I Am A Carnivorous Plant

The order had been sent.

 

The L’Lan’e’frea that had occupied the northern area had gone missing, and it was suspected that the terrible monster that it had been keeping at bay from the east was to blame. Ek’Til and the rest of the northern guard had been called to inspect the area, and if the eastern monster was found to still be alive, they were ordered to slay it. The monster had been a thorn in the elves’ side for far too long, and any opportunity to slay it, even at the cost of the northern L’Lan’e’frea, would be a good one.

 

Ek’Til, filled with a sense of duty and a desire to prove himself, led his troops northward, towards the large and ancient woods that the L’Lan’e’frea had occupied. His subordinates, much less willing than him to be on such a deadly mission, muttered amongst themselves behind him, voicing their unease. It was true that L’Lan’e’freas would not eat the elven folk, and that the elves were usually left to safely traverse through their territory, but it didn’t mean that they had never been attacked by one before. Should they approach too fast, spend too long in their presence, or do something that the L’Lan’e’frea didn’t like, there was a large chance that the offending elves might find themselves subjected to the L’Lan’e’frea’s wrath. There were also tales that if a L’Lan’e’frea came in contact with an elf’s blood, they would ignore their restrictions and immediately hunt that elf, chasing them down to the ends of the earth if they must. If anything, it was one of the top things that every elf was warned not to do.

 

And even if the elves in Ek’Til’s troop managed to steer clear of the L’Lan’e’frea, they still had to go looking for the dangerous monster that terrorized the east forests.

It was their mission, after all…

…No matter how much it seemed to be a suicide mission.

 

~~~

 

He looked around himself in a daze.

Blood from both monster and elf alike soaked over him and dripped.

Ek’Til and his men had been blindsided by the very monster they’d been on the lookout for, and with no other options, a fight had ensued.

 

The beast with its many limbs and slippery body now lay motionless before him, and the 20-some bodies of his troop lay scattered around him to his sides. Only he, with his body slightly stronger than that of the other elves, had survived to finish the monster off. It wasn’t without a cost, however, considering the gushing wound from his stomach that was soaking him with yet more blood. And from the rate that it was coming out, Ek’Til knew that he wouldn’t be able to last for very long. 

 

Sticky and delirious, the elf wandered through the trees, searching for a spot where he could wash and treat his wounds. He was bleeding, yes, which had contributed to his lightheadedness, but the true problem was the monster’s blood that he’d been splashed with. He could feel its poisonous toxins fizzling against him from where it had gotten on to him during his final victorious attack, and with the hole in his gut, it was only a matter of time before it worked its way inside and killed him.

 

As his vision grew hazier and hazier amongst the cooling sensation in his body, a glimmer of hope finally appeared. He could make out the shimmering clear lake he’d been searching for through the trees, and he blindly made his way towards it, letting nothing else enter his eyes but his lifeline.

 

The lake, if he could just make it to the water, and-

 

And that’s the last thing he could think before he collapsed.

 

~~~

 

Ek’Til’s eyes opened blearily, with his mind struggling for consciousness. His vision was still fuzzy, but he could see something in front of him moving, which was attracting his eyes to it. At first, he just thought that it might have been some kind of plant being blown by the breeze, but when it suddenly started talking to him, he quickly strained his eyes to try and see it more clearly.

 

=Hello, did you sleep well?=

 

The voice was odd, as if something not human were talking while covering their mouth. However, despite the oddness of it, the feminine voice was charming, although still tinged with a disconcerting haze. As Ek’Til stared at the source of the voice and his eyes cleared further, he could make out soft peachy hues with hints of gold, decorating the outside of what looked to be large, plush petals. Dangling to the side were sleek, vibrant green vines, most of which were cut or torn into various lengths, although a random two remained full and lush, showing off their strength and glory as they wound against the ground.

 

But then, after the vibrant colors entered his view, the darker, more disturbing colors came.

 

The petals, lovely and inviting, cleaved apart roughly in the middle, showing signs of rips and abuse where they parted. And there, between the massive petals, Ek’Til could see a slick, deep green color, lining against them. Something shook and bubbled deep inside that dark green pit as the thing moved, vying for his attention, but his eyes were already locked elsewhere in fear. Yes, it wasn’t clear to see, but there was a small bulb nestled into each side of the divide, sometimes rustling as the thing moved, and even with Ek’Til’s unclear vision, he could easily make out the dangerous looking teeth-like barbs that protruded from them.

