A/N: So, one shot RyanxLire fic from Grand Chase… I wrote it a very long time ago. xD Nothing much to say except:
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, all rights go to KOG and GC and all those beautiful companies 3
As I looked above, I could just barely see the stars between the tree branches. The sun had set over an hour ago and there was no sign of Elesis, Arme or any other form of civilization. I remembered exploring the Elven forest once when I was a child, but I had no sense of direction and ended up completely lost.
It was shortly after the Troll showed up that everything turned upside down. During the fight, I had ended up with a few injuries and found myself waking up in a tree after being thrown over the forest. I winced as a branch brushed my arm connecting with the large wound given to me by the sharper end of an oversized nail.
After traveling for what was probably a couple of hours, I had found myself further into the forest. No sign of my friends or anything moderately familiar.
"Arme and Elesis are probably arguing right now…" I thought aloud with a sigh. "It's all your fault tree." I said, kicking the base of an extremely large oak. I glared at it for a while knowing full well the tree didn't hear me and could do nothing to help me out of this mess. I huffed with anger as I made my way around the monstrosity and screamed at what met me on the other side.
"Woah!" Came the voice of an unsuspected visitor. The orange haired boy had jerked awake. With a hand pressed to my chest in a feeble attempt to slow down my breathing, I stuttered.
"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean to w-wake you." I said giving a slight bow. Looking at the boy, I could see the faint outline of his ears which were pointed. I had found an elf in Elven forest… The village must be close! I began scurrying around the small clearing peaking around trees and looking for any clue as to where it might be, completely forgetting that the boy was even there.
"Are you lost… or something?" He was standing behind me at a fair distance. I had been on edge all evening, jumping at the slightest sounds so I couldn't help the started squeak that erupted from my throat when his voice, even in a whisper, bounced off the bark.
"Uh… yeah, kind of." I shrugged an continued looking.
"If you're looking for the village…" He started I turned around staring at him, my eyes full of hope. He swallowed. "It's not nearby." He finished hesitantly, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck as he avoided my gaze. I stood there silently. I was normally good at keeping myself composed but I was exhausted, hungry, and very upset. I dropped onto my knees and stayed there in a daze. The boy approached cautiously before kneeling down in front of me, looking straight into my eyes for the first time.
"Hey," His eyes were a dark emerald that made my heart skip a beat. "You okay?" I asked gingerly, I hesitated, biting my lower lip before I shook my head and looked to the ground.
"No." I stated with a slight laugh. He seemed to ponder about what to do with me. A lost elf in a forest in the middle of the night.
"Come on." He said, reaching out his hand to help me up. I accepted and almost crashed into his chest. He let go of my hand and rubbed his fingers together. His eyes widened and he looked back at me.
"What?" I asked quietly. He grabbed my hand again and began inspecting it.
"You're hurt…" I bit my lip and nodded. "How…?" I sighed, cutting him off.
"I was fighting the Troll." I stated. He looked at me with an expression full of confusion, concern and awe.
"You…" He shook his head. "Come on, you need to get this fixed up." He said grabbing my hand and pulling me off in a random direction.
"Where are we going?" I asked. There were poisonous glowing mushrooms scattered along the path. I heard a low growl and hurriedly ran closer to the boy.
"Somewhere safer than here." He stated. I didn't say anything for a few minutes.
"So… What's your name?" I asked innocently. He hesitated a moment.
"It's Ryan, yours?
"L-" I began but was cut off as I tripped on a root and crashed into the stranger's back. He lunged forward a little, but didn't fall on the ground like I had. He kneeled next to me again and tried helping me up. I just leaned my head on his shoulder.
"Heh… sorry." I stated. "I'm just really tired…" I attempted to stand up but fell against him again. He sighed.
"Hang on." He helped me walk over to a tree that I leaned on for support. "Try not to freak out." He stated. I looked at his features, mostly concealed by the darkness, only bits and pieces visible from the faint light of the glowing mushrooms. Then, in the blink of an eye, the elf was gone and a wolf with orange fur stood in his place. I just looked at him. Not knowing what to do. I thought that maybe this was a silly dream or nightmare, but then registered the pain of my wounds and knew it was reality. "Get on my back." He said, I was beyond the thought of running away or declining. Mostly because if I ran, he had two more legs than I did and would have most likely caught up with me… That was if he actually cared enough to. I ceased debating with my thoughts and climbed onto the wolf's back.
"Hang on tight." He whispered gently. I wrapped my arms around his neck and fell asleep almost instantly when he started running. His paws pounding against the forest floor, his soft fur tingling my skin.