XV. PROOF OF ROYAL BLOOD
"If I let the pool of blood reach our sanctuary,
Our plant life will lose their prosperity."
Drips of cyan washed from Flora's eyes to make its way down her auburn fur. Not a single blink came to her. Two of her bear family members were lying motionless on the ground. Violence like this could never cross her heart. Truly, she believed no one would do such a thing. One of the fallen, Bearitrice, was a young bear who grew up with siblings with soft hearts. The other bear, Bearon, was the talk of the entire pack.
"With a heart lighting up compassion,
A dear soul of home will be missed.
From laughter that will forever echo these mountains,
Your memories will never turn to mist."
She picked herself up by her paws and ran towards her hidden sanctuary. Her heart sagged from the weight of her sorrow. Heaven was hidden was behind both of the corpses. The only camouflage being an ordinary shrub. She had planned to have lunch with her bearest friends, but there shall be no regret as she always took each day to remind them of their divinity.
Lana rushed to the top of the mountain on all fours. Thrill entered with each heavy breath she took. Having just taken down two Giant Walkers simultaneously, surely this is proof of her prowess surpassing all in her species, all in her village. Without a single clue found in the entire mountain, it is unbeknownst to Lana that she had already passed the cave she drenched blood looking for.
"Here I am at the peak of this mountain while I'm in peak condition, yet there's no sight or trail of the monstrosity."
Lana took a moment to settle her adrenaline. Memories of the village chumps speaking of a cave to heaven came rushing back to her as her feet ran back down the mountain. Knowing there's not enough room at the top of the mountain for such a setting, backtracking to where vast space was present made sense.
She made her way back to her kills to reaffirm her ego as a slayer of monsters. After scouring most of the mountain twice, her patience shrunk thinner than a grain of sand. Her strength is going to waste with this game of cat and mouse. With the thought of being played for a fool, her body began to grow tired from the needless searching. Anger took over as she bites Bearon's corpse to toss it towards the shrub. The shrub flattened by the bear showed the pathway to darkness, Flora's doorway to her sanctuary.
"Well, well, well. If this isn't a sign from the heavens for me to take place as a new god."
Her body straightened out with the euphoria of being within reach of her divine quest. Her body moved with the firmness of an individual who's finally found comfort in their own skin. Her breaths as sharp as her claws. Without a thought, she put her focus on her own body. Her senses fine-tuned for one thing and one thing only: to achieve godliness.
The entrance to the cave is dim, but that in no way deterred her stature. Even with stumbling's and bracing against rocky walls, she remained at peace. As if time were to have disappeared, Lana knew not of anything but her eyes catching the tiniest glimmer of light at the corner of her eye. There it is. The guiding light towards heaven. Splash. The sound of dripping water in the direction of the light found her.
"Here I am, Twin-Flamed Hellion." Lana's leer pierced through Flora's heart, making it skip a beat. Thumps in their chest picked up pace as both their hearts began racing.
"The arrival of the home of our grief,
All that may slip of my tongue is:
Why?"
"Tongue in poetry, huh?
Shallow you may be,
Thinking words persuade me.
Behind the shadows of tree,
Atop rocks hidden in sun to see,
With a claw to the neck swiftly."
"Bluntness comes not shy,
Yet my question you deny."
Lana stuck her tail out and lowered her body ready to pounce at the slightest smell of escape. Flora lifted her body from the floor and stood on all fours, but her tails' embraced themselves in a not almost in the shape of a heart. Taking a breath to breathe in the oxygen provided by the moss surrounding them mixed with the luscious apple tree from atop the cave, her feet soaked in the shallow water to soothe her nerves. Bathing in the warm sunlight peering through a hole atop the cave, she let her body take in its energy to make a dash for the exit behind Lana.
Flora pulled her twin tails apart as she made a run towards Lana's left, but as her feet first touched the water, her tails completely stood up like twin-flames pointing towards her predator. A lone red orb flew towards Lana coming from Flora's tails. Hesitation struck Lana as her imagination ran wild at what looked like to be flames flying towards her. Thoughts of her life coming to an end widened her eyes. This couldn't be it for her. After all her preparations, this couldn't be the end for her. Lana refused to believe it true.
The gap for Flora to dash around Lana is tiny. Lana noticed the claustrophobic walls around her. Instinct got her body to move. Lana lifted her right claw like an immovable tree for Flora to run into. While not letting her gaze falter from the oncoming flame, she is able to accomplish her counter escape with her claw piercing Flora's right torso.
Flora fell face first onto the ashy rocks. Lethargy tried to swallow her whole as she is on the verge of passing out. Water dripped from the stalactite above her, causing her to panic. Picking up her damp body, she paced herself out of the cave, leaving a trail of blood from the wound that simply would not stop bleeding the last of her life.
The mysterious red orb enveloped Lana's face, only for a smooth textured sweet taste to drip into her mouth. Breathing in for a moment to take in what just happened, she came to realize she was conned. "That was no ball of fire, but a fruit! To hell with you, Hellion!" Her eyes saw nothing but red as the blood trail was all she could see behind the mushed apple covering her face. She followed the trail outside, only for it to lead into the arms of Bearon.
Lana ripped the arm aside to find her pray. Her heart pounding with the sheer craving of finally being able to find satiation. She opened her mouth wide enough to devour Flora whole, but as she went in to sink her teeth, the sound of an eagle entered her eardrums.
Flora was gone. Shame rushed through Lana's head. Like a baby losing her candy, her body become enveloped with anxiety as she cried out in agony. All her hard work and preparation, and for what? Only to be stolen from the last moment? "God, this is unfair!" She thought to herself. She looked up to seek solace from God's reprimand.
There she was. Flora. In the claws of Eustice. A spot of her blood splashed on her nose, with residue covering her eyes. Not a single blink came from her eyes as anger fueled Lana's body to chase them to the top of the mountain.
Minutes felt like hours as three minutes of chasing her prey made her grow tired. She noticed a tree branch tilted upwards to her East. Instead of rushing up the rocky path, she followed the branch's arm up and hopped from its fingertips to bounce up and have her teeth slightly pinch Eustice's neck, forcing him to drop Flora down the mountain from his body reeling back in pain. Flora slid down the side of the mountain with the incline getting higher and higher the lower she got. The slight curvature of the mountain slowed down her descent.
"As if the gates to paradise would let in the Devil's Gossiper. Peasants should know their feet are chained to Earth; Heaven is bound for Gods!"
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