A/N: Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I know you have all been looking forward to the next chapter, so I will keep you waiting no longer. : )

Kari

The Secret Magic: 3: Whisperings

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter 6: One Piper, Two Pip

The first few weeks had been, what her father would have described as complete culture shock. She didn't know what she was doing half the time, and the other half she spent trying to not make mistakes.

She had thought it would take months to learn to call up her magic, even with the 'proper' training. So when on the first day of receiving instruction from the old tree had bared her first purposeful green sparks of magic ever, she had been more than surprised. It had brought up hopeful thoughts that she might be able to master this magic sooner than expected and go home; but those happy thoughts vanished when the tree had informed her a few hours later that calling up the magic was one of the simplest things to do and not to get her hopes up. In fact, most of the plant life around her had a depressingly large amount of pessimism towards her leaving sooner than was necessary. She quickly deduced that overall, this pessimism extended to most of what the flora thought about. It bothered Jade to no end, that no matter what, they assumed the worst of everything.

'Our life-span will be short', explained the bushes in martyrish voices. 'But we don't mind, our death is required for life everywhere.' 'The bases of our trunks are constantly torn to pierces by wild carnivores trying to mark their territory', argued the trees; 'but really, it's only expected'. 'Our beautiful blooms which carry our own young are picked and used as decorations', chortled a lovely vine, 'it's barbaric that human males offer our dead children as a way to gain a females favor. But it is our fate.'

Jade found such topics quite depressing, though she understood them in an odd way. She also found a bit of a problem in other areas. Clothing, for example. After three days of wearing the clothing she had left Solandia in, she had asked Justice what she was supposed to do for clothing. Justice had blanched and mumbled an 'I forgot about that' before walking off and turning up late that evening with two pairs of similar style clothing for her to alternate. Jade was now responsible for cleaning her own clothing in the streams. She'd have no problem with that. She just had to learn.

Her curiosity about where she would sleep at night was never really answered, so Jade had taken to bushing up soft moss and fallen leaves to create a sort of bed. It was softer and more comfortable than she imagined. In fact, she really didn't object to its comfort. Justice had asked her whether she would prefer to sleep up in the trees instead. Jade had looked up at the distant branches far above her head and imagined herself rolling over in her sleep and plunging to the ground. She had kindly refused. She was somewhat worried about wild animals at night, so a violet sprouting bush offered Jade nights under its heavily thorned bush. 'No animals tries to get at me,' stated the proud old bush, 'I'd stick them into next week.' From that night on, Jade found comfortable refuge with the old bush.

Food had started to become a problem. Not because there wasn't any, but because Jade had started feeling a tinge of regret whenever she ate some of the berries and vegetables that grew in the forest. In fact, she woke up from an upsetting dream that had pictured herself as almost cannibalistic. When Justice asked the next evening why she hadn't eaten anything that day, Jade had confessed her dilemma.

"You don't want to eat the plants?" questioned Justice

"Well…you said I was a third flora, didn't you? And it just seems…odd." Jade had responded half-heartedly. She really didn't want to give up eating plants, she really actually quite liked most vegetables and fruit.

Justice smiled. "You eat meat," she said plaintively. "You're two thirds animal as well, and that doesn't bother you. It's part of life, Jade. The plants understand this. They are the source of all life. Without them, none would survive or even be here. The only thing you should avoid is wastefulness. Never take something you don't plan on using. And you're not being cannibalistic unless you eat your own species. You don't eat humans, and as long as you don't eat vanilla, you're good to go."

Jade hadn't wanted to argue with that point, since she was only really semi-concerned with it. At Justices words of encouragement, she found no fault in indulging herself in delicious mangos.

Jade hadn't been back to Solandia since the day Justice had come to retrieve her, though she had the sneaking suspicion Justice had gone back once or twice. Though she thought it was probably to get something for Jade. When she asked if she could visit Solandia with Justice the next time she went, Justice had firmly stated 'No.' Jade found it a bit unfair. And after a good long battle of wills with each other over it, Justice had finally told Jade that humans were not going to help her learn faster. In fact, they might even stunt what she could achieve. Maybe in a few years, she could visit, when she had better control and free of influence. Jade had nearly hit the roof at the statement, though there was no roof to hit. No human contact for a few years! The thought was too much. It had been four days before Jade would even look at a grumpy Justice after that.

