Primal

Chapter Eight

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Chapter Eight

 

You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down. ~Mary Pickford

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He had finally done what he thought he’d never be able to accomplish. He had actually taken her from her own home and her own people, all to satisfy his selfish needs. This step in his plan was the hardest by far, and after this everything would soon be smooth sailing. Aeron had taken a long year out of his life, devoting every second of every day towards finding someone who could reverse a curse. What else could it have possibly been that plagued the Nocarae girl? Since their most recent meeting, she had somehow been cursed to die and there was no other solution to save her. Nothing could make him go back now. They were on this journey together, and she was with him for the long run. Her arms were still around him, and his skin was still tingling from where she touched. She was quiet, her face resting in his long hair, her breathing tickling the back of his neck in gentle doses of warm air puffs.

 

The old woman that he had discovered in the mountains was their absolute last resort. He hadn’t spoken to her, but he had heard tales of her magic. In reality, everyone had most likely heard of her to some extent. She was one of the only breathing Originals left, and stories of her actions spread throughout children across all of the races. All he had to do was locate her exact location, and after a year he tracked her down to a small hut on the ledge of a mountain’s cliff. After he found her he immediately returned to the area of the Nocarae city in search of the girl now clinging to his back. He was to bring Noor to her now, finally confront her, and her magic would heal every inch of her fated soul. That was the plan at least, and Aeron couldn’t see any part of it possibly failing.

 

There were many routes everything could go wrong. She could move against him, running away in the concealment of the night’s shadows or attempting to fight him off. Someone could possibly come looking for her; after all she didn’t leave behind a note of goodbye, which did seem a bit off when he thought about it. There were many creatures in these woods, maybe they would become hungry and decide to make the two of them their next meal. Aeron should have done so many things differently, but he acted on his instincts alone and had to suffer the consequences.

 

Tilly would catch up to the two of them after some time, and he couldn’t even imagine how she would react. She would probably try to attack one of them, furious that he had disobeyed her thoughtful advice again. She was going to kill Noor, and then kill Aeron. She was going to laugh over their bodies. He was sure that he felt some kind of love towards his lifelong friend, but there was no doubt in his mind that she was absolutely insane.

 

Eventually his feet carried both of them far from the Nocarae canopy city, and Aeron felt like it was safe to finally set her down as he slowed their pact to a walk. She was too far from her home to run away without him catching up to her, and none of her people would be able to track them this far away. The Nocarae people were terrible trackers. Aeron was certain he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone following them anyways. After all, how many people did Noor really keep in steady contact with? It would be days before anyone would even mark her as missing. “How are you feeling?” He asked, knowing after his words left his mouth that they came across a little too eagerly. He grabbed his hair with his fingers, pulling his head backwards so he was looking up at the sky. It was a clearer shade of blue than he had ever seen it, and the sun reflecting on floating dust particles made the air look like it contained millions of small glittering jewels.

 

“As good as one could possibly feel after being dragged from their lifelong home.” She said shortly, her words stinging into him as if she had physically stabbed him. It hurt more than he thought it would, and in no situation he had thought of had he been affected like this. He had just saved her, after all. He had assumed she would be thanking him, their journey together full of joy and smiles.

 

“Be grateful.” He muttered, dropping his hands out of the dark strands that sprouted out of his head. They smacked at the sides of his legs, tapping out all of the anger that had suddenly built up inside of him. “I’m saving your life, you think you’d show a little more respect.” This caused a laugh to escape her lips, and soon they were both laughing. Her laugh was contagious; filling every bit of his heart with the joy he expected her told hold. “This is so ridiculous.” He said, shaking his head back and forth slowly.

 

She nodded in agreement, both of them letting out the stress that had built up over years of suffering. It was cleansing in a way, their hearts lifting softly in spirit as they stood in the trees in a temporary state of frantic laughter.  Aeron was eventually bent over, his hands on his knees as Noor collapsed to the ground, holding her arms around her stomach as her voice howled into the air.

 

Their laughter faded out over time, subsiding into gentle sniffs as they both stood up slowly. Both of them needed that to happen, relieving their bodies of any previous stress that they once held. “Can we forget about what happened? Just until I help you?” He asked, his eye pleading as he looked at her. “After you’re good and safe, you can take my life if you wish. But right now, you need me as much as I need you.” He watched her look at him, her mind working through her answer. She never said anything in response, but she gave a gentle nod and began to trek forward once again.

 

She led the way, which made little sense to Aeron considering that he was the one who knew where they were going. He followed along anyways, agreeing to let her temporarily take control over their journey. She was already on edge from his previous actions, and the last thing he needed was an angry Noor. Aeron already knew how little fun that was to be around.

 

Her lips moved, mouthing out words into the air without any sound leaving her throat. He wondered what she was doing, but asking her might be a bother. His head swirled, his thoughts incomprehensible as he tried to understand anything about her.

 

She was an odd one, that girl. As he watched her, a smile slowly etched across his face, and soon he too was smiling up at the crystal sky above them.