The black sky above stretched out as far as the eye can see across the grassy lands. Just as quickly as the rainstorm had started and soaked everything in it's path, so just as quickly it ended, first as soft rainfall, then drizzle, and then finally wet mist. But all that went unnoticed as Angeni, panting hard, raced after the figure that had stolen her most treasured possession. She ran as quickly as she could, just barely making out the thief's outline through the dark and moonless night. She tripped once over the wet shrubbery and small stones, groaned in frustration, then got back up and rushed off again, hoping not to lose sight of him.
How dare he! He had no right to take what wasn't his! After being taught for so many years of how stealing had devastated her people and their ways...from their lands stolen through the years by greedy settlers, to even their own language being stolen and virtually wiped out, Angeni had personally made it her mission in life never to allow anyone to take anything of hers; especially not the only thing her grandfather gave her that connected her to her people's culture and past. With that determination, Angeni ran on, her sweat mixing with the water still dripping from her hair.
But as determined as she was to catch up to him, the thief's figure moved farther and farther away, until he was gone in a blink of an eye. With a gasp of shock, the Native American girl stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes blinking in disbelief. It was at that moment she finally took the time to look around her and realize with dread in her heart that she was alone....utterly alone. All around her with just open land, with a few sparse trees that indicated that in another few miles, a traveler would enter into an empty grassy plain, where there would be no trees for shelter or protection from the sun for many miles yet. Although the rain had stopped, there was still a fog of mist in the air, giving the area a dead and surreal feeling. Glowing eyes from tiny creatures blinked and stared at her, and loud hooting sounds from strange looking birds echoed all around.
"Oh no, this is bad!" Angeni said softly to herself. What was she thinking, rushing off like that by herself? She never even bothered to see if the others were following, or if they were still fighting off the band of thieves they encountered while traveling. A small shiver of fear raced up her back, but she quickly shrugged it off. There would be a way for her to get back. One of the many things her parents and grandfather often tried to teach her was tracking and getting to know her surroundings. But as she looked around, even Angeni had to admit this was like NOWHERE she'd ever been in. She was lost...very lost. She began to get angry. It was that stupid thief's entire fault...all of it!
Anger replaced her fear then, and with a shaking fist, Angeni yelled out as loud as she could. "Hey you! I know you can hear me! I want my feather back! If you don't, when I find you, you'll be sorry, I swear it!" But the only response was more of the strange animal sounds that echoed through out. At that moment, there was a part in the thick black clouds overhead, and the light from one of the nine moons of this world shown down, revealing that Angeni was indeed alone before it was hidden again behind the cloud.
The fear returned, along with hopelessness, and with a dejected sigh, Angeni turned back around to try and see if she can go back the way she came. But when she did, all she saw before her was more of the same mist, covering everything and making it all unfamiliar.
Chilled, the young girl could only wrap her arms around herself and walk on, feeling more alone than she had in her life. She reached a tree a few minutes later, and as she leaned against it, she slid down its bark and sat there on her knees, shivering down to her bones by now. "Someone...please find me." Angeni whispered as fatigue washed over her. "I...I don't want to die out here alone."
A lone tear trailed down her cheek, and an image of her grandfather entered her mind then, looking tall and regal as she imaged he would be in his youth. Oh Grandfather, I miss you so! the Sioux girl thought sadly. I wish I had listened more to your stories and lessons. I...I thought they didn't matter anymore. With a sniffle, Angeni struggled in her mind to remember a simple Sioux song her grandfather taught to her as a child. With a deep breath a moment later, the memory of the song returned to her, and she sang softly;
In her mind, Angeni could hear the deep beats of the drums that were played during important ceremonies and dances. She closed her eyes and let the sounds of the drums in her mind sooth her from her fears. But just as sleep was about to take her, a loud rustling in the branches above her startled her, and she jumped up and looked wildly around her.
"Who's there? Come out!" she yelled. There was more rustling, and with a gasp, Angeni looked up and saw a face smiling down on her.
