Chapter 19
"What do you mean "again?""I questioned as I looked at Copperfire.
"I don't think it will happen again," Manlan sighed.
"You never know, I'd rather be safe than sorry," Copperfire said as he nervously looked around. I also looked to see nothing flying around. My eyes wandered around the swamp that we were walking through. I watched the fireflies roaming around and the occasional alligator bobbed in the water. That's when I saw a creature I've never seen before. It was tall, thin like bone thin, what looked like its fur was orange and long. Its skin was the same color as the bark of the trees. I squinted my eyes and saw it had one large eye, teeth that looked like sharks, and it was gripping the tree that it was hiding behind. I slowly tried to find Othar's reins,
"What Ava?" Manlan asked as he lightly brushed my hand away from the reins.
"Stop, Othar," I said sternly, not wanting to lose the creature and have it get closer. Othar stopped and took a couple steps back, also noticing the creature too. He let out a soft noise that sounded like a growl. Manlan grabbed his staff from off his back,
"Where?" Manlan asked
"The far tree on the edge of the swamp." I statted quietly
"I don't see anything, but I do feel like we are being watched." Copperfire shivered
"It's orange, has one large eye, and sharp teeth," I whispered as Othar's growling got louder and Ari also started to growl as well. The creature seemed to laugh and started to melt into an orange mist.
"What the…" I shuddered as the creature just vanished into a cloud of mist,
"What? What is happening," Manlan questioned not being able to see the creature.
"It 's gone, it turned into mist?" I shivered as I looked around wondering if the mist around us was part of the creature, as we scanned the area Copperfire started to scream.
"NO, NO, NO, PUT ME DOWN!" Copperfire shrieked, we turned around and he was getting carried away by a giant insect that looked similar to a firefly,
"BY THE GODS, WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS IS THAT!" I shrieked.
"What looked like a giant firefly carrying Copperfire… off … to … gods know where… I'll go get him.." Manlan said with a groan then continued,
"Okay, slide off so I can go get him," Manlan grumbled as I quickly slid off of Othar's saddle
"Is this what you meant "again"?" I questioned as Manlan sighed and turned Othar towards the direction as Ari barked and started to run after Copperfire along with Copperfire's Mecastrider,
"Just go up those stairs and stay there. I'll be back …. Hopefully with Copperfire," Manlan said as Othar started to run after the two.
It was not long before they all were out of sight. I turned to the wall with oak stairs leading up to a pair of rounded red doors. I started to walk up the stairs and they creaked under my weight. I looked at the lanterns, they were made out of stained glass and the metal that was used to hold the stained glass together was brass. The lantern had a small latch to keep the lantern closed. There was a small candle that flickered in the glass cage it was confined in. I continued up the stairs, when I got closer to the top of the stairs I started to hear what sounded like chirping. I pushed open the doors to find what looked like a pandaren house, a few cranes, and a tiger sitting next to the door asleep. I slowly made my way around the sleeping tiger, I glanced back at the feline. The tiger's breath was slow but deep, its head laying in between its front paws. Before I could think I was walking up to the tiger and lightly petting the tigers head. The tiger started to lightly purr,
"Kitty," I cooed as the tiger's purring got deeper. I sat down next to the tiger, its fur was soft but shaggy and had deep brown strips. The tiger continued to purr as it slept, it didn't even twitch an ear as I slowly rested my head on its back as I ran my hand across its back and down the otherside. I could feel my eyelids get heavier and heavier the longer I stayed there. I closed my eyes as I slowly gave into sleep.
I felt a light breeze on my skin as I slowly woke up. I opened my eyes to see wagons, tools and pieces of green rock laying around. I slowly got up and looked around to find I was in a different spot. I cautiously walked around looking at some of the structures that were surrounding me. Mixed in among the structures was orange trees. That's when I noticed a large stone pillar. I looked up the pillar to see a large green dragon curled around its top. The dragon didn't have wings and there was something familiar about the way the dragon looked.
"Hello?" A soft shy voice squeaked. I spun around in surprise to find a pandaren child. She had her hair into two buns that were covered with a light pink cloth and she had little flowers as the base of each bun. Her robe was also a light pink with a white flower pattern. What caught me off guard was her sharp green eyes that seemed to glow.
"Hello, where… who… who are you sweetheart?" I questioned as I knelt on the ground,
"L-Liu… Liu Flameheart.. And you are …. What are you?"
"I'm Ava and I'm a human …. it's nice to meet you little Ms. Flameheart, could you tell me where we are?" I asked Liu,
"We are at the Jade Serpent statue about a mile outside the Jade Serpent temple… why?" Liu said as she continued to play with the hem of her robe,
"Why are you here? Are your parents around?" I questioned,
"Their at the temple," Liu answered as she started to play with the ribbon of her robe as she look to the side.
"Could you show me the temple?" I asked as I tilted my head trying to meet her gaze,
"I'd love to!" Lui chirped as she grabbed my hand and started to pull me across the field.