Gathering herself, Elysa wipes the remnants of tears from her face as she stands up. Taking a deep breath and brushing off her skirts she sighs out, "Foolish, that was all done with long ago." Her renewed loss had opened old pains and memories of days long gone.
Remembering the reason of the entire venture brought only a dull sense of loss. "Well. would you rather have him forget you or be dead?" she thought. A grim resolve formed in her mind. Aloud she says, "I'll just have to make him remember. When I find him I'll...I'll, " she lets out a sigh. "I suppose I HAVE to catch him first but then I'll tie the idiot to a tree until he remembers."
The burden of sorrow was less on her and with her new goal some hope returned. She looks up to find the sky had turned into the reds and pinks of sunset. "I have been out here for quite a while," she thinks then mumbles, "I'm going to hear it for quite a while."
Elysa squares her shoulders, takes a deep breath and begins to march under the quickly darkening sky. The pond came into sight soon, an ever darkening pit now that the sun was hidden by trees. Walking along the edge of the water she fancied she could hear the trees creaking and rustling behind her despite the lack of wind. She doesn't dwell on it, instead she watches the still pond with occasional ripples blurring its mirror-like surface.
The crack of a broken branch sounds clearly. "Just some clumsy creature off in the woods, heading home like me." Despite her thought she increases her pace. A few stars are beginning to appear in the eastern sky. She counts them to distract herself, thirteen.
Beyond the pool now she begins to look for the bush where she had hidden her basket. She still imagined she could hear the trees creaking. Imagination of course, funny thing...She finds the right bush and extracts her basket with alot of rustling. Looking at the contents to check on everything and removing a few leaves that had fallen in before putting it in the crook of her arm and continuing on.
The sun is just barely peeking over the horizon and the shadows begin to meet each other and make solid walls of nothing. She was walking as fast as she could but the creaking trees remained with her, louder. She was only a little afraid. Just a little. Nothing could possibly be hunting her. The idea makes her shiver.
She has reached the junction where she parted with the other women. She almost wished they HAD waited. She hears crickets, a few small rustlings of small creatures and her accursed imagination...Jogging now.
The road was full of shadow as no light could reach it but the shadow deepens as the sun finally gives to night. The creaking has become cracking more often now. Elysa's heart is thumping in her chest as she picks up speed, having to lift her skirts. Her footfalls in the dirt only make it worse.
The shadows are all over and she tries to keep an eye on all of them. She is running now, her breath coming raggedly. Her heart is beating in her throat as her basket swings on her arm. The ceaseless creaking has given way to all sorts of cracks and snaps as SOMETHING pursues her.
Her foot hits a rock stuck in the ground and she trips, just barely catching herself on hands and knees, scratching her palms slightly and losing some clothes from her basket to the dirt. Hastily she kneeled to gather what had fallen and to compose her breathing slightly. All was silent.
She hears a rustling off on her left in the forest. Her eyes have adjusted enough to see a vaguely human-like shadow moving through some bushes. "H-hello?" she calls out, still recovering. The figure stiffens and turns it's head to look at her. It begins to approach her quickly. Only a short distance away she finally sees...
She can only gasp.
Her first call didnt faze him in the slightest. Her second was filled with such hope and joy he wanted to answer. The third lacked so much feeling that it cut him deeply to know he was the cause of such a dramatic change.
He wanted to go to her. He near whined with anxiety, when she began to weep, at the desire to comfort her. Every sob that she let out burned him with shame for causing it. The only thing that held him back was an instinct to avoid humans placed in him by his brethren, especially the elders.
He wasn't sure what hurt worse. The pain of holding back from the female in her misery or the memories they had awakened in him. Memories and dreams of being taken. He wasn't sure why either hurt as much as they did. He had long since given into the way of wolves. To live in the present, let the past go and not worry of the future.
