She was among some wreck place. For a minute she couldn't remember. Then it all came back.
The sky grew dark. It was barely afternoon... She worried about it until she had worried her nails down. Then she worried until she wore a hole in the floor. Then she ran out to the deck.
CRACK
CRUNCH
"HELP! THE SHIP HIT A ROCK! WE'RE SINKING!"
She gasped. The ship cracked at the base. Like an earthquake, it shook her off and into the dark depths of the water below.
She swam until there was no energy left. Then she kept going. Her body was numb. Her mind was even more so. The rain came down in torrents, obstructing her vision completely. The waves were tricky, and she had to time her breaths so she would be on top of them and not inhale water. All she knew was that if she kept going, something had to happen.
Her hand collided with wood. She scrambled onto it, and immediately was told to help others get on. Once she had saved that one girl, something had hit her head. She had passed out.
Her body shook with fear. With terror. This was where they had ended up. Her, him, those others on the small little ship...
Had wrecked here.
On an island.
Separated.
She could only sob and call out, stumbling along the shore and feeling very sick.
I refuse to move. I won't open my eyes. I'm almost ready to stop breathing.
Because I'm afraid of what I'll feel. What I'll see. What I'll breathe.
Not exactly what I will.
More what I will not.
Will I feel my arm moving? Will I still be able to see? Is this my last breath?
Slowly, I let my eyes flutter open. There's a sky. A sun. Clouds. A tree. So I can see. I slowly get up, wincing at the extreme pain in my side and my arms. I probably strained my muscles last night. No matter. All I cared about was getting out alive.
So I make my way along the forest, hoping beyond hope that I am not alone in this place.
Let's see, two arms, two legs, one head. I think I'm okay. But what I don't know is what happened. A noise, then everything went black. Maybe I fell asleep, and I'm dreaming.
Dreaming, that must be it. So if I'm dreaming, I can play this thing like a game. Right? Right. So, I should just talk to myself to make sure I don't go to sleep again. I do feel a bit woozy...
Thump.
Crackle.
Whoosh.
Something wet is on my leg. It's warm, and wet, and it's moving...
I open my eyes and scream. THERE WAS AN ANIMAL, TASTING ME!
The thing darted off into the trees. It was like nothing I have ever seen before, and with luck will never see again.
Ever.
I cannot remember this place. I don't like it here. Too wild, untamed, and dangerous. And alone.
I felt like I was supposed to be somewhere, right now. I remembered that I was going to Sydney, Australia, on a school trip for the smartest people in all- all where?
Maybe I should just keep walking.
I should have stayed home.
I should never have gone on this stupid trip in the first place.
I really didn't need another soccer trophy.
Even if it was the most important one I'll ever- Never.
Never get. It's over. I have to face it now.
My smarty-brain school group obviously didn't see this coming. I shouldn't be mad, but I am. I'm going to die on this island, and no one will ever know what happened to me. This whole place seems to be deserted. Either that or it's made up of deaf people, because I'm screaming my brains out over here and nothing is happening.
But then, a sound. Two. Screams. One sounded teary and desperate, the other scared. The first sounded more important, so I took off in that direction.
What I saw was a girl, looking very much like a savage from an island tribe with her hair knotted and her outfit ripped and- And she was crying. Slowly, so as not to scare her incase she was a savage, I crept over to her and touched her back.
"Excuse me-"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She lashed out and smacked my hand away. "You're not real! Just the sun, messing with my brain!"
Well, she's not stupid. Crazy, maybe, but not stupid. She's about to run away when I grab her arm.
"I am real, and I need your help." She was about to hit me, I could tell, but I didn't move. Instead she just glared at me.
"Prove it."
I didn't know what to say to that.
"I thought as much."
I didn't have time to reply, for I turned again to look at her and she was gone.
"Mmmmffff!" She struggled against the restraint of someone with a hand over her mouth and an arm around her. She kicked back with her feet and elbows, but somehow her captor saw that coming. After about a minute, she ran out of energy and decided it wouldn't matter if she was kidnapped anyway. So she shut her eyes and focused on her breathing. Slowly, the hand over her mouth moved and she was turned around to face the person. She heard a quiet gasp.
"Azalia." She opened her eyes, not really paying attention. Maybe it would just do to let herself ignore the one infront of her, even if he was wearing-
Oh joy of joys. His hair was pure red, his eyes blue. Right now she couldn't figure out what else was different, because he set her down on the ground and backed away.
"Forgive me, wife of the moon child." He bowed down at her feet. She still wore the same dull expression, not even bothering to take note of this.
"Huh?" It was simple and uninterested.
"That's right, you must have forgotten who you are from the journey to the human world. We are undeserving of your very presense."
"Yep, I died." She nodded. "Now, excuse me while I lie here for the rest of eternity." She lay flat on the ground and stared up at the ceiling of the cave she was in.
"You misunderstand me, honored godess." Now she turned her head to look at his outfit. He was still on the ground, perhaps trying to bury himself now. His shirt was simple off-white, he wore an armband of white feathers on his left arm, and-
"Oh, you are not wearing a skirt." She flung up her arms. "And now I'm gonna be stuck with freaks!"
