UNTO THE MORNING…
The little boy could hear his teacher calling for him out her door. But he knew that he had to get the book away from her so that she wouldn't get caught by his master. "Sorry," he whispered to her fading voice. Even though he was far enough away from her, he could still hear her voice calling him. "Sorry!" he called louder as he ripped through the forest. When he reached a clearing, he held the book in front of him as he ran; looking at it. "I just have to get this back. I know it!" he confirmed to himself of his chosen task. As he plunged back into woodland, he tucked it under his arm again, "Burnt woods… past Fight Lake… along a river…" He repeated the parts of her description to himself to better recognize it when he got there.
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"Oh no!" Aariah put her hands on her head, "LITTLE ONE!!!" she called even though she knew he was out of earshot. Her hands then slid to cover her mouth as she ran back into her home. She ran into her room and quickly shuffled through her things. Pulling out her old traveling bag and purple cloak, she promptly stuffed the bag full with items of clothing, food, and other things she knew she might need. Last of all she took out her dagger pendant and placed it round her neck. Aariah barely remembered to lock up before she rushed out her back door.
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Her little student, however, was nearing Fight Lake. For his small size, he could beat through the entangled woods rather well, not to mention get through the fallen tangles. His only reason to keep moving was to get the book as far away from either his teacher or his master, and he knew Aariah should soon be following him.
For the journey he was making, it was surprising that he endured until dawn. In his persistence he was even able to reach Fight Lake a few minutes before then. When he had arrived there, he could see the mouth of the river Aariah was probably talking about across the bay, but he knew better than to follow the path directly. Instead, for the last few minutes of his strength for the day, he followed the shore away from the river mouth and then trekked a few feet into rather dense bushes. Here, he matted some of them down, and laid down for a rest; making sure to keep the book under him so he wouldn't loose track of it.
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Aariah, on the other hand, had something up her sleeve. Immediately upon reaching the clearing that her student had used to look at her book, she pulled off her pendant and began to cast it open. "I call upon my own might, to release the staff of my right!" As if the pendant had been sensing her fear, it quickly extended the handle of the dagger to the size of a staff. "My strength resides in my own heart, but there is an emergency out there that is a plight. So outside me there will be a part, to help me crusade with all my might!"
Again, the chant was slightly different, but the main elements of it were still there. So, as her enchanted circle brightened, and she stabbed her staff into the ground, her elements released. Fire, lit her torch, Water, filled her canteen, and Air, gave her the white silver wings. She stretched her wings wide before using their broad surface area to push her up into the late night's starry sky.
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In the house at the center of town, the little boy's master awake with a start. Even for such a distance, he could sense the tiniest wisp of Aariah's elements being released. Disoriented by having never sensed other magic before, he got up and went to his kitchen to make a midnight snack as he thought over what he was feeling.
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He awoke only an hour later to the flutter of wings flying across above him. Quickly, he tucked the book farther under himself and looked up. It was just in time, for he saw his teacher float across the sky above the trees around him. Silently he watched in almost disbelief. She landed on a high outcropping of stone along the river side of the lake. She landed in a kneel, and her wings folded around her before she looked up at the tree line. Scanning the area around the riverbank, she decided for a closer look. Swooping down, She flew close over the river's end and looked carefully at it. Her little student knew that she was looking for footprints in the sand.
After her close inspection, Aariah flew over to the rotting dock and perched at its end. From there, she opened her canteen and let out the Water entities. "Water, follow the river ahead of me." She instructed. As a thin ripple shot through the lake and into the river mouth, she stood and looked about. They both knew that he was near, but Aariah hadn't used the sensing magic much after she had received it from the traveler. And she realized it had bee right here, on this dock, those two years ago.
