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Forera was more than thankful when Rasali and she managed to get away from the kids the royalists sicked on them. The purpleblood and the blueblood recruited to catch them were ridiculous-- Neither of them could even try to catch them, let alone catch up to them. As soon as they ran away from the kids, a light, free feeling spread through her body-- Even if they were being chased by the enemy, it was nothing like the time when she was actually being hunted. This felt less like a chase and more like... A game. Of course, the tealblood wasn't treating it as such, but the nervous fear that had initially coursed through her veins had mostly faded into giddy excitement. She knew better now, knew when to hold back, when to run like the wind... When to not do stupid stuff. Clenching her robotic hand and batting at a few mosquitoes near her, she kept trudging through the woods alongside her teammate, thankful that at least she wasn't alone in this.

After walking for a bit longer, Forera and Rasali decided to take a breather, idle chit chat busying them when one of them heard the sound of footsteps. Their voices faded to silence when two familiar figures came into view. A wide grin spread across Forera's face at the sight of her teammates, pushing her brothers cloak away from her face and giggling a little. Giving a large fist-pump of excitement, the tired team of four continued pushing forward, determined to at least find some place safe.

Forera was practically suffocating from the humidity in the air. Wiping her brow, she stepped on the now firm ground with heavy steps, again, thankful for Anguis's boots for getting her through thick and thin. He's even there for me when I don't even know it, huh. Though the soles of her feet were probably aching from hurt, Forera, didn't allow herself to think about it as she pushed through, eyes gleaming with determination. They must've been pretty far now, she was sure of it. Only a fool would follow after them, and while those kids sure were dumb, the tealblood doubted they were determined enough to push through. Especially for this long. Her body was relaxed in posture and as she looked up to the covering of trees before something shiny caught her eye. Forera immediately stopped, squinting at it before walking back a little to see it again. What the hell...? "Whoaaaaah," Forera exclaimed, astounded. "Guys, guys, like, wait, look!" Forera said, eyes darting from tree to tree as she realized what was really going on-- This place looked like... a hidden village. "Are you guys like, seein' what I'm seein'?" She marveled, searching for a way up. "We totally need to check this out!"

The trek was over. Aerona had risked her hide for this tough group of women, and they had all emerged unscathed. Nothing could compare. As she ran, the muggy air turned into Busthind’s crisp wintry breeze. Slippery logs transformed into icy bluffs and mossy rocks to the tundra underbrush that she was so familiar with. Her comrades were ace. There was hope for the rebellion yet!

And as the four emerged from the swamp, first into the opening that presented itself, she gasped. There was hope for all of them. Abandoned hives? No reception from royalists, totally hidden. “We – made it!” She yelped. Aerona covered her mouth with her hands and her legs nearly gave out below her. “Ohh—ohh!!” She realized then that she had been running for days. Aerona felt the twitching and locking in her thighs and calves with unbridled joy. “Moony – wait for me, ahahaha!” Nothing could stop her from climbing again.

She pitched up the thick, ancient bark of the wood and laughed out loud. “I love you, beautiful old houses! Welcome hoooome!” A few more war-whoops and Aerona had set her muddy boots firmly against the tree.

Pushing up and up, she breathed in fresher canopy air with every inhale. The Fingers of the Swamp, the dark place, and now this sanctuary greeted them like it had been waiting for sweeps – thousands of sweeps – for them to arrive. Her fingers molded into the bark. Soon she stood on the creaky old house’s main floor. There were holes in the roof, but no clear signs of sun bleaching beyond some small areas high up in the canopy. The old wood was not as moist as she would think from the warm sun, and had a fairly decent foundation. Better than some of the lowblood hovels she’d seen, anyway! Aerona sat down on her new find and looked for her pals.

Rasali had lost all sense of time in the dark, deep forests. It could have been the middle of the afternoon above the trees’ canopy and Rasali wouldn’t have had the faintest idea. It felt like their group had been running forever. If they ran into those highblooded kids again, they’d be all grown up. All Rasali knew anymore was this muggy swamp. It was her home now.

Before Rasali could begin moaning and groaning properly, Forera perked up. Rasali followed suit, putting a hand on her weapon uneasily. It didn’t take long for Rasali to realize the mood wasn’t tense, but awestruck. She waded through the bushes after her team and stepped out into the clearing. ”Whoaaaa..!” Rasali breathed. Her thinkpan rattled back and forth between relief and confusion. What the hell was this place?

