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very good. way better than mine smile

~ will not read any till they are due :3 ~

Ok, my story will be in my next post. I kinda stinks, but I at least wanted to submit it. ^^;;

This is the tale of the Talas. Where did they come from? When were they found? I will tell you soon enough. Patience is a virtue....

A young Native American girl and boy were straying from their village, going out to gather food. Neither were more than thirteen years old.

"Hey Jacy!" the boy called out. "I'll race you to the forest!" His green eyes were sparkling with mischief. He was always ready for an adventure and loved to play around. His parents were worrying that a boy of his age should start acting like a man, but he had other ideas.

"Sure Sinopa, you're on!" Jacy said. Her long, raven colored hair was pulled back into a braid. "But does the winner get?" They have only been friends, but they loved to compete.

"Well... how about the loser gets to do the winner's chores for a week?" Sinopa suggested.

"Sure, it's a deal then!" Jacy said, her dark blue eyes looked at his green ones. "No cheating, alright? You like to do that... a lot."

"Me? You suggest that I would do such a thing? Tsk, tsk." the boy said with a wink. "I promise." He put his hand out to seal the deal.

Jacy took her friend's hand and shook it. "Alright, we go when I say so."

"Alright, then let's get started." Jacy got ready, planting her feet. "On your marks, get set... GO!"

Right when she said go, both of the children ran as fast as they could. "You'll never catch me!" He put on a burst of speed and gave a yell that scared the birds from their trees. Jacy just smiled and sped up, trying to stay with him. Before they knew it, they were lost.

"Sinopa! Let's stop, please!" the girl yelled as she slowed down, trying to catch her breath. "We're lost, I don't know which way to go."

Sinopa had stopped and turned around and walked to his friend. "Aw, come on, I'm sure we can figure our way out. We're both smart!" he said, trying to comfort Jacy.

The blue-eyed girl just nodded. She always had a very protected life. Her father was the head chief in the village. Even though she could get away with many things, she didn't push her luck. This was the first time she had ever been lost.

"Aw... Jacy, it's alright." Sinopa said softly. He put an arm around her, putting on an air of coolness. "Come on, let's keep going straight, we'll find a path sooner or later." Steering her, they continued into the forest. The birds were singing and sunlight was filtering through the leaves. It was starting to get darker, the trees were growing closer together and Jacy was becoming more frightened by the minute.

"Sinopa...." she whined. She wasn't liking this at all, not to mention that the birds and other forest sounds had ceased altogether. "Can we go back, please?"

The boy sighed, "No Jacy, we can do this! Just stay calm, alright?" He knew she was scared, but he was too.

Pushing on, they soon got deeper into the forest, the branches and bushes pulling at their clothes like animal claws. Getting frightened, they both started to run, only getting more scared. But before they knew what had happened, they had come to an open meadow. In the middle of the forest.

Pulling up short and grabbing Jacy, Sinopa stared in disbelief. He had never heard of this place, let alone even explored. "W-whoa...." he said, looking around with his large emerald eyes taking in everything. The beautiful, soft, green grass, the little butterflies flitting around, seeming to dance with a grace that would put their people's own dances to shame.

Jacy, on the other hand, had gotten curious about the place. Walking into the bright meadow, she saw a few trees, different from the other surrounding the clearing. Once at it's trunk, she look up. A pair of eyes looked back at her, and she gave a scream, scurrying back. "Jacy!" Sinopa said, just noticing she was gone and he dashed over to her. "What's wrong?"

Shaking, she pointed to the tree, whimpering. Taking a deep breath, he looked into the tree, but he didn't see anything. Turning, he gave a shout when he saw an odd-looking creature standing behind him.

The creature was strange, he had never seen anything like it before. It looked like some kind of canine, but it had wings... And he had never seen such an odd looking dog before. But then the creature did something that blew him away even more, "Greetings stranger."

