Talithi's Story 2

Once we had made our way back to the group, we didn’t make ourselves known, but instead watched them from behind cover. I entered Aiken’s body to find everything enhanced more than ten fold. It was the only way I could fulfill my need to be a wolf. I was half anic after all, though as far as I know, only a full anic could become their animal. As hard as I’ve tried, I had never succeeded in the transformation in the least bit. That was one of the many disappointments I was to my mother. She had been a full blooded elf anic of the wolves. After she had become pregnant with me, she had joined the wolf pack here and lived thus until her death. In those early, I had shown no anic powers in the slightest, not even the connection that I now have with Aiken. Even worse, I did not show any wizardess powers that I would have inherited from my father, though she never said who he was.

The travelers had not moved far from where we had left them, only another couple yards away from the sarkus. They were discussing the course of action, though the female glanced up at the woods searchingly every other minute as if she would be able to find me. I was only seen when I wanted to be seen. Only a couple snatches of what they were saying would have reached my own ears, but in Aiken, we caught most everything.

“How will we know when we find it?” The younger male asked. He was sitting with his back to us, so I couldn’t see his face.

“Don’t worry, I will know. Trust my judgment,” the old wizard counseled.

“Trust your judgment? If it had been up to you, that half blood would still be in our company,” scoffed the female. Her eyes continued to keep a look out in the forest. Half blood. From her lips, it sounded like it would be an insult, but it was in truth what I was. Half human. Half elf. Half anic. And in a way, half wizardess.

“And maybe that would have been a wiser course of action, considering how well she knows this forest. It wouldn’t hurt to have a guide that knows the creatures here and the many paths. She might even know what we are looking for.”

“How could she know the cure to a disease that she has probably never come in contact with, or even possibly understand the symptoms of it? I doubt she hardly even knows how to speak to us.”

“She seemed to be communicating just fine, as I remember it. And who knows what she has seen here in this forest. She almost appears to be all alone, except for that wolf of course,” the wizard pondered out loud. Nothing else of much importance was said throughout the rest of the night, though they had said much for me to think about. There was no way that the disease they spoke of could be the sickness that had taken away my family from me, could it?

Someone is coming. Aiken’s words invaded my light sleep and sent my mind back into full consciousness. I kept my eyes closed, if only for the person approaching. Better for them to think of me as still asleep and harmless. It is the wizard. He is coming into our camp. I heard the heavy footsteps, slow and steady, as it made its way towards to where I lay. His cloak gently flapped in the slight morning breeze. He came to a stop several feet from me.

“You cannot fool me. I know that you are awake,” his deep voice growled.

I opened my eyes, more for his sake than my own, and moved into a sitting position. “So I am.”

He moved closer and sat not too far away from me. Not as close to be a threat, but not so far away that he couldn’t touch me if he tried.

“I would ask you of your mother Tikali.”

“Ask away. I shall tell you what I think you need to know.” There were too many secrets that she had kept from me and some things that were too painful to even think about.

“Is she well?”

“No,” I said softly.

“Is she ill?”

“No.”

“Is she still in the land of the living?”

“No,” I said, softer than before.

“How did it happen?” A strange sensation seemed to enter into my mind. I couldn’t place it, and
forgot all about it shortly after it had come.

“Near twelve years ago the forest was hit with a sickness. It ravaged the whole forest, leaving none without at least a mark; for most, it left only with death. The few who survived are in evidence of those few creatures that remain from before. It almost seemed as if the whole forest itself, the trees, everything, got ill too. When it was all over, the forest was ravaged with new terrible monsters, dangerous and full of cunning,” my mouth snapped shut. I had not planned to tell so much, especially not all at once.

“And your mother?”

“She died. Along with the rest of the pack. Only me and Aiken are left.”

“And did you also get sick?”

My heart beat doubled in speed and a bead of perspiration ran down my cheek. My whole mind was fighting me to let it all out. Every last bit of it. But it was sealed in the back of my mind and I was not about to let it all resurface now. Rough hands gripped my chin and forced my face upward. In an instant Aiken came out of the cover of the trees and stood at my side, hackles raised, growling threats. With his comforting presence besides me, the battle in my mind did not lessen, but he seemed to give me more strength. The wizard’s hand moved back away from my chin.

