CROSSING RIVER (B×B×B..) *COMPLETE*

Chapter 38- Mid Hollow

When River’s eyes trembled and opened, he was no longer in water but was laying on a soft animal skin covered with feathers like blanket. He tried to ease the worried crease on his forehead but he realised, his hands were tied up.

River looked around to see where he was but everything around him was dark. He felt around using his lower body but as he tried, first thing he felt was disbelief. He didn’t have tails but had gotten his legs back. Unfortunately, they were tied up too. He closed his eyes then opened it once more to finally be able to see things in green haze.

He was currently inside the cave which was covered with vines and tree roots. There was no entrance! River heard noises from the ceiling of the cave when he closed his eyes and concentrated. The voices were muffled and there seems to some sort of argument going on.

As he remembered what happened before he blacked out, Tridia was attacked and he was kidnapped. “Why is it always me? Last time I blacked out and woke up, I was in a white room and now I’m in a black room”, he complained in whisper. He had to untie the bindings on him but as he turned to see his legs, there was no ropes or vines or any sort of material on them.

All he could see was blue lights, tightly keeping his legs and hands together. River’s hands were bound behind, making it more difficult to even try using his strength and see if this blue glowing bindings would break. He managed to move his hands tied to his back to his legs and when he touched the invisible rope, he was zapped.

This was his first time being zapped! River crouched with closed eyes and groaned then gritted his teeth. When he opened his eyes, they shone bright green in the dark room. River felt his hands covered in bluish green sparks then decided to touch the energy rope, once more. This time he could touch it without being shocked.

He tried pulling it apart, within the limit as his hands were tied too. After ten minutes of constant pulling, he freed his legs and he was panting heavily. River lost too much energy just trying to free his legs, he swallowed to clear his dry mouth and realized he was extremely thirsty.

A yellow light shone from above and River quickly looked up to see that the cave was probably inside a tree! A shadow jumped inside and the light was gone. River hurriedly scrammed to the corner and hissed threateningly.

“Took you long enough to free your leg and Here I was vouching for your strong powers”, said the shadow in something similar to Icelandic accent. His ‘O’ and ‘R’ were strong while ‘H' and ‘T' seems to be omitted during speaking. River heard fingers being snapped then the room lit up with yellow light.

The vines had extended like wooden torch on two sides of the cave and River clearly saw the blue skinned guy with green and grey stripes covering his body. His hair looked like it had been dipped in half of rainbow, only leaving his black horns. This was the guy who gave his neck a side chop.

His teal aqua green eyes were sizing up River from top to bottom with expressionless face. River had to crane his neck to see the guy’s face, he was probably ten feet tall. He actually looked like a Na’vi from avatar. Without long braided hair and tail, River understood why elves were said to be ethereal looking because the guy was extremely good looking.

“Your kind don’t speak or are you mute?”, River heard the guy ask.

“What do you want? Just get to the point”, River replied and the guy smirked, “You can speak”, and ignored his hostility. He walked to the corner and with a flick of his hand, the vines made a sitting platform.

“What I want is you”, he said and River was now tired of hearing such things. He could admit that since the transformation there was a complete glow up and he had become very pleasing to the eye but did everyone who saw him, turned gay? There are many good looking people and they don’t make every guy turn gay for them! Has his life turn into Chinese novel? Where the writers don’t know that all time cisgender straight guy can not suddenly bend for a cute looking shou.

River was guilty of dragging such writers to filth for stupid plot lines but still thoroughly reading those Wuxia, shounen-ai, yaoi novels. Anyways, that wasn’t the point here. Shutting down his wrong train of thoughts, the guy continued, “I saw you use thunder on those Dragons and how they flew away. I want you to do it again and chase them back to where they came from, through the Sky barrier”.

“You mean they are not from this new world? How do you know that? Who are you elven peoples?”, River asked and a flicker of surprise could be seen on the guy’s face after the last question. He got up and walked towards River who hissed as warnings.

