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It was late. The stars already blanketed the sky. Darba stumbled into the inn after Feren, her eyes blurry, her legs felt like lead. She was so tired, both physically and emotionally. She didn't know how much more she could take. All she wanted was for everything to be okay. She felt Feren pulling her to the bed, she felt herself struggle a bit, trying to tell him no, thinking she must keep her dignity. But she was to tired, so tired. Darba fell into the softness of the bed, the warmth of Feren next to her lulling her into sleep even more. She heard herself mumbling, "It will be okay, I will protect you, I will save you....."
The darkness swelled around her, throbbing with a steady rhythm, a rhythm not unlike the beating of her own heart. She ran through the darkness, trying to find her way out, trying to find hope. On and on she ran, and still the darkness seemed endless. And yet she still ran, the beating rhythm following her.
The darkness faded into lush fields of green. Tall grasses blew in the wind, and thickets of trees dotted the landscape. The sky was blue above her, as the sun beat down warm rays on her face. Darba breathed in the fresh deep smell of the earth sighing in relief. She looked about her trying to place where she was, and she started running. Over the hills, through the trees she ran until she smelt the faint burning of wood smoke. Cresting a rise she saw where this smell was coming from.
A small village lay at the bottom of the hill. Just a sprinkling of a few huts, a small number of tauren wandered about the village, attending to their daily tasks.
Darba noticed a single tauren away from the others, heading towards her. "Darba" she heard a voice carried on the breeze. "You came back, we missed you, why did you go away?" The voice was female, and sounded sad, so very sad. Darba stared at the figure heading towards her, her throat suddenly gone dry, her palms sweaty. "I..." She shook her head. "This can't be, this isn't possible!" The tauren was now in front of her staring intently at Darba. "Ah, it is so good to see you again my daughter. Welcome home."
Darba stared at this woman, beginning to panic. Her mother stretched her arms out to Darba, beckoning her to come with her. "Come, join us, come home my daughter." Darba felt soothed suddenly, she felt all her worries start melting away.
"NO!" Darba roared. "This can't be real." Darba stared at her mother. "I..you are dead, I killed you, this is not real!" she cried out as her mother turned slowly away from her seeming to stare back at the village. Darba heard soft laughter suddenly. So quiet she almost didn't hear it. She looked down, the grass had become dust beneath her feet, down the hill, the village lay in ashes. "Mother....what is..." The laughter was louder now. Her mother was facing her again. Blood ran down her face, matting her fur, covering her from head to toe. Her mother snarled her eyes raging. "Look what you did! It is your fault!" She cackled, the laughter following Darba into darkness. "No, I didn't mean to! Mother, I just only wanted to protect you!" she cried out at the specter that was no longer there. Falling, Darba screamed her rage, her fear and her sorrow. The laughter seemed to follow her.
Darba sat up in bed. Looking around her she breathed in relief. Feren sill lay sleeping, "I'm sorry she whispered" The shaman stirred, slowly turning over, too slowly.
Cold empty eyes stared back at her, a maniacal grin spread across his face as he sneered at her. "You failed Darba. Yet again you failed, look at me, look what you did to me." Darba stared on horror, trying to get away, trying to go anywhere but where she was right now. His dry laughter seemed to almost hold her, to almost paralyze her. "No!" She cried. "I never wanted to hurt you. Why? why did you try to help me? why did you let me hurt you."
Darba screamed, her eyes flashed open, her heart pounding in her chest. She was to afraid to move, too afraid to look. She lay there staring at the ceiling for the longest time. Finally she sighed softly in relief. "A dream" she whispered. "Just a dream" Yet she still couldn't shake off the affect it had on her. She rolled over, panic taking her.
"Feren?" He was nowhere to be found. Darba sat up in bed and that was when she noticed a note sitting on the bed-stand. As she read the note a small smile spread across her face. Darba wiped a single tear from her face. She now knew what she had to do. She didn't want to hurt anymore people, it was all she seemed to ever do.
Quickly she scrawled a short note and handed it to the innkeeper telling him to give it to Feren when he came back"
Dearest Feren
I have done much thinking when I awoke this morning, and have come to realize that I am a hazard to all those I care for. If it wasn't for me, you would not be suffering now, if it wasn't for me, everyone would be okay. I am going. I don't know where but I need to go far away. Far away from everyone I care for so I don't hurt them anymore. So I don't hurt you anymore. If you get better, try to forget about me. You will be better off that way, trust me. I wish you luck, and tell everyone good bye for me.
Darba.
She slowly sealed the letter, tears staining the envelope. She was hurting so much inside, but she knew it was what she had to do, she didn't want to hurt anyone else. And she thought, maybe if she was gone, Feren would get better. Slowly she stepped out into the warm air of the Barrens. Looking up at the sky she breathed in, trying to remain strong. Quickly she became one with the cheetah, her bones reshaping themselves to take on the new form. She sniffed the air are took off running. Running somewhere, running away. That day it was said in the Crossroads that a great uncanny roar was heard. A roar that no ordinary lion could have made, a roar that was so sorrowful that the hustle and bustle that was the crossroads was jarred to a halt for moment, everyone staring at everyone in wonder.
(so yah, take that! Oh, and feel free to edit because the grammar really sucks. *grins*) [edited by Feren]
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