Chapter 5
Jakel Laphric woke up. He panicked for a moment as he could not feel the bottom half of his body. Then the pain came. His entire body felt like someone was beating it with a hammer. He tried to get up. The world swayed around him. He laid back down again with a groan.
“Hello?” He asked while covering his eyes. He studied his surroundings. The only thing he was able to see was that there were a lot of leaves around. By a lot, he meant he was literally surrounded with leaves. Something moved beneath him. He yelped.
“Would you please stop moving?” A pained voice said. He froze in place. “I didn’t say stay like that. You look uncomfortable. Just lay back down and stop moving. The voice sounded like a woman’s. He could feel his cheeks heating up.
“Where are we? How did I get here?” The woman under him chuckled.
“You do not remember?”Laphric shut his eyes and tried to remember. There was.. a battle and ...everthing came rushing back. The bird demon. He looked around frantically.
“Wh-where is it?” The woman grunted. “Oh. Oops, sorry.” He laid still. His senses were on high alert. “Where are we? Are you injured?” The woman remained silent.
“What are your opinions about peaceful demons, Sir Laphric?” Jakel frowned. What an unusual question to ask.
“It depends. Demons cannot be trusted. They could turn on us immediately.” He felt the woman nod slightly. “How do you know my name?” a chilling silence followed his question. He turned around swiftly. What he saw stunned him. A child lay beneath him. What really caught his eyes, however, was the pair of large wings that extended from the child’s back. He realized why the world swayed. They were lying on a cluster of vines.
“WOULD YOU STOP MOVING! I CAN EXPLAIN THIS!” he stopped his attempt to grab his sword.
“What would a kidnapping demon have to say that I need to here. I say nothing!” the child flinched as he unsheathed his sword with a hiss. He hesitated. The child’s face immediately changed and she flipped him off the little platform they are on.
~~~~~~~
“Hey. Wake up.” I snapped my fingers under Sir Laphric’s nose. “Hello? Are you still sleeping?” I sighed.”I honestly don’t know how the humans are still alive with people like you being the head of guard.” I sat down with a thump. The moss on the forest floor cushioned me. I watched the human as he sleeps. It is always interesting to see how centuries of evolution allowed them to leave themselves completely vulnerable to dangers. I focused erebos in my hand. It flared, spreading up my arm. The human jerked awake. I blinked. “Oh. You’re awake.” he noticed the vines binding him to a tree trunk.
“Let me go this instant!” He struggled against his bonds. I laughed. It rang through the silent forest.
“And let you kill me without hesitation?” I released the erebos. It floated between us. I muttered a spell. A scene of what had happened at the battle played and understanding shot through his eyes.
“You...saved me?”He looked so confused that I had to suppress a chuckle.
“You look confused. I don’t blame you. Afterall, you were taught by the humans that demons do not care about humans. “ I stood up carefully. My wings tingled under the makeshift bandage I made from leaves and vines. “Technically, I’m not actually a demon. I’m half now, so I guess the humans are sort of right about demons.” He looked even more confounded than he was a moment ago.
“Half?” I frowned. Humans are so dumb as a species. Always kill first, then ask questions. I gestured to my wings.
“Can’t fold them in.” I looked around. “So are you ready to believe me and help me get back to the city?” He reluctantly nodded. “Good. For a moment I thought I would need to haul you back by force. Or not at all.” I cut the vines loose. “I hope you won’t betray me once we get back. I’m not in a hurry to disintegrate back to the Void.”
@ethiera @ocarina
