Firetail glanced around the dark forest. "Which way do y'all think we should go?" He asked through the soft night sounds. Star was distracted, barely hearing him as she thought. She did that often, especially when she had her earring out. She would deflect both thoughts and voices to keep to herself. She poked around before finding the river once more. It hadn't been far. "Good question. Left or right?" She gestured both ways, finally replying. "Also, Echo, put Trippze on your head." Echo seemed like he was going to retaliate, before rolling his chest deflated and he shifted the smaller dragon up onto his shoulders.
Star walked up to the river and saw that it was flowing to her right. She observed that the tracks the van had made had seemed to follow the river closely. "I'm not sure, but I think that they followed the river back here. Maybe if we follow it to the left, we can make it back into town." She put forward. She didn't know how long they had been asleep, but it was still pitch-black outside. But it was their only good idea, and at this point, the cold was starting to get to them. That, and the bruises and mental exhaustion they had been subject to for the past few weeks.
The group glanced at one another. No one seemed to object. "Lead the way." Firetail eventually said, walking up beside her. "Alrighty then." Star shrugged, starting to pick through the forest to her left, staying as close as she could to the bank as possible. Echo spread his wings and flew above them to keep lookout in the dark. The moon was only a crescent in the sky, yet there weren't any clouds, leaving them with decent visibility through the dense tree company.
Trippze pat Echo's head. That's right, fly thou king wherever he wishes. He thought with a toothy grin. Echo glanced up, flicking his hand away before glancing back down. Star was used to the dark, but she noticed her night vision was already fading now that she wasn't in constant darkness. It was only two weeks ago I was running from a completely different threat...Will I ever know what normalcy is? Or will I only know it through the memories of others? She longed to know the answer, a slight depression clogging her mind. Trippze looked up at the stars, unable to torment Echo further.
----
Zane, on the other hand, had parked not as far down from the rest of his group, up into the woods instead on directly near the river. The location wasn't entirely random, as a large tree had shaded out a small clearing in the woods, letting the moonlight shine through and leave room to move around. He tilted Az over onto the ground, feathers flying across the tall grass, and flipped an Angel blade in his hand. "I still can't believe I managed to get my hands on one of these." He muttered to himself, starting to carve into the god's chest with the blade. Once he was done, black blood now staining the grass, he stood back and watched as the markings glowed in a bright greyish light. He smiled in satisfaction and carried the god to the large tree.
The hyena already had thick black chains around the tree in precaution, though he already doubted the god's true power. If Azreal had allowed himself to be captured by the likes of Jaguar, how major of a god could he be? Once he chained Az to the tree, the god finally began to wake up. He groggily opened his eyes. "The fu- oh wow, you're a beautiful face to wake up to." He said sarcastically. Zane smirked. "You use hyphens. Not like the rest." Az thought for a moment, confused. "OH, yeah I've been on Earth for a while, what about it?" He asked, his eyes hooded lazily. He acted unconcerned about his situation, trying to appear as if he had the upper hand. Internally, he was freaking out.
He glanced down at the the chains. He tried to remember what had happened. After he had cut his arms, the world had went black. When he had woken, it was mid-morning in Tasmania. He had made sure his wounds had been healed completely before washing his arms off and making a portal back to the house. There, it was midnight, and he had stood guard around the house while the others slept. He faintly remembered a knocking at the door. He opened it, and found a foul-smelling gord of sorts. After that, everything went black, and now...
"What is so different about it is that you do not see yourself as a higher being. Instead, you see yourself as equal to us mere mortals... It gives you an un-conceited attitude. You love the mortals." Zane smiled. His words struck Azreal, but he didn't have a chance to reply. "Not that any of it matters. I don't care who you are, only what powers you contain. And you don't seem to be as powerful as the texts say... Per the normal. So, I'm going to leave you here. You can try to escape, but now you are alone. Those chains are unaffected by your holy power. The longer you are left here to rot... The more your power transfers over to myself. Meanwhile, you will be turned into one of the mortals you love so much." Azreal was quick to respond this time, in a cocky manner. "'Kay, sounds fun." He replied, trying to grip at any bit of facade he had left. Zane tilted his head and laughed a little, amazed he was still attempting to trick him. He could see right through him.
Zane shook his head. "You seem oddly optimistic, considering your situation." He teased the god. Azreal laughed. "You might've killed my brother, but you can't kill death." He challenged. And he was right. Zane let out a tsk, not deterred in the slightest. "But I'm sure your higher-ups are after you, to strip that title from you." He said. Azreal paused and what the hyena emphasized. "You don't have the power." Azreal growled, his eyes narrowing. He had thought the hyena was just naive... But could he be wrong? "You're right, I don't have the power. But I have the tools."
Azreal went silent, breaking the mad-man's stare and glancing to the side, deep in thought. Zane yawned. "See you tomorrow." He said, starting to walk off. "Wait, you're gonna leave me out here chained to a tree??" Az shouted after him. He didn't respond. "YOU CACTUS EATING LITTLE--" he glanced around, waiting for Zane's car to disappear into the distance. He then tried braking the chains. Usually, he could break them with no problem. But the black chains refused to falter. "You have got to be kidding me." He muttered. Could they truly counteract my powers? He thought. What if I revealed my true form..? No-- That would be a last result. He thought back to what Zane had said. What did he mean, I am alone? does that mean Star, Trippze, Gluzze are...? He didn't want to think about the possibility. He didn't think he would be able to stand any more losses. That would break him completely. But the hyena said I would lose my powers, become mortal... If my friends are dead, then I hope he is right. It would be great to finally die. He thought with a bit of relief, although selfish as it was.
He sighed and leaned his head against the tree. "Why is it always me who ends up being trapped? I'm supposed to be the strong one." He grumbled, then started to wonder what had happened to the others. He realized he was in the middle of nowhere, in the cold, dark forest, bound to a tree. "This is gonna be fun." He stated out loud, starting to grow tired. He wondered how Jaguar got the markings that Zane seemed to use. How were the two related. He looked up at the sky boredly and closed his eyes, but shook his head. He was very tired suddenly. He started singing to stay awake, he didn't want anything surprising him if he fell asleep.
