Heh heh, well done on a new, completely engrossing fic. :D *applauds*

...*fidgets and whines* But now I wanna know what happens next!

Darn...why d'you have to write so good?

Me? Write good!?
Why do you lieeeee!?
Oh, and what's engrossing?

And not lying! :D And engrossing in this case means to drag me into your story once again and make me hanker for an update! :D

Ah ah ah!
You's got'a update now!
I wanna see more from you now!

Do you reeeeeeeeeally want the next chapter?

Woman.
Would I ever say no to you updatin'?
NO!
Post it up...
:snapps fingers to Lobo's thread:
NOW!

Okay...well you said it, and don't say I didn't want you...:D

Well, since you put fluffy, I'm-a put fluffy.
Touche', Lobo!


PROPHECY, DESTINY, AND TRUTHS
Stranger's and Umi's destinies are told (cont.)

"Wow. Didn't know Grubb culture was so...weird," Umi said up to Stranger.
"I thought it was purdy interestin' to what he said," Stranger scratched the back of his neck.
Umi's face scrunched to a determined look.
"Well, the adventure sounds neat. Are you ready fer this?" she raised a brow.
Stranger gave a quick, quirky glance to her cockyness, then looked back up.
Umi grinned.
"Don't worry, buddy. I'll be here ter protect you,"
He gave a chuckle, and scooped her in his arm.
"Don't yer try to be the big hero, kid. I love yer too much ter see you's get hurt," he rubbed his nose on hers.
"If anything hurt yeh, I'd regret it so much than the thing that harmed yeh,"
She giggled at his tickling pur.
"You care too much," she pushed his face away.
"That's right," he chuckled back to her face.
"You big...pussy cat," she smiled, pressing her hand on his nose, and pushing away again.
They arrived to their home from the docks.
They steadily moved their way through the thick covering of fresh white snow piling higher than before.
She entered first, ruffling her hair of the snow that dropped and melted on her warm head of hair.
Stranger came last, slamming the door shut from the bitter cold winds blowing on his legs. He glanced at Umi, then gave a soft smile.
"Go take a nice hot shower, kid. You's look's colder than a Sleg bathing,"
"You sure you don't wanna go first? You know I take longer than you do," she cautioned.
"Dun' you worry 'bout me, lil' lady. I'll be waitin' in the front,"
She shrugged, then trotted off to the shower room, and slammed the door.
He gave a relaxed sigh, slowly striding to the confines of his comfy couch in the front room. He laid flat on his stomach, covering his hooves under the warm woven blanket, and gave a sigh of content. He closed his eyes, nearly dozing off.
Today was long, and a bit of a shock. It was their job now to find the last Steef tribe, and then maybe he would get a break of everything he had to deal with.
The Grubbs; well, they were literally a part of him. He's grown attached to them, not feeling a bit happy that he has to leave them to the dangers of the industrial world.
He knows what the industrialites can do, because he was part of them. For a while...
Nearly a half an hour later, the shower room doors fluttered open, steam fogging out in a whisp of clear-white smog.
Umi came out, her face a nervous stare down to the flat grass floor. She held a towel around herself, as she trotted out to the front room.
She looked to Stranger, her face turning an innocent nervousness to his dozed eyes.
He snorted awake, rubbing his eyes up to her. He gave a gentle smile, as he scooted to the edge of the bed.
She wore her baggy jade-green pajama pants, but only her bra straps wore around her shoulders.
He gave an awkward look to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Umi snapped attention to him, shaking her head slowly.
"Nothing," she said shyly.
She handed him her brush, and sat on her knees in front of him. She kept her towel tight around her upper half body, seeming to hide something secretive from him.
Stranger grinned happily. He loved to mess with her hair after she took a shower. It was slick and smooth, not as his coarse, rough fur. It was a nice feeling to him to feel the smoothness of human's hair.
He began to brush gently down, minding the knots that caught in the brush.
Umi hissed in pain, but held down her head.
"Easy. I'm tender-headed," she warned, even though he knew.
He was just as rough as he was when he fought outlaws.
"Sorry, kiddo," he purred gently, tenderly brushiong down the back of her neck.
He parted the hair from her side forehead, then stopped abruptly. He stared at her shoulder for a moment, squinting hardly at what he saw.
He then scooted closer, dropping to the ground behind Umi, staring at a mark put on her back. He ran a coarse finger over it, the skin bumpy and rough.
"Umi, what's this?" he asked.
He parted her showering hair more, four more marks showed.
His eyes grew bright, then taking down the towel from her back.
Then what he saw was peppered all among her back.
Actually, it was all over her arms and body.
Many deep gashes and scars appeared as a deeper purple color against her peachy flesh. Almost 3 dozen gashes were sprinkled widely among her back.
His lip dropped down in horror.
"Umi? What happened 'ere?"
Umi's head drooped down, as she slowly turned herself to him, showing off the rest of the scars peppered among her front.
A small circular scar was right on her stomach, while a long slash cut through her shoulder down close to her chest. Long lashes cut on her arms, and little pricks, almost bullet-like holes were on her chest.
She looked down in shame that Stranger had to figure out the hard way of her tragic past.
"Sometimes...you have to do things...that can cause you pain," she spoke.
"Things suicidal, crazy, but daring. Something you have to do to save yourself, your friends, and the entire humanity. This was my life; all but pain, betrayal, and scars. And I have to bear them out like this. As the painful things that happened to me n my past..."
She grew silent, looking away from Stranger, his eyes growing soft, and his lip curved up.
He slowly moved to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, his chin rested on her shoulder. He moved her on his lap folded out.
"I promise..." he began, his throat rumbling deeply on her shoulder.
"I'll do whatever in my power...ter not cause you any more pain, than what I just saw..."
His embrace became tighter, his love for her growing.
What pain he saw embroided on Umi's body would be his eternal pain. For what she felt, he felt as well. As a telepathic bond. But it wasn't "the" most terrible feeling ever. He'd know how Umi felt, pain, or love, joy, or sadness. It was an omen that gave them this special bond. One that would never die or fail, as long as they loved each other like father and daughter.
Umi pressed her forehead to his chest, slowly lookig up to him. Her eyes were dry, staring depressingly up to him.
It would be better if you changed the subject than to put Stranger through this Umi thought.
She broke his tension from his arms, sitting comfortably on his lap. She brushed away strands of hair from her face, then looking up to Stranger's curious eyes.
"You think we're up for the challenge tomorrow?" she asked, having a bit of perkiness spiked in her voice.
He became softer, smiling at her determination.
"Maybe. We've been through a lot through the past year..." he looked down thoughtfully, then returned.
"Yeah. I bet we are,"
Umi stretched her tired muscles, speaking with a strain.
"Haven't had a day without a journey to someplace special, I can say,"
Stranger nuzzled his nose in her hair, chuckling softly.
"Really..." he purred.
Umi looked atop her forehead.
"Yeah. I can tell you if you want. I'll prove to you I've never had a day without a normal beginning, nor ending,"
"I'm up fer a story," he moved up to the bed with Umi.
He laid in a comfortable position on the bed, his eblow propped on his pillow, holding his head up, and staring at Umi intently.
She sat on her covers cross-legged, holding her hands in between her legs. She searched for the right beginning through her memories, then looked back to Stranger.
"It all began...maybe six years ago. When I was only thirteen..."
And that is how she began.
She began on the day she met the Autobots and Decepticons, how she was manipulated and tricked to become part of the Decepticons.
Her mean, heartless leader, Galvatron always loathed to Autobots, their peace-loving ways. He always put her friends in danger, putting herself in danger as well.
The tasks of the Autobots was to save the mini race of robots scattered around the world, the Mini-cons.
But the Decepticons rather steal them to increase their power, and win the fight that has been waged for many eons.
But when the threat of Unicron, the most feared transformer in the galaxy threatened the Earth and Cybertron, it was up to them to stop the evil lofting slowly in space. Both the humans, and the truce between the Autobots and Decepticons, over the loss of her dear friend, Starscream.
Three years after the destruction of Galvatron and Unicron, and becoming the deputy leader of the Decepticons, an Energon crisis stirrs, causing mayhem for the straggler Decepticons and the Autobots.
And the threat of Galvatron and Unicron regenerating, just very slowly.
And even though Umi was somewhat forced to be part of the Autobots, she was used to the ways of the Decepticons, even though she secretly was part of them.
The Energon crisis lasted months, before the frightful day, of the Covenant began to contact her, and gave her a threatening message of hers and humanity's destruction by their hands.
She fled from Earth with her revetalized, old partner in crime, with a bit of a memory loss, Starscream, out in space, being persued by Covenant cruisers and Banshees, until she met up with the human battlecruiser, The Pillar of Autumn.
There, she was caught in the battle between saving humanity, and obliterating it from history; The United Nations Space Corp. (UNCS), and the Covenant.
And with only one who could save humanity from utter destruction; Spartan 117- The Master Chief.
Teamed up with the only known Super soldier, she was now part of saving Earth, and the last remaining UNSC and OSDT marines, spun on to save theirs, and their homeland's lives.
The war caught up on the ancient ringworld, known as Halo, held a deep, dark, deadly secret beneath its confines, as the humans and aliens wage their bloody war.
The Flood, the worst parasite ever known to sentient life, wiped out all humans encamped on Halo, only leaving The Master Chief, Umi, and a benedict Covenant leader, Zaku Zulumee, to take the challenge of the Flood, and destroy the destructivness of Halo. before the Covenant, or the Monitor of Installations, 343 Guilty Spark, activated its power.
With Zulumee killed, it was only up to them to stop everything that threatened to activate Halo.
They were separated from the final moments of the Autumn's destruction, which would kill Halo, along with the Flood.
Months passed after Halo's destruction, and Umi and the Master Chief's separation.
She drifted in space alone, until she found the Cairo Defense platforms, the last defense to Earth.
There, she traced the Master Chief, along with the surprise of Seargent David Johnson still alive.
The Covenant still on a high-level threat, not along with what they found out near the wreckage of a Covenant cruiser; another Halo.
Deja vu had come, and Umi and the Master Chief had to destroy Halo, before it destroyed them.
Distraught fates came between them again, as the Gravemind of the Flood had taken them to tell the secret, and to the Arbiter of the Covenant.
Both were separated again, Umi with the Arbiter, and the Master Chief alone, along with distress of him and she being separated again.
Becoming temporary allies, the Arbiter and Umi exacted revenge on the Brutes, for betraying his brothers, and the faith of the Covenant.
The key to Halo was with the Chieftain of the Brutes, Tartarus.
But it was too late.
Before they could kill Tartarus, the Index was in place, and the activation of Halo was well on its way.
And with the Master Chief alone, aboard the Prophet of Truth's ship, he would be the key, to save the universe from destruction...
"...and that's all I remember. I spun in to orbit from the destruction of the last Halo, sucked through a wormhole, then unconsciousness, and suffocation. I landed on Oddworld was the last thing I remember..." Umi looked down.
"...at that point, when I figured out I was far away, I knew there was no point on trying to get home. I would be stuck on Oddworld forever. But...when I met you..." she perked back up.
"...I couldn't be any happier meeting you, Stranger. You're the same, rugged, ol' bounty hunter you were back in the old days. But you've mellowed out, just to be a great dad. But it still bites me that I'm so far away from my friends. I miss the ones so dear to me so much. Rad, Carlos, Alexis, Billy, Fred...Chief, Johnson...Starscream...everyone I practically told you about. They were like, a secret family in my heart. And you might not know, but I feel they miss me, too...I hope this is the last time I get separated from my friends, for it only adds on to my pain. It would kill me if I got separated from you, Stranger," she smiled up to him.
He scooted closer, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and kissed her forehead.
"Don't worry, Umi," he purred gently.
"I'll be 'ere fer you. As long as I'm 'ere and alive..."
They glanced outside, seeing the silvery aura of the winter moolight shine down upon the glistening snowy hills.
"It's late. Let's get ter bed,"
He laid his head fully on his pillow, covering he and Umi under the cover of the woven blanket.
Umi cuddled closer to his chest, pressing the top of her head on the muscle of his chest.
The only light that cutted through the darkness of light was Stranger's closing green eyes.
Umi sighed in content under Stranger's arm. It made her feel protected, loved, a veil that only Stranger gave off.
She mumbled softly to him.
"'night...dad..."
She drifted off to sleep.
While Stranger lay awake for a moment.
That was the first time Umi ever said that to him. And it made him feel...proud.
Proud, that he could love such a young soul like Umi.
He smiled to her sleeping face, snuggling close to her face.
"'night, kiddo,"
He blinked passively once, before he closed his eyes.
I love you...
That echoed in his mind, as he laid to rest.

Dawwwwww, so cute, so sweet. So much fluff! And we also had a basic overview of Umi's past. Very interesting.

Question, Umi's scars, they from her past? Coz you made them sound recent...like she'd done them to herself or something...

