[sylvanSpider]

Marco's fighting back did little to nothing, if it wasn't making matters worse. He kicked his legs, but he could see nothing, the visions were all blurring together and he was getting dizzy. Finally, he gave up, his body going limp, letting the thing take him to wherever he was going to take him. He could decide what to do once he was in confinement, that is, if he wasn't killed first. He'd need to recuperate, see what it was lizard man and his lizard had planned for him. Eyes squeeze shut to stop the venom and the blurring and the tears. He couldn't stop that though; the tears ran freely down his cheeks.

The twins each stared dumbly at the two corpses before them. For once in their lives, they weren't responsible for either of them. The thing that was responsible for one of them in front of them picking remnants from Tennan's neck from its teeth. “I ah...think et's about that time to get back – cap'll get annoyed if we're late, ye know how it is...Ri-right, Damon?” Roek stammered, putting a hand on his brother's chest and coaxing him back.

Damon nodded eagerly, “Yeah, she wan't even part of our crew anyway. Lizard man, I read about yer kind, I did. Ye assume the role of a person's pet t'make it look like you don't know things, but ye do. Yer sentient. So what do ye want with Marco, eh? That's all Roek an' I wanted t'know.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The sun's rays washed over the thatch huts bathing the village in gold. The village was an elevated one, perched precariously on stilts over still damp ground. The merchants were setting up their wares, the carts' undersides still the dark brown of having been floating mere hours before. The smell of steamed buns...baozi began to rise with the water vapors as the ground began to dry only to be flooded mere hours later. Qi could hear the bustling of the waking village behind her as she and her companion strode out of the town, their bare feet making a thwap, twap, thmph, twap against the slick sheen of the mud, as it curled between their toes.

The river banks were the closest thing to a road the young Guang Dans had and it was this that the pair followed, occasionally stooping low to scoop some water into their mouths for refreshment. The trees even gave way by the river and it was for this reason both women wrapped a cloth around their shoulders. Their goal, as it always was, was to find food for the village, so they also stopped to gather the fruit of some plant, gathering its contents into bags they wore on their hips. There was a spot they were heading to, a sacred spot. One where they could be together, however brief their rest, and be themselves.

There was a hut secluded from the rest, perched high in a tree. They would rest and eat and make love there before their way back on the water, when the river disappeared and all that was left was a sea interrupted only by the tops of trees, their leaves extending up and over the water. The water would become alive then. Creatures of the sea would venture inward, fishing alongside their human counterparts. The moon would be out then, showing its pale face twice in simultaneity, once in the water world and once in the sky world. Then would be the sign that they would need to return, though the magic would not be lost just yet. Where do you find pleasure in life?

Right here...Qi thought, turning her gaze upward to the sky moon,[/i] Right here on the water, with the chill of night, nothing but the raft separating me from the sea. It's...sacred...[/i] Sacred it was, interlaced fingers and the gentle tug of the fishing line. Holy it was, foot to knee kicking lazily in the cold water refreshing after a day of walking and gathering. Hallowed, the sounds of liquid moving all around them, animals of the sea softly breathing as they surface, birds of the night waking up.

Remember that moment...Do you...?

At once, the sea faded, the stars vanished, the moon hid Her face. Shi de, wo jide...” Qi murmured, closing her eyes, “Wo jide...”

Qi was on the ground, low tide, one hand up and shielding her eyes as she squinted against the sun. Again, the smell of bao zi filled the air, more now that it was later in the day. A niao was coming for her, bearing a much anticipated message from the city. Her love was to write her today. Finally, the winged silhouette made itself visible against the blue sky. It landed before her, and Qi almost tackled it trying to get at the letter tied to its leg. She was gentle with the bird and gave it some crumbs from her hand before opening the letter with trembling hands.

Qi,

I don't love you anymore. I have chosen to leave you and the rural life behind me. I see now that the village and you, Qi'an, were doing nothing but holding me back from my potential. I'm sorry that this is how it had to end. I have found a new person for a new life. Best of luck in yours.

-Lei

Qi broke then, turning harder to work and less to looking for love. If there was someone out there for her, they would find her. She would never share her sacred spot again.