Because the ursidae hadn't fully succumbed to the Atrophy, it wasn't as angry as it should be. It also wasn't as alert as it should be. Alder slowly stepped forward. His eyes were trained on the dryad. I could see the anger and sadness almost radiating off of him.
"Cahira." Alder spoke softly. "Go alert that other dryad. Stolas and I will take care of this."
"Okay."
I took several cautious steps back before turning and running to the spot where the dryad was. Alder still didn't like me fighting. Even if the three of us knew that I could now handle myself, he treated me like I was a newbie learning the ropes. It wasn't like I didn't mind. I didn't particularly like fighting the Atrophied. But I did wish he had a little more faith in me. I had come a long way since we first met.
As Flops and I came upon the tree, I picked her up. I tilted my head slightly. "Uhm… hello?"
There was no answer. I reached out and put my free hand on the bark.
"You're…" The dryad's face slowly appeared in the tree. "The King's friend."
I smiled and stepped back. "I am."
The dryad fully came out of the tree. Their eyes widened and a shiver ran through them. "Something happened. I can feel it."
"There's an Atrophied ursidae. The Fairy King and Stolas are handling it. But you need to leave."
"No!" The dryad shook their head. They started to tremble. "I-It's not safe! They need to get out of there! What if it sees them?"
I frowned and tilted my head. "It?"
"The Great Ursidae."
That did not sound good. My eyes flitted over to the direction where they were. I knew that Alder wanted me to stay away. But someone had to warn them. I didn't know what the Great Ursidae was, but if Alder and Stolas could barely handle the hoard that attacked the tree, how could they handle this? The best I could do was at least provide support.
"Don't worry, okay?" I held Flops out to them. "Take her."
"Why?"
"I will use magic to protect both of you. I'll go help the Fairy King, and then come back."
"But what if more Atrophied show up?"
I tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You'll be safe. Just make sure to hide, okay?"
The dryad frowned before nodding. They took Flops and hugged her closely to her chest. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I made sure to focus on the magic inside my soul. I let it flow through my whole body like the blood running through my veins. A tingling sensation buzzed in my fingertips. I imagined a soft glowing purple shield enveloping the dryad and Flops.
When I opened my eyes, the shield was slowly dimming. It would be just enough to protect them and give them a chance to run away if need be. I gave Flops a quick pat on the head before stepping back. I watched as the dryad turned to find a place to hide. At that moment, a roar shook the whole forest.
That definitely didn't sound good.
As I ran back to that area, I took out my bow. I could feel the anxiety coursing through me. I wondered if my siblings and parents felt the same way. If every war elf felt nervous going into battle. It was supposed to be innate to us. The thirst for fighting. The thirst of winning. And yet, I found myself wanting to throw up and hide.
The biggest ursidae I have ever seen was currently ramming itself against a tree. Just on its four legs, it was taller than Alder. When it reared on its hind legs, it was over thirteen feet tall. I felt my whole body grow pale as I looked up in the tree. Alder and Stolas were perched in the branches. Alder was trying to use his vines to knock the ursidae back, but it wasn't working.
"Cahira!" Alder's eyes widened as he spotted me. "Why are you here!?"
I gripped my bow tightly. "I was going to warn you about the Great Ursidae, but it looks like I was too late."
"Get out of here!"
I wanted to. I wanted to run away and just hide with the dryad and Flops. But I had to help Stolas and Alder somehow. The ursidae was distracted. Now was the best time for me to help. I knocked an arrow and lifted it, aiming it at the giant creature. Deep breaths steadied my trembling hands. I took the feeling of my fear and formed it into magic, pushing it through the arrow. I didn't know where to aim. It kept slamming against the tree. As long as I hit it, I guess it didn't matter. So I took the shot.
The ursidae's hide was so thick, the arrow barely pierced it. Purple lighting flickered against its dark fur. It stopped attacking the tree and turned to me. Cool, cool, cool. Great. I definitely wanted to distract it and not shock it until it passed out. I loaded another arrow and tried to infuse it with magic. The ursidae let out a roar and charged towards me. I forced magic out of me and to the arrow, taking another shot. It bounced off the snout of the creature.
"Fuck!"
"Cahira, watch out!" Alder shouted.
