Disclaimer: ElfQuest and all related characters belong to WaRP graphics. They do not belong to me.
Darkcloud is my own original character, and she is mine. Do not use the character without my permission.
Text like this is a thought
Text like this is a send
"Text like this a spoken"
One of Many: New Lives Change Old
Looks strange. Sounds strange. Smells different than that sandy area I just walked through. I smell wolves...and ravvits...and strange animals...and...and...By the High Ones! I smell elves! Elves! Elves mean safety! Elves mean others of my kind. I'm not alone here! Must find elves. So tired though. So tired... can't...stay...awake...so...tired.
"Leetah, do you think she'll be okay?"
"I'm not sure Nightfall. She's covered in...and she's lost a lot of blood. It took a lot out...to get her this far along. It's...her now."
So many voices. Fading in and out. Nightfall? When it gets dark out? Is that what time it is? What's a Leetah? Who's lost a lot of blood? Why can't I move? I want to open my eyes...can't open them...still so tired.
"Mother! Come quick! Her eyes are open! Hurry Mother hurry!"
AHH! The noise! So loud! Make it go away!
"Ember! Shhh! You need to be quiet! Her eyes are open slightly, yes, but she's still asleep mostly."
That voice...it's the nice, soft voice, the kind voice that takes care of me. Yes, the nice voice will make the loud voice go away.
"Sorry Mother. I was trying to make sure you could hear me. I'm sorry."
"I know cub. Let's see how our patient is today. Are you awake little she-elf?"
Little she-elf? Oh, she means me. That's what she always calls me. I should answer her. Want...to...answer...nice voice.
"Uh...want...answer...nice voice...so...tired."
"Mother, she spoke!"
"Yes Ember, now shush! Do you want to sleep some more little cub?"
Sleep? Yes...want...sleep...now.
Ahh! So bright! Sunlight...I'm awake! Where am I? So bright….and dry…... not much like home….should figure out where I am.
Shaky legs supported an even shakier body as the young she-elf stood, trying to adjust to the bright sunlight streaming into the small hut. Finding it harder to walk than she had first thought, she fell to the floor, nothing but her pride bruised.Slowly, she crawled to the opening, looking outside for the second time. It was bright, brighter than she had first thought. She wasn't sure if she would be able to see once she left the hut, seeing as she couldn't even walk from the corner of the hut to the door without bring blinded. Sighing, she put her hands above her eyes, shielding them from the light as best as she could. As she slowly emerged from the hut, she had no idea that she was being watched.
From a nearby hut, Suntop watched the shaky little she-elf that had been found on the edge of Sorrow's End work her way from the healing hut towards the center of the village. She's so unsteady. I should get Mother or Father so that they know that she's awake. Standing, Suntop quietly crept out of his family's hut, sending to his parent's. Mother, Father, the she-elf is awake and she's walking toward the plants that Redlance has been growing As he quietly followed the she-elf, he watched as she sat down by the plants to examine the fruits, picking one and sniffing it. Apparently finding it appealing, she put it in her mouth, slowly tasting it, chewing thoughtfully. When she swallowed it, she eagerly reached toward the plant, pulling fruit after fruit off and shoving them into her mouth. Juices dribbling down her bottom lip, she chewed slowly, her mouth as full as she could manage without choking. After she swallowed, she licked her lips, stood, this time without falling onto her behind, and walked towards the center of the village. She sniffed the air, then whimpered, and ran back toward the hut she had come out of. She quickly ran inside, quickly pulling the curtains closed behind her. Suntop followed her, making sure that he was far enough behind that she didn't notice him. Never mind. She's back in the healing hut. She sure ate a lot of fruit though. Redlance won't be happy about that. He peeked into the hut she had gone in, making sure that the she-elf was all right. Seeing that she was curled into a tight little ball in the sleeping furs, he sat down on the ground outside, waiting for his mother to check up on the innocent cub. When Leetah arrived, she nodded at Suntop before cautiously entering the hut.
"Hello there cub. My name is Leetah. Will you please tell me your name?"
Whipping her head around to see the owner of the voice, the she-elf buried herself deeper into the warm furs she had found on the floor. She was scared, that much was obvious.
Stranger! Strange elf! Please don't let her hurt me! Please let her... wait...Leetah...soft, nice voice? Yes, it's the nice voice. Nice voice belongs to Leetah. Leetah made me better.
"Cub? Can you talk?" Leetah asked, slowly moving toward the she-elf. Suddenly, Leetah found herself being hugged by the elfin maiden, the cub's arms around her neck, unwilling to let go. When she released her, the she-elf spoke.
