POLISHED DRAFT

Finished: 2020-07-03

Chapter Sixteen: Tension in the Forest of Magic

After their afternoon meal, the group of four meandered through the forest. Mirth led them, still gnawing on a bright yellow-green fruit. The forest had only become denser the further they walked with no thinning of the trees in sight. Mirth was unphased by the thickening forest, merely chewing the last of a disk-shaped fruit and watching one of the strange feathered creatures glide overhead. Even though Mirth did not exude the anxious fear his two traveling companions did, there was still alertness in how his gaze swept over the trees every so often. Irfan's warning about Magic Eating Demons lingered, reminding him there were threats in this forest.

Beside Mirth, Irfan flinched when one of the gliders screeched overhead. He then gasped, cowering beside the taller boy when a large shadow swept over them, another screech filling the air. Irfan's dark gaze followed the shadow through the collage of purple and blue leaves.

Mirth ignored him and simply kept walking.

"Mirth…" Aaralyn whimpered, wiping sweat from her brow, the heat of the Wastes seeping through the forest. "When will we get out of here?" She drew the sweat off her skin, nervously rolling the tiny orb of water between her fingers. "I don't like this forest."

"I know, Aaralyn. You keep saying that." Mirth gazed up at the colorful canopy, trying to spot one of the elusive feathered gliders. "I don't know how big the forest is, but we'll get out of it soon. We just have to keep moving. And we haven't run into any trouble yet, so stop being so worried."

"Yet," Irfan stressed, nearly clinging to Mirth's arm. "I told you about those Magic Eating Demons. They could be hiding in the trees, waiting to ambush us."

"But we haven't run into any of them. It's been half a day since Aaralyn, and I have been walking through this weird forest. And you said it yourself, that those Demons aren't really dangerous. Why would Magic Eating Demons care about a group of travelers when they eat magic?" Mirth wrenched his arm from Irfan's grasping fingers. "And will you stop trying to hold my arm?"

Just as Mirth pried Irfan's fingers from his shirt, an animalistic roar echoed through the forest, this one different than the shrill sounds of the feathered gliders. Irfan screamed, latching himself to Mirth's arm. Aaralyn also froze, the tiny ball of water she had been rolling between her fingers shaping into slim needles.

"Irfan!" Mirth wrenched the smaller boy's white-knuckled grip from his arm. "It was just some animal. There's nothing to be worried about." He snapped his gaze to the frozen Aaralyn with a huff, though his eyes softened a bit. "If you guys keep getting spooked by this forest, it's going to take twice as long to get out of it." He ran his fingers through his long, dark brown hair, a sigh of frustration escaping.

Just as Mirth pushed forward to keep them at a faster pace to make up for lost time, Aaralyn gasped in pain. He spun around, only to see the Water Elemental nearly doubled over in pain, clutching her side. He was beside her in a few strides, hands hovering over her hunched form but not touching. "Aaralyn! What's wrong?"

"No-nothing. I'll be fine. Don't worry," she breathed through the pain, barely able to give Mirth a trembling smile. Then, almost as suddenly as it came, it was gone. Aaralyn rubbed her side and blinked away the light-headedness. She gave Mirth another weak smile, a slight blue glow dancing in her eyes. "I think I'm okay now. It must have been a random cramp. I'm probably dehydrated. Water Elementals don't do all that great in this kind of heat."

The young woman's eyes then caught Irfan's gaze. The wingless Tianshi stared back, mouth gaping and hands squeezing the hem of his silken shirt. His dark eyes were about to bulge out of his skull as he stuttered out. "Glo-glowing. Eyes. Ey-eyes glowing. Yours."

Fear flashed across Aaralyn's features before she looked away. Mirth merely stared at the pair in confusion. Then Aaralyn looked back at him, dark blue eyes no longer glowing. Her ever-present nervousness still clung to her like static-charged wool as she gave him another forced smile. "Let's keep moving, Mirth. I just want to get out of this forest. I don't feel good."

"Ri-right," Mirth stuttered, running a hand through his own sweat-soaked hair. With an exhale of his own, he turned back to the direction they had been traveling.