But other then that, the Umi/Stranger cuteness = so darned sweet. :D

No...they were from her past.
Each one of them.
And quite frankly, they're painful.
Seriously.

PROPHECY, DESTINY, AND TRUTHS
Stranger's and Umi's destinies are told (cont.)



Early morning sunlight filtered in to the front foom, peeking through Umi's eyelids.
She turned away from the window, covering her head with the blanket, and moaning tiredly.
But she was already awake, and it was hard to go back to sleep when she was partly awake.
I hate you, sun...
She groaned angrily, lifting her head up slowly from her pillow, and staring directly out through the window.
The sun contracted her pupils painfully, causing her to look down and squint out.
"Ugh..." she opened her mouth, slipping from under Stranger's hugging arm, and placing her feet on the ticking flat grass carpet.
She shuffled tiredly in to the kitchen, taking in water and splashing it on her face.
As she lowered her towel, taps at the door called her to attention.
She walked slowly to the door, and slowly opened it to mind the creak that squawked.
The Queen stood there, hands behind back, and smiling greetfully to the restful human.
"Good morning, Umi," she spoke softly.
I hope you rested well?"
Umi made a affirming moan, rubbing her groggy eyes, and staring back at the three other villagers behind her.
"That's good," she nodded, still staring at Umi with gentle lavender eyes.
"What's up?" Umi spoke.
The Queen slowly looked back up to Umi.
"It is time, for you two to depart," she announced.
Umi made a little chuckle.
"Can't this wait, 'til ol' Stranger gets up?" she thumbed overf her shoulder to the giant hump breathing on the couch.
The Queen looked over Umi's arm, then gave a heavy sigh, as she leaned back to Umi.
"The Seer requires you to come down to the Native's Village, so he can see you two off," she nodded with a frown.
"but, we can wait until Steef is awake,"
"Thanks. I'll let 'im know when he gets up," Umi smiled gratefully.
She looked back in the house, then back to the Queen with a sincere frown.
"D'you..wanna come in out of the cold, ma'am?"
But she shook her head refusingly.
"I'm sorry, Umi. I must get back to the Elder. But we will be ready for your arrival,"
The Queen bowed her head, turned to her villagers, and swept away with them.
Umi sighed, shutting the door away from the outside.
She walked back in to the front room, and closed the blinds, so when the sun got higher, it wouldn't bother Stranger.
She looked back to Stranger, giving a gentle smile to his sound sleeping face.
This is going to be a helluva day, Stranger...
Stranger let out a sleepy sigh, shuffling in to a more comfortable position away from the window.
Umi giggled at his action, then slipped down in front of the matress.
She rested her eyes, not realizing that she had fallen asleep.
Her conscious began to imagine the journey to the last Steef tribe, travelling through the vast green, rolling fields, spotted with colorful exotic flowers blooming at their feet, and creatures, grazng peacefully at the soft baby-soft grasses.
Hopefully, she would see new and exotic creatures she never seen before, rather than Clakkers, Grubbs, and Fuzzles. It would add to her growing mind of what Oddworld was really like.
Then, a roaming hoard of four-legged creatures stampeded across the fields, trilling with glee, while running with their partners.
Steef stampeded across, roaring their energy out ahead. Their eyes were filled with joy, as they lived free and wild.
But one stood out. A familiar face that ran along behind the Steef herd.
At that moment, she realized who it was, but she didn't smile at the fact she knew who it was.
It was who he was running with.
A female.
That would make her proud, if Stranger got a mate to spend his life with, rather than a kid. It would be a new discovery for him, to have a real family, instead of a human and Steef.
But as the Steef rumbled by, the clouds suddenly clapped to a pitch black.
The fields disappeared, swirling to a deep red.
Umi jolted to attention, staring fearfully around at the sudden change of atmosphere.
Three sets of eyes dissolved from the darkness, glaring deeply at her.
Umi couldn't bare to stare in to them, but she couldn't look down from them.
Something about those eyes were familiar.
Was it someone she met back in the days of bounty hunting?
Someone possibly she hated?
The eyes ringed around her, and spun, tormenting her with words.
She snapped from her thoughts, only despirate to escape the dementing eyes.
"STOP IT!" she yelled.
The eyes only chuckled, continuing their tormenting.
Umi growled, hating the antagonizing.
She ran through them, the eyes keeping a good distance near her back.
But then, the eyes shrouded back in to a dark veil, camouflaging themselves within the darkness.
"Huh?" Umi looked over her shoulder.
Relief flooded over her chest, looking back ahead.
But suddenly, she came to an abrupt halt.
A trail of red liquid trailed near her foot, growing in to white-stained red snow beneath her feet.
She followed the sprouting trail of blood to an image slowly coming in to view.
As it came to view, Umi's mouth hung open in disbelief.
"No..." she scarcely spoke.
The picture was clear, a body soakened in its own blood.
Not just any body.
Hers.
Her body lay in a bloody tatter, staning the snow a bright red, bullet holes torn tenderly through her body.
Umi's lip quivered fearfully, as the body now began to disappear, along with the snow.
She knelt down forcefully on her knees, her head slightly dropped.
She sat in a pitch black aura, alone...
Did she view the future?
Or was it only a dream?
It felt too real to be a dream.
But yet, she never had dreams so real like this.
Something odd was happening.
She felt herself fall apart, her breath fall short. Her breath cut off, only leaving her with a final scream.
"NOOOOO!" she screamed, flinging her head back in an energetic roar.
Umi? a voice called, leaving a chilling echo.
She didn't listen, continuing her roar.
This fear would hold her down, during the journey, and after.
And it seemed nothing wold break it.
"Umi!" Stranger shook her.
Tears flushed down her face.
"Kid! Wake up!" his grip grew tighter.
She gasped in, opening her eyes wide with shock.
"Stranger...Stranger..." she panted hoarsely.
"What's wrong? I'm right 'ere..."
She snapped her gaze up to his terrified gaze, a hand gripping tightly on his arm.
"Oh my odd...oh my god..." she panted quickly.
"It was horrible...I-I saw myself,"
She began to cry.
Stranger's lip drooped down, fearing the worst ahead to what was going to come next.
"What? What did yer see?"
She blinked fearfully, her lip quivering uncontrollably.
"I saw myself...in the snow...dead..." she tried to say calmly.
No...
The worst did come.
What he saw now was giving off to her.
And he knew she was weak to control it, much as if he did.
She crumbled down to his chest, crying soberly, and remembering her dream.
"Then...there were eyes...familar eyes..."
Stranger frowned concernly.
"Who were they?" he asked gently.
She slowly moved her head up to him, her eyes wide open.
He watched her, with gentle green eyes stuck on her tear-glazed eyes.
She gave a calm sigh, wiping her eyes.
"I'm...not so sure anymore..." she said calmly.
Stranger looked in to her eyes, reading her thoughts.
He could tell she wasn't lying of this, which only brought him to fear.
"Well...it's all over now...I'm 'ere..." he smoothed her hair down her back, resting his jaw on her head.
She wanted to believe it was over, that she wouldn't dream of this any more.
But she also felt it wasn't done yet. They would be back.
For it was only the beginning of her nightmares, and the beginning of a true vision.

That was...intense...

Poor Umi, seeing something like that would so scary...and sometimes dreams feels so real...you gotta update quick Darky...

A girl fer Stranger...nice thought...:D

Nice try, Lobo.
But now you got'a update.
And I ain't movin' 'til you do. :p

PROPHECY, DESTINY, AND TRUTHS
Stranger's and Umi's destinies are told (cont.)

I apologize for the quick return, Umi. But everyone's becoming a bit ancey for your arrival," the Queen returned to the Steef's home, just minutes after Umi's dilemma had settled.
Umi nodded to her, looking back inside the house.
"Do we need anything?" she looked back.
The Queen shook her head.
"Sorry, Umi. But the Seer only requires you to come to the Native's Village empty handed. He believes it'll slow you down on your journey,"
"Oh..." she said.
The Queen gave a soft smile to her depression.
"Do not fear, Umi. As long as you have each other, then you really don't need belongings to help you out,"
Umi's eyes stuck on to the Queen for a moment, then she nodded.
Stranger came out from behind her, leaning over to the Queen.
"Sorry fer the wait, ma'am," he bowed his head.
"Good. I hope you two are ready for the long journey ahead?" she asked.
Umi held within her hand her dragon pendant. She wore her old clothes that she could never part from.
Stranger, however, felt himself glue in to the house. He was used to living here now, that he couldn't leave it.
But moving on for him was the only thing he could do in his life.
"Yeah..." he said.
"We're ready,"
The Queen gave a confident smile to both, stepping away from the doorway, allowing them out.
Umi stepped first, feeling herself rip out of a sketch that had made her come to life. She was drawn to the home, feeling to never leave it.
But life had a funny way of putting things like that to an end for her.
Stranger came out last, shutting the door, and touching the knob of his comfy home for the last time.
He straightened out his hat, wearing his bounty hunter outfit, instead of showing off his true colors under his tight tan tights and large boots.
Even out in the country he would be a potential prey for an outlaw, or any other trapper.
She led them down to the docks, the Grubbs of their villages bidding a dreadful good-bye to their protectors, bowing to their feet, and paying their last respects, as they headed for their final test.
Both stepped in to the boat the Queen had used to get over, along with four Grubb rowers.
Stranger glanced at the Steef boat he'd always used. Dependable, strong, fortified. And a gift.
He sat comfortably beside the Queen, with Umi in front of him.
The Queen nodded to the rowers, and they began to glide off the riverbed free of ice.
They began down the Mongo River, the Grubbs of the village watching with tearful eyes.
This was only a bit of their test; to test them on their strength from not looking back, so that they would not become trodden of their sorrow of leaving the Grubbs behind.

The Native's Village wasn't as far as Last Legs, only reduced by fifteen minutes.
It was a warmer climate, barely any patches of visible snow, and the sun glowing in beams of light through the blanket of clouds.
A crowd of Grubbs were gathered among a hill, looking outward to the plains ahead, and the rocky barrier that keeps the Native Village safe from the Sleg Swamps far ahead of the barrier.
But there were miles of flat plains carpeted out towards the mountainous barrier.
Stranger and Umi, led by the Queen, parted through the crowd of Grubbs, and walked to Seer Daedlus, standing patiently atop the hill, holding his favorite staff in his wobbly hand.
He glanced back to the quieting crowd, as the Steef and Umi parted through to him.
His mouth curled under the bags of wrinkles, smiling confidentally up to the new arrivals.
"Welcome, Steef and human!" he said joyously.
Both stopped in front of him, the Rebel Leader emerging from the crowd invisibly, and merging back beside the Queen.
"It's about time you got here. We were becoming a bit out of order, if you see what I mean," Daedlus nodded to them.
He began to shuffle by the Steef, and raised his arms to the crowd, along with his staff.
The crowd dimmed to a silence, staring intently upon their sage.
He gazed upon the natives that gathered, seeing that everyone was ready to what he had to say.
"Today, is the day. That we see off, two of the greatest guardians, we've ever known! Although a bit of a mix-up with Steef, he, and his lawful daughter, shall set off, amongst a journey, of peril, treachery, and unknown precidences! To fulfill their destiny, as guardians, to find the last Steef tribe!" he announced with all the might in his voice.
He turned back to the Steef, a great smile on his face.
"And I know, we have the deepest of our faith in you, as you look in to the face of danger, and extraordinary crisis. But, only think, that you are proving yourselves worthy as our guardians," he told them.
Stranger was speechless, but all he could do was to look out among the crowd, as they began to bow their head in unison, down to the feet of their protectors.
The Grubb Seer also had his head bowed to them, along with the Queen and Rebel Leader.
They gazed around, all heads down before them.
The feeling that gave off to them was great. A feeling of pride and respect the Grubbs was giving to them. After a very short year of protecting the tribes of the Grubbs, they got this in return; a feeling of pride and confidence.
And respect like this was an unusual feeling to Stranger.
The Seer's head came back up, his eyes lit with life.
"We know this is another ordeal that must be pressed against your chest, you two. But believe me, we're all in this for you," Daedlus nodded to them.
"Now! We must see you off! Steef, Umi. We thank you for your devotion of protecting us from unknown dangers, but now, we set you free. All you can do, is to free yourselves. Go now, prove, and release the strength that hides below!"
The Grubbs regained on their feet, an uproar of applause thundering in a wave among the crowd.
A faint voice called through the crowd.
"Umi! Umi!"
The Grubbs parted from the voice approaching them.
"Jala?" Umi spun to the crowd.
Jala, wearing her red tunic with a green outlining, ran up to Umi, panting tiredly down before her knees.
She stood back up to Umi, as tall as to her shoulder, her eyes dampened with depression.
"As much...as I don't want you to go," she began to reach in her pocket.
Out came a square-like velvet-covered box, and as she opened it, a glimmer of silver shined in Umi's eyes.
Inside the box was a silver bracelet, wrapped with a flower blossom, as deep blue as Umi's eyes.
Umi stared at it in awe.
"Oh...Jala, it's beautiful," she took the box in her hands.
Jala smiled sheepishly down from her.
"At least...you'll have something to remember me by..." she drew off.
Umi closed the box, placing it within her pocket, and looking back to her.
She knelt down to Jala, taking her slowly in to an embrace.
"I'll miss you..." she whispered to her.
Jala came over her back tighter, tears streaming down her face.
"Me, too," she cried.
Both broke away from each other, their eyes glazed with tears.
Jala parted backwards to the crowd, her hands near her eyes.
The Seer smiled sweetly to Jala, then looked back to the Steef.
"Now, off with you, Steef! May the great...dude, in the sky, be with you!"
Stranger bowed his head to the crowd's thunderous cheer, then tipped his hat back up, staring up at the streamers of light bands in the sky.
He began to walk away from the Seer, waving at the Grubbs his farewell.
As they paced further out, they turned among the flat prairie rolling out for them.
Umi wiped the tears stinging in her eyes.
Stranger wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, huggin her to his hip.
"Don't worry, kid. I bet we'll see 'em again...real soon," he said reassuringly.
Umi nodded, but sad about the fact of what she said last night.
Of how she never wanted to leave her friends behind again.
Even thought she hoped for the best, she wanted something like this to never happen again.
But it was.
And even though how much she prayed, it would always happen, for she always had to move on.
And she would have to get used to it sooner or later.
"I know," she said timidly.
They tramped through the baby-soft grass towards the mountains ahead, not looking back to the wide eyes of the Grubbs, watching their guardians leave forever.

