Everglow

Chapter 14

We followed the path of a small river that seemed to wind its way around the villages and ruins up ahead. The terrain we had travelled was rough and unforgiving. I could see that Nasgar and Marigold were struggling with this journey and did not wish to force them to move quickly. If they had to stay behind I wouldn't mind. It was fewer people for me to deal with. Sighing to myself I reached up to pull the leaves from the trees, feeling the delicate fuzz of the surface against my calloused fingers. The cuts on my arms had started to heal naturally, though I could not get the eyes of that girl from my mind. 

There was something about them, how they shined with tears, beautiful emeralds large on her face, so wide that they were the only thing I could focus on. That and her beautiful golden hair that fell in tresses down her back. As I looked down at the river I thought I caught movement from the corner of my eye, whipping around quickly to try and catch it. Yet there was nothing I could see, at least not visibly, though I could feel in the air an electricity rush through me. The others walked ahead of me, guided by Ero who beat the overgrown path ahead with a machete as we followed the edge of the water upward. 

Xandro and Marigold laughed to one another, talking in their ancient fae tongue about something that I could never possibly understand. I grabbed the small flask of vodka from my bag, taking a quick swig from it before I decided to stop for a moment. I would catch up with them quickly, and even if I didn't it wouldn't be a bad thing for me. These lands were my home after all and I had no doubt that they would take care of me. Catching movement from the corner of my eye once again, I turned to look at the water. Moving closer to the edge, which felt like an incredibly bad idea, I decided to see what was in there. 

The water, though crystal clear, seemed to call out to me. I could hear it call my name as it ebbed and flowed, whispering secrets of old that I could understand though I didn't know how. There was beauty in the river, so clear that each little fish that swam up it in bright golds and pinks and purples were all distinct, revealing every glimmer of their scales as they swam past me. I hated fish, but even I thought they were beautiful as I looked at them gracefully following the river as we were. 

I saw her then, in the water deep below the surface. The girl I had killed. Her eyes, the same emerald as before looked up to me, a hand reaching up toward me as she struggled to breathe. I reached my arm down into the water desperately, trying to reach out to her through my hand only made contact with the rocky surface of the bottom. As I pulled up, my torso wet, I could feel the electricity in the air had left. Hearing movement behind me again I jumped up, pulling my knife immediately to the body behind me. 

"Woah Wolfie what's got you so on edge?" Milo hissed as he kicked the blade quickly from my hand, catching it mid-air as he looked around the woods surrounding us. Shaking my head, I took another cursory glance into the water before looking up at him. 

"Nothing, I just thought I saw someone. I think it's the lack of sleep," I hummed softly, knowing full well that what I had seen was very real. I had not seen her face twist and contort as she had died, I could not possibly imagine the way somebody would move and look unless those emotions were real. 

"You need to eat something too Flynn," he sighed at me, pulling one of the hunks of bread out of his backpack as I let out a groan. Sitting down in front of the river, I allowed myself to connect briefly to the wolf inside me, enhancing my senses so that even with my eyes closed I could sense the fish that passed by in the water. Shooting my hands out into the cold river, I grabbed a hold of two large fish, pulling them out of the water so that we could at least have something a little more substantial. I allowed my wolf to rest within me for just a moment before I locked away that part of me once again. 

"You never cease to amaze me," Milo laughed as he took the fish from me and pushed me down the path toward the rest of the group. The rest of the group had begun to set up camp in a small clearing up ahead. Milo gently rested his hand against my lower back as we moved toward the small fire that had been set up. Throwing the fish down on a stone slab I began to debone and gut it, watching as Marigold's face paled before she turned away. We had been living off bread and freeze-dried fruits since we had gotten off the boat, we needed something more substantial. 

Milo set up a spit roast as the energy around the campfire returned to some form of normality after the events of the past week. Never did I think Xandro and I would fall apart so quickly, nor did I ever think it could be replaced by somebody else, especially not somebody like Milo. He made me laugh though as he attempted to twine the sticks together. Instead, I passed him the fish to clean up as I began to set everything up fully, watching him closely as he expertly continued to prep the food. 

"We should reach the first set of remains tomorrow, they should hopefully give us some clue as to what is going on in these lands," Xandro hummed as he came up behind me, sitting next to us as I put the fish up to cook, standing up to forage for anything else we may be able to use. Xandro stood too, following close behind as I went to pick up the mushrooms attached to the base of a tree, hoping that they weren't poisonous or hallucinogenic. 

"You can use those Flynnie don't worry about it," Xandro said with a hum as he rested on the tree beside me. He looked tired, his once soft face always smiling was not set into a hardened frown as he looked closely at me. 

"Why do you like him so much huh? What does he have that I could not give you?" Xandro questioned in a low whisper as he pulled me to a stop. I bundled the mushrooms into my pockets and scowled at him.

"I find comfort in the fact that he does not use who I am against me Xandro unlike you. I will forever love you and be thankful for all of the years that we had together. I will be thankful for the ice cream or vodka after all of my missions and that you stuck by me for so long," I started, feeling suddenly emotional as I looked up to him, his face in shock at the outburst of my anger. "But that does not mean for one moment that we were ever good for one another. I relied on you, yes, but you relied on me too. Do not forget the number of times I have saved your life. the amount of torture I have been through to get your country information or to save you from others that wish to harm you. I have been through hell for you Xand. You are not the only person hurt by this. Regardless, I will not try to erase who you are as you will do to me. Don't look to me like I am the one doing the damage when you are so willing to turn away from me too," I growled lowly at him as I pulled some familiar herbs from the ground with anger, shoving them into my pockets too. 

Xandro stood in stunned silence as he watched my movements carefully. I wouldn't deny that I felt angry at him. He hadn't truly betrayed me for now yet I couldn't ignore the sensation welling in my body and telling me of his disloyalty. It would not surprise me, after all befriending me had been in his favour from the start, without it he would be long dead. 

I moved away from him with a sigh as I trudged back to the camp feeling annoyed by his presence. What right did he have to question who I wished to hang out with when he himself was hanging out with others. He did not have a monopoly over my time, nor did he deserve to have it. 

I chopped up the mushrooms and pulled out a small pan, mixing them with herbs and the little oil we had brought with us and watched the fish cooking too. The smell was divine when I thought about the stale bread we had in our pockets. I plated the food up for everybody quickly before I took my own plate to my tent, eating in angry silence as I thought of Xandro's words and all that I had done for him. I remained awake and in silence, listening to the group until long after I heard them all retire to their tents. Sighing, I peeled all of my clothes off, changing into fresh underwear before I decided to finally attempt to get some sleep. 

"Ding dong Wolfie," a voice called quiety into the tent as I collected my thoughts, looking over to the entrance of my tent as Milo climbed in, pulling in his blanket as he did so. He like me, was only in a pair of underwear as he lied down next to me. 

"You look tired Flynn," he whispered softly as he pulled me in close to him. I rested my head gently on his chest and nodded softly, feeling all of the built up frustration inside of me dissipate away. He didn't say anything else as he pulled me in closely, instead, as I looked around sleepily I noticed our soul lines entangle around one another even more, smiling before I allowed myself to sleep once again.