Don't Let Them Catch You

37• Garden of Ju

The angel beneath her stiffened.

_

Aura woke up to a mouthful of fur and a lean, prowling body of muscle beneath her. She looked up to see a pair of ears, darting left and right to pick up on the sounds of the rainforest. Skye.

Why was she on Skye's back? She could have sworn she fell asleep against Amos.

Disoriented, she propped herself high enough to see what was happening around her.

To her left walked Hayden and Tanya, the former appearing disgruntled, the latter bouncing with her usual air of bubbling innocence. She found who she was looking for ahead of them, impossible to miss the wings so large they brushed against the floor.

He was cutting a path through dense shrubs, arms slashing tirelessly as though he ran on an endless supply of energy as though he hadn't been kidnapped just the other day. Aura noticed he was hiking up an incline that got greener the further up they went. They were supposed to be heading towards the merfolk, and she didn't need a compass to know that uphill meant further away from the ocean.

"Where are we going?" She managed.

And why does my jaw feel so heavy?

"Oh- Sleeping beauty is finally awake!" Tanya teased, her purple eyes glittering warmly. "Prince Charming over there woke everyone up and told us we're taking a detour."

"A detour?" Aura frowned.

"Something about ilou? I have no idea what that means." Tanya shrugged.

"Is it so important?" She wondered, letting her forehead fall against Skye's shoulders as the leopard carried her further on. "We need to get out of this realm."

It's important. Came his soothing voice. Not far now.

"How do you know where we even are?" Hayden questioned suspiciously. "No one's ever been to this side of the continent before. This is spirit grounds."

And indeed it was.

It only took Aura a quick glance to her left, where the shadows seemed unnatural to find something disembodied lurking. It wasn't the only one. And they were watching.

They didn't approach, but they seemed to stare eyelessly.

It was unnerving.

"Why aren't they attacking us?" She pondered.

"Fuck knows." Hayden grimaced, clearly as equally unsettled by the fact that they were surrounded. "It's been like this for hours."

At Aura's enquiring look, he continued, "You've been asleep for a long time. We've been walking for a while."

"Oh."

"Just ignore it." Tanya piped, "they haven't attacked thus far, I don't think they're a problem."

Like they were when one disguised itself as her soul mate.

Aura acquiesced and went the remainder of the journey silent.

Though it wasn't much longer however, until Amos hacked a final time and light broke through the muted darkness of the forest. "We're here." He announced.