Myia's Story
Her lungs burned and her feet ached but she couldn't stop. Even in
the darkening twilight, the sand beneath her feet let off a scorching heat.
She could hear the agitated chittering of her firelizards and a loud bark
from her brother's canine but the sounds only made her move faster.
The traders were gaining on them quickly, too quickly. She dared
a
quick glance behind her and spotted Kolter falling farther and farther
behind.
"Hurry Kolter!"
"I can't, Myia. Please, can we rest?" His young voice whined
pitifully. His harsh breathing was evident in the labored movements
of his small chest. Still, he managed to trod on as fast as his numb
legs
would carry him. That wouldn't be much longer though.
"We can't rest. We have to keep going!" Myia shouted over her
shoulder. Something blue swooped low in front of her, chittering
in concern. She lowered her voice slightly as the blue attempted
to
land on her shoulder. "Just keep them occupied, Norix." The
blue
chirped in acknowledgment and disappeared behind her.
Myia felt the wind whip her long, amber hair into tangled knots as
she sped forward. Her legs were numb to the point that if she
stopped, she'd collapse. The once soft blue tunic covering her front
was now spotted with sweat and dirt. Her tight-fitting breeches were
literally covered in mud along with her were-hide boots. So much
for
staying clean. She thought bitterly. But cleanliness was
quickly
pushed to the back of her mind as triumphant shouts rose from the
group of traders following them. She half turned to see her brother
lying face down in the sand, the canine standing over him protectively.
Skidding to a halt, she whirled around and dashed back to Kolter.
He's still so young, he doesn't deserve this. Myia thought
as she
scooped up his small form in her arms. Again, the chase was on.
Her
feet pounded over the soft sand, kicking up dust at every turn. Sounds
of heavy bodies created a constant background for her ringing ears.
Something off to the side, darkness darker then the cliff face. A
cave! Myia called up her bronze flitter, ordering him to make a
distraction long enough for her to duck into the cave. He cheeped
in
agreement and took off, delivering the message to his fellow flits.
Myia listened for the shouted cursing, smiling quietly to herself as
she ducked into the shadows. The heavy weight was lifted from her
arms as she set down Kolter then leaned back against the damp cliff.
A warm liquid ran past her cheek. She touched the trickle of blood
lightly then followed it up to a cut just below her head bandana.
Myia
cursed softly, reminding herself to be more careful in the future.
Then
again, they were running for their very lives. There wasn't time
to be
careful.
Kolter whined softly, turning his head from side to side. In the
pale
moon light that seeped in through small cracks in the over-hanging
forest, Myia could see the sweat beaded on his white brow. Strands
of amber clung to his frail face, framing his closed eyes and parched
lips. The brown spotted dog panted softly, resting his paws in his
master's lap.
The traders thundered past their hiding spot at the precise moment
Myia thought to look out. Drawing back quickly, she sucked in a
sharp breath. That was close. She sat back in the darkness,
contemplating their next move. The traders would soon realize that
she and Kolter had disappeared suddenly and would begin to back
track. She had to create a diversion, the flits couldn't keep them
going
for too much longer. Her gaze slowly encompassed the canine and her
brother. They couldn't run... but she could. Though fatigue
was
threatening to claim her at any moment, she could fight it back.
Myia
had never possessed much physical strength but her will was stronger
then most.
"Kolter..." she whispered harshly, already pushing herself to her
feet, "I'm going to lead them away. You and Sith stay here, alright?"
"But Myia..." A look of pure fear and concern washed over her
younger brother's face. "They'll catch you."
Myia managed a light smirk. "Those creeps? They'll never be
able
to catch me." Seeing her brother relieved slightly, she stood her
full
height and pushed away from the wall. "Now stay here." Her
last
words before she darted out into the open again.
Waiting till she was far from Kolter's hiding place, she turned and
began waving her arms wildly. It had the desired effect. The
group
of traders turned, pointed and began chasing after her again. Myia
threw in the expected taunt before taking off down the beach. "Hey,
bozos! Over here!"
Spots danced before her eyes as she flew down the beach. To her
left sparkled the vast ocean; to her right, the cliff. Three small
forms
dived low around her head. Moon light glinted off their soft hides,
creating an aura of light around them. Even in her dizzied state,
Myia
couldn't help but notice her gold's outstanding beauty. All three
cheeped encouragingly as Myia continued her mad run.
Her legs began to fail her, giving the traders more and more ground.
She cursed softly, trying even harder to shake them. Suddenly,
something hard struck her foot, causing to her cry out in pain as she
sailed forward. The ground crashed into her, bouncing her chin off
yet another hard stone. Myia whimpered quietly, already trying to
push herself to her feet again. Her muscles burned, her head hurt
and
she barely had enough strength to turn her head let alone get up again.
The traders were getting closer by the second.
Something landed overtop of her, causing the ground beneath her
to tremble. She clapped her hands over her ears as a loud bellow
split the air. Sounds of screaming voices followed the bellow as
the
traders turned tail and ran; then all was silent again. Myia felt
her
body shake with fear. What could've caused the traders to quit the
chase so quickly?
From the sound of sand crunching beneath boots, Myia could tell that
someone, probably the beast's care-taker, dropped to the ground.
