"Is it alive?"

"I'd hope not."

"Did someone call the authorities? I don't know what we'd do if it woke up!"

"Ooo! Ooo! Can I touch it?"

"No, Mikhail!"

Swimming through a sea of unconsciousness, guided by a life preserver of pain that strangely resembled a headache, Eirian wondered at the nonsensical voices above her. Shifting and rubbing her nose, she reached for her pillow only to grasp nothing but straw. Light began to squeeze through her closed eyelids, piercing her comfortable blackness and making her moan, "Come ON, Dad! Get OUT of my room and let me sleeeeeep!"

A collective gasp rose from the crowd surrounding her; a small boy with sandy blonde hair poked the girl in the side with a stick. As if on cue, others began to swarm about her, jabbing and prodding.

"Ng... ARGH!" Eirian roared shooting straight up, small tufts of hay stuck in her hair. "WILL YOU STOP THAT?!"

Looking stupidly about her, the girl blinked, utterly confounded. "Um... who are all ya'll?"

"It speaks!" a soft chinned woman with staring brown eyes gasped, pointing a finger at "it."

"'It?' Hey! Just wait one bloody frelling minute!" Eirian yelled, jumping up and getting into the woman's face. "I ain't no it, ya know! And you should be nicer ta people ya haven't ever met!" she continued, falling into her habit of adding a's to words. "I didn't da na thing ta ya and ya get all pissy and stuff! Why doncha just bite me, ya old witch!"

"Odin save us!" the woman screeched, dropping to her knees and beseeching the heavens. "Spare us from this foul being of Loki's seed!"

"Hey, hey, hey! What th' frell da ya mean by THAT?"

"Ulner Gerreckson! Where is the Niflheim Alf?" a massively shaggy man roared, galloping up on a bear-like horse.

"It's her, Ulner!" another responded, pointing a finger directly at Eirian. "She's threatening to sever our limbs and drink the water falling wound dew as if it were mead!"

"Hey! I sooooo did not!"

"Capture the demon!"

"Ooo... schnikes..." Eirian muttered, eyes enlarging with fear, before spinning and shoving herself through the mass of people around her, speeding through a place that was alien to her. Hands grabbed at her clothing, snagging the light gray cloak hung about her shoulders and temporarily halting her progress. Screaming bloody murder, she smacked the guy's arm, feeling his release, and sped back on, the calls and jeers of a mob suddenly hell-bent on capturing and killing her ringing in her overly sensitive ears.

Trying to shake off her growing sense of panic that would soon paralyze her, Eirian attempted to concentrate on the fact that she wasn't tiring or falling; she should have been half dying by now. Interrupting her thought pattern came a wooden wall, which she threw herself at and scrambled up, ducking and dodging the projectiles thrown her way. Popping herself into the window of the house along the wall, she met a trio of half-drunk brutes, blearily glaring at her through bloodshot eyes.

Smiling as innocently as she possibly could, Eirian managed to make it halfway out a consecutive window before her ankle was snagged; a good shake broke the man's weak grip. Hauling her strangely lithe body onto the gutter and trying to balance on the shotily thatched roof, the young woman allowed herself a moment to examine the surroundings; a maze of crudely made grass and mud roofs met her eyes, showing her the end of the village not sixty feet away; was that a person that just ducked into a window? No, of course not. Doors pounded and burst below her; she knew that someone would come to drag her off the roof soon.

Staring across the six feet of open air between her and the next house, Eirian tried to convince herself that she COULD make the jump. Psyching herself up, the image of the last long jump she'd tried to make rang in her mind. She had ran maybe twelve feet to jump past the line three feet before landing on her head; the memory didn't bode too well with her. Bunching her muscles beneath her and drawing a deep breath, Eirian jumped.

And smacked right into another person about her age, toting a large brown bag. Reaching forward and shoving Eirian's red head down, the girl spring boarded off her back, dark blonde hair flowing in the breeze, leaving Eirian to...

Fall through the roof of the house, landing on a luckily placed bundle of furs.

"Ow, ow, OW!" Eirian screamed, tears welling up in the corners of her heavily lashed gray eyes. Clutching her left arm and the six inch splinter jammed into it, she fought to keep control; it wouldn't do her any good to start crying and throwing a temper tantrum now. The end of the village was so close...

"And you did that why?" a bemused voice asked, freezing the girl's insides.

