**Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne in any way, just my own custom
characters and no profit is being made from writing this story. **
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Slowly I pried my eyes open with a small groan. My entire body felt as if it was still aflame but relief soon came for my burning skin as a cool breeze lightly played across my body. I blinked several times, trying to clear my blurry vision only to find myself staring up into a starry night sky lit by two great moons. Pushing myself up off of the ground into a sitting position, I realized that the earth beneath me was soft and unlike the hard cobbled market streets I had been walking on only moments earlier. Peering down at the ground, I finally figured out that I was no longer in the market much less in my city. Tall grass surrounded me in every direction, gently swaying from a quiet wind.
What had happened to me?
One minute I had been going about my chores, the next trapped within the horrors my own mind... was I going crazy?
Still I had to admit, that for a person going insane, I had some imagination. The new world that surrounded me was far more beautiful than the one I had left behind. With the two luminescent moons hanging in the glittering sky above and the all too enchanting forest atmosphere surrounding me, I could half believe that I was dreaming again. Yet everything felt too real for it to be another dream. Whereas the visions of fire had a certain unnatural feeling to it, here I felt somehow connected to the things my wide eyes were seeing.
I allowed myself a few more moments to look around the area in a starry- eyed daze before coming crashing back down into my senses.
As far as I saw it, I had two options. I could sit here in a dream-like trance until I finally woke up or go and figure things out for myself. Never being one to sit idly about when other things could be done, I slowly got back onto my sandaled feet. Glancing quickly down at the rest of my body, I was somewhat relieved to see that my blindingly white robs were still intact just as perfect as they had been a few hours earlier when I had first donned them. On a second thought, my eyes quickly scanned over the patches of grass surrounding me, looking desperately for the pack I had left home with. If I could find that, then at least I would be able survive on the few snacks I had packed in it. Dream or no, I wasn't going to take a chance on starving to death.
A handful of minutes later, I accepted defeat. Wherever I was now, my pack hadn't come with me. My only hope was to somehow find things growing wild to eat if I grew hungry or pray that some sort of creatures with half a mind lived on this new world I had stumbled upon.
Wobbling a little on my still unsteady feet, I wandered in the first direction that looked promising to me. Rows and rows of mile high trees surrounded me from all sides, boxing me in effectively. Thick shrubs and wild vegetation made it hard for me to walk as their roots seemed to be possessed as they almost lifted up from the ground to snag and pull at my feet and flowing robes. Sounds of creatures that I had been lucky enough to never have heard before echoed in the silence of the woods, making me shiver and hurry my pace along.
I was such a fool! To have willingly walked into a forest in the middle of the night, unarmed and unprotected. At this rate it would serve me right to get eaten for my foolishness!
I jerked to a stop in my wanderings as I heard a familiar trickling sound...
Water! Feeling thirsty and just wanting to be by something that looked even a little familiar in this alien place, I practically ran towards the sound, throwing all caution to the wind.
It didn't take me long to find the source of the gurgling sound and I had to stop in awe of the beauty that lay there. In a wide, crystal clear stream the reflection of the moons and stars above shined brightly in its depths as flowers of lavender and dark blue dotted the grassy banks of the spring.
With a small sigh of relief, I gratefully sank to sit down on a moss- covered rock, not caring anymore if my already ruined robes were damaged further. Gingerly, I dipped one hand into the spring, rinsing off the dirt that caked my skin from my long trek through the woods. Welcoming the biting cold of the water, I indulged myself in the stream, washing my face and any other part of skin that I could reach without removing my robes and then drank my fill of the sweet tasting liquid.
Slowly I became aware of my eyelids beginning to droop in the first stages of drowsiness. I was afraid to fall asleep in this strange world, mostly worried that I when I woke that I'd be in an entirely different place once again. The more practical side of my mind was worried about not waking up at all after being dinner for some nighttime predator looking for an easy meal. But I knew that I couldn't stay awake forever and if I was to survive whatever I had gotten myself into, I needed rest.
Spotting a secluded area surrounded by tall bushes, I made my way over to investigate it as a possible sleeping ground. After inspecting it from all angles I decided that the only way someone could see me in the midst of the shrubs would be if they happened to stumble directly upon me. Feeling as satisfied as I would be able to feel at the moment, I pulled up handful of grass to create a makeshift bed and carefully laid down on top of it all. With the almost calming sound of the spring bubbling in the background, my eyes fluttered closed and I fell into a dreamless sleep...
It had felt like I had been sleeping for centuries when I jerked awake to the sensation of being prodded in my ribs by a foot.
"You there! Girl! Are you alive?"
Again came the leather covered shoe against my side. Was this person TRYING to kill me?
Rolling over in the direction of the voice, believing myself to be still home in my quilt-covered bed, I mumbled angrily, "Go away Ritsuko! I don't want to do chores today!"
It suddenly fell silent and then a warm chuckle met my ears. Then it struck me... I wasn't at home, I wasn't even on Earth.. I was in the woods somewhere with someone standing but a few feet away from me. My heart came to a painful halt, afraid what I would find when I finally opened my eyes.
"I don't know who this Ritsuko person is but I can guarantee you that I'm not she.."
Not able to stand it any more, my eyes snapped open and stared upwards at the figure before me.....
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Who should be this 'mysterious' character? Hmm? Let me know in your review who you think the first person Raeka meets on Gaea should be!
