A few hundred years after the nine races had settled in the third world, a young Willow was hiking in the surrounding hills. She was a fairly odd looking Willow, shorter than most others her age with dark red hair and eyes that switched from green to amber and shone in the dark. It was because of these features that she was always an outcast in their village. Her name, Felix, meant 'lucky' in the old language, and she sometimes wondered if her birth parents were mocking her when it was chosen.
After a few hours, Felix sat down on a rock to rest. She lifted her water pouch above her head and started to drink deeply. Suddenly, a roar echoed through the hills, startling her. She lost her balance and tumbled down the side, right into the river!
Felix yelled for help as the fast moving current dragged her downstream. Just when she thought she was done for, she felt a rough, shaggy hide brush against her and carry her towards the bank. Hitting the sand, she blacked out.
While Felix was passed out, the creature came and sat by her. He made sure she was safe from anything that might come. The thing waited for three days and three nights. Every so often it would nuzzle its head against her chest to check if she was alive. Finally, the girl groaned. The creature ran off behind a rock where she couldn't see.
Felix opened her eyes slowly and took a few minutes taking in her new surroundings. She was sure that she had just been on the side of a small mountain, overlooking a river. But alas, now she was on a sandy riverbank. All her surroundings were new and unrecognizable.
Felix carefully stood up and stretched out her joints. She had always been adventurous as a young willmiine*, and had explored much of the land surrounding her village. She could only assume that it was a long ways away, and that it would take at least two days walk to return.
Felix stood up. As soon as she was on her own two feet, her leg started burning something fierce. With a loud yelp she fell back down into the sand. Her leg was screaming in pain. Felix dimly wondered how she couldn't feel her leg before standing up. Again, the young Willow fell unconscious..
*willmiine (WILL-min-eh) a Willow that isn't fully grown yet. Like a human child.
