Powers? 2

"Aiden... dont." Leah said trying to sound strong through the pain and bloodloss. Apparently she wasn't convincing enough because he healed her anyway. Leah knew what that kind of magic will have done to Aiden. According to the unwritten laws of Magic, Life, and Fate in order to heal or save the life of another, the amount that you healed on a person physically would strain on you mentally and some physically. This was in order to keep the balance of life. Leah knew that her wound had been severe and so therefore using that much magic to heal her would be catastrophic on his energy. He wouldn't be in any life threatening danger but he probably would be weak or ill for a little while. This made Leah worry about him. She was regaining her strength when Aiden fell on her but she recovered quickly enough due to Aiden's power of quick healing gift. Then she attempted to move and get Aiden to a more comfortable position. But before she even moved to try to do this she felt Aiden lifted away from her.

At first, fearing it was more enemies, Leah lifted the skelliton's knife from the ground where it had fallen and turned, still on her knees, to whoever it was. The blade pointed straight at the heart of the person. But she stopped when she saw who it was and realized that this person was here to help and not harm her or Aiden.

Mixed emotions happened when she saw Tom's face through the dim blue light in the caves. First off she felt the same thing she did on their last encounter when he had randomly kissed her and then took off, not to be seen again until just now. That lasted only a second and then she was curious about how he had gotten here and how he knew where to find them. She couldn't deny she was glad to see him especially under the circumstances but there was a part of her that also wanted to ask him what on earth he was thinking that would explain his behavior just before she had to depart back to Yulaenia. One thing was sure, this explained why she kept seeing shadows that day and also why Aiden had mentioned Tom seconds ago. How long had Aiden known Tom was there?

The more dominant thought on her mind at the time was the matter at hand, though. It was only a fraction of a second for her to note who it was that helped her and what she needed to do now. She stood up and turned her attention away from Tom for a minute to check on Aiden. She was genuinely concerned about him very much because of what he had done and also this would be an excuse for her to be silent until she could think of what to say to Tom. She placed her hand on Aiden's back where it was arched over Tom's shoulder and measured his strength and mental fatigue through magic and his aura. This was a science any human could do but the Earth knowledge wasn't as advanced as much as Yulaenias. It would be another 50 years or so before people on Earth would learn to use Auras as a way to heal.

She was relieved to know that Aiden was alright, just very much weakened by Leah's stupidity. "Thank you, friend." she said to him softly, unsure if he could hear her or was completely unconcious.

She looked back at Tom "You sure know how to make an entrence." she said a bit sarcasticly but then he always sort of did. When they first met he caught her when she was about to trip and now this was the second time he sort of showed up out of no where when she was in trouble. Of course now was a bit more serious of a matter than just falling over in an ice cream shop. "Tom what are you doing here?" she didn't sound in the slightest bit upset. But she was confused why he was back at Yulaenia when he had chosen to stay on earth. Also she wondered how he had gotten back in the first place. "I guess a better question to ask is how you knew where to find us so answer both."

 

Leah sighed "Farthest thing from my mind right now." she lied, not sure if she was being convincing or not but she wasn't sure if it was HOW he made things difficult or the fact that it did happen that was the most pressing thing on her mind.

Deciding she better change the subject, she said "Anyway Aiden will be fine. And you're right about the shard. Thats what we came for and these caves can be dangerous to stay in for longer than nessesary." she looked at the knife from the skelliton and then decided that she better keep it just in case. She tucked it in her belt and then looked at Tom "Well then, lets go."

 

Leah had just about enough of those two words. It was bad enough when Aiden said it she didn't need everyone to start calling her by her mothers name. "Leah." she corrected him. She knew he was probably not being serious about what he said because out of what she remembered, she had never told him about her liniage. But her name was Leah and it always would be to Aiden, Tom, Nicole, and the others. She didnt want to be known as the queen of Yulaenia because she certainly didnt feel like it.

"And I can handle a few misfires but if you insist I'll keep my distance." she started up the face of the hill.

