Rise of The Fallen

–Elazar– 

After awakening this morning I  immediately made my way back to the village, now that I was courting kora I need proper supplies. 

The nights are getting colder and the old worn out blankets that we had been sleeping with weren't going to be enough to keep the little female warm in the coming months. She also needed new covers considering the ones she has have been torn and barely stitched together numerous times. With how flimsy the material is I'm surprised she even bothers wearing them since they provide little protection and no warmth.

Luckily I have plenty of material back within my den at the village. I'll be able to make her proper coverings and get some other supplies such as medicine. 

Kora is prone to get easily hurt with how soft and squishy her body is, where mine is mostly made up of muscle hers consists of fat. Part of me wishes she was more similar to my own kind only because I did not like how easy it was for her to get hurt, but another part of me quite enjoys how soft she is.

I could almost still feel her smooth tender pressed against mine, her sweet lips upon my own, and her nectar. Faux, I never would have ever imagined a little human like her tasting so delicious.

And now she's mine…

The thought made my heart swell with pride. Kora is unique. Xandisian or not she's proved she's fit for survival here in these forests she is clever and smart making her an ideal female to court. 

Strength and the ability to survive are the pride of nearly all xandisians. Even with the odds pinned against her, Kora has shown her true capabilities. She is a survivor and anyone who thinks otherwise would be a fool.

I slowed my pace after leaping off a tree branch above to land on the trail that led straight to my village. 

As much as I wanted to hurry and return to kora, I knew rushing in would draw attention to me. The last thing I wanted was to have someone question me about my whereabouts the past few days.

As I approached the clearing, the familiar scent of home wafted over me. Instead of bringing me a sense of comfort and familiarity it made my stomach churn like a sickness threatening to rear its ugly head.

I grit my teeth as I passed by a few familiar faces and made my way to the cavern, keeping my head down and my eyes forward. Once I passed through the drapes covering the entrance to my den I felt some of the tension in my body give way. I do not want to be here longer than I need to be. 

Very few tribe members noticed me and seemed interested in what I was doing and most likely where I have been for the past few days, but no one spoke a word to me and quickly went about their day.

Making my way over to the wooden crate beside my furs I opened it up and removed the carrying sack inside. Quickly emptying its contents by dumping them on the ground I quickly dug through the crate for the materials I needed.

I gathered the finest leathers and cloths to make new coverings and stuffed them inside the sack before moving over to the shelves on the wall and gathering various containers that held medicine within. 

The sound of the curtain of my doorway falling open Drew my attention and I looked over to see Roku standing in the entrance. His eyes moved from me to the sack I was packing in my hands before his face twisted into confusion.

"Elazar, you just arrived back after being gone for many days and you're already leaving again?" He questioned.

Turning my attention back to my supplies I gathered a few more things while replying. "Yes I only came back to resupply. I didn't intend to stay for long."

Roku was silent for a moment and watched on, still uncertain, as I grabbed two of my best furs from my bedding and folded them up. 

"If this is about rathas hunt in a few days, I don't think you need to be acting in such a way. Avoiding the celebration is one thing but leaving the village for weeks on end- you cannot keep running away from these issues!"

Pulling the sacks opening shut I quickly cut roku off, not wanting to speak about ratha and the hunt. "That's not what is happening. I'm going out because there is something I must take care of and do, not because I am running away." 

Once I double checked to make sure I had everything I walked to the entrance to leave only to be stopped as roku grabbed my shoulder. "This is foolish Elazar, there are things happening around us that you need to know about. Things happening within the village that you are unaware of because you've been gone!"

"They are of no concern to me-" I tried to shut Roku off only for him to block me once more.

"Listen to me for once brother!" He spat angrily, taking me by surprise. My tail twitched in irritation but I gave in and listened. "There are dangers lurking in the forests nearby."

"There are always dangers brother. Every day we wake and sleep. We live a life surrounded by death. We are surrounded by dangers within this forest." I responded.

