"That's the monster! Shoot him!"
"Set him to the trap!"
"Aim his wings!"
"Kill him!"
Kill me? Heh...in your dreams.
He smirked at the mere mortals under the tree he was resting. Humans had tried to shoot him, set him to a trap, destroy his wings and kill him, but none of them succeeded. He was skilled in defending himself, he knew the forest the best, his wings were gigantic that none of their weapons could destroy them and he was immortal. What a load of fools the humans were, trying to mess around with him.
"Argh!", but that day, an arrow struck his left wing from behind and made him slip to fall with a thud to the hard ground below.
His companions, the trees and the animals were shocked at the incident. They wanted to help him but he refused with one hand raised to stop them.
"Look, he's controlling the entire forest! Kill him and we can take every valuable resource here.", the leader of the mortals said to his men as they saw how everything in the forest was trying to get to the 'monster' to help him.
"Don't you dare to!", the man was pushed till he hit the tree while his men were stepping away at the sudden movement of the 'monster'.
The winged 'monster' then flew the man with him despite a little struggle as his left wing was injured. The man screamed as he was lifted to the air before he was brought to the tallest tree top by the 'monster'. His whole body was shaking as the 'monster' was looking straight into his eyes.
"Tell your people to stop coming here or I will let everything here deal with you."
"What if- if- we still want something- aaahhhhh!!!", the man was screaming out again as he was brought to the other side of the forest where he could see something moving before he realized that it was bones of two big elephants without its skin with one of them was waving its tusks at him.
"Both of them would be glad to eat your skin out of you. Would you like that?"
The man shook his head frantically while asking to be let go as his legs and hands were flailing around in the air.
"Let you go now?", the winged man playfully swung the poor man while he screamed hysterically.
"No! No! Put me down! Gently! On the ground! On the ground! Please!!", the man said before he heard a laughter coming from the winged 'monster'.
Seconds later, he was swung down to the ground where his men were waiting for him.
"Go home and change your trousers."
He looked below at where the winged-man pointed. A few of his men were laughing at him at the view of how he had peed in his trousers. Unable to bear the disgrace, the man makes a hasty escape, shedding tears while disappearing.
"Ask him what he went through and never come here again!", the 'monster' flapped his wings to scare the humans away.
As the sound of the common people running away faded, a blind tiger rushed to the winged-man with his friend, a lion with one canine missing to check on him.
"Caladrius, your wing is bleeding.", the lion, Kion said to the angel-like human in front of him.
"It's fine. It will heal soon.", Jungkook replied as he took off his white mask from his face.
"There's another group of people in the north. They're trying to take down the trees, Caladrius.", the tiger, Tigra, informed the immortal man.
"Where in the north? Take me there.", he said before Kion stopped him. "It's okay, Kion. The wound will heal soon.", he assured the concerned lion.
"Soon? As in a day? I won't let you get more injuries today, Your Majesty. Let me and the companions in the north handle them. Permit us to stop them, Your Majesty.", Kion asked politely while addressing Jungkook by his noble title which he had not heard for almost a century of his immortal life.
He looked at Kion and Tigra understandingly.
"You have my permission but...", he put on his mask again. "I will come along.", he told them before they nodded at each other.
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After a long journey in the grand carriage with her so-called friends on their own horses, Roseanne finally arrived at the forest where they would be picking berries to grow in Eudaemonia. When she stepped out from the carriage, she was in awe of the beauty of the forest that lay before her.
The sheer splendour of the forest left her momentarily speechless, and her eyes remained fixed on the enchanting scenery, a mix of surprise and wonder in her expression.
"Girls...this is so breathtaking and the fresh air...", Roseanne closed her eyes as she took a deep, appreciative breath, relishing the earthy scent of the air around her.
"Let's go, Rosie. The berries are a little deeper in the woods.", her friend, Irie called her as she pointed to where they should go next.
"Oh, what about the horses?", she asked.
"We will leave them here. The paths ahead are narrow, they cannot pass easily.", Lucille, the shortest friend of them all, let Roseanne know as all of them tied their horses to the trees nearby.
Roseanne looked at the surroundings once again. Somehow, the direction that Irie showed her seemed darker and it made her feel a bit intimidated to go there.
"Let's go, Rosie.", Irie called her again.
"Yes, let's go.", with a deep breath of the fresh air, Roseanne followed them further into the woods while hoping that nothing would go wrong in the forest.
There were a lot of berries; blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, elderberry, and mulberry trees scattered in the woods.
Roseanne was so happy picking from one tree to another tree while admiring the serenity of the forest. At one point, she cried in thankfulness that she could go out to see a side of the world other than Eudaemonia where she had lived for her whole eighteen years of life. She was grateful that she could be there in the unknown beautiful forest that day.
As she was picking berries, she saw a group of colourful butterflies and went to follow them, not realizing that she was wandering deeper and deeper into the forest.
The thick canopy above began to obscure the fading sunlight, casting elongated shadows that she barely noticed. Birds' songs gave way to the subtle symphony of nocturnal creatures, their sounds barely registering in her thoughts. The gradual darkening of the surroundings was masked by her fascination with the intricate details of the flora and fauna around her. Time seemed to slip away, and she only realized the encroaching darkness when the forest became a realm of indistinct shapes and mysterious rustlings.
