I sat under the tree, and I felt my body was still useless, as Jaipa now a very real, very physical being grumbled beside me. The moons above cast their creepy green glow, reflecting off his new red-and-black wings.
My energy was coming back,Slowly Agonizingly slowly. But at least it was coming back jaipa had finally stopped having a meltdown over the horrifying concept of organs and had settled into his role as my reluctant guard. He stood stiffly, arms crossed.
"Ugh. I hate this," he muttered.
I find no reason to respond to it , Instead, I focused on my healing.
The process was familiar drain energy, fixing the broken body, recover slowly but right now, I didn't have the luxury of waiting. My body had been wrecked. My internal energy reserves were still too low. I needed to restore everything as quickly as possible.
So I forced myself to focus but before i could do that i heard , lost of footsteps coming our way i still couldn't move my body what was coming my way after just few seconds i could see them it was another pack of those birds like things " flyhum "
Jaipa saw them at the same time I did. His wings flared wide, his four eyes were glowing green lanterns in the dark night
"Oh, come on!" he groaned. "Didn't that BRATE just deal with them crap?!"
I didn't respond to it , I was too busy assessing.
The Flyhum were massive, each of them seven meters tall few were smaller and few even larger with sharp claws and a body that was half bird, half beast. The pack moved in unison, their talons clicking against the ground, their huge wings rustling as they advanced.
Jaipa took a step back. "Okay. I know I'm technically solid now, but I am not in the mood to test how well I handle being torn apart."
I forced my body to move. My limbs were still sluggish, my energy only partially restored, but I didn't have a choice. Healing faster meant pushing through.
Jaipa glanced at me. "Uh. You better not be thinking about fighting them."
"I'm thinking about not dying," I said flatly.
"Great! I love that plan! So how about we run?!"
The lead Flyhum let out a low, guttural noise, its green eyes locking onto me.
Jaipa tensed. "...Okay. Now I don't like this."
I pressed my palm against my chest, channeling the last of my restored energy into my body. My limbs regained feeling. The pain dulled. I could move again. Barely.
"Fine," I muttered. "lets run"
Jaipa blinked. "Wait. Really?"
"Run."
Jaipa didn't need to be told twice. His wings snapped open, and he launched into the air. I pushed myself up and sprinted after him.
The Flyhum shrieked. Then they charged.
Jaipa twisted mid-air, grabbing my arm. "Ohhh no you don't UP YOU GO!"
Before I could protest, he yanked me into the air. My feet left the ground. Wind howled past my ears. The Flyhum lunged and missed.
I gritted my teeth as Jaipa flapped hard, carrying both of us into the sky. His grip on my arm was tight too tight but I couldn't even blame him.
"We are NEVER going to do this again!" Jaipa shouted over the wind the Flyhum screeched below us, their massive wings beating furiously as they tried to follow. But Jaipa was fast. Faster than them. Faster than I'd ever seen him move.
He carried me higher and higher until the Flyhum were nothing but dots below us.
Then, finally, he exhaled. "...Okay. Okay. We're alive. That sucked."
I exhaled too, my body still aching but at least now it had come to function somewhat "You can actually carry me," I said
Jaipa scowled. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. You weigh a lot more than you look."
I didn't reply,Mostly because I was too exhausted to.
Jaipa adjusted his grip on me. "Alright. Let's get back to the cave before I regret saving your ass."
And with that, he turned and soared but not remembering the way to the cave he asked me about the cave with my exhausted voice i guided him to our cave after a while of flying , actually I was just riding jaipa
By the time we landed, my energy was mostly restored. My body still ached, but at least I could walk jaipa, meanwhile, collapsed onto the ground, arms spread wide, wings twitching. "I hate this world."
I sat beside him. "You've lived here your whole life."
Jaipa groaned. "Yeah, well, now that I have bones, I suddenly realize how awful everything is." ileaned against the cave wall, staring up at the ceiling. The green moons outside cast strange shadows along the walls after a moment, I spoke. "Your appearance."
Jaipa's twitched his wings "What about it?"
"Is this… your original form?"
My question was to simple but looking at jaipa it didn't seemed that way and a
Silence grew in the cave
After a while Jaipa's four eyes flickered. He shifted uncomfortably. "I… don't know."
I turned to him. His usual teasing expression was gone.
Jaipa sighed, running a clawed hand through his long white hair. "I don't remember anything about myself beyond seven years ago," he said "Before that? It's just… blank. Like someone erased it."
I frowned. "But you remember everything about this world?"
Jaipa nodded "Yeah. I know all the creatures. The places. The rules , Just… not me "
" What about the apperence you had before metting me was it the same as this "
" Nooo it wasn't I was just small creature not this big and as i remember i only had two eyes and black hairs "
I watched him carefully in the great darkness Jaipa, who always acted carefree. Jaipa, who teased me nonstop right now, he looked… lost.
For once, I didn't say anything sarcastic.
Instead, I simply said, "...That's inconvenient."
Jaipa let out a startled laugh. Then he shot me a flat look. "Wow. Thanks for the deep emotional support."
I shrugged and said "I'm tired." was i really tired or I was just avoiding him anyways it was not my concern until it didn't hold any threats to my life
Jaipa rolled his eyes, muttering something about "emotionally stunted gremlins," before laying back down a few moments passed. Then he spoke again, softer this time.
"Hey, Rudra?"
"Mm?"
"If this is my real form… Do you think I was something bad?"
I didn't answer immediately or i couldn't answer , Instead, I glanced at him . His massive wings. His glowing eyes.
Then I turned away, closing my eyes. "...I don't know."
Jaipa didn't respond
But as the night stretched on us, and we both slowly drifted into sleep, I wondered if he already knew the answer whatever i didn't consume about him anyway