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. Though, 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 timeskip

AN: Enjoy the story!


Cut fruits put into sliced kokonut husks were lined up on the table, enough to feed Moon and I several times over by the time that Yugo was satisfied the meal would feed all of his friends, himself and us (though Moon was snacking a lot while we set up the table, so it might have been only me instead of Moon and I). The sweet water from said kokonuts were collected into the cauldron and placed over the fire, where it was stirred with some of my more aromatic herbs and stewed with a few vegetables until it had thickened into a hearty soup.

...I had no idea if it would actually taste nice. On my part, things were just added in there but Yugo seemed optimistic about it.

"Wow, something smells great." a tired voice sleepily drawled as I entered the main room, arms filled with some of my healing supplies. I noticed how Yugo's attention was immediately diverted from the soup that he was stirring and to the person who had spoken and shook my head at how he'd dropped the wooden spoon in his distraction. Following where his gaze had gone, Amalia rubbed at her eyes lightly as she entered the room and wandered over to the low table. She sat down on her knees and looked from the food to Yugo, "morning. Were you the one who did all this?"

He nodded, "I helped." was his reply, a grin on his face. His arm began to move again, as though to continue stirring, only for him to notice the missing spoon. Alarmed, he leaned forward to look into the pot only to let out a low curse.

Curiously Amalia tilted her head to one side at him before she suddenly spotted me.

"Hey, it's you!" Amalia declared brightly, then faltered as she tried to remember my name. "Um...?"

"Elena." I stated, not really bothered that she had forgotten. I had forgotten most of her friends names too.

"Elena! Yes, that's right." the teen nodded before her expression gained a questioning look. "We were looking all over for you! Where have you been?"

A bit startled, I furrowed my brows. "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why... why would you look for me?" I queried. The only reason why someone would actively search me out drew up bad conclusions for me and I was instantly on edge because of it. Before I could open my mouth to defend myself though, she'd already begun to answer me.

"Well, this is where you live isn't it? I know Botan Ficus said it was alright if we just stayed here, but I wasn't entirely sure that it would be alright without your permission." she stated, and Yugo shot her a look of surprise that she either didn't notice or chose to ignore. "I know it's a bit late, but would it be alright if we continued to stay here, at least until the village can accommodate us or maybe until our boat has been rebuilt?"

Surprised, I blinked at Amalia for a moment, unsure what to do with the sudden mix of soothed and pleased feelings within me. It was odd being asked permission for something. I liked the feeling it gave me.

A tentative nod, "sure." was the reply that left me, which got the green-haired teen to smile.

"Great!" she grinned, and another fluttery emotion went through me as I noticed the grateful look on her face. I think my answer had made her happy, something I wasn't used to doing for people- though not without lack of effort on my part.

"I didn't know you knew how to ask for things, Amalia!" Yugo teased, a silly smile taking residency on his face. Only instead of something playful in return, the sun kissed teen tensed in actual anger.

"Of course I do!" Amalia defended herself, and I watched with fascination as her face flushed a brilliant red that covered from the tips of her ears all the way down to the collar of her neck. How had she done that? Was that even normal? "It's just that princess's don't normally have to, because its a mark of a good servant to give us what we want before we even need to ask! So I certainly don't have to ask for things very often! Besides, this is clearly a special case."

"If you say so...!" Yugo replied with a cheer to his voice, completely disregarding the anger. Spoon retrieved, he turned back to the cauldron and it's contents. Amalia didn't seem to catch the teasing note to his tone though, as her shoulders relaxed somewhat after that.

Then- as though to emphasize what she was saying only a moment earlier- just as Amalia brought up her hand to her hair with an alarmed expression, her headband with ditzy flowers on it was presented before her by her blonde companion. Without a word Amalia grabbed the object and put it in her hair with a satisfied sigh, to which the blonde nodded and sat down nearby. Instantly noticing the wince in her posture as she sat, I decided to go to her first. Yugo had the food handled just fine. She noticed me approach and her expression seemed to brighten.

"Elena! It's good to see that you're okay!" she stated happily, and I paused for a moment after I sat down at her side. She tried to turn to see me, but winced and face forwards again. In those few seconds I was able to spot the healing bruises on her skin. The cut on her forehead was now scabbed over, looking damp. Skin under her eyes looked a tad darker, signs of a bad nights sleep. My eyes fell to her arms, noting the start of long red scars, some still half covered with flaking scabs. It was then that I noticed her shoulder again, still completely out of place.