"Well, well, who would have thought you were pretty...AND had a good voice?" the stranger said with a smirk.
"You!" growled out Angeni, her fists going into balls. "It was you who took my feather, wasn't it? Give it back to me! I want it, NOW!" Her eyes narrowed in determination.
"Is that so?" the young man asked with more of a smirk. "What will you give me for it?" He winked and gently waved her yellow feather before him.
"Why you....!" With a growl, Angeni made a move to climb up the tree and go after him, but she barely made a step towards the tree before the young man laughed, then with a expert jump off the branch and flip in the air, landed right beside her in a crouch. It was then that Angeni was able to get a quick yet good look at his face.
Dark, brown eyes, gentle yet filled with mischief, stared out at her, glinting brightly in the dark. His long, jet black hair was pulled in a tight, long ponytail down to almost past his back, tied by a red string. His skin coloring was as shade darker than her own, reminding her of the many different Native American tribes that she'd heard about and met in her young life when they visited her reservation. A short bang across his forehead was cut neatly, but there were still a few wisps of loose black hair that framed his handsome face. When he smiled, large dimples indented his full cheeks, making him look even more mischievous. He looked to be no more than at least 18 years old.
For a moment, Angeni could only stare and blush slightly, but she immediately stopped that thought of attraction when she shook her head to clear it. He was a thief, and she was going to give him a piece of her mind! She was about to yell and demand her feather back when he did the most unexpected thing a second later; With a grin, the young man reached forward, grabbed her by the shoulders, and quickly yet gently kissed her full on the mouth, silencing any words she had to say.
When he was done a moment later, the Sioux girl could only stare at him in shock, her eyes wide. At her reaction, the young man only laughed softly and gently tucked the feather in her hand. "I'd say that was a decent exchange, wouldn't you?" he said with a chuckle. "Kain's the name, stealing hearts is my game!" he finished with a wink.
It was only then that Angeni dared herself to speak, let alone move. "Why you....you...you pervert!" she screamed out as she blushed deeply. She swung her fist at him, but he quickly dodged her with a grin and dashed off, waving a hand at her.
"Come back here, I'm not done with you yet!" With an annoyed growl, Angeni quickly tucked the feather in her hair and rushed off after him. How dare he? This was no way what Angeni envisioned her first real kiss was going to be like! He even stole that from her! Now enraged, Angeni raced as fast as she could after him, almost catching up to him. She was just about caught up to him when there was suddenly a deep rumbling in the ground, then it stopped a second later. Both stopped running, looking around in confusion. Then without warning, the deep rumbling started again, and before they knew it, they were nearly knocked off their feet by the force of it.
Angeni screamed in horror when the ground before her began to split in two, creating a deep slit in the ground to a seemingly bottomless ravine. She fell nearly lifelessly to the ground, but before she could get up, the ground shook again and she was rolled to the edge. She nearly fell in, but with quick reflexes, she caught the edge and hung on for dear life. Bits of rocks and dust fell down on her as the earthquake continued. For one brief moment, she saw the shocked face of Kain before one of her hands slipped and she sank a little further down.
"Please, it can't end like this!" Angeni whispered desperately to herself. But whatever more thoughts she had were interrupted as her other hand began to slip. Tears fell down her cheeks as she felt her hold give away. She closed her eyes, awaiting her death. But just at the last second, something grabbed her arm by the sleeve. When she opened her eyes and looked up, she couldn't help but scream in fright at what held her in its jaws; an extremely large, grey wolf with gleaming red eyes was leaning over the edge of the ledge, the sleeve of her shirt outfit clamped tightly in its mouth. The sheer dark grey color of the wolf reminded her of dark clouds before a bad thunderstorm, and Angeni shivered uncontrollably.
With a growl, the wolf, obviously male, began pulling harshly, and within a moment, he had dragged Angeni out of the split earth. Panting hard, Angeni lay there for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Then she stood up slowly and turned to see the immense wolf watching warily. The young girl couldn't help but feel a shudder go through her body. She had heard many tales of people encountering wolves, and most of them weren't good, even if wolves were by nature lone animals. She gulped as her body shook with fear and something else she couldn't identify, and was about to step away when a wave of fatigue suddenly washed over her. With a sigh, Angeni fainted to the ground in a crumpled heap.
