acatalepsy

O N E A Strange Acquaintance

O N E

A Strange Acquaintance

. . .

I peeled my eyes open to a glaring light, my head pounding.

Where am I?

Squinting tightly, I slowly sat up from the rough ground beneath me, arching my achingly stiff back before shielding my eyes with my arm as I gazed around an unfamiliar surrounding. The sun hung high in the air, shining down in bright rays from the clear sky above, and the air was cool, a light gust of wind occasionally brushing along my face, ruffling my hair and chilling my cheeks to a flush. Two large stone walls - seemingly to reach over at least a dozen feet - trapped me from both sides, overgrown top to bottom in ivy vines and moss. They winded down at each corner for a seemingly never ending path.

Last time I recalled, definitely not my bedroom.

Crawling up slowly from the dirt beneath, a nauseating rush of dizziness hit me as I stood. My knees buckling beneath me, I quickly leaned against the wall for support as my vision swayed.

What happened...?

I closed my eyes, desperately trying to recall any past events, but I was merely met with hazy thoughts and vague memories of little significance. After several failed attempts, I let out a frustrated sigh at my lack of progress. Leaning my head against the ivory wall in sinking dread, I slowly slid back down onto the ground beneath me. I could remember my name, my daily life, functions and places; yet anything before the last couple of days was an irritating blur to me, like an itch of remembrance in the back of my mind I just couldn't reach.

...Is this a dream?

But this seemed too real to be a dream, to intricate, for it to be a simple figment of my imagination, only to disappear once I awaken. This wasn't a dream - couldn't be.

Think Ares, think.

Think.

Think.

"Well, don't get all sleepy on me just yet, we haven't even begun introductions."

Snapping my eyes open, I yelped in shock as curious purple eyes peered straight into my own. Blinking in confusion, my eyes quickly widened in astonishment as I took in the strangers hanging hair and upturned lips.

He's upside down.
He's upside down.

He's standing on the wall.

Giving me an amused smile, the purple eyed boy leaned away from my face as I scrambled up from the ground beneath me, quick to turn to face the upside down- or was it right side up?- stranger.

"Who... who are you?"

"Why is that always everyone's first question? What about a 'How are you?' for a change?"

The boy stepped off the wall and onto the ground, his orchid eyes filled with mirth, and stopped short of reaching me, taking in my appearance as I did in turn to him.

He was taller than me, at least by a good couple of inches, and his body was lean, but by no means skinny. He had a slim face - his pointed, elf-like ears and high cheekbones reminding me of an otherworldly character - and white hair lied in effortless layers upon his head, curling ever so slightly against the base of his neck before stopping just short of his jaw. But what caught my attention wasn't his abnormal hair, nor his slender figure, but his eyes; its vibrant shades of mixed amethyst and wine an ethereal captivation.

"You know, if I had known you were just going to stand there and stare the whole time, I wouldn't have bothered coming down."

"How are, how are you, you doing that! Who are... who are you?"

The strange boy gave me yet another amused look, tilting his head to the side in thought before snapping his fingers in remembrance, quick to extend his hand in greeting.

"You humans greet each other by handshakes, yes? Well, here you go."

The boy - whose name I had yet to learn - smiled in victory as I accepted his hand and gave me a firm shake before retracting it back into his trousers. He continued his introduction while walking in a slow circle around me - sizing me up.

"As for me, I'm many things."

And then he disappeared. Just like that, the vibrant eyed boy walked right behind me and before my head could turn around fast enough - he was gone.

"Wait! Where'd you go?"

Turning around in fast circles, I looked frantically along the walls for any sign of the boy. And just as suddenly as he'd gone, there was a gentle tap on my shoulder from behind. I leapt in shock and spun wildly around once more only to find the strange boy leaning casually against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest with a taunting grin on his face.

"My, my, quite a jumper you are, Ares. Surely you'll make things... interesting enough. Well, off we go then."

In a blink of an eye, he had disappeared again.

As laughter rang from above, I swiftly turned my gaze upwards. He had returned back to the wall side, running and jumping down the length it as if it was completely normal to be walking sideways.

"Wait, who are you?" I called out, still frozen to a standstill in confusion, "How do you know my name?"

But the orchid eyed boy didn't stop - if to any account, he sped up, shouting back a reply of:

"Why don't you catch up and find out?"

And so that is how I, Ares Carrol, began my journey of the Labyrinth.

. . .

a/n: updated it a little... tell me how you think it is so far!! -hadley :)