"Zyra!" Avarin's voice echoed through the jungle, his voice seeming to run in a circle before returning to him. He hoped this was a sign that his voice was carrying, but in spite of his searching, he was unable to find his 'protector'. He had woken up quite early from his nightmare, not out of fear and sadness, but because he suddenly had a new resolve. He had waited until the sun's first rays were making their way into the jungle before he set out on his search. He wasn't sure why he expected her to be easy to find, the jungle was unquestionably expansive, but by the time the sun had risen to its peak he had nothing to show for his morning's hunt. He sat down against a nearby tree, sighing at his failure. Then he heard chuckling.
"You realise if you wanted to find me you should have stood still. I've been trying to catch up to you for the last hour." Avarin blushed a little at his stupidity.
"Why didn't you call out?" Zyra smiled a wide grin at him.
"Because there is no fun in that." Avarin tried to smile back in spite of his melancholy mood. It must have been more obviously forced than he thought, because Zyra tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"You feeling alright?" Avarin rubbed his eyes.
"How well do you know the jungle?" Zyra closed the last little distance between them, setting herself down next to him.
"It has been my home for many years, I know it as well as I know myself."
"Could you take me somewhere then?" Zyra looked over at Avarin. He didn't have the charming confidence that he had shown her yesterday, much to her disappointment. Instead he seemed distant, as though his mind was resting one day ahead of where he was currently sitting. Zyra hardly knew the hunter, but she was unsettled, and although she could not explain why, she felt the desire to help him.
"That would depend on where you want to go." Avarin stood up, arching his back in an attempt to stretch his slightly stiff muscles.
"I want you to take me to a cliff deep within the jungle. It should overlook most of the Kumungu." Zyra raised an eyebrow at this.
"That is a long walk, and will take me out of my territory. Why do you want to go there?" Avarin's face seemed to glaze over and again Zyra got the uneasy feeling that he was both there and not there at the same time.
"I just want to enjoy the view. Can you take me?" It was a lie, she knew that, but she wasn't going to deny him his request.
The walk was a slow one, both of them travelling in relative quiet, both for their own reasons. Avarin was just focussing on Zyra's footsteps, making sure not to lose his way while his mind travelled. He would occasionally stare out into the forest, picturing flames beginning to crawl their way up the trunks only to shake his head and refocus on what he had to do, determined not to let it come to pass. Zyra on the other hand spent half her time leading the way and the other half looking over her shoulder in concern, Avarin not looking anything like himself. As they'd walked he'd begun to look more and more pale, as though possessed. The one time Zyra did talk was to offer him water, which he refused. Zyra didn't back down and eventually he conceded, leaning over to drank a drink from the crystal clear pond they had found. A little bit of colour returned to his cheeks, leading Zyra to breath a sigh of relief.
It was evening before Zyra demanded they stop, sitting down and crossing her legs, closing her eyes as if in meditation. Avarin was not ready to rest however.
"We can rest once we reach the top of the cliff, let's keep walking." Zyra slowly opened her eyes and looked at Avarin.
"We are still a good half-days walk from the edge, and there is a storm coming. I don't know how you care for your body, but in my experience my body doesn't cope well with such conditions." Avarin seemed to think on this for a moment before throwing his bow onto the floor in defeat, pacing over to a nearby tree and sitting down. They had left the red-jungle behind some time ago, returning to the greens and browns that normally comforted Avarin, but for some reason he hadn't even noticed the change until now. He ran his hand along the unblemished trunk beside him, suddenly thankful for its presence.
"This won't help." He let his eyes fall back upon Zyra, still seated with her eyes fixed firmly on him.
"Whatever it is you think you are going to find up there, it won't help you." Avarin grunted, turning away from Zyra's judgemental gaze.
"No offense Zyra, but I don't think you can comment on what will help me." Zyra scoffed, standing up and stretching her back.
"Of course I can. I see that look in your eyes, that unrelenting drive, and I know that never leads to a good place."
"Do me a favour Zyra, stop talking and let me decide my own fate."
"Your own fate? Nothing you are doing is possibly going to benefit your own fate!" Avarin shot to his feet, hands flying into the air as he shouted.
"You don't have to help me, you can go back to your children and play the caring mother for as long as you want if that's what you desire. I finally know what I want to do, and if that's not what you want, then please leave." An unsteady silence fell throughout the jungle, a silence so heavy even the wind in the trees seemed to respect its presence. Zyra sat there staring at Avarin, trying to keep her emotions in check while Avarin fought the urge to keel over and cry. He just wanted to help, and he was so convinced this was how he'd do it.
"I don't want to leave you." It was a simple statement, but it seemed to trigger something within Zyra as tears began to form in the corner of her eye, a detail Avarin did not notice.
"Then please stop questioning me, this is what I want." Zyra stood up and, walking over to the hunter, slapped him firmly across the face. Avarin was left speechless.
