'...' thoughts
/.../ telepathy
Daystar's Prophecy Part 2
As they entered the forest, the storm which had been threatening all day, finally broke. Thunder and lightning lit the sky as a heavy rain began to fall. Luckily, the thick tree cover was able to block out most of the rain while allowing enough light to filter through, leaving them in an eerie twilight. Without pause, the boy began leading them deeper into the forest, following an age-old path cut into the undergrowth. On each side of the path, huge trees soared several hundred feet into the sky and as they traveled, the trees became even larger. Sometimes, when the undergrowth between the trees thinned out enough, they were able to see further into the forest, which seemed to go on forever. They had been following the boy for several minutes before one of them finally asked him where they were going.
"There's a fairy ring not too far from here where we'll be safe for the night." he answered quietly. At this point, just putting one foot in front of the other was becoming a difficult task for him. If the fairy ring had been any further than it was, he seriously doubted if he would have made it.
"What do you mean 'fairy ring'?" the one with the messy brown hair asked.
"You know, a fairy ring." he answered, looking sideways at the boy who had come up to walk beside him. 'Probably to keep an eye on me and make sure I don't run off,' he thought dryly. 'Yeah right, like that's gonna happen.' He was just barely keeping his feet under him now.
"No, I don't know." the boy said.
Stopping in his tracks, the boy turned to stare. 'How could he not know about fairy rings?' he thought. 'Everybody knows about fairy rings.' Just then, what little bit of strength he had left ran out. He felt his knees buckle beneath him, but instead of hitting the ground, a pair of strong arms caught him around the waist and pulled him against an equally strong chest.
"Are you alright?" the boy asked, holding him close. He looked up into piercing, blue eyes that stared down into his own for a moment before he quickly looked away.
"Yeah, just really tired." he said, blushing lightly. "The fight with Gaison took a lot out of me."
"Gaison? Was that the man back in the cave?"
"Unfortunately." the boy grimaced and tried to pull away but the other boy would not let him go. "We have to keep moving."
"You can barely stand. We should rest here for..."
"No! Listen, I know coming into this forest was a calculated risk, but I figured that we would have a better chance of losing Gaison in here then anywhere else. But it's starting to get dark, and it's really not safe to just stand here."
"Why wouldn't he come into the forest after us? There is only one path to follow and that's the one we are on." the boy with the long bangs stated. "And why would we not be safe here?"
"First, Gaison is deathly afraid of this forest, just like most everyone else on this continent. Second, there are literally hundreds of paths and Gaison doesn't know which one we took. And last, don't you people even know where we are?"
All four of the boys shook their heads indicating that they did indeed not know where they were.
"Well, where are you from in the first place? And how exactly did you teleport into that cave? There's a magic barrier around it that blocks outside spells from entering. Believe me, I know. And besides, I've never seen a teleportation spell quite like that one before."
"Spells? Magic? Everyone knows that's just make believe." the boy with the black hair sneered.
"Make believe?!" the boy asked incredulously. "Then what exactly do you call what happened in the cave?"
"Some sort of illusion no doubt." the boy said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh man, this can't be happening to me." the boy moaned to himself and slumped further into the other boys arms.
"Everyone calm down. This bickering is getting us nowhere. First, I think it wise that we introduce ourselves. My name is Quatre Winner and this is Trowa Barton." he said, indicating the boy with the long bangs.
"He is Chang Wufei." he pointed toward the boy with the black hair.
"Heero Yuy." the boy who was holding him offered.
"I'd say it was nice to meet you all, but under the circumstances, well, you know." the boy said with a wave of his arm. "I'm Duo Maxwell by the way. Now could we please get moving? It'll be nighttime soon and you really don't want to be wondering in this forest after dark. We can talk about this stuff later."
Heero slowly released Duo, making sure the boy would be able to stand on his own again. Duo gave a small sigh of relief when his legs did not give out on him and once again started walking further into the forest.
'So, these guys don't know anything about fairy rings, teleportation or magic. Great. Now what do I do with them? And where exactly are they from anyways? Damn, things couldn't get anymore complicated; at least I hope they couldn't.' Duo brooded as they walked. One thing was for sure, if these boys did not know about or believe in these things that would mean they were not from his world. Although the appearance of people from other worlds had been documented, Duo had not personally met any 'Visitor's', as they are called. Nor did he ever plan on it. And now he had four to deal with, along with the exhaustion from the fight with Gaison and the transmuting of the staff. 'Great, just great.'
"Are you sure you're alright?" Quatre asked. "You look awfully pale."
"I'll be fine, I just need some rest. Besides, this place really gives me the creeps."
"If you are so worried about being in this forest then why did you drag us in here?" Wufei snapped.
"Were you not paying attention back there? This was the only way that Gaison wouldn't be likely to follow." Duo snapped back, getting frustrated and angry with the other boy's attitude. "If we had taken the road around the forest, he would've been on us before we had even gotten away from the base of the mountain."
"I am not afraid of him and do not see why we should run. It is a path for cowards and weaklings."
Clenching his fists tightly and reminding himself that Wufei did not know this world, nor the dangers it held, Duo bit back the angry retort, which was currently on the tip of his tongue and continued walking. Even though what he really wanted to do was turn around and deck the boy.
"Listen," he bit out, "can we just walk here? I'm tired enough without having to deal with an argument, ok?"
Wufei did not say anymore and Duo was just glad that he could concentrate fully on walking for the time being. Luckily, they arrived at the fairy ring shortly thereafter.
The fairy ring was actually a clearing in the forest with a boarder of large stones, each standing about three feet high, around the outside edge. There were four gaps left in the boarder, which acted as entryways. The ring was approximately twenty-five feet in diameter and was completely bare except for the campfire circle in the center. The forest canopy over hung the clearing, creating a natural ceiling that kept the area dry. Walking into the middle of the clearing to where the small circle of rocks was set for the campfire, Duo discovered that it was empty.
"Looks like the last person to use this ring didn't take the time to restock before they left." he said and sighed heavily before turning toward the others. "We have to gather some firewood. Who's with me?"
"Why don't you stay here and rest, Duo. The rest of us can gather the wood and other supplies." Quatre offered, coming up to stand beside the smaller boy.
"I'd rather you guys not go out alone."
"Don't worry, we'll stick together. It shouldn't be too hard to find some dry wood and water."
"The dry wood shouldn't be a problem, but there isn't a water source in this forest that would be considered drinkable."
"There has to be water around here somewhere."
"Look, don't worry about the water, ok? Just get some firewood so we don't freeze tonight." Duo said, as he practically collapsed beside the campfire circle. "As soon as I've rested enough, I'll get us some water."
"But Duo, you just said that there wasn't any water."
"I said there wasn't any water in this forest that we could drink, but luckily I have other ways of getting water. And don't wonder too far from the ring, ok?"
"Don't worry, Duo. We'll be careful." Quatre said, trying to discern the meaning in the other boy's words. Finally, he gave up and went with the others to gather the firewood.
TBC...
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