Seeking change

[Angel Under Glass]

The old man stomped by Tzaphiel, forcing him to stumble backwards from underfoot. With a faint squawk, he toppled onto his bottom. His seat never touched the ground, though, as the rigidly straight metal hanging from his covered back bit into the earthen floor and tipped him onto his side. He didn’t make any attempt to brace his fall. He simply hugged his new toy as if its preservation was more important than his own. Over the course of the night, his unliving chimera had become recognizable as a genuine, if mismatched, creature. A pair of wings, one dove white and the other crow black, were set high on the snake body. The tip of the tail bore the full length of an exposed cougar’s claw that curved enough to make it an effective hook. Topping the creation was a chubby chipmunk head. The eyes were still bright and intent, though only on what was directly before them.

Tzaphiel held the chipmunk dragon to his body as he crawled back to his feet. Sneakily, he looked back into the bedroom. Edgar lay immobile on the bed, apparently not saddened by the theft of his monkey rope that the old man was tossing back onto the pile of organic odds and ends.

Quietly, Tzaphiel stepped into the pretty room and looked at the closed door Kahlina had disappeared into. With his head bent forward and a finger idly stroking the chipmunk dragon’s fur, he tried to imagine why the situation had become so explosive so suddenly. Vaguely, he remembered that all the times he had been laid in a bed, he had been alone. Most of his life had been lived in a bed, in fact. It had been a pretty stone block with coarse, yet soft, padding over it. There were intricate marks scraped down the sides of it. He remembered seeing them for the first time when he had taken his first steps from that birth pedestal. They had seemed so mysterious as the moonlight came in the window and gave them shadows that implied depths beyond just the grooves in the rock. The memories caused the box against his chest to click as it readied a segment of dialogue. However, that sound brought him out of his memories and back into the room where the nice lady called Kahlina had been angered. The speaking box clicked to a halt before words even began.

Again, the boy found himself staring at the door she now moved behind. Never, as far as he could remember, had Grandfather or Mother joined him on his bed. Perhaps it would have been a bad thing to do so. With a content nod at the idea that he understood the world a little better, Tzaphiel turned to look at Edgar. The wooden man hadn’t moved. But, hopefully, he understood as well.

“You all should be leaving if you’re going to get me those animals,” the old man said rudely as he entered the room again. He cast an uncertain look over the still body of Edgar, on past the still closed door to the bathroom, and finally down at Tzaphiel. The boy looked up at the strange man and his murky aura with the same surprise he had earlier. “That’s mine, too,” the man said gruffly as he snatched the chipmunk dragon out of Tzaphiel’s arms. The boy blinked, his arms hugging desperately at nothing. His eyes and lips quivered as he watched the thief’s moody shoulders retreat back into the workshop. Tzaphiel took a few steps forward with one hand outstretched pleadingly, but he didn’t receive so much as a glance.

[RumpleGrumblePuss]

In the bathroom I muttered to myself about senile, perverted old men. I was slightly mollified to find my clothing clean and dry, even the seams were dry. Oddly enough there were not any wrinkles in the clothing either. It made me wonder, last night I could have sworn the soap I used had not been there originally. I had to wonder if the old Sage had ghosts as servants or was something even more odd happening here. Who knows with an insane Sage?

Emerging from the bathroom after brushing my hair up into a ponytail and washing my face I stopped at the sight of Edgar lying on the bed. In the doorway Tzaphiel stood, his back to me, watching something out in the main room. For a moment I looked at him then switched my attention to Edgar. Edgar looked like some demented toy of a giant, one that the giant had cast on to the bed and simply left there as if bored with him. I wasn’t certain if I was amused or just a little worried about the fact that he lay there like a dead thing.

“Edgar?” I walked up to the edge of the bed and looked down at him. I hesitated to touch him, I didn’t know what he was doing.

“Come on, its time to leave.” At the door Tzaphiel’s expression stopped me, I knelt down beside him, lightly touching his shoulder.