A memory took him and her sobs faded into his own. He was a pup. He was running from what, he isn't sure but all he knows is sadness and fear. It is a dark cloudy night. Even with his wolf eyes he can barely pierce the veil of darkness.
A huge shadowed figure materializes out of shadow seemingly shadow itself. He can make out goat hooves connected to huge man-like thighs. A body encased in black armor with an even darker sword at the waist could be three of him put together. A head is visible covered with fur and has a pair of ram horns coming out of it. No eyes can be seen in the dark. One thick arm is whirling a large weighted net.
Before any move can be made the beast throws the net high. It falls fast and lands on the pup. He can hardly move with the thick, entangling ropes and stone weighted ends. Breathing the smell of grass as the creature stomps closer. Terror takes over. He writhes in an attempt to escape but makes no progress.
The beast stops next to the boy and crouches down. One arm rips the shirt off the boy. The other reaches behind it's back. The boy shivers from the cold of the night and the touch of the creature. The boy can vaguely see the creature remove its hand from behind its back and reach towards him.
Pain erupts in the center of his back. He screams. It was like a hot iron on his back, only without heat. It just burned. In reality the object he felt was cold, very cold. The object is removed but the impression is still there and the pain. His screams continue even as the creature gathers the ends of the net and begins to drag him away into the night.
Eyes wide staring at nothing, cold sweat drenched him from head to toe and he was trembling. Clinging to the branch he was on for dear life, he felt fear and anger. Both for the creature and how he was so helpless against it. His fingers traced the area on his back where he knew a dark brand remained. "Never again! Never, never, NEVER!" he swore viciously to himself in thought.
He returned to reality. The sobbing has stopped but he looks down and sees her still sitting on the ground hugging her legs. He looks for the sun and discovers it has nearly fallen. The memory had lasted for hours. Had it? Or had he been so numbed with fear he was delirious? He shakes his head to remove the thoughts, returning to wolf.
He looks back down to the ground to find she has gotten up and dusted herself off. She seemed to be muttering to herself. Deciding something. Suddenly, she straightens completely, takes a deep breath and begins walking out of the clearing. Indecision takes over. "I should be heading back to my den now. She won't make it to hers before night comes though, I suppose I'll watch over her till then," he decides.
As silently as it is possible for someone of his size and weight to move in a tree, he follows her. Swinging from branches, jumping from tree to tree and richocheting off trunks he is able to keep up easily. He can only grimace at the noise he is making and hope she won't notice.
The sky steadily darkens and she is stopped seemingly looking for something. A few moments later she steps up to a bush, reaches in and pulls out a basket of clothing. A quick inspection and she hangs it on her arm, they move on. She seems to be rushing now and he is making more noise to keep up.
He follows her onto a shadowed dirt road. She is on the verge of running, lifting her dress to free her legs. He is now making enough noise that he knows she has heard and is likely running from him but something keeps him following. The sun gives a last bit of light before the shadows take hold. There is light enough for his eyes but now he must be careful of their faint glow.
Her panting breath reaches his ears and he is close to turning back to stop frightening her. She trips and falls in the dust, her basket topples and drops some of it's contents. She continues panting but slightly less as she gets up and gathers the clothes. A faint rustle can be heard and an unfamiliar scent stings his nose.
She calls out in a quavering voice and the rustling stops for a moment before intensifying and heading towards her. The sting in his nose grows and he wrinkles it in disgust.
Fear hits him. Fear and hatred. The creature had stepped out of his memories. He could clearly see the horns, hooves, black armor and even blacker sword. No net. He snarls and starts a low growl. The wolves had told him what it is. "Demon!" he spits out. It is about half again as tall as him and twice as wide.
The demon is nearly exactly the same as the dream creature but things are far different. He isn't running this time. He hears her gasp. He isn't going to be the victim. His snarl widens. Most importantly he is NOT helpless. His hatred boils over his fear and he prepares to spring. His bunched muscles push off from the tree with all their strength.
