Every divine energy faded back to the depths of his true essence, from where they emerged from. The boy dropped, totally waned of strength, his breath heavy and forced.
He coughed up blood droplets, his lungs burning from immense pain. A growl made him aware of the cub's presence, it came close rubbing itself of his forearm.
Struggling to raise his violently vibrating hand, he grabbed the cub and dragged it under him. Then everything fell.
Stone slabs as huge as nine meters and as thick as three feet fell on them both, covering them from sight and creating a huge depression on the forests terrain.
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Panic and desperation quelled at the forest depths. Branches and shoots of young trees were violently broken down. Twigs snapped and dried leaves crunched under the feet of a speeding force which refused to stop.
Little critters and vermins scattered and fleed, leaving nocturnal predators to raise their guard. The speeding force which was nothing more than a humanoid figure darting through the dark forest as fast as it could.
Following behind it was maybe the cause of its desperate sprint.
" Stop woman, make this no harder for thy self " a base voice reverberated through the forest area. However no response came from the one being pursued, it continued running with all it had.
Nonetheless there was on inescapable truth, they were catching up at a rapid pace. Their horses gait a trot, from the effective way they slipped between trees was just to perfect.
As they dragged closer, the feet of the running woman glowed dimly green and an instantaneous gale pushed her forward. It carried her a good distance away, faraway from the sight of her pursuers.
The horsemen, numbering up to six dismounted their horses. Catching their breaths they futilely looked around, hoping the see signs of the woman.
" That was a good dying minute save, " One said dropping to rest on a tree's truck. " Rise Wick, Lord Grad wouldn't be pleased if she absconds. " Another said kicking a rock.
" Don't you think they should have sent someone with a speed flair " a calmer voice said. As they caught their breaths while resting, the neighing of a horse could be heard from a distance.
The soldiers quickly sprang to their feets and scurried to their horses. Once a soldier got on his horse, he would take of in an individual direction.
Meanwhile a speeding figure, as violent as the gale which carried it, burst through the bushes. Collapsing in an open area of the forest, she heaved heavily, trying to absorb the calm breeze which blew past.
The moon's silver light rained down on the female beauty who was apparently the racing figure. Beads of perspiration drizzled down her face, her pants continuing.
Moments later she rose to a sitting position and surveyed the area. Dazed by the immense sinkhole which was blocked by fallen trees, she failed to realize the eyes which watched her.
When she did realize, she almost fainted from the pang of fright. Just few paces away from her was a young male in tattered apparel.
Dirty and bloodied, he was scared on the face she couldn't quite see. The dim lighting only providing enough light so see some of his daunting injuries and dead eyes.
His eyes by blank and stoic, depicting not the slightest emotion. Despite his facial expressions, his intent said otherwise, he boomed of malevolence. His eyes weighing her capabilities.
Sitting in a cross leg position, he calmly stroked the cub, lying on his lap. The half naked escapee reached out her hand to touch him.
However a light growl escaped his lips, his face contorting into pure belligerence. The Jaguarian cub rose form his lap and sprang our of his grasp, running to the woman.
It purred playful, earning a few strokes from her before chaos was let loose.
Suddenly something sprang from the bushes and landed on the woman. The cub quickly dashed over to his nonchalant master, who watched the scenario unfold.
" I've found her " the assailant screaming pining then defenseless woman to the ground. The trots of horses soon filled the forest sound space.
The horsemen soon arrived, joining the struggle by whipping the escapee to the point of unconsciousness. They bonded her with chains and strapped her to a horse.
As the men turned to leave, they realize something that had been staring at them from the very beginning. " Don't tell me another one escaped without our notice, " one of the soldiers said with a frown.
" God, look at his injuries, he seems to have be mauled by a bear " another commented backing away slowly. The boy how ever glared at them blankly, his frightened cub snuggled in his arms.
" A tamer, that's rare, he would fetch a good sum from those entertainment centers " a soldier said his eyes burning with greed.
They slowly approached him and a growl left his lips. " Alright runt, I don't know what you did to escape, but oblige calmly, least you risk harming yourself " a different one said with concern.
Getting very close, his was grabbed. His body was too weak to fight back, talk less struggle. Before he could comprehend what transpired, he was cuffed one hand to his cub the other to a soldier.
His mind ached as they begin a journey to a place he was totally clueless about. As they moved, his horrendous injuries got worst. Their relentless tugging and pullings, reopens healing wounds cause him great agony.
His divine strength waning each passing moment, now so low he was weaker than a mundane human. As he submissively followed the squad through the forest a sudden rush nearly took him off his feet.
A soldier emerged from thin air, in the sense of the boy not being able to follow the figure's speed. " Grad, what took you and your contubernium[1] from catching the runaway " a domineering voice echoed.
From the back the boy watched the one addressed as Grad shiver in his sandals.
" Lord Aster, She was extremely cunning and showed to have a Wind based Flair. " The fidgeting soldier tried explaining to the higher official.
With a sigh, the officia quipped, " I shall over look you incompetence. " he looked over at the boy, " Who's the swine and the cat. " Grad nervously looked over to the boy and said.
" He was with the runaway when we found her. He seems to be a tamer and was gravely injured, so we decided to take him with us. "
The official smirked, his grin obscured by the darkness. " A handsome fierce one, Serph would be pleased to handle him. " He said turning his horse, leaving the contubernium to stare sadly at the clueless child.
Silence permitted after this, the only sounds being heard coming from the nocturnal animals. The boy briskly gait behind the last horseman he was chained to.
Insects bitting him all over, hereby making his a bit restless. The cub lay docile in his arms, slowly falling asleep. With him hands chained and occupied, he could only grimace, enduring the pain.
After a while of walking, an immense burning light shone at a close distance. Immediately he was mesmerizing by the burning orange light and watched it's hypnotizing dance.
Tongues of flame flowed erratically around each other in a pattern he found awe-inspiring. They got closer and closer still, the magnitude increasing as the distance shortened.
Soon they reached an sloppy area of tree stumps. Stumps which stretched vastly towards a flaming settlement.
The settlement itself wasn't flaming but a huge bonfire was set at its core, giving off a radiant heat.
The heat and light weren't the only noticable factor, a cacophony which swallowed up every other noise emitted from the settlement.
The closer they got, the louder, while the boy wasn't a fan of noise, he could only growl by the effects it made on his ears.
When they reached the boy soon acknowledged the cacophony which made his ears bleed.
[1] A contubernium is a group of eight soldiers who share a tent and are generally considered the closest squad in the army units.