A child, in all aspects shy, but with on true friend. A girl, the true friend, cheerful and adventurous, one to pull him out of his shell. The boy, slender in frame, fragile, both in nature and physically. Hair of raven with streaks of white, a copper hint when shown in the right light. A little smaller than the girl, skin turning pale from lack of sunlight. Eyes golden and intelligent, absorbed in a book when the girl isn't around to drag him off on another adventure. Adorned in a robe even at this age he finds anything else to be a waste. The girl, slender in frame but looking to have a few pounds on the body. Soft raspberry hair flowing to her rump. Eyes a light emerald but sparkling with life and seeking adventures. Unlike him she has a tanned body from being outdoors most of the day. She wears things from shorts to skirts and loose fitting to tight fitting shirts but she needn't care she is only a little girl. Hanging from her neck is a silver necklace with a rabbit on it a light emerald for its eye just like hers. 

    "Come on, andy!" The whine of her voice as she shakes the living daylights out of his sleeping form. A soft sigh comes from his lips, this was their morning ritual as it were, whispering, "okay. I'm up veline..." A bright smile monopolizes her face as she says gleefully, "then hurry up and get dressed! your mommy says you sleep too much and i would have to agree with her! so hurry up!!" The last part has a little underlying pout to it as she continues to shake him. Slowly he sits up, he might as well change as fast as he can or else she'll never stop shaking him, he quickly slips out of his thin sleeping robe, hopping from his bed and over to his closet, there was one thing he had learned and that was that she wouldn't leave his room till he did, casually he slips on a dull green robe. She slaps happily and runs over next to his side as he changes. He slowly glances over at her then down at the floor "y.. yeah..." She gives him an affectionate smile, "Yay! you're always so slow! come on I wanna find a rabbit! they are soooo cute!" He looks over at her a little fearfully "a.. are there.... there people out there...?" A soft melodic giggle escapes her lips "of course silly! it is a tavern after all, you goof!" Even before she finishes he is already shaking his head, cheeks flushed in embarrassment "I'm.... I'm not going... out... out there!" His voice squeaks a couple of times during the sentence. The only thing gives him, before she snags his hand and starts tugging him along, is a mischievous little smile "oh yes you are Andy!" He struggles to no avail "no..! Velly stop!" It is futile he knows and he should have seen it coming but yet he had let his guard down, she giggles out, "you stop Andy. you are making this harder than it has to be!" with a whimper he stops struggling and lets her drag him out of his room, down the hall, and into the front room, which is the tavern area. Behind the bar is an elven man, his father. He shakes his head slowly as he watches his son being dragged out by his little friend, chuckling out, "you two have fun!" Veline gives him a sweet smile, "don't worry we will!" He chuckles again and goes back to taking drink orders as the little ones slip out of the house. Still tugging him along as she trudges down the path, him being pulled with a faint pout, frustration building in her little body like always once they got outside "come on! quit protesting so much Andy!" After a few more steps she gives up, tossing his hand away from her irritably, which causes another pout to slip from him, "fine! I didn't want you to go with me anyway!" He simply sits there sputtering for something to say as she walks away until his wee little legs move into action and have him chasing after her, breathlessly saying, "I... I'm sorry.... v... Velly! p... please... for... forgive me!" A bright smile lights up her face, it worked every time with him for some reason, "okay!" giggling gleefully as she holds her hand out to him, "I forgive you Andy! now lets go find some rabbits!!" she takes off just like one, leaving him to try and keep pace with her, calling out "w... wait... vel... velly!!! you... you're going... to... to... fast for me!!" Happily the little girl keeps up the pace, ignoring all protests from him, reveling in the openness of nature as they make their way to a field, unknown to them of the fate it holds for them...