Turning her auburn head to the sound of the musical voice, frightened steel blue/gray eyes beheld a boy not more than a year older than she, golden eyebrows arched high enough to just not disappear into the straight cut of his gold hair. Feathered locks framed his sea blue eyes and tanned, strong cheekbones, leading to a powerful chin split by a wide, white (and pretty darn cheesy, ya know) grin. Leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, brown pant legs crossed at the brown soft-soled boots, he awaited an answer, crossing his arms over the common white blue edged tunic that most his age wore.

"Ah... um... ooooo..." Eirian started intelligently, quickly glancing around at her surroundings and trying to not notice the rather large splinter jabbed into her arm. A sudden thought came to her and she turned quickly, raising her good right arm and attempting an evil look. "I AM THE NIFLHEIM ALF, FOOL!" she bellowed, wiggling her fingers. "FEAR ME! WAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Stopping abruptly and looking at the dumbfounded young man staring at her, she sweat dropped, face flushing brightly. "You have no fear of me whatsoever, do you?"

"Nope. None at all."

"Ahhh... ^^;;;;;; Okay, then..." Sighing and sticking out her hand, she said, "My name's Eirian Eithne; what's yours?"

Stepping forward, the long, thin ponytail that reached his waist swishing with his movements, the boy gripped the hand, pumping it up and down enthusiastically. "My name is Aaron Abdul Kyani; nice to meet you, Eirian." Seizing her wrist and dragging her from the room forcefully, onto the stairs, he began talking quickly, "We'll mess with your arm later, Eirian; just bare with the pain for now. I'm going to lead you down to the cellar into the tunnels; we will part when I say and you will keep going, got that? There will be a large tree there, an apple tree. Do not, under any circumstances, go near that tree; it has evil enchantments upon it. Instead, dash into the woods to the left of the tree. FROM THE TREE'S POSITION. So it's not YOUR left, but the tree's. Others will come for you and lead you to a hideout. There you shall meet *lovelornsigh* Kyani. Wait there and she will give you instructions; do you have all that?" They were already down the stairs and rushing through the kitchen, angry bellows calling at the door.

"Can't you just tell me all of this later?" Eirian begged, eyes darting anxiously to the front door. "What if I forget?"

Opening the pantry down and hauling out several bags of grain and potatoes, Aaron answered tersely, "You won't forget because, if you do, then they'll catch you for sure. And I can't repeat or say anything in the tunnels; there are too many beneath our town and voices carry easily. The second you go into the tunnel, all sounds are forbidden. Got that, Eirian?"

"Ummm... ah... When we part I keep going down the tunnel until the opening, where I will see an apple tree. To my right, the tree's left, are some woods; I'm to run and hide in those and await the others. They will bring me to Kyani's, yes?"

"They'll speak her name; when they do, you'll know that they're friends. If they do not, run," Aaron advised, removing the last sack and opening a trap door. Shoving the young woman in to the sounds of a splintering front door, the seventeen year old threw the sacks to the side of pantry, closing the door quickly and arranging them around the door so that they would fall over it. Men burst into his and his aunt's house just as he closed the latch and began shoving Eirian forward.

Stooped forward unnaturally, Eirian began to wonder if she had grown; she was slightly taller than the youth pushing her, unless, of course, he was a midget like she was. Did those guys from earlier seem shorter too? Nah, it was just an illusion. Smashing her forehead into a heavy root and gaining a bruise reminded her to be more careful and pay attention to the task at hand.

Not even five minutes into the tunnel, Eirian began to remember something: she was claustrophobic. And, as the walls began to lower and the two were forced on their hands and knees, the feeling became more and more acute. There was no light and very little room; dust began to clog the sixteen year old's throat, constricting it painfully. She began to gasp, only to have Aaron shove a root in her mouth and push her along more quickly; she didn't think that she'd be able to make it once he left her.

An eternity began to roll around slowly, punctuated only by the random jagged rocks that would pop up unceremoniously to stab the tender palms of Eirian's hands and the various furred animals that scurried past her wrists. The sharp pain in her left arm had dulled to a low throb and the girl began to worry that it would become infected. Finally, Eirian's nose connected with a wall built between a fork and they stopped.

Leaning in as close to the terrified girl as he could, Aaron pressed his lips to her ear and murmured, "You can make it, Alf, just keep moving; I don't like it either. Count one, two, one, two, and it will all pass easier. Now go to your right and remember my instructions; farewell." And, with that, he began to shuffle off in the other direction, the warm familiarity between the two fading and leaving the other all alone.

