Rumors had fed every belief about this place that the boy had. He had heard of how out of this world the Memphian Falls were, but he had never gotten the chance to come here. There was a port at Taras and his family had always told him that water was water; it wasn't going to change whether he was at Taras, the Falls, or anywhere else in the world. But when his brother hadn't been watching him, well… Sabriel had decided to slip away from the crowd and make his way there, anyway!

He had gotten lost a few times and had wound up having to ask for directions, but in the end, the young boy had made it. Water poured down on him as he walked into the caves, inhaling the sweet, damp air. He was soaked by now; his brown hair was drenched and clinging to his cheek bones, with his slightly large shirt clinging to his upper body. He had rolled his sleeves and pant legs up before going into the water, and though it didn't spare him any of the wetness, it made it slightly easier to move around.

Sabriel’s golden eyes were fixated on the colorful stones that lined the caves. Never in his short life had he ever rested eyes on a place like this, and in short, he knew in a moment that every single rumor he had ever heard about this place was true. The stones were gorgeous, and though the air was moist inside and slightly difficult to breathe because of that, coming here had been completely worth it.

He went deeper into the cave, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure the entrance wouldn’t magically close on him. Paranoia wasn’t a foreign feeling to him. He walked to the wall and fell against it, water splashing up behind him. He grabbed one of the stones, contemplating stealing it for future use. He didn’t know what it would be useful for, but if anything, he could always sell it or use it to make a deal with someone.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” one of the voices in his head asked exasperatedly. “Can’t you just sit here and enjoy yourself for once without getting into trouble?”

He rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the imaginary beings. If he wanted to take one of the stones, then, well… he would take one of them!

Alice was huming lowly to herself, this cave was a very nice place for a temporary camp. She was happy to have found it and was now making herself comfortable. She smiled as she looked around on the crystals. She had heard stories of this place but none of them was like in reality, the cave was so much more then that.
We did find a very nice place to rest on, so calm and quiet. the voice said in her head. Yes it is the perfect place.

She sat down on a small rock that was dry and took a deep breath, she was very much at peace. She calmly looked down into the water, but suddenly she noticed something, an image of a boy, he could not be very old around 14 to 16 or so, he was walking right outside of the cave, then the image was gone. The elven woman raised an eyebrow. He scrying was very good sometimes. Hmmm....someone is coming inside soon, well then, let´s welcome him to this place of beauty she smiled a happy smile, then she turned towards the entrence into the small cave room she was in, if they boy would come he had to come in that way, since there was no other way into this small place.

Alice calmly moved a hand through her hair as she was thinking what she should do, then she giggled lowly to herself. She took anather breath, then she lowly began to sing an elven song, not to high at all, but the eko of the cave would make the sound of her voice go further. Not that Alice was a singer, but this was a song she could, an elven lullaby her mother used to sing.

Sabriel had been perfectly content sitting there examining the rocks. It was a nice place, and he wasn’t sure if he was ever going to be able to come back here. Maybe he would get in trouble when he returned home, but… it seemed worth it. At least now he could feel smug that he had seen something his brother hadn’t and could continuously rub that in.

As he sat there tossing the rocks around and wriggling his heels around in the mushy ground, a melody reached his ears. He had been quite concentrated on the current nonsense, but there were some things a person just couldn’t ignore. He tilted his head, a few locks of stiffened hair falling over his features. The young werewolf puffed them away and stood up, deciding to follow the noise. If he was going to experience this place, then he might as well do a bit of snooping, right?

The fourteen-year-old ventured toward the sound of the female voice, too naïve to even think about being cautious. It was only a voice, after all – and though it wasn’t the most amazing thing he had ever heard, he knew it had to be the voice of a human. There wasn’t really a point to act with hesitance.

Sabriel turned into the room of the cave and looked at the source of the song. A large, childish grin crossed his face and he sprinted closer toward the Elvin woman. “‘Ello!” he greeted, perhaps a bit too cheerfully. He enjoyed meeting new people though, and right now, he was feeling a bit outgoing.

