~:RAWR:~

Dem Boots

Night felt as if Elizabeth had scolded him with just her eyes. He raised an eye brow and felt the sting of the “woman’s look” as if was often referred too. He had never gotten that from any woman before, it was a first for him but he felt as if he shouldn’t argue. He let out a sigh of defeat and let the odd creature hoist him up and ascend to the tree tops. He felt very awkward and unsafe but Lizzy seemed to be doing fine so he held on and waited for it to be over with.

As Night awaited his destination he wondered to himself why there was so much about this place that brought out things in him he had never discovered before. His connection to Elizabeth seemed to be growing, though he had no woman he had ever drawn within his circle, excluding his own Mum of course. He was finding himself to be nervous… nervous! By all the Seven Seas he had never been nervous about any storm, any creature and least of all any woman. At times he felt unsure of himself, which has never happened before, with the exception of when he was a young lad and hadn’t yet become a man… mistakes are a given whilst a child… He sighed once more, wishing this damned creature would hurry up.

When they reached the top Night knew for sure he didn’t want to look down. He kept his eyes forward and kept within close distance of Lizzy. He didn’t want to feel clingy or give her the impression he was either afraid of heights, which was somewhat true… ok, a lot true.. or that he was being over protective… which was most often the case. He wasn’t going to say anything about it, just let her draw her own conclusions.

He awaited Fulwah’s accompaniment so that they could settle into their room. He knew that once he was able to sit down for a bit and take his boots off he’d be okay. He wanted to lie down and stretch out for a few. Seeing as how these creatures are fairly big he had hoped that the beds would be somewhat large as well. Finding a bed to suit him was a terrible feat.

So much for small

[Before I begin, I would like to say this reminded me of: "I. CAN. SEE!!!! I. CAN. FIIIIIGGGHHHTTT!!!!!!"

That is all.]

As Elizabeth stared at Fulwah, she couldn't help but blink repeatedly. This new vision was incredible. Everything was sharper, more colorful, and vibrant. She wanted to run about in circles, flailing her arms about, so that she could let out some of her excitement, because right now, she just couldn't seem to stop bouncing up and down.

She could feel a small warming feeling softly radiating from the tattoo that was now branded to her abdomen. She wanted to poke it, but at the moment she was trying to concentrate on what needed to be done now. She have time later, anyway, along with seeing what her new vision could do. Now, however, she was curious as to how in the world would she make it up to the tree houses. She could hold on to Night's shoulder as he climbed up the tree, but she doubted even he could accomplish such a feat.

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side as different expressions drifted accross her face with each new thought going through her mind. She came back to attention as Fulwah made the same gesture as before, and the three Spreekalin came leaping towards her and Night. They studied the both of them again, but not as closely this time, having had their fill previously.

"I am not sure if you realized, but our homes are a bit out of your reach," Fulwah said, smiling down at the two as he scratched an itch on his arm, "so you will have accompaniment. These three will guide you for your stay here."

At this the trio of Spreekalin looked at each other then at the elder. The green and blue were grinning, whereas the larger one, who was the color of arctic ice, looked as if someone stole his candy. Or at least their equivalent.

Elizabeth was curious as to why he had this reaction. Maybe he didn't like humans? She didn't know, but she knew she would ask later out of curiosity.

The five stared at each other for a few moments before the two friendlier of the three Spreekalin jumped up and got right in front of the pair. The blue one looked him in the eye and said, "You must... get upon our backs so that we may take you up to your place of staying. Humans... They do not climb up these trees."

Elizabeth was about ready to jump 20 feet in the air from joy. She got to touch one! Let alone ride on one of their backs! This couldn't get any better. She seemed to gravitate towards the green Spreekalin who was standing directly in front of her. Night, on the other hand looked ready to try and climb the tree even though they were basically told not to climb them. She shot him a look that made him raise his eyebrows in question for a moment before sighing in defeat.

She looked at the Spreekalin in front of her in confusion. She had no idea what to do and it was too tall for her to just climb on. Suddenly, she was picked up bye her arms and placed onto the back of the green Spreekalin. Her face was buried in silky soft fur. Elizabeth turned her head enough to watch as Night awkwardly clambered onto the blue's back and hung on for his life. She giggled and she got more comfy and clasped each hand together around the neck of the one she was on so that she wouldn't fall.