She grew used to the isolation after a few months. That, or she grew accustomed to those around her, the plants and the firebirds. The later of which, excluding Justice, she really only saw on occasion. They spent much of their time above ground, in the treetops. She saw Lorelei more often than the others. The soft-spoken female would often times come to the forest floor and give Justice a few reproaches of her own. At which time, Justice would either flush crimson or turn pale, depending on the subject at hand. It made Jade feel better, serving to remind her that Justice wasn't all that much older than she, in a manner of speaking.

Jade woke with streams of light that shone though the bush above her. A soft wind seemed to blow today giving the bush quite a cheery voice. 'Up, up, sprout. A new day awaits your growing stem.' Jade rolled over and buried her face in the leaves around her. With the next wind, she found herself sitting up with a yelp as a thorn was shoved into her side. Green magic squirted from the arms she jerked to her side and hit the bush, making what looked like a scorch mark.

"Sorry," muttered Jade apologetically.

'Quite all right. Now get up,' shooed the bush.

Jade grumbled her dislike of getting up as she crawled out of the little space under her protective bush. She stood and stretched out her muscles. She rubbed her eyes and then quickly brushed off the few leaves that stuck to her bare skin.

She smirked at the fact that she now slept naked. There really was no other option. She didn't have night clothing and she didn't want to dirty and crumple the only three pairs of clothing she had with her. There was also the fact that the air was so humid and thick, she would have found it impossible to sleep with sweaty clothing clinging to her all night.

She picked some leaves out of her mess of curls, wishing she had a brush. She was growing increasingly tired of having to comb out the twigs and leaves with her fingers. She reached under the bush again and dragged out two pairs of Solandian style clothing. She heard a swooping sound behind her and turned. A small red firebird came soaring towards her, quickly and without the look of stopping. Jade caught her breath and took a small hop back as the wings shortened and thinned, the body elongated, and the beak decreased and smoothed out. By the time Justice had fully shape-shifted into her human form, she was mere inches from the ground. As the last remaining feathers disappeared from her head to become silky tendrils, and her talons became toes, she took a small step onto the earth.

Jade frowned. "I'm never going to get used to you doing that."

Justice reached forward and grabbed her own set of bright red clothing from Jade with a small smile. "You like it, admit it."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Of coarse, I like it. It must be amazing to shape-shift," she said with only a touch of envy, "but it doesn't mean you flying right up to me like that doesn't surprise me."

"It's good practice," said Justice happily. "You can practice not reacting so severely when you get surprised.

The corner of Jade's lip twitched. "Lovely."

Justice's eyebrows lifted in mirth at the dryness of Jade's response. When the smirk didn't leave her Justice's face, Jade dropped her arms to her side with an exasperated sigh. "What?"

Bright blue eyes twinkled in mischievous laughter. "When you speak. You almost sound like me." Jade's face betrayed her confusion. "Never mind. Hey, listen. I was thinking we'd take a bit of a trip today."

Green eyes brightened. "To Solandia?"

"No," Justice grit out. "And stop asking. I was thinking more along the lines of the edge of the forest, on the northern edge. It really is quite spectacular. You leave the forest and you can see plains for endless miles."

Jade shrugged in indifference. "It makes for a change."

Having turned around to lead the way, Justice stopped and turned back around. "If you don't want to go?"

"Oh, stop." Jade gritted as she laced up the leather on her sandals. "You make everything so difficult."

Justice grit her teeth. "Well, if you'd stop being so poisonously subtle!"

Jade pulled the knot on her sandals tight quickly; the fact that, in her aggravation, she'd tied them a bit too tight for comfort, she ignored. She straightened with a snap and walked off, heading north, throwing a clipped "Let's go," over her shoulder.

By the time they had nearly reached their destination, only a few hours left until dusk, both tempers had mellowed. When Jade let out a tired yawn, Justice smirked. "We'll spend the night at on the plains. The sky is quite spectacular from there." Jade nodded. "I thought maybe you'd like to go hunting once we get there. We still have a few hours of daylight left."

Jade blanched. "How am I supposed to hunt with you? You turn into a Firebird and do it all yourself. I do nothing but watch."

Puckered lips of thought tinged Justice's face. "Well, I suppose if you knew how to hunt, you'd be able to hunt on your own."

It was a slap in the face; and Justice knew it. Jade's nose and cheeks flushed pink in anger. "Very observant," she snapped. "Maybe we can add self-preservation to the list of things Jade will never learn how to do because she has to learn how to control her uncontrollable magic!"