“Are you really sure you should talk to strangers?” the single female voice asked with uncertainty. Sabriel chose to ignore her, just like he had ignored the other one before. Talking to himself in public didn’t seem very widely accepted.

Alice tilted her head a little to the side, she smiled a sweet smile towards Sabriel. Hello there she said with a cheerful voice, just like him. I knew you where going to come in here. The water showed me she giggled and calmly touched the water with her index finger creating small rings. She watched them as they grew and dissappeared, then she looked up at Sabriel again, still smiling.

Alice exmined this stranger with her eyes, he did not look very old, just like in her image, not much of a threat to her. It would be a good ide to learn more about this one, because we think that it was destiny that brought him to this cave, to us the voice said inside of her head. Yes indeed it looks that way, let´s be friends with him shall we, for now that is

Have a seat dear, a young adventurar like yourself must be pretty tired from running around in this large cave. I can tell since I have been here for a while now. How do you like it so far? No, let me quess, it´s one of the most beautiful places you have ever seen? she calmly waved her hand towards a flat crystal when she was talking, showing him where he could sitt most comfortable..

The boy was relieved when she answered kindly to him. At least she didn’t seem like one of those old, ugly, scary people that he always saw in Taras. People in the large cities always seemed to have a chip on their shoulder, for whatever reason. Sabriel didn’t really see the point in acting tough, but then again, he couldn’t have acted brave if he tried. He was a scrawny thing; his brother had mentioned in jest that the only thing that could ever be afraid of him was a twig.

“I knew you where going to come in here. The water showed me”

An eyebrow rose as Sabriel pondered the thought. The water had showed her? She had to be magical, then. Her appearance should have given her away, though; green hair wasn’t exactly… normal. “How’d it do that?” he couldn’t help but ask, his voice squeaking slightly. Though he’d grown up around a lot of it, Sabriel wasn’t very familiar with magic.

“Have a seat dear, a young adventurar like yourself must be pretty tired from running around in this large cave.”

“Too nice,” a harsher voice said. “You’d be a fool to trust her.”

Sabriel’s features softened when that was said. She seemed like a nice lady – a lot nicer than many of the people in Taras. Not trusting her would be rude, especially when she had done nothing to him. He walked toward the crystal she had gestured to, not seeing any harm in doing so. When she took a guess at how he thought of the place, he immediately nodded his head in agreement. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen…” he said, still in wonderment. “It’s so much different from anything I’ve ever seen!” He grinned before looking away from her and down at the water, kicking it lightly with the heel of his foot. He still didn’t quite understand how it could tell her anything about his presence… but he would find out in time.

“I’m Sabriel, by the way!” he said, looking back to her.

“How’d it do that?”

Alice smiled It is called scrying, to see things that will happen with the help of different things, like a reflection in the water or in a glas of vine, or by reading the wind. I would be happy to show you how it is done if you want to. she followed him with her eyes when he walked to the crystal and sat down.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen…” he said, still in wonderment. “It’s so much different from anything I’ve ever seen!”

Alice laughed. I thought you would say that, well this is just a sample what the nature can do, because no human hand has ever done anything to create this. No dwarf, or not even one of the gods. she made a slow gesture around the cave when she talked. Can you hear the sound of the water? the wind blowing through cracks in the mountain walls. The sounds nature have created. More lovely then any music creatued by men she looked towards the roof, then her eyes returned to Sabriel.

“I’m Sabriel, by the way!”

Nice to meet you Sabriel, my name is Alice.

“I would be happy to show you how it is done if you want to.”

The female voice sighed again. He was getting pulled deeper and deeper into this by the second, and he was too innocent to see the difference. She remained silent, however, biding her time. Sabriel would figure it out eventually.

“That’d be great!” Sabriel said. He had no idea what it meant, what it was, or anything to do with it; but it sounded pretty cool! Maybe it would even end up being useful, but he wouldn’t know until he ever tried. All he knew was that he didn’t want to be a thief his whole life. “Is it easy? Do I have to know magic before I can learn any of it…?” He looked at her, his golden eyes filled with questions.

“Can you hear the sound of the water?”

