The camp in disorder

Aktlass and Karma were cuddled by a fire in a somber hug of confusion and remorse. Aktlass looks up at the tent to see Sarale watching them and looking around. He gets Karma's attention to her and Karma jumps out of his grasp and rushes to Sarale ready to pounce her, but they stop just in front of her with a worried look, scanning her for any damage and noticing her odd aura.

KARMA:

"Sara...??"

SARALE:

"Hi, Karma!"

Sarale calls in a melodic voice with an innocent smile, before looking around the clearing and waving at Aktlass.

SARALE:

"Hi, Aktlass! … where's Tunda?"

KARMA:(worried)

"uh... f-first of all… are you okay? you're a little... off. Did that fae do something to you?"

Vajor exits the tent from behind her and stretches his long limbs with a loud groan making Sarale giggle and look back at him.

SARALE:

"You sound like a bear." 

Vajor's ears perk up and he smirks.

VAJOR:

"yeah? Would a bear do this?"

He grabs her and pulls her against his chest, nomming down on her neck loudly as she squeals and fights against his grasp, giggling childishly.

SARALE:

"Stop~ it! That tickles, Vajor!"

She gasps as she breaks free and scampers to hide behind Karma with another giggle. Vajor crosses his arms.

VAJOR: (chuckles)

"yeah. Somethin's definitely off." 

Sarale tilts her head and crosses her arms, still holding the rolled up paper with a huff.

SARALE:

"No, I'm fine. John didn't do anything mean if that's what you're asking. He's actually really nice… just a shit, but most teenage boys are."

She nods and smiles as she talks before looking around with a pout.

SARALE:

"So where's brother Tunda?"

Aktlass starts to growl loudly as he stands from his place and glares at Sarale before looking down the trail they were on. Sarale plants her hands on her hips and glares back.

SARALE:

"Don't you growl at me, mister. You've been asleep the entire time, not like you were around when it all happened."

Sarale heads down the path he looked down. The trail became more tattered and worn the farther she went until she made it to a broken gate surrounded by destroyed homunculi and old corpses. following the mess, she enters the gates and looks around to find more bodies and homunculi. run down buildings caved in from the walls and roofs, broken wagons, cannons, and abandoned shops and markets crumbling everywhere she looked. She makes it to a split pass and hears animals whimpering near a cavern that had caved in. as she makes her way to the sound she sees Tunda covered in scratches and blood, curled over his folded legs as if holding something, trying to hide it.

SARALE:(panic)

"TUNDA!"

She rushes over to him and wraps her arms around him lovingly.

SARALE:

"brother! Are you okay!? I'm sorry I left you! I'm so, so sorry."

Tunda shoves Sarale back holding her arms and looks her in the eyes with fear in his. His expression started to betray him as he looked away from her with tears falling down his face. he then starts to giggle uncontrollably, forcing its way into hiccups of laughter. He pushes her away and falls back into his fit of laughter as he covers his mouth with pain in his eyes. his body convulsing with spurts of blood forcing its way out of his opening wounds. Sarale's eyes fill with tears as she reaches for him once again. Reaching for any part of skin and casting lay on hands to heal his wounds.

SARALE:

"Tunda? Please. I'm sorry. I promise I'll get you healed, baby brother. Please hang on. I was wrong. I shouldn't have left. I was just scared. I thought you'd be better off without me. I didn't want to be a burden and if I couldn't have controlled myself. I didn't want to hurt anyone."

Her innocent voice filled with sorrow and her amethyst gaze glowing golden as she casts calm emotions and infuses his wounds with holy magic to help them heal.

SARALE:

"we have to get you calmed down so I can heal you, Tunda… Please."

She takes in a shuddered breath and hugs him.

SARALE:

"please just breathe. I'm so sorry."

Tunda starts taking harsh breaths as his body starts to shiver from finally relaxing. the tears don't stop falling from his eyes as his breathing steadies as if he was falling unconscious as he held on to his consciousness. He keeps his eyes open but doesn't look at Sarale. The animals around them shifting around to help him get comfortable with Loonu acting as his bed. Once he was finally calm and steady, he swallows back a knot in his throat and finally speaks.

TUNDA:

"... I thought I chased you off? I thought I made you leave. did I... what have I done? what have I done?? I've devastated us... I nearly destroyed us... I shouldn't have followed all of you. I'm bad luck... I'm a menace. a mer... like me... I don't have a right to be called brother... I don't deserve friends... I'd be lucky enough to have a master that wants me. I'll be anything to have that. just that... All I want is a master... that's all I need... I should have been happy with that... instead of being greedy for anything else. I could at least keep your trust that way."