"It's not my fault you can't manage it!" Spat a flared up Justice.

"It is your fault!" Jade's anger was beginning to boil over. "It's your fault you got caught in the first place!" Justice recoiled as if physically hit. "My parent's told me the whole story, Justice. They told me everything! About how you got caught by a mage; how you were supposed to stay away! I can see fault when it's there as good as anyone. If you hadn't been so Gods' offal curious, none of this would have ever happened!" Green sparks flew from Jade's clenched up hands and singed the roots under her feet. It wasn't fair; the fact that she'd have to stick around this place for countless years because of one curious immortal. It just wasn't fair!

She glared at Justice, willing her to feel just how angry she was. If she had to control how she showed her emotions, she'd certainly learn how to stare someone down so they knew when she was angry. Justice had looked down at Jade's words and continued to stand there silently, staring at her feet. It gave Jade the opportunity to keep up, what she thought, was a well-deserved rant. "All I ever do anymore is try and learn about my magic. All my days, my nights! I dream about learning this absurd magic! I'm sick of it!" She tried to keep her voice as even as possible; but made no effort to hide the venom in her words. "All you ever do is tell me how I'm doing it wrong. I'm sick of being so far away from home. I'm sick of it!"

She was about to go into a whole other subject when she noticed a slight shake in Justice's shoulders. At first she was sure Justice was laughing at her; and it only served to inflame a whole new kind of anger. But when a small sniff carried over to her ears, Jade's heart skipped a beat. When a few silent seconds heralded another small sniff, Jade bit her lip severely in self-reproach. She'd made her cry? Justice? It was a few agonizing seconds of frantic word searching before she came out with some kind of phrase.

"Justice?"

She felt the crushing weight of guilt settle upon her when Justice raised red-rimmed eyes. "I know it's my fault. I know it is. Don't you think I know that?" The sniffs had started to turn into sobs. "I'm just trying to fix what I messed up. I know I push real hard. But it's only because I want you to do well. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. You have a hard road ahead of you. I know you do. I know how hard it'll be." Jade couldn't help the thought that Justice had absolutely no idea what she'd have to go through; she smothered the thought quickly. "I just don't know how to make you see how important it is you learn this."

Jade took a deep breath and looked around herself in discomfort. Of all the things she expected to see today, Justice breaking down into sobs was not one of them. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "It's not your fault. I know it's not. I just…got angry." When Justice showed no signs of slowing her sobs, Jade grew desperate. "Please, stop crying?" Her small hands tugged at her loose shirt in agitation. "I'm really sorry," she tried again.

At long last Justice's sobs dissipated. She sniffed a few times and wiped away tears. Jade felt the anxiety leave her body. "You must think me so stupid," it came out as a pathetic laugh.

"No." Jade couldn't help but wonder why this was such a touchy subject.

Pale hands wiped away the last traces of tears. Justice took a steadying breath before speaking up again. "Come on. I want to show you something." Jade walked along behind her for a few minutes until she noticed a sharp stop in trees. They stepped out onto grass that reached up to Jade's hips. Wind swept through the blades and made them dance. Jade stared in open wonder at the soft song that rose from the countless grasses. It was soft and melodic, almost hypnotic, constant. "There's always wind. The grass sings without stop. Legend has it, they sing to lure the rain, which comes but once every ten years and lasts an entire season."

Jade looked around at the endless sky, which carried only a few distant white clouds. "The night sky must be amazing," she breathed.

Justice smiled. "It is." She took a deep breath. "My mother suggested I bring you here, just to the edge of the Inland Plains."

Jade turned to look at Justice in curiosity. "These are the Inland Plains?" There were vast sections of the grass covered in red and purple flower, other parts colored with soft yellow buds. It was like a painting. And she could smell the very last traces of snow as if it had traveled from far away over the wind.

"Well," Justices commented. "…The southern edge.

"I thought it was much further away." The wheels were turning in Jade's head, trying to rethink how far she was.

"It's not as far as you think." It was as if Justice knew what she was thinking. "The Inland Plains are very vast. But if you were to leave on a dry year, which really isn't all that hard, you could make it across them in two months. Than you reach the Great Southern Mountains. You have to turn west before you cross them. Some of the tallest mountains in the world stand in your way. About two or three weeks travel to the west will let you cross lower mountains, which aren't so cold. I'd say at least a month just to cross them. That's how long it took us when I was captured. Once you cross the mountains, it's only a weeks ride to the border of Southern Carthak, which is mostly desert. It took us almost a month to reach a small city just out of the dessert." Jade was listening avidly. "So…if you're lucky enough to get good weather…I'd say it's just under a four month journey."

