I'm such a fool… I'm such a fool…
These were the words that were repeating in Krystal's mind, over and over, with the steadiness and consistency of a ticking clock. Something was telling her that those words should have been hurting, but they weren't. Instead, her body and heart just felt numb, silent, and empty.
Even as she ran down the mountain and through the darkening forest, following behind Kyte as she flew on somewhere ahead, she did so on autopilot. Her gaze was unfocused, and her eyes glassy. The world around her garnered no reaction, and nothing was able to draw her mind out of itself.
The only image on her mind was of him.
It was easy to tell that he hadn't been their mysterious attacker in the palace. From the way he had looked at her alone… well, she didn't even need to read his mind to tell it was the first time he'd ever seen her.
In a way, she had kind of liked it. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at her like that.
And after more or less confirming that he seemed to be friendly enough, she immediately began trying to communicate with him. That should have been her first clue. Had he been who she thought he was, she should have at least recognized his language, and he hers.
Despite that, she did manage to learn his name.
Fox.
But in the end, the name was all that she had taken from that exchange. In its stead, it felt more like something far greater had been taken from her. Stolen. Ripped straight from her chest.
It almost felt like losing her home again...
I'm such a fool…
For a moment, she wondered why she was running. She knew that Kyte had called to her. Said something about the prince needing help. Why did it matter? Why must she be obligated to give it? It seemed so pointless.
Yet, she kept running anyway. At the end of the day, it was a simple excuse to get further away from him. But she couldn't. He was still back there, buzzing somewhere in the back of her head. She couldn't get away. He was following her, and taunting her.
Her jaw clenched and her fists tightened into balls as she quickened her already swift pace. She had to get away from him. Away from the one that had killed her final hope. The living proof that she was truly alone.
I'm such a fool… I'm such-
"Watch out!"
Krystal's breath caught in her chest and she blinked as she was brought back to reality, only to realize that she was running towards what looked like a steep dropoff. Her sandals almost skidded across the dirt as she forced herself to slide to a stop right at the edge. She shook her head and let out a deep exhale, her heart pounding in her chest as she did.
What… What is that smell?
"Over here!"
Her eyes turned to see Kyte just a little ways off, standing on a boulder at the edge of the short dropoff, hopping furiously in an attempt to grab her attention.
"There!" She shouted, a sense of frantic urgency in her voice as she pointed down the bank. "Down there! He's stuck!"
Krystal's eyes followed the girl's digit down the rocky incline until they stopped at a sight that confused her for a moment in the dim light of falling twilight. Down at the bottom, it looked like a long patch of clear, nighttime sky had been cut out and stretched like a sheet across the ground, leaving a pure-black, empty void draped across the forest floor.
However, as she squinted and focused on it, she realized that the dark patch was actually a large pit of black, sticky, bubbling tar buried a few feet deep in the ground. This pit had almost certainly been formed naturally over many years, and the powerful, smokey scent it was emanating was enough to make Krystal want to gag. She ignored the urge however when her eyes soon settled on a small, furiously struggling figure stuck right in the middle of the pit.
"Oh no…"
Without hesitation, she turned and began making down the short incline, stopping right at the edge of the tar pit. From here, she could see that the EarthWalker prince was indeed trapped within, stuck deep in the sticky pitch. He must have fallen into it from up the top of the hill, and now, the child was struggling furiously, frantically trying to free his legs from the glue-like substance. But even from here, Krystal could see that his efforts were only causing him to slowly but surely sink even deeper into the muck, and his head was in real danger of going under.
"Stop struggling!" She tried to call, but to no avail. The child was facing the other direction, and besides, he seemed too panicked to hear her.
"Help me! Help me, someone!"
"What are we going to do?" Kyte asked as she flew down and perched at Krystal's side, looking out at the prince with desperation in her eyes and on her mind.
"I… I don't…"
From where the two stood at the edge of the pit, the child was way too far away to try wading out into the pit, or risk Krystal also getting stuck, and Kyte certainly wasn't strong enough to fly over and pull him out by herself. Perhaps they could fish him out with something, but she doubted there would be anything nearby that would be long enough. If only she had a rope, or something…
She was distracted by a nearby presence, followed by a rustling of bushes and a crunch of leaves, signaling rapid footfalls. She turned to see someone emerge from the trees up near the top of the hill where she and Kyte had come from.
Her face switched to one of shock to an irked glare. It was him. He really had been following them.
"Here! Here!" Kyte suddenly called, hopping up and waving her wings to try to get his attention. "The prince is stuck!"
"Kyte, no!" Krystal hissed. "We don't need his help."
"But he's friendly, isn't he? I saw you talking to him."
Regardless, Fox's head turned until he caught sight of the duo, and he shouted something that Krystal didn't understand. Then, he swiftly began making his way down towards them.
"Krystal!" He said, stopping in front of them. His face was flustered, and he was breathing heavily, yet he didn't exactly seem to be completely tired either.
Krystal shot him an evil eye and tightened her lips, unwilling to say a word. Instead, Kyte spoke up.
"Please! We need you to help us! He's trapped, and we can't reach him! Hurry!"
