"Why can't I turn back!" She screamed, clawing at her face till drops of blood started to fall to the ground, but to no avail. "No! No! This can't be happening to me! I did not live for so long to just die by being turned to a damn scavenger! No!" She practically screeched. "What animus would even think to make such a stupid item! Why-" Her tirade had finally ceased as she heard a large branch snap not far ahead.

  "Oh shit, nonononono... fuck..." She swallowed the lump in her throat as she frantically looked around.

  The rainforest was beautiful, a wide variety of shades of green, filled with other bright colors for every flower or critter that appeared. The trees seemed to dance as a light breeze pushed them back and forth. It was never quiet, even at night the critters would constantly chirp, which is why now it unnerved her. All she could hear was the loud creaking as wood was pushed against the wind.

  She didn't wait to turn around and instantly ducked into some bushes, but that wouldn't be enough.

  The frilled dragon soon materialized in the air, primarily covered in a bright blue color as they stuck their claws into the bush and felt around till her talons managed to find the small creature.

  The scavenger let out a terrified, "Eep!" before she was picked up in the air, the dragon letting out soft growls.

  "Put me down! We can talk about this-" She screamed but her voice was soon snuffed as she was then placed into a large pouch, before the dragon tightened the rope, leaving the tiny creature trapped.

  ***

  "Shush..." I said to Wind as we quietly trotted across the bog, the air was putrid and it was difficult to breath, hopefully it clouded our scent... hopefully. I kept my nose under my shirt to minimize the smell.

  The sounds of frogs making their loud and guttural 'ribbits' rang loudly as the buzzing of bugs drowned out the sounds of our horses. The horses were steadfast though, even with the bags over their heads, preventing the large bugs from getting to their eyes.

  "These damn bugs are so annoying!" Ferris growled as he smacked another mosquito trying to suck his blood, the mosquito's corpse fell, leaving a splotch of blood on his arm before he wiped it off. "Gotcha, you bastard!" He exclaimed quietly as Bush harshly shushed him. He sighed angrily in response. "Fine!" He hissed quietly.

  I would have chewed him out if not for the circumstances, it was best that we move forward till we reach the other side of this marsh.

  "How are you holding up?" I asked Lumin as she held me tightly, her eyes darting all over the place, her body was shaking badly.

  "F-fine..." She lied as she kept me trapped in an iron embrace.

  "It's okay." I say as I offer one of my hands for her to hold on to. "I won't let anything happen to you, Lumin."

  She hesitates for a moment before finally taking hold of my hand. "Thank you River, for protecting us."

  Her grasp was a lot stronger than I thought, I almost let out a gasp of pain as I felt my hand crushed but quickly turned my facial expression into a wince, Doing my best to hide the pain.

  "River, are you okay?" She asked softly as if she wasn't crushing my hand at the moment.

  "Mmhm..." I managed to mumble as I kept one hand on the reins, slowly guiding Wind over the bridge of hardened mud. As I looked around, more of those bulbs that seemed to be the dragon's nest made themselves known, though to be honest they looked more like massive wasp's nests. And like a massive wasp's nest, where there was one, there were many.

  I didn't even risk scolding them, I just turned and gave everyone a stern glare and put a finger on my lips before taking a deep breath as we trotted ahead. I kept my eye out as we descended from the hard mud into the soft and sinking surface, the mud reaching the horse's knees.

  I put a hand in the air as we made it to the center, causing everyone to halt. Rowan shot me a questioning look till I pointed at the center of the brown mud pool, where it wasn't as shallow, where bubbles were currently forming on the surface. I kept my hand up as I then clicked quietly for Wind to move. Please don't move, please don't... The bubbles started to slowly shift, and I could feel the force of the mud shifting as if trying to pull me, like a current.

  "It knows we're here." I whisper.

  "So..." Ferris starts but trails off, expecting Bush to silence him but Bush just has a terrified expression on his face, cold sweat trailing down his forehead.

  "W-what do we do?" Shade asks as I feel tears start to fall from Lumin's eyes.

  "W-what can we do?"

  I look to Rowan before pulling out my crossbow and aiming it far off, to the other side of the marsh. I muster my strength and clear my throat. "On my mark, go, and we do not stop no matter what." I say as I wait for them all to nod. Once I get confirmation, I take a deep breath, my hand shaking a little as I load the bolt, "Please let this be brave, please don't let this be stupid." I silently muttered before activating the mechanism. I watched as the bolt whistled past the air into the distance, and the moment it hit the mud, the dragon acted. The mud-covered dragon breached out of the mud and dived towards the bolt, it's jaws agape and ready to devour. The dragon's sharp teeth gleamed in the moonlight, along with their brown eyes as they then focused on us.

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  I whistle successfully this time, and all of us hanged on as the horses understood the assignment. The trots were instantly loud as we managed to get through the soft mud and onto a hard surface, each hoove making a loud click as they made contact with the floor.

  "I see it!" Ferris exclaimed as the dragon started crawling out of the mud with a loud and low growl, it's eyes narrowed.

  "Don't look back!" I barked at him with my eyes glued forward.

  I could hear the flathead let out a loud roar, making the ground tremble as if it was also scared.

  "Here come the wasps." I mutter quietly as I grip Lumin's hand tighter.

  In a loud cacophony of screeching and roaring, I could hear the sounds of rapid wing beats getting closer.

  "They're getting closer!" Bush warned.

  I look at Lumin before looking at Rowan and Shade. I veered next to Rowan's horse. "Rowan, take Lumin!" I command.