"No you fool, I don't want to leave you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her lips pressing firmly against the hunters. There was nothing restrained or sweet about the kiss, passion and lust driving it on and on. When they finally broke apart Avarin was lying on the floor, Zyra's body resting on top of him. He wanted to say something, anything, but all he could think about in that moment was the warmth of Zyra's breath against his neck and the way his core seemed to scream in desire. Before he could stop himself, he pulled her face closer and kissed her again. Zyra's mind was racing, struggling to make sense of her own actions. She'd never felt this way before, but now that she was feeling it she feared she couldn't possibly go back. Her fingers dug into Avarin's back in a desperate attempt to pull him closer, wanting every part of herself to be laid against him. There was a crack of thunder somewhere overhead and rain started to fall on the pair as they quickly made their way under the shelter of the trees, being forced to break their moment of passion. Zyra laughed a little as she rung the dampness out of her hair, blushing profusely as she stole glances at Avarin. For a moment they seemed like two very normal, very ignorant teenagers experiencing love for the first time. In that moment it was so easy for Avarin to forget his struggles, to forget about where he was heading, and focus on nothing but the beautiful girl in front of him. He stepped closer to Zyra and, gently stroking her face, brought her in for a far softer, loving kiss. Zyra practically melted into his touch, her knees struggling to keep herself upright as her mind all but fell apart. He pushed her up against the tree, being sure to put his arm in the way so as not to hurt her. His strength just seemed to drive Zyra on, and she put both her hands on the sides of his face and held him close. He opened his mouth slightly to allow her entry, an opportunity she did not miss. To Zyra, everything was so perfect, a genuine happiness overcoming her.
Then Avarin opened his eyes and pulled away, sucking in air after their extended kiss. He looked Zyra up and down, from her thin legs to her beautiful face, taking special note of her large, lustful eyes. She was so beautiful to him, and he wanted so desperately to be able to take her then and make her happy. But no matter how he thought about it, he knew he did it he'd never forgive himself if he did, and the guilt would tear him apart. For all the beauty that Zyra possessed was not enough to tear Avarin's mind from Nidalee, the huntress possessing something that Zyra never could, something Avarin knew he could never live without. Tears sprang into his eyes as he thought of her and of how he'd treated Zyra, dreading the next few words he muttered.
"I can't." Zyra didn't think her heart could fall further than they did in that moment. As if sensing the mood the rain picked up, more thunder cracking overhead.
"I don't understand. You trusted me, you looked for me, and you even said I was beautiful. What did I do wrong?" She was almost in tears, pleading with Avarin for an explanation. He fell to his knees, his own tears falling to the floor at the sight he had caused.
"You are beautiful, and I can't tell you how much I wish I could make you happy by telling you I love you and that I wanted you too. But that's not what I want Zyra." She wanted to be angry at him, to lash out and hurt him, but she knew she couldn't bring herself to do that. She could see from his face that he spoke the truth, and although it hurt her, she could see he was already facing his own punishment. Brushing away her own tears she stepped up to him, lifting his chin so he could look her in the eyes. She smiled, a genuine smile in the knowledge she was doing what was right.
"Should we meet again, I hope you have found what you want." With one last, chaste kiss Zyra stepped out into the rain, quickly disappearing into the surrounding darkness. Avarin watched as the last strand of red vanished into the wall of rain before curling up beneath the tree, letting his tears take him to an uncomfortable sleep.
The storm was mostly gone by morning, but the rain continued to persist, the odd drops falling from the light grey sky above the trees. Much off the forest floor was now scattered with puddles, but out of some twist of fate Avarin's bed had managed to remain puddle free. He was slow to sit up, able to completely remember what had happened the night before, and fighting the urge to cry at the memory. He knew he'd probably broken her heart, and she had still managed to smile about it and do whatever it took to make him happy. It was a sacrifice he would never forget. It wasn't until after he had managed to get to his feet that he realised that with Zyra gone, he had no way of continuing with his journey to the cliff, although he wasn't even sure now if that was what he truly wanted. That was when he saw it, a solitary red flower blooming amongst the muddy floor. Avarin reached over and picked it up, immediately noticing another flower further up. He smiled sadly to himself, for even heartbroken and alone, Zyra was looking out for him. He followed the path for some time, being sure to touch every flower as he went, as though it would somehow tell Zyra how thankful he was. He somehow found himself recalling a bed-time story he had told to Nidalee one evening, and smiled at how like the princess he was in that moment.
He found the last flower just as the sun showed itself from behind the clouds, and Avarin gasped at what he beheld. Spread out beneath him was the entirety of the Kumungu jungle, a giant map of green brown and red that would always be considered his home. Even from such a distance he could recognise some areas, such as where he had hunted with Nidalee and where Zyra's jungle merged with his territory. The sight was one nobody could ever forget; no matter how long they spent trying. It brought a tear to his eye, and he forced himself to sit down before his knees gave out and he fell off the face to an unfortunate demise. He leant back a little and put his hands by his side to steady him, but he did not meet grass. Looking to his right he found his hand instead rested amongst a small patch of flowers, each one a different shade of red. He whispered a small thankyou to Zyra for guiding him this far, then took his bow off his back and laid it beside the patch of flowers. He knew in that moment that this was where he belonged, this was what he wanted. He watched as birds flew among the canopies, their small chirpings filling the air with a soft melody. He could make out the odd sound of beasts making their way through the jungle, accompanied by the roars and snarls of their predators. It was with these thoughts in his head that he took his vow, swearing upon his very life that he would protect everything his gaze could fall over. He picked up his bow and, standing up, ran a watchful eye across the entire landscape below him. This was his home, and he, its sentinel.
Wait! Don't start getting upset yet! This is not the end!
I know, it feels a little like an ending, but I assure you I do not plan on leaving it here. Expect more chapters soon, and who knows, maybe I will actually give you a romance seen where our shy hunter doesn't pull away before any of the action begins.
Please RFF, and I'll see you all next chapter :)
Sincerely, BJ
