–Elazar-
Dread and worry were plaguing my mind the entire trip back to the hunters cave. I worried for koras safety. She wouldn't be able to defend herself against a group of hunters should they find her.
It was already late in the day meaning those hunters have had a decent head start and have had plenty of time to search the area.
Faux she doesn't even know that she is in danger. Neither of us did until now. Had she wandered outside for any reason they may have found her. If they do find her, Paku will want vengeance for his brother. She wouldn't be given a chance to defend herself even with how much of a disadvantage she's at.
I dreaded that idea. I didn't want to lose her, no matter how selfish it may be of me now. Yet at the same time I dreaded the fact that she may have killed one of my tribesmen, mutilated his body and stolen his belongings… I found it hard to accept that kora would do such a thing. It's not like her. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
There's no telling what kora may actually be capable of after all, she's human. Slowing my pace as I approached the area I tightened my grip on my spear.
Had she done it in self defense I would not fault her in any way but to disgrace one's body after death? My mind can not think of any reason for a being to do such a thing with reasonable cause.
It's a sign of disrespect, something that would anger the spirits and bring bad luck to any who would dare to do such a thing.
I have to know why, I need to confront her about this and figure out if it's true.
Being mindful of my surroundings I glanced around the area for any signs of hunters lurking about. When I found none, I quickly approached the cave, pushing aside the vines covering the entrance.
To my dismay the cave was empty. The fire mere embers, which suggested Kora had been absent for a while.
Cursing to myself I went back outside hastily scanned the area looking for a trail that might have been left behind that would show me where she would have gone.
As my eyes wandered along the ground I noticed footprints left behind by kora's strange foot coverings and quickly started to follow them Into the forest. Her trail led to one of the areas we frequented in the mornings to gather food but soon changed direction going further into drakov territory.
New worry bloomed in my chest as I picked up the pace. Why would she come out this way?! I needed to find kora as soon as possible-
The rustle of bushes from nearby had my senses on high alert as I spun to face the incoming threat, spear ready in hand. Was it a wild animal or possibly someone from paku's group? I can't let them see me out here and find out about Kora, if they haven't already found her.
Looking back at a large tree behind me I quickly strapped my spear to my back and quietly stepped over climbing up into the branches high above as swiftly and silently as possible.
Positioning myself on a thicker tree limb hidden by the various leaves and vines I crouched down and watched through a few sparse gaps below me to see what would come out of the bushes. Hoping that whoever or whatever was coming didn't hear me climbing up the tree.
Kora came blindly stumbling out of the thick foliage in a panic pushing away the branches and leaves around her with her arms, ignoring the cuts and scratches left behind on her skin as twigs whipped at her.
"Kora…" I whispered to myself. Some relief washed over me as I lowered my guard, but I didn't miss the small female's disheveled appearance or her wild eyes as she looked back from where she had come from, backing away cautiously, knife in hand, ready to use. Something had spooked her.
She was a panting mess, some dried leaves and maybe even a few twigs stuck out of her hair as she backed up, as if waiting for something to come out of the bushes after her. Taking a few deep breaths she hunched over placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
Moving a bit lower in the tree I quietly perched myself on a sturdy branch right above the small female. Hooking my legs and tail on the branch I leaned back over the edge reaching down towards her, causing a few loose leaves to fall on the ground below. As she stood upright her eyes locked onto a single falling leaf and I quickly grabbed hold of the upper parts of her arms to haul her up into the canopy with me.
As soon as I was able to secure her with one arm around her small frame I slapped my palm over her mouth to silence her surprised shriek.
She squirmed only for a moment in my hold, clawing at my hand with her stubby fingers, before realizing it was me and visibly relaxing a great deal. I removed my hand from over her mouth and got us both situated on the branch before glancing down to see if we had alerted anything in the area to our presence.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you-" Kora spoke breathlessly, placing her hand over her erratic heartbeat.
Looking back at the female, my gaze moved to the knife in her hand and I immediately took notice of the dried blood on the blade. I snatched her wrist holding it up to look more closely and sniffed the air. Sure enough it was xandisian blood. My stomach sank as my tail whipped around.
"What have you done?" I hissed quietly, taking her by surprise.
"I- there was a man and i- I just wanted to help, he attacked me! Then this thing-" Kora rambled but I quickly cut her off.
"Did they follow you?! Did he see you anywhere near the cave?!" I questioned her frantically, keeping my voice low.
"N-no I think he is dead but I didn't mean to i-" the sound of a branch snapping in the distance caught my attention and I quickly pulled Kora to my chest, covering her mouth once more to silence her as I waited and listened for anymore movement.
On the outside I'm sure I looked composed and alert, watching our surroundings for an unknown threat but on the inside was a raging torrent of panic and worry.
We weren't safe out here. I need to get Kora back to the hunters cave safely and quietly without alerting anyone to presence. I'll deal with the aftermath and my raging emotions later.
Kora was silent, watching me with concern as I faced her. I tried to reign in my frustrations. Getting angry at her right now wouldn't help either of us.
