章節 28: Once there and now not
It seemed the onslaught had ended, the people felt relief and smiles brightened their faces.
Elessar got out and looked up at the side and on the branches of the trees, she spotted Finrod with an empty quiver amongst two others who stood on different branches along the same tree.
Her attention was stolen when, suddenly, a loud crack happened drawing the attention of the villagers, it scared the kids and what followed was the falling of a massive tree on the other side–the right.
The massive tree slowly came down and finally, it fell bashing in many huts below.
"Noo!"
"Father's hut!"
There was chaos, the unknowing villagers ran forward to the site of the fall.
"Wait!" Elessar screamed. The tree had been standing strong for hundreds of years, witnessing the births of many Funari, for it to fall now was surely no coincidence, it was suspicious.
She looked forward with anticipation, the crowd did not listen to her and honestly why would they? Many had just lost their homes, of course, they would be worried sick and move hoping they could save something or hope that theirs wasn't caught up in the crash.
The tree was about hundred and fifty meters tall and ten meters wide, it was a behemoth of a tree as many trees around protecting and hiding the community and so, it took such a large number of huts by its rightmost end just before the trees and some at the left side.
'What's happening? Why do I have such a bad feeling about this? Something bad is going to happen, isn't it? I should warn them some more, but why? Why can't I move?'
She remained frozen in place, Pouka scurried to her side and rubbed her furry back against her shoulder gaining her attention, Elessar looked at her beast companion upclose. Its right eye was swollen, it had blood stains and she could tell she had broken some ribs.
"Oh Pouka." She kneeled a little and hugged her, closing her eyes and suddenly opening them. Then she heard an annoying buzz.
"Oh Na'se!" She giggled.
"I didn't forget about you, I know how tough you are. You are my tough little man." She teased and accepted the fly into her hand, petting it with her fingers.
Na'se buzzed joyfully in response, raising its head. Elessar's attention went to the fallen tree again, the people had gathered and she could see Neska in his mystifying black cloak talking to the people trying to calm them down, and beneath him were vines he was willing to squirm forward to observe any trouble.
Elessar turned to where she had spotted Finrod, and she saw that the beautiful elf still remained in his position on the tree with his fellow archers.
His eyes were fixated below however, it was obvious he was plenty curious and that he sensed foul play. Aside from that, he had a few arrows in his quiver now, he had borrowed them from the archers when she wasn't looking.
Finally, she looked away and then, right there she felt the blasting pain from the blow sear through her nerves, it was painful but it could be endured.
'You must be in pain too.' she thought looking at Na'se on her shoulder.
She then brought her little wooden container of green cream she had used on Finrod earlier, she had kept it in a pocket and fortunately, her fight with the demon didn't get it all squashed. She opened it and dug in her fingers, scooping a little and immediately placing it in her mouth.
She squeezed her face instinctively, it had a strong bitter grassy taste that she wasn't a fan of. She was immediately hit with a rejuvenating energy deep within her, she felt her stats recover.
She placed another quantity on her fingers again and directed it over her shoulder and Pouka who stood beside her swallowed her fingers warming up her hand with its saliva. Elessar smiled, feeling the creature's warm mouth and tongue on her fingers.
It finally released her fingers and then she grabbed a much smaller quantity for the marsh fly on her pinky finger which it happily devoured. Unlike them both, it had developed a taste for the cream.
It buzzed loudly, slurping the cream and immediately moved back to her right shoulder after it was done.
Her bruised face had reduced in its swellings, her ribs didn't hurt as much and she could walk without the hobble although her thighs still hurt.
She looked to the gathering again and saw that most still remained the same, the chief still spoke, the people still worried and his vines were retracting and by the chief's reaction, it looked like there was no need for a special guard for a creature that might be a hundred meters close–that was the extent he could stretch his vines without losing his connection with them, for there wasn't any.
A few men lined up in front of the chief, many of them being those who had just arrived from the scouting. They were six and after the chief spoke some words and pointed into the large space in the forest that the fall had exposed, they all stormed in with stealth and speed.
'I hope it's nothing we can't take on.' She thought, dismissing the strange fear in her.
She gazed at her broken-down hut, it might as well be destroyed by the tree as well as it barely stood. The dark sky further gave it a saddened dark appearance.
That didn't stop Elessar however, she forced herself to walk forward, taking step after step till she reached the hole and crouched passing through it. Pouka and Na'se understanding the scenario and remembering what she had taught them, chose to stay out.
She then got into the room, and as she did, her eyes widened, her heartbeats went faster and she froze. There was only one thought in her mind at that moment and time.
'Where's mother?'
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