"Pah," Träm spit in frustration. "Well, no matter. They may think they hid their plans, but it is apparent enough. They mean to recruit the elves to help them. No matter--the elves will be crushed shortly. But the girls must not escape." Träm turned abruptly and walked away.

~~~

"Sss, sleepers must wake up, wake up QUIETLY," Rohindron's soft voice said. The little dragon was again standing between Nena and Rylin, glancing nervously around. "Wake up, wake up!" he hissed. "Your hands are tricked, you were tied in a caught!"

"Tied, caught in a trick," Mahindren corrected, glancing nervously out the tentflap.

"Whatever. Just wake up, please."

((OOC: I'm so sorry for my utter absence y'all! I haven't been ignoring you! I've just literally been unable to reply. ))

Nena awoke rather slowly (hardly unusual for her), and when the odd little face came into focus, she bit back another shriek. But the word "quiet" had been hammered into her head by her mother since she was only a wee thing. The action required when that word was used went into effect even when she was three-quarters asleep. However, next second she recognized Rohindron and her panic melted. For another second. Then his next comment registered.
"What!?" she squeaked in a hissing, strangled sort of way, but still very quiet, bolting upright in the same moment.
Rylin lifted her head sleepily, yawned and blinked. "Tricked?" Then she started, "Tricked!" she exclaimed in a hoarse, shocked whisper, and struggled to rise the rest of the way to her feet. Her balance, however, was thrown off by her tied hands.

((That's fine, Lady C. Figured something came up. ))

"Come, come quickly, maybe humans can work together to use knives to cut rope. If not..." Rohindron paused. "If not, we will find something else."

Mahindren had been walking up from the tent flap, and stopped between the two girls. She dropped a small knife from her mouth, and nudged it toward Nena with her nose.

"See if you can use it. But hurry! Everyone will be about soon."

((OOC: I knew you'd give me the benefit of the doubt! Your PM is next on my to-do list, but I may not be able to use the computer again until next Sunday. ))

Nena stared at the knife, though not out of a lack of understanding. After a quick moment of thought, she wriggled her feet from under her blanket, sat upright on the cot swinging her socked feet over the side and with her toes clutched the knife and lifted it from the ground.
"Get on the floor," she hissed to Rylin, who had been watching her intently. Rylin slipped to the ground and turned her back to Nena, shifting her bound wrists towards Nena's feet. Nena tightened her unconventional grip on the knife and maneuvered it to a spot just above the ropes on Rylin's wrists.
"Move your hands back and forth," Nena ordered. She didn't trust her toes to keep a hold on the knife if she were to move it herself.
Rylin obeyed, and slid the rope up and down on the blade of the knife. Nena's hold on the knife was a very odd angle for Rylin to use, being pointed in the same direction of the ropes, and not parallel. Rylin was forced to strain her arms to the side to get the knife to run across the ropes at all. This combined with the desperate speed at which Rylin sawed and the suddenly slipping of the knife in Nena's toes at Rylin's pressure caused a deep gash to be made in Rylin's wrist when the knife finally cut through. She gave a stifled yelp of pain and bit her lip as the tears sprang to her eyes.
Nena winced as the blood began to pulse down Rylin's wrist in a thin trickle, but Rylin shoved the ropes off and twisted around, holding out her hand for the knife. Nena lifted her foot over Rylin's hand and gingerly uncurled her toes, dropping the knife into the extended palm.
A few seconds later they were both bundled back up and grabbing their packs.
"What's going on?" demanded Nena in a harsh whisper.
As she massaged her wrist, Rylin cringed at Nena's tone, and hoped the little creatures knew she was not angry at them, but at being betrayed.
"And thank you for helping us," she added quickly, hoping to draw Nena's attention to the tone she had just used.

"No time for thanks or explaining now," Rohindron said, darting outside. Mahindren moved so she could see him through the tentflap. After a few moments, she turned to the girls.

"Wait a moment," Mahindren said softly, and wiggled half out of the tent. After a few moments of conversing with Rohindron, she slipped back in.

"Leave your packs, they will only slow you. We must move fast, as fast as the wind. Packs will only burden you. We are less than a days journey from where you will be truly safe. Follow me!" Mahindren turned tail and darted outside as the girls determined what to do. Rohindren was already several paces ahead of her, looking around the tents.

