Chapter3

As Taenaia began to fall something suddenly grabbed the back of her shirt. She blinked, her shocked mind trying to figure out what had just happened to it. She heard a huge booming laugh from behind her. She turned. She was flying high over the cliff born up on the winds with Aquilo's arms around her, holding her up from behind. They seemed to be straddling the air.

"Do you like Zeus's gift for me?" Aquilo asked.

"What!" Taenaia asked. Aquilo laughed and did something funny with his hands in front of them both. Suddenly Taenaia's stomach was left behind thousands of feet in the air as they dived straight down. At the last minute they levelled out and stopped about two meters over the ground. Aquilo swung one of his legs around the 'wind' they appeared to be sitting on and jumped to the ground. Then he swiftly lifted her up and set her on the grass by the stream beside the cliff face.

"Meet Equuissuperna!" Boomed Aquilo again. Taenaia turned. Standing behind then was a strange kind of horse. It was huge, a stormy blue color and seemed to be made from the wind. It snorted and tossed its head. Taenaia guessed it was a stallion from its temperament.

"Equiwhat!" Taenaia asked.

"Equuissuperna!" Aquilo said enthusiastically then sighed at her bemused expression. "Just call him Equi, he doesn't mind." Equi turned its head sharply and snapped its teeth at him. "That much." Aquilo corrected hastily. Equi continued to glare at him.

"Well Aquilo." Taenaia said indignantly. "In return for your little stunt with the wind and the horse thing," Equi turned to glare at her, "I mean Equi." She said hurriedly, "I will begin your lessons. I promised you I'd teach you something in return for your defence lessons." Taenaia finished smugly. Aquilo gulped.

"Equi, when I need you I'll call you alright?" Aquilo said to the horse. It looked smug and then pranced off where ever it felt like. "Right, what method of torture have you devised for me?" He asked resigned to his fate.

"Dancing lessons!" She said evilly.

000

It was the day of the equinox and Taenaia was walking happily through a distant part of the forest that always looked beautiful at that time of year. It was after her daily lesson from one of her mothers' friends or servants. The entire forest floor was covered in a beautiful thick carpet of snow drops. Taenaia picked her way through the blooms trying not to crush the tender green shoots and pure white heads. There was a large oak standing by itself in one place. So not to crush the flowers Taenaia gripped the branch over head and sprang up onto it. She jumped as she realised she was not alone. Malione smiled at her.

"Have you thought on my offer Taenaia?" She asked.

"I have." Taenaia smiled. "Aquilo wants to come too." She smiled wickedly. "I've been giving him dancing lessons." She sighed and sat still for a moment listening to the quiet twittering of the birds. Somewhere she thought she could hear the faint tinkle of her stream.

"It is so peaceful up here." She said.

"The quercus always brings peace in its presence. There is nothing sadder than a quercus in pain." Malione sighed too.

"What is a quercus?" Taenaia asked curiously.

"It means oak tree in the mortal tongue."

"Can trees feel pain?"

"Oh yes. The Siviche feel it every time a tree is cut down. When a tree dies there is no pain, only a mild throb, but when a tree is cut down before its time it is like a stab in the heart. Luckily it is not too bad for us if it is far away. That is why even mortal babies don't see us as we avoid humans."

"That's terrible." Taenaia said. "I would never cut down a tree. I had no idea."

"Gods sometimes get stuck up and develop a certain disregard for life. I hope that never happens to you, my friend. But now, enough of these gloomy thoughts." Maliones smile returned. "What are you wearing for the festival?"

"Oh." Taenaia bit her lip. "I never thought of that. I don't know." She frowned. "To Silviche wear clothes?" She said looking at Maliones apparent clothing.

"Of course" Malione let out a rippling laugh. "This is not part of me." She said running a slender hand over her dress. "We spin clothes from the bark of our birth trees. We have our own small measure of magic. We just take some of the excess bark off the tree and," She paused with a sudden frown. "We sort of 'call' it." She finished lamely.

"You have magic too." She suddenly said brightly. "Have you never tried to spin a dress out of ice or something?"

"No." Taenaia frowned. "I don't know if I could do anything like that."

"I need to make something special for tonight too. Why don't you watch me and see if you can do something similar with the mornings dew or something?"

"Alright." Taenaia agreed cheerfully. "What is your birth tree?"

"It is the pirus or pear tree. I will take you to my favourite." Malione slipped down off the thick tree branchinto the snowdrops. Taenaia followed.

Malione flitted through the trees and Taenaia could see why hardly anyone knew of the Silviche; Malione was in her element, she blended in with the trees and seemed so at peace. Taenaia looked wistfully at her, she wish she could belong so well to someplace.

Malione went quiet a way, Taenaia did not think she had been to the place before. In the middle of a silent grove of oaks there stood a lone pear tree. The serenity of the place was profound. Taenaia hung back, reluctant to enter such a beautiful place, afraid she might break the spell that seemed to enchant the trees, whispering in and out the branches in a flood of absolute stillness. The birds sang softy and gently as if they too felt it, they probably did.

Malione quietly slipped into the grove. She stood for a moment with her eyes shut then motioned Taenaia forward.

"This is an ancient grove. Ones such as these are rare, they are hardly ever found by mortals. I love this place. A Silviche born of the quercus is blessed indeed. Sadly they too are rare."

Malione opened her eyes and smiled at Taenaia again. She had a lovely smile. "Come." Malione led her into the heart of the grove where the pirus stood. Malione stopped before it and gently rested both her palms against the smooth bark then touched it with her forehead once.

"I always greet a birth tree such. I don't know why, it just feels right." She spoke.

