Journey Home
Preview story
The forest known as the Bulvon wood was quiet as dawn broke. A few Neera quietly scampered along the bog floor as the sun rose from the sky, and cast a dim green glow along the ground as the sunlight filtered through the trees. Out of one of the giant trees, a different light shone. The sunlight had reflected off of the scales of a Naga sleeping in the trees with her tail coiled along a big branch. Her underscales shone a bright white while her upper scales shone a bright blue color. Her human body was that of an average older teenager, but her skin was pale. As she rose, awakened by the faint light she was giving off, she gave out a loud yawn and opened her sky blue eyes. Though young, her face was slightly weathered by the journey she had already taken, and the one that lay ahead. The naga then rose up and tried to clean any leaves out of her unkempt white hair. She checked herself over to make certain she was intact, then slowly unwrapped her coils from the tree branch. She then slithered down the giant tree with ease. Her stomach quickly growled, reminding her it was time to go on the hunt.
As the naga began to slither around and observe her surroundings, she wasn't too pleased. Though there were smaller plants and mushrooms dotting the landscape, most of the thick foliage was in the trees, far above the ground. The damp, moist ground didn't make well for quick movements, especially not slithering about. The naga's face furrowed as she concentrated. This wouldn't be easy, that was for certain.
As the naga slithered through the bog-like area, she saw what seemed to be rocks on the ground. She then saw a small slug, approximately one tenth of the size she was, slowly making it's way along the bog. As she began to creep closer to it, a small piece of bark that was on the ground snapped under her weight, giving away her position. Alerted, the slug released a strange liquid which covered its body quickly. Once the naga looked at the slug again, it looked like one of the many stones which she had seen lying around.
The escalani slug's tactic hadn't worked. The naga turned over the stone examining it for something that would suffice for a weakness, a break of some sort, but found none. She gave the stone another confused look. The naga then balled up one of her hands into a fist and concentrated. The fist glowed white for a second as it transmuted into pure diamond. The naga then pounded the stone with her fist. After another examination, she found that her impact made a crack in the small stone. She then tried to break the stone open further, but after failing, she attacked with the diamond fist once more. The cracks spread, and this time she was able to break a hole in the stone casing the slug had wrapped itself in. She then slowly tore off the rest of what she could then sucked the slug out of the remainder of its shell and into her mouth. The slug had an odd taste, not too great, but not horrible either. She held it in her mouth for a little bit and pondered it's taste as it tried to struggle to get out. She then swallowed, reducing the slug to a bulge which eventually descended into her belly. Upon seeing a few more of these rocks, she then tried to break into more of them with mixed results. One was a simple rock, and she bashed the other too hard, causing an explosion of slug and stone to cover her. After satiating herself on the slugs, the naga continued deeper into the bog.
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A young Chilotaur named Faerin was scavenging around the forest in the Bulvon wood. Faerin was about as tall as a typical giant naga and her figure was clear evidence that she ate well. Her human half was normally colored, and her black hair was short and only ran down to her shoulders. Her bottom half was a long connection of chitinous plates which protected her vital organs. Along her insectile section ran twenty pairs of legs. Faerin's green eyes darted around as she watched the giant frog hop along the ground. Her antennae shifted slightly, once last check to see if there was no hidden dangers. She was about to pounce on the frog when she saw a blueish-white blur cross her vision. She saw the white and cyan naga grab the frog in one fell swoop. Faerin gasped as the Naga quickly stuffed the frog into her mouth and began swallowing it as fast as she could.
"OI!! YEW!! 'At's my lunch, an' I'll thank yew to give it 'ere!!" She said, bearing an accent she'd picked up learning from humans. Faerin said this in a huff as she quickly skittered towards the odd Naga as she swallowed the last of the frog. "Wot do you think yew're doin'?! 'at frog's…" Faerin was interrupted as she saw the Naga collapse to the ground. "Poisonous." She then sighed and picked up the Naga, shaking her head. "Visitors.." Faerin said as she sighed and carried the naga away.
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"Yew awake? Feeling Alright are ya?" The Naga heard a female voice say as she woke up. As she looked around, it looked like she was in a hollowed out and decaying old tree. Some mushrooms and a few holes littered the roof of the decaying tree. Experience had taught her to be wary of others, so when she saw the Chilotaur beginning to examine her, she backed up towards a large hole, hoping to make a quick escape. The Chilotaur sensed this and rushed to stop her. "What do yew think I'm gonna do? Eat ya?" The Chilotaur asked. "Yew're a li'l to big for me to be doing 'at. You oughta thank me for saving yer hide. Big ones like us attract 'dose wolves. You might 'ave found yerself in pieces."
The naga then realized she was safe, and this new friend had a good point. "Thank you." The naga said as she finally spoke. Her voice was soft and quiet, and the Chilotaur almost didn't hear it.
"Yer welcome. Though I think you oughta speak up a li'l more." Faerin said as she examined the naga further, the naga noticed her voice was a lower tone, toughened by the strange way she talked. "What kind of naga are yew? I seen plenty of 'em, but none quite like ya.."
"The humans called me a 'diamond' naga." was the naga's response.
"Never heard of 'em." Faerin responded. "So, what's yer name?"
"Treifa. And..yours?" was the naga's response.
"They call me Faerin," said the chilotaur. "What are the likes of yew doing here? The way you shine, yer like a fish out of water."
"I had an encounter with humans. I underestimated them, and they brought me here to sell me." Treifa responded nervously. "Other naga rescued me, and I have been trying to find my way home to the crystal forest ever since.
"Oh? Well, It's not near here, I'm afraid." Faerin said. "Humans call dis place the Bulvon wood. I know! How's about yew tell me what yew've done so far. I might be able to 'elp you find a clue as to where to go next!"
"Certainly!" Treifa responded, and began to tell her story…
END
Author's Note: There is nothing wrong with the way the Chilotaur talks. It's my attempt to emulate the "Cockney" british accent.
So..Do you want to hear the story?
Subject: Journey Home: Preview (Or prologue) 
Sun Nov 29, 2009 9:13 pm
