Fyre

12

Mid Afternoon//Wynd Campsite

Adrianna arrived back at the camp a little bit after the hunting party did. The sun had only just began to sink in the sky, which told Adrianna that is was the middle of the afternoon. Still enough light, and if she moved quickly, she could escape right before the darkness would hit, giving Wynd almost fifteen hours before they fully realized her vacancy.

Adrianna ran into her hut as quickly as she could without raising suspicion. Hastily she threw food, clothing, and important items into the largest bag she could find. She was breathing heavily in a sharp, unnatural rhythm, and she struggled to calm herself.

Adrianna felt like she had just aged and matured years in that one time lapse of possibly only a couple minutes.

It's clear now that I can't trust my own kind, she thought. After witnessing such an event, and after what Milikra had said- I have to get out of here.

The Hunter's dark eyes stared at her from the corner of her memories- eyes of distrust, suspicion, and almost hate. She didn't know how long she was planning on being gone, she only knew that she had to get out of Wynd- and fast. She had a strong feeling of premonition, stronger than any feeling she'd ever had before.
It's also obvious that I can't trust the dragons either. I know what they've done to people.

The brutal reality of the conflict ripped through her again, stronger than it had earlier. Her mind and body reeled again, barely able to tolerate this amount of thought.

Adrianna's hope was dimming faster than a hummingbird's wings. I'm stuck in the middle. Evil humans and evil dragons fighting against each other. She began to feel sick at the thought of how many other innocent humans and dragons have fallen at the hands of the true killers, whomever they were.

Those strange hunting missions. All the times Milikra issued special tasks. The forced union against a species that Adrianna never really knew much about. The declaration of a war that no one before Adrianna had questioned. The bias and prejudice in what she once thought of as truth, and the hidden propaganda inside every parable.

Adrianna had to get out. She had to leave.

There was no one in Wynd that she felt especially close to, after her mentor died just over a month ago. She knew it was probably a rash decision, born in the spur of the moment, but Adrianna was going to flee from Wynd and Fyre.

This isn't running away, she told herself, trying to rationalize her quickened thoughts. I just need to find my place. Find out who or what the real evil is in this world. It's too late for me to do anything here... and they'd kill me on the spot if I tried to protest hunting dragons. It's not safe anywhere anymore. Maybe if I run far enough, I'll find other beings who think the same as me... maybe somehow I will be able to thrive away from this pointless war of meaningless killing...

It was a foolish hope, a foolish quest, but Adrianna had no choice. It was either leave now, while the adrenaline was still pumping in her blood, or stay to watch more horrible events occur and eventually be hanged under the crime of siding with the enemy.

She swung the bag over her shoulder, and crept out of her hut, in the same discrete yet unobvious way.

"Where are you going?" a man immediately asked. He was patrolling the camp on horseback, and had by all means of bad timing was in front of her hut right now. Adrianna turned around to meet his gaze.

"I found some herbs when I was out this morning, and I want to gather them quickly. They're rare, and not ripe for long. I need to pick them while they're at their peak for maximum effect," she told him in a swift and steadfast manor.