Valrya jumped back a step, startled by the continued coughing. This guy really must’ve come from somewhere terrible. “Oh, well, you’re safe right now,” He said, a small smile flitting across his features. Val could feel his cloaked appearance shimmering slightly– he’d never practiced it as much as he should have. Hopefully, the guy wouldn’t notice and ask him about it. Gods, Valrya was nervous. He’d never been this nervous before. Then again, he’d never had his whole existence pinned on the success of another person. “My name is Valrya. I’m…” Val trailed off. “I'm a friend,” He finished. Saying he was an Arbre Guardian would probably only confuse the guy. “I’m out here waiting for you, actually.”
Bryce raised a brow, “A… friend?” He sat up straighter, ringing out the bottom of his shirt with the water. Now that he looked at it, the water was definitely glowing. And looked purple. Did water always look like that or had he just inhaled too much water? He shook his head, using his bow to help himself stand up, “And what do you mean waiting for me? I didn’t expect to find anyone else out here, it’s dangerous.”
"Yeah." Val nodded, trying to get rid of the shakiness in his hands. He couldn't mess this up, and yet he felt like he was already doing it. "Well… there was a prophecy saying someone was coming…" He said softly, closing his eyes for a second. His form was definitely shimmering by now, but he needed it to hold out until he could convince this person to help Asavia. "And it's not dangerous out here. This place might be the safest place of all, actually." Valrya waved at the trees surrounding the pool. "What's your name?" He turned to look up at the guy, kind of wishing he was still sitting down.
Bryce tilted his head. Waiting for him? He was.. waiting… for.. him? Because of some.. prophecy? Either he was dreaming and had knocked himself out on the swim to safety or.. It might be possible. The forest held other strange, magical creatures that were ready to kill you but he hadn't thought they were a civilization. Or maybe there wasn't and this Valyra guy was the only one here. There were too many questions running through his brain. However he focused on the one he was asked, "It's Bryce. My name is Bryce," He replied, running a hand through his hair, "This might seem like an odd question but… are you shimmering?"
Valrya bit his lip, wondering if mentioning the prophecy was a bad idea. The guy didn't seem to be reacting too badly so far, thank the gods. "Bryce. Nice to meet you." Val gave him a smile and a slight bow– something he didn't normally do, but Bryce was the person from the prophecy. He had to be. His eyes widened slightly at Bryce's question. "Um…" Valrya considered showing Bryce his true form. He would have to at some point, and it would probably be better when there wasn't anything else for him to freak out about. "Yeah. I'm not so good at cloaking. Don't freak out, please." He pressed his lips together, then let his true form show. The moment he let the clock of magic drop away, a feeling of relief washed over him. It had been taking a lot out of him.
Vryce blinked rapidly, taking a few quick steps backwards, "You-" He pointed, taking a few quick breathes, "You're- how the-" This couldn't be real. He knew of the creatures that lived here, however didn't know that there were sentient, logical human like ones that lived here, "What the actual hell?" This was crazy, utterly insane. He'd seen some weird shit but this was on a whole new level, "You're like them? Like the creatures in the forest? You're not gonna kill me, are you?"
Valrya held up his hands, trying to calm Bryce down. This had been a bad idea. He had been hoping that wherever Bryce had come from also had beings like him, but apparently not. This job was getting harder and harder. "Calm down, Bryce." Val ordered. "I don't know what kind of creatures you have in your world, but I'm not going to kill you." Apparently, his world did have beings like Valrya, but they liked to kill people. "There's going to be no killing here." A distant noise from father into the forest caught Val's attention. It almost sounded like… Oh, no. Was it Tahre, back to taunt him about his 'hopeless' mission? He stayed still, head turned towards the sounds. After a few seconds of listening, his worst fears were confirmed. Tahre was coming, and he'd brought friends. Valrya really didn't want to introduce him to Bryce just yet. He still had to convince Bryce to help.