Knowing she was still in pain, "where does it hurt most?" I questioned her immediately while I brought up a hand to lightly touch the top of her shoulder.

"Honestly, I feel like one big bruise." The blonde replied with a sigh so I set down my things only to put a cloth that can be used as a sling on my lap. She tried to get a look at me again, but flinched when she moved much too quickly. "What are you doing?"

"I wanna help fix your shoulder for you." as I spoke, I gently maneuvered her arm into place so that I could start rotating it as I had done for Yugo earlier this morning. She hissed at the initial motion and I frowned. "I have some tonic for pain, if you want. It will put you to sleep, but there won't be any pain."

Just beyond the blonde I could spot Amalia as she cringed and held her own shoulder in sympathy. Then Evangeline shook her head, "that's okay, I can manage some pain." she stated confidently, only I could see doubt in her eyes. A hum came from Yugo, though I couldn't tell if it was of disagreement or not with her answer. When I nodded and began to gently swing her arm gradually into position, I tried to think of something to say to distract her. Only, I didn't really need to.

"Good morning my friends!" A happy voice called from the bedroom hallway, which got everyone's attention. With a confident stride the red haired companion of the party came into the room- with the old man trailing along behind him- and his eyes immediately zeroed in on the blonde clenching her teeth in front of me.

"Evangeline, whatever is your distress?!" he demanded immediately and unsheathed his talking sword from a loop on his belt to hold aloft. "Whatever it is, I will destroy it for you!"

There was a pained look in her eyes but she managed to make an awkward smile, "no, I'm fin-"

I had to cut her off abruptly, "sorry."

Sh-click went her shoulder.

"-argh!"

Abruptly her open palm slammed into the table with enough force to make everything on it shake. Everyone except for Yugo and I flinched at the sudden noise.

"How does that feel?" I asked while tucking in her arm at her ribs, coaxing her stiff hand from the table to hold onto it.

Angrily, "what do you mean?! Obviously it hur-"

"It feels so much better," Evangeline gasped, cutting off the red head as she turned to face me without flinching in pain.

I nodded, preparing a sling for her to use, "anything else I can look at for you? I remember you hurt your back before..."

"My back..?"

"And you definitely did something to your ribs." I gestured to said ribs on the same side that I sat on. It must have happened when she hurt her shoulder. "One of the healers in the village is good for working with injuries like that. I saw him help an apprentice hunter once, who had taken a stumble while out and had come back limping. There was something wrong with his hips and it affected his entire back. Couldn't sit and stand up without help. But after the visit with the healer the hunter became better again."

From the corner of my eye, limited somewhat due to my mask, I noticed how the read head had flinched when he leaned too far forward and slowly put his sword back into it's belt. I turned to face him completely. "You should probably visit that healer with her."

He looked at me, a peculiar expression on his face that I couldn't identify. From what I could see, everyone else seemed to have similar expressions. In the back of my mind I noted how strange it was to see so much expression and silently marveled at just how much these travelers seemed to use said expressions to speak. Mainly I couldn't help but wonder how no one else seemed to have noticed the sword user's discomfort until I pointed it out.

With a surprised noise from my left, "why didn't you say you were hurting, Dally?" Yugo asked, finally pulling the cauldron out of the hearth with the long hook. The metal gave a low creak, stones holding it in place releasing some built up dust and grit from disuse. Normally I used my portals to get it out of the fire; I was only mildly surprised that the spit could still move at all.

Dally seemed to trip over what to say, slowly sitting down at the table across from Evangeline. "Well- I mean- It doesn't really hurt. Sure I'm a bit sore- It's nothing to really complain about."

"I can see that your collar is out of alignment." I stated disapprovingly, "your shoulder burns when you move it or lift anything too heavy or carry anything of weight with that side. You can't put any pressure on your chest either, you'll loose your breath and feel like something is about to break. The healer will fix all of that for you within the hour."

In my mind's eye I could clearly see the young Herd Tender who had went to the Bone Healer's hut, complaining so loudly I didn't even need to stop and concentrate to listen to what they had to say. All she had done was complain about her ailments, only to go silent during the visit, then wept loudly afterwards at how happy she was to no longer be in pain. That same Heard Tender had went back only twice more within the span of a single moon cycle for check ups, making sure she was healing correctly.

"If that has any truth to what you're feeling Percival, I'm the one who's sore in comparison." Evangeline stated, rolling her eyes and tone completely flat.

