Aella (manxman) - ON HOLD

Little pearl

A small black feather, a couple of teeth attached to a leather string... and a pearl

It was my lover's necklace, the one he made himself, shattered in pieces on the ground. The pearl... I gave him this pearl the last time I came back from sailing. Cailyn had ordered me to stay away from Ceri, and when I didn't, he sent me pearl-hunting on another island. Ceri loved the gift and attached it at the center of his necklace, covered with the leather lace and tiny pieces of the white and black feathers that he got from his young cousins. The pearl was now abandoned in the dirt.

I wiped my eyes that started watering. I quickly gathered the small items and pushed them in my pocket. I looked around trying to find him.

He was here! Please be alive and safe

"CERI! CERIIIIIIII!!!!"

I yelled with all my might. I didn't think about hiding from the Aellas anymore, nothing seemed to matter. My heart felt like war drums when no voice answered mine. 

Being certain that I was closer than ever to find him, I abandoned climbing to the top of the mountain, and chose to check the lower region of the it. But no matter where I looked around me, there was nowhere he could be hidden. No hole in the ground or den. And after a few minutes of searching, I returned to right where the pearl used to be.

From there, I climbed, hoping to be able to see better from a higher point of view. My vision wavered and I wiped my eyes again and climbed the third large rock when I was met by a set of thick bushes. I was so impatient that instead of walking around them, I stepped right through and pushed them aside in frustration. To my utter surprise, the bushes moved easily and slid down the slope. I pushed the rest of it away and saw that none of them were rooted in these rocks. Instead, there was a small opening in the mountain.

"CERI!! I'm here! I'm coming to you!!"

Heavy breaths and tears left me as I found my way into the hole. I had to move a heavy rock aside, one that I doubted Ceri could move on his own.

As soon as I jumped inside, I noticed that the hole wasn't that small. It actually gave way to a path. I hurried inside and followed the whirling path. A strange light started showing, leading me to a whole cave.

A small den was at the end of the tunnel. As I stepped inside, I saw some food, a small basin with water, other few items and part of a tree trunk, broken in half. The air was heavy, the only thing moving, was the weak flickers of a dying fire set at the center.

I took another step inside, checking around once more when I saw him. At the deeper end, under the wall, laid a motionless silhouette.

"Ceri?"

No answer. I moved slowly closer. He was definitely a person, his waist covered with a leather skin. When I saw the dirty blond curls, fresh tears forced their way out as I ran to him and knelt behind him.

"Ceri... Ceri, wake up!"

He was facing the wall and almost curled on himself. I tugged on his shoulder gently to look at his face, although the dying light didn't help much.

"My Aella, I'm......... I'm so sorry! Please open your eyes"

I pulled his upper body on my lap and he whined in pain. I immediately stopped moving him, my heart breaking as I realized that he was harmed

"Ceri, I'm here. Please talk to me"

He curled further on himself, his left arm holding his right side protectively. I pushed his hair back and called his name again, a bit louder this time. When I ran the back of my fingers on his cheek, his whole body jerked away from my touch and he opened his eyes.