"Aza- Honored godess," he began, trying to look at her but keep his 'unworthy' eyes to the ground at the same time. "The 'skirt' is a symbol of manliness-"
"Nah, a lawnmower maybe, but not a skirt!"
"Your husband-"
"Now I'm married to a freak too. Joy."
"I am sorry that you do not remember. You helped the honored Zex- Child of the moon when he was lost-"
"Wait a sec, did you just say child of the moon?" She kept her eyes on his head. "And look at me, boy! Geez, I know I'm a wreck..." She gulped, noticing what word she had just used.
"I mean no offense, honor-"
"If you keep calling me that I will steal your accessory when you're sleeping."
"Azalia...?"
"That's improvement."
"I mean no offense, Azalia, I did not mean to imply that you were unattractive."
She grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him into a sitting position, then staring intently at him. He blinked his eyes open in surprise.
"Look, dude, I don't know what kinda mixed up life you've got, but I don't want you treating me like a royal outcast. If you have to do this whole honor thing, at least look me in the eye."
"As you wish."
"PRINCESS BRIDE, HAH!" She flung herself back to the sand. The poor boy was clearly confused.
"JUNIPER!" Rosilia was by her teammate's side in an instant. She had just shown up and fallen to the ground. "Are you okay?"
The silent one nodded.
"Good... I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" She was glaring.
"You could've been killed out there!" Muri rushed over to join in the glare.
"Yeah! This isn't a game!" She blinked back tears. She had thought that her sort-of-friend would be trapped...
"Endless voids are not for picnics genius." Muri crossed her arms.
"Yes, my point exactly! I want you to know that-" She paused a moment. "Thank you."
A ghost of a smile was on Juniper's face before she lost consciousness.
"Thank you!? Whaddaya mean, thank you!?" Muri waved her arms around in the air. "She pulls something risky like that and she gets thanked!"
Matt just shook his head.
"You do realize she didn't cause that accident?" He glared a bit at Muri. "She stopped it from getting worse."
"Which means she also saved Sa-" Muri started to ask. Rosilia cut her off with a half-hearted glare.
"Yes. Now, take Juniper to the healers." When her friend was close enough, she whispered, "And be careful with what you say."
"So, hallucination, or whatever you are, where are we?"
"A cave."
"No duh, Sherlock! I mean, this islandish thingy."
"Home."
"What's it called?"
"It's called home."
"Your island is called Home?"
"Yes."
"Home Island." She scratched her head. "I dunno..."
"The name does not please you?"
"Oh, don't even." She was digging in the sand. "I'm so tired, I am going to dig a grave and bury myself alive. If you want to please me so much, get me food. Don't want to go into my final resting place on an empty stomach."
Right away, he held up an apple. She took it and ate it so fast he thought she might have inhaled it. Five more apples disappeared like this too. He was amazed. As long as she was digging, he went out and brought her food to see if she would do it again. And she did, each time. She had never been so content with fruit before. In a few minutes after his last little feast delivery, she found herself asleep in the dark, cool cave. He decided he must have made the honored one happy, and so sat by the entrance of the to guard it.
That other girl picked that moment to come by. Seeing the girl behind him in the cave, she sighed in relief.
"Oh, thank good-"
"RAYUZOOKI!"
"Bless you."
"You've lost your memory too? Come, dear godess, and sit in the humble cave!"
"Alright then, I've got nothing else to do." She walked over to beside the sleeping girl.
"So, have you come to protect Azalia?"
"Imma protect who? Oh, is that her name?"
"Yes, you should know..."
"And just who, praytell, am I?"
"Honored godess Rayuzooki."
"I'm what now?"
"Rayu-zooki."
"Ray-you-zoo-key?"
"That's right."
"Ah. What happened to Say-dee?"
"I do not know of a Say-dee."
"Alright. I'm a Rayuzooki that can't remember anything and I know Azalia who is..."
"Wife of the child of the moon, love godess, and her." He pointed at the sleeping girl.
"Who is a godess-wife-lover, and who I am protecting, and I am..."
"Godess of flight and otherwise unearthly talents, and grandchild of the sun."
"I am someone with a long name and I'm a godess too, the grandchild of the sun, and I know Azalia..."
"By a deep sisterly bond."
"Anyone else I need to know about?"
"Yes-"
"Hnnnuh..."
"Azalia has come out of her honored slumber!"
"Five more minutes mommy..."
"Hey, Azalia-girl..."
"What? Ah! You!" She crawled over to the wall of the cave.
"Yes, chill out, I'm not gonna kill you."
"I doubt you could if you wanted to."
"Oh, no you didn't!"
Well, some things never change. The two argued amiably about things from the weather to who was a better 'godess' to just how dark this cave was. The boy watched this confusedly.
"You are very strange godesses, no offense."
A/N: Last update till after New Years. My computer has to go into hiding. BUT, if you're lucky, I might get inspired and write a bit. So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Wow, lotsa words in this chapter... over 2000!