This is early as a sort of gift for RenThePyro's birthday. S/he was the first fan I ever had, so I really felt the need to get this done for her/him by today. Even if it's a bit late here. Ren, happy birthday, and I hope you like this. :)
On that same note, if you want a chapter on your birthday, let me know. I'll do my best to have the next one out on that day.
RenThePyro—I'll definitely explain more about the psychic thing in later chapters. And, I really like writing Azure's insanity. It's not often I'll read or write something with someone like her in it.
xXEnderMageXx—You're welcome.
Crystalline13—Thanks, I'll try.
-{0}-
The sun was far past its zenith by the time the four of us, three teens and a warg, arrived at a small bay where someone had set up a make shift camp. It was made up of a small brown tent near a beat-up boat and a long flat log next to a fire pit. Despite the time, the forest had been dark as dawn while we were traveling, and the light practically blinded me when I emerged.
"Nice place you got here," Azure remarked sarcastically as she strode towards the tent and set her leather pack down beside it in the hard packed sand, which was paler than sand I had seen back in the East. Most likely it was due to the cold here.
Rubbing my eyes, I watched as Jordan walked towards the water's edge to pull the waterlogged boat out of it and drop it on the shore. "Is that how you got here?" I asked him, remembering my own journey on a boat. Said boat was probably at the bottom of the ocean right now.
He didn't turn to look at me, but he said, "Yeah. My earliest memory is waking up in Exilcinus, and from there I sailed to this beach."
"Why'd you come here?" Azure asked from where she was sitting on her knees next to her bag.
Jordan began to walk over to her, boots leaving deep footprints in the wet sand by the water, which grew more and more shallow the farther he got from it. He sat down on the log, but instead of then answering her, he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled—loudly.
I was so unprepared for the noise that I flinched hard, letting out a small gasp as my heart jumpstarted. Coughing awkwardly, I pushed the hair out of my face and recomposed myself. "What was that?" I gave him a confused look, and he motioned for me to sit with them. I sat on the log next to him and Agro laid herself down next to Azure.
Just as we all got settled, a streak of black and brown caught my eye, and I whipped around to see a big horse explode out of the trees farther down the beach and race towards us, tail streaming behind. He was bay with black patterns across his back, and he was way faster than any other horse I had seen.
"Hey, Swift!" Jordan called to it. "We got new people!"
"That your horse?" Azure said, standing up as the giant creature got closer.
"Yeah," said Jordan. "Met him after I woke up."
Swift skidded to a stop next to the log, hooves sending up a cloud of loose sand behind him. Agro leaped to her paws, and as soon as Swift laid eyes on her, he let out a harsh neigh, rearing and almost hitting her in the head with his hooves. She crouched, growling angrily, fur bristling. Swift fell back down, stamping his feet and looking like he wanted to bolt. It was only Jordan's grip on his black mane that kept him in place. I jumped up and stood between Agro and the horse, shouting, "Whoa, whoa! Calm down, both of you," while Azure just sat there with wide eyes.
Agro eventually laid back down, and Swift seemed to calm himself after a few reassuring words from Jordan. "Forgot we had a warg here," he muttered.
Swift eyed Azure and I a bit warily. He didn't freak out, but his tail flicked nervously back and forth and his blue eyes rolled in his head.
"Alright," said Azure, clapping her hands together and grinning at us. "Now that we're all introduced, let's get down to it."
"'It'?" I asked, screwing up my face in confusion.
"Yep. Who wants to go first?"
No one spoke, but I had figured out what she was talking about. If anything, I didn't want to go at all. I was the fugitive, the outcast. Half the East probably wanted me dead for what the Tellun guards probably told them I did. News like that spread like wildfire throughout the countries—messengers would get on horses and report to the Exilcinus capital, and from there the news would be carried to all other villages. It had probably even gotten out to the other countries. Maybe neither of them knew about my story, but what would they do if I told them?"
"…You go, Azure. Tell us what's wrong with your sword," Jordan said.
She shot him a glare sharper than flint. "There is nothing wrong with Yverise!" This comment raised a couple eyebrows, and she sighed. "For that, you can go first, Jordan. Tell us what's wrong with your eyes."
"Fine," he muttered. "I guess that's fair, but there's not much to tell."
"I doubt that," I said. "Just tell us everything you remember."
He shrugged. "Okay, then. It's just that there's not much." There was a long pause in which me, Agro, and Azure just stared at him. "Whatever, then," he grumbled. "All I know is that I woke up in a plain in the East country."
"That's where Jade's from—right, Jade?" Azure interrupted, casting a pointed gaze at me.
