LaF Audition: Page Four

He lets out a giggle,
shaking and shivering.
Before the eyes
of Aeja and Avonna
he changes his form.
His body molds
as if made of clay.
Then, in no time at all,
he sets the keen talons
of a falcon
on the ground.

"What can I do with a book?
Nothing, it's no use for a crook.
You can have it- really, you can.
For this thing, I had no plan."

Aeja steps forward cautiously,
snatching the book up in her hands.
She pries open its pages,
turning to the first of many.

It lies blank.

The falcon laughs a peculiar laugh
as it flaps its wings and takes flight.

"Words are worth more than their page,
whether they're of knowledge, love, or rage.
I think I'll keep them with glee,
unless you come to take them from me."

He darts into a cluster of trees,
disappearing from sight.
Avonna watched closely,
nervously tapping her fingers.

"He are a strange thing.
Always talking with words
that sound the same."

"He does.
He takes me for a fool
who doesn't know her way.
I'll show him."

She carefully closes the journal,
slipping it into her coat pocket.
Without a word,
she walks on.
Avonna lingers behind her,
then eventually goes on her own way.

The sun continues to creep across the sky,
warming the land.
Aeja lets the map guide her.
The forest looms ahead,
shading the ground
beneath its leaves.
Others walk its depths too,
all clutching their maps.
Some stand tall,
and some do not.
Some walk like lizardfolk,
and some do not.
Some carry weapons,
and some do not.

All clutch their maps.

Aeja enters the forest,
watching the trees with caution.
She turns at the sound
of snapping undergrowth.
A deer races through the undergrowth,
pursued by a tremendous hound with four eyes.
Just as it appeared,
it disappears again.

She reaches for her sword,
wary of what may lie ahead.
Her hand closes around not a hilt,
but a scrap of paper.

"I say with certainty very-
you are not quite wary.
I'll keep this for you,
until you make it through."

She recognizes the script
as that of before.
A scowl crosses her face.
Her hand dips into her coat,
finding her knife untouched.

Brandishing her small blade,
she ventures into the unknown.
The forest grows thicker,
ensnaring her in thickets of creepers
and mats of brambles.
A sliver of sunlight breaks through
guiding her way.