Chapter Text
Elowyn’s POV
‘No one will notice,’ he said, ‘It’ll be fun,’ he said. These were my thoughts as my best friend, Nod, and I were being chased through the trees of the forest by three very ugly Boggans riding three very big and very fast crows. Why were my friend and I being pursued relentlessly you ask. To put it simply, Boggans and Leafmen aren’t on the best of terms. Their leader, Mandrake, wants to replace this paradise with his own rotting wasteland and become the new ruler. Fortunately, the Queen, my mother, and Leafmen, the green-clad protectors of our home, won’t allow this scheme to happen. While riding their crows and pursuing us, the Boggans were firing their sharp arrows while we were avoiding them. To be honest it was starting to get annoying having to avoid an infected arrow every two seconds.
I was on top of my nimble green and slightly pink hummingbird, Dix, diving through the trees and making quick turns along with my adventurous and amazing yet idiotic friend, Nod. Now, don’t get me wrong, Nods been my absolute best friend ever since I can remember, and I love him, but he does have his moments. Like when he says leaving our patrol team will be fun and nothing will happen. For some reason I decided to go along with this idea, but then again Nod and I have always had a hard time staying away from trouble; or as we liked to call it: fun.
“Tell me you have a plan!” I yelled over the loud caws and rushing of the wind.
“I have a plan!” He stated confidently
“Well, what is it?”
He hesitated for a beat then responded, “Don’t get shot!”
I groaned exasperated, “Fair Enough! Oh, just so you know, if we make it out of this alive, expect a trip to the healer!”
He was unfazed by my threat and just chuckled lightly in response. “Then I’d rather deal with these uglies than have to face yo-“ I look over expecting to see my friend’s playful smirk but am met with an empty air space.
My eyes widen in worry. I glanced down and saw Nod and his poor bird falling toward the lush green floor of the forest and the hard earth. “Nod!” I cried, diving after him, hoping to catch him before he hit anything. Apparently one of the crows managed to clip Nod’s bird causing both Nod and the bird to plummet through the air.
I managed to catch him in time with Dix. “Thanks!” He shakily yelled. I had Dix drop him off on a nearby tree branch.
Noticing that one of their targets was now birdless, the Boggans fired one of their arrows aimed directly at Nod. “Go!” I told him. Nod didn’t waste any time and began sprinting across the new tree. Still having my hummingbird, I decided to intercept one of the horrid creatures who were getting a little too close to Nod for my liking.
I rammed into them full force. Maybe a little harder than needed, but I had to be sure the rider would go down. I barely managed to knock the Boggan off o their crow, when I heard a sudden yelp. “Wyn!” It was Nod. I could hear the panick in his voice.
I turned to him and saw a rotting arrow only inches away from his lean body. “Keep going, and stick to the plan! I’ll be right behind you!” I told him.
“What plan?!” He looked at me incredulously.
“‘Don’t get shot’, remember?”
“Really?!”
I didn’t respond, and followed him on Dix as he continued his panicked parkour across the trees. He kept having to leap, flip, and sprint to avoid the Boggans arrows, but I stayed behind him like I said and blocked any deadly objects and crows that got too close.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: why don’t I just grab my best friend and hightail it out of there? Well, it’s not as easy as it seems. As quick as my loyal little friend is, he can only take so much. Especially if I have to carry an extra person. But there’s also another reason. Someone is bound to know that Nod and I ditched our group by now, which means that someone is looking for us. If we’re lucky, hopefully my dad, but he’s most likely busy with the ceremony coming up.
I was awoken from my thoughts by a sudden and earachingly loud yell, again. I heard a whizzing sound getting closer, and my bird abruptly pulled back. I gasped in surprise and saw a familiar rotting black arrow hit the spot where Dix and I were a moment ago. I looked toward Nod to make sure he was alright after that close call, but discovered he was falling to the ground for the second time. I rolled my eyes in a mixture of annoyance and amusement and proceeded to dive after him once again.
Before I could reach him he grabbed onto a light green vine, that was hanging from the tree he just fell off of. As always, staying behind him and watching his back, I observed as he began to lose his grip on the vine and fall. Luckily, he landed on a different tree and quickly recovered. Even though the Boggans were still right behind us and continuing their fire, I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips. “You good?” I smiled, while still blocking and dodging the sharp sticks.
Still running with me beside him, he cranes his neck towards me and gave me a cocky yet tired smile. “Never been better.” He replied between breaths.
I raised a mocking brow and opened my mouth to answer. “W-“ I cut myself off. I tried to focus amongst all the chaos. Behind the caws of the pitch black birds, the rushing of the wind, and the small roars of the Boggans. Behind it all, I could hear a faint humming sort of sound. Not the sort of musical humming, but the kind a bird or bug would make. It was with that thought I knew what was coming, and a small smile made its way across my face.
I saw something green with a mix of pink and white pull up on the other side of Nod. “Need a lift?” A familiar deep voice asked. The smile on my face instantly became bigger, and I chortled. I never grew tired of that voice. I finally looked over and saw one of my favorite people. My father. He was riding his own hummingbird like the other Leafmen he brought who were behind him. He was also wearing his custom Captain’s armor.
“What took you so long?” I asked teasingly.
My dad looked at me and gave me a warm smile. “Took awhile to find where you two went off to.”
Nod was still running, now with two hummingbirds beside him. I could tell he was getting tired by the heavy panting he was displaying. With the arrival of help, Nod seemed irritated though. “We don’t need your help.” He stated stubbornly, answering my dad’s question. I rolled my eyes. We obviously need the help that was offered. Everyone knew it Nod just didn’t want to admit it for some reason. Dix was getting slower by the minute and so was my stubborn friend. Not to mention the Boggans who were still chasing us, and they weren’t showing any signs of stopping.
