NINE

This time he knew there was someone poking him. However this time, she wasn't poking him. She was moving him. "Were you poking me with a stick earlier?" He groaned as he felt her soft hands at work.

Then those hands were gone, but he caught one before she could retreat too far. She had turned him over, and so it was her own fault that he was able to just shoot out a hand instead of awkwardly moving it so he could grab her in time. He was disoriented, and groggy. This was different than the last two times he had been knocked out.

"Why on Earth is this place trying to kill me?" He did not let her go, even when she fought against his hold and he had to tighten it. It shouldn't have hurt, it was just firm and tight.

He waited patiently for her to answer one of his questions, but she didn't.

He opened his eyes, but she was swimming in front of his gaze and wouldn't stay still. He did however notice a look of displeasure on her still revealed face. "I'm sorry, but I swear I heard you talk to me earlier. Why are you refusing to talk now?"

She was looking at him confused, and he thought maybe he made it up. But it was a female voice, and now that he thought of it, it sounded too mature and cultured to come from this wild thing that was merely a slip of a girl, just barely legal in Earth's standards, if she was legal at all.

She frowned at him and tugged at her hand, looking pointedly at it.

He sighed, perhaps she hadn't been the one to talk, and he wondered if there was someone else here, one that guarded the place, but wasn't as curious as she was. "Just... don't run away, I'm not sure I can chase you again any time soon. Or if it would even be wise. Perhaps I should just go home and sleep safe and sound in my bed."

She didn't seem to respond to his threat and he sighed and let her go. She stumbled to her feet and took back several steps as if afraid he would strike her or grab her again, but he didn't move much, only to struggle into a sitting position against a tree. She had moved him off the altar. Understandably, as he had just committed a great error in her eyes.

He could understand her jumpiness. Man he could understand it. She wasn't the first one that he encountered that wasn't sure how to handle a different presence in their lands. Animals were that way, but so too were people living on the furthest reaches of his planet. Even though the Earth was round, the ones that didn't live near where most people came to converse and build large towers, they were more likely to be shocked by a different face.

So even though he usually knew even their languages, as he was given the skills as being the Crown Prince of the Earth, unlike being a normal Prince, the 'Of the Earth' bit was important, it meant there was one thing he didn't have to work for. He didn't have to learn another language, for it was there for him, the moment another one was created, and he could move through them effortlessly. Hell he didn't even know he was doing it until Zoicite pointed it out to him in amazement. Zoicite had studied an obscure language so he could be the translator for a very delicate situation and Endymion just sat down and started talking like it was his native tongue. But even situation where he could speak the language, he had to be very patient and allow the other to come to him.

"Endymion." He pointed at himself and spoke clearly and slowly.

He could see her mouth the word to herself, so she had to have some type of language skills. It seemed foreign on her tongue though and she knew it too, because she frowned when it didn't sound right to her. He pointed to her and she pointed to herself too, a question coming across her features. She shrugged and then flitted back into the trees.

He didn't bother to move, she'd be back. Perhaps she was going to go ask the voice what he wanted from her. But she was back far earlier than he had suspected and closer. She was kneeling next to him and this time took his hand in hers. Unknown to him, he had severely burnt off several layers of flesh and he hadn't felt it. Not until she touched it with what she had gone to get, then it was excruciating.

"It would have been better to leave it alone." Endymion ground out, though he could see the flesh mending and that's what had hurt so much. He groaned again as another wave of pain hit.

"Don't be such a baby." She sighed in perfect High Terran.

"You can speak? High Terran?"

"You never asked, did you?" She responded dryly. "You just assumed I couldn't and even though you tried every language your Earthlings speak, you never asked me straight out if I could understand you. In fact, I was hoping that eventually you would get bored of this game and stop talking. But no, you just talked more and more, and then when you tried to speak simply to me, I knew it had to end." She shuddered. "Can the language get any more basic?"

"You can speak it, and you call it basic?"

"High Terran I'll give you as being slightly more complex, but you didn't bother with it. I can speak all of your Earth Languages now. Thanks to you." She muttered under her breath the last bit and she seemed disgusted by it.

"What does that mean?"

"You like all other Earthlings before you, had to go poking about where you don't belong. Why couldn't you leave well enough alone and stay on your dirty planet?!" She had finished with his hand and she shot to her feet, pointing at him with pure frustration.

He didn't know why she was so angry, but she was starting to rile him up too with all of the insults. With the mending of his hand, so too had his ability to focus and he jumped to his feet as well and she scattered back frightened. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "I honestly mean you no harm. Please believe that. I was curious."

"Just... just leave me alone. You've already caused enough damage." She seemed like she was about to cry, but she pushed the tears back and disappeared into the forest again.

Endymion ran a frustrated hand through his hair. How had he managed to piss her off? Did he really cause damage by touching the crystal? He now knew though, that it definitely wasn't her voice he had heard but he didn't know who's it was. Perhaps he had to find the holder of the voice, to convince the other girl he wasn't all that bad. If she was here, and could speak so well, there had to be others, right?