Clan War

Every step she takes...

~Ciaran~

I stared after Everest, confusion jumbling my thoughts. Every step the girl took, the forest seemed to bend towards her as if she were pulling them with her. The wind whipped through the leaves making it seem like the forest was angered with her. Whispers rode on the wind as I quickly followed. The forest was getting eerie and for the first time since I was born, the forest caused me to shiver in fear. Something wicked was influencing them. Even the animals seemed to run away from the whispering trees. I sped up and grabbed Everest's arm. She whipped around, anger evident in her eyes before the howling wind caught her attention. I could feel her tense up as fear seeped into her eyes.

"What's going on?" I thought I whispered under my breath.

"Why are you asking me? This is supposed to be your territory!" Everest roared over the wind.

"Ciaran!" I could hear Andy's voice as the wind swirled around us and the trees bowed dangerously towards us.

As I searched for Andy in hopes that he may have some answers, I failed to notice when the Ximian wandered away from me. Something gently tugged at my sleeve. Assuming it to be the raging forest around me, I ignored it. Suddenly, something was pulling my arm. Agitated, I turned to see what had caught on my arm only to find Everest glaring at me.

"What? We need to get out of the open!" I screamed over the howling wind.

She rolled her eyes and pointed off to the distance. I shook my head and continued to look for Andy. I was able to catch sight of him in between the swirling branches and leaves. I raised my hand in hopes that he would see but was tugged to the ground. Scowling at the Ximian beneath me, I tried to get up. Once we were both on our feet again, I couldn't help but notice the large branch protruding out of the ground I had been standing on a few moments before.

Surprised, I looked to Everest. Her eyes were darting everywhere as if she were looking for something, her hair quickly becoming a tangled mess filled with small twigs and leaves. Her eyes narrowed on something and she started heading towards the thickest part of the forest's rage. As she passed by, her hand wrapped around my wrist and tugged me along with her, not bothering to wait for consent.

As she led me to wherever she was going, I frantically searched for Andy once more. I had lost sight of him when Everest had dragged me to the ground. Fear grew in me as I looked out into the forest only to find an unfamiliar sight before me. Everest's insistent tugging drew my attention back to her. Calm swirled in her eyes and I couldn't help but take notice of the red specks that dotted her blue-green eyes. She turned and pointed in the distance. Looking with her, I saw the entrance to a cave hidden by the undergrowth and moss.

I let out a sigh as we both hurried to the cave. Once we had made it inside, the rage of the forest's wrath died down some. But not enough to be safe to venture out just yet. I slumped against the cave wall, exhaustion working its way into my bones. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing and relaxing my tense body. After a moment, something landed into my lap heavily. My eyes sprung open in surprise and I was greeted with a leather pouch. I picked it up gingerly.

"What is this?" I asked Everest.

"What do you think?" She replied dully.

She had a similar pouch. Upon seeing my confused expression, she rolled her eyes and brought her own pouch to her mouth. She drank something and wiped her mouth when she was done. Then motioned for me to do the same.

"How do I know you didn't poison it or something?" I asked, eyeing the pouch suspiciously.

"If you don't want it then give it back." She snapped back.