“What is it kiddo? You look like you’ve just lost your best friend.” I had come to the conclusion that Tzaphiel didn’t speak, I was just unsure if he could not or would not. For my efforts at comforting him I got a sad, nearly despairing look before he turned his gazed back to watching the old sage. I noticed the odd creation he held and the way Tzaphiel looked at it. Now I see. Should have known that old buzzard was a bully. I guess the expression on my face was enough to alarm even the psycho old man. He wavered at the icy stare I sent him.

~~~
The sun shone brightly, the tip of it just beginning to crest the tops of the trees. Around us the sounds of the daytime animals of the jungle were in full swing. Birds called and shrieked, once in a while something screamed as it was caught and made into a meal. Yay, gotta love the food chain. Beneath it all the low buzzing hum of insects coursed through the air with a merciless relentlessness.

I look down at the four small, plum sized stones the Sage had given me a moments ago. They looked like they were made of aquamarine. Oddly enough I suddenly remembered that aquamarine was a stone that was supposed to protect travelers. Somehow, I didn’t think that’s what Perth meant for the stones.

“Okay, I give up. What are these for?” I asked waving the hand holding the stone in them. Perth sighed, a long-suffering and much abused noise.

“Each stone will show you the animal you need to capture. Touch the stone to the creature and it will be transported to a location near here where I can work on the potion for you. Remember, I need all of the creatures alive. A dead creature has no essence for me to use.” I nodded, out of the corner of my eyes I caught sight of Tzaphiel watching Perth. The same wounded expression lurked in his eyes. I caught Perth looking at Tzaphiel as well. He looked back to me and I frowned at him, trying to mimic my mother’s disapproving expression as best as I could.

It seemed to work well enough. Perth gave another of his long suffering sighs and quickly shuffled into the hunt. He returned with an odd creation and tossed it to Tzaphiel. He caught me watching and shrugged.

“The pieces have been attached to one another for too long. If I took it apart the essences would no longer be viable. Let the brat take it.” I objected to the Perth calling Tzaphiel a brat but held my tongue. Tzaphiel looked ecstatic at the return of the odd, mismatched creature.

“Alright, everyone ready? Let’s go.” Just as the dense foliage began to swallow us I heard Perth call out.

“Head east to the pass; it’s the easiest way to cross the mountains. You’ll find the animals you seek on the inner ring of the island.”

[Twisted Infinitum]

What was it that held Edgar’s attention for so long? The wall, of course.

Pretty? Calico asked herself as she examined the image in the bubble. Edgar was helping her by not moving from the bed, though that was only because she hadn’t told him to. What do you think, sweety? the master asked her puppet. All she received was an affirmative grunt from the material half of Edgar and a sudden jolt to the dream Edgar’s normal quivering. It could have been anything from agreement to surprise, or even confusion at the words that weren’t in the form of a command. For once, Calico didn’t have a clear enough idea to superimpose it on Edgar’s nonsensical communication.

As she saw it, nothing about this house was normal anymore. It had taken a while to focus, though, because the illusions cloaking it were remarkable for a mortal’s handiwork. Everything about the bed, wall, and floor in her view was disturbingly clear in the same style of patchwork as the old chimera’s own body. Panels of wood and mortar made up the structure, but they overlapped as if trying to consume each other. The bed itself was a collection of colors and weaves that defied explanation. Some pieces were as sheer as a brothel girl’s attire while others were straight from a quilting party of grandmothers. To Kahlina and Tzaphiel, it would seem like a natural blanket, perhaps partly due to their expectation that it was.

It was fortunate that they couldn’t see it. Even Calico was bothered by some of the other… things… worked into the material. If she had to hazard a guess, she’d wager that the brothel girls and grandmothers were still there. She couldn’t tell which was which, though. Each was indistinguishable as a spot of dark color on the fabric, as if the material was bruised and inflamed. Worse yet, the spots didn’t stay still. They glided about, off the bed and up the walls, like the shadows of sea creatures just below the surface.

Calico couldn’t find words to describe the scene, but it held her transfixed nonetheless. Kahlina moved momentarily into view, which only caused the dream demon to arch her neck to look around her. The words that flowed from the mortal plane didn’t register at all.

After Kahlina had moved away, the spots seemed livelier. Calico looked around worriedly. She had the impression that blood had dripped through the surface of those patchwork walls and the inhabitants were hungry for it. Nothing seemed amiss, however, as the organic shadows moved to the bathroom door, still ajar, and congregated in the ceiling beyond it. Something solid appeared there; something between wood and stone and meat. It reached down in the shape of a puffy hand and gently closed the door, cutting off Calico’s view.

She didn’t mind. In fact, she was about ready to leave. Um… time to scooty scoot, Edgar, she said with a gentle wave as if trying to shoo crowds from an amphitheater. If the nervousness in her voice was any indication, that amphitheater was on fire and probably about to explode.

She waited, but Edgar didn’t move. Sweety-doodle? she asked as she tentatively poked dream Edgar’s cheek, then gasped. He was hesitating! His brain was so immature that he wouldn’t have survived if breathing was a necessary part of his biology, but she clearly felt his desire to stay. Shock turned to anger, and she drifted back with hands on hips to scold him soundly. Bad Edgar! You can’t play with the meat puddles. They won’t play nice… I think. Anyway, mommy told you to go. Hoppy hop after Kahlina!

