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~Chapter 5~ "What do you mean you can fly?" She asked incrediously
Kaylee was being marched out toward the forest she had seen earlier. The magic eminating from it now was almost overwhelming, almost like it knew someone's life was shortly going to be changed. Whether in a good way or not Kaylee still hadn't decided yet.
"Jeez, Kaylee, loosen up a bit. Your shoulder sucks as a seat when you're this tense..." Di complained from her perch on Kaylee's right shoulder. Matthew let out a bark of laughter and stopping just at the edge of the forest turned her to face him.
"Its really quite simple Kaylee. I. Can. Fly."
"But, how?"
"Because i believe i can. And so can you if you want to."
"That's rediculous." She said crossing her arms defiantly fear making her irrational. "You can't do something just because you believe you can."
"Why not?" Obviously not believing that was what she thought.
"Because it... Because... It just doesn't work that way okay?!"
"Says who? Have you ever tried it?"
"No... I can't"
"Why?"
"Because it would mean that everything I ever thought I knew was wrong..."
"So? Come on Kaylee.... Believe. I know you do. You're going to be okay Kaylee. It really isn't that bad." Kaylee glared.
"Not that bad?! I can't even stand flying in an airplane, let alone on my own with nothing supporting me!" Matthew winced at the shrill tone in her voice.
"You won't be flying on your own. I'm not stupid enough to have you attempt it on your own the very first time. I'll be supporting you and I won't let go of you for even a second okay?" Kaylee looked up into his eyes, and nodded.
They walked for a bit in the forest before coming to a strange clearing. It almost looked man-made because there were 7 almost identical trees placed equidistant from eachother around the edge of it. The medow in the center was completely devoid of flowers but a small clump of red and white mushrooms sat at the base of each tree. Matthew walked confidently to the middle of the clearing and looking back at Kaylee, who had frozen at the edge of it, smirked.
"Are you coming?" He asked, his eyes challenging her. "Or are you to scared?" And there he crossed the line Kaylee had done many stupid things in her life; snuck out of her house to stay the night at Brittany's, stuck a 'secret' I love you note in a jock's locker in middle school, and many things worse. But the thing that always sucked her into doing whatever wreckless thing Lindsey had thought up for her was the idea that she was too scared to do it. So, sucking in a breath, she indignantly walked over to Matthew. He laughed, shaking his head at her bravado. "You're going to need to hold on to me." She tilted her head to the side skeptically. And rolling his eyes Matthew grabbed her arms and wrapped them around his shoulders, wrapped his own around her waist and waited. Kaylee was staring up into his laughing eyes, smirking.
"So when do we lift off superman? Or was this just an excuse to cuddle?" He laughed.
"What do you mean when do we lift off? Look down." Puzzled Kaylee glanced down, and saw tree tops.
She was instantly wrapped so tightly around Matthew that he almost couldn't breathe, her face was buried so deep into his neck and shoulder that he felt rather than heard her muttering 'This isn't happening... I don't like heights..." over and over again. He laughed and squeezing her slightly, said,
"Don't worry Kaylee, its a short flight." She whimpered.
They touched down in the middle of another clearing, this one slightly smaller than the last, and Kaylee fell to the ground shaking like a leaf.
"You could have warned me!" She said accusingly looking up at the positively hysterical expression on Matthew's face.
"I-I told you to hold on... I thought it was obvious that we were lifting off! Didn't you feel your feet leave the ground?" His voice was shaking with contained giggles. Kaylee immediatly turned a dark scarlet color. Struggling harder than ever not to laugh Matthew continued, "Or were you too busy being lost in my eyes?" Then his barriers fell and he giggled hopelessly at her obvious embarrassment.
"Where's Di?" Her irritated tone cut through his laughter. He looked at her, tears of mirth in his eyes.
"She, popped ahead to warn Hogor that we were showing up. He doesn't like unexpected visitors and if I know him as well as I think i do i'm pretty sure he doesn't like being kept waiting either so we should probably go." He held his hand out to her and Kaylee, despite her unwillingness to go anywhere with him after he had laughed at her so openly, took it and let him lead her out of the enclosure and into the untamed forest.
