Whispers of the wind...

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina stumbles along through the mountains, confused, and hurt. She doesn't understand what is happening anymore, too much pain all around her.

She clutches her stomach tightly, and feels a sob rising up in her throat. Why does it have to hurt her so. She wishes she could be like Dei....to block all the pain out. Even this far away she can see it, feel it. No one else knew what it was like.

Her father and her mother thought she was being childish about the "shadow monsters" she knew it, but they were there everywhere. Was she the only one who could see them? They slipped around through the town, eating away peoples happiness as they sobbed in the corners. What had happened to the town, the people....? Everything had changed so fast.

She finally stopped, and felt the pain easing out of her. She let herself sit down, and she closed her eyes. She could hear the shadows around her, floating through the stale air. Their cold breath blowing upon her, and stinging her cheeks. Everything seemed to drift away. She couldn'ty see anymore, couldn't hear anymore. She was looking down at herself from far up.

Voices filled in around her.....

Is she alright?

I...don't know...she has been through much since she left home....she is getting stronger though, I sense it in her.

was it right for us to take her here?

Line coughed, and tried not to slip away from the voices. Her body felt so weak and tired from running this far, and yet...she could not let herself fall asleep, because she longed so much to hear what they had to say.

of course it was not right....she should not even be here, but we must tell her....

You said she should figure it out on her own....this is too early...do you really think we should have given this job to a child? it is not easy...the poor thing

she has a strong will.....she has been through more than most girls her age...there are others like her though...with this much pain, she could befriend them...she is not alone.

A gentle hand touched Lina's cheeks, and she heard footsteps.

she's listening...

oh...I did not realize you were here...

let her go back...if we don't she will die, she is too weak.

Lina coughed, and the words started to become intelligable. She felt her body hit the hard ground of the mountains, and she drifted to sleep.

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina felt her eyes flicker open, and she felt the hard rocks of the mountain piercing into her back. "daddy...come kill the shadows" she whispered softly "Saradomin...please..", and she slipped to sleep among the stones.

Shadows drifted around her, scurrying about her, and eating up all the happiness left in her body. She felt herself being wrenched into a dream.

She could see herself sitting in a dark room. She was crouched in the shadows, listening to the shouts of people around her. She was aware of them, but to them she was invisible. To them she was nothing but bad.

She saw a woman walk up, her stringy red hair masking her face except for her eyes which were filled with worry.

What do you want...

she heard her voice say that, and she felt her whole body ache. She sounded so sad, so hurt. Why did she have to re-live this?

Your father says you are to be kept here..

Lina shuddereed in the corner, and her face flipped to face the womans. It looked like she had not slept in months. Her eyes carried deep circles, and her face, lines of grief.

why...why do I have to live like this Anna?

A hand clasped across the womans shoulders, and Lina's eyes flickered with fear.

because you are a beast....look around you, is anyone else like you? The town doesn't want you

Lina kept her face like stone, and she curled into the ball she had been in before. She was a beast....if her father said so it was true.

d..daddy....they're here...please don't make me be here with them..

She held out her arm, and showed the shadow monster to her father. Blood seeped from her arm, and the monster floated around her, making her head spin.

it is not my fault their duty is to eat selfish little girls

Lina gripped her skin, and clutched the wound once more. covering her dirtied hand with the blood.

She watched as her father walked off, and tears sprang into her eyes as the woman followed.

we should help her...she really believes they are real..

I am in no condition to help some demon child...

Lina muffled a sob, and she pushed herself into the shadows.

this is what I deserve...

She let the shadows crawl over her, and she wondered if this would be the last time she would open her eyes....

Lina drifted out of the dream, and fell deeper into sleep...deeper into memories....