The Power Within

Night helped Liz get to her feet and even though she offered her hand to him he knew that’d he’d end up pulling her down with his weight. He laughed even though he appreciated the gesture. He dusted himself off and looked over Liz as well, instinctually. He realized that she was once again entranced by their surrounding and he joined her in looking as well.

He watched her interact with the Spreekalin’s with a wide eyed expression. He left most of the conversation to her since she was more curious and he still wasn’t sure what to say. He followed her lead towards the Elder Spreekalin’s house, his fingers clutched in her hand once again. He observed in quiet wonder all of the colorful surroundings and lively creatures. There were no words to express what kind of paradise this was.

Night watched the tribes people jump all around them with wonder stuck on their faces. They were just as cautious as he had been before and this set him somewhat at ease. He felt better knowing that they were just as mortal in mindset as he. He wasn’t sure how old they were or how long they lived but he knew they were just as hesitant as he was not even an hour ago. He looked back to Liz’s face to see the excitement he expected to be there. He found it amusing that she was always so curious yet sometimes he worried for her safety.

The Elder called Fulwah watched in amusement. He waited for his people to get their fill on the newcomers before he cleared his throat. They all froze in place, looked towards him and then scattered like bolts of lightning. He walked slowly back over to the two and said “Tonight it will be safe for you to reside here but then you must be on your way up to seek Kandai of the Cah Pu Kae Kah Cliffs…” He observed them both in silence for a moment. His dark orange eyes set on Liz once more. “Your heart is strong, young one. Trust it. Follow it and its strength will guide you.” He neither moved a muscle nor turned his head as his eyes averted up to Nights silvery stare. “You are her guardian. Keep her from harm. Trust your eyes.” Fulwah’s body relaxed and he hobbled up closer towards them. He touched Liz’s heart with one finger and a warm sensation claimed her body. She gasped and her eyes grew with a sight that Night could not understand. Fulwah spoke as his index finger touched her chest in a language neither of them could understand. Liz’s eyes glowed with neon pink energy and as her mouth fell open a butterfly of the same energy emerged. It was odd shades of pinks, purples and greens.

Night’s eyes were wide with worry and shock. He didn’t know what was going on or what this creature was doing to her. Liz’s body lifted slightly off of the ground as the light grew brighter and Night’s eyes went straight to Fulwah as his worry increased. At the same time he could see the Elders eyes glow in white as he continued to mumble words not of this world.

Finally, her little body set itself back down and of all the things he thought, the one that surprised him was how happy he was to hear her giggle…. A giggle?!! He wanted to slap himself in the face. “That tickled.” She said with a giddy tone. Night wanted to fall over… but instead he pulled her to him with one arm and hugged her. He looked somewhat pale.

Liz blinked a few times, realizing something was different… her eyes shifted from left to right and she peeked down her shirt. Her eyes went really wide and she jumped up and down with glee. “I got a tattoo! I got a tattoo! I bet my mom would shoot me.” She laughed again and rubbed the spot through her shirt.

While the smile across her face, practically from ear to ear, was still there she blinked a few times. She blinked a few times more like something wasn’t clicking inside. (This is a O_o moment btw) One of her eyebrows went higher than the other and she tilted her head. “Uhm…” She rubbed her eyes and looked, then rubbed them again and stared. She was seeing things that she never saw before. Everything was in a much higher resolution than before and as she squinted she realized she was forcing her vision to zoom in and look at the details of things she KNEW she could never have seen before.

Fulwah looked at her with his unchanging eyes. “You are gifted young one. I have merely amplified what is in you.” He shifted his stance to face Night and looked him in the eyes. “She will take time to adjust but she knows that you will help her along the path you two will walk.” Night half smiled and nodded, knowing nothing else to say.

Fulwah took his staff and raised it high above them. He mumbled some words as Night stared at him cluelessly. Suddenly, Fulwah’s staff came down and clunked Night in the back of the head, almost knocking him to the ground. Night caught himself at last second and landed on his knees. Liz tried her best not to giggle as she felt bad for his pain. Night rubbed the back of his head and gave the Spreekalin a look that would kill. The Elder just looked at him and then burst out laughing. Liz followed, not being able to keep it in. Night was hurt but he laughed despite the pain.

Fulwah spoke once more, “Rise, Night of silver moons. You have been charged with the guardianship over the Red Rose.” His staff passed over little Liz as to motion the name he had just given her. He looked back to Night. “As one of the guardians of Marshmallow Island, I grant thee this power.” Night felt a surge of energy through his body, as if he’d slept the best night of his life and that he could lift two of his own ships from the waters themselves. He smiled and felt more confident.