And that would be the end to chapter one.
Here's the next.

PERILOUS JOURNEY
The journey to Boontown

"It'll be at least a three-day hike to this...Boontown area. We has to get through the Sleg Swamps, and take a quick rest in the Chixapox fields on the other side," Stranger investigated through his mind.
The Western Mudos was like a map drawn on the back of his hand; he knew every knook and cranny there was around the Mongo River Valley, well...pretty much all the Mongo Valley.
The climate around the field they have walked through for almost an hour was warm, in particular, with a bone-chilling wind brushing across them.
The sun still kept its face behind the thick sheet of clouds, parting from shedding beams of light.
Fog became a bit of an annoyance, as they got closer to the mountainous boarder of the Mongo Valley.
That meant that the humidity mixing with the cool air was creating fog. And the only moist air around was the Sleg Swamps.
Stranger scratched his head confusingly.
"Odd...I thought the Sleg Swamps was located over the barrier...not on it,"
"Maybe it's grown over the years over the mountains," Umi suggested.
Stranger made a slight agreeing grumble, continuing forth, and stepping on the foothils of the boarder.
Water began to mass in large, muddy, dark puddles in marsh grasses growing long, veiling the water from the foggy floor.
Fog became very spontanious, shrouding their essence under its wing.
The marshlands were the red carpet to the Sleg Swamps, and only the beginning of their troubles.
Trees sprouted out of the muddy ground, limping over from the harsh humidity that created them in to sagging drapes.
The fog began to rise to the tops of the trees that were beginning to create a canopy.
After a long hike, almost four hours, they arrived in to the Sleg Swamps.
The color of the atmosphere turned a deep dark green. Trees held high, while some bowed down to the arrival's feet.
Stranger carefully moved through the swamp, gazing around and above for anything that would sound or look like a Sleg.
Umi, however, didn't like the fact of being in a dark swamp, obviously that would be inhabited with Slegs. But with Stranger, she felt more safe.
Her alarm rose when she heard the cracks of dry branches from an unknown mass standing upon it.
She quivered in fear, keeping an arm tight around Stranger's.
Then, a quick red flash swiped in her mind, a painful heat bursting afterwards.
She gasped, her arm dropping from Stranger, and a hand holding her pounding head.
Stranger spun around.
"You ok? What's wrong?" he asked conernly.
Umi's eyes were wide with shock, heaving hard breaths of intense pain.
She saw the eyes, just for a brief second...ruby-red, a hellish red, dazzling evily in to her eyes, blocking her vision as well.
A hot flash, maybe. But so painful. And the hallucinations.
"No...nothing," she blinked wearily up to him, becoming perkier to not let out a sense of irrational fear of something.
Stranger grunted in doubt, his lip curling down, and lifted her off the ground by her legs and head, keeping a tight arm under her head.
"I think the heat's gettin' ter yer head. I'll carry you fer a while,"
He started forward again, looking ahead with stern eyes.
Umi was now alert of what she saw, eyes open and full.
A biting pain tore her mind again, and the hot flash slashed through again, the eyes glaring deeper at her.
And this time, she got a good look at them.
"Ahh!" she screamed, her head snapping on to Stranger's bicep.
He stopped abruptly, eyes locked on her filled with concern.
"What's goin' on with you, Umi?" his voice firm.
She hissed back to her chest, her eyes locked shut.
Something was causing her pain...psychologically.
"It hurts..." she cried.
Stranger frowned, a look of helplessness staring forward in to the dank dark swamp.
"Maybe...you should rest fer a while. There's definitely somethin' wrong with yeh,"
Umi swallowed in a deep breath, becoming calm and collective.
"No, no...I'm fine..."
She hissed loudly, another red flash tearing at her mind.
"Umi, you need to tell me what's wrong," his voice became strong and deep.
Umi didn't reply, but stare down with fearful eyes.
A voice came along with the last flash, a venemous, snake-like growl that sank deep.
It said;
Death to you...
Something was out there, waiting for them.
She looked back up to Stranger, her eyes settling back calmly.
"There's nothing wrong with me, buddy. Just a...headache..." she lied.
But Stranger only gave a concerned sigh, looking straight ahead again, then back down.
He could tell something was disturbing her, not by the way she was acting, but by the way she kept silent.
"I don't think so," he said.
"Let's rest. We've had a long day, and so have you..."
"But-but, we need to get through here, and-"
"Shh...I'm more concerned of you and yer behavior, young lady," he said gently.
He sat on a dry patch of grass, resting his spine upon a trunk of a tree.
"Rest, lil' one. I'm right 'ere,"
She sighed gently, resting the back of her head on his chest.
A creature was contacting her telepathically, giving her threatening messages and nothing but pain.
And she bet it would jeopardize the journey, and delay them from making it out from the Sleg Swamps.
But all she could think of is to get some rest, and hope to god that her traumatizing headache would stop pounding thorugh her skull, as she slowly drifted to sleep.

The visions of the Steef tribe flooded in her conscious again. This time, a bit more different.
Youngling Steef were frolicing through the prairie, playing hide-and-seek in the tall brush.
She imagined herself there, playing joyfully with the younglings at their game.
They laughed, as each shot out to each other and dog-piled on one another.
And as Umi headed towards the playing bunch, the sky quickly turned from a bright blue, to a malicious black that shrouded the play ground in to a field of nightmare and distress.
Fires sparked on the swaying grass, and black figures with bright red eyes, holding torches and guns, ran after the fleeing children.
Horrific scenes of defending parents failing to protect their own flashed on by her.
Baby Steef were captured and killed in front of their spouses, and thrown in to a pond of gasoline and oil set a fire, and burning the corpses, dead or alive.
Gunshots cracked loudly, killing the defending male Steef one at a time.
The black-coated figures ran by with a whirr of mechanical pants, brushng their torches among the grass, and painting a fire that connected in to a large orb.
Helpless females were brought down by the tackling invaders, holding their heads down in to the ground.
"My odd..."
Umi could scarcely breathe, as she was torn from her dream self, and floated above, watching the horrific treachery continue.
She caught a glimps of a fierce roar tearing apart through the attackers.
Stranger, and his mate.
He whipped away the invaders coming in close, backing away with his female fearfully staying behind him.
She caught a creature behind them, and tackled the female down.
And as Stranger spun around, the attackers took their chance, and took him down as well.
He watched, as his mate was gunned down before his eyes.
She could hear the creatures laugh evily at their deed.
Stranger let out a furious bellow, erupting from the piling creatures, and ripping them apart from his back.
He fought to the female, with as much brute force as he could put in one outlaw.
She felt herself fling down on the ground as well, her hair being pulled with force.
"I got the human!" it said in a straining voice.
Green tentacles pushed against her neck, as the creature spoke in a droning tone.
"Ah, get off'a me!" she griped, then looked ahead.
"Stranger!" she cried.
His head turned to her for a brief moment, a slight sneer appearing on his face, then he spun around, and fought through the creatures again.
Her eyes widened, tears glossing and rolling down her cheeks.
More of the creatures piled up on her, the weight becoming painful.
She could hear a faint call of her name.
Her head snapped to it.
Another male Steef, about as tall as Stranger, but its mane shorter and lighter, shouted over the ruckus of the creatures shouting and yelling.
It began to rampage through the creatures, tearing closer to her.
Umi only watched with tear-stricken eyes, as her only father didn't turn back to save her.
The male kept calling her name, but she didn't take her eyes off the back of Stranger.
Until one of the creatures came up to her face.
It held down a rifle in its shiny black-gloved hands, glaring at her through hellish red-orange eyes.
It pressed its gun point to her forehead, its eyes narrowing more maliciously.
The creatures upon her chuckled at her demise, nodding their narrow heads at the creature pressing its barrel to her.
She heard the cock of the rifle's trigger-
"HOLY SHIT!" she screamed loudly, her body lunging forward off Stranger's chest.
She panted of fear, her heart racing.
Stranger jolted awake, his arm gripping at her arm.
"Umi!" he roared.
She felt herself become dizzy, hyperventalation beginning to affect her brain.
"What in odd's name is wrong?"
Her breathing calmed down, but her eyes were wide of fear.
Tears apathetically filled her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks.
Stranger's frustration built, the grip on her arm becoming tighter.
She began to shake her head disbelieving.
"They're getting worse..."
Now his grip lightened up.
"What? What's gettin' worse?"
"My dreams..." she said, going pale.
Stranger bit his lip hardly, the taste of blood touching his tongue.
"It was the Steef tribe again," her voice perked of more life.
Her face scrunched distressed, cringing down between her legs.
He gently lifted her face back up with two hands, staring deeply in to her eyes. He wiped the tears streaking down her face with his thumb, and smiled gently to her.
"Nothin's gonna hurt you, Umi. I won't let it,"
She slowly looked up to him, with bloodshot eyes, and the truth on the tip of her tongue.
"Somethin's after me...it's out there," she said a bit urgently.
His face melted down, lifting her up with one arm, and tightly hugging her defensively.
"Whatever it is..."
His bow unlocked before him.
"it ain't touchin' you,"
He stepped forward, going deeper in to the mouth of the Sleg Swamps.

PERILOUS JOURNEY
The journey to Boontown (cont.)