The puppet righted itself with an air of regret. As he moved to the door, that soon faded and the focused intent of his stride returned. Out of the corner of his eye, Calico saw the old chimera at the pile of animal parts. He had Edgar’s rope in his hands and was tugging at the end. With a soggy pop, the first monkey paw came off. Immediately, it went limp in the old man’s fist. Of all the severed matter in the workshop, only that paw looked dead. A grey coloration crept into it as if time was anxious to reclaim what had been denied to it.

Keep going, Calico urged, Before you get eated by the floor. Either uncaring or unafraid, Edgar toddled out the door at his usual pace.

The old man cursed soundly as he threw the monkey rope back onto the pile and followed the puppet outside. Words passed, their meaning fleeting to both dream demon and puppet. Calico was too distracted with having Edgar check himself for missing parts.

“Home,” he clicked to himself without any input from her, which brought her right up to the face of his dream self. No, she said firmly as she pressed a thumb to his half forehead and put the thought out like a puff of ash. The quivering eye stared blankly at her, and she gave him a nurturing smile. If he was going to grow up properly, she had to keep bad influences away from him, and that chimera was nothing but bad influence.

[Angel Under Glass]

Tzaphiel hugged the little chipmunk dragon until its half-living eyes seemed on the verge of popping out. He had almost lost hope of ever seeing it again, and even though he had more warning than when Grandfather had left, he still didn’t know how to say goodbye. Thankfully, that wouldn’t be necessary. He nuzzled the furry head with his nose and thought about the day when Grandfather would return to him as well.

Before his hopeful thoughts could start the box upon his chest playing, Kahlina summoned their little traveling party and they set off into the jungle. Tzaphiel slung the limp pet over his right shoulder, its head bouncing against his back, as he once more took Kahlina’s hand. Nervously, he squeezed it just slightly more than normal. She was such a nice lady. He wanted to tell her how thankful he was, but he felt as if his voice wasn’t ready for such an important job. So, all he had to give her was a gentle squeeze of the hand and a beaming smile. Those, he gave throughout the day’s journey.

The rising sun pushed through the canopy from their right side as the old man’s house disappeared beyond the trees. With no sticky mouth parasites or stalking chimeras to bother him, Tzaphiel finally had time to appreciate the natural life.

He had seen it from the tower before, on those rare days when he would rouse himself from bed and stand on his favorite balcony. It was one that allowed a view of both the endless ocean and the green rise of the island. He had always concentrated on the water, though, for the land was just a blanket of brown and green that seemed lifeless. Now, he knew better. There was still the brown and green, but also everything in between, and it was far from still. The jungle was almost a wall on either side with vines hanging from tall trees and leafy undergrowth reaching up as high as his shoulders. He could hear, rather than see, the animals hidden within. The sound of birds, he remembered. But, those had been shore birds. The birds in the tree tops sounded smaller and sweeter as if they were much gentler creatures than what lived on the coast.

Even the ambient noise of insects seemed gentler than the usual crash and throb of the ocean. It was more elusive, too. Sometimes, he would hear nothing and be forced to strain his ears, which only amplified the lazy, clunking shuffle of the wooden man behind him. Then, the clouds of buzzing would pop up right next to him, giving him a surprise that wasn’t unwelcome. Some would even settle on his clothing, and he could see that they were the same creatures that had occasionally visited the tower. Here, however, they were with their families. They seemed happier.

It didn’t feel like a long time until they reached the edge of the mountains, though the sun’s angle said that quite a few hours had passed. The stone rose jaggedly out of the jungle in cliffs that were so imposing as to make climbing them a clearly foolish idea. Kahlina, to Tzaphiel’s relief, took them to the right instead of up the vertical wall. They stayed tight against the rock as its border lunged in and out of the jungle like a massive creature trying to claw its way to the coast.

Tzaphiel found his attention constantly drawn to the jungle despite his amazement at the rock wall to his left side. As impressive as it was, it didn’t have the warm, clinging feeling of life that hid in the trees.

[RumpleGrumblePuss]

Tzaphiel’s small warm hand in mine and the uneven sound of Edgar following behind helped, oddly enough, to pass the time. My mind wandered, checking back to reality once in a while to make sure we were still heading in the right direction. At one point I realized I was humming softly under my breath. The fact that I was humming made me smile. Singing in any form always meant I was happy and content with the way things were at the moment.

What I could see of the sky through the gap between the dense canopy and the rock wall was just beginning to change and darken as we finally came upon the pass Perth had spoken of. My ankles and knees ached from the uneven ground we had traveled over, I found it more than a little odd that my feet were perfectly fine. Tossing the oddity aside I stopped and looked at the pass.

Jagged rock rose up on either side of the narrow pass, extending for hundreds of feet into the air. Craning my neck, I looked up at the high peaks. I muttered a quiet thanks to any and all gods that were bothering to listen, grateful that I didn’t have to climb those lofty heights. As if I could, with my fear of heights, I’d get about twenty feet off the ground and freeze.

“Come on guys, I would like to be at the high point of the pass by the time the sun sets completely.” Bouncing to re-settle the pack’s weight across my shoulders and grumbling under my breath, I led us onward.

