Breaks:

[L1,2 or 3] represents the beginning of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives. There is more than one past life, which is why I have put up the numbers. These memories are usually told as she sleeps and Elena herself cannot remember them.

[/L1,2 or 3] represents the end of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives.

[P] represents the beginning of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

[/P] represents the end of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

~3~ is just a time skip


A full day had passed since the strangers had arrived at the island. I had spent my morning in the woods, retrieving wood for the fire and food for Botan to eat throughout the day. But by the time that noon came about, the nagging feeling that had built up all morning in my chest became too much for me to continue to ignore.

This lead me to find a tall tree with a clear view of the beach, with a sturdy branch that I could relax on. Nearby were some fruit trees, used to snack on as time passed, which also provided just enough canopy to not be seen from afar. That was where I spent the rest of my day, weaving to pass the time productively, the feeling in my chest significantly reduced with each glance I sent towards the beach.

The loom that I used was small, meant for long cloths that can be made into bandages, which meant that I didn't necessarily have to be inside the Summit Tree in order to use it. And with an occasional visit from a curious Moon who wondered what I was up to, I made sure that the travelers from the sea stayed near the beach.

[L1]

The glass of pressed fruit juice in my hand was cool. Heat that radiated from my hand had created beads of condensation that trickled down the sides of the glass slowly. Even so, I gratefully sipped at the beverage and hummed as it soothed my parched throat.

Music that was played live echoed throughout the village. The lively tunes were made by string instruments and punctuated by the beat of drums.

Eliatropes danced in the village square, just outside the Temple of Conversing. Tables adorned with various finger foods had been set up, along with the table for beverages, around the perimeter of the village square. Lanterns had been hung all throughout the area, and lit as the sun began to sink in the sky, so that the square was well illuminated.

My cheeks were flushed from all the dancing I've already participated in this evening. With my skin so warm and heart still pumping wildly, it was nice to simply stand aside and watch the others have fun.

Most of the Eliatropes participated in a singular dance; where you danced with multiple partners in rotation and changed partners with every repeat of the short tune. But there were also Eliatropes (like Chibi and Mina) who danced only together- and to a tune that only they heard- near the edges of the square.

It was the festival of the Goddess Eliatrope and the Great Dragon, in celebration of their protection over us during the previous year. Each Eliatrope wrote what they've learned in the past year (in regards to their chosen life skill) in a singular, large tome. Then we would offer the knowledge to the Goddess and the Great Dragon to prove our worth for their protection in the next year to come. Afterwards, the Eliatropes would gather together to share the best of the year's harvest, sing to the Goddess Eliatrope and the Great Dragon, and spend the rest of the day in celebration for the year to come.

Yet as I caught my breath, my eyes couldn't help but find a lone figure, who didn't look like they were having much fun. Yugo stood near the edges of the crowd, seemingly hidden within one of the few spots of shadow. His shoulders were hunched and his hat hid his eyes from the angle that I was watching from, but the stoic face he had on was impossible to miss.

The other Eliatropes seemed to skirt around him, giving him just enough room to not be trampled, as though they were weary of his approach. It was a stark contrast to when we were younger- when people seemed to gravitate towards Yugo almost naturally, as though they were bees who had found a patch of blooming flowers.

To hide my frown, I took a long sip of my drink. The fruity smell of the liquid tickled my nose with it's sweetness as I swallowed.

All night, I had been silently waiting for Yugo to come join the dance. Ever since I came back, the man seemed eager to avoid me. Every time that I tried to get close, despite how he had promised to spend some time with me (to catch up) after the meeting of my return, he dodged me. My plan was that with a dance- which had you pair up with virtually everyone present at some point- he wouldn't be able to run away. But as the night lengthened, and he continued to remain a bystander, I became weary of my waiting. Silently, I began to contemplate my chances of reaching Yugo before he could run away again.

A hand brushed against my arm and I looked to my right. Qilby stood there, in all white, with a small smile on his face.

"Elena, how has your evening been so far?" he queried. I turned just enough to face Qilby, and at the same time, keep an eye on Yugo out of the corner of my eye.

My fingers rubbed against the edges of my glass softly as I gave Qilby a smile. "It's been great, thanks! I've been dancing so much, I just needed a quick break. How about you, Qilby?"

"Ah well, I've been keeping myself busy trying to not get stepped on..." he replied casually.

My cheeks instantly went red from embarrassment. It was Qilby who danced with me the majority of the time. He had been cutting and switching with my partner every three or so turns throughout the night. It was unusual, but I had found it entertaining at the time. "Wh- what? I'm not that bad... and it was when I was younger that I couldn't dance!" I complained.

'Besides, why dance with me so often, if you're worried about being trampled?' I wondered silently, mortified at how bad of a dance partner I apparently was. Then I internally cringed. 'Oh man, the others probably think so bad of me now...' I thought as I remembered the other Eliatropes I had been randomly paired with.

"And I'm sure you put a lot of effort into learning while you were away..." Qilby added with a sagely nod.