"You made me better. Thank you. Thank you for making me better. When I was awake before, when loud noisy Ember was here, I heard you. And when it was nightfall I heard you talking to a she-elf, telling her you healed me. Thank you."
Getting over the shock of being hugged by the cub, Leetah smiled and stroked the raven colored hair from her face. She looked down at the girl, who was smiling back at her.
"You're welcome cub. Please, tell me your name." she said, wrapping a lightweight fur around the raven-haired cub's shoulders.
Smiling, the she-elf snuggled into the fur that Leetah had wrapped around her.
"My name...my name is Darkcloud. Darkcloud the Creation Shaper"
When the Wolfriders gathered for the nightly howl, they all welcomed Darkcloud into the tribe, talking to her and asking all sorts of questions. What did she mean by creation shaper? What could she shape? Was she a plant shaper? Was she a self-shaper? Her head spinning, she was pulled down to the ground next to Leetah, who was smiling and talking to the chief of the tribe, Cutter. Cutter was Leetah's lifemate, Suntop and Ember's father, and brother's in all but blood with Skywise. There was Nightfall, who was the one who Leetah had been talking to when she had first woken up, Redlance, Nightfall's lifemate, Pike, Treestump, Moonshade and Strongbow, Scouter and Dewshine, and so many others that she couldn't remember them all. When Cutter had quieted the tribe down, he spoke.
"Tonight we have a new comer in our midst. She claims to be a 'creation shaper'. Tell us cub, what do you mean by 'creation shaper'?"
Darkcloud turned toward Cutter, hesitating, then answering his question.
"Well, not to be rude to you, but I am no cub." Darkcloud stood and quickly removed the large fur coat that she had been wearing, revealing the body of a beautiful she-elf. The tribe gasped in awe, realizing that Darkcloud must be about the same age as Nightfall. She continued, sitting back down next to Leetah.
"As for being a creation shaper, that I am. I can shape rocks, plants, myself, and many other things. I have been a creation shaper as far back as I can remember. I was raised by an old elf in caves that belonged to trolls. We had to hide from the trolls constantly, always moving from cave to cave. We had to steal to survive. Food, furs, and other things that would keep us alive. We lived that way for six-turns-of-the-seasons, until..." Darkcloud hesitated, then looked at the ground, pulling her knees into her chest.
"Until what?" Ember said, leaning forward. Leetah put her arm around Darkcloud, trying to comfort her.
You do not have to continue your story if you do not want to cub. And to me, you are a cub. Leetah sent, leaving it open to the whole tribe. Darkcloud blushed at the sending, then she shook her head.
"No. You've all been so kind to me. You healed me and offered me a place to stay. I owe you my life. You should at least hear why I'm here." she said, looking at the whole tribe. Looking back at the ground, she continued.
"We lived that way, until I got caught by some trolls. I had been trying to sneak some meat from them, when suddenly, I was grabbed by the arm and pulled out of my hiding spot in the cave below. When we snuck food by shaping small holes in the rocks and sliding our hands through the holes. This time though, I had to make the hole larger so I could get the meat out. That's when the trolls captured me. They took me to their king, who had me thrown into a pit. A pit filled with starving wolves. They tried to kill me, at first. Then they realized that I had food with me. The stupid trolls hadn't taken the meat I already had when they captured me. I gave the meat to the wolves, who gladly accepted it. While they were eating, I shaped myself into a wolf. When they turned back towards me, they saw a strange wolf. I was sniffed and nipped at till they realized that I smelled like, well, in their words, 'the kind pointed eared girl'. They accepted me, and when the trolls came back to see if the wolves had eaten me, the wolves snarled at the trolls, so the trolls assumed that the wolves had eaten me.
As soon as the trolls left, I crawled out of the pit and ran through a tunnel until I came to...at the time, I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that it was soft, cold, and white. I found out later that it was called snow. I ran. I ran until my legs hurt so much that I collapsed. I tried to crawl to some place safer, since I was out in the open, but as soon as I moved, I blacked out. When I awoke, I was in warm sleeping furs, and there were three faces looking down at me. As I sat up, I was hugged by one of the three, a female named Krim. She said that she was worried about me, even though her chieftess had told her that I would be all right. Krim, Kahvi, the chieftess, and Skot, took me in and taught me their ways. For eight-turns-of-the-seasons, I lived with them. I hunted with them in the snow, I shared furs with Skot and Krim, who became my trusted friends, and I learned that if I wanted to survive with the Go-Backs, I had to trust them. You see, because my mother abandoned me when I was a cub, I was never able to trust anyone easily. I was only two-turns-of-the-seasons when Rock-Shaper found me.
