I fell over small waterfalls and crashed with the rapids, but I continued to swim ahead until May was within reach. I grabbed her hand and pulled her close as soon as I could. She wrapped her arms around my neck to stop the force of the water from pulling us apart again, and I held onto her with one arm as I kept us above water with the other.
I moved whenever there was a turn so it would be me that would hit the boulders on the sides of the river instead of May as the current forced us into them. I cringed in pain but continued to keep both of our heads above water as I was thrown against the rocks. By now the land on either side of us had leveled so we weren't in between cliffs anymore, and I attempted to reach the edge. The current was too fast for me to grab hold of anything, and my grip was weak from the cold.
I tried to think of what to do when I saw a log hanging over the river ahead. As soon as we got close to it I grabbed onto the wood as tightly as possible. We stopped suddenly but we were still being pulled strongly by the course of the water, and it was becoming difficult to keep hold of it. I managed to inch my hand closer to land long enough to reach the edge and pull us out of the water.
I pulled us over the rocks and turned to sit down and catch my breath. We were both soaking wet and shivering from the night breeze. May still held onto me as she coughed from swallowing as much water as she did. She then started sobbing quietly and I held her close with a hand holding her head to my chest. I tried my best to warm her and help her calm down from hyperventilating. "It's okay, I'm here, I'm here. You're safe now."
Her grip around me tightened as she tried to calm down. I noticed that she was bleeding from the scratches she had gotten from the goblins before on her arms and legs, and I then looked ahead out of response to seeing movement across the river. I saw shadows of more monsters lurking in the dark and I moved my arm under May's legs so I could carry her as I stood up. I turned around to see if there was anywhere we could hide until morning. As my eyes moved over our surroundings, I noticed a faint light in the distance.
I started walking toward it quickly once I saw it, and after a few minutes, I found where it was coming from. We walked through a cluster of trees to see a village of sprites with a bonfire in between their large flower houses. Sprites were similar to fairies, only they didn't have wings and levitated instead. They were smaller as well and the adults were about the size of human children. Their skin colors were only of pastels and their hair and clothes were either made of leaves, moss, bark, or petals.
I hesitated on going further for a moment but soon came to the conclusion that we didn't have much of a choice. I took another breath and started walking toward the village. 'Please be an overly trusting species.' I thought. The sprites that were around the fire gasped when they saw us and immediately rushed over to us. "Oh my gods! Are you two alright?!" They came and pulled me back to the fire with worried expressions. "You're soaked! Come and warm up by the fire!" Normally, I'd be disgusted at so many creatures touching me, but right now I was relieved they weren't trying to kill me.
Once we reached the fireside the sprites helped May out of my arms and led her away toward one of the flower houses. "Come this way, our town doctor will get you fixed up in no time!" May held the ripped petals over her chest with her arm to cover herself as they ushered her away. "Thank you." She said, softly. I watched her go for a moment before a couple of sprites wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. "Here, dry off with this and sit by the fire." I nodded and sat down next to the flame as I pulled the blanket around me. "...Thanks."
The sprites returned to where they were sitting before and continued to speak to me. "What happened to you two?" I sighed. "Goblins." Their worried looks only increased after I said that. "You poor things! You are more than welcome to stay here tonight." Another floated next to me with the same concern. "Are you hungry?" I shook my head. "I'm fine."
I waited by the fire with the sprites until I had dried off completely, and they gave me a fresh blanket once the other one became too wet. By now they were involved in their own conversations and I stayed silent as I enjoyed the warmth in front of me. May then came out from the flower house the sprites took her into earlier and walked over to me. "Hey." I turned my head as she stopped next to me and sat down. She was dry as well now and had changed into another rose dress that was a darker pink than the first. It had a heart-shaped chest line with no sleeves and the top connected to the rose skirt as well.
She also had bandages where the goblins had scratched her, and her wings looked heavier than they were before. I remembered that she wouldn't be able to fly for a while again and returned to looking at the fire. "How are you feeling?" May looked at me with surprise and then smiled. "I'm alright now, thanks to you. I never thought you would ask something like that. Am I getting through to you?"
I crossed my arms. "No, of course not. Why is your head so full of ridiculous ideas, brat?" May's smile faded and she raised her knees to her chest as she sat beside me. "You jumped into a freezing cold river to save me. I know you would've never done that when we first met." I sighed. "We weren't friends then." She then froze. It became noticeable and I turned to see her with her eyes wide.
I became annoyed the longer she did it. "Don't read too much into it! I still hate you!" She started to vibrate with excitement and a big smile appeared on her face. "I finally gotcha!!" She then wrapped her arms around me and completely ignored me as I tried to push her away. "Did you hear what I just said?! Get the hell away from me!!"
Struggling was futile. May was little but when she was determined she could latch onto anything with a grip of steel. She squeezed me with her arms around my neck and nuzzled her cheek against mine. "I can't believe this is happening! I love you too, bestie!" I blushed and she loosened her grip enough so I could push her away by her shoulders.
Her happiness then melted into crying and I gave her a confused look. "My gods, what is wrong with you?" She wiped away her tears and fanned her face with her other hand as she answered me. "I-I'm just s-so happy..!"