Gray followed behind the tribe girl while holding onto two wooden canteens.
Leaving a path for her to pass through, the vines and bushes moved out of the way.
Gray saw her interactions with the jungle as she led them through it with a calm and relaxed gaze. It wasn't a long journey but throughout it, Gray got to see how she interacted with it.
What he got from it was that the jungle loved her. In the way it shone the light on her and the way it opened up her pathways and showed her care whilst the bushes continuously hit against Gray's face.
Both the jungle and her had some sort of connection, anyone could see it.
Once they finally came to a stop, their expressions grew shocked. Gray's jaw gaped as he looked around.
In a spot surrounded by countless trees, a beautiful clear lake could be seen. It was connected partly to a river which had it's source hidden from plain sight.
There were no animals around, the lake just rested there on it's own.
To Gray's surprise, the girl suddenly placed her own canteen inside the water to gather water .
Once it was gathered, she drank directly from it.
No, filtering or nothing.
"Just that?" Gray asked with surprise.
Delta also seemed shaken by the fact that she just drank it directly. What about all the mud and other impurities that could get within the water?
The tribes girl who saw both of their reactions change for the worst, approached Gray and handed him the canteen which she drank from before gesturing at him to drink it.
Although he was hesitant, Gray still drank it. If the taste was off, or if he felt that it was undrinkable then he'd just go back to filtering it like before with Delta's dark flames.
But right after having a few sips from her canteen, he completely forgot about that idea and suddenly chugged down all the water inside.
"That's... The best water I've ever had in my life..."
The two had gathered a few more canteens filled with water and placed them on a bag with some food that had been given to them.
Gray felt bad for receiving such special treatment even though he hadn't done anything to deserve it.
The guilt would slowly disappear whenever he saw the faces of the tribes men who attacked him.
After they had gotten all the water they needed, they were placed on top of a strange wooden catapult resembling device.
A large wooden bowl attached to a string and a tree. Said bowl was where Gray and Delta were supposed to sit.
The catapult worked on a pulling system, it was supposed to launch them straight through the skies.
There was a chance that it would bring them very close to the city and on the off chance that it didn't they would simply fly the remaining way themselves with Delta's ability.
It was a solid plan and so, they decided to re-enact it.
"But is this really... Safe...?" Gray asked whilst sat on top of the bowl.
His arm was secured around Delta to keep them close together in case anything happened.
"Of course, I use this method all the time. Just make sure you close your eyes and mouth on the way up so you don't swallow anything unnecessary." Said the tribe leader.
The tree slowly began to extend backwards, bending to his will in an elastic way.
It began pulling them back almost in a way which resembled a whip getting stretched out.
The tribe girl watched from beside, making sure everything was going well. Upon seeing her, Gray gave her one last wave.
After confirming that it was safe for her to enter, she hopped onto the bowl with them, wrapping one of her arms around his waist since he was in the middle.
"Eh?" He uttered in confusion.
Delta's who saw this didn't say anything and did the same. The two stared at each other for a while.
"I need to go get some supplies from the city..." She pointed at the bag strapped around her shoulder. "And also... Negotiate with them." She continued.
'Negotiate? Something to do with the jungle?"
At this point the two began to grow nervous.
"Safe travels!" The tribe leader said with a smile.
He swung his arm down, and at that moment, the branch which was being pulled like a whip was released from his ability's grasp.
The trees standing in their path in the jungle moved out of the way.
One second, they were there... The next, they were soaring through the skies.
The wind pressed on his face and squeezed his cheeks, flattening it as it went under pressure.
They were travelling at speeds he didn't even know it was possible to reach without machinery. Despite that, Gray opened his eyes and a warm feeling enveloped around his chest.
The sun lighting up the clear blue sky and the countless clouds which he grew closer to with every passing second was a sight he didn't know he'd resonate with him so deeply.
The ground below showed countless trees and the jungle as a whole, it was beautiful.
The sensation of wind hitting against their face, cleared out any dryness they had accumulated from their time down there.
But most of all, the soft sensations pressing against him from both sides.
Gray glanced to the right only to see Delta holding onto him with her arms wrapped tightly.
Her face pressed against his the side of his chest to avoid having her face flattened by the wind pressure.
In that position, her she opened her eyes and for a moment, her expression changed to a more relaxed one.
As for the tribe girl, she was truly enjoying the ride. Smiling, as she also pressed her face against the other side of his chest.
She seemed used to it In a way, so it didn't really scare her.
'Next stop... The kingdom of Khouria.'
*SWOOSH!*
*CRASH!*