Water had a sound? Sabriel closed his eyes and tried to listen, but all he heard was the wind. He hugged his legs to his chest and perched his chin on the top of his knees, trying as hard as he could to hear something he’d ever heard before. It was hard to spot something he was unfamiliar with, and thus, was disappointed when all that embraced him were the normal sounds. “No…” he responded to her in a voice barely above a whisper.

When she introduced herself as Alice, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “That’s a pretty name,” he complimented.

“Flirting, are we?” the female voice teased.

Sabriel lifted his head, his cheeks turning red. “No!” he exclaimed, though since the voices were silent to anyone but him, it sounded like he was talking to himself. He couldn’t even have a normal conversation without them trying to ruin it!

“Is it easy? Do I have to know magic before I can learn any of it…?”

Alice shook her head. It´s not that hard at all, you just have to learn how to see things with your mind, you can call it magic, but then it is not magic but something all can use, your not the one to use the magic like with spells, your part is just to read what the nature tells you, the nature itself is doing the magic part.

“No…”

Alice smiled. It´s because your trying to hard not to hear the sound of the wind dear, just relax and let your mind flow like the water, let the sound pour into your body like the tide of the sea. I can tell you that you will have to learn that as a first step in your scrying lesson.color]

“That’s a pretty name,”

Alice blushed slightly. [COLOR=blue]Why thanks Sabriel, it´s very nice of you. You most be the first one that ever have said my name was pretty. You have a very nice name to.

“No!”

Alice raised an eyebrow, but appart from that she did not reakt very much about that sudden outburst.

Sabriel listened to what she said, but he couldn't honestly say he understood it. He could manage minor spells, such as healing, but seeing things with his mind? Wasn't that why he had eyes…? He felt so hopeless with all the questions he had, and though he wanted to keep asking, he was afraid she would lose her patience with him. Though he was a sweet kid, sometimes he was a bit too inquisitive for his own good. "I'll… figure it out in time," he said uneasily, twisting his left index finger and cracking the knuckle. It was a nervous habit, to say the least.

"... I can tell you that you will have to learn that as a first step in your scrying lesson."

Patience had never been one of his great qualities. He could wait on other people, but when it came to himself, he preferred that things happen as fast as possible. He inhaled calmly and deeply, attempting to do as she had directed once again. As expected, it hadn't worked, and the young werewolf let out a sigh. "How long does learning the beginning usually take…?" he asked, biting his lip. He wouldn't have a chance to practice once he returned to Taras, but he wasn't so sure he would be able to get it in the short amount of time he had here.

"You most be the first one that ever have said my name was pretty."

A brown eyebrow rose slightly. "Really?" That had come as a bit of a shock to him, especially since Alice was so nice. It was a simple name, and it suited her, in his opinion. He looked at the roof of the room, thinking to himself. "So, what brought you here?" he asked.

"I'll… figure it out in time,"

You do that, your still young and have much time to learn new things in, there is no need to rush. she said and calmly moved her hand throught her green hair, like she did when she was thinking.

"How long does learning the beginning usually take…?"

Alice did not say anything for a moment, Well, it is different from person to person I guess, some are quick to learn others are not, I myself was very slow. But please don´t tell anyone about that she giggled and gave him a friendly smile.

"So, what brought you here?"

This place of course, I came here because I needed a calm place to rest in, and this was the best I could find. Not that it was bad, and I think it is the best I could find. she sighed. Sometimes one has to go to a calm place to recharge. You will understand that better when you get older. she looked down into the water as she talked. How about you then Sabriel? Why are you here? she looked up at Sabriel again.

“You do that, your still young and have much time to learn new things in, there is no need to rush.”

She said that, but the young werewolf had absolutely no idea how true that was. Life was bound to be long, but at this point, he couldn’t honestly say he realized just how much time he had. He was only fourteen, and his mind was in the present. He had nothing ahead of him except day to day occurrences. “Yeah…” Sabriel agreed finally. “Even so, it sounds so simple…” So why was it so hard? Was it really so difficult to listen to the water, or the wind, or whatever she had said to do?