It was then that the realization of nightfall began to wash over her, and a shiver of uneasiness coursed through her, making her aware of her predicament in the dimming forest.
"Oh, no. Oh, god...", she looked around and barely could recognise where she was currently at. "Girls! Irie! Lucille! Teana! Oh, no..", she was getting scared of the darkness enveloping around her.
She wrapped her arms tightly around herself for comfort.
"It was still bright when we were picking the berries...they would have searched for me long ago...", Roseanne realized what it meant when she recalled not hearing anyone screaming for her name as she wandered off with the butterflies during the daylight.
She cried when she knew that she was left in the forest all alone.
"They left me to die in here, huh..", her tears were dried due to the coldness of the night.
"My darling angel, look at the sky. Follow the stars.", the words from her late mother suddenly echoed in her mind.
With shivering movement, Roseanne slowly looked up to find the stars between the colossal trees towering above her.
"Follow the stars.", she picked up her basket full of berries with a glimpse of new confident filling her heart. "Let's find a way out, Rosie. You can do this.", she encouraged herself as she took a step following the stars in the sky as her guidance.
As she journeyed deeper into the forest, her hope wavered, but the twinkling stars remained her only source of comfort.
In the distance, just as her strength and hope were about to falter, she spotted a faint, warm light ahead. Heartened, she quickened her pace, and the light grew steadily brighter, guiding her like a North Star. When she reached the source of the light, her eyes widened in amazement. Before her stood a charming treehouse, perched high in the branches. The soft glow of the lanterns around the treehouse illuminated its spectacular structures, giving her a feeling of calmness and safety. With a sense of relief and gratitude, she travelled up to the treehouse, grateful to have found a refuge in the heart of the mystical forest.
When she reached the door of the treehouse, she noticed that it was left ajar, so she slowly pushed it to look further inside. There was a crackling fireplace spreading its warmth to her chilly skin as she stayed standing at the door. A few candle torches at the corners of the treehouse, however, were not enough for her to see inside as the interior seemed to be a vast chamber. It needed more lights to be honest, but Roseanne did not mind the dim surrounding much.
She needed the warmth and comfort, so she stepped inside slowly to find a space where she could sit down and have a rest. As she was moving with cautious steps in the pervasive darkness, her foot collided with an unexpected obstacle, which caused her to stumble forward.
With a gasp, she tried to look around and realized that she had stumbled upon a pair of strong, solid arms. In the subdued light, she slowly traced the contours of a man's form, the warmth of his embrace enveloping her in an unexpected and tender encounter. The realization left her breathless, and she found herself caught between surprise and curiosity before the man lying on the ground started moving with an involuntary moan of pain escaping his lips.
She assumed that the man was the owner of the treehouse and that made her feel guilty for intruding on his place. Quickly, she moved back from him and tried to look at him to see his reaction to her unwelcome presence. In her retreat, her hand inadvertently brushed against something wet and sticky on the ground. A gasp escaped her lips as she recoiled, realizing that her fingers had come into contact with a blood stain. The fresh smell sent a shiver down her spine, and her mind raced with questions and concern. She watched the man's slumbering form with a mixture of dread and curiosity, pondering the mysterious circumstances that had led her to this unsettling discovery.
Despite the questions in her mind, she was still worried about the man, "You are bleeding.."
She wanted to help him but his hand stopped her to come closer.
"Who are you?", the man asked as he propped himself up, one hand supported him to sit on the ground.
At that time, Roseanne's eyes fell upon the sight behind him. Although they were in a dim surrounding, she could see it crystal clear as the moonlight shone exactly at it. Behind him and under the moonlight, she saw a pair of pure, immaculate wings appearing from his back.
"Hey!", the man yelled at her. "I asked you. Who the hell are you?", he asked again as he tried to stand up.
Roseanne looked at him towering over her petite body and thanks to the moon, she was able to inspect his figure better.
Her gaze travelled from his striking physique to his well-defined muscles before she went back to his magical wings. Her initial astonishment faded when she remembered the blood in her hand and she spotted the ominous smudges of blood staining the feathers. Her eyes fixated on those crimson blemishes although the angel-like man was glaring sharply at her.
"You are hurt. Let me help you..", she tried to check his back but he moved aside to block her.
"No need. The wounds will heal on their own."
"But-"
"What? Do you not know who I am?", he asked her.
Roseanne closed her mouth and her head looked down to the dark ground. In her mind, she tried to think who he was that he would be asking her such a disdainful question.
Who does he think he is? Wait...
"Do you not know that I am immortal?", his followup question confirmed what her mind just realized about him.
"I know...but the wounds need to be treated anyway. Aren't they painful?", she proceeded to look around before taking the nearest candle to help her look closer to locate his wounds.
The man looked at her intently and he was puzzled by her kindness. For the first time in his life, someone was worried about his pain.
"May I?", she asked him.
He turned around, letting her examine his back.
"There is a deep wound above your left wing. The blood seemed to be a little dry but the wound does not look like it will heal quickly.", she told him after checking his back fully. "Doesn't it hurt?", she asked him as she went back to face him.
"Just a little...and yet who are you?", he did not know where his confidence left to, but he was getting a bit embarrassed to look at her in the eye after she had remained calm and kind with him.
"I am Rosie.", she finally answered his first question, which he did not know he elated to know until that moment.
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The two have met. 😬
What do you guys think of their characters? 😉