Wings of Destruction and Duty

16.1 || Orion

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Orion pulled his bag tighter around his shoulders with a shiver. Water ran in rivulets down his face, blurring his vision and numbing his skin, as the rain continued to fall relentlessly. His injured eye itched beneath the ratty coverings he'd be offered. Countless foul smelling elixirs had been poured over his face to reduce the swelling, and while Orion was tempted to believe that it would somewhat heal, the queen's mocking warbles suggested otherwise. All they had wanted to do was expedite his mission.

A loud sneeze rang out from behind him, and soon after that, a tiny cloud of flies scattered from above them. Orion hated being wet. But most of all, he detested the tiny flies that would descend from the skies at any hint of rain. Desperate for shelter, and worse still, a warm place to lay their eggs, lightening midges didn't make for good hiking companions.

Orion glanced behind him, and smiled. It seemed that neither of his babysitters were enjoying the fresh spring weather. Romril's sullen pout lent a little skip to his heart. The man had kidnapped him, perhaps it was time for him to experience a little misery.

Suddenly his feet gave away beneath him, and finding himself hurtling towards a broken stump, he yelped. The slick forest ground did nothing to stop his journey. If anything, the mixture of half rotted leaves and wet stones made for the perfect slide to send him flying through the air.

"Careful now!" Laurel quickly darted forwards to haul him back onto his feet. Her eyes flashed with mischief and she giggled as he clumsily wobbled to regain his balance.

"You might not have realised this, but we usually keep our eyes trained on the paths we venture on, not behind us."

"I am well aware of that." Orion huffed and peered through the trees ahead of them. It hard to make out a path in the lashing rain, but with a little squinting, he could just make out the tiny piles of stones used to mark out a route.

"Are you? Because you still look confused."

"That's because-" Orion sighed and swerved to avoid a hold in the ground. "Why am I leading this group?"

"It's your task, that's why." Laurel's fingers prodded his back painfully as she halfheartedly steered him in the right direction. "By the way, I believe the way to the citadel is over there?" She pointed off into the distance where a set of mountains reached for the sky.

Orion flushed. After some struggling, he had thought that he'd read the maps correctly. "You're right. And thank you for guiding me."

"Well what would you do without me?" Laurel chuckled. "I think back to the day I was assigned to watch over you. I have never seen a boy as young as you with such a jittery composition."

Orion ducked to avoid a half fallen tree. He pitied the once proud giant, now reduced to nothing but a rotting husk held up by its companions. "That's a fair point. But why were you ordered to accompany me? Thanks to the queen and her bracelet, I could not have possibly disobeyed her."

When Laurel didn't answer, Romril sighed and pushed to get ahead of the two of them. "The only reason the queen wanted the healer to come along was because she needed to make sure that her prize will stay alive."

"Prize?"

"Yes, prize." Romril gave him a curt nod as the rain began to pick up. It lashed towards the ground with a vengeance like no other. A low rumble sounded through the grey sky whipping up a cold wind that began to poke holes in Orion's already crumbling resolve. His foot slipped out from beneath him once again, and in his rush to steady himself, Orion rammed his entire hand into the ground.

He winced.

Water dribbled down his back in a steady stream before pooling in his shoes or dripping off the end of his nose. Orion sniffled before letting out a loud sneeze.