The Adventures of Tatyana and Rose

The Witch and the Zoolinguist

The magical forest was different. The trees where short and glistened with purple and blue. Sunlight bounced off the trees and illuminated the ground. The chimera gracefully walked through the forest. Tatyana and Rose had to rush to stay close to him. The deeper into the forest they went, the more anxious and nervous they got.

Finally, there was sign of something other than trees and rocks. It was what looked like a cave. It was dark black and off set of a line of trees. As they approached, the cave was much larger than it appeared. The opening was dark and broad.

"Are we going in?" Tatyana asked Rose, glancing in the cave fearfully. From the spot where the girls stood, Tatyana could make out spiders and other bugs. 

"Well, it's too late to turn back now," Rose said and started in the cave. Tatyana followed cautiously. The chimera was a ways ahead and barely visible, but the two girls continued. The cave passage twisted and turned until light started to faintly show at the end. The chimera's magical features enhancing once again in the light.

Once, they reached the next room of the cave the girls walked right in and in the middle of the space, their gaze following the mystical creature. The chimera walked to the far side of the room and sat down next to the source of light. Four lanterns lined the rocky wall. Tatyana and Rose awaited the chimera's next move until they realized he was looking to the left of Tatyana and Rose. As Tatyana went to follow the creature's gaze, someone spoke up. 

"Hello," Someone greeted the girls, making them jump and look around. There, sitting in the corner sat the elf, the same elf that appeared in their school before chaos struck. "Can't be a coincidence," Tatyana said to herself.

"Uh... hello," Rose got out. She took a step or two behind Tatyana.

"I am Filrick," the elf said standing up from a small wooden stool. He was definitely short but not as short as Tatyana and Rose would picture a normal elf. And he was old. He had a thin layer of white hair covering his head and long pointy ears sticking out. He wore a small, black robe with a key around his neck hanging on a rope chain. Filrick walked across the room and petted the chimera, making it purr with delight as Tatyana and Rose backed up. "If you guys didn't know, Hadriel here is a chimera," he said turning towards the girls then back to Hadriel. "Good boy," he said. 

"Okay so what are your names," he said to Rose and Tatyana. Both girls looked at each other as if asking if they should. Rose shrugged and Tatyana turned towards the short man. 

"I'm Tatyana and this is Rose," Tatyana introduced them quietly and Rose smiled. 

"Nice to meet you," Filrick said, also smiling. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so let's get to it. Follow me." He turned, hiking deeper into the cave. Hadriel walking alongside Filrick. Warily, the girls followed. 

They kept walking until they reached another room-like part of the cave. There was a small lumpy blanket on the floor where Hadriel immediately went to lay down. There was a big, flat rock in the middle of the room that acted as a table. It had a bowl of fruits and a bowl of mushroom soup resting on top. Filrick pushed the bowls towards the center of the rock and faced Rose and Tatyana. "Are you hungry?" 

Rose shook her head and Tatyana said, "No thank you," very quietly. 

"Okay," Filrick said gathering his thoughts, "So I'll make this quick because I know we're running out of time-"

"For what?" Tatyana interrupted.

"I'll explain that in one second but," he said calmly. "There is a dark, evil force coming. Her name is Lilith and she lost her son years ago. He ran away and his hiding out in your school." Both girls gasped quietly at the news and had worried looks on their faces. "Yeah," Filrick said watching the girls expressions, "But, he doesn't want to hurt anyone, he wants to get away from his mother. He is a doppelganger and switches his form every so often. But," Filrick paused taking a deep breathe, "She is really angry and is prepared to destroy the school to find him. She will kill anyone and anything that gets in her way," he glanced towards Hadriel who was watching with watchful eyes- the snake and goat resting on the lions back.