Firewind

Chapter 6-Diero

I cursed viciously. Leshanna glared at me but I ignored her. Althaea had left. Hadn't there been enough people leaving? First Kildrak, then our parents. I don't know if Leshanna would be able to handle Althaea leaving. Not to mention myself. Sometimes my twin could be so hot-headed.

"Mind your language around young ears," Leshanna said glaring at me. She nodded her head to Talkinn sleeping peacefully on the mat.

"What are we going to tell him?" I asked.

"I don't know," she whispered. Her bottom lip quivered and she looked close to tears.

"It's just like Althaea to do something like this," I said, shaking my head sadly.

"Well, could you at least get some food for breakfast?"

"Yes. Let him sleep as long as he needs. We don't need him to be grumpier than necessary. I turned to walk out the door, grabbing my quiver and bow as I went.

"Diero," I turned to face Leshanna. "Don't you leave too. Promise me that you'll come back." Silent tears were running down her face.

"Hey," I said kneeling and wiping her tears away, "You don't have to worry about me. I'm coming back. Besides, if I don't who'll pull sticks out of Talkinn's hands?? I promise that I'm not going to leave. You guys need me here and I'd be a fool not to see that."

I gave her a hug and she sobbed onto my shoulder. I stood up and walked out the door to go hunt. First I scoped out the length of the stream hoping to catch some thirsty prey unawares. Nothing was in sight. I headed deeper into the underbrush, always paying attention to my surroundings and the location of the hut I left.

I came back about an hour later with a rabbit and a squirrel. Not much, but better than nothing. We ate in silence after Leshanna had cooked up the meat. Talkinn's eyes were red and Leshanna said that he cried when he woke up and couldn't find Althaea. I felt bad for the little guy. He probably had no idea what was going on. To be honest, I have no idea what is going on.

We slept in the hut again that night. Talkinn slept peacefully, as usual. But Leshanna tossed and turned and would wake up crying. I wish Althaea were here to soothe her panic. I don't know how to deal with these things.

I stayed up all night watching the stars hoping that Thaea was faring better than I.

We spent the next 7 days in that hut. I did the hunting and Leshanna did the cooking. Talkinn did the branch chewing. We were all starting to get bored on the eighth day. We had no idea what to do next or where to go. Talkinn was getting whiny and I could barely get Leshanna to eat. She was slowly falling down into a deep hole. I fear that I might not be able to save her. We needed a purpose in our lives and fast.

***

I was watching the four moons sail silently and slowly across the sky. Nothing was moving nor making a sound except for the soft chirps of the crickets in the tall grass. The leaves of the trees were rustling faintly in the gentle breeze. Little htraephim were closing the petals of the flowers. Their little wings were glowing faintly and flapping to keep them hovering. One of them approached me and held out a little flower. She was quite tiny for an earth-elf. Her little wings glowed purple and her hair was bright blue. I took the flower from her and to my astonishment, her hair turned bright pink, almost as if she was blushing.

I smiled at her and nodded my head. She turned, flew away and hid behind a leaf, peeking at me on occasion. I looked at the flower. It was the same one that Thaea drew on her note.

"Thank you," I whispered to the htraephim. She nodded and flew away. I took it as a sign that my sister was alive and well.

The htraephim kept tending to the blossoms and leaves of the forest as I started to drift off. All of a sudden, the htraephim looked up in unison and disappeared into the underbrush, their delicate glow receding with them. There was almost a shift in the once peaceful forest. The air felt thick and heavy with a powerful presence. I snapped back to attention, notching an arrow to my bow. I gazed into the dark, searching for something, yet I did not know for what.

Something rustled the leaves to my left. I turned my bow towards the source of the sound and pulled the string taut. A man carrying a walking stick stepped into the clearing between one of the large stones. They loomed on every side of the clearing like guardians. The man had a hood drawn over his face, shielding his eyes from view. The overwhelming sense of power grew stronger as he neared as if emanating from his very presence. I lowered my bow slightly, caught off guard. I was expecting something dangerous or more obviously so. Despite his overwhelming existence, he seemed almost friendly and down to earth.

He pulled his hood back to reveal two vibrant gray eyes and a head of silver hair. His hair looked like starlight itself and was cut through with a jet black streak on the left. As he drew closer I also realized that his eyes were streaked with black too. I would've tried to back away if I wasn't so captivated by his unearthly beauty and presence. Now that he was standing in front of me, I also saw that his staff's wooden surface was entwined with silver wire swirling up the sides to enclose around a blue opal. Everything about him was glowing in the moonlight, from his eyes to his hair to his staff.

I was about to ask him what he was doing here, when I felt the presence around me seep into my head. Its overpowering presence pressed against my mind. I tried to push it out, to block it from my memories and thoughts. It pressed harder and I heard a voice speak.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead!"