Running

by Skeleton of Gold

Luna has been running for years, running away from the danger that lurks at every corner in the Inkworld and from her dark and lonely past. When a voice plucks her from her own world and she is forced into a new life, will she still run? Or can she muster the courage to stand her ground? **My first story!**

2. Chapter 2

*pre-authors note*

lol sorry this took so long, I had to mess around with it and there were some technical difficulties, but it's all fixed now :)

Hey guys,

So I've been thinking. That first page I wrote is the first time this story has ever been officially laid out. Ever. So it's kinda like….. a tree trunk. A trunk that has like 200000000 branches. There are a lot of different directions it could go, and I've considered a lot of them for a long time. Like I said before, I have a general idea, but now it needs a lot of maintenance. So for now I will give you a short chapter, and then I will do my homework like a good writer and give you guys the story you deserve. Thank you so much for the follows and to "Mad mind flip" for your review! :)

Thanks :) - L

Chapter 2. The Man with the Book

Luna couldn't remember feeling this sick since the last time the fire raisers had caught her. On that terrible day, the normally bright and pale-blue sky of the ink world had been a deep and foreboding gray, the clear air burdened by the weight of a storm on the horizon. She knew better than anyone how horrible getting caught in the rain could be, especially while trudging along a muddy path on the outskirts of Lombrica. All these years later, she could still recall the hope that rose in her chest when she saw an inviting-looking inn just a few yards up the road. Upon edging up to the worn wooden door and gently pushing it open, her mood turned instantly sour. There, laughing and drinking by the warmth of the fireplace, were at least a dozen men wearing Capricorn's colors. That sensation of a stone settling in your gut, a pressure in your head and a burning in your heart, is what Luna now felt as she found herself kneeling on the floor.

Luna's mind could not comprehend what was happening. She was running, she heard a voice, and now it appeared as though she was in someone's house. The pounding in her chest quickened when she looked up from the old wood floor to see the source of the voice.

There, just standing before her plain as day, was a man tightly gripping a book. He looked as confused and afraid as she was. Her wide eyes snapped back down at her hands, now flattened on a tattered rug instead of cool grass.

"Ohhhhh, Luna, what have you gotten yourself into now…" the voice in her head piped up again.

Before she could utter a word, a thick black boot swung under her and kicked her onto her back. Reverting completely to her survival instincts, she rolled to the right and flipped onto her feet. When she regained her footing and looked to her attacker, she realized the situation was worse than she imagined. When she saw the Man with The Book, she had assumed magic was the culprit. This was not necessarily bad. Wizards were rare in Lombrica, but not unheard of. And with the same social standing and respect (or lack thereof) of Sprites, they were usually friendly to each other. But the owner of the black boot was no ally. Luna found herself staring directly into a pair of water-clear eyes.

"You. Little. WITCH.", Capricorn uttered under his breath. "What have you done?"

"L…Luna didn't do anything. Leave her alone..", Dustfinger muttered. When reflecting on these events as an adult, Luna had decided Dusty hadn't sounded very convincing.

"Sh…shut… shut up, you rat, or I'll…I'll add some more scars to your handsome face!"

Luna stared at the four men before her with a sense of profound fear and confusion like she had never felt before. Capricorn looked the angriest she had ever seen him, and she was afraid. Dustfinger looked about as alarmed as she was, but that was mostly because he was still in Basta's tight grip.

"…he was probably asking him where I ran off to…", Luna speculated.

Basta was afraid, too, but the difference was that he was not wildly looking around the room in fear and awe like the others. He looked only to Capricorn for instructions. Her gaze then fell on the Man with The Book.

He may have been a wizard, but he sure didn't look like it. He looked, well, like a normal man. Average height, average build, with dark brown hair. He looked horrified at the scene unfolding in his room, which led Luna to think that maybe he did not intend to do whatever he did. She didn't notice the other person in the tiny home until his eyes nervously glanced down towards the carpet. To Luna's surprise there was a little girl there, no more than 3 years old, blankly staring at the visitors in her house.

"I don't know who you are or why you…"

That was the only part of Capricorn's threat Luna heard, because some time after the word "who", the Sprite took what she knew would be her only chance. She quickly stepped to the side, rolled under a swing from Basta and launched out of the room. With her heart racing and the walls closing in on her, she ran to the end of the hallway, grabbed the first doorknob she saw, wildly swung open the door and sprinted into the cool night air.

"You don't need to know where you are, Luna, you just need to know where Capricorn isn't…" she thought as she performed her familiar dance. Running and ducking and leaping, she quickly put enough distance between her and the house to the point where she could turn to see if she was followed. There was no sign of Basta, probably because Capricorn hadn't left and he wouldn't dream of leaving without his order. She whipped back around, and immediately shrieked.

Eyes. Massive, glowing eyes in the darkness, moving towards her at lightning speed. She panicked, and there was no time for her to jump or dodge. The creature roared as it got closer, and unleashed an other-worldly cry as it tackled Luna to the ground.