The night gives way to his mad flight and the shadowed demon rapidly enlarges. His shoulder makes contact with the demon's neck missing armor and horns. The momentum of his leap carries them both over but he turns his fall into a cart-wheel and lands on his feet, poised for battle where as the demon hits the ground heavily with a grunt. The demon rolls over and pushes itself to it's feet to draw it's dark sword with a meaty hand. It seems to say something in a guttural tongue as it points its sword at him.
His rage is such that he doesn't realize he is smaller and unarmed. Without a moment of thought he pushes off from the ground with a bark to dash in and rip the demon's throat out. The demon swings the dark, slightly curved blade at head height but he ducks. The blade is traded to the demon's other hand which turns that swing into an upper cut. He hops to the side but at the same time reaches for the demon's wrist with both hands. He holds the thick wrist tightly then slides under the arm and pulls down sharply. He hears the bones break over his shoulder. The demon roars it's pain. The sword drops from the useless, backward arm and lands flat on the ground. He rolls forward and clasps the hilt with both hands. It feels dirty. He rolls to his feet and spins around with the sword upraised. The demon is hunched over holding it's broken arm, snarling at him with fangs glinting.
He flips the sword in his grip so that he holds it downwards then leaps high at the demon. The demon's roar is cut short as the blade rips into its skull between the horns. He lands on the road past the demon and listens for a moment to hear the corpse hit the ground with a thump. He crouches down to rub his hands in the dirt then pat them off together. The sword made him feel dirty.
A slight shifting of dirt brings his attention to her standing there, staring at him in amazement only a few steps away. He had forgotten her in the battle. He looks at her. Her skirts were dusty and there was some prespiration on her face but she seemed to give off a pale glow in the night like the moon. Only a moment more of hesitation and he turned to dash off into the forest.
"Please don't go, Lloyd." He freezes both for the plea in her voice and the name. Lloyd. Lloyd? What is Lloyd? It is a name. My name. Something that was...Something that IS. "I just want to talk to you," she says. The wolfish instinct is screaming in his head to run.
"Talk?" he replies looking over his shoulder. His voice sounds rough to his ears from disuse. She smiles at his back. Heart beating, he turns around to face her. Her eyes are intent on his face and seem to have their own light.
"Yes, I use to know you. I want to know how much you remember. Do you remember me?" she says in a rush as though holding it for a long time. A vague memory forms in his head and he reaches for it but it falls apart. He shakes his head. Her smile fades and she bursts out, "You must remember me, Elysa Veslyn. We use to be the best of friends in the old village!"
A memory explodes before his eyes at Elysa's name. A pretty young girl with black hair in a braid, smiling at him as they played. "Elysa?" he says hesitantly. The name feels familiar on his lips. Delight unfolds on her face, it seemed more luminous.
"So you do remember me!" joy evident in her voice.
"I...," images flash through his head. Play stalking the black-headed girl. A tall man with dark hair and a somewhat shorter woman with blonde hair, proud smiles on their faces. A bright light on the horizon. "I...," houses burning. Flames everywhere. Shadows moving about. Screams of pain. He jerks his head from side to side. Running through the shadows. "No," he mumbles. The shadow figure. The net. Shaking his head hard. Hands in his hair trying to keep the vision away. The cold burn. Pain. "NO!" he yells.
He would have run away right then but Elysa stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, sympathy in her eyes. "Lloyd, its all right they are just memories. There is no reason to be afraid. You are Lloyd Cardenai no matter what." Lloyd Cardenia. It sounds good...a name...
Lloyd images gone, says, "I remember sometimes. Not much. Mostly just dreams but it doesnt matter, it is all gone now." Elysa looks both sad and happy.
"Not all of it. You, my aunt Rosemary, and me. We're still here."
"Is that truly all that is left?" unsure where that came from.
Elysa sighs and answers, "That is all that I know of," her face brightens in a smile, "but you don't know how happy I am to see you. I've wanted to talk to you for a long time but I thought you were..." she trails off.
