My Name is Marcus: Umbra

V. Wounds

The amber rays of the twilight sun were reduced to more of an orange afterglow beneath the tall shrouded canopy of the treeline and the thick veil of fog that pervaded through the woods. It was already difficult to see without taking into account that night would be falling soon. Marnie didn't care, not in that moment. Groups of Skwovet and Rookidee frantically moved aside as she ran past in a huff, crunching twigs and kicking rocks as he tore through the grass-laiden path before her. Is this just how it's gonna be, now? Is he just gonna be too busy for all of us now? Is he just gonna forget about all of us now that he's at the top?

After everything that she and Marcus's mom had discussed earlier that evening, Marnie truly didn't want to believe any of the thoughts that she was thinking at that moment. She hardly even had a reason to. But she hadn't seen Marcus since he became champion weeks ago, and he had already been through so much in such a short period of time. What if something changed in him between then and now? What if the weight of the responsibilities of being champion were too much for him to have his friends and family be a part of his life? What if he would have to give all of that up to maintain his claim?

In her aimless rush, she lost sight of where she was stepping and tripped on a tree root, sending her tumbling down a hill. She landed on her legs, the coarse rocks in the soil scraping her left knee. She cried out in pain, the sensation making her thoughts slow down long enough to focus in on one singular thought: What are you doing out here, Marnie? She let herself fall gently backwards, her head now resting on the ground as she gazed up at the treetops above her.

"Pe! Morpeko!", Morpeko cried, finally catching up to Marnie.

"Morpeko", Marnie called, sitting herself upright as Morpeko ran to her trainer's side. "Sorry, Morpeko, I shouldn't've run off like that", she said with a weak half-smile.

"Pe, pe!", Morpeko cried in worry as she gestured to the scrape on Marnie's leg.

"Oh, this?", she questioned as she began to try to stand. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine..."

A sharp pain ran up and down her leg as soon as she tried to put any weight on it. She winced as she tried taking all of the weight off of it at once, losing her balance and causing her to fall back on the ground.

"Peko, peko!", Morpeko cried out with concern.

Marnie sat there on the ground, a look of defeat on her face as Morpeko sat next to her, wrought with worry. "What's with this place, anyway?", she thought out loud as her eyes began to dampen. "Ever since I got here today, I've been actin' pretty dumb, haven't I?" A single tear streamed down from her right eye, gently caressing her cheek. "What's gotten into me today, anyway?"

Morpeko frowned. All she could think to do was place one of her hands onto her trainer's to try and comfort her, as if to say "you're not alone." Marnie felt Morpeko's hand on hers and got the message loud and clear. She wiped the tears away using the sleeve of her jacket. "Thanks, Morpeko... sorry 'bout worryin' you."

"Cooooooooooorrrr!"

"What was that...?" Marnie's eyes shot open wide at the sound. She was now on high alert.

The sound of wings beating began to draw closer and closer. Something was coming towards them, something big. And it was coming in fast.

Through the treeline above, a large shadow descended towards them rapidly, stopping just above them as it used its massive wings to halt its forward momentum with a wingbeat so massive and powerful sent most of the underbrush surrounding them sailing away into the thick mist of the forest. Marnie's eyes widened as she laid eyes upon the beast before her. She might be in trouble now.