Chapter 10 - Preparations
It had been around a month now since Gregor had arrived. Aurora had healed to nearly her full potential by now. She was flying around and could carry nearly 2/3 of what she could before. Luxa seemed to be getting better with what was happening now, she seemed to have gotten over the months that they were apart, Gregor knew she could never really forget but she didn't cry at night anymore. The first few weeks had been constant training, which Gregor didn't want to admit, did seem to help a lot, he was doing a lot more than what he was doing on the surface. The first week had been ground training, acrobatics and sword work, but the second week, which Gregor had the hardest time with, was bat training. It brought up all sorts of memories of Ares, he spent the first few nights crying to sleep with Luxa comforting him. Eventually, he built up some strength and got it over with. He was partnered up with a bat called Youstic (You-Stick) , He wasn't that bad of a Bat, not as strong as Ares was, but it was close, the only thing to remind him that it wasn't Ares was a bright orange ring going down the center of his coat. They worked well together, coming in either first or second in most of the competitions. At the end of it, they said there goodbyes and parted, as much as Gregor thought, he never admitted that it did feel good to fly with a bat again.
Once the training was over, and Aurora had been healed back to close to her former self. They all started meeting in private rooms, Vikus attended sometimes, to try and give support wherever needed. He said he could supply food and weapons, but not a lot as to make it not suspicious. Ripred was more worried with getting through the jungle again without a guide. Ripred mentioned bringing Hazard along, but Vikus quickly shot it down with the fact of it "disobeying" the prophecy. Eventually, they got on to the topic of discussing what the entire prophecy actually meant, they knew they had to go into the Jungle to find something but they still didn't know what. Luxa unrolled a scroll containing the prophecy and read it aloud "
~~The Prophecy of the Resurrected~~
From over and under, they intertwine
to form a human vine.
Time ticks and the floor clicks,
2 Lovers, over and under, one is dead, the other died with.
Seemingly gone forever, but resurrected, for time is not in their favor
The newfound enemy, comes from within the vines
The Queen and Warrior, with a rat and a bat, and someone along the way.
when time is done, there will only be 4.
Where the water meets rock, there will be a shock.
Over and Under, and Over and Under, for where will the warrior stand
"
They decided that the first line, from over and under, they intertwine, most likely meant the overland and Underland, which Gregor and Luxa both knew it was them. The second line was more difficult, Time ticks and the floor clicks, they thought it could have been the time that Gregor spent on the surface, and the hidden prophecy room. It was not really decided directly onto what it was but that was the best one they had come up with. The next line was a little more obvious, Vikus didn't like the idea and Ripred merely smirked at the 2 lovers part. They all knew it was Luxa and Gregor who were the lovers, over and under, Overland and Underland. One is dead, the other died with, must have meant when Gregor "died" and Luxa "Died" with him. Everyone had thought they were gone forever but they were resurrected as it says. Everyone stared at the for time is not in their favor line, obviously a warning of some sort, but they didn't know of what exactly. They eventually decided it must have something to do with the purple ooze worms. Vikus mentioned that they were now being called in the science rooms as the Slimers. A strange name but the ooze must be somewhat slimy. The next line, the newfound enemy, comes from within the vines meant that the Slimers must have come from the Jungle, as that is where they were discovered by Aurora. The next few lines were easy, saying who went on the quest, and what they needed to look for. The only line nobody seemed to get was, Over and Under, and Over and Under, for where will the Warrior stand. It was uncertain but one suggestion that seemed the best was Gregor deciding where he would stay at the end of the quest, Luxa seemed to perk up a bit at the thought of Gregor staying in the Underland. Once discussing it was over, it was set that they would go out the secret exit in the nursery. Aurora and Youstic would meet them there, Youstic had no idea of what they were doing, as he was told it was just going to be a routine patrol, but once he saw the supplies he would be dumb if he didn't know what was really going on. They said their goodbyes and parted ways. It was set to give Aurora 3 more days to build strength than they were to be leaving. The first 2 days were simply just drinking water to make up for the small amount of water they will be drinking during the quest. They talked a little more about it, discovering a route that could bring them to a well-known lake inside the Jungle, which could be the water they are looking for, they would need to land a distance away in some not that well surveyed land, but for the cut in the length of the journey it was decided it was worth the risk.
sorry for the shorter chapter, didn't have much time, hope you're enjoying so far, next chapter is them leaving... finally :D
