One person's craziness is another person's reality.

-Tim Burton

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We spent the rest of morning like that. Taurus urged me to listen, while Aldyth drifted off into a world all of her own. At first I didn't notice, for I was too busy trying to make all the sounds around me silence themselves long enough to chase away a throbbing headache. As soon as I welcomed the idea that I could hear the sounds the elf boasted of, music came galloping in on horses of sterling, not allowing me a moment's rest.

"How do I make it stop?" I muttered as I grasped my head between my hands, tugging vainly at my ears.

Aldyth failed to even supply a ridiculous, far fetched solution that would make matters worse. In fact she didn't say anything at all. "Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Everything is wrong," she replied. "I haven't the faintest idea why you bother asking."

"Of course I'll bother asking. Would you rather I not?"

"It would make no difference whether or not I rathered. You would ask all the same."

"Then what ails you?" I gently nudged her arm with my own, offering her a small smile.

Aldyth forced a smile for me and shook her head. Her skin was still waxy with the cold; her lips were chapped and her cheeks were pale, yet on she endeavoured like there was a better forever to come at the end of our journey. "We will go back, yes? To Gris, I mean."

"Of course we'll go back," I whispered as we came to a steep part of the pass. Taurus leapt down like a mountain goat, paying little attention to us as we struggled down into the valley in a tangle of roots and limbs.

"We're almost there!" He called and turned back to find Aldyth and I staring apprehensively down at the bottom of the gorge. "C'mon now! Warm beds! Hot broth! Jump, there's path over here!"

"We're not mountain goats, Taurus," Aldyth reminded him with narrowed eyes.

"We're not goats at all," I added helpfully.

The elf took humor in this as a closed lipped smile spread across his face. Then after a moment of contemplation he spread his arms like he wanted hugs from us. "Jump down! I'll catch you both -- one at a time, mind you."

"We'd rather not!"

"Fine, I'll wait here while you two find a long way around. I guess we won't make it to the village tonight, or tomorrow, or the day after. This is a very long rift in the ground, it maybe several leagues before you see a slump in the dirge -- "

Suddenly Aldyth gave my shoulder a hard shove. I hate to admit that I did no less than scream as I found myself flying through the air for the briefest of seconds. Taurus exclaimed loudly, apparently just as surprised as I was that my best friend had all but pushed me off a cliff. The moment of my fall caught him off guard and sent the both of us crashing to the ground is a pile of curses and bruises.

I groaned as I pushed myself from the dirt with an indignant glare. "Burning hell! What was that for!?"

Both of her hands had flown to cover her mouth and for some odd reason she seemed just as shocked as Taurus and I. "I didn't mean to push you off!" She yelled down at us. Her eyes flew down nervously to the bottom of the ground again. "I'm jumping!" She called to the elf and almost before he had time to get to his feet again, she closed her eyes and stepped off the edge. It worried me how natural falling appeared once her decision was made, but I didn't have time to ponder it because not a second later, Aldyth was back on ground level with a disheveled look in her eyes. "I am really sorry," she murmured as she shifted her gaze away. "I was trying to tap you on the shoulder, I didn't mean to shove you off."

"I know," I lied. In all reality, I just wasn't sure anymore. Aldyth hadn't been seeming herself all morning, and although the drop would hardly have killed me, it seemed like a stepping stone to something bigger that me and the rest of the world failed to see.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Her eyes turned back to me and any suspicion I had in her instantly melted away.

"Nothing worse than getting thrown off a rearing horse," I laughed easily. I turned to the elf who was watching us with a gaze that was either jealousy or hunger -- neither of which was a rather reassuring quality. The expression startled me, but like my suspicion in Aldyth, the feeling quickly disappeared. "And what about you, Taurus. How do you fare after this ordeal?"

"Nothing worse than falling out of a tall tree," he replied with an equal ease. "Come now. If you both are ready, the path is just over here..." He led us through a thick grove of trees and under a blanket of shriveled ivy hanging over a branch. The dead leaves brushed up against my face and I gasped as whispered voices sang a song of melancholy in my ears that sounded to real, that I could almost feel a cold breath rushing over my skin.

Taurus froze and even Aldyth paused.

humdi humdi the forest walks with you
humdi humdi the nature walks with you
humdi humdi the secrets walk with you
humdi humdi the oak case divine

"Move faster," Taurus said abruptly and started ushering the two of us away from the ivy and onto the path.

"Did you hear that?" I demanded to Aldyth.

"I heard something."

"Whispered chanting?"

She shook her head. "Muted humming. What was that!?"

Taurus pretended he didn't hear and just walked faster.

"Taurus!"

"Pinloc ivy," he replied in a muted slur. The color was quickly running from his face; it was clear that the experience had shaken him. "It was an age old gift from the elves to the cardinals."

"Talking plants?"

"Hardly," he shook his head. "They hold the spirits of the dead. Evil things, I tell you. Never listen to what they have to say. They'll only fill your entire being with lies and deceit."

I cast one last glance back at the ivy. "Forest and nature walk with us," I murmured. "Secrets walk with us. The oak case divine...."

The elf's jaw locked dangerously. "Is that what they told you --"

"I was just --"

"Forget what they said, it'll make more life difficult for you." He stopped abruptly as the path we were walking opened up to a small township that couldn't have been any bigger than Gris was. People milled about their business as usual, but there appeared to be a tense mood to the air. Men had a guarded expression to their eyes while woman wore daggers strapped to their waists.

"Hi ho!" A rugged man in his mid thirties called out and strode toward us purposefully. "What business have you here!?"

"We are seeking lodging for the night," Taurus replied, moving his lips as little as possible as if he were trying to hide his teeth away from the world. "We grow weary in our travels and our supplies run low. We wish for nothing but a meal and bed to coax the ache from our bones. Will you deny us?"

"Can you pay?" The man asked.

"We can," Taurus nodded. "Worry not. Services will be rewarded in fairness."

"Then we welcome you in peace," the man replied seriously and stepped aside. "So long as you come in peace and leave just so. We want no quarrel with you, Elf friend."

"Nor we with you," Taurus nodded; his muscles relaxed a bit.

"I am Chansor, and welcome to Hbéakut," the man allowed himself a tight smile. "We have been seeing hard times, and hostilities easily rise. I urge you not to linger but a few days. The people get edgy with foreigners."

"Quite alright," Taurus nodded. "I am Taurus, and these are Eli and Aldyth. We will not overstay our welcome."

Chansor nodded appreciatively before gesturing to a small avenue off to his right. "Very good then. The inn is at the end of the road on the left. Beware of the rabid cow."

A/N

Yah....that moment when you can't think of a way to end a chapter.