“No. It occurred at the same time that Aiken took his journey. We have always been close, so I went with him.”

“So you did not witness the sickness?” His voice sounded sorely disappointed.

“No. Just the aftermath. Who are you?” I finally asked.

“My name is Sauroan, I am an old friend of your parents. I came to see your mother once, but you were probably too young to remember.” A silence followed that seemed deafening. Finally, unable to bear it too much longer, I stood up, brushing off any stray leaves and dirt that found its way into my clothing.

“I need to hunt,” was all I said, before hurrying out of the clearing. Leaving him as far behind me as I could.

I put myself into an easy jog, trying to put my mind back into order. He had done something back there, I don’t know what exactly, but he must have used his magic. Did you feel anything, brother? Anything odd about him?

I felt the same that you did. I think he cast a spell on us, well at least on you, came the reply.

What kind of spell? It didn’t seem to do us much harm.

I think he was trying to get us to tell him more than we would have. And in a way, he succeeded.

But you kept some back from him, and I think that it was that which he wanted to know the most.

Good thing that I have you, then, brother. To keep me out of harm and from saying things I shouldn’t.

We found a herd of doiler nearby and between my bow and Aiken’s fangs, we managed to take down an older buck. The doiler were somewhat of a crossbreed between a deer and a panther.

They had sharp, dangerous antlers, short hair, and fierce eyes. They ran on four paws with claws and had long flicking tails. They had also appeared after the sickness. We made camp there that day, about ten miles from the strangers and Sauroan.

Over the next couple of days we continued to keep an eye on the travelers as they made their way around Taregath forest, often going in circles. They seemed to be wandering in random directions, keeping their eyes alert for either me or what they were searching for. Although they did seem to be going nowhere more often than not, they were making a slow, but steady progress towards the center of the forest, where I had been raised. I had avoided it for several years now, since it brought up too many memories, but I most definitely did not want them to be rummaging through mother’s old things.

So, about three days after my conversation with Sauroan, I showed myself before the group.

They had just stopped about midday for a little break for a small meal when I walked into the clearing. My body walked in, but my mind was with Aiken. I wanted to see and hear every little thing to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

The younger male’s jaw dropped. He had not seen me before, since he had been knocked out and the elf glared daggers at me. She was not too happy to see me. Sauroan had a hint of a smile on the corners of his mouth and he nodded understandingly. I stopped about ten feet away from where the group sat and put my hands on my hips. “You have wandered in my home for long enough. You are lost, whether you will admit to it or not. I may not know what it is that you seek, but I may be able to help you find it.” My voice came out cold and distant. That is what happens when I leave my body, yet still control it.

“And why would you do something like that?” the elf said angrily.

“Because the sooner you find what you are looking for, the sooner I can have my forest back in peace,” I said levelly in the same voice.

“I am Nishade, anic of the leopard and this is Maren the elf, since I doubt she will offer her name herself. And this old fellow here is Sauroan the Wizard. I do believe that we are lost, as you say, though Sauroan the wizard denies it greatly. I, for one, would gladly receive your help.” The young man had stood at the beginning of his words and gave a slight nod of thanks to me. How charming.

“I too, would like your company,” Sauroan rumbled, “I still have some questions I would dearly like answers to.” His gaze shifted to my eyes on my body and Aiken’s. There was no way that he would be able to fathom…

“May I ask for your name?” Nishade’s face looked at mine in all earnestness. He seemed sincere.

“I am Talithi, half elf anic of the wolves,” I said, more warmly as I reentered my body. Aiken growled in indignation beside me, “And this, is my dear brother, Aiken. Now that we all now know each other, maybe you will answer the question I had asked before. Where are you going?”

“We are going to the very heart of the forest, in search of something that we are to find there,” Sauroan’s voice came across as if that was all that I would get out of him for the moment.

“The heart of the forest is just a den that my pack raised their cubs at. There is nothing special there.”

“That is something that I will decide when I see it.”

“Then I guess I have no choice but to take you there to see for yourself,” I said finally and steadily, though my stomach did flips. I couldn’t remember anything of any value there that might be of some use to them. Don’t worry sister, I will be there with you, came the comforting presence. Thank you my brother. Thank you.

The next morning I did a quick count in my head of how long it would take us to reach the den. If we moved at a constant rate of ten miles a day, we would reach there in two and a half days. I had two and a half days to ready myself to return to the memories of my past. Two and a half was both much too long and too short.

