Siblings and Lost

Chapter 5
Part 1 - Siblings

“Wraaaaa!” Elda shouts, charging at a grey tree, wielding a spear like a baseball bat. Hitting it like it owed her money.

I stand and watch in disbelief:
“You’ve really never seen one of these before?” I ask the siblings.

“No, man. Stop asking. And that’s obviously not the way to use it, dumbass.” Dima answers.

“Alright… princess, let me see you try,” she says, throwing the spear to him. He awkwardly catches it. He glances at me with a hint of wounded pride. I look the other way.

“Watch and learn,” he says while holding the spear with both hands. He strikes down, almost a piercing motion.

“Yes, that’s actually pretty close!” I encourage him.

“Well, it just felt natural,” Dima smirks, while Elda grinds her teeth.

“I did show you guys… multiple times… You can either strike like this (shows), or throw it like this (shows). Here, try again Elda,” I say and hand the spear to her.
“Fine… “ She complies, grabbing the spear with slight aggression. Striking forward with little effort, not really how I showed her, she eventually gives up:

“This is dumb! I’m done, I’ll just grab the little bastard!”
She hurls away the spear perfectly; it pierces a tree as she walks away. Dima follows. After looking at the spear lodged in the tree, I grab it and follow.

We sit around a campfire in the dark, eating meat on sticks. I’m sharpening a stick with my knife, Hunter. Elda is chewing, watching me with skeptical eyes.
“Where did you learn to fight like that pretty boy?” she asks with her mouth full.

“I don’t know, I was living in the jungle for a bit.” I answer.

“It’s a late but, what’s your name?” Dima asks me.

“I don’t know, or rather I don’t remember,” I answer, putting away my knife.

“You don’t have a name?” Elda asks, with an even more skeptical look.

“I do, I think, or I used to have one. I know this might sound crazy… I don’t know how I got here, and how I got this body.” I start trying to explain. Dima and Elda just look confused. I continue:

“I have memories… of being someone else, before who I am now. I think I died…”
“You… died?” Dima questions with his eyebrows raised.

“Maybe… I fell from the sky. Just when I was about to hit the ground, I came out of a pond's surface in the jungle. Not knowing who I was or why I was there…” I continue explaining.

It got quiet for a moment, before Elda asks:

“So you’re like… crazy?”

“Elda!” Dima sternly corrects her.

“What!” Elda says, shrugging her shoulders. I interrupt them, so they don’t fight:

“No, it's fine. I can’t blame you. If I were you two I would think the same. Honestly, I’m not even sure now. Memories keep coming to me. Hopefully I will eventually remember who I was or who I am. My name as well.”

Dima throws his stick into the fire and breaks the mood:
“Well, it doesn't matter to me. *Ahem*. I’ve wanted to… thank you. You know, for saving us. And I’m sorry for what I said earlier in the cell.”

Dima smiles, a little embarrassed. It makes me smile back:
“I’m happy I did.”

Eventually Dima looks at Elda. Chewing on the last piece of meat, she looks back and swallows.
“Yeah… Thank you.” She thanks me.

“Of course,” I say with a smile.

“Yeah, those white-haired guys? They are Mirs. The worst of them all, the only thing they care about is fighting and territory. Wind manipulation is pretty strong, as you saw for yourself. They also despise us Avi, but that’s not really uncommon.”

Dima is answering my questions as we walk through the forest. We decided to keep moving at sunrise before going to sleep yesterday. The sun is barely up and there are clouds in the sky. Trees are grey and the grass has a yellow-green color. Around I see some of those weird ball fruits and some new weird looking vegetation. I finally feel like I’m calming down.

“Avi? That’s what the slavers were calling you right?” I ask.

“You really know nothing huh?… Well, that’s what we are, what you are. Those markings and those purple eyes that Elda seems to like, is how the typical Avi looks,” he answers, making Elda stop for a second and scowl back at him.

“I see. Why don’t they like us?” I ask.

“Hmph, “like us”…” Elda mocks me a bit.

“Yeah, it's not really about liking us or not, more that they see us as animals. Weaker creatures that can’t use magic. Physical strength, endurance, smell, sight. In a way we are like animals I guess,” Dima explained.

“Magic huh. Why don’t the Avi fight back?” I ask

“You saw the Mirs wind manipulation, didn’t you? How can you fight back against that? We Avi are also scattered across the continent. Most of us slaves, like we were about to be. To be fair… I have never seen an Avi like you… being able to punch a hole in someone, especially a Mir.” Dima says, giving me a side-eye.

