The stranger who saved us

The world was water. Yaima thought that she would drown, but surprisingly, she was able to breathe underwater. How was that possible?

'Nahuel?' she wondered. Where was Nahuel?

She was confused. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was that she was on a ship. A sharp blade grazing her neck. She remembered being very afraid. Beads of sweat on her forehead. Then… everything spun around. The world tilted and… water, lots of water.

Yaima swam to the surface. The waves of the sea were violent. The shore of the beach was close.

She tried to call Nahuel, but the words didn't come out.

'Why? Why is it so hard to talk?'

Yaima looked around her, she saw a lot of water and pieces of wood. They were the destroyed fragments of a ship. A wave hit her and her head hit a piece of the ship.

She fell unconscious.

…

…

…

"Yaima?" A voice called out to her. It was a sweet, masculine voice. "Yaima?" He called her name again.

'Yaima? Oh, that's me!'

Her head ached. Everything was black.

"Yaima?"

She woke up shaken. With so much fear in her spirit, like water in her lungs. She vomited salt water. She tried to focus her blurry gaze. She scratched her eyes, hoping to see the face of…

"Nahuel," she uttered.

"Yes, it's me," he replied with a smile.

He was on his knees and had Yaima in his arms, she felt safe in the warm embrace of her friend. She smiled. They were in the middle of a forest, surrounded by tall trees and gray bushes.

"Than… thank you," she said.

"I'm the one who should be thanking YOU," the boy replied, "thanks to you we were able to escape."

"H-how?

"Well, you summoned the power of the eon and destroyed the ship. It was impressive."

Yaima didn't remember any of that, but it comforted her to know that she had done something useful for the first time. Not like that time… that time when… her parents, the fire…

The girl shook her head. 'Don't think about it now,' she told herself.

"We have to go," a third voice spoke.

Yaima opened her eyes wide and stood up. Who had spoken?

All this time there was someone else with them. A girl… or a boy? Slim and petite. White hair, short and messy. With black pants and a purple hooded sweater. His face was hidden behind a mask with a thin horn on his forehead. That mask seemed to be in the shape of… a cat? A lynx?

"Don't be scared," Nahuel told her, standing up, "he's a friend."

"We have to go," the stranger repeated.

Yaima looked at Nahuel, as if asking for an explanation.

"He rescued us from the sea," the boy explained, "he defeated several legion soldiers, the ones who survived your attack. He is a marked one, like us."

The unknown boy extended his hand, and between his fingers hung a Treasure with a purple sphere.

"I have the powers of lightning," he said, his voice filtered through the feline mask.

Nahuel put his hand on Yaima's shoulder.

"I think we can trust him," he said.

"Follow me," the stranger said.

"Wh-what is… is… your name?" Yaima asked with difficulty.

The stranger 'looked' at Yaima.

"Elian," he replied.

***

Yaima and Nahuel were led through a rocky landscape, surrounded by mountains, without any trees.

They had broken through the black mist and then up a steep hill, then down a path flanked by huge boulders.

The grass was not green, it was gray, which gave the landscape a sad, arid, lifeless atmosphere.

The climate changed from tropical to cold. And the sun hid behind the dense clouds.

"Wow, this is really depressing," Nahuel opined, "my idea of ​​a walk is more palm trees and beaches."

Elian had not spoken a word during the entire walk.

"How much longer to reach our destination?" Nahuel asked, scratching the back of his neck.

Elian did not reply.

'What an intriguing subject,' thought Yaima. 'What is he hiding behind that mask? Can we really trust him?'

According to Nahuel, the fact that Elian was marked was reason enough to trust him.

'I dunno…'

The trio of travelers passed near a giant flower (it looked like a lotus). Pink in color and approximately four meters high. It contracted and stretched as if it was breathing.

Yaima marveled at such an image. She loved flowers, so she moved closer to get a better look at it.

"Stay away!" Elian yelled.

The girl stopped, confused.

"Those things are dangerous," Elian added, "you don't want to get close, trust me."

Yaima nodded and continued on her way down the hill.