Everything was happening so fast. Alder jumped from the tree, vines shooting from his hands. Just as the ursidae was going to swipe at me, I was yanked upwards by my arms. A pained cry left my lips as I felt my left shoulder pop. Stolas flapped his wings and flew up and away from the ursidae. I watched as Alder wrapped more vines around the raging ursidae. Green magic pulsed through the vines and enveloped the ursidae. It slowly calmed down before falling to the ground with a big thud.
Stolas set me down on the ground. I groaned and dropped my bow. My hand went to my left shoulder. Pain throbbed through my muscles. "Empyrians, Snappy, that hurt!"
Stolas's wings flapped once angrily before he crossed his arms. "I saved your ass. Be more thankful."
"What is that thing?" I asked, ignoring his anger. I watched as Alder walked over to the creature and knelt next to it.
"The Great Ursidae. A king, like Alder. Only difference is that it relies on its animal instincts. Normally stays in this area."
I frowned. "It doesn't look affected by the Atrophy. Why did it attack?"
"It's an animal." Stolas sighed and looked down at me. "It's territorial. It saw me and Alder take down one of its own. So it attacked."
Poor thing. It was only trying to protect its territory. Its family. I stood up and walked over to where Alder was. He was whispering in the ursidae's ear while gently patting it. I reached out and scratched its snout. It let out a tired huff as it slept. My eyes moved over to Alder.
He looked back at me. "You are hurt."
"I'm fine." I gave him a pained smile. "Just pulled my shoulder a bit."
"I told you to leave." Alder turned to me. "Why did you not listen?"
"I was trying to help-"
"We did not need your help! I was trying to keep you safe."
My eyebrows furrowed as I took a step away. "Alder, it's not like I got terribly hurt."
"Let me check your shoulder."
"What?"
"If you insist that you are fine, then let me check your shoulder."
I scoffed and went to cross my arms. A shooting pain shot through me. I quickly uncrossed my arms. "F-Fine."
Alder's hand was gentle as he felt my shoulder. I bit my lip to keep in the sounds of my pain. It definitely wasn't just a pulled muscle. I could barely even squeeze my hand. My eyes went over to the ursidae. It must have been so scared. It's whole world was changing just because of the Atrophy. It was a blessing from the Empyrians that it wasn't already infected.
"You dislocated your shoulder."
"Stolas dislocated my shoulder." I pointed out.
Alder sighed and shook his head. "Cahira…"
"I know, I know." I looked away and pouted.
"Do not pout, little blossom."
"I'm not pouting."
He chuckled, the sound having no humor. He went behind me, pressing his hand firmly against my back. "You are too stubborn, little blossom. This is why you always get hurt. You need to listen. I cannot stand seeing you hurt. It just… makes me want to keep you in my home, safe away from the world."
The last part was mumbled, but loud enough I could hear it. I blinked. Was that concerning? He obviously meant well. He just cared about me and wanted to protect me. But it was frustrating that-
"Ahh…"
I sighed softly as a warm heat emanated from Alder's hand and flowed into my shoulder. The pain ebbed away until it was a dull throb. Alder took his hand off me. He swirled his hand, vines wrapping around my left arm and lifting it until it made a makeshift sling. I sheepishly looked up at Alder. He was staring down at me with worried eyes.
"I am sorry for not listening, Alder. But when the dryad said you and Stolas were in danger, I panicked. I needed to help."
"I know. But you were reckless and disobeyed my orders. You have not honed your skills enough to step in like that. Both combat and magic wise."
A frustrated groan left my lips. "Even so, I couldn't just watch you get hurt."
"Cahira." He lifted his hand and ran it through my hair. "I am the Fairy King. I would not have gotten hurt. You being safe is the most important thing to me. Please, do not keep putting yourself in danger like that."
I nodded. He was right, of course. I was good enough to defend myself and give myself enough time to run away. But I wasn't good enough to go up against something of that size. I was lucky that Stolas and Alder had fast reaction times. They have hundreds of years of experience. I should have let them handle this. Alder wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me over to where Stolas was.
Stolas had his hands on his hips. "Do you have a plan, my king? We can't leave the Great Ursidae here."
"Yes. But for now, we need to clean up this mess."
My eyes looked over to where the Great Ursidae was. The bodies of the small family of ursidae and the dryad sent a shiver through my spine. The Atrophy was bubbling menacingly. It almost seemed like it was creeping over here. It was still spreading. And it wouldn't stop until we did something about it. We needed to do something fast.