Immediately the wolf rushed forward, but instead of doing what Angeni feared, he gingerly sniffed her face and neck, as though trying to identify her and pick up her scent. With a soft whine, the wolf laid down in front of her and gently nudged his nose under Angeni's body until she finally rolled over on his back. When she lay comfortably slumped over sideways on him, the wolf howled once, then dashed off into the night, leaving the area as silent as it was before the earthquake.
**********************************
"Is everyone alright?" asked Djoser when the area they were in was once more quiet and the thieves gone. Soon, Prya, Jeneta, Kondolar, Heather, Tao, and Ling stood with him, leading their horses and looking around.
"Yeah, we're all fine." said Jeneta, but her eyes were filled with worry. "But Angeni's nowhere around. Where could she be?"
"I say we go look for her." Ling said with determination. Although she and Angeni sometimes clashed, there was no way she was going to leave anyone behind, especially her friends.
"She's right, Angeni could be in danger. Did anyone else feel that tremor?" Heather gently adjusted her glasses on her nose. "I've studied earthquakes before. It might not have been that strong where we are now, but who knows how powerful it could have been where shewas?"
"Right. Come on, I think she went this way!" Jeneta pointed to her right, then quickly mounted her horse. Angeni's horse...tied to her own, quickly followed. Soon the group was off, hoping beyond hope that the Native American girl was not hurt or worse.
*******************
Cautiously...almost shyly, the young man known as Kain leaned in closer from where he was sitting on the bed to get a good look at the face of the beautiful sleeping young girl. She looked young to him...probably no more than 16 years old. But her face; it held a beauty he had rarely seen before..and he had seen A LOT of beautiful women. But this girl...she was different somehow. Almost otherworldly. He had flirted with and teased many young girls before, but this strange young girl didn't react to him as he expected. She flat out despised him, and she let him know it! That intrigued him more than anything he had experienced with women. Somehow, he had to get to know her more.
Smiling softly, he reached forward with a hand and gently..oh so gently..touched and traced her full red lips with his finger for a few moments. Content, he would have loved to explore that gorgeous mouth more, but to his dismay, the girl took that moment to take in a deep breath and move.
With a groan, Angeni's eyes fluttered open, and she was met with a pair of worried brown eyes staring down at her. She blinked a few times, then tried to sit up, but a pair of hands gently pushed her back down. "You shouldn't get up yet. You're still a little feverish. You should rest."
"Who...are you?" the girl whispered. She turned her head to look around, and saw that they were in a very large cave...a cave obviously lived in by more than one person because of the chairs and beds all around....plus torches hung on the walls that illuminated the whole place. Nearby, she could hear the sound of rushing water, signifying a small underwater spring. For now, she could see that whoever it was that was with her was alone, and she allowed herself to relax.
"Are you alright now?" the voice said. Angeni turned her head and was met by a face she was hoping not to see again...especially now.
"You!" she yelled out. She tried to get up, but Kain gently held her down, trying to get her to stay still.
"Hey, hey, take it easy!" he said, "You shouldn't get so excited! Being out in the rain and cold at night has given you a fever. You need to relax before it gets worse." He looked down at her with genuine concern.
Just then, the memory of what happened flashed in her mind...the memory of the earthquake...and the wolf! "The grey wolf! Where did it....where'd it go?" She looked around in fright.
Kain's eyes widened a little. "Wolf? Err..there's no wolf here. You...must have been dreaming." he said as he quickly looked away. "Just try not to get too excited."
"Yeah right, don't get excited." Angeni sighed as she calmed a little. "Yeah well, you're the one who started it all by stealing my feather." Angeni growled out. She turned to glare at him coldly. "Look, I'll be fine, okay? Just let me go, and we'll call it even. I don't need you to take care of me." She was just about to get up when she happened to look down on her self; her shirt was gone, and only her bra was in place.
