, it's not like I can understand you anyway," Veera replied. The man huffed and continued despite Veera's suggestion.208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1QlJBnMoJ
"I can help you Vee" The wind that had been quiet until now spoke up once again.
Oh? How would you do that? Veera was reasonably skeptical. The wind didn't offer help much. Only when it wanted or saw an opportunity to be used. 208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtz3G9nOeZ7
"I can translate for you. After all, every tongue is spoken to the wind."208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwsME4mzWB
Why didn't you offer earlier then huh? Veera knew the wind wasn't lying, it's nature was one of truth.208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Jhw4bTIbq
"I knew you wouldn't want to use me in front of your friend. After all, secrecy is a game we've played since I was gifted to you child." The childlike demeanor of the wind fell as it grew serious. Very seldomly did the wind shake off its desire for play and it never boded well for Veera. Only at times like these did the wind elude to its age. When it was coaxing Veera to channel her gift.
You would like that, wouldn't you? What makes you think I would be willing to show a stranger when I haven't even displayed my gift to my family? Veera retorted.
"It is because he is a stranger that I know you will. Your family's interpretation of your gift holds weight with you. They could make you face a reality you would rather not. This young man? He holds little weight in your heart. Come now Veera, despite your protests I know you enjoy channeling your gift. It's what suits you best. What harm can be done? It's not even that noticeable a manifestation." The wind was a smooth talker by far. Veera knew she shouldn't listen but the wind had been with her for a long time and knew how to talk her into things she would later rethink.
You're right. I would like to channel again. It's been a while. If you promise to alert me when Damon or someone else approaches I'll channel your translation. Veera gave in. She secretly was curious about the man. The tradesmen and visitors Veera had seen all looked similar to her, none of them looked like this man. There was also the orb in her thoughts. Even though she had tried to dispel it from her mind, the orb's hidden pool of life drew Veera in. She wanted to know more about it and talking to the man would give her an opportunity t learn.
"Very well, let's have some fun then shall we?"
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