Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Survivors: Shadow Warriors ❯ Ankle Bracelets ( Chapter 3 )

Note: I must seriously get into this. I just finished typing the second chapter yesterday. I'll do what I can to get my other fics updated but this one is flowing so well. Oh, any of you like Slayers because if you do, check this out>> ^o^b <<<<XELLOS! Isn't it cute! I just love it. I'm hoping to dress up as him this Christmas. Purple hair an everthything. I'm silly. New characters in this chapter! Enjoy!

Ankle Bracelets

"Mountains?"

Rustle. Rustle.

"Yeah. The Fencing Peaks. We have to go through them by the pass we are on now before we see any signs of civilization. Now would you get off?"

Rustle. Rustle.

"No. Too cold."

Rustle. Rustle.

"Where did you come from?"

Rustle. Rustle.

"Somewhere that you don't have to worry about freezing to death."

Rustle. Rustle.

Ever since Naomi and Toran went through the gates of the Holy Lands she had been riding on his back, refusing to trudge through the cold. She said it was poetic justice because she had to carry the pack. A pack that had been making strange rustling noises for the past hour.

"You know what Toran?"

Rustle. Rustle.

"What?"

Rustle. Rustle.

"I think there is something alive in the pack."

Rustle. Rustle.

"It's Nimhs."

Rustle. Rustle.

"What's a Nimhs?

Rustle. Rustle.

"It's a forest rat named Nimhs. I picked it up on some of my travels. I suppose it's kind of a pet."

Rustle. Rustle.

"A…a…RAT!"

Screech.

Naomi threw off the pack and climbed onto Toran's head causing them to tumble over into the snow. She curled up on his back and watched in horror as a rather large rodent climbed from the pack. It sniffed a bit then bounded to Toran.

"AHHHHH!" She squealed and dove away. Toran lifted from the ground spitting snow out of his mouth.

"You have to stop doing that." He stood and dusted himself off, then bent over and scooped up Nimhs. The rat leaped onto his shoulder and curled at his neck. Before it settled it turned to Naomi and sneered.

"Eeek!"

"Naomi. He's not going to hurt you."

"SURE!"

Toran sighed and ignored her. He lifted the pack up and swung it onto his shoulders. Walking forward he turned to Naomi questioningly. She got up and followed, not to quickly though.

So for the rest of that day she was cold and Nimhs had the run of Toran's back. Literally the run. One minute he was perched on Toran's head, next his shoulder. Occasionally it would disappear into the pack and come back out with a cracker. She shuddered at the idea that it was in their food. She also shuddered because she was freezing. The clothes they had given her were good but she just wasn't use to the cold. She imagined herself as a walking icicle and shuddered again.

It was near nightfall when Toran turned around and looked at Naomi with concern. She figured he had just remembered she was back there being that he had been occupied with the rat.

"Your nose looks frozen." He said, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Wouldn't doubt it." She shivered clutching herself. She must have looked pitiful. One place she had never gone or wanted to go was Alaska in the winter and this was Alaska in the winter. If not worse.

"We'll stop for the night. We should clear the mountains by noon tomorrow then we'll be in the Evergreens." Naomi was too cold to ask.

They settled down near one of the cliff faces and by some miracle he had gotten fire a fire started. It reminded her of the hot springs and how somehow the shirt had caught on fire. He offered her some crackers but she declined. Shrugging he turned back to share his dinner with Nimhs.

Her eyes turned to the majestic mountains. In the darkness they were looming and more than a little frightening. She squinted her eyes. She saw no moon, no stars, nothing. Maybe this place really didn't exist. She looked at Toran who was laughing at Nimhs doing his best to stuff far to many crackers into his mouth. Then that would mean Toran didn't exist, Naomi thought. She turned back to her empty sky. The black abyss reminded her of her life. Nothing was happening. She was twenty and still sharing an apartment with her brother, living off the money her parents had left behind. Her whole existence seemed as meaningless as that night sky. Her heart lurched. But maybe things were turning around. She seemed important here.

"Don't think so hard. Your brain might explode." Naomi glared at Toran who had sat himself beside her. She quickly looked away when she noticed Nimhs sneering at her from his sholder.

"Is that supposed to cheer me up?" Nimhs growled. She figured he didn't like the sound of her voice.

"Shut up Nimhs." The rat was promptly quiet. "Listen this is hard on me too. I've never really travel with anyone and never had to deal with a whiney fourteen year old."

"Fourteen?" She was shocked.

"I was just guessing…uh…sixteen?"

She squealed then bared her teeth. As she stood up Nimhs growled so she wirled around and growled back. She sat herself far away from the pair and sulked. SIXTEEN! Naomi screamed to herself.

"You think I was wrong?" Toran asked the now frightened rat. He sighed and stood up. He turned to the pack and dug out a couple of sleeping mats and…one blanket. Erian's since of humor had always annoyed him. "Great. Hey Naomi. We've got two sleeping mats but only one blanket so how-"

"How about I take the blanket and you fend for yourself?" In a second Naomi had sprung up and grabbed hold of a mat and the blanket. She wandered over to the fire and fixed the mat and laid down on top of it covering herself with the one blanket. "Don't freeze to death now!" was her final words before drifting to sleep.