Fox looked down at the girl with a confused look on his face. Did he not understand Dino-Talk either?
Krystal huffed in irritation, however, as she glanced over at the trapped EarthWalker, she reluctantly realized that Kyte was right, and they probably wouldn't be able to save the child in time without his help.
"Fox," she said to draw his gaze, before pointing to where the child was stuck. "We need your help."
Fox's eyes followed her finger until they settled on where the EarthWalker was trapped. Even though he had apparently only just noticed the prince's dire situation, he reacted much faster than Krystal predicted. Almost without hesitation, his face fell into a shocked look and he made a motion as if to step out into the pit to try to save the child himself.
"Don't!" Krystal shouted, placing a stopping hand on his shoulder. "I'm not saving you too if you get stuck!"
Fox pulled away from her touch, saying something with a tone that suggested he was telling her to calm down. Krystal's brow fell and her lips tightened in annoyance.
"Krystal, we need to hurry!" Kyte said. The urgency on the young girl's mind was almost as severe as the panic on the EarthWalker's.
"We need a plan…" Krystal muttered.
Fox seemed to have the same idea, pacing back and forth with his eyes to the sky and his hands on his head in rushed thought. After a second or two, he turned back to Krystal and began speaking like a captain giving a game-plan to his team. As he did, he began stretching his hands out to either side, as though he were describing a long stick.
Krystal rolled her eyes. "We're not going to find anything that's long enough to…"
She stopped and huffed. He wasn't going to understand her. What was the point?
However, after a second or two, an idea suddenly seemed to spring to his mind, and he made a motion to remove the pack on his back and set it on the ground. Krystal crossed her arms as he opened the top up and stuck his hand inside, casting an impatient glance in the EarthWalker's direction and tapping her toe.
"We're wasting time. Kyte, we need to find-"
Her words were cut off as she turned her eyes back to Fox, right as he pulled something from his pack; something that punched Krystal in the gut so hard that her eyes widened and her jaw fell open. For a moment, she was positive that her eyes were playing tricks on her, or perhaps she was in some kind of dream.
Yet, after closing and opening her eyes to confirm that she was seeing right, she realized there was no mistake…
Her staff…
Fox had her staff. He was holding it in his hands. It was real. It was right there. How? How did he find it? Why did he have it?
"Krystal? What's wrong?" Kyte asked. She could clearly sense the astounded shock on the vixen's mind.
Fox held the staff up in his hands, though he didn't look like he was intending to give it to Krystal. He instead began observing it up and down, and as he did, he began pulling on either of its ends, as though he were trying to force it out of the collapsed state it was in.
A pang of protectiveness broke Krystal out of her sense of shock, and she shot forward like a viper and snatched the artifact out of Fox's hands before he could break it (even though that was a borderline impossibility). He flinched backwards in surprise and let out a gasp, but she ignored him. The world around her faded away as her eyes gazed at the heirloom held tenderly in her hands. She was still trying to convince herself that it was real.
I can't believe it…
To make sure, she gently brushed a groove on its smooth surface with a finger. Instantly, the weapon responded to her touch, and it extended out to its full length. Her heart fluttered. It was real. She hadn't lost it.
The last relic of home… of family...
Her eyes drew up to see Fox looking down at the staff in her hands with a shocked look on his face, as if he was wondering how she had made it work. Of course he wouldn't know. It was Krystal's staff. It would only obey her.
Yet, for some reason, a part of her was almost tempted to give him thanks. He did somehow manage to find something precious that, by all conceivable logic, should have been lost forever.
She didn't though. He wouldn't have understood her even if she did.
The shock on Fox's face faded quickly, and he instead began making motions with his hands, clearly asking Krystal to give him the staff again. Instinctively, she pulled it away from him far behind her back, baring her teeth and almost growling at him. She wasn't about to let it slip from her grasp a second time.
He pulled back his hand as quickly as though she had snapped at him. However, despite the startled look on his face, he quickly pushed it aside and motioned at her again, asking her to give it to him with more urgency. She didn't budge.
"Krystal!" Kyte said suddenly, "Just give it to him! He only wants to help!"
Krystal shot the girl a glare, anger flaring up in her chest. However, as if to remind her of the situation, the prince cried out again.
"Someone, please! Find my mom! Tell her I'm stuck! Someone!"
Her gaze turned to see that the young EarthWalker had visibly sunk another inch or so into the tar. Her heart sank and the anger faded. They didn't have any more time to spare.
"Fine…" She growled quietly, taking the staff out from behind her back and reluctantly holding it out to the vulpine.
Fox reached out and took the weapon out of her hands with a grateful nod, though that did nothing to lessen Krystal's distaste in allowing him to have it.
Regardless of her apprehensiveness, Fox immediately spun around and made a motion to Krystal and Kyte to follow him before dashing alongside the bank of the pit with her staff in his hand. Krystal sighed softly before quickly following his footsteps, trailing around until the three of them were a little bit closer to where the prince was stuck, in a direction where he was now facing them.
However, with a sinking heart, she realized that the child was still way too far out into the pit for them to reach him with the staff alone. They needed to think of something else.