"I need you to listen to me and do as I say. Be silent and climb on my back. Do not make any sounds. Do not speak. Not until we are back inside the cave and I know it is safe."
She seemed hesitant as her hazel eyes stared at me, filled with worry but she quickly relented and nodded her head in understanding as I removed my hand from her mouth.
Offering her my backside she carefully climbed on, securing herself with her arms over my shoulders and her legs hooked around my torso. "Hold on tightly." I spoke once more before jumping down from our perch.
I briefly felt koras grip tighten as we fell but paid no mind to it as I landed in a crouch.
Surveying the area I made sure nothing was watching us and dashed back in the direction of the cave, doing my best to conceal my tracks. The hunters may not be looking for my prints but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous to leave a trail that leads straight to koras hiding place.
The small human clung to me as I swiftly maneuvered through the tangle, and hid her face against my back. As we approached the cave I took extra caution keeping an eye out as I brought us inside.
Letting kora down from my back u signaled for her to stay silent and waited by the entrance, peering out at the forest through small gaps in the vines. I had to make sure we weren't followed.
Kora was patient and listened well, staying in place, seated by the dead fire, waiting for something to happen.
As darkness fell outside I allowed myself to relax and nodded to kora whose shoulders sagged from the loss of tension. As I left the entrance I could see kora had a strange object within her grasp as she sat by the fire. Stepping closer I reached out to inspect it but she was quick to pull away.
"Don't! It's dangerous!" She warned me.
Dangerous? "What is it."
"A- a gun. It's a weapon my people use sometimes. I don't want you to hurt yoursel- hey!!"
I snatched the weapon from kora and peered at it in anger. She has human weapons. Just like the ones used to kill paku's brother.
She tried to take the weapon back but I held it out of her reach with a stern glare. "How long have you had this?"
"What?"
"How long kora!" I snapped and she stepped back, looking at me surprised. "a few months. I got it before I met you why-"
"Did you use it?" I grit my teeth gripping the weapon tightly in my fist.
"Only once, a guy attacked me and-" She stopped seeing my frustration only grow. "Elazar what is this about!?"
I cursed under my breath at her answer and turned away seething. Faux! I had hoped it wasn't true that she wasn't a part of this but she is and now both of us were in danger!
"El!" She grabbed my arm and I snarled before throwing the human weapon against the cave wall breaking part of it off as it clattered to the ground. "Elazar! Are you crazy!?" She shouted only to shut her mouth as I turned to her with a scowl.
She stepped back as I stepped forward. And quickly took her bag from her to dig through it and take the knife. Fury burned through me as I took hold of the blade. It needed to be returned to Paku to the fallen man's family so that they may rest in peace.
But there was no way I could just simply hand it over without being questioned. And keeping the truth hidden, keeping the one responsible for his death alive without serving vengeance? It goes against so much of what I knew.
Tossing the bag to the ground I sheathed the knife on my belt. I will deal with it later. For now I must deal with kora.
"You are not to leave this cave from now on."
"What?!" She looked at me bewildered.
"You have done something unforgivable and now I must fix it. You shall stay here, hidden inside the cave until it is over."
"What are you even talking about?! Elazar what did I do!?"
"You killed him kora! You killed my tribesmen and now the others seek vengeance! Now They hunt for your head!"
Realization flickered in her eyes as she shook her head. "But I didn't- it wasn't my fault! There was something wrong with him! He attacked me!"
Anger continued to flow through me because of Koras refusal to admit what she had done. "You killed him and desecrated his body! You brought shame to his death!" My tail swiped the air behind me wildly.
"I didn't do anything! I was trying to help! I didn't know what I was doing was wrong!"
Scoffing, I turned away from the female and grabbed my discarded bag to dig through it. "You're not even going to listen to me or what I have to say?" Kora spoke up.
I paused for a minute but didn't face her. "Get out." The harsh tone of her voice made my tail twitch as I looked back at her.
She was standing on the far end of the cave, refusing to look at me. She looked miserable. As she stood there and silence filled the space, I could help but notice how she was holding her arm. Looking more closely I realized she was bleeding. She had been injured earlier?
Guilt drowned out the anger inside of me as I slowly stood up gazing at her injured arm. But like a scared animal without trust she turned a bit to hide the injury away from my eyes. "I said get out!" She snapped at me.
Regretting my earlier reaction, I tried to speak up."Kora-"
"Just go away! Leave me alone!" She shouted as angry tears burned her eyes. She couldn't even look at me.
My tail dropped to the ground as I realized my mistake. I had been so blinded by rage, so blinded by the fact someone from my tribe perished by her hands that I hadn't been looking at Kora as my mate, I had been treating her like a stranger, a human. I was so blind I didn't even realize she was hurting.
Without another word she turned away, Stepping over to the old worn out blanket on the ground she laid down on her good side with her back turned on me.
Shame filled my entire being as I stood there wanting nothing more than to comfort her but I knew I had messed up and it would only confuse and upset her more if I did. Setting my bag down against the wall I hesitated before turning away and stepping towards the entrance.
With one last glance to the small female curled up near the empty firepit. I stepped out into the dark forest to brood in solitude.