Wilderness

The wide trees seemed to extend to the heavens above from the ground, moss covered roots peek out of the hardened floor as if made for the sole purpose to trip someone in a rush. the sun tries its best to lighten the area but all it manages is a dim green glow upon the shadowy floor as the light from the sky merely passes through what seems like a wall of leaves.
  The place could only be described as dreamy, some kind of wonderland. Most of the plants around were very noticeable, some shrubs with white berries on it, also a wide variety of colored flowers, all over the spectrum of light. a cold breeze blows by carrying with it the sounds of life. small critters such as squirrels and rabbits were able to be seen frequently, it seemed that they refused to go near the tree they came from also as soon as they were in view they ran scared for their lives of anything larger than them only allowing glimpses of their furry nature.

 However not all things were as cute as rabbits or critters, high above the trees there stirred movement, nothing coming down to greet them however their movement from the roofs of the trees were able to make them sway lightly, not so much an aggressive behavior but more of a reminder that they are not alone. The dangers were not immediate, however the sun looked more and more like a countdown the longer the day went. The shadows flickered over head and out of view, it seemed the trees themselves were watching the travelers, silently judging their strengths, waiting to pounce.

 Gash was supported by his creature the entire walk, about thirty minutes of just straight forward walking had rejuvenated some of his stamina allowing him to actually address Navi. his first words spoken since their departure was "Creature, stop that irritating growling noise." He pats the stone chimera's head realizing it was making a grinding sound with its stone jaw towards Navi trying to follow its masters orders of protecting him."So where are you from?"  Gash asks awkwardly once again realizing he has abandoned all of the people he was paired with as ignorant as they were feeling slightly more comfortable having a companion other than his creature completely ignoring the movements around them determined to survive, the first step for him was finally stopping his embrace of his construct and walking on his own motioning the Chimera to step a few feet away from him and it obeys without question.

The forest the two had wondered into was breath taking. Navi really enjoyed all of the nature around her. It reminded her of her wolf family that she missed greatly. She much preferred the company of nature over humans. She paused her between every few steps to really feel the ground between her toes. It was nostalgic and euphoric for her. The moss on the ground and the soft dirt was nice and cool to the touch. The breeze gently tossed her long hair around as if it were dancing. Navi saw Gash looking to the tops of the trees and he looked slightly concerned. Clearly there were other creatures around and they were not alone, but that did not concern her. She was used to that sort of thing. "Don't worry about the other things around here." She blurted out to Gash without him saying anything about it. Even if there were things that could pose a threat to them, she knew that they could handle it especially with their new acquired abilities.

Navi glared at Gash's little stone pet and stuck her tongue out at it as Gash told it to hush. Navi's face turned down in sadness as Gash asked her where she was from. "To be completely honest, I am not completely sure. I was found in a forest called Navi in Greenland when I was young. I lived with a pack of wolves as hard as it is to believe. I can hunt and track and survive in the wild like they did. Anyway, Since I didn't know my actual name the people who found me just called me Navi and it stuck."A small tear ran down her face. She remembered her adopted families...both her wolf pack and her human. She took the sleeve of her shirt and wiped it off. She didn't want Gash to see her so vulnerable so she walked past him a few paces and just stood there for a brief moment. "I wasn't ready to die." She said in a small voice.

Navi caught Gash off guard, it seemed the moment he looked up to the movement in the trees she caught him, however Gash also recognized the sadness in her tone and suddenly he felt awful. a sickening feeling lurched deep in his stomach knowing he would be willing to sacrifice himself for this little girl. "Well to be honest with you I love the name Navi, I think it fits you great, also the ability to hunt is perfect." Gash put on a brave smile for her and walks straight up to her, avoiding showing any sign of physical weakness even with the aches and pains imbedded in his skin. "Also, no one is ready to die." Gash says to her as he tosses an arm over her shoulder comfortingly quickly quieting the Chimera that became once again hostile towards Navi.  
Gash continued forward, now embracing Navi as they walk. Gash takes a deep breath before preparing to tell her his story feeling obligated for she did to him.  "I understand missing people, my parents passed away when I was still alive, I was taking care of my three sisters when I was hung by the people of my town for being a proclaimed witch." Gash could only chuckle at the circumstances, he never imagined talking about his own death so casually. "But of course I would have never met you, or him if I didn't, there's always a positive."
    The chimera doesn't even budge to being called a person, however it does make an awkward growling sound as the ground begins to soften, "Water?" Gash suddenly realizes, the feeling of the ground could almost make him taste it as a huge river is spotted in the distance. The river was about one hundred meters wide, flowing completely free however all of the squirrels and rabbits and small critters seemed to vacate the area even though there was a huge supply of water a mere skip and jump away. It soon became apparent why as a they get closer, it seemed that this was one of the main water sources of the area for every creature in the forest seemed to be gathered around from bears to giant centipedes. However it was apparent when a large and powerful creature such as a Cockatrice a Dragon Turtle merely because all of the other animals leave or become food, it was rather vicious approaching the water line there was already sight of internal conflict in between races of creatures snarling and fighting could be heard from the distance. "If anything attacks us, you defend with your life." Gash says the command to his creature and it nods standing in front of them watching them like a lioness would her cubs. "Before we make a stupid decision, do you have any better ideas than mine?" Gash asked stopping and turning to Navi, realizing he was kind of leading her towards a dangerous situation however dire the need for water may be.

