A Shadow Tribe Story
Chapter Three
by: Yuuki Miyaka
The snow-haired woman moved gracefully through the forest. Her once-white leathers were dingy with dirt and sweat and travel, and her long hair was escaping from the ponytail that she had confined it into at the beginning of the day. She stepped over another root, wondering if she would ever see an end to her journey. But even if she found her sister, she would never know it. She felt certain of that. It had been over two hundred years since they had last seen each other, and the woman knew that she, at least, had changed.
Suddenly, she heard a frightening shriek. Without thought, she ran toward the sound. And when she got there, she saw some sort of creature laying on the ground dying. And not too far from it was an elf, still breathing shallowly. Now that she was close, she could hear the abortive attempts at Sending from the dying elf. And the woman ran over to the other girl, catching her up in her arms.
"You'll be okay," the white-haired woman murmured, not really noticing anything other than the horrible wounds of the elf-girl in her arms. She smoothed back short, black curls, tears slipping out of her eyes. She didn't know this elf, and she was crying over the woman. Pain-glazed eyes cleared momentarily, staring up at her. . . .
Ebony looked at the woman holding her, for a long moment believing that Itesa had come to her rescue. But . . . no. That was not what happened. Instead, it was some unknown woman, someone holding her but making no move to Heal her. Obviously, the woman was no Healer. But who, and what, was she?
Ebony lifted her head, trying to speak for a few moments before giving up. As her head fell back into the stranger's arms, she caught the slightest flash of panic in the woman's gaze, and she grinned weakly. She knew what the woman was not telling her, that she was dying. And she knew why, as well. She had saved her tribe, the most important thing in the world to her. And in doing so, she had rescued her lifemate and daughter. In the end, it was worth it.
Dark curls fell into her eyes, and the ice-haired woman pushed the locks away. Ebony's eyes caught the woman's, and the dark huntress took in her opposite. Where Ebony's hair was black, this woman's was white. Where Ebony's eyes were black, this woman's were such a light grey that Ebony almost wondered if she were blind. Ebony wore straight black, thanks to Liyra, whereas this woman wore white and light grey. Ebony could tell that even under all the dirt from the roads she had travelled. Ebony preferred functional clothing, pants and a shirt. The woman seemed to enjoy wearing a short skirt and top.
Ebony gasped softly, trying to breathe past the pain. And Ebony could see the understanding in the woman's eyes. She could see what Ebony could not. She could see the damage, and that frightened her. Ebony's lips opened as she tried to speak, tried to ask how bad it was. But nothing came out. And the woman smoothed a curl back from Ebony's forehead.
Snow-hair fell around them both, concealing them. And the woman stared down in misery at this elf. This should not be happening. She should be a Healer, instead of a MemoryWeaver. She should be able to do more than she was. It shouldn't happen that way. She saw the woman try to speak, and pressed a finger against the dark-haired woman's lips. Though there were no words between them, she knew that they didn't need words.
And then she felt a connection form in the back of her mind. Her eyes widened, and she stared down at the woman before her. She was a MemoryWeaver as well. The moment the snow- haired woman realized this truth, a dark chasm closed between their minds, and suddenly they were both caught up in each other's memories. It was like fire and ice coming together, and all they could do was hold on to each other and shake. . . .