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# Waverider Expedition - Children of Nazhira

The un-welcome message

The jungle pressed close around them, thick with heat and shadow. Insects whined like thin wire, and every leaf dripped. The path was barely more than a suggestion, a trail of trampled ferns and damp earth winding between towering roots.

Solonex led, machete in hand, cutting through vines heavy with moss. Behind him came Severin, Kethra, and Gato, while the rest followed in loose formation, Eira with her bow strung, Rahim carrying a sabre, Selene steady at Solonex's shoulder. The air smelled of rot and something sweet beneath it, like flowers gone to decay.

Then came the sound, soft, quick, a breath through reeds.

The dart struck Solonex in the throat.

He staggered, eyes wide, hands clawing at the shaft before his knees buckled. The jungle went still.

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

Severin's mind raced, then his voice cut the silence. "Defensive circle! Now!"

Kethra spun, bow up. Gato dropped to one knee, scanning the underbrush. Eira's arrow was already drawn. Rahim and Arven moved shoulder to shoulder, weapons half-raised, watching the trees.

"Selene," Severin said, calm and cold. "With him. Check the wound."

She was already kneeling, tearing the dart free, her hands moving fast. Solonex's breath came in short, wet gasps. The skin around the wound had turned a strange shade of blue-green.

"It's venom," she hissed.

"Then keep him breathing." Severin's eyes swept the shadows. "Gato, Eira, cover left. Kethra, right. Rahim, Arven, front. We're not running blind. We move on my call."

A hiss echoed through the leaves. Another dart flicked past Kethra's cheek and vanished into a tree trunk. She loosed an arrow toward the sound, the shot snapping through a hanging vine.

"Movement!" Gato shouted, firing. His arrow vanished into the green. Something answered with a cry, a short, high-pitched sound, then silence.

"Hold!" Severin barked. "Don't scatter."

He crouched beside Selene. "Can he walk?"

"Not far," she said. "I need to slow the poison."

"Do it fast."

He turned, eyes steady. "Velan, take him."

Velan stepped forward, hoisting Solonex onto his back with careful strength. Solonex's head lolled against his shoulder, his breath shallow.

"Back the way we came," Severin ordered. "Slow and steady. Arrows ready. If they wanted us dead, we'd be dead. They're watching."

They began to move. The jungle seemed to breathe with them-every rustle, every drip too loud. Gato and Eira kept their bows half-drawn, eyes darting from shadow to shadow. Rahim walked backward, spear raised, while Kethra scanned the high branches.

And then, as quickly as it began, it ended.

The forest grew still again. No darts. No movement. Only the whisper of leaves and the fading echo of their own footsteps.

When they finally reached the edge of the clearing where their longboat waited, Severin gave a sharp nod. "Mount up. No talk until we're on the water."

Only when the oars bit the river did anyone speak.

That night aboard the Waverider, the sea was calm. Selene sat beside Solonex, who sat propped against a bulkhead, pale but breathing. A dark bruise still marred his throat, but the fever had broken.

Severin leaned against the rail, watching the horizon where jungle met cloud. His shirt was torn, streaked with dirt and blood.

Solonex stirred. "Severin."

He turned. "Captain."

"Thank you," Solonex said, voice rough. "You kept them alive."

"Didn't have a choice."

Solonex smiled faintly. "You always have a choice. Tell me... is there any situation where you don't think clearly?"

Severin looked at him a long moment, then let out a quiet breath that might have been a laugh. "Not yet."

Selene shifted, smiling behind tired eyes. "That's what makes you dangerous."

Severin glanced toward her. "No. That's what makes me useful."

Outside, the sea was black glass, and somewhere beyond the surf, the jungle watched and waited. The crew of the Waverider moved quietly below deck, the rhythm of practiced hands and unspoken trust carrying them through the dark.

At dawn, Solonex stepped onto the deck, still pale but steady on his feet. Near the rail, something glinted. He bent and picked it up, a small dart, its shaft dark, the feathered end stained blue-green.

He turned to Selene. "Why keep this?"

She frowned. "I didn't."

Severin looked up. "Then it isn't a trophy," he said quietly. "It's a message."

The wind shifted, carrying the scent of the jungle across the waves. No one spoke after that.

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