"Be careful. Frides knows less about animals than he does about people."
Frides pointed down at the ground. "You can look for patterns."
Ouran pointed to another track in the other direction. "Yes but those are for another animal."
"Yeah but they look fresh." Ouran contested.
Frides got down next to Ouran and inspects. Elle tapped Frides. "There were a ton behind us."
"How many?" Frides looks back then back to Elle.
"I saw maybe, twenty, or more." Elle tried to read the expression Frides face. This time was easier than usual. He was in shock.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I guessed they were old like you did."
"I never checked them. I was focusing on the one in front of me. I didn't see the other ones."
"Well I assumed you checked them and decided they were old. So your saying we're being stalked?" Elle said.
"It seems like that we are."
Ouran looked over to Elle. "Stalked."
"Yes it seems like whatever Nero scared away wasn't alone." Elle explained.
"We need to go back." Frides turned around and three nimble tigers jump down from the trees at Frides and Ouran.
Frides grabbed Ouran and ducks to the side and the tigers hit the dirt and slid. Frides Glowed two dagger and threw them into one of the tigers eyes.
Baethan Glows his Gladius and swung at them. "I'll Kill you!"
Elle turned around and noticed two more tigers plodded up behind her, but after she looked at them they slowed down and blended into the trees. Elle backed up closer to Baethan.
Frides looked over to Elle. "Where's Nero?"
"He stayed behind." She said.
"Why did he stay behind!" Frides said annoyed. He could have used his brash fighting style.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?" She asked.
Nero looks over to Urs, who was sprawled out in the grass. "They still aren't back yet. Urs? Urs are you sleeping?"
Urs picked her head up and looked fiercely at the woods where Ouran, Elle, and Frides went. Then she hopped up and ran into the woods.
"Urs, are you kidding me!" Nero got up and ran into the woods after her. "Hey where do you think you're going?" He looked back to his cloak.
He could see Urs running up the trail. Every now and again Nero saw smaller trails and tracks. Some of the tracks continued to cross back and forth. He counted six total including the one they were chasing. He rushed up and grabbed Urs. "Nope. This might be a little serious. You're going to stay close to me." He Glowed his staff and could see them a little further ahead of him. He circled around them.
Frides threw another dagger but the tigers kept darting around the trees, making him miss.
"I can't get any. They keep moving around." Ouran stood below them with his daggers drawn. Every time he tried to dive to cut one Frides pulled him back. "You're daggers are too short! They're like fangs and they have claws."
"All I'm getting is tree bark. We need to try to slowly move out of here." Elle suggested.
Baethan dropped to his knee behind them struggling to keep up his sword. His arms were covered in claw marks. "Sorry, their really fast."
Elle looked down at Baethan. His eyes looking down at the tigers with distain. All of his rage and frustration was transferred to them. He looked up to Elle. "I'm sorry. I just wanted them to pay for what they did to my son."
Elle pointed her crossbow at one of the tigers and shot one. "I got one over here. This is the direction Nero is in."
"How many are over there?" Frides asked Elle.
"I've got two over here now."
"Okay we'll head your way." Frides turned around and threw daggers at the one Elle was facing. "Lets go that way. Come on Ouran, Baethan."
They rushed past Elle. Elle turned towards the direction they were coming from and shot two arrows into the trees next to them. She turned and ran up to Frides and Ouran. On her way to them she saw another tiger running through the woods at top speed towards them. Behind her the other tigers tripped on the line trap she set. When she lifted her crossbow she couldn't get a clear shot until it cleared the forest jumping out at Ouran. She found her shot but it missed. Before Frides could get to the Tiger a spear shoots through the air behind him. It hit the tiger in the chest and sent it flying backwards.
Elle looked past Frides and saw Nero running through the woods past her with Urs under his arm towards the two behind her. He Glows his staff and smacks one on the head and spun to kick the other. The tigers backed up dazed and hissed at him. The tigers started to fade into the bushes but Nero extended his staff and smacked at the bushes around him forcing them back. "Go ahead guys! Its too compact in here."
They ran towards the direction that they came from. Nero smacked around at the bushes until he could see they'd gotten away then he headed after them.
Frides and Ouran rushed through the bushes first to the surprise. Elle jumped out behind them. She turned to look behind her and Baethan stumbled out. "Baethan?"
Baethan looked up at them and around. His sons body had been ravaged again. Nero's cloak was tangled and covered in holes and blood. "What happened?"
The body was missing.
Nero came out of the bushes. "Why'd you guys stop?"
Baethan raised his sword to Nero. "What happened to my son?"
Nero looked at the blood stains in the dirt. "My cloak!" Baethan put his sword up to Nero's throat. "Oh yeah, Iziah is gone? I told you to bury him and to leave what ever it was alone."
"Where did you put him?" Baethan screamed.
"Me? You dragged my friends and our ward out into the woods on your suicide mission and almost got another kid killed."
"Give him back!" He pushed the sword closer to Neros neck, drawing a little blood.
Nero put up a hand. "Something else came and took him. Who knows what they're doing with him. Which part do you think they're eating now?"
Baethan lunged his sword forward but Nero slipped away and Glowed a staff then smacked the weapon from Baethans hand.
"Where is he? Where is my son?" His voice lost all aggression. He pleaded with Nero. "Please give me my son."