“I myself was very slow. But please don´t tell anyone about that”

He should have expected her to say that it took everyone different lengths of time to learn. When she said that she had been a slow learner, however, he was completely caught off guard. Sabriel stared at the elf incredulously, his golden eyes slightly wider than normal. “I won’t tell,” he promised. Every word he ever said was a promise; he hated lies with every fiber of his being. He wasn’t the kind to go and betray what he said, so if there was one person Alice could trust not to tell, it was him. “So how long did it take you? I mean, you said you were slow, but…” A small grin tugged at the side of his mouth, hoping she wouldn’t be offended at all by the question. It was all in good fun.

“You will understand that better when you get older.”

“That’s what everyone says,” Sabriel grumbled. Apparently fourteen-year-old’s didn’t understand much, if he would understand so much more when he was older. When it came to him, though, it wasn’t very surprising. He remembered what he chose to remember, and though he was responsible enough, he still had a few things to learn about life.

“How about you then Sabriel? Why are you here?”

Once again, a grin tugged at the sides of his mouth. “Well, don’t tell anyone, but I snuck here,” Sabriel said, keeping his voice as quiet as possible. “I’d heard so much about this place in Taras that I just couldn’t help myself!” He giggled, standing up and spinning in the water, almost losing his balance. He chuckled nervously, glad that he hadn’t fallen. That might not have been very pleasant.

“Even so, it sounds so simple…”

This boy remined Alice of herself when she started to learn magic, life was so simple back then, but time changes much in the world. If you want it to be easy, then it will be easy. You just have the belive in yourself and you will do it for sure. Trust me on that

“So how long did it take you? I mean, you said you were slow, but…”

Alice smiled when he said this. Well to tell the truth I don´t remember exactly, I just remember that they thought I was very slow with learning it, to be at peace with myself and the things around me. Sounds harder then it is, might have been a reason why I was slow, because I thought it was going to be hard, and it was hard. she moved her hand thought her hair like she allways did when thinking.

“That’s what everyone says,”

Alice laughed. Well I guess that is how things works Sabriel. But it is right, wisdom is something one gains with experience and that with age. I said the same thing as you when my mother told me this. I think I was around your age that time to

“Well, don’t tell anyone, but I snuck here,” Sabriel said, keeping his voice as quiet as possible. “I’d heard so much about this place in Taras that I just couldn’t help myself!”

Oh....I see Alice said with a happy voice. I would have done it myself if I was in your age and around here, you be sure of that, and I promise I wont tell anyone about it. she did not say anything for a moment. So where is your family then? Don´t you think they will start looking for you dear?

“You just have the belive in yourself and you will do it for sure.”

Oh, everyone said that. Sabriel merely nodded, though, however much he disagreed. Though he was mostly an optimistic person, no one could do anything they wanted. If he believed he could fly, he wasn’t necessarily going to fly; it was the same thing with magic. He knew it would be difficult to learn, but… well, hopefully he wouldn’t end up killing himself in the process. “I’ll trust you,” he said.

“Mistake!” one of the voices hissed again. “You know you can’t trust anyone but us…”

Sabriel bit his lip. That wasn’t true, and he knew it. Even so, the more they said it, the more he almost thought it was true.

“…to be at peace with myself and the things around me…”

That would most certainly be a difficult task for Sabriel. There were multiple reasons, of course. He was too full of energy to be at peace, too scarred, and the voices in his head didn’t make anything simpler for him. “I’ve got my work cut out for me,” he said more to himself than to her, taking a piece of his hair and squeezing the water out of it. Maybe magic wasn’t really for him… maybe he was just bound to be a thief in Taras his whole life.

“I think I was around your age that time to…”

“How old are you?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. She didn’t look very old; but maybe it was just her hair. If he had to guess, he wasn’t quite sure what he would say. He hadn’t thought the question would be rude until after he asked it, which caused him to quickly bite the inside of his lower lip. “Sorry…” He wasn’t very good at stopping himself before he spoke, that was for sure.

“So where is your family then? Don´t you think they will start looking for you dear?”