Irfan was beside him once more, clinging to his side. Aaralyn hung back, walking a few paces away from the pair, lost in her own world. She kept a hand pressed to her right side, her eyes sometimes glowing softly before the gentle blue light would disappear. Mirth couldn't help but frown when he noticed the glow, but he didn't say anything about it. Irfan's surprise seemed to have disappeared immediately when another one of the gliders screeched. Mirth ignored everything, pushing it to the back of his mind and tried to focus on walking through the forest. It didn't help much that Irfan was clinging to his arm like a frightened child.

Aaralyn ran her hands through a clump of blue leaves, pulling the water from the foliage. She almost flicked the liquid away from her, which shimmered a slight blue but decided against it. Even as her brows furrowed in concern at the color, she let the liquid swirl around in her hands. It looped across her skin and pooled into a smooth orb before pulling apart and winding around her arm. As the water cooled her warm skin, she looked up at Mirth and Irfan, who were a few paces ahead of her. "Why don't we talk a little bit about ourselves? Maybe it'll help our nerves." She smiled, only to wince, and the glow in her eyes returned.

Mirth shrugged, jabbing his thumb into the hand he had injured with Odysseus's ruby. With his growing irritation, the painful throb had returned, and it only seemed to increase as he thought about his family. "I don't have any siblings…and I don't even know if I have any more living relatives." He pressed his thumb hard into the center of his hand, ignoring Irfan's fearful, questioning gaze. "My mother was killed by Odysseus. We had been traveling with my grandparents when the Shift happened. I don't even know if they are alive."

"Well, maybe if we talk about it more, it'll make you feel better." Aaralyn offered him a smile like she had done the night they had spoken about his mother's death. "I know it's still hard, but it'll get easier." Her gaze, still holding a slight glow, shifted to Irfan.

The Tianshi avoided eye contact, nervously rubbing his fingers through his silken shirt. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mirth." He didn't look up as he continued to speak, embarrassment coloring his voice. "I have three sisters and three brothers. All of them but my little brother are older than me. I guess my family's okay but…my siblings tease me a lot. I'm not like them." He scrunched the bottom of his shirt, biting his lip as memories washed over him, but he did not dare speak of them. "We are a bit wealthier than other families, but that's because we're Tianshi that worship a Deity of Knowledge. I got separated from my older siblings during the Shift. I don't even think they tried looking for me."

"I'm sure that's not true, Irfan." Aaralyn gave him a small smile, though she was still struggling through the unexplained pain she was suffering. "I beat you in the number of siblings, though. I've got eight, six sisters and two brothers, all of them younger than me. And I have another sibling on the way."

"A big family," Mirth breathed, barely able to grasp the idea of having a sibling, let alone eight. "I hope your mother is okay, being pregnant and all during a Shift."

"I hope so too." Aaralyn let the water she had been toying with curl around her other hand, a worried sigh escaping her. "I hope everyone is okay. I don't know what I would do if I found out one of my siblings died." She sent Mirth a sad smile, knowing he had suffered the worse between the three of them.

Suddenly, a branch broke, and Irfan gasped. "Something's following us!" His scrawny arms latched onto Mirth's arm, squeezing the taller boy in a tight, white-knuckle grip.

Mirth's merely stared off into space, silently cursing himself for allowing the Tianshi to travel with them. Jaw clenched and not removing his gaze from where he watched the wind rustle nearby leaves, he grumbled. "You know nothing about personal space, do you? Can you please let go of my arm and get away from me, Irfan?" He then pushed the other boy away from him, sending a sharp glare at the trembling Tianshi before brushing invisible dirt off his shoulders.

Irfan shied away and wrapped his arms around himself. The tension was rising once more between the group. Only a moment of silence had passed between them when Irfan spied the emerald and ruby necklaces Mirth wore. Catching the glint of a rune carved in the green gemstone, Irfan couldn't stop himself. He was beside Mirth again. "What's that?" And without asking, he grabbed the rune engraved emerald and pulled.

A slap resounded through the forest.

Irfan stumbled back, holding his throbbing hand as he stared up at Mirth with large, dark eyes.

