~:RAWR:~

Not a Rainbow

Splash! Elizabeth fell into a huge puddle of water, soaking her even more. The rain pelting down on her had already drenched her. She was freezing and chilled to the bone, but that couldn't be helped now. She kept running, gasping for air as her lungs seemed to scream in agony.

A large tree branch was right in the middle of the path, as if the forest was trying to stop her passing. Lizzy slid under it, lifting herself back up after she got all the way past it. The sound of heavy breathing grew louder and louder as if whatever was chasing her had an endless supply of energy.

Leaves and small branches kept slapping her in the face and snagging her clothing, leaving small scratches all over her small body. Where was Night? Why wasn't he running right beside her, urging her to run as swift as she could and to not give up?

Lizzy tripped again and scrambled to get up, slipping on the wet leaves and dirt strewn across the ground. The breathing was less than a foot away from her. She could feel something reaching out towards her. Trying not to panic, she at last managed to clutch onto a large branch and pull herself up.

Before she could stand, she noticed a large shadow looming over her, casting darkness everywhere. She would have been blinded if not for Fulwah. How lucky she was at that moment. Or was she?

Quickly Lizzy turned around only to stare up into a solid black form. Blacker than the night sky, it seemed to suck the color from everything around it. She held her breath and what looked like a hand reached forwards. Her heart was speeding up even more now in terror. Closer and closer it came until the limb was a mere inch away from her dirt smeared face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elizabeth awoke with her eyes wide open, staring into the now dark room. She was comfortably warm and confused as to how she was until the felt an arm wrapped around her. She was breathing heavily, as if she had just run for miles. Rain was pouring down outside, accompanied by thunder loud enough for a deaf person to hear. Lightening was forking across the sky, making the room look sort of eerie.

Lizzy lay there for a while, calming herself down from the dream she'd just had. She curled up closer to Night, glad he was there for comfort. Slowly she grew tired again and happily welcomed the creeping darkness of sleep.

Gift of the Sea

Night watched Elizabeth’s face for a moment as she stared up at him in wonder. He could see her reading his face and he wasn’t sure how to react to that quite yet… she turned and stepped inside the carved tree trunk and he could hear that child like wonder in her voice. "I guess it just seems bigger once you're inside, eh, Night?" she said back towards him. Night looked around the room himself with some amazement at the craftsmanship. Seems like these days there isn’t much he isn’t surprised by. His structured world had crashed down all around him and he was forced to open his eyes to a new realm.

He stood in the doorway, watching Liz explore and touch everything in sight. He shook his head, needing to distract himself for awhile and to clear his mind. It was hard trying to clear your mind of someone when they were in the same room… so he stood at the carved window, once again amazed by the intricate work that the Spreekalings have done. He stared off at the landscape as the sun started to set deep into the horizon. His mind swarmed with things he was confused about and his deep questioning of what his inner ocean stirred for…

"Hey Night, I've got a question for you..." Liz said happily. He was startled from his deep contemplation and looked down at her. He arched an eyebrow in response to her question and as he did he noticed the pool of water in her hands, rising and *Splash!* …..instant refreshment, unexpected. He thought to himself that if she wanted to play then he’d give her the battle she requested. “Feel better now?” she asked while laughing up a storm. He crossed his arms over and stared at her, feeling a smirk crawl from the stern look he attempted.

Lizzy tilted her head to the side and poked him as she usually did, knowing that he understood her playfulness. “C’mon you. We need to get some good sleep for once. I’m tired of dirt to be honest.” She grabbed a hold of his arm and spun him around to look at the rest of the room that he hadn’t bothered to explore himself. He surveyed the area and realized that it was going to be quite comfortable in here. The Spreekalings are quite large and he was oh so thankful!

Night watched as Elizabeth jumped right on the bed in her youthful pleasure. He was always amused watching her take delight in the simplest things in life. They were all her treasures and there was nothing she could find wrong in the world. She yawned and laid back on one side. He watched her pat the opposite side of the bed, motioning to him to join her. His eyes trained on her, he felt it weird that she made the gesture just as he was about to ask her if it was appropriate. “It’s night night time!” she said as she giggled. She rolled over, stretched and found a spot that was comfortable.

Night pursed his lip to one side and sat down on the opposite side of the fine crafted bed. It was a lot more comfortable than he had imagined. His weight pressed down into it and he could feel Lizzys’ body shift with momentum. He quietly snorted a laugh and went about taking off his boots to get comfortable. She didn’t seem to have a problem with their closeness and the moral gentleman in his mind still protested. He felt like if he got too close that it would be wrong for him, being tied to a lass and being a sailor just didn’t work. He so much loved the sea and her wonders but in all his life, with a girl… no, woman like Elizabeth, he had never seen someone with so much Life in them. It was like the Sea had found her and brought them together. Was this Poseidon’s way?

He argued with himself mentally for a short time before giving up on the questions. He filed them to the back of his mind for now and laid back upon the soft mosses and petals that was the bed. He folded his brawny arms behind his head and sighed, wanting to let everything go. He could hear Lizzys’ soft breathing, wondering if she was asleep already… he listened to the sounds of the night and it soothed his restless mind. As the moon shone bright through the window he turned on his side and wrapped an arm around Liz to keep her warm. If he felt the nights briskness then he thought that she would for sure. He had hoped that he wasn’t intruding and he pulled her in tight, covering her arms with his and resting his chin above her head. She was like a small stuffed animal that a child might cling too, her body small in comparison to his.