“F… family?” A nervous chuckle came out of Sabriel’s throat. He looked away, shifting his weight between his feet and contemplating an answer. The voices were already laughing in expectancy of an outburst and he could feel a bit of a headache coming on from it, but he did his best to ignore it. He lifted his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. His silence would most likely raise questions that he already knew he didn’t want to answer. “I, uh…”

He wanted to say he wasn’t quite sure how to answer her, but instead, he opted to just tell the half truth. “They won’t need to look,” he said, his eyes cast downward. Alexander would worry, of course, but he knew his older brother wouldn’t come to look for him. That wouldn’t be very much like him. Sabriel saw his brother as a hero, but he knew he really wasn’t. “I don’t need to worry.”

“I’ll trust you,”

That is very sweet of you Sabriel Alice said and she sounded happy. You make me very happy to tell me that you trust me, I want you to know that. She was suprised to hear this from the boy, the other voice was trying to say somthing but she ignored it for the moment.

“How old are you?”

Alice laughed. You know that you should never ask a woman of her age Sabriel, that is something you have to learn if you want yourself a nice woman in the future. But let´s say that I´m young in elf years.

“F… family?” “I, uh…” “They won’t need to look,” “I don’t need to worry.”

Alice watched his face when he talked, she could see that something was wrong, something he did not want to tell her. It had to be something with his family, but what could it be, Alice would have to look into this further. I see she simply said as if nothing had happened. Well I don´t think this would be the first place they will check if they should look for you. she smiled at him, then she calmly pikced up a small crystal and looked at it, she slowly waved her hand over it and suddenly it began to glow with a bright light. She then handed it over to Sabriel. Take this crystal dear, I think you should have something from the cave home to. It might help you someday. she knew he was going to ask what she she did to the crysal. and about the glow, it was nothing, I simply used a magic called fairy fire to make it glow for a while.

“You make me very happy to tell me that you trust me, I want you to know that.”

Well, it seemed there was at least one thing he was good at. Sabriel had always been able to find a way to make people happy… as pessimistic as he was about himself, he had always been able to make others feel good. He was truly grateful that he had that talent; it was a useful one indeed. “I’m glad,” the child said quietly, a bit of a smile tugging at his mouth.

“You know that you should never ask a woman of her age Sabriel, that is something you have to learn if you want yourself a nice woman in the future. But let´s say that I´m young in elf years.”

The second she mentioned having a nice woman for himself in the years to come, Sabriel could feel his cheeks heating up as they became red. There was an awkward moment of silence that passed after she had finished speaking. He was not thinking about that stuff right now, that was for sure. Girls still had cooties in his head, but he was polite to them as he was to everyone. Then he realized that she had said she was an elf, causing his head to tilt slightly. “You’re an elf?” That would explain the hair.

His eyes turned downward as she mentioned that this wouldn’t be the first place his family looked for him. The voices were laughing and he sighed inwardly, knowing what their thoughts were. ‘What family?’, ‘Like they would even look at all!’… they didn’t even have to say it for him to know by now. He wasn’t sure whether he was more ashamed, embarrassed, or sad that he knew there was a part of him that knew the voices were correct, but as of now, he decided to settle on that it was a mixture of the three.

As a bright light reached his eyes, Sabriel immediately looked up, the light reflecting in his golden irises. His pupils contracted from the brightness until it finally passed. Cautiously, the boy took the stone in hand, swallowing. He doubted Alice had cursed it, but he was pretty sure she had done something. Things just didn’t start glowing without a reason!

The answer came and he slowly nodded his head. “Thank you, Alice…” The boy tucked it in his pants pocket before realizing something. “Do you want me to do anything for you to repay you?” He didn’t exactly have money to do it, and though he knew there were hundreds, thousands even, of other stones in this place, it didn’t entirely seem right to him to just let the act of kindness go without some repayment.

((Wrong account))

“I’m glad,”

Alice smiled and nodded. "Trust is something rare in this world Sabriel" she said and sighed. "One have to take good care of a trust if given to you"

“You’re an elf?”

"Yes I am an elf, a moon elf to be exact" she removed some of her hair to show Sabriel her ears. "as you can see I have the typical elven ears."
She liked this young boy, he was nice to talk with. She could be a little soft around kids, she knew that.