At that, the same red affliction that had attacked the green haired princess appeared on the red head's cheeks. He seemed to bat his eyes in a sheepish, sorry manner while his shoulders curled in somewhat as a sure sign of chagrin.

While the the two began to converse ("I'm sure I'll be fine-", "Nope, we're both visiting this doctor right after this.", "But-!", "No.") Yugo caught my attention. After looking once more around the table, searching for something, "Elena is there a proper ladle somewhere? I don't think this is going to cut it."

He held up his wooden spoon as example and I couldn't help but agree. It really only was useful for stirring, the rounded end carved in the barest resemblance of a bowl. At most it served better as a rounded paddle.

"That's alright." I stated, not remembering if there even was a better serving spoon within the house. I'd never really needed one before, nor was I going to start now. "We can just serve it like so," I got up, going over to the cauldron in order to see it's depth properly and demonstrated for both Yugo and the rest of the group (who had stopped talking now).

Circling my hand I made a single portal within the cauldron within the liquid concoction and left it open. Simultaneously I opened a second portal, just smaller than the opening of the bowl that was placed on the table and let it fill for all of three seconds before cutting it off. Twice more I opened the smaller portal, filling all of the bowls on the table while making sure the the portal in the cauldron didn't get over filled or start to cut into the metal. Cutting off the portals, I looked back at Yugo and I felt my lips pull up at his expression.

It was all warm, practically sparkly, and I couldn't help but think of the word 'awed' when I saw it. Like some sort of spell it made me all warm just seeing it while at the same time a squirmy something wiggled in my gut that I had no idea what to do with. Pushing the feeling away, I focused on the warm and asked him, "you wanna try?"

"Can I?" Yugo asked, eagerly stepping closer as he peered into the cauldron.

"Sure," I stepped back a bit to give him room, then made the two appropriate sized portals on either side of my head. "They gotta be this size. And you have to be quick or the bowls might overflow and you'll be splashed with hot soup the next time you open a portal."

For a moment Yugo stared at my portals before he nodded and looked back to the cauldron. Stepping around him I went back to my spot beside Evangeline, the second last open space that was set for the table. From one foot to the other Yugo shifted, straightening in his excitement and lifted his hands up for all to see. With the skin of his palms alighting in blue from gathered magic he looked at us all in turn before refocusing on his task.

"Alright! Breakfast is served!" Yugo announced proudly, circling his hands.

A miniature portal appeared over Amalia's bowl. Too late I realized that it was a little too big. Barely a low noise of warning managed to leave me before the soup flowed out, splashing up and out the moment it made contact with the table. A yelp, a hiss and a gasp of surprise followed as the portal abruptly disappeared. A cacophony of voices broke out all at once;

"Amalia!"

"YUGO!"

"Sorry!"

Remembering where I had put my ruined tunic earlier this morning, I quickly made a portal large enough for my hand to slip through and grabbed the tattered thing. Since I already made up my mind about it I begun to tear the tunic apart and into long strips that could be used to clean the mess. It would still have a purpose, just not as a tunic any longer.

"Here," I handed some strips over to Evangeline, then Dally as they were quickest to get up to help. Amalia had gotten up and paced away from the table as she prodded her exposed skin and tried to wipe the excess drops of hot food off of her.

Swiping a citronana from the table in front of me, I hopped up from my seat and made my way over to Amalia. Without having to say anything she'd spied the cloth in my hand, absently snatched it while muttering curses, and quickly utilizing it to clean herself up before I could even offer it. Something in me itched at that, irritated, but it was something that was much more familiar.

Breathing out, I let it go with a small sigh. Then I held out the fruit to her, "here. The peel will help sooth the burns when you finish it."

There was a look on her face that I couldn't really comprehend, like I'd said something wrong. But Amalia took the citronana and I was free to go back to my seat.

"You okay, Amalia? I'm really sorry." Yugo asked then, drawing my attention to him. He fidgeted in place as he watched Amalia for her answer, chin slightly raised as his lips pulled down softly and his shoulders had hunched somewhat in regret.

She let out a huff, "yeah, I'll be alright." Then shot him a look that made me feel cold, narrowing her eyes as though in silent warning. "You gotta be more careful Yugo. What if it had been worse?"

I swallowed.

[P]

Pained yelling jolted me to awareness. It sounded distant, muffled. But it was a sound made when one was dying, I was sure, even though I'd never heard such a sound before. Sharp concern for them built within me, urging at me to get up, go see. Go help.

