On Sat, 25 May 1996, Jenny Maddux wrote:

Hi! I'm new to the ML, and I missed the intro to this fanfic, so could you
e-mail me a copy?

Well, two people have asked for the intro so far, so I'll repost it.
Chapter two is about half done and has to be done by Wednesday to get in
the club newsletter . . . deadlines are a wonderful motivator. ^ ^

START

My tale, dear reader, begins amidst the pale, dark trees and swiftly
fading light of autumn's quiet eve.  God's own truth as to what I saw
there.  And now, the mists part and my eyes can once more see . .  .

Gentle shadows drift about a tall and elegant youth.  He stands unmoving;
surprise, pain, and passion etched upon his face.  A delicate girl, wrapped
in white, eyes closed, held fast against his shoulder.  Her soft bare legs
and feet are lifting, stretching . . . her body, free of earth, pressing
tight . . .  The gentle bend of neck and back, beckoning . . .  The caress
of hand at throat, enticing . . .  Sweet red lips touch pale white skin.
Missed drops trail gently down across one breast, shirt pulled free by
insistent hands . . .  Quiet, gentle, thrilling sounds, unbidden from her
throat, at savored essence and rush of blood beneath her touch . . .



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ari

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



He remembered the first time.  He hadn't understood, then.  She, cold and
shivering . . . the body upon the ground . . . the blood upon his hands .
. .

Behind some bushes, a girl sits and trembles.  She had followed them here,
deep in the woods and behind the shrine, following and spying; her heart
hurt so . . .

The look in her eyes, the longing, the need, and then . . . and then . . .
The boy shudders slightly, and the girl's grip tights upon his shirt.  A
small moan escapes her as her lips refasten upon his skin, reflexively
tightening her hold upon the answer to her need . . .

She had finally found the two of them, here in the clearing behind the
shrine.  She almost screamed, seeing the blood.  They were so still,
unmoving against the shadows.  She had followed them here, away from
prying eyes and whispered questions.  The boy, a classmate, a new friend
and maybe, she had hoped, more. The girl, a childhood friend, that now . .
. that now was . . .  She shook her head.  She wouldn't have thought it
possible, less than a month ago.  An undying monster, a mythical creature
of darkness?  Fear and adrenaline left her shivering.  Each heartbeat
crashing louder than the last, drowning out the roar of blood within her.

The two of them had been together more and more, these last two weeks.
Her desire to know what had happened had left her desperate, following
after them every chance she had.  Now her curiosity had driven her to
follow here . . . to the woods . . . To the shrine, deep in the shadows
and far from human eyes . . .

It had hurt, the first time.  He hadn't known what to expect.  E'ani had
uttered one short scream then fled, and then . . . that touch . . .  He
had felt his own life flowing out through that one sweet touch, which even
now, continued deep within . . .

At first, she told herself it was concern alone.  As time passed, that lie
was stripped away by her pain.  The change had made him unique, someone no
. . . mortal . . .  girl should ever have.  She wanted to be with him.
She had been too shy at first, not knowing how to approach him, wondering
if he could feel her presence as she felt his.  Then, the awful day Mieko
and he had been seen together at a park, Ari carrying her within his arms.
Speculation had run rampant across the school.  After that, they had been
inseparable.  Slowly, bit by bit, her hope had begun to die . . .

He remembered his first time with E'ani - the utter thrill of immense
vitality searing through his body, his laughter at the energy of a
thousand souls filling his mind, the radiance of fire as E'ani opened the
full power of the foci within him . ..

She remembered, and her heart's ache deepened.  He had been just another
boy at school.  Then that day came, the day of the change, first for her
and then her friends.  It was less than a month later when she first
noticed the change in him as well.  It all came back to her in a rush,
every time she thought of it, the strange feelings of those first days
when she could feel him being there, all the way across the room.
Glancing sideways to look at him, seeing nothing different, but knowing
the alien feel of other-not-self, so different from the warmth and comfort
of those who changed with her.

And now, only a brief, bitter two weeks later, he was lost.  Mieko, a girl
she would have sworn as perfectly normal only yesterday, a human,
unchanged in any way, now clung to him, drinking in the ecstasy that should
be hers.  "My spot," she whispers softly but fiercely in anger.  Then
anger swiftly yields to despair.  'There is always a terrible lurch,' she
thinks to herself, scornful of her pain, 'when the world changes on
oneself, becoming different from what one foolishly thought it ought to
be.'

Looking back into the clearing showed that nothing had changed yet.
Quietly she rose to her feet and backed away, turning to flee when trees
hid her from view.  Maybe Karin would know.  Aiya talked to her in ways
that none of the rest of them understood.  She was badly frightened,
uncertain of Ari and terrified of Mieko.  Silent tears began to roll down
her cheeks as she fled, now blindly rushing down the path leading away . .
. away from one more painful instance of unsought grief . . .

***********************

Two figures stand in darkness, watching, stepping here and there between.
Sighing, she leans against him.  His dark robes flow out about her,
drawing her deep within their folds.  His arms surround her, holding
tight.

"I like them, Larva," she whispers softly.  His mask gazes back, ever
silent.  Only the small, imperceptible tightening of his arms about her
speak of his concurrence.  Raising one pale hand, encased in living armor,
he flows backward, leaving not but night's pure breath, a pool of darkness
waiting, death's gentle hands outstretched.  Once more two lovers fade
away . . .

***********************

END

Hump, I must really like that last scene, I just realized the first part
of ch.1 uses all the same imagery - well, at least I avoided doing it
again in ch.2.  Ja!  C&C much appreciated - falling down is a great way to
learn to stand up. ^_^

Charles K. Hurst - ImageNation Corp. Wage Slave/Employee - RPI graduate-MechE
Chocolate and Anime Forever!  9 months a fan and counting.
MI = eps. 96  MB = eps. 64 - 0/12 episodes each to utter boredom or Fushigi!