Circle of Stone

The Story

Page 33

Amber - 2000-03-25

elene hit the ground, the breath knocked out of her lungs. Rising, she fought the stars and lights bursting in front of her eyes. Shaking her head, she looked around for Trevor.

"Trevor? TREVOR!" She gasped, running to him. Turning him over gently, she touched the wound on his head with a horrified gasp. "Oh no..."

She looked around. Tiel was nowhere in sight! "What do I do *now*??" Tears sprang to her eyes. She'd never been so scared in her *life*! Shining on her cheeks, she fought to stay calm, to keep her composure.. She had to help Trevor.

"HELP ME!" She called out into the woods. "SOMEONE HELP ME I NEED HELP!! SOMEONE, ANYONE PLEASE!!" Trevor's head in her lap, she sat helplessly, not knowing what to do, fear making her heart pound.

"Help me..." She whispered. Trevor had saved her life.. And he didn't even like her! Tears burned her eyes and she shook her head, shivering in the breeze.

Only then did she realize she was still in her undergarments...

Laura - 2000-03-26

zari and her father found a cozy spot to sleep for the night. It was the last night they would be together. The fire was warm, soon Azari and her father began drifting off to sleep.

By dawn, the chilly damp ground woke Clefton. The fire had a few coals burning and he could have began the fire again, but he was reluctant to do so because he noticed the sky was bright enough to see. He was anxious to be in his own bed.

Azari soon woke up. She felt her back stiff as a board and every inch of her body ached for the warmth of a hot tub bath. Yawning as she sat up, "Good morning, you're up early." With a bit of curiosity in her tone, she was sitting face to face with her father. "We going home yet?" Azari asked.

"The sooner we have everything packed, the sooner we will be there. Lets get going. I miss your mother's pancakes and.."

Azari interrupted "Don't even take me there! God real food! Oh man, you had to say it didn't you?" They both began to laugh.

After arriving home, the smell of wonderful baked blueberry muffins filled the house. This was the first thing they could smell when they walked in.

After spending the night, Azari made her journey out on her own.

She had been traveling in the woods for quite some time. It was a bit breezy. She had to keep riding so she could find a near place to settle for the day. All she could do was think about how she would find a knight to train her.

Sometimes Azari was so into deep thoughts about becoming a great warrior she would not pay attention to where she was riding or shall I say, leading her horse, Jetta.

All of a sudden Jetta began jumping over fallen trees and branches of pines were hitting Azari in the face.

"Ouch!" Azari grabbed hold of the reigns to stop Jetta. Azari had no idea where she was. The trees were so tall, there were no landmarks to give her any clues which way she came from. It was obvious that her horse had taken her off deep into the woods off trail. Azari spined Jetta around the other direction giving her a slight kick. Jetta began to jump back over the fallen tree. Just then, Azari heard a faint cry. It sounded like it was coming by a river or creek somewhere.

"Hello?! Anyone out there?" Stopping her horse, she tried desperately to hear beneath the loud winds howling through the trees. Azari tried to get to a place where she could hear the water gurgling louder. "Hello someone out there?" There was no answer.

Azari looked ahead and saw a path in the woods. "Hmm now why didn't I see this before? Come Jetta, lets go we need to see if we can find out who needs help."

Just off the edge of the woods, Azari could see a clearing where that water sounds grew closer.

"Somebody Help ME!" the cry came from over by the brush of the trees.

Azari tied Jetta to a tree, and ran over with her sword taking every precaution necessary for danger.

When she came to where the cry had come from noticed a half dressed young woman, chilled to the bone holding a young man's head in her lap. Strange indeed. There was no need for battle.

"Hang on, I've got a few things that can help" Azari yelled after making eye contact. "I need to get things from my horse, I will be right back."

Azari ran to Jetta. Reaching into her belongings, she took into her arms a very heavy coat, and a small medical kit.

Racing back to help the woman and the young man. Azari could feel her adrenaline flowing through her veins as she was desperate to do something to help.

Reaching out to give the woman her coat, she quickly jumped right in and took over.

"He is not responding, he seems to be unconscious. We need to keep him warm and do something to stop the bleeding. Why don't you find us some wood, we'll need to make a fire and I'll check to see if I have anything in my medical book that may help him." Azari looking at the woman, making eye contact "I'm sorry, my name is Azari Manikas. I live in Torrigan. I am on a special trip right now and well, I sort of got lost." Her eyes could not stare too long. She looked back down at the man.

Amber - 2000-03-28

"hank you." Selene murmured as she took the coat from the young woman's arms. Reaching out, she brushed a strand of hair from Trevor's eyes. "Thank you Trevor." She said softly. Normally, having Azari tell her what to do would make her extremely mad. No one bossed her around! But with Trevor potentially badly wounded, and her own recent expierence with the wyvern, she'd been left shaken and scared.