But I couldn't move. My chest felt like it was on fire. My insides felt like they'd been super heated as they were torn apart. Did I even have limbs anymore or was I some sort of limbless lump? Was my head even attached anymore? I certainly couldn't feel if it was. Am I laying down? Floating? The only thing I was certain of was the pain that zigzagged through me like the streaks of lightning in stormy skies that would boldly strike at the ocean and made the waves roar in retaliation. Blackness played across my vision, threatening to sweep me away. A strong feeling- something of distant comfort and strength and warmth- welled up within me; it begged me not to go. I'd never come back if I let that calm unfeeling darkness take me.

I tried to focus on something else. Anything else but the pain.

That distant wail had faded at some point. It was replaced with shouting.

"NO! I WON'T!" The voice was vaguely familiar. Was it Mommy? A sense of relief came to me; she'd found me. Then it was swiftly replaced with worry. Why was she upset?

Another voice responded. Low bar tones of a man. He was too far away for me to really hear words but it sounded like they were assuring, calming.

"DID YOU NOT SEE THAT HUNTER?! HIS ARM. IS. GONE." Mommy shrieked. It hit a note of hysteria, instilling fear within me. Why was she so scared? "SHREDDED THEY SAID!"

The man's voice was closer. Some words faded in and out. "-cident- why would- need you- ook after- could have been- maybe not- we- time?"

"I WONT! IT'S A MONSTER!" Mommy responded so fiercely I could help but feel as though I was in danger myself. Like this monster she spoke of was waiting just outside or in the forest, wanting to take me away. It scared me. "I WON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT, I TELL YOU! WHAT IF IT HAD BEEN WORSE?! WOULD YOU STILL MAKE ME THEN!?"

[/P]

"Now, now, Amalia, we can all see that it was a simple accident." the old man spoke, snapping me out of my thoughts. "And Yugo already apologized. Twice. There's no need to add to it."

"That's not the point Ruel!" Amalia hissed. Her voice had gone to a high shrill note in her anger that made me even more tense.

The old man narrowed his own eyes at her, "no? I'm afraid you'll have to enlighten me." As he moved his arms as though to cross them he winced, and instead put one arm on the table while he left the other in his lap.

A frustrated huff, "I could have been burned!"

Confused, "weren't you?"

"Yes! But it could have been worse! More of the soup could have gotten on me, the burn might have been more severe, the bowl could have flipped right over!"

"None of that happened though." Dally interjected matter-of-factly, sitting down, rag thrown off in a corner by the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. "So what's the point?"

Evangeline let out a hum as she carefully sat back down beside me, her own rag set down on the floor on her other side. "I think that was her point." she pointed out.

Amalia let out something that might have mimicked a growl if it weren't so frustrated-sounding as she threw up her arms to the ceiling. I spotted a few small red spots on her forearm, barely larger than a droplet of water, which had probably formed from the splash.

My attention went back to Yugo then. The ears on his hat had drawn back, much like mine do when I'm distressed, and his gaze was cast down. His entire posture had sagged with disappointment and sadness and the sight of that made something within me burn.

"Try again."

The words had blurted out of my mouth just as the thought to say them had formed. Everyone's attention was suddenly on me and once again I found that I was grateful to be able to hide (at least somewhat) behind my new mask. When his eyes darted up and met mine, I found that it didn't matter how the others were staring. That look in his eyes needed to go.

That burning thing within me helped steel my resolve, "try again, Yugo." I encouraged. "It's okay to do badly sometimes."

For a moment he seemed to hesitate, unsure of what to do. Then he'd glanced around the table, clearly searching for something before he looked at me again. Whatever doubts he had must have been put to rest with what he saw because Yugo relaxed and got ready to try again.

"Okay," he breathed, nodding. "Round two!"

This time when the portal appeared over a bowl it was much smaller than it needed to be, but it got the job done. It impressed me too; it was easier to make portals that were just the right size to fit people. Magic seemed to surge forwards all at once, wanting to make that perfect middle sized portal as though it were the natural thing to do. If a portal needed to be extra big, extra magic and effort needed to be put in to make it so. When a portal needed to be small, magic needed to be halted slowed taken out of the surge so it would be small but if too much was taken out then nothing would happen at all.

Without any more mishaps to be had the group moved on.

