Mystical Realm

Snake goes cra-cra

The next day while everyone was eating breakfast, Tim asks "Any dreamss lasst night?"

Mooncaster looks down before admitting "Yes...I saw a cat and a wyvern in my vision...I think we need to find them"

"Then we need to find a cat and a wyvern?" Kuro asks.

Mooncaster nods and Tim adds after a minute of thinking "Wassn't there a cat and wyvern at the ceremony two dayss ago?" They all think and remember the cat and wyvern that had been at the ceremony.

"Oh yeah..." Aussie says "So we just find those two and then...what?"

"I don't know...but I'm sure they're needed for some reason" Mooncaster says.

After a bit of silence, Aussie smirks as he stood up "Well then mates, let's get going!"

"W-What?" Mooncaster asks confusedly. Martha and Kuro were also confused.

"We can't just let you leave on your own" Aussie says "I mean you might run into old Pyth face or those alligators. We're your best bet of getting out of the swamp and forest alive"

"That'ss true...I can handle Python...sshe lisstenss to me" Tim nods in agreement.

"We could use the help..." Kuro says.

Martha speaks "Having someone to help with the giant snake would be good"

Mooncaster smiles and nods "Alright! Let's make sure we're actually ready to go then we can head on out"

A few hours later

The group is on the road again, well not road since there isn't a set path through the swamp. Aussie has no problem swimming through the swampy water. Tim prefers the muddy ground but doesn't seem to dislike the water unlike Kuro who avoids the water by staying in the trees as much as possible. Martha walks next to Mooncaster at the back of the group.

"....There was more to the vision, wasn't there?" she asks, having a feeling that he hadn't told them everything.

He looks at her before looking away "Nothing that would help us in the now"

"Do you really think the cat and wyvern will be able to help us?" she asks

"I....don't know but it's the only thing that makes sense right now so we have to try!" he answers. In a few more hours they make it to the forest and are traveling through it with Tim in the lead.

They make it far into the forest before Python the giant snake appears. "Hello friend...we need to get passt you, may we?" Tim asks kindly smiling up at the snake before frowning uncertainly.

"What's wrong, Tim?" Aussie asks eyeing his friend.

"I...I don't know. Sshe'ss acting weird...like ssomethingss affecting her" he answers before quickly dodging her mouth, just barely able to escape within inches of her teeth.

"Crikey! Python's gone insane!" Aussie shouts quickly getting out of the way and grabbing Mooncaster. Kuro pulls Martha behind a tree just in time to avoid getting eaten themselves before they both quickly move around the tree keeping distance between themselves and the angered giant snake.

"What is wrong with it!?" Martha asks feeling the need to voice her question. Kuro touches his eye as it hurts and the tips of his ears turn black but he shakes his head and they return to normal.

"Not now...keep the light in your heart" Kuro thinks reciting an old saying his mother had told him to do when his eye hurts.

"We can figure that out later!" Mooncaster shouts "For now...RUN!" He grabs Martha's hand and takes off at top speed. A heartbeat later the others follow after him with the giant snake slithering after them.

Kuro notices a group of boars on the side of the path as they run past them and he casts his magic on them to take control of them, sending them to fight the snake which buys them enough time to escape from it.

"Thank heaven! We got away...good job with the control back there Kuro!" Mooncaster pants

"You can control things?" Aussie asks

Kuro looks up and flushed a bit "Yeah but I don't like using it"

"Why!?" Aussie asks astonished.

"It feels a little too wrong to use it without a valid reason to." he admits "No one should be forced to do things they aren't comfortable with..." he goes quiet, not at all his usual cheerful self.

Mooncaster gives a tiny half-smile "It's not like he needs to control anyone to get what he wants in the end. He's too friendly to deny his honest and simply requests" Kuro looks at Mooncaster and smiles gratefully.

"Well I think we managed to escape the snake at least" Aussie says happily "Still that was unusual...Old Pyth face doesn't ever act like that"

Silence reigns as they continued on, all of them thinking of what could have happened.

Meanwhile, the invisible mystery man is watching the party with a concerned aura surrounding him. "That was weird...it was almost like...it had been corrupted for a second by dark magic...I'll have to keep an eye on them even more now...one of them might have corrupted it to hurt Martha and that person who can control...your not dark magic but I will kill you if you use it again." He glares at the group as they continue to walk, in a dangerous way.