"Don't worry!" Kyte called to him. "We'll get you out!"
"What-" The child finally noticed their presence at the edge of the pit, though this didn't seem to calm him down. In fact, his face fell into a shocked and terrified look, and he began struggling and thrashing away at the tar even more fiercely.
"No! Help! Help! Bad guys! Outworlders! CloudRunners! They're trying to kidnap me again! Help! Hel-"
His words were silenced as his head suddenly dipped forward into the tar, causing the viscous substance to splash up and stick to the sides of his face, grasping at him like a mob of sticky hands.
"Please, calm down!" Krystal called. "You'll only sink faster if you struggle!"
Her words had no effect, and he continued trying to escape in vain. As she watched helplessly from the sidelines, Krystal felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Fox with a surprisingly calm yet determined demeanor. Without hesitation, he began using a series of precise and efficient gestures and hand signals, the likes of which showed that he most certainly had military experience. Krystal quickly realized that he was trying to communicate his plan to her, and after a moment, she was fairly sure she understood what he was trying to say.
He was planning to step out into the tar pit as far as he could go to reach the child with her staff and pull him as close to the shore as he could manage. Meanwhile, she would go out to try to find a long stick or something else with which she could use to help pull both him and the prince out, while anchoring herself on the edge of the pit.
Honestly, it seemed like a longshot to Krystal, and she had a feeling it would just end up with Fox getting stuck in the tar as well. Not to mention the fact that she hardly even trusted him as is.
But, unfortunately, she wasn't exactly in a position where she could debate with him. So, though she had doubts, she gave him a single nod, signifying she understood.
Immediately, he turned away and, after a couple steps back to give himself a running start, darted forward and leaped out into the pit, sinking deep into the muck with a sticky plopping sound. From there, as he held the staff high above his head to keep it away from the muck, he began taking long, slow steps, pushing and forcing his legs through the viscous goop. Every step looked like a burden, and yet Krystal was surprised that he was moving at all. If he didn't stumble, it wouldn't take him too long to get close enough to the child to reach him with the staff, though he definitely wouldn't be able to get both of them out by himself.
They would still need Krystal's help.
"Kyte," she said, turning her gaze down to the girl. "We have a… 'plan'. All I need you to do is go out there and try to keep the prince's head above the surface so that he can breathe, okay? Just don't touch the tar. I can't have you getting stuck too."
She nodded, and without an ounce of hesitation, turned and flew out past Fox to where the EarthWalker was. There, she grabbed hold of the crest on the top of his head with her feet and began flapping her wings furiously, trying to pull his head up just enough to give him a bit of literal breathing room.
"Ow ow ow!" The prince shouted, shaking his head in protest. "Stop it! That hurts!"
"I'm trying to save you, numbskull! Stop moving!" Kyte shouted in response, though it looked like she was already getting tired from the effort she was making.
Krystal meanwhile had spun around and was frantically looking for a suitable stick or something similar somewhere within the forest. Nothing caught her eye at first, however, after a couple of minutes of searching, she caught sight of a long branch that had fallen from an aging, half-dead tree. It was of similar length to her staff, and it seemed sturdy enough that she didn't think it would break from the strain of pulling Fox and the child through the tar. So, she scooped the branch up into her hands and spun around, making back towards the pit.
There, she saw that Fox had gotten close enough to reach the child. He was holding her staff out to him, goading him to grab hold. For a moment, Krystal could feel the child's apprehension, and he refused to grab the staff at first. Yet, after a second or two, she felt him change his mind. She had expected the driver of this change to be sheer desperation, yet, what she felt instead was a slowly emerging sense of confusion, followed by… trust. For some reason, the young EarthWalker suddenly seemed to be growing to trust Fox. It was a shaky trust, yet it was trust all the same. Odd...
"Fox!" She shouted, stepping to the edge of the pit.
Fox shot a glance backwards, just long enough for Krystal to show him the branch that she had found and for him to give her a quick nod of approval. Then, he turned back to the child and held the staff out again. This time, the EarthWalker pulled himself up out of the tar just enough that he was able to grab onto the end of the staff with his beak. And with that, Fox began pulling backwards in an attempt to drag the EarthWalker through the tar and just a little bit closer to the edge.
Kyte tried to help, jumping over and grabbing onto the child's tail before flapping her wings in an attempt to inch him closer to Fox. However, as she pulled his back end up, his front end began to go down, and Krystal saw that Fox had to stop pulling to help him keep his head above the surface. Frantically, he waved his hand back and forth at the girl, yelling at her to get her to stop.
"Kyte, stop!" Krystal shouted. "You're only making it harder!"
"What am I supposed to do then?" She called back, tucking her wings back in and perching on the kid's back.
"Just come back! You can't help anymore!"
Kyte shot a glance down at the EarthWalker. Krystal could tell she didn't feel right just standing on the sidelines and watching. Even still, she relented and flew back over to where Krystal stood, landing beside her. There, the two of them watched Fox work.
It was a slow process. Fox could only pull him back about an inch at a time, and it was made more difficult by the fact that the staff would occasionally slip out of the child's beak, seeing as he couldn't get a good grip on its smooth surface. Even still, after a few, painfully long moments, Fox got close enough that Krystal saw it was her turn. Grasping the stick she had found tightly, she stuck it down into the pit so that Fox could grab onto it.