"My does this meal look delectable! No doubt that my wonderful Evangeline thought of me as she set it up for us to feast upon!" Dally expressed delightedly, and I watched curiously as his entire face seemed to light up when he looked up to said blonde.

"While I appreciate the fact that you think I'd be able to get all this together so quickly for breakfast, Perceval, I did not. Not with this arm. Nor would I do so with you happily on my mind..." Evangeline answered, and I saw that her face gained a tinge of red. My eyes trailed to the red head only to spot how put out he now seemed.

Yugo sat beside me and I gave him a nudge with my elbow. "See? You did well."

"If anyone, I think we should be thanking Yugo and Elena. They were up even before me." Evangeline continued, catching my attention again.

At once Dally's gloomy atmosphere seemed to disappear as he perked up. He looked over at us, "is that so?"

I nodded and spotted Yugo doing the same out of the corner of my eye.

"It certainly smells wonderful...!" the old man commented, surprise in his tone as he looked between Yugo and me. "Shall we dig in?"

"Lets!" Dally answered for us all, quickly picking up his utensil to do exactly that.

"This is really good...!" Evangeline praised, her voice almost too quiet for me to hear. When I glanced up, I noticed how she the arm she used to feed herself seemed to be a little awkward with the action. Then she was looking over, a smile tugging at her lips. "Well done you two."

"Say, is there no one else here except for you, Elena?" Dally questioned around a mouthful of fruit. "We've been here quite a while but encountered no one but Moon and you! Where are your parents?"

For some reason everyone at the table went completely silent at the inquiry, awaiting my response. I swallowed my food, "it's only Moon and I who live here." I stated, no longer bothered by the fact. In fact, I rather preferred it this way, especially after I realized just how cruel other people could be when they wanted.

"Completely by yourself?" Dally questioned, eyes wide. "But-" the red head made an odd noise when Rule's arm suddenly jerked and hit him in the ribs. I furrowed my brows in confusion from the action, but no one else seemed to notice.

As though he had heard me mention his name earlier, Moon pranced into the room from the direction of the kitchen. He ran towards the table, went under it and popped up directly beside me. With a loud exclamation, the small monkey held up a large bouquet of assorted greens to me.

"So that's where you went off to!" I grinned, accepting the offer and making Moon dance around happily in doing so.

"What is that?" Amalia asked with a clear tone of dislike as she eyed my gift.

Careful to not rip up the plants that had tangled together, I took apart the bouquet and named the plants for her as I put them beside my food on the table. It certainly looked like a right mess. Some of the plants had been pulled up by the roots, dirt and all, while others looked like they might have been chewed on to be retrieved. As I separated the plants Moon crawled up on my lap and watched as I sorted them. Only when I was done did he snatch them up again before he ran off towards the herb room.

When I looked to Amalia to see if she had any more questions there was an odd look on her face as she regarded me. I tilted my head at her, "what?"

Yugo let out a small bout of laughter at that, and only then did I notice the amusement on Evangeline's face, Dally's wide eyes and the raised brow of the old man.

"Moon seems very fond of you, Elena." Yugo spoke with a grin after he had stopped laughing. I'd gathered any left over dirt that had fallen into my palm and absently used a portal to send it all into the hearth flames. "How long have you lived here with him?"

"I'm not sure," I answered after a moment, dusting my hands before grabbing a small fruit to munch on. "But it's been many moons, over seventy for sure."

"It's not very recent that you've lived up here then, is it..?" Ruel added then, no question in his tone despite the way he trailed off some at the end of his sentence.

"Wasn't Botan Ficus up here with you?" Amalia spoke up, incredulity to her tone.

"Only for a moon cycle." I responded, "you all arrived just as he recovered enough to go settle his dispute himself."

"Ugh!" Dally suddenly spoke up, covering his mouth. All eyes trained to him as he put down a slice of Kokonut fruit from his bowl. "Don't take a bite of Kokonut and then the soup!" he warned, to which I noticed Yugo immediately do the exact opposite.

I watched, perplexed, as Yugo took a bite from the fruit then spooned a mouthful of soup. His nose scrunched up in distaste, brow furrowed, and closed his eyes tightly until he swallowed. "Oh yeah, definitely don't do that." Yugo agreed, small tears gathered at the corner of his azure eyes and he shook his head to seemingly rid himself of the taste.

"Ah, where's your adventure lad?" the old man questioned as he too decided to do the exact opposite of what his companions said to do. Only his eyes brightened as he licked his lips, "oh! That tastes quite nice! I think you should enjoy that, Amalia."