The other girls were overjoyed. Luxara and Aerona took off for the trees, eager to explore the looming treehives. Rasali wandered dizzily around the clearing with her neck craned up to look at the lofty city.

”This place is amazing!” Rasali started. And it was a complete surprise. No one knew this place existed—not the rebels, and certainly not the royalists. Rasali felt her heart flutter at the implications. A hidden rebel city. It was possible! They could do it! Rasali grinned so wide her mouth twitched. It was either out of exhaustion or happiness, but Rasali wanted to cry. This was too good to be true. Finally, a victory for the Phoenix Initiative.

Rasali’s wild dreams of success were cut off by an unfamiliar, fifth troll’s approach. Rasali turned sharply to face the rustling foliage and gripped the chain looped around her shoulder when she failed to recognize the child—and a highblood to boot.

Rasali was struck with surprise, however, when the stranger seemed to recognize Forera and Luxara. She turned her attention to the two of them, looking expectant, if not anxious. ”You know this kid?” She asked, because she sure as hell didn’t. She turned back to the highblood. ”Who’re you. What are you doing here.” Rasali didn’t want to think their newfound haven had already been infiltrated by a royalist. The Phoenix Initiative just couldn’t catch a break.

Inside the abandoned hives, the stench of mould and decay was overwhelming. Moss choked nearly every surface and burst from the splits in the walls and floor. The ceilings were sagging and dampened with water spots, and more than a couple of the structures had lost their roofs altogether. Colourful plants coiled up through the cracks and pressed through broken windows, having embedded themselves into the walls over the many sweeps the hives lay in ruin.

Light rubble crunched under your shoes. You had to tread carefully, as the wooden planks below your feet gave a slight squish- they weren't stable, and if you misstepped they threatened to give way. The hives were inhabitable, but it seemed like the foundations they were built upon were sturdy enough. Perhaps rebuilding was possible.

As one would expect, there were dried up recuperacoons tucked away in most of the buildings... and some of them still had a husk of what used to be a troll resting inside. Personal belongings lay eerily untouched, coated in a heavy layer of dust and cobweb; open books strewn across tables, dishes in the dust filled washbasins, rotting clothes slung across the backs of furniture. It wasn't uncommon by this point to find a skeleton propped up in a rotting couch. However these trolls died, it seemed to be peacefully, as the whole place was frozen in a quiet domestic scene, thick with dust and plantlife.

With some doing, she pulled herself up onto one of the doorsteps and got to her feet. Luxara even raised her arms in victory in response to Aerona's whooping. God, this was awesome. Not even waiting a moment longer, she stepped into the hive she had climbed up to.

"Ohhh jeez. Ewwww!" One inhale was enough. It smelled bad. Her hive had never even smelled like this! Heck, just looking around, her home was in great shape in comparison. This place had seriously been left to rot, and without anyone to keep an eye on it, it did exactly that. So much water damage and overgrowth...

She took hesitant steps, occasionally pawing at the floor ahead with her boot just to make sure it was safe to step there. The greenblood hadn't seen anything in such disrepair since OHC.
But, she noted as she looked at something strewn on the kitchen floor, at least OHC didn't have obvious bodies laying around. She looked the residential corpse over, keeping her distance all the same. No sign of struggle, no sign of injury. Just...dead. Dead, and no looting.

Luxara started to wonder how the other hives were in comparison, but soon heard shouting outside. She turned and ran back out the door, fearing the worst. She stopped abruptly as she saw the scene below. Only the larger branch next to her, used as support, kept her from falling off the tree.

That kid Etsali was looking after was here. But no one else. No one but her group, two of whom were suspicious of the purpleblood. Forera thought otherwise, but it didn't seem that the tealblood was paying attention.

"An might've stayed behind, but at least he showed up at all, unlike your boyfriend," Luxara commented as her means of entrance to the conversation. Meanwhile, she sat on the doorstep to the hive she'd just jumped out of. She glanced at Rasali, then Aerona. Hackles sure were being raised here. She took a breath.