Meekly, I looked away. He'd caught me there. I had in no way focused on my dancing when I was away. And that truth made me wonder briefly if that was the reason why Yugo had been reluctant to dance...

Without really thinking on it, my eyes traveled in the general direction of where Yugo was standing. Only to see he wasn't there.

The sounds of laughter and the tunes of the music seemed to drain out of the world as I felt like a bucket of ice water was suddenly dumped over my head. Frantically, my eyes searched the crowd. Panic was slowly trying to take over as I combed the edges of the square with my eyes, until finally, I spotted him.

A shade of blue, shadowed by the village buildings, was slinking away into the night. Before I could fully think on it, I had already moved. The need to chase after him and finally get answers for his behaviour was almost maddening.

"Excuse me," was all I managed to mutter to Qilby as I placed my empty glass on a table, and most likely (rudely) interrupted my friend from whatever he had went on to say.

A feeling of concern reached me through the mental link I share with my dragon twin as I skirted around dancers on the balls of my feet. I sent her a feeling of reassurance in turn, not wanting her to worry or try to come after me.

Tehanu had transformed herself to look like an Eliatrope with her magic before she had joined in with the festivities. The other dragon twins had done the same, and now they enjoyed their time dancing to the music with everyone else.

It didn't take me long to leave the square, thankfully. As soon as I was freed from the crowd, I looked from my left to my right as I scurried down the flag stoned streets, making sure to check the few spaces between each house that I passed.

My breath came out as small puffs of air in front of me, the cooling night making it visible. It wasn't until I spotted a blotch of light blue cloth not too far ahead of me that I paused for a moment. Both of my hands rose, my magic heating up my palms, and I created two portals. Not waiting more than a moment for the portals to come into existence, I quickly stepped through them, and appeared in front of the startled Eliatrope.

"Elena?" He asked, voice soft with surprise. But as I looked up at his face, I noticed a confused furrow in his brow, which concerned me.

Staring up at Yugo, so many questions from the past few months bubbled up to the forefront of my mind. Questions about his training away from the village, of his behaviour after I came back, and general questions aimed to get to know him again. Then as my eyes locked with his, my mind went blank, and I realized that I had no idea what I wanted to tell him first.

Quickly enough, the moment that had been open for me to speak had passed, and Yugo looked slightly to my left, away from my eyes. "Why are you here?" He asked me, and I watched as his face went carefully blank. "Weren't you enjoying the festival?"

"Sure I was." I started, deciding to start with his questions before I got to my own. So far away from the heat of bodies dancing, the sudden chill of the night made itself known to me. With my arms wrapped around my shoulders to try and ward off the cold, I kept my focus on Yugo as he kept his gaze away from mine. "I got to dance with the others, meet a few new Eliatropes and enjoy the best of the year's harvest." Then I took a step to the side so my eyes could catch his again. "But not once did I get to dance with you or even speak to you all night, until now!"

As my words registered, his brown eyes widened with shock. "Wha- me?"

"Yes, you!" A small puff of frustrated air was released from my mouth. Then I relaxed and looked at him imploringly. "Didn't we promise to speak after my arrival? I've been waiting, but it feels like you've been ignoring me..." He looked down and his hat covered his eyes from my view, yet I could almost feel the emotions he gave off as I spoke. Decidedly not liking the mixture of sadness and frustration he gave off, I gave him a playful pout. "At this rate I'll have to resort to stalking you just to know when your free, won't I?"

His eyes snapped up to mine, widened, "what?"

Amused by his response, I laughed. Only when he shook his head to hide his own smile did I calm down enough to continue with a genuine smile, no longer joking. "I might be a busy woman, with her days dedicated to new medicines to help my people, but for those who need me-" I shook my head slightly and grabbed Yugo's hand with my own to intertwine our fingers. "-for you-" I amended and looked up at him softly to snag his gaze with my own. "I can easily make the time."

[/L1]

It was the change in temperature that awoke me. Groggily I glanced around. The sun had begun to set, and sometime during my nap I'd dropped my loom onto the ground. Evidently, Moon had come to check up on me at some point. At least, that's what I concluded when I spotted the tiny monkey snoozing away, curled up on my lap.

The forest was now covered in shadows, the last rays of light seemingly hotter than they were at midday. Moon awoke a few moments later, his brown eyes staring up at me lazily as I ran my fingers through his short fur for a moment.

I packed my things into my satchel and rubbed at my sore limbs. Stiff from sitting in a tree all day, it took me a moment to properly adjust to standing again. Then with a much needed stretch to get the last of the sleep from my body, I turned to Moon with a smile, "when did you get here?" I asked him, to which he grinned.

Tail safely curled around the pommel of his war hammer, Moon hopped up to my back and used my clothes to help himself climb onto my shoulder. When there, he put his hands on either side of my head and leaned over just enough so that our eyes could meet. Amused, we stared at one another for a good minute before Moon chittered, then tapped my head with one hand and pointed forwards with the other.

A small laugh left me from Moon's action and I jumped down from my tree to grab the fallen loom. With my loom safely tucked into my satchel, I then opened a portal and went through it with Moon situated on my shoulder.