 

Leah smiled a bit "I always wondered if that would be a possibility in you. Your biological father had that ability too. His was a bit more advanced of course, you are half human. He was full oracle, god, whatever it is that Earth people call them." she nodded "I am glad to see your powers are advancing. What makes you ask though?"

 

Leah nodded, a bit unsure why these dreams were so important or what he wanted her to say. After a moment she said "The future is a fickle thing. It never does stay in one place for two long. Its always changing with every little decision we make as I'm sure you already know. Sometimes seeing the future can be a curse in that way but it can also be helpful to you." she shrugged "If you want one of the futures you've seen to happen than make it so but to be honest I think that there is always a middle ground that may be able to make all three of the people in your dream happy. You just have to look beyond the pictures you see in your dream. Its confusing but I'm sure you can figure it out."

 

Leah stopped, looking at Tom and unsure how to interpret what he said. She might be mistaken but she was sure she had heard him say 'I' and 'You'. "When this become about us?" Leah said, looking at Tom. She had stopped walking.

 

Leah gave Tom a skeptical look but she accepted his excuse for the time being. "Well I wouldn't be happy about it you're right about that. I'm sure that whoever these 'three' are would feel the same." she walked to Tom "But 'if', retorically speaking, it were us... I would tell you I dont believe in fate. Even if there are those who can see the future I dont think it's ever set in stone. So I would find a way to change the future you had seen. I would be ok with being the unhappy one if it meant that you would stay and you and whoever else you had seen hypothetically could be happy."

She shrugged "I guess what I'm trying to say is the future is what you make it. If you want something to happen then go for it and avoid whatever it is that you saw thats making you worry."

 

Leah was a bit confused by Tom's words seeing as she had not seen Malefest. "Um.... Tom are you ok?" she asked. What he had said didnt make much sense with the conversation they were having before. She looked around, wondering if she had missed something that had happened that she didnt know about but she didnt see anyone or anything out of the ordinary.

 

Leah nodded "You're right. It's not comming from outside." she reached out and touched a beam of the light. It seemed to take on a life of its own, rippeling like water where she had touched it and then it broke apart into hundreds of little fragments of light flying off in all different directions. Some of them flew around Leah and Tom, landing on their heads and shoulders before flying off again. Leah laughed a bit "Ignites." she explained to Tom as they flew away deeper into the cave. More beams of light were still seemingly reflecting off of the walls but in reality they were just like the one Leah had touched, hundreds of small fragments of light all resting together close enough that they became one. "They can only be found in Hallowed or respected ground in Yulaenia. Something important here happened once and we can know this by the Ignites that create light around it. There are some that say they are remnants of memories of whatever had happened here. But more accurately they are the essense of those who have passed on. If they are here it means that they are here guarding something important that has been hidden. We should follow them before they get too far ahead." she started walking again, a little faster than before. Ahead, she could see some kind of pedistal that was illuminated by the Ignites that Leah had touched. They had landed on it, making it very bright in the dim blue-green darkness of the cave. Leah was more cautious when she saw that. There was no way it would be this easy to just walk up and take the shard from the pedistal. She wondered what test awaited them once they reached the pedistal.

 

"No!" Leah cried, reaching to her sword to try to stop Gabrinth but he was already gone before she had time to do anything. Leah tried to control her emotions. Crying and making a scene wouldn't bring Aiden back but there was still time to save him... or at least she hoped so. She couldnt lose her father and her best friend both in one day. Not Aiden.

She looked at Tom "We need to find them." she said, not sounding quite as calm as she wanted to "I'm going to kill Gabrinth I swear it." she took off toward the entrance of the cave. She didnt even know where he had taken Aiden and the shard or how she was going to get there seeing as she couldnt teleport of fly (the two spells she has a weakness for) but it didnt matter to her. He had made her an orphan and turned her people against her, now he threatened her friends family and world.

She wasnt acting like her normal self and deep down she knew it but she didnt care at that moment.