The scenery zoomed by: trees, bushes, flowers, mist and sky all blurred together into one.
Sora's hair flew all around her head, her wings fluttered furiously like a hummingbird's. Her wings glittered with sunlight yellow, the color of her magic, and streaked behind her in a thin trail. The speed she was going at had her eyes watering, but she could not stop.
For what moved directly behind her was a terrifying creature she had never seen before.
The serpent followed her with a vicious dedication, never faltering it its frightfully fast pace. Its movements were fascinatingly snake-like in that it sort of zigzagged, but its head led his body as if in a permanent lunging motion.
Despite the dire situation, Sora couldn't help but feel exhilarated.
Granted, there was a good deal of fear and anxiety that she is feeling, but it had been such a long time since she has been able to really fly.
Before, the trees were too thick and close together. Now, though, there was some space. Yet, there was a new possibility that she hadn't faced before that she was currently experiencing—aside the serpent's relentless chase of her small form.
Out here, she is able to push herself past her usual abilities.
Never before did she have to fly so fast or have to weave through so many unknown and sudden obstacles without slowing down. Her magic tests mainly looked at the basics of flying and dodging rather large objects—it was pitiably simple.
The bulk of the tests dealt with spell casting and enhancing. Back then, she didn't see anything wrong with this way of testing. It made some sense, especially for fairy aides whose sole purpose is spell casting.
Before her testing—when she was a young fairy—she used to fly around doing loops and twirls in the air. She liked the feeling of flight and seeing what she was capable of.
Once the Rites of Magic began though, she didn't have the time to play around.
But here, out in the forest, she could see that her "playtime" days were helping her right now.
That attitude from those days, the one that pushed her to go faster, to simply go, go, go…that is what was saving her now; not the flying skills from her Rites of Magic testing.
She zipped around more, squeezing through the branches and dodging the serpent's maws when it got too close.
'Those flying lessons and tests were severely lacking.'
Her flight grew more challenging as the mist thickened and her wings tired. 'I've lured it far away from the tree by now. Good thing, since I don't know how much longer I can keep this speed.'
As she thought that, her speed slowed slightly. She could feel her wings straining. 'But I can't stop until I have a plan! I was only thinking about how I needed to get it away from my friends!'
She "eeped!" as she dodged a branch that suddenly came into her view.
"This fog isn't helping either!"
She briefly looked back to see if the serpent hit the branch. It didn't evade the branch entirely, but it quickly recovered and was able to continue the chase.
She huffed. 'So much for nature helping me out!'
Sora blinked.
'Wait a minute…maybe it can!'
A plan formed in her mind.
'It would be tricky, but I'm confident in my flying abilities.' She nodded her head.
"Let's do this!"
Sora flew lower, gradually, so the serpent wouldn't notice. The roots of the trees came into her view, but she flew above them. 'I need some that are big enough for the serpent to go through, but small enough that he'd be delayed for a few seconds.'
Quickly, she cast a spell on her eyes, making them glow an amber color; and her sight was enhanced enough for her to see the roots up ahead. She would have to be quick for the enhancement was only temporarily.
She grinned, 'Perfect!'
Swiftly, she dove for the roots, dodging some that got in her way. She turned her body with her wings towards the ground to avoid damaging her delicate wings as she passed through some rougher and stringy root arches.
Her arms covered most of her face; the roots left some scratches on them. She winced, but continued on.
The serpent pursued her through the roots.
It surged forward suddenly with its jaws wide open. Her heart raced as she felt its scorching hot breath behind her.
'So close!'
Distracted by Sora, the serpent didn't see the smaller roots they were about to pass through. A second later, and the serpent found itself stuck in the roots. It screeched as it wiggled its way out.
As soon as Sora passed through, she hovered above the serpent. Nerves heightened, she practically screamed out her spell, pointing her wand at the roots.
"ENGORGIUM!"
The roots expanded in size, enlarging themselves around the serpent. In response, the serpent thrashed about wildly and shrieked.
The glow from her eyes died.
'That spell lasted longer than I thought it would. Or maybe I flew fast enough for me to utilize the full effects of the spell. That would explain why my wings are so burnt out!' Exhausted, Sora plopped herself on a branch.
"The creature being immobilized will give me some time to rest."
With the edge of her tunic she wiped the sweat off of her face. She watched the serpent for a bit to see if it would change shape and escape. A few seconds more and it continued its struggling.
'Well, at least now I know that it isn't a shape shifter, so it's probably not the woman I'm looking for. It could be her animal aide though.'
She knew a little bit about animal aides. While able to move about, they usually stayed within a certain distance of its master. 'So the woman must be nearby. But I don't know how much range she gives her serpent. She could be really close or still a good distance away.'
"At least I know I'm going in the right direction."
While she was happy about making progress, she realized she has another, more pressing issue at hand.
"What am I supposed to do with it now?"
Sora was dumbfounded. She knew it would lead her to the woman, but she didn't quite know how to go about it. 'I can't exactly cage it. I don't have anything that would be secure enough. It needs the freedom of movement without it being close to me…'
Some noise snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked down and saw the creature ferociously trying to claw the roots surrounding it. 'Think, think!'
Her eyes lit up. "What if I magically track it? I place some of my magic on it and then follow my own signature trail from a safe distance!" Excited, Sora stood up on the branch and fluttered close to the creature.
