"The tree is not far away, are you ready Miss Naya?" Naya was trembling but nodded her head as they quickly walked a few trees over. "Into the unknown we go." "Huh!?" Naya asked in confusion but had no time to think as her body and mind seemed to be getting crushed under an enormous weight. "Aah!"
The friends braced themselves for what was to come. After passing the tree with white bark, all the pair could see was darkness. Naya squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep her breathing regulated, Michael grabbed the unconscious Wren as tightly as he could without hurting her. 'It feels like I'm in the deepest part of the ocean, th-this weight is just too much!' Naya's mind was racing and her body was squirming in efforts to minimize the pain on her within her body and her mind. She tried to focus her mind on other things but to no avail, 'My head...ugh...Mav...' Michael could sense that Naya had finally passed out, and he was glad, because that meant she wouldn't feel the pain in this moment.
Michael tried his best to hold onto Wren's limp body and the fallen limb to which she was still attached as their bodies moved forward within this checkpoint. He put a hand on her face and noticed that it seemed like she was in pain. He could only see a faint light ahead of them making her face slightly illuminated but the rest of the area was surrounded by darkness. The only sounds that could be heard was a sound of strong wind rushing past them and their labored breathing. He closed his eyes and gripped Wren tighter to his body. All the while, he could feel his body getting weaker. He already lost a lot of blood from the attack earlier and now he was rushing through a checkpoint that was for blood clan members only. He was worried about his body and his fate, but more so Wren's.
The clan rules were strict and he knew that she risked a lot bringing them here. Only members of the head clan's direct bloodline could freely use these checkpoints. He only knew of 2 on the entire island, but didn't have their exact location. Further more, he had never encountered the black powder Wren kept in her bag before, 'I'm sure they have at least one in each of the ter-OW! Ugh this hurts...hurts so much...' Michael's previous thoughts were interrupted by the constant pain and pressure caused from the realm within the checkpoint.
'I wonder...*cough* just how much time...time-' Suddenly Wren sat up, as much as she could, and grabbed onto Michael's shoulders. Michael was startled and was about to begin speaking but Wren cut him off, " Clothes on...now! Elders...see wounds; search thoughts..." Michael's eyes were now wide open, he knew exactly what she meant by her fragmented sentence. Wren released her grip and Michael nodded his head, "Yes My Lady."
Even though moving his body in this weightless realm should be easy, due to them not being of the Kalina bloodline, it was like moving forward through quicksand. He inched forward towards Naya's limp body and grabbed the bag that she had been clutching tightly. He went to open the bag, but couldn't get the zipper open. He looked towards Wren and saw her motioning for him to come over with her hand. He nodded and slowly made his way back to her, 'She looks so...I hate this...Why can't I be of more use to her?'
After he reached her, he noticed that she had a smile on her face, "Michael, you are plenty useful...I may be weak...but I'm still alive, thanks to you..." His face flushed red, "You-" Wren simply nodded her head to his question. Michael became worried, wondering what all she heard him think, but handed the bag to Wren. "...For safety," Wren pointed at the zipper and when Michael focused, he realized she had secured it shut with her spiritual energy.
Once releasing the zipper she carefully brought out an old worn grey shirt that had a symbol on the front and back, along with a pair of dark blue jeans, bright green socks, and a pair of casual black running shoes. A soft smile appeared on his lips as he took the clothes from Wren one by one. He almost forgot about the fact that he was in so much pain himself. After finally getting dressed, he had Wren seal the bag once more then went towards her and gently held her near him, doing his best to avoid being impaled by the tree himself.
Wren was taken aback but didn't move from his grasp; even if she wanted to she couldn't move right now. "Michael...I'm going...you're passing...once you wake up..." Wrens soft voice seemed to be fading farther and farther away. Wren knew they were reaching the limit of time they could remain in the realm. "It will all be okay...seem underwhelming...but delayed...reaction time..." Michael was now unconscious in a semi seated position with Wren on his lap. Wren carefully wiggled free and gently pushed him closer to Naya.
'What would they say if they saw us that close together?' Wren sighed lightly, 'Your feelings for me...Oh Michael, why couldn't you just meet a nice girl from outside the inner circle and settle down? Why me, why the Temple Priestess?' Wren thought to herself, then slowly brought her hand to her lips, 'Why now, why would you kiss me when-' Wren shook her head, "Forget it," her voice seemed to echo through the darkness. Even though she felt like they had been within the realm for hours, she knew only minutes had passed since they first went through the checkpoint.
'This black powder is sure underwhelming. It was supposed to give them more strength, but instead they were only able to remain conscious for 30 seconds and 1 minute.' Seeing as Wren didn't have to use her energy to speak, she slowly closed her eyes and tried to focus on healing her wounds. "Damnit!" After a short while Wren noticed she was not healing at all, while usually she would be well on her way to recovery. 'Could it be?' Wren looked closer at the bark of the tree and cursed internally. 'Of course it just had to be this tree-'Wrens thought were interrupted by a high pitch ringing sounds. She immediately closed her eyes and covered her ears but it was no use.