A Shadow Tribe Story
Chapter Five
by: Yuuki Miyaka
Memory's snow-colored hair was stained with blood, as was her skirt and top. But she paid it no heed, concentrating solely on the elf whose lifeless body she now held in her arms. She swallowed, trying to rid herself of the lump that was in her throat. She had to get to her tribe, had to tell them about the monster. Raking a slender hand through long, white, hair, she stood slowly, leaving the body where it was. And her feet slowly made their way toward Wayfarer Holt.
As she walked through the forest, her mind tried to sort out the confusing images. She was having trouble remembering her own name, and yet she could remember all these other elves that she wasn't even sure she knew. She shook her head, trying desperately to clear it. And suddenly, ShadowWalker stood in front of her. She smiled gently, clapping him on the shoulder before moving on. Or rather, she tried to move on. Her way was blocked by the chief hunter.
"'Walker, what is going on?" Her voice seemed softer than she remembered it.
ShadowWalker just stared at her in confusion. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" His harsh voice and curt words took her by surprise, and she gazed back at him, hurt.
"I'm . . . Ebony . . . I think . . ." Her words trailed off, and she wondered why she was tempted to call herself Memory. Her head swam slightly, and she backed up until she was leaning against a tree. 'Walker just stared at her as if she had grown two heads, and she caught the feeling of a LockSend. He must be calling Windrunner, she reasoned, and smiled slightly. Windrunner would know what to do. He always did.
Finally 'Walker turned back to her, and began asking questions. Had she met any humans along the way, did she know where she was? That sort of thing. She tried to answer them patiently, but she had never been known for her patience. Especially not by this tribe. Finally, she snapped an order to 'Walker, and he just grimaced. At that moment, Windrunner appeared, followed closely by Laughter and Skeya.
Windrunner stared in askance at the pale elf beside ShadowWalker. When the chief hunter had Sent to him telling him that there was an elf here who claimed to be Ebony but that it was apparent she was not, Windrunner had not expected this. He had, at best, envisioned someone who looked vaguely like Ebony, but who had enough differences to make the others worry. Instead, he found a woman that was Ebony's opposite.
She had a waterfall of snowy hair, hair that fell to her knees. At the moment, that hair was still half caught up in a ponytail. But what was loose flowed around her shoulders, glittering in the sunlight. If it weren't for the fact that her eyes followed his every movement, he'd almost believe she was blind. And her leathers were definitely the wrong color, being a dusty grey rather than black. Of course, Windrunner had an idea that once those leathers had been white, or at the very least, a much lighter grey than they were now. Her skirt was nothing that Ebony would wear, falling only to a hand above her knees. And the top was a cutoff laced at the front. Her silver jewelry glittered in the sunlight, blinding those around her. The earrings weren't so bad, but her herringbone-style belt and anklet were overly bright. She brought a hand to her head, and three silver bracelets chimed softly in the hush of the clearing.
Her silver-grey eyes suddenly caught sight of him. She smiled, a smile that was sweet and tender, and she pushed away from the tree to walk slowly over to him. "Lifemate," she said weakly. And she passed out, slipping into his arms as he reached to catch her.
Windrunner looked over at ShadowWalker in surprise, then turned back to Laughter and Skeya. Laughter just looked confused, but Skeya seemed almost angry. "Who does she think she is?!" The green-eyed elven woman scowled, but Windrunner just smiled patiently.
"Why don't we wait until she awakens for the answers to our questions?"