Hovering on the Edge

Tirasha had turned up in the southwestern corner of the Sapphire kingdom again, and was currently sitting on the ground near where she figured the border was, although it was hard to say when there wasn't any sort of blatant line for her to look at. That would be a useful thing, maybe she should make that her next project... lining all the kingdoms. She couldn't think of a single person who wouldn't appreciate that, just some grass and maybe a few boulders who got painted on.

Of course, she didn't particularly like paint, and didn't want to carry a bucket across the continent anyways. Nevermind that idea.

In fact, she hadn't ever even been across the country, and was feeling reluctant to leave her homeland again. Every time was a bit of a trouble, and this particular side of the Sapphire kingdom had such fond memories. Broken legs, scrapes and bruises, and wandering in the winter. Why did she ever leave it? It was a question worth considering, in her opinion, every time she thought of it. But she liked exploring too, but her mother had always said that the best thing about an adventure was coming home, and Tirasha held true to that. It was a fact.

Then again, if she didn't leave home, she couldn't come back to it, so that made up her mind. Standing again, Tirasha stretched and trotted towards the Emerald kingdom. Maybe if she just stepped over the imaginary line and back it would count. Heaven knew she could come up with at least a dozen stories about doing such a thing, anyways. It would be worth it.

Lyth climbed high in the deep, slippery snow of the Sapphire Kingdom Mountains. They were not easy to climb but Lyth took the challenge with determination, she loved nothing better than to take on a challenge and defeat it with full victory. There was actually a path that led up to the mountains but Lyth found it much more fun to climb instead.

Lyth's mind was like a swarming, busy beehive, but instead of bees crazy, wacky schemes and ideas replaced them. One could never be too sure what she would do next. Sometimes she would just be sitting down to a cup of tea when an idea strikes and next thing you know she is out fighting wild beasts or jumping off waterfalls just for the fun of it. Adventure was her life, next to saving her world from the destruction of meaningless war.

Putting her hands on her hips, Lyth took a large breath as she finally made it to solid ground. She turned around to look out at the lovely Sapphire Kingdom. Looking down, she laughed at how high she climbed, not even realizing she had done so.

"Well, I guess it is time to go back down," she decided.

One might would ask why she climbed all the way up there only to go right back down moments after. She would casually reply with a careless shrug, "Because I felt like it."

With a firm grip on some rocks, Lyth made her way down. Part of the way down she decided she was going much too slow and then began to wonder how fast she could make it to the bottom. Challenging herself, as she always did, she sped down, slipping and sliding all the way, nearly breaking her neck on rocks and occasional small avalanches of snow fell upon her making her almost lose her grip and fall. To Lyth this just made it more exciting.

As evening rolled around, Lyth was almost to the bottom. As she neared the ground she leaped down and fell into a thick patch of snow. She rolled around in it laughing. After a while she stopped and lied on her back, looking out at the dark blue sky. Putting her hands behind her, head she decided to lie there and watch the stars appear in the sky, this being a favorite pastime for her. Adventurous as she was, Lyth still enjoyed the simple things in life.

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Quite a few weeks later, Lyth started to near the Sapphire Kingdom border that led back to Emerald Kingdom. She might love adventures, but she still loved her home kingdom and made sure to go back there often. When she came to just where the border lied, she found a girl standing there. Lyth enjoyed meeting new people, but she had to be wary these days with the Kingdom in war. She did not want to accidentally make friends with those on King Varlenx's side. Lyth shuddered with anger at just the thought of the nasty King. But seeing that this girl was in Sapphire Kingdom and seeming to be about crossing over to Emerald Kingdom, Lyth decided she was most likely not a threat. So with her confident smile, Lyth strode over to the girl. "Hello, I'm Lyth," she said.

((Maybe this should be when Tirasha learns and joins up the Resistance. Just a thought.))

Claudius discovered that he didn't like adventures.

Oh yes, it had seemed wonderful when the elder monks spoke about it, with a sort of wistful pride that made you hopelessly jealous of that glint in their eye, that certain elusive look that gave you the idea that they had seen much more than they told, and that alone made them seem four inches taller.