"Only you would like something that everyone else has decided was distasteful, Ruel." Amalia stated coolly as she took another sip of her soup. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Evangeline shook her head and heard her let out a sigh at the interaction.

I, however, was much too curious now. There were now two who said that the combination tasted bad, one who said it tasted fine and two who refused to try at all. Without any hesitation I took a bite of the crisp fresh fruit, then a mouthful of warm soup. The soup was thick on my tongue, it's taste mostly of my herbs but with a hint of nutty taste from the kokonut water along with the soften chunks of vegetables. Fresh kokonut was crisp, it's texture almost waxy on my tongue but it's taste almost non-existent. Yet it left behind the oddest of aftertastes after I'd swallowed and I wasn't sure what to think of it.

Over all it wasn't a bad combination I decided, and gave a shrug when I noticed how everyone had watched me for my verdict on the matter as well.

~3~

Somehow the topic of conversation went from which food combinations tasted well together to what the group would be doing that day. Eventually everyone agreed to a trip to the spring (Amalia had grabbed onto the idea of a bath with the kind of tenacity I'd expect to see with a starving animal who'd spotted an easy meal) with me so that I could tend to their injuries after they've been properly washed.

Moon turned up again around the time that we were to leave the house and hopped up onto my shoulders to lean most of his weight on top of my head. There he stayed, rather lazily in my opinion, for most of the trip down the back of the mountain and towards the spring.

It was odd for me to travel on the ground again. I almost got us detoured a few times as I remembered what the land looked like from above between my portals and not what it looked like from below the tree line. As the travelers followed behind me without any question as to where I lead them, I listened to their conversation.

Mostly they spoke about the village and their boat. They wanted to visit the village after the spring to discuss how long they would need to stay before their boat was repaired and if they could do anything to make the repair time any shorter.

"You use portals, don't you?" Dally questioned me suddenly, which caught me a little off guard. I hadn't really expected for them to ask too many questions about me.

"Yeah." and I gave a nod.

"What are you then? How did you use the portals?" Dally then asked, looking at me as though I was some sort of puzzle to be solved.

What did he mean by what I was? But then, as I looked to the group that followed me, I realized how none of them really shared any physical traits- unlike the villagers who all shared their hunched way of walking (amongst other traits I've noticed). And, as I thought about it, hadn't Amalia's first introduction of everyone over tea include where everyone had come from?

"Iop brain..." I heard Evangeline sigh before she thwacked Dally on the back of his red head. He yelped and rubbed his new injury. There was an odd look his face as he blinked rapidly at the blonde, mouth agape.

"What was that for?!" He asked incredulously but Evangeline simply shook her head. Then she looked to me apologetically and ignored his question. My eyes went to Dally though as I wondered if a 'Iop' was 'what' he is.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Evangeline started, tone entirely apologetic, and my gaze went back to her. She pointed at Dally with her thumb. "What he means to ask is if you were born here on this island and if you've always had the ability to use portals."

"Oh," I acknowledged with a small tilt of my head. Quiet, I thought on my answer for a moment.

Before Moon, the people of village had taken care of me. If there was anyone before that, I must have been much too young to remember.

So I shook my head, "I don't believe that I was born on this island, no matter how probable that may seem... There are no adults like me here after all, and I have looked to be sure." With a brush of my hand, I absently pushed aside a wayward branch of a tree that hug just a little too low on the path we took. Instead of letting it go when I had passed it's reach, I waited for Yugo- who so happened to be directly behind me- to get a good grip on the limb before I continued on. "As for my portals, I think I've always had to potential to use them. But the first time I found out about the portals was when I was six."

"When you were six?" Yugo questioned, his voice sounding as though he couldn't quite believe what I'd said.

"Yes," was my answer as I gave a nod of my head. But as I thought on it, that's all that I really wanted to say on the matter. It wasn't exactly a happy day.

[P]

Blankly I stared up at the grooves in the ceiling, watching half asleep as they seemed to melt into one another and create screaming faces. At least, that's what Mommy told me they were when I had asked. A long sigh left my mouth; I was boooored.

I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep. When I woke up my mind was blank, groggy. It felt like I'd just emerged from a fog. My body was heavy from sleep and I felt as though I couldn't have been able to move even if I'd wanted to.