The animal had a very strange markings on it. It's coat was a light blue, mixed with a dark blue in an intricate pattern. The eyes were a deep azure, they seemed to have no depth, fathomless... And the wings, they seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. But the odd thing was, it knew how to speak!

Stuttering, it was Jacy who replied, "H-Hello... Who a-are you?" She was entranced by the animal, it was so beautiful...

It turned to her, smiling gently. "I am a talaye." it replied. Jacy guessed that it was a male, the tone of voice was too deep for a female.

Sinopa finally got enough courage to speak again and asked, "Do you have a name, talaye?" He took a step closer, not wanting to seem scared.

"No, I don't. What is your name?" And turning to Jacy, he asked the same thing. Smiling, the girl stood up, "I'm Jacy! And that's Sinopa. You don't have a name? Well I'll just have to give you one!" She had gone from scared to happy in a split second. Jacy was like that, her moods were as predictable as finding easy hunting.

Thinking, she finally thought of one, "I know! Your name will be Amadahy! It means forest water. And you're a lovely blue color, and you live in this meadow, which is found in a forest!" She watched the talaye anxiously, hoping he would like it.

"Amadahy..." he said, trying it out. "Amadahy... I like it. Thank you Jacy." Looking back at Sinopa, the talaye smiled at him. "Are you perhaps lost? You seemed surprised when you came to the meadow."

The boy nodded, "Yes... we're lost. Me and Jacy were trying to gather some plants and fruit for our village and we got lost." Admitting it was hard for him, but it felt good to get it off of his shoulders.

Amadahy never took his eyes off Sinopa, "Do you perhaps need some help back? I believe I know where your village is found."

Snapping his head up and looked at the talaye, wide-eyed. "Really? Y-you'd do that?" He was a bit amazed, such a magnificent creature would help them out, when they just met?

"Of course, it's the least I could do. We don't get too many visitors here." Amadahy said. When he was done, many other talayes came out of hiding. All had brilliant colors, and such a variety that Jacy and Sinopa never thought possible.

"Oh wow!!" Jacy and Sinopa said at the exact same time.

Chuckling, Amadahy smiled. "Yes, these are my people. I think at least one would be willing to help me find your village." As he said that, a female came up. Red in color, she had little pale stars on her hindquarters.

"I'd be honored to assist you sir." she said eloquently, giving a bow. Looking at Sinopa, she askes, a bit shyly, "Could you... give me a name as well?"

Sinopa, stunned that HE was the one being asked, nodded as he thought of one that would suit her. After a minute or so, he came to a conclusion. "I think Ogin would be good for you. It means wild rose."

Smiling, the female talaye nodded. "I like it! Thank you Sinopa!" With Amadahy and Ogin to fly them home, they got a great view of the surrounding forest and lands. They asked many questions, and the talayes answered them all. When Jacy pointed out their village, the talas landed softly on the outskirts of the village and were about to take flight once more when Jacy piped up.

"Wait! Where are you going? Can't you stay?" She had become fond of the talas, and Sinopa as well, though he wouldn't say so.

"Stay? I suppose we could..." Amadahy said, a little uncertain. They had never interacted with humans, only with the forest animals. His race had seen humans from a distance, but this was the first time they had ever talked to them.

"But what about the others? They will wonder about us!" Ogin said. She loved her home and family, but she didn't want to leave her new friends either.

While they were conversing, Sinopa and Jacy's parents came out of the village and saw their children with the talayes. Both ran over to their child, scared and entranced of the talas.

There isn't much else to tell of this story. The talas and tribe came to a decision. The talas could stay with them, and visit their meadow whenever they desired. It wasn't long before just about everyone in the village had a tala friend.

As the years continued, the talas became more popular and there just didn't seem to be enough to go around. Their companionship with the humans and thought them many things and they learned many new things. And now, they live happily where they always had, in the land of Gaia in their meadow, which was named after them.

Did the contest close?

^^ I finished mine pretty quickly so it sucks. gonk But at least I tried & entered. ^^;;