( 11 ) ENCOUNTERS DREAM TEAM ✓
DREAM TEAM x SHE / HER OC
( sort of requested by @SUSHISOOT && @awhjay )

( mentions of blood, violence, blades, fictional slurs )

SHUT UP, BEASTKIND.

THEY WERE BACK AGAIN. With their heavy, chainmail armour that clinked against their bodies, such an unnatural sound compared to the soft noises of the forest, contrasting the chittering of the insects, the tweeting of the birds, and the squeaking of mice in the underbrush. The metallic shine of their swords that seemed clean, but Eulalie knew they weren't-those swords were stained with the blood of their victims, and no amount of water and soap could wash the dark aura that surrounded them.

Her mud stained fingers gripped the bark of the tree harder, and she shifted her feet, cringing when the leaves rustled with her movement, sure that they would have noticed it with their unnaturally keen senses, but apparently they did not, continuing their trek through the magical woods. She kept her eyes on the intruders, lips pursed, and prayed to Fleyna that this was a peaceful passing of theirs, that they would not suddenly unsheath their crossbows and shoot fire into the tree lines, forcing her to reveal herself. The trio was terrifying in war-she had seen the destruction they could cause for herself-and while she was sure she would be able to take them on in a fight, she was not so sure that there would not be casualties.

This was not the first time that they had taken the path through the Fleeting Woods, after all, and her father had warned her of their predecessors, who had burnt down part of their territory out of spite. People like them-humans, she thought sourly, her nose scrunching in distaste as she watched them from her spot in one of the lunene trees that surrounded the path-knew nothing about their lands, nothing about their cultures, whilst Eulalie was supposed to learn of their customs and speak their cursed language just so she could survive? It was so... unfair. (She did not notice how she had whispered the words, though she would have cursed herself a thousand times over if she had) It was so-

One of them-a man, she guessed, noticing his stocky build and confident posture-turned his head, and though she could not see his face, she knew he was alerted by the noise, and she stiffened in place, lips tightening in a thin line once again. Silently, she willed a breeze to rush through the grass, ruffling the fabric of their clothing and hoping he would not notice her brightening golden eyes and rigid form concealed in the dark purple leaves of the lumene trees.

Soon enough, he turned back, though she could tell it was hesitant and he was still skeptical from the way he had placed his hand upon the hilt of his sword.

Eulalie shook her head of the thoughts that had nearly revealed her position, her dusty brown hair tangling with the silver tree branches. It would do them no good if she were to lose focus on the trespassers now and risk them finding out their village. They had already lost so many of their number a few days before, and she didn't think it would be helpful for her to get the rest of them captured because of a few prejudiced views.

As they continued on the path, she quietly leapt from tree to tree, feet finding their way onto the grips of the wood just as easily as it had been years ago, when she was a curious girl and had wanted to see for herself the intruders that thought they had the right to plague their lands with their dark auras. She kept her golden eyes, which had now faded to a dull amber, on the trail of footsteps they left behind.

She was so sure that this wouldn't be a problematic passing. They had seemed so relaxed, after all-except for that one man who had glanced back at the sound of her foreign ( or foreign for them at least ) words-and looked like they had wanted to get there as soon as possible. Eulalie had heard of the tales humans told each other about the Fleeting Woods, after all-many humans had sat down near the borders and had counted myths of her home, like how elves like her were ruthless and unforgiving and cold (which simply wasn't true. Her grandmother and her aunt were the kindest people she'd ever met), and how the roots would drag misbehaving children underground where they would rot with the soil (they never did that to children, only to those foolish enough to think they could get away with vandalising their lands. Unlike humans, they cherished each life, and children were too young and pure to be killed that early on), or even how the creatures there lurked with red eyes and sinister grins and teeth the size of your heads (now, they may look scary, but they were very sweet if you knew how to approach them properly).

Eulalie was so sure they'd simply pass and go, and never look back. But apparently she was wrong, because just before one of them stepped foot over the boundary, the man who had once looked back spun around and lodged an arrow in the branch next to her, and it was only then that she noticed the mask carved out of lumene that rested on his face, drawn on with black ink to form some sort of human symbol.

Surprised, she let out a shriek of terror and lost her footing on the wood beneath her, slipping through the trees and landing on the ground. A wave of fear washed over her as she realised her ankle had been twisted upon impact, and that she hadn't landed in the solei grass she drew her power from.

The man and his two companions stalked towards her, their faces drawn in disgust and distaste.

"Who are you?" the masked man questioned her in his cursed human language. She nearly flinched at the cold metal tip of an arrow hitting her skin. "Why are you watching us?"