"Fox!" She called to get his attention.
He turned his head to see that the stick was almost close enough to reach. He let go of the staff with one hand to try grabbing it, but his first attempt went wide. With a curse, Krystal leaned down further and stretched the stick down as far as she could, while Fox forced his legs to move through the tar just a couple more centimeters with gritted teeth, before trying to reach it again.
This time, he barely managed to wrap his fingers around the end of the stick, grasping onto it as tight as he could. Krystal breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as she braced herself on the edge of the pit, she called to Fox that she was ready before starting to pull with all her might.
She could feel the tar resisting her with every tug, yet despite that, she saw definite progress being made. Now that Fox had an anchor to latch onto, it was much easier for him to pull himself and the child through the muck. It was still difficult though, and Krystal was forced to lean backwards a bit so as to not lose her balance and tumble forward into the pit herself.
However, bit by bit, they were getting closer. Soon, he would be close enough to the edge that she could reach down and help him and the child out herself. It wouldn't be much longer before-
Suddenly, as she was pulling backwards with another forceful tug, she felt herself losing her grip. A pang of panic shot through her chest, and she tried clutching onto the branch tighter to stop it from slipping out of her grasp. Unfortunately, the stick slipped anyway and slid through her fingers, falling down into the pit below. And as the rough wood sliced across her skin, Krystal felt a sharp pain that caused her to cry out and stumble backwards, clutching her left hand with her right.
She hunched over and closed her eyes for a moment, gritting her teeth as a wave of lightheadedness washed over her, threatening to make her pass out. Slowly, with dark spots invading her vision, she opened her eyes, uncovered her hand, and gaped down at it. There was indeed a long, terrifyingly deep gash arcing across the length of her palm, and blood was already dripping out of it and running down her arm, leaving long, dark red streaks on her blue fur. As she stared at her rent flesh, her head began to swim, and nausea hit her like a wrecking ball.
However, behind all that, she vaguely heard a voice calling to her.
"-urry, hurry! They're sinking!"
"Krystal!"
She blinked until the spots cleared from her vision and she swallowed down a surge of bile, before turning to see Kyte waving her over and pointing down into the pit. It didn't look like the girl had noticed the vixen's injury.
So, clenching her bloody hand and trying her best to push the pain and the image of the open wound into the back of her head, she rushed back over to the pit and peered over.
Fox had fallen over sideways due to losing his anchor so suddenly, and most of his right side was now stuck deep in the tar. The young EarthWalker meanwhile was in even more danger, as the sudden motion had caused him to lose his grip on Krystal's staff and tumble forward. He was now stuck face-first in the pitch and struggling to raise his head above the surface. If they didn't get him out very soon, he was going to choke and suffocate.
"What are we going to do!?" Kyte cried, on the verge of breaking down into tears.
Krystal's heart was pounding, and she was wracking her brain for a solution. Fox was trying to reach the child to help pull his head above the surface, but he couldn't do much with his right arm stuck deep in the pitch. She didn't have time to find another stick with which to help him. She had no idea what to do. Panic and terror was assaulting her from every side as well as from within. She… she needed to…
As logic faded away and she started to act more on instinct and pumping adrenaline, she took a step back and leaped forward, flinging herself into the pit and ignoring the shock on Kyte's mind from the sudden action.
As she sailed down and sunk waist deep into the tar with a sticky plop, close to where Fox was stuck, she shuddered slightly and her nose wrinkled. The pungent smell was even stronger down in the pit, and she could already feel the tar pooling up and clutching at the fur on her legs. The slightest movement was met with a far greater resistance than she had expected, but even still, she forced herself to push through towards Fox and the child, calling to him as she did.
"Give me your hand!"
Fox's head turned to her, and his face fell into a look of shock. He clearly wasn't expecting her to jump in with him, but that surprise faded quickly. He instead reached out his free arm to her, which she grasped and began helping to pull him upright again. As his right arm slowly emerged from the tar, she could see that the substance didn't want to let go, and a coating of black muck remained on his orange fur even as his arm was freed and she was able to help him stand upright.
"The prince!" She shouted as she let go of him. "Hurry!"
From where he stood, Fox reached out and grabbed hold of Krystal's staff, pulling it out from where it had fallen in the tar. Then he immediately began scrambling towards where the prince was, while Krystal followed suit.
They didn't have long. The prince's head was still stuck underneath the surface, and his struggles were becoming more desperate. He didn't have much longer: Moments, if not seconds.
Fox reached the child first, and he almost fell over in his haste as he dropped Krystal's staff and grabbed hold of the prince's head, desperately trying to help him pull it above the surface. Yet, even from where Krystal was right behind the vulpine, she knew his efforts weren't helping at all. The tar was clinging too tightly, and he couldn't get a good grip.
She could sense the panic slowly ebb from the child's mind in lieu of a terrifying quietness. He was losing consciousness.
