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¤ Ryslen Flurry 2003 ¤ • Chapter One • • A F.r.i.g.i.d F.l.i.g.h.t • Written by Omniwite (Moogz) It was frigid outside the day Reffijeg picked; as he crept out of the fortress building and into the courtyard beyond he clutched his coat close and breathed a puff of icy mist. The grass stood vertically blanketed in a thin layer of frost, and the sand beyond the gates of the fortress looked as though it were a sea of snow. He turned his head skyward and noticed a hazy white cloud hovering lazily above. Great... It's about to get much colder. I'd better leave soon if I'm going to leave at all, Reffijeg grumbled inwardly, knowing that it was going to start snowing soon. He sighed and headed toward the gates. There had been another battle against the Skaaridians going on lately, and both sides still refused to fall back. About a third of the troops were either injured or in serious need of rest, and Reffijeg was one of the fortress citizens who were not qualified to be able to stand and fight. He felt offended by this fact, but it at least gave him time to escape the confining walls of this nightmare. While the combat was being held outside the fortress, it left the inside of the front double doors nearly completely abandoned of all citizens... and guards. The perfect time for escape. Reffijeg crept to the large wooden doors, trying to seem inconspicuous and like he was just going about his business. He walked calmly past the guard, nodding as he went. He wanted to make sure the guard at least believed he was a warrior heading out to battle. He quickly turned the corner to the monstrous door and peeked around the corner to see if the guard had suspected anything. The guard was going about his duties. Reffijeg turned back and sighed in relief as a voice came from behind him and make him jump -- "Reffijeg? Where are you going? You can't fight," came the feminine voice. He quickly looked up to find himself face-to-face with an older girl he barely knew, and come to think of it, forgot her name. "Shhh!" growled Reffijeg. He didn't know if she could keep a secret or not, and didn't want to gamble with it. But yet again, he didn't have any other choice. He never could tell a convincing lie... "Ah, all right. I'm escaping." "You're wha--!?" she exclaimed before Reffijeg whipped a hand out to her mouth to shush her. Reffijeg signaled to her by pressing his index finger across his lips before he trusted her enough to take his hand from her mouth. She looked at him with worry-filled eyes and whispered loudly, "Why?" He looked out the large door, then turned to face her with a sigh, "I can't stand it here! It's too depressing, and I want to be able to see my family again. I want to go somewhere safe, somewhere where no one will pester us with their bloodthirsty combat." The young woman looked to the dirt ground, and stood still and silent for a moment. She then looked to Reffijeg again and said softly, "But you could get hurt out there, or even die!" Reffijeg glared slightly at her, a determined look that came to her as saying that nothing was going to change his mind. She sighed as a smile pulled at either side of her mouth, "Well, I can't very well abandon you to lead yourself to certain doom now. I'll come with you. You know, just to make sure you don't get hurt." Now it was Reffijeg's turn to be surprised. He looked at her with wide eyes, taking a step back in the process. The Jrezzrei giggled at his reaction, "I'm a medic." Reffijeg considered her offer for a moment, knowing she would not take 'no' for an answer. "All right, you can come along. You could help me a lot out there. But you know, it won't be easy." She nodded, understanding. He turned back toward the open door, "And we'll need to get past all the fighting, without being dragged into it." He turned to her again, "You wouldn't happen to be a fighter too, would you?" She shook her head vigorously, "Oh, no! I hate all the bloodshed!" Reffijeg grinned, "Me too. Ah, well, we'll just have to do this the hard way." "Mmm, I know a good way they probably wouldn't be fighting through." Reff, once again, looked at her with surprise, but belief. "Just follow me!" she said cheerfully and clasped her hands together to show her enthusiasm for his choice. She poked her head out the doors, and once she was sure that the coast to and through her path was clear, she stepped out onto the blood-soaked earth and signaled to Reffijeg to follow. He closed the door behind them, so that no enemies could penetrate through the