Nabana

      Narissa sat on the hillside looking out at the country below her. The cool breeze played with her wavy chestnut hair. A stray wisp tickled her cheek and she brushed it aside with her hand. She closed her eyes. The warm sun felt good on her upturned face. The sweet smell of the flowers enveloped her. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The girl reached out a slender hand and picked a daisy growing by her feet. She smelled the flower and twirled it between her fingers.
      _What a beautiful day,_ she thought, looking out over the green grass and waving trees. _If only Jeran was here._ She looked down at the flower in her hand and sighed.

* * * * *

      Nafa's nose twitched at the all too familiar smell. Crouching down among the tough green blades, Nafa felt the gentle tug of the warm breeze and the sharp edges of the grass beating against his body. Squinting his eyes, he saw the shape of the smell. Tensing his muscles as he eyed the dark forms, he leapt.

      "TIGER!"
           "Ahhh!"
      "Get it away from me!"
           "Run for your life!"
      "AHHHHHH!!!!"

      "WRAWWWW!" screamed Nafa, his right paw holding ripped brown cloth in its claws. That should teach them to bother his territory, he thought. And then, for the first time in his life, Nafa knew the true meaning of pain.

* * * * *

      Spirrer looked confused. A moment ago he had been walking the busy streets of Solace, now he was standing in the middle of nowhere. He had seen some guy with a small stick in his belt. "Funny place to keep a stick," he had thought. "It might get stolen." So, therefore, Spirrer had decided to take it from the man and give it to him later to prove his point. As he was sneaking away with the stick, the guy, who was wearing an ominious looking black robe, had appeared in front of him in a puff of black smoke. "That's mine thief!" he had said and grabbed the stick from Spirrer's hands. Then he had pointed it at him and uttered a single word "Moras". And everything had gone black.

      Now Spirrer had awoken in this strange place. He wondered what to do with himself. Then, about ½ a mile away he saw someone sitting in the grass. He decided to walk over.

* * * * *

      Narissa sat on the grass, just enjoying the day, still twirling the daisy between her fingers, when, out of no where, a large bird swooped down and snatched the violet flower she had placed over her ear. She reached up and tried to catch it, but the large, brown bird flew up and away with its prize.
      "Hey, Sandra, come back here!" Narissa yelled to the bird, jumping up to chase it. She dropped the daisy in her haste and grabbed her pack. Narissa chased after the bird, laughing and calling out to it, her pack haphazardly slung over her shoulder.

      A dark figure stepped out from behind a nearby tree. He watched the girl frolicking after the bird, her face bright and smiling. Her brown hair swirled around her as her lavender dress rippled in the breeze. He stood entranced by her. The figured walked over to the discarded flower and bent to pick it up. He held the daisy carefully and looked at it, its soft white petals fluttering in the breeze. He slowly brought the flower to his nose and smelled it, just as she had. He closed his eyes and remembered her sitting there peacefully, twirling it in her hand. His heart beat a little faster. He opened his eyes and sighed, holding the flower next to his heart, and watched her chase after the bird.
      The figure noticed a movement in the corner of his eye and turned to see someone approaching. He quickly placed the flower in his pouch and slunk back behind the tree.

* * * * *

      Spirrer stopped and looked. For a moment he had thought he saw some movement by the trees, but he wasn't certain. He looked in the direction of the girl, it seemed she was playing with her bird.
      The spot where she had been sitting looked rather nice, so Spirrer decided, he might sit there and rest for a moment.
      As he got nearer he changed his mind. He was certain something had moved in the trees, something too large to simply be a woodland creature. At this point, any warrior or adventurer with any sense would have drawn a weapon and called out, but Spirrer was not like that (In fact he had fond memories of the many times where Nec had called him a lighthearted fool).
      As he came to the spot where the girl had been sitting, he continued off towards where he had seen the movement. "Hullo!" he cried out in a cheerful voice. "If yer not a vampire then ya hasn't no reason to stay out of the lovely warm sun. C'mon, I promise I won't bite," he said with a grin and approached the figure.

* * * * *

      Colors, shapes, memories, all swirling. Immense pressure and pain, twisting, turning, pushing, breaking. Nafa felt his tail shrinking, his body compressing, his face contorting.
      "WRRRRRREEEEEEAAAAAH!"
      Screaming as forces beyond his control wrecked havoc with his body, Nafa's body burned with the fires of change. Blinded by the pain, Nafa saw white, then nothing.

          * * *

      Awakening, Nafa immediately noticed the difference. He was cold, small, and he felt different; less aware. Then he recognized the smell, HIS smell.
      "Nooooooo!" screamed the man, naked and alone in a strange world.

* * * * *

      Lance untied the bandanna from around his head and slid it into his pocket. He stepped out of the tavern amid a roaring crowd and took a deep breath of the fresh air. A brisk afternoon wind reminded him that he wasn't wearing a shirt and he quickly went back into the bar and retrieved it.
      He had just spent the last two hours dancing and, boy, was he exhausted. He slid the coarse woolen shirt back over his head. Once he figured out which hole was meant for his arms and which for his head he hoisted his small leather satchel and made his way to a peaceful looking hill. Why pay for an inn when the weather was so nice?
      Lance brushed a hand through his blonde hair and whistled a merry tune as he trudged up the small hill.

* * * * *

      Trezal walked down the dusty path in the heart of the countryside. The sun's rays that gleamed through the branches above were harsh on his bluish skin. Through wisps of pale hair, he saw that the path had no intention of getting to any place important, unless you called the thick forest important. The day was much too hot for aquatic elves, so Trezal turned off the path and followed his senses straight towards water. The tall elf came out of the trees onto a hillside, into more of the sun's wretched heat. Beyond the hillside, his elvan eyesight could pick out the sparkle of light on water. He headed in that direction, but before he could reach the water, he spotted a bird flying just out of reach of a young woman. He stopped, pleased by the sight of more people after a number of long days on the road. He waved his arm high and called out a plesant "Halllloooo!"

* * * * *

      Finally, the bird stopped its teasing and dropped the flower into the girl's outstretched hand. It swooped down and landed on her shoulder.
      "Thank you, Sandra," Narissa said, giggling, and reached a hand up to pet the bird's soft brown feathers. She turned and started walking back to her quiet spot by the tree and noticed another was there. Also, someone was coming up the path. The girl sighed, "Well, there goes our peaceful day."
      The girl watched the newcomers curiously and waved back to the one on the path as she walked back to her spot. "Hello and good morning to you," she said smiling as she approached.

* * * * *

If you want to add to this story, e-mail me at jasujo@hotmail.com.

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