Malione then carefully pealed a tiny sliver of bark away from the trunk. She stood with the bark, each end held between the thumb and forefinger of each delicate hand with her eyes closed and her head tilted back slightly.

As Malione stood there in the peace of the grove the bark seemed to begin to lengthen, as if she was coaxing it to distend. She slid her right hand along it to join her left hand. The bark seemed to shimmer. Slowly it began to flow down to the ground, a stream of quicksilver caught in time. Elegantly the viscous ribbon pooled onto the ground. A large pool began to spread around Maliones feet until at last the flow stopped. It left behind the tiny, original strip of bark hanging from her fingertips. Malione stayed stock still.

Tentatively small wispy tendrils began to rise from the silver liquid glimmering around her feet. Gradually they grew and began to curl up around her body. The strands wove in and out of each other, clinging to her form. The pool grew smaller. Soon Malione was wrapped in the shifting, flowing substance. It then began to solidify. It formed a dress with a sweeping neck line that barely covered her right shoulder and left the other bare, the line curving down to a loose sleeve encircling her for arm. The hem lifted off the ground slightly and stopped. Slowly a single last tendril drifted into her hair, breaking away from the rest, and curled into a barely visible circlet in her hair in which tiny buds nested.

Malione's eyes snapped open. She smoothed a hand down the glimmering fabric and smiled. Gently she drew the dress of over her head and took out the circlet.

"Quite something isn't it?" Said Malione holding it up. "My tree has truly chosen to gift me this time." Malione then turned to her with a smile. Taenaia suddenly remembered to breath.

"The tree makes the dress then?" Taenaia asked.

"Yes, that is why I am uncertain as to how you would create some such clothing from your elements. I do not know what kind of spirit snow and ice might contain." Malione said. "Right, how are we going to do this? Shall we try with dew first? If you freeze some dew or something."

Taenaia looked down at the ground. In the dappled shading of the grove several delicate drops of water hung suspended on branch tips and grass blades. She reached out to one on the branch by her and touched it with a pale finger. It froze into a drop of ice. Then she touched another one which became lanced with white, a bead of snow. Taenaia held both in the palm of her hand.

"Now just think the words over in your head, 'ice and snow, for me grow, weave a dress for your birth child.'" Malione said. "I just made that up but it ought to do. Idyllically you would not say any words even in your head but for your first try they should do. Next time, if this works, just try to bring back the sort of feeling of it."

Taenaia nodded and closed her eyes.

Ice and snow, for me grow, weave a dress for your birth child.

It felt odd reciting the abstract line in her head.

Ice and snow, for me grow, weave a dress for your birth child.

On and on the words when in their chant.

Ice and snow, for me…

The words swam on in her head, and endless mantra that seemed to ripple and course around her mind in swells.

Weave a dress for your birth child…

As the words continued they seemed to take on a life of there own, rising and falling, rippling and jumping, in a complex pattern that in a subliminal way seemed to dance all through her.

Ice and snow…

The sounds thrummed and spun.

For me grow…

They twisted and turned.

Weave a dress for your birth child…

They shaped yet showed no form.

Ice and snow…

The serpent of rhythm swam and danced

For me grow…

It thrived in the music that seemed to pour forth from the twin specks of glowing white on the edge of her mind.

Weave a dress for your birth child…

The snaking thing stretched in almost agonistic ecstasy.

Ice and s… sso long…for me grow."

Taenaia hardly noticed the new words that hissed and echoed deep with in the mantra.

Weave a …child callss though another holdss full powerss…for your birth ch…that sshould not be…ild.

The serpent hissed softly in annoyance.

Ice an…But child needss dressss… snow, for me grow…

The serpent almost seemed to smile.

Weave a dress for your…we approve and grant it… birth child.

The serpent dissolved in a violent flash of brilliant white and gold light. Tanaia collapsed into Maliones arms. Worried Malione studied Taenaias unmoving face. Then her eyes snapped open.

The same shimmering white and gold light then flickered where she had been standing. Slowly it faded leaving behind a milky silver-blue dress with tongues of gold almost red that hardly seemed real licking around it. It seemed to be emitting its own light as the icy creation hovered above the ground.

Hesitantly Taenaia reached out and touched it. It fell into her hand, the fabric cool and soft, barley perceptible to the touch.

"Wow."

Said Taenaia. Malione smiled at her.

"What was your birth spirit like? Did it speak to you? What did it look like? Can you tell me?" She asked, quietly excited.

"There was," Hesitantly Taenaia began to think about what had just happened to her. "There was a silver thing. A silver snake." Malione gasped. "It said, so long, child calls though another holds full powers, that should not be. Er, it said, child needs dress, we approve and grant it. Something like that anyway.

"A serpent!" Malione's gaze swept her up and down. "The birth child of a serpent. I wonder if all gods birth spirits are so odd."

"Why, what is yours?"

"A squirrel. Beautiful creatures that plan ahead. A serpent is very strange by Silviche terms but all Silviche are tree born so I guess that could be the reason. Oh well. It granted you a gorgeous dress. You can stow it with mine, then we can go see this Aquilo and see if your dancing lessons have done any good." Taenaia smile.

"Yes, lets."

Taenaia then followed her friend. My friend, my friend. She thought. It was such an odd sensation to her. The ice queen was beginning to thaw.

000

AN. Is this chp borin? I hope not cos sum of it is important but well, any coments? Chuck in closest bin be4 r sick? 2 long, 2 short? 2 abstract? 2 fast? 2 confusing? TELL ME PLEZ SO I CN MAKE MY NXT CHP BETTR! R+R!