I Know How to Save You

I could feel it's warm breath on my skin, the rancid smell of it's mouth stinging  in my nostrils and burning my eyes. I was afraid, there was no way to get around it. The monster stood in front of me, with it's glaring yellow eyes, and gleaming red pupils. It watched me. It breathed on me. It waited for me. It wanted me to move. If I did, it gave this wretched creature a reason to attack. He was not permitted to attack me, otherwise.

I sat there for minutes, hours, days. It seemed like years that I was sitting there, breathing  in the fumes that he was huffing out through his great mouth. The scent made me want to gag; it made me want to run away. However, I ignored it. The beast was the last thing that I wanted to kill me. tI was dishonor. It was embarrassing. It was how my father had died less than three White Rain Seasons ago...

Soon, the beast moved its head and shifted its body. I no longer felt the horrid breath on my face, and I could see beyond the large mass of fur and claws and into the dense forest that held the dirt pathway I had been traveling on only moments before I had heard the beast. It lumbered away, bored, and angry that I had not moved. I had deprived him of a dinner, but I did not feel sympathetic for the creature. I sat still, crouching in the cold, wet grass for a few more moments before moving. Eventually, I stood and trudged through the grass to the dirt pathway. I picked up my worn leather bag and slung it over my sore shoulder. I could finish my travels in peace.

I lived in Batinelle, a small country North of the Minuetae Sea. It was very lush in forests and strange beasts. Only six or seven small villages thrived in Batinelle; not many people attmeped to endure the harsh conditions of the land. It was warm-- very warm, I may add, during the Beast Season. When the Beast Season ended, and the White Rain Season began, all of the beasts lay at rest, hiding from the freezing conditions. They disappeared into holes in the ground or in caves on mountainsides. Though the beasts were gone by the end of the Beast Season, more people died during the White Rain Season from the many diseases that struck the land. Batinelle was not a pleasant place to live, but we had no choice.

This land had strange laws. They were not laws of the people. There were not laws that were created by horrid leaders. No, they were the laws of the land. You could not disobey these laws-- even if you wanted to. Once you stepped foot in Batinelle, you were bound to these laws. It was as if you became part of the land.

It was nearing the end of Beast Season. I could feel the cold air beginning to nip at my fingers. The leaves around me were changing color, radiating brilliant shades of oranges, reds, and yellows; and the ground was often covered with frost in the mornings. I found it weird that a beast made it's presence so known at such a late time in the the season; however, I pushed the thought from my mind, knowing that beasts were permitted to roam the land until the Final Harvest Ceremony, which was another six moons away.

I walked in silence with these thoughts filling my head. Around me, I noticed the forest preparing itself for the White Rain Season. Squirrels and rabbits regularly ran across the trail that I traveled upon, carrying berries, nuts, and dead leaves. The cherriwalls began building their small nests within rocks and leaves. Cherriwalls were sacred to Batinelle; they were small, green animals that resembled a mouse, bird, and bat hyrbrid. They had long, pink tails and dark green, fuzzy bodies that were half of the size of their wings. They had a pair of talons like a bird, but they had a set of little mouse paws on their second set of legs. Cherriwalls were quite frightening during the night when they hunted. They screeched and cheeped, and often ended up entangled within people's hair due to their poor eyesight. Nobody was allowed to harm or kill a cherriwall. They would be put to death if they did.

I was nearing the end of my journey to the village, Jualapo. The path was becoming more worn and the forest less dense. I could make out faint sounds coming from in front of me. It sounded like the annual festival that Jualapo hosted for the seven moons before the Final Harvest Ceremony. I was excited, for I could hear the sounds of bells and smell the mouth-watering food. I walked faster, making my pace a near run. I wanted to get out of the forest, and into humanity... I wanted to be at this festival. I needed to find him.

The smell of succulent, spiced meats wafted along the outskirts of the village. My mouth began to water at the thought of eating such a delicacy after nothing but cheese, stale bread, and salted meat for so long. The hard ground crunched beneath me as I neared the village. The trees opened up to reveal the crudely built houses. The sweet jingling music and savory smells of the candies and meats were coming from the center of the village. The entire town, though small in size, was protected by a wirey gate that wrapped around the whole of the village. It could have easily been broken by a beast if not for the laws.

I quickly scanned for the gate. It was about 20 yards west of where I was standing. To the normal eye, it looked like two half rotted logs, positioned to lean upon each other to create a doorway. But I could see the magic wavering between the logs. It was red, which meant that someone had tried to enter, or leave, without the proper knowledge. The paper-thin, water-like, red wall continued to waver as I stepped up to it. Standing directly in front of it, I closed my eyes, listening to the magic that was inaudible to average ear.

"Speak your name..." it hissed. I cringed. It was the voice of Batinelle, cold and chilling. No matter how many times I heard it, it still sent shivers down my spine.

"I have no name..." I thought back to the voice.

The invisible barrier hissed. "I should have known. You are constantly traveling, Nameless..."

"I am on a quest."

"As you have told me many times before," he chuckled," And yet, it seems to me, that your quest remains to have no end. May I ask just what you are questing for?"

"Nothing important. I just need to find somebody. This is the last possible place he could be if he is not traveling or dead."

"Ah, a lover?"

"Hardly."

"Be that as is may..." the voice sighed, "You may enter..."

The voice of Batinelle only let those who could speak with him enter and leave towns. However, out of those select individuals, he must also like them. I was lucky. The voice seemed to like me, though not very much. He was also getting annoyed with my vague answers and curt responses. It didn't matter to me, though; I would soon be ending my journy.. and my conversations with the voice of Batinelle if I could find Marcus.

I entered the town, listening to the music as it grew louder. The smells hit me like a wall of bricks, nearly knowking me off of my feet. I quickened my pace to get farther into the town and closer the festival.

Finally, the entanglement of homes broke into a large arrangment of stands and booths. People were everywhere, exchanging coins, joking with one another, or merely looking around. Children ran around screaming and giggling as they dodged passing adults, flowerpots, and carriages. My eyes fell to the young girl by the dried rabbit stand. She was dressed in boys clothing, leather pants and a linen shirt, and was running around the stand with three boys around her age, about twelve. The thing that struck me as odd about this girl, was that she was not giggling as most 12 year old girls did when boys chased them, or when they chased boys. She was laughing in an innocent, honest way. These boys were not love interests, no, why, these boys were her friends.

They disappeared behind the stand. It was at that point that I noticed the blue and purple sign next to the tent that stood beside the rabbit meat stand.

LET ME TELL YOU YOUR FUTURE

I snorted. Any idiot could read palms. It was fairly simple. I could even get a wavor out of water. It didn't matter though, because there wasn't really much to go by. The future was always foggy. The thing set in stone was fate, and fate was more complicated to read. Though my inards begged me not to, I entered the tent.