 

As if the thing had noticed his gaze on it, it suddenly closed in on itself, like a flower furling itself shut after a long day of worshiping the sun. As the divide brought itself together and shut, the silhouette of a woman was formed, although covered in rips and tears like a battered flower. From somewhere behind it, the immaculate top half of what looked to be a head came forward, topping off the womanly look with serenely closed eyes, though sadly the bottom half of the face was too marred to truly form a perfect picture. Beautiful flowers swayed in the breeze along with its hair-like fronds. And although what looked to be its eyelids were completely shut, Ek’Til could still somehow feel that it was looking at him.

 

=Sorry about that, I’m not doing my best right now. And are you okay?=

 

He had been in a daze watching the surreal sight in front of him, but now he finally remembered about his grievous injury. Somehow he was doing significantly better than when he had first passed out, but still only enough to stay conscious through the awful pain. The poison in his body seemed to have been neutralized, and the wound at his stomach had stopped bleeding, but it was still open and aching as if it wanted to tear itself back open at any moment. He wanted to lay still and let himself recover further without risking aggravating his injuries, but there was no way that he could do that right now.

 

With what he’d just seen, he was sure that he couldn’t risk staying here any longer.

After all, this monster in front of him was a L’Lan’e’frea.

And Ek’Til was covered in elven blood.

 

Perhaps the L’Lan’e’frea in front of him had a few peculiarities to it, but it was no less dangerous than any of the others. In a desperate attempt to not let it come in contact with his blood, the still slightly delirious elf scrapped his shirt and made an impromptu bandage out of it, covering his stomach wound incase it finally did what he felt that it was threatening to do, and split open once again. At least now the chance that the L’Lan’e’frea would taste his blood would be a bit lessened.

 

He could feel the L’Lan’e’frea watching him closely during every move, and it frightened Ek’Til to think that perhaps he’d spent too long in its presence and upset it, like he’d been warned against doing. Or perhaps, even worse, it could have been that the strange L’Lan’e’frea was somehow watching him as prey now. But soon the intense gaze that he felt upon him lessened, and its feminine voice emanated with a tinge of embarrassment.

 

=I did my best to heal you up, but since I’m broken like this right now I couldn’t really do very well. Do you think you’re able to get up and walk?=

 

It was strange to hear that this L’Lan’e’frea, one of the most dangerous monsters of the forest, was what had healed Ek’Til, but he had to admit that the odd way he’d recovered had to have been caused by something supernatural in origin. He’d never heard of a L’Lan’e’frea having healing abilities, past the common one that they had to regenerate themselves. It was also strange that something known to be a vicious and fierce monster would even consider healing him, too.

 

Perhaps it was for the same reason that this one learned how to talk.

After all, from everything he’d learned about them, they very rarely talked.

The northern L’Lan’e’frea could only groan, and only did so out of anger.

If anything, this L’Lan’e’frea seemed as if it were trying its best to sound polite.

 

Ek’Til put a stop to his musings quickly, as he was already worried that he’d spent too long in the monster’s presence. He stood up slowly, clutching his stomach that panged constantly with pain as he moved, and locked his legs in the hope that he wouldn’t fall. At the very least his wound hadn’t reopened as he’d suspected that it would, so perhaps he would be able to finally escape from here, albeit with a good amount of struggle and suffering.

 

Once again he could feel the strong gaze of the L’Lan’e’frea scanning over him, raising the hairs on his skin.

Something about it felt like he could be devoured any moment.

 

He needed to leave. Now that he knew he had the ability to get up, he had to leave quickly before something went wrong, no matter what the cost. But if he simply left without paying tribute and turned his back on this predator that was staring at him, he was sure to be chased. And what’s more, Ek’Til was a soldier; He couldn’t show disrespect to someone or something that had saved his life.

 

It hurt enough to make him grit his teeth, but Ek’Til performed a small bow and fist salute to the creature.

 

“My thanks be to you, oh great L’Lan’e’frea.”

 

The monster cocked its head at his words, which made Ek’Til flinch in fear for a moment, afraid that its movement meant it was finally going to strike. He could see its mess of butchered tentacles beginning to stir, and he scrambled in panic, hoping to think of something that could placate the L’Lan’e’frea and let him escape. He patted himself over, searching, and found the pocket where he’d been keeping his rations, desperately pulling out the scraps of meat and throwing them at the monster. It deftly caught the food and brought it to its head, and then a moment later it slightly gaped the top of its maw in its neck and tossed them in.

 

Ek’Til braced his agonizing body to get ready to run away in the midst of the L’Lan’e’frea’s appreciative noises, but all hopes of his retreat were cut off by the L’Lan’e’frea’s next words.

 

=If you really want to thank me… Could you give me some more meat?=

 

He stilled and glanced back at the expectant seeming plant, his back beginning to soak with sweat.

…Of course it wouldn’t be so easy to escape.

_____

AN: Aaaand we're back! Don't worry, this is just a one time introduction sorta thing. The next one's back to our regularly scheduled programme