A young girl with green hair slept soundly in her bed. Her family, however, was already up and about. Her mother was downstairs, just finishing cooking breakfast. Her father was outside, doing a few of the chores while her little brother sat at the kitchen table, reading a book.

They lived out in the middle of nowhere in a smallish log house. So there wasen't really anyone around, save the forest creatures that lived nearby. The girls room was upstairs in the attic, while her littles brothers room was downstairs adjacent to their parents room.

"Ion, dear. Please go wake your sister and tell her breakfast is ready," their mother said.

Ion looked up from his book and sighed, then closed it. Why couldn't she get up on her own? It would be her own fault if she missed breakfast right? Nevertheless, he did as he was told. He moved over to the attack and began to climb the ladder and opened the hatch and peeked inside her room.

He gave another sigh as he saw his sister sprawled out on her bed, tangled up in her blankets. Couldn't she at least sleep like a girl was supposed too? Like their mother did? Their mother slept peacefully and gracefully. Yet...here was Tanith, his sister...a slob.

He moved upwards and over to her bed, giving her a shake. "Tanith. get up. Breakfast is ready," Ion said.

"Hmm...five more minutes," Tanith mumbled, rolling over.

"Not my fault if you miss breakfast then. I will just eat your portion," Ion said, turning to walk away.

"Noooo," Tanith mumbled, reaching up and grabbing her brother, pulling him down. "Nice teddy bear...."

"GAH! TANITH! Let me go!" Ion exclaimed, squirming in his sisters iron grasp. "I am not your teddy bear!"

"Oh? Well, I think you are. And there isn't a thing you can do about that, is there?" She said, suddenly giving him a noogie.


A few minutes later, the both walked into the kitchen. Their father was sitting at the table already and he smiled as he saw Ion's hair completely messed up. Tanith's hair was always messed up in the morning so that was nothing new.

"You shouldn't let your sister bully you," their father said.

Ion pulled out the chair and sat down. "Easy for you to say. She has an iron grip," Ion stated.

Tanith yawned, scratching her stomach and then plopped into her chair and looked down sleepily at the plate her mother set in front of her.

"Good afternoon, Tanith," their mother teased.

"Hermpf...." Tanith said, digging in.

Their mother smiled and sat down herself after giving everyone a plate. They ate breakfast in peace, and then Ion washed the dishes. Once that was done, their father called them all to the living area.

"Tanith, me and your mother have decided it is time to make your journey," her father said.

Tanith was a bit shocked at first then she nodded, getting serious. "Yes, father."

"On this journey, you are to learn about how the world works. You will experience many hardships, but you will also experience good times. You must also complete your training on your own. When you have finished your journey and you return home, you are grown as an individual, and become a strong fighter, having mastered your earth shifting skills," he explained. "Tradition dictates that if you return home a failure, you will be banished from our family and you will be dead to us. Do you understand?"

Tanith nodded, "Yes. I understand. I will not fail."

"And, it is also a tradition that we do not see you go," her father added. "I know you will not fail. You are our daughter," he said with a smile.

They said a few more words, then they carried on with their usual business and continued to do so for several days. However, on the fifth day, when Ion was asked to fetch his sister for dinner, she was no where to be found.

Dinner that night was solemn and quiet. It just wasen't the same without Tanith's cheery face and loud voice. The one most affected by her leaving was not the parents, but Ion, her little brother. They had been close, very close and it was going to be lonely without her around now.

And so Tanith was off to see the world and experience it first hand. She had nothing but the clothing on her back. However, she was used to living off the land, so it was not much a problem.

Deadra

Tanith has moved to "Looking for a needle in a haystack."