I woke up in the mourning with sun shining on my face. I look at where the fire was. It had gone out a long time ago as it was not even smoking at this point. I kicked at the ashes. It was cold. I walked over the the pool of water and took a good long drink. I went to the woods to do my (business). My stomach grumbled. I need to find someone or I'm going to starve. I look for the largest tree around and climb to the top. It looks like the forest might come to an end if I keep going west. I climb back down and begin my journey.
As I walk I listen to the birds singing.
Wait birds mean eggs and eggs are food.
I begin to scan the trees for nests until I spot one and whoa, What a nest it is. Its got to be for a condor or something. I mean I could fit in a nest like that.
I climb the tree easily and reach the nest which is about half way up think to myself the whole way how good this egg is going to taste and how filling it will be. I mean if the size of the nest is any indication to how big the egg is its got to be huge. I get to the nest and see a bird girl sleeping in the bottom. I blink but she is still there. I rub my eyes to remove the sleep sand from them. Yes that was it is. The sleep sand. When I opened my eyes again she was still there. I can now sense a bit of that black energy that brought me here coming from her. I begin to climb back down figuring nothing but bad news can come from things that give that off. I hear the nest began to creak as she stirs and stretches. I nervously shimmy to the other side of the tree as fast as I can. Shit, no branches. All I can really do now is just hug the tree.
I can hear her talking to her self now. At first I don't get what she is saying. Its in another language. But as she continues to speak the more familiar the words seem and I can begin to make them out. I cant believe I slept in again! her voice was almost sing song Early bird gets the worm, but I'm always sleeping in so how can I get the worm? Guess that's why I moved out here. No competition. but there are also no men. Maybe that was not so smart after all" What a bird brain i think to myself. Then my stomach grumbled. Wow! Iv never heard a hungry tree before.
What a idiot i think to myself Would you like this egg Mr.tree? Its not fertilized so it should be yummy. she offered the egg to the tree Did this dingbat really just offer a egg to a tree? Wait maybe if I pretend to be the tree and speak to her I can get the egg but I'm not sure I'm hungry enough to eat a egg from her. My stomach growls again You sure are hungry Mr.tree besides I should be plenty strong now with all my magic." i disguise my voice before speaking why yes I would like that egg. If you leave it here in this nest when you fly away I will eat it. there was silence for a moment Hey! trees can't talk. OH SHIT that monster is gonna eat me! she begins flapping her wings and fly's around the tree Who's there
I let go of tree hoping to escape her grasp I fall a short distance but then begin to hover. But I did not use any air magic? I can feel some one holding me by the arms. I look up hello boyfriend I'm not your boyfriend! She lets go what a mean thing to say boyfriend! especially after I saved you from falling. She looks at me laying on the ground having dropped me. oops I hop up quickly and begin to run as fast as I can. I use air energy to help me move faster. I look back to see her no more than a foot behind me. You sure can run fast boyfriend. she says still on my heels. I try weaving through the trees My what an energetic boyfriend I have. I need to out smart this chick. I use the power of air and run right up the side of a tree then leap from tree top to tree top. Now I leap into the limbs of a particularly dense fir tree. I hope this tree is as dense as she is.
Boyfriend
where are you?
She fly's right by me
I wait around for a while longer as I hear her in the distance. When her voice disappears I come out. My stomach grumbles again. I sigh a big long sigh.
Maybe I can make it back to her nest?
I look
around and realize I have no idea where I am right now. I also need to be more careful about what I'm doing. It seems there are monsters in these woods.
Well I guess West is the direction I have
traveled the most so i should start in that direction. I look at the position of the sun to gauge where that might be.
Ah hah.
I continue on my way. Maybe I should use more magical energy to move
faster? But if I do I might not have it when I need it. I'm thirsty from all that running. I untie the blue jug and take a big swig and replace it. Got to conserve until I feel safe.
I spot a berry
bush as I am traveling and I walk over to it.
Maybe my magic can tell if this is good to eat or not?
I begin to summon up earth energy in my body. I then touch the berries releasing the energy into the plant. The
plant grows a bit and the berries swell to the size of a fist.
Well that was neat but dident quite help the way I thought it would.
I sit down in front of the bush and just stare at it trying to
force my eyes to know what is what. My eyes go out of focus and I continue to look then something funny happens. I see a light aura around the tree. Its a grass green aura and gives off the feeling that this
plant is healthy.
I stand up and look to the distance but my eyes focus and I lose the aura sight. Again I wait until my eyes go out of focus staring to the west. I can now see the auras of the
trees and something in the distance that is not trees. Hopefully its people. Well I know its something living and not a bunch of those monsters with the black energy.
I feel more energetic now about getting there maybe a little speed boost wont be such a bad thing? No I need to stay down here in cover. I look at those berries for last time before shrugging and moving on.
As I walk listing to the sounds of the forest, one sound stands out to me. A bird call. Not a particularly beautiful one, but one my mind says I know better than any other.
I look up and identify the bird making this call. Its a black bird with purple iridescent feathers. I mimic the cawing back to the bird. It cocks its head at me. I reach out with my mind to try communicate with the bird.
Come here my friend I wont harm you.
I reach out my hand .It cocks it head in the other direction and flys a few branches closer.My stomach grumbles.
Well I would like to stay and chat but I have to get going. If you want to tag along you are more than welcome.
I say this aloud as if the bird might understand.
I continued in my west-ish direction at an easy pace, taking care not to make too much noise. Every once in a while I stop and look around to make sure there is nothing following or stalking me.
The only thing that is, is the curious raven. The name just stuck me as I was looking at it while checking one of those times.
I am now quite confident with the aura sight using to help check
for danger and to see how much further away I am.