She gritted her teeth and forced herself through the tar as fast as possible, almost falling over forward from the effort. She soon came close enough to reach Fox, though instead of immediately trying to assist him in rescuing the prince, she grabbed his shoulder to try to get his attention.
"Give me the staff!" She shouted, pointing to the weapon at his side and far out of her reach.
Fox's eyes flickered to the staff, though he didn't immediately make a motion to grab hold of it and give it to her. He seemed too preoccupied with the prince, and Krystal could feel him shrugging her off. Anger flared up in her chest, and she grabbed hold of his shoulder again and forced him around to face her as much as the tar would allow.
"Give me the staff!" She shouted again.
In response, he threw her hand off of his shoulder and shouted something angrily. He was telling her off. Like a child. Her face twisted into a look of fury, and a part of her was tempted to lash out and slap him.
Instead, knowing they didn't have time or reason to argue verbally, she decided there was only one way she was going to communicate what she had planned with him. So, she closed her eyes and began focusing. As she did, she began preparing mental images; images of Fox giving the staff to her, of the two of them grabbing onto the prince, and then of the three of them sailing out of the pit and through the air into safety. They were rough and simplistic, but they would have to do.
Then, with the subtlety of a rock crashing through a window, she projected these images out of her head and into Fox's, forcing them onto the forefront of his mind in such a way that it would be impossible he wouldn't notice.
She opened her eyes, right in time to see Fox's face frozen in a look of shock, blinking as though he were seeing things that weren't really there (which, in a way, he sort of was). Soon, his gaze turned to her, and the question in his eyes was as clear as day. 'Did you do that?'
She ignored him. "The staff! Now!"
She pointed again, and this time Fox responded. He blinked again as though trying to clear his head, but immediately turned and grabbed hold of the staff where it lay in the tar before handing it to Krystal. Krystal took it without hesitation, and immediately motioned him to grab the prince.
Fox complied, bending down and sticking one of his arms into the tar to wrap it around the child's torso as best as he could. As he did, Krystal pushed herself through the tar with her staff in hand until she was abreast of Fox, and put her arms underneath his, holding him close and tight. Though he still didn't look too sure what was happening, he did likewise until the three of them were more or less secure in each other's grasps.
Then, saying a quick prayer that her plan would work the way she was imagining, Krystal raised the staff upright in one hand and stuck one end of it into the surface of the tar. As she commanded, the shaft of the heirloom began to glow with a blue, wispy light, heralding a flash of blue fire to erupt from the bottom with a roar and a blaze of heat.
The staff began to rise, and as it did, Krystal could feel her hand almost magnetize to its surface, helping to ensure that she wouldn't lose her grip on it. The tar below clutched at her legs, desperate to keep her trapped within its depths. Yet it couldn't stop the powerful pull of the staff, and though the resistance as well as the extra weight she was carrying caused her to feel like her shoulder might pop out of its socket, she held tight as she began rising out of the muck with both Fox and the prince in tow.
She heard Fox let out a gasp of shock as the tar released its hold on his legs and the prince's head, and they all sailed up into the air. He clearly hadn't been expecting this.
Their flight hit its peak just a few feet in the air as Krystal felt her staff losing the energy it had stored. Gravity began taking its iron hold on them and as it did, she lost her grip on Fox. A pang of panic shot through her chest for a moment as the three of them began free-falling down towards solid ground, and her eyes searched for the prince to see if she could save him from the impact.
However, Fox had the quick reflexes to get to him first, wrapping his arms around the child and flipping over backwards to land on his back, in an attempt to cushion the child with his own body. The two of them landed hard, and Krystal could hear Fox let out a pained grunt as the weight of the prince was driven down into his gut. The impact had almost certainly knocked the breath out of him, and it was possible it had broken a rib or two.
Krystal hit the ground immediately after he did. She was intending to land on her feet, but she lost her balance and fell forward onto her face, losing her grip on her staff as she did and causing it to roll a short distance away. As she lay there quietly, heart beating, her breathing short and shallow, and body hurting all over (not to mention her fur and clothes partially coated in blotches of sticky tar), she let out a deep sigh of relief. It was over.
She lay on the ground for a moment, then for two, trying to catch her breath. Despite the fatigue crashing down onto her like an avalanche, she slowly managed to pick her head up enough to look for the others. The prince was lying on his side just a couple of feet away, while both Kyte and Fox were knelt beside him to make sure he was alright. He was coughing, and spitting up globs of tar, but he was alive, and Krystal could sense that he was quickly regaining lucidity. Krystal closed her eyes and rested her head on the ground again, letting out a deep and grateful sigh.
After allowing herself one last moment to rest, she found the strength to begin pushing herself off the ground and back to her feet. However, as she put her hands on the ground to begin propping herself up, a stab of pain shot from her left hand all the way up her arm, and she took in a pained hiss of breath through gritted teeth.
Pushing herself up to her knees with one hand, she brought the other hand to her face to reveal the bloody wound that she had forgotten about earlier. But now that the adrenaline was fading, the pain was returning, heralding a pincer attack of both lightheadedness and nausea. It took all her effort not to pass out on the spot.
"Krystal?"
