The next morning, Gwendolynn would awaken to a strange sound, and a slight tapping on her forehead. She scrunched her face, shaking her head slightly, 'Hmm?' really being the only thing that she could get out.
"Danger…." a voice called to her, "Outside." It completed the thought. Gwendolynn's eyes flew open as she looked around. She remembered falling asleep on the beach, but also knew that Olive was the only other person there...
Did he just talk?
"Danger?" she asked him, and he pointed at the same cave that they came from not long ago. "Is there danger outside of this valley?" Gwendolynn asked, getting her footing together at last. Olive nodded, not with a look of anxiousness, but of concern.
"Emily was still out there." She remembered. She dusted the sand out of her hair and off of her clothes. "Is Emily in danger?" she asked. Olive shrugged, which infuriated Gwendolynn. He seemed to be so sure that there was danger, but he didn't know who or what was in danger? "Either way, we have to get back to her as quickly as we can. Is there a quicker way to climb the mountain?" Olive again shook his head. "Well, let's get climbing, then." Gwendolyn concluded.
It had taken them several hours to scale this rather large slope. Not that it was particularly steep, but the rocky surface was unforgiving, especially to someone with only one functioning shoe. The twilight of the morning had faded, and become noon by the time they would reach the entrance of the cave. Much like the initial trek, the cave wasn't really anything of interest, except for long and twisting, with rock formations being overly abundant. Now that Gwendolynn had the chance to appreciate the beauty of the structures, she would marvel at some of the stranger colored stones as she passed. They were hues of yellow, gold, and brown, some seemed to even be crystallized, and they reflected the light of the torch that Olive carried ahead of them, casting pale rainbows against the bedrock walls as they traveled. They were still a good half an hour away from the other side of the cave, and another 3 hour long trek back to their camp site. All things considered, this mountain range wasn't very tall compared to the mountains from Gwendolynn's home, but maybe it was a hole in the side of them that made them seem that way. When they would finally reach the other side of the cave, Gwendolynn looked down to see her friend Emily alright, but she was with someone…..and she wasn't supposed to be with anyone.
Emily's awakening wasn't nearly as pleasant as Gwendolynn's. She heard the footsteps of someone approaching, and her eyes fluttered open only to realize it was almost noon already. She had over slept…..again. However, Gwendolynn wasn't supposed to make it back until around dinner time, so this sleeping in would've been acceptable. Who, then, was approaching? She sat up to look around, and saw a black cloaked figure approaching from the distance, with their hood drawn over their head. She knew that anyone approaching in this way was probably trouble. She knew that anyone approaching in this direction was probably looking for the group she was just apart of the previous evening. She knew that anyone approaching in this manner was going to be approaching her, and soon. Judging from the speed of the creature, she would have time to roll up her sleeping bag and to gather the camp. She knelt down and grabbed the sleeping bag with her hands, beginning to roll it when-
"Hello." A casual male voice came from very close behind her, causing her to jump in shock onto the bedroll that she had just begun trying to pack. She rolled over, to face the figure and somehow, impossibly, he was standing right over her, all of his features obscured by the glaring noon sun. "I happen to be looking for someone, would you mind helping me?" he continued in a much more casual manner than she was expecting.
"Who….?" Emily started, wanting to ask who he was.
"Oh…..an Elf." he stated flatly. Emily knew about the kinds of people that would hunt elves, and in her laying position she couldn't really do much if this became physical. She pulled her legs underneath of herself, keeping her eyes on this stranger as she rose to her feet, stepping off of her bedroll.
"An elf?" Emily asked, trying to sound cynical.
"Yes. You know where one is, don't you?" he asked, looking about the forest. With the sun no longer behind him, Emily could see his features. He had a pale complexion, and his facial hair was clearly never tended to in his life, with patches of hair sprouting from wherever they may, some on his cheeks, some on his neck, one was something like a beard. His eyebrows were thick, and his eyes were solid brown orbs that rested in his sunken sockets, and he was clearly aged much more than she was. His cheeks even recessed into his face, with his bone structure also very apparent, and he must've had his nose broken a few times in his life. His hair was a matted deep brown color that was frazzled enough to poke out from inside of his hood as he turned his head. Most glaringly, this man had some kind of skin infection on the lower part of his neck, with what looked like a still open wound from a cut or scrape forming at the lining of his black shirt that was just below his black cloak. The inner lining of the cloak was a purple color, which made his tastes strangely align with hers. She studied him at length, waiting to see what exactly he was up to, and a simple leather strap was draped over his shoulder; he had a backpack of sorts.
"Elves are extinct." she smiled, "I just love the way these mountains look at night, so I decided that while we were here just before the harvest season, I would come out and camp."
"Is that so?" he pressed, "That's unfortunate. I really have a problem with people lying." he said, and she noticed the brown orbs that were his eyes began to flicker a slight gold color: He could use Magick. "However, it's still useful if you just think of your Elvish friend."
