"It's the ghost of the jungle."
Whisperings across this lush rainforest reaches his ears every few days, and in those knowing moments, Leonardo is both humbled and irritated. A ghost. That's all he seems to be wherever he goes.
After scaring off another group of criminstas terrorizing a local village, Leonardo rests below the trees, inhaling the thickness of the jungle. Sometimes it can be suffocating, especially on the soil, and it reminds him of Home and its smelly walls. The two aren't so different in many ways. It's as close to Home as he can be, hundred of miles away and binded to the jungle walls. Walls follow him everywhere.
Before he ascends the tree and shrouds himself under the emerald umbrella, he curiously studies the trunk and scans over a scattered group of sun-drop mushrooms, laced in streams of orange and gold. A shrill, tinny voice circuits in his head, and he's reminded of animated little 'shrooms from months ago. Months; they've felt like years ago after what has happened, so much in a short time span crossing the line of awareness and dreams.
"You look very cute today, Minky the Magnificent," he says, bowing to the mushroom. "How is your studying coming along? You wanted to be a librarian."
Stupid, he realizes as the earthly mushroom, naturally, is silent. Minky's voice disappears in a cloud of mumble, having never formed any words, just sounds. It's gone now.
Peering up the tree, he sees the outline of the StockCrib, a small treehouse on the outside, but a mansion inside its timber dimensions: the closet, the bed, the kitchen, and the Yen Room; all the rooms that breed good thoughts. Over a year in the jungle, his mind is consumed more with training, meditation, and drifting reflections of his family. Only a handful of times has he remembered Anavrin, Nipal, Minky just now, the zany creatures and places, and of a fennec-ling who he hopes resolved her feelings and moved on to better things. He grasps tight onto the fresh memories that he has.
One more time, he speaks aloud without hesitation, "That's a good pup." He smiles and glides up the tree at the thought of her bloated, furry face over her affectionate nickname. The cries of the jungle greet him at the top, and Leonardo sits quietly, watching every move the jungle makes. It is a vast creature itself, and very selfish. If it invites another in, its jaws tower and saliva writhes around its edges. He is no king, but merely a servant camouflaged and steady.
Under a canopy of bush in the distance, something, or someone, chops against the forest, breaking a path towards his way. Alerted, he watches closely, leaning to see what is coming, but the guest remains hidden. Only one way to see for certain, he knows, and that's on the ground. His body pops off the tree, barely disturbing the plant life around it.
What sounds like a high, curt voice cuts through the trees; it inches closer to him, and he recognizes it as female. His home tucked under the forest is just ahead, and he makes a dash for it before the voice reaches him. The hole is only large enough for a small, lean person to push through, and he waits, breathing lightly through his nostrils. The grunts and beats against the thicket grow louder, and soon he hears a swift, "I'll kill him making me come through Jurassic Park!", and he smiles, knowing who bears the voice. She squeaks and yelps falling through the hole and vines on the way down; he holds out his arms in time to catch April O'Neil, adventure girl and dinosaur hunter.
"Nice of you to drop in, my lady," with a small chuckle. Her bloodshot eyes catch his, and he feels a little smaller.
"Isn't it time you come home, Leo?"
The fire between them crackles and spits as he jabs a stick in it. He sighs, "I feel like I still have something more to do here. I'm not ready."
April feels a cool draft prickle her bare arms, and she moves closer to the fire. "We want you home. I know the guys miss you, especially Mikey."
"I miss him, too."
She looks around for a moment. "Did you see where I dropped my machete?"
"I got it over here." He hands it to her beside the fire. She takes it gently.
"Did you come out here because they said something mean to you?"
He throws her a cocked, dry grin. "Is that what you think it was?"
"Things were pretty bad, with the Foot and relocating. Everyone has their breaking point."
The warm stick tossed by his side, he peers deep into the fire. "This has been a long time coming actually. I feel like I do better on my own, learning more and becoming a better person. If I can't control myself, how can I help anyone else?"
She watches him for a moment. A garbled voice bleeps from her pocket, and she reaches for her walkie, pressing it as it lifts to her mouth. "Yeah, I'm here."
"Where are you?" the voice cries. "I'm surrounded by bees and they're all in my hair."
"It's Vernon," she whispers to Leo, and gets back on the walkie. "I'm coming. Over."
"What are you doing out here?" Leo throws back at her, smiling. "Where's Casey? I thought that was him."
"I got a new job. It's like my dream job, going to exotic places and being a journalist. Vernon's my new sidekick. He's annoying." She sighs, the smile quickly disappearing. "Come home soon. I might not be there but the others are, and they need you."
"Be safe here, and don't ever go alone like that again," he chastises, shaking his finger at her.
"Look who's talking," she snaps and places on her feet. "Take care, you."
He guides her to a nearby clearing and watches her ascend into the twilight. She gives a farewell smile and wave, soon consumed by the thicket. A sudden twinge of loneliness bites at him, but it passes as a hollow growl behind him catches his attention; it numbs his chest but sends tides down the rest of his body, standing his senses on their edges. Whatever is on guard behind him, will soon be a memory. The numbness evaporates, and he makes the forest his ally with much haste.
Leonardo whips through the brush, both familiar yet suddenly, a dangerous maze. Whatever's chasing him is as fast as he is and gaining enormous speed. His senses bleed together, cooking on his tongue and festering in his ears. The predator's odor fuses into the heavy, humid air, whistling quickly around his warm, damp face. Every hop off the dry floor falls behind time, and seconds are long stretches until refuge.