"Now whenever you find your son, you won't even recognize him." Nero looked at Frides, Ouran, and Elle. "I told you to let him bury his son. What did he gain? Nothing. He had everything to lose. What does his son need? Nothing. Is he cold? Is he tired? Is he hungry? What does he want? He doesn't want anything and he'll never want anything again. When he died do you think he thought this bear needs to die? My dad is going to come and kill it? No he thought, help me. My dad is going to come and help me, protect me. He wanted his dad to save him."
Nero looked at Baethan. "Please give me my son back."
Nero walked over and picked up his cloak and handed it to Baethan. "I can take you to him." Nero looked at Urs. "Hey, go with Ouran. You guys get out of here."
Nero took Baethan into the woods after the tracks. Baethan looked down at the cuts and gashes along his arms. "Did you know?"
"I thought so." Nero replied.
"Why? He could have just been lost."
"Yeah there was a chance."
"But you didn't believe there was much of a chance. Then why did you agree to help me find him."
Nero looked out through the trees. "Because the look on your face said that you wouldn't leave this forrest without your son."
Baethan looked onto Nero's face. It was so frustrating to look at him. Baethan could tell he was about ten years Nero's senior. All he could see on his face was pity.
Nero pointed towards a bush, then Glowed a spear and threw it and something darted and tussled through the trees.
"What was that?" Baethan asked.
"What does it matter. Your son is over there." He pointed in the direction of the Spear sticking out over the bushes. Baethan sprinted in that direction before Nero could get his hand up. When Baethan made his way through the over grown bushes he found his sons body in an even worse condition. His face was unrecognizable but it was surely him. He takes Nero's cloak and swaddled him in it. He got back to Nero looking absolutely miserable, his tears and snot ran uncontrollably over his sons body in his arms.
"I know." He mustered. "I don't have the right to ask this, but will you help me get out of here. I cant do it alo..."
Nero turned away from him. "Lets just get out of here."
Frides took a seat against a tree. Elle and Frides were quiet, but Ouran was fuming the whole walk over.
"If Nero went into the woods with us, we could have killed them." Ouran told Frides, clenching his fists in front of him.
"I agree. Baethan wanted to kill those things that killed his son." Elle said.
"His son was dead why did it matter to Baethan." Frides asked himself out loud.
"Yeah his son was killed by those things. We should have killed every last one of them. We have to go back!" Ouran urged Frides.
"I was wrong. We were wrong. I thought his son was dead and so what was the worse thing that could happen to him. He was already dead." Frides said to Elle, ignoring Ouran.
"What do you mean?" Elle asked.
"Baethan wanted to kill the thing that killed his son. He had every right to feel that way. It was fair, but what would he gain. I didn't ask myself that. It was the same with taking the Domaku back to its mom. You remember that Ouran?" Frides reminded Ouran.
"Yeah he kept saying he was going to take this thing back to its mom or something." Ouran recalled.
"When was this?" Elle wasn't there so she didn't know about Urs mom.
"It was the reason we went to Shinoa Port. He wanted to return Urs to her mom."
"But its just a bear." Elle explained pointing to Urs laying next to Frides.
Frides looked down and stroked her fur. "Before, I thought she was going to be his pet. She's not his pet she's like you or me. He sees her as a friend. He likes her. She must have did something."
"What are you talking about! We need to go and kill those tigers before they get away!" Ouran Glowed his daggers. Tears welled in his eyes again at the thought of Iziah's helpless body. "They killed his son."
"No." Frides looked up at Ouran. And to Ourans surprise Frides' expression reminded him of the way he looked at Quitum when they talked at the dinner table. It left no room for misinterpretation. He had said something wrong. "They ate his son. Nero was right. There was nothing to gain from going after them. Instead we almost got Baethan and ourselves killed."
"If only Nero went into the woods with us we could have killed them." Elle tried to rationalize.
"Then what about his son?" Frides asked regaining his composure and posing the question calmly.
"He was already dead." She put her hands up.
"When me and Nero found Urs mom dead in a cell, he cried. He felt responsible for her death. He thought if he had gotten there faster he could have saved her. I had no idea why he cared so much. But I get it now. You saw how Baethan reacted. When we got back and he saw the body was gone. You felt it."
Elle looked down. "All the color left his face. It was like his son died all over again."
"But his son was already dead. Why would he feel that way?" Ouran had no idea wat they were talking about.
"He didn't think..." Frides started.
"...about his sons safety." Elle finished.
"He needed to protect his son first. He was trying to run away from the pain he felt by focusing on his anger."
"Is that why Nero stayed behind?" Elle asked.
"I don't know. Its Nero we're talking about. This could have all been accidental, but if it comes down to protecting something you love or fighting something you hate the answer should be clear. We didn't know that there was a choice."
"But they killed his son. Because of them his son is dead." Ouran proclaimed.
"I think so too. At the very least I thought it would make Baethan feel better." Frides reasoned.
"He would lose his sons body though." Elle said.
"Exactly. He would risk losing something he loved and we didn't even know what killed his son or what we were chasing. Nero grew up in the woods. I can only guess he saw it differently than we did." Frides tried to understand.
Nero and Baethan walked into the camp. Nero looked down at Frides and continued walking. Elle looked down at Baethan's arms. Iziahs head was slightly unobstructed by the cloak and she was able to make out new wounds. She leaned down and grabbed a rag from her bag. She put it against Baethans face wiping the snot away from his nose. Nero placed a hand on Ourans head.
Ouran tucked his chin to his chest. "Shit!"
Nero lead Baethan to the road. Baethan dropped his head. "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble."
"Gratitude is more valuable than an apology. Stay on the road."
Baethan lifted his head. "Thank you, I will."
To Be Continued...
Thanks For Reading!