Tree+Quest

"Lusaya!" Misu tapped on the archway of coral. "What?" Lusaya swam out to meet her friend. "You'll never guess what I found!" Misu held her hands behind her back, her wings fluttering in excitement. Well, if Lusaya knew Misu, it'd be a new seashell.

"Is it what I think it is?" She smiled excitedly. Misu winked and stuck out her tongue. "You have to guess, silly!" She tried to clutch it tighter, only to allow it to slip from her hands. Three glittering sea shells littered Lusaya's front patch of coral. They were sky blue, tangerine, and lime green. "I knew it!" Lusaya rushed over to Misu and hugged her. "Thank you!" She picked the shells up and inspected them. "Where did you find these? They're so pretty!" "Promise not to tell? I got them at the shore beyond the mountains. Before you go off and tell me that it's not allowed, I know." Misu assured. "I heard there was an incredible selection of everything. I just wanted to repay you." "Oh, that was no problem! How was it out there? I've always wondered what it was like.."

"It's very magical, the water out there is crystal clear. There are so many things that i don't even know the name of! The cool breeze is so amazing, it's almost like a distant memory to me." "Was it as scary as we've been told?" It was supposedly very dangerous to go out there, therefore it was forbidden. "Not at all! It was mysterious and pristine. The outside world is so wonderous, i think you would really love it! The whole beachside is practically coated in treasures." Misu enthused. "Oh, quit teasing! I'm going to want to go.." Lusaya mumbled. She already did want to go. "We could get in so much trouble!" "Don't be such a guppy. Don't you wanna do something fun for once instead of being cooped up in this boring place?" Misu crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. Unlike her friend, Lusaya liked to abide by the rules. "Well, I guess? I mean.. As long as we don't get in trouble, right?"

"Now, we're going to need a couple things; like food, coats and weapons and stuff. I brought my bow and arrows, so I'm all set." She tapped her mouth with her finger. "Just bring whatever you have in your cupboard for food and I'll let you have all the food we get from the outside world." Misu wandered into the kitchen area and began poking through the food. "I can just use my magic." She had been researching combat magic a lot lately, it would be good to put it to use. Lusaya gathered some food in her pack and waited for Misu. "Are you sure we should be doing this?" Misu waved her hand to dismiss Lusaya's fears. "Don't worry, no one will even notice that we're gone!" She skipped a few steps. "We need to cross just at the border of our lands near the mountain's edge. For some reason the barrier is weaker there." She shrugged. Misu had only gone once before, so she wasn't entirely familiar with the area. She and Lusaya were close friends, they did everything together, however, Misu's reasons for asking her along were slightly selfish; she was a bit scared to go back alone. Lusaya was a bit afraid, and she could tell that Misu was too. They arrived at the barrior, it was mostly made up of the mountains, but anyone with magical abilities could see the actual barrior. It was a very pale lavender color, and it had a rippling effect, almost like the ocean. Misu showed Lusaya the spot where it was weaker, and she threw a small pebble and it passed through easily. They both went through, but it caused a bit of pain, as any magic does.

"So where is this place with all the shells and corals?" They both side stepped through the razor edged mountain pathway. It wasn't ever used, so it of course was not maintained like an actual walkway. The rocks were soaked with water. The sound of the slow waves crashing against the mountainside was echoing in their ears. "It's just past this section. It's not like this outside, don't worry." Misu chattered on.They stumbled out of the mountain death trap and onto a white, sandy beach. The crystal clear water sparkled for miles. "Isn't it breathtaking?" The waves rolled in over their feet, encasing them all the way up to their thighs and threatened to drag them into the unknown. Lusaya gasped. It was beautiful. Like nothing she'd ever seen, and Escovia and Raziela definitely weren't ugly places. As the waves lapped over their feet and legs, Lusaya's fin changed to legs and back again. Everytime she had her fin she would fall and get swept out into the ocean, she had to swim back and go far enough up on the land so the water wouldn't touch her. She looked down at her feet and saw all the shells. It didn't look real with all the colors and textures.

"How could a place... a place this beautiful be dangerous? Look at this! It's more of a haven than a dangerous area!" The more she looked around, she saw other little creatures about. Turtles and ladybugs, crabs and birds, there were seals and dolphins swimming together in the water. "I've never seen anything like this, Misu." Misu twirled across the soft, warm sand. "Isn't this the greatest?!" Her voice airy with excitement. She scooped up a huge arm full of shells, starfish, and sand. "This stuff is incredible!" Misu had her back to the ocean and was staring at Lusaya's reaction, her own eyes wide with disbelief. "What's the matter Lusaya?" A huge shadow had casted in front of her and stretched into the sky, the clouds had turned into thick, black puffs. That same spine chilling voice wrapped itself around Misu, it was so familiar. "Two little lost puppies, how delightful...For us." There were more than one? Misu couldn't bring herself to face them. A higher pitched voice was talking now. "We're going to have fun playing with you." You could hear the sinister smile, they're always excited to find something to kill, eat, whatever it is they want with magical beings. Misu now regretted not having Eirwyn at her side, she'd been there when she'd last dealt with these...things. Lusaya hadn't seen these things in so long. They looked exactly as the ones before that she had seen all those years ago. She was in shock. She couldn't move, and she was having trouble breathing properly. This can't happen again. Lusaya snapped out of it, grabbed Misu around her waist and ran for the water. She quickly found one of the underground channels and started swimming through it to get away. They shouldn't be able to follow them. It was getting dark so Lusaya lit the way with some of her magic. She swam until she was exhausted. She was still really far into the tunnel, and far away from her home.

