Regadean

     "Excuse me?" Maila said, swallowing down her emotions. She didn't have an easy time believing that Regadean was telling the truth. But she had to remind herself about all of the things that had happened over the last two days. Then it didn't seem so ridiculous. Regadean met her eyes, and put her hands up in front of herself and shook them lightly.

"No, look, I know it's hard to believe but, it's true." Obalie eyed her suspiciously. Regadean gave a small shrug/laugh. "Heh, uh, well there's this mean kinda guy you see, he-" Airibone took a strong step forward.

"Cut to the chase Mister!" she bellowed. Regadean gave Airibone an offended look. Maila rushed over to correct Airibone's mistake.

"Misses!" she whispered. Leaning to Airibone's ear. Airibone made her face more intense, and continued talking.

"What is this curse, and what does it do...Miss!" she demanded. Regadean moved back, pulling the earth and soil up as she did this. But, the ground soon healed over, leaving no trace of drama or being lifted.

"She's probably getting to that!" Tarska snapped, bringing herself into the conversation. Obalie strode past Oouger, brushing his side and making him blush slightly, his eyes wide open.

"Are you siding with this stranger!" she asked, looking wounded at Tarska. They continued to argue, so Orkijace, Maila, Silvics, Oouger and Regadean removed themselves from the heat, and snuck into the cave behind the waterfall. Here, they could continue talking calmly.

"Sorry about that," Maila apologized to Regadean. "they were only trying to protect. They don't know you very well- at all; We just really care about each other... a lot." Regadean nodded understandingly. Silvics sat down next to her, as did the rest of them. Once they were all seated in a quiet circle, they were relaxed enough to explain.

"So," Regadean broke the silence first. "I'm still waking up a bit, why don't you guys tell me about yourselves first. I'm still trying to figure out how to explain this." She suggested. Maila smiled and agreed willingly.

"That's a good idea," Silvics peeped. Maila suggested that Silvics should go first, seeing that Silvics had to closest attachment to Regadean. She luckily agreed with this, and explained everything. Silvics started at the beginning, but it was necessary to know. How none of them were blood related, how in the gorisailn village, when a new gorisailn was born they were put in a group of all the other gorisailns who were born that year as well. They are taken care of all together for two years by an elder, then after that they took care of each other. Their group unfortunately only contained one boy (Oouger). They were friends with the tightest bond in history. It would be an absolute tragedy if one from the group was lost, and that's why they were all at the edge of the forest together. They were all as one until death. This triggered something right away with in Regadean. She stopped slouching and became very alert immediately.

"Uh, what's wrong Regade-" Oouger started, but Regadean shushed him with a glare. Tears were flooding through her eyes.

"I am so sorry." she mumbled. Maila and Silvics stood up in unison.

"Regadean?" Silvics asked. "What's happening, are you alr-"

"I didn't know back then!" he wept, drowning Silvics out.

"What's going on!" Maila questioned, becoming more and more concerned. What did she do? Regadean let out a particularly loud squeak. "When you were younger, I" Silvics gave Maila a worried look. Orkijace and Oouger exchanged glances. "I took him;" it was becoming hard to understand her now. She took who! Maila took a cautious step back. "You had two boys in your group. I had to take Sivilecion! Negajarve would have killed me if I didn't." Oouger was standing now too.

"WHO!" he raged. Maila felt like she was going to faint. Her head was spinning, and she had to sit back down.

"Stay calm remember!" Orkijace prodded Oouger's shoulder. He simply threw her off and advanced towards Regadean.

"Where is he, and who was controlling you." he said in a dark tone of voice. Oouger pinned Regadean down with an fiery stare. Regadean was wrapping her arms around Silvics's.

"I don't know where he is! I had to give him to Negajarve! He was the one who gave me the orders! Please, you have to believe me, he's also the one who's cursing the land!" Maila could hear footsteps approaching them. Oh boy, this is about to get insane... Airibone barged through the waterfall with Obalie at her side. Tarska was close behind them.

"Found them!" she called. Obalie kept walking past Airibone who had stopped at the entrance. She went over and sat down in between where Orkijace and Oouger were sitting. Orkijace returned and sat beside her friend.

