The Elementals

Chapter 8: In A Tight Spot

The group carried on at a brisk walk, an hour passing before the sun started to rise. They were about three miles from Wanborne already and it was no longer visible behind them as they entered a thick forest. Everything was more green here and the trees loomed over them, their large leaves and branches blocking almost all of the little sunlight they had. Alexis looked up in awe at them and examined everything eagerly.

As they made their way on the light trail, the quiet sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance. The tiny chatter of small rodents, birds, and like-creatures filled the air from both above and below. No one talked much, enjoying the sounds of nature. It was almost like when they had been on their way to Naporia, but this time there was no awkwardness between them.

Alexis ran her finger over the top of the cake and licked the chocolate icing, her gait slowing and the others going ahead of her. Reaching out, she grabbed Noah's shirt and pulled him back. He stopped and turned to look at her, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I never thanked you," she mumbled. His expression stayed blank as he stared down at her. "Yesterday when I drowned. I know everyone's past it, but I never thanked you."

"You don't have to. It was only natural for you to be saved."

"I know... I just feel like that with what's happened since then you should be thanked. You have only cared for me and I was being a brat last night, so, sorry for that."

"What's bringing out this side of you all of a sudden?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated, putting her attention on the cake she held in her hand.

"Hey! You two hurry up! We don't need to be spacing out like this!" Elizabeth yelled. Alexis sighed and glanced up at Noah, who now had his arms crossed.

"It's okay if you don't want to answer my question. I know that with everything happening right now it's probably hard to put your words together. It was bad on my part for having pressed you like that yesterday; I didn't want to upset you further, I just wanted to know what was wrong so I could make you feel better. You were having a bad day and I should've known when to stop," he said. She smiled at that and simply nodded; it sounded like he was going off of what Kyle told him. He really didn't know much about other people's emotions, and it made him adorable in a way. "We have to stay close to the others, so let's not hang back any longer." Alexis nodded again and took a step forward to follow Noah when there was a sudden jerk on her left ankle. She fell forward but quickly caught herself, nearly falling into a split when she had to bring up her right leg to allow her short arms to reach the ground. The cake was sacrificed in the process, icing down in the dirt. As her bag started to slide down towards her neck, she felt a rough tug on it as Candice pulled her up.

"I said to hurry up," Elizabeth sighed.

"Sorry, I just got my foot caught on something," Alexis said with a chuckle. She stood straight and glanced down at her ankle to see a thick brown-ish colored vine wrapped around it. Her brow furrowed as she took one of her daggers and bent over, slicing cleanly though the plant.

"You have to be more careful out here," Brandon said. Kyle wrapped a strong arm around Alexis' shoulders and pulled her towards his chest. He smirked and patted her head, taking a few steps with her.

"I can teach her how to walk again," he said with a smile. Alexis scoffed but a giggle followed right after.

"Anyone could get their foot caught on something out here," she said as the group started to move again.