For a split second, Gwendolynn appeared in Emily's mind, clear and plain as day, and she could feel the gaze of this rogue mage seeing the same thing.
"Yes, her." he responded to her thoughts. Emily gritted her teeth, shaking her head, she quickly tried to envision a brick. Or a tree. Maybe a Hammer?
"I'm just glad you have that ability. You know, some people can't actually fabricate images in their minds, which would've made this much more difficult for me. Finding you was the best thing to happen to me in months, now all I need to do is ask you how to reach her." He grinned, the yellow glare in his brown eyes focusing again on her. She could feel him peering into her memories, and she focused as much as she could on the trees around them. If she kept her eyes open, she couldn't really imagine things, could she? She looked at the tree tops, and wondered if there were any squirrels or birds above. She tried to focus on the sound of the wind, and of the leaves as they fell between the trees.
"You've dealt with people like me before, haven't you?" he pressed verbally this time.
"That depends on how you mean that….." Emily responded, pushing her bangs out of her line of sight. She focused her sight on him again, and on that gaping neck wound he had. The blood in it was still liquid, so it hadn't coagulated yet, but how was such a massive cut not simply pouring blood everywhere?
"People who can use Magick, of course." he responded, pulling his hood back. He revealed that his hair was just as unkempt as it had originally appeared, but also…..no…..
"Your ears are pointed too…." Emily noticed.
"Correct…. And both fortunately and unfortunately I am not exactly 'entirely' elf." he explained, putting the word "Entirely" in air quotes. "Fortunate because I was not a part of the exile of the elves, and unfortunate because I'll never be at their level of magickal capabilities."
"So….." Emily reached for the knife at her hip, "What do you plan to do with elves?" she grabbed the hilt.
"Well…." he scratched his chin in thought. "Let's just say I…. 'Repurpose' them." Again he made air quotes. That was enough for Emily to know exactly what she had to do; She had to protect Gwendolynn from being found by him. That way she wouldn't end up like the rest of her family, and her race. She lunged at him, her dagger raised over her head ready to strike at the already open wound. He pulled his cloak around himself, and the dagger tore through the fabric easily, but when the cloak floated to the ground he was nowhere to be had.
"I can't allow that." She said louder than usual, scanning the field for where he may have ended up. She heard crackling, and as she looked up a rather large boulder had fallen from the sky somehow, cracking many branches as it fell toward her. She jumped to one side, letting this rock the size of her head make a thud as it hit the ground. Waiting was this stranger, who stepped from some fold in reality that her eyes couldn't perceive, and caught her in the side with a rather closed, rather painfully solid fist. She felt her abdomen lock up in shock as her stomach muscles forced her to double over. She tried to quickly regain her composure, slashing the dagger toward the head of the cloaked figure only to have him duck under her attack, and he countered with another fist to her stomach. She lurched forward, but he caught her by her arm, turning it as he would use that as leverage to stand behind her. He brought her hand down painfully into his knee, making her not only fling the blade but also yelp in pain. She couldn't explain what tactic he used next, but the world around her seemed to whirl as she found herself laying on her back, and he was still holding onto her knife hand. She went to reach at his face with her other hand, when her dagger landed hilt first in his outstretched hand, and before her hand was at his face the dagger was at her throat. She knew better than to keep fighting.
"Now will you allow it?" he asked pressing the blade against her skin. She went to reach for his arm to push the knife aside, but he elbowed her hand away. Almost lightning fast he then brought his still closed fist into her nose, which made her eyes go blurry, and rested the blade of the dagger against her neck again.
"I won't allow you…." Emily tried to bring her brain back up to a functioning state. It was way too early for this shit. "To take her anywhere…." she completed her thought.
He tilted his head in response. "Oh?" he questioned. "What if instead of taking her somewhere, I simply led her there so she may do as she will?" he continued.
"What?" Emily asked. He wasn't trying to abduct her?
"I know of Elves because of how closely I am tied to them." he brought the dagger away from her neck, "You could say, it is my duty to assist them, and all creatures that are inherently magickal in nature. I mean to guide her, and to teach her the ways of mana. And elf who cannot use magick is essentially a strictly inferior human. That would be much like if a Frog didn't use their tongue, or if birds didn't use their wings. It is a core asset to what Elves have, and I intend to see anyone who is helping the elves, especially one of the elves, function at their apex potential." He sighed. "If you would protect an elf so fervently, then I would love to have you accompany us, but for now I j-" his head snapped to one side, and he rolled over off of Emily. Emily looked to see the source of the boot, and it was of course Gwendolynn.
"YOU GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!!" Gwendolynn yelled, standing now between Emily and her hooded assailant. He sat up, holding his head; making sure it was still attached.
"Hell of a kick." he commented, before rising to his feet, and facing Gwendolynn. "Right….you're the elf then." he concluded upon seeing her, again drawing his hood back.
