The Ties That Bind

Five

The Darkwood forest was silent, and the air smelled of stale blood. Kael had just opened his eyes. He was still holding Sorrel, and his cloak was over her body. He blew over her mouth a soothing breeze. At the feel of this, Sorrel's eyes began to twitch. Then they flew open gently. She let out a soft groan as Kael sat her up.
"How are you feeling?" Kael asked with a mix of concern and excitement. Sorrel glanced at him before looking away. "I'm never doing this again." Kael held out his hand and a small, round, bead-like pill appeared out of thin air. "Open up." He said to her as she opened her mouth and he gently slipped the pill in for her to swallow. "Let's move on." Sorrel said as they both stood up and continued on their way.
A few minutes later, they saw the blood lotus grove just as they came out of the trees. "We're here." Kael said with a smile. Sorrel took in the scene in a moment. The grove was in ruins, like an old arena in ruins. "It doesn't look so good," she said, continuing on to avoid some large rocks that stood in the way until she was in. A few steps into the grove revealed several skeletons of beasts and humans, presumably. Sorrel avoided them, unbothered until her eyes finally met with the blood lotus and the chaos amidst it.
Sorrel was alone at this point, without Kael by her side. "Not the warmest welcome ceremony," she commented, glancing at the first arrivals, who hadn't noticed her from the other entrance.
"Now that all the work is done, I might just help myself." She smiled as she walked up to the blood lotus and gently plucked it out. She took a moment to admire this strange five-colored glazed flower before she took a seat on a rock that was close to it.
After a while, she got a bit bored of what was on display and coughed to get their attention. "Is everyone finished?" I just wanted to say thank you for making it easy for me to get the lotus. In her words, everyone seemed to fall silent and focus their attention on her. They were all confused about when she'd actually arrived and why she'd had the chance to get the lotus in the middle of all the chaos. "We were here first." One of the participants broke down in tears. "The lotus is ours." "No harm done for being a bit slow. I would have loved to stay for a chart, but you guys don't seem too interesting. "Try to catch up if you can." Sorrel stood up to leave, but the participants rushed at her to get the blood lotus. She reached into her pocket and, with a smile, blew the dust from her hands. Some of the participants inhaled the powder and passed out, while others avoided it by covering their mouths. Sorrel took this chance to escape.
Gray coughed as he covered his nose to avoid the powder. He took note of Sorrel's looks and tried to picture her clearly in his mind. Zach, who'd been watching from the side without interest in getting the lotus, was not bothered by its being taken away by a stranger. Ronan was curious about this girl and why she gave him a familiar feeling.

*****

"When do you plan on coming out?" Sorrel complained, just outside the grove, though she was alone. At her words, Kael appeared out of thin air before her with a yawn. "Just getting a little rest." "Since you're done resting, why not fly us out?" Kael rubbed his temple as he looked questionably at Sorrel. "What happened to walking back the way we came?" Sorrel shot him a look which he understood immediately as her not wanting to pass through the river.
Kael stepped back a little, his eyes ablaze with primal intensity. His body contorted, as muscles bulged beneath the skin. His dark fur erupted and limbs elongated as his face morphed into a fearsome snout with sharpened teeth. Kael let out a loud, deep roar as he gave in to the wild animal inside him. Krael (The Krael is a huge creature, standing seven feet tall. Its skin is thick and scaly, a dark grey in colour. It has sharp claws on its massive hands and glowing red eyes that burn with feral intensity. Its muscles ripple beneath its powerful physique. Two horns protrude from its forehead and a distinctive crest runs down its spine. Its wings are very large and hard as steel and can fly several miles and very great heights with no difficulty. It growls menacingly, striking fear into those who dare cross its path.)  stepped out, it stood tall and huge as his eyes shone like embers. The air was charged with energy, filled with the smell of damp earth and raw power.
Sorrel wasn't by any chance surprised by this as she'd grown up, used to seeing it. She adjusted her dress and was about to leap onti Kael's back, she felt a tickle at the back of her neck. She gently touched it with a smile filled with disappointment. "Such little tricks." She murmured and finally, with a little push against the ground, she jumped unto Kael's back. "Let's make a stop at Dion village." She said to the beastly form of Kael who roared in answer before it carried itself into the air with its huge wings, away from the Darkwood.