~3~

It was completely dark by the time that Moon and I arrived back at the Summit Tree. Stars glittered above us and the moon was bright despite the fact that half of it was hidden in shadows.

"Botan, you here?" I called out as I walked forwards, having noticed that the double doors had been left open. Moon clambered down from my shoulder and chittered curiously as he ran indoors.

"Right here." Botan called, and I turned away from the house. From around a bend in the path Botan walked up to me, his staff used like a cane as he walked. I took in how there wasn't a limp to his step, nor a wince in his shoulders as he moved his arms.

With a nod of approval in his direction I said, "it looks like you've healed well today."

"Yes. The new medicine that you made has done wonders for this old body of mine." Botan agreed with a nod of his large mask.

A chitter from Moon was heard then, and I turned to see his worried expression questioning me. Then he caught sight of Botan who walked towards us and instantly perked up. With a new hop in his step, the little monkey bounced forwards towards Botan and stopped to hop up and down at his feet.

"Sorry I worried you." Botan said kindly, his tone more amused rather than regretful. But Moon hardly noticed as he stopped his chittering then, and turned his attention to something in the distance. I followed the direction that he looked, and frowned when I spotted two large plumes of smoke that rose into the sky from the village.

"What?" I questioned aloud. With one glance up at the moon to confirm that it was still only half full, I looked sideways at Botan. "Isn't it too early for this?"

Even as I asked though, Moon had already taken off. He ran down the path from the Summit Tree that lead to the village. Not about to follow, I let out a small sigh and scratched the back of my neck. Usually it was only once a moon cycle that Moon was called down to the village, each time that the moon was full. The villagers held feasts then; they would give part of it to Moon as an offering of thanks for protecting them that month and as payment to continue to do so for another.

"I hope it isn't anything serious." Botan muttered darkly, to which I looked over at him curiously. He must have seen the look on my face, as I soon heard him let out a stressed sigh. "There's so much damage that Saul could do to those people. They confide in their Shaman, trust their lives to him. If one doesn't make decisions based on what is good for the many and instead follows their greed, it could lead to more than just chaos."

I was quiet as I listened to what he had to say. It made a chill run down my spine in worry. Before I could think on it anymore, Botan moved and held an object out in front of me. It took all of a second for my eyes to widen in shock, my breath halted in my chest. Before me he held out a mask, the wood still tinged green at the edges, the carvings still fresh, the leaves still vibrant.

"You could wear this, when we confront them."

Trembling, I reached out a hand to trace one of the carvings on the mask. "Why..." I swallowed, then tried again. "You made...?"

"Take it, it's yours to do with as you please Elena."

As though it would break under my touch, I cradled it gently in my grip. Memories of my own mask when I was younger flashed through my mind painfully. Tears began to prickle at the edges of my vision, a hot sensation began to build in my chest. With wide eyes on the verge of tears, I looked up to Botan.

"If it's too much, you can burn it. Throw it away even." Botan said softly. "But I do hope, even if it isn't right away, that one day you will come to the village wearing it. We will get rid of Saul together Elena, and the villagers will no longer shut you out. I'll make sure of it."

"They..." it was hard to speak, my voice barely came out loud enough to hear. I cleared my throat and tried again. "My face has already been seen though. You can't... no one comes back after that."

"My dear, how many years has it been since they have seen you?" I stayed quiet, the answer already in my mind even though I was unwilling to say it. My grip on the newly carved wooden mask became just a little more firm. Botan gave a nod. "They won't remember exactly. It will only be I who does, and because I am Shaman it is permitted." he put his hand on my shoulder and I flinched from the sudden contact, but didn't pull away. "And if it is worn when we face Saul together, they won't have any excuses to tell me to try and send you away."

Mouth dry, I swallowed then looked back down at the mask. It was done beautifully. The eyes looked closed, peaceful like, as though the mask were asleep. It's face was perfectly round, as though it were half of a sphere. Started at the chin, the roots of a tree were carved. The nose and between the eyes was the trunk of the tree. Then where the eyebrows would start is when the trunk began to branch out, which covered the entire forehead.

Amongst the craved branches of the mask were fresh green leaves which were painstakingly stitched together so they curved up and over the top and sides of the mask. This was done so that the wearer wouldn't be seen. But because I wore a hat that already covered most of my face, there wasn't a need for as many leaves on the mask like the ones that the rest of the villagers wore. Instead, the leaves looked a little like a mane or crown around the outside of the mask, instead of a drape, because of this.

When I looked up again, Botan had made his way back towards the house. As though he sensed me watching him, he paused in the large doorway. "You can take as long as you want to think it over." he said, then continued inside the house. I watched as the doors closed heavily behind him before my gaze went upwards to the totem on top of the Summit Tree.

With a circle of my hands, two portals appeared for me to step through. Up I went, to my tree atop the totem, feeling overwhelmed. When I reached the top, I settled myself in the tree and looked up at the stars as I finally let my tears roll down my cheeks.