    As she frolics in the field and he tries to keep up with her, malicious eyes watch them from a tree. This was just the easy pickings that the man was looking for, with a wicked grin he slithers down from a tree, carefully picking his way towards the children. "lookit Andy! there's one!" Eagerly the girl dashed off towards a rabbit that her astute eyes caught, of course the rabbit dives into a hole before it is but but nevertheless she drops down onto her knees before the hole then lays down, her hand quickly shoving down into the hole to probe for the furry little creature, reaching as far as she can but to no avail. He comes up to her and kneels down, panting for breath and glistening with sweat, "don't leave me like that velly!" She half glares at him, "shhhh! there is a rabbit down there!" His voice is but a whisper as he speaks apologetically. She works hard to try and get her arm down far enough to grab the rabbit but it doesn't seem to be working, a pout coming out from her. Cautiously he creeps up on the two, grinning wickedly from ear to ear, as he watches them, the time was nearly right to spring out from hiding. Little Andarin sighs quietly as he waits for her to give up trying to catch the rabbit. Now was as good of a time as any after all they were only children, drawing out his knife casually, he leaps from his spot, landing next to veline "you're mine girly!" Her shrill scream is the next thing heard followed by Andarin's own scream, they both were defenseless little kids after all. She sits up quickly, both staring at the man full with fear. The man stands about 5'8'', thin in frame with short blonde hair, brown eyes, a thin scar along his jaw line, and garbed in a dingy pair of black pants and a matching shirt. Out snaps his hand to catch the girl around her neck, cutting off any forth coming words, Andarin rises up and foolishly charges at the man, which brings a brutal backhand across his cheek and sends him to the ground causing a whimper to escape him. He looks at veline with teary eyes as she looks back at him with the same "stay back you little twerp or else i'll kill her!" Andarin starts to cry as he sees her hoisted up and carried away from him, both of them looking at each other helplessly and she is also crying as she is carried away. Once they are out of sight he runs home, crying his eyes out, running to his room to hide from the rest of the world...

   Slowly his eyes open, perhaps it had all been a bad dream, but veline wasn't bugging him till he woke up so that deeply worried him with a quick flurry of movement he is out of his bed and to the door. He runs out of the tavern, finding it to be about midday. He hustles back to the field, heart racing more from fear than anything. When he comes upon the rabbit hole his breath catches in his throat then comes out as a sigh of relief, it must have been a dream because she wasn't there and the guy wasn't either. The guy had been watching for him though and makes his way around to behind Andarin, grinning. As he turns around though his heart skips a beat and his face turns horror stricken, there dangling lifelessly is veline, battered and abused worse than he could ever imagine, in the hand of the attacker who is grinning evilly, "you're next kiddy... don't worry i made her feel real good before i killed her." Hot tears fall down his cheeks as he gazes at the brutalized figure of his best friend then something sparks off in his mind and starts to blaze seemingly with a life of its own inside his mind, sending powerful jolts through his body. Anger replaces fear as he finds a focus, veline's battered body, the man gives him a puzzled look not knowing what to think of this new found courage. He drops the girl with a sickening thud, holding his knife out at the ready. The energy surges within his mind flooding his whole being and opening up doors within his mind that he hadn't even known about, making him feel like he is seeing for the first time. He taps the energy but without control causing it to overwhelm him, energy sparking from every pore on his body. The man's eyes go wide as he sees the kid seem to start to glow, his hair standing on end from the electric snaps as a shiver runs down his body, perhaps this wasn't the right kid to have messed with after all. A shriek of loss, pain, and anger erupts from his lips, energy lashing from his fingertips letting the energy build inside of himself until it feels like he is going to explode because in truth he doesn't know how to get rid of it. The man drops his knife, eyes wide in terror, he had been waiting for the kid to show up so he could terrorize him not the other way around. Andarin blinks as the way to unleash the energy is made clear, keeping his eyes shut he places his fingertips to his head, feeling all the pent up energy seep through his arms and into his head. The guy turns to run just as Andarin's eyes open, a bolt of pure energy blasts out of his eyes, burning a hole into the man's back instant but making slow progress after that instant, a scream of pure agony slips out from his lips, the pain causing his knees to buckle and send him face first into the ground. A loud howl of pain pierces the air from the man on the ground, the energy eating its way through his body but somehow keeping him alive. As the energy from his eyes burns away at the man, he opens his mouth causing a second and much thicker beam to blast into the man's back, doubling the speed with which the man is eaten away at, beads of sweat glistening on Andarin's whole body. The man writhes in agony on the ground, as best be can, his entire body disintegrating until he simply vanishes from existence except for the scorch mark left in the ground where he was laying at. Andarin swoons as the energy dissipates shortly after the guy's death, sweat pouring down his face, stumbling until he trips and hits the ground with a measly whimper, eyes shutting from lack of strength, easily passing out...