"What? No killing? Everyone knows that the only beings that will murder you live in the forest." The rustling had Bryce on guard and he immediately drew his bow, not at Val, but at whoever was creeping forwards towards them. And a group? This day was getting worse and worse, and on his birthday of all days? He'd mad a big mistake coming in here. First he nearly died, then he finds out his apart of some prophecy and now there were more creatures coming towards them. He could admit that Val had been nice so far, but he didn't know when that was going to change.
"Um… like I said, we're not in your world anymore. Things are different here." Valrya glared at Bryce, mind whirring. The best thing to do was hide Bryce and just pretend nothing had happened until Tahre went away. Thank the gods he had explored every little nook and cranny around here. Tahre and his group were getting steadily closer– he didn't have much time. "Put that bow down and follow me. You have to hide." Val turned and hurried around the pool towards the waterfall. Although there was no way to hide behind it without going back to Bryce's world– and there was no way Val would let him go back– there was a small crack in the rock near the waterfall where he could hide until Tahre went away. "Squeeze into there and don't come out until I tell you. I may be nice, but who knows what the others might do to you when they find out where you came from," He hissed, pointing at the opening in the rock. It was narrow, but opened up into a small cave after a few paces. Bryce would be fine as long as he stayed quiet.
Bryce felt like saying no. Saying no and diving back through that waterfall. But even though he was scared, petrified at this new world and revelation, some things about what Val had said had his brain turning over question after question and then suddenly he was lowering his bow and squeezing into the crack he had been shown. This whole predicament felt messed up and wrong and there was an instinct screaming at him to just run but he couldn't, not yet, anyway. He made sure he was as hidden as he could get, making sure his bow was also hidden from sight. Bryce wasn't exactly liking the idea that these other guys might not be as nice as Val had been and her certainly didn't want to find out if that was true or not.
Val waited until Bryce was completly hidden before going back to his usual spot and sitting down. A few moments later, a group of beings burst out of the trees. Leading the pack was a tall person with curly, rust-red hair and a cruel smile on his face.
"Well, if it isn't the ever-hopeful Valrya. Still waiting for your savoir to come through that waterfall?" Val looked over at him and glared.
"Tahre. Are you here to disturb the peace again? What will it be this time?" He slowly stood up, ready to move at a moments notice. Some days, Tahre only said a few words. Other days, he talked for an hour or more about how stupid Valrya was to believe the prophecy.
"Aww." Tahre laughed. "Do you want us to leave so you can stare at the pool in complete silence? You know you're wasting your time. No one's ever going to come through there. You should be back at the city preparing instead of sitting here and helping no one."
"Someone will come through," Val insisted, his tone suggesting this was something he said a lot. "Besides, no matter how much preparing you do, you'll never be ready. Now get out of here. If someone comes through and sees you, I bet they'll go right back to where they came from." Tahre's eyes narrowed and a low growl started in the back of this throat. Val pressed his lips together. Maybe that last sentence should have been said in his mind, not aloud.
The growl hadn't sounded good. Not in anyway. Threats were something he was used to, maybe not threats from magical creatures, however but what was the difference. His guy, Tahre, he didn't seem nice. It seemed like him and Val had had this conversation before, many times, by the tone of voice he was using. Oh he was dumb, Bryce was a complete dumbass. Before he could stop himself, he stopped hiding, immediately lifting his bow and aiming it at the other, "Right, I think Valrya here said to nick off, just in a nicer way, I suppose. I suggest you listen." He didn't have a chance if they wanted to attack, Bryce hoped they didn't.
Tahre took a step towards Val. It seemed there would be a fight today, too. Wonderful. Valrya raised his hands, ready to fend him off. There was no way Tahre could win this, even with all his friends– a voice cut through his thoughts. It was slightly familiar, and coming from where Bryce was hiding… oh, gods. Val turned towards the voice to see Bryce aiming his bow at Tahre.
