Rise of The Fallen
Ch 40- acceptance

–Kora–

I whimpered as Elazar inspected my arm, with concern written all over his face. "I am sorry kora…I shouldn't have- I should have been here i-"

"El please… I'm okay." We were both silent for a moment and I tried to focus on anything but my arm and the body behind me. El tried living my arm and the jolt of pain that shot through me nearly made me black out. I cried out and pulled away holding my arm to my body.

Elazar was silent as he observed my reaction. "I am not a healer but I do know enough about medicine and have had many injuries over the years." He stood up holding the bleeding wound on his side.

I watched as he walked over to a shelf grabbing a jar and opening it. He dug out some dried moss with his hand and quickly covered his injury to stop the bleeding. Once he was finished caring for his wound he grabbed another container that had some medicine in it.

"And?" I asked questioningly as he came back over to me and handed me a clump of some kind of plant root that was stark white.

"Chew it, it will help with the pain. Your arm is not broken."

"Well that's good I guess?"I stuffed the stringy roots in my mouth. immediately The rancid taste nearly made me spit it back out but elazar put his hand over my mouth to stop me.

"Trust me you will want to consume it. Your arm is not broken but your shoulder is misplaced, muscle no doubt torn as well, it will hurt to fix."

I already felt my stomach drop hearing those words and I nodded in understanding, reluctantly I chewed the bitter plant and swallowed it with much difficulty. El pulled his hand away while staying crouched beside me.

"Gahh! I guess the best medicine is always bitter."

El glanced at the cave entrance and I could see the worry in his eyes and the tension still thruming in his body. "Are there more- like him?" I nodded my head back gesturing towards the intruder.

"Yes, we cannot stay here for long. It would be best to move as soon as possible. We must leave this place for good."

"Leave?" I looked at Elazar, feeling uncertainty creeping up my spine. This cave has been my home and my hide out for months! I've not come across any other places nearly as suitable to live in. He didn't seem nearly as bothered as I was about moving but I had a feeling it's because he still has a home outside this cave, he has an entire village and tribe.

Moving away he grabbed my discarded satchel off the ground. "The Drakov territory is too dangerous now with the draven around, because the cold season is beginning there will only be more dangers here…"

I stayed silent for a moment watching as Elazar gathered stuff we might need and filled both our bags. "Are we going to your tribe?"

At the mention of his tribe he froze. "No, it's not safe to bring you in yet. There's too much going on. We will replace somewhere temporary where you will be hidden away from the draven, drakov, and my people."

My gaze trailed back to the knife Elazar had taken from me. "Is it because of that?"

He followed my gaze to the knife and grabbed the weapon, seeming conflicted. We still hadn't talked about it and the subject was chewing at me from the inside. "We can discuss it later." He set everything off to the side before coming up to me.

"El, if your people are after me, and you're out here helping me, protecting me…doesn't that make you a traitor? Does it put you in danger?" He silently stared at my injured shoulder and didn't say a word, but from the look in his eyes I could already tell what the answer was.

He's risking everything.

"El, go home. Go back to your village back to your people. You should be with your own kind not here-"

I was cut off as Elazar suddenly grabbed me and with one swift movement, readjusted my dislocated shoulder, popping it back In place.

White hot pain blurred my vision at the sudden movement and my world spun as my lips parted in a shout. My scream was cut short as he pulled me against his chest and covered my mouth.

His tail coiled around my leg as he rubbed my back soothingly while whispering his apologies into my hair. "I'm sorry I needed to get it over with quickly and take the chance once you were distracted from it. It was the only way I could get it done quickly so you wouldn't suffer too much."

My cries were muffled against his hand as tears stung the corners of my eyes. El held me close and pulled his hand away from my mouth once he was sure I wouldn't scream.

I whimpered from the pain radiating in my arm and looked up at him through the tears in my eyes. "F-fuck…" I cursed before relaxing into his hold.

"The pain will subside soon, but try not to use your limb until it's fully healed." Elazar nuzzled the type of my head.