Liz looked at him strangely and wondered why he smiled. She watched as Night looked over himself but she saw nothing. She shrugged her shoulders and hopped over to him. She stood next to him and looked at Fulwah once more.

Tea

Still giggling from the fall, Elizabeth poked Night on the shoulder and stood up, reaching her hand to him in case he needed any help. Night laughed at her as he looked at the proffered hand and lifted himself up off the ground, smiling. He brushed himself off then reached over and knocked off some dirt that had been on her shoulder. She tilted her head to the side then turned around and gasped. She had momentarily forgotten where they were.

Elizabeth looked straight up to get a better view of all the tree houses. There were so many of them! They looked to be woven together with branches, yet they seemed to be coming out of the tree itself, like another type of fruit. The houses swayed with the trees, never knocking against them. Thinking it looked horribly fun, she turned towards the elder Spreekalin and grinned.

"Erm... Excuse me Mister Spreekalin...," she began to say. The large orange being leaned towards her, holding a hand up to gesture her to pause.

"You may call me Fulwah, small ones," he said gently, bowing slightly before them and flourishing his hand, "Pardon me for not saying so sooner. I seemed to have misplaced my manners somewhere else. They're probably in my home... Would you care to join me to look for them?"

Fulwah's eyes shone a little as he said this. He made an odd sort of hand gesture, sort of like he was trying to twirl a baton or something. Elizabeth was practically hopping up and down in excitement. Oh, how she wanted to go explore more. Those houses looked fantastic to her and she couldn't wait.

A few moments later, three brightly hued Spreekalins jumped down in front of the three. They stood straight at attention for a few moments but finally broke it when they all jumped past Fulwah to inspect the newcomers. They seemed almost as curious as Elizabeth felt. They were grinning widely, their large, white teeth showing. Each of them was a different color. They were so captivating for Elizabeth. She really wanted to touch one.

They seemed to have the same thoughts as her. They kept leaning in towards the two companions then moving away before doing it again, in a different spot near them. The smaller one that was nearest her was a bright blue and wore gray feathers tied to the end of its tail. The second one who was closest to Night at the moment was a rich forest green color. It had what looked like large fish scales tied around his neck that reflected the sunlight each time he moved. This one could blend perfectly with its surroundings probably - when it didn't wear those scales ,that is. The last one was the larger of the group. It had beads tied into his hair in the same fashion as the elder. There were fewer, though, and it seemed to keep them in an order rather than complete disarray as the elder did.

Caught off Guard

Night felt stronger as Liz squeezed his hand and he moved forward as she did almost as if they were in sync. It was comforting and he felt as though her positive energy was affecting him. After he caught the elbow in his gut he stifled a cough and bowed as well.

Night was somewhat intimidated by the creatures size but he kept calm, Liz’s hand still in his. He listened to it as it spoke. He repeated the creatures name in his head as to not forget it. He looked down upon Liz as she looked back up at him with a smile. She seems definitely more excited about all of this than he did. He was getting adjusted to all of the wondrous things, creatures and plants that were making themselves known as if to occur only in dreams. He knew that Liz had much more of a child like spirit than he, obviously because she accepted all there was to see as reality. Night knew that he would have to learn to follow suit as well.

The larger Spreekalin that had watched them from the start stood silently for another moment before turning and making his way deeper into the woods, following a path. All of the Spreekalin watched Night and Liz slowly walk past where they harbored themselves in the trees. After each tree they passed that the creatures hung out of, they would howl with animal laughter and bounce through the trees onward, following the path as well.

Soon, they came upon another clearing. The creatures laughter seemed to disappear. Night was wondering why all of a sudden it had faded and as Liz looked up she gasped. She shot her hand into the air, pointing and in astonishment she said aloud “Look!!” Night looked to where she pointed and a whole city of tree houses scattered throughout the forest tree tops were an amazing sight to see. As Night stared upward he didn’t realize that he was falling backwards. His hand still attached to Liz’s he accidently pulled her down as well. She was jerked downward and fell onto his chest. “Aaah!!” She landed with a thud. Not the most comfortable things to land on but at least he technically didn’t let her fall. He laughed and sat back on his hands. “I suppose this place me in wonder too.. caught meself staring too hard and it knocked me on me arse.” He smiled at Liz and she laughed.

((Ok, I rly suck for not posting in like FOREVUR…))