~~

"Charis is right," Arin said firmly. "No way is certain. We are not concerned with what is certain, but what is best. The destruction of a race is never what is best. If it was, I do not think any people group would still exist. We have all fallen."

"And beside, if lesser methods will prevail, they are always to be used before greater methods, not after," Kel added.

Neíhudir stood, and paced for a few moments.

"Since the Crystal was part of the creation of the problem, perhaps it may also be our key."

Rylin and Nena waited with baited breath while the little creatures spoke together, and wondered what on earth was going on. At Mahindren's instruction, Rylin quickly shifted her pack off her shoulders, showing no hesitation. Nena, on the other hand, stiffened. The pack made by her mother's hands was not something she wanted to part with. However, she sensibly laid it almost reverently on the ground, giving it a last, reluctant stroke before straightening.
Truly safe? she wondered as she crept out of the tent behind Rylin. Where is that? With the Elves? but she said nothing.
Rylin, with Nena close on her heels, emerged from the tent. She shivered in the faint and chilly breeze that brushed the tendrils of bed-hair from her face. Bending forward to a crouch that lowered her profile from both people and the wind, she darted after Mahindren, Nena still close behind her.

Mahindren only stopped for a moment to make sure that both girls were with her, then turn and locked her eyes on Rohindron. She had to be sure to catch any warning he gave that someone might be approaching.

~~

Neíhudir coughed, his author, who had forgotten exactly how this was going to work, waits for sweeetlilgurlie

Charis nodded in agreement. "What if you could activate the power to the crystal and we could channel it...to measure how much you used? Would that be more safe?"

G-9 hesitated, but then nodded slowly. "Yes. In that case, my desire to liberate my species would be all that was needed to put the power of the crystal into action. But how would you do such a thing?"

Charis smiled. "I think that the elves might have the technology capable."

Neíhudir nodded.

"There is," he said simply. "And I'm sure that Charis is quite aware of where it is located. It is not here--neither is the Crystal. It is located in the heart of our lands, where we must now go, if you are willing to accompany us."

The elf had turned to G-9, then turned to the others.

"There is," he began, "one more item that will need to be dealt with. That of an impending attack of both our enemies. We know they intend to strike very soon, however, we do not know where or how many. While G-9 and I work with the Crystal, our lands may experience a hard attack. We do not have enough strength to withstand both at the same time."

"We must call on the Ditto Town Jedi," Alàtariël said softly.

"No! We cannot let more people know of the Crystal, unless it is absolutely necessary." Arin's objection came quickly, and much more loudly.

"Then what else are we to do? Die, and in so doing give up the Crystal entirely?"

((Lady C, I'm coming.))

Rohindron bounded along, going as quickly as his four little claws would carry him, which, for his size, was quite fast. Mahindren went only slightly slower, hoping that both the girls were keeping pace. They were near the edge of the camp when the deep below of Träm's voice echoed across the snow. A string of not so nice words were heard, and then the call for the best trackers in the camp.

"Rohindron! Mahindren! You are needed, now!" Träm paused for a moment. "And Jâkín, you come here, too!" Rohindron ran back to the threesome, and spoke softly to Mahindren. Her whiskers twitched in a dissatisfied way, but she finally nodded. Rohindron started trotting back toward the tent. Mahindren started forward with a burst of energy, and called softly over her shoulder.

"Hurry! Hurry! We must get you into the woods. Then you must do exactly as I say. Its the only way, the only way. Hurry!"

~~

Kel's breath came in shorter gasps, as she waited impatiently for someone, ANYone to say something. No one did. After many minutes of silence, she finally burst.

"Arin, there is no option. Estëe and the Jedi are the only protection that stands between this evil and Ditto Town. If we don't all stand together, then we will all fall separately. You are always thinking of what is hidden, so what is in plain sight is hidden from you."

"Your allies will help, but you have to let them know you are in trouble," Cameron said softly. "Call the Jedi. We must make a strong stand."

"You seem to have a plan, my old friend," Neíhudir said. "Would you care to share?"

Cameron looked around the room, then nodded.