And yes, it had seemed even more exciting when he headed off, his instrument strapped to his back and the younger monks pausing in their meditation on the sun-warmed rocks to watch enviously as he skittered across the desert sands. His masters had told him only to watch out for cats (whatever those were) and avoid centipedes (which was understandable, he's heard they grew much larger in the foreign places), but had not mentioned that the further you went, the less bugs there were to eat and the colder it became.

There was snow on the ground. How long ago had he slept? Claudius couldn't remember. It was quite cold, in fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had been properly warm. His blood churned sluggishly in him, and he felt this would be a good time to pray for something, oh, but if only he could remember...!

Well, that was interesting. Tallish, largish things, a bit like stones, but they moved. How intriguing. Claudius lazily waved his tail at them, but the straps securing the instrument to his back were chafing abominably, and he was feeling terribly sleepy...

Merridia was sitting in a tall broad leaf tree in the Sapphire Kingdom, she wondered why she was still here. This place brought bad memories of what had happened, she still shuddered as she thought of the painful events. Her silvery white hair hung over her long jagged scar as she stared at the ground with remorseful blue eyes. Merridia let out a long sigh, she had been sitting in that tree for three hours, though it seemed like years. I can't sit in this tree forever, she thought to herself, maybe now I should take my leave. She moved her hair out of her eyes, deciding now it was time to do something other then just sit and mope. She dropped down from the sturdy, long branch, landing with grace, despite her sad looking face.

She slumped her shoulders and looked back at the place she once knew so well, but now she wasn't so sure. Then Merridia walked off in the other direction, leaving behind her ruined home, and hopefully all of the pain she endured, though the ugly scar would remain with her forever. She looked up as she heard faint voices, others talking? I haven't heard that lately. Merridia stood up strait, wondering what was going on over there. She quickened her pace slightly, a little curious as to why anyone would be so close to the border, besides her of course.

As she neared the area, Merridia spotted a human, an elvella, and a small gecko, what a strange group, she thought to herself, of course, a lot of things were strange here. She just stood there, wondering what they were doing out here, she tilted her head slightly, still pondering the thought of the little group. Should she go and confront them? Or should she just leave it alone? Oh how questions could haunt her like this! She knew she probably wouldn't talk to them, she didn't feel like talking to anyone now a days, but she was too curious to leave. Curiosity can be quite a curse, like right now. Merridia was confused about what to do! So she just stood there, wondering about what would happen next.

((I would love to continue this one, but I cannot get a hold of Sparrow. I've emailed her but she never answered so she might not be interested in this RP anymore. We could try to continue this one without her or just make a new one somewhere else. What do you wand to do? I would love to RP some.))

((We could probably try and continue this one, because she might come back or something. If she doesn't we could still continue it and pretend her character wasn't in it.))

((Alright, that will probably work.))

Lyth caught movement in the corner of her eye and turned to see what it was. There she found an Elvella standing in the snow. Though still quite cautious of anyone she met, Lyth gave the girl a large smile. Walking up to her she put out her hand. "Hello!" she greeted cheerily. "Are you from around here?" This was always a method she used to see what side the person was on; though she always acted perfectly friendly and cordial so the person would never catch on. She hated having to be suspicious of everyone, she had always liked people. But in these times one could never know who was an enemy and who an ally.

When Merridia saw that the Elvella spotted her, she almost ran away, she felt like leaping into the tree next to her, but the Elvella had already confronted her, and there was no turning back now. You should have been more sneakier then that, she scolded herself, but oh no, Merridia Feralin had to just go barging in without thinking, again! She looked up into the Elvella's green eyes and shook her hand nodding at her question. Merridia didn't have to talk, and she wasn't going to, unless she needed too. A small breeze blew away some of her hair covering the right side of her face, revealing the ugly scar, the only visual reminder, besides the ruined house, of her past.

Lyth was glad to hear this girl was from Sapphire Kingdom, at least she was not an enemy, or at least probably wasn't. "I am from Emerald Kingdom," she said, now with a genuine smile. Though her smile faded a little when she caught sight of a scar on the girl's face. What could have happened to cause something like that? Of course, Lyth herself always got herself into situations that often almost caused her much harm. But this scar looked like it was inflicted by someone. Something seemed sad about this girl. Lyth now felt no threat towards her. "I am Lyth," she introduced. "Might I ask your name?"

