~Into the Abyss~

A girl used to living what seems like a normal life suddenly finds herself in a mysterious realm. She has no idea where she is but wonders if she's dreaming.

Name: Ciroc Daermon

Gender: Male

Race: Unknown

Appearance: Ciroc has bright green eyes flecked with gold. At first glance, he appears human but if you were to look closer you would notice that his body is much leaner than a normal man and he also has a black mark that starts just below his left eyes and travels all across his body. He also has the ability to grow large three foot wings similar to those of an angel. His hair is long and he always keeps it braided behind him to keep it out of his face when hunting.

Name: Elena Harvey

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Appearance: Elena looks like...well, a typical human. She's 24 and has large brown eyes, medium-length, reddish-brown hair, which she usually keeps in a messy bun, and an average figure. She's fairly short at about 5"3'.

Other: She has (or, had) a job as a cook at a small café as she loves to cook, even in her free time. She hates loud music or noises.

The sun beat down heavily as Ciroc strolled down the beach, eating a green fruit. He loved the island...it had been his home for as long as he could remember. His mother was born here, though she'd died years ago. He'd practically raised himself.

Sighing to himself, he turned toward the blue ocean and fiddled with his braid. Staring out at the ocean, he began to feel that familiar ache of loneliness he'd get from time to time. The island was okay but he was the only intelligent friendly life-form here. There were others...the Morgors who lived on the other side of the island who were a war-mongering race who did nothing but destroy.

Elena had just finished cooking at the little café for the day. She stepped out, fairly tired, and headed home. It was close enough that she could walk; thus, she liked to do so often. As she walked, she noticed that everything started to look the slightest bit odd. Colors were dimmer and then brighter, but she just decided that was because of her fatigue. Suddenly, she slumped, unconscious.

An indeterminable time later, Elena finally re-assumed consciousness. Her eyes felt heavy but she tried to open them anyway. When she did, she was overcome by the sunshine. "Well, if this is some sort of post-apocalyptic dream," she thought, beginning to get frightened but keeping it in check, "it's certainly a strange one."

She couldn't see much else, really, because the sun was so bright, so she decided to just wait there and hope that it dimmed or that her eyes could get past it.

The day passed by rather quickly...that is until he noticed something lying in the sand a few feet away. Then, the whole world seemed to slow. He wasn't alone anymore...he could tell because the shape was definitely that of a human.

As he crept closer to the shape, he started to panic. Her eyes, her hair, everything about her reminded him of the Morgor's. But...a Morgor would never have made it through the dense Dark-wood forest that separated the two sides of the island. Maybe...maybe she was like him?

Elena found the sunlight to be blocked by a shape. "Oh, god," she thought, feeling her heartbeat quicken and her eyes shut. She opened them again, though. The being blocking the sun--and she should probably thank it, as she could actually see now--looked...human. Well, maybe not. He looked almost-human. "W-what--who--are you?" she stuttered.

She almost didn't want to know, but she was definitely afraid that he was some sort of barbarian and she'd be dead in the next five minutes. Even if this was a dream, she did not want to die. She hoped it was a dream and that she'd wake up soon...

"My name is Ciroc." He responded, kneeling beside the girl. "You have nothing to fear from me." Curiosity got the better of him and he reached a hand out to touch her, still have trouble believing she was real.

"Why should I trust you? How can I be sure I have nothing to fear?" she asked him, flinching slightly from his touch. It was marginally cooling, and felt nice after lying in this odd sun-drenched place, but she was not about to trust him so easily. There was no way to know what this being could do to her, after all.

Ciroc smiled. "Well, seeing as how there are not many friendly creatures here...you'd be better off with my protection than wondering the island alone." He paused. "It's dangerous, especially at night and especially if you're a woman."

That seemed like a decent answer. Elena sighed, a bit shaky, wondering if there was any way he could prove it. "That sounds reasonable, but how do I know you're telling the truth?" Most of her actually did want to believe this Ciroc person. She didn't want to be lost without anyone to help if she found herself in a difficult situation; however, something about him made her slightly uneasy despite his acting rather graciously towards her ever since he'd found her.