Stranger ventured deeper in to the heart of the Sleg Swamps, where the air became more humid and bog-like, and the water became spontanious, in dark patches under marsh-like grasses. The smell of rotting vegetations wrought through the trees, the dark waters brewing the primordial soup.
Fleshy vines dug through the marsh grasses, and in to the murky waters.
Stranger hung around hooked derooted tree roots, minding the vines holding out as a trap for him.
Crickets chirrped in the artificial darkness, and various creatures croaked witht the chants.
Umi, becoming paranoid of the swamp, darted her head around to louder croaks and branches snapping.
She moved uncomfortably in Stranger's arm, as her headache became more powerful.
A whoop of an unknown creature scratched against the grain of the chirrps.
She grunted in discomfort.
"Ain't nothin' out there, Umi. Just some bugs," Stranger whispered, and continued forward, holding his arm with his bow out down.
But Umi didnt' care to what Stranger had said.
Something was definitely out there, stalking them slowly...
The trees created a thicker canvas roof of the swamp, creating a darker atmosphere outside the trees.
They kept walking, no matter how dark or ominous the swamp presented.
Just as Umi rested her head on his arm, relaxing her eyes, the red flash came by her again, but not as painful as she presumed.
Her eyes popped open, keeping completely still, and staring out to the darkness behind the trees.
And beyond there, she stared in disbelief.
The same pair of eyes she saw was glaring, its hellish-red eyes piercing her vision.
Umi stopped her breathing, fear contorting her courage.
Just as she blinked, the eyes disappeared, but with a sound of rustling leaves and grasses following far beside them.
"Stranger..." she said in quiet distress, tugging at his shoulder in panic.
Stranger stopped, an irritated sigh coming from him.
"What is it now?" he asked impatiently.
She was scrambling from his arm, and her back rubbing against his shoulder, her eyes glued on the area where the eyes were placed.
"Something's out there..." she said.
Stranger looked out to where Umi was faced, nothing but darkness veiling his vision.
He rolled his eyes at Umi's paranoia.
"Umi," he sighed, looking to her.
"There's nothing out there. Would ya calm dow-"
A growing shriek pierced through the shadows, echoing eerily in to a low roar at the end.
Stranger flinched at the abrupt shriek, holding his bow down in defense.
"Ok, Umi," he said, nodding.
"You's got my attention,"
He pulled his arm up with his bow, continuing forth deeper in to the swamps, darting at his every side.
Wow, now I'm becoming paranoid he thought.
He glared at every dark corner of the trees, hearing a brief rustle here and there.
The canvas above shook violently.
Stranger spun around, his arm growing tighter around Umi.
The rustling disappeared, only leaves softly gliding down.
Stranger growled uncomfortably.
Whatever stalked them was cheeky.
And whatever followed them thumped on the ground behind them.
A heavy thud on the soft mud rumbled gently under his feet. A splash of water from a footstep made stranger spun around immediately.
His arm fell limp to the creature overtowering him.
An enormous claw was perched right in front of him. As he looked up, the creature's appearance became clear.
Its face could only describe how much fear pulsed through Umi's mind, the exact same glare that fixed through her conscious.
Its face was long, dinosaur-like, and a beak or a claw dropping down from its nose. It had two large mandibles beside its mouth hanging wide open, drool stringing down its teeth and gums.
Its neck stretched long down to its body, two arms with opposite sickle-like claws arching down from its fingers.
From its ribs, it had six pairs of legs; two in the front, two in the middle, and two holstering its backside, with its tail whipping furiously and spines retracting on the spine of its tail.
It glared at the intrusion, heinous glowering eyes piercing deeply in to Stranger and Umi.
Both of them were frozen solid of fear, his legs shaking, and refusing from running.
This thing was 10 times larger than Stranger, and a 100 times larger than Umi.
Its fixed glare moved upon the human, immediately recognizing it, as its eyes narrowed.
Umi felt her mind freeze.
The creature snorted, fixing its neck straight to full length, flaring its nostrils.
"Don't move..." Umi told near his ear.
The creature let out a shrill roar, ending with a loud screech.
Both Umi's and Stranger's hearts stopped.
Its head cocked back, then lowered down to the human, sniffing her out with large gusts, keeping its eyes locked on her.
It snorted away, shaking its head, and clicked its mandibles, glaring at both of them.
Stranger's ears went down.
"What's it doin'?" he asked.
Umi looked down to its legs, it tapping its hind leg in the dirt, and slashing back.
That stance was familiar.
Almost like a bull...
Her eyes then widened.
"It's going to attack..." she said almost in a frightened whisper.
Its jaws clicked once more, then screeched a battlecry once more, its head sticking straight up.
"RUN!" Umi screamed.
Stranger popped Umi in his arm, and began to run opposite of where they came from.
The creature stampeded after them, its six legs rowing in a motion of a centapede, clapping its claws together.
She noticed Stranger's lack of speed, and watching the creature catch up so quickly.
"You can't do anything with me in yer arms!" Umi shouted over the loud crack of tree branches.
"I ain't lettin' yer on yer own! That thing'll rip yeh to shreds!" Stranger roared.
"Well, I'm not gonna get us killed! It's either me, or both of us!" Umi glared at him.
Stranger looked ahead, biting his lip hardly. He looked back to Umi, her eyes stern and seldom.
He let out an inaudible sigh.
"When we lose this thing, I'll let yer down," Stranger finally said.
"but I'm-a regret it if it get's you,"
Her eyes softened at his decision, glancing back at the crreature still coming after them. Then she looked back ahead, only a vast, watery land stretching before them.
The only way to lose them was to dart in to the trees.
And that's exactly what Stranger thought, as he leaped to the trees, and went deeper.
The monstroucity was too large to fit through, but it could rip the trees out within a matter of seconds.
Stranger ran further, until he felt it was safe for the moment.
He gently let down Umi, his eyes growing concernly.
"i want yer to be careful, Umi. This may be the most stupidest thing I've done for you," he told firmly.
Umi gently smiled.
"'ey. Don't worry 'bout me. We've all done stupid things in the past,"
"How can I not worry 'bout you, ya lil' varmin?" he chuckled.
The Shredder, as he would call it now, roared far in the background, a trace of annoyance squawking loudly.
They could hear the thunderous cracks of tree trunks snapping down with force.
It was coming closer.
Stranger snapped back to Umi.
"Go!" he shooed her, unlocking his bow.
Umi nodded, and ran towards the Shredder's path.
His eyes blinked in bewilderment.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Stranger bellowed.
Umi didn't look back, as she saw the eyes of the Shredder cut through the darkness.
It slashed its sickle-like claw across the trees in front of it, breaching even further.
Umi stopped before it, a defiant grin glaring up at it.
"Alright, ya brute," she growled.
The Shredder stared upon the human in front of it.
"You've tampered with my head,"
She reached for her weapons on her belt.
"But you ain't gonna hurt Stranger!"
She began to run towards its leg.
The Shredder brought down upon its leg to stop the human climbing up, but only confused itself with its pain.
The Shredder roared, wincing in pain.
Umi had finished clawing up its leg, and began to the back of its neck, when the Shredder's head spun to her, and cranked down to her level, glaring angrily.
Her mind froze, the hellish red piercing deep in to her eyes.
A faint echo of a deep voice flooded her mind.
"Don't even think to defy me, human," the voice told angrily.
Who are you? Umi spoke back thorugh her mind.
"I am the defender of this Swamp, and I will eliminate anything who dares to intrude," it snorted.
We just want to get passed to the Chixapox fields she pleaded.
It gave an intimidating chuckle, its eyes narrowing to her.
"That's what they all say..." it said.
A sharp pain simulated in her mind again, temporarily disabling her of moving.
The Shredder wrapped its tail around the human tightly, and brought her up to its leveled head.
It screeched victoriously in the air, now feeling a second presense below it.
It brought its head down, staring at the bounty hunter, a hateful glare bestowing upon it.
"Let...'er...go...now," he growled, muscles tensioning.
The Shredder snorted a laugh at his defiance.
His hair frazzled on his neck.
"I said NOW!" he roared, picking his arm up to the Shredder, the bow open with Boom-bat Seekers placed on each launcher.
It clicked its mandibles, its eyes daring him.
"I'm-a count ter three, and if yer don't let 'er down...I'm-a kill yeh," he bared his teeth.
the Shredder placed a foot forward.
"One..."
The Shredder snorted again, placing another foot forward.
"Two..."
His bow locked down with the 'bats fluttering their wings hyperly.
Just as he did that, tentacle-like vines sprouted from its spines surrounding Umi's head, and dug in to her throat.
She grunted loudly, feeling a sharp pain cut through her neck, and dig for her voice box. She choked from the tickling feeling, as the tentacles tapped on to her voice box.
Her eyes shot blank, falling limp.
Her head was brought back up forcefully, her eyes glowing a deep blood-red, and an intimidating smile growing.
"If you think to risk your friend's life, I suggest not to shoot," her voice sounded mixed with the deep voice he had heard when he had his nightmare.
Stranger felt defeat come over him.
"What the hell did you do to her!?" Stranger bellowed.
"Have you not noticed, I've taken over her body. She's mine to control now,"
His hand crumpled in a tight fist, his claws digging in to his hand, almost to the point of bleeding.
"Damn it! She ain't a dummy, you bastard!" he roared.
"Well, now she is..." it let out an ominous chuckle.
"Now, if you want to see your friend alive, don't even think of following me,"
It turned around, holding its tail up with the demented taken-over human close to its face.
"'ey! We ain't done yet! I said turn yerself around! YOU HEAR ME!?"
The Shredder snapped back around, its eye squinting down.
"Oh. That's right..." it moved back around so that its tail was behind it.
Stranger waited, so the moment would sink in, watching deviously at the Shredder.
Just then, his arm snapped up, and shot nearly a full clip of Super Stingbees to its face.
The Shredder let out a loud chuckle, bringing its tail in front of its face.
The Stingbees trekked up its tail, striking upon Umi's face, her without cringing.
"NO!" Stranger cried, his arm lowering down to his side.
His muscles flared angrily.
"You odd-damn coward!"
Bleeding holes gushed out of her face. She began to flinch, as the stingers exhausted out of her face.
Her eyes now glowed a lighter shade of red.
"Like I said..." it spoke through her.
"Follow me...and she dies,"
Just as it finished, it whipped its tail, then swung it across Stranger's body.
His stomach caved in painfully, the air exhausting out of his mouth. His spine crashed in to a tree behind him.
He let out a pained grunt, then his head fell limp, staying in the position where he fell unconscious.
The Shredder scoffed, turning away from the limp Steef, trampling noisily through the swamp.
The only thing at stake was Umi's.
Revenge was about to be plotted, and death would fill the air.

GAH! HOW MUCH DID I MISS!?

Well, first and second bit was cute, fluffy, soppy and slightly ominous... Third bit...:D sounds veeeeery familiar. :D And OH NO! How could you leave it there!?!?!?

The horror! Oh the horror! Update! Update soon!

And I would update mine....but writer's block...:banghead:

:turns in to an Italian mafia leader:
'ey. Business is business...Can't do not'in' 'bout it.
But soon, I'll update.
And d'you want me ter help you with that writer's block?
:grabs a 2 by 4, slapping it in palm deviously:

And t'ain't it familiar? >.> <.< :evil:

PERILOUS JOURNEY
The journey to Boontown (cont.)

Pain pulsed through her face, feeling the blood crusting scrunch her cheeks to where the stingers had fallen.
She felt a burning sensation come from all over her body, but her nerves singed around her neck. The control of the Shredder left a terrible achy feeling, and nothing but pounding pain.
But what hurt most was her pride. Her ability to control herself from situations like this would always end up either shot and wounded, or held captive.
And it was mostly being shot, then held captive.
Umi groaned, her eyes slowly fluttering open, and her ear drums pounding with her headache, and the rhythmic stomps of the Shredder.
Why does this have to happen to me... she thought wearily.
The Shredder's pace slowed, its head lowering down from the irritating scratching canvas above.
"About time you wake," the Shredder's voice telepathically spoke through her mind.
"I was thinking you'd be dead,"
Umi's head perked up from her dangling legs to the Shredder that spoke.
"Why did you take me?" she said loud enough for the Shredder to hear.
The Shredder kept quiet, staring ahead, and ignoring the human's request.
Umi became frazzled to the Shredder.
"'ey! Do I stutter!? I said why did you take me!?"
Its head spun around to her, eyes glaring deeply.
"Isn't it obvious, Umi?" it said eerily.
Umi stuttered with her words, blinking dumbfoundedly.
"H-how d'you know my name?" Umi said, giving a suspicious eye.
"You are a threat to that...thing you travel with...and to your future people," it said.
"What?" Umi almost screamed.
Its eyes grew softer.
"I've been monitoring your dreams, right when you left the Grubb tribe. Those aren't nightmares of your conscious, Umi," it shook its head.
"Those are true visions, that will come true,"
Its head moved away from her face, moving a leg forward to keep its balance.
She frowned suspiciously, leaning her head closer to it.
"So...why are you taking me from Stranger?" she asked again.
"It's the only way to save him, and yourself," it replied.
"That...doesn't make any sense..." she blinked.
"I've already told you, young human. Your visions you have will come true. And this is only for your sake, and the sake of innocent lives that you will be around," it said more exaturated.
"I don't believe it! They won't come true!" she began to shout.
Its eyes went back to a glare.
"Don't fight the ineffable, human," its voice sounded angrier.
Umi gritted her teeth together in anger, her face turning a flush red.
"No...they...will...NOT!" she screamed.
"Stranger would never do a thing to me! Never! I know it, and he does, too! All yer tryin' to do is scare me, and it ain't workin', you over-sized crustacean!"
A flourished growl came from the Shredder, its mandibles twitching angrily.
"Then how do I know!?" it roared.
It's tail whipped across the tangled webs of trees, breaking then in half from their trunks.
Splinters and cuts of wood slashed across her cheek, leaving a deep bleeding gash dripping down her jaw.
"Do you think I'm stupid!?" it brough its tail back up to its face, glaring at the human.
She stared wearily out of her impaired eyes, her head falling slightly down.
"I know, because I can forsee it! I'm psychic! How do you think I contacted you, gave you those contractions of your mind!? I knew you'd be coming, because I saw it!"
The Shredder sighed through its nostrils, its anger cooling down.
"I saw the Steef attack, because I read its mind,"
Its eyes grew more soft, and its voice became melacholny.
"And I knew you two would become family...I saw it as well. I've been watching you, ever since you came to Oddworld, watching your thoughts, seeing the world from your eyes. I didn't do anything to you at that time, because I really couldn't. I was just...studying you..."
Umi panted, her head slowly coming back up.
"I've never seen a complex creature as a human before. Closely related to a Mudokon, but never like this,"
"What...you've...you've seent his coming as well..." she spoke almost in a whisper.
It looked down from the weary human.
"No...I didn't..." it said.
Umi sighed, her head falling forward, but bobbing back up.
"This still...doesn't explain...the fact, you kidnapped me..." she brought up, her head down, but her eyes on the Shredder's face.
"That..." it glanced back forward, taking a few steps before replying.
"I will not say again..."
Umi scoffed, her head heavily laying back on its tail.
She closed her eyes, letting out an exhausted sigh.
She was tired, the control of the Shredder taking most of her energy, and the pain that was stringing through her cheek.
But she longed to be in Stranger's loving arms again.
It only felt of another nightmare brewing again...

-**-

"Odd...damn..."
Stranger breathed deeply in, feeling the pain from the back of his head string and sink in on his spine.
He slowly lifted his head off the trunk that had stopped him, his face speckled in mud.
Stranger stood up on the ground, keeping an open hand on the back of his head.
When he touched his hat, he felt a dampness warm his hand.
He whipped off his hat, and gently patted on the throbbing part of his head, only to feel a liquid-warm feeling cover his hand.
He brought it back to his face, the color of violet-red staning his palm.
He snorted, holding his hat down by his leg, then stared down at the broken path of trees leading away from him.
The thought of his defeat by the Swamp creature had came up in an instant, its tail whipped across his ribs, sending him flying in to the tree.
Then again...
Umi.
She being taken by the Shredder.
Anger bursted, nostrils flared of a furious sigh. A growl flurried in his throat, growing greatly in to a full-burst roar in the air.
Furious as he was, that was only a fraction of his anger.
The fact of his kin being stolen away from him made him furious.
Again.
He couldn't stand the fact that something so precious to him was taken away like he didn't deserve.
Stranger came back down, his teeth clamped down tightly.
"Don't worry, lil' one..." he said to himself in a low growl.
"If tha' thing done somethin' ter you...I'm-a rip out its spine..."
He gazed up at the trees standing completely still. He leaped up on the trunk of a tree, beginning to travel branch from branch spider-like, his eyes glowing deep green, and full of fury.

-**-

An echo of a bellow croaked far beyond the trees.
Umi felt a flood of relief draw over her, as the heat flushed back in her mind.
"So that explains things. Your Steef friend isn't far from where we are," the Shredder spoke, then shuddered unintimidated.
"No matter. He won't be able to get you,"
Umi glared back to the Shredder's head.
"He will get me, and he will kill you..." she spoke darkly.
"'cause he's pissed...very...pissed,"
The Shredder scoffed a chuckle.
"You think I fear such a puny threat from the likes of you? I have control of you! And he wouldn't dare to do anything that would cause harm to you, which gives me the ultimate advantage," the Shredder told.
"He'll figure a way to get you. Believe me. And when I'm safe, you'll see what he'll do to you," she spat.
It chuckled out of character.
"We'll see..."
Umi kept on a look-out, watching the trees mostly instead of the ground.
She knew he'd take the high route, if he knew what's best for him.
Trees near them rustled violently, moving with the Shredder's path.
Umi snapped her head to the moving leaves, her mind racing, but keeping her thoughts to a minimum, not to alert the Shredder.
But as always, she couldn't control herself.
C'mon, Stranger...
The Shredder stopped immediately, staring at Umi with one eye, shining craftily.
"I knew it..." it growled, then stared around its surroundings.
Umi felt herself panic, worrying of the danger Stranger would be in.
"Watch out, Stranger! It can read your thoughts!" Umi screamed.
The brush moved continuously, more violent from Umi's outburst.
The Shredder turned to the brush, making it suspicious of its presence.
It raised a sickled claw, and swiped the leaves in one liquid motion.
The branches broke down in one piece, leaving a thick covering of leaves on the ground before it.
It continued to move, even though cleanly cut.
Just as it continued, a flutter of feathered wings flapped panic-striken out of the leaves, brushing passed the Shredder's face.
It growled irritatingly, moving back to Umi's face.
"You little prick! It was just a bunch of birds!"
She hid herself under a shadow under her bangs, a dark grin growing.
"I don't think so..." she said, keeping her head down.
Opposite of where the Shredder faced, a body shot out from the trees, keeping in a straight sart towards the Shredder's neck.
The Shredder turned to the body that took flight, but before it could stop it, the body grappled its claws in to its skin on its neck.
A sharp prickling pain was sent up through its muscle. The Shredder growled in frustration, careful not to use its claws to brush off the body on it.
It began to crawl steadily up its neck towards its neck.
The Shredder began to panic.
But Umi, however, felt joy spring in her throat
His green eyes looked over to Umi.
"Don't worry, kid! I'll get yer in a second!" Stranger shouted.
Umi nodded quickly, as he crawled up to its lower eyelid.
He clawed up on top of its head, maintaining his wobbly legs on the top of its flat head.
The Shredder's eyes moved in to its head, trying to see what the Steef was up to on its head.
Stranger's bow unlocked, pre-loaded with Boom-bat Seekers and Rabid Fuzzles. He kept a heinous glare on its skin, his lip twitching angrily.
"Go ter hell, you bastard..." he growled.
Stranger leaped off its head, keeping his arm down at its head.
A cluster of Boom-bats flew off to the Shredder's forehead, and as he fell half-way down, Rabid Fuzzles flung off on the Shredder's face.
The Shredder screeched a deafening scream, its tail whipping everywhere, and loosening around Umi.
Its tail unwrapped from her, sending her in an uncontrollable spin out towards the forest.
"Umi! NO!" Stranger shouted, rushing through the trees she flew through.
The Shredder's head fell down in exhaustion, the Fuzzles still nipping irritatingly at its face.
It heard the scattering footsteps of the Steef fleeing to the human, as a plot was created in its mind.
It now glared out to where the Steef fled to, a growl rumbling deeply in its throat.
One thing for sure, the Shredder wasn't very happy...

*choke*

I dunno what ta think....will Umi really cause all the Steef to die? Will Stranger really leave 'er?

Or is the Shredder lying?

I'M SO CONFUSED! :banghead:

But update soon matie. :D

:lol:
That's what's supposed to happen, dear Lobo.
To make you think two ways;
Will this or that happen?
It's one 'o my things, besides leaving cliffies. :p

Ok, I'm-a have to do this a bit at a time, 'cause this part's kind'a long. It'll all be on the same page.

PERILOUS JOURNEY
The journey to Boontown (cont.)

"AH-OW!" Umi screamed, holding tightly on her upper leg.
Her leg was smashed between a heavy tree branch and the soft swampland, slowly causing pain.
"Odd...DAMN IT!" Umi cried a scream, flinging her head up in the air.
"Umi!" Stranger's voice called from up in a tree.
He appeared quickly, holding on to a trunk of a tree, and gazing down at Umi.
She glanced up to him with tear-stricken eyes.
"Get this thing off me!" she cried.
He jumped from the trunk, landing beside her, and lifting the branch off, rolling it to a side from her.
"Anything broken?" he assessed quickly.
Umi rubbed up and down her shin, not feeling anything out of place.
She shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Stranger knelt down by her, a concerned pain crushing his heart.
He wiped her cheek of the blood-crusted cut. The holes where the tentacles had entered were caked with blood and a clear fluid, making a ring around her throat.
"Oh, Umi...what did it do to yer?" his lip quivered, gathering her near his body, and hugging her securly.
Umi sighed heavily, resting her head on his arm, and closing her eyes.
"Can we sleep now?" she asked wearily, fluttering her eyes to him.
Stranger knelt down on the ground, staring ahead to where the Shredder last was.
He nodded back down to her.
"Yeah. We'll rest..." he purred.
He leaned his back against a half-bent trunk of a tree, tipping his hat over his eyes to shield the buzzing fireflies from his face.
Umi rested her head upon his chest, and crossed her legs upon his. She was already fast asleep before Stranger could say otherwise.
Stranger smiled gently, taking another glance at her cut.
It pained to see Umi hurt, or being in pain. It wretched his heart from his chest so badly. Even though he swore to protect her, he failed in some wrong way.
He gave a glare around, his lip dropping down from his teeth, then lowered his head down over Umi's closing his eyes.
I'm waitin' fer yeh... he thought, knowing the Shredder would hear him from afar.
He fell asleep, not knowing what the dangers lie ahead...

-**-

The Shredder lay distilled in the same poise he last kept in, chuckling maliciously, while a blood-red eye stuck out from the marsh grass.
"Don't try to defy me, Steef. I'll make you see...I will make you see..."
Through his mind, red-hot flashes passed through telepathically, darting to find his target; Stranager and Umi.

His mind grew restless, along with the wrestling human on his lap, groaning in annoyance from the same dreams, combined, and replaying in her mind.
Stranger could see what Umi was talking about; what nightmares that came to view.
He saw himself, outside his dream self, fighting through a hoard of black-suited creatures piling upon himself, ramming towards a female Steef that was gunned down.
Stranger blinked, as he hovered over the bloody battle, crucifying the Steef all around.
Where the hell am I? he thought, gazing around in disbelief.
His ears suddenly perked up to a familiar scream. A scream that he would always answer to.
He shot to the mass pile of creatures, on top of a human, pleading for him, who was ignoring her, and paying more attention to get to the female Steef.
He saw himself turn around for a brief moment, and just shot a demeaning glance to her, then went back around, pounding through the creatures massing up.
He shook his head, his lip drooping from his teeth.
Not even his pleads would turn his dream self around.
“Odd-damn it! TURN AROUND!” he roared, feeling a depression of defeat stabbing his stomach.
His lip quivered in frustration, spinning around back to the pile of creatures holding her down on her chest.
He soared down to her, but a creature blocked him off, its back turned to Umi, devilishly orange eyes glaring heinously through a black mask down at her.
Stranger stopped, staring at the back of this creature’s head.
It held a rifle tightly in two black shiny gloves, ignoring the calling voice far behind it.
Stranger snapped back, a male Steef, probably in its young adult stage, called over the swarming mass of black creatures.
He went back to the terrified human versus the creature, retracting its long, tentacle-like mouth through an evil chuckle.
Umi’s eyes were glued upon the creature, tear-stricken, wide with fear.
It shook its head in pity, holstering its gun up to her forehead, and gave a buzzing drone to her.
The others piled on her laughed at her demise, nodding their head to the gunman pressing the tip of its barrel to her forehead.
A cock of the trigger, and a crashing gunshot made Stranger’s mind spin out of control.
“NO!” Stranger roared up, dropping to his knees, as the pile of creatures got off the body, which lie completely still, eyes still open of shocking fear, and blood dripping down her face through a bloody hole in the head.
Tears streaked down his furry jaw, staring painfully at his daughter’s face, still wide of fear.
But what he feared the most is that would he ever do that to her?
Leave her behind to die?
Never… he growled shallowly.
His hands curled slowly in to a fist, shaking from the tension growing in his arms.
“Why…” he groaned, blinking up to the suddenly changed atmosphere, surrounded in black.
“Why didn’t you turn around…”
His face dropped from a hardened anger, to a somber, saddened guilt. It was his fault that he didn’t turn around to save Umi.
He clenched his teeth angrily again, his fists cringing up to his face.
“Damn you, Shredder…” he growled, his face hidden under the shadows of his arms.
His eyes shot open, glittering brightly a neon green, and blood-shot veins crawling from the corners of his eyes.
“DAMN YOU!” he roared, flinging his arms and head up.
A familiar feeling came around him again, as he dropped his arms down before his knees.
His head hung low, opening to whiteness to his feet.
He snapped up in surprise, noticing what was coming back to him just a day ago.
Veins of red colored through the snow, a large body of red pooled on a pile of snow.
No…not again…
The body dissolved before his eyes again, shattered and torn of bullets through her body.
Tears came painfully up again, turning away tightly from the body that had reappeared again.
“Stop…” he growled.
“I’ve had enough,”
The eyes Umi had explained had come as well, surrounding him in a circle, voices taunting him.
His head snapped up, a defensive scrunch glared at the eyes.
“You hear me, Shredder?” he said darkly, his head going back down under his arms.
A roar built up in his throat, his upper lip parted widely from his clamped teeth.
“I’LL KILL YOU!” he bellowed above the hateful voices circling around him.
The eyes disappeared slowly, leaving a pierced glare in his mind, as he lowered his head down.
He exhausted a sigh from his roar, not able to breathe back in. His breath was lost, as he stared down in shock…
His body jolted awake, gasping sharply of his implied fear. His eyes stung from the moist air and the mix of tears drying over his eyes.
He began to feel the wrestling of Umi, rubbing against his stomach in a groan of terror.
His lip quivered from the pain she had to endure mentally, wrapping his arms tightly around her, and shoving his nose deep in her hair.
“Oh Umi…I didn’t know how bad these dreams were…” he cried gently, his face scrunching from the power of his feelings.
He heard her gasp sharply awake, her eyes rounded in shock.
Her hand clawed deep on his poncho, leaning her cheek on his shoulder.
“It happened again…” she cried mournfully.
“I know…I know…” he said in a soothing purr.
He calmed her down, stroking the back of her head down to her back.
She cried her fear off on his shoulder, fearing the worst that will come.
Then the fact came to her that Stranger knew about her dreams, and she looked up to him, with a despirate question on her tongue.
"Stranger?" she asked gently.
"Hmm?" he mumbled deep in his throat.
"D'you..." she looked down for a second, hesistating to ask.
Stranger looked down on Umi's head, his eyes glowing gently to her.
"D'you think...that...what you saw...will come true?" she snapped back up.
Stranger put on a hurtful face, frowning upon Umi.
"Umi," he said astoundedly.
"Of course not,"
He kissed her forehead, then hugged her head to his shoulder, gently rocking himself and her.
"Of course not...I would never leave you, baby," he told.
Umi sniffed, rubbing her eyes.
"I thought...since the Shredder-"
"Forget the Shredder," he growled out towards the swamps.
"He ain't gonna give us no more grief like 'dis anymore,"
Umi looked up to Stranger, a fierce look veiled on his face.
"You mean-"
"Uh-huh," he nodded, moving back down to her.
"We's gonna kill that giant son-of-a-bitch,"
He stood up, unlocking his bow, and keeping in front of Umi, while stalking forward in search of the Shredder.
What pain, and what damage it has caused, would be hitting it back even harder that it had struck.

-**-

Umi stopped abruptly, leaving Stranger to go on by himself.
She snapped up to him.
"Wait," she said quickly, then focused outside on the environmental noises.
Stranger stopped, and turned to Umi, with a curious brow up.
She closed her eyes, listening hard outside beyond the trees.
Far out was the near-silent murky stomps of a heavy creature, breaking through the trees forcefully.
Umi opened again, moving up to Stranger.
"It's not that far from us. If we are to rid of the Shredder, we need heavy firepower," she told urgently.
"What'cha get'n at, kid?" Stranger asked.
"Boom-bats, prolly?" Umi raised a brow.
Stranger sorted through his ammunition sack, then coming back up with a disgruntled frown.
"Not that many left. 'bout six left," he shrugged.
"Good enough," she nodded.
"Get high in the trees. I'll lead the bastard down through the broken lane, and you can strike it on the head,"
But as Umi began to run away, Stranger grabbed her shoulder, and brough her back to him.
He knelt down to her face, keeping his hands on her shoulders, and a stern look staring in to her eyes.
"I ain't lettin' you on yer own again, Umi," he gruffly said.
"And this time, I mean it,"
Umi stumbled with her words.
"B-but...we need to get rid of the Shred-"
"Is up ter me," he interrupted.
"I'm not riskin' yer life again. I won't allow you to get hurt. Not again,"
Umi looked out of frustration with his stubborness.
"Stranger, I-"
She dodged his look once, then came back up.
"I understand you're trying to protect me. I really do. But...you can't just follow me like I'm some toddler that doesn't know better, all the rest of your life," she said gently, looking down from him.
"I know I don't age much on this world, but my mind continues to grow. Sooner or later, you'll have to let me on my own, to fend for myself,"
Stranger frowned, his hand growing tighter on her shoulder.
"I know I should, but yer not ready yet," he purred.
"Yer not ready fer the dangers of this world, Umi. I'm the only one who can show you. The only one to help you through. If you didn't have me, you'd prolly be dead somewhere where no one would know if you were human,"
Umi's face was down, but her eyes were on him.
"I just...can't let you go, Umi...I mean...it'll be hard to, but...yer the only one I've truely loved so much fer...and it'll be hard to see the kid I've raised leave out to the real world..."
Umi frowned, she feeling his hurt pinch his mind.
"I love you...too much...to ever see you get hurt," his arms rolled around her back, bringing her on his lap.
Umi rubbed his arm comfortingly, wincing down from his pained frown.
An eery howl screeched far beyond the swamps.
The Shredder was still at bay.
Umi moved her head up as best she could to look to Stranger.
"Please, Stranger..." she spoke in a pleadful voice.
Stranger adjusted his neck to look down to her.
"Trust me, this last time. I'll get the Shredder. You just need to shoot it,"
Stranger averted her stare, searching his mind for the right decision.
His head moved away, only showing her a side of his face.
"I've always trusted you Umi..." he said.
Umi felt hope come to her.
Stranger looked back to her, his eyes pleadingful.
"but, if you trust in your judgement, I'll let yer go..."
Umi stood up in front of Stranger.
"But please, Umi," his eyes fell hurt again.
"be careful,"
Umi nodded confidentally, a grin of pride strung on her lips.
"Don't worry about me too much, Stranger," Umi said.
"it'll cause yeh to shed a lot,"
Stranger chuckled.
"Then let every strand of hair fall out, 'til I'm a bare jackrabbit,"
The screech of the Shredder was closer than before.
Umi felt her heart jump, suddenly turning urgent.
"Ok. We need to move, now. Hide high up in the canvas. When the Shredder gets directly under you, shoot your remaining Seekers,"
Stranger didn't make a comment, but leaped on to the trunk of a tree, and grappled up, until he was completely camouflaged under the thick covering of leaves.
Umi began cautiously down the broken lane of trees and flattened marsh grass.
The trees spoke to one another, rustling gently throughout the rows of trunks blocking the lane.
She felt herself lose hope in finding this enormous creature, but then grinned achievingly.
Hello-o-o-o? Where are ya, Shreddy? Umi called through her thoughts, darting her eyes around for a quick response, knowing to come within a second.
A piercing shriek of anger echoed off the trees.
'Pathetic human!" the Shredder's voice filled her mind loudly.
'How dare you and that thing of a Steef intrude my swamps! I should've killed you when I had the chance to!'
Umi stopped, staring straight ahead of the evolving mass stomping slowly forward to her.
The Shredder revealed out of the shadows that engulfed it, its eyes glowing hatefully down at the human standing before it.
"Well! If you want to kill me, here I am!" she opened her arms.
"but you've got'a catch me!"
The Shredder roared, bringing down a sickle claw right by her arm.
She jumped, and turned back around, jumping over the uprooted trunks of the trees.
The Shredder shrieked a warcry, then pursued after the human, faster than she.
But it may have been faster.
Umi was dodgy and smaller, leaving the Shredder with a poor accuracy.
But even with all the dodging Umi pulled off, it was gradually not paying off quick enough.
Umi gave a nervous stare ahead.
At this rate, she'd be killed before she reached Stranger.
The Shredder chuckled behind her.
'Give up, human! You're too slow for me!'
It swung its tail around and in front of Umi, blocking her path forward on.
She skidded to a stop, swallowing down her pride. She spun around to the Shredder, closing in with its nose almost touching her face.
'Now I'm going to do what I should've done...' it snarled, tripping her flat on her back.
It raised its tail high above her head, then brought back down, letting out one last victorious scream.
His ears flicked up in alert, as he sat in the most uncomfortable position in the canvas covering.
Not only did he hear the Shredder brawl, but he could hear the shriek of Umi's as well.
"Odd-damn..." he griped, swinging down from the branches, and landing on the muddy floor.
Far ahead he could see the Shredder bringing its tail down near the ground.
But what was under the tail made his anger build steam.
Flashes of the dreams he had seeing Umi killed exploded in his mind.
His head shook defiantly, his lip twitching uncontrollably.
No... he thought.
Not my Umi...
"NO!" Stranger roared, running forward towards the Shredder on his four limbs.
The Shredder darted its eyes forward to the Steef charging after it.
It chuckled deviously, its eyes dilating towards the Steef.
A hot pain ripped in Stranger's mind, the Shredder's voice coming thorugh an echo.
"Don't even come closer, Steef," it spoke threateningly.
Stranger growled back to it.
"Don't even try ter threaten me," Stranger said through his clenched teeth.
"you over-grown son-of-a-bitch...I'LL KILL YOU 'FORE YOU KILL MY KID!"
Stranger loped up a slant tree root, and leaped off over the arch high.
Feeling as if time had slown, his arm reached straigh out, both launchers loaded with quad-'bats.
The Shredder's eyes suddenly gleamed in fear, backing away nervously from the flying Steef.
'No...' it told.
'Don't come any closer, Steef...I'm warning you!'
Stranger only scowled vitriolically, his bow bursting off with the sextuplets of Boom-bat Seekers flying in a doubled cluster of drones and timebombs.
The Shredder snorted, its head moving away from the homing 'bats fluttering closer slowly through its eyes.
"NO!" the Shredder shrieked loudly, feeling the rush of defeat run over him before the Boom-bats impacted in an entire cluster at its face.
A shuddering explosion bursted off the Shredder's head, and a smokey smog covering what was left of its head.
It swayed gently for a moment, its headless body then jerking down to the muddy floor.
The ground quaked from the heavy drop of the Shredder's decapitated body, smoke smoldering from its chewed-off spine.
Stranger felt his burning anger drown with relief.
Relief that he had saved Umi from what he thought was the end.
And that the guardian of the Swamps, the Shredder creature, would no longer be a problem.
Umi stood up, wiping the dry mud off her stomach.
Stranger quickly came up, popping her up in his arms.
She looked at him with shocked surprise, but then smiled gently to him.
"Good work, Stranger," she looked back to the Shredder, then back to him.
Stranger sighed, nudging her with his nose deep in her hair.
"I'm just glad yer still in one piece..." he purred, a tickling sensation bothering through her nerves in her leg.
"Jeez..." she pushed his nose away.
"If yer that worried, put a choke collar on me,"
Stranger chuckled.
"Maybe that's what I'll do..."
Both of them looked over to the smoldering neck of the Shredder, relief flooding all over them again.
Umi shrugged.
"I guess you did a good number on 'im," she said.
"Better than that," he nodded.
Small creatures emerged from the trees, yips of glee crying in their minds, as they nourished themselves up to the Shredder, and bit off the smoked meat from its bones.
A feast was unraveled to the creatures who feared the Shredder, now no longer living.
And that Umi and Stranger would be left of these terrible feats it had given off to them.

Oooooh dear...not too good that... Still can't believe that Stranger would leave Umi...just doesn't seem right...

Anyway, great chapter, you're doin' a great job confusin' yer readers...:fuzemb: But this one was sweet. :D

Keep an eye on the thread, guys. Even though a short bit, like I said, I'll be adding on to it. I'll post up a warning that it has been posted when it comes up.
Today is one o' them, and a reminder.
Enjoy.

*bawls* Poor Stranger and Umi! *hugs them* Dreams like that are so horrible and it shakes you to the core when a loved one turns away.

I'm glad Stranger saw it, loved his reaction; “Odd-damn it! TURN AROUND!” Thought that was fantastic, and it was very comforting that Stranger practically hated his dream self for not rescuing Umi...

Well, wouldn't Stranger do that fer Bailey? Or Haigar?
'ey? 'ey? Point made? :nudges Lobo: :D

Yeh yeh, funny Darky, funny. I'm tryin', I'm tryin'...but blood from a stone remember...

And there you have the end of that. The next bit will be tomorrow, 'cause it's FRIDAY! :D

Bravo! *applauds* Stranger beat that monster's butt! Wuhoo! :cheer:

And now the question is...what the heck are they gonna havta face next time?

