Well, here's chapter six, as promised. Sorry it didn't come out when promised, but I went to see the Harry Potter movie with friends. YOU SHOULD SEE IT! It was amazing, and I'm not even a huge fan of the books. It is worth every penny of the movie ticket. Don't wait for it to come out on video, experience it on the big-screen…
Oops, sorry. Too much free publicity… It is good though…..
But I ended up grounded from the comp on Sunday, so this is being posted at school on Monday..
Anyway, please R&R, the disclaimers are the same as before and before and before….you get the idea.
Oh, extra thanks go out to Sailor V Light! She's reviewed TWICE! *Gasp* means she must really like the fic…hm? *hint hint cough cough*
Peace Love and Anarchy!
~The Elemental.
Walk Through the Fire.
Chapter Six:
They Meet: Enter the Plot Twist
Duo groaned and tried to sit up, succeeding only after he used the trunk of the tree behind him for support. It took a few moments of him looking around at the purple tree and the blue and red grass before he clued in.
"Where the hell am I?"
The figure lying in front of him moaned and shifted. Duo realized it was a girl, albeit a rather thin and pale girl, but a girl nonetheless. She rolled over and her face was facing his, though she was still asleep or unconscious. Duo couldn't tell which from his spot against the tree.
He sat there for what seemed to be hours, gradually regaining his strength and what few memories he could piece together about what happened.
He'd been in the explosion. He remembered that. He'd been rather badly burnt as well…He should have died but had somehow been sent somewhere, another space or something…He'd floated there for a while…then he was here. His injuries had flared up again, and he knew it'd be a short wait until he died…. but there was a strange girl…she must have helped him somehow…but how? His injuries were almost gone, save a few scars and a rather sore arm…What had she done, anyway?
The girl in front of him stirred, waking.
Was it her? I don't think so…the other girl looked a little different…What did I say to her anyway? Oh yeah….She said she wasn't an angel….man, I must have hit my head to ask someone that! Oh well…I—
The girl's eyes opened and violet eyes met violet eyes.
—That's her! She's got the same eyes…Who is she..?
Duo decided he had enough strength to leave the support of the tree and slid over to the girl, helping her sit up.
"Hi…Um, my name's Duo…Uh...Thanks for helping me before…I probably would have died if you hadn't…" The girl regarded him coolly for a moment, then gave a small smile.
"I'm Hotaru. You're welcome."
"So…. Uh…You got any idea where we are?"
Hotaru groaned and stretched cramped muscles. "None whatsoever. You?"
"Nope. But I think we'd better find some water…" Duo's stomach growled noisily. "Food would be nice too."
Hotaru laughed. "Why not? We'll see if we can find anyone who knows where we are on the way?"
"Good idea. Can you walk?"
"Probably not on my own, but if I use that large branch over there…" Duo smiled and walked over to the branch. As thick as his wrist and almost twice as tall as he was, it'd make a nice walking stick, once shortened. He motioned for Hotaru to stand up. Standing the branch next to her, he measured, nodded, and snapped it neatly just past its middle, handing a piece to Hotaru and throwing the rest behind him.
"Will that do?"
"Yes, thank you."
"No problem. Now, lets find ourselves some water."
"And information."
"And information." They parted the branches that had sheltered them for the past seven hours stepped out.
"Wow…."
"Amazing…"
Purple trees, red trees, yellow trees, all surrounded them. It was obvious they were in a forest of some kind. Mushrooms grew to almost two feet tall and were bright pink, red moss decorated purple trees, and blue moss decorated green trunks. Neither had ever seen anything like this in their entire lives, and that was saying something.
"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore…."
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just something I'd always wanted to say. Now seemed appropriate." Duo shrugged and smiled. "Want to follow the path?"
"Why not? It's better than blazing your own trail. People must use it fairly often, so we should meet someone." Using the branch for support, Hotaru headed down the path.
"Hey! Wait a minute! How do you figure people use it? I don't see any footprints…And how do you know which way to go? That way could lead us deeper into this forest…Or whatever it is."
Hotaru smiled and shook her head. She pointed out crescent marks in the dirt and deep gashes that flowed down the sides of the path. "Those are wagon wheel tracks, and those are horse tracks. Hence people. And since the majority are heading this way, it's more likely that there are people that way." She motioned to the sky. "It's getting dark pretty quickly. We'd better hurry."
"Wow….You're good. Ok, let's go." Laughing slightly, sharing in the humor that only occurred when you were in a desperate situation. They continued on in relative silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
I wish I knew where I was…
Where the hell am I anyway?
How did I get here from the portal?
What WAS that portal, anyway?
Can I trust him?
Can I trust her?
No!…
Nah….
He may be an enemy…..No, but he may be a native, just lost. Who knows what the people here are like….?
She'd never believe me…Besides, what if she's just lost? God only knows what the people who live here are really like.
I'll wait…
I guess I'll just have to wait…
*************
*Crash*
"Damnit! Just what we need, rain!" A rather large droplet of water hit Duo right on the nose with a rather wet plop. "I think it's going to pour!" And the Irony Gods decided to allow poor Duo to be right for once. The Heavens opened up over the duo, (no pun intended, sorry), trying hard to soak them both. Hotaru sighed.
"Oh no…. Wait! There's a cave over there, we could use that for shelter…Unless there's something already living in it…?" In one fluid motion, Duo picked Hotaru up, swept her into his arms, and set off in a dead run towards the cave.
"If there's anything living there, it'd better look forward to sharing. We're in there whether it likes it or not."
Hotaru thumped Duo on the head several times. Considering the way he was carrying her, it was rather easy. "DUO! Put me down! I can walk on my own you know! I mean it!"
"There are a few things I hate in my life. Getting wet is one of them. Besides, the last thing we need is to end up soaked to the skin without any change of clothes, right? There!"
The 'there!' was Duo's statement as he ran into the cave, out of the rain. "See? Much better." He set Hotaru down gently. "Lets check out our makeshift shelter while we wait for the rain to stop, shell we?" He extended his arm in a comical parody of some eighteenth century gentleman, offering his arm to Hotaru. She muttered something about being fine and brushed passed Duo, into the center of the cave. Non-plussed, Duo followed after.
They came upon a circle of rocks with some tinder and pieces of red and yellow branches set beside it. "Looks like someone tried to start a fire…I wonder who?" Hotaru knelt down to inspect the tinder to see if it was dry as Duo ventured farther into the cave. His voice carried back to Hotaru a few moments later, tight with controlled emotion.
"I have a pretty good idea about who wanted a fire…I also think you need to change your deduction about there being people because of those tire tracks and the hoof prints. I've got solid evidence that you're wrong, at least partly."
Sighing, Hotaru stood up and headed towards Duo's voice. "And what evidence do you have for that? Have you found someone?"
"Sort of. Tell me Hotaru, have you ever heard of centaurs?…"
"Yes…Wh—
Hotaru came to a dead stop. In the very low light from the opening of the cave, she could make out Duo kneeling down in front of a young girl lying on the ground, who's torso seemed to melt into the body of a horse. "Oh…"
At the sound of another voice, the girl's head spun and faced Hotaru. She was shivering violently. She glared at Hotaru, eyes filled with terror and hatred at the same time. A shudder coursed through her body and an instant later the centaur collapsed, her upper body falling to the floor with a very audible thump.
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More to come. Please review!
(Sorry it's so short, homework has been killing me…)
I am the Breeze of Wisdom and the Wind of Insanity
~The Elemental.