by Asherwy » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:08 am
"No! Come with me!"
The girl's insistent cry was drowned out by the thunderous crackling of fire and the deafening crash of houses collapsing in on themselves. The girl's soft face was smeared with soot, her desperate tears leaving clear streaks on her cheeks. Frightened villagers shoved past her as they fled towards the forest, their eyes glazed in fear. Her small hand tightly grasped the wrinkled fingers of another through the burning wood. An older woman's face could be seen on the other side, her weary features barely visible through her dark, unkempt hair and the licking flames.
"Siren..please..."
The woman's voice was thick with sorrow, despair lining the edges of her words. Siren shut her eyes tightly, lowering her head as if that would tune out the woman's pleas.
"I'm not leaving you."
Her refusal was barely more than a whisper in the chaos of panicked screams and frantic footsteps. Face twisted in sadness, the woman reached out through the opening and cupped Siren's wet cheeks in her hands as a single tear trickled out of her amber eyes.
"You won't be."
Even though she smiled, Siren could see the grief in her eyes and hear the tremble in her voice. Suddenly there was a loud crackle and a flaming piece of heavy wood slammed down into their little opening, crushing the forearms of the woman. Her tormented screams reverberated in the girl's ears, blue eyes dilating in horror. The woman's hands writhed violently against the flames and her shrieks showed no sign of slowing. Siren lurched forward and clasped the flailing hands in vain, as if holding them would somehow save her.
"Mom! Mother! Don-..!"
There was another crash and the entire house crumbled to the ground in a burning heap of rubble. The screaming stopped. The girl's knees buckled and she fell into the ash, her mother's limp fingers slipping out of her hands.
~ ~ ~
Gentle footfalls echoed throughout the quiet forest, the black-haired girl trudging along at a painfully slow pace. She didn't know where she was going, nor where to go; only that her village was destroyed. Generations and generations of Karnells, all gone within a single night. It happened two days ago, yet it was as fresh as the spring she drunk from this morning.
There was one distinctly clear memory that stood out from the rest in that nightmare, the memory of a voice crawling into her mind and scratching words inside her to convey its message. This chaos is not over. You are my messenger.
The voice spoke to her just moments before the explosion at the town hall. Before her family died. Gritting her teeth, she choked back more tears and continued on her path with watery eyes. The burns on her arms and legs tingled and stung, but it was just dull pain to her now. She paused for a moment to check on her wounds. She still hadn't cleaned them, or any part of her for that matter. Fortunately her black ears and tail were still intact.
Whump. With a surprised hiss, the girl whipped around towards the sound and braced herself for an attack. Nothing happened.
Instead of an attack, her icy blue gaze was greeted by a boy that looked about her age with ashen blonde hair. Though he wasn't covered in soot, he reeked of burning charcoal. Cringing, Siren stepped back and hissed again. The boy was on his behind, his face scrunched up in discomfort. "Ouch..."
Siren's hostility turned to confusion as the boy stood up, his hand rubbing his butt. The boy then opened his eyes and looked around before his gaze settled on her. His eyes were a beautiful smoky grey. "Well this wasn't supposed to happen." He commented sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with a small grin. The girl grew even more confused. Was this strange boy following her?
He held out his hand to her in greeting. "My name's Ky and I'm a Smokedrifter. I've been following you for a while now, so please forgive me." That sheepish grin again.
She glared at him, he was starting to irritate her. No wonder he smelled like fire, he was a Smokedrifter. Memories of that night flashed through her head. Blinking, she pushed away the images and tried to focus on something else.
Ky frowned. "Hey, shouldn't you happy that a handsome boy fell from the sky in front of you?"
Siren stared at him for a few moments in disbelief before replying. "You're kind of annoying actually."
He staggered backwards in shock at her blunt reply. "That's not nice!" He exclaimed.
"Okay." She said and turned to walk away. She didn't want anything more to do with this strange boy.
"Hey wait!" Ky rushed forward and blocked her path, reaching in the pouch at his side to pull something out. "I can treat your wounds! I even made medicine for them!" He added with an air of pride, dangling a small skin of herbs.
