Stories of Renajah: Gem Thieves

Chapter 2 - A Bruised Soul: Bethany

Her heart was racing. tears swelling in her eyes, making her vision barely visible. She was running as fast as she could. Running through the somewhat thin, yet thick, willow trees. The leaves draped like curtains, hiding whatever laid upon them. She weaved between the surplus amount of these trees. Using her skinny, rough-looking arms to split the leaf-like drapes. It felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. It felt like her body was shutting down. Her eyes were shuttering, barely still open. Her thighs began to feel heavy like rocks were weighing them down. A familiar feeling. It felt like she would never get to the other side. And, even with all that said, she ran. She ran and ran, and ran. Never stopping... She could not stop. She wouldn't let her body do it. And eventually... she suddenly reached a clearing. Large open plains lay in front of her. In the distance, she sees what looks like a town. Distant light making it visible to the naked eye, late at night. She broke. Those tears began to stream down her cheeks. Hope. Hope radiated off of her. A smile formed on her face. For the first time in a while. There was hope for them after all. There was...

Betty rushes upward, waking up in a cold sweat. She frantically looks around, only to see her new traveling buddies. A sigh escapes her lips. In front of her, laid a lit fire, keeping them all warm through the night. She looked up, trying to see what time it was. Since there was no light coming through the trees, she assumed it was still nighttime. It was very unlike her to wake up from her sleep. Most of the time she can't wake up. Always blackout drunk. In front of her, she saw Falcon lying under a tree, with Toby laying his head on Falcon's chest. They were both peacefully passed out. She recalls what happened hours prior.

'Co-Could... um... Someone sl-sleep next to me t-tonight... Th-This... all ha-has me a bit sh-shaken... still...' She remembers Toby saying.

'Sure!! I'll gladly do that for you, little buddy! No one expects you to be able to handle this... Shucks, I can barely handle this!' Falcon would respond, a faint chuckle at the end.

'Be careful, he once almost suffocated me when I was about your age. That's when I decided I'd start sleeping in trees, away from him.' Raven would cut in.

'It only happened one time!' Falcon disputed.

'Yeah, that's my point. It only happened one time, because I stopped sleeping next to you.' Raven would say, messing with his older brother.

Betty couldn't help but smile at that thought. It was fun watching siblings act like, well, siblings. She's never had siblings, herself. Well, she did think of one person as her sibling. But she also thought of them as a mother. Maybe that's the same dynamic Falcon and Raven had?

She turns to look beside her, to see a sleeping Viata. Viata was one of the last to be knocked out. Always keeping a watchful eye on others, before taking care of her own needs. Betty has always admired that about Viata. Though, it has also concerned her. She would rub Viata's shoulder, before looking to her other side, up at the branches. Ami was sleeping in one branch, and Raven was sleeping in the other with Marvel by his side. Betty stared at them intently. She found them to be the most perplexing. Ami seemed to be shrouded in mystery... and Raven seemed somewhat isolated at times. She'll have to look into the two of them. As much as Betty wanted to not go back to sleep after that dream, she knew she still wasn't fully ready to wake up. She needed to regain more energy. Yawning, she would lay back down, nodding back off to sleep.

A few hours later, light began to shine through the trees. The campfire had already gone out. In the distance, the flapping of bird wings could be heard. Raven was the first up. He didn't waste any time and immediately went scouting around the area. Marvel would soar above the trees, helping Raven scout further ahead. He doesn't find any immediate danger, as he stealthily walks around the perimeter. Marvel also seemed to not notice anything out of the ordinary. Next to wake was Ami. She jumped down off the branch she was sleeping on, and had walked over to Viata and Betty.