I am really close now. I hear singing and giggling. I move a bit more cautiously than before not wanting to be discovered yet. The raven caws
at me and takes a few little jumps Forewords on its perch. I smile its kinda like its saying to go on.
I creep closer to peek around a tree and to my surprise a see a bunch of fay singing and dancing. I use my aura sight and see that maybe one out ten or so of them has that black aura. There might
be thirty all together.I'm not sure as they are moving about too much to get a good bead on them.
Their singing is quite beautiful if not a bit childish. I feel strongly drawn to them. I want to step out and join in the fun. As my foot moves of its own accord I force
it to a stop. I can feel something slipping into my mind, changing my will. Nothing pisses me off faster than someone trying to manipulate my mind.
I summon up all my will and call on the power of
water to cleanse my feelings and mind, making them quite and serene. I call on earth to make my will as
unshakable as the largest of mountains. I call upon fire to to give me the energy and passion to do what need to be done. All of this being done internally of course as to not draw any unwanted attention.
The raven calls behind in alarm now.I raise my hood over my head and I step out unfaltering and of my own accord.
As I am spotted by the fay they cry out in joy and surprise. Many of them are now flying about me tugging lightly at hood and robe trying to sneak peeks at me and giggling and singing as they do.
I can feel they are now intentionally casting that magic they were using before on me. At first I try to shield from it using my own energy but that will not work for much longer. Redirection? I pull
my hands into my robes and visualize as I draw on them. A inward spiral on my left accepting the energy and an out word spiral on my right redirecting it back out. All magic is, is different kinds
of energy's. As long as you know what kind it is and how to mold it to your will it should be simple. I now pull my hands back out now redirecting the energy back at them and adsorbing some of it to replenish my manna.
This did not have the
effect that I had desired. They are now becoming more direct in their fly by assaults. Especially the ones with the black aura. I use the energy that's still being put out by them and transmute it into air
energy. I well up with it until I cant hardly hold it and use it in a forceful shout
STOP!
A huge gust a wind accompanys the shout as if it was from my breath. It blew all the fay off of me
and back a few yards. They all fly into the nearby undergrowth and peep out to see what I do next.
Im starving and I'm lost can you help me?
A little fairy in a green outfit flew out first. She looked a bit different from the rest but I could quite put my finger on how she looked different
I can help you. But first you have to do something for me.
she giggled eying me up. She was then followed by two more. One dressed in blue and one in red.
What is that you want?
I raise an eyebrow from under my hood
We want to play hide and go seek with you. You seek, we hide.
I cuckle and think to
myself
that's too cute and inicent for how they were just treating me. Whats the real game? I will play along for now till I understand better"
Sure I'll play.
I use my newly found skill of aura sight and realize these three are the ones with the black energy.
Go over there
to that tree close your eyes and count to 15
the one dressed in red says sweetly.
"1.2.3.4.5.6.7
I can feel a large source of magic gathering behind me
So that's their game. They going to blast me before
I can turn around.
I summon up as much air energy as I can to react as fast as I can.
8.9.10.11.
The raven begins to caw wildly and I turn around fast to see the little bugs floating there with a
large magic circle in front of the three of them and their arms outstretched to it. As soon as they see that I turned around early they unleash the spell and a ray of energy is blast at me. I dodge right and the ray
hits the tree and right before my eyes this large tree shrinks to a miniature version of its self. Its only the size of a sapling now.
Pissed at this treachery I use the rest of the air energy I had
gathered to cause a wind to knock them to the ground. The other fay are now
hovering about watching what I'm doing whispering to each other.
The three little fay are whimpering there on the ground. I want to just step on them and for this to be done with but something inside of me says that not the right thing to do. I check them again with my aura sight to see what kinda power they might have left. Its like most of their aura is gone. They hardly have a presence anymore.
I walk up to the fay on the ground now getting a better look. They are wearing matching tight fitting short sun dresses, with matching elbow length gloves, and matching ribbons tied about their left thighs.
Now i can see why she stood out other than the dark aura they have tiny horns.
Why where you trying to shrink me?
The red one put on a hurt little pouting face and turns away from me. The blue one begins to sob and the green one begins to fidget with her dress.
Well?
I say in a displeased tone and putting my hands on my hips in a super man pose.
We where just going to have some fun with you.
her face became almost as red as the dress the other one was wearing and was now grinning wile looking down, still fiddling with the ends of her dress. I sigh a long and loud sigh.
Fine whatever. We were also going to take some of your energy
the red one said turing back to face me her face now red as well and her tone angry.
The blue one still sobbing a bit try to assure me
But we were not going to hurt you.
I cant figure out what to do with those three so I just leave them right where they where. I turn to the
other fay and they begin to play and sing again. They form a circle and a few get behind be and push to try and move me into the circle. I use the power of earth to make myself as
unmovable as I can.
I will do as I please. You can not force me.
They give up but one flys up to my face and whispers into my hood.
Were not like those three. If you step into the circle we can feed you and take
care of you.
She giggles and flys away.
I stand there not sure how to proceed. I look around for an answer. I see the raven perched nearby.
Come here buddy.
It tilts its head
toward me.
Maybe its a girl?
I ask my self in my head.
Why are you not listening to me beautiful?
She gave a different kind of caw this time followed by a noise I have not heard her make before. Kind like a tick tick kind of noise. She
flew down and perched on my shoulder. I looked at her something was not right, but it did not feel harmful.
My you are a gorgeous one
I guess I have no choice but to step into that circle as I have no food, no direction, and no help except for you.
The raven caws in response. I look back at the horned fay for a moment before I step into the circle. They have looks of fear spread on their faces but I am unfaltered by this and continue. The second I step into the circle I am surrounded by light.