The Lunation Trilogy: Winters End

Rescue

The scene that unfolded in front of her was similar to that of a dream. Asari raised her hands up in defense, dropping her knife to the cold snow that crunched beneath her feet. Her chest constricted and her vision blackened, an overwhelming feeling of power shot through her veins. Vines shot out from the ground, striking each of the wolves around her through the heart, dropping them to slumps onto the unforgiving ground.

Sans had been able to sidestep the one that came for him, his eyes wide as the moon as he stepped back. Asari looked around them, not seeing the mage that had just saved her, if only for a moment. Her body was suddenly weaker than she had ever felt. If she hadn't already been on her knees, she'd have fell to the ground.

"Impossible. What are you?"

"Wha-"

Darkness.

Asari should be used to this now. Images passed around her, dancing like flittering butterflies of spring. She heard tales and saw pictures of the beautiful creatures as a child and always wished she, too, could flutter free.

"I wonder if I am really dead this time. How would I know?" She thought.

The question was a valid one. She never truly trusted in the stories her village elders pushed onto the young elves. Destiny was for story books and legends, not for her. The darkness that consumed her was infinite. Her body felt heavy and light at the same time, it was as if she was floating in a thick fog.

A glowing figure floated just above Asari, a bright ring of yellow light brightly shown behind her as she lowered to eye level. A face that mirrored her own, a sweet voice sang as if miles away.

"Asari, my daughter."

The woman smiled and reached out, grazing Asari's cheek with the back of her first two fingers. She wanted to speak, to ask questions, to move but her body was in a frustrating limbo, constricting any movement. Words caught in her throat. The loving gesture felt like magic, her body warmed, her head felt as if it was being laid to rest on the softest of pillows.

Asari blinked and a bright light flooded her vision. She quickly shut her eyes tight in pain, black spots replacing the drastic change from dark to light.

"Asari! Thank the Gods. Asari, please. Wake up."

She could feel her body being shaken, the movement rough and fast. The words sounded muffled, like the woman's voice in the darkness. She could feel the presence of the person near, they smelled of tree sap and another scent she couldn't quite place. Her body felt like a rock, her fingers twitched but she didn't have the strength to move her whole hand let alone her arm. The voice kept speaking to her, arms gripped her shoulders and a damp feeling swiped left to right across her forehead.

"Asari, please." The voice sobbed, heart wrenching cries mixed with the soft caress of a loving whisper. Liviana's face was drenched in tears, dirt smudged across her right cheek bone and along the left side of her cheek down to her chin. A lowly drip of snot threatened to come down before she sniffled, rubbing her sleeve across her eyes and then under the nose.

Asari blinked, taking in the wreck that was her sister, her best friend. "Liv..." Asari couldn't muster much more than that frail attempt, but it was enough to be wrapped tightly into a hug. The embrace was one sided as she still was unable to move her own appendages. Liviana gently laid her back down, Asari's head hitting a lumpy pile she hadn't noticed before.

"Okay, okay, you're alive. Next I- I don't know what to do. Please, Asari..."

She scoffed inside her mind. What did Liv expect her to do? She thought for sure she was dead and all of the sudden the world sucked her back in. She had no idea how to help herself. She didn't even know where she was. But, she couldn't tell this to her sister, lest she lose the hope that still glimmered.

"Okay, I guess we should try to get you home, right? I'm going to be right back, don't move." Her sister must've realized what she said because she paused, lifted her head as if she was going to say more. Instead, Liviana shook her head and stood. Once she left Asari's like of sight, her eyes shut again. Consciousness seemed to take her in short spurts, only when Liviana started to pull her body did she waken fully.

"I'm going to lift you onto this and pull you home." Liv held a bundle of leather sown together by thick thread, tied to two large branches. The makeshift gurney must've come from the leathers of her brethren. The thought pierced her heart.

"How," Asari croaked out, "long have I been here."

Liviana winced and took a deep sigh, "It's been three days since we made it home. Mama and the elders thought you dead like the rest but, I knew, I knew you couldn't be gone." She gently touched her chest, "I could feel you, I knew you weren't gone, not completely. So, I snuck out."

Asari's eyes widened. Liviana sneaking out? It was unheard of. A smile pulled at the corners of her lips. Neither of them spoke as Liv lifted her onto the gurney, carefully putting the rough and lumpy ball of cloth under her head before lifting each of the branches. She grunted but didn't shy away from digging her feet in and pulling forward. The jolt of movement rocked Asari back and forth, her stomach alerting her to just how long she had been out. Eventually her sister got into a good rhythm, the rocking gently lulling Asari back into sleep.