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she instinctively flinched away. As her eyes opened again and her vision slowly cleared, she turned to see Fox crouched beside her. He was looking down at her bloody hand with a cocked head, a look of visible concern on his face. When he noticed she was looking at him, he turned to meet her eyes and opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. It looked as though he had been thinking of a question, but had suddenly forgotten it, and was now just staring at her with his mouth hanging open like a dumb baffoon.
"Uh, uh… Um…"
Her brow furrowed as her face fell into an annoyed frown. Is he serious? I'm fine.
Before he could react, she turned away from him and forced herself up to climb up to her feet, though unfortunately far too quickly given her current state. Her vision went dark as the blood rushed out of her head, causing her to lose her balance again and start to tip over forward. She was vaguely aware that she was about to fall, but her body wasn't responsive enough to stop it.
Before she could fall however, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her body, keeping her from hitting the ground. Bit by bit, her vision returned and she blinked in momentary confusion. Slowly, she turned her head to see that Fox had caught her from behind, and was now holding her weight with his arms underneath her shoulders.
And his hands on her chest.
Fury flared up in her chest like the flames of a dragon, and she recoiled and reared back to break the vulpine's grasp and hurl his body away from her. He released her without a struggle, and he stepped back in surprise while she put a couple feet's distance between them, spinning around to face him with teeth bared and a look of indignation on her face. Though she was clutching and putting pressure on her injured hand in an attempt to slow the bleeding a little bit, her attention was entirely focused on him.
"Don't touch me…" She growled with a low tone.
Fox's hands were held up defensively, and he was saying something with a tone that suggested he was telling her to calm down. That only served to fan the flames burning in her heart, and she clenched her teeth in an effort to hold back an angry curse.
He's already humiliated me once today. Isn't that enough for him? Why can't he take a hint and just leave us alone?
Her chest was heaving with an angry breath, and her eyes were glued to him, as if daring him to make the first move. The silence became heavy, then overpowering. He seemed too nervous to make a move, and she was unwilling to give him the satisfaction. They might have stood there forever, had a voice not suddenly broken the silence.
"AH! No! Back off! Don't touch me!"
Krystal and Fox both jumped in surprise at the same time, and Krystal turned to see the young EarthWalker hop to his feet and dash in their direction. Behind him, she saw Kyte standing where he just was with an astounded look on her face.
"Hey! Stop! Get back here!" The girl shouted, breaking out into a half-hop, half-flight to follow him.
Krystal panicked for a half-second as the EarthWalker ran, worried that he might be trying to escape into the woods again. However, her fear was unfounded, as he instead stopped right next to Fox and dove behind the vulpine's legs as though he were trying to hide. Fox threw his hands up in surprise and spun around to see what the EarthWalker was doing, but the child paid him no notice. His focus seemed totally fixed on Krystal's young ward.
"Back off, CloudRunner!" He shouted, poking his head out from behind Fox's legs and giving Kyte a look that was probably intended to be intimidating. "If you know what's good for you!"
"What?" Kyte said with an angry tone. "Don't be stupid! Maybe you're too dumb to notice, but I was trying to help you, EarthWalker!"
Kyte jumped around Fox's legs to where the prince was, but he darted away from her just as quickly, sprinting over to Krystal and hiding behind her legs instead. She didn't really seem to have a good reason for why she was chasing the young dino, other than the fact he was just trying to run from her.
"Yeah, right! You were trying to kill me! If these outworlders hadn't saved me, I woulda been dead meat 'cause of you!"
"I wasn't trying to-" Krystal felt intense anger flaring up in Kyte, and the girl stomped her foot on the ground repeatedly. "You're a bonehead!"
"Well you're ugly!"
"Stop it!" Krystal shouted with an angry glare at the two children. "Both of you!"
"Yeah, you tell her!" The EarthWalker yelled.
"She literally just said both of us. That means you too!"
Krystal shot the girl a warning look, wordlessly telling her to stop talking. As the angry look on her face faded into embarrassed irritation, she huffed and turned away, crossing her wings while grumbling to herself quietly.
Meanwhile, Krystal had turned around to face the EarthWalker, bending down until she was down at his level, while still putting pressure on her injured hand in an attempt to slow the bleeding a little.
"What's your name?" She asked with a soft voice, trying to get him to calm down a little.
His anger faded surprisingly quickly, and he gave her a wide smile. "Oh, my name's Tricky! Thanks for saving me! I always thought you outworlders were all bad guys, but you're actually kinda nice now that I actually met some of you."
Krystal raised an eyebrow. This one seemed to be very loud, both in word and in mind. "Um, thank you… Tricky. You seem nice too."
He laughed. "Eh, sometimes. You should see me when I get angry! I can get really scary!"
"I'm sure. Listen, Tricky, I have something to tell you. Your mother was the one who sent me to save you. She thought that you had been captured by the SharpClaw, and she was worried about you."
Tricky's face lit up. "Mom sent you? Awesome! That means she's alright! I was scared that the stupid SharpClaw kidnapped her too. I shoulda known better. I bet my mom could fight off a hundred SharpClaws by herself!"
Krystal smiled. "She probably could."
Though, not in her current state, she thought.