My father simply kept the smirk on his face. “You’re runnin out of branch there, buddy.” He warned Nod.
He was right Nod was running out of branch, but the stubborn idiot just kept his same speed. I could hear the flapping of the crows gradually gaining on us. I know my dad did too because of his “lifetime of training” as he liked to call it, yet he wasn’t saying anything. What are you up to, old man? Nod’s panting was getting heavier, yet it still appeared he didn’t want the help we needed. “Still don’t need your help.” He announced confidently.
I rolled my eyes for the nth time, but kept my mouth shut. I just wanted to go home at this point. The flapping was getting closer, and before I knew it, something BIG and black swooped in here, grabbed my best friend, and carried him off into the sky. Nod released a panicked cry. My eyes widened with fear for my best friend. “Nod!” I shouted fearfully.
“Uuhhh! Help!!” He cried, panick streaming through his voice. So now he wants help. “Help! Help! Help! Help! Help!” The other two Boggans joined the one one that had captured Nod, and flew away with their prize.
I looked at my dad pleadingly. Trying to put on my baby face. He looked at me with a tired and annoyed look and sighed. He took off on his bird with me in tow. Now, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to stay airborne with an exhausted bird, but the idiot needs my help and I never liked turning down those in need. Especially my loved ones.
My dad ahead of me, we both flew high above the Boggans who now had the crows dangle Nod by his feet in the air. We were right on top of them when I saw my father stand up and jump from his small bird. He landed heavily on an unsuspecting Boggan. I wasn’t surprised by this, knowing that my dad tends to do these kind of stunts when necessary. And he wonders where I get it from. I observe as he backflips off the creature before something else catches my eye.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a crow coming in from behind. I assume it was most likely going to attempt to prevent my dad from stealing back their new hostage. Hoping to prevent this, with my tired bird I flew as fast as I could toward the Boggan and crow. I lost my weapon, a bow and arrow, due to a close call when the chase first started. I only had my prized daggers now, resting at my sides, but I couldn’t lose them and they’re a bit useless in this situation.
I did one of the only things I could do to prevent my father and best friend from getting hurt, or worse, in this situation. I was planning on ramming into the crow full force and hopefully my small hummingbird will take it out. This was the plan until I noticed that the Boggan was already pulling back his arrow that was aimed right at my father’s back. Forget this, I thought.
When Dix was within range, and taking after my father, I stood on my bird and leaped over and onto the the huge crow. I landed with a soft thud onto the winged animal’s feathers and quickly recovered before the Boggan realized what had happened. I immediately got into a fighting stance, exactly like my father had taught me, and drew my silver daggers. Now realizing that they had a visitor, the goblin-like creature growled at me and drew their bow. I spun my daggers a bit and went to strike the Boggan’s torso. They jumped back as much as they could, and I discovered a sharp pointy object aimed directly at my face. Unfazed, I stepped towards them, sweeped their legs, and flipped back just as quickly when they released the arrow. The Boggan was down, but the arrow was shot. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, then before I could blink, another clean wooden arrow intercepted the rotting one, and I was saved. I didn’t bother to see who my savior was. The creature may have been down, but they weren’t dead. As they were getting up, I quickly threw one of my daggers into their abdomen. It made its mark. The Boggan froze for a few moments, then began stumbling around for a bit before they eventually tumbled over the side of their crow and toward their end. I was relieved that was over and that my dad was safe and let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
My eyes widened, once more, in realization. One of my babies was still sticking out of the Boggan’s stomach. Being the fool I am, without thinking, I immediately moved towards the side of the bird where the creature fell and dived after my weapon. I could hear voices yelling my name, but I didn’t care. I stuck my arms to my sides and went full nosedive in an attempt to fall faster. I could see the dagger’s bright glint still trapped halfway inside the Boggan’s body. The Boggan appeared to be dead already which would make things easier. I was gaining on the lifeless creature, and soon grabbed ahold of it and planted my left hand onto the leather handle. I yanked it out of the corpse and smiled, glad that I had it back with me.
Now I had a different problem. I was currently falling about 1,000ft or so in the air and saw no way of escape. I am so dead. I thought, If the fall doesn’t kill me, dad will. I released the corpse and maneuvered into a skydiving position. Once again, something green and pink entered my line of sight. “Need some help?” The rider asked.
I looked their way and smiled as much as I could while falling. It was Finn. Second-in-command of the Leafmen army. Other than my dad, Finn was the best and friendliest trainer/mentor I had when I first started not too long ago. “Just a bit.” I admitted. He shifted his hummingbird directly below me, and I soon sat behind him on his bird. “Thanks.” I spoke, grateful for him saving my life twice in the span of five minutes. He nodded in reply and flew us toward my dad who was currently conversing with the brunette who was still hanging by the crow’s claws.
I observed their conversation as we waited for them to finish. I caught snippets of their conversation. Uh oh. It sounded like dad was giving him ‘the talk’ again. After Nod’s own father died, my dad has been trying to look out far him. While Nod, of course, had been pushing him away and not accepting any help or advice given. Their conversation was soon over. The Captain finally turned his hummingbird around and began flying toward us and the rest of the Leafmen. I kept my eyes on my dangling best friend who gave me a ‘help me’ look. As much as I wanted to, and believe me I wanted to, there was nothing I could do except send him an apologetic look and a sorry smile as Finn moved his bird to follow our leader back to Moonhaven.