Heres the second chappie, I hope you like it, please review at the end
Disclaimer: I dont own epic, only my characters
They were close enough to hear the screams, and the trees parted to reveal what the Jinn called, the Berry Meadow. Nod remembered coming here as a child with his dad, and playing tag and hide-and-go-seek. You could taste the wild strawberries that grew here and claim they were the best in the forest.
Now that was a distant memory, as he witnessed the Boggans running amok all around, making the plants wither a die. The civilians had run off to hide, so where was the screaming coming from? They flew over a patch of dead grass and saw the Boggans had captured a family of dandelions, who were sobbing with fear and pleading for their lives. Nod could hear the Boggans shouting at them, "Where is it!?" Two of them advanced to the family with their weapons poised for attack.
Instantly, Lex shot two arrows at them, taking them out before they took another step to the family. The Boggans looked to find a battalion of Leafmen flying straight at them.
"Nod, Lex, Thryn! Stay high and cover our backs! Mason, Ross! Get the people out of here!" Ronin barked, as he dove down to the ground, leading the rest of the group.
Brave Leafmen and women lept to the ground and charged, and the clearing became an ensuing battle. Ross and Mason landed next to the family, and realizing their was to many to take on the birds, they disappeared into the long grass. The battle raged, as the Leafmen dodged every swipe and countered every blow the Boggans tried. Nod, Lex, and Thryn fired arrow after arrow, saving their comrades more than once from a Boggan striking from behind. They received return fire, but the great thing with hummingbirds was that they could fly forwards, backwards, and side to side. So long as they were alert, the archers were able to dodge every arrow shot at them.
Nod had sent down another arrow, when he spotted four Boggans running into the long grass where Ross, Mason, and the family had gone. He steered his hummingbird after them.
"Where are you going!?" Thryn shouted over the din of the battle.
"Back in a sec!"
Ignoring her protests, he led his bird low, skimming over the tops of the long grass and wildflowers. The meadow abruptly fell into a slope, covered with ivy, thorns, and all sorts of undergrowth. The Boggans were clearing a path by hacking at the plants, making them wither away. Up ahead, he caught glimpses of Mason or Ross running through and around grass stalks. The Bogs were rapidly closing the distance, and even though Ross and Mason were trained fighters, four against two weren't great odds.
Nod swooped and knocked the first Bog off his feet. Taking advantage of the surprise, he nocked and fired an arrow getting the second in the gut. The other three quickly took cover, and Nod flew away, catching up to his comrades running below him. He smiled, as he remembered being the one running, on that one faithful day.
"Nod!" Ross shouted between pants. "Your not supposed to be here!"
"I think a thank you is in order," Nod replied. "It was four against two and with people to protect, it wouldn't have been easy."
"We can handle it! Your orders were to cover their backs!"
"I'm covering yours, and now I'm going back to do it again!" Before Ross could ask, Nod reined his hummingbird around and flew back to the perusing Boggans. His diversion had given his comrades ground on them, but Bogs didn't give up so easily.
When he was sure he was back where he had left them, he swooped lower to search. The trees above him casted shadows on the grassy slope, and his bird's belly was tickled by the grass tops. The battle sounded far away and the only disturbance was the breeze.
There was no warning when the spear came hurling out the undergrowth below, and missed the bird and rider by inches. Still, the dodge made Nod unbalanced, and he barely had time to glance up at the sound of a roar, before something heavy knocked him out of the saddle. He landed on the ground, the breath punched out of him, and started rolling down the slope. He reached out to grab anything to stop himself, but everything was ripped out of his grasp. The world became a spinning blur, but he was able to make out the rock coming right for his head, before a white flash and he blacked out.
The sprout sensed water near, and swung it's leaves towards it. It had not had water in days, therefore it was unable to complete it's recipe of energy. It had sunlight, and breathing gas, but no water. It felt itself becoming weak, and the sprout desperately needed water.
The water wasn't in liquid form, rather it sensed it was contained in a body. A fleshy body, one that was living, breathing, but not moving. The sprout reached out to touch it, and felt warmth coming of the being in waves. It felt young, strong, and full of life. A spirit that couldn't be restrained. The Free Spirit. Perhaps this one will do...the plant didn't have many options. It wasn't here a few seconds before. The being had come crashing into it's closed off sanctuary, breaking through the thorns that surrounded it, and came to rest at it's roots.