"So, you're gonna take me back to her?" The prince asked.
Krystal nodded. "I am. On one condition though."
He cocked his head. "Huh? What is it?"
"While I take you back down to the valley, I need you to try to get along with Kyte over there, okay? I know that there are tensions between… ahem, I know that your tribe and the CloudRunners don't like each other much. But Kyte is my friend, and I know-"
Tricky suddenly backpedaled, sporting a look as though Krystal had just insulted both him and his mother.
"What? You're friends with a CloudRunner? Why would you do that? Don't you know they're all a bunch of sneaky backstabbers? No way I'm gonna get along with… with her!"
Krystal sensed a surge of anger rising up in Kyte, and she was unable to silence her before the girl suddenly yelled over her shoulder.
"At least I'm not as dumb as mud!"
Tricky spun around to face the girl, crouching down as though he was preparing to charge her. "Say that again, pointy nose!"
"You're dumb as mud! And you have a pointy nose too!"
"Stop it!" Krystal tried to say, worried that Tricky might actually try to charge the girl in anger. Even though he was small, he was still quite a bit larger than the young CloudRunner was, and could possibly hurt her if given the opportunity.
Luckily, he currently seemed satisfied with throwing only insults. "Grrrr, go jump off a cliff! A-and don't fly!"
"I wish we didn't save you! You're just a mean, stupid… what the… Oh no, Krystal! You're hurt!"
Kyte's mind had switched to one of wrath to one of terrified concern in a flash, and she jumped up and flew over to Krystal's side. It seemed as though she had finally caught sight of the blood dripping out of Krystal's hands and down onto the ground, and her eyes were wide with fear.
"Yes, I know." She said, casting a glance down at the injury and noting that the bleeding didn't seem to be slowing much. "It's not as bad as it looks."
That was a lie, and both she and Kyte knew it.
"Oh no, oh no… We need to do something about it!"
"And we will. We just need to get back to ThornTail Hollow, and we'll get it patched up there."
Assuming I make it back down… Was the thought that passed over her mind before she could silence it.
Letting out a sigh and putting on a smile, for Kyte's sake, she turned so that she was facing both of the children. "How about it? Can I trust you to get along for just one day?"
Tricky shuffled back and forth, glaring at Kyte briefly. "I dunno… maybe…"
Kyte let out a scoff and crossed her wings. "Just so long as he doesn't open his dumb mouth."
Tricky looked like he wanted to shoot a comeback at the girl, but he was silenced when Krystal gave him a stern glare.
"Good. Let's get moving. We should be able to make it back before dawn."
I wish we had time to make camp, she thought with a sigh as she made a motion to turn away and start walking. It's been too long since I've had a rest. But we just can't risk it...
She could already feel herself getting a little lightheaded from the loss of blood. There had to be something she could do on the way down to slow the bleeding. Perhaps she could find a clump of moss, or jerry-rig a bundle of leaves somehow, or… if it came to it, she could repurpose her loincloth. Even though she really, really didn't want to...
"Wait, what about him?" Kyte suddenly asked. "Isn't he coming?"
Krystal turned to see Kyte pointing to a forgotten Fox. The vulpine it seemed had been distracted from the trio, and was turned away from them with a finger to his ear. It looked like he was in a conversation with whoever was on the other end of that communicator of his. He hadn't noticed they were leaving yet.
Krystal's brow fell, and she clenched her injured hand just a little tighter. "No. He won't be coming with us."
"Why? Maybe he could help-"
"I said no." Krystal snapped, causing Kyte to shrink back a little.
"O-okay…"
She turned away again, and began walking, her pace quicker than before. She didn't look back, not even to see if the children were following her. Her gaze forward was steadfast, and every fiber of her being was hoping that the three of them could slip away before he noticed.
Unfortunately, things just refused to go her way today.
"Krystal!" She heard his voice call behind her, followed by quick footsteps.
Her teeth clenched in irritation. He really couldn't take a hint, could he?
Though she desperately just wanted to pretend that he didn't exist, she decided to humor him and turn to face him, wondering what he could possibly have to say. However, as her gaze fell back on him, she let out a gasp as she saw what he was holding in his hands. Her staff. She had almost forgotten her staff.
Her mouth was hanging open as she gazed down at it, and before she could stop it, a tear suddenly leaked from her eye and began slowly traveling down her face. She closed her eyes for a moment to hold back more tears and quickly wiped away the one that had escaped, before eventually exhaling through her nose and opening them again.
As she did, she saw that Fox was holding the staff out, offering her to take it. Her lips tightened, and she glanced up at his face, trying to detect a hint of insincerity or deceit. She couldn't see it, but that didn't comfort her. It wasn't that difficult to hide.
Even still, she released the pressure on her injury long enough to reach forward and snatch the staff out of Fox's hands, ignoring the trickles of wet blood that began trailing down the shaft of the weapon as she held it. Then, the staff clutched tightly in hand, she turned away without a word and started walking once more.
He didn't let her go far.
"Krystal…" He said, and put a hand on her shoulder again.
This was too much.
