The Forest's Edge - Coastline Wanderings

Large, deep imprints made a trail across the thin beach in the impressionable white sand that was almost blinding in the midday light, a white glare searing two sparkling blue iris's. Kal's tan wide feet moved steadily through the shifting sand, puffs of powdered glass dusting his heels. A large hand, densly freckled flew up to his broad forehead in a smooth motion to shad his eyes, pushing up shaggy bangs of blond hair, streaked with sun-lights and damp with sweat.

Kal breathed the hot air of the day in through his nose, the essence of sea salt and sand drying his lungs. He felt uncomfortably like a fish out of water for a second, drowning as air pumped in and out of his lungs, leaving no trace of invigorating oxygen. His body, naked except for a loincloth and a satchel, both made from the fabric of an old cloth, gleamed brown against the surrounding white.

He angled his body more toward the water, where blue green waves were heaving up, and then being pulled back with a wet sucking noise as it washed over smooth wet sand. Kal's feet sank deep into the saturated ground, the foamy water washing up over his scarred toes, cooling his excruciating hot feet. Kal faced the jungle, a deep entanglement of greens, and threw his satchel toward the base of a palm. He then closed his eyes, and fell back, arms outstretched.

The thin layer of water caught him, splashing up with sand behind his ears. Kal smiled, his teeth bleaching white against his skin as he sculled with his hands, paddling in and out as he floated out on the water. Soon he was underwater, swimming nowhere in particular, his well trained eyes not wincing in the salty clear. After a minute or so of avoiding the hot sun, Kal returned to the surface, a cool layer of water seeping through the heat of his muscles, and oxygen tasting delicious again as he quickly brought in gaspfuls of air.

Kal floated there a moment longer, gazing at the coast. Oh how easy it would be just to swim around it, rather than walk the scorching shore. But he needed what was in that satchel, and it could not go with him into the water. Kal stroked towards shore, later standing up, a little shaky after adapting his body to the water agian, and made to pick up his valued bag.

His feet catching in the deep sand, Kal sprawled on his stomach at the foot of the tree. He blew heavy out his nose in irritation, causing the already dry tips of his bangs to flutter. He sat up, crossed his legs and reached for his bag, grabbing in and putting it in his lap. White sand covered his wet chest, and he brushed it off, his sharp eyes focused on the forest. He could have sworn he saw something move within it. Frowning, his pale eyebrows scrunching at the middle, he scanned the forest. His hands stroked the rectangular shape within the satchel.

Quietly, Kal swung it over his shoulder, he pulled a smooth sharktooth knife that was tied to his loincloth with old, oil soaked rope and edged toward the jungle. His experience with animals and people of the jungle was limited, so he was wary. However Kal had a sort of naiive courage about him and failed to believe anything he found in their could not be handled by blade or by a quick retreat to the water.

There. Kal saw a flicker of black and white, turned green underneath the sun shining the forest light upon it. It was the side of some strange, large striped animal. Kal tightened his hold on the knife, standing as still as he could, water dripping down the back of his neck. He had never hunted on land, but I suppose there was always time to try. Kal thought for a moment, then crouched down like he had seen panthers do in the part of the jungle just off the lagoon. His leg muscles tensed, and he breathed through his nose in a deathly quiet, taking careful aim just as he would catch a large fish or attack a shark.

Yes..like a shark, the safest place was upon it's back where it's front could not bite you if you had a keen grip. Kal dug his toes into the earth that was changing from sand to dirt, Gauging his distance, he sprung forward to wrapp his arms over it's back and stab the knife into the creatures flesh.

Midway through his leap words rang out from his prey. Kal slammed his body down, through the bushes, bunting the side of the animal with his head. He quickly looked up and scrambled back, pressing his back against a tree. His heart raced in his chest as Kal realized the prey he had been stalking had a humanoid toros erupting from where it's head and neck should be, encased in a designed chestpeice. A womens face, alienly beautiful atop the striped equidine body, with thick black hair falling on either side. He knew suddenly that this must be one of the halflings he had heard about in the mercolony.

Kal hurried to unscramble the words she had said during his hunt.

"Um no, maam," he tacked on the end part, and stepped away from the tree, straightening up and running his fingers through the back of his hair.

"I am completely unaware of who you are, or, until a moment ago, what you are. Please excuse me, I thought you were an animal that I could hunt for food and bragging rights." He grinned sheepishly, then quickly re-arranged his features into ones of humility. "Um, forgive me, hafling," Kal inclined his torso in a slight bow, his blue eyes still fixated on her in burning curiosity as he smiled in excitement.

