AN Part of this was written as a random fanfic challenge a few months ago.
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Echo
Above the deep roar of the angry Dragon-Queen, she heard a cry of fear, and a shout of reassurance. They were new voices.
Alone, and lost without her herd, she could barely think straight, but there was something in the voices that sounded safe and reassuring. They reminded her of something far away.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them, odd creatures, standing on their hind legs, with pale skin and no fur. But, despite their appearance, they were her only chance of escape. There was no hesitation. She ran towards them, away from the Dragon, heading straight for the closest boy, knowing she would be safe with them for as long as they were here.
That moment was her destiny.
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The sound was always in her dreams.
Drumming, drumming, drumming: The sound of galloping hooves light over the grasslands. She heard it every night just before she fell asleep. Shed made her choice, and she couldnt have been apart from the Young Ones, but she always heard it.
Sometimes the sound grew louder, as if the herd had come to find her and take her away.
Sometimes the sound grew faint, as if the herd had gone deep into the centre of the continent, away from the trials and problems of the other mortals.
She didnt teleport anymore, not since the Valley of the Gnomes. She didnt want to teleport; it was almost as though she couldnt; as if it was a skill that faded the longer she was always from her kin and their beloved Valley.
Drumming, drumming, drumming: Like drums deep underground. She slept to the sound of the herd racing over the land. She ached to join them, but she couldnt bear to leave. The longer she stayed with Dungeonmasters Pupils, the harder it became, and the more insistent the thrum of horse-feet over the ground.
Drumming.
There was never any choice involved. The Barbarian thought she was going to stay, but she had really just been saying her long goodbye. The child had saved her life the day theyd first met. She loved him, but only once they were home, could she be free to return to her Valley. When he left, she would stay in the Realm. When he left she too would go back home.
Until then she would dream.
Drumming. Running. Her herd.
But only her dreams.
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The day had come, and the final Portal closed behind them. She was alone once more.
She had stayed resolutely by their side, through everything, until the day they did it, until the day they finally could go home.
All had been rescued or redeemed and everyone had what they wanted. And now she could return to her family, as finally the choice was no longer hers to make.
But had been a long time, and the drumming had long since stopped. The footfalls that were so loud in her youth had gone and her dreams were as silent as the grave.
She hadnt told them, though she could converse with her golden-haired boy, she hadnt told him as she knew he would have stayed. That couldnt be allowed, not after their struggle to find their way home. Go home, Uni, like us! Go back and find the others.
But it was comforting that he would never know the truth. Somehow, she would go on without them.
She turned, and slowly walked away.