~
They walked along in silence for awhile. Matthew, having finally dispelled the last few giggles he had, was leading an awestruck Kaylee through a maze of repetetive forest routes. She, meanwhile was gaping at the scenery surrounding her. The forest was older than any she had ever seen before, even in books. Vines hung in looping streams amongst branches so covered in moss they might have been green in their original coloring. A lot of the trees were wider around than she was tall and grew so densly that their leaves provided a pretty much solid canopy above them casting an even greener glow onto the foilage around them. The ground was pretty undisturbed save the occasional root or two. Not enough light made it through the leaves to support anything more shrub-like than a couple of ferns. Looking around Kaylee almost longed for the beginning of October, though it was only three weeks away she knew that it was then that all of those gorgeously huge leaves that were shading them would turn the brilliant shades of fall and drift crunchilly to the ground around her. A small, warm chuckle pulled her out of her musings.
"Found something else amusing have you?" She asked, a defensive tone to her voice. She turned to see him smilng at her without the usual mocking glint in his eyes.
"Just watching you. You looked positively wistful there for a moment, staring at the trees." She smiled slightly.
"Yeah, a little i guess. Just imagining what this place will look like in a few weeks when the leaves start changing." His smile widened.
"I know. Its absolutely gorgeous. You'll have to come with me to the..." He dropped the sentence like it was a hot poker. A pained look crossed his face. "Nevermind. Forget i said anything." Kaylee raised an eyebrow puzzled.
"Come with you to the what? Matthew?" He shook his head.
"It was a silly fleeting idea, just never you mind that i said anything. We're almost there. Just beyond that line of trees there ahead is where we're going." She looked ahead and saw what appeared to be a solid wall of trees. With little to no space in between them. It looked impenetrable.
"Um... Matthew? How are we supposed to get around them?" He looked at her like she was crazy.
"Around? That would be such a pain. No, we're going to go through them Kaylee." She raised an eyebrow.
"Is this another trick that involves me needing to believe something?" She asked warily. He mirrored her expression.
"Not unless you have trouble believing that doors exist." A teasing lilt in his voice made Kaylee shake her head.
"You know you could have just said. No Kaylee, theres a door. You don't have to tease me incessently about everything." He smirked.
"Yeah, I know, but if i did that then i wouldn't get to see you blush so adorably, and i don't know if i'm willing to give that up to save your dignity a little wear and tear." Her eyes widened slightly Did he just call me... ADORABLE?! An odd fluttery feeling invaded her stomach as she followed dazedly behind Matthew to the wall of trees. He stopped her just in front of it, his hand resting lightly on a branch that was sticking out at an odd angle.
"Now, Kaylee. Hogor lives, quite literally, on the other side of this door."
"Door? I see no door." Kaylee said looking from side to side then finally back to the branch Matthew was grabbing. "Ah. Nevermind. I'm not that stupid... really." He chuckled.
"Anyway, space cadet. Hogor, is the guardian of a swamp that seperates two different parts of the forest. There is only one way to cross it and Hogor guards the bridge with his life. Please do not say that anything about his general area is pretty. It would be an absolute insult to him and he might not talk to me about my issue if you do. He prides himself on being the nastiest, foulest, rudest creature in the forest, though Di occasionally challenges him on the rudest claim. So if your going to compliment him say something about how disgusting he is. Got it?" Kaylee smiled.
"Of course. Thats not that hard. But, what do you need to talk to him about so badly?" Matthew looked troubled for a moment
"You'll find out soon enough, and i don't have time to explain it all right now, so can I take a rain check on that question?" He asked, a pleading look in his eyes.
"Your asking me?" She replied incrediously. "Seems to me you've been skimming over every question i've asked that you didn't want to answer anyway. Why is this one so different?"
"Because thats a question that i'll actually have to answer with words and not one you can find out the answer to on your own... Or at least not one i want you to find the answer to on your own." She frowned at him, concerned.
"Matth-" She started.
"Ready?" He asked hastily, turning the branch like a handle. A giant crack, about ten feet high appeared in the trees and Matthew slid the great piece of wood out of the way as if it were a curtain. A bright light assaulted Kaylee's eyes, that had gotten used to the dim green light of the forest, and as she stumbled through the door her senses were similarily assaulted by a coarse yell coupled with a very annoyed high-pitched yell that sounded vaguely familar.
bubble_blower17 · Sat Jun 28, 2008 @ 07:52pm · 0 Comments |
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