"No, this is much worse than our everyday struggles…we found paku's brother."

I was silent, seeing the grim look in roku's eyes. I've seen that look before. It's the shame and guilt someone feels after discovering a lost life. 

"What happened to him…" I asked quietly. My agitation diminishing into nothing, only to be replaced by a pang of uncertainty and fear at roku's response.

"Humans. We found his body far up the river many days ago, shortly after you left."

Up the river? Was it close to where me and kora were? "Are you sure a human did it?" 

"Yes, he bore the Injuries of human weapons and his belongings were stolen, they even took his kin's knife. There has also been signs of a female draven in the area and sightings of the drakov near the river. Other villages have spoken about some of their people going missing lately as well."

My tail dropped as I listened. The draven and drakov were one thing but what really made me anxious was the way paku's brother perished. Not only was his body found close to where I found kora, but kora wields a xandisian blade. 

What were the chances? Had she killed him? Was it self defense or purposeful? Either way paku and the rest of the village would not stand idly by.

"We've sent groups of hunters out to track down the human who did it but the trails keep leading back to the river and with the fear of the draven and drakov around their pursuits have been cut short. Paku, Talok and a few others went out today to see if they could cross the river and pick up the trail.

What I'm saying is, it's too dangerous to be going out alone Elazar, you shouldn't risk it with everything that's happening-"

My entire body went rigid as my mind only focused on key words that roku spoke. They crossed the river following human tracks?! No, no no, if they find kora they'll kill her!

Feeling panic take over I quickly shoved past Roku and ran outside, securing the sack to my back as I made my way into the forest. Faux! Kora please just stay hidden!

—---

–Kora–

Waking up this morning I was surprised and a little disappointed to see Elazar had already left. He told me the night before he had to return to his village for some stuff but assured me he'd be back before night.

Yesterday was quite eventful and I kinda felt giddy inside after what we did together. Even now I felt my face heating up a little and a smile forming on my lips as I thought about it. Who knew the big xandisian brute could be so forward.

He was gentle and considerate yet at the same time a little dominant. It was a strange combo but definitely attractive for someone like him. And the way he tied my hands? I've never been a fan of bondage but that was kinky.

Anyways, instead of sitting around all day in the cave waiting for Elazar to come back I decided to go out and scavenge some breakfast for myself. We did have a few nuts and berries stored away but I wanted to save those for later. 

I'm glad El showed me how to properly seal those jars in the cave to keep pests out of our food because the last thing I wanted to deal with was those rat creatures. 

One morning I woke up to a fucking giant alien rat digging around through my stuff while I slept and nearly scared off half the forest with my screams. The haisu as Elazar called it were pests that often get into food that isn't properly sealed in a container making them a common nuisance.

Since I had never really had a supply of food to begin with I never encountered one until that day. 

Yawning I stretched my arms over my head enjoying the warmth of the sunbeams poking through the canopy high above before glancing around. Most of the edible fruits and such in this area had already been scavenged so It looks like I'll have to go out a bit further to find some food today.

As I walked my mind kept thinking back to one person. El. He seemed to take up most of my thoughts whenever I was alone and it was kinda strange. I can't help but wonder about him and what he was doing while he was away. We've been communicating more and more each day, teaching each other new words whenever we found them.

He has a really hard time speaking English and I find it kinda cute when he struggles with a single word for hours before finally getting it right, but even when he manages to say it correctly I don't think he always fully understands what they mean, but he tries really hard to learn even if I tell him not to worry about it.

Shaking my head I pushed forward, keeping a careful eye on my surroundings looking for any mushrooms, berries or roots. But as I pushed aside some thick branches blocking my way I froze in place and felt my stomach sink at the sight before me. 

The ground before me was bare, cropped out into a circle about ten feet across. Animal bones and skulls encircled a large wooden post in the center.

Bound by ropes and covered in dried blood was a xandisian male with a disturbing mark carved into his chest.