Using her force of will, Eirian began to crawl forward once again, mentally counting 'one, two, one, two, one, two,' carefully placing one hand in front of the other. Tears began to stream down her dirt stained face, as much from the dirt in her eyes as the fear. Scurrying along in those lonely tunnels, Eirian didn't think that she'd ever be able to get out.

"Mistress Kyani?" a young man who looked about eighteen asked, stepping into the only light in the cavern, his white blonde hair shining. Expressive blue-gray eyes looked upward and stayed up there as he spoke. "There are reports of another "Niflheim Alf" within the vicinity; we believe that Aaron has lead her to the grove again."

Sitting up straight, her slitted amber eyes flashing in the darkness, Kyani's southern accent filled voice vibrated through the cavern, "The grove? The agents of nearby towns have been haunting that area for weeks; did Aaron not know?"

"I'm sorry, Mistress Kyani," the other answered, his long bangs falling forward to reveal pointed ears as he bowed apologetically. "I don't believe that he was properly informed; I take the full brute of the blame."

"Oh, Alaric," Kyani breathed, falling back into her chair and closing her eyes. "This will bode very unwell for the Alf indeed; he or she will have no one to protect them." Snapping open eyes now rimmed in bright violet, she commanded, "Send five of the Alves, Alaric; head them yourself; you know what the Alf should look like. Run, immediately! And bring her to me at the pedestrian area!"

Loping off to gather five others, Kyani's call of "And will someone bring some torches?" rang in Alaric's sensitive Elven ears.

Slamming into a solid clay and dirt wall, Eirian refrained from cheering happily; she had made it to the end of the tunnel. Exhilarated tears falling down her cheeks, she shoved her hand upwards, encountering a heavily brass ring. Gripping the ring, she eased it upwards, raising her head slowly to the opening.

Brilliant green grass of vibrancy unbeknownst to Eirian met her eyes, masking all movements in the meadow. Opening the trap door more, large roots met her eyes and a thorny bush. Squeezing her through an opening as small as possible, joy and rapture warring with the urgency to be cautious, the young girl rested her weary body on the soft grass, shutting the door carefully; it was already invisible. Drinking in deep lungfuls of fresh air as quietly as she could without making herself choke, Eirian cast her curious steel blue eyes about her.

She was in a hollowed bush with thorny, impassable leaves caging her in. A space of just about two feet in diameter of a rough circle was all she was allowed to huddle in and her head was only given three and a half feet; looking up, she saw her slightly over a meter long red-brown braid entangled in the thorns. Sighing tiredly and moving her hands upwards, she began the long task of untangling all of her hair without ripping any of it from her head.

"Where is that Alf?" a harsh, masculine voice demanded, gaining the girl's full attention. Abandoning her hair and peering to her left, hair jerking her backwards, Eirian saw three figures; two large men laid with muscles and scars dressed in identical brown and blue garments of brown pants, boots and gloves and light blue long sleeved shirts etched in black and a short, agile looking woman. Her long black hair reached her waist even in its high ponytail and her cruel lavender eyes scanned the meadow around her.

"Quiet, Dieterrney," the woman snapped, crouching low to the ground, her lavender-blue robe wrapping itself around her small body. Sniffing the air and twitching her large, catlike ears, the woman began to swivel her head left and right, looking like she was searching for something. "The Alf is here, though I do not know where. YET." she added, opening one pupiless eye at her companions. Closing it, she began to creep forward on her hands and feet, moving slowly like a lizard. "It's a female," she said, beginning to give out information. "Very young by their standards, and... scared..." Smiling maliciously, she got up and walked back to her companions. "Give me five minutes and you will have your Alf."

Nearly throwing herself at the thorns and roots behind her, Eirian began to panic for the fourth time that day. 'Alf? What are they talking about, Alf? Why are they after me? Are they friends? ... Well, that was a dumb ass question, Eirian! And, anyways, they'd just be calling out "Kyani," wouldn't they? They're after me, that's for sure,' Eirian decided, freeing her braid at last. Eyeing her opponents carefully and trying to remember everything she had acquired in her sporting days, the girl determined that, if she waited, she'd merely have a better chance at being caught; getting up and running right now would at least allow her a few moments of headway and maybe even a chance of planning to save herself. The matter settled, the young girl crouched, ready to pounce and run away as soon as one step her way was given.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" a voice cackled, echoed repeatedly through the trees. "So we meet again, Kissa-ystävä! Ahahah!"

