Bera was dosing off.
Having been awake so long, running for her life, killing someone in an arena again, the arena itself causing her a brain crisis by shocking her, it was all tiring.
Her head would drop before she woke up because of that.
And she knew she couldn't sleep, standing up, slapping her face, walking in circles, she needed to keep them safe, Woof would take the second part, it is around five in the morning now, just a bit more and he gets woken up.
Shlup.
It literally made a Shlup sound, making Bera blink, but what made that sound?
Bera stood still, listening more, three more times had this weird none natural sound echo around them.
And finally she knew.
Seeing one of the many little red and orange flowers around them puff up like a balloon before spraying out glittery looking pollen into the air.
They were surrounded by these flowers and this was slowly worrying her as the pollen lingered in the air, really faint orange mist surrounding the floating glitter.
She crouched down to wake Woof, shaking his shoulder, she couldn't trust anything here and the flowers are making weird noises at her.
Shaking her, way more flowers were making that, creating a glittering mist that was getting thicker in areas.
"Come on wake u-Agrg!!" She coughed, grabbing at her mouth, inhaling some of the mist the rolled down.
It burned, it burned, IT BURNED!!
She felt like she wanted to claw her lung out of her body, rip her tongue out, sliced her jaw off, it felt like thousands off little cuts being made all over the exposed skin and tissues.
She fell back on her back, coughing with a scream, turning to her side and accidentally reaching onto another mist pocket.
With another scream, her hand was covered with red plaques almost, like welts from an extreme allergic reaction, making all hurt, all ache so so bad, and then the skin like burst open, sending blood everywhere, it stopped the moment she pulled her hand out of it.
But coughing blood all over herself as she scooted back was horrible.
Woof was the one to yank her to her feet and pulled her after him as they ran, flowers puffing away as she tried to cover her mouth but it seemed so suffocating.
Running and running, as fast as their could but the flowers were overwhelming, soon a carpet of agony covered the ground until her knees, the clothes rapidly saturating with blood.
And Woof impacted an unseen wall.
Bera watched on in horror, having trouble breathing, literally throwing up blood to feel a bit better.
Looking around in panic, trying to pierce the wall with her spear, nothing, nothing could be done.
She looked at the trees, all of the trees here had smooth trunks for the first important feet and Bera didn't know how to climb a tree with branches so high.
She tried, oh she tried, but she was just in too much pain, too weak, to lightheaded to even get off the floor.
That was under two trembling hands grabbed her from behind, with a grunt of agonizing pain, she was hoisted into the air by the back of her outfit and held in surprising balance over Woof's head as the deadly pollen was so thick, nothing below his hips was visible.
"Woof!" She yelled, jerking around and almost making him drop her but his hold was a steel, lifting her high out of the currently covered zone.
"Grab!" it was long since he had said words so it surprised her. "Grab! Now!"
Looking around in still mounting panic, the branches being in her reach.
"GRAB!!"
She threw her arms out, the branch caught in her elbows and tightly grabbing on her own arms, swinging a leg up too grab on.
Digging her hand into the bark, she pushed herself up enough to swing her other leg up and half lay on the branche.
"Woof you hand!!" But as she looked down to reach for him, orange mist with glitter was all she saw, not a trace of the man.
"WOOOOOOOF!!!" But she got no reply from the sea of orange swallowing all.
She watched in disbelief at the deadly glitter, limbs shaking still and so pale.
She... She lost Woof, just like that, he was gone.
She lost Woof.
He had given his last effort and strength for her.
He had died for her.
Woof had died to save her.
Bera looked down, eyes wide, mouth hung open, quivering, hand hanging uselessly above the sea of death, eye stinging.
A tear, then another, followed by a third and fourth.
"A-ah..." A little sound tumbled out of her mouth as tears wash down her face and fell bloody pink onto the smoke, a sharp breath in. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"