LadyAnnaLee

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin paced back and forth in front of her captive as she furiously gnawed at the hangnail on her thumb. Ridahne hadn’t come to find her yet. That wasn’t a good sign. IT had been a while, and her captive was slowly bleeding out. Could the battle have not gone the way she had hoped. Darin wasn’t sure she wanted to know. If Ridahne hadn’t been the victor Darin needed to get back on Talbot and leave now. However, if the battle hadn’t been decided she needed to be patient. Darin wasn’t sure she could stand this waiting any longer. That was when sound finally returned to the forest.

Well that was not a good sign. The battle was over and had been for some time. Darin could hear it. The animals felt safe enough to resume their life. The night would continue unhindered. Now the question was simple: who would come after her. If Ridahne had won that was a good thing. If she hadn’t Darin needed to run. She cast another glance towards her captive. He was smirking at her. It was clear that he thought his allies were the one who had won. Darin wasn’t sure that she could fathom that possibility. She didn’t know what she would do without Ridahne. It had been less than a week and The Seed-Bearer knew that this journey would be impossible without the Azurein.

She asked Talbot, “Who do you think won?” Taja let out a shriek as Talbot let out a whinny of concern. Darin nodded, “You both have good points, very good points.”

The archer scoffed, “You talk to your animals? Why? They no nothing useful. Maybe you are just a very lucky idiot.”

Darin let out a small laugh, “Now you’ve got it. The question is simple. Is it good luck or bad luck?”

Darin whipped her head around at another screech from Taja. What she saw made her blood run cold. It was Mitaja. The hunting cat seemed distressed, and it didn’t take long for the human to figure out what was wrong. Ridahne had to have been hurt and sent her cat to Darin. Darin figured she should probably run. Darin didn’t care. Without even thinking about it she ran in the direction Mitaja was leading her. Talbot didn’t follow. Darin looked over her shoulder for only a minute. It appeared the plow horse was going to stand guard. The human was fine with that though there might not be much point. The Elrui was still bleeding out. It wouldn’t be long before he was dead. If Ridahne wasn’t capable of questioning him there wasn’t much point in keeping him alive. She supposed that meant she killed him. She would deal with that fact after she determined if Ridahne was okay.

That was not the case at all. Mitaja stopped at a point. Darin took a moment to glance at Tsura before falling to her knees next to Ridahne. The Azurei looked terrible. Purple bruises covered her neck. There was an arrow in her thigh. The Elf was practically covered in blood. Darin’s hands fluttered uselessly. The human wasn’t even sure how to start. Should she take out the arrow or would that make the bleeding worse. Darin didn’t know much about treating people. She had only done birds before. The only real chance she had was finding another person to help her. She just didn’t want to leave Ridahne. She wondered if she could get Ridahne on to Tsura. Then where would she go? Darin was sure to get lost. If they followed the road, they might make it somewhere. Were they close enough to The Farm to get there before Ridahne died, or should they try to make it to the town Ridahne had mentioned earlier? Would the people there help them, or were they connected to this Red Hand? Darin had no idea what she should do, and for a moment was paralyzed by fear.

Then she gave her head a shake. She couldn’t do nothing. With that decided Darin figured the best she could do was at least try to find help. She knew she couldn’t leave Ridahne alone so the Elf would have to come with her. The only way to make that happen was to get her on a horse. There was no way that Darin was carrying Ridhane anywhere by herself for long. Still the first step was to get Ridahne up off the ground. That raised another question; would Darin be reconziged or would Ridahne think she was another enemy. There was only one way to find out. Darin was just going to have to try. At this point anything was better than nothing.

With that in mind Darin knelt down next to the Elf, “Come on Ridahne.” The human took one of Ridahne’s arms to place around her shoulders, “Let’s get you up.”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I am still at a lost as to what to write. That plus the long weekend and my exhaustion mean I will not be posting ing next weekend at the latest. I rather not end this story just yet, but I do need a little more time. I thank you for your understanding and promise you a response just as soon as I can.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin nodded at Ridahne’s instructions. She could understand the logic behind getting her out of the way. She just hoped that Talbot agreed to it. Darin bent down over the horse’s neck to rub as far down as she could reach. Talbot nodded, and she hopped that meant he agreed with the Elf. Well, she didn’t have time to wonder if the plan was something that everyone agreed on because they were soon surrounded. Darin looked at the Eluri members of the so-called Red Hand. Had Mark been part of the Red Hand? Darin didn’t know, and that bothered her. Still, there was nothing for it now. The only thing that worried Darin was that there was no telling how many people across Astra actually knew who she was. She was starting to wonder if there was actually a point to trying to keep her identity a secret.

