As they took off into the air, Orion noticed Warrior Jean narrowing his eyes at him. However, he realized he wasn''t the only one, as T was also giving him an intense look. Orion acknowledged them with a quick nod before turning his head to see Grim and Gorg staring at him from the corner of his eyes as he flew out of their sight.
With Ursa flying at her best, they reached the Vige Chief''s Compound in less than two or three minutes. Just as Ursa was about to descend in front of the gate, Orion held her back and urgently ordered her to fly over it, to which sheplied. Swiftly, before the guards stationed at the gate could notice them, Orion and Ursanded silently inside thepound, right in front of a particr hut.
"Wait for me here," Orion said to Ursa, his words trailing behind him as he swiftly dashed into the hut designated for the Vige Chief''s meetings and work. He left a feeling of hurry in the air, promising, "I will be back soon!"
Ursa watched Orion''s hurried departure, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She couldn''t help but wonder, "What''s gotten into him today?"
Meanwhile, Orion navigated theplicated halls of the Vige Chief''s secondrge hut with ease, having been here on numerous asions before. "Knock! Knock!" he rapped on the door politely, aware that he couldn''t simply barge in unannounced. Waiting patiently for the resounding response of "Come in," Orion pushed the door and entered the room.
He found the Vige Chief, who appeared slightly annoyed, gazing back at him with a furrowed brow. As Orion closed the door behind him and approached, he noticed the Chief letting out a tired sigh, "I wasn''t expecting an audience with you thiste, Orion. What happened? Did Anara just drop you off at the Vige and you decided to have a talk with me after you''ve calmed down..." The Vige Chief motioned for Orion to take a seat before continuing, "...or is it about something else?"
When Orion settled on the mat spread out on the floor, he cleared his throat to gather his thoughts. Locking eyes with the Vige Chief, he spoke up, saying, "There''s something else I want to discuss."
The Vige Chief''s expression shifted, his gaze filled with curiosity as he asked, "And what might that be?"
Without skipping a beat, Orion swiftly replied, "I''ve heard rumours about Fiona, the well woman, going missing, and I wanted to find out if she has been located and if there is any information on her whereabouts."
The Vige Chief meticulously gathered the scattered papers, organizing them together and then heaved a weary sigh, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, no, she hasn''t been found yet..." His tired expression suddenly turned sharp as he fixed an intense gaze on Orion. "But don''t tell me that''s the first question on your mind, after everything that has happened today... Or," he added, "Is there something about Fiona''s disappearance that you know and I should be aware of?"
The room filled with tension as Orion fell silent, his hesitation speaking louder than words. The Vige Chief''s intuition red, and he couldn''t help but probe further, "Orion, is there something I should know about?" Although the Vige Chief didn''t want to ept it, he had been having a nagging feeling in his mind that Orion somehow had something to do with Fiona''s disappearance.
No matter how much he tried to brush off these feelings, it was hard to shake them, especially when the possible culprit was sitting right in front of him, asking about her.
Meanwhile, Orion racked his brain, desperately trying toe up with the right words to tell the Vige Chief. However, he couldn''t help but show a weary smile as he observed the Chief''s once firm and nonchnt expression turning increasingly solemn, with a hint of annoyance and doubt flickering in his eyes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>
"Orion…." the Vige Chief''s voice trembled slightly, "Please, tell me that you have nothing to do with this....".
….......…
"WHOOOOSSSSHHH!!" The Vige Chief''s wide owl wings unfurled, and he pped them with rapid intensity, his talons firmly gripping me as he carried me above.
When we soared higher, I peered down and shouted towards Ursa, "I WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW!" Her response echoed back, "OKAY!" while the Vige Chief continued to lift me even higher into the sky.
From this height, everything below appeared like tiny dots, yet I knew the Vige Chief''s eyes could discern every detail below us. Suddenly, we plunged downwards, slicing through the air, until we came to a hovering halt above the dead forest, as if he was searching for something amid the dense Vylkr vines-infested forest.
Suddenly, my eyes found a group of young men and women, moving with remarkable ease as they cut down several two-star Vylkr vines in their path.
The Vige Chief quickly noticed them as well. He dived down and gently ced me on the ground before transforming back into his human form. Just then, a loud masculine voice echoed through the area, saying, "Chief," and I saw them approaching us.
There were six of them in total – three tall, muscr men d in traditional male tulgas, and three slightly muscr, slender women wearing the traditional female tulga. Among the women, one had a curvier figure, standing out from the rest with a little more meat in her assets.
"Have you seen her, yet?" The Vige Chief immediately asked, posing the most crucial question at the moment.
The man nced at me briefly before refocusing his gaze on the Vige Chief and replied, "No Chief, unfortunately, we haven''t. But we did find something..." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Around the first border, we found several dead one-star Vylkr vines. However, after that, the trail of the dead Vylkr vines led a path forward, signifying that she..."
"....Is heading towards the second border," the Vige Chief interrupted, finishing the man''s sentence, his voice filled with worry.