"Misu? What do we do?" She curled her wings around her, closed her eyes and let Lusaya tug her along. "I'm so sorry, I can't believe I froze up like that, I was just so scared. I don't want to deal with–" Misu's eyes flicked open. "Have you ever dealt with these things? Do you even know they exist? I'd encountered one not too long ago. I didn't realize there were more coming here, I would of told someone!" Misu shrilled, her voice quivering in despair. Lusaya nodded. "I.. Unfortunately I have." She sat down, and stroked the scales on her tail. She was getting flashbacks of what happened the first time. She remembered them as vividly as it had just happened earlier in the day. "Escovia and Raziela couldn't handle another attack like that. We have to tell the leaders. We have to warn everyone." "But Lusaya, they'll know we came here. They'd seal away all of our powers." Misu floated over and sat next to Lusaya. She slouched down slightly. "I can't deal with that, you don't understand. They'll make me move into the canyon with all of the lesser fairies."

"We'd both lose a lot from that.." Lusaya sighed and paused for a long moment. "We're just going to have to get rid of them ourselves. There were only those two, right? Can they even get in through the barriers?" "They must be able to, they're insanely powerful. I dealt with one just last month, it was able to put up an arcane barrier of their own, it shocked me when I merely put my fingertips to it. The dark figure nearly killed me Lusaya, I'm still weak from the last encounter. I only survived because Eirwyn carried me back to the village and I ran into one of the fairy healers." "Y-you fought one last month!? Why didn't you tell me, Misu?" She frowned. "Maybe with both of us we'll have a better chance..? And Eirwyn can help?" Lusaya was desperate for anything. She'd seen what these things could do. She was terrified of them. "Yeah. I didn't want to worry anyone. But you said fought you, how did you defeat it?" "I didn't really fight it. I..." This was Lusaya's biggest shame in her life. "I watched from afar. I was too terrified to do anything else.."

"Do you know who was fighting it? Maybe they could help us!" Misu was on her feet now. "I-I.. I didn't really watch, persay.. I saw it for a few moments and then I hid. When it was over I used my magic to heal the survivors." She hung her head low. She was ashamed, she couldn't look at her friend. Misu paced back in forth for a few minutes and then faced Lusaya. "Okay, well we can't just sit here. If we don't want to lose our magic, we need to defeat them by ourselves. We may not be able to beat them, but we have to try. I need your help Lusaya." Lusaya looked up at her friend and contemplated a few moments before nodding. "Alright." She got up and sighed shakily. "Can we really do this?" "Who knows." Misu shrugged indifferently, trying to lift their spirits. "We should try to fight them on the beach, I don't know how powerful these ones are so we don't need to draw in anyone else." She began to swim through the channel. They both continued until they reached the tree's roots on Escovia's side.

"When are we going to do this? And how? I just... I don't think it's a good idea." Lusaya was definitely a terrified of these powerful creatures. "What else can we do? I don't want to any more than you." Misu hugged herself, trying to contain her worries inside herself. "When do you think Lusaya?" "I mean.. we could always just do it right now..?" "You're crazy! We haven't even prepared!" Her wings fluttered quickly. "I'm not going to have the courage to even leave my house if we go back!" Lusayas voice was loud. She covered her mouth. "Sorry." "I hear you there, I almost wish we could." Misu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Let's head back." "Do we have to fight them? I mean, They would've been there whether or not we had found them... right?" Lusaya got up and started swimming back with Misu. "You're kidding right; you really could just turn your back on our villages? You could let innocent people die?" Misu flicked her wings, propelling herself ahead of Lusaya. "I get that you're scared, but..." Lusaya sighed. "When you put it that way, it makes me sound like a bad mermaid." She swam faster to catch up to her friend. "Do you have a plan?" "We don't really know all that much about them. I think we should just observe them for a while. We need to find a weakness, or an advantage against them. That's the only way we'll defeat them." "So.. we're going to spy on them? What if they see us?" Misu snickered slightly. "I'm the best sneaker, tracker, stalker, whatever you call it! Just follow my lead okay?"

She floated up to the surface. Misu slowly poked her head out of the water with just her eyes and above exposed and waited for Lusaya to appear. She didn't so Misu tugged her above the water. "Get up here!" Her voice was low but urgent. Lusaya put just her eyes above the water, as Misu was doing. "Ouch.." Her eyes scanned their surroundings. The sun was just setting, dusk was upon them. People would be looking for them both, Eirwyn would be worried. The black figures were nudging each other and giggling in their high pitched voice, like nails on a chalk board. The laughter came to a sudden stop, they were talking now. "When are we going to get those pretty little magic users?" "Soon Tamesis, you need to stop being so impatient." Misu tugged Lusaya to a seaweed bushel. "Are we the magic users?" She whispered. Lusaya's family must be geting worried. "I wish you had Eirwyn with you. "

"How are we going to get through this magical barrier?" The one named Tamesis asked. The other laughed again, it hurt the mermaid's fragile ears. She couldn't cover her ears, for fear the shadowy figures would hear. "I think so. Maybe it's all of the creatures that can use magic on the island." A droplet of water trickled down Misu's forehead, sending a tickling sensation down her nose. She wiggled her nose and flung up her hand to silence the itchy feeling. A huge splash happened when she did this. "What the heck was that?" One of the figures squealed. Misu emersed herself in the water. She grabbed Lusaysa's tail fin and dove to the bottom of the sea floor.