<span style="font-family: times new roman;">The fae felt her foot get caught under a large gnarled root sticking up from the earth. Before she could stop it, her momentum carried her forward. Gravity unfailingly pulled her down. As her face hit the unforgiving ground, she cried out in pain. Crawling to her knees, she forgot about the threat. If just for a second. Xylie clasped her hands over her nose and yelped at the pain it caused. Taking her hands away just as quickly, she stared at her palms. At the warm crimson liquid staining her skin. <br/><br/>She cried out at the sight and could feel her stomach roll in nausea. If not for the beast-like roar that ripped through the forestry, she would have vomited then and there. The noise sent a shock wave through her body like chills and she could feel the fine hairs on her arms stand up. She hiccuped and pushed down her sob. Forcing herself to stand on wobbly legs, she pushed on. <br/><br/>They were so close. The wild things were close to them, and they were a hairs breadth away from safety.<br/><br/>Just a few hundred feet away was the grand tree. It's trunk impossibly wide signaled to her and all other fae that, that was the tree of the royal family. From either side she could see the hunched over and grizzly figures of the wild things running. They were all around and scarily swift.</span>