“So you’re alone?” Shiloh asked. He and Nettle had continued walking. They were going east now. 

“I always was. My parents both died when I was real little. I’m old enough to be on my own now, but I don’t look it. I’m real short,” Nettle said. 

“Ah. Where are you going to go now?” Shiloh asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think there’s anywhere for me to go,” Nettle explained. “The forest elves I considered my adoptive family are all prisoners of Catastrophe, and Paralia was taken over by the bad soldiers. Maybe I’ll stay with you. You’re a forest spirit, and I’m a forest elf. Maybe we’re meant to be friends.”

“Maybe,” Shiloh said. “But I don’t know where I’m going, either.”

Nettle sighed. “Nowhere is safe anymore! Catastrophe’s got his nasty, nasty claws all over everything. Maybe we should leave Kyngdom.”

“Maybe,” Shiloh agreed. “But I bet he’ll invade those places as soon as he’s done with Kyngdom.”

“I bet you’re right. He’s gonna start with the center of the world and spread from there, like a disease or bacteria or mold,” Nettle said. “Maybe we should join up with the Resistance and just get rid of him.”

“I don’t think the Resistance would want two wandering forest-dwellers with no real knowledge of how society functions,” Shiloh admitted.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Nettle fell silent, looking troubled. It seemed she disliked not having a plan of action. 

The two continued walking in a sort of uncomfortable but accepted silence, each observing the woods around them. Nettle seemed vaguely distracted, perhaps dwelling on her past, or the pain caused by her twisted ankle.

“Maybe I should...look for my people,” Nettle said. “Some of them must have gotten away, like me. I bet they’re out there somewhere.”

“Okay. Let’s find them, then.”

----

Vidtinok absolutely loathed waiting, and yet it seemed it was the only thing she could do. Right now she was waiting for Karthicha to report back to her. She doubted he ever would. Not that she could do anything about it. She wasn’t allowed to travel to the Grasplands and hunt him down. Supposedly tensions were too high for the cowardly Black Skull agents hiding there, and Vidtinok wasn’t allowed to make things worse. 

Catastrophe was too invested with his portal to assign her any new tasks. The Tenebris were all still recovering and weren’t ready for training yet. There was absolutely nothing for Tayemno to do and it was driving her insane. She considered pestering Sano about the niyantrana again. She knew he would tell her to just wait for Karthicha, though. 

Maybe she just needed some fresh air. She called for her bodyguard, Lyn Sterjne, who followed her out of her room. They walked down to the gates, and through them, the guards bowing their heads in respect. The base was surrounded by trees and they were soon entirely engulfed in them.

Tayemno liked being in the forest. There was something strangely calming about it, and she loved thinking about how one day, when Catastrophe had been made King, she’d be able to own acres and acres of forests. All those animals, perfect for hunting--she liked to fantasize about hanging trophies upon the walls of a grand mansion. Or maybe a small castle. She’d always wanted to live in a nice, big house. The biggest home she’d ever had were her private quarters in Catastrophe’s castle. If only her childhood had been different…

She shook her head, clearing away her thoughts. Better to stick to the present, where things were going good for her. Where she had goals worth striving for. Thinking about the past only ever made Tayemno feel bitter. Sometimes she wished she could reach back in time and fix everything.

“Admiral, there’s something up ahead.” Lyn’s voice pulled Tayemno from her memories. She looked towards him--he’d readied his gun and seemed to be on high alert. Tayemno looked around the forest.

“Where is it? What is it?” Tayemno didn’t draw her sword, but her hand rested on its hilt. What a mess this peaceful walk had turned into.

“I’m not certain what it is, but I hear footsteps.” Tayemno couldn’t hear them, but as an elf Lyn had much better hearing than her. She decided to trust him.

“It’s probably just an animal, but don’t lower your guard,” Tayemno ordered. She continued to walk forwards, peering through the trees.

Up ahead, she spotted the source of the footsteps. There was a tall man with long, dark hair who could have been anywhere from twenty to seventy, wearing leather armor. Next to him was a rather short elf with long, green hair and a brown dress covered in dirt. The man had a dagger, and the elf was carrying a bag of some sort. Animal traps hung off its side.

“Hmm. They seem to just be hunters,” Tayemno told Lyn. She kept her voice low--better to be safe than sorry. That being said, she was more than certain she could easily take the two hunters in a fight. One of them was just a child and the other had little in the way of weapons.

“They’re awfully close to the base,” Lyn muttered. “Should we scare them off?”

