"Eeeeeeeehhhhhhh!" A high pitched screech resonated through the forest. Birds flew screeching from their nests, squirrels ran up trees or down trees depending on their relative position to the scream, and deer scattered. The screech echoed off the cliffs, but soon died down. The person screaming didn�t have much breath. A few seconds later and the screech returned.
Mercanyin sighed and sat up, scratching his head and yawing. And there goes my nap. He thought rather sarcastically to himself. He quickly grabbed his sword and went to inspect the screaming. He walked silently up to the noise. He�d lived in the forest for over 60 years, he knew how to move quietly. Unfortunately the screecher didn�t appreciate the years of work it took to move that silently through the forest. When she saw the young half-elf she screeched again. Mercanyin winced and put one hand to his head. "You�ve a lovely voice lady, but could you tone it down and octave or two?"
The lady was obviously a noble. She wore what must have once been a beautiful dress, but was now torn. Her hair was deep brown and had the remains of a golden ribbon in it and probably at one time had been beautifully done up. Fear was present in her deep blue eyes and she opened her mouth to scream again. Mercanyin moved fast. He clapped his hand over her mouth and smiled down at her. Mercanyin stood a good 6'8", he could easily look down on just about anyone.
"Let�s talk this out like civilized people okay?" He waited for her to quickly shake her head before continuing. "Okay," He said in slow, even tones, as if he were trying to calm an animal. "I�m going to take my hand off your mouth and you�re not going to scream. Okay?" The girl quickly nodded again. Mercanyin slowly removed his hand.
The woman was still breathing heavily and obviously still paranoid. "Who...who....who are you?" She blurted out quickly.
Mercanyin smiled. "See, now we�re getting somewhere." The woman wasn�t comforted by his joke. Mercanyin�s smile had a way of unnerving you, of rendering you completely defenceless. Most people would rather have him glaring at them than smiling. His smiles were always sarcastic, as if he were laughing at you. He never laughed at a joke, or smiled because he was happy. If Mercanyin was smiling, he was degrading you. His insulting, sarcastic smile completely terrified the paranoid, young noble woman and she looked like she would break and run.
Tessa emerged from the bush, purposefully making some noise so as to not startle the already scared woman. Unfortunately Tessa�s appearance alone was more than the spooked young noble could take and she toppled to the forest floor unconscious.
"Y�know," Tessa glared up at Mercanyin. "Any other human, elf or dwarf on this planet would have caught her before she knocked her head on a rock."
Mercanyin shrugged. "Well I don�t fit into the above categories, so I�m safe."
Tessa glared at the half-elf. "I�m surprised she didn�t faint when she saw you. You look like a fungus or something." Tessa examined her friend. He was much like when she�d last seen him; tall, slender and sarcastic. He had short blond hair that currently stuck out at all angles from his having spent the night on the forest floor. His eyes were hazel and always carried a hint of laughter in them. Not the kind of laughter that makes other people want to laugh, it was more like he was laughing at the rest of the world as it stupidly tumbled forwards into some snare he�d set. Even Tessa, Mercanyin�s best friend, didn�t like it when he looked at her. Tessa sighed and moved closer to the fallen woman. Mercanyin leaned back against a tree and watched.
Tessa quickly discovered that the woman was generally unhurt, aside from the fact that she looked like she was starving to death and would probably be even more terrified when she woke up. Tessa sat back on her haunches and sighed.
"Well?" Mercanyin asked, not really paying all that much attention.
Tessa felt like biting him. "She�s fine. Don�t worry." Tessa sneered.
Mercanyin smiled. It sent shivers down Tessa�s spine. "I wasn�t."
Tessa growled at him. "Sometimes, even I hate you Mercanyin."
He just kept grinning. "That doesn�t surprise me."
When the lady awoke a few hours later she was in a state of panic far beyond anything Tessa knew how to treat. Despite the warnings her common sense was sending her, Tessa got Mercanyin to talk to the woman. "After all," Mercanyin added in a sarcastic tone. "She doesn�t faint at the sight of me." Tessa growled low in her throat.
"Lady." Mercanyin roughly shook her when she looked as if she might pass out again.
She reluctantly opened her eyes.
Mercanyin smiled. "Rise and shine."