[Lapiz]

Dancing around in the mountains, looking for different types of rocks to examine, Lapiz can be found. He seem to have found quite many rocks allready as his bag seems heavy. Dancing around and singing different kinds of songs about mining, rocks, golems and treasure can be heard through the hollow, cold voice of the wind. Suddently he stops as he sees something from afar. Sensing something weak behind a rock a few hundred yards forwards, he runs agile through the rocky environments, jumping over many rocks and old roots from now dead trees. Stopping in front of the small body of the girl, he looks around for what could have caused this little girl to appear here. Finding nothing but rocks he looks down once more. He examines the girl and smells around, as if he were a sporting dog. He returns to the girl and lifts her hand and sees it fall back on the rock she is laying. She seem to be unconcious or dead. Lifting her up he carries her down into the forest. It seems as hours, walking by rows and more rows of trees, he murmurs from time to time. Finally finding his house he jumps up the tree where it is located and enters, putting the girl in the bed. He fills a glass with water from a nearby stream and puts it beside her. He smiles at her as she curls up, clasping the pillow with her small hands. He returns to his working desk; the house is not big as it is located upon a tree. There is a bed, a wardrobe, a working desk, a smaller table with three chairs and a bookshelf. The house itself is located inside a glade, far within a great forest. It is open but it's not troubled by wind, as the big trees stop all wind from traveling down to the house, and there is constant sunshine. He pours out the rocks on the table and uses some kind of magnifying glass device to examine the rocks...

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina opens her eyes a crack, and looks about confused. "Where am I.." she whisper, rubbing her eyes, and she tries to sit up. Her back ached from sleeping on the rocks for so long, and she clutched it wearily as she remembered the dreams from before.

Her eyes fell on the man who had carried her there, and she cowered back in her bed a bit "excuse me...but...where am I?" she asks, and she looks at him slightly scared, and questioningly.

[Lapiz]

Lapiz notices something move behind him, and he smiles as he continues examinating the rocks. Suddently he hears the girl speak.

"Excuse me...but...Where am I?"

He turns slowly and wipes off some dust from his fine green shirt. He puts down the device and smiles on the girl.

"Don't be afraid.. You were lying in the mountains, so I though you were all alone.. I took you here to take care of you.. You seemed all alone, and you are a bit young, aren't you?"

He smiles upon her and sits in one of the chairs at the little table.

"There is a glass of water over there if you feel thirsty, and I got some food."

He continues examinating the girl as she sits there in the bed..

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina carefully rises up, looking about the room as she reaches for the glass of water. She looks at it suspiciously before eagerly gulping the whole thing down.

She returns to the bed, and watches the man with her arms crossed. Her face is clear with suspicion. "Are you the...the voice I heard?" she asks, and then she shrugs as if dropping the subject "probably not..I mean...there were quite a few..guess I was dreaming"

Lina returns her thoughts to the mysterious man, and wonders what she should do. Home was by no means a safe place for her to go right now. She would have to wait a while before it was, but here...there was nothing to hurt her here unless....unless the man was lying, and he was bad.

Lina bit her lip, and scanned over the man one more time. Her eyes fall on the rocks, and she forgets all about her worries, instantly entranced.

"Are you a miner? I...i'm learing to be a gem miner...it's lots of fun" Lina says motioning to the rocks, and she rises from the bed to get a closer look.

[Lapiz]

Lapiz turns slowly in his chair and looks at the girl with his Fine azure eyes.

"I am no miner, allthough I like to look at different things around the world.. Collect information about things.. Gems, you say? You could maybe show me some gems some day.. I would love to do that."

He smiles at her and stands up and walks over to the small table, grabs a chair and puts it at the working desk, for her to sit on.

"If you wany anything at all, just ask." He smiles and sits down, continueing his work..

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina hesitantly sits down in the chair, and watches over him as he works, her eyes wide with fascination.

Lina smiles slightly, and examines the different rocks. She recognises a few, but not all of them, and she studies them for a while. She carefully scoops up the ones Lapiz is not examining, and places them in a shape. She removes one of the stones, and starts to move them around, taking out rocks with every move. Her eyes occasionaly float over to the man, just to make sure it's alright.