Minutes later, they arrived at a makeshift camp, between two rock formations. Gray tents were scattered across the landscape. A human figure emerged from one of the tents, a young boy. Maybe fifteen years old. Only he wasn't exactly human. His skin was reddish, he didn't have ears on the sides of his head, but on top of his skull, and they weren't human ears, no. They were ears like a cat's. hairy and pointed.

'A beast boy?'

His clothes (brown shorts and gray shirt) were worn and torn. Giving him an image of a humble peasant.

Yaima shuddered at the sight of him. She never imagined that one day she would see someone with an appearance so… not very human.

Nahuel swallowed hard. He looked uncomfortable too, but he tried to be brave. He must have noticed the girl's discomfort, because he put his hand on Yaima's shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said, "everything will be fine."

"You took too long," the beast boy complained. Then he looked at Nahuel and Yaima, with a contemptuous look, "And who are these? Since when do you bring humans to this camp?"

"They too are marked ones," Elián replied.

"Marked ones?" The beast boy narrowed his eyes. Then he said, "My name is Katan."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Nahuel," replied the boy.

Katan looked at Yaima, as if waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Ya…ya…Yaima," the girl stammered.

Katan raised an eyebrow.

"Everything okay with you?"

"She finds it hard to talk," Nahuel explained, "please be nice."

Katan shrugged.

"Whatever," he looked at Elian, "are they going to stay with us?"

"For now," the boy in the mask replied.

Yaima didn't take her eyes off the furry ears on Katan's skull.

"What you looking at?" The beast boy growled, "Have you never seen a demon before?"

'Demon?' The girl swallowed hard.

Other 'demons' came out of the tents. All young. Most were children between the ages of five and twelve. They looked at Yaima and Nahuel with curiosity.

"We have been escaping Legion troops," Elian spoke, "moving from place to place."

"Why are they all little children?" Nahuel asked.

"Because they killed all the adults."

Yaima saw sweetness, curiosity, confusion, and suspicion among the dozens of eyes of the demon children. She saw no evil in them. That confused her. She had grown up with a clear idea of ​​what a demon was. An evil being who seeks chaos. An agent of death.

Those beast children did not appear to be evil beings. If it weren't for their furry ears and reddish fur, they would look just like any other human.

"Come with me," Elian directed.

Yaima and Nahuel followed him to a large tent, the tallest and largest in the camp, inside which at least a dozen children were lying on the ground, on blankets and pillows. Their eyes closed and their faces wrinkled, as if they were holding back excruciating pain. Their foreheads were full of sweat. Fever?

Yaima jumped a little when she saw that the necks of those children were covered in a yellow rash. Inflamed blisters, as if a fungus were growing on the skin of the little ones.

"Do you remember the giant flower?" Elian asked.

Yama nodded.

"This is why they are so dangerous," explained the masked boy, "those flowers expel pollen that affects some who breathe it. These children were affected."

"Why did you approach those flowers?" Nahuel asked, "You knew that the flower was dangerous. Why did you allow it?

"We were attacked," Elian answered, "the humans know that we are hidden among these rocky mountains. Then we were bombarded with seeds from that flower. We have burned several of those flowers, but the bombardments continue. And we can't control where the seeds fall. Sometimes they fall far away, sometimes they fall close. It takes ten minutes for one of those seeds to grow into a flower after they are released."

Nahuel lowered his head.

"I understand…"

A beast child writhed in pain.

"What will happen to them?" Nahuel asked.

Elian hesitated, as if it was difficult for him to answer that question.

"They will die."

Yaima's heart jumped. She felt bad for those little ones.

"Is there no way to save them?" Nahuel clenched his fists, "Anything. We are ready to help."

Yaima looked at the boy in surprise. They barely knew those 'demons'. They knew nothing about them and yet, still, he was willing to help them.

"I'm glad you say that," Elian said, "because I didn't save you for free."

Yaima and Nahuel looked at each other's faces, confused.

"I saved you because I need your help," Elian continued, "there is a cure and we will have to hunt down a dangerous beast to get it."