Rise of The Fallen (unedited Version) (COMPLETED)

Chapter 26

He was standing atop a large root growing out of the ground from the twisting tree's, waiting for me to come over so he could help me climb over. 

Taking a deep breath I willed those thoughts from before out of my mind. I'll deal with my fears and insecurities later.

Making my way over to him by climbing some smaller gnarled roots protruding from the ground I came up to the offending barrier blocking my path. It was at least two if not nearly three feet higher and I could see where Elazar had dug his claws into the wood to climb up. 

He crouched down offering me a hand which I gladly took before bracing my food on the wall. With his help I climbed up and over the large growth to stand beside him. Looking forward along the path I could see more of the giant twisted roots growing wildly through the forest, nearly covering the ground like a pit of snakes. 

Looking up I could see the canopy of treetops nearly blocking out most of the sky possibly hundreds of feet above us. These trees made the ones near the river look like mere saplings.

 I had thought we were simply going upriver when we started this journey but I don't recognize this area at all. Most of the ground foliage was sparse, no doubt because these giant roots had taken this area over. So at most there were just hanging vines, moss and whatever smaller plants that could grow attached to the bark or indents in the trees around us.

 Yet despite all that it almost seemed like a maze that someone could easily get lost in if they just blindly waddled in. I stopped thinking about that for a moment. 'wait, isn't that what we are doing?' 

I glanced over to Elazar who was climbing down to a lower tree limb. Once he was stable he turned up to me holding his arms up, offering to help me down. He doesn't look lost but I don't see where we could possibly be headed. 

Sitting on the edge I pushed myself off the giant wall I was on top of and trusted Elazar to catch me. It's really strange how I don't even question if he will, for all I know he could pull away at the last second and I could just end up falling and hurting myself. 

I would be completely strange and trapped in this barren area. 

But Elazar did nothing of the sort, he gracefully caught me in his arms holding me secure against his own body before setting me down on the ground. He held onto my arms and made sure I was stable on the uneven surface before letting me go. 

He started walking along the root to a spot where it twisted and entwined itself with another limb and hopped over to it with ease. Looking back to me he offered his hand once more and I carefully followed suit, keeping both arms out to keep balance and not fall between the gaps. 

We weren't very high off the ground but falling could still very easily get you hurt or even stuck in this area. And the last thing I want is to break an arm or leg.  Elazar helped me across many gaps and raised branches as we continued through the area headed for some unknown destination.

"so, exactly where are you taking us?" I spoke up, amidst the constant chatter of the tree lizards and other insects buzzing around. El glanced at me then looked ahead at the tangled forest. His tail whipped around behind him anxiously as he seemed to struggle to find the words. 

After a few seconds he turned back to me and did his best to explain what we were looking for in his language. "we sak'lo for a deep cave han many sha'vira! Sha'vira very good!" he rubbed his hand over his stomach and I tilted my head slightly looking at him.

"So we are looking for food?"  his brows pinched together as he turned his head away and ran his hand through his hair. 

His eyes met mine and he shrugged. 'Great. Just great.'