Bleeding Color

Never seen by waking eyes

The cool walls of the cave were a pleasant relief from the sweat coating and sticking to me beneath the layers of make-shift scent mask. A peal of laughter could be heard from deep in the cavern, bouncing off the rock to echo and create a creepy maniacal sound. I swatted at a sprite that had floated to close. It hissed at me showing little sharp, brilliant white teeth. Growling back, I bared my canines. It shrieked and buzzed away. Little pest, I needed a can a bug spray .

Rounding a corner, I slammed my hand over my mouth to keep the sound from leaking out, a weird mixture of scream and laugh at the scene in front of me. The Leshy was leaning over Pitri who had been bond to the wall, his hands and feet stretched out. Pitri's shirt had been removed and he was jerking about wildly. He was the source of laughter. The Leshy was literally tickling him. The horror, and humor, that was the Leshy it killed by tickling and laughing you to death.

Pitri's watering eyes met mine around the Leshy. He saw me pull my swords and approach, but he kept shaking his head amidst the fit of giggles. He was laughing so hard he could barely breath and the few muscles in his thinned stomach were twitching in pain and exertion. Did he want to die laughing? It would be the worst headstone ever! Here lies Pitri. He died laughing. What an idiot.

I slipped forward, ignoring him. It was ridiculous. One should never let their guard down against the Others. The blade rose, the sprite light bouncing off of it. I sliced. The hook ripping through the air and embedding deep in the plant-like substance that was the Leshy. Bright greens eyes turned to look at me. His heavy breathing thick and heavy of musty wet forest.

"Hi." I waved awkwardly. "I'll just take that back."

I jerked on the hilt trying to remove it to no avail. I looked between it and his face, bobbing up and down. Spinning, I used the sharp edge to chop at his neck. He swatted it and me away like I had the sprite. My head cracked against the wall, reopening the healing injury from earlier. I was lucky my abilities included regenerative properties. All the head trauma would probably have killed an actually human. My sword still stuck out of the side of his back, vines crawling up it.

"Alice my arrows!"

Shaking my head, I rolled away from the lumbering creatures arm that attacked me. I scrambled over the ground, whipping a rock back at the Leshy. It groaned, rubbing at its head. A loud piercing whistle was then released through its blue lips. My hand wrapped around an arrow ready to whirl it into it when a howl shot down the cave.

"Alice!" Pitri yelped, shaking frantically in the chains.

I leapt forward, scratching the arrow tips along the chains. Nothing happened.

"It only works on living things."

I growled. "Then what's the point of these stupid things!"

The hook of my sword drove into the cuffs space between the metal and his skin. Pushing my feet against the wall for leverage, I wrenched one open and then another.

"You are surprisingly strong for someone so small."

I shrugged, going for the next one when I was picked up. I flailed about in the air, cutting with my sword as I spun in a circle by the collar of my shirt. Sharp teeth and fur raced into the area, nipping at my dangling feet.

"Put me down you big stupid oaf."

Its beard tendrils grew out and tickled at my neck making me giggle.

"Stop it." I hissed between laughs.

The Leshy smiled a creepy grin with glee at my laughter. I stabbed into the flesh again with no affect.

"Put her down." Pitri stood, one of his wrists ripped up and bleeding from where he had shredded it slipping out of the cuffs. His ankle will still caught, but he had managed to get his bow and arrows, one nocked and aimed.

A Dire wolf pounced and he shook it true through the eye. It stoned instantly, landing with a thud on the ground, mid-stride. The Leshy groaned in rage at him. Dropping me in a heap which managed to loosen the sword out of its arm, it lumbered towards Pitri. I moaned, flipping over onto all fours and flung myself out its back. Little branches sprouted to pierce through my hands causing me to scream. I was being pinned to his back little a dead bug. My sword clattered to the ground. Pitri was trying to fend the other Dire wolf off. It was obvious from his quivering limbs he didn't want to shoot it.

"Just do it. Everyone knows gargoyle blood will run through a system."

"If it doesn't break and is starlight."

"Fine, I'll drag it into stupid starlight if you'll just shoot!"

The arrow sang through the air into the Dire wolves shoulder. Moments later twin statue joined the first. A bellow shook and bounced me on its back.

"Pitri!"

Biting and ripping through the branches, I released the stuck sword and watched it fall. It was then quick work to tear through more and pry myself off. I dodged, grabbing my swords and going to Pitri. Bare handed, I tore the last cuff in my anger. The metal easily pliable under my immense strength. Grabbing his hand, I dragged him into a run. We wove under the Leshy's arms. It was a slow being, not meant for actual combat. Out the cave we ran, the Leshy kept coming though.

"Alice, Leshy don't give up and the whole forest is on their side."

I looked around before stopping. "Then we get rid of the forest."

Back into the cave I ran, eyes darting among the floating lights. There. My hand shot out and grasped a different light than the rest. I thought I had seen one when coming in. It burned at my skin, but I refused to let go. The plodding of footsteps was close, too close. I burst back out the entrance with the Leshy on my heels.

"Run!" I went straight past Pitri.

He stumbled and followed after me.

"Why did you go back?"

"To save our butts." I opened my hands to show a cupped flame flickering in it, a fire sprite.

Pitri's eyes widened, the silver glinting fearfully. "Alice no."

"Too late." I shook up the sprite and dropped it into a pill of dead leaves.

They caught alight. The flames licked and popped, eating through the forest. The smoke was hanging thick in the air. The fire speed across the ground, catching at the hanging branches to climb the trees where it began jumping through the canopy. It was burning hot and stifling. Screams of Others and animals filled the air. The fire pressed at our backs and the smoke choked our lungs, both of us coughing. Pitri fell and didn't get up, in too much pain and weak from everything. I faltered to a halt, bending over I picked him up bridal style. My feet dug into the earth propelling me forward at supernatural speeds. My blood humming into action within my muscles, seeking to keep the vessel housing it alive.

The last trees faded away as I emerged into open sky. The stars shining down on me. I collapsed, dropping Pitri. He coughed, vomiting onto the ground. He retched until it was just dry heaving. Curling into a ball, his eyes traveled across the field we had found ourselves in to the giant forest being destroyed by fire.

"What have you done?" Pitri whispered.

Dark shadows and outlines could be seen moving through the edges of the forest. One of them definitely the masked dryad before they slipped back into their woods.

"I'm saving the world."