Just as she was about to lift her wand, she halted.
'Did I hear someone?'
She listened for a few more seconds, straining to hear above the light roaring of water close by.
'It…sounds like a warning…I think it's getting closer…'
"…away…it! GET AWAY!"
Her head snapped up in the direction of the voice. Because of the fog, she really couldn't see who it was. 'Who is that? Maybe…' She felt a small glimmer of hope rise in her, but only for a second.
A foreboding hissing had her full attention.
The creature managed to bite through most of the roots, a strange substance dripping from its mouth. As a putrid smell filled the air, her mind frantically told her, 'acidic venom!'
She fled just as the creature broke free.
TM
He was running.
Soft breaths escaped him, his hair streamed behind him like a banner of silver. He had heard the ruckus of some creature as it shrieked out. Knowing that this must be what caused the forest to still, he ran towards it. He prepared himself to pin it down with his arrows, and if in a dire situation, kill it.
What he wasn't expecting to see was a soft light on a branch.
For a moment, he stood transfixed by the sight.
It glowed and flickered like a pulse, but the way it flickered had him stymied. He squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what it was. Walking closer, he could see it a little better, but he still didn't know what it was. 'It flickers in two directions but in a pattern—in and out—like someone's waving two fans vertically…'
He stopped.
'Could it be…wings? Her wings?'
He had yet to see if Sora had wings or not—he didn't know if she was indeed a fairy. 'Yes, now that I think about it, it is the color of her magic.' Her wings, while he could not see them clearly, glowed like candlelight.
The effect was beautiful with the mist surrounding them, making her light stand out even more. 'It's poetic, in a way, for her to be like a lit flame in the murky unknown.'
Her light was a guide for the lost, willing them to come home.
He tore his gaze away from her to the task at hand.
Quietly, he crept up a tree to get a better look at what kept her there. He faintly saw enormous roots and movement. 'Those are not natural.'
When he spotted the thrashing of a dark tail with red hair, he froze.
'The witch's pet!'
Immediately, he noticed that Sora was painfully close to the creature. 'Far too close!'
He dropped from his branch and took up his run again, yelling out for her to move away. "You're too close, Sora! Step back!"
The light roaring of the nearby waterfall made his voice hard to hear.
When he saw her hovering above the beast and had yet to notice that the creature was breaking free, he grew frantic. "Get away from it! GET AWAY!"
His warnings were too late.
He felt his stomach drop when he saw the creature loosen from the roots.
TM
Her wings, not having properly rested, were no longer helping her.
After almost falling to the ground for the fourth time, she shakily lifted her wand and made her wings disappear. She also returned to her petite human height.
While this made her a bigger target, she knew her small fairy sized legs wouldn't help her cover any ground. Taking a breath, she readied herself. 'I was only a few seconds ahead of the serpent. My time's up.'
She ran towards the sounds she heard earlier: the voice and the water roaring.
'My magic's pretty much spent. I can't possibly cast another enhancing spell. Maybe I can lose it in the fog.'
Sora also hoped that the voice could help or give her some suggestions. 'It has to be my companion. My gut instincts tell me so!' For who else has helped her out during this venture?
Her legs pushed her as fast as she could go.
Twigs and thorns tore at her tunic and leggings, but she pressed on. She bumped into a tree, causing her to hastily shove off of it. She was not quick enough to escape the serpent's swipe.
Its talons caught her side.
Sora gasped out in pain, her hands instinctively reaching over to cover the lacerations. She pitched forward slightly, staggering towards the large lake. Her head lifted up and her eyes widened.
Atop of a large boulder was a man.
On one knee, the man's body was poised with a bow, two arrows notched. Even with the mist, she could see that his stance and body language was brimming with confidence.
The serpent screeched, making her look back. Her turn caused her to trip. She cried out as she landed on her hurt side.
Seeing her down, the serpent lunged at her. Moving on instinct alone, she drew up her wand.
"Estoppe!"
Her pitiful amount of magic only lasted for a second, freezing the beast in midair. The opportunity was taken advantaged by the archer.
His arrows flew, pinning the creature to the tree behind it. It shrieked out in pain. One arrow went through its front arm while the other penetrated its side.
Sora looked back to the archer as he slowly stood up from his position.
His features were slightly blurry, but she could see his long ponytail trailing behind him. It was his eyes, though, that had her attention. They glinted through the fog with a rich blue color she has never seen before.
"Magnificent," she whispered.
Her head suddenly felt way too heavy, drooping down to the ground. Her vision blurred even further before she was no longer aware of herself.
As her body lay on the ground, he came over to pick her up. His eyes slowly lost their blue hue, returning to a greyish color.
At the sight of her wounded side, he brought out some linen and wrapped them around her waist. He saw her other wounds but thought it was best to first get them away from the creature. 'Those can wait for later.'
Carefully, he lifted her up, casting an icy glare in the creature's direction.
"Be glad I need you alive or else you would be dead twice over. There would have been an arrow for your darken heart and a second arrow for your miserable head."
He ran away swiftly, making sure not to jostle Sora too much.
TM
TM
TM
An: When I first came up with this in my mind, it was going to be a 'one shot.' Then, as I typed it, new scenes popped in my head and it grew. A 'one shot'…Hah!
