StoryPaws: A Mystical Old World Story: The Toxics 2

Chapter 2 Sib Reuben set a fast pace and Felicity was happy to keep close to him.

She had no desire to see the shapes behind them come any closer.

The trouble was she kept tripping up.

Flipping mist,

She thought to herself as she trawled on something sharp.

The mist is our friend,

Felicity of the Bellpenfold,

Reuben said softly,

As if not to offend the opaque cloud.

It protects us from our enemies in sight and sound and thought.

I wish you wouldn't keep eavesdropping on my thoughts,

Reuben thousandth,

Said Felicity.

I think it's a bit prying,

Actually.

I do apologise,

Felicity Isabel Penfold,

Replied Reuben.

An open mind invites a conversation in our world.

I must help you learn how to close your thoughts when you wish for privacy.

You see,

Hear,

All sees,

All hears,

All understands,

All life is one and all is balanced.

He sighed then and Felicity wondered why.

But more interestingly,

She noticed that as Reuben spoke,

He seemed to grow somehow.

Felicity couldn't quite have said what happened,

He just seemed bigger.

She was all at once very tired.

Open your heart and share the strength of the mist,

Of the grass,

Of the life around you,

Commanded Reuben.

And before she could answer,

She felt energy flowing back into her.

She could have walked forever,

Crossed mountains,

Forwarded rivers,

Trekked until she reached the end of this strange,

Alive world.

Wow,

What was that?

She asked,

But there was no response.

Ouch,

She muttered,

As her toe stubbed against his hard heel.

Reuben had stopped suddenly,

And Felicity found herself holding her breath.

There was something coming towards them.

She could see the mist swirling into different patterns in the half-light.

Reuben stepped out in front of her,

And his voice held firm in a nebulous air.

I am Reuben Four Thousandth,

Who might you be,

Approacher unknown.

I am Sibyllyn Sixteen Thousandth,

And I wish to join you.

My friends the aquatics tell me of your great quest,

And it's my most fervent desire to help you succeed,

Said the murky shape.

A Sibyllyn,

Felicity heard Reuben exclaim,

And now she was aware of whispering and murmuring,

Coming from the distorted forms behind her.

Hush,

He said to them.

Sibyllyn Sixteen Thousandth is welcome and most needed.

But why is he here?

He wondered to himself.

Felicity decided to sort out this name business.

Reuben,

Your names are rather long.

Can I use something easier to remember?

Reuben and Sib both turned to stare at her,

And she trembled.

But she stood straight and held her breath.

What would you suggest,

Felicity Isabel Penfold,

The first,

Replied Reuben,

Looking amused.

Well perhaps I could call you Reuben,

And Sibyllyn Sixteen Thousandth Sib,

She said.

Reuben chewed delicately at the side of his index finger as he considered.

Of course,

He said at last,

You are our guest,

And we shall show our welcome by adopting your name.

You are our guest,

And we shall show our welcome by adopting your names.

And you can call me Felicity,

Felicity said.

Just Felicity,

She added,

A little breathless.

But they see how terrified she was.

Mum said she never showed her feelings,

But in this strange place she felt transparent,

As if they could all see right into her heart,

Not only her mind.

The mist cleared a little,

And Felicity noticed Sib had crept closer.

Felicity stared at him.

What on earth is he?

She thought.

He looked like a cross between a lizard and a snake.

His skin was scaly and his legs quite short,

But he seemed to manage very well on them.

His neck was long,

So Felicity had not realised how low to the ground his body was.

He was bigger than the largest crocodile in the world that she had seen on TV once.

He was smiling as he watched her assess him,

And she flushed.

We halt for the night,

Commanded Ruben,

Interrupting the moment.

And then we will talk,

He said quietly to Sib.

Felicity felt cold and wondered how they would find food and shelter in this strange misty land.

It was getting dark,

And she wasn't keen to spend the night close to the unidentifiable assortment of moving shapes behind them.

What are they?

She shivered.

Felicity,

Our world is very simple,

Said Ruben,

Interrupting her fearful thoughts.

She frowned,

A tiny crease appearing above her blonde eyebrows.

Her stomach rumbled loudly.

Pardon me,

She said.

Our world is very simple,

Repeated Ruben,

Wondering why this exotic creature was looking so gross.

If you have a question,

Then ask me with your thoughts.

Words are there if needed,

But often silence is enough.

Communication flows freely between consenting creatures.

The shapes you fear are simply a gathering of curious creatures.

They have tagged along as I travelled from the Western Isle.

They're good company,

And you have nothing to fear from them.

Creatures,

Asked Felicity,

Beast and plant live in symbiotic harmony here,

Felicity.

All life has purpose,

And plants have their voice too.

Is this not so in your world?

Well,

We understand the huge importance of plants in the maintenance of our ecosystems,

She replied,

Thinking of Mr.

Harrelson's last geography lesson.

But I wouldn't say plants are allowed to speak.

She hoped this was not disrespectful to the odd things that were gathering around.

Felicity glanced at them and became transfixed by those closest to her.

They were tiny wisps of colourful leaf balls that spun around in a random but ordered fashion,

Rolling along the ground or flying up into the air.

Their movement seemed to have purpose.

What are they?

She asked.

But it was Sib who replied.

They're colour changers,

He said,

My enharmonic species.

They're quite small,

But they can cluster together if needed.

Have you not them in your land,

Strange one?

Um,

No,

She replied.

