Disclaimer:The Underland, Gregor and all that stuff belongs to Suzanne Collins.
Dryadas and Nixclaw belong to me, though. Hah; I own something for once! :P
Since it's so cool, I'll be posting something, a poem, lyrics, the definition of a word; anything that inspires me while writing. It probably won't relate directly to what I've written, but...it's cool, y'know? ^^
The future depends on what we do in the present. - Mahatma Gandhi
"These are the words left to you, young one, by your sire. Take them, and be gone." The old man handed the orange-streaked black bat, the scroll and left. She bowed after tucking the scroll in a bag hanging from her neck, and skipped to the right, narrowly escaping the scything claws of a rat that had just come down behind her.
"You are getting slow, Dryadas. Have the humans doted on you this month you spent with them?" the rat asked sarcastically as the bat settled down.
"No," the bat replied in deep, quiet tones, which were unnatural for a bat as young as her. "The humans have banished me, Nixclaw, like my father before me. And so I leave to find my destiny, and, very possibly, my death."
Nixclaw shook her head. "A harsh fate, even for a flier. I wish you luck."
"My thanks to you, gnawer friend." Dryadas replied, laying a wing on the rat's head for a moment.
"No need to get emotional," the rat sniffed, and pressing her side against Dryadas's. "I will follow as quickly as possible. Shall we meet in the Shadow Caves?"
Dryadas nodded, taking off once more, after biding the rat farewell. "Fly you high," she called back, and heard Nixclaw's fading reply echo after her..
"Run...like...the...river..!"
Then she was gone, with not even so much as a claw scraping against stone to mark her passage. Dryadas fell into the rhythm of her wings, and listening only to the thrumming of her blood as she sped towards her hideout, which was now to be her home.
Dryadas was an extraordinary exception to the normal personality of bats. She acted shyly around others, to give the impression of weakness, but, when bravery was needed, she was among the first to respond. But that was not so different from her father. No, what marked her out was her uncommon intelligence and her love for music, singing, and reading; similar to her mother's traits, but much more prominent.
She could hear the musicians playing for her, and the others chiming in on a nonsense ballad written by a popular Underland composer, who had taken a special liking to Dryadas.
Though I be slight of wing,
I can, for you, sing.
To you, joy I bring;
Hear me-
around you-
ring.
"How I miss when everything was so much more simple; when I was Aiode, as my mother called me..." she whispered to herself before turning and maneuvering through a tunnel that spread into a large cave with numerous ledges. She then settled down to wait for Nixclaw, though it did not take long before she could hear the rat's panting echoing around the tunnel.
"I apologize for arriving late; I was delayed by two others trying to uncover my business. It took a while to persuade them to leave." Nixclaw winked at her, then plopped down on the floor to catch her breath.
"It is understandable." Dryadas purred and flipped down to the floor, where she rummaged through the assorted things stored on a shelf, coming up with a water skin, and a bag of medical supplies. "Before I left," she explained, "I took the liberty of borrowing these from Regalia. However, I am sure nothing will be missed."
"Of course," the rat chuckled dryly. "That would be you." Her voice changed suddenly from normal to very eager. "What does the paper read?"
Dryadas blinked. "I had forgotten...I will read it now." She fiddled with the pouch around her neck before pulling the parchment out and spreading it carefully with her claws. Then she began to read.
And so I leave you my blood,
My bones, flesh, and legacy.
On this Earth, covered in mud,
So that you might remember me.
Though you might stay for eternity,
My time was long, and yet too short.
What is not may still be,
So flee from the shadowy sort.
The time is drawing, oh, so near,
When the fire-skinned ones appear.
Be sure that you would hear,
Or you will have reason to fear.
She will come, prisoner to fires,
Bound by flame, with unexpected eyes.
Sinking through the Time Mires,
I bade you, child, say the goodbyes.
With my legacy words in mind,
And hearts set straight and true.
Leave your natal years behind,
Save the Meil that rings blue.
After all is finished and done,
One last choice, if you may,
Determines who might be your one.
So will you go or will you stay?
Nixclaw shook her head. "It makes little sense to me, but neither do the prophecies that I have heard before. All I can see it that we are to flee from something, then listen."
"Where is says, She will come, prisoner to fires, I assume we are waiting for someone...but that is all I can gather." Dryadas shrugged her wings, warmed them up, and lifted into the air. "But come, we are wasting precious time. Let us be gone."
She took to the air as Nixclaw followed her, and together, they ate up the miles; Dryadas keeping a sharp eye out for other rats that might disturb their flight from Regalia.
"We are approaching the boundaries of the crawler lands." Dryadas called down, as she dodged a very low-hanging spur of rock. "From there, we will camp at the old snapper cave."
"And...after that?" Nixclaw panted back.
Dryadas shook her head slightly. "I do not know; I was hoping you had an idea. The prophecy said something about Time Mires, but I have not heard of these."
"Oh..." Nixclaw signaled a stop, and the bat glided down to settle on a jutting curve of cliff, ten feet above the gnawer's head. "I suggest that we try in Echo's Glory, where the swamplands begin. But it is several day's run from here, and the only way is through many tunnels too small for flying."
Dryadas tested her claws on the stone she was sitting on, and sighed. "We will try there, then. Though I doubt I will enjoy the journey much. And I have much unease, for the 'shadowy sort' have yet to show up. I do not have much confidence that they will be fair."
"We do not know if the 'shadowy sort' are living or not, though the prophecy certainly gives the indication." Nixclaw pointed out. "We have no help, and also, we are only two."
"You suggest we find the Warrior?" Dryadas asked, though she was fairly certain this was true.
"Well...yes." Nixclaw shifted uncomfortably. "Though I have never met him in person, my father spoke somewhat highly of him. I know not if he will help, but it is certainly worth a try."
The bat took one moment to consider it, then nodded. "Then we will go. But which portal shall we use?"
"I suggest in the Waterway, seeing as we cannot go through Regalia to get to their portal. I have heard that the warrior's family has not yet moved, with the condition of his father being too precarious."
"The Waterway it is, then." Dryadas fluttered her wings, stirring up a breeze. "It is good that we are not far from that place; but I will not be able to carry you for long. So hope that our flight will be swift."
"I shall." Nixclaw started running once more, in a slightly different direction - to the Waterway, where they would exit the Underland.
The first chapter of my try at a longer fic. Hope you all enjoy it; comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!
P. anyone wondering about the 'Meil' it's not a misspelling; it's an important part of the plot. :) But...it's going to be a mystery for now.