Night drifted away almost instantly…

Magic Branches

Glancing back at Night, Lizzy stepped through the curtain. He seemed to be... different somehow. A little more touchy maybe? She giggled to herself and looked back in front of her to see what would be ahead. There was really no telling since so many things kept changing and everything was always new.

She sure wasn't disappointed.

It seemed as though the tree trunk was as large around as a house! Then again, when they had been climbing up the tree she had noticed the massive size of it. "I guess it just seems bigger once you're inside, eh, Night?"

She continued to look around the huge room. Everything was made of leaves and branches that were woven together. Windows were made from natural knarls in the wood that were hollowed out. A small wash basin was next to one of the windows. Lizzy walked over to it, glad to be able to freshen up at least a little bit.

Not even thinking about how it got there, she plunged her face into the water which was as cool as a spring breeze. She washed her hands then looked over to where Night was standing. It looked like he was staring out the window. Grinning, she made a cup with her hands and filled them with water. She walked quietly towards him and stood beside him.

"Hey Night, I've got a question for you..." she said happily. He jumped, apparently startled at her being close to him without him noticing. He arched an eyebrow in question and right as he did, she tossed the two handfuls of water at his face. "Feel better, now?" she asked while laughing happily.

Night crossed his arms and stared at her, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. Lizzy tilted her head to the side and poked him. "C'mon you. We need some good sleep for once. I'm tired of dirt to be honest."
She grabbed a hold of his arm and spun him around to look at the other side of the room.

There was a large bed that seemed to grow out of the trunk itself. The mattress on top looked horribly inviting so she jumped right on top of it. Yawning, she laid down on one side of the bed and patted the other, motioning for Night to join her.

"It's night night time!" She giggled and rolled over, stretching for a few seconds before getting comfy.

Visual Symphony

Movement caught Nights eye and as he turned to look he caught Elizabeth’s hand in his. He looked at her hand and slowly squeezed a bit tighter. His eyes rose slowly back to hers and a warmth swam over him in the most peculiar way. Nights mind was floating in directions he didn’t want it to go, but alas, he was a man and maybe, just maybe there was part of him that wanted her close to him.

Lizzy smiled up at Night and then looked away. He continued to stare at her with subtle longing as he watched her survey the landscape. She was always excited to see a different angle of the same landscape. Something in her always sparked and bubbled in a way that stirred and challenged his mind to step out of its boundaries. He wasn’t always okay with that but it wasn’t a conscious decision. Not to mention that he wasn’t one to deny reality or what was right in front of his face. He had to accept the changes and what his mind told him.

The silence was somewhat bothersome; they all watched each other in stillness with curiosity upon their faces, nothing to say. Finally, Fulwah spoke. He instructed the others to return to their nests and then he looked back at the two. “Good night young ones. Sleep well and be free.” He said.

How odd, Night thought to himself, he’d wondered what that would mean coming from him and Night puzzled over how they lived, what they ate, what they’re people were like. It was all foreign to him and even though he had tried to his best to be respectful, he still wasn’t sure how to take it.

He snapped out of his momentary daze and looked to Lizzy. He had no idea what the rooms would look like and he wondered if there was only one bed, if she was going to mind… He could sleep on the floor if need be… mentally, he let out a breath. He would take things as they came and use instinct, as he did on the high seas and see where it would take him.

Night walked up behind Liz and placed his hands on her triceps, standing close to her. She flinched in surprise though he didn’t mean to startle her. “Elizabeth, you have all the time in the world to stare off into the sun set. Let’s go ta bed.” His voice was silken and laced with somber thoughts. He wasn’t too good a hiding his true emotions. He escorted her, arm behind her back, to the dwelling that Fulwah had presented to them. He opened the curtain made of vines and exotic flowers, being the gentleman that he was, and let her pass through first.

Spider Webs

Laughing inwardly, Lizzy grinned to herself as she watched Night out of the corner of her eye. He seemed fidgety, which was definitely different than his usual self. What was even funnier was how he seemed to refuse to look down. She couldn't blame him, really. Some people just didn't like heights. She turned her head slightly towards him and grabbed his hand, hoping somehow he would gain a bit of confidence or something from the motion.

She smiled up at him then gazed about at the scenery. It seemed that each time they moved 100 feet, the area became even more wonderfully splendid; with colors and smells and sounds constantly changing around them.

The Spreekalin were still standing around, looking at the two. It felt a little uncomfortable, but not too much. Besides, Lizzy felt she was doing her fair share of staring, also. She looked over at Falwah who was gazing into the distance, happily smiling to himself the way her grandpa used to do when he was reminiscing about the 'old days'. She continued to watch him until he shook himself slightly and turned towards the group.

"Now, it is time for sleep, everyone. Our guests must get their strength and energy back for tomorrow's journey." He made a shooing gesture with his hand towards the green and blue Spreekalins and smiled, "Hurry to your nests, for you will be accompanying them." He walked towards the opening in the side of the tree which led outside. Pushing aside what appeared to be a curtain, he smiled at Lizzy and Night while the other two hopped out and swung away to their nests.

"Good night young ones. Sleep well and be free."