Ruben slipped away to organise the camp,

And they were alone.

Sib was staring at her as if asking a question,

But without words.

It was impossible to ignore his intense gaze any longer.

What?

Said Felicity loudly.

She wished Ruben would reappear.

She felt uncomfortable with this lizardy thing.

I move well with my short legs,

Do I?

He laughed softly as he repeated her private thoughts.

Sibylline retract their legs and skim the ground very fast in ripples when they have to,

Stranger,

He said.

Like speech,

My legs are there when I need them.

Felicity was confused.

Then she remembered they could hear her thoughts if she let them drift freely.

For goodness sake,

She thought,

But she said,

I apologise,

Sib,

And please call me Felicity.

My name is Felicity Penfold.

Her voice cracked as she said her surname,

And she knew she was starting to cry,

But she didn't really care.

Sib moved a little away.

He seemed uninterested in continuing their conversation.

She could stand up no longer.

She bumped down onto the mossy ground and sank until her cheek touched the spongy surface.

She closed her eyes.

Just for a minute,

She thought.

Warm hands covered her in a brackish sort of blanket,

And as she fell asleep,

She recognised Ruben's voice as the last thing she heard.

Felicity is exhausted,

Sibylin.

She has travelled further than we can understand,

And we must let her sleep.

She has been so long awaited.

But Felicity heard no more that night.

The green stars twinkled above as the ragtaggle group of travellers rested.

Ruben and Sib built a crackling fire from the ferny bush that grew profusely on this part of the land,

And some of the colour changes moved amongst the small group,

Distributing earth balls of crunchy sweetness that had been upturned in the loose soil.

Ruben eased back against his folded jacket.

He watched Sib's face carefully.

The Sibylin had half lowered his eyelids,

Making it impossible to see the expression in his eyes.

Ruben looked away.

He drew in a deep breath,

And let the air leave his body slowly,

Carrying the tension of the day with it.

Felicity stirred in her sleep,

And his eyes turned to this beautiful stranger.

He guarded his thoughts,

And allowed himself to think in a way that he had not since leaving Orion country.

What did the Orion leaders think of him to have entrusted him with this quest,

With hardly any real knowledge of the shape of things to come?

His only course was to hold fast to his beliefs,

Which were unshakable.

That the old world traditions were formed for pure good reasons.

That any imbalance could be rectified with the sharing of hearts and minds.

Why did the toxics not understand all life here was part of them also?

That they belonged and were inherent to this world.

He had grown up knowing the toxics were different,

But he had believed them happy to be so.

Then as an adolescent,

He had learnt they were restless and even bitter.

That he should avoid them when out with his friends.

And now it seemed the whole world wanted him,

Ruben,

To form his quest party,

And persuade the toxics to desist from their angry,

Destructive path.

But what exactly are the toxics planning,

He thought?

If only he had a little more information.

His elders had relied on his character.

They knew he was obedient and strong.

He would accept without question the great honour of his mission.

Now he was on the other side of the world,

With an exotic stranger who it would take time for him to fully understand.

And a sibling who he must trust.

And yet who put a shadow in his mind.

Find the stranger in the east,

And the others will find you.

He sighed loudly,

And Sib's eyelids flicked up,

Revealing their large yellow irises.

Sibling,

Ruben said,

Tired of his anxieties,

Now I would know,

Why have you come?

Why would you join me?

I heard that a young Orion was travelling the lands on a great quest,

Began Sib in his whining voice.

The aquatics hold my deepest respect.

And they suggested,

Even advised,

That I should seek you in order to offer my services.

They seemed to feel I may have a part to play.

Can you tell me,

Ruben Four Thousandth,

Where you go?

What is your mission?

I know only something of this story,

Sib,

Replied Ruben.

He ate an earth-ball slowly as he spoke,

Chewing carefully,

As if to draw out every last ounce of pleasure and energy from this crunchy treat.

Yes,

I was to travel far to the east,

Where a stranger would meet me.

This has come to pass,

As you see.

There is an affinity between this stranger,

Felicity,

And myself.

Yet the balance is not full.

There will be others,

Key members.

The Orion leaders who awarded me the honour of leading this quest would not tell me more.

My ignorance is my protection.

However I am told those essential to the quest will find me.

Our task is to prevent the toxics in their mission of destruction.

They threaten our world.

The full story of the quest is unknown,

Perhaps even to my Orion elders.

There's likely to be danger,

Of course.

Yet I trust still the harmony of our world to lead us safely to our final destiny.

If you feel you're meant to be here,

And if you wish to face the challenges ahead with courage,

Then you are welcome,

Sibyl and Sixteen Thousandth,

Said Ruben,

With a big smile.

Your kind can be misunderstood.

But I will have you.

The Sibyl and Sixteen Thousandth keep themselves separate like the toxics.

With you by my side,

We can restore an atmosphere of trust.

We will bring light to the darkness of this beautiful,

Intelligent world that I so love and believe in.

And as he said those words,

He felt the full life-force of the world flow through his veins and heal his anxieties.

He knew he would do anything,

Anything at all,

To save his beloved old world.

Sib looked across at this beautiful Orion male as his impassioned words called out in the dark night,

His features irradiated by the flickering fire.

Something unexpected stirred.

Sib had no illusions.

Curiosity was not a Sibyl trait.

He came out of curiosity rather than obedience to the aquatics.

But this Orion was truly captivating.

Yet it was with a feeling of unease he found himself saying,

Then let the quest party be three.