[Jaden Wolf]

Glow

Cheza

A small bird, a matches to be exact, fluttered through the plains, wondering why she came here of all places. Then she stopped suddenly, and gazed up at the full moon, which lit her way. Something...something called me here. But what? And why? How could I possible be of any use to anyone or anything? Negative thoughts ran through her head as her eyes welled with tears. How she missed her forest home!
There was a rustle in the tall grass behind her and she wheeled around with a gasp. "Who...who's there?" she gasped out. Then her eyes widened as she saw...darkness. The moonlight hit everthing, allowing the matches to see all...except one area. The moon beams reached towards it but just cut off as it hit. Scared, she scrambled backwards and fell. Then she gasped again when she saw something...lines of lights within the darkness. Somehow, it calmed her.

[Jaden Wolf]

Suddenly the lines moved and the matches saw a glowing rune-like pattern among them. It was shaped like a lunafly, she noticed. Then she heard a whimper. First, she looked around wildly to see if anyone else was there, then she realized that she was the one who whimpered. In an attempt to calm herself, she began to sing. "...In the cold breeze...that I walk alone...the memories...of generation burn within me. Been for-ever...since I cried the pain of sor-row..." her voice rang loud and clear in the empty plain, and it had a flowery sound to it. Yet, as she sang, a voice cut her off. "That song...is so sad..." it whispered. Startled even more, the small bird whipped it's head around, looking for the source. Finally, her eyes rested on the runic lines...which were now closer to her. Suddenly, right before her eyes, glowing wings emerged from the darkness. Next came a head, then the legs and body, and lastly, a long, whip-like tail. She wondered if it was there because of the runes, but changed her mind when she saw the lunafly pattern on its chest. "Who...are you?" she whimpered.

[Jaden Wolf]

The creature lowered its head to the matches and hummed for a minute. Then it lifted its head, looking around at the empty valley. "Who are you...? What are you doing...in a place like this?" it whispered. The matches stared at it for a moment, blinked, and said nothing. Completely still, and bathed in moonlight, she was visible to everything within sight on the plains. Yet she didn't care. Her head felt empty, she felt distant.

Turning, the hollowheart swung its head around, then back again. She moved forward and bumped into the small bird. The brown and pink creature jumped away, startled, then stammered. "I-I...how? You...a-are you blind?" she asked weakly. The creature turned her head. "Only in the light. The shadows gave me the gift of life, so the light is my weakness." it whispered.

[Jaden Wolf]

"Th-the shadows...gave you life?" the matches stuttered. "Yes. They did...now enough of the stuttering little one. What is your name?" the creature spoke. As it was obvious now, she wasn't whispering. Her voice was naturally low and airy, which made it sound like she was always whispering, or talking quietly. Taken off guard by the sudden briefness, the matches stared at the hollowheart in front of her. "My name's uh, Cheza, the flower maiden." she mumbled, just loud enough for the other to hear. "Cheza. Lovely. The flower maiden. Odd. My name...has not been granted by the Shadows." the large dragon-like creature sighed and lowered her head gracefully. "How about Glow? You glow in the dark." Cheza's voice cut into the silence. Glow's lips curled into a smile. "Very well little one. My name shall be Glow. As for my other question, why are you here?" she swung her head in a motion that related to a capital 'L' or 'J' on its side.

[Jaden Wolf]

Cheza stared up at the hollowheart, managed to stutter something and then fainted. Glow looked down in surprise. "Cheza?" she whispered, nudging the bird. "Oh dear...she fainted." the dragon sighed and looked to the distant horizon where the sky began to brighten, telling of a rising sun. The words she heard before the smaller creature fainted were somehow familiar. "Destiny is calling." she recognized the familiar language of the Shadows, but could not recall where she had heard the phrase before. Looking down at Cheza, she sighed again. "Better take her before I go completely blind." She gently picked the bird up in her mouth and placed her on her back. Then she opened her wings and took flight, heading for the horizon opposite the one where the sun was rising.