Right of Passage: Chapter Two

The forest rumbled as a horde of Naru-Kai charged towards them. Their golden eyes shone through the trees, a sight one might have paused to enjoy... if it did not mean certain death. "What do we do?!" Feyni cried. "The trees! Climb the trees! Naru-Kai do not climb. Quick!" Tzhu said, pulling a now weeping Oruvashi to a nearby kamba. Nayeru and Feyni scrambled up the trees as fast as the pain would allow them. They lodged themselves in high branches just as the creatures swarmed the ground beneath them, baring their hideous teeth, growling and snarling. Nayeru crossed and uncrossed his arms, touched his temples and his lips, a symbol of prayer to the gods. "Save us, gods divine," he whispered. The others followed suit, murmuring their prayers and taking in the Naru-Kai's appearance. The history books described them as remnants of the Old Earth turned into monsters by overexposure to the ruins of the cataclysm. They had bright gold eyes and pale, broken skin that they covered with black hide. "Doh!" Feyni exclaimed. "I can't feel any pain!" Nayeru flexed his legs, making sure not to loosen his grip on the branch. "It's gone! Oh! Praise Azraku!" "Don't celebrate too early. It will resume once we touch the ground... if they don't kill us first," Tzhu said, making a face at the creatures. They did not like that and began to pound hard on the tree trunks. "Why did you do that?!" Oruvashi cried. "I'm sorry! I didn't think they could understand our expressions!" Tzhu said, climbing higher into the tree. Feyni tried to distract the beasts, but they paid him no mind. They were focused on the tree that the girls were in. He turned to look at Nayeru. "I don't know what to do. What do we do?" He asked. "I don't know either! Can they jump to our tree?" Nayeru replied. He called out before Feyni could respond. "Can you jump to our tree?!" "It's too far! We won't make the jump!" Oruvashi said. She heard a crack and looked down. The branch she clung to was breaking off. "Oh no, no, no! Gods no! Please!" she wailed. "What?! What is it?!" Tzhu asked. "My branch is breaking off!" "Dak! MOVE TO ANOTHER ONE!" Feyni shouted. She stretched a hand to touch another branch, and heard another crack. They all heard it, and saw it. Tzhu crawled from her branch in a slow, precise manner and reached out to her. "Take my hand! Let go of the branch. I'll catch you, I promise!" Oruvashi shook her head. "It cracks when I move! I can't!" Tzhu got mad. "TAKE MY HAND!" Oruvashi flinched and reached out. She grabbed Tzhu's forearm with both hands and let go of the branch. It fell off the tree into the horde and was reduced to dust in seconds. She dangled dangerously as Tzhu struggled to pull her up. For a second, it looked like Tzhu was succeeding, when the boys noticed one of the Naru-Kai reaching up. "ORUVASHI! YOUR KILK! GRA-" The creature latched on and yanked her kilk. Oruvashi was snatched into the sea of Naru-Kai, screaming as their claws dug into her orange flesh. A cloud of dust covered the horde, and they vanished. Moments passed, and the children stayed frozen in horror. One by one, they climbed down from the trees and stood in the path, gazing at the ground. There were no prints. It was like nothing ever happened. Tzhu wrapped her arms around herself and whimpered. "W-we should get going. We can't stay here," Nayeru finally said. The boys started walking, and stopped when they noticed Tzhu did not follow. Feyni went back to her and took her hand gently. "C'mon. The pain will soon return, and the day is far gone. Let's go." The forest did not allow them to grieve. The pain resumed minutes later, spreading through their bodies mercilessly. They fought it, applying all the techniques they'd learnt from the scholars and spirit guides, determined not to have any more encounters with the Naru-Kai. Daylight was but a faint glow on the horizon when they emerged from the other end of the forest, crawling on all fours, welcomed by the king's aides, their families, and well-wishers. Shouts of joy broke out in the small crowd. The king's aides rushed to them as soon as they crossed the forest's threshold. They were given milk and water, and their bodies were doused with meso, a honey-based mixture meant to repair any unseen damage exposure to the forest's pain would cause. Someone noticed that they were three. "Where is Oruvashi?" Tzhu and Nayeru began to cry. Feyni let his tears fall, but stayed silent. The joyful atmosphere quickly turned to one of sorrow, and people rushed to Oruvashi's family to comfort them.