Eclipsis: Water

Chapter 8

No one talked for the next few minutes, other than an occasional "turn left", "turn right" grumble from Kōri. Not doing anything except readjust the grip on her sword and how she was sitting made Alara realise just how exhausted she was. She hadn't slept, and hadn't eaten since before training. The sound of the wind covered up any noise in her stomach.

Al, I think we should rest, Cetus suddenly announced, making Alara jump a little. Alara had been especially fidgety these last few minutes, which the dragon had found difficult to ignore.

Alara blinked her heavy eyelids profusely. "We have to push through."

I can see how tired you are. And I can hear from your stomach that you need to eat. I think it'd be good to get some sleep.

"No, I don't think so. Not now."

Alara. How are you going to have enough energy to fight whoever needs to be fought once we reach Lune? We can't exactly do it sleep-deprived and starved.

Alara knew he was right. "Okay, let's eat. Quickly. We can sleep later."

Cetus began his descent back to the forest floor, landing with a weight that shook some of the small plants nearby. Alara swung her leg off his back and jumped down, turning back to Kōri expectantly. Cetus knew not to intentionally prolong this, and immediately lowered himself to the ground so that the ice-fairy's struggle to dismount was as limited as he could make it.

Once Kōri had both feet planted on the floor, Alara took the end of his rope and looked around quickly to assess her surroundings.

"Do you recognise this place?" She asked the Moon, whose eyes widened momentarily at her accusatory tone.

"I - what? A little, yes." He answered.

"Do you know if there's any food sources nearby? Lakes, things like that, to hunt in?"

"There should be a pond a couple of minutes that way." Kōri pointed West with both his tied hands.

"Great," She nodded to Cetus, who took his place behind Kōri, and they began walking. "Ice-fairies hunt?"

"We do."

You're going to let the prisoner eat? Cetus asked, his tone offended slightly.

"We can't let him starve, Cetus," Alara replied. "We're not evil,"

Kōri's earlier comment had made her feel extremely strange inside. She was only defending herself, defending Cetus and her people. There was nothing evil about how she was treating him.

"What do ice-fairies even eat?" She continued, speaking to the back of Kōri's head.

"Same thing that any water creature eats."

"Good."

That seemed to conclude the conversation, up until they had reached the pond that Kōri had mentioned. It was substantially sized, and the water was extremely murky. Alara doubted that any fish were swimming about underneath the surface, but thankfully there were algae and lily-pads everywhere.

"I think it's too murky to swim in and see properly," She stated. "It might be best to eat things from the surface."

Guard the prisoner, I'll try and catch any prey that's lurking, Cetus said.

"Okay, but it's fine if not. We need to eat quickly." Alara responded.

The two fairies waited to see if Cetus' attempt at hunting was successful. He managed to find a couple of frogs, and numerous leeches, which Alara was very happy about. She hadn't had fresh leeches in a long time. The three ate the fresh food quickly, and Alara decided to shove some lily-pads into the bag fastened around Cetus' neck for later, balancing them on the side of the spear handle she had thrown at Kōri earlier that night.

She motioned to Cetus to lower himself so they could begin their flight again, but Cetus shook his large head slowly. Alara frowned.

We need to rest. Sleep, Alara, not just sit down for a few minutes.

"Cetus, please. We can rest later, after we've found Ondine."

It is unwise to venture into enemy territory with little energy. We need all the rest we can get. My wings need it, too. But not as much as you need to get your energy back.

"What about Ondine?" Alara heard her voice rise in volume without consciously meaning it to. "No one is helping her. She is not able to rest. Every minute we spend here is a minute longer that she is alone. Cetus, please. She is my sister, my only sister, and she is probably terrified out of her mind. I don't want her to think that no one is coming to find her -"

Alara felt tears well in her eyes, felt her voice coming out choked, and she abruptly stopped talking, attempting to hide it with a cough.

Cetus' glowing eyes were filled with sadness. Thinking about his friend Ondine trapped in Lune caused him a great pain that reached every inch of his self.

Al, I'm sorry. I know. I -

"She's your sister?" Kōri's voice was gentle.

Alara turned to him with a start, half-forgetting that he was even with them. His expression seemed to have softened. Was that ? - no, it couldn't be. Not sympathy.

Alara stepped forward, but Kōri didn't move. He didn't take his eyes off of her, nor did his expression change.

"This is your fault. You were a part of this, in getting my sister taken," Alara's tone was doused in animosity, though she spoke quietly. "If I didn't know any better I'd say that that was guilt on your face."

The edges of Kōri's mouth turned down for a fraction of a second, before he corrected his expression into a steely one. "I was just following orders, along with the three others. I'm a soldier. I'll get tortured and killed if I don't follow them. You're telling me you wouldn't do the same if one of your people commanded it?"

"The difference between us is that a Sun would never have commanded such an atrocity."

"Don't be so sure about that."

Alara's scowl hardened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kōri was almost completely sure that Alara's eyes had turned black. He chose his tone carefully, as he was overly aware that her sword-hand was steadying.

"Anything I say will just anger you. Both of you," He turned to Cetus. "Besides, anything coming from a Moon's mouth is an instant lie meant to deceive all those that are stupid enough to listen, yes?"

Alara and Cetus exchanged glances.

"If you have anything of value to say about Sol, by all means." Alara gestured for Kōri to speak.

"I think I'd rather not-"

"Just say it," Alara snapped. "You have my word that Cetus and I won't harm you for anything said at this point in time."

Kōri hesitated, eyes shifting from the water-fairy to the dragon indecisively. "I have a brother. Younger. He went missing when we were kids. The entirety of Lune was searched, but he wasn't found. It is thought..."

"It is thought?" Alara prompted at Kōri's sudden trail-off.

Kōri felt himself gulp slightly. "It is thought that he was taken by your kind. A Sun."