I started, eyes going wide. "Uh, yeah. Where'd you wake up, Jordan?"
He continued. "I don't know, but the first village I found was Asteri."
Asteri was a pretty big fishing village a couple hundred chunks north of Tellun. The residents lived on small sandy islands in a tiny archipelago near a ciffy shore. I'd never been, but my mother had once or twice to trade ore with the people.
"Before that I found Swift. I spent some time in Asteri, met some people. Traded for a few things. Then I left. I traveled to some tall mountains farther north—"
"The Altus Stones," I said, half to myself.
"Yeah, that's what they're called. Biggest range in the East, I heard. Anyway, as I was getting to them, some mobs attacked me. I fought them off, but one of them—and Enderman—it was scared of me when it saw my eyes. It ran away before I could kill it."
"Weird," I muttered. "So you don't know why your eyes are orange, then?"
"Nope."
As we said this, I noticed Azure was sitting completely still, staring off into space as if lost in thought. Her blond hair fell over her eyes, shielding them from my view. I didn't want to question her, so I left her alone.
"I left in a boat and came here. I was pretty much immune to cold, like Azure, so I thought it was because I had come from the North. I'm heading to the capital to see if anything will…" He trailed off.
"Remind you?" Azure finished, looking up. He nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I found you both. You seem as strange as I am, so tell me your backstories."
"I dunno," Azure muttered, dropping her head to her hands. "Mine's a bit of a lengthy one. And I don't—"
"Wait." I cut her off. "Jordan." He turned to me. "You said earlier that dragons aren't extinct, like wargs. How did you know that?"
He only shook his head helplessly, shrugging. "It came to me somehow. I know it's true, but I don't know how I know."
"A piece of your old memory," I said, nodding like I understood, even though I really didn't. "Maybe over time it'll come back all the way."
"That's what I'm hoping," Jordan told me, although his voice sounded doubtful. "I just want answers."
"We all want answers," Azure muttered, glaring down at the sand as if it were somehow causing problems for her.
"Azure?" I asked uncertainly, tilting my head. "Do you want to go next?"
She blinked a few times as if clearing her thoughts, and her glare faded. "You know," she said, suddenly flicking her gaze at me suspiciously. I leaned back a bit, nervous. "You haven't told me anything about you besides the fact your name's Jade and you come from the East. Nice place, that country. Isn't it?"
"I, um," I murmured uncomfortably, heart beginning to pound at the accusation in her tone. "Yeah, sure it is…" Agro, what do I do?
The warg didn't respond. She didn't even look at me.
"Really? Well, why'd you leave, then? Sure isn't an easy journey across the ocean. Hey," she said, as if a sudden idea occurred to her, "I bet you didn't want to leave at all! I bet you were—"
"Bet I was what?" I snapped, leaping up and jumping towards her, anxiety turning into rage on the spot. "What are you accusing me of?"
"Tsk, tsk." She got that crazy light in her eyes again, standing up so she was face to face with me. She crossed her arms over herself, shifting her weight to one foot. "Getting a little defensive, are we?"
"Whoa, hey," warned Jordan from where he still sat. "Let's not literally be at each other's throats again."
We ignored him. "Do you know?" I growled straight at her, regretting the words as soon as they left my lips. Would she know what I was talking about? If she didn't, what would she suspect?
Maybe you should just say it. Agro's voice in my head.
"Oh? Know what?" Azure sounded confident, like she had the situation under control. Like she knew exactly what she was talking about—and maybe she did. "Know why you were forced to leave?"
Forced! She said forced!
"Where'd you grow up, Jade? Alone with your parents? Or in a village?"
I didn't respond. My fists clenched, my nails digging deep into my palms.
"I'll guess…village…"
I turned my back to her, probably not a good idea considering she had a sword and was about to discover I was a criminal.
"Come on," she whispered, and I could easily hear the challenge in her voice. "Tell us, Jade. What'd you do?"
The anger and fear was expanding in my stomach, threatening to spill over at any second. Keep it in, keep it in. Don't lose it now.
"Why'd they make you leave? A good little girl like you couldn't have done anything wrong."
"It wasn't my fault!" The words erupted from my throat, as I whipped around, and angry rasping noise. It echoed off the wall of trees that marked the edge of the forest, a sound so harsh that Swift let out a surprised whinny, jumping backwards. My heart was thumping so loud I was sure everyone could hear it. I hadn't meant to say anything at all. Azure and Jordan stared at me with identical bewildered expressions. They didn't know how to respond to my outburst.
The silence that followed my words lasted maybe a minute, but it felt like ages. Time stretched on ever so slowly. Say something! I screamed in my head. Say anything!