Navi leans her head into Gash's shoulder as he places his arm around her. She had almost forgotten what is like to have physical contact. It was comforting to say the least. The sad story that Gash tells Navi really hits her hard. She knows what it is like to lose everything and she knows what it is like to die a horrific kind of death. One could say that she is bitter over the fact that her life has been so unfortunate and she never really had the chance to turn it around. She listened and wanted to say something in return, but she knew not what to say. Her words still somewhat limited in certain subjects. She just put her arm around him as he did to her. Navi has claimed him as her new pack, to her that was like family if not stronger than one. Gash is who she wanted to survive with here in this unknown territory.

As the two approached what seemed to be a lake of some sort, Navi got pretty excited. She had not had anything to drink since before she had woken up at the tree. Creatures big and small flooded the area. "Maybe two humans walking up to a place filled with wild animals that don't know us isn't the best idea." Navi turned around and crossed her arms and started to tap her food while thinking of a better way to get water. Then it hit her. She could speak to trees and control them. "Trees hold water right?" Half of her thought was formed in her mind. She thinks a bit harder. "OK! I got it." Navi looks around and finds a couple of large leaves and then looks at Gash and smiles. She then starts to speak in her tree language commanding that the trees bring water to her through their roots from the lake. They were close enough to the body of water and far enough from the animals that this could work. Suddenly the larger trees in the area started to take in water to their roots and transfer it through the ground to other trees until it got to Navi and Gash. Navi walked to the closed tree to her and placed her hand on it. The roots of that particular tree rose its roots from the ground and trickled fresh water into the large leaves. There was plenty enough to satisfy both her and Gash. "Here you go." she offered one to her friend. "Now we don't have to get into any unnecessary trouble and waste more energy."

"Yes?.." Gash says to the question really not sure how it was going to help them however Gash's utter shock was rather amusing. He was still slightly confused by the incident however he accepted the water gracefully enjoying it in blissful silence. The movement caught the attention of a squirrel, it approached curiously not noticing the treading of the stone Goliath as it leaps onto it crushing it with its large claw. the crunching sound made by bones on stone made Gash twitch but he stared at the blood stain with interest. "Rise." Gash commanded the corpse, little twitches showed it attempting to however it couldn't get it mutilated body put back together at least enough to follow the command.
"Chimera go gather me a corpse that is mostly intact, I want to see the extent of my power." This appeared to be a monstrous task for he avoided anything that was threatening and anything small crushed under his weighted claws, but eventually it managed to kill a lizard without destroying the outside of it. lightly rolling the corpse in the dirt back to his master. "Wake up my little friend." Gash says to the lizard and its eyes open, its heart starts beating however what seemed like a living creature was very obviously dead for it watched him glossy eyed waiting for orders. "Go act like a lizard." Gash says to the body and it does, the lizard walked away and begun doing exactly what it was told and in essence it was back to life. "What a strange world, a world where dead things can be alive." Gash says to no one in particular staring at the now reanimated Lizard.

A gurgling stomach reminded Gash that reality is still settling in, only having the apple today probably would be more than sufficient to get him through the night however he was sure sitting in the open would not. "Do you think the trees can tell you anything about Shelter? I don't want to be out in the open when sun down." Gash asks Navi curiously of the extent of the miracles given to them still floating in his mind.

