~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Obsidian skies.

I pull her into my arms and cradle her against my chest, wishing Norm would arrive any sooner. "It's okay, I'm sorry. We're gonna help you, Fe'ya. Just stay calm." 

I only notice now how pale her royal blue skin had become over the passing minutes, and her eyes were missing the mischievous sparks she held when she was jubilant. The grass was glistening with red, and the palm leaves that sheltered us seemed to droop, looming over us with a saddened posture. 

My heart throbbed. Her eyes were sliding shut, and her lips were parting to let those last few breaths out, which I couldn't bear to see. How quickly had this progressed? Only a few moments ago she was speaking. Only a few moments ago was she awake. "Fe'ya, wake up--" 

Norm burst through the bushes in his avatar, carrying two emergency kits and a rifle slung over his back. He didn't say a word as he snatched Sephora from my hands and laid her down, popping open one kit and grabbing tools I wasn't familiar with. He placed white bandages around the gaping wound, and he flipped her onto her back. There was no exit to the bullet.

Norm took a tweezer utensil from the medical case and began to search for the stuck metal object. I had no intention of being here when that he found it, so very swiftly, I grabbed my bow from the ground, and placed a kiss on Fe'ya's forehead. " I see you," I muttered.

 I wanted the stolen moment to last longer than it did, but I had no choice to race back out to the raging battle and be the warrior I was trained to be, my heart still fluttering with mixed emotions. 

As soon as he saw me, Lo'ak sprinted to my post. Mud was the new war paint apparently, and he was drenched in it. "Neteyam--where have you been? How am I supposed to stay near if you're gone?" his braids were disheveled and messy.

I hissed at him, "I do not know, Lo'ak! You should have followed me--" I shoved his head down as a rouge arrow came over us. "Do not be so stupid." 

He popped back up, eyebrows raised. "Me?! You're the one who left!" As I stalked away, he yanked on my arm. "Don't go--we need you over here! Dad is out there somewhere, so is Mom, and we have to stick together." 

My ear twitched. "I did not think you were so eager to follow orders." 

"Bro, what?" 

I soon found Lyle near the mountain of weapons, his blue tail waving in the air. He had no idea how to control it--it was like a flag that announced his position or location, and in war, you don't want that. I signaled for Lo'ak to stay put as I crept up to the Recom. When I was a foot away, I launched myself at him and thrusted my knife into his ribcage. He screamed and rolled to his side, attempting to throw me off, but it was a failed attempt every time. 

"This is funny," I enlighten, pinning his arms to the dirt with my hands, and pinning his legs into the dirt with my feet. "To see you squirm. It's a feeble outreach, and not enough."

He growls into the sand. "I never thought I'd die at the hands of something so ugly." 

I jump back as a long, sharp arrow shoots down from the sky and implants itself into Lyle's skull, followed by Ma's hollering. "Neteyam!" she howls from up above, pointing at Lo'ak, who's gotten himself into a tousle with another Recom. I roll my eyes and arrange my bow, pulling it back, back, back, until--it fires, and the head goes right through the stomach of the RDA fighter. 

"What did I say about getting into petty fights?" I shout at my brother, who huffs. "Kill him, do not play with him!"

He crosses his arms. "This is my first war! Can I not have some fun?" 

I cuff him on the ear painfully, "No!" 

The battle went on violently, never seeming to slow down. I managed to keep my younger brother at my flank, and we combated relentlessly against the invasion of sky-people. The creatures of the forest decided to help out, too, and I saw many of them ripping the helmets off the humans and throwing them to the side like an unwanted toy. My sides and my back ached viciously--but I couldn't stop for anything.