She didn’t have time to think about that, because at Ridahne’s barked order Talbot took off in a full gallop. Darin hadn’t even needed to react. The human just wrapped her hands and arms in the reins and did her best to not fall off. That was not something she could afford to do right now. They practically flew by the rest of the group surrounding them. Soon there were off the path and the trees started growing closer together. An arrow whizzed by her ear. Darin turned to see that the archer was following them on a horse Darin hadn’t spotted before. She guessed it had been hidden away. The horse looked like it was built for speed and not endurance like Talbot. Talbot flicked his ears at her. This wasn’t good. The enemy would soon catch up. Without really thinking about what she was doing, or home much it would hurt if she failed, Darin found herself moving to stand on top of Talbot’s back. It was a good thing he was so big, or she might have lost her balance. Then with a grunt she reached out to grab a branch and pulled herself into the canopy.

She looked down to see the archer stare up at her in shock. She made eye contact, but after that brief pause, she was moving again. She moved from tree to tree with an ease that surprised even herself. She leapt from branch and soon came to a tree that seemed bigger than the others. Darin climbed a few branched before pressing herself next to the trunk. She kept her eyes darting around to keep an eye out for the archer or any other enemies. She didn’t want to be caught off guard. That would not be a good thing. She didn’t want to let Talbot, or worse, Ridahne, down. She had to survive this. There was no other option at this point.

A voice called out in a language Darin knew to be a branch of Elurian, “Well, that was certainly impressive Seed-Bearer. I didn’t expect that from someone who looked at you.”

Darin called out, clumsily matching the language, “What did you expect?”

The other speaker seemed surprised, “You speak Elurian? Very impressive for a someone that looks like a farm boy.”

Darin laughed, “That’s basically all I am. That’s all I’ll ever be. I don’t know what else you expected from someone called The Seed-Bearer.”

He didn’t hesitate, “A warrior.”

He didn’t get a chance to continued as Darin burst out laughing, “Me! A warrior! What next? A ruler? A noble? Farmers and gardeners deal with seeds. That is all I will ever be.”

As Darin spoke, she removed her sickle from its sheath. Then she started moving towards the sound of her enemy. She was careful to move slow, so she didn’t rustle any leaves. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself. The Eluri was still speaking, and Darin used that to try and find them. Other than that she ignored them. Soon she had the Elf in her sights. Darin couldn’t believe that she was planning this. That didn’t mean she could back down. She needed answers. She wasn’t sure she had another way to get them. Darin carefully lowered herself behind the horse. It was just bad timing that the Eluri looked down right that moment. Darin’s eyes went wide as she lashed out with her sickle. She managed to get the archer’s leg. At that moment something crashed into the man’s horse. Darin let out a screech as she quickly scurried backwards. It was Talbot. The other horse spooked and tossed their rider. Darin was quickly on top of the enemy. Her sickle made contact with their arm. There was blood everywhere and most of it was the Elf’s, but Darin was certain she had ripped at least one set of stiches. The archer reached for their bow, but Darin was faster. She grabbed the bow and tossed it away. Talbot was on top of it in a moment to break it. Darin let out another scream as she attacked the other shoulder. The Elf managed to push her off, but, as he moved to grab his knife Talbot stepped in between the Elf and the human. Then the horse threw the Elf into the nearest tree. Darin was only shock for a moment before she scurried up. She hurried to grab the rope from her pack on Talbot’s saddle. She stumbled a little bit, but soon the enemy was tied to the tree.

The Elf spat at her, “Do you think this will hold me for long, you pathetic farm boy?”

Darin was sure, “It doesn’t have to hold you for long.” She probably over tied the Elf with the strongest knots she knew, “It just has to hold you long enough for my associate to get here.”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin nodded as she accepted Ridahne’s answer. To be honest she wasn’t sure she wanted to find a village. If the Eluri really did receive vision it was possible that one or more of them already knew who and what she was. That would be the very opposite of the discretion she was trying to maintain. The young human was almost half tempted to tell her companion that maybe they should avoid towns until they finished being in the Eluri land and crossed over to Azurei land, but the goal was to make friends. She wasn’t going to be able to do that if she avoided people. She needed to talk to as many people as she could. She needed to learn as much about the cultures as possible. Darin was going to have to step out of her comfort zone. She just hoped that was never obvious. She had a feeling it would be.

Darin was about to speak when she noticed the silence. It was instant; every creature in the forest stopping making noise all at once. It was odd for a forest this size. It was odd for any forest. There was something out there, and she was willing to bet that it didn’t belong there. As soon as she had that thought The Seed began to burn against her leg. It was sharp and sudden. It was vaguely familiar, and it took a moment for Darin to recognize it. When she did, she knew her eyes had to have grown impossibly wide. It was the same feeling she had when she had first met Ridahne right outside of Greyrock. It was someone like Mark. They might even be connected to the same group of people like Mark. Her grip on Talbot’s reins became impossibly tight. She didn’t know what to do. She knew Talbot had sensed the strangeness. She could only hope Ridahne had as well. Then, if there was a fight, she could only hope to stay out of the way and trust that the two of them could handle it.