Lyth had always enjoyed making friends. But in these times it was hard to know who was friends and who was not. And it was hard for her to keep friends because she never stayed in one place for very long. "But I need members for The Resistance," she thought. "The more friends I make the more allies I will probably get."

Merridia instinctively covered her scar with her hand when the Elvella named Lyth noticed it. She slowly lowered her hand when Lyth had asked her name, she hesitated a moment, wondering if she should waste her breath on this person, but she made up her mind, "My name is Merridia," she said softly, almost too soft to hear. She sighed slightly, wondering if it was time to stop being sad about what had happened and do something other than sit in pity and remorse. It's probably about time to make some friends, she thought, her blue eyes almost looking determined and sad at the same time. Merridia looked back at Lyth, "You're probably wondering how I got this scar, huh?" As she had said that, thoughts filled her mind again, can I trust her? She said she was from Emerald Kingdom, but I am not so sure. I guess I'll find out.

Lyth noticed the girl cover her scar and she felt guilty for staring at it. It was probably hard for this poor Elvella to have something like that. Eventually she spoke and Lyth had to strain her ears to hear the barely audible whisper. But she had trained her ears pretty well from all the hunting and other things she did, so she caught what the girl said. "Nice to meet you Merridia," she responded in her normal enthusiast manner. Merridia then mentioned something about the scar. Lyth was a very curious one, and she had to admit she was rather interested in it; but she did not want to make this girl uncomfortable in the slightest. Going by her demeanor, Merridia already seemed somewhat broken. It seemed to Lyth that she must have had a sad life. "Then maybe I can help her," Lyth thought. "My life has not been all peaches and roses either." Finally she answered Merridia. "You are welcomed to tell me if you need ears to hear your story," she began in a kindhearted tone, "but if it is uncomfortable for you than you are most certainly not obligated. Whatever will make you feel better."

Merridia nodded, "It does not make me uncomfortable," she said in her usual whisper, "I have not talked with anyone in years, it would be good to excerise my voice a little every now and then." She stood there for a little bit, thinking of how to word the story of what had happened to her. After a few moments of silence, she finally, and quietly said, "Diamond Kingdom Soldiers attacked my family, they would have completely wiped us out if I wasn't fast, thanks to years of leaping over rooftops and climbing trees. I wasn't fast enough though, and one managed to give me this," she paused to tap at her scar, showing Lyth what the soldier gave her, then continued, "I was in much pain, but I had to keep running until I lost them, their armor weighed them down, so they couldn't catch up to me very quickly. To make sure I lost them, I jumped into a tree and waited there. Afterwards I grabbed my things and left, though I don't know why I am still here, in this kingdom." She let out a small sigh, that was the longest thing she had said for a long time. So much for not wasting my breath, she thought with little amusement.

Lyth listened intently to Merridia's story closely. The poor girl seemed to barely even talk from her tragedy. Now she knew she could trust this girl. It seemed they both had something in common. Lyth stood there looking into the snow as she rubbed circles in it with her boot. "I think we might can help each other out, Merridia," she eventually said, looking back up with a slight smile. "Knights from Diamond Kingdom killed my parents as well..." she had not told anyone that before and her voice choked a little. Taking a large sigh, she regained her composer. "Ordered by King Varlenx himself," she then growled, clenching a fist. "He and I...well...are not exactly on good terms. Okay, to be honest, we detest each other," she said bluntly, "and I spend my life trying to overthrow him and stop this ridiculous war he has started." She pulled up her sleeve on her left arm and showed Merridia a scar there. "After he killed my parents, Varlenx captured me. I managed to escape but obtained this scar while dueling with one of the knights. To me it is a reminder that Varlenx has to be stopped." She paused again to pull her sleeve back down and look closely at Merridia. Despite her loss, this girl seemed strong. Lyth knew she could help with the cause, and would probably want to after what happened to her family. "I am starting a group called the Resistance," Lyth than said. "It does not really have any members yet, but my initial goal is to get all those who resist against this meaningless war and band together to stop it." She gave a friendly smile to the Elvella. "I would be honored if you were the first member to join me."