Alice tilted her head to the side and watched Sabriel as he lowered his head. There was something wrong, that was sure, did his family beat him or something since he wanted to run away from them? Well she would have to dig into that later.

“Thank you, Alice…” The boy tucked it in his pants pocket before realizing something. “Do you want me to do anything for you to repay you?”

Alice shook her head slowly. "There is no need for you to repay me" she said. "You gave me your trust and that is worth more then all gold in this world." She lowered her hand again. "People think to much of that in this time, money, gold wealth, all of it is unimportant." she sighed deeply. "If only people could see that there are so much more in this world."

"Trust is something rare in this world Sabriel"

The boy couldn’t help but blink at that statement. He knew the world was cruel, but was trust really that hard to find? Maybe he was naïve, but that statement came as a shock to him. Then again, he was only fifteen; what had he seen of the world? This was the first time he had really left home and not returned soon after. “Really…?” His voice trailed off, unsure whether he should have phrased that as a question or not. It was hard to understand, while at the same time, it didn’t exactly surprise him very much.

Alice moved her hair away from her ears and Sabriel nodded when he saw the pointed ears. Oh, this had just gotten interesting. An elf was conversing with a werewolf… they were certainly an unlikely, intriguing pair. “That’s neat…” he said quietly before adding in a slightly more excited tone, “You’re the first elf I’ve ever met!” Well, if nothing else had made him sound sheltered before, that simple statement was going to do it.

“It isn’t that interesting…” one of the voices sighed. “There are a lot of elves around here.”

Sabriel was slightly shocked to hear that she didn’t want anything in return. Had his trust meant that much to her? Trusting people was so easy for him to do… it was surprising to hear how valuable it actually was. “Well, if you’re sure…” he said, feeling slightly awkward now. He knew that there were more important things than money or gold, and he completely agreed with her on that, but he would have been willing to give her or help her with something that didn't require such things. “But the offer still stands for whenever you want something!” The boy offered her a smile; it was the least he could do for the time being.

“Really…?”

"But that is something you should not think to much of, I can tell that many people will trust you, there will be no problem with that Sabriel...trust me on that." she said with a smile and ruffled her hand through his hair.
This boy really needed a confidence kick.

“That’s neat…” he said quietly before adding in a slightly more excited tone, “You’re the first elf I’ve ever met!”

Alice laughed. "Well it is the first time for anything I guess" she said. "I think you will meet many elves in your life, but then some of us is hard to see, since we look much like humans."

“Well, if you’re sure…”
“But the offer still stands for whenever you want something!” The boy offered her a smile; it was the least he could do for the time being.

Alice nodded. "Then I will remember your offer Sabriel" she said, she looked around and noticed that it was starting to get dark outside, the sun was on it´s way down.. "The night is coming closer to us." She smiled and looked back at Sabriel. "Would like to have something hot to drink? Like chocolate or tea?"

"But that is something you should not think to much of, I can tell that many people will trust you, there will be no problem with that Sabriel...trust me on that."

Sabriel smiled when she said that many people would trust him. While that was a good thing to hear... he had a feeling it came along with a lot of responsibility. What if he wound up letting people down? Oh, dear, what if he did that?! For a moment he started panicking, but then her hand pressed down on his head, ruffling his black hair. As she did so, the two dog-like ears that were upon his head pressed down flat against his hair. "I'll trust you on that," he told her, though he was sure she already knew that he would. He trusted Alice; why would she lie to him?

"Would like to have something hot to drink? Like chocolate or tea?"

The night was, in fact, coming closer. Sabriel bit his lip, knowing it was probably too late to go home now. He doubted he would be missed, since his brother hadn't been too missed when he had left home, so he didn't think that there would be a problem. If he didn't get home until tomorrow, then that's what would happen. There was no point in stressing about it.

When she offered tea or chocolate, though, the young werewolf couldn't help but be confused. "Tea would be nice... but here?" He looked around. There wasn't exactly a stove or hot water or anything to make the drink with, but then again, Alice was magical... so he would just end up having to wait and see.

"Tea would be nice... but here?"

