Raven & The Angel

Chapter 13 - The Reef

She was inexplicably drawn to the woods, away from the night time glow of the town.  Angelina's head was pounding.  Whatever it was that was pulling her like a magnet, was big... bigger than anything she had ever felt in her short lifetime.  She stumbled through the undergrowth, despite her perfect vision, her natural instincts desperate to discover what lay ahead.  After what seemed like many hours, but was merely one in reality, Angelina stumbled into a large clearing.

It was pitch black and Angelina could clearly see... nothing.  Nothing besides a patch of long grass surrounded by trees and a rather indignant rabbit, obviously annoyed at the human intrusion in the middle of its night time foraging.
"Bugger off!" called Angelina, followed by a giggle, as she watched the rabbit's bobtail hopping towards the protection of the trees. Angelina sighed and dropped into the long grass. She lay on her back gazing up at the twinkling stars in the sky, imaging far off galaxies and the secrets they might hold.

As she counted the stars, one of them seemed to twinkle brighter than all the others in the sky. Then it began to get bigger and bigger, shooting towards earth.  Angelina held her breath as a huge light flashed overhead, hurting her eyes and blurring her vision.  There had been no sound to accompany the blinding light and as she opened her eyes to focus, she could see the silhouette of a very tall, slim man. Angelina assumed it was a man - it was hard to tell because they were dressed in a long, hooded cloak.

Angelina stood up slowly, trying to figure out whether she should run.  Every nerve in her body was telling her that she should, but something was tugging at her mind. Actually, something was tugging at her trousers - it was Penfold. As she tried to turn away and head for the trees, Penfold dug his hooves into the undergrowth.
"Penfold... now... is... not... the... time... to be... a stupid... stubborn... goat..." Angelina hissed through gritted teeth, trying to yank her trousers from his mouth. "We need... to get... out of... here!"
Penfold didn't flinch and the harder Angelina tugged, the firmer his grip became. "Bleat, bleat!"
"Easy for you to say Penfold. How can you possibly say he isn't dangerous? How the hell would you know?" (Has it been mentioned that Angelina spoke fluent Goat? Well, fluent Penfold anyway).

Nonetheless Penfold hung on and refused to let Angelina run from the clearing. Knowing when to give up, Angelina braced herself and slowly turned back to the silhouette. Whoever it was had their head to one side, obviously watching the girl and the goat with great interest.

"Er... hello..." Angelina ventured.
"He-ll-oo..." was the rather gruff and unsteady reply.
Angelina waited, but the tall stranger just stood watching, their gaze moving from her to Penfold and back again.
"I'm Angelina. Who are you?"
"I am The Reef"
"Thereef? That's a strange name"
"My name is The... Reef" the stranger corrected. "And you are The Angelina?"
"Nope I'm just Angelina" she replied.
"So, you are The Just Angelina?" The Reef tried to clarify.
"No. Angelina. My name is Angelina... not The Angelina... simply Angelina"
"Ah, I understand. Hello Angelina" The Reef said rather proudly.

The Reef then looked down at Penfold. The goat looked up and simply said "Bleat."
"Hello The Penfold" The Reef replied.
"Bleat" returned the goat.
"I apologise. Hello Penfold" said the stranger.

Angelina stood open-mouthed. Only she understood Penfold, no-one else ever had.  How the hell...?
"Look The Reef, who are you? Why are you here in the forest at this time of night and how do you know my goat's name?" she asked, wondering if it was really safe to even be talking to this stranger, deep in the woods. "Oh and what was that huge bright light that almost blinded me?"
"I apologise Th... Angelina. I didn't mean to frighten you..." began The Reef.
"You didn't frighten me" snapped Angelina, reminded of the endless taunts from when she was a young school girl. "You just surprised me, that's all. It's usually just me and Penfold that wander around these parts at this time of night."
"Then I apologise for interrupting" The Reef bowed like a gentleman. "I know your goat's name because he told me. The lights are from my... transportation. However, I am not sure that you will either understand or believe me if I were to tell you who I am and why I am here" hazarded The Reef.
Angelina folded her arms "Try me."