Merridia listened closely to what Lyth had to say. Then when she heard of the Resistance an idea popped into her head, I can avenge my family's death. She stood there, thinking, she had things in common with this girl, they both were attacked by the Diamond Kingdom, and they both disliked Varlenx. Merridia then said in a slightly stronger tone, "My parents weren't on good terms with him either. Now that they are gone, I detest him as much as you do. I would be happy to join your Resistance."

Lyth clasped her hands together with pleasure. "Wonderful!" she said enthusiastically. "There is a rather large cave I found one day in some woods in Emerald Kingdom. I kind of set up home there, though I rarely stay in one place for long. But I decided it might be a good base for the Resistance." She stopped and thought about Merridia. Did she have a home? After her family died did she have anyone else to go to? Was she all alone like Lyth herself was? Since Merridia was now part of the Resistance, and Lyth was extremely curious, Lyth decided she would start getting her answers. "So do you have a home?" she asked.

Merridia thought about the cave Lyth was talking about, I probably won't sleep in it, she thought, I'm much more comfortable resting in trees, no one knows where you are. When Lyth asked if she had a home, Merridia was a little surprised, but answered anyway, "I had one," she said, soft as usual, "It's gone now, only a ruined building. It is, or was a nice, small house, but now its just a pile of debris." She sighed again, I loved that house too, but aparently my thoughts on that don't matter anymore.

Such loud stones. Why couldn't they be quiet like all the other rocks? The small lizard nudged a pebble in front of him with his claw. Nice rocks. Quiet rocks.

And all this nonsense about running and killing and scars. Why couldn't be like all the other rocks and sit still? On second thought, they didn't look much like stones, either. They were certainly moving around a bit much, and were wearing odd, loose skins. The only word that had seemed familiar was that word- that name - Lyth.

Lyth. Claudius had heard that name before, somewhere, not exactly it, but something like it. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, but between his numb, scaly lips, he attempted to sound out the word.

"L-l-lit-t..." No, not like that. "Lit- Li- Lyte?" Certainly nothing like that, either...

Lyth nodded solemnly. "I understand that," she answered. "My home is a pile of ash..." She stared at her boots for a while, and finally sighed and looked back up, seeming more perky now. "But really, I've always enjoyed traveling and exploring, so a home is not that all important to me."

It was true that it wasn't, but her parents were and she was rather fond of her old home. She loved watching her father make weapons in his blacksmith shop and her mother making delicious smells come from the kitchen while she cooked pies and other treats. Lyth always climbed every tree she could find and loved to jump in the small spring that ran by her house. Her mother would always scold her for getting all wet, but she had a twinkle in her eye as she did. Lyth made her parents worry a lot, but she knew they enjoyed her adventurous heart.

Lyth came out of her deep thoughts to look at Merridia again. "So you have no more family either?" she asked with sympathy.

Merridia shook her head, "Not anymore," she said solemnly. "I travel a lot too now that I have nowhere to go," she said again, deep in thought. She stood there in silence yet again, slightly shivering from the cold, most of her warm clothes were burned with her house, so all she had was a light long sleeved shirt, leather grieves that her dad had gotten her, a cloak, and a pair of boots. Not very effective to wear against the cold weather of the Sapphire Kingdom. She noticed it was starting to get darker, and night was even colder then the day. "We should probably build a fire," she said after a while, changing the subject, "It's getting colder out."

"I really am sorry, Merridia," Lyth said sympathetically. "I am sure we can help each other since we are both in the same situation." She then gave a large smile and rocked on her feet a bit. "Maybe we were meant to run into each other, you never know," she said cheerily.

Merridia began looking quite cold and suggested a fire. Lyth looked up into the sky; it was growing dark. She had always found the cold invigorating, but a fire did sound nice. "Yes, I think we should build a fire," she agreed. "Though it is difficult finding firewood around here. There are not many trees and the snow makes it wet. But I have managed plenty of times, and since you live around here I am sure you are probably skilled at it." With this, Lyth began searching the ground for anything they could use to make a fire. She stopped when she found a curious lizard on the ground. "Hello, little guy," she said, about to pick him up, not having any idea that this lizard could actually talk.