Toran sighed and set his mat up beside hers. He unbuckled his belt that had his sheath and sword on it and laid it on the mat opposite of her. He settled himself down and readied his self for Nimhs to settle at his head. When nothing happened he opened one eye just in time to see the rat scurry under the blanket with Naomi.

"Damn traitor." Toran growled then turned over and went to sleep

Naomi discovered that the daytime sky was not as empty as the nighttime sky. Instead it held a gleaming sun that unpleasantly woke her. She tried to lift her arm to shield her eyes but she was pinned by something. She turned to discover what that something was. It was Toran. Sometime in the night they had migrated toward each other. She now lay partially on top of him, the side of her face resting on his chest. Her right arm was pinned by one of his and her other arm was resting on his shoulder. One of her legs rested between his. All this spelled out an awkward predicament.

She couldn't help but to blush. This was really the closest she had ever gotten to a guy. Plus…it was kind of comfortable knowing that one of his strong arms was wrapped around her. What am I thinking? She thought to herself. She had to get untied. Hoping not to wake him up she made a move to lift away but his grip tightened. Great, she thought, he's protective in his sleep. She tried again but his grip just tightened all the more. It reminded her of one of those Chinese finger traps. The more you pull the better your stuck. He stretched.

"Good morning." The voice took her by surprise. She looked up to see Toran smiling with his eyes still closed. "Girls always seem to find their way to me at night."

Naomi grew red. With her free hand she punched Toran in the chin and lunged away from him. He sat up and rubbed his chin.

"Why do you have to be so rough?"

"ROUGH! What you said was just sick. You probably was having some twisted dream and grabbed me in the middle of the night."

"I specifically remember you invading on my space."

"Asshole."

"Bitch."

Naomi punched him again.

For the rest of the trip out of the mountains they ignored each other. Naomi sulked over that morning and the night before while Toran sulked over his bruised jaw. She could feel that she was getting a cold. Nimhs had stolen the blanket and curled at Toran's feet part way through the night.

It was close to noon when she saw the trees. Giant green things covered with snow. This must have been the Evergreens. She wondered if it would be warmer but as they got a few yards into the trees she realized I wouldn't happen. Nimhs seemed happier than ever, jumping onto the ground and running through the snow. Toran just kept looking straight ahead. She hoped she hadn't hurt him to bad. She decided to make amends.

"Hey…you were right. These trees are evergreens. There is some where I come from. They are the closest living thing to immortality. Don't you think so?"

He didn't answer. Instead he stopped and stared at the snow. Was he purposely ignoring her?

"Listen you bastard. I'm just trying-"

He lifted his hand up to silence her. With the other he drew the long gleaming blade that was his sword. Her face went blue. She didn't know that she'd upset him that bad.

"Um…Toran I-"

Again the hand went up. This time Nimhs made a mad dash toward her. He dove behind her feet and his there. So the rat senses trouble, Naomi thought. At any other time she would have kicked it but at the moment she felt like they were comrades in arms. Or paws and arms.

The next moments seemed like a kind of eternity as Toran waited for whatever he was waiting for. Nimhs and Naomi held their breath. Toran took a step forward. And then he was…gone?

"Toran?" She stepped forward. "Toran?"

"Up here!" Naomi looked up at the trees and dangling from a limb was Toran. Gracefully captured by the ankles.

"Toran…what the hell? Get down from-AHHH!!" Next thing she knew she was hanging beside him. A rope tightly bound around her ankles.

"What now genius?" Naomi sneered at him. She would of hit him had she not been so busy keeping her shirt from exposing herself. They both looked down when they heard a noise. Nimhs stood poised ready to attack, growling into the trees. She wondered just what damage that rat could do.

"Oh great. Just what I need…another bitch." She looked at Toran who had crossed his arms and had started to sulk.

"Wha-"

"Shut up Nimhs." A voice? Form the woods? It sounded like a women. Naomi looked at Toran with her best who-did-you-screw-now look. He shot an I-didn't-do-anything look back at her. He turned his attention back to the talking woods.

"So is the black widow happy with her catch," Toran said sarcastically. There was laughter from the direction of the voice.

"I'd of been happier if I had caught you by the neck," the voice snapped her answer as the source slowly moved into the clearing. Naomi had been right. It was a woman. A tall, long legged, redhead. Probably older than both Naomi and Toran. Her eyes were as deep and black as Toran's and she too wore leather armor and a sword.

The woman had let Naomi down near immediately but to Naomi's delight she had let Toran hang upside down and sulk. Nimhs nervously pawed at his tree. As wind gently swayed him he watched as she and Naomi held a conversation with the woman.

"Alixis is it?" Naomi asked.

"That's right."

"So…you're an old friend of Toran's?"

"Right."

"I see what you mean."

"I'm sure you don't." Naomi was taken aback but Alixis' answer. "I've never had a relationship like that with that idiot and never will."