That wasn't so very long. Jade had been sure it would be at least six months and she had been very kind on that number. Suddenly, home didn't look so very far away. "Thank you."

Justice smiled. "I know you've been worrying about it. I just wanted you to know. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

A small smile tinged Jade's lips. "It does. Thank you again, Justice. For showing this to me."

The air of indifference stole over Justice's features once again. "Why don't you set us up for tonight? I'll go catch us some dinner."

They had just stepped back into the Great Forest the following morning to head back to the colony when Jade heard and saw the scrape of something flash across the edge of her perception. She swept a long tendril of curly hair away from her damp face, looking around in curiosity. She heard the scrape behind her again and swung to face it, only to have missed it.

Justice stopped to wait. "What's wrong?"

Those things. I think. The ones you said I should ignore." She heard a scrape this time, but didn't see anything.

Justice's eyes scanned the trees around them. "Let's just keep walking."

Jade took a few unsure steps. "What is it, again?"

"A Piper," she said shortly. Ignore them and maybe it'll go away." Justice seemed greatly perturbed by the subject.

Jade slowed her pace as she looked to see where another flash of something had come from. "What are Pipers?" It dropped down in front of her, catching her off guard. Jade stumbled back in surprise, falling against a tree.

It looked like a human, sort of. It appeared to stand on two legs, though it was crouched down some, and smaller. It was a female, Jade could tell that much. Her feet were placed widely to give her more movement; yet she had no toes. In fact, her feet ended in points. She wore a bright orange wrap around her body that was torn off at one shoulder and looked as if she'd tried to rip it off. It reached only to her upper thighs, leaving long thin legs covered in black markings revealed. The one shoulder and arm that was free of any concealment also had odd markings along the entire length. Her slender neck had the markings as well, though sparser.

All ten fingers ended in points that looked as if they were capable of gouging out eyes. Black almond shaped eyes that had more markings around them took over most of the small face, but her teeth were the most frightening. They were razor sharp, each tooth having two points on either side; and from what she could see, two very sharp fangs at least on the upper set. Wild hair the same color as the wrap she wore seemed to be going in every direction possible. And Jade could see, that she had wings, like that of a butterfly. But they were so sickly looking. They were almost wilted; the skin on the small immature wings saggy and had various holes in them. She didn't look young, so Jade couldn't imagine that her wings were still growing. Growing into what, anyway? They were so damaged; this little creature would never fly.

Jade gripped the tree she had fallen against in surprise as the small creature straightened to her full height, she barely reached Jade's shoulders. "There are no such things as Pipers," she hissed softly.

Jade stumbled over her words. "I'm…I'm sorry?"

"I am a Piper," came the voice again.

Jade looked around in confusion. On the other side of the Piper, Justice rolled her eyes and looked a bit angry. "But you just said…"
"There are no such things as Pipers." A bit of blood trickled from the Piper's lip where she had sliced it with one of her razor sharp teeth. She didn't seem to notice. Jade stayed silent. How was she supposed to respond to that?

Justice stomped forward and lowered herself to the little Piper's face. "You're not wanted." Jade cringed. The Piper had just hissed dangerously in Justice's unyielding face. A laugh was all Justice would dignify. "Which one are you? Cobweb? Redcone? Sunburn?"

"Rainmyst," was the short reply. Jade stopped short, was that humor in the low voice. "Perhaps one should look at one's own name before looking to humor on others." Justice's eyes narrowed.

Jade finally found a voice. You're a Piper?"

Rainmyst turned to face her again. "Yes," came the calm reply. There was a twinkle of something downright uneasy about her.

"Are there many Pipers around here?" It had been an innocent question. She hadn't expected Rainmyst to jump at her. They landed on the ground; Jade sprawled on her back, Rainmyst positioned above her looking rather annoyed. Justice didn't even flinch.

"There are no such things as Pipers," was the curt reply.

Jade was quite confused. "What? But you just said…"

"Pip," Justice mumbled. "One Piper. Two Pip."

Jade blinked up at the Piper. "Oh."

A/N: This chapter has a lot of different things going on, but I hope you liked it. Let me know. Later.

Karigan Marie