The plant felt an approaching danger, a party of Malicious Spirits with evil intents, coming closer. Desperate for protection and water, the sprout summoned it's roots to th surface, and the thin, delicate roots snaked up through the soil. The tips tingled with the anticipation of water. They slithered onto Free Spirit's limb, sinking into the skin as if it were rich, soft soil. The sprout wrapped it's stem around the limb, holding it close.
The group of Malicious spirits were almost upon them, and the plant waited for Free Spirit to get up and run, or defend itself, but it remained motionless. The Maliciousness was reaching out to it, and it tightened it's grip in fear of being ripped away from it's new creature.
Another spirit suddenly sprang out, startling the sprout. It was a fighting, angry spirit, one that as soon it had appeared, the other evil ones disappeared. A being that destroyed other beings. The plant's grip tightened even more. What if this new spirit wanted to destroy them?
Yet as soon as Fighting Spirit saw them, it became shocked, concerned, then disbelieving. Not a spirit that destroyed but one that protects. The sprout felt multiple emotions coming off it, none that wished them harm, and at that, the sprout loosened it's hold on Free Spirit. With content, it began to suck up the water from Free Spirit's body, finally feeling secure. It was in good company
The Boggans were finally retreating, and Ronin sent the Leafmen after them, to chase them off for good. Unfortunately with Boggans, it was never the last time you would see of them. The Berry Meadow was almost completely destroyed, and it would take days for the Queen to regrow it, especially when it came to fruit. Thryn landed her hummingbird next to him, while Lex flew around to check the perimeter.
"Where's Nod?" he asked.
"He went after some Boggans, who were going after Mason and Ross. I tried to stop him, but you know how he is..."
Ronin growled in annoyance, "Come with me," he replied, and whistled for his hummingbird. Soon, they were flying in the direction Nod had went.
They followed the Boggan's destructive path down the slope, and came upon the first body, shot with a Leafmen arrow. Thryn's eyes were searching the vegetation around her, looking for Nod, when a flash of bright metal caught her eye. In a branch above, she spotted Ross signaling to them with his sword.
"Go up there and bring them back to the clearing for safety," Ronin ordered. "I'm going to look for Nod." Stupid, reckless boy, he thought. Why do you have to be so much like your father?
They parted ways, and Ronin circled down to find a clue of some sorts, as to Nod's whereabouts. He landed next to the Bog's body, and saw a smaller, more hidden path the Boggans had made, one he wouldn't have seen from the air. Unsheathing his sword, he cautiously walked down the path, the thick plant life surrounding him and blocking out the sunlight.
He heard excited chatters of Boggans up ahead, and silently sheathed his sword, wanting to surprise them with his bow and arrows instead. He peeked over a corner, and saw three Boggans peering at something through a thick wall of thorns, their bodies blocked his view. Whatever it was, Ronin wanted to get to it first.
Moving fast, he came around the corner and loosed the arrow on the closest Boggan, cutting off the chatter, and gaining the attention of the other two. He hadn't even waited for the first arrow to hit it's mark, before he sent another, taking the second down before it could blink. The third charged, gotten over it's initial surprise. Ronin threw aside the bow and unsheathed his sword, side stepping the Bog's swing. Unbalanced, the Boggan didn't have enough time to recover before the Leafman's sword slashed it across the throat.
Satisfied that the threats were gone, he sheathed his sword, and walked up to opening of thorns, peering into a hallowed out space, and waited as his eyes adjusted.
What he saw shocked him.
The sunlight that filtered through was enough light for him to see Nod, lying unconscious, his hands and face bloodied and scratched. His helmet lay off to the side with a big dent in it. The Leafmen general kneeled beside the teenager, scared to move him if he had broken any bones. Gently as he could, Ronin turned the boy on his back, his limp body heavy. The sunlight exposed all the cuts on his face, making it quite grotesque. Luckily, the armor had protected the young Leafman from serious injury.
Ronin's eyes widened when they fell upon Nod's left arm. A bright green stem was wrapped around, like a snake coiled to a tree branch, and two small, green leaves hugged Nod's hand and wrist. Ronin pushed up Nod's sleeve, to find the white roots of the plant tangled and buried beneath the boy's skin. The Leafmen blinked in disbelief, hoping that it was an illusion, but...he recognized the leaves from anywhere. It was Tara's favorite flower.
A rose sprout had attached itself to Nod.
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