Pixel, meanwhile, was just finishing his supper. Shanara was easily located as being on Firndl, a middle circuit planet. When he'd got to her, he found her pouting in a small cage perched at the top of a tree. Pixel used a branch as leverage and popped it open easily, and queried why the sorceress hadn't done the same thing herself.
"It's spelled to be of a varying size... I couldn't shift out! If I was big, the cage was bigger! If I was small, the gaps between the bars were smaller! Impossible!"
Pixel glanced at her, slightly amused. "Not every solution involves magic. That's something we've learned. Sometimes you just need good old fashioned brains – or" he added, thinking of Helaine, "-brawn."
Shanara scowled.
After climbing down an air staircase from the tree, Shanara made nice with Crow while Pixel worked on setting up a shelter for the night. It took several tries, but eventually he rigged a few branches together into a lean-to, using his magic to make it water-proof, wind-proof, and prowling-hungry-animal-proof. He started a small fire, and Shanara shifted into a tigress to do some hunting. Crow amused herself playing in the hollow of an ancient tree. She seemed almost to be having a conversation with it.
Shanara returned with an anonymous meat source, Pixel helped cook it, and the three sat under the canopy to enjoy a fire. "Reminds me of my times out in the wilderness with Score and Helaine" he remarked, almost to no one. "Except it usually wasn't quite this peaceful."
"It's not this peaceful." Crow replied, casually.
"What do you mean?" Asked Shanara, looking around her for danger.
"We have a watcher." The girl poked the fire with a stick. "But don't worry, he won't hurt us."
Pixel and Shanara leapt up, not mollified by Crow's reassurances. There was a rustle in the scrub and a golden creature stepped forwards.
*The child is correct, though she overestimates my patience with humans* It was a griffin, a majestic result of odd but well-groomed bits of lion and eagle, and it was enormous.
Pixel watched the creature carefully as it approached, padding softly on lion paws. It wasn't making any threatening moves, and it was certainly sentient, but he was wary, nonetheless.
Shanara, however, placed her hands on her thighs and gave a short bow. "I honorably present myself, Lady Shanara of Rawn, and my companions, Pixel and Crow, both of Dondar."
The animal gave a nod of its eagle's head and rumbled with what sounded like a purr. *It is good that some know of the old ways.* Now that it was close, Pixel could see that it was rather antique in appearance. *But I'm afraid I shall have to eat you, nonetheless.*
With a graceful, envious bound, the griffin leapt to Crow, who fell backwards with a small cry and lay supine to the beautiful teeth. Pixel panicked briefly, then shot a fireball with the Shriker Kula Prior spell at the beast's head.
It looked up, faintly annoyed.
"Leave her alone!" Pixel shouted. "Pick on someone who can fight back!"
*On the contrary, good sir. I am devouring first the one who could cause me the most trouble.* The griffin turned its lovely head and fangs back to Crow, who quivered with terror.
Pixel threw a bigger fireball, singeing its feathers. The griffin howled.
*Do you know how long its takes me to preen every morning!* It opened its eagle wings wide, flapping in disgust. As Pixel had suspected, the creature was terribly vain. But his fireball had worked, and the griffin charged towards him.
Rummaging through his pockets, Pixel fingered his gemstones. He hadn't quite figured out a part two to his plan yet, but the creature was closing fast, making him careless in his nervousness. "Beryl... that's air... or is it water? Topaz... er... invisibility? Fire? Something?"
A roar interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up to see a jade dragon, Shanara's favorite battle shape, swiping glassy claws at the griffin. Pixel laughed as the proud animal stumbled over itself, trying to get away, then turned his attention to Crow.
"Are you okay?" he asked, giving her a hand to help her to her feet.
"You risked your life for me?" Crow looked amazed.
"Of course. That's being human."
Shanara returned to human form, shook herself, and hunkered down to the fire. "I'd forgotten not all griffins are as polite as Alzar."
"Alzar?" Pixel asked, helping himself to some more supper.
"Alzar Blackstone. He was a griffin on the world of my childhood."
"You mean you didn't always live on Rawn?" Pixel inquired. For all the years they'd known the sorceress, he'd never heard much about her days before she'd encountered the three of them.
