Wehmutstau und Sturmgesang

31. Into the Past

The same gloom as before greeted them once they entered the Crystal Sphere. According to plan, they stuck to the leftovers of the forests on their way further west, ducking among ashen leaves and dead roots. Morana kept her head low under her hood. Any foe would spot them as intruders quickly, but so long as their identities were veiled, everyone hoped they would be fine.

Otherwise, they could act quickly, as they had with the goblins that were with Thistle.

Morana hoped the girl was doing fine now. That she found food and shelter. That others weren't bullying her anymore. She was so small and angsty. Morana felt responsible for her well-being.

Onyx fluttered onto Hongjoong's shoulder. The sorcerer hadn't teleported them since travelling via magic in a huge group was draining to him. He was worried about being weak upon arrival or to have no power to get them out of an emergency. So they crawled through the bushes instead.

Whatever the bird conveyed to him, Hongjoong lifted his hand to motion the group to a stop. Morana crouched on the dead leaves. A once beautiful river shaped this route, but it had run dry on the muddy earth.

"We pause here. Orcs are near," Hongjoong whispered as his fingers weaved their magic. Though she was dying to see what they looked like, Morana stayed down.

The orcs had defeated her uncles and ruined the empire. She wouldn't chance their mercy.

While they hunched in the bushes, Hongjoong monitored the travelling group of orcs, seeking to plunder whatever was left of the elves. Yeosang tried to assure the kids with gentle smiles, but he looked most worn by his surroundings.

"Do you think Yongguk is still here?" Wooyoung whispered to Hongjoong, rarely so good at being quiet.

The sorcerer scowled to himself.

"I don't know. I never caught him, otherwise I would have hacked him to pieces."

Stunned at the violence when they taught her to be kind, Morana turned her head to Yunho. Like Wooyoung, he was easier to get through, even when Morana was leery of him. She tugged Mingi further away from his side, making sure the demon was comfortable.

"Who is Yongguk?" She asked, hoping to muffle herself enough that Yeosang wouldn't hear and cut her from yet another source of information. Far in the distance, dark shadows sauntered across the singed fields. They were massive even from a distance, though Morana doubted they were as big as her father.

Yunho shifted his sword so he could huddle closer. He glanced at Hongjoong before he replied and though San never let the kids out of his sight; he didn't protest or give them away.

"If you ever hear that name... You need to run as fast as you can. As far away as you can," Yunho mumbled to her, and the gravity of his tone made her brows knit together. They were cautious of the orcs as a whole, but a single person could be so scary? Ridiculous.

Pebble tried to worm out of her bag to go on a walk, bored with their tense hovering. Aodhán held onto her with a hissed whisper not to move, but his pricked ears attended their conversation.

"Why, who is that?" Morana hugged her knees. She felt so small, tucked against Mingi's side. She always thought she was so tall compared to the chicks of the gryphon-borns. But next to a proper demon, she was small, like a worm.

As if he noticed her concern, Mingi reached a hand her way. His fingers hesitantly caressed over her shoulder as if he offered it as a shield to protect her, shy to linger too long so she wouldn't be uncomfortable. Soothed by his heat, Morana peered back up at Yunho, whose expression had darkened into a frown.