fortress and reap havoc on the innocent inhabitants, and hastily followed the woman. As they made their way around the fortress to the backside, Reffijeg suddenly stopped without the young Jrezzrei noticing. His cheetah-like ears perked up to make sure he heard something, then when he decided that it was his imagination, turned back to their trek to the back. Before he fully turned, he saw a dark figure with wings out of the corner of his eye, and when he turned to face the unknown figure, he saw a Skaaridian running straight for him! In a reflex movement, Reffijeg huddled down on the ground and covered his head with his arms. The Skaaridian, seeing this as an act of cowardice and not very 'fun' at all, he leapt over the ducking body of the little Chenyaka and headed straight for his teammate. Noticing the shadow of the Kantiro pass above him, he quickly lifted himself up and averted his gaze around, seeing the Skaaridian heading straight for the woman leading him to the back of the fortress. By now, she was quite a ways ahead of him, and as Reffijeg ran to get to her before the Skaaridian did, he knew he would never reach her in time. As he sped towards her, he cried to her, "Hey uh... uhhh... Rrrr, Skaaridian at one o' clock!" The Skaaridian, deceived by his senses, made an attempt to leap at her. The Jrezzrei, hearing Reffijeg's call, swiveled around just in time to see the said Skaaridian jump at her. She ducked down and rolled under him and out of harm's way. By this time, Reffijeg had caught up with her and was now hunched over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Are you... all right?" he asked between breaths. Before she had time to answer, the Skaaridian was back on his feet and now gliding their way! Her hurried reply was only, "Run!!" The two dodged out of the way of the oncoming foe and ran with all their energy toward the back of the fortress. The Kantiro stopped mid-flight, and turned his body around to give chase. A bit later, a small crowd caught the Skaaridian's eye as he turned to see a horde of Kérougian soldiers beating up a lone Skaaridian. He screamed a characteristic panther roar and swerved to rescue his ally. By this time, the duo were nearly to the back, but they continued to run until they were there just in case he changed his mind and decide to give chase again. Once to the back wall, they stopped to catch their breath. "So, it seems you've forgotten my name," the young woman gasped, a smirk appearing on her face. Reffijeg looked embarrassedly to the ground, cheeks turning a slight red color. She laughed, "Don't worry! I shouldn't have expected you to remember. We met once in the cafeteria, remember? I'm Idris." Reffijeg looked straight ahead, but not actually seeing, as he recalled that moment. "Oh, yes. Now I remember. You sat with me because I was sitting alone," he nodded, looking to her. "Yeah, now I remember." "You looked so lonely by yourself," Idris said, concerned. "You looked like you needed a friend." "Well, now I know I've got one!" "You mean you never had one?" Idris looked shocked. "Naw," he smiled, shaking his head. "They all would make fun of me because I can't fight well. But I don't like to anyway, they just make me train." "Hmm. Well that's not very nice! I like you just how you are!" she beamed at him. "All my friends died in battle, so I stopped becoming so attached to anyone because I was afraid they'd die too. Then I saw you, sitting all by your lonesome, and, I don't know. I just had this feeling that I had to be your friend. And I don't regret it one bit!" Reffijeg smiled sheepishly, "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me." Idris gave him a wide grin as she helped lift him up. She somehow knew she had done the right thing by coming along with him. "Come on. We'd better get going." "Where to? Do you know any places that are safe enough?" "No," she blushed. "We'll just have to keep going until we find a place." Reffijeg looked up to her, and for the first time noticed she was looking a bit pale. "Idris? Are you all right?" "Oh, yeah. I never answered that question of yours, now, did I? Don't worry. That Skaaridian never even touched me." Reffijeg tilted his head questioningly, "Then why are you so pale?" She rubbed her head a little, "Oh, It's nothing. It's just that the sight of people fighting on a bloody battlefield kind of unnerves me. Mostly the bloody ground, though." Reff smiled a bit, "Me too." 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 ________________ Aya and Loy • 12 Pai's Quest • 12 Knife's Mission • 12 |