"What's going on in here?" Obalie asked kindly. Orkijace looked over Obalie's shoulder at Maila for help. Even though Orkijace's eye were pleading for assistance, Maila couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Maila," Regadean continued. Maila didn't know if she could take anymore information, but she listened anyway. "Don't be angry, but, well, how do I say this Maila, Sivilecion, was your, older brother." It took a second for Maila to understand/hear what Regadean had said. She couldn't breath anymore, a blankness came over her. She was frozen. Airibone reacted before Maila did.

"Whoa! I missed something! What were you guys talking about in here?" she perplexed. Tarska evened seemed to care about this fact.

"What?" She raised her arms to adjust her beanie hat. "Did you just say," she questioned, looking over at Regadean. "That- she" she continued slowly. "Has a blood related sibling, an older brother?" Maila's head was pounding! She seeped down lower, and lower, until she was laying on her stomach.

"Would he have been in our group?" Orkijace asked immediately, once she finally accepted it. Regadean nodded silently, still looking at the ground. "Uh, well Maila was born in Arzu, so Sivilecion would have been born in between Carpou and Féta. Right?" She finished. Gorisailns only carried their young for a short time, and the were only seven months in a year: Féta, Dieim, Carpou, Harokk, Arzu, Vetia, and Zarroké. Regadean nodded again, this time making extremely apologetic eye contact with Maila. Maila needed to be alone with Airibone for a moment.

Maila stood up while everyone else was busy talking, and brushed Airibone's shoulder on her way to the very back of the cave. Airibone followed her quietly, until they were at least ten meters away from the group.

"She didn't know back then." Maila whispered. Airibone leaned against Maila, who was leaning against the back wall. Both of them were half looking into space, and half looking at the rest of their friends. Airibone let out a long sigh.

"It would have been nice with another guy in the group." she said in deep thought. Maila looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Airibone snapped into attention right away. "No! I mean it would have been nice for Oouger." She corrected. Maila raised her eyebrow even higher. "I mean- girls are- um- poor Oouger." Airibone stuttered. Maila rolled her eyes and slouched back down. Airibone sighed again, this time out of fury. "I was just saying," she tried. "that Oouger probably would have like it if there were another dude in our group." Malia gave her a fake smile, and returned to pondering.

The two of them sat there for a while, but eventually, Oouger called them back because Regadean was about to tell them about the curse. As Maila stood up, she glanced sideways, and did a double take. The thingy with all of those gems in it! She remembered. Airibone followed her gaze.

"We'll tell them in a minute." she rushed, tugging Maila along with her. Maila agreed and followed Airibone to hear Regadean's explanation. They all gathered around Regadean curiously, awaiting her speech.

"So," she began. A sudden hush fell throughout the circle. "The, well the, oh I dare not say his name. Well" Tarska stuck her tongue out playfully at Regadean. "Fine! I'll say it!" she snapped. "Negajarve is an evil dragon with six legs and four wings okay!" Tarska looked at her in shock, as did the rest of them. Regadean just continued. "He is in a slumber, the same as me, but deeper. He lays underneath the plains in between the Forbidden Forest, and your village." Everyone exchanged glances. "When he was awake however," a tear slid down Regadean's face. "He threatened your village with certain death, unless they could make deal to satisfy him. The deal was" her words slowed down slightly. "A slave, for mercy, and he could corrupt the land however he wanted." He agreed happily, taking me from my family, -whoever they were- and erased everyone's memory of colour permanently. This land became flooded with blue, as a mark of revenge against a god he had battled with long ago. It was Rakiago, the god of light and well, colour." Maila asked about her brother, and Regadean promised she was getting to that. "But," she wiped her tear away and smiled. "There's a way to break every curse! You are the way." Obalie stood up and looked at Regadean skeptically.

"How would you know that?" she asked. Regadean's smile faded. "Oh," Regadean whimpered. "A prophecy was given by Rakiago, saying that the groisailns born the same year as a simple slave, would find the colour again! That they could kill Negajarve and break his curse. Negajarve heard this, and need to stop it." that's us? Maila observed. "So, he made me take one of you to test a theory of his." No no no! Maila worried she knew what Regadean would say next. "He found this black pillar, the only thing that wasn't blue, and touched it to Sivilecion. His fur instantly turned white, with silver markings, and Negajarves theory was correct. I don't know what he did with your brother Maila! I am so sorry." she ended. Maila sat up straight.

