Rise of The Fallen

–Kora–

A few hours before…

I’d been waiting here for what felt like forever at the strange pool in the middle of the forest.

Elazar has been gone all day, and I’m not even sure if he’s planning on coming back.

Pouting, I hugged my knees to my chest and watched the water trickling down the rocks and into the pool.

He told me to stay here…I think. But how long am I supposed to wait? It won’t be much longer until nightfall. As much as I enjoy the beautiful glowing springs, it gets cold here at night and I don’t exactly feel the safest when I’m so vulnerable..

Grabbing a stick on the ground beside me, I started doodling random shapes into the dirt while my mind drifted elsewhere.

Should I go back to my cave and forget about all this? Continue on with my “extravagant” life, trying to survive on my own? Or did I wait for a man who might not even come back?

For all I knew, he might bring his buddies over to kill me and have a feast. That food he’d given me might’ve just been to fatten me up or something.

Ugh! Why did my mind always come up with such stupid and ridiculous scenarios? Still, I was reluctant to leave, having finally found someone in this bleak world that made me feel less scared and lonely.

Okay, fine.

If the big alien didn’t return before tomorrow morning, then I’d go back to my cave of solitude. I wasn’t going to sit here for days, patiently waiting like some damsel in distress.

Tossing the stick away, I grabbed my bag, scouring through it for my notebook.

Might as well practice some translations while I’m sitting here.

I flipped through the pages, passing the map and plant dossiers to find the alien vocabulary that Elazar had provided me.

I wonder if I can make a compass, or…would a compass even work on this planet? I mean there’s two suns and seven freaking moons in the sky.

I was no scientist, but I felt like the magnetic field would be a bit different on Xanadis.

Tree branches rustled hard behind me, and I froze, body tensing as unease skittered down my spine.

What was that?

I glanced over my shoulder, staring warily into the thick of the forest. I didn’t move or make a sound as I stared at the treeline, watching the trees for any signs of movement.

Only, they weren’t moving at all.

Maybe it was just the wind, but my intuition was telling me otherwise.

Something was watching me.

“Elazar?”

There was no response, only silence. I stood slowly, closing my notebook with a firm snap.

I looked all around for any creatures or intruders, anything to make sense of the rustling I’d heard. A branch in the distance snapped, the loud noise unsettling me. It was only then that I realized there was no noise around me aside from a random branch rustling or snapping. The animals in the forest were deadly quiet.

Dropping down into a crouch, I reached into my bag for my dagger.

“Elazar?” I called again, but I knew he wouldn’t answer.

Elazar would have responded by now if it was him; he was always so careful not to spook me.

Something was wrong here. Very, very wrong. My stomach sank as I stared in the direction the snapping had come from, my dagger clutched tightly in my hand.

More rustling in the bushes, but much closer this time, had me backing away cautiously as I strained my eyes to see ahead. There! I could just barely make out the shape of a dark figure hiding among the vegetation.

That’s not Elazar…

Before they could get any closer, I turned and booked it through the treeline.

–Elazar–

She’s gone.

I stared at the burned out fire pit, close to where Kora had been sleeping just this morning. There was nothing to indicate she’d been here recently. No warm embers, no items left on the ground for her to come back and retrieve. Even the fur from the feline that I skinned, cleaned and hung up to dry was gone.

She’d taken everything she could and left.

My tail dropped and dragged across the ground as I stepped over to the pond, looking over the remains of our little camp. Had she run off as soon as I’d moved far enough away? Or had she waited for me before deciding I’d taken too long to come back?

Where did she go?

Was she still frightened of me, or perhaps she simply wanted nothing to do with my kind?

So many questions plagued me, most I wasn’t even sure I wanted answers to.

Unstrapping my spear from my back, I walked over to a boulder and sat down with a sigh. Laying both weapons in my lap, I looked out into the forest.

Now what?