Kal smiled at her response, his tense body relaxing slightly, he leaned back against the tree, his tight muscles resting easily against the rough bark that left bits of brown decaying material against him. He stuck his blade back in the rope around his loincloth, and placed his hands behind his head, flexing his fingers and still staring at her, grinning broadly. "Hey, don't worry about it. Curiousity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Right?"

He stuck out his hand, now warm and dry, to shake. His fingerspan was almost twice the size of hers. "Glad I didn't kill you. I'm Kal by the way, from the mercolony." He fingered his satchel. "Do you know this area? Cause I'm kind of looking for someone who can help me," He scrutinized her, his mind wondering if she could be the one to decipher it. She was the first civilized being he had come across in his two day's wanderings that wasn't aquatic.

Kal laughed, it was a quiet laugh, but a good one. Simple and cheerful. Kal tilted his head, some ocean water dripping out of his ear.

"Well," he said slowly, truly thinking over her question. "I'm satisfied that I've left the mercolony and am beginning what I set out to do. I'm satisfied that I had a good meal today and I'm satisfied that I have run into you. I'm looking for someone, you see." His eyes became keen and sharp again, the jungle light playing up the rivlets of light in his eyes.

"Someone who can understand this..." Kal pulled out a large square burden from his satchel, revealing another thick square and a ruffle of papers bound in leather left within it. The object he pulled out was a huge book, its cover faded. Kal held it carefully in his wide hands, reaching it out to her. He watched her face, elegant and refined, with high cheekbones and smooth skin, closely for signs of recognition.

His thumbs gripped the sides, in between them thick black symbols, which to Kal were strange and alien, but to someone more informed, might clearly read "Britticana Illustrated World Encyclopedia, A-M."

Kal watched her closely, her eyes widened almost imperceptibly, the iris's a pure green that seemed to be as one with the shades of the forest. "You do... do not know how to read?" she said, her lips expressing surprise as they moved. Kal felt his face get slighly hot, obviously most beings could "read". Of course, merfolk living underwater would have no need to learn this skill, as the paper would be destroyed upon entering water. But he, he was not a merman. He was human, and he was an ignorant one. But he'd learn. He would learn.

He listened silently, his brown lips closed and his eyes focused as she discussed the "book". His eyes lit up, another world! Of course, his adopted mother had told him, he was not of this world, he had come from humans. Now he knew it. He knew the wreckage he had found was of his own origins. That this book was closer to the reality him than his life had been.

Antonella handed the book back to him, his rough hands brushing her soft ones as he took the book, staring at it, willing the words "Enciclopedia A-M" to suddenly jump out on the cover at him. It was this book, this and its twin that remained in his satchel, that had so enraptured him since he first discovered it. It was illustrated with incredibly detailed drawings that showed things, places, people and animals that Kal could barely guess what they really were, hardly grasp the strange machines and creatures and strange people within its pages. He glanced up at her face, could she help him? Maybe, maybe these books and the parcel of handwritten symbols he had also taken from the wreck, those that filled him with a weird sense of familiarity, could they give him a clue about the world he was from?

"Thank you," He said, truly meaning it, but she turned her face away. Kal thought he saw a flicker of recognition in the edges of her eyes. He followed her gaze, seeking out a shape within the shadows of light. He squinted. Was there someone else here? Kal stowed the book back in his bag and took a step forward, brushing by Antonella. His nose dialated as he sought out that distinguishable presence. He heard leaves rustle in the periphrial echos of his ears. Finally his eyes sought out the color of skin against the leaves. Kal whipped his knife out, this time less wary to attack. If Antonella had been wandering around here, it was very possible other intelligence enjoyed this part of the woods. Kal slid his wide feet out, readying his stance.

"Oi," He said firmly, "Who's there?"

Kal eyes glanced back to Antonella as she laid her cool hand against his freckled forearm as she spoke. Words fell out of her mouth like water from the falls, and with her natural and consoling phrase something fell that definetly was not natural. A princess Kal's eyes widened, his thick blond eyelashes quivered. She must be one of the interspecies council that ruled Neverland. He knew the Mercolonies possesed a royal family, a princess even, though he had never seen her. It was something that tinged him regretably as he had heard the princess was both beautiful and worldly, and forbidden from leaving the city. Kal had alway's wished to meet her.