“No. I’ll talk to them--you keep your mouth shut.” Tayemno strode forwards, approaching the two travellers. They both froze when they saw her, looking alarmed--the man drew his dagger, but didn’t attack her.

“You can lower your weapons. I’m not in the mood to fight,” Tayemno began. The man didn’t move his weapon an inch. 

“These are Catastrophe’s lands. What are you doing here?” Tayemno continued when neither of the two spoke.

“My apologies,” The man began. “We didn’t realize that. We’re just simple hunters, we meant you no harm.”

“Hmm.” Tayemno stepped closer. The elf girl took a step back. “I suppose you’ve done nothing to harm us, then. Little girl--what is your name?”

The elf’s eyes widened when Tayemno spoke to her. “...My name is Nettle.” Surprisingly, her voice didn’t shake or tremble, though it was quiet.

“Where are you from, Nettle?”

“I’m from the Great Forest, miss,” Nettle responded. “But I lived in Paralia for a little bit.” Ah, Paralia. Tayemno imagined the girl was probably a refugee--she wondered if the man had taken her in. He had a strange purple eye, but Tayemno didn’t think he was an elf.

“I grew up in Paralia,” Tayemno mused. “Is this man your father?”

“Oh, no. I’m just...travelling with him.” Nettle’s voice had a slight waver to it. 

“Would you like somewhere nice to stay? Somewhere...welcoming, and warm, where you’ll have a caring mother and lots of friends?” 

“That sounds real nice, ma’am. I think I would like that.”

“Come with me, then. I’ll take very good care of you.” Lyn raised an eyebrow, but Tayemno ignored him. She wasn’t sure why she felt such a connection to this girl. Maybe it was because Tayemno saw herself in her.

Nettle looked up at the man. He nodded down at her. 

“Go with her,” the man said. “You’ll be safer, even if you find it… unpleasant.”

Nettle swallowed nervously, then stepped up to Tayemno. “...Okay. I’ll come with you.”

“Good, good.” 

For once, Tayemno smiled.

“So, Nettle--are you an orphan?” Tayemno and Nettle were walking back to the base, Lyn trailing behind them. Nettle seemed to have gotten a little braver as they walked, and her voice wasn’t as meek.

“Yes. My parents died when I was very little. And all my adoptive relatives were...captured.”

“By Catastrophe, right?” Nettle nodded after a small pause. “Do you know why Catastrophe captured them?”

Nettle shook her head. “No, ma’am.”

“It’s because they were defying him. Catastrophe wanted their forest to be under his protection, but they said no. They didn’t like Catastrophe. They wanted to hurt him, and all his soldiers--like me,” Tayemno explained.

“But why did they want to hurt you?”

“I don’t know. You’d think they would be grateful to be protected by someone as kind, generous, and strong as Catastrophe, but no! They wanted him dead instead,” Tayemno said.

“...What did Catastrophe do to them? When he captured them? Did he hurt them?” Nettle asked.

“Of course not!” Tayemno said. “They’re all locked up, but they’re treated very nicely. They may be criminals, but of course we would never hurt them.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound evil…” Nettle said. “Everyone used to tell me Catastrophe was evil and bad, but he doesn’t seem so bad.”

“He’s not bad at all! It’s the Resistance that is.”

“Why are they bad?”

“Because they lie to you, and they trick you. And, while Catastrophe wants to unite all of Kyngdom and make everyone happy, the Resistance wants everyone to be separate! The Resistance wants chaos.”

“But why would they want that? That sounds silly.”

“It is silly, my dear.” Tayemno and Nettle both fell silent as the base came into view. The two guards on duty raised their weapons, both glaring at Nettle. Nettle took a step closer to Tayemno.

“Don’t worry. She’s with me,” Tayemno said. Without waiting for a response, she took Nettle's hand and led her past the guards. The guards seemed confused, but they said nothing, and simply watched the little elf pass. Nettle stared at them, her amber eyes wide with fear.

Tayemno took Nettle further into the base, leading her across the grey road and into the stark white buildings. They turned down a hallway, and the floor transitioned from tile to stone as they entered the portion of the building that had been built into the mountainside. BIG, when their base had been built upon Bleak Peak, had never thought to incorporate the mountain itself into their buildings. But Catastrophe’s Army had spent a great deal of time ransacking abandoned Sanukan bases, and had learned that buildings built into mountain sides were a lot harder to attack or destroy. 

Tayemno finally reached her own private quarters, which consisted of a lounge area, her own personal bedroom, a bathroom, and a smaller room for Lyn to sleep in. (Although, he didn’t use it much.) Nettle’s fear had been replaced with wonder. She let go of Tayemno’s hand and wandered amongst the tall, wooden bookshelves that filled the lounge. 