  "M'lord-"

  "Just do it!"

  She looks worried at me before grabbing Lumin's arm.

  Lumin grips my hand tighter. "Wait, River, what are you doing?" She asks but I bring her other hand over to Rowan.

  "Trust me..." I say as I wait for Rowan and Shade to pull Lumin on their horse.

  Her eyes are wide and filled with tears as we disconnect.

  "Rowan, I'll buy you guys some time, I'll meet you there!"

  "M'lord-" She tried reaching out for me but I had already turned Wind around so I got a good view of what we were facing.

  "Oh fuck, I'm gonna die." I utter as I spot the swarm of bulky dragons flying towards me, practically salivating at the chance of gobbling me up like a small snack. They looked too hungry to talk things out so... "Never thought I'd die against these things, always thought an angry Sandwing would be the thing to kill me but I guess not." And then with a light kick, me and Wind were off, rushing right towards the giant group of dragons.

  ***

  "River!" Lumin screamed as she watched him turn to a speck in the distance, surrounded by the large brown dragons. Shade was sobbing into Rowan and as Lumin turned back to look ahead of the horse, tears trailing down her face. Ferris was unusually quiet as he and Bush rode in silence together, forced to keep their heads up. But despite Bush's stoic nature, Lumin believed she could see a tear or two trailing down his left eye.

  Ferris, from what she heard, was the one who'd make an entire room laugh with a joke and could make anyone crack a smile. Ferris would carry a light within himself so he could share with others, always useful for cheering something or someone up, it seemed as if the light had been taken away from him now. His eyes were watery but no tears shed, his hands were shaking as held onto the saddle. He let out what she thought was a choked sob, but then he leaned over to the side of the horse near Bush and started to release the rancid bile that had built in his throat. Luckily they didn't have to smell it for long as the bile quickly went out of view and blended in with the rest of the swamp.

  Bush held his friend, his face other than the tears was the same as that of a statue. His face was still cold, his eyes narrow, and his lips pressed into a firm line. In his eyes weren't just tears, Lumin could also feel the hate coming off of him, the hate of dragons, the hate for the suffering they caused, the hate for what she and Shade were deep down.

  "We should have told him..." Shade spoke up suddenly. She was curled against Lumin's back, her hands wrapped around the other slender figure. Lumin could feel the tears rolling from Shade's eyes going onto her back. She was clutching Lumin tight enough that Lumin was convinced that her ribs might break, which made her want to break into sobs since River had let her hold him like that. Lumin was in shambles as she clung to Rowan on the horse. "I shouldn't have let him go..." She whimpered against Rowan, her entire frame trembling.

  "Tell him what?" Rowan, unlike the rest showed no emotion, her gaze remained ahead, with no tears falling from her eyes. Her frame wasn't trembling or anything, her hands remained firm on her reins as she steered the horse where she wanted it to go.

  No one noticed as the mud started to turn into grass, and as the remaining moonlight was starting to be covered by the branches of the gigantic trees ahead.

  "How can you do that?" Lumin asked Rowan in tears, while also changing the subject so she wouldn't press Shade on their secret.

  "How can I do-"

  "How can you not cry or sob or show some emotion?" Lumin's tone was anything but harsh, she sounded almost scared.

  Rowan lowered her head but only for a moment, a flash of pain appearing on her face. "River isn't the first, far from it, he's not even the youngest." Rowan let out a short sigh, "I've lost so many people... and his death..." She seemed to wince as if in pain as she mentioned River's demise. "There's still hope, he is a Teardrop after all-"

  "Don't lie!" She was suddenly cut off by Ferris's shout, seeming to echo throughout the forest and the trees. "D-don't... l-lie..." Ferris managed to stutter as Rowan made no movement to recognize his presence.

  Rowan finally answered back after a long period of silence. "I've... run out of tears-"

  They were soon interrupted by the sound of another set of hooves. "Did you guys miss me?" I shouted ahead to them as Wind slowly started catching up with them, me and my horse covered in more globs of brown.

  "I knew you weren't dead!" Rowan suddenly cheered, Shade and Lumin were now crying tears of joy. I looked at Bush and Ferris and although Bush seemed to light up and have a big smile on his face, I could tell that as Ferris smiled, his light had still been taken away.

  "How are you alive? And why do you smell so bad right now?"

  "Well..."

  ***

  Earlier...

  "Wind, right, why won't you turn!" I frantically try pulling him to the side as we approach the edge of the mud cliff. "Turn turn Turn TURN-" I yell at Wind but instead he jumps ahead.

  My yells were drowned out by the loud roar of the dragon lunging for me. It's claws outstretched to wrap around me, but I watch as the dragon's eyes suddenly go wide and its wings flare out quickly to stop it's fall and fly back.

  "Wha-" I'm cut off as I land in something squishy and am covered in a brown glop, while Wind landed right next to us, out of the shit.

  I sigh in relief as I see all the dragons just staring down at me, looks of disgust clear on their face as a few leave. "What's the matter, don't wanna eat the scavenger anymore, huh!?" I taunt them as they leave, before turning to Wind, who is for the most part clean.

  "You may have saved my life but you owe me new clothes." I grumble as I wipe large globs of shit off of me.

  The horse simply neighs. As we trot along, the dragons are still there, and they turn away, looking at me with a disgusted expression. I couldn't help but smirk. "Let's catch up with the others."

  ***

  Present...

  "I managed to lose them by hiding myself in the mud." I say to the others as we get to the path, not mentioning anything else that happened.