"They were examining the rest of the cave to learn more about this flesh eater curse," Gemma sobbed. "I promised them that I will behave myself but they were only gone for a few minutes and I could no longer contain my rumbling stomach. This is all my fault…" she wept once more.
"Get some rest, Gemma," Gia calmed the cursed fairy again. "We are not going to blame one another because of this. Thea was just asking."
Gemma nodded and wiped away her tears.
"You've fought flesh eaters?" Asuren was worried about his weakening senses. He failed to notice General Kali observing them and now the flesh eaters outside the cave.
"We already defeated them," Juliann smiled. "You don't have to worry about me and Thea. We're safe and had been grazed only a little."
"Have you heard any news about my friends?" Gemma timidly asked. "I'm worried. It's been hours since your friends check on Foliage Ville."
"I'm worried too," Thea said. "She is not answering my call. I'll follow them to Foliage Ville," she straightened up but before she could step out of the cave, Riz and Ayhan had finally returned. Both looked exhausted and irritated.
"What happened?" Gia checked them up. Like Thea and Juliann, Riz and Ayhan only had minor cuts and bruises.
"We fought a flesh eater for hours!" Riz glared angrily at Ayhan.
"That flesh eater…" Gemma had spoken but tears welled in her eyes, and she could no longer finish her sentence.
"I honestly don't know," Riz slumped on the ground and leaned on the wall. "We checked Foliage Ville and its perimeter. We also asked some soldiers guarding the village. They did not see a single flesh eater. We encountered only one heading towards Foliage Ville. We can only assume that it was your friend."
"We also asked the fairies on Foliage Ville about your friends and if any other fairies are missing," Ayhan added. "They only told us five names. You, Jenna, Rika, Kristoff, and Pao. They said you were missing for almost forty-eight hours."
"They are all… my friends…" Gemma wept. "Those things I remember… are not just… bad dreams… they… they really happened… Jenna… she turned into a monster… and devoured our friends…" she covered her face and cried harder.
"I'm sorry, Gemma," there was guilt in the eyes of Ayhan. "We could not save your friend."
"We tried," Riz looked frustrated. "Even though we knew that it was hopeless, we still tried. That's why it took us hours and our strength had been depleted," she clenched her fists and told everyone in a louder voice, "We tried to save that fairy! But we can't! Whoever it was still died and we had no more strength left to pursue the boar seal! Just because we wasted our time saving a single fairy, more fairies will be put in danger!"
"Riz, let's walk outside and get some fresh air," Thea grabbed the hand of her friend.
"No," Riz lay down on the ground. "I'm too tired to walk. I want to sleep. Tomorrow, I want Asuren to come with me and Ayhan will stay here with you."
"I think it will be better if the four of us pursue the boar seal. Gia, Henry, and Juliann will focus on finding a cure," Thea smiled.
"I don't know about that," Riz closed her eyes. "Ayhan might only drag us down."
"I'm not–" Ayhan began to yell but Asuren quickly pulled him out of the cave before he could shout more words.
"I don't want to hear more scolding," Ayhan sat on the ground and leaned on a tree. "I know what I've done and I'm not regretting any of it!"
"I will not say anything because you and Riz are both unscathed," Asuren settled on an adjacent tree.
"I can fight that flesh eater until it gets tired of fighting and…"
"I know," Asuren looked up on the branches. "If not for your persistence and unwavering belief in the goodness of any stranger, I will not be here today. But you have to admit that Riz has a point. The sooner we catch the boar seal, the faster we can put an end to this curse. We can save more lives."
"I know…" Ayhan let out a sigh of frustration. "Once they turned, we can no longer save them. I just… want to hope… But you and Riz are right. This time we just got lucky that the flesh eater we fought were not as strong as we previously fought, where you had been wounded and cursed, just because I kept on insisting that we tried saving them. Wait," he glanced at the bandaged arm of his friend. "You got wounded again?"
"This is nothing," Asuren pulled a bottle of medicine from his pocket. "I need to drink this."
"I'll guard you," Ayhan said and Asuren had quickly emptied the bottle and endured a painful medication for hours.
^#############^
"How can you sleep when you are angry?" Thea lay down next to Riz.
"Do you really want to stay here with me? Aren't you worried about your new friend? I saw his bandaged arm. He does get wounded a lot," Riz opened her eyes and frowned.
"We are talking about Ayhan and not Asuren," Thea smiled.
"I don't want to talk about him," Riz rolled her eyes.
"You don't?" Thea beamed wider.
"I do understand him," Riz let out a frustrated sigh. "I just don't want another century to pass before we find that seal bearer. This boar seal is aggressive. He is turning fairies into monsters. We need to stop him as soon as we can."
"We will find him soon," Thea believed. "As you had said, Asuren does get wounded a lot and the boar seal has an interest in him. He will cross paths with trouble soon and I believe it will be with the enemy we are chasing. We should be ready when that happens."
"Are you sure the boar seal is interested in Asuren? As I see it, this monster only wants to see your new friend suffer. If it wants something else, why not just talk to Asuren? Why does he want to make things difficult for all of us?"
"He asked Asuren if his friends can rely on him. I think the boar seal wants to test him first."
"For what?"
"We will know for sure once the boar seal gets the answer he wanted."
"If Asuren is still alive by then," Riz smirked.
"Of course, he will. I will keep him alive," Thea promised and then glanced at Gemma that was still crying. Gia sat beside the mourning fairy, gently stroking its back.
Thea wanted to tell Gemma that they will avenge her friends but decided that it would be better to say those words with proof. They had to defeat the boar seal first.
^###############^