“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” 

- Plato

Your body buzzed; there was that familiar feeling of lightheadedness, the secure arms that were wrapped around your waist. Even with your eyes closed, you knew who had saved you. "Thank you, Kai," you whispered as you opened your eyes. His dark brown eyes glistened as he let go of you. "N-No problem," he said, shrugging and smiling slightly. "Kora! Kai! Are you two alright?" Kris said as he got off Aeyow and ran over. You nodded, but coughed and held your stomach. "T-Teashu are really... heavy."

Kris pulled you over to him and looked at your side; there was a huge purple bruise. Kris pulled your head to his chest and breathed deeply before carrying you over to a flat area and placing you on the floor. "Look at what you two did! She was so distracted with trying to solve your stupid quarrel that she got run over by some two hundred pound Teashu!" Kai scolded Luhan and Tao. You coughed again; your rib cage felt like it was burning.

Suho made you some type of mixture and told you to drink it, which you didn't do right away because it smelled terrible. Afterwards, he put some sort of paste on your bruise and bandaged it up. "You'll be better in a few days. There wasn't that much damage, but I wish we had a healer in our group for things like this," he said, sighing as he helped up stand up.

Tao and Luhan hung their heads low. "Sorry, Kora," they said in unison. "It's okay; just don't - cough - fight," you answered weakly. "We better get going; we're close to the caves. Teashu are known to live right around where Jareth is," Kris said solemnly. You nodded and began to stumble along, trying to get back on track when Kris grabbed your hand. You looked up at him.

"You're not walking; you're coming with me," he said, pulling you with him. "Wait, what~ whoa!' you exclaimed as he pulled you along. He walked you carefully over to Aeyow and suddenly picked you up bridal-style. "Waaaah! What are you doin-" He lifted you onto the saddle. "Helping you up; what else?" he asked, giving you a gummy smile as he jumped up and sat behind you. "I-I don't know," you said, blushing as you looked down.

He chuckled and reached around your waist for the reigns. "I wasn't going to make you walk in your condition. Aeyow, to the sky!" he commanded. The black dragon looked back and smiled before leaping off the ground and accelerating into the air. "It seems like Aeyow missed riding with you, and so did I," Kris chuckled as he turned Aeyow's head a bit to direct him. You bit your lower lip and blushed again, but soon felt the familiarity of riding with the Dragon Tamer and leaned against his chest.

You flew for about an hour till Kris told you to brace yourself for landing. Part of you was saddened because you absolutely loved being in the air, but you knew that there were more important matters at hand. Aeyow descended shortly after this, landing in a quite dark, musty looking forest. There was even a heavy fog rolling into the tall, shadow-filled foliage, which only added to your increasing anxieties.

"Let's go; a few more minutes and we'll be at the entrance of the cave," Suho said. You nodded, and the group followed him through the dusky woodland with Aeyow, ever so loyal, following close behind. The sounds of the woods made you jumpy. You weren't usually like this, but there was something about the darkness and being in a new wilderness that put you on edge.

"Kora?" Kai spoke in a soft voice. You jumped a little and squeaked before turning to him. "Y-Yes?" you squeaked. He grabbed your wrist. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking into your eyes with his own worried ones. "Y-Yeah, why wouldn't I?" you asked, but Kai held your shoulder firmly and stared into your eyes with a burning gaze. "You have a fear of the dark, don't you?" he asked, but his eyes told you that he already knew. You paused and nodded slowly.

"Stay by her side, always," the ominous voice told Kai. "What...?" he said under his breath. You looked up at him. "What?" you asked. He blinked and shook his head. "It's nothing. Just," he took your hand and held it tightly, "stay with me. Okay?" You tilted your head and looked at him, but nodded your head and smiled. "Alright, thank you Kai, I feel safer already," you said happily.

"We're nearing the caves entrance. Be careful, everyone," Suho said cautiously as he began walking quieter and quieter. "What are inside the caves?" Luhan whispered. "Of course a Musan wouldn't know!" Tao snickered. Luhan shot a death glare at him, urging Tao to give him a proper answer. "The people who live in the Caves of Jareth are fools, brilliant fools," Tao informed. "The caves are one of the most deadliest places in all of Athosia. Inside are creature