    With a groan he opens his eyes, finding the strength to scurry over to his dead friend when he remembers where he is. It is starting to near sunset. Tears form in his eyes, falling down his cheeks in large drops, each one that flows from his eyes leaves him feeling a larger and larger void form inside of him, one that will never be closed, crying over her battered body. After some time, he brings his hand up, pulling the necklace from her neck and puts it around his, tucking it underneath his robe. His tears stop at the same moment the chain is moved from his best friend, the void inside of him finished expanding to its full size and forever rooted in him. Slowly he stands up to carry his friend off to one of their favorite spots. When he reaches the burned out oak tree, which would be their base as they played something or another, he kneels down, digging up the earth with his bare hands until he has a hole big enough and deep enough for her. With a light kiss on her lips and a mouthed "i love you" He sets her down in the hole and buries her, each scoop of earth causes the void to such all emotion from him collapsing in on itself when he is done covering up veline, leaving him empty of everything he once had. He makes a makeshift cross and sticks it in the ground to leave as a marker then wanders off back to his home, forever changed, to tell her parents of what happened then to never speak of it again.

-By Jason                           

    It was night, and beneath the old, burnt out oak it was darker.  It was almost as if the whole world was morning the death of the one that laid there, buried by her best friend, torn, abused, taken from the world much too soon.  At least that is what the gods believed.  This young child had a purpose, and she couldn't serve it dead.  It was shortly after midnight when the glow appeared, soft at first, it hovered a few feet above the ground, just before the opening in the trunk of the oak.

      The glow was a soft white, tinted with pink around the edges, until it touched theg round.  Once it condensed a young form was seen, a female child, she looked no more than 8 years old, though her soul was older than time itself.  It was the child goddess, Sharael, the youngest of the gods.  Moving into the opening, the small goddess softly unearthed the body of the young girl, her raspberry hair matted and dirty, her soft tanned skin marred as well by the dirt and multiple cuts. Sharael set the body down as a wolf approached, moving around her to replace the dirt, the girls friend must not know about this, not yet.  

      Once Sharael had the body arranged neatly, she reached out to touch the girl’s forehead, her voice soft and far more adult than the body would allow most to suspect.

      "Awake,Veline, take in the breath of the living," the same soft white/pink glow that the goddess had arrived in surrounded the small body, and a soft gasp was heard as she suddenly began to breath. When the glow faded the small girl lay there, breathing irratically ,though she had been cleaned, the scar at her throat visible as her light emerald eyes opened to look to the goddess. At the sight of the being her breath calmed and became more even, though she said nothing yet.

      "Very good, you know what has happened to you, and we want you to never forget it.  There is much you have to do over the next thirty years, though we know you will first want to see your friend.  You needn't worry, he is all right, and you will return to him. Thirty years to the day.”

               Veline looked at her and nodded weakly, in her heart she wanted to argue, but found she could only take the small girl’s word. Slowly she stood up, looking up to the bigger girl, her eyes watering slightly.

               “I just wanted to catch a rabbit…,” Sharael smiled to her softly, gently hugging the small girl.

               “I know dear… and it will all be right, we haven’t time for tears now, for we must be on our way…” She took Veline’s small hand and began off into the forest.  The wolf finished his digging, making sure the dirt was as if it had been undisturbed before running off into the forest.

- By Lindsey                       

   It was 30 years later, and she'd finally come back to the Tavern of her childhood, she couldn't wait to see the boy that she'd loved so much as a small girl.  Thinking it would be humorous, she wore her cloak, her face hidden... well, it wasn't that funny, Andarin nearly hit the roof, as did his mother, but in the end it turned out wonderfully, they'd both missed each other so much. She lives in the lap of happiness...