~~~~~
Night had come, the sun long since fallen from the sky. I sat by the small fire I had started despite the warm night air. Hopefully the fire will deter any would be predators. I looked up at the moonless sky for a while, studying the unfamiliar star patterns as I did most nights when I had the time.

The long walk of the day caught up with me in the form a yawn. I glanced around for my companions. Tzaphiel wandered the edges of the camp, looking up at the moonless sky once in a while. Edgar stood, motionless, off to the side in what I had begun to think of as ‘down time mode’.

“Tzaphiel.” I called quietly; I waited until he looked at me to beckon to him over. “Would you like to hear a story?” At the silent nod I laid back on the ground, pillowing my head with my lumpy pack. I thought about what story to tell Tzaphiel for a moment before deciding to tell him a version of a story I had once read a long time ago.

“Once there was a little girl, Lilly, who lived with her grandfather while her mom and dad were away. Her grandfather was a nice man that loved Lilly with all of his heart. Lilly was allowed to play anywhere in the house she wanted to expect for the basement. The grandfather didn’t want his precious granddaughter to find out that he was a wizard.

One day while Grandfather was away Lilly crept down into the basement to look around. The walls were covered in shelves that were filled with lots of odd and wonderful items. In one corner there was a door. The door had a funny looking mark on it and the air near it was very cold. Far too cold to be natural.

Curious Lilly tugged on to door only to find it moved easily and looked in. At first all she saw was darkness, and then she saw the eyes in the darkness and heard the voices of the things in there. The creatures in the darkness had been locked away for a long time and were hungry as well as very angry with the Grandfather. They grabbed the little girl and began pulling her into the darkness with them, so they could take her them back to their home. To eat her or make her one of them I don’t know, monsters are weird like that. One voice spoke up, fighting the others and asked to leave the little girl alone.

The Grandfather came home and hearing Lilly’s cries ran down stairs to help her. The Grandfather gave himself up to the monsters in the darkness to save Lilly.

Much later, after many years had passed. Lilly now lived with her mom and dad; she couldn’t remember the day the monsters had taken her Grandfather. She and her parents thought that the Grandfather had run away for some reason. Lilly had made lots of new friends at school.

One day while looking for a present for one of her friends she found a shop filled with puzzle games of all types. The man that ran the shop seemed familiar in some way but Lilly could not figure out why. She bought the game the man suggested and left, still wondering why the man’s voice and eyes seemed so familiar.

With all of her best friends gathered in one house they read the instructions and began to set up the game. When the first move was made darkness gathered in the room and sucked them all into it.” I smiled at the intent expression on Tzaphiel’s cute face. A yawn forced its way out as I started to go on with the story.

“Mmm, perhaps I’ll save the rest for another night. It is a very long story after all, and I am tired. I’ll tell you a bit of the story each night until it’s done.” Drawing the small blanket I had over me I rolled on to my side and let my mind drift.

