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Part 1.
IP: 66.208.250.154
Posted on March 17, 2014 at 11:47:40 PM by TORRAM

Torram fell into the middle of the crowd, neither the very first nor the very last of the group to enter the portal. His guardian, Birch, had stepped through among the first and he waited, breath baited, for her return, but it seemed that the portal was not yet ready to give her back. Nerves skittered across his skin, a tense sort of excitement that made his mind race and his heart beat. Where would he go? What would he see? What would he do? When at last it came to be his turn, Torram took a deep breath and hopped inside before those nerves could start whispering less encouraging things. As he crawled through the portal, it shifted and twisted like a maze until at last it ended in a small, dark room with a door set in the ceiling. Tall for his age, and lanky in general, Torram had no trouble locating the latch and tugging the door open. An aged ladder made of sturdy oak dropped down, and he scrambled up it eagerly. Torram found himself in a wondrous place, a library of epic proportions. The boy, a book lover by nature, whirled around, his mouth open as he studied the spines of the books. Drawn to them like a moth to flame, Torram drifted nearer. He lifted his hand and, with just his pointer finger, gently touched the spine of a single book. A horrendous sound, part demonic howl and part bird-like screech, echoed through the halls and reverberated off the high ceilings. Torram jumped and yanked his hand away from the book as if it had burned him, eyes wide and guilty.

"Who dares to enter the library of Keruu?!" roared a menacing voice. Heavy, pounding footsteps echoed through the room as someone, or something made their way towards the room. Torram glanced about hurriedly, trying desperately to find a place to hide, and at last squeezed himself between two overcrowded shelves. As he watched, horrified, a massive being entered the room. It was a terrifying sight, one part pale flesh, one part dark feathers. Mismatched eyes, one a bulging, predatory yellow like that of an owl, the other a pale blue, searched the room. Lips were peeled back from sharp, pointed teeth stained pinkish-black from what could only be blood. Torram shuddered, gaping in horror, and pressed himself even deeper into his hiding spot. So deep, in fact, that he nearly crushed the hiding spot's other resident. The creature yelped, small paws digging into the flesh of Torram's back. The monstrous being in the room froze, his gaze searching the shelves as if he could see right through them. Torram held his breath, shaking with fear that he would be discovered any second. "Idiot fox! I told you to STAY AWAY from the shelves!"

Something went flying through the air, striking a spot not far from where Torram hid, and knocked a few hundred books off the shelves. Muttering under his breath, the creature stomped off into the depths of what Torram could only guess was a house. He sat in his hiding spot, sucking in steadying breaths, for a long moment, feeling the creature next to him shaking in terror. Finally, the two of them wiggled out from between the stacks and Torram got a good look at his companion. The fox was small, and dark, and ill-kempt. His fur, for Torram could see now that he was a male, was patchy and dirty. His face was small, his nose slightly tweaked, and his eyes were set far too close together. Pretty he was not, but he seemed friendly enough. When Torram hesitantly offered a hand for him to sniff, the fox even deigned to lick it.

"Your friend doesn't seem very pleasant," Torram murmured. The fox shook his head, and Torram smiled. Then, abruptly, Torram realized what had just happened. The fox shook his head. As in, replied to his comment, as in, understood him? "Do you know what I'm saying?"

The fox nodded, gazing trustingly up at him. Torram bit his lip. There was a part of him, a small and terrified part, that wanted to dash back to the trapdoor and take off for good. What was the point in hanging around a massive, amazing library when there was a good chance a giant would eat you? But there was a larger part of him, a part that let his curiosity get the better of him, that said why not poke around a bit? Torram bit his lip, then looked at the fox again.

"Is there a place I can go to see books, where that... that... thing won't find me?"

The fox seemed to think about this for a moment before nodding. It blinked up at him, one eye several seconds slower than the first.


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