WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.620 Aurora's tears. Mouth of the beast. In the endless 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:08.419 twilight on the border of Luminara, Sheerith prowled 00:00:08.419 --> 00:00:10.919 through the dense jungle canopy. Her glowing 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:14.019 stripes flickered faintly as she moved, blending 00:00:14.019 --> 00:00:16.879 with the draped light of the forest floor below. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:21.570 I hate lookout. Shareeth thought to herself as 00:00:21.570 --> 00:00:24.329 her tail twitched with annoyance. She would much 00:00:24.329 --> 00:00:27.050 rather be back at the lunar shores with her friends 00:00:27.050 --> 00:00:29.890 playing in the sunlit sands and splashing water 00:00:29.890 --> 00:00:34.149 at Kuruth. He hates the water, Sheerith thought 00:00:34.149 --> 00:00:37.409 to herself. The air was humid, thick with the 00:00:37.409 --> 00:00:40.490 scent of rain -soaked earth and blooming flora. 00:00:41.030 --> 00:00:44.509 Sheerith's ears perked for but a moment. A twig 00:00:44.509 --> 00:00:47.460 had broken in the distance. Her eyes, radiant 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:50.500 as emerald flames, locked onto the clearing ahead. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:55.100 Movement? All the way out here? She jumped down 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:57.520 from her high perch in the trees and stealthed 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:00.219 her way closer. She quickly took to the shadows 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:03.100 as she identified her threat. A group of human 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:06.159 bandits were setting up camp, their shouts and 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.640 reckless movements echoing through the trees. 00:01:09.019 --> 00:01:12.280 Sheerith crouched low, her tail flicking silently 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:15.709 behind her as she studied the group. Seven in 00:01:15.709 --> 00:01:19.290 total, one polishing a sword with casual confidence, 00:01:19.569 --> 00:01:22.109 while another attempted desperately to get a 00:01:22.109 --> 00:01:25.409 campfire going. But it was the leader who caught 00:01:25.409 --> 00:01:29.390 her attention, a hulking figure tattooed in fiery 00:01:29.390 --> 00:01:33.489 red patterns that pulsated ominously. Flames 00:01:33.489 --> 00:01:36.150 dancing along his fingertips as he walked about, 00:01:36.329 --> 00:01:39.909 a dangerous display of his Aurora -gifted powers. 00:01:40.390 --> 00:01:43.549 What could bandits ever want this far from Banura? 00:01:43.810 --> 00:01:46.849 She thought, her claws lightly gripping the ground 00:01:46.849 --> 00:01:50.629 beneath her. I will dash back for help. Even 00:01:50.629 --> 00:01:53.609 as she was thinking this, she was frozen in place, 00:01:53.870 --> 00:01:57.120 not entirely sure why. but she felt intrigued 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:00.400 by the humans and their wanderings. She took 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.260 one step forward blindly, and that was all it 00:02:04.260 --> 00:02:08.560 took. A dry branch snapped beneath her, the sound 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:10.900 cutting through the jungle's hum like a sharp 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:15.240 cry. She winced. The bandits turned, their eyes 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:18.699 scanning the area. There! Someone's in the shadows! 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.439 Sheerith cursed under her breath and leapt to 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:24.719 another shadow, her movement swift but now illuminated 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:27.879 by the glow of her markings. An arrow flew past 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:30.460 her ear, burying itself in the bark of a nearby 00:02:30.460 --> 00:02:33.560 tree. Sheerith whispered many more curses under 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:35.879 her breath and steadied her stumbling stance. 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:39.740 Kurgul had always said, instead of running and 00:02:39.740 --> 00:02:42.639 make things interesting, dive into the mouth 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:45.460 of the beast. give them the meaning of surprise. 