Lloyd grimaces. "No, they captured me, branded me," fingers trace where the brand is, "and then used me as a slave for a long time." Unsure of the truth of that again. Images attempt to form. Pain. He manages to hold them at bay.
He must have had some physical reaction because Elysa had sympathy in her eyes again and a moment later she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea what happened to you," came her voice from against his chest, he could feel her breathe. Unsure of what to do he let instinct take over. One arm holding her the other stroking her hair.
Elysa laughs, pushing away slightly before saying, "We must be a pair of fools, standing here on a dirt road in the middle of the night, miles away from anywhere." A quick glance at the corpse says she clearly wanted to be away from it as well.
Lloyd thinks for a moment, "I know a good place to den...um...camp for the 's not far." The return to the present brought some wolf out of him.
"Very well. I suppose it would be better than sleeping here." With that she entwined her arm with his and held onto it.
They started off. Crossing the road and heading into the shadows of the forest. They walked in a silence listening to the lazy hum of crickets in the cooling night. The darkness made the trees indistinguishable as they passed.
A few minutes later they arrived at a good sized clearing. The trees are close together and the smaller plants are pushed together by them making a sort of screen. Lloyd pushes part of the screen away to allow him and Elysa to enter. The sky opens up above them, dark velvet dotted with hundreds of stars.
Lloyd leads Elysa to the other side of the clearing where a large chunk of stone is resting. It looks to be a big, grey lean-to balanced on nothing. Approaching it they can make out a depression at ground level like a huge yawning mouth. There is a carpet of thick grass at the base.
Lloyd takes back his arm and then walks to the back of the stone, leaning slightly. He lets himself fall on his back, the grass is very soft. A yawn breaks loose as he rolls on his side and pillows his head on his hand. The clean smell of grass fills him.
A few seconds pass before he hears Elysa begin to move. She walks up beside him and lowers herself to the ground then slides her back against his. The warmth he felt through the cloth was good, even thought it wasnt a cool night. A few seconds pass and her scent comes to him, filling his head with spring. It's always spring with her.
"Good night," she yawns out behind him.
"Night," he answers sleepily, falling away quickly after a long confusing day. Breathing deeply. Spring with each breath. She fills his head.
He is out in the woods. It is late spring, the sun is shining through the leaves moving lazily in the wind. He can smell the trees, the grass, a few animals nearby and a spring that has pass already this year. He grins. They are playing hide-and-seek and he is seeking of course. She doesn't know he can smell her though.
He follows her scent as it steadily grows stronger between the trees. He freezes. The scent is nearby. There aren't many trees here but there are alot of shrubs. He weaves his way through them, still following the scent. It's a thorn bush. She wouldn't have, would she? Of course she would. She doesn't like losing. "I know you're in there," he says to the bush.
"What gave it away?" she answers. "It took me forever to get down here and I was sure I couldn't be seen." A scuffing comes from the base of the bush. He looks and sees a small tunnel leading under the bush. Some animal must have burrowed under it.
A pair of hands comesout from under the bush with a sigh. "Pull me out. It's too hard to crawl under this thing."
He laughs as he takes the hands and steadily pulls out a much scratched dark-haired girl with a scowl on her face. There are thorns stuck in her hair and dress. "Well you chose to go under there," he says with a grin.
"Oh, shut up Lloyd," she snaps at him while getting to her feet. She begins picking thorns out of her dress grumbling under her breath. Lloyd shakes his head, smiling, and helps remove the thorns from her hair.
A minute or two passes and the job is done. She sniffs and says, "Well that was a failure." He grins at her only just holding back a laugh. "You might be able to find me but you can't catch me!" she favors her words by breaking into a run, dodging the trees as she goes. Lloyd watches for a moment and calls out, "Ha, we'll see how long that lasts." He sprints after her through the leaves and sun.
Lloyd is smiling as he dreams. Good dreams.