Footsteps slowly approached and all she could do was cower with her
head buried in the sand. The figure stumbled and began cursing
fluently. Angry chirps filled the air as Myia's fire lizards dive
bombed
who ever caused their owner fear. She glanced up slowly, blinking
back the tears that welled in her eyes. The sight before her almost
made her break out in laughter, or die of shock.
A black-haired man twisted and turned in circles on the sand, batting
at his three assailants. An enormous blue dragon bugled in concern,
his
whirling eyes flecked with dots of red. Myia's gold shrieked
defiance, decidedly thinking that she could take on the blue.
"Call them off!" The man shouted desperately as his blue bugled in
surprise, seeing the gold streak towards him.
"What?" Myia, temporarily taken back by the scene, spoke softly.
"Call them off!" His plea died into more cursings as blue Norix
attached himself to the man's head. Myia swallowed against her dry
throat and mentally commanded the fire lizards back to her. She had
a
bit more trouble caling off gold Nenia. A low growl from the dragon
sent the gold skittering back to Myia with a fearful cheep.
The man leaned against his blue, dabbing at the cuts lining his face.
Myia over came her original shock and scrambled to her feet, one
hand flying to the small dagger at her side. The fact that the dragon
was more then three times her height and longer then he was tall didn't
exactly register at the moment. She breathed heavily, standing in
a
defensive pose. The man looked up quickly, his breathing also
labored. He quickly placed his hands in front of him, taking one
step
towards her.
"No! No, I'm not here to hurt you. B'lakoreth told me you were in
trouble." He spoke quickly in a soft voice. Myia simply raised
a brow
slightly, taking a step back to match his step forward. The man
motioned towards himself. "My name's Aaron." His gesture then
turned to the dragon. "This is B'lakoreth. You've nothing to
fear,
really." The senserity in his voice calmed her slightly. Myia
moved
her hand from the dagger, studying Aaron.
"Wh- why are you here?"
"I'm here to help you. B'lakeoreth sent me a message from your...
uh... friends here." Aaron motioned towards the three flits, recieving
an angry chirp from the gold. "He said there was two people being
chased." Aaron finally clued in that only Myia stood before him.
He
glanced around, peering down both sides of the beach. "Where's the
other one?"
"I know not. I was certain there were two
though." The blue
joined his rider in looking hopelessly around the beach.
"My brother." Myia spoke breathlessly. She stepped forward
tentitavely, nearly losing her balance. Strong arms quickly supported
her. For some reason beyond Myia's understanding, she felt she could
trust these two. "He's... in a cave. Not far from here.
We have to go
get him."
Aaron led the wounded girl over to B'lakoreth's broad shoulder and
helped her up, offering words of comfort. "Alright. I'll go
get him.
You stay with B'lak."
Myia attempted to resist. Kolter would never trust these two without
her there. "No... I have to come. He won't trust you alone."
Even as
she spoke, she felt herself lifted to the dragon's back. Powerful
muscles shifted beneath her as the dragon straighted his stance.
A
quiet chirp came from her right shoulder. Norix, Nenia and bronze
Gaze all hovered around her. Myia smiled lightly in understanding.
She turned back to Aaron who was still poised by B'lakoreth's side.
"Take these three with you. Kolter'll believe you then." Aaron
nodded as the three flits swooped down around him.
As he walked off in the general direction of the cave, Myia smiled
lightly, seeing him flinch lightly as the gold chirruped in his ear.
The
dragon rider disappeared into the cave for a few minutes while Myia
waited patiently. Her head spun dizzily but she managed to stay seated
on the blue's back.
Aaron emerged a little while later, Kolter following close behind
him. The canine barked happily, chasing after the flits as the odd
group made their way down the beach. It took only an instant before
Kolter saw his sister seated on the large blue.
"Myia!" He cried out in joy, half running, half limping the rest
of
the way. Their hands met and Myia hoisted her brother to B'lakoreth's
back, holding him in a tight hug. Aaron approached more slowly,
watching the reunion.
After somehow managing to get brother, sister, dog, dragon rider and
flits all ready for the quick journey, Aaron signalled for B'lakoreth to
take off. The wind raced past Myia's stinging face yet it felt cooler
this time. She smiled softly, almost drifting off when Aaron broke
the
silence.
"So, where're you from?"
"Da'rax."
"Da'rax? Isn't that a bit far?" Aaron half turned in his seat
to peer
back at the other two passangers. Myia nodded slightly.
"Those men that were chasing us. They're slave traders. They
captured us a while back but we managed to escape when the caravan
stopped by in Inobi."
"I see." Aaron turned back to face the front, shouting over his
shoulder. "I can take you straight home if you want. Or we
can get
you two fed and healed back at the warren."
"Food!" Kolter piped in quickly, tightening his grip slightly around
his sister's waist. Myia chuckled lightly, leaning forward to give
Aaron the message.
"It'd be nice to get something to eat first."
Aaron smiled broadly and nodded, turning B'lakoreth towards the
enormous cavern known as the warren.
A while later... (Myia)
Six turns later... (Kolter)
Norix, Nenia and Gaze from: Baeris
Kshau's Healing Den
Sith from: Blue
Star Weyr