Was I supposed to just return home and forget about everything that happened? What were the chances we’d encounter each other again?

She may move locations now that she’s been found out, and I’m sure she’ll be a lot more careful when it comes to hunting. It could be harder to find her again.

Do I even want to find her again?

Having human company would be greatly looked down upon by my tribe after all the things we’d heard from the other villages, and I was sure there were plenty of people who would sooner kill a human on sight than have one roaming around our forests.

Even if Kora wasn’t a major threat, she’d still be seen as an aberration and freak. Someone who brought bad luck and hazards to our territory.

Being around her wasn’t ideal, so maybe parting ways would be for the best. She’d go back to her territory, maybe even to her own kind, and I’d go back to the life I had before.

I stared ahead at the trees before growling, and running my hand over my face.

The life I had before…

What fauxing life did I have before? I’d lost my mate and any sense of honor I had. Half the tribe now shunned me, viewing me as weak. And every day I was tormented by the fact that Talok and Ratha were mated.

Kora was a welcome distraction from the misery I felt while being in the village. She at least gave me a sense of purpose, no matter how small it may have been and how much she didn’t care for me.

The crunch of a leaf nearby made me flinch. I perked up a little, my ears twitching as I listened for more sounds. Only then did I realize how quiet the forest had become.

I gripped my bow tightly, continuing to stare straight ahead while listening intently. Silence ensued, but my basic instincts were telling me something was amiss.

Off.

The slightest sound of movement from behind had me jumping to my feet, and drawing an arrow from my quiver as I whipped around, aiming at the creature stalking me.

The figure hiding among the trees quickly reacted, dodging out of the way as I let my arrow fly. It hissed, charging at me with a knife.

My eyes widened as I caught sight of my opponent. Gripping my bow, I used it to swipe at the other Xandisian male. He dodged before cutting my arm open with the knife, and tackling me to the ground.

In a fit of snarls and growls, we both rolled along the forest floor, struggling for the upper hand as we wrestled for the knife. The painted face above me, hissing as he attempted to stab me in the arm with his tail. But I was too quick, grabbing the base of his tail with one arm and head butting him hard. His head snapped back, and he fell off of me.

I jumped up into a crouch, and growled as my opponent did the same, glaring at me angrily. They were slightly smaller in size, and had white markings painted all across their body, including a skull-like marking covering their face.

A Drakov scout…here? In these parts of the forest?!

I snarled at the intruder as we circled each other. But after a moment he paused, looking toward the trees before fleeing the area.

What was a Drakov scout doing here? Why would they cross into our territory? I needed to warn the tribe. If those scouts were out here, then anyone who was traveling alone was in danger.

Strapping my bow to my back, I grabbed my spear that had fallen to the ground. I started running after the intruder, stopping abruptly as a thought came to mind.

Kora.

Perhaps she didn’t run away because of me! If she saw the Drakov scout, then she might have fled the area or gone into hiding… But if they’d caught her–

I charged after the scout, their trail disappeared after a few feet into the treeline. He was too fast, and I had no way of tracking him. There was a good chance she was still alive if they’d taken her. The Drakov didn’t kill unless absolutely necessary, but the things they’d do to her if given the chance…

“Faux!” I bellowed, lashing out and punching a tree. What should I do?! Should I go back to the village and warn everyone? Or go after the scout?! They might already have Kora back in their camp. Walking in there alone was a death sentence.

My tail lashed out anxiously behind me as I struggled to make a choice. Looking up, I noticed something odd. There was a strange mark carved into the tree I was standing beside.

Perplexed, I traced my hand over the mark. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of another strange mark carved into another tree a few paces ahead.

Hesitantly, I moved towards it, spotting another marked tree just past this one. Looking down, I caught sight of fresh, strange tracks left in the dirt that followed the marked trees.

Sniffing the air I caught a whiff of a familiar scent. My eyes widened in recognition as only one person came to mind.

Kora.