Merridia nodded and thought about where to look for firewood, then an idea popped into her mind. My house is made of wood, and I certainly can't use it for a house anymore, so why not use it for firewood? She then turned and headed off into the trees, knowing exactly where to go. After a few moments of walking through the forest, she felt something land on her head. Alarmed, Merridia swept it off in a hurry, only afterwards realising it was just snow from a tree branch. She rolled her eyes and continued to trudge in the snow, some of it dragging behind her boots.

She shivered a little once she reached her ruined house, the roof collapsed, piles of ash in some places, and piles of debris, most of them potential firewood. Merridia sighed, she had to get something for wood, and this was her best bet. After a few moments of hesitation, she stode up to her house, kicking ash out of the way and gathering as much dry wood as she could possibly carry. When she finished finding all of the wood she could use, she carefully walked back to where she met Lyth, trying her best to keep it as dry as possible.

Once Merridia came back with all of the wood she found, she said quietly, "I found some woo-" She broke off when she saw that her new friend was intent on something else, seeming to bend over and look at something. Merridia set the wood in a dry spot under the tree she had sat in before and walked up to Lyth, finally seeing what she had spotted. "Oh, what a cute little lizard," she said, looking at the lizard, "How long has he been here?"

Those not-rocks were moving quite a lot now- and oh dear they were right over him now and they were very very large and what was he supposed to do if they tried to eat him?

What was he supposed to do? Were they hungry? Was he supposed to lose his tail? Why hadn't he been warned about the dangers of tall, moving things?

They didn't seem to be attempting to eat him, on second though, though one of them seemed to be just a few seconds away from picking him up. And the other one- she had called him cute. Or maybe it had been the same one- it was a bit hard to see with his eyescales frozen over.

Though it was only a small thing, it irritated Claudius deeply. He certainly was not cute. And this he intended to express to this tall, female-sounding thing as soon as his tongue stopped feeling like sandpaper. He did, however, thrash around a tiny bit, as much as the straps securing his instrument to him allowed, and emit a few squeaks.

Lyth ever so carefully picked the lizard up, it squirmed and squeaked a bit, but she did not pay much attention as she listened to Merridia's question. "He is adorable, isn't he?" she chuckled. "I have no idea how long he has been here. Thank goodness for the snow, otherwise we might have not seen him and could have stepped on him." She brought the lizard up close to her face and smiled. Looking at it close now it almost looked like he had an annoyed expression on his face. But he was a lizard, how ridiculous she was being. "It is strange," she began pondering, "lizards are usually not seen much here in Sapphire Kingdom because of the cold. I wonder how he got all the way out here. His little body sure does feel cold." She cupped her hands around him, hoping to warm the poor thing up. Normally a little lizard would not perk up her interest so much, but something seemed different about this one. "Maybe we should keep it with us," she suggested. "He'll probably die out in these frigid temperatures."

Merridia nodded, looking carefully at the little lizard in Lyth's hands, it did seem annoyed, and the weather could harm the poor little guy. "Maybe he's lost," she thought out loud, though her quiet voice barely broke the small silence, "Either way, we could start warming this area up with the wood I found, that could help to keep him warm. I'll also go and look for things to use as a little nest or something for him. That should help too." She gathered up the wood she had deposited by the tree and then cleared a nice big area for room for the fire, and themselves. Making sure the spot where she would place the wood was dry, she carefully set it down in a pile, "There, now we are set for a fire."

Lyth nodded. "Maybe he is. "And it is getting pretty cold." By the time Merridia has set up a clear spot, the sun had almost disappeared behind the fields. "Thank you for getting the wood and setting it up," Lyth thanked Merridia. She held out her hand with the lizard in it. "How about you hold him and I'll do the rest. I haven't been much help." Lyth made a fire for herself every night, often more than once a day to cook her meals, she was pretty use to starting fires.