The woman shuddered in Mercanyin�s grasp. Tessa didn�t blame her. She seemed reluctant to trust him, but didn�t exactly have a lot of choice in the matter. "Is that....that...thing gone?"
"You mean Tessa? Not exactly, she�s right there." Mercanyin pointed out Tessa�s hiding spot. At that moment Tessa could have happily tore his head off.
The woman buried her head in Mercanyin�s chest. The one shred of pleasure Tessa took from the whole encounter was the uncomfortable look on Mercanyin�s face when the woman touched him. He quickly pried the noble off him and held her wrists, ungently at her sides. "Listen lady. Tessa�s about as dangerous as a house cat."
Tessa approached slowly making a purring noise. For some odd reason humans felt comforted by this noise, and this screeching noble was no exception. She tentatively patted Tessa�s head and, although she found it degrading, she let the noble scratch her ears. Mercanyin�s eyes stifled laughter. Tessa sat down and looked up at the lady. "I�m Tessa," She said in a soft voice. "I�m sorry I frightened you."
The lady still looked pretty scared, but she was beginning to realize that she was better off with Tessa than Mercanyin. "I�m Lady Melisande. I�m..." She looked hopelessly at the ground. "rather lost."
Mercanyin stood up quickly. "You�re in the middle of Shadow Forest." He turned to leave. Tessa glared at him.
Melisande looked helplessly at Mercanyin. "But wait! You can�t just leave me here!"
He turned and gave her a half-bow. "Can and will. Good day, m�lady. You�re not lost anymore."
Melisande looked like she would burst into tears. Tessa moved quickly. "Pardon M�lady. Let me talk to him." She ran quickly after Mercanyin, growling at him when he wouldn�t stop. "What do you think you�re doing?!?"
He stared quietly down at Tessa. "Leaving?" He turned in another direction.
Tessa growled and dug her teeth into his pant leg. "Yr..nnnttt. Yrrrr gnnnn elp thaaa ung ldy."
Mercanyin looked down at her with a smile in his eyes. "Don�t talk with your mouth full." He shook his leg and continued walking. "C�mon, let�s get something to eat."
Tessa sat down where she was. "If you don�t go back and help her Mercanyin, I will."
Mercanyin laughed. "Tessa, she�s hydra food. With all the shrieking I�m surprised something big and nasty hasn�t shown up to eat her yet. Travelling with her is suicide."
Tessa snorted. "I�m gonna at least try to get her out."
Anger flashed in Mercanyin�s eyes. "Your funeral." Tessa turned to leave. Mercanyin swore under his breath. "Tessa! There are things out there we can�t fight, you can�t fight. We�ve lived here so long by running from those big, nasty things, not fighting them." Tessa didn�t stop. Mercanyin swore more fluently. "Fine." He stalked off in the other direction. "You�ll both get eaten."
"So how�d you get to be lost in Shadow Forest anyways?" Tessa and Lady Melisande walked along. Tessa had started talking to try and calm the woman down, it was working. She nodded along and gave every impression of listening to Melisande. To Tessa�s credit she was listening somewhat, but Mercanyin�s speech about getting eaten still rang in her mind. She knew it was true, that living in these woods was dangerous enough, without the added trouble of guarding a shrieking young maiden. Her head nervously moved from side to side, looking in every shadow, searching everywhere for any signs of danger. Her weird sixth sense was telling her that someone, or something, was following them. She wasn�t surprised, being followed was a daily occurrence in Shadow Forest. What was unnerving her was that she couldn�t see it. Tessa was one of the best trackers in the forest. She could hear and see things most other creatures never noticed, but she couldn�t see or hear whatever was following her, and that scared her.
Melisande was blissfully unaware of their �shadow� and continued the small talk. "My father�s caravan was passing through along the main road. We were set upon by horrid creatures," The lady shivered remembering. "Huge, but man-like. The smelled and had clubs and drooled..."
"Trolls." Tessa untactfully cut in.
"Oh." Melisande was quiet for a moment.
"So trolls attacked the caravan and you ran off shrieking into the woods." She was spending all her energy trying to find their �shadow�, she didn�t have the energy to be tactful.
Melisande nodded, slightly embarrassed at her behaviour.
"So where were you going?"
