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Veera felt her blood stop. An eerie silence had taken hold of the forest. There were no crickets, no frogs, not even a rustling. The tainted's presence stole the very sound from the air. Her legs went stiff and her wings ridged. Every feather on them bristling. The twisted smile seemed to grow and contort, eyes lighting with grotesque mirth.
Jun was speaking but the words just floated by. Veera couldn't hear him, she could barely move. She knew she should do something but at that moment she could hardly think let alone move. The longer she stared at the tainted she started to hear a thrumming sound in her ears.
"Veera!" Jun's voice finally peirce through her trance.
"Jun?" Veera looked down at where his hand gripped her forearm. A bruise was starting to form, she couldn't believe she hadn't felt it.
"Finally." Jun sighed in relief, releasing her arm. " I need you to listen to me."
"What's going on?" Veera questioned trying to peer around him.
"Listen." Jun interceded her gaze with his body, blocking her view of the tainted that was still very much present. "I need you to take the group and follow the stream while I handle this. I shouldn't be long but it's not safe here with the tainted so close."
"Let me help." Veera pleaded.
"No, it's more important that you arrive at camp. Besides, your team isn't prepped for battling the tainted yet. You will only be a liability. " Veera knew his words were valid., still, it didn't keep them from hurting her pride.
"Alright, but if you don't come back soon I'm coming to get you. We can't find the camp without you." Veera's face was stern challenging him to question her.
"So be it." Jun got up grabbing something from his pack. "This should only take a minute." Veera watched as Jun grabbed his stuff and headed toward the twisted smile.
Slowly and carefully Veera woke her companions. Damon was hard to wake but Veera succeeded by pulling his bed roll off him. Veera rolled her geer up and led the group down the stream they had been following since their landing. The darkness seemed to grow in the forest at night. Veera couldn't see the stars as she did above the canopy. the density of the canopy that provided her with comfort up above now blocked her light and view as she trotted down the stream. The orbs she had seen earlier in the day were fewer and showed a bit of light. Oddly they seemed eerie now that the sun had gone.
The night was so dim Veera found it hard to walk. She was sure that if she missed a step she'd roll her ankle. The group was naturally slower in the night than earlier that day. Veera couldn't tell the time without the sky above. No sun, no moon, not even constellations to help her. A hand gripped her heart the longer she trod. How long had it been since Jun went off? Five minutes? Half an hour? She couldn't tell. It felt long but that might just be her worry speaking. After some consideration, Veera started counting her steps to keep time. It wasn't accurate but it was some kind of gauge.
After thirty steps she felt her mind calm with the task of counting; the repetitive nature helped her to process. She decided that if Jun were to catch up with them it would be around seven hundred steps. This measurement of course meant nothing. There was really no way for her to know how long he would take. She didn't even know how long five hundred steps were. Always opting to fly f than walk, she'd never measured longer distances before.
Around three hundred steps the cold started to seep into her bones. Without a fire it was a bitter cold, lapping at her fingers and nose. The adrenaline had left her unguarded against the onslaught of the nightly wind. To make matters worse thunder began to roll into the night startling the flock. Flashes of lighting blinded their eyes which had adjusted to the night.
"Aaah!" Kathryn's startled scream rang into the night. It would have been concerning had the thunder not rolled right over her scream.
"We need to seek cover." Cade's voice had a taught edge to it that sparked attention in Veera.
"What's going on?" Damon's voice shook.
"The lighting was too close to the thunder. We could get hit." Cade answered.
"We can't stop yet, we have to put more distance between us and the tainted," Veera interjected.
"Wait what? It's one of those nasty things?" Damon's face twisted in a disgusted scowl.
"Yes, Jun's taking care of the one we saw but I'd rather not be so close with limited vision." Veera rubbed her arms trying to steal back some warmth from the cold's wretched grasp.
"Then what do we do? It's idiotic to continue walking with the lighting so close." Cade's voice was low and irritated.
"I could provide a shield while we take cover. I can't ward off a lightning strike but I handled that monster before. If we take cover now then I could put up a shield while we wait for Jun." Kathryn suggested.
"That s-sounds like a swell Idea. I l-l-like that one. W-w-we should do that." Damon rushed to say, teeth chattering with the cold. "What do you say, Veera? Pwetty Pwease?" Damon clasped his hands together in a mock pleading to Veera.
"Are you sure Kathryn?" Veera ignored Damon directing her gaze toward her friend. "It took a lot out of you the last time. What if we get ambushed before Jun makes it back?"
"Veera, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure. Besides, now I know what it is. I'll have an easier time marking it as an intruder. I'll be fine. I'd rather do that than risk the storm." Kathryn's eyes were firm, not wavering. It was the assuredness in her voice that convinced Veera.
"Alright, Cade find us a suitable shelter. Make one if you'd like." Veera relented.
