There's Something about the Shadows (A SockSquad/FoolishCrew AU)

Lesson Three: Guardian's Markitesh

"Ydélég!"

Tbh let out a shout as his foot caught on the root of a bush, falling face first onto the forest floor. He'd barely gotten any distance from the market, and already he would have to take a moment to look at his ankle- speaking of which, it now felt like hell.

Undoing the buckles on his boot, Tbh slipped his foot out to see it reddening, a slight swell barely visible. Hissing in pain, he pushed his thumb gently against the area to see if it hurt more. It did- of course- but not too much, and after a moment, he slipped his foot back into the shoe, redoing the buckles with a slight struggle. It was always a pain to do things on his left side with his right hand, but what other option did he have? It was much harder to try and work through things with his pincer, unless the objective had to do with cutting.

Standing up slowly, Tbh lowered some weight onto the leg. Sore, but not unbearable. With that, he put his foot down entirely, taking a step forward. Still bearable. Now sure that he could walk, Tbh continued along the path through the forest, a bit slower than his original pace to help accommodate the pain. Now that he had the earring, he didn't really need to continue to Karmiki City, but there were still some things perking his interest.

One, it had been ages since Tbh had last seen his friends, and he didn't want to leave without paying them a visit. Two, he wanted to see if he could visit. With the apparent change to the rules, it didn't seem like he could, but he might as well figure out the details and possibly a loophole in. After all, things must have been really bad for them to deny people access, as the city originally allowed anyone with high enough priority to pass through.

Despite all this, Tbh couldn't shake the feeling of something he didn't have a name for. It wasn't quite unsettling, but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable either. He'd gotten this feeling a couple times before in the past, typically after the sun had set, but the milky light that filtered through the forest's vines and leaves let him know it was still bright out. The sensation made him tense, as it had since leaving Pseudo Market.

Carrying on, Tbh reached up once more to the sharded earring, his extra appendages subconsciously loosening out from where they were pressed against his back. They pulled closer again, though, as a twig snapped behind him, likely from a bird or squirrel. Tbh didn't bother to look, letting himself flinch but doing nothing more. That was, until it happened again.

Turning to look behind himself, Tbh's eyes locked in on movement from the direction of the noise. A figure visibly tensed, knowing they'd been spotted, though they didn't move to attack Tbh. The person took a step back as Tbh moved closer, not entirely fleeing as he approached. Realizing this, Tbh decided to talk.

"Are you just gonna stand there or are you going to show yourself?"

Tbh paused as shuffling came from the person, his expression dropping when they stepped out from behind the greenery. A pair of bat-like wings flared out, and pointed ears perked up as Tbh groaned. Not this again.

"What the hell do you want, evéc?" Tbh questioned 'Dandelion', who gave him a sheepish smile.

"I thought I already made it clear, I want to come with," 'Dandelion' responded, frowning as Tbh glared at him. "You're not coming with."

"Why not?"

"How many times do I have to say this? I'm going to Karmiki City alone. Not with a child clinging to me, not with a friend, alone," Tbh said, pointing at himself for emphasis. 'Dandelion' wasn't giving up.

"I know you said alone, but are you really gonna leave me alone? I don't have anyone, and who's to say you're even gonna get into Karmiki in the first place? You might as well have someone to pat your back when they turn you away."