"Emily, let's get out of here." Gwendolynn said, still posed in a fighting stance. The hooded man chuckled; at the stance or the sentiment was to be determined.
"After I've done so much to find you?" he asked, smiling, "What if all I asked was that you would listen to me?"
"You just held a knife to my friend's throat, why should I listen to you?" Gwendolynn replied, looking down at Emily who was returning to a standing position.
"Well, she started it," he sheepishly said, "And because we both have Elvish blood." he said, drawing his hood back down, and pointing to his much-smaller-than-her's-but-still-pointed ears. This got Gwendolynn's attention.
"What does that have to do with anything? And why would she start it?" She looked at Emily, who placed a hand on her shoulder. Gwendolynn's stance softened.
"He said he was looking for you, so I told him I wouldn't let him get to you." Emily admitted. "It's been a really long day so far," she looked at the stranger, "Could we all just chill, please?" Emily offered, and the stranger nodded.
"Right, apologies," he said, bowing, "It's a pleasure to have finally met you, The Last." he was clearly talking to Gwendolynn. "My name is Meqirith, and I am a friend to the fey, like yourself."
"Fey?" Gwendolynn asked. It was a title and all, but she never really knew what it meant.
"That is what you and I are, after all," he added.
"Well, my name is Gwendolynn, and this is my friend Emily. Not sure if you noticed the littler one scampering about, but he's Olive Juice."
"Olive is also your friend?" Meqirith asked, returning to a standing position.
"I try to be friends with everyone, so long as my friends don't attack each other." she said, a smile forming on her face. "Who would've thought it would be this easy to find companions for my quest…." she mused to herself. Then her stomach growled in defiance, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since about noon yesterday.
"You start the fire and I'll cook the food as always?" Emily offered. Gwendolynn nodded, and then looked at Meqirith.
"I'm fine, I brought enough food for myself." he defended himself, reaching around inside of his cloak.
"Olive Juice, he's fine." Gwendolynn called out into the woods, and surely the smaller one came swiftly to her side, looking uneasily upon the latest addition to their group.
"Olive….juice?" Meqirith asked, leaning down and reaching out his hand. This made Olive Juice only hide more from him. "Well, maybe one day we'll be friends then." he concluded, returning to his standing position. "I'm not sure what exactly you're up to at this moment, but I have a place that you absolutely must visit some time in the near future." he explained.
"I suppose you'll be showing me the way?" she asked. Meqirith smiled in response, nodding.
"Unless you know how to find the temple of the Elvish God." he retorted, "In which case, feel free to take the fore."
Gwendolynn didn't really know much about the world. She only discovered what she truly was not long ago, and in those past couple of months it had seemed like a set of blinders had been removed from her vision, and she was seeing the world for what it truly was for the first time all over again. She learned that she had natural Magickal powers, and that she was apparently some savior for her entire race. She learned that even children could be servants to immortal deities, and that what she had always called home couldn't have been farther from the truth. The only single piece of the world that she had learned in her first couple of decades of life was her friend that had stuck by her all of this time; Emily. Emily is the best friend she could have asked for. It's not every day that you have a friend so true that they're willing to throw away their entire lives to help you follow kids through a mountain range, after all. The most comforting thing about Emily was perhaps the fact that no matter what happened, she never seemed to change. She always kept her short black hair, her pallet of bright pink and black in her wardrobe, and her journal that she would write in every night.
Gwendolynn started the fire, and Emily had gathered ingredients for cooking tonight, just as they had planned.
"That's magick." Meqirith said, after she had got the flames to start.
"That?" Gwendolynn asked.
"Quite. It seems as though you're already gifted. How many words are in the longest spell that you know?" he asked, and she didn't even know what that meant.
"What?" was all she could say. He sighed in response.
"It appears as though we have a long way to go, don't we?" he smiled, "Luckily, our current destination is about 3 days away, so we have plenty of time to talk about everything." He looked over at Emily, "It's rather unlikely for humans to end up as mages, but if you wish to practice Magick with Gwendolynn and myself, you're more than welcome to try. Don't be surprised when you don't have nearly our level of success, though." he told her, and she huffed.
"I got my own strengths. I guess I could learn, but I have other things I can rely on." she replied.
"Very wise of you to know that," Meqirith added, "But this is us getting ahead of ourselves. We'll worry about everything starting tomorrow morning. Does that sound alright, Miss Gwendolynn?" Meqirith was now talking to her.
"Huh?" she snapped back into focusing on the conversation at hand. "Easy with the Miss stuff, alright? You can just call me Gwendolynn." Meqirith paused.
"Very well, then. Are you alright with my plan?" he asked.
"What plan?" she asked sheepishly, and he shook his head chuckling.
"We certainly have a long way to go, don't we?" Meqirith asked rhetorically, and Gwendolynn smiled as well. "Tomorrow we'll begin your training."