J is for Jungle
Bellschort legs burned with each running step she took. Her lungs felt like they were set on fire each time she took in a struggled breath. She could barely hear her mentors wheezing breathing from behind her over the loud pounding in her cat ears. The ground shook and quaked under their feet as they made their way through the thick jungle. She could hear the cracking and snapping of the large trees tumbling over all over the place. The large trees they passed growed threatening to fall over on them.
Even with all the noises around Bell, she could still hear it. Over the crashing of trees, over the cracking of boulders and rocks. Over the cries and scratches of the jungle animals. And even over the pounding of her heart that beat loud in her ears. She could still hear the deafening splashes and booms of large chunks of earth breaking of the island and falling into the ocean depths.
Her island, Her home was sinking, crumbling into the dark ocean. All of this was happening because of the greed her people.
Young Bells foot caught on a root of a tree sending her tumbling down on the dirt floor of the jungle with a hard "thud". Bell cried out as and agonizing pain shoot up from her knee. She felt her lifes water slowly seep out of her body and stain the striped knee high socks that covered her legs. She whimpered when she felt her mentors dragon like claws pears through the pale skin of her arms; the old dragon man was in too much of a hurry to be gentle.
"We must keep going." His normally strong voice was raspy and hoarse, making him finally express his old age. Bell sniffled, and nodded weakly as her mentor placed her back on her feet and gently pushed her forward urging her to keep running forward. Bell limped as fast as she could. She pushed the pain that came with each step she took because of the large rock that was jammed in her knee with each step she could feel it scrap against her knee cap. It took all her willpower and wanting to live not to pass out then and there. Bell kept her wine red colored eyes to the path ahead of her not daring to look back at the collapsing jungle around.
Bell at one point; when the horrid sound lessoned some, looked behind her to check on her her horror he was no longer there, Bell against her better judgment stopped completely and looked around her. "Master?" She choked out but the distant sound of rumbling was the only answer she got. Bell spun in a circle to look all around her; keeping all of her weight on her good leg. Bell could feel her heart skip a beat before starting up again at an even faster rate than before. Her breath came out in raspy gasps.
It was the first time had been alone in the abandoned forests seance she first got lost in them when her people had chased her in. In hope that the forest animals would kill her, for they, themselves would not have to. She had spent a whole month and a half wandering in the deadly forest, where the trees were so thick no light reached the barren grounds. By the time her mentor found her and took her in despite her being cursed, a deep fear one that would spread into a phobia in the future, of the forest and the animals that lived inside it had implanted itself within her mind.
A growl rumbled over the distant noise. Bell froze and slowly turned around to face the large deadly beast that created the frightening noise. There it stood on its hind legs, was a cat like creature glaring down at her small form with a cold milky white colored eye. It was huge almost as big as her mentor; who was almost 10"9' tall thanks to his dragon traits. Its hind legs were nothing but skin and bones which made it seem impossible to hold its large and muscular rib cage. Where its belly normally would be was hollowed in to the point where the skin of the beast touched its spinal cord. Its head was huge and bulky with one missing eye and a sharp horn in the middle of its forehead. Bell could see the several layers of razor sharp teeth through its open mouth. Its metal tail whipped around causing the large scythe shaped blade at the end make a whooshing noise. It's gray body was void of hair and had many scars and infected injury; which leaked unhealthy yellow puss.
Bell backed away from the deadly creature; who looked ready to pounce now. "Bell!" The voices of the past and present merged together as the large crater pounced, flying through the air towards the petrified Bell.
A fast moving shadow flew towards Bell ramming into her and pushing her out of the creatures path of attack. It was her master! His large white and blue dragon wings were unfolded and spread wide for the first time ever since she meet him. The ends of the once beautiful wings were torn and ripped due to age and the struggles that came with it. In a few beats of the strong but old limbs they were flying forward, dangerously close to the ground, leaving the creature behind.
"M-M-Master…..you're hurt." Bell stuttered as she placed her tiny hands on the large claw marks on his back. His warm blood oozed out from the spaces between her fingers, making her stomach roll and twist.
