Chapter 15: New Horizons

   Rustle.
   Snap.
   Zip.
   A wooden mannequin stood in the soil, plated with steel armor which glimmered amber from the twilit sun (if you could still call it a sun). The scarlety yellow light blanketed the forest floor, dappled by the towering oak trees that swayed sadly, their crumbling leaves falling off. The mannequin waited lifelessly for anything to happen in the silence.
   Suddenly, a flash of blonde and blue zipped back and forth three times past the wooden man; a sound of metal slicing into a thick surface followed swiftly. In a matter of seconds, the mannequin split into three and slid onto the ground.
   An excited whoop came from the shadows, startling the birds and rustling the leaves. Ewa dropped down from above the treetops and swung a rapier over her shoulder into the sheathe.
   “I ain’t no swordsman,” she said with a wild grin, “but that never gets old!”
   She gazed at the sky, which looked something like a swollen, bloody eye. Her pointed ears twitched.
   It’s been like this ever since we saw that dark stuff spreadin’ across the hills, she thought, putting her arm above her eyes to block the amber light. The sun that hung low in the sky appeared doubled and the horizons looked as if they were being gazed at behind blurry, smudged glasses. Ewa wiped sweat off of her pale forehead and glanced at her arms, flexing her biceps.
   I’m more well-built than when I was with them hoods back at home, she thought. I’ve also noticed how short-stacked I am compared to...
   Ewa suddenly remembered that Weïnyu could hear her from where she was and smirked.
   “Gee, I can’t believe I’m not as matured and developed as Weïnyu nowadays,” Ewa called out, striking a dramatic pose. She could practically feel the young girl’s anger from where she stood.
   Hush up, or I’ll bite you! Weïnyu threatened telepathically. Ewa and Weïnyu recently discovered that every Bender can communicate through thoughts, as long as they’ve found their Focus and have come in contact with each other.
   “Eh, don’t be such a skouns!” snickered Ewa. She immediately felt Weïnyu’s long black nails collide with the tip of her left ear; she cringed in pain.
   “Lucky for me that you’re part Elf, eh, Ewa?” Weïnyu said with a smirk, tugging on Ewa’s ear. “Anyway, Demii and Realms are already waiting for you. We’re packed and ready to get out of this soon-to-be hell hole.”
   Ewa smacked Weïnyu’s hand away and nodded.
   “Let’s-a-go, sweetie,” she retorted.

   The two girls walked out of the shadows and into the amber twilight only to see Demii and Realms atop a giant creature; something like a huge mutated scorpion loaded with bags and supplies.
   “Whoa! What a belfoun!” Ewa exclaimed, jumping onto the beast and grinning wildly. The beast breached and let out some kind of clicking groan when Ewa had jumped on. “Aw, it missed me, eh?”
   “Who said any of us missed you?” Realms retorted with a sneer. Ewa proceeded to punch the back of his head and yank his ear so that he was stuck in her grip.
   “Yer just a frickin’ little ray of sunshine, aren’t ye, little brother?” she snickered as he thrashed in her grip.
   “Little!” Realms protested. “We’re the same age!”
   Ewa and Realms continued to scramble around, pulling at each others ears and hair.
   Demii stroked the scorpion’s dry shell, muttering something in Yulamin. Weïnyu appeared next to Demii, her arms crossed and a smile on her face. She watched Ewa and Realms tussle as if little kids behind them in their own large tent-typed shelter that the scorpion carried on its back.
   “Hiyah!” Demii shouted sternly, whipping the reins to arouse the beast from its slumber. It lurched and began moving slowly, up and down with the positions of every one of its six legs.
   “They both seem to be acting like real siblings now,” Demii said; Weïnyu nodded.
   “But let’s face the facts,” she laughed, her scarlet eyes sparkling. “They’re both madly in love with each other.”