Young Writers Society

Lilura | Inn - Ristel's Room:

The thumping and banging was irritating me. Oh, I'd been awake since Ristel had, according to the talking, fallen out of bed. I was glad my back was to the pair so that they couldn't see my open eyes or my smirk. It was rather amusing, come to think of it. But I was still damn tired. Even worse, I didn't know why. I stretched and rolled over, sitting up slowly. It felt a lot like I was drained--but what use did anyone have in draining my magic? It'd kill me.

I froze. Oh. I swore. Of course. But...why would anyone do that? I shook my head and climbed to my feet, glancing towards Ristel and the Elf. Did she say she was a Neseradian Elf? I'd never heard of those. Hmm, could it be one of those distantly related sub-species of Losthurin Elves? Maybe, but I doubted it. For one, her hair was the wrong colour, as well as her eyes. Losthur traits tended to be pretty dominant.

I scowled and set about digging through my pack for whatever the hell I'd managed to pack into it. Obviously, the fact that the small bag was enchanted to carry more than it looked like it did was new to them, what with the gazes resting on me. Oh, well. Too late to tell them not to be startled now. I hid my smirk and finally found what I was looking for--a lump of hard bread and a sour-tasting fruit thing the Losthur had given me before I'd left Curuwen. Well, I didn't blame them for keeping a low profile--the Melnarian Emperor was trying to kill them all.

"Morning," I muttered and started tearing the bread up. I was so not a morning person.

Bay

Oh good Gaia, she's up. Why did we have to be so loud? I couldn't help but instinctively move closer to Ristel- souly for a protective feeling of course. The food in her hands did look appetizing, I wondered if when I found my bag if my money would still be in it. There had to be someone in this Gaia forsaken city that was still selling food.

"Good morning, Lilura." I mumbled quietly, not looking up to her.

I felt a tickle in the back of my throat and forced myself to hold my breath. There was no way I was trans-"Hiccup!" Gaia damn it.

*Wow, so short. I should be shot.*

Lilura | Inn - Ristel's Room:

I paused in the middle of eating when I heard the hiccup and focused my attention on Béyta; the poor elf had changed forms again. Ristel's glare could have matched Lujayn's--or stopped a Prakfura in mid-leap. I hid my smirk again as I studied her with a narrowed gaze. I tried not to make it look like I was watching her too closely, though. Ristel looked like he was having a heart attack or something.

The magic surrounding the elf was different to any I'd ever seen before, and that had me frowning. As I ate, I tested my limits and those of the...magic on the elf. Ah, so it was a curse. I tilted my head to one side, apparently studying the weird Losthurin fruit in my hand when my gaze was really on the magic wrapped around poor Béyta. It was a very interesting curse; one that might harm Béyta if I tinkered too much.

Taking a deep breath, I focused my magic inwards and then across the room to Béyta. The curse hissed at me, like a snake, before trying to squirm away. I snatched it and held it still, studying it. The magic resisted me and I hissed at it, cursing it out without words. After a few minutes, it subsided and I set to work on changing it just a little. Too much, and Béyta could become a rabbit forever.

Once I was done, and refocused on the fruit, I had to wonder about what I may have looked like to the elf and Ristel, and couldn't help laughing. Hopefully, the minute changes I'd made wouldn't make too much of a difference. Leisurely, I finished off the fruit and stood up, leaving my bag where it was as I crossed the room and set what was left of the bread down on the bed. I spared Ristel a glance before smiled at the elf and leaving the room.

When I was down the hall, downstairs and sitting at the bar, I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. What the hell was I thinking, doing that? Stupid, Li, stupid! I'd already been feeling drained, and now I was definitely feeling a little less magical than before. Was it this place that had me feeling this way or was someone siphoning off my magic, and essentially my life, in the process? I didn't know. Meanwhile, I could always drink a little and see what happened, if it helped me out; maybe let me forget a few things--like how stupid I was? And I did just that--asked the bartender for a strong drink. He poured me one without a word.

Ristel

There was a vein in his neck- always had been, just like most people who were even relatively humanoid. Of course, it had gone from nice and invisible to pulsating and probably sticking out of his skin like a discolored, crooked carrot. If that even made sense- he was sure it didn't, but that hardly mattered at the moment.

What, did the woman think that he had never seen magic? He had spent two and a half blasted years with Kiralinites and Melnarians- one learned to sense it after a while. Something about it was enraging, though he couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

Ristel gave himself a few minutes to cool off before speaking, forcing his fingers to stop digging into the palms of his hands. He turned, half-storming, half just-walking back to the side of his bed and flopped down next to Béyta, reaching behind him for his hand-made head dress. He pulled it towards him, heart deflating slightly. One of the feathers was broken in the middle, bent at an awkward angle that, for some reason, made his heart ache. The anger towards Lilura was long forgotten for the time being.

He set it on his head, not bothering to take off the half-broken feather. It would remain as it was until he could get his hands on something to fix it with.

"I suppose you're hungry, hm?" Ristel said softly, brushing back some of Béyta's fur with his thumb. "Actually, I don't care if you are or not, you're eating something. I seem to recall you refusing supper last night."

Now all he had to do was force himself to get up.

Bay

But... but I wasn't hungry. I had to state that, though. "I'm not hungry." There, that wasn't so- Wait I was still in rabbit form how was I talking? I wasn't supposed to be able to talk.

Ristel turned around and shook his head at me, "I don't care, you need to eat. You didn't eat las- Wait did you speak?" his eyes grew ten times as wide as they normally did. That wasn't a good sign, was it? I felt myself shrink back and try to hide myself behind my ears. That didn't work well.

"I- I don't understand. I'm not supposed to be able to talk. The mage who cursed me said so..." Wait, I hadn't told Ristel it was a curse. Way to go, Bay, way to go. I guess it really didn't matter now. Did it?

"Lilura." he spat and clenched his fists.

Oh Gaia, what if I was stuck like this forever? I tried my hardest to hiccup, but that wasn't happening. We'd have to wait until I hiccuped again to know for sure.