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:49.840 With that, she took a short breath. Kurgo, if 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:53.539 I die, it's your fault. Sheerith gritted her teeth, 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:56.419 and with a graceful leap, she landed in the middle 00:02:56.419 --> 00:02:59.020 of the clearing. The bandits surrounded her, 00:02:59.180 --> 00:03:02.599 weapons drawn, her stripes pulsing with intensity. 00:03:03.460 --> 00:03:07.699 Well, well, what do we have here? A little stray 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:11.379 cat far from home. Not smart, little kitten. 00:03:11.939 --> 00:03:16.669 Sloppy. Time to be badass, Sharif thought. Not 00:03:16.669 --> 00:03:20.430 as dumb as you. Nailed it, she thought with a 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:24.110 smile. A thin bandit to her right suddenly lunged. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:27.080 Sheerith sharply ducked low, her claws slicing 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:29.599 through his weapon's leather grip, disarming 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:32.560 him. It was all a blur, but after the graceful 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.060 scratch, he fell back with surprise, stumbling 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:38.259 into the dirt. The bandit leader raised an eyebrow. 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.379 Another charged with a dagger. Sheerith jumped 00:03:41.379 --> 00:03:44.319 left, then leapt onto his back, her claws raking 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:46.780 across his arm before shoving him into the small 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:50.180 fire that they had barely started lighting. Get 00:03:50.180 --> 00:03:54.860 her. Get her now, the leader ordered. his fiery 00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:58.500 tattoos flaring to life, flames erupting from 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:01.580 his hands as he hurled a blazing arc of pure 00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:05.120 flame from his fingertips. Sheerith did the only 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.819 thing she could think of. She jumped straight 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:11.379 up. She glided over the heatwave and landed perfectly 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:15.520 with the fire now behind her. She smiled. That 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:19.100 had to look epic, she thought. The leader took 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:22.540 a deep breath. Flames started to escape his mouth 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:26.829 when suddenly... He roared, unleashing a torrent 00:04:26.829 --> 00:04:30.250 of fire. Sheerith was in shock, but dashed to 00:04:30.250 --> 00:04:33.610 left. Her right side was singed by the flames. 00:04:33.829 --> 00:04:36.389 Her glowing stripes flickered with a phantom 00:04:36.389 --> 00:04:40.649 -like glow. That hurt. Into the mouth of the 00:04:40.649 --> 00:04:44.730 beast, she thought. In one bound, she lunged 00:04:44.730 --> 00:04:46.949 at a nearby tree and ricocheted off it straight 00:04:46.949 --> 00:04:50.269 at the throat of the leader, her claws digging 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:54.009 into his fiery tattoos. His scream of surprise 00:04:54.009 --> 00:04:57.730 was silent by the claws around his throat. Her 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:00.810 glowing claws and flame -kissed fur were indeed 00:05:00.810 --> 00:05:05.329 enough to strike fear into any. She tightened 00:05:05.329 --> 00:05:08.889 her grip around his neck, knowing all eyes were 00:05:08.889 --> 00:05:14.829 on her. Leave. She hissed in his face. She released 00:05:14.829 --> 00:05:18.009 him, and he went gasping to the ground. Through 00:05:18.009 --> 00:05:20.629 his coughs and stumbling, he went back into the 00:05:20.629 --> 00:05:25.449 dirt and dust. Silence fell over the camp. Every 00:05:25.449 --> 00:05:28.750 moment felt like an eternity. The leader struggled 00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:33.129 to his feet, looked Sheerith in the eyes, and 00:05:33.129 --> 00:05:36.269 ran. Ran for his life the opposite direction. 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:39.569 The bandits fled into the jungle, leaving their 00:05:39.569 --> 00:05:42.910 weapons and supplies behind. Sheerith stood tall, 00:05:43.209 --> 00:05:46.649 her glowing eyes scanning the clearing. She couldn't 00:05:46.649 --> 00:05:49.529 help but notice her stripes were a little extra 00:05:49.529 --> 00:05:55.850 bright. Nice, she thought. This has been Aurora's 00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:57.930 Tears. The story continues.