[P]

Scratched and bruised, my breath left in short pants as I stumbled my way through the forest. It was dark, had been for a while now, and I was sure that I heard something rustle the bushes somewhere to my left. Luckily nothing appeared from behind them and I was left to carry on my way, though considerably more frightened than I had been before.

Then I caught sight of it through the small slits in my mask that are used for sight- the dim orange glow of a fire that danced off the tree leaves. My heart skipped a beat in my excitement at the sight, and my pace quickened. Tree roots seemed to jut out of the ground just enough to try and trip me or twist my ankles, but that hardly mattered when safety was only a few feet away.

"Miji! Miji!" I called desperately the moment that I had managed to bully my way free from the forest. Houses as round as nuts hung from the branches of the trees, rope bridges connected them together like spider's silk and wooden stairs that circled around thick tree trunks connected the rope bridges to the ground below. Salty tears had begun to run down my cheeks in relief when I spotted the villagers who walked towards their homes from the fields. "Miji! Miji!"

Some people had stopped at the sounds of my cries. They turned their heads towards me and the air seemed to become chilly, but I didn't care. All that I wanted was Momiji, her yummy cooking in my belly and a nice warm bath to get rid of the soreness of my body. Only, as I was about to run up the nearest staircase to get to the rope bridges, a strong grip suddenly snagged the back of my tunic. The ground suddenly became my sky as I was tossed backwards, my breath snagged in my throat from the sudden pressure against my wind pipe.

With a painful thud my back hit the ground and my body rolled to a stop. It took a moment for me to process what happened, before I used my elbows to push up my upper body and turn to look towards the stairs. There were two village men that stood in front of the stairs, their bulky arms crossed in front of their bare chests and backs straight in defiance. Around me a group of villagers had gathered in a semi-circle, their gazes cold even through the masks that they wore.

Coughs left me in attempt to sooth my sore throat while I stared in confusion at the people before me. Then someone stepped forwards, their mask neutral with a red star painted over it's right eye. Recognizing the person as Momiji, I perked up, "Mo-"

"You aren't welcome here anymore, devil." she said, her voice hard as steel. I froze, my eyes went wide. Her words bounced around in my head as though they were trapped. Then I began to tremble as the meaning sank in, and I thought to all the times the other children in the village had bullied me and called me names.

"Miji...?" I questioned, voice hoarse and hardly louder than a whisper.

There was no response, if she had even heard me. The large fire at the center of the village seemed ominous as it lit up the villagers backs and cast their shadows down upon me. They began to approach me and all I could do was shrink down to try and be as tiny as possible against the ground.

Rough hands grabbed at my arms and suddenly, my mask was tugged off my head. A painful yelp left my throat as the mask's leather strap snagged on the 'ears' hidden within my hat. As though I had been exposed, I tried to hide my face away from view with my arms but another hand grabbed me by my chin and forced me to look towards the crowd.

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as I watched the crowd part for the villager who had my mask to go through. They went to the fire and tossed the wooden object to the flames. Then with flourish, as though they had just rid themselves of something foul, the person turned to address the crowd. Their mask looked happy, mouth frozen in a happy laugh, eyes wide and round. It was a white gobball's fleece that was used to keep others from seeing this person's face.

"There is no need to live in fear any longer, my kin. No more shall we wonder who will disappear next, to be torn asunder somewhere within the forest. For from this day forth, the devil who can rip apart life without muttering a single spell will no longer live amongst us!"

They all broke out in loud cheers. The ones who held me shook my body roughly as I was suddenly shown off to the crowd like an exhibit. I flinched and tried to get away as the cheers turned into jeers. Sticks were picked up off the ground and jabbed towards me painfully. Then as I was forced to a stop in front of the happy masked teen with white gobball fleece on their head, the crowd's noise went down.

"Let us throw the devil to the forest, where the lives that have been taken will be free to have their revenge!"

Cheers rang throughout the crowd at that. I sobbed, shook my head and repeated over and over again how it hadn't been me. No one could hear me and if they did, they didn't bother to listen.

The tree roots that stuck out of the ground had no mercy for me as I was roughly thrown over them. Somewhere along the way my side bloomed in pain, but it had to be ignored as I needed to get up, get away. Stones had begun to fly my way the condensed and hardened earth leaving large welts on my skin. Desperate to be out range as soon as I could, I scrambled to my feet and ran back into the forest.

[/P]

There was a shudder in my breath as I blinked away the last of my tears, emotions finally calmed enough from the memories that had been evoked. As I stared up at the night sky, high above the ground where no one could easily reach me, I had gradually grown calmer.

I loved the stars. For hours upon hours Moon and I would simply sit up here to watch them. Once, I even considered trying to use my portals to get to them. But then doubt would set in, and I would wonder what would happen if I began to fall from such a height, or how I would get back down if I succeeded. That didn't mean that I wouldn't be able to one day, for I had figured that as my body grows, the power of my portals would too. Which meant that, eventually, I would be able to reach the stars with my own hands.