Then the terrible itch had awoken on my chest and I moved to scratch. My fingers had met tightly woven fabric wrapped around my torso in a long spiral. It even went up to wrap around my shoulder, the rough edges of the fabric rubbing at a sore spot on my neck. Then I'd tried to scratch and immediately regretted the action. Pain burned through me, flaring up like a wildfire, forcing me to recognize just how much my chest hurt. Inside and out. I'd spent a long time crying then.

This was the second time I'd woken. My eyes still hurt and felt heavy and dry all at once. When I blinked it felt as though every muscle around my eye strained from the action. I'd taken notice how I was in a healer's home- many plants that mainly looked like weeds to me or very pretty flowers hung on the walls upside down and berries and roots of all sorts hung from the ceiling- though the owner was currently away. It felt as though days had gone by as I lay still, too tired to move but too awake to sleep. I still hadn't seen Mommy. If I moved around too much my body began to ache. The fabric was still wrapped around my chest. That itch was the bane of my existence. There was nothing but the faces on the ceiling above me to keep me occupied.

There was a sudden loud stomping, the frequency and weight of it made it sound as though the person were running. And extremely angry. It came closer. My eyes had automatically traveled down from the ceiling and I watched the door to the hut wearily.

When the footsteps came to a stop the door burst open, loudly smacking against the inner wall and knocking down several herbal plants from both the ceiling and the walls. It was an adult villager, one I recognized immediately as a Herd Tender from the red and pink that colored her mask. Just over her shoulder I could spot the colorless, carving-less mask of another child who rode on their mother's back and was kept there with the long blanket that was wrapped firmly around the two of them. Absently I noticed how the child seemed much too old to still be carried around like that... then again Mommy had stopped using hers with me the moment that I could keep pace with her.

"YOU!" the mother yelled, making me flinch at the venom in the tone. She marched forwards, her very presence exuding wrath and anguish. The child on her back did their best to be as small and as still as possible. "YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE MONSTER! DEMON!"

With a painful yank that made my injury flair with fire once again, I was forced to sit up when she grabbed at the wraps around my collar and I let out a pained yelp. My hands twitched at my sides in response to my sudden need to move them, get her to let go. They were still to heavy. Tears began to force their way out of my eyes, making them burn too.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!" she shook me roughly and I whimpered, closed my eyes before hers could pierce through me properly.

Suddenly I was let go. I fell back into the bed, my body screamed at me about it's pain. There was sobbing and I finally forced my eyes open again. Two Hunters had come in. They used their bodies to keep the Herd Tender away.

"He's dead because of you! Dead! I'll never see him again! My boy will grow without his father! You DEMON!" she sobbed harder. "All because of that thing you made! He jumped in front of you! He was trying to protect you! Why?! Why would you do that?! WHY?!"

Spent, her body suddenly sagged into the weight of the males, only by their strength did she stay on her feet. Brokenly, "my stamen...!" she wailed over and over and over again as she was taken away.

[/P]

It had taken me a while to figure out what the adult had meant. Why she blamed me for the death of her stamen and why so many villagers began to treat me coldly after. Whenever I passed them, whispers about a buzzing light that could shred through anything and smelt of burnt ozone followed. Of course, I hadn't really figured out what they spoke of until after I'd been banished and forced to use my portals again.

There was a terrible feeling in my gut that, if I told them of which portal it was that I first opened that day, like the villagers, these travelers wouldn't like me anymore. Even if they do find out eventually, I wasn't exactly in a hurry to make more people not like me.

"Hey, do you hear that?" came Evangeline's voice then, which got the rest of the party to pause in order to listen.

I didn't bother to stop, already knowing what she heard. "Just a little further," I told them.

We continued on in (mostly) silence. The path had narrowed so they had to walk in single file. Only the sounds of nature was around us, with the exception of Amalia complaining somewhere near the back of the group. Apparently, the plants went out of their way to make her walk miserable.

We didn't have to listen to Amalia's complaints for too much longer though, as the forest opened up for the spring. As I came to a stop at the edge of the treeline, the others continued forwards until they had all gathered together to stare at the water.

The spring was a cerulean blue and darkened to a manganese shade where the water was deeper. A burble sound came from the brook that fell into the spring from between some rocks and the roots of a large tree. At the other end of the spring was a rather short bit river, that went under the mountain, which then reappeared near the village on the opposite side. At the very center of the spring was a large stone. It protruded from the water just enough for me to comfortably lay on my back without getting wet and was therefore the stone that I usually used to sundry myself.