"This kid helped us before when he didn't have to. Tore up his little cape so we could breathe during Kur's great gas attack. He made a good impression. Definitely didn't seem like the highbloods we had to deal with on our way here. But." She eyed Cerpin now. "Where's your redblooded friend? It's really odd that just one kiddo would wander out of the blue like this, completely alone. So I think you owe us an explanation. Circumstances and all."

But, there was one more thing she had to say. To address the group at large with. "I dunno if you guys got to go into these places or not, but I found some really creepy stuff in this hive right here. Did anyone else find bodies or just even untouched stuff? Or is it just this one?"

One of the ancient books seemed to be a journal of sorts, most likely kept by the skeletal occupant resting nearby. The faded pages threatened to crumble into dust between your fingers. While time had smudged sections of the ink beyond recognition, many of the handwritten notes were still readable. Dates scribbled in the corners of the pages were from over one hundred sweeps ago- indeed, the hives had been deserted for quite some time.

entry 1309;
wow ! i've been neglecting my journaling, but things have been so crazy lately. figured i would crack open a new one for a new life ! it took a whole four nights to get here through busthind, but it was well worth it. ever since platypops died things have been real rough, but things are supposed to be peaceful here. i hope it works out !

entry 1312;
the village is so self sufficient ! one night's travel to the west are some natural sopor slime springs under busthind. they're in the same tunnel system we used to get here, i'd never have guessed. my new job is to help lug it up to the hives ! it's hard work, but everyone needs to pitch in

entry 1320;
it's so peaceful here. i've made so many new friends, i don't ever want to leave

entry 1325;
every night one of the hunters comes around to deliver my share of the night's catch. i met a really nice redblood named isolla, she's going to teach me how to shoot a bow !


The next clump of pages flake between your fingers- gone forever. Better be more careful!


entry 2556;
it's raining lots & keeping the hives maintained has been a little tricky, but we're managing. the wind blew away my petunias : (

entry 2558;
storm season is just awful. one of the roofs blew off, i guess it's good we have so many spare hives now but what if it happens during the day ? i got me a tarp

entry 2560;
hudich's lusus hoofbeast lusus died. i'm sad for him, but all i can think about is how much i'm going to ******** miss butter

entry 2748;
tonight a few of the others brought up the fact that we were low on numbers, & that we should try & recruit more. it was outvoted 25/12

entry 2749;
why did i vote no ? i'm starting to wonder why we've become so closed off from the rest of alternia. at first it was for safety, but we aren't as self sufficient anymore, so don't we need to do something ?

entry 2756;
i realized the last time we did recruitment was at least 20 sweeps ago

entry 2927;
an orangeblood claiming to be an explorer found our camp. no lusus. the others have them locked up in a spare hive & are arguing over what to do. isolla thinks they'd be valuable, i really don't know what's right anymore

entry 2928;
seems like the explorer came through the tunnels that lead here from the mountains, & they wandered in accidentally ? more info needed

entry 2929;
they culled MURDERED the orangeblood. there's still a lot of yelling outside...
(judging by the ink, it looks like the word had been scribbled out and rewritten at a later point)

entry 2930;
a bunch of the others left. we're down to under 30 now, assuming the hunting party comes back

entry 2932;
the hunting party didn't come back

entry 2931;
hudich told me to blast the tunnels so no one could ever get through again. i couldn't do it... i only caved it in enough to look blockaded. i hope he doesn't find out but i know he'll thank me once he calms down !

entry 2932;
been awhile, journal. things are settling down again, i guess, but isolla says that the hunters can't keep up with the demand for food anymore. i don't think hudich will want to dig out the tunnels, tho

entry 2980;
i tried to bring up recruitment & unblocking the tunnels at the meeting this time. hudich ended up punching me. a lot
(you notice several drops of yellow blood on this page)

entry 3019;
isolla is dead. my matesprit is dead. she went hunting & hasn't returned in three nights. no one wants to admit it, but i can feel it in my bones...

entry 3020;
why am i even here anymore

entry 3193;
we're low on food. hard to hunt with so few of us, but we've been rationing so it should be ok ? i miss her, she'd know what to do

entry 3160;
forgot to comment on it, but we ran out of dried & canned goods like... fourty perigees ago

entry 3723:
there's only four of us left. i ******** called that 'roof blowing off in the day' thing

entry 3724:
make that three

entry 3727:
don't know what's going to happen when we run out of sopor

entry 3730;
just me, hudich & the petunias now, ******** my life

entry 3742;
i'm alone. i always thought i'd feel like writing more in times like these, but nope

entry 3743;
there's no food here, & i broke my leg yesterday trying to patch the roof. i should have just moved, but i guess im sentimental & couldn't just leave our hive. i'm so stupid & so ******** 3744;
at what point did our fears of the rest of alternia start to overpower our desire for tranquility ? that's the one thing i can't quite place my finger on. if i had only listened to the others earlier, maybe i could have helped change things before it all went downhill

entry 3745;

The last entry's number and date is scribbled hastily, but there's no further writing under it. The rest of the pages are blank.