At the horrified look on Angeni's face, Kain waved his hands and tried to explain. "You...you were burning up! It was the only way I could cool you down and..."
"Pervert!"
Kain never got to finish his explanation as Angeni swung her fist and punched him hard in the face. The young man yelped in pain as he went down on the ground clumsily.
"Ouch....okay, I deserved that." Kain said with a wince as he slowly got back up and touched his already swollen eye. He sighed, then gave her a small smile as Angeni stood up and quickly put her shirt back on.
"Another ouch. I deserved that too." Kain said with a sigh of disappointment as Angeni covered up. He certainly didn't mind seeing her without her shirt for just a bit longer! But he put that thought quickly out his mind as he lowered his head. "About tonight...look, I'm sorry, okay? My name's Kain, and you can say I'm the leader a band of..well...shall we say....mercenaries. We only steal what we can to survive. We really weren't going to hurt anyone. We hardly ever do. It's just that...ever since our city and country was destroyed by Kumraa." A touch of sadness entered his eyes. "The few survivors....we're scattered all over this continent and beyond...."
"Kumraa?" Angeni turned to look at him in surprise. "Your city was destroyed by him?"
"Yes, years ago. Now all we can do is become thieves and beggars in different cities and countries. Ours don't exist anymore." The young man's eyes narrowed. "Someday....someday, I'll find a way to make him pay!"
He was quiet for a moment, then turned to look at her with a dimpled smile. "But you know, besides all that, I never got to ask you your name. I'd at least want to know the name of the beautiful girl I got a kiss from."
Angeni groaned at the embarrassing memory. "It's...it's Angeni." she said with a slight blush. "But never mind that. What you said about Kumraa....that's what my friends and I are here for. We're here to try and stop him."
Kain looked at her in disbelief. "You? What can you and your friends do against him?"
Angeni blinked her eyes as she looked at him, thoughts racing through her mind. Could she really trust him? Could she tell him about the girls and herself? Although she wanted nothing more than to punch him again for the kiss he stole, somehow, Angeni could tell she can trust him. Well, trust him only a little, since he is a thief.
"Well..." She was about to explain at least half of the story of her and her friends when suddenly, loud voices entered the large cave, followed by shadows and figures walking in. A moment later, a group of about ten rough-looking men walked up to Angeni and Kain, their faces drawn and wary.
"Ho ho, now! What has our fierce and brave leader brought in?" grinned out one of the men. His teeth flashed out yellow and Angeni could already smell him from where he stood, so filthy was he.
"Oh yes! We may have lost our booty today, but maybe our leader brought her in to make up for it? Perhaps we'll have fun tonight after all!" another equally dirty man said as he leered at her. Behind them, the men laughed loudly.
Angeni gasped in fright as she stepped back towards Kain. He turned and narrowed his eyes at the advancing men. "Stand down! You are not to touch her!" he growled out.
But the men kept on walking to them. "I said stand down! I'm the leader here, what I say goes!" Kain balled his fists and stood in a fighting stance in front of Angeni.
"Oh, is that so?" said the first man that spoke, looking not much older than Kain in the torchlight. "Well, we've all been meaning to have a little talk about that. See, we all think there should be a change of leadership here." He looked at Kain with a venomous look. "We all think you should retire." He looked down at Kain with eyes filled with hate. "And the kind of retirement we're thinking, you never return from."
Kain's eyes widened in disbelief as the man cracked his knuckles and grinned. Soon, both Angeni and Kain were surrounded, with no escape in sight.
Jeneta, Ling, Heather, Prya, where are you? Angeni thought desperately. If you don't get here soon, we're goners!
"Stay close to me," said Kain as he turned his head towards her. "I won't let them hurt you."
As her heart pounded fiercely in her chest, Angeni had the strangest feeling that he meant those words. But...we just met. Could he actually care that much about me already? A thousand more thoughts and questions raced through her head, but with the group of men getting closer and closer, there was no time left to dwell on them.
********************************
To Be Continued....
********************************