"Certainly not. There aren't any human settlements on Rawn. I was born on another middle circuit planet, called Athos. Alzar Blackstone and his clan lived on the cliffs outside my village. We gave them the mountain for their territory, and in return, the clan guarded our village from raiders." Shanara chewed thoughtfully on her meat, as though remembering some bygone days.
"Then how did you end up on Rawn?" Pixel asked.
"Well, when I was about thirteen, the local mage decided I had too much power, and that I was a threat to his control. He sent me away to the griffins, ostensibly for training, but he'd secretly asked them to devour me."
"That's awful." Crow whispered, hugging her knees.
"But Alzar Blackstone liked me, and trained me further in the ways of magic. When I was sixteen, he died, and his protection vanished. I fled to Rawn, a place Alzar told me about. That's why I so often visit the centaurs. I miss being surrounded by people." Shanara was silent for awhile.
"I'm sorry." Pixel said, finally.
"That's funny." Shanara said harshly. "I'm not. Why would I want to live with people who prefer me digested? Magic-users aren't much liked in the Diadem. We're judged straight away by our abilities, not our personalities."
"Yeah, Helaine and Score and I ran into some of that prejudice with the unicorns." Pixel sighed.
"Prejudice?" Crow asked, trying out the word.
"It's... when someone decides how they're going to treat you before they've gotten a chance to know you."
"That doesn't sound fair." Crow muttered.
"It's not. But it exists. Just another monster to fight." Pixel watched sparks fly from the fire into the blackness of the canopy.
"I was right though" Crow said after awhile.
"About what?"
"He didn't hurt us."
Something was tickling his nose. Score cracked an eye open, and blew some of Helaine's hair out of his face with a puff of air. Her royal majesty was slumbering soundly, her back to him... in his bed?
Score's eyes flew open wide. What?
He took a second to evaluate the situation. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and all his bedcovers had slid to the floor. She was in a white nightgown, and one of the straps had slipped off her shoulder. Score could not believe it. What on earth happened last night? He thought hard. He definitely remembered going to bed, alone... and... his nightmare. Score shuddered. Then... waking... with Helaine, standing over him. He screwed up his face hard as he thought... in a rush it came back. He'd asked her to stay, nestled his head into her lap. Oh. She must have fallen asleep, and slipped down into his arms. Unless...
Score was too much of a pessimist to hope.
Knowing Helaine, she would be self-righteously embarrassed, if she woke up and found herself...the two of them... so entangled. So he closed his eyes. Let her think she arose first, and sneak off, and spare her the shame.
He didn't have long to wait.
Helaine expanded with a deep breath in his arms, and Score suppressed a little shiver of hormones, and tried to remember to be asleep.
Rolling over took a lot of effort, and Helaine rested a while, watching Score sleep, until she realized where she was. She sighed and reached out to touch his cheek. "I can't imagine what you'd say to me if you were awake" she whispered. "But I almost wish I could open my eyes every morning like this." She frowned to herself. Did she really mean that? It didn't matter. Score couldn't hear her anyway. She slipped as gently as she could from his slumbering embrace, and gathered one of his sheets from the floor. She spread it over the young man and leaned in towards him, as though to kiss his cheek.
She stopped. It felt so natural, so routine, for her to wake up next to Score. That was no reason to get all mushy over him.
Helaine pulled away, leaving his cheek unkissed. She left.
Score sighed and buried his face and a frustrated groan in his pillow.
*****
This is the part where the author shamefacedly breaks out a wet noodle for lashes.
Should I make excuses? I could. I'll spare you.
The point is, I wrote again. Thanks go to... oh all of you. I'm too lazy to do a nice positive round today, but I would like to point out that there are THREE new Diadem stories and I am positively delighted.
As for my story, the twenty-fifth chapter is halfway done, and I couldn't be prouder. I mean, sure, I haven't been terribly timely, but 25 chapters! With plot! And few grammatical errors! (er.... well, maybe more than a few. I try.) I do feel like I've reached the more-than-two-thirds-way point. I foresee only about five to seven more chapters... so the logical conclusion is to love it while you can! And review! I love reviews!
Happy and Pleasantly Your Devoted Authoress
Aroo!