Snapping her eyes upward, Kissa-ystävä growled, showing her sharp, feline pointed teeth. "Neko-chan," she growled, her sleek black cattail popping out from beneath her robe. Slitted eyes scanned the forest - opposite of Eirian - and the Alf was forgotten. "Where are you?!" she screeched, swiping at weeds with her claws, severing the yellow blossoms.

A tall figure leaped from one of the trees, crouching low in the grass, orange-red hair blending in with the wildflowers. The lithe creature stood, revealing a young looking girl in her late teens dressed in black denim pants, a dark blue short sleeved shirt that exposed her muscled midsection, brown gloves and steel tipped hiking boots; a small backpack was strapped to her back.

'A girl?' Eirian thought, shocked. 'Would she be someone like me? At least I know her clothing; are those Dockers?'

Flipping a strand of waist length orange-red hair from her stormy gray eyes, smiling insanely, the promise of death about her, Neko-chan walked forward casually, only going a few paces before stopping again, openly mocking the other. "Good to meet you again, Kissa-ystävä," she purred, cat ears matching her hair flicking to and fro, hands on hips. "But I thought that you were supposed to be OUT of my territory; this is MINE!" she reiterated, baring equally fierce canines.

Stomping forward until she was only a few feet away from the other, Kissa-ystävä growled, balling her fists to her side, hair rising as she yowled, "This isn't your territory, Neko-chan! We never finished our duel because I had business to attend! I could beat you any day!"

Ripping the top off a Pixy Stix and downing it, the crazed red-haired cat girl smiled, another one lodged between her teeth as she sucked at the flavored sugar in it. "Oh, really?" she drawled lazily before swiftly reaching into her backpack and whipping out a bazooka twice her size, firing at the woman's head. When the smoke cleared, the other was incapacitated and Neko-chan was working on three more of her beloved Pixy Stix.

Finishing them and pointing her wonderful weapon at the remaining two, another lopsided grin plastered to her face, the insane girl began firing wildly, even hitting the bush Eirian was camped in, sending the bewildered sixteen year old flying. Landing on her hands and flipping in the air, Eirian tore off, gray cloak flying behind her, eyes growing wide with terror as she heard, "Hey, you!" Closing her ears to all sounds, including the maniac laughing of the cat girl as she completely decimated the men in the clearing, the fleeing girl temporarily forgotten, Eirian ran, branches snapping at her cheeks and legs, not hindering her in the least.

An arrow whizzed past her cheek, clipping her long bangs and ear, producing a pinprick of pain and the girl could see four men in front of her, firing warning shots, nearly invisible in their dark green cloaks. Swerving, another appeared about two feet in front her; Eirian grabbed an overhanging branched and swung her feet forward, slamming them into the man's chest and sending him soaring. Flying over him as she released her grip on the branch, Eirian pressed onwards, shimmying up a tree after fifteen minutes, keen gray eyes narrowed down at the ground to search for any further sign of those chasing her.

Pretty soon the barely perceptible padding of feet through thick leaves reached her ears and, turning her head, she could see three of those from earlier gathered together about two hundred yards away, leaning in on each other, forlorn expressions on their saddened faces. One of them whispered musically about a worthless life, another cursed himself while the third remained still. The clumsy movements of an injured man being limped through the forest reached Eirian and, one hundred yards from the small gathering, two figures came forward, one leaning on the other.

When they reached the group, the limping man drew himself up straight, wide blue-gray eyes narrowed in anger. "Why did you fire at her?" he hissed, leaning in close to the others. "She wouldn't have attacked me if you hadn't fired! We could have merely spoken the name and been on our way by now! She'll never survive in this forest, ESPECIALLY if she wanders near the birches! They're only a few hundred yards away!" his lilting voice was raising with anger and he pointed to his left, punctuating the last sentence. "And agents will be crawling through the woods for the next week! She'll never have a chance!" One murmured apologetically and was returned with a piercing glare before the injured man and his companion began to limp away to the northeast, the injured one calling over his shoulder, "Search for her - NOW! And don't come back until I send others to relieve you."

Leaning against the smooth white-beige trunk, hidden in a fold of vivid green, Eirian held her breath as one of the three sped past the tree's base, letting her glimpse his long ash blonde hair tied back in two braids at the side of his head and then at the nape of his neck with a central tie. In seconds, the creature was gone and the forest remained undisturbed.