With a single, lightning-fast motion, she swatted his hand away with an arm, while simultaneously spinning around and swinging her staff up, jabbing the end of it against his windpipe. There was a fire burning in her eyes, and a heavy breath was being drawn in and out of a flared nose, while her tail flicked back and forth like a predator ready to deliver a killing blow.
"Don't touch me again… You vile..." She growled, pressing the staff against his throat a bit harder in warning.
In response, Fox again raised his hands, in a manner as though he were trying to surrender. That didn't matter to her. She just wanted him gone. He was dangerous. Even if he wasn't the one who had attacked them, he was still probably involved somehow. She couldn't trust him. She couldn't…
"Krystal, please, let him come."
Krystal shot a glare down at the young CloudRunner as she spoke with a soft, slightly nervous voice.
"No." She said. "He's not to be trusted."
Though the girl shifted a bit under Krystal's angry eye, her mind was surprisingly firm. "Krystal… you said that we can understand people better than they understand themselves. Well I know that he just wants to help us. Help you. He's friendly. I can tell."
Krystal's eyes turned back to Fox. As she did, she saw him point down at her injury, before bringing his own hand up and making a circular motion around it with the other, miming the action of wrapping a bandage around a wound. He was offering to treat the injury for her.
Suddenly, she became more aware of how much the gash on her palm was stinging, and the lightheadedness grew a bit worse as a result, though she managed to remain on her feet by sheer force of will alone. She took her hand off her staff to gaze down at the injury. Blood was continuing to trickle out at a terrifyingly steady rate. It wouldn't be long before the effects of losing so much blood would start to get even worse.
"I think we should let him tag along!" Tricky piped up. "I saw him fighting a pack of SharpClaw all by himself. It was really cool!"
"He wants to help you." Kyte said. "Can't you sense it?"
"No, I can't." She whispered, eyes falling to the ground for a moment.
I can't allow it. He's not to be trusted. He's going to stab us in the back. Hurt the children. He can't be trusted…
Her eyes flickered to the sky above. It was getting darker. It was going to be very hard to continue the trip down the mountain at night. And even then, she likely didn't have that much time left. There really was only one option.
She hesitated for a moment, then for another. Then, at last, she released the pressure she was putting on his throat and brought the staff back to her side, allowing him to let out a soft sigh of relief and rub his neck. Then, with lips tight and heart heavy, she gave him a single, solitary nod.
A relieved smile crossed his lips, and he returned the nod. Then, without another moment of delay, he motioned her to follow him before turning around and starting to walk off, saying something in that strange language of his to the mystery person on the other end of his communicator.
What am I doing? Krystal found herself thinking, I shouldn't have to rely on his help. I can handle myself...
"So is he coming with us?" Tricky asked, breaking her train of thought.
"No…" She said simply. "But he'll be camping with us tonight."
"Cool! What's his name anyway?"
Krystal's eyes narrowed. "Fox."
"'Fox'. Huh. You outworlders have weird names. Still, he does seem cool!"
Krystal gave the child a glare. "Didn't you hate him a minute ago?"
"Eh, that was just a misunderstanding, right? He's a good guy, and I'm gonna go talk to him. Maybe he can tell me how he beat up all those SharpClaws all by himself!"
And with that the EarthWalker dashed off, long before Krystal could even attempt to let him know that they didn't speak the same language.
What a little fool... she found herself thinking with a frown.
"Krystal…"
Krystal glared down at the young CloudRunner standing at her side. She was shuffling back and forth uncomfortably, eyes not looking at the vixen.
"I-I-I just… just wanted to s-say, um… Sorry…"
Krystal didn't respond, instead collapsing her staff before flipping it up and slinging it across her back. Then without a word, she stalked off away from where the girl stood to the direction Fox and Tricky had gone, leaving a small trail of blood as it trickled through her clenched fingers and splashed onto the ground below.
Night had fallen. The mountain was growing darker and darker, and the forest was quickly beginning to fall into a deep, quiet slumber.
Author's Note: Now, not to sabotage myself or anything, but I'm a little worried that this chapter is a mess.
Not to say I dislike it. It was fun to write, even though I got stuck a couple of times, and I think it says what I need it to say. The main problem I have is that... well, I think I might just have a phobia of long chapters. I know that sounds silly, but when I'm writing, I always have this voice in the back of my head saying "This chapter is too long. People are going to get bored. It's too slow, it needs to keep moving." As a result, I just end up panicking and, in an attempt to cut some fat, go back and cut out parts that... possibly shouldn't be cut.
I ended up trying to ignore that voice this time around, since I really couldn't see anything obvious that needed to go, and now here we are with the longest chapter in the story thus far. Honestly, I think I'm gonna need to hear a couple of the opinions of all you lovely ladies and gentlemen out there: Do you prefer longer chapters or shorter chapters? Or does it not even matter and I should just keep on the course I've been on? I'd love to hear what you think.
Anyway, thank you all for viewing and reviewing. Sorry this chapter took a bit longer to finish than I was intending, but I've been moving some stuff around the house a bit, and that's been taking up a lot of time. And all things considered, this chapter isn't THAT late compared to... previous waits. Heh...
Thank you again, and have a wonderful week.
Yours truly, Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman.