Every muscle in my body screamed as Flynn and i trek through the dense, thorny underbrush, a far cry from the manicured paths of the pack ruins. Flynn is always way ahead of me and he tries to slow down every now and then so i could catch up, My boots are covered in sticky mud, my clothe torn from several thorns, my legs feel so heavy and eyes could barely look up at the sun and as sweats roll down my face and body.
I am drenched in sweats, thirsty and hungry and for a moment i crave the sweetness of the specially made cookies from my favourite baker in the Ruins, i try to keep hope alive and not bore Flynn to death with my brooding.
Flynn you do realize i am pregnant right? You're not gonna walk me to death before you even get to be an Uncle right? He looks back and smiles and that bright smile on his face warmed my heart. It has been a long while i have seen your charming smile, i know it's hard but you need to smile more.
And just like that, that smile almost disappeared as he was about to continue to pave the way, he looked back again and said i guess this is a good spot t to rest and take a break too. Let's eat and drink some water. I breathe a huge sigh of relief as i didn't even bother to look for a clean place to sit, i lean on the tree nearby and and sat by it, he looked at me and laughed.
So is it like this you want to be involved in missions? You won't even last a week! But i guess practice makes perfect and you've not had any. But to be honest, i am impressed with you, with everything you've experienced in the past month, the transformation and and the occasional nightmares and visions, i guess only someone as strong as you can survive this and still keep up with me.
Flynn please, slow down...please my legs are weak and heavy. Consider this as part of your training alright, then he laughed again. Is this how missions are Flynn? You walk for days and weeks, sleep on rocks, get beaten by rain, bitten by insects and eat dirt? Is this the life I have been envying? You don't know the worst of it, but i do feel this is the universe way of letting you experience what others have been through since you have never been to battle or outside the Ruins, now it's your turn too, so embrace it Lyra, we both laugh.
Just after that clearing ahead, there's a settlement there the Ravens perch and we have to get there by nightfall and there I'll start your training. Survival isn't about strength, Lyra; it's about anticipation, Flynn muttered, showing me how to mask my scent with crushed wild garlic and damp earth. As we continue our journey, you have to be able to think ahead and predict your enemies next move while perfecting yours. When we get there, your name is Aura and i am Sein and no mention of the ruins nor talking to anyone, got it? Yes sir.
He spent the afternoons teaching me how to hold a blade without trembling, his hands steady against mine, though the shadow of his father's past still lingered between us. Flynn is an excellent warrior on par with the shadows elite, I've always known he was good, but during training i saw how really good he is or am i just that bad.
His first lessons are my stance, with a good stance you can defend and counter any attack and use your opponent's strength against them, even with little experience.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the name Hester began to echo in the back of my mind, not as a word, but as a vibration that made my brown eye twitch with phantom light. After a week at the Inn, a nice bed, warm food, good drinks and finally after a month i see people again, so this is what being exiled and hunted feels like. I asked Flynn initially what makes him think this place is safe for us, with a bounty on our head and trackers behind us. He said I've not being paying attention, they've stopped tracking us for days now and here at the ravens perch we are safe for a while.
I tried to practice the defensive stance he showed me, but my mind was elsewhere, haunted by the "Blue Ring" in Kael's eyes and the heavy weight of the life growing inside me. At dinner on the 5th day, your eyes they glowed blue on the day of the wedding after your transformation, now i know you can't recall what happened but I've seen that same glow somewhere before, where I asked him. It was Kael during Rio's ambush, there was a bloodlust in his eyes and it was terrifying, it's the same in your eyes that day on the wedding, but kael made me promise not to tell you.
So why tell me now Flynn? I think there's a connection between you two and maybe that's why he has shown us this Mercy but I'm very certain he knows more than he is letting out. Father couldn't tell me much but i will tell you all he told me as time comes but for now, i think no matter what you shouldn't transform, i tried to cut him short; but he insisted one: because of the uncontrollable bloodlust and two: because i am a good uncle and I don't want you to harm my nephew or niece and you know this already.
Great, just great!! All my life i have been powerless and now i discovered i have a great power and now I can't even use it? Perfect.
Flynn's loyalty was the only thing keeping me upright, yet I couldn't stop the nagging doubt: was he teaching me to fight so I could survive, or so I could be a better prize for whoever was waiting at the end of this road? Evrn though he told me i shouldn't talk to anyone, every time he goes out morning and night to patrol and make sure we are safe, i sneak out to talk to people and casually ask about any seer around, my nightmares and visions are getting stronger and more vivid and I can't help but feel I'm getting closer to something. The earlier i get help the better and faster i get a hold of this power and control over my body.
But as it turns out, Flynn was right. I should have stayed hidden. I went back and slept before he came back and it was straight into a nightmare. A pack of wolves with blood dripping from their nose to mouth with the bones of their victims laced around their necks like a trophy or a warning, i was cornered about to be slain, my eyes turn blue I'm about to transform and then i hear her voice again, Pale in the cold wind calling to me faintly, then i saw this ghostly figure with a dark cloak approach me, the wolves are gone but i am left with an even more terrifying fate, it called me with it's hand stretched forth but i was too frozen to move. Lyra! Lyra!! Lyra!!! Wake up!!! And all of a sudden i opened my eyes, it was Flynn trying to wake me up, did you have another nightmare? they are here hurry up, we need to leave. Grab whatever you can!