“That was sick,” Elda says and chuckles.

“That was a first for me too… But there have been more moments like that, my body feels like it’s burning and the markings glow like fire. It gives me strength, it saved my life before.” I say, looking at my marked body.

“Glowing? Never heard anything about that,” Dima says.

“Show me how to do it!” Elda demands.

“I don’t know how. It just happens… Sorry,” I tell her, she looks disappointed and walks further ahead.

“I’m glad it happened back there at least.” Dima says.

Part 2 - Lost

It’s been two days. We walk, hunt, eat, sleep and repeat. Dima thinks that we are somewhere in the northeast of the continent, close to the border between three races' territories. We are now in Mir territory. The other two races are called Baiins and Danars.

The “grey fat scum slaver,” as Dima called him, was a Baiin. They have grey skin, brown eyes and darker hair. Often merchants, inventors and slavers. They can be fearsome fighters, but their stone manipulation is better known for its defensive advantage. Because of this, they rule over a large part of the continent, centered in the middle.

I had already seen Danars being sold at the slave auction. Built strong and tall, orange hair and black eyes. Like us, they are victims of slavery. Dima explained that they have an isolated society. Quite large territory but most of it is made up of dangerous jungle. Dangerous enough to keep most other races away, especially with the Danars being powerful warriors. Still, some slavers take the risk and enter their jungles. All to abduct Danars for their high value…

“Hmm… let’s try this way,” Dima points in a direction.

“You sure Dima?” I ask him, unsure.
“Kinda. I’ve heard that there should be similar jungles on this side of the border. You are supposed to be able to cross over to Baiin territory, since the Mir avoid this area. If the Danar don’t find us first.” Dima explains.

“Why? Would that be bad—if we met Danar people? Aren’t they similar to us Avi?” I ask.

“Being abducted as slaves and getting treated like shit doesn't make us friends. They don’t accept anyone other than their own kind on their territory.” Elda answers.

I earlier asked the siblings how they ended up in that Mir town. Dima keeps avoiding to answer. Elda seems like she wants to tell, but stops after seeing Dima's expression. Hidden sadness behind his averting eyes. I can tell that he loves his sister and that he is thankful to me. Yet, he can’t truly trust me. When I asked him how he knew so much about the world, being an Avi. He just says: “Our mother.”
Not much, but a first sign of trust.

The place feels almost like a swamp—warm and humid. All three of us are sweating and huffing as we go between giant trees. Elda is carrying the spear, I think it’s growing on her. The ground is wet and softer than the jungle I’m used to. The trees are thick with leaves and branches at the very top, almost no sunlight comes through, even mid day. Noises of animals carry a different tone, more endearing. Sometimes, deeper growls are heard in the distance, giving me bad memories… I press one hand to my scar and clutch Hunter with the other, swallowing hard.

“I’m so thirsty!” Elda moans.

“I think there is a stream nearby,” I say, hearing the sound of running water.

“Really? Where?” she says looking around.

I head toward the noise and the others follow.

“Where are you going?” Dima asks, with some nervousness in his voice.

“Just trust me,” I answered.

Elda dips her whole head in the small stream, dropping the spear on the ground. We all are exhausted. The terrain is rough. The heat makes it hard to breathe.
“Let’s just stay here for the night,” Dima says after dropping to the ground.

Still standing, looking around the darkening jungle around us, I say:

“I think we should keep going, something is bothering me about this place…”

It’s as if something was watching us. I’m not sure what, the presence comes and goes.

Elda pops up her head and says:
“No way. My legs are killing me.”

Just then, the presence shifts. It was close—no, I realize, it had always been close. So did Elda, then Dima. All three of us tense up, waiting for whatever is gonna happen.

“Elda, run.” Dima whispers nervously to her.

“Shh! Shut up nerd,” Elda shuts him up with fear in her voice.

Both glued to the ground, so am I.

I see them come out of the dark. From behind trees, dropping down from branches. Five, ten, twenty—maybe more. Their eyes blend with the darkness. My heart is pounding, my body is telling me to get away. But I can’t move. Completely surrounded by orange-haired Danar, we are frozen in place.

A man even taller and bigger than the rest, dressed in gorgeous fiber clothes and jewelry, walks up to us. He stops right in front of me. With a confident look and posture he stands tall. My purple eyes lock onto his, overwhelmed by the depth of their darkness.

“Who are you and why are you here, Avi?” He asks in a deep voice.