After a moment he grabbed some cloth and made a makeshift sling for My arm before hauling me up onto his back to carry me. "I can walk-"

"Just rest for now you will have plenty of walking to do later, for now I'm going to carry you until we are at a safe enough distance away from this place. I want to leave little to no tracks for the drakov to follow. "

"Fine" Sulking, I rested my head against Elazar's back and held on with one arm over his shoulder and my legs wrapped tightly around his torso. He used one arm to support my bottom and the other to carry our supplies.

As Elazar carried me outside of the cave I couldn't help but think about how glad I am that I have him here because right now I have no idea where to go. There was danger around every turn and I felt lost once again. "Hold on tightly. Tell me if you need to readjust or if something is wrong."

I nodded and kept my grip sure as Elazar quickly took off into the treeline. I took one last glance at the cave before it was out of sight and closed my eyes taking a deep breath.

—--

By nightfall we decided to camp somewhere deep in the forest, up river. Elazar wasn't happy about being on either side of the river at this point but still chose his tribe's territory over the drakovs.

His people were still hunting me, but we would be in less danger staying here. As Elazar set up a camp fire I sat on a nearby log, trying to move my arm and flex it a little. My shoulder was still incredibly sore and I had no doubt that some tendons or muscles were indeed torn.

I winced and stopped moving it as I turned my arm at a particular angle that pulled on the shoulder muscle.

Elazar paused to Glance back at me as he fed sticks to the fire. Seeing me holding my arm he decided to just dump the rest of the sticks onto the flames before stepping over to me.

I looked up at him as he came over and my eyes followed him down as he crouched before me. Gently reaching out he took hold of my wrist, turning my palm up before trailing his fingers up my arm.

I flinched a few times as he prodded some particularly sore spots but for the most part his touch was light and quite soothing.

"You must refrain from using it for the time being or else it will not heal properly."

"Hmph, not gonna lick my injury better this time?" I teased with a small smile.

Elazar took that all too literally and shook his head before His eyes moved to mine. "That is to clean flesh wounds, your injuries are deeper than that. Try as I may, there is no clear injury on your arm that I need to clean."

"I was joking, you big dummy."

He released my arm going quiet as we looked at eachother. "You are a strange one kora…"

"That's Funny coming from someone with horns coming out of their head!" Reaching up with my good arm I tried to grab one of his horns only to be stopped as his hand shot up to grab my wrist.

I looked at Elazar a bit startled as he lowered my hand back to my lap and avoided my gaze. Right…he's still upset about what happened between us.

My cheery mode immediately hit a decline as we sat there silently, neither of us looking at each other as the last of the sunlight faded and the surrounding area was illuminated by the fires' orangish glow.

There was a tension between us that created a wedge. The gap was so thick that it felt like we were strangers again, despite everything we've been through together. I hate it.

"El, why are you here?" He lifted his head to look at me before moving to sit on the ground next to me with his backside against the log and one leg stretched out in front of him.

"That is… a difficult question." He spoke quietly, focusing his gaze on the burning fire in front of us. After a moment I moved to sit on the ground beside him, scooting off the log and he broke his gaze with the fire to watch me.

"Even if it's difficult, I want to understand. I need to. If I can't know your reasoning then how are we supposed to…" my voice trailed off as I averted my gaze. El watched me for a moment before sighing and turning his head up to look at the stars.

"First, tell me why you resent them…" he spoke up and I lifted my head and followed his gaze. "Tell me why, when you look up at the place where you came from, you become upset and turn your head away to shun the stars."

I mulled over Elazar's question as we both gazed up at the twinkling Dots in the sky. "I guess it's because they did the same to me… all my life I've been treated like an outcast like I didn't matter. People looked down on me and ridiculed me and I was forced to live like a bug in the mud. Unable to break free, while slowly drowning. No one wanted to help me and when I was at my lowest point, everyone turned their backs on me shunning me. In the end I realized that up there… that place. It was never my home. Krosa is more of a prison Than this planet has ever been, and the last thing I want is to go back."