Yamashii

As soon as she entered, Forera's nose wrinkled in disgust-- The smell was not only putrid and disgusting, the entire hive was covered in plant life, and the structure looked dangerous to be on. The tealblood dully noticed the ground was unstable and the walls were quite literally just the same squishy disgusting stuff she got on her hands while climbing up. She didn't stomp with as much vigor as she did before. Instead, she walked carefully, observing the area. It was creepy and weird, she had to admit that much. Maybe later when the others left she could look over it in its entirety and check out every corner. For now, she settled on keeping her hands behind her back, watching the area curiously.

Until, of course, something happened.

Something always had to happen with her, and Forera was starting to get sick of it.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts by the sound of Aerona's obvious disapproval of their new friend, the tealbloods shoulders sagged some, not having wanted to start off on the wrong foot with the redblood, but obviously, she was just one big ball of ******** up, once again. I start trouble wherever I go even when I'm not lookin' to start it, huh. Forera thought to herself, mind actually at war with herself-- Should she defend the kid or not? He was innocent and she didn't think he'd do what that traitor did. And if he even thought about it she'd beat the s**t out of him. Kid or not, the trolls chasing after them had been kids. They were no joke. "He helped us out. And he could be possibly useful! C'mon, I wasn't the only one there--" She was suddenly cut short by Luxara defending her brother and similarly insulting her matespirit for not coming. Taken aback, Forera looked over toward the greenblood with a bewildered expression. Did she really just...? With narrowed eyes and a biting glare, the tealblood's saurian pupils rounded on the greenblood and her eyes crinkled on the edges from the shark-toothed grin that spread across her face. "Funny you should say that!" Forera said in mock surprise, eyes hardening almost immediately after with the tilt of her head. "Look where your boyfriend got us." She wasn't going to rub it in. Just mentioning Kursha should've been enough.

Luxara had soon after asked the young purpleblood for information on what happened to Tevini. While his explanation didn't convince the others and also, kinda, didn't convince her, she stayed rigid. He didn't seem to be lying? Refusing to even look at Luxara after her biting comment about Vulpin, tealblood looked toward Cerpin, expression bitter. It was hard keeping herself excited when this s**t popped up every time to dampen her mood. "Didn't you come here with someone?" She asked, turning a quizzical eyebrow at the kid. What he said was true-- During the end battle all him and his friend did was stay in Scuttle's shell. While she was suspicious about his words, she somehow doubted he was apart of a master plan. Wouldn't they send a lowblood to do their dirty work? If they were to send some troll to infiltrate the rebellion-- Wouldn't it be someone more believable than a purpleblood, someone more willing to prove their worth to the queen? "Either way. The royalists aren't dumb. They woulda sent a lowblood, if they wanted to infiltrate. Why send a purpleblood? He has no business being here. He wouldn't get any reward he doesn't already have."

Speaking of Kursha! Because of course, he seemed to be the topic of the town, what with his rampant betrayal-- Aerona had brought him up after the purpleblood spoke, and Forera couldn't keep the sneer off her face. More s**t talk. Just great. The more Aerona talked, the more Forera felt her irritation grow, and her smile toward the silent bite at Luxara soon faded. She understood it was for the good of the Initiative, but to throw some kid out that obviously didn't have any part of this was-- Unfair. Well, a lot of stuff was unfair, living on Alternia. The royalists were unfair, the rebels were unfair, life was unfair... It was a word she was thinking about frequently now that she thought about it, and she felt limited, held down by it. Rasali would make the call now, but somehow, she already knew the answer. With a hard swallow, the tealblood refused to look at the other three, walking next Cerpin and staring straight ahead, letting her hand drop to his shoulder and squeeze it. She had faith in him. He was right.