"I feel like we can always trek back for water." Gash says softly, suddenly realizing how dangerous the situation actually was. His body was shaking, nervousness was filling his system like a chill in the air not used to having so much responsibility on possibly life altering decisions. "Lets go to the cave, I'll send the Chimera to hunt when we get there." The idea seemed to form in his mind and made sense as he motioned for Navi to lead the way, not actually able to determine which way East was. They begin walking and as they do Gash starts picking up slender sticks and leaves enough to be considered a bundle, and almost exactly as Navi said it, it seemed that the sun would completely vanish a mere twenty five minutes into walking.
  The forest at night was no longer beautiful or comforting like it was in the morning, many of the plants were completely unrecognizable in the dark and the sounds of lovely woodland creatures like squirrels and rabbits completely fade leaving the group in an eerie silence the darkness ahead seemed to take the shape of demons and other creatures that would spell a near immediate demise. They continue anyways the night threatening to swallow them whole, and as sudden as the silence came to them so did a howl in the veil of night. at first it seemed far but it was rapidly approaching and whatever it was it was not alone. "Run with me." Gash's whispers could hardly be heard over the howls beckoning the pack closer and closer to the group as Gash broke into a sprint constantly looking back for Navi and luckily they make it to the cave before the beasts were upon them them. Gash tosses the sticks down completely out of breath, still has not really recovered from his incident earlier. "Chimera stand at the entrance, let nothing past." The statue nods grimly as it stands at the mouth of the cave the being constantly surveyed the grounds as all of the howls grows quiet, whatever it was they were ready and waiting. A single creature stepped out into the opening, away from the trees it stood tall on two legs, its muscular arms stretched down to the floor completely covered in a gray coat of hair its face was the shape of a ravenous wolf, something one would describe a werewolf as. The creature snarls viciously at the statue however did not approach it intimidated by the mere shape of a Chimera, and with that it seemed they were at a stand still, the wolves seemed to not want to get close, however they were not getting far either.

A sigh of relief escaped from Navi's lips. She was kind of glad that Gash wanted to go to the cave. She felt like it would be the best for them. As they walked the darkness had actually come quicker than she had thought. However, the darkness did not scare Navi but the sounds that came with it did. Trees brushing against one another, creatures snarling and thrashing about, other sounds that were not comprehensible by her alone. It was almost too much for Navi to think about. She nodded at Gash and started to sprint as fast as she could. She too was out of breath when they reached the cave but not as much as Gash was.

The chimera was doing well guarding the cave for them, but she wasn't sure how long it could last. These creatures were vicious wolves but not quite like the ones Navi was raised by. These particular animals were larger and looked more blood thirsty than anything. Which made her ask herself why are they not attacking them and just getting it over with. "Gash, what should we do. I don't think I have the energy to fight anything. Especially something like this. We haven't eaten and we haven't rested either." She looked up to him with small breaths between her words. "Do we need to fight something that hasn't attacked us directly or do you not want to take the chance? I will follow your lead." Navi bowed her head in a submissive way waiting for his decision.

Gash's head was spinning, he couldn't think of his options his entire body was shaking with the sudden realization that if they went to the burrow they might of not have lived this long with the wolves outside. he couldn't concentrate, the stress of the situation accompanied by a timer known as starvation was making him feel unusually sick. "G-Give me a minute." Gash almost whines fear could be heard in his voice as he walks to one of the stone walls tapping his head lightly on it at first before grinding his knuckles on the rough surface trying to calm himself however calm couldn't grasp him as paranoia and the reality finally sinking into his veins. He rubbed his palms against his cheeks as if trying to force a solution to appear.

   "Well we can't step out of the cave for now, they are obviously waiting for us."" Gash says trying to get out all of the details that they know for sure to assess their grim situation. "Yet it is a pack of them, They must be some kind of food source for the Chimera which is why they are so afraid, stalling out waiting for us to have to leave."" Another thought just out loud trying to absorb every option available not leaving any stone unturned however making rather bold hypothesizes. "We will have to leave eventually, and I doubt they will approach us head on."" Gash looks down the cave, the lack of a light source was rather painful but he stared at the darkness blankly assuming there were no horrors deeper in the cave. "If we go deeper into the cave we will just corner ourselves if there is no exit." his head turns towards the mouth, yellow eyes blinking in the shadows outside watching intently as if waiting for the queue to strike. "However, as much as my Chimera stands a chance we would not out there." " A sigh escapes his lips. "Worst comes to worst we have to fight and every victim to my chimera I can raise we might be able to win a fight that way, but its very risky."

  a growl escapes from the Chimera as one of the large wolves steps out of the shadows into the moon light a snarl from the blood thirsty monster as it steps forward a mere twenty feet away from the stone guardian. The statue didn't move a muscle from its ready battle stance as if frozen in time as two more wolves step out of the shadows all of them standing near six feet looking completely ready and able to rip a fleshy creature such as them to shreds. "We can't flee." Gash suddenly realizes his voice almost sounded broken at the thought the poor truth of the matter as he looked deeper down the cave. "They are nocturnal, they can see in the dark, we have to fight in the light." Gash takes a few deep breaths picking up one of the sticks he grabbed originally for firewood staring at the situation brewing outside the full pack seemed to be four wolves, all humungous in size compared to wolves seen on Earth. Their coats were a variety of color but the only one that truly seemed to matter was the one directly in front of the Chimera his coat was a reddish brown and he was slightly larger than the others, his coat was matted with blood stains from past battles and he was quite obviously the Alpha, slowly step by step approaching the Chimera.

