Entanglement

[Flamebird]

Felicity loved exploring. She enjoyed the outdoors, running through meadows and scaling mountain tops. Whether it be the snow, desert, or prairies; she had this thing for adventure. It called to her. It begged her to step out, to feel and see the wonders of nature and ancient ruins. The mystery of magic, the puzzle of science. The rush of adrenaline, the heart pounding threats of danger and excitement. To truly feel alive.

Yet, she never expected to venture this far out...

Dheathian. It was a place like never before. Technically, it was considered a part of the Althanas secture of the world. However, on the maps it was closer to the enigmatic Kebiras. This was the closest to that shrouded land Felicity ever got... and she swore, if the humidity was even worse there than here!

The one thing Felicity despised more than anything else was the unrelenting moisture that eternally hung in the air. Fallien was hot, yes, but at least it was dry. Here, liquid misery clung onto the oxygen, almost choking the winter borne teen. She had grown up in the crisp air of Eiskalt and the coniferous terrains of Corone; she had never experienced anything like this. Even for someone as energetic and wild as herself, the humidity vacuumed a sense of life out of her. It was only manageable, barely, thanks to the endless curiosities this jungle provided. It was the carrot hung over the girl's nose, calling her deeper into the eccentric rain forest's depths...

Whether it be the plant life, natives, or an odd twist on the laws of physics, Dheathian fascinated her. It hypnotized her, the magical sparkles that danced around a brightly colored flower. The incredible wildlife, from giant lizards to lithe felines she never caught sight of before. She filled three of the four journals she brought with observations and fangirl enduced dribblings, and she did not even make it to her destination yet. - Donnalaich, a fae inhabited city which sat over the ruins of ancients of old. It had a magical affinity which rivaled that of Raiaera's ruins or Eiskalt's wilderness - at least according to legend - which the half-Neanderthal wished to study and explore to the absolute highest.

She could of hired a guide to help her through the jungle wilderness, yet the drakari were elitist and closed to outsiders. The fae, well, Felicity understood that they could be trouble. Thus, Felicity instead opted to buy several maps and go it alone. While a lack of company was a risk to her mentality, the previously unexplored frontier proved to be enough to keep her out of her head.

Oh, how she despised entering her own head.

Today was the fourth day of the third week. It was midday. The sunlight could barely battle to shine through the thick canopy anymore. The ground was tangled with vines and ferns. Many dangers lied in the venomous snakes or strange plantlife at her feet. Felicity had to watch every step. This place proved to be a mental challenge, and she was mentally stimulated by the brain games this island played. She wore thick traveling boots, sweat drenched pants and a shirt. The only reason she did not wear shorts and a tank top were safety reasons, as well as her strong sense of dignity and morality. Her jacket was wrapped around her waistline, the heavy packs on her back challenged even this heavyweight lifter after two weeks straight. The sword at her side was always ready, always, for danger. Her alchemist's kit hung over her rib, handled with extra care, as the uncomfortable redhead looked down at the map. She was close to her destination.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead would only make it worse, with how her arm was coated in a wet lining of salty body water. Thus, she had to let the sweat drip over her green eyes as she squinted to read the map.

"Okay," she panted aloud, her words mumbled in exhaustion, "I literalliterallyonly-ly-ly have 'bout half hour's until left dest'nation-"

"-No! Get off me! Let me go, get away!"

Felicity's face shot up like a small rodent snapped into alert. Her eyes widened as a voice called from the palm branches beyond. Was that another traveler, calling for mercy? Felicity's chronic hero syndrome kicked in immediately. She completely dropped her map as she drew her delyn arming sword. She bolted through the shrubs with no mind to her surroundings. After falling over a tree stump here and twisting an ankle in some vines there, she limped into another part of the forest where... it was odd. A species of person, obviously not native to this weird and wonderful continent, was grasping for air as a carnivorous plant entangled the small, stout female in vines.

Felicity was wondering if this torturous humidity was making her see things.

As several flies comically swarmed around her head, the half delirious teen carefully dropped her bags and stalked towards the plant from behind. She had just twisted her ankle in a rush, she only had one shot at this. As she balanced on her good right leg, she lifted her sword. She hoped that she could cut the plant from its stalk in a single swoop. She could literally bench approximately six hundred pounds! How hard could this be?

Very.

Very hard.

Seconds before her heavy strike, the plant turned its attention to her. Her hand had been bleeding sweat, so as the vines grappled her, the teen dropped her prized weapon. The vines pulled the child up, slowly coiling around her neck. Always the hero, that Felicity Rhyolite. Now, she needed saving too. For one of the select few times in her life, she vulgarly shouted "oh thaynes!" as she slammed her fists against the vines. Raw endurance and strength kept her kicking, her powerful bones were uncracked under the pressure. She could smell her own panic in her doubled sweating as she used her unkempt nails to dig into the plant's vines.

Felicity was becoming frustrated, fast. Furious even. No way. She could not die today. Not by a stupid plant! She shouted unformed words as she kicked the vines with her one good leg. No! No!

Then, a spark of fire caught on the plant's stem. The plant recoiled and shrieked in horror as it immediately dropped the struggling half-breed females. Much quicker than it naturally should of, the plant flash burned into ashy nothingness, just like that.

As her still panicked heart raced violently, Felicity looked up from the ground to see a tiny, brunette creature with pointed ears and a mischievous dazzle in his pink colored eyes. It was a fae.

The puny, lively creature turned to the young woman Felicity had been trying to rescue in the first place, "Please dun die on me. I still need the other half of your pay."