Answers, But Not Really - 2

When Sophie woke up, she heard quiet voices coming from the corner of the room.

"I must have made a mistake!" Flinar whisper-shouted.

"Probably. I'll run the practical test later." the other man agreed. Sophie assumed it was Devdan.

The men left the room and Sophie sat up. She turned around and started when she realized the boy from the plane was sitting on the chair Flinar used. He looked around 14, and his eyes were a rich, chocolaty brown, with small flecks of gold scattered through the iris. His rusty-brown hair was sticking up in the front, and he had a small scar on the side of his head, defined by a tiny patch of baldness. He looked at her and seemed surprised at something.

"What?" Sophie said, somewhat defensively, completely forgetting about the conversation she had accidentally overheard.

"Oh. Sorry," the boy had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed, "It's just that you're so young." Sophie smarted. She was 12 almost 13, thank you very much. "Also, your eyes."

"What about them?" Sophie retorted defensively.

"They're so..." He seemed lost. "Green."

"Hmph." Sophie retorted

"Oh, er, umm... where are my manners!" He sounded relieved to find something to latch onto to rescue him from the wreckage of his attempt at conversation. "My name is Lyrik."  (It's not pronounced how you think it is.  Please check pronunciation guide.)

"So you have answers. Flinar said that I would have to wait until you and someone named Devdan told me why I'm here, where I am, and WHAT HAPPENED!" Sophie's voice cracked, and she realized how much this had been weighing on her.

"Ummm... Wait for my dad." Lyrik turned and practically ran out the door. Sophie sighed. Her only chance for answers had run right out the door. Literally.

When Lyrik finally came back, along with an unfamiliar man, Sophie's heart surged with hope. Answers. Finally. The man, who had white-blond hair that stuck up all over the place, came over and sat down at her bedside. He looked around 30, and his extremely dark eyes seemed almost black.

Sophie sat silently, not wanting only other chance at answers to run away.

He cleared his throat and began to speak. "Lyrik told me you wanted answers. But before that, let me introduce myself. My name is Devdan, Devdan Nexxis." He brushed some of his crazy hair out of his eyes. "Your name is Sophie."

Sophie nodded, though it wasn't exactly a question.

"You must be extremely confused. You are probably worrying about your family. But don't. Your family thinks that you are dead. You see, when you, an elemental, passed through Aelrindel's shield, it alerted me, and I organized for the plane to crash. Don't worry, your classmates are safe. I took you from the wreckage and brought you here, to Galyrd."

Sophie stared at him. A million questions raced through her head, but the one she finally settled on was, "What did you call me?"

"An elemental."