"What?" Tahre frowned, taking in the outsider. "Val, you didn't say you'd actually found someone!" He looked at Val for a split second, then took a step towards Bryce. The look in his eyes didn't make Val feel very comfortable with letting him anywhere near his only chance of survival.
"Stop right there, Tahre," Val warned, holding his hand up. "Take one more step and you will regret it." Tahre stared at Valrya for a second, then flung his hand towards Bryce. A small, bright object flew from his hand and shot towards Bryce. Val gestured at the object and a vine sprang up from the ground, catching the thing mid-flight. A feather-knife, he realized. "Really, Tahre? Bryce, go hide again," Val shot over his shoulder, not bothering to make his voice nice. Why couldn't that chosen one just sit still for five minutes while he dealt with Tahre?
"Fat chance of that happening," He challenged. Bryce wasn't going to stand down, not when someone else was in need. Sure, he might die, but at least he'd die doing the right thing, "You said I was part of some prophecy thing, yeah? Well you've been a help so far I ain't letting you get into a fight and injure yourself." It was a dumbass move and he knew it, however he wasn't going to back down. His stubborn self wasn't going to let him do that. Bryce could tell that Val could take care of himself, but he wanted to help even though he might not be able to.
"Hah." Val let out a short laugh, though there was no humor in it at all. This man was getting on his nerves. "Yeah, I did. Which is exactly why you need to stay out of this." Tahre took another step towards Bryce and Valrya decided that he wasn't going to play around anymore. Tahre might very well kill Bryce just to make Val mad, and he couldn't let that happen. Even though he would get a talking-to from the elders later, it was the only way to get Tahre out of there quickly. Val raised both his hands into the air and shouted a lyrical word in the ancient tongue, which loosely translated to "consume". A crack shot its way through the ground under Tahre's feet. With a rumble, the crack opened like a mouth.
"Valrya," was all that Tahre could say before he disappeared into the ground. The opening snapped shut, leaving nothing but a scar in the dirt.
"Now, would anyone else like to get back the hard way?" Val demanded, eyes narrowed at the rest of Tahre's friends. They exchanged a glance, then turned and sprinted into the woods. Val waited until they were totally gone before whirling towards Bryce. He wanted to collapse– that spell was really taxing– but he needed to get it into Bryce's head just how important it was to not get killed.
Bryce blinked. Then lowered his bow. Then swallowed, "Right… so um.. listen to you from now on, got it," He rubbed at his neck with his free hand, "And don't piss you off… also got it." Were all the creatures in here like Val? Able to just whip up a portal and send someone flying through with a simple flick of his wrists? It was scary, immensely so. And on top of that Bryce couldn't even defend himself, he had no magic. Well, none that he knew of. How could he be apart of some mystical prophecy when he couldn't even defend himself with someone who could do magic?
"Yes, do that," Val snapped, stalking towards Bryce. "As you've seen, not everyone is as nice as me. When I say hide, it's because they will kill you if you don't. And you dying would be catastrophic." He stopped an inch or so away from Bryce and looked up at him with blazing eyes. This might be scaring him a bit, but Val needed him to see just how important he was. Bryce couldn't just throw himself into a fight around here. "Do you understand?" Val asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. His legs were trembling slightly, but he tried not to let Bryce see. He needed to be scary and comanding– needing to sit down wouldn't help.
The human gave the other a once over, noting the shaking legs, the fire in his eyes, the contrast between the two and knew Val was hiding something. He took after his mother with that - observant, "Fine, yes, I understand. However you need to sit down," He leaned against his bow and raised a brow. Sure, he shouldn't tell Val what to do but if he didn't at least try and get the other to rest, then when Bryce needed him, him might not be able to help, not of he was too tired to do so.
Gods, this guy was observent. Valrya let out a breath. "I can sit down once I get you out of trouble. Come on, we need to get to my place. Tahre or anyone else won't be able to find you there and I can answer any questions you have." He turned and started towards a section of rock he knew was easy to climb. Although he had a small room in the city proper, there was no way Bryce was going there. In the early days of waiting for someone to come out of the waterfall, Val had set up a small base a little ways from the waterfall. In fact, he spent most of his time there, only going back to the city when it was absolutely necessary. Valrya started up the rocks with practiced ease. Climbing them was much more of a struggle than normal, though, and he hated it.
