The suffocating tunnels seem to be endless, water seeped through some and she even had to swim in some sections. She wasn't sure how much time passed, maybe an hour or maybe two.
The rocks suddenly open up, giving rise to a large cavern from which small drops of water emanated through a crack in the ceiling. These drops rhythmically fell on a crystalline flower.
“I found it!” The constant tension in her mind eases knowing that Ezer has a chance to survive.
She looks away quickly to thank his guide, although the bird was no longer in the place having vanished as if he had never existed.
The flower stood at an angle making it look like a small crystal crown. It did not have any leaves on its stem, it made its way through the solid rock in search of water for its crown.
Lyaria reaches out and gently cuts the stem with scissors that gleamed silver. She opens the small wooden box that carried in his bag and puts it inside, making sure to wrap it in a soft cloth.
“I have to be careful. It is not for nothing that it is also known by the name of crystal petals.”
She puts the box back and heads to the cave exit the same way that took her to get there the first time. Making sure to listen for any sound that might indicate danger, when one of his markings fails, she goes by his nose and the scent left upon entering.
The sound of the waterfalls becomes stronger and stronger indicating that her was on the right path, when reaches the mouth of the cave, only the stars illuminated the falling waters.
“It's dangerous to come back at night, but so is staying.” Thinks for a few moments before making his choice.
The moon bathed her silver hair in an almost mystical way like the waters that fell on the opposite side of the abyss, this only served to reinforce her beauty and that of the surroundings.
“I'm very tired, as soon as the sun rises, I'll go.” She sits and leans against the cave wall, closing his eyes but concentrating on his ears and sense of smell.
The slightest sound or change in the environment woke her up from the light sleep, she only managed to doze for a few hours until perceives something that fully alerts her.
Without hesitation, approaches to the ledge with light steps and begins to climb with his hands up the wall of that enormous hole whose black bottom swallows the waters.
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The minutes go by and Lyaria begins to hurry, noticing that she hadn't made much headway. Although this works against her when a hand loses its grip and his legs dangle without any support.
“Aahgg!” A strangled cry escapes her lips.
She clings with his one hand to the point that his wrist makes strange sounds, seconds later, his left leg finds a foothold and then his right. Continues climbing until she comes to a large rock that jutted out, it was big enough for her to rest his body on it.
"This hurts…” Gazes at the hand that saved his life as it bled from its split fingers and nails.
“This damn water makes the rocks look like ice.”
It may be summer, but being soaked for so long was beginning to show its effects anyway, as she begins to shiver slightly.
She sees the cave entrance far below her and what she sees, makes her climb back up even faster.
“I would have left earlier.” Says it in her mind, concentrating all his strength on the muscles.
Below her, and advancing much faster, were beasts of the same type as the panther she had faced. These were larger and the green of the mosses almost completely covered their fur showing how long these creatures lived in the humidity.
Their claws piercing the rocks and scaling them without looking for ledges, the three panthers climbing at a much faster rate than Lyaria did. The wet surface did not cause them any difficulty and they only had eyes for their prey.
She knew they were closing in fast, a quick glance down reveals the three pairs of eyes that sparkle in the light of the moon and stars. At that moment, the pain is the least of his problems and his body releases adrenaline to the limit.
“It's not far now... I'll leave before they reach me.” She doesn’t slow down even though his muscles screamed for a break and his hands seemed to be pierced by needles every time she applied force to them.
The east was beginning to light up when Lyaria comes out of the gigantic hole and begins to run as a white wolf.
His paws bleed, the fact of transforming did not regenerate his wounds. Her breathing was heavy and the accumulated exhaustion only aggravated the problem.
She had managed to get a good head start when the beasts break to the surface and continue to chase her from behind. On flat ground Lyaria was much faster, however, injuries and fatigue affected her.
Noticing this, Lyaria stops and turns to face them. She had not entered to dangerous ground because she was strong, but because she had the confidence to survive and, above all, the ability to escape. She watches as the beasts approach and looks directly into the eyes of the first, then the second, and finally the third whose claws slightly ripped his snout.
The beasts begin to move erratically and even begin to crash into surrounding bushes and lose their sense of balance. Lyaria is instantly running again taking advantage of the confusion she had caused.
"Now I'm not only tired physically, but also mentally. Aahgg... everything moves around me... I hate this feeling.”
The beasts slowly come to their senses, the mist clearing from their eyes, replaced by hatred. The goal of getting food now is to get revenge.
The advantage that Lyaria had regained was being lost, she could tell by the sounds her ears picked up. His mind begins to work frantically on a solution without finding any.
"I don't think I can confuse them again... and face them head on..."
Lyaria begins to despair, though this changes when she catches something in the air between her gasps. Ahead, picks up a familiar scent and instantly corrects his direction to its source. With each step she gets closer to the scent and as the panthers closed the distance, they were so close that she could hear their heavy breathing.