Xylia

Five

Short.

That single word seemed to summarize Drea's existence. Short tempered, short stature, short hair. Glancing at the midget in question, I took note of her quick and, you guessed it, short strides as she led Volkan and I to her campsite. However, what she lacked in size she made up with her larger than life presence, coupled by her ego, bossiness, and all her other... unique characteristics.

Fingers snapping in front of my face drew me out of my reverie. Speak of the devil. My bloodshot eyes peered down at a not so happy Drea.

"You gonna stand there all day or what?" I refrained from answering, not in the mood to pick a fight. "Listen here," she prodded her finger at my chest, "in this terrain it's either eat or be eaten, and I'm not gonna have my ass devoured because you were slowing us down with your daydreaming." With a flick of her hair and a smack of her lips, she stomped off, dust stirring in her wake.

"She's not so bad once you get to know her," Volkan chirped from beside me. Flashing him a tight lipped smile, I hummed instead of voicing my opinions of the she devil who was well within earshot.

"Xylia, I've been thinkin'..." Volkan's voice had a lighter, almost shy, sound to it.

"What's with you and thinking these days," I joked, when he remained silent. Looking up, I was surprised to meet a flush faced partner. Volkan could barely meet my eyes, continuously shifting his weight from side to side. My brow creased with worry, is it his wound?

Just as Volkan was about to speak again, Drea called, "We made it!"

                                                                                          
___

Arriving at the camp was quite anti-climactic. Other than helping haul wood and construct huts, nothing was out of the ordinary. Trying not to seem too skeptical at my fortune, I slinked over to Volkan wanting to test if this foreboding sensation was all in my head.

"This place sure is," I searched my mind for the right word, "neat." I snuck a look at Volkan, gauging his response.

"You feel off too?"

"Oh thank god," I breathed out heavily, setting my hand on his shoulder," I thought it was just me."

Again Volkan relapsed into silence; that odd look on his face returned as he intently stared at my hand that rested on him. His eyes softened, his creamy, hickory skin took on a rosy hue. I slowly retracted the limb, yet he remained fixated on his shoulder.

"Speaking of odd," my words snapped him out of his trance. His face bloomed with a heated blush as he averted my gaze. "You gonna tell me what's going on?"

Yet before he could even attempt at explaining himself, Drea boomed, "Alright everybody who's hungry?" The crowd roared with vigor.

Pointing to the crowd she rattled off, "You, you, you," catching my eye, she flung her arm in my direction, "and you." She chucked a sword at me and the other victims. "Let's go get some food."

                                                                                          
___

Two hours and five famished stomachs later, we all met up empty handed.

"I don't get it," one of the hunters muttered, "I haven't seen any animals. Maybe we should try another strategy, Drea."

"Maybe we should string you up as bait," Drea spat, "I think that'll do the trick, don't you?" No other comments were made on Drea's methods.

A blur of brown tore our attention away from bickering. The deer who had been galloping near us, now dipped its head in a river. It was oblivious of the ten ravenous eyes that were glued to its form.

With excessive eye rolls and pointed glares, Drea communicated our ambush.

Five swords and one deer later, we headed back to camp. That is, until Drea swooped by, yanking my arm down to her height.

"You see that fox over there," darting my eyes to my left, I caught the red tuft of fur slinking in the bushes. "Well we got plenty of stomachs to feed and I'm not sure how much this deer is gonna satisfy, you get where I'm going with this?" Nodding briefly I trailed back, eyeing my new target.

Cornering the fox to a dead end, I gave it a dignified death with the single swipe of my blade, throwing its limp form over my shoulder. However, I never noticed just how far I'd strayed off from the others. Spinning around the new terrain, I realized I had no idea where I was.

A pit of anxiety curdled in my gut, jostling roughly as I stumble through the woods. I stopped hastily, straining my ears to hear something, anything other than the sickening silence.

My prayers were finally answered as Drea's snarky voice filled my ears. Clambering to the sound, I continued to follow her aggravated shouts.

"I already told you, Xylia abandoned us." I stopped in my pursuit; the pit in my stomach twisted at the betrayal.

"She took her sword and ditched us, I tried reasoning with her but," she sighed out, " she was too adamant on going out on her own. I-I haven't seen her since." Drea's pain soaked voice actually sounded genuine. My aching hands clenched the hilt of my sword; the fox on my shoulder mocked me with its presence. The searing heat of anger surged through my veins,  I took a step forward, ready to expose her. A howl pierced through the air, stopping Drea and I in our tracks.

The air stirred to my right. I turned just as a hand burst from the woods. It clasped over my mouth, before pulling me into the shadows.

It felt like a double post kind of day. Thanks again for reading! And if you have any questions, comments, or feedback feel free to contact me!

-H