Sometimes, if I'd stare at the stars for long enough, I'd feel a deep longing in my chest. It'd hurt, enough to bring tears to my eyes and make my body go numb. It gave me the feeling that my real home just might be amongst those stars instead of the World of Twelve. I didn't know what I'd do if that were true.

Memories of myself in the village began to surface again, as I finally brought my gaze down from the stars and to the wooden mask in my hands. Quietly I traced the mask's design with a finger. Even before Botan had given it to me, I knew that I could never go back to the village. Not to live there. I'd much rather stay with Moon, here at the Summit Tree, than ever go back to try and fit in with the people in that village again.

There was a lot of hard work put into this mask, I could feel it. I didn't want to simply throw it away, or burn it. But I wasn't sure if I could wear it. Hide myself away from them again. It was rather freeing, I had found, to wear nothing on my face all day. Like something heavy had been taken away.

With a sigh, I leaned back against the rough bark of my tree, and let the mask rest on my lap.

A distant yell caught my attention then. I sat up as the now constant shout had come closer. Curious, I climbed further up my tree and looked down the totem to the branches of the Summit Tree below.

My mouth swung slightly open as I witnessed Moon drag a person behind him. He had them by the ankle, and the poor person whacked the back of their head constantly on the wooden stairs that climbed to the top of the totem. It looked rather painful as Moon hopped from one step to the next, and the person slammed into the stair right behind him- almost like a stone that skipped across the water.

When Moon came to a stop at the top of the totem, just a few feet away from me, I hopped down from the tree. The person hadn't noticed me yet, as she now rolled about the top of the totem and clutched the back of her head in pain. I was just surprised that Moon would drag someone along like that... until a memory of Moon trying to do something similar to me at the start of our relationship suddenly came to the forefront of my mind, and my shock dissipated. The teen groaned, sat up, and my eyes shot to her instantly.

Then my eyes widened as I remembered her. This was one of the teens from the wrecked ship. Her long green hair reached the middle of her back, and two ditzy flowers were on a headband in her hair. I suspected that her olive-toned skin would have been flawless if it weren't for her trip with Moon up the Summit Tree. Then I noticed how she had thick ropes tied around her wrists and ankles, which bound them together. It looked rather uncomfortable.

Before I could say anything, the teen yelled in alarm, which made me jump. Her eyes were shut tight as she thrusted her arms out in front of her despite them being tied together. Moon had leapt up at her, and had begun to easily untie her with the use of his sharp canines. When done, Moon jumped off of her and the ropes fell beside her.

Now quiet, the green-haired teen opened her golden brown eyes and looked at the rope in surprise. She looked from her now unbound wrists to Moon, who was stared up at her curiously.

"You bully! You thug! Monkey head! That's not how you treat a princess!" the green-haired teen yelled out and Moon chittered frighteningly before he ran to me and climbed up onto my shoulder. "Bully! You're lucky you're so small!"

"Hey!" I snapped and she stopped. My eyes narrowed into a glare, not liking how Moon now hid behind my head as he peaked out at her. "No need to be so mean, Moon was just helping you out."

She blinked and looked me over. There was an odd look on her face as she regarded me, as though she was thinking of someone else. Then her eyes spotted Moon peaking out from behind my hat.

"Wha- when did you get here?" She asked, making me frown. Moon had just untied her, she wasn't even going to thank him? Then she looked around and gasped, her eyes going wide at the sight of the island under the blanket of the stars. "It's incredible...!"

Moon hopped down from my shoulders and grabbed a small red flower that had been growing nearby. He set his hammer down beside me and climbed up on the green-haired girl, putting it in her hair as an apology.

"Thank you." the girl blushed and my opinion of her became a little better.

"How come your here?" I asked tersely, and stood next to this teen. She had to be older than me by a few years because she was much taller than me. My head easily came to just over her elbows, letting her tower over me. I silently told myself that I still had growing to do.

She sighed at my question, "I was traveling on a ship with my friends. But we got caught up in a storm not far from here." She bit her lower lip as I glanced up at her. "We must have gotten sucked into that tornado that I saw, because the next thing that I knew I was waking up on the beach with my friends, the ship a wreck around us. This evening we went to go find some food but, we were captured by the Sedida's that live here... and I think they're planing on hurting my friends."

An image of the boy with eyes that had changed colors conjured in my mind at her words, and my heart gained a painful squeeze at the thought of him hurt. I fought the urge to clutch at my shirt, the sudden jolt against my ribs completely irrational. Yet it had enough of a lull over me to worry all day, until I had gone to sit in a tree to make sure they didn't wander too far from the beach...

"I'm really worried for them, and as much as I like this view, I know that I have to go and help my friends. That masked monster down there is keeping them prisoner and I'm really worried as to what he's going to do to them." She looked down sadly at the trees far below us, towards the village. The glow of their fires hadn't died down yet and easily illuminated the large gates that lead up to the tree house.

I tilted my head in contemplation. My opinion of this teen had changed once more; she seemed to really care for her friends. I glanced over at Moon, who was still on her shoulder and saw that he seemed to have taken a liking towards her. He was a rather outgoing monkey and was friendly to most that he came across, but he didn't generally climb onto someone's shoulders unless he really liked them. I watched as the teen's expression turned, from worried and sad, to a steady determination. It looked as though she was ready to face anything to help her friends out.

