| Subject: capture |
Author:
Angelina, Others
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Date Posted: 12:27:16 09/09/05 Fri
Angelina had been on the run for most of her life, alone, with no means of defense but her own mind. Over the years she had made it her business to know what was going on at all times, to assess a situation quickly and act accordingly, to keep a close watch over her surroundings so as to have plenty of warning of any approach. Indeed, to do so was her very survival. She was proud of her ability to keep track of all doings in her vicinity, and with senses heightened by the strange magic within her, she often ended up surprising a visitor who had intended to surprise her. She was a clever, canny, shrewd, and keenly observant child.
And so it came as a bit of a shock that she had no warning of the attack.
She saw nothing - no shadow, no hint of movement. She heard nothing - no whisper, no stealthy footstep. She smelled nothing but the water and the plants and the wind, none of which told of anything out of the ordinary. But most disturbingly of all, she sensed nothing - there was no promonitory nudge in her mind, no icy forboding, no sound from the warning bell in her mind that had been so reliable in the past, and what's more, she did not even sense any other minds like hers for miles around. One moment she stood on the edge of the Mirror Sea, lost in troubled thought, and the next moment her vision went black and strong arms lifted her from the water.
Now, Angelina had not survived those years on her own by luck alone; she was strong and quick, and had magic at her call. But presently she found, to her great alarm, that the magic did not answer. She screamed to it desperately but there were only echoes, as though it had never been there at all. She was just a little girl, and though she struggled mightily, the limbs of her captor quickly held her immobile. She hung there helpless as a babe, slinging her head back and forth to rid it of the bindings on her eyes. And then she realized, with a stab of horror, that there was nothing at all covering her eyes. And yet she could not see. Her sight, like the magic, was simply gone - as though it had never been there in the first place.
A low, hoarse chuckle sounded just beside her ear, though Angie neither felt nor smelled the breath. ::Hello, Bana,:: said a voice into her mind, overriding her carefully-constructed barriers as though they were of thin paper. And all around the words were repeated, an endless chorus that filled her mind so utterly that she felt sure that now, at last, she would go mad. Hello, Bana, until nothing had ever existed but those words. When the voices finally died away she hung limply in her captor's grip, shivering as one fevered.
::Poor child,:: the first voice crooned, and some strangely-shaped hand - and massive, by the feel of it - stroked her hair. But she could hear the arrogant smirk in the voice. ::Bana comes with us now, yes? No fighting?::
Survival and solitude had also served to make Angie bold, and she scowled with sightless eyes. ::Like...like hell I will,:: she replied, though her voice sounded painfully weak.
A gale of laughter swept over her, heard more in the mental realm than with her ears. ::Methinks child comes with no fighting,:: the voice of her captor said (and he was still stroking her hair), ::or else child's little friend will be no more.::
For an instant Angie did not know who the stranger meant, but then the image flashed in her mind - too brilliant and close to be anything but real - of Nobel Nomis LeBrandonburg limping wearily along, nose in the air, following a familiar scent. The image faded and the hand came to rest on her shoulders, large enough to crush her head in the palm with little effort.
But what made up Angie's mind was the stranger's choice of words. Be no more, he had said - not die. In a moment Angie understood the difference and realized what was at stake. ::No,:: she said. ::Leave him be.::
::Not possible, child,:: the first voice said. ::But if child comes, then methinks friend shall come, too. Child likes that?::
::Just don't hurt him.:: Angie heard her voice tremble and was filled with shame, but the strangers did not seem to notice.
::Bring the friend,:: her captor ordered, and there was a sigh of movement as some of the group departed. ::Hide now, and wait.::
Without warning the creature moved, carrying Angie along like a piece of baggage under one arm, and Angie would have screamed if she had had any breath. What she felt was as though the creature had leapt into the air and performed a cartwheel high above the earth; she had the distinct impression of hanging upside-down for what felt like far too long for gravity to endure, and then the whispering grass was below and a cool shadow enveloped her.
The creature stood still, dangling Angie, and after a few minutes or hours (she could not tell), the girl passed out.
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