Turning to climb the tree further, the splinter still lodged in Eirian's left arm hit the trunk, producing a yelp that she quickly clamped down on. Frightened eyes scanned the forest for a few seconds before she relaxed and looked at her dirt covered arm, small rivulets streaming from the splinter; it was beginning to hurt and throb like crazy, previously forgotten in her adrenaline rush.

Glancing at her arm queasily, Eirian reached for the splinter with her right hand, closing her eyes, and tugged tentatively, quickly stopping at the sudden stab of pain. Reaching into a gray pouch at her hip, she took out a wad of bandage and shoved it in her mouth, biting down hard and reaching for the splinter again, ripping it from her arm and nearly passing out against the tree. A little blood splattered against the white bark and the tree visibly shuddered, nearly shaking the dizzy girl off. A third a league away, something roared in the forest, shaking the trees and ground.

Trying to ignore both the shaking tree and the roaring being, Eirian threw the splinter away, managing to balance herself against the trunk and wrap the bandages that were in her mouth around the oozing wound, trying not to be sick. 'At least it's not splurting,' she thought ruefully, finishing the less-than-professional job.

Leaning her good right arm on the tree, she slowly began to make her way down, hearing a faint cry a mile off and some sort of shuffling, making her all the more cautious. Reaching the base of the tree and still seeing no one, the young auburn haired girl made her way northeast, deciding to see if she could follow the other two.

Not two steps from the tree, something snagged her ankle, pulled her up in the air and bashed her head against the tree before throwing her to the ground once more. Looking up dizzily, Eirian's steel blue eyes beheld a large cavern suddenly open up in the tree, winds gusting from it to flatten her to the ground. Something foul began to emerge from its depths, flanked by an entourage of white, ephemeral beings. Getting to her knees and starting to run wobbly, another branch snagged her ankle and drew her back, even as she did her best to hold onto every root and trunk in her vicinity, screaming like a drowning banshee. Finally, the foul creature, a being covered in a black, putrid smelling surface that bucked and roiled over it, revealing rabid red eyes, grabbed her braid, jerking her back effortlessly and turned her over, pressing its elongated head against her cheek, oversized nose sucking in the smell of her fear and skin, revolting the girl. Sliding its tongue across her skin, burning away the flesh, it clamped it mouth to her jaw, tiny serrated teeth hacking away at the flesh even as Eirian bucked and writhed beneath it, screaming with all her lung power until her throat was torn and bloody; even then, she continued to scream until the creature bashed the back her head into a rock, blacking Eirian out.

Releasing its hold of her head, the creature began to circle, the chatter of its underlings deaf to it while its three red eyes scanned the young girl, the third nearly prehensile one looking over its shoulder to see if help was on the way. Spying the bloodied bandage, the four oversized canines flipped over its "lips" in a smile; that was where the beast would begin its feast. Lowering its head to the arm, it began to lick away the bandage.

Disclaimer: I'm aware that I did this last time but I thought that it would be fun to do it again, especially since I used to brand names: Dockers and Pixy Stix. Even though Pixy Stix are SO delicious I, unfortunately do not own them nor do I own Dockers. Thankie swankie for yon time. *bows*

Acknowledgement to cast: I would first like to thank Neko-chan (currently author of 112 stories on ) for allowing me to give her a character, albeit a bit OOC. I apologize for that Neko-chan but hope that you get a good laugh; you'll have a better scene later! Next, I have a brief "shout out" of sorts to Reisi who had the briefest of scenes, though I doubt you know where you are. Furthermore, I give thanks to Kyani Star for agreeing to be a part of this insane little thing; thank you so much and I hope that you enjoy your part as much as I do!

Brief thank you on reviews: Hah! Cinnabar Scarlett was my only reviewer! You go, Chibi Lain! Thankie swankie!

Dedicated to: Forever to you, Rock. Miss ya!

Author's note: Jeez, I put a lot down here don't I? Bleck. Anyways, this is fun for me so, ya know, I get to have fun! (Read Legends No Nihon!) Well, now that that's out of the way let's talk about a few things. Yeah, I upped the rating of "Nameless" because of the scene in this chapter. Maybe I'm being too cautious? Anyways, there are a few more scenes like that so I just want to give a "warning." (Against Legends that was nothing.) But thanks my adoring reviewer! Lol. Ja ne!

Aku Soku Zan! - Keebler \^-^/ (a.k.a. Takatome Ichido)