After a moment of silence, Moon chittered and I nodded my head.

"Alright then," I said, and looked the green-haired teen in the eyes. "Why don't we go see if Botan is ready then, huh?" I looked over at Moon who chattered in agreement.

The green haired teen gave the both of us odd looks, which had my mouth twitch with amusement. Then I turned as my hands heated up with the pulse of my magic. I made two portals- seemingly surprising the green haired teen, who gasped- and hopped through them. Only a moment later, I heard the poor teen's scream in between my portal jumping, and I knew that Moon had grabbed her ankle again in order to drag her down to the house.

I arrived a good minute or two before Moon and grimaced when I spotted the teen behind him. Her eyes were a little dazed with pain as she breathed heavily, limp on the ground. Moon chittered, looking confused and slightly upset that his guest wasn't responding, and the commotion seemed to bring Botan to the window. Eventually the green-haired teen groaned and sat up, which got Moon be quiet as he noted that she was okay.

"You really need to stop dragging me around like that if you want us to be friends..." she said to him, and I almost snorted. There was no way that she was fast enough to keep up with Moon and I, which I suspected was why Moon had dragged her around in the first place. I heard Botan chuckle, which brought the teen's attention to him.

"Well, well, well." There was a smile in his voice, for sure. "It looks like our little God has brought a friend to our dinner tonight."

Shot up on her feet, the teen waved her fist at the masked old man. "Hey Kanniball, I'll make you really regret kidnapping me!" She yelled back, which had me laugh in surprise. Did she think we were about to eat her? That thought was amusing.

"Come on," I waved my hand over my shoulder in a gesture to follow as I went to the double doors of the house. "I have some herbal tea that you can try for your injuries."

Moon followed me into the house eagerly and, soon enough, the teen followed silently. We went into the living room and sat in front of the fire place. The herbal tea I'd left out for Botan was freshly made and the low bubbling from within the cauldron over the fire was rather calming to hear. There were extra tea cups ready though, as if he had known that a guest was here.

Though, I suppose her screams weren't very subtle...

"My name is Botan Ficus," Botan introduced calmly as he handed over a cup filled with herbal tea to the teen. He then gestured to Moon and I, "And these are my humble hosts, Moon and Elena."

"It's nice to meet you," the green-haired girl replied as she blew on the tea before she took a sip. "My name is Princess Amalia Sheran Sharm of the Sedida Kingdom. I've come here traveling with my four friends, Evangeline of the Cra, Rule the Enutrof, Sir Percedal the Iop of Sadlygrove and Yugo, with his little Tofu bird, Az." She took another sip of her tea before she put it down and stared into her kokonut cup sadly. "We're traveling in search of Yugo's family, and we were well on our way before we got caught up in a storm. And when we searched for some food in the jungle, we got captured by the Sedida's that live here. Now, I'm very worried for my friends and hope that nothing bad has happened to them..."

Moon grabbed Amalia's cup and brought it back to Botan to fill up once more. The action made the princess smile. I noticed that my own tea was gone and passed it to the elder as well. Once the princess's cup was filled, Moon brought it back to her, chittering to her softly.

"Ah, Moon." Amalia said with a smile of thanks before she looked between me and Botan almost shyly. "What a funny little monkey..."

"My people have worshiped him for hundreds of years." Botan stated, which made Amalia look up at him in surprise.

"Hundreds of years? But no animal can live that long...!" Amalia said with surprise.

"Maybe," I responded, head on my fist and elbow on the table. With my eyes on my friend, I felt a small smile make it's way on my face. "His magic hammer gives him powers, see. So, despite his appearance, Moon is very strong."

Moon chattered to me happily at that. He made fists with his hands and held them up above his shoulders as though to make muscles. Then he walked in a circle with a serious face. I laughed at his antics and Amalia joined in once she noticed what Moon was doing.

"He's not the danger on this island." Botan then said with an amused tone to his voice. His voice then turned cold as he mentioned his enemy. "Saul The Crooked, is an evil and power-hungry being that's as smart as a monkey." Botan's voice grew grim and our laughter quieted as Botan recounted what happened before Moon found him again. "Saul tricked me, then trapped me in the void of the highest cliff on the island. It would have been a fatal fall if I hadn't been able to summon some leaves to cushion it, thanks to Sadida. That's when Moon and Elena found me and brought me to live here with them, until my injuries heal. Without them, I would have been pushing up ditzy flowers... I now wait for the moment when I can challenge Saul once more."

"My friends could help us!" Amalia suddenly cried, her cup slammed onto the table in her haste. Amalia then looked over at Moon, "but Moon has to let me go so that I can warn them."

"I can take you down to the village," I offered then and Moon looked between Amalia and I sadly. He crawled onto my lap then, and I couldn't help but pet his soft fur. "It's okay Moon, I promise to be careful this time."