“You know of elves? But you are just a water nymph creature. How could you possibly have knowledge of our kind? We are the ones who know everything. My people have lived in mid hallow for centuries where as your kind just came into existence here, hunting and fighting over every thing like animals. Well you all do have tails”, he was basically insulting Sirens but in his mind, the elven was just stating facts.

Elves had the delusional mind set where they were the keeper of knowledge, they know all and everything. They were said to be very prideful and self loving creatures. River had read how they liked to put themselves up in pedestals. They weren’t necessary obnoxious but they just didn’t have much empathy when talking to other kind. It could possibly be reasoned with how growing up in such environment could make one lack empathy.

They however loved nature and animals, of course they didn’t back down from killing for food. They did magic and from what River had read, they usually had sex once in their life to make child then lose interest in it after the birth. He didn’t know how much of all that was true but seeing how the guy acted when River asked about his people, it confirmed that they believed themselves to know everything.

Only then did River realized the position he was currently in, the ten feet tall guy stood in front of him while he himself was on his knees, in the corner with his hands tied behind his back. Also how he was completely naked and the guy was only wearing brown mane looking cloth over his crotch. River’s face had turned beet red from embarrassment.

“Why can’t you use your magic and send them away? I can only summon lightning, how is that extraordinary when you can make fire, ice, move water and creatures?”, River asked instead to not think of any ridiculous thoughts. He reminded himself that he wasn’t a thirteen years old who would giggle and be embarrassed after hearing the word sex, breasts or penis.

“What else does your kind know of us? How do you know of our existence? If you did then why did your people stupidly attack us?”, the colourful elven asked. River couldn’t take the position any longer and finally got up, he reached the area below the nipples of the guy when he stood straight. “Stop sounding so rude. This condescending tone of your kind is probably why you all are hated among the mythical creatures. Let me tell you a secret, YOU ALL DON’T KNOW SHIT!”, River yelled for every one to hear.

“What is there to know of shit? It’s waste that every one excretes from their body, it stinks but it is still good for the nature”, he heard the guy honestly answer. River scoffed but didn’t start pointing out many other things like science and space stuff that the guy definitely didn’t know.

“What makes you say that the dragons are not from here? Have you and your colourful friends explored all of this planet or realm... Whatever this is? What if the dragons also just came into existence like us Meras?”, River questioned instead. The creature who towered him, stared at his green eyes for a while then said, “Of course we know everything about mid hollow. It is realm for natural creatures like us, you, fairies, trolls, pixies, dryads and other peaceful animals. The dragons don’t belong here, they are one step higher dimensional beasts from us. They belong with sky people”, the guy answered.

He watched as River was deep in thought and sighed, “You probably don’t know what I’m talking about. Fairies are magical creatures here in mid hallow who brings about the change of seasons. They have wi—” River interrupted the guy, “I know what all those creatures are. How could they have come in? There’s only one barrier to human world and there are no dragons in that world, while the other barrier is closed”, he told the guy.

The elven wasn’t convinced that River knew every creature in the mid hallow because he knew, the sea creatures hadn’t come out of water since they came into existence. He felt like the boy was thinking too highly of himself and disregarding the knowledge that all elves possessed in comparison to Sirens.

“Pixies are about four inches tall, they live in garden of bright and colourful flowers. They can only survive around Greenery. They are rich in doing magic and are smaller than fairies who are six inches tall. Pixies also like shiny things and are very playful creatures. Trolls dwell in isolated rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, they tend to stay away from other beings. What else? Oh right! Elves, narcissistic beings who think too highly of themselves. There head is so far up in their arse that when they open their mouth all that comes out from it is shit that is all about themselves!”, River spat at the guy.

Instead of being angry, the guy laughed, “You indeed know about other Creatures but you are absolutely wrong about my kind. What you said is illogical, even with magic that is not possible”, he heard the guy say. River gave out a frustrated sigh then heard a female shadow that came right through the vine wall, say, “The boy is being sarcastic, Haldir”, she said then both the elves heard River chuckle.

“Hidden hero? I really don’t see it, no pun intended”, River mocked the guy’s name as he laughed which made the guy finally break the stoic face and show a hint of anger. The girl however laughed, “You are very wise and have wits too. You also seem to know more than any of us do, I can just feel such aura from you. I am Calen, What are you called?”, she asked.