Ciroc thought for a moment before digging in his pocket. Reaching out his hand, he handed her a shiny purple stone.

"Here. This is from the other side of the mountain."

As he handed her the stone, it suddenly grew wings and fluttered into the sky. After hovering for a second, it darted at the girl, almost angry. Before it could reach her, however, he grabbed it and slammed it against a nearby stone...killing it.

"You see? Even the most seemingly harmless objects on this island are deadly. This side is a bit safer...but only if you know where to go."

Elena gasped, flinching. So, he was correct in that wandering could get her killed. "Thank you," she replied, mostly sincere, "for showing me." She looked at him, again. He still seemed oddly threatening, but his face did not show it. "I don't know that I have nothing to fear, but I do know that I don't have a death wish. Can you tell me...where we are?"

Ciroc lifted an eyebrow. "You mean you don't know? We are on the Island of Dunias...not far actually from Neiro."

He studied her more carefully. "You...you certainly are not from around here." Tell me, how is it that you arrived on the island?"

Should she trust this...man? Elena wondered about that, but she found herself telling him anyway. She'd always been a bit chatty, as it were. "Well, I work at a café--that's an establishment that serves food--as a cook, and after my shift was over, I was walking home when I blacked out. Then I ended up here," she explained. "I'm not quite convinced that I'm not dreaming, actually, because I've never before heard of this place. So, yeah, I'd say I'm not really from around here..." she trailed off, really wanting to ask him whether he was even human or not, but feeling as though it might seem rude somehow.

Ciroc's frown deepened. "Well, that is most unusual. Because I've never heard of a cafe..." He sounded the word out slowly. "Well, regardless of how you got here, you're here now and it'll be dark soon. There's a cave near here. I suggest we take shelter for the night.

"Right, okay," Elena answered. It still seemed extremely bright, but she wasn't in any position to understand this strange place, so she tried to get up and managed a sitting position, but felt a bit dizzy from moving.

"Wait, you...um, don't have a house?" she asked. This was going to be odd, really, because it seemed that she was on some totally different planet or something. "And, um, what do you...eat here?" She was beginning to get a little flustered, since she had no idea of the activities performed on a day-to-day basis, here. Did they...eat like she? Sleep? Everyone had to sleep, right? Flustered, yes. She blinked a few times and took a deep breath. Calm was the way to go, really. She'd be able to deal much more effectively with this strange situation.

He chuckled. "I do have a house, yes, but I'm afraid night will fall before we reach it. Nighttime here is very dangerous...even for someone like me who's lived here all my life." He stood up, offering her his hand. "I much prefer sleeping in a warm bed myself but I do what I must to survive."

Right, okay, so they slept. And had houses. That was okay, then. "Er, what about food?" she asked, taking his hand and using his weight to pull herself off the ground, then unceremoniously sagging against him for a moment as the dizziness increased. "Sorry," she whispered, rather embarrassed, "I've just been so dizzy..."

He smiled crookedly. "Food grows all about the Island. You just have to know where to look. We'll get to the cave and then I'll go gather something for us to eat."

When she said something about being dizzy, he laid a hand against her forehead. "You do feel warm. I hope you're not running a fever. That would not be good."

A fever on top of everything else? But of course. "Well, alright then. How far is this cave?" she asked. She wasn't actually sure how long she could walk for any long stretch of time.

On top of that, Elena still didn't know who this Ciroc being was, and his odd smile made her even more wary. This all meant something, somehow, and she wanted to know what and why. Why was she here?

"Don't worry. It's not far." Ciroc insisted, turning and motioning towards the forest edge. "It is just beyond that tree line. I'd say about a ten, maybe fifteen minute walk."

"Okay," Elena replied, looking at the area at which Ciroc had motioned. She gathered her strength; although it wasn't apparently that far, she wasn't sure how long she could walk until she would pass out or something of the sort. Oh well, it was best not to think of that and just follow the being.

Ciroc helped her to her feet and slowly led her in the direction of the cave. When they reached it, he helped her sit down and smiled at her. "I will be right back. I'm going to go pick some fruit."