Tunda sits up and lays on Loonu then looks Sarale in the eyes. The hollow expression he gave her was begging for that one wish he spoke to come true. He didn't want to leave them. He'd rather sell himself to them as a pet than be left alone again. 

SARALE:(rambling)

"n-n-no~, i-it's not your fault, brother Tunda. It's th-this… this monster inside me. This d-demon. Sh-she makes my b-brain hurt and my heart…" 

Sarale lurches forward and hugs Tunda burying her face in his chest.

SARALE:

"I-I'm so s-sorry. P-p-please don't leave. Please, don't be upset with yourself. I-it's not your fault. it's not anyone's fault but hers! Y-you're my f-family. You s-said… you said I was your sister a-a-a-and th-that made me s-so happy. Please. I-I-I'm so sorry."

KARMA:

"He won't go anywhere."

Karma says as they approach them. Their tail hangs limp as they look at Sarale and Tunda with a pained face.

KARMA:

"I re-established our bond to be a contract... He's my slave now. Officially…"

Sarale sobs harder, her frame trembling with every shuttered breath. Her words unable to form as she breaks under the news and the guilt of her actions. Her tears washing the blood from Tunda's chest. She hugs him tighter, the roll of paper lay forgotten at their side for the moment. 

Vajor comes to a stop behind Karma. His entire demeanor sagging with exhaustion and sorrow.

VAJOR:

"Dove, Karma didn't have a choice."

Sarale shakes her head and sobs harder the sorrow rushing through her, fueled by Tunda's as her mind is crowded with images of his past and his loneliness. Aktlass walks past him and steps in front of Karma with disinterest as he sees Sarale's reaction to their words, only to add fuel to the pain.

AKTLASS:

"Had Karma not done as he asked of them, he'd be long gone from here."

Aktlass presses forward and towers over them waiting with impatience.

AKTLASS:

"or dead by my hands... From now on he will be keeping you safe in this forest. He will get what he needs himself to do so. even if he has to offer himself to the Wanderlust fae of dreams."

Aktlass grabs Sarale by the shoulder to pull her off of Tunda, but she doesn't budge and screams in frustration as she swings at him. Annoyed, Aktlass digs his claws between them and tears her from Tunda scratching his chest in the process and carrying Sarale over his shoulder as she fights him to put her down.

AKTLASS:(*scorning Tunda*)

"Get up. We're leaving now that you're healed up."

Aktlass leaves him with the animals that growl, hiss, and cry at him as he leaves. Tunda stands ignoring the animal's cries and follows after him with his head down and holding the small gashes across his chest. Karma lets Aktlass pass with Sarale with a sad expression then takes Tunda's hand to walk together. Vajor looks at the rolled up paper and picks it up before following after the group. His heart breaks at the sight of Sarale's tantrum. 

Sarale pounds on Aktlass' back without any force and sobs before giving up and making grabby hands at Karma and Vajor. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy, her face tear stained, and the tip of her nose red. An underlying fear in her eyes as she hiccups, her voice quivering with terror and sorrow.

SARALE:

"p-please h-help."

Vajor reaches for her on instinct. His heart shattered in his chest and his eyes filled with tears.

VAJOR:

"Maybe, I can carry her, Aktlass?"

AKTLASS:

"she'll calm down soon. just leave her."

Aktlass responds without looking back, his tone as calm as a river despite his anger to show he was hurting more than he was upset. Karma looks at Tunda, who keeps his head down as he lets himself get carried along, making Karma look away in pain. Sarale's hands fall and she trembles, her voice a pitiful broken whimper laced with fear.

SARALE:

"p-please, don't h-hurt me. I-I'll be g-good. I promise."

Aktlass stops in his tracks for a moment. Karma grips Tunda's hand to stop him. Aktlass stays quiet for a moment before pulling her down into a loving hug and rubbing her back calmly as he huffs tiredly without a word before walking on again. He doesn't look at anyone as he takes his horse and waits for Karma to hop on so he can guide them onto the new trail. Vajor watches her with sad eyes and grabs his horse to follow after the group. He looks down at his feet and wipes at his eyes, careful not to make eye contact.

Sarale sniffles, her mind flooded with images of Aktlass as a child. Children around him backed away in terror even as he saved their lives. Her lips quiver and she wraps her arms around his neck and tightens her grip, nuzzling into him and shivering. Her voice a broken whisper as she sniffles and new tears stream down her face.

SARALE:

"I-I'm s-sorry."

Aktlass is quiet for a while as one he shares a memory of him carrying a child home to sneak off after.