“How do you like it?” Tayemno asked.

“Is this really where you live?” Nettle asked in return. Tayemno nodded, a barely noticeable smile on her lips. 

“You’ll be sleeping in this room. I’ll have Lyn set up a bed for you,” Tayemno said. She could sense Lyn’s dismay at being asked to do such a task, but he said nothing and simply got to work. “I hope you’ll find it comfortable.”

Nettle didn’t reply, as she was too distracted with perusing the shelves. She’d pulled out two books. Both were so thick Tayemno was shocked the girl could even carry them. 

“Those books aren’t really meant for young children, you know,” Tayemno explained. She didn’t sound angry, though--if anything, she was amused.

“I’m not young!” Nettle protested. “I’m ten! That’s plenty old enough!” Tayemno doubted it but she didn’t stop Nettle from reading them. Tayemno left Nettle to explore the room some more, then decided to leave. She ordered Lyn to watch over the young child as she headed to the laboratory. 

The lab was eerily quiet, the only sounds being the click of shoes on the ground. None of the scientists acknowledged her presence--they were far too busy with their experiments and research. The portal demanded much work, and the scientists seemed to be the only ones with the expertise to do it. Most of them were ex-SOCS, but some had been from BIG, too. Tayemno preferred the company of them over the soldiers. The soldiers were nasty, but it was the scientists who were truly heartless. Tayemno fit in better with them.

“If you’re wondering about the niyantrana, Sano still won’t open it,” a scientist said. “It’s far too uncontrollable, and we would be risking the safety of the Black Skull agents. We’re doing our best to improve the function of the gems in the newer generations.”

Tayemno looked down at the scientist. He was a human, on the short side, with fawn colored skin and short, dark hair. Their slender eyes were just a tad lighter than his hair. “Who are you?”

“Kyouja Ryokumu, ma’am.” 

“Ah. Doctor Kyouja, I’ve heard of you. You are Sano’s new assistant?”

“Correct. What did you need?” 

“I wish to see the Tenebris.”

“Right this way.”

~~~~

Hi Sybill, this seems like an interesting story you have started.  I would love to join, if you don't mind?  I am not sure what you have planned.

I found Shiloh's and Tayemno's character sheets, thank you!  Sylvie's and Gloria's are on page 102 on the Who's Here thread.

~Sylvie and Gloria~

What!  Sylvie screeched telepathically, and nearly fell out of of the tree in her rage.  Why did he do that?  Has he lost his mind?

She grabbed the narrow tree trunk as the thin upper branches threatened to dislodge her from her perch when a gust of wind swept through the forest.

A few moments later the gust reached Gloria and she banked steeply, then righted herself and soared upward to regain the altitude she had lost.

He did warn her it may be unpleasant, she said soothingly.

Sylvie spluttered.

He was doing it with the girl's safety in mind, Gloria added quickly.  He said so.

Safety!  For lack of anything better to glare at Sylvie scowled scathingly at the ant in front of her nose that was crawling through the maze like tree bark.

Gloria changed the subject.  The man has one purple eye.

I can see, Sylvie said grumpily.  Through their mental bond she was viewing what Gloria saw.

They watched as the small girl stepped hesitantly forward to the scar faced lady.

No, no, no...  Gloria's and Sylvie's mental voices merged into one helpless chant.  

Don't go, Sylvie whispered angrily.  But too late, the scarred lady smiled and turned away from the purple eyed man, she and her bodyguard flanking the girl as they walked into the forest back to where they had come.

Gloria circled upward, higher and higher.  Sylvie widened their mental bond until she could no longer see through Gloria's eyes.  She wouldn't admit it, but she felt slightly dizzy from the height and Gloria's circling.

I am going to follow them, Gloria said when she had become an unseeable white speck in the bright sky.

I'm going to get down from this tree.  Sylvie stretched her numb legs and slowly, but nimbly, climbed down.

A few minutes later she reached the lowest branches and leaped the last five feet to the ground, landing softly in a crouch.  She stood and turned to follow Gloria, almost walking into a tree that had not been there before.  She froze for a split second, then snapped her head upwards.  Her eyes locked with two others; one dark brown, the other purple.

Nettle had curled up by the fireplace, a book open. Her fingers traced the words although she hardly understood them--these books were written for people with a PhD, not a ten-year old from the woods. The guard, who Nettle did not know the name of, seemed far more invested in his cigarettes than her. She wondered when Tayemno would get back.

--
Lonnie