From: Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 17:11:07 EDT Subject: Global Issues Teri yanked her hair free from its pony tail, and it sank around her shoulders. She sighed heavily, grabbing her knees to her chest, and the spinning Jiy by her hands swirled a dark greyish blue. She watched it, mezmorized either by the magic-mechanical phenomenom, or by her own inner thoughts. Stana couldn't tell which. The older girl winced at the pain in her leg and leaned back gingerly. She racked her brain for something that she had to dull the pain if she was ever going to get to sleep that night... . The Jiy had changed from the sullen lapis to a soft amber glow, gently bathing the backs of Teri's hands in color. Stana looked up from where she was massaging her knee, and said softly, "What're you thinking about?" The jiy flushed a rose-color before fading to the opalesque opacity it usually maintained. The flicker of the firelight hid the blush from Teri's face, but the jiy, through its ever strengthening bond, had broadcasted it plain as day. "Nothing..." she said. Stana smiled, "Oh? Nothing? Then why are you blushing?" So what if she couldn't actually see the girl blush-- "I am not!" Teri replied too quickly. Stana chuckled, and Teri's shoulders relaxed with her sigh. "I don't know, Stana..." she said softly at she stared at the Jiy which floated to the cusp of her hands. "I've been having such... strange thoughts lately." Stana cocked her head to one side and listened... "Do you ever find yourself... just t hinking about something and not knowing why it keeps sticking to your mind?" Stana could. The pain was almost all she could think of right now... except that the jiy was shifting color again, and yet again Teri seemed almost oblivious to it, as she ran her fingers along the smooth glass. "I can feel him almost all the time. Even through those awful tea-leaves you give me. It's funny.. he's the only one I can feel so often. It's as if he has no barriers... no fear. Nothing stops him from thinking, saying, feeling whatever he does." Teri smiled at the Jiy. "I admire that so much. Even if he IS an arrogant bastard sometimes." Stana looked away into the woods, towards the direction Clip had headed off in. Teri didn't realize the truth of what she was saying-- but on the lighter side, perhaps.. perhaps if Teri was still feeling Clip so strongly, his unicorn self wasn't deteriorating as fast as Stana thought it was... "But it's lessening..." Teri said, and Stana squeezed her eyes shut. So much for hope. "And... " Teri looked up with tear-bright eyes, "I kinda miss it... you know?" Stana nodded, fighting the urge to curl up against her teddy bear, for fear of jarring her leg. "Are you ok?" Teri looked confused before she noticed the now-dark of the jiy, and the copper-lighted tears on her cheeks. She wiped them off against her smile. "Yeah.. I'm fine. He's just a bit sad and confused right now, and I'm tired, so it's affecting me more than usual." Stana watched the firelight glinting off the soft green of the forest undergrowth. "Do you want some more tea?" She didn't want Teri paying too much attention to Clip's sudden change-- friend or no friend, she had to keep Clip's secret. Stana tried to lay down, and yelped in pain as her knee was twisted. Teri was by her side quickly with her black bag (complete with small hole), helping stana to prop the leg up and lie down. Teri looked at the Jiy, still hovering near, and then back at STana, whose lips were white from the force of her teeth on them... "I'm sorry," Teri said softly. And Stana tried to smile against the pain her mouth drawing in a grimace more than anything. Back at her seat by the fire, Teri pulled off her new shortcoat she had donned while travelling, and sat in the warmth. She had tried to tell the Jiy to go make Stana sleepy, but it didn't want to listen, preferring isntead to hover by Teri's knee, hands, or shoulders, whirring softly. The Clear was nowhere to be seen. **** Steve steepled his long fingers under his chin and watched Bill's glow-globe as it flashed light images across their faces. The two Aoli were watching the scrying globe instensely. Flickering rounded images appeared, in constant motion, from different perspectives, as they gazed on. "Sound," The T'Aoli commanded, and archs of mage-light crackled from Bill the Window-Master's fingers and around the globe. Instantly, the two grey-wrapped men heard dully echoing cries of birds and insects, and the faint whisper of a man passing through the forest. ~I wonder how much firewood we need... and what did Stana say that leaf looked like?~ came the frustrated mumble. Steve's brows furrowed in thought as the dark head of the monk-trained boy passed under the eternal, watchful gaze of the Clear. * * * The forest was alive with sound. Not noise, mind you, just the peace that come with untouched nature. It was something Shinji just loved, and although he didnt know it, it was probably one of the few things he and Clip had in common. "How many do we need?" Clip asked, the peace around them making him slightly less irritable than he usually was. But trust this human? Oh, he trusted him alright. About as far as he could throw him anyway. "Enough," Shinji stated matter-of-factly, not turning to answer Clip. He bent down to pick up another decent-sized twig and added it to his load. Clip snorted, but didn't counter. He actually didn't mind the busy work. It kept him from thinking too much about his predicament, although that also made him stop thinking about his past. That just made it all so easier to forget. And then there were times when he didn't recall anything at all... As Shinji bent down to pick up another piece of wood, he noticed a small, almost invisible shadow, like the kind left by a thin cloud. Or a piece of glass. He shot his gaze up above them, and sure enough, there was the clear. It was almost invisible against the green of the trees, but it was there. That caused a small, hateful ball of annoyance sit in his stomach. He glared up at the sphere. The small ball hovered stock still, as if it was simply sitting there. Sitting and watching. But by whom? It couldn't be Teri. Then who could it be? Well, of that he had a pretty good idea. * * * "He's seen us!" hissed Bill as he watched the young man on the screen with predatory closeness. Steve steepled his hands and sat back, narrowing his eyes. He watched Shinji through the Jiy, his small, grey eyes staring with distant thought. At last he spoke. "It doesn't matter. We forsaw this. He won't try to destroy it because he's afraid of hurting that girl," he said, his voice coming out a harsh whisper. Hmph. That had sort of a dark humor there, didn't it? He knew he was being spied upon, and maybe he knew why, but still he did nothing. He wouldn't even if he could. It had been sheer luck that he had befriended that girl, because without her, this probably would have been impossible. Shinji would have destroyed it if, no, when, he found it. "Are we going to continue surveylance?" Bill asked, looking from the sphere to the T'aoli where he sat. After another pause, Steve answered. "Why not? It's not as if he can do anything about it. Besides, he has probably guessed what it is for. That girl is his friend, and he would't want to put a friend in danger, am I right? Even if that danger, as much as woul hate to admit it, might be from him." A silence fell over the room, occasionally broken by the crunching of leaves or the snapping of a branch. With an unshared mutual understanding, the two went back to their post. * * * "Alright, that should be plenty to last the night. We should get back now. . .Shinji?" Clip called when he didn't get a reply. He looked over his shoulder and saw him looking up at something in the branches. Clip frowned in annoyance. The human wasn't even working! And staring up at the sky no less! "Hey! Are you even paying attention?!" "Huh? Sorry, I must have drifted off," Shinji answered. It wasn't good, but it was the best he could think of. "Drifted off is right! I don't see how you were able to beat those monsters with such a low attention span," he mocked, turning to return to camp. "At least I know how to swing a sword!" Shinji retorted hotly. "Arrogant little creep," Clip mutterd under his breath. "Sad excuse for a fighter," Shinji grumbled too low to hear. With that, they made their way back to camp. The sounds of the forest weakened slightly, accompanied by the soft whirring of a small glass globe.