---
Finally, Ellyn scrambled up the last rock. She didn't need the voices to tell her she had reached her destination -- she knew.
"I'm here!" she annouced enthusiastically.
Silence.
"Where are you?" she asked, brushing a strand of dark brown hair back from her face. Was this a game? Why were they not here?
Even though she was in her human form, she was crouched down on her hands and knees, perched upon a boulder easily twice her size. From her vantage point, she looked around.
She had been traveling up a mountainside almost the whole time. She wasn't near the top by any means, but she was still a good deal above Fatier. Some of the homes of the village were visible from where she was, including her own -- they only appeared as mere specks below, however. She had traveled far. She had traveled far to meet her friends.
So where were they?
"Hello?" Still, her friends remained ominously silent,
like the neighbors who don't have the heart to tell a little shadow dragon they despise her for what she is. Ellyn shook her head of such thoughts. These were her
friends.
Where
were her friends? They were her friends, right? Her friends should be here.
She glanced west, just in time to watch the last sliver of crimson sun dip below the mountainous horizon. Momma was going to throw a fit when she got home. She might call Papa to yell at her, too. She bit her lip and called out again.
"Where are you?" Slight panic had creeped into her voice by now. She hopped down from her boulder, stumbling slightly. Frantically, she began to search the small ledge.
The ledge was bathed in twilight shadows, which were steadily deepening. Ellyn jumped, heart beating furiously, as three tall figures emerged from behind a large rock slab. She gaped, mouth dropping open and eyes staring.
Her friends
were here!
"Hello," the woman of the group greeted her, voice low, soft, and kind. She smiled compassionately at Ellyn, kneeling down and opening her arms wide.
The young girl ran over quickly, hugging her friend happily. "You're here! You really are!"
"Of course," the man behind just behind the woman said, smiling faintly. "
Real friends would always come."
"We've wanted to meet you," the woman asserted, breaking their embrace and standing up. "Our friend, Ellyn." The smile never left her face, her voice was level and compelling -- the voice of someone you could trust. She was beautiful, too -- her silver hair framed her delicate face perfectly, and complimented her bright blue skin. Ellyn watched her in pure admiration, wordless.
The third member of the group was standing farther away from the rest, leaning against a wall, watching everything. Ellyn glanced at him worriedly. Why was he so quiet? Was he upset? Had she done something wrong? Had she disappointed him somehow?
He suddenly flashed her a winning smile, bright white teeth contrasting with his dark blue skin. "Of course not, Ellyn." Had she spoken her concerns aloud, she wondered curiously.
She must have...
He grinned in a friendly manner, and knelt by her. "You're exactly what we expected...and you're everything we could ever hope for." <p><hr width="47%"><small>
Quotes of the moment:
-=- "Eat chicken, live forever...until you die, then you're screwed." -- Matt
-=- "*Dilute them bloodlines! Make Hitler roll in his grave!*" -- Uncle Pervy
-=- "Inorafeeb eedrayob fehc tae dna ekawa llahs slived." -- Bloodhound Gang
-=- "I exist to celebrate the onion." -- 'Pepito,' (mis)translation of Pablo Neruda's «Oda a la cebolla».</p>
Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/updrydia.showPublicProfile?language=EN>pd] at: 7/15/02 2:42:48 am