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Finian's story

Slumped over in the saddle Finian drifted in and out of sleep as he let his pony trudge along through the forest. They had been traveling all day and still hadn't left this god forsaken place. The trees surrounding them were so thick that their leaves blocked the sky. The only way Finian could tell that the time had changed from day to night was because of the slight change in lighting, which went from dark to pitch black. Finian was all too aware of what came out at night and though he knew he would have to stop soon, if only for the sake of the health of his pony. Finian dreaded the thought, as he lightly slept on the back of his only companion; he had nightmares of what was hiding in the dark. Finian gently pulled his pony, De, to a stop and began unsaddling her. Finian refrained from De up, because he knew that if anything were to come, he would need to be able to get out and get out fast.

Leaning up against a tree Finian crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eye, but he kept his mind very awake, not risking the chance of a predator creeping up on him while he rested. No, Finian could sleep while he rode. Right now he was on high alert, his ears searching for the slightest sound. All his senses seemed to be magnified. The rustle of the leaves above his head sounded like the roar of a water fall and the rough bark the rubbed against his back felt like the jagged rocks of the mines, a feeling he missed with every fiber of his being.

Enya's story

Enya groaned as she got up out of bed, she could feel the dry burnt skin on her shoulders crack and pull apart. Everything that the sun had touched burned even the top of her head was burnt. Enya's long blonde almost white hair had done nothing to protect her from the powerful rays of the sun.

Standing up she looked around her tent, it was dimly light by what light had managed to seep through the coarse fabric of the tent. Her tent was sparsely furnished, a small mattress on the floor, a stool, a trunk, and a long bench which carried a wash basin and a bar of soap. To any other species such sparse furnishings would be that of a low life's. But to the Elf this was royal treatment. Because of their relationship with the trees the elves could only use already dead trees to build whatever they needed but of course back at home they didn't even need to do that because they had the ability to sing the trees into whatever form they needed.

Moving to the end of her bed she noticed a pile of clothes sitting on top of her trunk there. She lifted up the first item; it was a thin sand red scarf that reached from her head to her toes. Enya looked at it in confusion, she had never seen anything like it before; to her it seemed like a waist of cloth. Setting the scarf aside she continued to look through the new clothing, finding loose white pants and a matching tunic. Both of which she slipped on, cringing a little as she did so. Enya wondered when her skin would heal, nothing like this had ever happen to her before; in the forest there was rarely any light.

Once the clothes were on, she sighed in relief, the cloth that made up the clothes was light and cool, so it did nothing to irritate her already raw skin.

Asher walked in the tent as Enya was holding up the scarf with a look of confusion on her face as she tried to decide what it was to be used for. Asher stood casually a few feet behind Enya's back, a smirk playing on his lips and he watched her try to figure it out. Finally Enya sighed in frustration and threw the scarf onto her bed. Asher cleared his throat, making her jump as she spun around to face him. Enya's cheeks turned a bright red with embarrassment and she crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to look mad, but failed. "Quit doing that, you squirrel." She grumbled.

Asher laughed as he reached around her and plucked the scarf from her bed. "Come now, I'll show the princess what to do." Enya shook her head and scoffed, "I know how to wear it! I just don't want to"

"Oh, now is that right!" Asher smirked down at her. Enya pursed her lips and turned to her wash basin, "Yes," she lied as she began needlessly washing her hands.

Asher's smirk grew into a knowing grin, "Oh, so the princess enjoys burning that pretty little head of hers." As he said this, Asher gently placed both his hands on Enya's shoulders making her yelp in pain as her body jolted forward on its own accord spilling the wash basin and dumping the precious water into the sand.

Enya spun around her eye's blazing, "look what you made me do" she snapped at him. Asher took a step back throwing his hands up in defeat, but keeping the smirk on his face. Enya growled and turned back around to right the bowls, once her head was down her mask crumpled and her face scrunched in pain. Her shoulder felt like they were on fire, the blisters on her shoulders had popped at Asher's touch and Enya could feel her tunic begin to stick to the liquid that flowed out. Taking a deep breath she turned back to Asher, her face was a bit calmer yet she wasn't able to hide all the pain from her eyes.

Asher winced seeing right through her and feeling her pain. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." Enya took another deep breath, "Don't worry about it" she breathed.

Taking a step towards her Asher pleaded, "Let me show you how to use this, it will keep the sun away." Enya gave a tight nod and Asher got to work wrapping the scarf around her head and neck until you could only see her eyes. "See, much better." Enya gave a faint smile behind the cloth before letting Asher direct her to her father's tent.

Finian's story

Finian's head snapped up as he was jolted out of a light sleep. There was someone out there he could feel it. Slowly he got to his feet, bending his knees into a crouch with axe in hand. Ready to take on whatever came, his eyes darted from tree to tree scanning for trouble. De shifted beside him letting out whinnies of fright looking ready to bolt at any moment.

Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushed to the left and out leaped a giant black cat twice his size. Finian stumble back in surprise, this creature was new to him. The cat stared him down with bright yellow eyes and pulled back its lips hissing as it revealed its razor sharp teeth. Finian readied himself by lifting his ax. The cat pounced bearing dozens of sharp fangs and claws. Finian swung his ax hitting the cats shoulder throwing it off balance. Lifting his ax again Finian closed in for a second strike, but the cat was quicker. Lashing out it struck Finian across the face causing him to cry out in pain and crash into his fear frozen pony. De let out a great shriek in terror and darted off. The cat, distracted, dashed after the animal.

Collapsing against a tree Finian brought his hand up to his face and pulled it away drenched in blood. Every, every gently he traced four long gashes running diagonally across his face. Already he could feel both his eyes swelling from where the cuts ran over them. Finian knew he had been lucky to come away alive but at the moment all he could think about was how the loss of blood was making him weak and tired. Struggling to stay awake gradually fell into a painful sleep.