Running out of time and momentum, he sees a large tree, one he has ascended many times and considers a safe haven, ahead of him; his hands and feet latch on the husky bark, denting rashes across his skin. He climbs swiftly, ignoring the branches thumping across his face, to the highest, most sturdy branch. In the time it takes his predator to ascend, he draws his katana and faces it for the first time, its huge mouth inviting his death. Before he can form its name, he thrusts the quiet katana down the cat's mouth and into its very bowels. It croaks and whimpers soft before its eyes stop moving and body slumps.
He recovers his weapon out of the creature's grasp and hears the thump of its body on the soil. Peace has found him once again. He almost didn't notice how wild his breathing is until the sounds of the forest return to his ears.
Cautiously, he braves the ground again and eases around the cougar's corpse. Blood trickles out of its rotten mouth, and its sudden twitch arches him back, grabbing his katana. A few more moments and nothing happens. The odor bombards him, and he stands back further. One sliver of good out of this predicament is, he has dinner.
Another noise rustles behind him. Both his katanas unwind and he shoves a sharp object out of the person's hold, and hears it thump in the distance. He eases away, stepping over the cougar's body without looking down. His katanas creating a shield, he waits for the next threat. The breathing in his ears block the forest's whispers.
The leaves shiver and catch a beam of sun escaping through the trees. He grips tighter, certain he can take on whatever is hiding, and he'll make it his prey.
He catches sight of the light tawny hair first, then the long ears draping by its head, and lastly, charcoal eyes fixed on his. Over her tired, dirty face, Zera smiles.
"You made it," his voice hurdles in his throat. The blades shake in his hands.
"I missed you." She hardly contains her tears from fatigue and happiness. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Are you?" He steps over the corpse and tucks away his weapons. "How did you get here? I just.."
She follows his footsteps. "It was tough, but I proved myself worthy to cross the plane. I had a good teacher."
His arms embrace her in a massive hold. She leans the side of her head into his and breathes on his shoulder.
"I missed you, too," Leonardo talks into a fold of her ear. As he lets go and gives her a long look, he grows a little sad. "I can tell you've been through a battle." He slides his fingers down her left ear. "Brave lady."
She nods and takes his hands, pecking them.
"But I almost forgot about you."
"Almost tells me you didn't," a piece of the sun specks her cheeks. He notices how light and soft the jungle seems behind her, not as suffocating. His next breath collapses as she leaps into his unsuspecting body and kisses his cheek instead of his mouth. Gravity splinters from them, and he trips over the cougar, catching her just before her hands slip into the blood. A full moment passes before their snickering and laughter stir the birds.
"Zera," he chuckles, helping her to her feet, careful to lift the skirt around her ankles, "you've definitely changed."
Her black scarf droops over her left shoulder, tangled with a light blue shaw. "A good change?" She steps with him below the tree. "I remember how uptight I was. I was optimistic, even when it got bad, because that meant I was a day closer to seeing you again."
The initial shock lessening, Leonardo tugs both ends of her shaw and lifts them close to his beak. A different aroma bumps him; of a foreign wilderness on the edge of his memory, quiet sounds and eccentric beasts spring to life once more. He relives the Blue Sung Thicket and the journey of a hero and his maiden.
She wonders where his mind has taken him. Is he happy to see her? He seems a little distant, but the reassurance soars when he returns her smile and nods towards the tree. They carefully scope their surroundings and climb a tree so reminiscent from their time in Blue Sung. This is a different place, a world that fits every piece of its puzzle and invites many faces and footprints. She finds a comfortable spot for the both of them. Her eyes can't turn away from the most beautiful land under one amber ball she's ever seen and how up here, she feels the most secure she's ever been.
"I want you to enjoy being here." He curls his arm around her shoulder, feeling how relaxed she's become. "We have a lot of trials before us, and I have some explaining to do when I bring a lady home with me."
Zera leans into him. "I'll find my own place, don't worry."
"I didn't mean it like that-"
"As long as I know where to find you, I'll be fine."
He caresses over a small spot on her arm and whispers close into her ear, "You don't have to worry about that anymore." He pauses after a rumbly noise bellows from her stomach. "Are you giving me a hint?"
She tries covering it with her shaw. "It's been a while."
He peers behind them, checking on a potential answer to their small problem. "Ready for your first lesson in this new world?"
She follows his gaze and grabs a hunting knife from her hip pouch. "I've had a lot of practice back in the old one."
He ruffles the patch of fur on her head, letting the last year's problems fade with the sunset.
A/N: Wow, this one and a half year old story has come to a close. I can't thank everyone enough for their support, comments, and even if you never reviewed, you have my thanks, too. I have to namedrop a few people, though: Alex Hamato, Bubblyshell, D'Fuentes, I Love Kittens, and Stoic Harlequin for your support through the last year. It was nice to hear your compliments and thoughts :) Oh, I'll even throw in Catastrophic Clio, who tore this story apart, but it was the fuel I needed to do better. I like having this story remain raw. You, the readers, witnessed my progress and struggles. It was certainly a learning experience and I had a lot of fun. I won't forget these characters anytime soon.
Hope you enjoyed your stay in Anavrin. It will always be here.