Playing The Victims [BL]

Chapter One Hundred & Twenty-Seven | Fourth World

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Another day went by as the group of men on horseback persevered and travelled the fairly large distance between the ruins of an old clan, and their new one. The tumultuous weather battered them from each side and Finch found himself at the mercy of it, more so than the bulky men who hunkered down with little complaint. He didn't dare cling to Falcon as he once had done, for the sake of saving both him and the warrior some face in front of the men who knew the silver-eyed man the best.

The further they ventured, the less devastation they came across. Clusters of tiny clans were dotted around the landscape and Finch couldn't help but wonder how these people had survived. But as Falcon explained, these individuals were actually recently forced to move here. They were survivors of clans which had been razed to the ground by Hawk and his men. The handful of people were given no other option, abandoning everything in order to save their lives.

"Can you not take them in?"

"It's not a case of won't; they need time to mourn with the other survivors before even thinking of joining another clan. But they know of our existence, and know vaguely where we're situated, so if anything was to happen then they can come to us." He promised.

The odd child who turned their way was quickly ushered inside by an adult. Which is when Falcon's words made sense. It was understandable that they would be entirely distrusting, as Bison would be, if they had to suddenly rely entirely on another clan. Especially when those they deemed to be 'in charge' were actually individuals who were once part of Viper.

Not far after that, they began a gradual climb. Compared to where Viper and Bison were located, they had now entered a lush, mountainous region. The only exception would be the volcano that proudly protruded but disguised itself deceptively. But their current location was swarming with high-rise trees. Ones which were probably hundreds of years older than the ones that had grown on the volcanic terrain.

An all-encompassing wave of sound coming from the canopies of the trees drowned out any other. It reminded Finch of a turbulent ocean. The horses took them directly through this intimidating forest, where the trees were impossibly high and a force to be reckoned with. No simple gust of wind would do anything to hinder them. As the roar of the leaves would attest to.

The clomping of their horses feet was masked as the intermittent creaks of the ancient trees stood dominantly. It was spectacular to behold, but also unnerving enough to send chills down the young man's spine. He instinctively shuffled closer to Falcon as he clung to the shawl draped around his shoulders.

Every now and then there was a break in the broody clouds and streams of sunlight shun down on them. Though most was blocked by the trees, there was times when it was successful— if only for a moment. And one of these moments happened when they continued moving, but passed an area where the trees were more distantly positioned. This created an area where other plants were able to finally compete for a position.

A small meadow filled with the different coloured flowers rustled in the wind but was excited to feel the touch of the warm sun on their petals. An area of beauty in an otherwise eery and intimidating surrounding.

From the outside looking in, this was completely hidden. Which seemed to be the common theme as more of this area bloomed for Finch. The deeper they ventured into the forest, the more outstanding and breathtaking it became. Instead of tightly packed trees fighting for space, they became bigger and so less were around them. Some were warped, with roots protruding largely from the ground and branches so thick that they had wound queerly around the trunk and reached the ground like some sort of vine.