Okay. I'm warning you beforehand...I've decided to mix up a bunch of legends into the story. Not sure if it will work..you'll find out in the next chapter. Hopefully you'll like it. In the meantime, you can guess what Anala is :)
Derrick pressed himself against a tree trunk, willing himself to breathe quietly. His chest heaved, and he gave a loud gasp, sucking in welcome mouthfuls of air.
"Who's there?"
The voice echoed around the trees, seeming to come at him from every direction. Derrick squeezed his eyes shut and listened for any sounds of movement, his heart hammering loudly.
A cold hand curled around his wrists, and another arm smashed over his mouth, preventing him from screaming. Through blurry eyes, he saw a slight girl with silvery hair and grey eyes studying him curiously. Her expression didn't seem the least bit hostile, but slightly surprised.
"Who are you?" her voice was like wind chimes, soft and melodic. She didn't take her eyes off Derrick.
She lifted her hand hesitantly, allowing him to talk.
Derrick narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
To his surprise, the girl spoke, her voice slow and cautious.
"I am Anala. I won't hurt you unless you prove an enemy, but if you alert anyone to where we are, you'll regret it."
She dropped her other arm, allowing Derrick to flex his fingers experimentally.
"Are you a student of the school?"
Anala paused, choosing her words carefully.
"You could say that. Are you?"
Derrick grinned.
"Yeah, I am. One that's about to be expelled for helping out a friend."
Her eyes flickered around suspiciously.
"There are others in the forest. A boy. He's searching. Four adults wandering around the edges."
Anala frowned.
"This friend you were talking about, does he have grey eyes? Dark hair. Correct?"
Derrick's eyes widened in surprise.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
Anala smiled eerily.
"That's your choice. But either way, I will make sure you'll never tell anyone about me."
Derrick reached out, trying to catch the girl on the arm, but in a ripple of silver moonlight, she was gone.
"Trust me and maybe you'll be able to leave this forest alive."
The voice came from directly from behind him. Poor Derrick almost jumped out of his skin as he turned to face Anala.
"You're endowed." He realized stupidly.
"So are you." She replied quietly. "I'd be willing to bet that the other boy is too."
She disappeared into a wisp of moonlight again. Derrick felt slightly stupid and very paranoid.
"Derrick?"
He spun around and spotted Landon making his way between two trees that formed an archway into the clearing.
"Landon! You nearly scared me to death! Listen, it's not safe here. There's this weird endowed girl who calls herself Anala, and she can teleport, I think. She just poofed out of here when you appeared. She knows who else is in the forest."
Landon scanned the dark cautiously, making out shapes and forms writhing in the shadows.
"So. You've found your friend."
Landon spun around and attacked unthinkingly. He caught a glimpse of a silvery, slight profile winking out of sight seconds before his shield reached her.
"Derrick. I saw her too. Let's stick together."
Derrick shuffled in beside Landon, and the two stood back-to-back.
Anala's laughing voice came from somewhere above them . The boys looked up to see her perched on a tree branch, swinging her legs absentmindedly.
"Can I not even speak without you two trying to attack me?"
Landon's eyes narrowed.
"Not until we're sure of your motives, Anala." He glared at her with cold anger.
"All right, then, Landon." She retorted coolly. "I'm here to help. If you're running from the teachers and principal, then you'll need me. You can't fight forever. I have provisions here. I know the forest well. You'll be safe."
Landon stared at her suspiciously, then slowly nodded.
She disappeared in a flash, reappearing next to him almost instantly. She cast him a disdainful look over her shoulder, then held out her hands.
"What?" Derrick's voice rose in disbelief.
But he stopped talking when her hands started glowing silver, enveloping all three of them in a bright light.
The forest reappeared around them. There was a faint crack in a boulder, but Anala tossed her hair and walked around it, pausing to let the boys catch up. She kicked the corner of the pile of giant rocks, hefting the first few aside. Anala paused, looked around carefully before tapping twice on a rock. It produced a hollow sound, and she pushed it gently. A wide, rectangular tunnel appeared, and she stepped slowly into the passage.
Anala disappeared into the dark gloom, and Landon followed without hesitation. Derrick was a little bit more unsure. A silvery light glowed from the end of the tunnel. Derrick and Landon groped along the walls, then found themselves in a small, cave like area inside the cluster of boulders. Moonlight streamed in through a narrow crack in the rocks, illuminating the room. A chair and desk stood in the corner, next to a bookcase full of books. A carpet covered most of the floor, but the room still felt unnaturally cold. There was a low bed, covered in a pile of sheets, a closet, and a chunk of rock stretching out of the wall, filled with a pile of wooden sticks.
"Okay, Anala. Can you talk now? Tell us what this is all about?" Derrick gestured at the crude room around him.
"First," Anala crossed the room, over to where Landon was standing, "may I ask you a few things, Landon?"
Landon shrugged and sat down on the floor.
"What is your ability?"
Derrick stared at her like she was crazy.
"He doesn't tell anyone about it."
Anala looked thoughtful.
"All right, then. Don't attack me." She warned.
She loped across the room in a few quick strides, clearing the distance quickly. Two feet away from Landon, she was stopped by the shield.
Her right palm began to glow, until a ball of pulsing light formed on her fingertips. She held it over the crook of Landon's arm, letting the light shine through the shield. Where it hit his arm, a strange silvery mark appeared, shaped like a crescent moon.
Anala moved away slowly. The mark faded, glimmering slightly before disappearing altogether.
Derrick's mouth was hanging open in shock.
"What is this?" Landon's voice was like steel.
She tapped her chin thoughtfully, her eyes still trained on his.
"Your mother. She had blonde hair, silvery eyes and pale skin, just like me, right? She was more active at night?"
Landon's eyes narrowed.
"What are you trying to say?"
Anala grinned.
"If you're not going to give me straight answers, you're never going to know about your family's past, brother."
HAHA. SUSPENSE :)