[Lapiz]

He smiles at her.

"I am sure we will have alot of fun until we find your parents, if you have any, that is."

"What is your name? Mine is Lapiz Gembinder."

"Are you hungry? You must'v been out there for a long time.."

He turns in his chair to look at her.

[Olivia_Gales]

"I have parents" says Lina hurriedly "and a little brother..my name is Lina..Lina Merawyn I guess".

She smiles slightly at the thought of food, and licks her lips. Thinking it over she decides she can trust him for now "I am pretty hungry" she says, and her stomach growls noisily as to second that.

[Lapiz]

"Wonderfull." He says and claps his hands together. He walks over to the wardrobe and opens one of the doors. There is a smaller chest inside and he opens it carefully, grabbing a piece of bread and some dried meat.

"Here you are.." He hands it to her and walks over to the bookshelf, picking up a book. He walks back to the working desk and opens it, writing something in a foreign language inside it..

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina takes the food, and peers over her shoulder, trying not to look like she's watching him.

"I wonder if it's safe for me to go back home or if...if maybe i'm supposed to be here..." she thinks, and she eats her food quietly. Trollsbane was quite a mess right now. She missed Saradomin, and Breanna and Soren, and her friends too, but she was worried about going back. Would it hurt her to do so, or would she be alright?

Lina snapped her gaze away from the man, and focused on the food in her hands. I wonder....he seems so nice...maybe it would be ok if I stayed...just for a while.

A smile crept across her face, and she finished the food, dusting off her fingers. She would just have to wait and see....

[Lapiz]

Lapiz continues making notes inside the book from time to time as he examines the stones. He smiles at the girl and then closes the book.

"Say.. Do you perchance know how to bake bread? Maybe grow some wheat? Or would you like to learn?" He smiles at her as he waits for an answer.

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina smiles at the thought, and nods. "I'm kinda good at it.. I could do that I guess..." she says, and she looks to him.

how long will I be here?
what is to become of me..my family..
maybe what I am supposed to do is to fight back what is there...rather than run away from it..
why would my purpose be...to take all this..one little girl..

These thoughts run through Lina's head, and she wrings her hands. "Maybe...maybe I will not stay for long" she says boldly, but her eyes glimmer with a slight fear

[Lapiz]

He giggles slightly and smiles.

"That is perfectly fine with me. Whenever you wish to go back, I will help you."

"In the meantime, I got a small farming patch outside.. If you could plant the grain in the.. Enhanced soil.. I will teach you how to write in Bloodelven. How's that sound to you?"

He smiles and awaits the answer, knowing it might be a "No", also hoping it will be a "Yes". Long has it been since he has had anyone to take care of.. Maybe letting go of this girl will scar him..

"No.." He thinks.. "I will do everything to protect this girl, and not to anger her she will have her way. I don't want to loose her aswell.."

Thinking back upon his path his sight is routed towards the big bookshelf with many books, all written by himself.

"Please.. Alaera.. May your soul find it's missing part and put you to eternal rest at last..." He speaks in bloodelven and then turns back to the girl, smiling yet again.

"I hope you will enjoy yourself here. I got alot of knowledge and will be happy to teach you whatever you want, if it don't contain weapons, that is."

He giggles once more and takes the book, putting it in the bookshelf beside many others...

[Lapiz]

He turns to Lina again and claps his hands together.

"I will be outside, preparing the soil for being re-planted. Go get some farming tools and seeds from the chest under the bookshelf, please?"

He chuckles and climbs down the tree with agile moves, and you can hear him sing an old elven song of happyness beneath..

[Olivia_Gales]

Lina trudges over to the chest he spoke of, and tries to open it. The lid is quite heavy, and she struggles to open it. Her elbow knocks into a book upon the shelf, and she peers into it.

What's this?

She flips through the book peering into the pages, and forgetting about her earlier task.[/i]