[Angel Under Glass]

Tzaphiel’s wide eyes squeezed shut sadly as Kahlina called a temporary end to the tale. Despite his confusion over the meaning of some words, he understood. More so, he wanted to know what happened next. ‘Monster’ was a foreign concept, and therefore not frightening in the least. The dark creatures might have just wanted some attention, as he often did when he reached for people.

As he slowly walked away from the sleeping woman’s back, his eyes to the ground, he thought about what creatures might lay in wait in his tower home. He had never felt the need to explore it further than his room and the adjoining balconies. With a nearly silent sniffle, he realized that he might not get the chance. The tower had fallen down. The last he saw, it was broken like Mother’s face had been when she crawled from the water.

Seeking comfort, and finding none as he looked toward Kahlina’s softly breathing form, he cast his eyes to the sky. The stars sparkled for him. His view was unobstructed; their camp was so high. But, he still couldn’t find what he sought. As beautiful as the stars were, they were numerous and bland. There was only one moon. But, tonight, there seemed to be none.

He knew, from his long observations, that the moon liked to grow and shrink. Sometimes, it liked to hide also. When those nights happened, when he felt weak and alone, Grandfather would lay him on his bed and tell him stories. It had been much as Kahlina had just done for him. But, Grandfather’s stories were better. They were about fantastic places and people and, sometimes, far stranger things. He told the stories so well that Tzaphiel knew everything that he wanted to know about them. Never once had he been filled with the longing to meet those people and visit those places. There would be nothing new, after all.

Sadly, he retraced his steps over the hard ground until he was once more standing near Kahlina. She didn’t seem to notice him, and the firelight showed that she didn’t even bother opening her eyes. The boy sighed, a small bird-like sound. She had left him with questions that needed answers, but no easy way to find them. They felt far away, farther than the rocky and forested horizons that were merely black spaces devoid of stars.

Thank you for trying to be like Grandfather, he thought with a gentle smile as he hugged his chipmunk dragon. In all his musings, he had forgotten that it was still slung over his shoulder. Tenderly, he took it in his hands and gave it a kiss on top of the head as sweetly as Mother had done for him once upon a time.

Then, with careful movements, he got onto all fours and rolled onto his back next to Kahlina. He made sure to not get very close, for he hadn’t forgotten the old man’s predicament. With eyes wide and darting from star to star, he lay there, slightly tilted to one side as the metal bulk along his spine failed to settle into the unyielding ground.

With imaginings of his old bed dancing in his head, he waited until dawn and thought about the happy day when he could introduce Kahlina to Grandfather and he could show her how to tell a proper story.

[Twisted Infinitum]

She’s such a good mother, Calico mused peacefully within Edgar’s head.

Through the whole course of the story, he had stood silently at the edge of their rocky camp. An approaching person might think that he was a sentry, not knowing how pitiful his combat, or even observation, skills were. Kahlina’s tale didn’t cause even the faintest glimmer of thought in his mind. It was just more words that weren’t orders, and therefore unimportant.

It was the lack of words that caused him to raise his head, just to make sure he wasn’t being left behind. Kahlina was unmoving. Tzaphiel was antsy. He paced around the camp with his head tilted back and his black on black eyes searching.

Hm… I wonder why he likes the sky so much, the dream demon said thoughtfully as if the calm bedtime ritual had truly affected her. He doesn’t sleep like a normal boy, either. I thought that maybe he was having so much fun with the animal parts last night that he forgot to, but he doesn’t seem tired.

Edgar caught his master’s tone and braced himself for movement, should she order him to investigate whatever it was that she was curious about. She almost said something else, but stopped when Tzaphiel gave his new toy a kiss and lay down next to Kahlina. From the way he lowered himself, it was clear that his cloak concealed something bulkier than you would find on a normal boy’s back. His master’s sense of curiosity mounted higher, causing him to tighten springs in his wooden side. There would undoubtedly be an order now.

Calico sighed, Aww, he’s laying on his back. We can check later. I guess he really was tired from playing with you all last night.

Edgar vibrated with readiness to serve, and found nothing but another meaningless mass of words. His wooden joints creaked incrementally, as close as he could approximate to twitches, and his gooey side gave off a faint hum like supersonic gelatin.

I guess… Calico began, oblivious to how intently Edgar listened, You should lay down with them. It’ll be cute!