"Oh." Now Naomi felt foolish.

"By the way Toran. I have some news for you." Alixis strolled over to the dangling Toran. "I just got back from the Holy Lands and I spoke to Moridia."

"If this is about that girl then I don't want to hear about it." Toran made an attempt to swing himself so that he wasn't facing her but his rope just twisted him back.

"You two have a falling out?" She looked behind her and smiled at Naomi. Naomi smiled back. She was quickly beginning to understand that Alixis was one of those girls that had been at her high school and college. More so her college. The one's that were not lesbians but had the belief that all men were evil. Alixis also had an air of self-confidence to her that Naomi could never hope for. Everything she said had a smug undertone. Naomi couldn't help but to think she had found a good mentor.

"Well you're going to have to hear it," Alixis continued massaging a piece of her dark red hair between two fingers. "You see this." She rose up one of her hands; palm out, to display a peculiar marking on her wrist.

"So you have a tattoo. Like I care."

"Wrong moron." She hit him causing him to spin around a bit before finally he began to slightly sway. "I had no part in this. Instead a few days ago it just appeared."

"Stop drinking so much." She hit him again.

"You don't recognize this?" Toran shook his head. "Idiot. This is the crest that was given to the Shadow Warriors before you and I were born." She looked at Toran and narrowed her eyes. Obviously she wanted him to finish.

"Yeah. Yeah. The warriors that lived and died for one war. I know the stories. Your father told me nothing else. So what do you have to do with it?" He was evidently getting very tired of hanging upside down. His tone gave him away.

"Good boy. But that's what I wondered too. What did I have to do with it? That's why I went Moridia. By then you had already left. She told me about the girl…"

"The girl has a name," Naomi grumbled. Alixis ignored her.

"…and it also became clear to her what it was she needed to do." Naomi braced herself. "Go to the West Vales and ask it of the wise woman there." Great, Naomi thought. "But it is very clear to her that I, because of the mark, am one of the reincarnations of the nine warriors."

"You've got to be kidding," Toran snapped. "Are you trying to tell me that you are a reincarnation of one of the most noble band of warriors ever?" He paused and then burst out laughing. Alixis hit him again.

"So what am I?" Naomi inquired. Alixis smiled sympathetically, which scared Naomi.

"You…we have no idea. You aren't a shadow warrior but you do play a big role in whatever it is that's going to happen."

"You don't even know what it is that is expected of you, but you still go head long into it?" This struck Naomi as both brave and stupid.

"Well I've clearly been branded for the job so what choice do I have?" Alixis looked at her wrist again. "I do think that maybe we're suppose to be finding the other eight."

"That sounds right," Naomi concurred.

"As for you," Alixis turned to Toran, whose face was now read.

"As for me," he countered. "I'm getting down." There was a hissing noise then suddenly the rope broke sending him to the ground. As soon as he stood up again a second trap snared him.

"Great going," Alixis laughed as she watched him begin to sulk again. "But thank you. You gave me just what I needed. Look." She pointed to the small of his back that was uncovered because his shirt dipped sown with gravity. Naomi squinted her eyes. There was an identical mark to Alixis'.

"So this means he's one of you?" Naomi stated.

"That's right." Alixis smiled in satisfactions as she shoved Toran causing him to swing. She looked back to Naomi to see her deep in thought. "What's the matter?"

"One thing has bothered me. You say you went to the Holy Lands after we had left but you beat us here. What's the deal?"

"It's not super speed, I'll tell you that. It's Toran's stupidity. There are two mountain passes. A new one that is very hard to pass through and an old one that is beaten down and cake to go down. Moron over here took you on the hardest path. You would have been here last night if he wasn't such an idiot."

"I'm not an idiot."

Naomi was glad. Alixis had decided to move head for an inn that she knew of that night and then strike out the next day to the West Vales. Naomi was happy that she was going to have an actual bed that night. She was also happy that she had another girl to converse with. Although Alixis appeared harsh and cold at times, she treated Naomi just fine. Plus there was always constant fun with her teasing Toran and the fact that now he was carrying both packs. Alixis didn't like rats so Nimhs was on a leash. All of which made traveling with the two rather nice. Maybe Naomi was worth something now.

Note: I'm tired. I stayed up playing Pokémon Crystal version till like 12:30 am. The sad thing is I hate it with a vengeance. But some of those pocket monsters are just so damn cute. It's atrocious. I wish there were one where you could actually kill the things, instead of them fainting. I doubled the fun by naming all my pokémon after characters from this fic. I bred Toran and Nimhs. *snickers* Oh well…did you like Alixis? I think she's cool. The not so modern feminist. Well, my four-year-old sister is crying out for sustenance so I suppose I should feed her. BYE! Thanks for the reviews.

The h is silent. So it's really Nims but I thought an h would make it look prettier.

Vales are valleys just so you know. They can also be crags and over hangings but in this case they are simply valleys. Or so Microsoft Word Thesaurus tells me. Bill Gates could be wrong. Not like he's a genius or anything. Oh wait…don't I feel stupid.