Part whatever, and an update :)

HEY-EEEEEEE!!! Just to let ya's all know that im not dead, im going to post part.... whatever number it is! its been AGES!! bot for me posting and coming onto the blog/chat. but i HAVE been paying attention, mostly :) Life has just been throwing a lot of things my way as usual. not bad things, but timely things all the same. Bloody exams mostly...

SO! just to let you all know, i still hold you guys firmly in my heart, here is what i title Part Whatever (because i seriously can't remember...)
:

I frowned. Several emotions were warring inside my head as Kallista and I made our way towards the approaching pass through which the rest of NOUKA, Kade, and Borvos and Krawd -whom they were all after- had apparently gone.

The eerie mist rolled down off the high mountain peaks, almost blotting out whatever lay ahead. Our destination, a discreetly hidden cave entrance as Kall recalled, was higher near the top than the level we were currently walking at, but was curved around the mountain out of view sight. A few patches of snow still lingered from the recent winter and air had an icy chill that made me zip up my cosy jacket just that little bit more. Kall walked just ahead, keeping a quick pace whilst scrambling over the mountain terrain, sending piles of rocks scattering under our feet.

Something was nagging at my mind, leaving me feeling on edge ever since the second time I woke up. My hand wandered over my chest; over the recently healed fatal wound. I sighed shakily as the ghostly memory of dying replayed in my mind, grinding my steps to a halt.

Krawd melted with the dark gloom of the dungeon-like room that was our cell. Kade sat, chained as I was and defiant as ever, on the adjacent wall as Borvos jabbed out an arm with unexpected speed and ease. The knife sunk into my chest as easy as it would slice through butter.

And that feeling. Dying…it’s almost impossible to describe to those who haven’t felt it. Like falling blind through burning ice, knowing that every second, you get closer to the abyss below where nothing exists. It goes against almost everything in nature; no one’s really meant to be able to describe it. And that alone scared me more than words could say.

“Harker? Sy!” Kall’s voice came radiating through my mind, warm and comforting as it brought me back to the rest of the world. Taking a shuddering breath, I forced a smile, before walking on towards where she’d stopped.

“I’m good,” I assured her. It was mostly true; being dead sure as hell sucked, and although perhaps still not back to full strength yet, I was relishing in my second chance. Her frown told me she wasn’t convinced.

“You’re not about to keel over are you? …like, um…again?”

My lips twitched up slightly. I’ll admit, I was starting to feel the strain, even only after an hours walk, but dying and coming back to life –in the middle of  helicopter crash, I might point out- can take a hell of a lot out of a person. But we didn’t have time to rest; the others could very well have been battling the siren right at that moment, even dying while we dawdled on up the hill.

I shook my head in response, “Nope. I’m safe for now…” I sucked in a breath, closing my eyes to concentrate on my strength. Smiling, I took off again, Kall by my side, seeming happy enough with my answer for now.

We sped onwards in good time, scrambling over fallen rocks and dislodging many showers of broken boulder shards that trickled down the mountainside. Keeping our eyes cast on the ground, we kept an eye on our footing, glancing up every so often to check our progress.

The temperature dropped as the previously distant mist began to gather around us, throwing our surroundings into an eerie, gloomy smog. With both myself and Kall squinting slightly to try and see better, we cautiously made our way forward, turning slightly off to the right in search of the hidden cave.

Kall walked close by on my left; in theory leading the way (though in this I didn’t even know how Kade could have found it, even if he did know the entrance’s exact location). As we forged on, it began to get darker by the second, so I raised my right arm and concentrated on the steady pulse of magic at my disposal.

Bringing the energy to the surface of my skin, it took on the familiar writhing orange glow, flowing like transparent plasma as I moved it towards my open palm. It gathered as I focussed it on that one point, and soon enough, a single brilliant orb illuminated our immediate area. Kall grinned at the orb. Made from my own energy, it was –in part- an extension of myself; writhing and glowing like the energy that was still inside me, responding to even the smallest nudge from my mind.

The fog weakened considerably beneath the orb’s intense light, creating a relatively clear dome -around five meters in diameter- with Kall and I walking with more confidence and ease at its centre.  Although the conditions were not great (making me wonder if the others had even found the entrance themselves), but it was the best we had.

And so, with our eyes still squinting into the gloom where the orb’s light could not reach, Kall and I continued on our seemingly impossible mission to find the cave entrance.

*****

“AAAAAEEeep!”

Frowning, I looked round, trying to find the source of the high pitched yelp.

For the last half an hour, Kall and I had been scouring the mountainside for the hidden cave entrance (whilst I silently applauded whoever found it in the first place). The glowing orb that lit our way had begun to steadily diminish in brightness, until it was barely illuminating 2 meters in either direction. Kall must have guessed why, but she didn’t bring it up; only giving me a concerned glance and a slight frown.

My energy was beginning to fade. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate enough on keeping the glowing orb active. The light was becoming dim; frail in comparison to its original intensity and power. As I blinked the tiredness away and forged on, that single light continued to slowly –almost undetectably- fade away, a physical reminder of the internal struggle I was having to cope with.

My frown deepened when I turned, expecting to see my black- haired companion, to find nothing but the eerie gloom of mist, streaked with weakening light from my palm. No Kall in sight.

“Yoohoo?” Kall? Concern edged my voice, whilst a slight hint of unplanned panic laced through it. The mist was slowly gaining on me and Kall was not responding. I was never going to find her in this! What if she had fallen down the mountainside? I glanced around desperately, shuffling around a few feet and extending my arm to try and get the meagre light to read as far as it could. Still no Kall.

“Kall!” I stopped when I got yet another response of silence. Sighing, I closed my eyes, knowing this was futile.

I knew what I had to do. It seemed such a little task, but considering my current state, I knew it was going to cost me. Recent events were taking their toll on me both physically and mentally, leaving me deprived of the majority of my former energy and power. My grasp on everything was just that little bit off; my magic was not as instinctive and easy to manipulate as before, and although I knew it wasn’t permanent, it was an unsettling feeling… like when breathing has just become an uncomfortable and laboured task. And just like breathing, magic was natural; a part of what you are and how you live, and without it, you can’t function properly.

That loss was tearing at me emotionally, and I had to remind myself it wasn’t going to last. When this was all over (and after a trip to the Hospital Wing no doubt), my power would be back to its former energetic and restless state; healing alongside my body. It felt like waiting to be reunited with your detached arm, and having to make do with a prosthetic while you wait (quite possible in the magical community). It was awkward, hard to work with, and left you yearning for that which was really a part of you.

As it was, I had to make do with what energy I currently possessed… Which wasn’t a lot. Sighing in self-resignation, I concentrated on the orb in my palm, and poured everything I had into it. The dim light steadily began to increase, regaining its former strength and lighting up my surrounding area with a brilliant orange-white glow. Tendrils of energy flicked and pulsed- the orb having a mind of its own- like solar flares from the burning sun.

“Oh god…” I gasped, staggering a few steps before crashing to my knees. Everything seemed to sway and un-focus before my eyes whilst my head felt like it was filled with nothing but air. Breaths came in short gasps and my body began to tremble from sever fatigue.

“Stu…pid…idea…” I managed to whisper. And it really had been a stupid thing to do. I’d already felt shattered enough before, but pouring all I had into the energy orb had really taken its toll. I nearly had nothing left to give. Any energy left from before (which had been meagre at best today) was being leached away in an automatic response just to keep me awake and moving…Though I thoroughly expected to pass out at any second.

And quite soon, I did.

*****

I SHALL return soon folks! Probably unexpected and with a bang. Just hang onto me in your memories till then pweese!!! :)