"Why didn't he just make you touch the pillar? Why did it have to be Sivilecion?" she demanded.

"And if you would have been in our group, then why aren't you a gorisailn?" Tarska questioned. Regadean answered both of these questions with one answer.

"He had already cursed me to be in this absurd form forever so I could never return to the village and be welcome. And because of this, I was brown even after the curse was cast. It had to be one of you." Oouger stood up, but not to join Obalie.

"I'll be right back!" he announced, and he bolted out of the cave and through the waterfall. They paused, but then looked back to Regadean.

"But, did you ever try to return?" Silvics asked sympathetically. Regadean nodded sadly.

"Instead of welcoming me, they tried to kill me, because they thought I was harmful. They chased me all of the way back to the forbidden forest, and set guards along the border. When I returned to Negajarve, he was furious because I helped the prophecy in some way or something, and put me in a slumber. He said that I could only be awoken it the curse was ready to be lifted so I could attack well- you guys. This made him an idea. He put himself in a slumber as well, so with every snore, the curse grew thicker, and harder to break." Maila couldn't even fathom this information! She leant into Orkijace, and Orkijace leant into Tarska. Tarska however, didn't lean on anyone because she hated touching.

~ * ~

When Oouger returned, he held his book gifted to him from his father. He didn't explain, her just started reading aloud to them.

"Creature frightens village, and steals child under a year old!" He glanced at Regadean with an expression that said 'that would be you'. "So when it returned a year later, we were ready for it. We don't know much about it, but it was our first visitor from the Forbidden Forest! Description: Long, slender, furless, crown of roots on head, and an unfamiliar shade of blue, we've called brown. Extremely terrif-" he stopped on the last word, looking up at Regadean with an oops expression. She shrugged.

"I know she said." Regadean didn't seem to care about this much. She was very well and used to it. Silvics moved herself closer to Regadean for comfort. Everyone was quiet, breathing shallowly. If it weren't for Regadean approaching the village, Oouger never would have been sent to guard the outskirts! Maila never would have found the black rock, and none of this would have happened!

"Oh!" she blurted, glancing at Airibone, before looking to Regadean. A half smile found its way across both Maila and Airibone's faces. Regadean grinned faintly, raising her brow slightly; Almost to say either 'sorry', or 'your welcome.' Maila couldn't tell.

At this point, there was so much going through Maila's mind, she was ready to scream. I have a brother! Nothing is really what we think! Wait, if Regadean was in a slumber, how did she hurt Airibone? She wondered. Maila just decided to ask, even though it meant more information.

"Wait, Regadean," she began. Regadean snapped her head in Maila's direction, eyes wide open. "Whoa, ok. Well, if you were in a slumber all this time, then how did you attack Airibone yesterday?" Airibone looked up when she heard her name.

"What? Who said my name?"

"I DID WHAT!" Regadean remarked loudly. "I am so sorry, again, Negajarve can make me do anything. Maybe he half woke me up or something, and erased my memories of the event." she finished worriedly. Maila made her way over to Airibone's side.

"If he can control you at any given time though," Airibone looked at Regadean with fear. "He could make you attack us any second now!" Obalie stood up right away, and formed at protective stance.

"NO!" Regadean answered hurriedly. "He can't anymore! Don't you see, I've been freed." Obalie didn't move. She remained in a protective stance.

"How do we know that he's not just making you say this to us." she backed up a couple of steps. Regadean thought for a moment before coming up with a way to prove it.

"I swear," Regadean started, bringing up her hand. She held up the end of Orkijace's tail with the other. "on my" Orkijace tried once to pull her tail back, before realizing that she didn't care. The end of her tail had two sharp spikes on it, and Regadean was prepared to use them. "own blood," she wrapped her hand around the longest spike, and slid it out slowly. Red blood seeped out of Regadean's fist. "that I will not harm you, and that I am under my own control completely." Maila believed her, but she was more amazed that blood was red! Obalie sighed, and sat back down.