Unfortunately for them, Eulalie had only ever listened to humans speak. She'd never actually spoken in their language herself, as she'd thought it stupid and said that, quote unquote, "It's not as if I'll encounter any one of them, anyways. I'll cut them down or die before I'm forced to talk in that disgusting language of theirs." So when he'd demanded answers from her with a loaded crossbow to her throat, all she could do was scoff and talk back in Elvish.

"Im 'non adnuntiant vobis aliquid, humanum," she growled. I'm not telling you anything. The two other men, a brunette wearing blue and a ravenette wearing red, glanced at each other in confusion. "Et antequam moriar revelare, ut aliquid de huiusmodi tibi." I'll die before I'm forced to reveal anything about my kind to yours.

His grip on the crossbow's handle tightened. "An elf, huh?" She snarled as he pressed the arrow deeper into her honey coloured skin. "Should have known from the markings."

"And the ears," the ravenette chimed in, eyes tracing her features. "And also the amber eyes."

"Shut up, Sapnap," the brunette said, elbowing the ravenette-who she assumed was Sapnap-in his side. Eulalie narrowed her eyes. Of course humans would be just as cruel towards their so-called companions.

The masked man sent them a look, and she assumed it was a warning glare, because the two men took a step back and focused their gazes on her instead. He turned back to her.

"Shouldn't you know how to speak english?" he asked. Eulalie scoffed again.

"Quid si me quicquam scire de lingua tua: nevermind loqui eum, si homines nihil aliud sciunt de nostrum?" Why should I learn anything about your language, nevermind speak it, when you know nothing of ours?

"That doesn't sound very nice," Sapnap muttered to his friend. He yelped as he got elbowed once more.

The masked man seemed to agree, because Eulalie could now feel the metal piercing her skin. She wouldn't be surprised if a bead of blood had formed by now.

"Are you cursing us out, beastkind?" Her hands clenched at the slur humans used to refer to her and her kind, insulting their ability to take the form of their soul animal and to communicate with the creatures of the Woods. She should have known they would call her that. They were humans, after all.

Eulalie knew it was a jab at her, meant to draw out a reaction, but she still answered back, "An tu, si me interficere, quod sic dicitur? Utique si non iam non est. Te sunt homines, post omnes. Nisi ad hoc mundo tui est occidere, occidunt; occiditis. Sic facies eam auraless. Interficias me." Would you kill me if I said yes? Of course, it's not as if you won't do it already. You are humans, after all. Your only purpose in this world is to kill, kill, kill. So do it, auraless. Kill me.

She knew the implications of her slur, as well. Humans couldn't control auras as well as derators-aura manipulators, also known as natural born magic users-could. It was why they'd resorted to using the dark magicks, killing more helpless animal derators to harness their power and use it to perform their own manmade spells (it twisted her stomach, thinking of all the innocent creatures who had lost their lives to the humans' quest for power and their want to be on top, to be at the front of the food chain), or imprisoning elves and gnomes and use them as sort of weapons in their ridiculous human armies. It was why they were shunned by the derators, why her kind had taken it upon themselves to guard the borders of their human kingdoms to make sure they didn't ravage the rest of the species' in their insatiable need for power. The only reason she hadn't shot them down during their trek through the Woods was because her village had been ravaged in another of the humans' attempts to escape the grassy borders that surrounded their designated borders.

And, just as the slur beastkind had affected her, their slur had the desired effect, making the man before her stiffen and his companions' eyes blazed with fury. She flinched as he dug the metal deeper into her skin, leaning forward and grabbed her chin roughly.

"Shut up, beastkind," he spat at her, "be careful with your words. I'm the one in control here. I've got an arrow to your neck, and you're outnumbered three to one. So choose your words carefully, or I'll-"

"Tu autem, quid?" That you'll, what? She cut him off with a snarl, jerking back her head. She stumbled closer to the lumene. "Mei capere? Tormentis me O Gordnick absit autem a me occidere. Quia, si non facere, quod iam non est. Ego ante dixi: Ego cogitavi ut prius, auraless. Malo mori quam foedis coactus dicam in lingua." Capture me? Torture me? Oh, Gordnick forbid you kill me. Because it's not as if you won't do that already. Her hands finally brushed against the bark of one of the trees, and she tore off a small bit with her calloused fingers. Her nails ached from the pressure but it was worth it as she hid the wood behind her back. "Ego ante dixi: Ego cogitavi ut prius, auraless. Malo mori quam foedis coactus dicam in lingua." I've said it before, I've thought it before, auraless. I would rather die than be forced to speak in your disgusting tongue.

Closing her fist around the wooden chip and digging her nails into her skin, she felt for the direction of the wind, reaching into her core and feeling for the familiar pulsing of magic.

