Oz

The sky was a bright shade of blue that day as usual, but the sounds of Oz's wildlife were silent. Most of the creatures had went into hiding shortly after the dark cloud settled over the land. The silence was unsettling and gave Ilithyia a horrible feeling below her navel. As she laid in a bed of purple wildflowers she tried to find comfort in their familiar scent and not think about what was soon to come. Things were about to change, the whole rebel group could feel it, and she was having a hard time easing her anxiety.

When Liam first approached her with his revelation about the mysterious behavior in their home land she was shocked. Her life had been so bland, so average, and so repetitive that she barely believed a word he told her. As a matter of fact, she was almost positive Liam was a nut job. It wasn't until after she left and had time to mull over the horrible acts he had told her about that she realized he was right. There was something off with Oz and they had to stop it.

The blonde haired beauty was ready to take action. She had spent countless hours in the very same field of flowers wishing for change that most of the meetings between her and the other members of the rebel group seemed like a dream. Her untamed heart was full of desire for her life to mean something and she was so close to getting her every want, if only they could figure out how to take action. They had done nothing, but sit around complacently and talk about the things they were going to do to save Oz. Ilithyia was ready for the fight. Words were just whispers in the wind, it was time to take a stand.

"Lith?" Liam's warm and familiar voice called out to her. She couldn't see him, because the flowers had grown so tall fighting for their own sliver of sunlight, but she knew it was him. She had spent many hours listening to his levelheaded speeches that she would recognize the sound of his articulation anywhere.

She propped herself up on her elbows and spotted him a few feet in front of her. Her eyebrows furrowed with concern as she squinted at him through the light of the day. "Not another one?"

His light pink lips set into a grim line as he nodded his shaved head to confirm her fears. He pointed to the east and the girl turned her sea green eyes to the horizon. The smoke looked like a large black claw as it swirled up into the air, before disappearing into soft wisps of grey. She felt the familiar nauseous feeling erupt in her stomach. Smoke meant another attack, and another attack meant more homes lost- more lives taken. Her heart drooped into her chest as she remembered the scene of the last attack. All of the burnt offerings the beast had left for its master were enough to confirm that she was doing the right thing. If this continued for much longer, there would be nothing left of the world around them.

"We're having a meeting where the yellow brick road splits, so long as everything goes as planned, an hour after the sun meets the horizon. Try not to be late this time, yeah?" He had a small smile across his lips, but she knew he meant what he said. Unfortunately the wistful girl had a habit of dwelling in her head more than she did in the world around her. She was late to at least half of the group's assemblies and even though Liam would scold her, he always gave her the same amused grin.

"Will do." She blushed. "Have you told the others? I could find Cecily for you, if you'd like?"

She was always trying to do anything she could to help the boy out. She worried that by him taking on the leadership role that he would over exert himself. She didn't want him to bite off more than he could chew. He usually shrugged off her efforts and did things himself, but sometimes he let some of them help him out. It was like he felt it was his sole responsibility to take care of them all and to save Oz.

"You're always the one I save for last." He chuckled. "You're a lot harder to find than the rest. Sometimes I swear you're going to walk right off the edge of the land with all of the wandering you do."

Her shoulders sagged a little with the realization that she wasn't helping ease his troubles any. He was her friend, they all were, and she desperately wanted to prove herself to them. She smiled up at him, trying to shake off the dark cloud that swam through her thoughts.

"I just go where my feet take me."