Edgar jolted forward with both the force of mechanical physics and what little elation he could muster. In noisy, creaky bounds, he arrived next to them and flattened himself to the hard ground next to Tzaphiel. It sounded like he had broken something, but he just stared up at the sky, once again in his pleasant, thoughtless state of mind.

Calico giggled in his head, but he couldn’t, nor did he care to, determine if she was actually surprised or had been playing with him the whole time.

[RumpleGrumblePuss]

Slowly I became aware that the dreamless drifting of my mind had changed. No longer was I unaware of anything, instead I looked down on a scene unfolding below me. I was with a start that I realized I watched my best friend Amanda. She spoke to an impossible creature, a unicorn of pure white coat, mane and tail, the eyes gleamed a dull red in the moonlight. Shouting at her to leave and run, I found my words couldn’t reach her. Was this only a dream, or was this more? Why was I seeing my friend after all this time with a creature and a setting that could only be found in Althanas?

A dull sound, a muffled thump. As if the sound reached me through countless layers of cotton pulled me form my thoughts. I looked on in astonishment as Manda beheaded the beautiful creature. The blood that stained the blade and her hand gleamed wetly and black in the moonlight.

“Manda!” I called, shocked. That one word carried an odd quality; it resonated in the still air for a moment before fading away. Below me, as everything began to blur and fade away, I saw Manda look up as if trying to find something. I struggled against the force that pulled me back, calling out to my friend again. Only when the strain was great enough that I was instinctively afraid that I would sever some half felt link and be lost that I stopped fighting.

~~~~~~
The jolt of being pulled back into my sleeping body woke me partly. For a moment, I lay there, wondering at the wetness that coated my cheeks. Details of the odd dream slowly drifted back. Mentally shrugging, I scooted closer to Tzaphiel and resolved to talk to my resident dream demoness. Did Manda actually kill a unicorn? Why? The lingering thought drifted through my mind before sleep pulled me back into its comforting grasp swiftly.

~~~~~
Morning came early; in the high pass, the bright rays of sunlight were inescapable as they sought without pity to pierce my eyelids. Grumbling under my breath I rolled over and found I rolled into something, someone. Blinking and rubbing away the sleep in the corners of my eyes, I propped myself up on an elbow and looked down at Tzaphiel.

The little guy looked a little uncomfortable, lying there so stiffly. After a moment his black eyes met mine and I smiled at him.

“Morning. Sleep well?” It was then that I noticed Edgar lying on the far side of Tzaphiel. I wondered if he had laid down on his own or if Calico had ordered him to. That thought spawned others. I wondered if Edgar ever acted on his own or if he was what he looked like, a mindless puppet.

“Good morning Edgar. Calico, morning to you too.” Better safe than sorry, and it never hurts to be nice. Rubbing on my stiff neck, I got up and began packing away my things. Seeing the long cold embers of the fire, I sighed and pulled out a dried ration. I killed the half hearted, wistful thought of a proper breakfast before it fully formed. As I nibbled on the dry traveling biscuit and dried meat, I looked at the first of the stones Perth had given us. The image of a white snake glimmered in the smooth face of the stone. On second glance I saw that it was actually a lizard, it was in a dark place. After several moments of squinting to see the image better, I finally made out the rock walls. A albino lizard and a cave then.

“Okay, are we ready to head out guys? We need to find a cave; our first animal will be there.”

[Angel Under Glass]

Edgar’s actions surprised Tzaphiel for a moment. Expectantly, he stared sideways at the gummy side of Edgar’s face, but there was no explanation there. It seemed that the strangely made man was just copying him. Perhaps Edgar was equally curious about the lay down habits of people like Kahlina.

When Kahlina sluggishly moved closer to him, he was surprised again. But, it was more potent, and more frightening. Her eyes were still closed, the motion of her chest slow. So, she wasn’t going to yell at him… yet. Tzaphiel contemplated inching away from her before she noticed how close he was. He managed a shift of a few inches before his back scraped against the rock and caused her to twitch. It seemed clear, then, that his wisest course of action was to lay as still as possible until she moved away of her own accord.

Sunlight filled the rocky outcroppings around them like honey dripping from the sky, finding Tzaphiel stock still and nervous. Occasionally, he made a careful sideways glance to check that she wasn’t showing signs of anger. The old man certainly had received a lot of it, and it seemed to happen quickly.

