The Prime Songs gently hummed inside of Zafor's satchel. Each Voice singing a lullaby softly, in the silent darkness of the forest. Even if the moon's light can pierce the thick canopy of leaves (and in which it can't), the Prime Songs continued to glow in a peaceful way.
Odd.
'''ƈօʍɛ ʟɨȶȶʟɛ ƈɦɨʟɖʀɛռ, ɨ'ʟʟ ȶǟӄɛ ȶɦɛɛ ǟաǟʏ...'''
He hasn't heard their Voices in a long time. Only hearing a whisper from one or two every now and then. A warning most of the time, and rare calls for help.
'''...𝖂𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖙𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝕴'𝖒 𝖘𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖞, 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝕴 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖊 𝖎𝖙...'''
But this time he heard a command.
'''...₩ⱧɆ₦ ₩łⱠⱠ ₩Ɇ ₣ł₦₳ⱠⱠɎ ฿ⱤɆ₳₮ⱧɆ??...'''
To go to the forest...
'''...Fѳя $ѳѫётнїпg тѳ cцяё ѫч Шїтнёя Hёаят...'''
...that he was currently lost in.
"..."
Silence filled the forest again as the Prime Songs flickered out, vibrant colors fading to black. Voices dying out.
Zafor willed the same to happen to his markings, light blue that wasn't hidden by the stone colored paint fading into a deathly black. He pulled up his hood and unsheathed his sword, the enchantments giving the blue glow instead of him.
The forage behind him seemed to come back to life, causing him to whip around and raise his sword, ready to strike.
'''...𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓵𝓮𝓽 𝓰𝓸.'''
And a child tackled him to the ground.
Now Zafor knew that children were small, but by Ardonia, this one is tiny. And he also knew that a kid this size shouldn't even have the strength to lift his sword, much less tackle him. And yet here he was, on the grassy floor with said kid squeezing the life out of him.
"Um...kid, you can let go of me." he said after a few moments, some what strangled.
Silence greeted his words. But their grip relaxed, letting him breathe a bit easier.
'''ǟʟʟ ɨ ӄռօա, ǟʟʟ ɨ ӄռօա ʟօʋɨռɢ ʏօʊ ɨֆ ǟ ʟօֆɨռɢ ɢǟʍɛ...'''
The Primes returned to their original colors, Voices singing again. His markings also reverted back to their original color too.
As he got to his feet slowly, taking care that he didn't harm or drop the child, he made his way back to the open savanna.
Well...
He tried to.
(It took him a good half an hour to get out of the forest.)
Without the thick canopy obscuring the child, he finally had a chance to look over them. Provided he manages to pry them off first.
The first thing he noticed was they are a she. And she seemed to have fallen asleep on him.
The second thing was the ash in her dark hair. Then the burn marks on her clothes.
Other than that, she seemed completely unharmed...
What is that on her arms?
Swallowing, Zafor hoped that the blackness on her arms weren't burns. He didn't smell charred flesh, which is a good sign. He's running low on medical supplies since his last run in with the other Champions.
He carefully rolled up her sleeves, expecting to see at least a few scrapes.
Not black Ardoni markings.
Okay, now Zafor has seen some weird things in his life and adventures around Ardonia, but this just takes the cake.
"Uncle?" a quiet voice asked.
"Where's grandpa?"
It took a moment to digest what she said before the Sendaris opened his mouth and said "I'm sorry, but I'm not your uncle." He tried to let her down softly.
She just gave him a look that said 'Idiot, I'm not done talking, so shut up'. And rolled up her sleeves up to her shoulders,
In the moonlight black markings shined silver. On her upper arms, the markings looked nearly the same as his.
Never mind, they were exact copies of his markings.
On her forearms, the markings started to change. They were striped like a tiger's.
Zafor stifled a gasp. There was no way to deny it now. They are kin.
Then her eyes widen, "Where's grandpa?"
He looked at her confused.
Grandpa? There was no one around when he found her. Now that he was thinking, he realized there was no signs of a fire around, and yet she was covered in ash and soot.
Then some thing broke inside of her, like something just shattered.
He saw it in her eyes. He knew something was wrong.
"... No..." voice watery and unbelieving.
"... not again..."
She started to hiccup, then a few tears fell. Until it was too much, and the dam broke.
Zafor could only gather her in his arms in a hug, and guess what happened to her grandfather.
Definitely a fire, he thought, But there's none around here. How did she even get here?
He snapped out of it when he noticed the white star in her arms that was definitely not there before.
"Why?" her shoulders shook.
"Why did he have to die?" She choked out.
He didn't know if she was asking him.
Maybe to the Nether Star.
Perhaps to nobody.
"I don't know." he said after a few minutes of letting the little girl calm down from her sobbing fit.
"But you're safe now."
"No"
"I am never safe."
"Not as long as they are after me."
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'''𝓑𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝔂 𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷
𝓚𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓭...'''
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Notes and Notes to Self
I left a clue in here, try to figure it out. :)
(Note to self: The child is sassy and emotional)
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Published 11/23/22
No edits...yet.
And let me know what you think in the comments!
(Sorry if the chapter's short)