She stayed silent until Ridahne spoke up. Then she nodded as she whispered her answer, “Yes. I feel it. It’s like Greyrock. Do you remember?”

Darin didn’t want to go into details. She didn’t know who was listening and who wasn’t. She didn’t want them to know that she knew what they were. It was another monster. She still didn’t know what they wanted. She just knew that they wanted her from completing her mission. Of course, that was only true if this was the same group of people connected to Mark. There were other evils. She did have to wonder if people would be looking to stop her if they knew the truth the same way she and Ravi knew. They might even encourage her. It depended on what their true goals were. Darin had to wonder if they would be open to starting a dialogue. Somehow, she didn’t think that would be the case. Besides, she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone what the true goal was. She hadn’t even told Ridahne.

Darin continued, “I don’t want to be caught of guard.” Talbot nodded in agreement, “We should find someplace to make a stand.” There was another nod, “Maybe even find a place to make camp. The sun does look like it’s about to go down.”

The truth was Darin didn’t trust her abilities to defend herself while standing firmly on the ground. Trying to do it while Talbot was battling and Ridahne was fighting next to her would be downright impossible. It would be wiser if they got somewhere where Darin could get out of the way; either by hiding in a cave or climbing up a tree. Darin knew that one day she would be expected to fight her own battles, but she didn’t see that day happening today. Right now, her arm was torn practically to pieces, she had an injured hawk to look after, and she was tired. It was not a good combination at all. She could only hope that Ridahne could see the sense in getting the human out of the way. Though Darin wouldn’t be surprised if the warrior decided that battle would be the perfect place to hone her skills. That seemed like something the Elf would do.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Hello. First let me say that I really enjoy our role-play. I have no desire to end it. However I need to be honest. Given my current work schedule I can only really post on the weekends. So going forward I will only be posting on weekends. I understand if this means you want to back out but I am hoping we can work something out.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin looked around the forest as Ridahne mentioned that the landscape was changing. It looked more and more like the forest near the mountains. Darin had never gone too deep into the forest back home. She didn’t need to be warned that it was a completely bad idea. She was clumsy and had no sense of direction with no real skills to protect herself with. She mostly stayed to the forest directly near the village in order to pick herbs and escape the elders from time to time. Even then she never went far enough to lose track of where she was in relation to home.

That was why she was glad that the Azurei warrior was here now. It was basically what Ridahne had done earlier in her life; guiding people through the Dust Sea. Only this time the people was carrying The Seed and it was all of Astra. That didn’t seem to bother Ridahne though. Darin had seen the map and the Elf seemed to have a much better sense of direction than the human did. Right now, Darin really needed a sense of direction even if she was borrowing it from someone else. Darin already knew that this trip was going to take a long time. She didn’t want to imagine how long it would take if she just traveled without knowing where she was going like she had been doing.

Darin looked forward as she responded to Ridahne’s comments about marriage, “That makes sense. And I suppose in a nation of many more people than in my village it would help keep strangers from trying to woo you. Back home I could go around and talk to everybody in the span of two days or so. Gossip was prevalent as well. It was easy to let people know that you had committed to someone. Then they start a new family.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. People usually stayed with their parents in their home until they had built their own home. Some stayed until their parents were gone. It depended on what you and your partner were after and what your goals were. Darin had planed on spending the rest of her life in her farmhouse with her mother. She hadn’t given much thought to inviting another person into her life. There was no one back in her village that she was interested in and they weren’t interested in her either. There was that one boy from Lively, but that would never work out. He wanted a girl who could help him run his parents’ fabric store. If Darin ever did pick someone, they would have to help farm. So, they were incompatible. At least that was the way it was then. Darin had no idea how it would work out now that she was carrying The Seed.

Darin asked another question. “Will we reach a village or a town or will we need to stop to make camp? Either is fine. I don’t really care which. I was just wondering which it was so I would know.”

Hello! Any one for a Role Play?

Okay. That makes sense. Thank you for clarifying. We could do that. Did you have a character in mind? If you want to write a love story then I need to make sure the characters could fall in love. I hate trying to force to incompatible characters together just because they are suppose to fall in love.

Hello! Any one for a Role Play?

@Sharidi37495 I'm going to do something dumb, but I am tired. Please forgive me. I feel like you are missing a word in the last sentence, and I can't figure it out. Can you look at it and let me know if I'm just seeing things. Thank you.

Hello! Any one for a Role Play?

@Sharidi37495 I only read the first of those books and that was a while ago. So I'm a little spotty on the details. I still like cyborgs. Did you have a plot in mind?

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I thought I let you know that I'm suffering a bit of writer's block. I'm not sure what to have Darien say or do next. Also my mom is flying into town this weekend so combining those two facts means I'm not entirely sure when I will get you a post. I will get you one. It just might not be for a week or so. Thank you for understanding.