Amber - 2000-04-01
estri entered the clearing where Jenra sat just as the stranger disappeared. She noticed the frown of unease crossing the elf’s face, and also that Silver’s ruff was held high. She approached the two loudly, so as not to suprise them when they didn’t need surprising.
Jenra turned to her and smiled widely as they touched palms quickly in the Kéthiel way of friend greeting friend. Kestri spoke quickly. "Jen’, I’ve got some really good news, and some really bad news for you. Which will you receive first?" Jenra blinked at her.
"Good *and* bad news? I’ll take bad first, If you don’t mind." Kestri nodded, she’d expected as much.
"Bad news is that there’s some sort of evil invading the Forest. You know all about the unexplained murders happening *inside* our borders."
"Yes, that’s why we’re so alert.. On full awareness of all strangers in our land." Kestri nodded.
"It seems that there are leaks inside our Clan, and the Clans around us!" Jenra gasped, and Kestri rushed on, "But Tal said-"
"Tal?" Jenra interuppted at the name, her silver blue eyes wide as if she’d just seen a ghost. "You said.. Tal." Kestri nodded, concealing her smile.
"Yes. Taletherion Darkecat. We saw him in the clearing today. In fact, he was the one who warned us of this."
Jenra fell to her knees in the grass, mute with surprise. Fierce overwhelming joy filled her heart. She wasn’t alone! For all of her life, she’d lived alone.. She was *the* last of the Darkecats. But now.. Now Tal was back! Tears shone on her cheeks, tears of joy. Her brother. Her older brother was alive!
Suddenly she was on her feet, hugging Kestri fiercely. "Tal!!" She cried joyously. "He’s alive my brother is alive!!" Memories flashed before her eyes, of him and her playing together when they were young. He’d always been there for her, to help her when she fell, to show her the world she’d been born into. When he’d left, she’d felt this huge emptiness, this overwhelming loneliness that welled up inside her and made her stay, perched on the path, always waiting for his return. But he hadn’t returned. She remembered her pain, her sorrow.. her loss when she’d finally accepted that he’d never come back. Now he was back.. and she’d never be alone again.
"Where is he? I want to see him! Where has he gone to Kes? Where I’ve got to see him!" Kestri laughed and placed her hands on her friend’s shoulder. She’d never seen Jen’ this happy.. She almost seemed to *glow* with joy.
Hating to put a damper on her friend’s high spirits, Kestri nonetheless said, "He’s going to escort some intruders out of the Forest, and to see them off. Then he’ll be back, he promised." She laughed then. "Oh.. he sends you his love.."
Jenra just laughed, filled with bustling joy, excited energy.. She couldn’t wait until her brother got home. Home. Her brother was coming home.
Just the thought of her brother filled her with such joy that she could hardly breath.
Amber - 2000-04-01
elene watched Trevor sleep, and reached up, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes. He looked so relaxed, so peaceful, and once again she felt a stab of guilt for hurting him.
Standing, she shivered slightly as a chill wind blew through the camp. Leaning down, she tucked the blanket in around Trevor.
Walking over to her bedroll, she sighed at the wet sheets, and raised her head to look at the sunset, the red glow setting her hair on fire. It was getting cold. Not the cold of Aleron, no... it was warmer here, but still it would get slightly uncomfortable.
Pulling a cloak out of her saddlebags, she wrapped it around herself and walked back over to Trevor, not really even looking at what Azari was doing. Sitting next to him, she watched as the sun went down and the stars came out.
Morning dawned bright and fresh, finding Selene stretched out on the ground facing Trevor, her cloak wrapped fast around her. In sleep, her face was calm and peaceful, serene even. She muttered a half phrase, a frown creasing her forehead.
"I won't marry him.."
Laura - 2000-04-24
zari was beginning to loose her composure. She was vigorously attempting to spark her flint to get a fire started but it was a waste of time. There was no hope to getting a fire started as long as it was raining. The bitter wind mixed with dropping temps was enough to cause hypothermia to everyone.
"We need to get him on a horse or do something to get him the help and warmth he needs. His condition is bad, I am afraid he may have a mild concussion from his head injury." Azari's eyes were filled with fear. "I can not get the fire wood to burn, the rain is making the wood too wet and we can not stay here like this all night; we may end up terribly ill~you... do you have any dry clothing with you?" Azari feeling a bit awkward, asked "Sorry, I don't know your name." She smiled looking into the eyes of a stranger.