~EscaAngel7
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Slowly I pried my eyes open with a small groan. My entire body felt as if it was still aflame but relief soon came for my burning skin as a cool breeze lightly played across my body. I blinked several times, trying to clear my blurry vision only to find myself staring up into a starry night sky lit by two great moons. Pushing myself up off of the ground into a sitting position, I realized that the earth beneath me was soft and unlike the hard cobbled market streets I had been walking on only moments earlier. Peering down at the ground, I finally figured out that I was no longer in the market much less in my city. Tall grass surrounded me in every direction, gently swaying from a quiet wind.
What had happened to me?
One minute I had been going about my chores, the next trapped within the horrors my own mind... was I going crazy?
Still I had to admit, that for a person going insane, I had some imagination. The new world that surrounded me was far more beautiful than the one I had left behind. With the two luminescent moons hanging in the glittering sky above and the all too enchanting forest atmosphere surrounding me, I could half believe that I was dreaming again. Yet everything felt too real for it to be another dream. Whereas the visions of fire had a certain unnatural feeling to it, here I felt somehow connected to the things my wide eyes were seeing.
I allowed myself a few more moments to look around the area in a starry- eyed daze before coming crashing back down into my senses.
As far as I saw it, I had two options. I could sit here in a dream-like trance until I finally woke up or go and figure things out for myself. Never being one to sit idly about when other things could be done, I slowly got back onto my sandaled feet. Glancing quickly down at the rest of my body, I was somewhat relieved to see that my blindingly white robs were still intact just as perfect as they had been a few hours earlier when I had first donned them. On a second thought, my eyes quickly scanned over the patches of grass surrounding me, looking desperately for the pack I had left home with. If I could find that, then at least I would be able survive on the few snacks I had packed in it. Dream or no, I wasn't going to take a chance on starving to death.
A handful of minutes later, I accepted defeat. Wherever I was now, my pack hadn't come with me. My only hope was to somehow find things growing wild to eat if I grew hungry or pray that some sort of creatures with half a mind lived on this new world I had stumbled upon.
Wobbling a little on my still unsteady feet, I wandered in the first direction that looked promising to me. Rows and rows of mile high trees surrounded me from all sides, boxing me in effectively. Thick shrubs and wild vegetation made it hard for me to walk as their roots seemed to be possessed as they almost lifted up from the ground to snag and pull at my feet and flowing robes. Sounds of creatures that I had been lucky enough to never have heard before echoed in the silence of the woods, making me shiver and hurry my pace along.
I was such a fool! To have willingly walked into a forest in the middle of the night, unarmed and unprotected. At this rate it would serve me right to get eaten for my foolishness!
I jerked to a stop in my wanderings as I heard a familiar trickling sound...
Water! Feeling thirsty and just wanting to be by something that looked even a little familiar in this alien place, I practically ran towards the sound, throwing all caution to the wind.
It didn't take me long to find the source of the gurgling sound and I had to stop in awe of the beauty that lay there. In a wide, crystal clear stream the reflection of the moons and stars above shined brightly in its depths as flowers of lavender and dark blue dotted the grassy banks of the spring.
With a small sigh of relief, I gratefully sank to sit down on a moss- covered rock, not caring anymore if my already ruined robes were damaged further. Gingerly, I dipped one hand into the spring, rinsing off the dirt that caked my skin from my long trek through the woods. Welcoming the biting cold of the water, I indulged myself in the stream, washing my face and any other part of skin that I could reach without removing my robes and then drank my fill of the sweet tasting liquid.
Slowly I became aware of my eyelids beginning to droop in the first stages of drowsiness. I was afraid to fall asleep in this strange world, mostly worried that I when I woke that I'd be in an entirely different place once again. The more practical side of my mind was worried about not waking up at all after being dinner for some nighttime predator looking for an easy meal. But I knew that I couldn't stay awake forever and if I was to survive whatever I had gotten myself into, I needed rest.
Spotting a secluded area surrounded by tall bushes, I made my way over to investigate it as a possible sleeping ground. After inspecting it from all angles I decided that the only way someone could see me in the midst of the shrubs would be if they happened to stumble directly upon me. Feeling as satisfied as I would be able to feel at the moment, I pulled up handful of grass to create a makeshift bed and carefully laid down on top of it all. With the almost calming sound of the spring bubbling in the background, my eyes fluttered closed and I fell into a dreamless sleep...
It had felt like I had been sleeping for centuries when I jerked awake to the sensation of being prodded in my ribs by a foot.
"You there! Girl! Are you alive?"
Again came the leather covered shoe against my side. Was this person TRYING to kill me?
Rolling over in the direction of the voice, believing myself to be still home in my quilt-covered bed, I mumbled angrily, "Go away Ritsuko! I don't want to do chores today!"
It suddenly fell silent and then a warm chuckle met my ears. Then it struck me... I wasn't at home, I wasn't even on Earth.. I was in the woods somewhere with someone standing but a few feet away from me. My heart came to a painful halt, afraid what I would find when I finally opened my eyes.
"I don't know who this Ritsuko person is but I can guarantee you that I'm not she.."
Not able to stand it any more, my eyes snapped open and stared upwards at the figure before me.....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Who should be this 'mysterious' character? Hmm? Let me know in your review who you think the first person Raeka meets on Gaea should be!
~EscaAngel7
