Nameless [CURRENTLY BEING EDITED]

19. Falling

The Cliff was surrounded by fog and the other edge could barely be seen, just a line of black and brown in the distance... Twisted trees spiraled upwards like corkscrews. The hard tops of rocks and tufts of grass poked their way through the muddy ground. It had stormed the previous night and several trees were knocked down, making perfect cover. One of the larger trees had been knocked over the Cliff and faded into the fog, apparently stretching over the other side.

Thalion squinted suspiciously as he watched two figures dodge through them, slowly making their way to the drop-off. They were not supposed to be there. One of them had the long blond hair and tall, noble stature that denoted him as Ciradon's son. The other had brown hair and a bow slung across her thin shoulders, the customary weapon of any elf.

Thalion could barely keep back the snort that climbed in his throat at the sight of Veryan blushing like a girl when the Wood-elf smiled at him. The thought of the High elf's infatuation disgusted and annoyed him. Ever since Veryan had met the Wood-elf, he had pulled away from Thalion, growing closer to that girl. And Thalion didn't like it. Not one bit. He needed Veryan to trust him.

A sudden wild shout drew his attention back to the present. He looked up to witness a haphazard game of tag going on, with the two elves chasing each other, laughing as they doged rocks and fallen trees.

Thalion mimicked throwing up. When he was sure the two elves had their backs to him, he silently crawled to the next log, pulling his hood up higher to blend in with the monochrome landscape. Someone had to make sure Veryan didn't try to cross the Cliff.

He watched them cautiously. They were standing close together, peering into the fog that blanketed the black slice of the Cliff. Veryan leaned his head down and whispered something and the wood-elf laughed softly. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

Thalion rolled his eyes but took the opportunity to come closer. He was now in eavesdropping range.

There was a long silence with the only sound being the breathing of the elves and the rustle of the grass in the wind. Thalion became decidedly uncomfortable in his cramped position--there was a blade of long grass tickling his ear--and he glared at the two of them. The tips of his fingers were beginning to turn blue with cold.

Finally, finally, much to Thalion's relief, Veryan broke the emptiness. "You aren't bored, are you?"

The wood-elf scoffed slightly, "With you? Never."

Veryan blushed. "Well, all this intense gazing into the fog has me wanting to burst into a run or something. Let's play another game!"

She peered even more intently into the fog, posing dramatically. Then she laughed happily and nodded. "How about Dare?"

Veryan's teeth flashed in a grin. "I dare you to hug me."

Thalion, still hidden, let out a groan as the wood-elf tackled Veryan in a giant bear hug. As she came up a few inches shorter than his shoulder, Veryan had to lean down to hug her back.

The two continued their game, the dares escalating, albeit slowly, from the simple to the mildly dangerous, such as sprinting along the trunk of one of the fallen trees and leaping over each other's heads.

Thalion became increasingly more and more bored. Despite the fact that all three of them were in a forbidden zone, the game of Dare was centuries old and watching the two of them was just a rewind of all the dares Thalion had played and watched. Boring.

He scratched at his ear. The grass was getting extremely irritating.

Veryan looked around thoughtfully, trying to find an adequate dare. Several of the corkscrew trees spiraled far into the low scuddling clouds. A few had no leaves but one of the tallest ones had a bunch of clustered brown leaves crowning its gnarled head like a crown.