"I wasn't planning on staying anywhere tonight but under the circumstances, we all have no choice now! It's freeze to death or live and be warm." Azari, very perturbed, walked away to get things ready on her horse.
Jetta was grunting, stomping her feet, it was clear she was agitated to wanting something to eat and drink. "There-there girly, mommy hasn't left you, common lets go get you what you need, we're gonna have a long trip." Jetta drank from the river bed and ate from the lush meadow content with her grazing, Azari was able to find her extra rope and a old piece of animal skin her father gave to her from his father's father.
Azari tied Jetta to a tree and left momentarily to get back to her tasks at camp.
"Are you ready for lifting? I am gonna need your help if we are to get going." Azari was anticipating a hesitation from the female stranger. "Well, let me know, I have to go get Jetta. I don't want her to be out where I left her for very long." Azari wiped the wet straggly hair from her eyes, trotting down the path, she mumbled to herself, "God I hate these woods."
Jetta got loose. She was no where to be found. "Oh my God! Where in the world is she?" Azari's eyes were full or pure terror and utter devastation. Azari ran quickly through the woods "JETTA? JETTTTAAAAAAAA?" She had been walking for at least five minutes. All of a sudden, she heard a few swishing noises from within the brush near by. It sounded like Jetta's tail hitting the branches. Azari had left her sword behind. Azari began to panic. "God I hate these woods!" Spooked or not spooked, she had to check it out.
Diana - 2000-04-24
erithiel woke and looked over at Trevor for a few moments, debating leaving. She had achieved her objective - food - and really didn't have a reason to hang around anymore. 'Well,' she thought, 'I still haven't returned the favor. Besides, I have no reason to stay around *this* place anymore.'
Wordlessly she padded back to the wyvern and gathered up the muddy remnants of the deer she had strove to kill. She washed the pieces off and started back to the campsite.
'You can't just leave it here to die!' her conscience yelled.
"Yes I can. Watch me," she responded, forging onward.
'Would you like the same to happen to you?'
"Ooh, a compelling argument." Tiel said back to herself, grimacing. She sighed and dumped the raw venison onto the ground before the wyvern and jumped lightly onto its back. She gripped the hilt of the weapon lodged in it's neck and drew it free of the scaled hide. Tiel lifted her lip in disgust when the wound started oozing again.
Tiel dropped to the ground and faced the wounded beast. "Remember this," she said evenly, pointing the blade dead-level with the eye nearest her. "Compassion for compassion. I've shown you a measure, and I expect it to be passed on."
She bent and wiped the blood-caked blade on the grass on the riverbank and trod back to the site.
Tiel looked to Selene when she reached the camp. "Keep watch for a bit longer, I'll be back in a few moments," and she disappeared into the woods again after placing Trevor's blade by his prone form. True to her word, she returned in minutes, taking care of personal matters and bringing back some small prey. In her other hand, she held the reins of a fine, albeit terrified, horse.
She lay the still-warm rabbits near the fire and tethered the horse to a nearby tree and unsaddled her. "A fine horse you are. I wonder who the lucky person is who owns you, and the same unlucky one who lost you," she spoke softly to Jetta.
Turning back to Selene she said, "I-I don't know how to cook, so you might want to do that bit of business. I just kill them and eat them, you know, raw."
Amber - 2000-04-27
"hat?? Me?? Cook that??" Selene asked, her voice shrill with embarassment. "You have *got* to be kidding! I wouldn't know how to cook a steak if my life depended on it! It's just not the sort of thing a nob-" She paused, and glanced around. They didn't know her secret yet, and she wasn't about to tell them.
"Well.. we'll just have to wait until Azari or wahtever her name is comes back.." She shifted uncomfortably on the stump she'd been half-sleeping on, staring at the piece of oozing raw flesh Tiel was holding, practically in her face.
"Get! Get it away from me!! Iiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeewwww..." She batted the meat away, grimacing as blood splattered in her direction. "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuugh..." She moaned, feeling like she was going to puke.
"TIEL Pllllleeeeease! Get it AWAY from MEEEEEE!!!" She scrambled off of her stump, onto the other side of Trevor. Sitting next to him, she pulled her legs underneath her, regarding the still-dripping meat with blatant distrust..
"It's still bleeding.." She muttered. "That's just disgusting.. And she expected ME to cook THAT?? I'd rather kiss a frog.."
Copyright (c) 1999-2000 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.