Once again in Geode’s short life, he found himself slowly waking up, confused where he was. Thankfully, this time the world around him was much less harsh and powerful than from within the river. Nothing tugged at him, nothing pulled him against his will. The large bright ball was still above him, a mass of green dancing things overhead obscuring it partly. Past the greenery he found a small grouping of creatures, similar but completely different to the ones in the river. They had long, elegant black arms, hooked feet, and flew easily through the air above him.

“One of those things must have picked me up,” Geode said to himself. “I wonder why.”

After checking over himself and finding no chips or cracks in his base or blue gemstone, Geode began to dig pebbles out of the dirt. The first few were troublesome to wedge out from the ground but once he had a few loose he used them to scrape and uncover the next and the next. Sooner than he had hoped he had four legs and a skinny tail assembled again. Even if they were caked with dirt, his minor accomplishment put him into a good mood.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this living thing.” Geode hummed as he swung his tail around playfully.

After a few steps Geode heard a new noise which made him curious. It sounded a little like the wind but wasn’t, a little like rocks scraping against each other but not really that at all. Cautious, he slowly stepped around the large brown object that held up the greenery and found the strangest creature yet.

The creature was much larger than him with two arms and two legs all wrapped up in itself. On its head there was a mass of something long, like black dirt, but not really. More like strings of black dirt. But not really that either. The creature also had the oddest body made out of different folds, colors, and layers of material. This was the source of the strange noise.

Letting his curiosity overcome his worry, Geode stepped closer to the creature to get a better look. As he closed the gap between them, the creature looked up at him and stopped making its noise. Geode stopped moving. The creature blinked a few times, rubbed its eyes then opened its mouth.

“What… what are you?”

Geode stood perfectly still, not sure how much danger he had gotten himself into. It didn’t seem like this creature had seen a Scallionite before and the Elder hadn’t told him anything beyond that he needed to find the Martel.

Maybe this was Martel!

“Are you Martell Havel Remington the Third?” Geode asked, his tail twitching hopefully.

When the creature did not respond, Geode thought maybe she did not hear him, so he shouted his question.

“Now I’m seeing things.” The creature gulped and put her head back into the folds of her body. It shuttered and began crying again, this time twice as loud.

Geode scampered up to the creature then stopped short when she leapt up to her feet.

“Stay back!” She yelled, circling around the tree. “Don’t hurt me, whatever you are!”

“I won’t hurt you.” Geode tried to reassure her with no success. For some reason she could not hear him. He stepped back and considered his options.

He did not want to frighten the girl, even though she was much larger than him. He could maybe try and find Martell without her help but if she was Martell he would be failing the Elder before he even began. No, he had to find a way to communicate with her. Maybe he could start by showing her he meant no harm.

Slowly at first Geode took his tail and waved it in the air. When she appeared curious he moved it a bit quicker.

“Are you friendly?” She asked, cautious. “Did my parents send you?”

Geode waved his tail quicker, hoping it would mean yes.  She seemed to understand and held out her hand, palm up.

“You can come here little guy, it’s okay.”

Geode moved slowly towards her outstretched hand and stepped on top. His four legs fit perfectly in her palm.

“You’re very pretty, for a rock thing.”

“Thank you!”

“Ah!” She shrieked, dropping him.

Two of Geode’s legs scattered over the ground as he landed. He rolled away, anticipating more trouble from the creature, searching for her feet to make sure they didn’t crush him. The two of them looked at each other, both still, waiting for the other one to move first.

“You… you can talk?” She asked, shocked.

“You heard me?” Geode was excited then confused when she didn’t respond to his question. He lay on the ground for a few moments before an idea clicked in his head. Maybe she could only hear him when they were touching!

Geode gathered his pebbles and recreated his legs. The creature watched on in awe, not quite as frightened as before. Moving towards her as slowly as before, Geode lay his front leg on her foot.

“Can you hear me?” Geode asked, looking up at her face. When she did not respond he became even more confused.

“You heard me before… “He said to himself, “but that was when I was on your hand. Maybe that’s the only place it works?”

Stepping back, Geode wiggled his tail, hoping this would yield the same results as before. When she did not lower her hand he stepped back and tried again. It took a third time before she understood.

“Oh, um, okay.” She set her hand down on the ground and once again Geode stepped into her palm.

“I won’t hurt you,” Geode hummed, doing his best to keep from frightening her again. The creature shook but did not drop him.

“Hi,” She said, her voice quivering. “I’m… I… what are you?”

Geode hummed quicker, happy at his success. “My name is Geode. I’m a Scallionite. Are you the Martell Havel Remington the Third?”

“Martell?” She blinked. “No, I’m a girl. My name is Abigail.”

She brought him close to her face to get a better look at him. “I’ve never even heard of a Scallionite. Where did you come from? Did my parents make you?”

“I came from that water,” He pointed behind him with his tail. “And before that from my home in the Earth. The Elder sent me out to find Martell. Do you know where I can Martell Havel Remington the Third?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of him.” Her eyes suddenly filled with water. “I’m looking for someone too. My parents.”

“You’re parents? Where did they go?”

“I… I…” The girl’s lip shook then she began making that horrible sound again. “I don’t know.”

Geode felt sorry for this creature as he watched her cry. Even though he knew he had to find Martell, he couldn’t help but want to help this girl in her search as well.

“Maybe I could help?”

Abigail refocused on Geode, blinking away her tears. “You want to help?”

“Sure.” Geode nodded.  “I don’t know how much I can help… I’ve only been alive for three cycles… but I’ll do what I can. I was made to help! And maybe once we find your parents they will know where I can find Martell.”

“Thank you!” Abigail smiled and wanted to hug him but realized he was much too small for that. Instead she rubbed her finger along his back.

Geode didn’t understand what the girl was doing but took it as a sign of thanks. “Let’s see. Where did you see them last?”

“I…” Abigail’s eyes watered again. “We spent most of yesterday in Kaybull, stocking up on supplies for our trip over the Ridgeback Mountains. Last night we came out here to avoid the patrols and I, I wasn’t paying attention… and … got separated …. from them in the dark. I shouted a bunch trying to find them but had to hide when a patrol came past. I think my parents were caught.”

“Okay. If they were caught, where would this patrol take them?”

“Back to Kaybull. But that’s the problem, I don’t know. It was so dark and the river was too loud for me to hear anything. If they were caught I have to go back. But if they escaped I need to catch up to them. They’re really good at hiding from the patrols. We do it all the time.”

“Have your parents ever left you behind? Is this a normal thing?”

Abigail shook her head, her long black hair flowing in the wind. “No, never.” She then stopped, her eyes wide with horror.

“Oh no! Maybe they thought I was caught last night and they’re in Kaybull looking for me right now. Oh Abigail! Why have you been crying out here all day when they might be in town right now searching for you!”

And at that news she began sprinting away from the river clutching Geode firmly in her fist. It was all he could do to keep a hold of his limbs as his new friend ran.