Origins

Origins II

I didn't know where I was when I woke up. The last thing I remembered was getting on a plane with my friends, but after that...I remembered less than nothing. Negative memory. I tried to smile ruefully, but it hurt too much. I tried getting up, and a strong, but gentle hand pushed me back down. "You must rest. You cannot get up," a low powerful voice said.

"I have to find my friends," I rasped. My voice sounded horrendous! It was like I swallowed a kilogram of sandpaper. Which would make my throat hurt, which it incidentally did.

"They are cared for," the voice replied.

"Where am I?" I rasped back.

"You are in the village of Shimmerwind, and we are the Twilit Gale tribe. You are safe with us, as are your friends. You can get up when you are stronger," the man responded.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I never said you were guests. You are prisoners. I will be asking questions, and I will not answer any that do not please me. You will not be harmed though," he replied. "I will know your name."

"Why should I answer?" I asked. I saw something, was it anger? Amusement? Whatever emotion it was passed through the man's eyes.

"We might have to change your status of prisoner if that is how you will respond to our questions," the man said with a chuckle and left to attend to someone else, presumably. With the man gone, I fell back into a painless dreamless sleep.

When I reawoke, it was darker out. Not quite nighttime, but I was sure the sun was almost if not completely set. "You finally woke up! I was worried that you'd died!" a voice said. Then a pretty girl who looked to be about 13 walked in.

"Who're you?" I asked. My voice didn't sound as terrible as it did earlier thankfully.

"I'm Tiger Lily. And you are?" she said.

"Peter," I said and stuck out my hand. She just looked at my hand as if it was poisoned. I retracted it.

"Why do you want to fight?" she asked.

"I don't," I said.

"A handshake means a fight will commence. And I don't want to fight you. You'd just get hurt more than you already are anyways," she said.

"It's a greeting where I'm from," I responded.

"You'd do well to avoid it here. Can you stand?" she asked. I tried to stand, and I almost fell over, but I regained my balance through sheer willpower and nothing else. Tiger Lily kinda' smirked at my unsteadiness.

"I did it!" I exclaimed.

"I've seen 6 year olds do better than you," she said, deadpan as can be.

"Can I see my friends now?" I asked.

"Yes, but I would have to watch the entire time," she said.

"Then can we go?" I asked.

"Just a minute." She stepped outside and came back with a stick that was 3 metres long. She broke it in half with her knee.

"That. Was. Awesome." I said. I was surprised at how strong she was. She also looked prettier than she already did while she snapped the stick, which I didn't think possible. She handed me the stick.

"This might help you walk better than a toddler," she said, leading me over to the adjacent tent. As we entered, I saw two people who looked oddly alike talking in hushed tones.

"D'ya think Peter's okay?" one asked.

"With how arrogant he is? For sure," the other responded.

"Matthew, when will you learn that I'm always okay?" I said from the doorway leaning on my walking stick.

"Peter!" they said in unison and ran over to me. "You're okay!"

"Duh. Do you know where anyone else is?" I asked.

"Yeah. They let us see everyone but you," Tanner said.

"He means Nico, Ralph, Jason and we see everyone at will. But not you. You were kept where you were. I guess they don't appreciate your...umm...charm around here," Damien said.

"That's surprising. I'm known for my charm. It's the best thing about me. It makes me perfect," I said.

"Case and point," someone said from behind me. I turned around. Nico was standing behind me, his arms crossed, smirking as usual.

"Nico! You're okay!" I said. He ran over and hugged me.

"Course I am, Pete!" he said.

"What did I say about calling me that?" I said, pulling away. I noticed that he had turned slightly red.

"Sorry," he muttered. Jason and Ralph had appeared too. But everyone was looking on with confusion.

"Now I know your name," the man from earlier boomed.

"Father," Tiger Lily said, bowing.

"Now come, and lead them to my hut. We have much to discuss," he said. Tiger Lily motioned us to follow. Obedient as a shadow, we followed.