Fell

Fortunately, this wasn't the first time Ling had fallen off Maga's back. He had always helped his friend practice since they were young when the dragon was not used to flying yet.

Whenever they went out during those nights—they still had to hide Maga's existence so they could only fly high in the dark—it was not a surprise that Maga would sometimes bump on tall trees and the two would tumble to the ground.

There were even times recently when Maga was agitated. Sometimes, it had just been able to stretch its wings after a long time or it was just afraid and releasing stress.

During those times, the dragon would even ignore the passenger on its back and twirl around in the air until Ling would lose his hold and fall. Ling had even thought of using a harness while riding on Maga's back but he hadn't gotten around to ask his friend about it yet.

However, now wasn't the time for Ling to think of those fond memories. He had to concentrate. His expelled 'mist' must condense to form a cloud and act as a cushion to slow down his fall. Fortunately again, the hole on his left shoulder from the spear attack was painful enough to help him exude more 'mist'.

Afterwards, the tall trees directly below him would catch him. Maybe he could even grab a sturdy branch as he fell and only get a few scratches instead of the worse injuries he'd get if he hit the ground. Besides, those scratches would heal faster.

Ling was worried about Maga though. When he was about to faint from the pain on his shoulder, he only heard the roar of the dragon and it slowly faded away.

What could have happened to Maga after they were hit? But, seeing as he was also in a predicament, he'd solve Maga's once he got his footing.

Finally, Ling felt something hard hit his back. It was a branch of a tree. The rustling around him was getting louder and louder, joining the sound of his harsh breathing.

That hit was soon followed by consecutive ones, tumbling his body around. With this, he could only glean the rush of green from his squinted eyes.

Nevertheless, he had to grab hold of a branch to break his fall. Raising his right arm despite the pain, he was able to catch a branch. Ling's relief was shortlived though. The branch he had caught was too brittle and a little wet. It was unable to hold his weight.

His descent continued. Ling then moved his other arm next to grab another branch. Soon after, a hiss added to the sound of the rustling leaves. That arm was the one attached to the shoulder hit by the spear. Of course moving it would hurt.

Ling tried to raise his right arm again but was unable to grab anything stable. Even his feet couldn't step on a firm branch. His experience in climbing trees was not being useful now.

He also realized that the tree trunk, which he could have grabbed on too, was now hidden by all these thick foliage. His sight was full of green leaves and thin branches only.

Just what was wrong with this tree?! All its branches were too soft! Shouldn't he have reached the middle part by now and caught a sturdy branch?! How long would it take him to get there?

So many questions entered Ling's mind but he hasn't gotten any answers. He just kept falling and falling for quite a long time until that sturdy branch finally came.

At this time, Ling was using his 'mist' to heal his shoulder wound. Since there were a lot of life 'mist' around, that was easy to do.

Waiting for that sturdy branch was getting tedious for him. Rather than get more scratches from grabbing the thin branches, Ling kept his hands to himself, using the 'mist' around him to keep his posture steady. He would be able to see the branches clearly without being tumbled around.

Now, Ling was distracted. When that branch came, it was swinging, coming with a whistle of air towards the back of his head. Ling was only able to see a pale arm holding a club as he turned after he sensed the other presence. Then, his vision darkened.

___

When Ling woke up, he was lying on a wet ground. He didn't know how long he had been lying there, but the water on the ground had already seeped through the clothes on his back.

At least, he knew he was still in the same forest. There was that tall tree with only its thin, soft branches and abundant leaves standing beside him. Some of its branches were broken from his fall.

However, of all the trees to catch his fall, why this one? Ling sighed, trying to move his limbs to check for injuries.

Suddenly, he heard a hiss. He never thought that there was actually someone beside him. Without waiting for the other's movement, Ling hastily stood up, the leaves rustling around him.

Was this the same one who attacked him? He didn't care for the few aches in his body. Those were already healing anyway, so it wouldn't be much of a problem compared to staying beside someone who had attacked him.

Then, the other figure also hastily moved behind the tree in a flash. Ling wasn't able to see it clearly as the 'mist' was blurring the figure. That figure kept hiding while Ling remained vigilant, hence the surroundings was quiet except for the usual sounds of the forest.

The wounds on Ling's head and shoulder were only giving a twinge now. It wouldn't bother him for long. The scratches on his limbs have healed by now. If he had to run, there would be no problem.

A shout broke the silence before Ling could step back though. It was coming from somewhere far. He frowned. He had heard it earlier, before he opened his eyes, but he thought it was part of his dream.

Although he couldn't make out what it said, it looked like the figure behind the tree could. There was a long hiss coming from it, then a foot-long end of a snake's tail shook out behind the tree.

Ling had encountered snakes when he had hunted in the forest before. Some were poisonous. Some were just huge which was probably the case with this one.

That's what Ling could deduce with the size of its tail. The foot-long end that was out was as thick as Ling's thigh, and it looked like its body was increasing in size as it went up. However, it never scared Ling. He knew he could still fight if he had to.

But where was that person who had hit him earlier though? Ling thought it was the figure behind the tree. Did this snake made him run away? Or was it because of that other creature?

It would be a different thing though if there's another creature nearby, lurking in the forest. That shout made the snake more tense. Then, the call continued but Ling couldn't tell where it came from.

Nevertheless, that wasn't his problem. If he could back away now, maybe that other creature would turn its attention to this snake behind the tree. At least, he had to get away before that other creature came closer.

But Ling's movement was stopped again. This time, a soft voice behind the tree told him to stop. "Shh.. Please be quiet." It hissed. "You also wouldn't want to be heard by that one."

"What was that?" Ling asked. It looked like the shout was getting farther away anyway, so maybe it was better to remain here for now. Then, he paused to think before asking something else. "What are you?"

Maybe that was impolite. But with the size of the snake's tail, the trunk of the tree couldn't fit the snake plus a person too. Was this a snake rider then? There were dragon riders so perhaps other people prefer snakes.

A figure of a man holding onto the slippery body of a snake came into Ling's mind. It looked silly to him.

"Shh.. I'll explain later. But stay quiet for now until I say it's okay. It's still nearby."

Hence, Ling just stood there, waiting for that 'okay'. If this person was the one who hit his head, waiting wouldn't be wise. But Ling's senses was telling him he would be safer here than walking around the forest without a plan.

After a few minutes, the sounds around the forest was only the chirping of birds, rustling of leaves and the usual. The figure behind the tree let out a breath, then it came out behind the tree.

Since he thought the snake was more dangerous, Ling kept his stare at the snake's tail and only waited for the person coming out in his periphery.

The snake slithered out slowly, tail curling around the tree. It looked like it was shaking slightly, maybe still afraid of that other creature.

As Ling thought, the whole body of the snake was not just as thick as his thigh. Above the tail thickened more until about a meter where it was as thick as his waist.

Ling soon saw that waist-thick snake skin was attached to a pale, lean waist, then an upper body with a broad chest came out behind the tree.

After looking around, the person turned to Ling and smiled. "Hey!"