"We'll wait for nightfall," Crail said. "Until then, you can enter my domain and rest." He said. "How will Elai and I get up there?" I asked. I already knew that Nika could climb the tree with ease. "I will carry Elai on my back," Nika replied, looking down to Elai who nodded in agreement. "And if you would like I could fly you up with me." Crail offered. It wasn't a bad idea, but in order for him to fly me up there, he'd have to touch me. Just the thought of contact set my skin on fire. I nervously clawed at my arm as I gave an awkward laugh. "No it's fine, I'll do my best to climb the tree like Nika," I said, looking at the ground. Even without looking I could tell that Nika and Crail shared a look.
"Alright Elai, make sure you hold on tight. I may be fast, but let's not test it," Nika warned. Bending down to allow Elai to climb on top of her back, securing their arms around Nika's neck. After Elai had situated themselves, Nika stood up with as much ease as she did breathing. Crail was already up in the air, quickly ascending. Nika was moving up the tree considerably well herself. Her lithe body quickly moving from branch to branch with Elai still holding on tight. I looked up the tree, squinting to try and see the top, and failed. I sighed, this wasn't going to be fun. I stepped back a bit so I could get a running start. Then I sprinted for the tree, and jumped as high as I could. Reaching for the lowest branch with my hand outstretched. Perfect. I can do this! Then everything fell apart as only my fingertips grazed the bottom part of the branch.
Everything seemed to slow down in that moment. My eyes feel just below the branch where I knew I was inevitably going to hit. Damn. This is gonna hurt. I was proven right as I slammed face first into the tree, then fell back down to the ground. The impact of the fall knocking all of the air from my lungs. Pain spread throughout my entire body. I desperately tried to breathe, but my body was in shock. I couldn't do anything, but lay there and wait for my body to recover. My lungs felt like exploding before I was able to take a breath. But the relief of air in my lungs was short lived as the pain throbbed through my body. I rolled onto my side with a groan. "Damn it," I muttered, bringing my hand up to my face where I found it was wet. I pulled my hand back to see what it was, but my vision was blurred from the blow. The lines of my hands were blurry, but I saw the color and knew immediately that it was my blood. I stared at my hand that was covered in the crimson liquid.
Perfect. Just what I needed. I sat up, wiping the blood from my face. "Stupid damn tree," I cursed, glaring at the tree. From above I heard boisterous laughter from above. I knew exactly who it was, and I could just imagine them doubled over with laughter. I knew they could see me, so I lifted my hand and held up my second finger leaving all the other fingers down. They might not understand it, being as I learned it from the humans while I lived there. They didn't need to know it was an insult, I did, and that's all that mattered. I smirked.
I recovered quickly, and tried again. I got a longer running start and jumped as hard as I could, and this time successfully grabbed the branch. I felt triumphant as I pulled myself up. "One down," I said, looking up, "A lot more to go." It wasn't so difficult at first, I was strong enough to easily pull myself from branch to branch, but the more time went on I could feel my limbs start to ache. I tried to get myself into a rhythm and it worked for a time, but eventually every muscle in my body felt like it was on fire. My lungs were heaving with every movement and my throat was painfully dry as I continued my climb to the top. At long last I reached the top, pulling myself up with a shaky hand followed by another.
Using the last of my strength I hauled my ass all the way onto the top. I rolled over onto my back, breathless. "Damn it, I hate this stupid tree," I muttered between breaths. I could hear Crail laughing over in the distance. "Is Yuna okay?" Elai asked, standing over me. I was too exhausted to speak, so instead I weakly lifted my arm and held my thumb up. Elai seemed to understand what I was meaning. They chuckled lightly, as they sauntered away.
Gradually, the pain in my lungs subsided and it became easier to breathe. It still hurt to move a bit, and I was going to be sore for a little while. That's for sure. I rolled over onto my side with a groan. Nika was reading a book of some sort and Elai was sleeping beside Nika's feet. Crail was nowhere to be seen, but it felt like he was around somewhere. This wasn't just the top of the tree, it was like a platform, carved from the tree its self. The branches curved up to form the walls, light slipped in through the spaces between the wood. I looked up to see smaller tree limbs stretched out over the entire thing, the leaves blocking out the majority of the sun.
I sat up looking at the entire place in awe. There wasn't much in the room, but it was absolutely gorgeous. "It's about time you join us," Nika said, not looking up from her book. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's not as easy as you make it seem," I grunted. Slowly, I stood to my feet. "Is there anywhere to sleep?" I asked, rubbing one of my shoulders, grimacing as I massage it. Nika looked around. "I'm not sure, I could ask Crail if you would like." She offered. I shook my head. "No, it's fine, I'll just find a comfy place to rest." I said. Off in one particularly dark and shady corner of the den I made myself comfortable. After all, sleeping on the floor was nothing I wasn't used to, but at least here I felt safer.
I laid there for a few minutes before the exhaustion slowly allowed me to slip into sleep. I hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time, and it took me by surprise. But I was too tired to think further on it. So as my eyelids began to get heavier and my breathing became softer, I allowed myself to sleep.