AKTLASS:

"... rest. we've all had a long day... and I'm sure your nightmares have you worn the most."

Sarale nods and closes her eyes. After only a few minutes her breathing evens out, with the occasional stuttered whimper. Her arms slip off Aktlass' shoulders and she sags against him, fast asleep. after a while of a steady pace, Aktlass motion Vajor over to have him mount his horse to carry her along, he then hops on his horse with Karma and urges the horse along. he stops for a moment to notice Tunda waiting for orders. Vajor holds Sarale close, the reins in one hand and the other wrapped around her waist. His thumb rubs gentle circles against her skin. She leans sideways, her head resting on his arm and she whimpers in her slumber. He growls a moment before speaking.

AKTLASS:(*to Tunda*)

"you know what you're meant to do. Don't drag us behind."

Tunda hesitates a moment as Aktlass urges his horse on again, Karma decides to stay hidden behind Aktlass as he rushes them on. Tunda whistles for Loonu and hops onto her to follow after the group and stay behind everyone, knowing his place in the party.

*****

Sarale wanders through the fae realm when she hears a familiar voice. She smiles sadly and wanders towards it to find John, with his crimson mane, floating around and singing an enchanting lullaby. She leans back against a tree and watches him, zoning out as he sings.

SARALE:

"So pretty."

John hears her muttered words and stops singing to look at her from a large blooming flower he was resting on with butterflies of many large, dark colored patterns dancing around him and resting on him as if his childish movements didn't bother them any.

JOHN:

"Well hey there, queen of darkness and brooding. welcome back to the land of sleep."

SARALE:(*scoffs and glares*)

"please do not call me queen of darkness…"

she sighs and walks forward stopping far enough away to not disturb the butterflies.

SARALE:

"I fucked up John and I don't think I can fix this. Or if they'd even let me try."

She looks down at her hands and sighs before sitting on the ground and resting her head on her knees.

SARALE:

"I know you don't care about me, but it's about Tunda."

Sarale pauses and shakes her head.

SARALE:

"you know what, never mind."

She stands and dusts herself off before she walks away choosing a different direction this time. John was suddenly standing in front of her with a few butterflies resting in his hair and on his shoulders.

JOHN:

"Hey, hey. Don't leave me hangin' like that. I know what happened to Silver eyes. He's alive and doing his part that's all fine and good. But what about you? What are you feeling right now, aside from everyone else's past lives? Are you feeling loved? Are you feeling burdened? What about... mmm~ say... responsible? Any of that ring a bell?"

SARALE:(*shoves past John*)

"fuck you, asshole. Why does it even matter what I'm feeling? You said so yourself, you don't care."

JOHN:

"because your mindset is what's affecting my forest, you dumb cunt! think for a moment and just answer the questions! (*pokes Sarale's head multiple times*) What is it that makes you the most upset? Is it the fact that you got put in this predicament? No. The fact that you got a demon in you? Maybe. or it may even be a problem that stems farther than that."

John covers her eyes as the forest goes black. He uncovers her eyes and the forest was replaced, turning into a blackened cave of dark blue and gray tones. very little light fell from the ceiling, and a carved kingdom stood in the distance from where they stood. All too familiar to Sarale.

SARALE:(terrified & uncertain)

"w-why are we here? H-how do you? John?"

John knocks Sarale on the head to make her fears stop.

JOHN:

"What numskull doesn't know where dark elves like to hide? I'm a special type of Wanderlust. Not only can I travel realms, but I can treat dreams as worlds of their own to travel to. I've seen all of your dreams for the past four days now. Being able to share my own dream should be the biggest surprise, not this nightmare you got on record and repeat."

Sarale shivers and she shakes her head backing away.

SARALE:

"No… no… I don't want to be here. I-I-I-I can't be here, P-please!"

he covers her ears and she starts to hear birds whistling under his voice.

JOHN:

"Chill out, it's just a wall, jeez. We can't go anywhere past this point cuz I don't know anymore than this. anyway, as I was saying. This is obviously where the problems stem from. Not you. Think about it. All of your insecurities, your pain, your losses. It all started here. Why?? All you did was be born. Just like silver eyes. Just like the scaly pig. all of you were simply born and you all have one problem in common. you all got ditched and thrown away like garbage!"

John suddenly vanishes into a mist and the cave changes to a new place of the underdark. a still, swamp-like place that was meant to be frigid with cold air. but it was still with no sensation.

JOHN:

"We all got treated like something to throw away, only to be made to be something useful to them later, and thrown away again."