Finally, Kahlina did something. She rolled over, bumping into him, and seemed to return to her senses. Tzaphiel avoided eye contact at first, hoping that he looked innocent. When she didn’t say anything, he let his gaze slide to her. Her cheerful greeting wasn’t what he expected. It made him smile with so much relief that his smooth face might have cracked. Once again, she seemed like her lively self as she began moving about the dead embers of their campfire.

As she went about her morning rituals, Tzaphiel rolled onto his stomach. The movement brought him shoulder to shoulder with Edgar, whom he shot a wide grin to as if to say, “It’s ok.” The life-size doll wasn’t any more pleased or distraught than usual, so Tzaphiel righted himself and left Edgar to muse over the night’s revelations.

When he looked back to Kahlina, he saw that she was placing something in her mouth. It was bigger than the insidious stones of earlier, so large that she had to use her teeth to break it. Strangely, she didn’t seem bothered. Tzaphiel cocked his head to the side thoughtfully as he remembered that the stone hadn’t bothered her either. He and Kahlina seemed to be different in many ways. The idea didn’t bother him. It just made him want to stay with her and protect her from whatever faults her nature brought about.

In a gesture of that kinship, he walked up to her and waited, keeping his eyes pointedly away from the food, until she was ready to leave. His hand hovered out of his cloak, protective and needy at the same time.

[RumpleGrumblePuss]

As I finished my morning meal, I watched Tzaphiel out of the corner of my eye. By now, I had figured out that the little guy didn’t eat or sleep. Nor did he seem to need shoes. I wondered what he ran on, what forms of energy he used to fuel his body. I mentally ticked off a list in my head of what he could be. Vampire. Nope, it’s daytime and the only thing sucking on my blood is the damned misquotes. Incubus, he’s a little young for sex…. I started chuckling at that last thought. For now, I broke off in my speculation.

I shoved the stone with the lizard’s image in my pocket, rumpled up Tzaphiel’s hair before I dropped a kiss on the top of his head and stood, shouldering my pack. I took the offered hand and heading towards the island’s interior. The lack of uneven thumping steps drew my attention back towards the camp. Edgar still lay on the ground where I had spotted him upon awakening. I shook my head and headed back for him.

“Hey lazy bones, we’re burning daylight. It’s time to go.” Suppressing the girlish squeal of distaste as my fingers sank into Edgar’s gooey side I helped him roll over and sit up, then pulled him to a standing position.

“Come on.” With Edgar’s gummy hand in my left hand and Tzaphiel’s small one in my right, we headed down the gentle slope cut into the mountain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With only a short brake for lunch and to rest a few minutes, we pressed on, following the curved of the mountains. Several times, I checked the image in the stone. Each time it showed the same white lizard in a dark cave. A lizard in a cave. That’s as helpful as trying to figure out whom killed a person with out any forensic evidence and a blind witness. I really do hope that sheer dumb luck is on our side this trip.

The sun had disappeared behind the tall jagged mountains, leaving the cool shadows to creep slowly across the forest we walked through. Often I wondered how much time we had left of daylight and just often I cursed my dislike of wristwatches. As the afternoon progressed, our paced had slowed, my legs ached and I was tired. Surprisingly, Tzaphiel seemed to be tiring too. I guess the kid isn’t the energizer bunny after all.

Unsure of how much distance we had to cover before we would find the cave in the image, or any cave for that matter. I kept our path as close to the base of the mountains as possible. In the back of my mind, I was slightly surprised that given our gradually slowing rate of walking we had actually managed to walk beyond sight of the pass.

I cursed and stopped to sit on a large rock as the toes of one foot curled painfully in a cramp. After, with no success, stamping my foot repeatedly to end the cramp I stripped off my shoe and carefully massaged the cramping muscles in the arch of my foot. Gradually the tense muscles loosened and I gratefully wiggled my toes before replacing my sock and shoe.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m ready to stop for the day. We can set up camp over…” I trailed off as I realized that by dumb luck I had found a cave. The rock I was perched upon was just to the left of the opening. I could feel my cheeks flush bright red with embarrassment as I realized that I had walked past the opening. Perhaps someone is listening. I should make a effort to be a lot more polite, just incase.

“I guess we will be camping in the cave tonight. Hopefully, it will have one of the lizards we need. We will explore the cave in the morning, for now we need to set up camp. Edgar, can you see if there is fresh water anywhere near here?”