Six Will Stand (First Draft)

Chapter 12

Fai's eyes snapped open to reality, where he saw Panther still standing in front of him.

Riv wasn't dead. Well...yet. She would be when she fell to the bottom of the cliff.

"How long was I out?" Fai, voice strained and desperate, leaned forward and grasped Panther's arms.

Panther blinked and tried to keep Fai steady. "A minute or so, I think."

Fai's breathing sped up. What if I hung upside-down...? Would that do anything? Ugh, I don't know.... He shut his eyes, deep in thought. The darkness soon enveloped him.

Fai felt like the cold night air had changed, somewhat. It definitely smelled different. The redhead opened his eyes and gasped. He was in a completely burned down forest, the charred trunks standing dark and still giving off heat and steam. Where...? He took a step forward and heard the unfamiliar rustle of feathers. As he turned around to examine the source of the sound, Fai noticed wings the color of ash on his back. Grimacing, he kept walking through the forest until he reached a meadow that dropped off onto a beach and water below. Then he remembered.

"Riv...!" Dream granting him the power of flight, Fai hoped he wasn't too late, hoped he didn't mess up. He dove down the cliff, hoping he was able to reach Riv before she...flattened onto the sand below.

Looking around, he noticed someone falling a bit to the right and below him.

"Riv!" he called.

Her eyes opened ever so slightly, a silent question forming on her cracked and bloody lips.

Fai tried maneuvering to Riv, and flew below her so he could catch her. Just before she was about to hit the ground, Fai snatched her out of the sky and zoomed upward from the momentum. He lost a bit of altitude due to the added weight, but it was in their favor and they landed safely on the beach below.

As he placed the girl on a dry rock by the water's edge, Fai looked over her wounds. But first.... "I am honestly shocked and so happy that I was able to save you even though I kinda dawdled in my weird mind-forest for a while."

Riv's eyes remained closed, but her weak voice somehow didn't make her words seem any less sharp. "Took you long enough, ya moron. At this point, I just thought you didn't care...." She trailed off, still breathing heavily.

Fai raised an eyebrow in confusion as he ripped off a piece of his sleeve. "What made you think I didn't care?"

She opened her eyes ever so slightly. "Well, you never make it easy to tell. Plus, most people don't, so.... Oh, and not to mention that's what all my enemies use. The whole, 'no one cares' card. After a while you just get used to no one caring about you and assume that no one else cares either." She blinked wearily. "It's quite simple, actually."

Fai narrowed his eyes as he wiped away some of Riv's blood with his torn sleeve. He took in a deep breath. "I'm deathly afraid of spiders."

Riv smiled wryly. "I know. But it's kind of you to confide. My turn now. I maybe able to fight with a sword, but give me a bow and arrow and I'd probably accidentally shoot myself. Something I share with my brother."

The redhead chuckled in embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess you would know that...." He thought for a moment, then the thought died before it reached his tongue. He tore off another part of his sleeve and wrapped it around one of Riv's wounds. "Do...you know why I'm always so cheerful around everyone?"

Riv chuckled. "Cheerful? You mean annoying?" Her tone was playful and teasing. "Oh.... You mean how you seem to think everything's a joke.... Okay, this is the part where I pretend I don't know so that we can have this bonding moment."