But know, look, here he was in the presence of one. At odds with himself as to what exactly to think, his first jolt was that as a princess she might have access to a way off Neverland, Kal was clueless as to the great binding magic of the place, and how foolish his thoughts may have sounded to the actual council, but he thought of them as nothing except luckily empowered individuals. Those with more resources, though certainly less determination than himself to leave their homeland.

But as Kal took half a breath, his eyes still focused upon her face, bent and flushing. He merely tried to figure out in simple puzzlement how to react in the presence of royalty in order to gain this confidence to royal knowledge. And in that instance a figure burst up from the bushes, stumbling timidly, her eyes fixed fearfuly on Kal's still aimed and sharp white knife. Kal's head snapped back, immediatly scrunching down into a ready position.

"Only me," She whispered numbly, obviously to afraid to move, Kal slightly relaxed his stance, she obviously meant no harm. His eyes ran up and down her slight form. She was a little more than a head shorter than him, pale and lithe. Hair fell in jagged darkness around her face which appeared young and yet older at the same time. Her eyes were green, yet couldn't be more different from Antonella's, as they were a cold celery color that was peircing. Kal did not even entertain the possibility that she was human, before his darting eyes caught on her strange and pointed ears, he knew he was in the presence of an elf. A thin scratch leaked blood onto her white face, and she wiped it into a pale red trail across her cheek.

Elves he had caught glimpses of near the lagoon. In touch with nature, they sometimes visited in the dead of night to blend with the coastal animals. This was the first time he had seen one up close before. Kal's heartbeat gave an extra thump. Imagine his luck, running into a halfling and an elf in the same hour. He must be close to some path, some bearing to a different civilization besides the mercove he had known all his life.

He slowly stowed his knife and straightened up, his focused face relaxing into a smile. "Hey, I'm Kal," he stuck his hand out politely and inclining his head.

"Sorry, you're the second person I've tried to attack today." He laughed lightly. "Guess I'm a little jumpy, this is my first visit to this area. I'm from the Mercolonies,"

The girl jumped back in a shimmer of a second, as though Kal had extended a knife instead of a hand. She glared at it unreasonably, bangs falling out of her eyes as she stared up defiently at him. Kal felt his ears color as she stated her name boldly. Greylyn.

"Then I'm afraid you should use your head a bit more, Mister Kal," She said. Kal smiled again. "And you're entertaining the princess?" Her eyes trailed off to Antonella, and Kal could detect something almost unperceptibly hostile about the edges her face took on as she breifly glanced at the princess, however it was gone so fast he decided he must have imagined it, though her voice sounded smug and more than a little duragatory. Kal shook his head, as though to clear his ears, and ruffled his thick mop of golden hair with the hand that was not still extended toward her.

"Yeah I suppose I should," He said honestly. "But you know, you can never be too careful in these strange parts. I'm not even used to dry land quite frankly, it's a whole new beast for me. A whole new beast of beasts, know what I mean?" He glanced down at his wide freckled hand, still outstretched.

"Well, arn't you going to shake it?" He glanced back up at her, his pale eyebrows scrunching quizzically. "I don't bite," he said in earnest honesty with a genuine smile on his face again.

Kal chuckled almost silently to himself as she took his hand after an awkward pause and shook it briefly up and down before quickly releasing. I'm not carrying an infectious disease either he thought to himself with amusement. Then again, perhaps shaking hands was not elven custom. Whatever, he'd be happy to oblidge to any form of greeting she had in mind, Kal thought as he swung his freed hand down to his side.

"Mr. Kal, I'm not afraid of your bite so much as your knife," she said, her thin eyebrow's raising. Kal glanced down at the sharktooth sharply bound to a dead wood hilt.

"What, this thing? Hah, I'm not crazed knife murderer, this is just for hunting. Guy's gotta eat you know?" He threw back his head and laughed, a gleaming body of joy against the elves wintry presence. "And call me Kal, really."

He could tell she was digesting his words before about being new to the land as she added the portion about being careful after dark. Kal's ears perked up as he dutifully took in this useful information. So, most land predators were nocturnal? Greylyn's lips twisted into a smile, sick and smug.

"What with shadow's being out and about..." A shallow cough reverate through her chest, and she glanced over her shoulder in exagerated suspicion that did not fail to leave an impact on Kal. He was immediatly on alert again, something that played obviously in the taunt lines of his arms, legs and abdominals. All seemed to be held perfectly still in the instance of moving fast. More of a habit than anything.