Oh, and PS. Loved how you got all the swamp creatures to eat the Shredder. :D

POSTIN' FER DARK ELITE_H2
 

The swamps became incredibly light, as they traveled further out of the Sleg swamps.
The trees began to part overhead, pouring dusty light over their heads in thin strings.
Light beamed through bushes ahead, lightening their spirits.
Stranger ran ahead, and parted the brush all together.
Light exploded in one large pulse, blinding them temporarily.
Stranger’s eyes dilated too quickly, causing him pain, and sending his face away from the light.
He slowly looked back, his eyes now adjusting to the newfound light.
Wind blew gently against his face, inviting them calmly out of the shadows of the swamp.
As they stepped out on the tickling long grass, he knew right at that moment they had arrived to the Chixapox fields.
They sky was blue, puffy white blobs of clouds sailed through the bright warm sunshine.
Wind brushed the grass, and cooled their hot muggy faces.
Contented groans arose from the grass, and the rip of grass from its roots came up in to long snouts.
Heads rose over the tips of the grass, to Umi’s sight.
She was completely overtaken by the long grass; she could only see the tops of the creatures’ heads.
The heads were long snouts, grazing upon the chewy grass, snorting and shaking their heads irritatingly at the buzzing insects humming over the sanctuary of the creatures’ nuzzles.
Stranger stopped his cautious step, placing his fists on his hips gently, and grinning out to the creatures.
“No need ter be scared, they’re merely Ezums,” Stranger turned his head over to Umi.
She looked up to him with a brow up high.
“Ezums?”
“They’re harmless, sometimes,” he shrugged.
The Ezum’s head rose up again.
Its skin was rugged, a pale golden-yellow with faint orange zigzag stripes. Small horns stuck out of their faces, some of them taller on the bone of its nose.
“Stay close,” Stranger cautioned, reaching a hand back to her.
“These things’re all over the place,”
Umi stayed close with Stranger’s trail, hearing the contented trills become louder.
Easy stomps stopped her in her tracks, she staring at the point where the grass rustled.
An Ezum’s head snapped up, its eyes locked on to her. Its eyes glimmer a deep green, with little red veins glowing at the corners of its eye.
Umi kept frozen, staring at the approaching Ezum, with its head low.
The Ezum took slow, cautious steps toward the newfound creature frozen as winter.
It circled around it, shoving its nose up and down the arms of it, sniffing wildly with its large nostrils.
Umi watched the Ezum sniff her out, keeping its eyes locked on her. But now she could get a better look at the Ezum.
It stood hunched like a dinosaur, with strong raptor-like legs larger than regular. Its arms held tucked under its chest, flicking at the pests nipping.
The Ezum held its neck back up, giving a relaxing whinny, and bowing its head to Umi.
She stared at it for a moment, noticing the tops of its head down to her.
She raised a hesitating arm, opening her palm to the top of its forehead. She touched its head, the scales smooth as a pebble right on the spot. But down on its snout was rougher, digging scales, uncomfortable to the touch.
Umi smiled gently at the creature, closing its eyes in deep content, as the human rubbed the top of its head.
“Well, I guess yer not the fighting type, ‘ey?”
“That’s ‘cause it’s a female,” Stranger spoke, coming up by the Ezum’s leg, and patting it gently.
“Female Ezums don’t do the fighting. Them males do, and that’s what yer gonna have to watch out fer,”
Umi swallowed her courage.
“What do the males do?”
Stranger grinned, pointing overhead the grass.
Two large Ezums, much larger than the females, and a lot darker, stamped their feet on the ground challengingly, snorting to one another.
They bared their long horns out, lowering their heads to a bull rush.
Both males let out a short bellow, then began to charge to a collision.
They closed in quickly, their heads colliding in to a large crack of skulls. Both Ezums walked back around in a short circle, and went back to each other in a series of collisions of flat-top heads.
Umi frowned back up to Stranger, he nodding undoubtfully.
“Yeh. That’s what they do; like ter bull-rush each other, ‘til one falls,”
He turned away from the battle, looking over to Umi.
“C’mon. We’s got’s a long way ter go, ‘til we hit the border,”

The midday sun held high above the fields, blazing a gentle heat on the warm-blooded creatures.
The Ezums’ population seemed to sprout more, as they moved further through the tall grass, stomping to new locations from the unknown force pushing down the grass.
Stranger carefully avoided the Ezums, not to upset or start a rampage.
Umi held close, staring down at the pressed grass, not paying attention to where they were exactly going.
She sighed, looking up to Stranger’s back, then up to the sky in a restful stretch.
Just as she brought down her arms, a fast rustling of grass swiftly moved along-side her, a few meters away.
She stopped, staying frozen in her place, listening carefully for the sound again.
The wind was calm, not strong enough to produce such a fast movement. The Ezums were too calm to move this fast.
Was something stalking them? Possibly hunting?
Umi quivered in nervousness, turning back to Stranger.
“Uh…Stranger?” Umi called, looking out through the grass.
He stopped, and turned to her, his lip curling down in a frown.
“Do…Ezums, hunt?” she asked up to him.
“Nah,” Stranger shook his head.
“They’s mostly vegetarians. Dun’ like meat much, ‘less they have’s to eat some,”
He looked out to the populace of Ezums, then back to her.
“’sides. The only thing meaty out ‘ere are themselves. They’s don’t go fer cannibalism,”
Umi looked back to the grassy border covering her sight.
She whimpered slightly, latching on to Stranger’s arm tightly, as they moved on.
Walking by a small pack of Ezums, they squawked in fear, lifting their heads up from the deep trench to the swiftly-moving grass beside them.
They snorted, moving away, while with their gleaming green eyes stuck on the parted grass that moved so quickly.
Stranger stared at the moving Ezums, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully, making a low hum deep within his throat.
“Strange…” he said.
“They’s scared,”
Umi looked with Stranger, only to see the jagged ends of the grass holding her down.
He frowned insecurely.
“But of what…”
That’s what I want to know Umi thought.
The grass returned to normal, for a short time at least.
The Ezums continued their conversations, until the rustling started again, just near their legs.
One groaned in irritation, moving away from its pack to alone spot, and continued to graze.
But as it bent down to take a mouthful, it squawked loudly, flinging its head up above the grass, and falling over sideways.
Umi stopped again, separating from Stranger that continued forward without notice of her absence.
She could hear hungry growls, ripping quietly at the flesh that fell before it.
A lick of the lips suddenly sent chills up her spine; a bloodthirsty slurp she heard.
Umi ran before Stranger, pulling his arm back.
“Stranger,” she said more urgent.
He sighed heavily, turning to her with an apathetic face.
“What now?” he nearly said in a low growl.
“Over there…an Ezum just went down,” she quivered.
Stranger looked overhead the grass, placing a flat hand over his eyes to shield the glare blinding him to see perfectly.
Everything seemed calm; nothing could break the dovish-like creatures.
He grinned concerned down to Umi.
“Nothin’s out there, kid,” he said.
“Think’s you’s imaginin’ t’ings again…”
Umi grunted at his comment, scrunching her face furiously.
She didn’t say otherwise, but drifted slowly with him, watching cautiously out to the grass.
Not noticing what was ahead, she moved forward, until Stranger’s back knocked her back to the real world.
He was stuck in one spot, his arms out acting as a shield, and his lip curled down, showing off his sharp teeth.
Umi grunted, moving back from him, and looking under his arm to the thing, that stood right in front of them.
It snorted hungrily, although it had a mess of blood spattered among its jaw.
It was much smaller than an Ezum, but had familiar characteristics of them; two raptor-like arms, hanging loosely under its chest.
Its legs were slender, but muscular, with two retractable claws standing curved up over its toes.
But its face was long, with two tusks, pretty much, sticking up over its top lip.
Talons, or spines, tracking on its spine raised and shook angrily.
Stranger backed away, as the creature took contemplative steps towards them.
Umi tugged at his arm.
“Stranger…What is that thing?”
“It’s a Hunter; very dangerous creature, they’s are,” he said in a hushed, deathly whisper.
The Hunter chirped a squawk, scuttling a bit closer to them.
Stranger moved faster, still holding out his arms.
“W-what do they do?” Umi asked again, pertaining to the Hunter without blinking.
“They go by their name, Umi; they hunt…”
He frowned slightly, but his eyes growing hard, growling uncomfortably.
“but that’s what I’m not afraid of…”
It snorted, smacking its jowls together, glaring at the prey with two devious red dragon-like eyes.
Its mouth partly opened, Stranger seeing inside the dark toothy jaws, two thing, but long arms retract down under its teeth.
As the Hunter’s mouth began to open, Stranger became more suppressed to his courage.
Umi began to claw at his arm tenderly, her eyes wide with fear.
The Hunter’s mouth opened, and two long jaws extended out from both sides in to one angry hiss.
Stranger’s eyes widened in shock, his lip fell askew.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” his throat choked.
“What are those things?” Umi quivered.
“They may seem like nothin’, but those jaws are extremely dangerous. They’s more venomous than a Copperhead,” Stranger replied.
“Poisonous?” Umi nearly screamed.
The Hunter began to get rash, holding up its bird-like hands near its face, and crouching low for a strike.
Stranger stopped, staring back to Umi.
“They’s go after the weakest of the pairs,” he warned in a deep tone.
“Don’t run away from me, you hear?”
Stranger’s firmness got a hold of Umi’s attention.
She nodded weakly, turning pale of fright.
The Hunter squawked tucking its arms now under its belly, folding its jaws back under its saber-like teeth.
It’s going to strike, Stranger. Think fast, ‘r else… he thought assiduously.
The Hunter’s plasticity was unbelievable, and so was its speed.
It leaped in to a pounce formation above Stranger, holding out its arms and legs to trap the prey.
Stranger popped Umi in his arms, spun around, and took off with all his speed.
The Hunter roared at the prey’s ignorance, beginning the hunt after them.
They passed by the groaning Ezums right by the pursuing hunter and prey, stamping uneasily as they swiftly passed by.
Stranger would occasionally look back over his shoulder, panting heavily, still seeing the Hunter hot on his trail.
He groaned ruefully, continuing to run with all the energy he could synthesize.
“How long do these things go ‘til they give up!?” Umi shouted.
“They don’t!” Stranger growled.
“They’ll keep going until they caught us, or it dies in a miraculously uncertain way!”
The Hunter made an inaudible squawk through the noise of the chase, tensioning its muscles to make another strike.
It lowered further to the grass, the blades tickling its underbelly uncomfortably.
The Hunter ravished its head around, then double-jumped off the ground, holding its legs out in bird-strike poise.
Stranger felt a powerful shove push on his back, sending him scrambling to the ground.
The Hunter perched on Stranger’s back, holding its jaws over his head, its deadly touch pecking at him.
Umi scrambled on the ground, vanishing in to the tall grass.
The Hunter snapped forward, seeing the human escape on its hands and knees.
It jumped off of Stranger, heading through the curtain of grass to the human, now sliding away from it on its backside.
Umi watched the Hunter come closer, its jaws unraveled from the roof of its mouth, reaching in curved hooks under her chin.
It snorted through its nostrils, exhausting a putrid breath of rotting flesh and stale saliva, on her face.
She cried a fearful whimper, the Hunter enthralled by her fear, giving off a glowering glare.
She cringed away, the Hunter ready to strike.
When a quick flash flew by with extreme speed, cutting quickly through the grass, and the Hunter.
It stood in a frozen poise, a blank stare darted straight forward out of conscious. Its mandibles twitched painfully, its body now beginning to sway lifelessly side to side.
The Hunter tumbled on its side, showing off the visible bleeding gashes on its side belly unknowingly made by the flash.
Umi placed her arms slowly down when she saw the Hunter laying aside in front of her, blinking in shock of how the Hunter suddenly ended there.
She swayed her vision ahead, a long creature standing with its arms placed by its side.
Its claws were just the size of the cuts made deep in to the Hunter’s pale-yellow hide, which meant that it had killed the Hunter.
It stood full length, its neck longer than its body, but scrawny and thin like the Hunter.
Its head and neck turned over its shoulder, staring at the human with one deep red gleaming eye, glowing a hint of orange outside its pupil.
This creature seemed harmless at first glance, but if it could kill a Hunter in a blink of an eye, what could it do to the human?
Umi felt insecurity bind her, as the creature stepped closer to her, its eyes glinted a curious look.
It stopped right by her feet, cranking its neck with its head down to her level.
It identified her facial features, observing her feeling of fear and insecurity.
It cocked its head aside, then nudge under her chin carelessly, but gently.
A tickling feeling sprawled over her face.
Long talons sprouting from its head touched gently upon her face, retracting back to not upset her too much.
She leaned her head back from the creature, wondering why it acted so ineffective and affectionate to her.
The creature gruffly hummed, stepping closer to her, and bumped under her chin with its snout.
She stopped a moment, staring at the creature with a thrilling glance.
It wasn’t doing any harm.
But trying to boost her courage up so she would trust it.
She felt herself lighten from anxiety, propping herself on her straight arms holding her body up.
But it didn’t rid of the fact why it had saved her.
Or whatever it was.
She felt her courage come back to its stand.
“What do you want of me?” she asked gently.
The creature snorted disapprovingly, looking over to the Hunter.
Fuzzles were already at its open wounds, tearing viciously at its rendered meat inside.
It looked back to the human, an expression of hope traced through its eyes, hoping that the human would understand.
She gave a slight understanding nod, her eyes rolling to the corners to it, but her face turned to the Hunter still.
“You…” she thoughtfully said.
“knew the Hunter was attacking?”
The creature made an affirming trill, nodding its head.
She looked fully to the creature.
“I-is it your duty…to kill these things?” she asked.
The creature shook its head, closing its eyes softly, then opening to a truthful stare.
It raised a claw to her chest, gently tapping her with its point.
Umi raised a brow slightly, her mouth slightly drooping open.
“You…” she began again.
The creature lowered its hand by its side, looking back to the Hunter, then to her again.
Her eyes softened.
“You were saving…me?”
The creature nodded.
Then its head erected up quickly, an echo of an angry screech forced along the grass.
It growled deeply in its throat, looking down to Umi, and flicking its head behind it.
She stood up, hobbling slightly from her quick reaction.
It darted its head behind it again, making a point with its snout away.
Umi hesitated to see what the creature was telling her to do. But it pointing its head away behind it made it obvious.
“You can’t fight a pack of Hunters by yerself,” Umi told.
The creature shook its head, becoming more forceful, and pressing the back of its claws gently on her chest.
Umi frowned, knowing the creature was stupid enough to take on a pack of Hunters by how many by itself.
But its dauntlessness wasn’t grieving.
She nodded, feeling drowned in defeat at first.
The angry roars became louder and closer, the creature now standing in attack stance that seemed familiar.
Umi ran through the tall grass, it pressing down to form an obvious path to her.
The Hunters broke through the grass, landing low in front of the creature holding its claws out to them.
They caught the human fleeing, knowing that it was the weakest.
The head Hunter chirped to the other two Hunters beside it, and leapt out.
But the creature held out its arms, the Hunters skidding to a stop.
Tiny points under its claws nicked the Hunter’s snout, tiny dots of blood blossoming and dribbling down its rugged hide.
The Hunters growled heinously at the creature, extending their jaws out, hoping to intimidate the creature.
But it wasn’t fazed by the Hunters, nor the clear-white oozing liquid pouring out from the points of the injectors.
Instead, a psychic energy forced out weakly from itself.
Umi felt the energy hug her, then pass on.
She spun around to the quarrel, the creature holding down its arms, freely opening herself up to the Hunters.
But they didn’t move.
The creature’s eyes shut hesitantly, tightening with every second it took to gather itself.
The Hunters chirped awkwardly, treading uneasily on the ground.
Then, its eyes immediately opened, swaggering the Hunters in a vibrant dark red-orange glare.
She could hear the Hunters, choking from an invisible force holding them by their necks.
Her eyes widened.
“Telekinetic attacks?” she said to herself scarcely.
Thinking back to the Shredder, it could speak telepathically, but couldn’t do any mental attacks.
But this creature, however, couldn’t speak, but yet, so small, it had a very powerful mind, to stop a triple pack of Hunters in their tracks.
The Hunters made hurtful chokes, slowly lifting off the ground, up above the creature, as its attack grew stronger.
Its eyes returned to a quick red, closing its eyes painfully.
The Hunters dropped on the ground unconscious, scarcely breathing from their snouts.
It wobbled dizzily around to the human, holding her head up high in confidence, but hiding her fear of it.
Its head lowered down, slowly regaining its conscious, while staring up to the human.
Umi opened her mouth to speak.
“W-“ she began in a stutter.
“what…are you?”
Its eyes closed, feeling disgraceful of the human’s fear it had caused.
Then, it opened again, kneeling down on a knee, but holding its head closer to her arm.
Umi’s lip trembled, but lifted a hesitating arm closer to its head.
Her fingertips brushed the top of its smooth, scaled head, then placed a full palm on it.
Its dark-green skin had an icy touch at first, she gently rubbing up and down it comfortingly.
But then, a hot rush froze her arm, and shot in to her brain, leaving her eyes glued open, but all she could see through, was a shrouding black.
A ring of light-blue fog circled mysteriously around her.
She stared out to an emerging figure, stepping out of the fog calmly.
It was the creature, its skin glistened a jade green, with darker green stripes jagging its spine down.
Its eyes were also a different color; a dark scarlet-orange, staring gently upon the human standing still.
Her face kept straight, watching the creature step closer to her, until their feet met.
She stared up to the creature over-towering her, keeping her trembling lip under control.
“Who are you?” she asked again.
Its eyes softened, blinking its lizard-like eyes in a slow repetition.
“Who am I?” it spoke.
Its voice didn’t come from its mouth, but from the surrounding. It spoke through a strong, gentle male’s voice that sounded oddly familiar.
“I don’t think the question is who am I. It’s what are you?” it pointed a claw gently at her chest.
Umi didn’t flinch, although she felt like flinching, but keeping her lips straight.
It blinked curiously at her, putting its arm by its side.
“Human,” she said.
Its head moved sideways curiously.
“Human?” it repeated.
She nodded her head, her face becoming softer as the conversation grew longer.
“Hmm…” it hummed.
“Never heard of such a creature…human…”
“Now you answer me; who are you? Why did you save me from the Hunters?” she blurted.
The creature stood straight, extending its long neck up high, but keeping its eyes stuck on her.
“I am the wind of the fields, the guardian of all living things endanger of threatening beings; the whisper of death,” it wisped its arms aside it.
Umi kept straight, listening intentionally.
“I am the Knifal; swift, quick, and deadly. In a blink of an eye, all you’ll feel is the crying pain of blades, sinking deep in to your flesh. All you’ll taste is your own blood, flowing in to your mouth in a disgraceful pool, choking you to your life. And all you’ll see, is death; overtaking your fear in one blank stare,”
Umi wrapped her arms around herself, feeling discomfort come from the Knifal’s introduction.
The Knifal lowered its arms, closing its eyes gently, and let out a soft chuckle.
“Dear child,” its eyes opened to her.
“do not fear me,”
It came closer, its snout almost touching her.
“I wish to bring you no harm,”
Umi averted its eye contact, to avoid the discomfort again from its oh-so gentle voice.
The Knifal brought its head down straight, then let out a soft huff.
“Ah…” it said.
“You…have many perils that lie ahead of you,”
Its eyes opened to her face, overlooking the scabs and scars peppering her facial extremities.
“I can see by your wounds,”
Umi nodded.
“The Shredder…caused a bit of trouble on our way ‘ere,” she mumbled.
“Encounter with the Swamp guardian, huh? It always causes trouble to travelers,” it spoke
She nodded absent-minded, trying to erase the memories of the encounter of the Shredder.
Its eyes closed thoughtfully again, reading out her memories left out in her conscious.
It hummed in interest.
“This…Steef, is a legal father to you?”
Umi’s head slowly propped up.
“Stranger?” she questioned.
“Ah, yes…the bounty hunter, I’ve heard about from distant travelers…”
It fell off its train of speech, taking her memories further back in her past.
Its eyes frowned shut, tightening to the pictures flashing in its mind.
“So many tremors in your past…your parents; dead?” its eyes opened to her again.
She nodded away from the Knifal, hoping no more would come out of it.
Its mouthless snout frowned disapprovingly.
“My, my, child…It’s a wonder why you are still standing here today…”
It read forward through her mind.
“…so many wounds…some near to death…but some to your breakdown…”
Umi’s head perked back up.
“You’d never understand what I’ve been through,” she spoke calmly.
“I wouldn’t?” it cocked its head a side.
She kept silent, not to bring up a conversation she would ever regret bringing up.
The Knifal began to nod understandingly, turning its head away out to the mist.
“It’s getting late,” it turned back to the human.
“You must return to your father, before the Hunters come out to hunt for the night,”
Umi stared up at the Knifal for countless moments.
It grew soft, lowering its head to her level.
“and do not worry about tonight, child,” it began again.
“I shall watch over you, until morning,”
Her emotions took over her words that were to come out.
“T-thank you,” she nodded.
It smiled its mouthless snout once more, before merging back behind the veil of mist.
The blackness disappeared, back to the fields where they last met.
Umi dropped her arm from the Knifal’s head, giving it an approving nod to it.
Its eyes blinked promisingly, and loped off back in to the grass, not even leaving a trail of pressed grass to follow.
She suppressed a smile gratefully thinking to the Knifal for its offer, as she turned around oppositely where the Hunters had cornered her, and walked off to the trail of pressed grass.
A distant voice called over the blades of grass, an echo left over it.
“Umi!”
She could hear Stranger’s voice, just distantly, but well enough.
She began to run through the grass, carefully listening to his voice trailing to him.