I scouted ahead of the party, finding that staying with them was much too tedious and slow. The anic and elf moved with grace and knowledge of the woodlands, but they seemed too wary of their surroundings to move forward boldly and confidently. Sauroan was old and seemed to need a rest more often than the others. He was definitely not made for the forest life, and would not
have survived by himself for anything longer than a day, even with his spells.

I ran along side of Aiken, with him as my guide, keeping alert to anything out of the ordinary that might give clue to any trespassers. I did not wish to be caught unawares by one of those anichols that might be wandering around somewhere, not that I wouldn’t be more than a match for them even if they did, of course. Especially with Aiken at my side.

A tree’s arm swept down, brushing against my arm. I stopped instantly. The tree did not seem threatening in any way, as most have been these past years. Instead, it seemed to be trying to warn me from against going any further, that there was danger ahead. Brother, I called to Aiken.
I entered into his body, seeing, hearing, feeling, and smelling all that he did. The woods appeared to be normal, with a few deformed birds chirping in a tree and a golgoath wandering in the brush. All was clear.

I forced my body down low, so that it would be hard for anything looking for me to find me and moved forward with Aiken, to scout ahead. It would be easier to find anything with just Aiken, plus, no one would think that he is out of the ordinary. We moved quickly, completely alert, but except for the slight smell of oil, there was nothing different in the forest.

Oil. That was the smell that the anichols had left behind after their bodies had burned up. Without any prompting, Aiken raced back to where we had left my vacant body. A sense of foreboding had entered into his body. I wasn’t sure if he was mirroring my own emotions or I his. The run back seemed to take a lot longer than the scout ahead and when we got close enough to be able to smell me, we slowed down. Alert, once more, for the oil odor was as strong as ever.

My body seemed unharmed, it looked as if I had just leaned up against a tree and fallen asleep. I plunged back into my own consciousness and shifted my grip on my staff to fighting position. There was a crackling of leaves, as if my movement had been some sort of signal.

“At last. Give yoursself up and no one will be hurt,” a voice slithered at me. The crunching of twigs and careless walking between bushes proved that I was now surrounded.

“Why should I give myself up to you?” I asked defiantly. I wasn’t about to let myself be taken and caged like a slave. If anything, if I was going to go down, I was going to take them down with me.

“It will be lesss painful to and we might leave your pet alive,” came the reply. The voice was inhuman and snakelike, but it still spoke the common language.

“I don’t have a pet,” I said as dangerously as I could, though worry pitted in my stomach. What if they overwhelmed me? If I fall, run, I told Aiken in his mind.
I will not leave you, sister, he promised.

No! Leave me if you must in order to save me, or all might be lost. His grim agreement sounded in my mind and I relaxed slightly. The way this thing was talking, they didn’t want me dead, but with his threats, I might be too close to it to be able to help myself.

One of the anichols moved closer to me. My staff whipped his feet from under him as I stood up. Another anichol came at me and was taken down my Aiken. My staff moved quickly as my senses used all that they could to get the positions of the anichols. Every time one anichol went down yet another replaced it with as much energy as the one before. Partially leaving my own body I entered Aiken’s mind to use his sharp eyes to see if we were making any progress. There were anichols everywhere. There were just too many. As I reentered my own fighting body I told Aiken, Go. There is no point in both of us being taken. Go and come back for me.

No. Came the response. I will only go if you to come also. Maybe if we split up we can lose them? A small smile touched my lips. Trying to escape would be better than completely giving up a lost cause here. Agreed. As one, we hit hard on opposite sides, fighting the anichols back in hopes to be able to fight free. However, there were many more anichols than I had thought, and without Aiken to watch my back anichols quickly filled in the space between us. As good as my senses had become, I couldn’t fight from all directions at once.

I felt a dagger slice my upper arm. In anger and frustration I pushed myself harder, but I could feel myself becoming sluggish. My attacks weren’t as quick as before and my mind was clouding over. I over swung my staff and lost my balance. What’s going on? Scaly hands grabbed at me, roughly picking me up with raucous laughter. Claws scratched up my arms and legs as they lifted me up over their heads and tightened their grip. I couldn’t hold onto my mind, it slipped from my grasp and my world went blank.