Battles Beyond (Book 1: The Fleeing Saga)

Uneasy Stroll (1)

N.B: Hi, reader. If you're here, then that means you wanted to check out my story. Please take into consideration that this is a FIRST DRAFT/WORK IN PROGRESS. Hopefully, I will post every Thursday. With that out of the way, enjoy.

The medley of steps of the battlemonger trio Veil placed a great toll on their bodies as they followed the winding rose-lined footpath. Accompanying them were bounces from one shaped exactly like a ball. He was in tune with every step made by the beautiful but irritable Teinova and the exceedingly tall and blue leader of them all, Durin, until he stopped. No one noticed the pause to his bouncing beat as they trodded onwards with increasing frustration.

"Durin... Are we there yet?" Teinova impatiently asked.

His elongated eye stalks slouched from the bad news that was soon to come out of his mouth—a contrast to his upright, tubular frame that towered over everyone.

"No, we have to travel some more. Remember what that haggler from the town before told us?"

"But that was three days ago, damn it." She retorted.

"You don't have to get flustered. It makes a good-looking organism like you less attractive."

"You must expect me to be flustered after all we have been through on this planet!" The orange highlights in her black hair looked vibrant from frustration and illuminated the surrounding night.

"We may not have had the best experience, but we're surviving." Soothing the lady being proved fruitless. When she was pissed, she was absolutely pissed.

"Just barely. You ate the last of our food, remember?" She hit him hard with the past.

"It's not my fault you stole a small amount."

"Well, if you weren't crying from hunger, we would have stolen more."

"Let's stop arguing, Teinova." Her stings were getting too hot to handle. To preserve what face he had as the leader, he had to end it for his sake. "We're using up what little energy we have."

"You can't expect me to stop!" As the two bickerers rapidly escalated, a realisation stumbled into Teinova's mind and fell into her mouth. "Wait, where's Zazavin?!"

"That's strange. Where is he?"

Their concern quickly abated as his snores enveloped the landscape. He was shaped exactly like a ball and laid comfortably behind them on the support of roses. From root to petal, they gave him the comfort of a mattress.

"What are we going to do with him?" Durin wondered about their loud and resting compatriot.

"Just leave him there. I could care less right now."

Above them, expansive clouds could not mask the heavens. Marvellous gems peered through, with a blemished grey rock the most prominent of all.

Durin raised his eye stalks to witness the sight. "Well, at least he's sleeping under a beautiful night sky."

"True."

They progressed until they met a decent-sized hill. What little energy remained had withered. Positioned at the top, they saw faint blotches of light in the distance nestled at the base of a neighbouring hill. The winding footpath straightened for the rest of their walk and dissected the village ahead in perfect halves. The proximity of organised civilization emboldened them forward.

"Looks like we found shelter for the night."

"Yeah, it looks so," Teinova replied with little zeal, the bags under her eyes noticeable.

"High five?" Durin made a gentle turn towards her.

"Sure." She matched his movements.

At that moment, both collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Their bodies rolled, caught by gravity and gradient, who continued to play with them back and forth, less and less, until boredom ensued. They were then left at peace on the main road lined with old metal buildings until a gentle breeze ran briskly over Durin and Teinova as they slept, enabling odours to hitch rides to wake those asleep and traumatise those awake that guarded the community against night attacks or those that had something to do during those late hours. Their abominable smell gathered everyone around them, and with their origins unknown to them, chatter and confusion followed.