John approaches her from the shadows with his arms in his pockets looking ready to kill, before he appears again at her side.

JOHN:

"You can't blame yourself for that. you were only born. you had no purpose. now reason. no faith. you were simply there. they decided your fate. They decided your worth. but what do you want??"

He starts to circle around her and stand in front of her to lean forward over his knees.

JOHN:

"You don't want to be what they wanted of you. Do you?"

Tears spill from her eyes and she shakes her head.

SARALE:

"No. No.. I don't. It's why I trained so hard to be a paladin. It's why I ran away every chance I got."

She closes her eyes and takes a steady breath.

SARALE:

"there was always one place in the Underdark I would run to. A safe place where I felt they couldn't reach me. It's where I used to go when I was scared."

When she opened her eyes they were glowing a faint green.

SARALE:

"Would you like to see it?"

John feels her power escaping her small figure, filling him with a warmth he never thought he'd feel from someone like her. It upset him, but his nature refused to let him say anything else with a tilt of his head.

JOHN:

"... sure. why not?"

He offers a moon-colored claw to her gently. Sarale smiles at him and takes his claw without hesitation. The world around them shifting and warping into an underground forest. Tall trees and glowing foliage filled the space, laid out under a cavernous sky, dotted with blue glowing stars that resembled mushrooms. Her eyes shimmering like the world around them. She steps forward pulling him gently with her. Their steps create a luminescent path that fades behind them and leaves a trail of blooming flowers in her wake. She stops at a plant and looks up at him with a giggle before tapping the flower. It spins and lifts off the ground, twirling around them like a dancer elegantly swirling around a stage. Several others do the same and she ducks under it, leading him further in. 

As they walk her hand brushes against trees and they glow under her palm only to fade when she moves past. Soon enough they hear a churring and chattering sound further ahead, followed by the flapping of wings a screech above. Sarale's eyes don't seem to know where to focus as she follows the sounds of the forest. She lets go of John's claw and raises her hands, calling out with a high pitched keen of her own. The screech grows closer and a large colorful bird lands heavy in front of them, dust and flowers floating up around them and lighting the area like fireflies. The creature steps forward and rests its head in her hands. She strokes its feathers and they press their foreheads together, breathing deeply. When she pulls back, other creatures enter the clearing and she looks at John with a warm smile.

SARALE:

"Normal people don't know how beautiful the darkness can be."

Sarale blinks and her eyes are the same as the birds, before returning to normal. Several of the animals step out of the way as a tall stag-like creature enters the clearing, flowers blooming and wilting with each of its heavy steps. Sarale is drawn to it, her shoulders relaxing and the tension she seemed to hold melting away. She drops to her knees and sits on her feet before the beast, her head lowered in reverence. The stag dumps her cheek and nibbles at her hair and she giggles looking up at the creature with a calm serenity she hadn't displayed in many years. She hums to herself as strokes the stag's fur and it nuzzles her cheek and forehead, the affection she accepts openly and gives in return.

SARALE:

"this is what I fight for. This is why she can't win, why I won't let her win."

JOHN:

"But you still let the others get under your skin."

John was gone from her side but his voice echoed in the dark forest around her.

JOHN:

"You gotta prune your garden well to get the parasites to rear their heads, you know. You think you're up to it now?"

SARALE:

"Parasites?"

She stands and ventures into the forest.

SARALE:

"What do you want me to do?"

John grabs her shoulder from behind and turns her around to face him.

JOHN:

"What do you think you should do? I can't ask you to do anything. You got bugs messing up your precious garden."

He taps Sarale's chest with his knuckle.

JOHN:

"Whoever put that demon inside is a parasite in your tiny garden. killing you from the inside. The first thing you need to do is prune that garden. clean it up, make it feel nice, so you can feel nice about yourself... with your friends' help of course. So what do you want to do with your garden?"

SARALE:(smiles)

"I want it to thrive and grow into a mighty forest."

She looks around and raises her hands motioning to the world around them.

SARALE:

"like this. One that's filled with life and beauty."

Her hands drop to her sides and a bioluminescent monkey hops onto her shoulder with a fruit in its hands. It offers her the fruit and she takes it with a giggle. She turns around and offers it to John.

SARALE:

"Thank you. I don't want to be a scared little girl anymore."

John takes the fruit.

JOHN:(smiles back)

"Then wake up, Dovely. you got friends to chat with."

Sarale rolls her eyes at the nickname.

SARALE:

"See you soon, gingersnap."

JOHN:

"Who's a gingersnap!?"

John knocks sarale on the head hard enough to wake her with a headache.