Together the group of travelers made noises of approval, to which I felt rather pleased. I liked this place too, especially with how calming it is. Not knowing how good of swimmers they were, I decided to quickly point out the areas to steer clear of lest they get pulled under the mountain. Of course, the small cave that the river spilled into before it went under the mountain immediately took both Amalia and Evangeline's attentions.

"Is... is this water hot?" Amalia questioned as she eyed the water that flowed into the cave.

"Sort of..." I answered as everyone except for Amalia and I went forwards to the water eagerly. "It starts to get warm closer to the mountain, and is extremely hot where it re-emerges on the other side of the mountain. There are also spots higher up on the mountain you can go, which have pools of hot water, if you'd like."

The green haired teen looked at me, eagerness prominent in the way her entire body straightened. I pointed to a gentle trickling of water that fell to either side of the cave entrance. I had followed the water once, the pool of warm water was on a cliff about half way up the mountain.

"I'd have to follow the water?" she questioned, and I shrugged.

"If you'd like. It's about half way up though."

There seemed to be a conflict that waged war within her at this news. Fascinated, I watched as she thought on it for a full three minutes in silence. Then she let out a sigh, posture drooping like a wilted flower, seeming to have come to a conclusion.

"You'll have to show me where it is next time." Amalia eventually gave in, then went to join the others in the water.

Not feeling up to a bath at the moment, I walked to the edge of the spring and sat down. The corners of my mouth tilted up in a small smile as I watched Moon play in the water with the others, screeching with joy as he jumped onto vines that hung from branches above the water and bounced from one person's head to the next. Absently I took off my shoulder bag and put it down beside me.

Then Evangeline pulled herself out of the water and sat down beside me with a smile. Until then I hadn't really noticed how green her eyes were, like sprouting flower buds. It was the exact same shade as Momiji's. Yet Evangeline's green eyes were warm.

"Yugo's injuries look like they're almost healed already." she said to me and tilted her head to one side. "You're the one who did that?"

For a moment, I wondered why she wanted to ask. I nodded my head anyways, "un huh."

Somehow Evangeline's very smile seemed to emit warmth too as she looked at me then. It was strange and made me want to squirm away. What was it that she was trying to say?

"That boy is rather adventurous," Evangeline said and there was an addition of a small tilt to the smile on her face as she said it. She gave a minute shake of her head before she turned to me and there was no change with the fondness in her voice as she continued. "Which means I've seen him get injured more times that I care to count. This is the fastest I've seen him heal though and I think it's rather impressive that you managed that."

My heart began to beat a little faster in my chest as I stared at her. Impressive. I was impressive. Mouth open, I tried to string together some words in response. But then my mouth closed again. What did one say to that? Botan had mentioned something similar when I had healed him up, but I hadn't known what to tell him then either.

Jaw clenched, I found myself without any words. So I simply looked away, as though she hadn't mentioned it at all. My hands went to my ankles and I pulled my crossed legs a little closer. Why did she have to go and say something like that? What was I supposed to say?!

"Elena?" Evangeline questioned, and it wasn't until that moment that I noticed how my eyes had absently begun to follow Yugo in the water. I looked away from his splash fight with Dally and Ruel, to glance at the blonde. She was tense, clearly favoring her injured ribs with her posture, yet her eyes held no coldness or hostility towards me. There was only a silent question in her gaze, one I didn't know the answer to either.

Head tilted again, "would it be alright if you worked your magic on me? I'd really appreciate it."

My eyes widened. Magic? She wanted me to use magic? I glanced down at my hands, the thrum of my magic danced under my skin. Never had I considered the magic from the portals to be used to heal someone before. Yet, once the thought was there, I wondered if it could be done.

Still, I shook my head. "I've never used my magic to try and heal someone." I explained, but moved anyways to sit behind her and finally get a look at her back; how those injuries had fared. "But I can help you and the others with the plants from the island."

For a moment, I thought there was something like amusement that flashed in the blonde's green eyes, but it was replaced by pain so quickly it was difficult for me to tell. I got to work on healing her, then the others as they took turns to approach me after playing in the water.


AN: Thank you so much for your reviews, I really appreciate them! xD

To Bug: Yes, I promise the story isn't dead; it will continue! I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far, despite my writers block (that likes to come back like a yearly sickness) I think it's turned out much better this time around. 3

To Girlbook: Thank you! Will keep doing my best ;)