“Umi!” Stranger shouted without a strain.
His eyes were pained deep and shallow. His thoughts were racing dangerously, flashing the possibilities that could’ve happened to Umi.
Oh kid…they’s got you, di’n’t they?
His head hung low for a moment, then pulled back up, not losing determination to find her.
“Umi!”
He stared tense at the wall of grass, not hearing a small reply that would shatter his anxiety.
He grunted, not only feeling bitter defeat, but anger, swelling largely within his chest.
The Hunters killed her. No doubt about it, if she wouldn’t reply to his straining voice, so loud, it upsetted the Ezums.
His hope crumbled down, bringing him on his knees, with his head low…
“Stran-ger!” a voice called sing-song.
His head suddenly snapped up almost painfully, with eyes rounded euphorically.
“Hold tight! I’m comin’!”
He jolted forward through the grass, ignoring the tickling, but itching feeling the grass had left on his bare arms.

His voice felt closer, as she heard it.
She ran forward, dodging the legs of the Ezums playing barricades invisibly within the threshold.
“Where are you!?” she screamed.
As she continued, no reply came over the grass.
That meant they were close.
Their paths began to connect head-to-head, hearing both rustling grow greater.
Stranger bursted through in front of Umi, slowing to a stop on his knees.
She jumped on to him, his arms suddenly wrapping around her tightly.
“Oh, kid…” he sniveled, placing a hand widely over her head.
“I thought those sneaky bastards got yeh…”
As much Stranger felt relieved to see her alive, she was greatly relaxed, placing her chin on his shoulder, while holding an arm around his neck, and patting his hair down on his neck.
“I’m fine, Stranger…” she told in a soothing voice.
“I’m right here…”

Night fell quickly over the Chixapox fields.
Ezums snorted contently in huddled groups, shielding their eyes from the irritating silvery aura of the moonlight, shining brightly upon the dew-soaked grass blades.
A large cut patch of grass spewed a thin stream of smoke from the heart of it.
Stranger and Umi kept huddled close to the warm fire, staring around at the unbroken silence that filled their ears.
The night was always seldom and quiet for them; but almost irritable of the continuous silence.
Stranger looked over to Umi, she drawing a finger over her wounds that turned over to bumpy scabs.
The slash across her face was nothing but a bloody scab healed over the deep redness of caked blood.
The ring of small holes in her neck caked over in a clear liquid that had changed to yellow when dried, creating a beaded necklace circled naturally around her neck.
What made him concerned, other than the healing wounds, was the look upon her face;
It seemed distraught, angry, but stressed with built sadness.
Her eyes were glued hardly upon the grass she looked through her legs. Her lips were curled down fully in a frown.
Stranger raised a brow, slowly opening his mouth to ask.
“Umi? What’s wrong? You look more down than a Clakker without feathers,”
She barely cringed up to him, her eyes softening depressed.
“N-nothing…I guess…” she said ghostly, almost inaudible.
Stranger frowned doubtfully.
“You soudin’ like ‘dat doe’n’t sound like nuthin’,” he grinned.
“C’mon. You can tell ol’ Stranger what’s up,”
Umi darted her eye to Stranger without moving her head, then looked down.
She sighed tensely, closing her eyes.
“Today,” she began hesitantly.
“I-I didn’t mean fer this to happen…I mean, with the Shredder and Hunters,”
Stranger didn’t look away, keeping eyes contact upon her.
She sighed again, opening her eyes to him.
“Nothin’ ever goes right with me…All I ever do is to get in trouble,”
She then blinked down from him in shame.
“even you…”
“Oh…” he grunted, scooting closer to her, and wringing an arm around her neck and shoulders.
“Don’t say that…” he hugged her to his ribs.
“You may get us in ter trouble, but we always know how’ta get out’a it,”
“I know, but…even though I get in trouble, you always seem to get…well…hurt. And I don’t want to hurt you…” Umi said in a small voice.
“You shouldn’t worry ‘bout me, li’l’ lady,” he pointed a finger to her nose gently.
“It’s me that has ter worry ‘bout you,”
Umi laughed, grumbling and squeezing out from under his arm.
“Predictable of you,” she smirked.
“But there’s someone that has to watch yer back. And that would be…”
She thumbed at her chest.
“me,”
“Yer such the rascal, kid,” Stranger chuckled.
He fell silent, still with a smile traced on his face.
He gazed up at the dazzling night sky; the stars shining brightly as millions of shards of diamonds, glimmering before his enthralling green eyes.
He sighed through his nose, looking over to Umi, sitting amazed by him.
“Well’p,” he began.
“Best, get some sleep. We’s got’s a way to go tomorrah,”
He scooted by the trunk of a tree they sat under, to keep shelter of the moonlight shining irritatingly through the pierced holes.
He was about to lower his hat over his eyes, but perked up immediately.
“Best I keep watch tonight,” he grumbled.
Umi smiled gently.
“That won’t be necessary,” she shook her head.
“Oh?” Stranger raised a brow.
Umi nodded, looking up to the tree.
There stood on the branches, the Knifal’s dark outline, only its ruby-red eyes shining through the shadows veiling it.
She nodded gratefully to it, then wound by Stranger, resting under his arm comfortably.
“We already have a watcher,”
Stranger grumbled sleepily, quickly falling asleep, his hat shading his eyes closed gently.
Umi rested her cheek on his stomach, minding the irritating itch from the patches of leather on his poncho.
She sighed contently, as she fell in to her conscious soundlessly.
The fire died out slowly with only the embers glowing brightly under the blackened charcoal, as bright as the Knifal’s watchful eyes, as it watched both fall in to a deep slumber.