"Yes!" Damon yelped pumping his fists close to his chest. "I can make a fire. I learned from Jun earlier today. Luckily I carried some dry kindling in my sack just for this. the canopy should have sheltered the wood closest to the trunks. Once we leave the rivers bed I'll be able to find it." Damon offered.
"Just a small one. Kathyrn may be confident but I'd rather not test our odds tonight." Veera responded as Cade let the flock of soaked birds deeper into the under-canopy.
After Cade found a suitable spot he began to hack away at the brush to clear an encampment. The rain was lighter under the shelter of the tree but Cade still wanted to create a dry spot to rest. Unfolding his bedroll and tying the ends to nearby trunks he managed to suspend a tarp. Cade then took his metal dagger in hand and fastened it to the end of a long branch. Once he had accomplished that he stabbed the limb into the ground a fair bit away from their encampment, metal end pointed toward the sky.
"That should do for now. Damon you can build your fire but so help me don't put it under the tent." Cade warned sending a pointed look Damon's way.
"Gezz, you must think I've only got feathers in my head. Don't worry there's a dry spot nearby that I think will work." With that, Damon got to work.
Veera watched as Kathryn silently settled in under the trap, choosing to rest on the roll Cade had laid out for her from her pack. She folded her legs and closed her eyes. A small warm light kindled in her before expanding out. It wasn't smooth. No spherical dome expanded around her. Instead, it was as if she was stretching out her limbs. It prodded at the air as it left her chest, enveloping her before moving on to the rest of the tent. The light surrounded Cade first as he worked to wring his clothes dry under the tent. Rather than envelope Cade right away it seemed to prod him, greeting him before allowing him access inside.
Veera followed the light as it trudged over to Damon seeming to take longer to accept him than Cade. As it sniffed her Veera got a closer look at it. The light was so close she could see its translucency more closely. Rather than a thick viscosity it appeared thin, lightly coating everything it enveloped in an array of colors. Soft hues of blue faded to green and yellow as the light relented around Veera. As it granted her entry she felt a touch of life flow over her calling to that old voice only she could hear.
Veera sat down beside Kathryn, folding her legs in and curling her wings around her to supply a bit more warmth. It had been a considerable amount of time since they had left Jun. She didn't like that he hadn't caught up with them yet. Up above he had taken almost no time at all to incapacitate the tainted. Based on that alone he should have rejoined them. They had traveled around four hundred steps to make camp. Jun was accustomed to the forest there was no way he would have missed their trail, Veera purposely left their tracks uncovered. Worry gnawed at her stomach. She wrung her hands and debated her next step.
"I going to search for Jun." Veera's voice cut through the silence that had ensued.
"I don't think that's wise." Cade offered. "Even if you could help him it would be hard for you to locate him in this storm."
"Cade has a point, Vee." Damon piped in. "I think it would be reckless to split the group more with an unknown amount of enemies present." He had finished the fire and was warming himself as he talked. His hands which were normally fidgety and constantly moving had stilled as they absorbed the heat of the flame. A small spark was in his eye as he rationalized with Veera.
"I know what I'm doing. I can handle myself. Jun is a part of our flock right now. I'm responsible for his safety just as much as yours." Veera rebutted.
"No, I don't believe you are." Cade countered.
"I agree with Veera." Kathryn's voice was soft but strong as she spoke, not opening her eyes to look at any one person. "She knows her limitations, I don't believe she would make this decision based on false assumptions. Cade don't be so brash. Jun has already risked a lot for our safety. I'd hate to think that his efforts were wasted on people who wouldn't reciprocate that trust." Making that statement Kathryn opened her eyes to stare down Cade.
"Alright, but if anything happens I'm calling this whole thing off. It's one thing to offer help to those who need it. It''s another to endanger yourself in the process." Cade injected.
"Understood, that's perfectly reasonable. If this tribe needs our help and such circumstances arise they can meet us up above where it's safe. For now, I'm going to find Jun. Stay here so I can find you." Veera agreed.
She decided to leave her bed roll and spare clothes behind. she wouldn't need it and there was no point in getting it soaked. She took her first aid supplies and a bit of food with her just in case. Taking out her knife she toar a shirt into strips, tieing them around her feet. Veera wished she had better footwear for this terrain but this would have to do. When she was done Veera tucked her knife into her sack and stood up.
"Vee, be safe alright?" Damon spoke to her choosing to walk a bit of the way from camp to speak more privately. "I'd hate for my favorite partner to die. That would make patchwork a lot harder for me." His tone was light but Veera saw the concern in his eyes.
"Yeah, you mean your only partner. No one else would put up with you fooling around on the job." Veera jested. "Don't worry. I'll be back. Someone has to do all your work up top or it would never get done."
After a quick hug, Veera departed from her flock in search of their flightless friend. The cold suddenly feeling more strong without her party with her.
"How touching. I like that kid." The wind mused.
Me too. Veera answered walking further into the night.168Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdpzyJAOhJ
