“Well-well you could have been more graceful in your fall.” was all Lyra managed to splutter.
The boy rose slowly, and stretched.
“I knew I’d stayed in that form too long. I always get cramps. Professor Uriah keeps telling me to practise but it’s so tiring, you know?”
“I…” trailed off Lyra.
“Hey, I’ve never seen you two before. Newbies?”
“No, we were just on our way out in fact.” pronounced Lyra, recovering from the shock. “Do you mind telling us how?”
“How what? To leave? Well you’re going completely the wrong way. Wait…” said the boy suspiciously, “are you running away?”
“Pfft,” scoffed Lyra, “no, we were given permission. By… the headmaster.”
“There is no headmaster here…” said the boy slowly “but I do know the way out!” he brightened.
“Really? Could you tell us? That’d be great, thanks.”
“Follow me.”
He led them down a path. For a while, the silence was only filled with his humming. The tune seemed familiar to Luna, but she couldn’t quite place it.
“My name is Nym by the way.”
“Nym? I’m Lyra, this is my friend Luna.”
“Hey Luna!” Nym smiled at her.
“Umm, hi.” she answered, still thinking of the chameleon.
“So, what’s your other form?”
“Huh?”
“Your other form! What animal do you turn into?
“Oh, uh… that’s a, umm, private question.” answered Lyra over a long period of time.
Nym arched a questionning eyebrow. It turned brown as he raised it. It had been the same colour as his hair. Green.
Luna stopped dead in her tracks. Lyra hadn’t noticed, distracted.
“How- how did you do that?”
“Well… I am a chameleon you know.”
Luna just stared at him, in awe. Nym continued walking, a smirk on his face.
“Here we are.”
They were in front of a tall, brown gate, but Luna gathered that the brown was mainly rust by the looks of it.
“Uh, how do we open it?” asked Lyra, quite reasonably.
“Well you have permission don’t you? Just speak into this.” He pointed to a small device on the side of the gate.
“And what do I say?”
“Your name.”
“My name?”
“Yeah, your name. Is your other form a parrot?” said Nym sarcastically.
Lyra gave him her best evil eye, and straightening up, she walked quickly to the little device and spoke her name clearly:
“Lyra Galimore.”
“Lyra Galimore, you have no permission to leave the compound.” answered the machine.
“But I-”
“Lyra Galimore, you have no permission to leave the compound.” it repeated.
“Ha! So I was right! You were trying to escape!” exclaimed Nym rather too happily.
Lyra was fuming. “You people have no right to keep us, we desire to go home.”
“And you are Newbies!” added Nym joyfully.
“Please, you don’t understand-” started Luna.
“Sure, sure I do. You’re gonna follow me again now, and we’ll figure it out. That okay?”
Still fuming, Lyra followed him out, Luna close behind.
{ Now don’t think I’m forgetting Luna! Both Lyra AND Luna are the main characters, so no favouritism on my part ^^ }
Now that they were walking back, the two girls could see just how big the building was. It was four storeys high, eight windows on each landing. Big wooden doors stood wide open, as though awaiting them. The boy strode through them and led them up a set of stairs, and down a corridor. They halted in front of a door.
Nym knocked two clear knocks.
“Come in!” a female voice said.
Nym opened the door and they entered a small office, with a door leading off to the right. A young woman sat behind a desk, filling in some papers. She had brown hair bunched up in a messy bun, and glasses rimmed her nose.
“And what can I do for you today Nym?”
“Hey Avi! It’s these two girls here.” Nym nodded in their direction, “Lyra Galimore and Luna.”
She smiled.
“Lyra and Luna! Pleased to meet you! Luna Mercury I presume?”
“I… yes. Umm, how do you know that?” asked Luna uncertainly.
“Why, because we’ve been expecting you for a long time. I gather you tried running away? Father warned me you might.” She shrugged. “But even though we won’t make you stay of course, you will give us a chance to explain ourselves. I know this must be stressful for you, but you mustn’t worry, everything is going to be fine.”
“That’s what parents say just before something goes wrong.” said Lyra calmly.
“Well I’m not your parents.” answered the lady called Avi. She rose from her chair fluidly. “I will show you your rooms now.”
“We never even said we were staying. You know in the normal world this is called KIDNAPPING.” yelled Lyra.
“And this is not your typical ‘world’.”
She walked out the room gracefully, a slight swing of the hips in her steps.