Chronicles of Seiliu

The Night

She was drenched in sweat. Her heart was beating the tempo of Dove's Vagary (or 112 bpm [beats per minute]). The egg was back in its little gathering of sticks and leaves. Her friends were dead asleep. Aspen walked out of the cave into the darkness. Her thoughts raced, and a sudden obsession developed for protecting the egg. As Aspen walked, she stepped on a twig making a surprisingly loud noise. She desperately hoped it didn't wake anybody. Anil awoke by the noise of the twig. He let out a big yawn that exhaled all the air out of his lungs. He walked out of the cave to find Aspen resting on a cliff gazing at the starry sky. He flew up to the cliff to join her. "Beautiful night isn't it?" said Anil trying to comfort her. As Anil walked out of the cave he saw where Aspen slept. It was soaked in sweat. He fell asleep to her speeding heartbeat, and was in discomfort when she left. It was like white noise to him. He knew something was wrong. He sat to Aspens immediate left, and rubbed her back. Aspen started to blush a bit. Thankfully, it was barely dark enough so no one could tell. Aspen scooted closer to Anil and rested her head on his shoulder. This notified Anil that he had succeeded at comforting Aspen. He laid his head on hers. Soon, Aspen fell asleep on Anil's shoulder. Anil started to blush a lot. His face was scarlet red. It was very strange that Anil's white face could turn as red, possibly redder, as Ember's blood red scales. Soon Anil fell asleep too. That night crickets chirped repeatedly. The wind howled like a wolf. The waves crashed like bowling pins. The stars were shining like shot silk in the sunshine. In the morning, the sun rose so magnificently like a phoenix. It shined so bright it blinded the comrades as they all got up. Aspen woke up first. As soon as she saw she was sleeping with Anil she quickly ran to the cave. Aspen blushed the entire way back. She crashed into bed and pretended to still be asleep. Shockingly, no one realized she was gone. "Ahhhhhh! I'm up!" Ember said as she awoke. "Thanks. Now I am too." said Tempest vexed. Aspen pretended to wake up with an immense yawn. "Good morning everyone!" Onda said happily. "Where the heck is Anil?" questioned Tempest. Aspen shrugged. As she did, Anil flew in the mouth of the cave. "G'day mates!" said Anil, "I had the weirdest dream last night. I flew up to the cliff on the east bay and..." Aspen had put her hand over his mouth before he could continue. She pointed into the distance. Three Nocti soldiers entered the cove looking for the egg. "Why do you think they're here?" asked one of the soldiers, "This place has been abandoned for years!" "Yes, that's why it is a perfect place to hide." responded another. "Shut up! You're going to alert them of our presents!" said the leading soldier in an aggressive whisper. Two of them had corresponding armor, and the third had slightly different armor. All had a black- grayish skin with sharp, pointed horns. Their wings were dark purple and huge. They landed on the west side of the cove, the opposing side to where the group was. "Oh my goodness! What a relief!" exclaimed Onda. "Yes, but if you don't shut up we won't have a sense of relief!" Tempest whispered angrily, "Quick grab the egg! We can't let those Nocti soldiers get to it." Ember lifted the egg off its nest. Aspen ran to Ember and, with a little extra force than required, grabbed the egg. "We need to go now." Tempest said in a stern voice, "They're coming closer." "Quick! Put out the fire and hide the burnt wood!" exclaimed Onda in a quiet voice. Onda used her aquakenisis to put out the fire. Then, Anil grabbed the burnt wood and stashed it behind a rock inside a cave. "I think I heard something," said one of the soldiers. "Where did you hear it, Mark?" said the other quickly. "Towards the east side of the cove." said the soldier, apparently named Mark. "Well hurry up! Let's get over there!" said the slightly different soldier. The three, dark soldiers rushed over to investigate.