As Navi listened to Gash she agreed with everything he had said. She wasn't sure what she could do but she knew she would give it her all. The alpha of their pack started to slowly approach but this did not scare her as much as it probably should have. Navi started whispering to the surrounding trees asking for their help and protection. Large vines and branches grew and swung down to the pack. They were hitting the wolves left and right. Some were able to get up and some hit hard into large boulders that surrounded the area and couldn't move. The large alpha wolf still stood there unmoved and carefree. "I can hold some of them off with the help of the trees but we need more." Two vines came down and grabbed two wolves and wrapped themselves around them multiple times and squeezed their throats. The two wolves both started to have their bones crack and soon they stopped putting up a fight. There were still quite a few left though. The alpha took a few steps into the cave and took a loud snap at Navi hurting her arm quite badly. Blood started to rush out quickly. She dropped to her knees from the pain and didn't know what to do. "PLEASE STOP THIS!" She cried out.

((Sorry for such the short post. I was having some serious writer's block with this one so forgive me if it was less than what you expect))

"Navi!" Gash cried turn and saw the Alpha strike her, his eyes were originally glazed over his thoughts muddled but that shout returned his focus. "Chimera, help Navi." He shouted to his construct, not realizing his construct couldn't listen currently locked in combat with the last of the four wolves. The wolf stood his ground and they begun circling studying each others strides and with their hard trained reflexes they both lunge at each other, the wolf claws hitting the Chimera's shoulders causing him to be tossed to the floor now with the wolf on top he begins constantly swiping completely ravaging the stone creature even though it was made of stone the mighty claws of the wolf were still able to make major indents on the creature.
 Gash watched in horror as the Alpha stepped towards Navi and he did the only thing he could, dashed straight towards it. The wolf however heard him running at it a mile away, the second Gash's bare feet were charging at him it turned away from Navi and looked him directly in the face. It seemed to have a look of enjoyment with Gash running at him and when he was close enough the creature lunged at him completely stopping all of Gash's momentum tossing him to the floor landing on both of his shoulders pinning him. Gash struggled on the floor but under the weight of the massive creature he could feel his bones bend underneath his skin causing a painful howl to escape his lips only enticing the wolf more as he bares his teeth and snap at Gash's face, relishing the moment of victory.

Navi heard commotion going on all around her but she was to scared to react. With her current arm injuries she couldn't move too well and the pain was too great. She was bleeding out way to much and the slowly passed out with the wolf's gaze still on her.

((here is your opportunity if you want to take it))

The Alpha growls opening its massive jaw, leaning forward setting its teeth against his neck cherishing his kill, but the Chimera tackled him off, just barely crawling away from the wolf he was battling to save his master. The swift hit from the side sent the Alpha tumbling letting the Chimera land on top of it and with a loud chomp ending its life instantaneously. The sound of the Alpha's death was an immediate retreat from the wolf pack, however the vines that coiled them also retracted, returning to their original state allowing the barely living wolves to limp out of view. "I can't.. I can't believe we sur-" Gash was about to say relieved however his eyes basically busted open when he saw Navi in such a dire state of being, he quickly dashed towards her, his muscles ached but he did not care. "Please don't die, please don't die." He says fast sliding to his knees next to her sitting in a large pool of blood while he went to work. Gash did all he could, first feeling her heart beat then trying to stop her wound from bleeding, but her heart beat became slower and sloweruntil it eventually stopped. Gash pounded on her chest trying to get it to restart but it was all in vain, his tears mixing with the pool of blood under him.

    "Please wake up." Gash cried silently to himself and suddenly the resting heart stuttered up once more, blood once again poured out of the wound and her eyes open, but there were no shock or emotion resting inside of them "I will not die Master." Navi's voice replies cold and heartlessly but it only brought a smile to his face, tears still streaming down his eyes in a mixture of feelings a tickle in his brain as his thoughts muddled deep into insanity "If those people came with us you would still be alive." His thoughts welled deep in his mind trying to find a way to cope with what he has caused. It did not help that Navi's corpse agreed with him completely. "Then its settled." A growl escapes Gash's lips as he waves for the corpse of the large alpha wolf to rise. "Bring me corpses, I have some friends to catch." And they did just that, through out the morning any creature that was useless to him he ate, however, the more he reanimated, the more that returned to him, his cave constantly bristling with life. "Navi, how are you today?" Gash would constantly ask her, trying to get a human answer but it would always be something different, something abnormal most of the times a What? or a Huh? But even these words made him fill with glee, the injury would never heal, but eventually all of her blood dripped out of it, her body pale and white, a constant reminded of what They did to her, something that Gash would not accept or forgive.

----- Is it the end? Or a new beginning. -----