Free Fall: Watchers 1

The path Somos led them only seemed to get more and more treacherous as they continued running from their crimes. The Druids hadn’t noticed their escape, at least no one had thought so yet. No alarms sounded, no haedians descended from above to apprehend them but something was watching them. They could feel stares pressed into their backs as they ran. Something followed them and continued to keep pace as their escape took them further and further from the cavern floors.

There was a shadow, flitting off to Somos’s left. Before he could turn to look at it, something whipped over his head with a childish giggle.

“Somos, we’re surrounded! What do we do?” Reon hollered behind him.

Though he couldn’t catch a proper glimpse of them, Somos was sure they were haedians. From what clan, he couldn’t be sure but he knew they weren’t the Druids. They would’ve had the four of them pinned to the floor by now.

“As long as they’re not stopping us we keep going!” Somos shouted. 

The shadows drew closer. The whispers that filled the air could now be heard now.

“Go! Go! Go!” A voice from the shadows called. 

“Faster! Run!” Another said as they bounced off Dayani’s back causing her to stumble. 

“Wait, wait, WAIT!  Dead end!” Stranger skidded to a halt, scattering a few rocks forwards. They tumbled off edge and into the darkness. She didn’t hear them hit the ground. 

Somos cursed as he pulled up beside her with Dani and Reon. The shadowed haedians pulled in closer. 

“Ready?”

“Ready for—”

“3!”

“Wait-”

“2..”

“What do you want from us!?”

“1.”

“GO!”

The shadows scattered as something large glided in from behind, wings spread, cutting off their only escape. The four vayrons were pushed off the platform. They fell back onto empty space, each one screaming and reaching desperately for anything to hold on to. There was nothing but the cool, dark air. 

Somos spun head over tail. Somewhere in the darkness, Stranger and Dani were screaming at the top of their lungs. He couldn’t even catch a glimpse of their hides. The wind grew stronger and suddenly he was blasted— in what he assumed was— sideways. He hit the rock with his shoulder, grazing it but otherwise… he was okay? How long was he falling for?

Clawed hands grabbed at his midsection and pulled him up and forwards. “Keep going!” The voice said. 

“Wh-GO WHERE??” Somos shouted as he felt another shove. 

“Follow me!” This time, he could see the headian that spoke via the glowing markings stretching the length of her body. He gave chase and called for the rest of his siblings. 

“Reon! Stranger! Dani!”

“SOMOOOOOOooooooooo…” Somos was sure that it was Reon, his voice getting quieter as the distance between them grew. 

“You’re friends are fine!” His guide said. Then: “Jump!”

Somos did just that. The platform he ran along dropped away from under him. Another gust of wind pushed him forward this time into the arms of another haedian. They grabbed his paws then swung onto the back of another. Somos tightly gripped the cloth under him, just barely preventing himself from sliding off. The haedian kept a steady glide and Somos was starting to notice the darkness was beginning to lighten a bit. He could see floating stone platforms around and above him set with crystals on the underside. A pale figure jumped off the edge of one, straight into the same glowing haedian he was just following. From the uncontrollable laughter Somos could tell it was Stranger. At least someone was having fun. His own heart was still pounding in his chest and he didn’t quite trust the haedian under him. 

He was right not to. The haedian rolled, and, though he tried to keep his grip, Somos soon found himself clinging to empty air once again. He screamed as he fell, this time out of frustration. He managed to twist himself around in time to see the water. A quick breath was all he was allowed before he bounced over the surface once then crashed into its depths. He waited for his momentum to slow before swimming to the surface. His shoulder stung, he felt like he might be having a heart attack but as far as he knew, the falling was over. Still, he felt he needed solid ground under his paws to be sure. 

He heard laughter to his right. On the shore, Stranger was being set down beside Reon and a couple cloaked haedians. Dani, surrounded by runes, floated down gently. A haedian hovered just above her with outstretched arms, directing her descent.

“The hell was all that for?!” Somos complained as he reached them. He shook the water from his coat causing the reoseans to scatter. 

“You smelled so I told Talgarth to drop you.” One haedian answered. They pulled back their hood to give him a sniff. “In fact, you still do.”

“You did ask for a shower.” Reon added. 

“That’s not what I’m talking about! You didn’t have to shove us off like that! I thought the Dru—” Somos quickly cut himself off. Best not to let that slip. “I thought something bad was happening.”

“Yeah. You really needed a bath!” The haedian laughed. So did the rest of them, including Stranger, Dani and Reon.

Somos growled. Now that he could see them better, all the haedians looked young. The oldest being about Reon’s age, the youngest no older than ten. “Seriously, you kids could’ve—“

Talgarth, the large haedian Somos rode on, landed beside him with a thud, sending sand into the air. He placed one beefy hand on his chest and pushed him back into the pool. 

“Alright, alright!” Somos huffed. He looked down at the blue blood splattered over his chest and legs. He was getting used to the rancid smell and he didn’t quite like that. Besides, he must’ve looked pretty threatening approaching the young haedians looking how he was.

“Sorry for the scare. We didn’t want anyone else to find you. I’m Rogier…” the haedian spoke as Somos waded deeper into the pool. He was starting to realize they were still on a platform. The crystals that kept the others floating lined the bottom. Just how big was this cavern?

“This is Rhia,” Rogier introduced the glowing haedian beside him. “And Anas.” The smallest haedian waved excitedly. Rogier then pointed to the large haedian. 

“Talgarth.”

The haedian growled but didn’t speak a word. Somos mocked him. Dani stepped in before Somos could start something they’d all regret. “You said you didn’t want anyone to find us? What do you mean?”

“You’re the firestarters, right? The whole Druid clan is looking for you!” Anas shouted, her voice ringing in the air. “They even asked us to help find you.”

Somos snapped around. A growl rising in his chest. “What?” Talgarth stood up to his challenge.

“Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone!” Rhia quickly stated. Somos let his hackles fall. Talgarth dropped back to his haunches. Once they were calm, Rhia continued. “The Druids aren’t the nicest clan. They don’t like to have help, or to owe favours…”

“Basically,” Rogier interrupted. “We don’t like them and I think it's cool that you burned their forest!” 

Uncomfortable silence settled over the group. 

“Um, thanks? I guess?” Reon said.

“Yeah, thanks to me!” Somos inputted.

“No! Don’t thank them, dumbass!” Stranger cuffed Reon over the head. He was stunned, more from the choice of language rather than being hit. “We didn’t do a good thing. People are probably hurt because of what we did!”

“No one’s hurt from what I heard.” Rogier said. “And that disease was starting to spread to the Tranquil clan before you burned it away.”

“Exactly.” Somos said as he emerged from the waters. His was pelt white once again. “See? We helped.”

Stranger turned her face away from him. Dani sighed. “She said she’s not talking to you anymore.”

“Tell her she can’t ignore me forever.”

Dani glanced between Stranger and Somos, who stood not three paces apart from each other. She dragged a paw over her face. “I’m not going to do this.”

“Anyways…” Rogier said, wanting to move on from this sibling rivalry. “We want to help you. If you come with us we’ll get you into Depthstrider territory, away from the Druids.”

“Oh, yeah?” Somos asked. 

Rogier nodded. So did the other three haedians. Talgarth remained stoic. 

“‘Kay, cool. Just as long as we’re not forced into freefalling again.” Somos gave him a hard look.

“My bad. That’s just how we’ve been introducing you topsiders.” Rogier grinned. “Welcome to the Watchers clan!”