"What do you mean?" Amalia questioned, green brows furrowed as she looked at me.

"The village hasn't always been very kind to me." I stated simply, and my eyes slid off of her as I thought to the day that I had been banished. A heavy feeling filled my chest and I had to stop that line of thought before I got carried away. With a blink to get rid of any residual tears, I brought myself back to the present. "Now when they see me, they make sure I know that I'm not welcome."

Amalia regarded me with horrified eyes and I wondered what I had said wrong.

"The mask should prevent that this time, Elena." Botan spoke up and I turned my attention to him.

"About that, Botan," my thoughts went back to the mask, which I had left at the base of the tree when Amalia showed up. "I can't. I won't go back there. I'll be staying here." I stated firmly, and Botan's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, but I wont. At most I'll wear it around others in the village but I won't go back."

The old Shaman let out a sigh. "Well, I guess it can't be helped." he said, then straightened. "Please be lenient with them, then, Elena." I didn't give an answer to that, not sure what he wanted me to say. It wasn't as though I had ever meant them any harm.

"It would seem that Sadida is with us," Botan mused then, changing the subject. "When his belly is full, our friend is pretty easy to convince. If you ask him nicely, Amalia, I'm sure he'll help."

I nodded my confirmation to her only a moment before I realized that Moon had fallen asleep on my lap, a citronana peel on his furry chest. I giggled and scratched the fur on Moon's belly, watching with amusement as his tail twitched before his hand swatted mine away. Moon opened his eyes and yawned cutely before rubbing his eyes. When I glanced up at Amalia, she nodded before she faced me to address Moon.

"Moon, can you help me and my friends defeat Saul?" Amalia asked, and it was a moment or two before Moon replied. He chittered happily and hopped up, grabbing Amalia's ankle. I saw her eyes go wide as she realized what was about to happen. "Wai-" She tried to say, but Moon had already dragged her off.

I laughed as I stood up, two portals now in front of me, before I looked back at Botan. He shook his head before waving me along.

"I'll follow at my own pace." He stated calmly and I nodded.

~3~

After a visit to the top of the Summit Tree to retrieve the mask that Botan had carved for me, I made my way down to the village with the use of my portals. My heart pounded in my chest as I arrived and took notice of changes and similarities.

Houses were still suspended high in the thick branches of the trees. Rope bridges connected them, and the spiral stairs that lead to the bridges were just as sturdy as I remembered. On the ground underneath the houses were the fences that marked herd lands and separated them from the vegetable fields.

The large bond fire was no longer at the heart of the village, however. Now it was lit beside the large totem gates that lead to the path up the mountain and to the Summit Tree. On top of these raging flames was a large pot with a boiling liquid inside (which smelt quite nice, actually). However, hung by their ankles above the pot by a large spit was the blonde traveler and the boy who wore a hat similar to my own. The sight of him tied there had an anger begin to burn in my chest.

Before I could jump forwards and untie him myself, I noticed a small round, yellow bird hover in front of him. As the bird- was it a Tofu that Amalia had called it?- began to untie the ropes from both bound people, I shook my head in confusion. The anger that I had felt began to lessen and with a noise of frustration I couldn't omit, I wondered where it had come from so suddenly.

Stood atop one of the gates to the mountain path, it didn't take long for me to spot Moon. He was atop Amalia's shoulder, his war hammer clutched in his hands instead of with his tail. Amalia stood beside the fire and in front of her was a crowd of villagers who had been knocked over.

Amongst them I noticed, were the old man and the orange haired man from the ship. They sat in the center of the fallen villagers, expressions of relief on their faces. The orange haired one held up the sword with a single eye- Rubilax, it had called itself- and looked at it with excitement.

"I must be getting stronger than I thought!" he said, amazement in his tone. The old man stood up beside him, and shook his head.

"Afraid not, my dear Iop. I believe that helping hand had come from our dear Amalia." and he shot a thankful smile in said teen's direction. Amalia gave a shy smile and Moon chittered beside her ear.

"It must be related to my powers, but I can't stand having my hands tied," the boy in blue spoke up then, eyes on Moon with fascination on his face as he rubbed his wrists. Both he and the blonde woman were now untied and safely on the ground beside the boiling pot of food.

To my left, I spotted the large bell on top of a nearby tower and remembered how the Shaman would use it to call for meetings. The tower was build between the Shaman's house and the mountain. A rope bridge connected the Shaman's house to the tower, and the tower to a nearby overhang cliff. It was on the cliff that the Shaman usually stood, so that the villagers could hear him clearly as he spoke to them.

With a glance back down at the group below, I noticed how they had now all gathered around Amalia and Moon. Hung on the side of my head so that it wouldn't get in my way, was the mask that Botan had carved. My heart began to beat quickly as I reached up and pulled the wooden object over my face. I took a deep breath, suddenly nervous, to call out.

"Amalia!" I shouted and gained everyone's attention. Suddenly I was very glad for the mask that now covered my face. "I'll call everyone here, you and your friends should get to that cliff there." I pointed to the overhang before I made my portals and went through them to get to the bell.

