It was morning. Daine hadn't slept well, and had risen sharply at sunrise,
even though no sunlight could reach the inside of the cave. It was out of
habit that a working girl should rise at that time; it was appropriate for
the requirements asked of her. She'd gotten out of her makeshift bedroll,
shifted the rock at the cave's mouth, and stepped outside into the frigid
cold.
Yesterday's storm had cleared, and sunlight shone full on the mountain
range she and Lise had hiked into. Daine shook her head as she noted how
high up they were from the flatlands she could see in the distance, beyond
the foothills. She was standing at the brink of a towering precipice, and
below her, she could make out a river winding its way between rocks. It
hadn't seemed this high the previous evening - but then again, they'd been
climbing to shelter their lives from the enemy.
The enemy, Daine thought, pursing her lips. Who were they running from? What god could bring Ozorne back from the dead? A horror brought back to haunt her, she thought spitefully. He'd almost killed her, when she was drained of magic, and she didn't care much for returning to another one of those compromising situations.
It occurred to Daine shortly that she wanted to fly. The sky was endlessly appealing, and flight would give her a temporary freedom from this waking nightmare of Scanra. Thinking for a moment, she shifted into the form of an eagle with a huge wingspan atypical of its natural counterpart. Shaking herself free of her clothes, Daine launched herself into the air and beat her powerful wings twice to reach an air current that spiralled upwards. She allowed herself to be carried higher before she spread her wings to glide.
Daine had hardly had minutes to revel in the elation of flight when she felt the tug of a familiar presence from the precipice she'd just left. She couldn't seem to place whoever was there, but she knew the feeling so well; it was best, she decided, that she returned to see who it was, as a stray cloud was obscuring her vision.
Daine descended, banking in a downward spiral until she could see who was there. She almost lost control of her eagle shape with her realization as her breath caught in her throat. Plummeting, she shifted back into her human shape while still five feet from the cliff, and rolled to a stop against the rock blocking the cave entrance.
"Kitten!" Daine almost shrieked, as she pulled on her clothes. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!" she exclaimed, and gathered the dragonet into her arms, kneeling. "You must think you're awful clever, coming here, don't you?"
Kitten looked at Daine reproachfully, but trilled her delight all the same. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and she stopped mid-trill to look around in horror. Her scales changed rapidly from light blue to blood red, and she whistled piercingly, jumping down from Daine's lap.
"What is it?" Daine asked fearfully. She'd never seen the dragon look so apprehensive, and the blood red colour was more than enough to shock her - Kit had never assumed such a shade before. "Kit," Daine said more firmly, "what's wrong?"
The dragon clawed at her muzzle, seemingly unable to speak, and reminding Daine strongly of the time when the Graveyard Hag had muted her to prevent any early disclosure of her plans to ruin the cake in Carthak. Daine cried out as an abrupt explosion threw her backwards; with a flare of white light, Kitten was gone.
There was something glowing golden in the rock from which the dragon had disappeared, and Daine crawled over cautiously to look. A single word was emblazoned into stone, its letters running with blindingly bright gold fire. Daine squinted at the word, and as her mind registered its meaning, she scrambled to her feet and yelled at the rock blocking the cave mouth to open, swearing.
Run.
.::.
Eyrnwen: I hope to finish, hehe, thanks (:
Sorato4ever: Thank you, but Numair's not gonna be happy for a while ):
hottiger: I wrote more, don't haunt me! =P
CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88: You hate cliffhangers? . . . Oops =P
flack: Thank you, but Kit had to leave '
Dun dun dun! And the plot thickens; what new, indescribable awful monsters will come and haunt our characters now? Stay tuned, I'm getting another chapter out today =P Oh yeah, and review! By the way, I'm changing my title to "From Twilight to Dawn", just for the reassurance that yeah, everybody is smiling at the end =P Happy reading! Reeeviiewwwww!
The enemy, Daine thought, pursing her lips. Who were they running from? What god could bring Ozorne back from the dead? A horror brought back to haunt her, she thought spitefully. He'd almost killed her, when she was drained of magic, and she didn't care much for returning to another one of those compromising situations.
It occurred to Daine shortly that she wanted to fly. The sky was endlessly appealing, and flight would give her a temporary freedom from this waking nightmare of Scanra. Thinking for a moment, she shifted into the form of an eagle with a huge wingspan atypical of its natural counterpart. Shaking herself free of her clothes, Daine launched herself into the air and beat her powerful wings twice to reach an air current that spiralled upwards. She allowed herself to be carried higher before she spread her wings to glide.
Daine had hardly had minutes to revel in the elation of flight when she felt the tug of a familiar presence from the precipice she'd just left. She couldn't seem to place whoever was there, but she knew the feeling so well; it was best, she decided, that she returned to see who it was, as a stray cloud was obscuring her vision.
Daine descended, banking in a downward spiral until she could see who was there. She almost lost control of her eagle shape with her realization as her breath caught in her throat. Plummeting, she shifted back into her human shape while still five feet from the cliff, and rolled to a stop against the rock blocking the cave entrance.
"Kitten!" Daine almost shrieked, as she pulled on her clothes. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!" she exclaimed, and gathered the dragonet into her arms, kneeling. "You must think you're awful clever, coming here, don't you?"
Kitten looked at Daine reproachfully, but trilled her delight all the same. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and she stopped mid-trill to look around in horror. Her scales changed rapidly from light blue to blood red, and she whistled piercingly, jumping down from Daine's lap.
"What is it?" Daine asked fearfully. She'd never seen the dragon look so apprehensive, and the blood red colour was more than enough to shock her - Kit had never assumed such a shade before. "Kit," Daine said more firmly, "what's wrong?"
The dragon clawed at her muzzle, seemingly unable to speak, and reminding Daine strongly of the time when the Graveyard Hag had muted her to prevent any early disclosure of her plans to ruin the cake in Carthak. Daine cried out as an abrupt explosion threw her backwards; with a flare of white light, Kitten was gone.
There was something glowing golden in the rock from which the dragon had disappeared, and Daine crawled over cautiously to look. A single word was emblazoned into stone, its letters running with blindingly bright gold fire. Daine squinted at the word, and as her mind registered its meaning, she scrambled to her feet and yelled at the rock blocking the cave mouth to open, swearing.
Run.
.::.
Eyrnwen: I hope to finish, hehe, thanks (:
Sorato4ever: Thank you, but Numair's not gonna be happy for a while ):
hottiger: I wrote more, don't haunt me! =P
CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88: You hate cliffhangers? . . . Oops =P
flack: Thank you, but Kit had to leave '
Dun dun dun! And the plot thickens; what new, indescribable awful monsters will come and haunt our characters now? Stay tuned, I'm getting another chapter out today =P Oh yeah, and review! By the way, I'm changing my title to "From Twilight to Dawn", just for the reassurance that yeah, everybody is smiling at the end =P Happy reading! Reeeviiewwwww!