“I am River. It’s not that I’m wise, I was just lonely and someone with lots of time on their hands and decided to read books. Still things are definitely different in real life than in books. Look, I’m very new to my own life and I just came to this world like yesterday. It’s a long story but my point is that I don’t know how to use my ability at will sometimes. It just happens in case of emergency. If you let me go, I can talk to my family and they will definitely help far better than me”, he explained.

“My brother here says, he saw you strike lightning from the sky at three dragons. River, you asked my brother before why we don’t just use our magic to send them away, well it’s because our magic doesn’t work on them. We hit them with fire, they fire back, we trap them using vines, they burn themselves free, arrows, blades, nothing works because they have strong scales. We have lost too many people to those beasts, their number has increased from before”, she informed River.

“It’s him then! He said he just got here yesterday! Which realm did you bring those dragons from? Do you want to kill us all and take over the realm? We were the ones to close the barrier on this side with the help of sky people and now they are on the other side where these dragons belong! Didn’t pixies say that they felt powerful magic cleansing the water after all these years? They are trying to lock the beasts inside!”, Haldir raged.

“That is ridiculous! As you saw when you ambushed us that we only have total of thirty people! And it is half dragon’s fault, half their own fault and half yours! I have heard you talk underwater, you could have easily spoken with my people when they attacked you but no, you killed them and didn’t even bother to talk afterwards but kidnapped me instead. I came from human world and there are no dragons there, so I didn’t bring them, it’s probably your own people or perhaps other Creatures who you have angered by your toxic words and personality”, River spat back at the guy.

He felt the binding loosened and his hands were free but he kept his hands behind as he didn’t know where the exit was or how many people were guarding the place. “I didn’t say that I don’t want to help, I just said I will need help from my family. We want the dragons gone as much as you do”, River calmed down and said.

“We thought all the world barriers were closed, one open border means others aren’t efficient as well. We need your people to close this portal, we only have access to two border while this third one seems to be in your domain”, Calen informed.

River asked, “How do we close it?”, then Haldir scoffed and said, “You don’t know such simple thing, the wise one? How unlike you! There should be locking stone with your people if they are able to cross through the portal. The barrier must have weakened some twenty years ago because the dragons arrived since then. The stones needs to be charged up and with it’s lulling sound, all the gates closes. But we need to send the dragons back before closing it. That’s where we need your ability, there are at least six of them left. All creatures killed them for all these years and died trying but they just keep coming!”, Haldir was frustrated as he reminisced the past.

“You are free to go and make your family agree in joining hands with us. If we let this happen further, mid hallow will clash with other realms”, Calen reminded then opened a River’s body shaped gap in the wall. They walked out and River saw the gorgeous scenery they were in, tall and thick trees, luscious green, clear pond. It was night time but he still managed to see all that with the fire torches all over the place.

There were many elves, standing on guard when he walked out. River unconsciously covered his bits then felt a animal skin blanket being wrapped around him. It was the egotistic guy who helped him cover his body. Calen told them he was free to return and after she explained the plans, they made way for him.

After being pointed towards the way to the sea, River slowly jogged in the direction. He looked around in awe but also with fear of seeing Dragons or other predators. They just sent him without any thing to protect himself from the danger. His run was wobbly since it had been some time last he used his legs.

Then it dawned on him, “How do I have legs without full moon? They are powerful enough to give me legs but are weak to ward off dragons?”, he ran as he spoke then remembered that this was magical realm, so no rules like in human world. He reached the cliff and quickly looked around to sense any danger.

He thought dragons probably slept at night and calmed down a bit. Now the problem was, “How do I go back without dying on the rocks”, he murmured. He yelped when a voice spoke close to his ear, “You fly of course”, then he was caught by the waist and next thing he knew, Haldir had pushed them down the cliff.

River screamed and tightly held the Giant, he even bit him from anger and fear. His nails also were dug inside the man’s skin and blood oozed out from all the cuts. Haldir hissed in pain and his hand left River’s waist, the boy was dangling on his body as he glided down the cliff.