Of course here silly" Alice said with a laugh. "I did not come to live here without that, I love tea"

Alice stood up and walked to the place where she had her sleeping stuff, some things she had been taking from the inn in town, they would not miss them. She calmly picked up a small bag and began to search inside of it, she knew she had some tea in it and she soon found it. Then she picked up a small couldron, she placed it on a rock and then she picked up some small pieces of dry wood. In a few minutes she had created a small campfire in the cave, she filled the couldron with water and placed it onto the fire, then she waited for it to start to boil. She sat down again and looked towards Sabriel.

"I did not come to live here without that, I love tea"

"You live here?" The shock in Sabriel's voice couldn't be hidden when he asked that. She was living in a cave near a waterfall and a lake? From what he could conclude, it wasn't a great idea to live in a place like this. What if she got sick? With all the water, it was bound to get cold around here. Maybe it was pretty, but it seemed like a huge health hazard to him.

The boy simply watched as she got everything out to prepare the tea. He couldn't believe how many possessions she had, and he was even more incredulous that he hadn't even seen them before! Alice soon finished setting it up and came back to sit with him, and Sabriel simply looked at her, his gaze occasionally drifting to the to-be boiling water. "Are you sure it's safe here?" he asked softly, looking back at her. He would feel terrible if Alice got hurt while she was living here! She was his friend, after all!

"You live here?"

"Just at the moment, I came here today and needed a place to rest in" she said. "I don´t live here allways. It would be stupid, but it´s going to rain later this night and I did not want to be outside in the rain."

"Are you sure it's safe here?"

"I would say it is more safe here then in many other places, but I have seen signs of some kind of beast in the cave, but that is further inside and I don´t think it will come here to us." He voice was calm. "and then we should see it since there is only one way into this part of the cave, and of course we would hear it to. But don´t worry, I wont let anything hurt you Sabriel."

"... It would be stupid, but it´s going to rain later this night and I did not want to be outside in the rain."

That was just wonderful news. Sabriel hung his head, sighing inwardly. He was suddenly caught in what he should do. Either he left now and tried to get home before it rained, or he could stay her and permanently leave home. Though the latter option probably wasn't as wise, just the mere thought was liberating. It was settled, then... he wasn't going home. If it proved to be a mistake, then he would own up to it, but at the time he didn't think such a thing would happen.

"Um... would it be okay if I stayed the night too?" he asked quietly, looking up hopefully. If she didn't want him to, he understood, since this was her temporary home, but he truly hoped she would let him so he wouldn't have to find somewhere else to get out of the rain. With his lack of skills, he would probably just sit under a tree and wait for it to pass, and that would only result in him catching a cold.

"and then we should see it since there is only one way into this part of the cave, and of course we would hear it to. But don´t worry, I wont let anything hurt you Sabriel."

A beast?! "What?!" he yelped, his voice a high-pitched squeak. Sabriel's eyes went wide and he whimpered quietly, his ears and the hairs on the back of his neck sticking straight up. There was a monster in these caves and he hadn't even heard of it. It was just his luck that he had obliviously run into trouble without meaning to do so.

She assured him, however, that she wouldn't allow anything to harm him. The young lycan trusted her, just as he had said, and that simply statement managed to put him at ease a little bit. Even so, there was a horrifying numb feeling running up from his feet and to his head as he tried to grasp the fact that they may have been in danger. And to think things had started off so pleasantly...

"Um... would it be okay if I stayed the night too?"

Alice smiled. "Of course you can" she said. "Your more then welcome to stay." she calmly removed the boiling water and began to make the tea ready.

"What?!"

She looked at him and was a little surprised by this sudden fear. Well he was a young man, well just a kid, but close to be a man, She shook her head, then she picked up some blankets and the cup with tea, then she walked back to Sabriel. She calmly placed the blanket over his shoulders, that would keep him warm.
"Take this" she said and gave the tea to him. "I don´t have anything to have in it...sorry" she then sat down next to him. "I only said that I noticed that something might be here, it could be just some animal using this as a home, I don´t know anything about that since I have never seen the creature. You just stay calm, nothing is going to happen to you. I promise"