Lore of Tiagha.

2 - Not Alone

As soon as the white was gone, Layla looked down at where the flower was. It was gone, but in its place, there was a charm made of peridot, in the shape of a maple leaf. She reached to pick it up, but then felt a small, light jab the back of her leg. Layla looked behind her. Nothing. She ignored it and bent down again. "HAAALLTT!," A firm, raspy voice shouted. Layla turned around again. "Huh? Who said that," she asked cautiously.

"I'm down here," the voice said. Then he mumbled something about 'stupid kid,' which Layla heard. "I am not a stupid kid! I will let you know that I have VERY-" She paused as soon as she looked down, surprised. Before her stood a little man with short white hair and a long beard, holding a stick. He was about two feet tall, and was wearing something that looked like a party hat, but solid red.  He also had on a light blue shirt, dark gray pants, and shoes the same color as his hat.

The little man was also surprised at the sight of Layla, but almost instantly snapped out of it. "Ahem," he began. " Everybody here knows NOT to touch that! Unless... you're not from here." The little man had a hint, (if a hint was a lot), of distrust in his voice. Layla looked at him with confusion. "No..?"

"AHA! JUST AS I SUSPECTED! BEGONE, YOU NASTY MINION OF YENGRIK!" He jabbed her again with the stick, only slightly harder this time.

"Ow," Layla exclaimed. "And who even is this Den.. Gren-oh nevermind- Who even is that?" 

"Oh, please. Calm down, both of you," another voice said. This voice was calm, clear and subtle. Out of the shadows, came another little man, the same size as the first, but his beard was nicely trimmed and as brown as his hair, and instead of wearing a light blue shirt, he was wearing a red shirt with tan pants, and his shoes and hat were green.

The second man went up to Layla and bowed politely. "Hello miss, and welcome to our humble town. Trust me, we are not the only ones here. The others are inside, sadly wasting their days with the fear of going outside." He shook his head. "But anyways," he started again, "My name is Feishan."

"It's nice to meet you, Feishan," Layla replied as she bent down to shake his hand.

 "Please," he continued. "Excuse my father Quisgor. He always acts strange around new and different people." Feishan looked at Quisgor, (who was shooing ravens away with his stick,) and sighed in shame of  him, but then almost instantly perked up. "I, however, am of peace, and will not hurt you-or anybody,-unless I absolutely must."

"Well.." began Layla. "Wait- Forimphia? Isn't this place supposed to be called Camp River?" Feishan stopped, confused. "No," he replied. "Tiagha doesn't have ANY camps, let alone a camp named 'River'."

Layla was getting even more and more confused. "Tiagha? What?"

"Yes, Tiagha." said Feishan. "You didn't know that?"

"No," Layla stated back. Just then, she realized.. "Oh! Is it here? Are we in Tiagha, right here and now?"

"Ognib!" Feishan exclaimed. Layla tilted her head in confusion before figuring out that he had only said 'Bingo' backwards. She giggled.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do ya," Feishan looked at Layla, who gulped. " That's amazing, dear! Oh, its been so long since I have heard the youthful sounds of laughter. How can I make you laugh again?" 

"Well," Layla began, "Maybe you can show me a funny trick!" He perked up. "Oh, yes! Wait until you see this!" Just then, Feishan picked up seven small rocks, and began to juggle them. He dropped them in midair, and they landed on the ground in the shape of a smiley face. The sight of it made them both laugh and laugh.

But as she was laughing, she examined Feishan's behaviors and looks. Suddenly it hit her... Feishan and Quisgor weren't little men at all; They were gnomes.

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A/N 

Yep, this chapter was a bit longer than the first chapter. Don't get your hopes up about chapter 3 being longer though, because I follow no patterns or schedules for this book. I DO, however, hope next chapter is published before mid-October. The deadline is very long because I have a thing called 'Writers Block'

Okay, I'll shut up now.

Have a nice day :)

HAVE A GREAT DAY :>