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Isella

There was a roar that sent new thunderings through her brain. She blinked long. the water had helped, and so had the sleep, but she still felt weak and a little ill, and she was cold.

She looked in the direction of the noise.

There were two figures about as small as a child, and one the size of a man, but they looked nothing like the children or men Isella had seen. The shorter one was green, with large ears. It spoke with a voice that sounded young and cheerful, as any girl Isella had seen in Archendale might sound, but her looks!

Isella squinted. I’m delirious. She looked around the room. Everyone else saw them, too.

The man seemed more normal. His skin seemed tanned, and he wore almost no clothing, but otherwise–

In an instant he changed. He pushed the shorter one behind him, confirming Isella’s belief that it was younger than he was.  First he vanished into a raven, flying around the cavern, darting at people. The women ducked, the men reached for their weapons.

Then he grew. Wings formed, and hair took over his skin, and with a snarl he was a wolf, fanged, winged, and terrible.

From the shadows a man started coming toward him. It was the man who had rescued Isella. His face was drawn and white, and he limped a little, but on he came, straight at the monster.

It leaped, and before he could discover where it was flying in the dark, it was on him. With one slash of it’s great paw, he stumbled back, bloody clawmarks etched in his shirt.

He’s hurt!

One other man–the one in the armor–began stalking toward the creature with a determination that was almost awful. No one else moved.

Her rescuer was lying on the floor, the red stain on his shirt growing. Who knew? Maybe he was dead. If this man fought, either he or the beast would be killed, and something at the back of her mind nagged at her.

This one isn’t like the dragon.

She remembered the little gesture as he pushed the girl behind him, just before he had become a monster. And the words he’d roared from the heap of stone as he faced them.

“Choose. Live free, run, or die.”

They were hard words, desperate words. The words of a fighter, maybe a rebel. But they were not the words of a despot or a monster.

In an instant Isella made up her mind. She staggered to her feet, ignoring the reeling of the cave as she tottered forward.  She half walked, half stumbled to the base of the rock where the creature stood.

A burst of ice spurted out from it and stopped inches before it reached her, warning her to stay back.

She stood still, swaying a little. The only sounds in the cave were the wounded man’s labored breathing and the clank clank of the armored man’s shoes as he strode up.

Isella closed her eyes, trying to concentrate, trying to form the connection with Time she knew she could.

A thought pricked her. If you do this, they will know. They’ll see what you are. Nothing will be safe then.

She clenched her hands into fists. Then it came. the yellow-white glow that made her hands look translucent, growing stronger until every bone was visible.

The creature on the rock raised itself, its dark wings adding to the shadow. It snarled, and began descending on her, white ice coming before it.

Then she lifted her hands. In the dark cave the light was almost blinding, but it did it’s work: Time itself bent around her, stopping its motion for the creature, but leaving the rest of the cave in it’s grip.

The steady footsteps carried on, the ice and the creature moved forward. But the ice never reached her, it stopped, foiled by the disparity of Time between her and its master. She saw a look of wonder, even fear, enter the creature’s eyes.

“We don’t want to hurt you.” Her voice was thin but steady. “I don’t know why you’re here; I don’t know why I’m here. But if we don’t work together we will all die. This people–” she gestured toward the group of open-mouthed people on the other side of Time–“they helped me. That man you hurt saved me from the dragon.”

The world began to swirl about her, and the strain of forcing Time was almost suffocating. She couldn’t control it much longer. A pain sprung into her side, but she clapped one of her hands to it and went on:

“I know you are not a monster, but these people don’t. They didn’t see the…girl.” she hoped she hadn’t mistaken the shorter figure she had seen. “They see only your ice and the monster you’re hiding inside. Turn back into yourself, or someone will get killed, either you, or one of the people who helped me.”

She had no reason to hope he would believe her, but she hadn’t a moment longer. The light between her fingers faded, and Time reclaimed his seat. She stumbled back and leaned against a rock, too exhausted to even see if what she’d said had done any good.

 

~~

@jared-williams I hope this wasn’t too out of character for Abirami. just as a note, Isella has limited power over time, so that’s what happened there. I can explain something further if the scene didn’t make sense.

@irishcelticredflowercrown

IDK if Lorcan getting hurt is something you want to keep, but it was really cool, so I added it in. It somehow doesn’t seem like him, but I’ll let you decide.

@rusted-knight. The armored man is Klein again. You can decide if it was characteristic or not. 🙂