Bryce eyed him for a moment, looking back towards the waterfall. He could dive now and make a run for it, never look back and leave this place and forget it ever existed. However there was something in him begging him to stay, to stay and help no matter what. And Val had just saved his life after all, he supposed leaving so abruptly would be rude. He sighed, placing his bow around his body as he began to climb, following behind and ready to catch the other shoulder he fall.
Valrya made it to the top without losing his grip and falling onto Bryce's face, for which he was glad. Here, the water that fed the waterfall ran around rocks with a gentle sound. The ground beneath Val's feet changed from rock to dirt as he followed the river. Trees loomed over Val, becoming closer together as he journeyed deeper into the woods. There were stories about… things that would steal you away if you went too far into the forest, but he'd never encountered them. At least those useless stories kept everyone away from his hideout. After about five minutes of walking, he entered a clearing with a huge tree in the middle. It wasn't actually a tree– it was just an illusion to discourage any brave souls who made it this far. Val walked up and tapped a spot on the bark that was slightly darker than all the rest. A door swung inwards, leading into what looked like the inside of a small hut made of stone. "Welcome to my humble house," Val said, holding the door open for Bryce and waving him inside. Hopefully, this wouldn't scramble his brain too much. He didn't need any more drama that day.
Bryce looked around in wonder at the large, looming masses around them. Felt his hair stand on edge the further they traveled into the forest. It reminded him of the forest on the other side, with the beasts that had chased him all this way and essentially forced him into this world. When the trees opened up, he blinked, taking it all in before the tree swung open. He wanted to comment on it, however knew that it wasn't going to be the strangest thing he'd seen all day today. The human entered the house, eyes going wide at the interior as he ventured further into the home, "Wow… this is incredible. I've never seen anything like it before."
Val waited for Bryce to enter, then followed him inside. "Thank you. I do try." He closed the door tightly and waited for the slight humming sound that indicated it had camouflaged again before turning towards Bryce. "Feel free to sit down. Just don't touch anything." Val walked towards the small table and sat down in one of the chairs. Before now, it had felt a bit silly to have two chairs when he was the only one who ever came here. At least that second chair finally had a purpose. He was also very grateful he'd cleaned up the house only a few days ago. It wasn't in it's full, messes-everywhere glory. "Now… if you have any questions, ask away." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers. Hopefully Bryce would ask some useful questions like, 'why am I here' and such. Although if a few of the questions were a little stupid, he would still answer them. Having a chosen one who knew a little about the world he was saving was a good thing, right?
Bryce nodded a little, though he didn't take a seat just yet. Instead he paced, trying to collect his thoughts and questions into a coherent list that he himself could understand, "So.. you say there's a prophecy, what is it, exactly? Is that why I'm here? And where is here?" Three questions at once that might be a bit confusing, to Bryce at least. He'd never thought he would end up in a situation like this. Then again who would? Who would have though they would end up in a magic world with some mystical prophecy that apparently he was apart of.
Val's eyes followed Bryce as he paced. He wished the man would sit down– all this movement was making him on edge. "Yes, there is a prophecy. Here." Val nodded and recited the prophecy. It was in the ancient tongue, so Bryce wouldn't understand it, but it was considered very disrespectful to translate the prophecy into any other language. "I'm guessing that sounded like a bunch of nonsense, but here's the version you can understand: Basically, we were told that a magical hero would emerge from that waterfall when Asavia– that's what this place is called– was in need. Granted, we've been in need for the past twenty years or so, but you joined us eventually." Val stopped to take a breath. "And yes, you are the person from the prophecy. So… congratulations." He leaned back in his chair and stared at Bryce. "Any more questions?"
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