Tosh

Regal Mountains loomed over surrounding foothills and valleys; their peaks crowning the gradually lightening sky as the sun peaked over their crowns. Tosh watched them, the lofty lords of the world, watching over the mere mortals doing their futile businesses, never getting involved. The green grass tickled her legs, and the birds sang above her in the fair boughs of the trees, which were newly garbed in their spring robes. She dug her hands into the dirt and sighed blissfully. Dawn had always touched her. It was so beautiful and fragile, it lasted only a little while, and then it was gone; leaving but a memory. She crossed her feet and bathed in bliss as mist rose gently from the land and dewdrops sparkled on the grass. She sent a tendril of thought towards her teacher’s mind. She smiled contentedly. The teacher was still asleep. It horrified her slightly that anyone could actually sleep through an exhibit of such rare and fleeting beauty. She gasped slightly, her teacher was stirring, and her mind was groggily awake. Tosh sprang up lightly and ran, as light and fast as a deer. When she reached the wall she nimbly climbed up the tree on the one side, and dropped down to the other side. A boy was standing here, he had seen her jump over the wall. He had been right in front of the place where she had landed, why hadn’t she thought to look before jumping? Tosh wryly remembered her teacher’s overused phrase “look before you leap.” She must remember to do that from now on. He was curious, she could feel that. His name was Mitch. He had dark shaggy hair that fell into his eyes, and they were dark and serious, as if they contemplated the mysteries of dark places. All that she had found out in a split second, and she wanted to know more, why hadn’t she seen him ever before? Her memory was infallible and she was curious as to why this one was not within it. She ducked behind a near-by tree trunk, he stayed where he was; that made her curiosity even stronger, all the other druids would look around the tree trunk. Suddenly she remembered her teachers, her first class, and the first day of school! Without thinking to conceal herself she darted away towards her barracks. The last grain of information she got from his mind was that he was twelve; five years older than her. Tosh ran up to the barracks and opened the door, intending to go right to the bed when she froze. There on the step was the teacher, and a line of all the girls and boys who had just turned seven. Tosh cringed with the embarrassment of it. “Where were you?” The teacher said, frowning down on her. Her teacher didn’t intend to be kind, not at all. Tosh looked up timidly, “I was watching the Dawn.” She hoped that this would explain it, how could it not? When Dawn was so beautiful and irresistible? But her teacher looked stern and displeased. “And how did you do this within our walls?” Tosh winced inwardly, she should have thought of that. She stammered for a second, “I-I-uh…”  A titter of giggles ran through the line of children. Tosh’s face grew hot. She was hit with a solution, “Oh, I climbed up the tall tree.” The teacher’s face grew sterner. Very well; go to the back of the line.” Tosh sighed; At the back was a grubby little boy with dirty hair and dirt under his fingernails. Not to mention that as she scoured the minds of the teacher and the boy, being at the back of the line was a form of humiliation. She took her place reluctantly at the back of the line; but instead of sulking and cowering there, she straightened her back and held her chin up defiantly. Walking through the settlement that way was a daunting task, what with the displeased looks she received from everyone. Everyone knew her, when she was little she had been dropped off at a doorstep, so she had spent most of her life  bouncing from family to family. School would make life much easier for them. Still, they weren’t pleased. 

Greetings!

To you random people out there who will see our blog, we offer the sincere greeting of blithe and innocent genius homeschoolers! We will be posting our writing on this blog, but by no means may what we post ever be copied.

Tinuviel and Mercury Lee

Beginning and Beginnings.

This is our first post. We simply wish to present our meager offerings for your perusal, these offerings being the stories we have written. We will post at (hopefully) regular intervals, probably in no reasonable order, though you might be lucky sometimes. This is the first part of the longest project I've ever managed to stay on track with. Enjoy!

The stone house was illuminated by the almost setting sun, softening the edges into blurred flame, with the windows dark around a single, tall candle, a flame topping each. These would be lit every night as the sun began to disappear, and in the morning, the wilted stubs and melted wax would be collected to recycle into new candles. Many children lived in this house. The owner and ever present factor, a man Called Father, finding that the discarded, hurt, lonely and ignored had a way of finding their way to it. Orphans, runaways, even grownups, came and went, in their time. Each who came was never forced to reveal their Name, but was given or took a Call, which was a simple means of identifying oneself. They might chose to tell Father their current Call, or one of their own making, or else he would give them one himself, which they kept until they chose a new one or departed. Names were what your parents gave you at birth or christening, and the Names were Power. Should the wrong person know your name, you were their slave and would do whatever they wished of you. Calls were simply non-names that you took at will, or they were given to you when you went to a new family. Your own name, however, was never forgotten, nor should it be, for if you forgot your name, you would lose yourself, become a new creature. Some people made themselves forget, then renamed themselves, creating a new life. All here had their Calls, chosen or given, and names were encumbering, unnecessary things. No one here had a name. They were whoever they wanted to be, spending however much time as they needed under the gentle care of Father, until they wished to leave. No one stayed forever.