Siren glanced at the skin for a moment. "Good for you." She then side-stepped him and walked on.
"Hold on!" He wrapped his fingers around her arm - realising his mistake a second too late. He immediately recoiled.
She hissed in pain and glowered at him with disdain.
"Sorry." His voice was tinged with guilt. "But it hurts doesn't it? Let me treat it."
This guy is persistent. She thought, finding his wish to help a tiny bit adorable. Glancing from the skin of medicine to his anxious gaze, she sighed and moved her glare to a nearby tree, implying that he could help her.
Ky beamed and turned around, starting to walk. "Come on, you need you wash up first before you get any treatment. I can't believe you didn't clean yourself this morning at the spring!"
Siren raised both her eyebrows at him as she followed. "You've been stalking me since then?" She said accusingly.
"Well I wouldn't use the word 'stalking,' but I was actually tracking you since yesterday." He admitted, his cheeks flushing red.
She snorted in disgust. "Creep. You're worse than the Shadow Walkers."
"Don't compare me to them!" He protested, "I'm a kind Smokedrifter of Stiflebush."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Is that where we are?"
Ky glanced at her curiously. "Yeah, don't you see the fire fairies and the haze?"
Siren peered into the thick of the trees and saw faint lights flitting about through the branches. She could see the embers eating away at the leaves the fire fairies touched. The smoke wafting off the burning leaves drifted around the entire forest, surrounding the tree trunks as well as the pair. No wonder it was so hard to breathe.
"Here we are, Stifle Springs. The cooler water is over there and the hot water is over there. I'll wait behind a tree or something while you wash up. Don't worry, I won't peek." He reassured her, but for some reason she didn't feel like he would peep anyway.
Nodding, Siren edged towards the cooler pools and undressed, careful not to drag the cloth on her burns. Draping her clothes on a nearby boulder, she stepped into the water and let out a breath of relief at its cooling touch. Sinking beneath the surface, her burns stung for just a few moments before a relaxing sensation washed over her body. She sat there for a while, releasing air beneath the water and watching the bubbles float up to the surface. Gently scrubbing her body, she untangled her inky black locks and squeezed the water trapped in her hair as she rose out of the pool. Siren then twisted her tail dry and wiped the water off the rest of her body. Sliding back into her singed clothes, she headed for the tree where Ky was waiting and grunted.
"That's really unattractive." He laughed. Ky was sitting in the shade with an array of different leaves fanned out in front of him. "You ready to be treated?"
Siren nodded and squatted down.
"Give me your arm." He instructed while untying the string that held the skin closed. Scooping out some gooey liquid with his fingers, he motioned for her to come closer. Scowling, she edged towards him just a little bit and refused to move any nearer. Grinning playfully, he scooted forward to close the gap and proceeded to apply the mixture onto the burn. She winced slightly, but loosened up as the calming cold seeped into her skin. Eyelids drooping, she gave in to the lull of sleep and slowly slipped into darkness.
She awoke to something warm and firm cushioning her head. Blinking open her blue eyes, she was met by Ky's face staring intently into a sack he was holding. His grey gaze flickered over to her blue once he noticed she was awake. Siren grimaced. "Ew."
"You're the meanest Karnell I've ever met." He complained teasingly as she sat up. "I even lent my leg for you to sleep on. You were drooling all over me."
She blushed in embarrassment and looked away quickly. "Good." She grumbled.
Ky smiled. "What's your name?"
She glanced at him suspiciously and stared at the sky. "Who knows."
"C'mon, tell me." He begged.
She completely ignored him. "How do you get out of Stiflebush?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me your name."
She raised a brow at him.
He eyed her mischievously. "And if you let me be your travel companion."
Siren groaned and stood up. To her surprise, the burns didn't sting as much anymore, and they felt more like her own skin.
"What's with that?" He chuckled and began gathering up the leaves. "I was just kiddi-"
"Siren."
"Huh?"
"My name. Now let's go."
Last edited by
Asherwy on Sat Apr 18, 2015 5:36 am, edited 3 times in total.