"G-9 needs to go into the city for the crystal. If the Jedi come, they will be needed up here. In such a case, I would advise that any who would call themselves Sith--or have had past dealings with the Sith, which would put them in a negative light--should go with G-9 and Arin. The rest of us Force Users, here, will go with the Eberites and stand against the men of Cââd. I would suggest that Alàtariël and a squadron of elves also stay with us. The rest of the elves would go against Hittani, and whoever would come from Ditto Town would join you."

Neíhudir nodded.

"Any objections?"

The girls followed the little creatures in silence. Rylin stumbled once, but it was only a blunder caused by sleepiness. However, they both stiffened at the sound of Träm's shout and shot alarmed looks at the creatures ahead of them. In their pause, the girls caught up with them in time to hear Mahindren's instructions.
Nena bit her lip with a frown and cast a look over her shoulder, but was right behind Rylin as they followed Mahindren at her increased rate of travel.
Rylin shivered as she finally woke up the rest of the way and a stab of panic went through her heart. What was going on?

Mahindren darted into the forest, glad that trees, however scrawny they might be, had less snow under them. She also knew that their path lay pretty much in a downward direction.

"Hurry!" she urged, her own breath beginning to come in gasps. If they can just make it over the stream....

~~

Rohindron took his time, moving sedately back toward where he had come. He had considered trying to disguise their earlier footprints, but determined that it would only indict himself and Mahindren. Instead, he was forming a better plan.

~~

Mahindren skidded to a stop, her claws desperately grabbing at whatever was near. Panting, she looked down into the gulley.

"Ssss... I don't remember this," the little dragon muttered, gulping in the cold air. What to do now?
Mahindren glanced around wildly. Which way? After a few moments, she turned to Rylin and Nena.

"I am now in unknown territory," she said softly. "I can only guess from here on. In hopes of strengthening your chances of not getting caught, I would suggest you split up. I will go with one of you, and Rohindron will catch up to the other. Just keep going downhill, and toward those stones. There are caves there, and elves and people. May they be of greater assistance to you. Who shall I accompany?"

Leaping over a drift of snow, Nena snarled softly under her breath. Someone somewhere had betrayed them and this interrupted sleep after a sleepless night before did nothing to help her temper. However, she did not retort to Mahindren's spurring for greater speed, on the contrary, she obeyed.
Rylin was shivering violently now. She was afraid and for some reason she was very cold. But she valiantly struggled against the deep snow, heart thudding, breath coming in short, raw wheezing.

Nena was so intent on avoiding the deepest drifts that she nearly collided with Mahindren at the ridge. She growled again, but not at the little dragon, just in a general sort of way. Rylin was a ways behind them, panting and gasping in a rather disturbing sort of way. Why had she come on such a demanding mission in the first place? But Nena's attention was grabbed by Mahindren's confession. What!?
Rylin had now just about caught up and was beginning to slow down so as not to bump into Nena. She paused and listened to Mahindren's advice.

"Caught!?" exclaimed Nena and gave Mahindren a searching look.
Rylin interrupted in case Nena continued questioning. "That sounds good and I think you should accompany Nena." Her reasoning was that Mahindren seemed to be more patient with Nena's sharp tongue than Rohindron.
Nena, however, looked doubtful, "Are you sure?"
In reply, Rylin gave her a shove towards the gully. "Go! I'll be fine! Better two who go quickly then two who go slowly!"
This seemed reasonable, but at the same time Nena's conscience went against letting Rylin go alone, even if only for a short while. However, there was no time to argue and Nena reluctantly began her careful descent into the gully

Jâkín raced up to Träm, wondering what he wanted now. From the way he sounded, it couldn't be anything good.

-----

"An excuse not to meet up with Jedi? I'll take it. Guess I'm going with Frosty the Abominable Snow Thing."

Charis nodded. "I'm good with that. I'd rather not see any jedi just yet." For some reason, Charis seemed to sense that Meav actually wanted to see some jedi, which was very strange, but she brushed it aside.

"I do not object to their company, but we must hurry if we are to be effective." G-9's voice grated.

"So we go right now? All right!" Charis was most pleased.

((And if a certain Elvish Lady doesn't want Charis to sense such a sneaky little thing, this author shall delete the evidence of its existence. ))