"Mystic�s Warren." Melisande answered. "Have you heard of it?"
Tessa nodded and silently continued her watch.
Mercanyin made quick work of the werewolf following his friend and silently caught up with the two. When he saw them walking and talking he noticed immediately the presence of another creature. He found the displacer beast quickly, before Tessa even noticed that it was following them. The thing was invisible and taking it�s time. He wasn�t surprised Tessa couldn�t find it. He watched it stalk the two as they walked and he silently cursed Tessa for talking. Is she trying to get herself eaten? He asked himself. He continued to follow them, deciding only to take action if, or rather when, the displacer beast attacked.
Tessa had quieted Melisande, frightening her with stories of the things that lived in the forest. She hated to do it, but she need her quiet to listen. She could hear odd noises, like wind rustling in the leaves when there was no wind. She knew that something was there, but she couldn�t find it. Suddenly it hit her. She stopped and stared wide eyed. A displacer beast, she panicked. How am I supposed to fight a displacer beast?
"Melisande." She whispered.
The girl stopped and looked down at Tessa. Seeing how frightened the creature was nearly sent the girl back into hysterics. She looked as if she might faint.
"Melisande." Tessa whispered again, trying to judge where the thing was. "When I say run, run. Okay?"
Melisande nodded and some colour returned to her cheeks. Tessa turned in what she believed the direction of the displacer beast. She growled. The displacer beast knew that he�d been spotted, he slowly became visible. His fangs dripped drool, poisonous to the touch. His eyes glowed red. The spikes/fur rose on his back and it began to growl. Tessa nearly balked. She waited for the right moment. The displacer beast seemed to smile at her, making fun of her. It�s smile reminded her of Mercanyin and she wondered briefly if he�d even care when he found her dead, half-eaten body. She pushed that thought out of her mind as the displacer beast prepared to pounce. It leapt into the air.
"Run!" Tessa yelled. In the same breath she leapt at the displacer beast. She opened her mouth in what could have been a roar, but instead blue lightning streaked towards the beast. It whined and fell to the ground, but was quickly on it�s feet, a new appreciation for the skill of it�s enemy. It growled low at Tessa, then looked to the fleeing Melisande. It smiled.
NO! Tessa screamed in her mind. Her leap had taken her to the other side of the beast, she no longer stood between it and Melisande.
The beast gave a half-howl, half-laugh and charged after Melisande. Tessa wanted to close her eyes, knowing there was nothing she could do. The displacer beast would run down Melisande and kill her. "No," She whined charging after the beast. She stopped dead in amazement.
Out of the bushes leapt Mercanyin, his sword flashing as he rammed the beast. It howled in pain and turned to glare at it�s new assailant. It ran at Mercanyin, hoping to bite the half-elf and let the poison do it�s work. It had enough respect for it�s opponent to expect Mercanyin to avoid the leap. Instead, Mercanyin stepped into it. He held his arm defensively in front of him, his other hand, the one holding his sword, hanging limp at his side. He must have hurt it during his first charge. The beast was confused, but couldn�t stop it�s jump. Fangs bared it bit hard down into Mercanyin offered arm, and realized too late Mercanyin�s plan. His perfectly unharmed sword arm, flung up quickly and drove the blade deep into the displacer beast�s head. It fell, dead, to the ground.
Tessa ran to her friend. "Mercanyin. Are you okay?" His back was turned to Tessa, she couldn�t see the look on his face. He turned slowly and Tessa stopped dead. His face was white and contorted with pain. The bite on his arm was deep and bleeding profusely. A greenish tinge around the wound made Tessa remember the poison in the beast�s drool. Mercanyin fell to the forest floor, dying.
"Mercanyin!" Tessa screamed and ran to his side. "Get up. Oh please get up. You have to get up." She started to cry. She laid her head on his chest and listened to the faded rhythm of his heart. "I didn�t mean it when I said I hated you. I really didn�t. Thank you for following us. Thank you for helping us."
Mercanyin couldn�t hear or respond. His eyes rolled back in his head and he stopped breathing.
"No!" Tessa screamed. "He�s not dead. He can�t be dead." She was sobbing and hysterical and she knew it. A voice from behind her nearly scared her to death.