"I'm fine child," He grunted, "worry about yourself." His black eyes left their path for a moment to glance down at her bleeding knee, before returning. A large booming crash from behind them letting Bell know that the area just behind them had met its ugly fate in the sea.
"Fuck." The old dragon growled and pushed his old wings faster.
"M-M-Master please leave me!" Bell sobbed struggling against her mentors strong arms. "I'm weighing you down, you said it yourself before your body can't take flying anymore. By the time we're in the safe area you'll have no energy left and you'll die!" She sobbed harder as they dipped so low she could feel her white hair brush against the ground before they went back up. "I'm bad luck. everyone that comes in contact with me dies or worse. The world would be better without me!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He shouted as the dragon reared to the left and right in jerky movements, barely missing missing the trees that surrounded them. "Don't you dare say that," He squeezed the small girl tighter to his body. "a person can not bring bad luck." He said lamely. He was never good at giving advice he never being a man of many words. "If you have bad luck you can't just sit back and let that bad luck of yours do whatever it wants. You gotta get up and work to change it to good luck. You can't….you can't just give up!" He yelled pushing his wings faster as he caught sight of the safety zone. The ground under the was breaking and cracking apart and crumbling into the dark sea below.
The old dragon flinched when he felt his heart give a painful lurch against his chest. He let out a sickly wet cough that splattered blood all over Bells pale face. "You must continue on living child…" He gasped as he began to slow down. "You can't let this cruel world we live in drag you down to your knees and let it control you." He groaned and his wings finally fell limp causing them to crash down onto the fragile ground below. The top half of the old mans body, along with Bell held protectively in his thick arms where on the safe part of the land.
Bell was about to celebrate that they had made it out safe till she heard the cracking of the earth below them. "Dammit!" The small girls Master shouted out. Letting out a painful grunt as he tried to push his exhausted body forward. Bells breath caught in her throat as she watched the cracks crawl closer and closer to her master. The ground seemed to slowly chip away with every second.
"Come on master you need to move. You need to get up!" She pleaded pulling on his large arm desperately trying to move his huge body in a vain attempt to get his body the rest of the way in the safe zone.
"Leave me child." He wheezed easily pushing her away.
"Bu-But..y-yo-you h-have t-t-to-to-to m-mm-mmohe-move." She let out hiccup like sobs as fat tears rolled down her flushed cheeks.
He let a rare smile grace his ageing face. "I'm afraid I can't child." He grunted as the earth came out from his legs leaving him to hang on the edge. Bell let out a shrill scream and tugged desperately on her masters arm.
"NO! NO! NO!" She yelled hysteria creeping in her voice. "You gotta move! Please move papa!" She pleaded.
"I'm sorry my child." He whispered as he used the rest of his energy to push Bell back into the safe zone.
With that she watched and felt what was left of her small world crumble much like the island before her. She watched her master plumite into the ocean into his watery grave along with the forest he had loved so much.
Bell sat there and sat there looking at where her master fell and met his demise in the blue depths. She sat there through rain, storm, sleat, and roaring hail. She did not blink, she did not eat, and she did not drink, she did not make a sound. And on the third day after the Great Fall there was an agonized scream that could be heard all across the small island.
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"Bell!...Hello! Bell!?" Luffy waved his hand in front of the albino neko who was standing still as a statue staring at the thick jungles of Little Garden.
Luffy's brows slanted in a worried 'V' as he put a hand on her exposed shoulder. "Bell." He said in a more serious tone. Bells single red eye blinked getting rid of the fog that covered her minds eye and glanced at the rubber man.
"Yes Luffy?" She asked in a monotonous voice.
Luffy frowned at her, his brow creased "Are you alright?" He asked. Bell stared at him for a while before nodding firmly and walked away to the kitchen of The Going Merry. Luffys black eyes never once left her as she walked away. The one thing he noticed that he never noticed before was the slight limp she walked with.