Eir's POV
"I warn you, creeper, leave! Just turn around and forget; it should not be a complicated case for a simple mind like your own."
"Ouch, who crawled up your panties? Or shall I ask what?"
I found no amusement in his temporarily stunned state before he regained his cocky demeanor. He leaned his shoulder on the cold mountain wall by the entrance, effectively blocking my way.
"Move snake and leave me alone. Find someone else to fixate your poorly developed mind on."
"You changed..."
He dragged the short sentence out and cocked his head. Seemingly looking at me with new eyes, and a little too slowly looked me over. From top to toe, like he searched for the little piece of the puzzle, he overlooked earlier. He grabbed his chin, stroking it between his thumb and index finger. Irritation flared inside of me. Irrational and unexplained, but the way he rubbed his chin, combined with the look he gave me, made him seem so fake. Like he played a character, he was not; a wise man with a long beard or something like that.
"And you have not. There, we got that out of the way; now, it is your turn. Out of the way!"
"Orm, the name is Orm, not snake. If your mind is so superior, like you are hinting at, you should have remembered that. And speaking off, a sudden change like this should raise some flags. "
"Has it ever occurred to you that this might have been me all along? Everyone's bullshit just wore me out, and I stopped acting nice toward those not worth it?"
Deep in the dense jungle behind me, a twig snapped-then a soft rustling of leaves.
"Instead of wasting your time with me, you should focus on the ones behind me."
It worked. He wasn't convinced, but the doubt could not hide his curiosity.
"I'm not sure why, but Huldra seemed very eager to meet you. From what I understood, you two had something unsettled that should have been dealt with, preferably yesterday."
I took a chance, a fat one. But his eyes darted to the overgrown wilderness behind me and back to me, and I highlighted my amusement with a smile- a smile oozing with confidence and wicked joy. I don't know this character well, and I don't need to. It might not have been fear lurking beneath his stone-carved face, but there was something there. Something was rocking with his cocky personality, so I knew I hit a spot.
"For some reason, ever Nida's ears perked hearing your name."
"You told them my name? What else did you tell them."
Good. His focus swayed, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He looked uncomfortable and weighed his options. A rock sent a hollow echo down the narrow passage between the mountains, and Orm literally jumped around and stared into the darkness with his shoulders held high.
"Don't look so surprised. You know female lions work together when they hunt. You didn't really think Huldra, and Nida would work any differently? Of course, they work smarter, not harder. So which way, oh mighty snake? Shall we run into the passage and take our chances on whoever is waiting there or meet the one from the jungle head-on? Who do you fear the most? Huldra? Or Nida? "
With my arms crossed over my chest, I leaned back and let all my weight rest on my heels, watching as his anxiety spiked. He forgot his first character, and he stopped rubbing his chin. Instead, it looked like he held a full-on monologue with himself, his arms waving around like gestures to prove a point. He reminded me of one of those poorly written cartoon villains where he marched back and forth. Throwing his hands up, he gesticulated and huffed. In the middle of all of this, his eyes always stared at the dense jungle or towards the passage. His gaze jumped from the entrance between the mountains that called for our attention, promising an alluring darkness as the light faded slowly further and further down the little path. Then, back to the woods. The little breaking twig had turned to footsteps.
"Hellish creatures and dark dooms! Fine! Let's take this, whatever that was, later! I hear more than Huldra and Nida. More steps are closing in from the distance. If we go this way, around that way, we can hide in one of the broken caves! Come, now!"
He took off just like that. For a second, I stared at him in disbelief before I started running. He glanced over his shoulder to see me picking up the pace behind him, and he continued into the bushes and around the foot of the mountain. I ran straight ahead. I rushed into the entrance and the narrow path between the hills. I jumped into the cold and alluring shadows. My laughter echoed between the mountains and bounced off the steep rock walls, simultaneously enchanting and blurring the sound. The snow mountains carried my laughter up and down the little passage. I couldn't help it. He really thought that would help? " Take it later," like we have a pause-time button for moments like this.
Sweat trickled down my back. My hair stuck to my face, and with each deep and hectic breath, I could taste the metallic, sweet taste of blood down my throat. But I didn't stop; I didn't slow down. I felt better than ever. The shadows provided a soothing cold break from the warm and humid weather. For a long while, I ran in darkness, only a glimmer of the light supplied by the sun reflected down here. Now and then, a new stone was blessed with the dim leftovers of the sunlight. So, when the bright opening blazed towards me far ahead, my eyes were glued to it. A couple of feet away, I stopped. I listened and held my breath to hear better, only to realize the sound of my hammering heart was overwhelming.
Hunched forward and crouching down, I snuck out of the dark back into the light. Empty. There was nobody here. I scanned the area while straightening up slowly, but there was still nothing. I'm not questioning my luck, so I pick up my pace. I jogged towards the denser part of the jungle while looking around, searching for movements. Signs. All I saw were bushes, trees, plants, and more plants. Oh! I stopped so fast I slid along the dense moss ground. There it was: the border! Clear as day, the silver line sparkled with small glitter dust. Drawing up where the werewolves' land ended, and the fay land started. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before I stepped over.
Nothing happened! I made it! I crossed before the Fay king!
Fouled with endorphins and adrenaline, I sprinted. The jungle changed around me and opened up. The grass here was shorter, and the trees filled with colorful flowers. Bright sunlight shimmered on green leaves. Placed in this abundance of beauty, the dark wooden shed of a cabbing grew out of the shadows.