I Did Not Write This

But my friend wanted me to post it.

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Lyniani bounded down the forest floor. She stopped and skidded into a cave. She knew that Auran wasn’t here yet, but she would write him a note.

               Dear Auran,

Do not worry, I will be back. I have just gone to the nearest town to get some food for us. If you could, please set up camp in this cave and make it human-proof. Thanks very much.

Love ~ Lyniani

Lyniani stood up in the cave. She got out her money bag and her knife and stuck the knife in her boot. Just in case this was a human town, she stuck a hat on her head to hide her ears. She whistled loudly. To her surprise, a wild horse came running out side the cave. It stood there and Lyniani thought, Why not?

The horse’s mane was long and coarse as she mounted it. It was very fast too, as it trotted towards the path. They soon arrived and it seemed to be an elf town, but Lyniani kept her hat on. She tied the horse with magic and walked over to the nearest store. She recited from memory, “Two water skins, one wineskin, two loaves of bread and a sack of horse food please.” The gnarled face of the man looked mad, but his response was,” Here you go, all in this sack, that’ll be eight Sickles please.” Lyniani paid the man and stuck the sack in her belt and went to find some feathers and metal, to mark her horse as her own. The feathers were to make earrings for the horse, and the metal so she could brand it.

As she arrived to the cave she pressed the hot metal to the horse quickly, and made the sign that matched the small tattoo on her arm. She patted the horse and quickly pierced the right ear and sewed the feather through it. She ordered the horse to go to the cave, set some spell-traps that only Auran could get through, and took her gear out hunting.

Lyniani did not bump into Auran. She did, however, kill a fully grown deer. She happily trotted home in her wolf form. Her blazing pelt matching the falling red and brown leaves. She set to work on mashing berries to paint the cave and laying down the tanned deerskin to sleep on. Lyniani busied herself with making a fire pit, laying down mats, finding rock ledges to put candles on, and making a fur bed for her and Auran. As she finished up the rabbit-skin flap entrance, she found herself exhausted. She threw the note into the fire, since Auran wasn’t back, and fell asleep waiting for her soul-mate to return.

Lynni opened her hazel eyes. She was in her cave with mats of deer-skin and rock-ledge candles. Her soul-mate, Auran, had not returned from hunting. She wandered outside to the stream and took a look at herself. Elven tunic, leaf-sown breeches, long leather boots. She had red hair that shone in the sun and her pointed ears revealed her race. Elf. She had tattoos under her eyes like triangles that revealed her heritage, which long ago, was royalty. The tattoo on her arm was usually hidden because no one liked shape-shifters. Humans in particular would accuse shape-shifters of witch-craft. And that’s what Lynni simply was, a good-hearted shape-shifter.

Lynni called for her wild horse, Ferian. Her lean muscled stallion was only about 3months old, but looked much older and was ready to ride. Lynni crawled back into the cave and slept for twelve bird chirps, hoping that Auran would be back.

Auran had brown hair and leaf green eyes. He also had shape-shifting abilities and was of the same race as her. Therefore they both had rings on the right hang on their thumb. That was the elfish marriage hand. Auran was sweet and gentle but had a bad temper. He was dressed similar to Lynni, except his only weapons were his staff and bow. Lynni was well known for hiding various weapons, so you never knew which one she used. Lynni’s main weapon was her white sword, Khellek.

Khellek was a white, long blade with cold steel. At the pommel, there was a stone wolf head. Khellek is the elfish word for bite or fang.

Lynni stood up in the cave. She got out her money bag and her knife and stuck the knife in her boot. Just in case this was a human town, she stuck a hat on her head to hide her ears. She wrote a note to Auran telling him that she’d be right back and where she was. She whispered kind words to her horse and held fast on his mane as he galloped off in search of the nearest town.

* * *

Auran blew his brown hair slightly out of his face as he drew his bow quietly. He had spotted a fully grown buck and aimed at it with his bow. Auran whispered lightly,” Come here, come here.” The buck’s ears perked up and it warily padded in his direction, clearly not seeing Auran at all. Once Auran had a clear shot, he let the arrow fly. His weapon found its target, at the heart. Auran trudged over to his fresh-kill, taking deep breaths.

He closed his eyes and focused on one animal. The wolf. Heat racked his body; Auran winced as his bones began to shift. His nose grew into a snout and his ears moved closer to the middle of his head. His fingers melted together and became paws, and he grew a tail. The transformation complete, Auran would have an easier time getting back to the cave with his fresh-kill. Traveling along a grassy forest path, he dragged his deer home.

* * *

Lynni recited from memory, “Two water skins, one wineskin, two loaves of bread and a sack of horse food please.”

She was at the town and haggling with a shop-keeper. His face gnarled and old, the shop-keeper looked hardly pleased, even with plenty of customers. His greasy gray hair was tied in a pony-tail revealing rounded ears. Lynni kept her hat on. “I say seven gold coins and two silver.” she said. The shop-keeper looked defeated and sighed, “It’s a deal, kid.” He handed Lynni her goods and she paid him with a bright look on her face. She bumped into a man who asked her, “Good haggling! I couldn’t help but notice you are in a hurry. May I ask where you are going?” Lynni blinked. Then her brow furrowed. He could be a stalker! She thought. “I am going to my grandfather’s wedding!” Lynni lied. “He forgot to get the picnic food and asked me to pick it up before the guests notice!” She quickly sidestepped the man and looked behind her shoulder as she ran to her horse. The man had disappeared.

Lynni rode to her cave quickly on Ferian. He whinnied and snorted as she crawled into the cave with him. She gazed around to find Auran. “Oh, Auran!” she gasped. Auran had some cuts and bruises, but most of all he was bandaging his arm, the linen soaked with blood. “What happened?” she asked. Auran responded, “On the way back I turned into myself again to take a drink, a man appeared beside me and asked me where I was going. I figured it was none of his business, so I swung at him with my fist.” Auran looked up, “He had really good fighting skills.” And that was all Auran said about it that night. Lynni did not tell Auran about her similar encounter with a strange man, since Auran’s spirits were in the mud.

They feasted on deer that night and Lynni pulled out the wineskin she had bought. They toasted it to their life and to each other. It grew late, and Lynni said,” My love, you need to sleep to recover your strength!” He yawned in response then laughed, “I still have some strength!” With saying that he took her hand and pulled her next to him as she kissed him on the head and on the mouth. “Goodnight.”, she whispered happily. Auran responded with a soft snore.