It was only moments before they all stumbled back from the magically manipulated, harsh breezes, their eyes widened in shock at her once dull, amber irises now turned gold, and the dark freckles that lay splattered across the bridge of her nose glowed a blinding silver. Eulalie flicked her hand upwards and the ground beneath them trembled. All three of the men began backing away, and the sound of their swords unsheathing and the unnatural earthquake echoed in the once silent Woods, stirring the magical creatures. The masked man shot his crossbow, aiming for her heart-but the roots that burst from the ground altered the projectile's course, and she let out a cry of pain as it hit the back of her calf.

"Be careful, beastkind!" Sapnap shouted, backing away from the wooden wall. "We're coming back! And when we do, we'll-"

"Shut up, Sapnap!"

"You are so dramatic!"

The ravenette yelled at his friends, frustrated he'd been interrupted, "You guys suck!"

"Aelfene!" Eulalie called towards the forest, moving towards one of the trees. "I'm sorry," she muttered, before her stomach sank and her heart clenched and she drained a few years off of its magical force, pulling out the arrow in her calf with a scream. She cringed as violet leaves fell from the silver branches stretching overhead and her honey skin grew over the wound, healing her. Turning back towards the other side of the woods, she called out again, "Aelfene!"

"Calling for back-up, elf?" Sapnap continued to yell, now hacking away at the roots reaching towards him, the hard metal blade of his sword splintering the wood curling around his ankles. The pieces crunched underneath his shoes. "Getting more of your filthy beastkind to come out here? That's great! More for us, then!"

"Sapnap, shut your mouth!" The brunette hit him on the arm. The look on Sapnap's face at this action sent him messages of Who's side are you on? and Why are you hitting me? Hit her! "You know we cannot take on an entire village of elves, you idiot!"

To Eulalie's relief, a shriek sounded through the Woods cutting off the two bickering companions-it made the hairs on the men's arms stand up, and one of their stomachs dropped at the foreboding noise. The brunette's face was a mix of fear, dread, and a dozen other indescribable feelings-mostly negative.

The lunar phoenix's screech alerted the rest of the forest to the intruders, and the moonlight glinted off of its small form-the masked man would compare it to the size of an eagle-and onto the ground beneath them. Along with the silver, light blue and dark midnight coloured feathers on its body, a few plumes of smoke rolled off of its dark tail, mixing into the clouds above. It was the rare lunar version of a phoenix-since its power came more from the moon, it was more of a nocturnal animal, and its fire was less concentrated. But that didn't mean the bird couldn't control light just as well as its twin species.

"Aelfene!" Eulalie cried. "C'Lypeus!"

Another screech pierced their ears, and the roots stopped growing, going limp on the luscious grass, as the bird went into a steep dive towards the masked man, who had hurt its partner. Aelfene's eyes burnt a blinding silver, and, for the masked man? He fainted, with the last thing in his vision being the cruel white eyes of a bird that plagued his friend's nightmares.

"Dream!"

"Relinquo, auraless!" she snarled. The voice that echoed through the path had a chilling undertone, and the travellers shivered. Leave, auraless. Aelfene swooped back up and flew over the wall, before landing on Eulalie's outstretched arm. His talons scratched against her skin, but she didn't mind, eyes focused on the men rushing to catch the fainted body of their friend. "Relinquatis: et tunc vicis vos putatis youll poterit contra faciem peritus derator, quatinus exercitum conduceret!" Leave, and the next time you think you'll be able to face up against a master derator, bring an army!

Then the world went black.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
lowkey important? idk don't @ me

hiya!

- okay, first of all, i am so sorry for the slow update. it's been like. what? a week and a day since the last update? i'm sorry guys :(

- second!!!!! i put "sort of" in the request thing because this was actually something me n my friends did for fun! i'm just being a lazy ass posting this and not the other two oneshots i've had in my drafts because i didn't know how to finish them i guess? also, work smarter, not harder 😽😽 LMFAO

- third? u guys. r so awesome. 12k reads. what the HONK i haven't even been posting what the honk.

- i'm so sorry if this chapter is kinda half assed compared to the other one shots i've posted! also i apologise as well for the pronouns and name included, but i'm thinking of making this oneshot into a book. i guess this is kind of a sneak peek? so i wanted to make sure you guys wouldn't take it the wrong way if i suddenly changed it from a y/n story to a oc story, yk? again, i'm sorry for the she/her pronouns and stuff. i hope this'll be the last time this happens :(

- the ending also seems kinda rushed and this wasn't rlly edited so i am sorry if its sucky :(

as always, i love u all! mwah :D

much love!
lea <3

EDITED 1 AS OF 5.3.21