"Don't you dare touch my necklace ever again," Mirth snarled, hand wrapped around the emerald, a soft light now emanating from his hand.

"I-I-I'm sorry." Irfan dropped back, keeping his gaze lowered.

"Mirth," Aaralyn scolded, settling her hands on Irfan's shoulders. "That wasn't necessary." She then squeezed Irfan's shoulders, a slight sniffle sounding from the smaller boy. "And Irfan, you don't touch other people's things without their permission, especially if it's something they are wearing." She lowered her voice as if fearing Mirth would snap again. "That necklace was a gift from his mother before she was killed."

"Oh."

"Just. Get away from me. Damn it, you're annoying." Mirth was running his hands through his hair once more, biting back a groan of pain. The half-healed wound on his hand was throbbing again. He pressed his hand close to his chest, glaring at the colorful leaves, cursing the forest as he marched ahead. The pain in his hand hadn't been this bad since he had first cut it with the ruby. Even now, it seemed the blood-red gemstone was reacting to his rising anger, heat flaring across his chest.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he didn't mean it." Aaralyn's voice was barely audible as she comforted the whimpering Irfan. She watched Mirth march into the distance and stop in front of the trees. Another jab of pain pierced her right side again while the glow returned to her dark blue eyes. She, too, hated the forest, but for a far different reason. "Just give him a moment to cool down."

Irfan didn't say anything, tears gathering in his eyes as he rubbed his throbbing hand.

"Get down! Get down!" Mirth was running back in their direction, fear replacing the irritation. He grabbed Aaralyn's hand, who, in return, grabbed Irfan. Mirth pressed the pair to a tree and ducked behind the white trunk. And not a moment later, a man emerged from the colorful foliage.

Muscular with almond-colored skin and bright amber eyes, the man appeared only a handful of years older than the three young adults. However, his hair was already grey, streaked with darker patches. His bare shoulders and the back of his neck were adorned with rosette spots akin to a leopard's, though they were a dark grey in color. He sniffed the air, a low, inhuman growl rumbling from his chest. He turned to where the three were hidden. There was a feral, animalistic nature to his sharp features. However, before he could take a step toward them, a voice called in the distance. Swearing under his breath, he slipped away from the trees.

"Was that a Magic Eating Demon?" Aaralyn asked Irfan.

"No-No. I don't know what race that person was," Irfan stuttered, peering over the rock.

When the coast was clear, the group continued moving. The sun rose into the sky, casting its heat onto the travelers that even the strange trees couldn't shade them from. Aaralyn continued to toy with the water she had gathered and made sure to keep herself and the two young men well hydrated as they walked. Still, the heat and Mirth's returning irritation kept the conversation at a standstill.

A yowl of some strange creature in the distance startled Irfan, and once more, he was nearly clinging onto Mirth's arm.

Mirth glared, his irritation rising again. "Some Tianshi you are. Stop being such a coward. Haven't you been outside the protection of your home before?" Even as Mirth spoke these words, he knew that the terrified look painted on Irfan's face reminded him of someone. Himself.

"Most Tianshi aren't warriors," Irfan muttered. "Most become Elders of a temple or monastery. Some just go about their daily business and do what they can to serve their deity. My family doesn't have any warriors because they serve a deity of knowledge. Chishikijñāna doesn't need warriors. "

Mirth gave a strangled groan. For the umpteenth time, he tore himself from Irfan and ran his hands through his long hair. He paced for a moment before he faced Irfan again. Throughout all this, Aaralyn stood off to the side, an orb of water still in her hands, unsure what to do if a fight broke between the two.

"Maybe I can help you. Here," Mirth formed a rod of energy in his hand. "Try to dodge this, if you could increase your reflexes or…"

"Mirth, I'm not very…" Irfan's voice trailed off, his eyes growing wide. Before Mirth could swing the energy rod at him, he pointed a quaking finger at the incoming creature.

Mirth looked over his shoulder, only to have a red-haired woman plow into his side. The trio tumbled as a mass of bodies. It took only a second to untangle themselves, and Mirth found himself staring into familiar ash-grey eyes.

"Rekka."

~Character List~

The amber-eyed man = The Dimetrodon