Standing, she turned, disappearing into the forest. Moments later she came back with her arms full of wood she'd found. Laying it by Azari, she stood, helplessly wondering what to do when suddenly she remembered she was still in her undergarments. The wyvern hadn't allowed her time to get fully in her clothes.

She turned and saw Azari leaning over Trevor. She frowned and called out, "I'm going to get dressed," leaving no room for objections. She collected her things from their places on the ground, rinsed out a shirt that'd been dirtied by the churned up mud, and changed into her clothes. She was wearing a russet red leather tunic that emphasised her eyes, now they were dark blue-green with worry over Trevor. Tight black riding capri type pants with a matching russet red sash falling from her belt and her black leather boots finished the outfit. She returned to the meadow, heading immediately for Trevor, but seeing Azari still next to him, she turned to check on her bedroll. It was still soaked, so it must have fallen to the ground in the confusion. She sighed.

Azari stood and went to the fire to tend something she was cooking, and Selene headed for Trevor's direction. His head was bandaged, and he looked like he was sleeping now. She quietly sat down next to him, facing him with her legs tucked under her. Gently, she smoothed some of the wrinkles out of his shirt, waiting for a sign that he was waking up, that he was alright.

"Trevor..." She mused to herself softly. "First you save me from the bandits, probably saving my honor *and* my life.. And now you save me from the wyvern. Both times you could have gotten killed, and you barely even know me... but you saved me anyway... But why?" She shook her head, pressing her hands to her face. "Oh please let him be alright.. please please please..." She wiped away the tears that threatened to spill, looking down at him. Sighing, she shook her head as tears glistened in her eyes. "Maybe Father was right.. Maybe I am doomed to stay, trapped, in the castle. Maybe I am supposed to marry. Maybe I'm just not supposed to fight it, maybe I should just give up on my dreams..." That thought depressed her incredibly, and she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, laying her head on her arms.

Loneliness and depression crept up on her, and she could barely keep from crying. Only her wish not to disturb Trevor kept her quiet. She'd already done enough to harm him. She didn't want to do anything else.

Amber - 2000-03-28

alos turned, sprinting into the Forest. He felt the desperate need to get away from the strange man who was obviously a kethranar but disturbing.

Gesturing to three of his comrades, he gave them strict commands to stay out of sight but right behind the Outlanders, to make sure they didn't stray from their preassigned path.

Kestri caught up to him. "What happened? Jenra, we know she's a kethran, but her brother too? How did this happen? Two in one generation, and blood relatives too?"

Talos looked at her. "The Darkecats were always a mysterious Clan. I remember they never really interacted with much of the others. Instead, they stuck close to Gaennon, and Great Gaia. I suppose he could have invoke it.. Or it could have been backwash from the pure power of the Forest elemental."

Kestri frowned. "Well, whatever the reason. I'm glad. If he's related to Jen, he can't be all that bad."

Spellbinder - 2000-03-28

revor was sleeping in his room, but for some reason he couldn't keep warm. And why was his bedding wet? His pillow didn't seem right either. It felt like someone's lap. And to top it off it was raining. He felt small, warm drops occasionally fall on his face. He also had an enormous headache. Had it been from too much to drink? Was he having a hangover? He didn't seem to recall getting drunk, but that did not mean anything. Maybe it was the dream he had. A dream about a pretty girl he had rescued from a big, mean wyvern. Now why had he dreamed about her? Nothing seemed clear, as if he were in a fog. Trevor looked up as his sister Sasha entered the room. She seemed to be saying something about him not responding. He tried to speak, to tell her he was all right, but nothing would come out. He grabbed his throat, finally managing to moan. He looked with confusion at his sister, but her face wasn't right. It was the face of a beautiful stranger. But wait a minute. There was something familiar about this stranger. Had they met before or seen each other somewhere? Her emerald green eyes and auburn hair were intriguing.

Slowly Trevor became aware that he was no longer in his room, the walls seemed to dissolve and the branches of trees took their place. He realized finally that he was lying not in his room, but on the ground, his head hurt horribly and he was freezing. The girl with the familiar face was daubing at his head with a bandage, her eyes concerned. Her name came to his lips without thought, "Azari." he managed to croak. "You-you're the girl f-from my vision. I-I dreamed a-about you." He seemed to have trouble forming his words, but he had to tell her. It seemed enormously important to him for some vague reason. He tried to sit up, but Azari gently pushed him back down. He moved his head and immediately regretted it as waves of pain shot through his head like a lance. The world faded to blackness once again.

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