I ignored the collective gasp from behind me, which the appearance of the portal had caused, and grit my teeth. Then I jumped inside of it- which was proof to not only me, but to anyone who watched that they were now perfectly safe.

Once I got to the bell, I let out a sigh and my portals closed behind me silently. I couldn't hear what anyone said now that I was further away, but I could still hear the rise and fall of their collective voices in the distance. Turned to face the bell, I noticed that the boy in blue had been watching me with an odd expression on his face. It made my heart skip a beat at the realization, and for a moment I wondered what he saw.

Safely hidden behind the mask, I hadn't noticed that I had begun to stare until the boy was suddenly shaken. He looked away, and the red haired man with the sword had a smile that was all teeth as he spoke to him- hand still firmly on his shoulder. Didn't the old man call the red haired one a Iop?

I took a breath, then shook my head lightly from the odd trance that I had been in. Above my head was the thick rope that was tied to the bell and I reached up to grab a hold of it. The clear ring of the bell sounded out through the village, and slowly, curious villagers' heads began appear out of windows and doors to their homes. When they saw no danger, they began to make their way to the overhang cliff. The villagers who had been knocked out, came-to groggily, before they made their own way to the cliff and they sat down tiredly with the rest.

When I was satisfied that all the villagers had heard the bell and had begun their short trek to the overhang cliff, I opened my portals and made my way to the overhang myself. When I got there, I landed just beside Amalia, glad to see that she and her friends were already there. A small smile made it's way onto my face when I noticed that Moon had decided to sit on top of Amalia's head proudly, his hammer at her feet.

"Once everyone's here, you can talk to them." I stated quietly, my address to Amalia, but I gained everyone's attention regardless. She nodded to me and looked to the gathered villagers, and I suddenly found myself surrounded by her friends.

"I'm Sir Percedal of Sadly growth!" The Iop yelled out before his sword started to laugh at him.

"My name is Rule and this is the lovely Evangeline." The old man said, then pointed at the blond lady.

"I'm Yugo! It's nice to meet you!" The boy in blue greeted cheerily.

I just barely said my name in return before they started to ask me questions all at once, making me a little flustered. All I could really catch from their questions were the words that were said most often: 'portal', 'family', 'Yugo' and 'how'.

"Woah, hey... Don't touch the hat." I responded when I felt a slight tug on my hat. My hands flew up to my head to make sure that it stayed on. Not even Moon could see what was under my hat. Suddenly the group went silent, their expressions expectant. It was then I realized that they probably wanted me to answer their questions. I gave them a sheepish chuckle. "How about... one question at a time...?"

Before they could ask me anything more though, Amalia had began to address the crowd of villagers. The group looked from me to Amalia, before they took up positions beside her so that they could see what was going on. I caught Moon smiling at me before he turned to face the people too.

My ears seemed to heat up, and I realized that there was another gaze on me. Turned slightly to the side, I spotted Yugo just to my left, his eyes already on me.

Everything around me tuned out as our eyes locked. Now that I was closer, I could see that his eyes were now a beautiful azure color. I felt my heart give a jolt at their familiarity. Warmth shot up my spine as his eyes grew wide, the familiarity I felt reflected there.

Why did I feel as though I knew him? The thought of his name made something in my chest tremble. I wanted to go to him. I wanted to hold him close, tell him everything about me that I could think of and ignore everything that wasn't him. I wanted to listen to every word he had to say about himself.

My heart stuttered again, before it began to beat so fast in my chest I feared it would bruise. A heart-wrenching longing hit me in the gut. The feeling almost exactly like how I felt after a dream would fade from my thoughts. It had tears threaten to spill over from my eyes. It stole the breath from my lungs, as though I could no longer breathe.

Then I blinked, sucking in a sharp breath. As though the trance was broken by the noise, the world rushed in around me. Amalia's voice rang loudly as she spoke to the crowd below. Their quiet awe deafening as they listened. The red headed Iop shuffled on his feet just behind Yugo, his sword muttering at his hip.

When I looked back to Yugo, his eyes looked glassy. But then he blinked, and they slowly seemed to focus again. Had he gone through a similar experience as I had?

But then I saw the confusion in his expression. He looked me in the eyes again, and there I saw the same question that I was thinking;

What just happened?


AN: Recently I came across an interesting question; "Have you ever considered that Marvel comics/films might be fanfiction of Norse mythology; Grendel and the Beowulf film with Angelina Jolie; remakes of Romeo and Juliet and hamlet- in which public domain stories are adapted to modern times?" It me thinking, and I can't help but agree to some extent. These stories are all remakes and remixes in part, but it's the new twists and odd turns that have made them unique enough to be considered their own story too. You know? I'd love to hear what others think of this too. Do you agree? Disagree? Why?

On another note, the story is certainly ramping up compared to the first chapter! Tell me what you think! Have you read the previous version I had up? (I now cringe at it's memory.) If you did, what do you think of the changes...? And better yet, what do you expect to stay the same- or hope to stay the same? I'd love to know what you think ;)