"What…wasn't your fault?" whispered Jordan, standing up and stepping forwards.
I backed up; I didn't want them near me. "It…I…" I couldn't get the words out. But it was too late. I didn't have a choice. I cleared my throat and said, "I killed a man. I shot an arrow into his throat, but it wasn't…" I felt the heat rise to my face and settle around my eyes, and I knew I'd start crying if I didn't keep myself under control. No, I thought. I'm done crying. I'm done giving in to my emotions like I used to.
I took a shaky breath, and said, "It…it was my fault, wasn't it?" Another thing had slipped, something I didn't want to say but did anyways. "It was my arrow, it was his blood… I'm the one who let that string go. My intentions didn't matter. It was my fault."
"Jade, what are you talking about?" sputtered Azure, fixing me with her blue stare. "You can't have—"
"And I've had to live with that—" I spat the word out. "—and pretend that it wasn't. I was only kidding myself." I turned my gaze hostile and glared at both of them. "I'm a murderer, you bitch!" I aimed my insult at Azure, because it was she who had forced the ugly words out of me. "Not some good little girl! Oh Notch, I wish. If I was, I'd still be back in Tellun with my mother, my bow, my friends… But no. I'm not. And here I am."
"If you're a murderer," Jordan began cautiously, as if nervous, "then fine. Look, all three of us are messed up in some way, although we don't know that much about Azure yet."
"Standing right here," Azure muttered.
"Anyway, we can accept that. Or, I can."
"We." Azure stepped forwards, nodding at me. "It's okay. Just tell us what happened."
I stared openmouthed at the ones who I didn't even know if I could call my friends. I knew that there was no way they could just let that fact slide. I had killed one person, so I could kill them. Yet they still seemed to trust me.
"What is wrong with you?" I cried, backing away again.
"Still trying to figure that one out," Azure snorted.
"This isn't a joke!" I shot back.
"I know that! Just tell us, Jade! Wouldn't you feel better if you did?"
I paused, falling silent. She was right. I looked down at the ground so I wouldn't have to meet their piercing gazes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Yeah. Okay."
When they didn't speak, I decided to just get on with the story, so I did. "Look, I was hunting in the jungle near my village, with a bow I had made. Anyway, I heard some screams, so I came running back. My village leader was on the ground, being mauled by several wolves. These weren't normal wolves, they were like Agro. Regular sized, but with multicolored fur and glowing eyes. I shot at them, but they got away. I mean, they moved at the speed of sound, leaving the mayor in the line of fire. After that there was nothing I could do. Seconds later he was dead."
Again, everything was quiet, save for the crashing waves and a small wind through the trees. Briefly I listened for more words on it, but there was nothing this time.
"That's…" Jordan muttered. He didn't finish his sentence.
"So I'm guessing they all thought you meant to kill him," Azure said, half to herself. "Then they exiled you."
"Right," I agreed. "I was sent into the ocean on a little boat. Arrived at the southern end of the Nix Forest."
"The southern end of all of Xirnies," Azure corrected. "Then…I found you."
"Yes. Then Azure and I had to break out of her home to escape a mob attack, and then we found you, Jordan," I said, talking mostly to him. "Then Agro. I met her a day before stuff started happening."
"Alright, then," he said, rubbing his hands together. "You didn't mean to kill your mayor. It just happened. So we're not going to judge you for it."
I breathed a sigh of relief when Azure nodded in agreement, looking at them gratefully. "Thank you," I whispered. "For…everything."
"Don't mention it," Azure said, while Jordan shrugged.
"Alright, then, now that we're done with my story, let's move on to yours, Az—"
"Wait." She cut me off. I gave her a quizzical glance. "Those wolves, the ones that attacked your mayor. You said they looked like Agro. Why's that?"
Instead of responding, I, along with the others, turned my attention to where Agro lay in the sand. She regarded us with that cold gaze, standing up and then shaking out her pelt. I shielded my face to save it from the sand that flew everywhere, and in my mind, she spoke again. I'll be going. I must hunt before dusk is upon us.
With this, she stood up and waltzed gracefully into the trees with barely a rustle of undergrowth. As soon as she was gone, only her footprints gave any sign to where she had left.
"Huh," Jordan grunted suspiciously.
I tilted my head, a few ideas about why she had abandoned us so suddenly worming themselves into my mind. "She'll be back," I muttered. "Probably."
-{0}-
I feel so accomplished right now. It's either due to the fact that this is early or that I'm really close to a hundred reviews. I dunno.
Anyway! I gave a lot away in this chapter. What do you think is gonna happen? I honestly want to hear any more predictions you may have.
-Angel