"He�s not. Not yet at least." Tessa whirled around and found herself staring at Mystic, the keeper of the warren. Standing beside the keeper was Melisande, looking pale and tired. She�d ran to the edge of the forest and right into Mystic.
Tessa, Mercanyin, Mystic and Melisande all disappeared from the forest in a flash of magic light from Mystic�s fingers.
Mercanyin woke in a white bed, in a white room, wearing white clothes. He briefly thought he might of died, but quickly abandoned that thought. You weren�t supposed to feel pain in the afterlife and his arm hurt like hell. He moaned and tried to sit up. He found Tessa, asleep beside him, her head on his chest. He laid back down, not wanting to disturb her. He stroked her fur with his good hand.
Mystic walked in to the room quietly, not wanting to wake him if he was still asleep. She found him lying perfectly still in his bed, gazing out the window. "Feeling better?" She asked. She hadn�t spoken loudly, but her voice seemed to echo in the silence of the room. Tessa quickly lifted her head, knocking Mercanyin�s hand off her back. She realized what he�d been doing and smiled at him.
Mercanyin glared at her, and cursed himself. Tessa sighed, Back to his old self again. She wasn�t as upset as she seemed. At least now I know how he feels. That he feels. She didn�t care how he treated her as long as she knew that.
Mercanyin snorted in answer to Mystic�s question. "I�m not as dead as I was when you first met met, so I guess I am feeling better."
Mystic gave him a half-smile. "When you�re feeling up to it, feel free to wander around the warren. You don�t have to run right back out to Shadow Forest. You might find something here that interests you."
Mercanyin rolled his eyes and Mystic left. He glared down at Tessa. "What are you smiling about?"
She laid her head back down on Mercanyin�s chest. "Haven�t the foggiest."
Mercanyin was quickly up and causing fights all over the warren. Mystic sighed and slightly regretted giving him full run of the warren, especially since Magika was now threatening to let Toth eat the young half-elf twice daily. Hope flew to Mystic�s shoulder and rubbed her head against Mystic�s.
"Has he found them yet?" Mystic asked her familiar.
"No." Hope sighed.
"Are you sure about this?" Mystic was sceptical of her friend�s decision.
Hope nodded. "Positive. Mercanyin will find a partner among the Hathians. He just needs to find them."
Mystic sighed. "I don�t know if I want him to find them. The thought of him hanging around isn�t a pleasant one." She moved quickly to stop an argument between Mercanyin and R�nd before it came to blows.
Tessa walked quietly along beside Mercanyin. She was slightly anxious to get back to Shadow Forest, all the weird creature in the warren bugged her. She felt like it was too crowded. That she was always being watched. "So?" She asked Mercanyin as he looked along the two paths they�d come too. One lead back to Shadow Forest, the other lead to somewhere they�d never been. Tessa wanted to go home. Mercanyin wasn�t sure.
He shrugged and continued to examine both paths. "Aren�t you the least bit curious about what�s down this path Tessa?"
She shook her head. "No."
Mercanyin smiled. Not his sarcastic hurtful smile. An actual smile. "I�m going down there Tessa. It somehow feels......right."
She sighed. "Whatever." The two headed down the unknown path, leaving the path for home far behind them.
Hope smiled and flew quickly back to Mystic. Mystic was standing in a clearing with many other people. It�s happening. Hope thought to herself. The hathians are hatching now!
"Mystic!" The light, blue draca landed on her friend�s shoulder. "They�re on their way here now."
Mystic nodded. "They�ll make it here right in time then."
Hope moved from foot to foot uncomfortably on Mystic�s shoulder, wishing they were already here, fearing they would miss the hatching. "They won�t have time to be searched by the mother and father of the clutch."
Mystic smiled. "If Anitraya didn�t want them showing up at her hatching, she wouldn�t have let them find the path. She seems to agree with you."
Hope nodded. Magika glared at her friend, knowing that something was being kept from her. Mystic just smiled and told her friend not to worry. As the other candidates prepared for the hatching, Mystic watched the path along which Mercanyin and Tessa would soon be arriving.
Mercanyin is a candidate at Mystic Dragon�s Forest.
Tessa�s picture from The Silver Unicorn.
Background from Jolie Designs Web Graphics.