Kal had heard great subject of rumours within the mercolonies about the most recent habits of shadows. He knew quite a few people in his village who's shadows had fled during the nighttime and had yet to come back. It was assumed wherever they went it was far away from the lagoons. The mercolonies had had little trouble with shadows, except for the one nasty incident a year prior where a young mermaid had been strangled by her own shadow and left within the shade of Kal's favorite cliff. So some of his kind dismissed the real danger of the shadow's, especially since underwater shadows blend in with the surroundings and seem more of a harmless pet fish than a free thinking being. But Kal, reading late into the evening on shore one night, had seen a shadow rip free of a hidden elf, and sweep into the darkest part of the forest which looked like a portal to absolute darkness.

So Kal had nothing but the greatest respect for those enemies, the free-shadows. In the silence, sunlight fell through the tree's and played across his shallow water iris's. He dropped them to the leafy floor, making sure his shadow was still there.

It was, ruffling its hair ever so often, its greeny blackness seemingly calm against the forest floor. Kal exhaled and glanced breifly at Antonella before returning his gaze to Greylyn.

"Thank's for the tip," He said, nodding his head in solemnly. "I'll retreat to the water when night comes."

"Yes Mister Kal, but a knife does not care who it stabs, now does it?" she said. Kal frowned; talking in riddles? What was the elf trying to say?

"No," He said slowly, thoughtfully. "But a knife does not throw itself either."

As he gazed at her, Greylyn suddenly broke into a spasm of frenzied coughing that seemed to shake her fragile body. Kal made a movement as if to step foreward, a shadow of concern falling across his face, but he restrained himself. The girl now covered her mouth, in a grin that was insolently suppressed.

"Well Mister Kal, suspecting your own shadow already?" She said, Kal almost took a step back, her voice was practically dripping with malice. Kal shook his shaggy bangs again, as though to rid himselfs of droplets of her obvious scorn. He looked back up at her.

"Nah," He said, almost more to himself than to her. "There is nothing to be feared from your own shadow." Kal paused, unsure of exactly where that phrase had come from, but it felt unnervingly powerful. He went to speak, then paused again, his eyebrow's crinkling. Suddenly a fit of coughing overcame Greylyn, as though her ribs were grating against her body, her throat vibrating with the verocity of the cough trying to force its way out. Kal blinked, watching her closely. He bit his lip, uncertain of how to re-act. Greylyn looked away, a despodent expression now crossing her face.

"As for the water, you're not a merman I suspect?" She said, eyeing him with more simple doubt. That Kal could cope with.

"I'm not, you're right, but I live with them, the merpeople. I'm adopted." He laughed, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, they were more intent. Not sad exactly, more contemplating and strong, as though this matter was one of great importance to him, no matter how carefree he at first seemed. "A foundling. But trust me, the water is more home to me. On land I keep tripping over these," He wiggled his large toes, dried sand falling from them to the earthen floor as he stretched his long, strong arms, over his head. His eyes closed for a second, before opening the portals of water and light to rest on the surly elf.

Kal noticed Greylyn was grudgingly impressed with his response about the knife, it pleased hi that he had come out with something that had impressed her.

"You're an orphan then?" She tilted her head and the sharp strands of hair fell out of her face. Kal noticed it was pale, even for an elf. Almost sickly pale. Kal nodded after a brief pause, then smiled as she glanced at his toes with what he was coming to see was a signature smirk. He felt better of it though, it was not as poisonous as it had been earlier.

"Well, I suppose it's better to be orphaned than disowned." She said, Kal started at the ugly statement. Tentatively in his mind, he wondered whether something similar had happened to her, and thrust upon her this sarcastic, shut down attitude. He shrugged. He wouldn't make assumptions.

"Yes, I suppose," He ventured slowly, eyeing Greylyn for her re-action. Whatever reaction he may have received however was breifly cut off by a ruptured cough, wracking her slight body in an ugly, grating heave. Kal's eyebrow's furrowed with concern as Greylyn doubled over in pain, forcing out her breath mixed with flecks of phelm. She swallowed roughly and unbent her spine, suddenly encrossed with her short, clear nails.

Kal reached foreward without thinking and touched her elbow gently. "Hey, you don't sound good at all. You should sit down, is your home close by?" He looked over her shoulder into the deep woods. The heat of the afternoon had slowed down, bogged into a late afternoon heat that fell through the tree's like liquid gold too pool warmly across the ground. A white cloud passed over it for a second, and the ground was punctured by a soft shadow before the light, varying in waves of humid cool and sticky warmth washed over them.