El was silent as he lowered his head gazing at the fire in front of him, as if reminiscing. "I am starting to think that my tribe is like yours."

My eyes moved to El and I stayed quiet unsure what to say.

"Like you when I failed, they turned their backs to me, shunned me. The shame I felt has burrowed deep into my chest. And until I found you I felt like I had lost all purpose. I had no meaning." He turned his head and silver eyes met hazel as I held my breath.

"I feel alive when I am around you, like I am no longer lost in the fog that clouded my mind… the others, they don't understand the ache in my chest and see it as a weakness. But today when that warrior threatened to take you from me… when the thought of losing you flashed in my mind and my chest constricted. my purpose never felt clearer."

The determination in Elazar's eyes was as quick to fade as it had manifested. "My people want vengeance for the hunter you killed. Because your human even if we are mated they will still try to kill you. I'm afraid that I am not strong enough to stop them if they get the chance."

Hesitantly I grabbed Elazar's hand drawing his attention back to me. I'm not sure what to say about all of this Elazar is risking so much for me all becaus-

Wait. The hunter I killed? But I thought the drakov were responsible for that man's death, I didn't tie him up as some sacrifice and do something to his body, I only freed him!

Sitting up straighter as I thought about it, El followed suit, watching me until we locked gazes once more. "El what hunter are you talking about?"

He seemed confused by the question as he looked down and pulled the knife I had been keeping, from his belt. "The one who you stole this from." I stared at the knife remembering how I had come across the dead xandisian with a bullet hole through his head. He thinks I did it because I had a gun.

"Elazar! I didn't kill that man!" He stared at me unsure and I quickly explained to him what had happened.

"He was dead before I ever came in contact with him!"

"But…the knife. And his mutilated body…"

I didn't mutilate him! Whoever killed him did, when I found him I took the knife because I was desperate and defenseless! For humans when one of our own dies its common to bury their bodies and place flowers over their Graves. I was too weak to bury him but I put flowers atop of him as a sign of respect. I didn't mutilate him!

Elazar turned his head away staring at the ground deep in thought. "El, you have to believe me, I'm innocent…"

Silence filled the air between us as the fire crackled. After a long pause El finally spoke up, sitting up straighter. "If what you're saying is true, that means there are other humans in the area."

I nodded as he looked over to me with an unreadable expression. "Then if we can replace the true assailant and prove to the others you are innocent, then perhaps- we can convince them to let you join me in the tribe…as my mate."

My eyes widened a bit as I looked at El surprised. "You will be safe there, you will have plenty of food and medicine. Your bed will always be warm and filled with the softest furs…that is if you would like."

I opened my mouth to say something but quickly shut it as I thought about Elazar's offer. He turned his head slightly looking away in shame.

"Even if you should reject me I'm sure the tribe could accommodate-"

I quickly cut him off by grabbing his face, turning his head to look at me before closing my eyes and kissing him.

He was momentarily startled and hesitated before reaching up to place his hand on the side of my face as he closed his eyes.

He kissed me back, gentle and sweet. All too soon he pulled away and we looked at eachother.

The loud thump of his tail hitting the ground beside him excitedly made me smile as I moved into his lap, practically straddling him. "Was that answer sufficient?"

He stared at me intently as his hands moved to my hips, gently caressing me. "If the kiss was meant to show your acceptance- then yes."

I giggled a bit, reaching up to run my fingers through his hair. "If the answer wasn't clear enough then maybe I should give you another?"

A subtle purr rumbled in his chest and out of the corner of my eye I could see his tail curled in delight as his hands gripped me much more firmly. He cleared his throat, as his gaze trailed down my body and he struggled to keep a straight face. "It may help me to understand. If you could be a bit clearer with your answers."

Smiling, I leaned in closer and lightly nipped at his ear before whispering.

"Would you like that answer in words, touch, or sounds…~"