So, by the time I left the Go-Backs, I was two-eight-turns-of-the-seasons. For five-turns, I traveled from the Go-Backs, looking for a forest to live in. I encountered many creatures, including humans and more trolls. The trolls I found were pathetic though. Only four of them, living in a cave not far from what I assumed was once a forest. The area where the forest once was had been burned to the ground, nothing left to say who-or what, had lived there. The cave the trolls were in looked pretty deserted. Nothing much there except remnants of the trolls. I wandered through caverns for days, until I found a tunnel that held a sliver of light at the end. I walked through the tunnel, shaping the rocks that were blocking the exit until I saw a vast, open land, bright, filled with sand. I walked. I walked and I walked and I walked. Come nightfall, I shaped a shelter for myself, and I slept. When I awoke, I walked some more. For many days I walked. After time, I forgot how long I had been walking and what I was looking for. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, I saw mountains. I climbed them, and when I reached the top, I was this village. I could smell the elves. I felt safe. Then, I blacked out. Now, I'm here." Darkcloud sighed, and accepted the meat that had been given to her. Cutter had caught a ravvit earlier, and knowing that Darkcloud would be hungry when she awoke, kept it for her.
Leetah put her arm around Darkcloud and lock-sent to her.
Darkcloud, did you know that you have wolf blood? That means that you are a Wolfrider. You are a member of this tribe.
I am? So, does that mean that one of my parents was a Wolfrider? Darkcloud sent back, full of shock and confusion.
Yes, one of them must have been. Darkcloud, I know that you have a hard time trusting people, but would you be willing to give the Wolfrider's a chance? Would you be willing to stay with them? With…us? Leetah asked her, her send full of anxiety.
…I'm not sure Leetah. All I know is, I don't have anywhere to go, so, if it's alright with Cutter, I would like to stay with you all.
"Darkcloud, are you listening?"
Darkcloud jerked her head up, and looked at Cutter. Blushing, she realized he had been talking to her.
"Sorry." She muttered, looking down again, ashamed of being reprimanded.
Cutter continued, glancing at Leetah briefly before turning to the Wolfrider's.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I would like you to stay here Darkcloud. If I'm right, you don't have anywhere to go, and we, well, I, would like to learn about these other elves that you met. What do you think Wolfrider's? Do you want our guest to stay with us?" he asked, looking at his tribe.
"I for one think that Darkcloud should stay!"
"Leetah, do you think view of the ground. Searching for the owner of the voice she saw that the voice belonged to a silver-haired elf, who she quickly learned from Leetah was the chief's brother-in-all-but-blood. She watched him, her face frozen in a look of complete shock.
I don't get it. I don't even know who he is, and he doesn't know me, yet he wants me to stay here. He's so handsome…and his hair! It's the same color as my sword! Stop it Darkcloud. Just ignore those thoughts…I wonder what the other elves will think…
"Well, I hope you all know that if you turn this cub down, you will be turning down one of your own. She is a Wolfrider, by blood at least." Leetah spoke, putting her arm over Darkcloud's shoulders again, trying to comfort the cub.
While the rest of the tribe took all this into consideration, Cutter sat next to Leetah, sending to her all his questions.
Are you sure Leetah? That she is a wolfrider?
Yes Tam, I am. Do you remember what I learned when I first healed Redlance? That you all have some wolf blood in you? Well, so does Darkcloud. I think that we should give her a chance. She has no family, that she know of, left. I do not think she will survive without a tribe beloved Leetah replied, her send full of sincerity.
Standing again, Cutter looked at his tribe. They had been through many hardships, dealing with much pain, yet here they were. They still followed him, they trusted him, after they had been burned out of their home, after they had been betrayed by the trolls, even after they had spent days in the burning hot wasteland. Now, they had a choice. They lived in a place where they had food and water, where they had friends and family, where they could survive. Would they decide to abandon a she-cub with nowhere to go? Or would they accept her into their tribe as one of their own?
"Tell me now Wolfriders! Will you allow the creation shaper to stay?" he asked, looking at the Elder's as he spoke.
Cries of yes were heard from all of the elves, even the young ones. The loudest cry of all was heard from Skywise, whom Cutter knew was interested in the new comer.
Darkcloud's mouth hung open in awe as she registered what had happened. Beaming with happiness, she looked from Leetah to Cutter, and back again.
"Alright! So be it. Welcome, Darkcloud, to the tribe of the Wolfriders!" Cutter proclaimed as the she-elf hugged Leetah round the middle.