[Jun 26 02]

Me accepted the invitation to sit down. He was in a small clearing, feeling the pain on his knees dissipate, while the little creature prepared a tea with roots, branches and flowers, about two steps ahead of him. The aroma that started to spread around was unknown to him, but soft and inviting.

"So, be a writer, you want to, hmm?" asked the small one, stirring the infusion. It kept its arm still above the cauldron and with the pulse he made the stick describe an 8 (horizontal, for itself, but normal for Myself) repeatedly.

"Yes... I guess so. I'll... you know, I'm trying.

"Do or do not, there is no try," said the small (elf?), turning to face him. "In you, great is the fear, small the enemy. Fool, you are," it sentenced, waggling his hand as if to say it wasn't worthwhile to waste more time with that. "Deep cold, you now feel..."

Me didn't seem too annoyed, just a little. Then he noticed.

Would it be possible that...? No, its teeth had not been so visible neither so menacing until one minute ago. Neither had the small creature so much difficulty in hiding its own saliva, when it introduced itself to him by the river. Now it couldn't stop rubbing its jaws against the sleeves of its tunic, swinging close to the cauldron with wide open eyes, fixed in it. "That tea must be really appetizing to the small one," Me thought.

"Bigger fire, we need... yes...," murmured the little creature.

Me agreed to himself. Night was starting to fall, the patches of sky that he was able to see were of a darkening blue. Soon the visible world would be reduced to that tiny clearing and that crackling fire would not be enough to keep them warm.

"Right to say that. More fire... be very heated, you must. Soon eat... hmmm...

"Uh? Ah, right," Me answered. It was getting hard to pay attention, with the cold that started to surround him. Perhaps if he ate something he would feel better. "Eat?"

"Soon eat. Cold, you feel? Very cold, move you cannot," said the small one, walking straight to Me, with a dogged obstinacy in its eyes.

Fact, the cold was becoming unbearable for one of them. Although light, the wind seemed more biting at each breath. An irritation in Me's nostrils grew to the point of bringing tears to his eyes, forcing him to close them. Staying like that for an instant, he felt the other one's breath, when it began to talk again, very close to his face.

"At least tasteful, I hope useless is—gnnaaaAAAAOOOOUUUuuu!"

"It may have been the scare — or the creature's smell," the boy would say later. I believe it was the light that started to emanate from it, shining upon Me's just opened eyes, nostrils still quite irritated.

The result was that, just as the creature said "tasteful", Me sneezed with all the might of his lungs right at the dark green thingy. Frightened, but with amazing skill, it performed a back somersault, trying not to be hit by more of "whatever it was that the biggie had conjured upon it". But doing that it landed with its back hitting the cauldron's body, which stuck to its thick skin. And with its feet on the fire, which went up like a breath on its clothes.

When Me opened his eyes again after the sneeze, the other was already a small ball of fire running in circles, with the cauldron stuck to its back.

"Argh! Argh! AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" it yelled. "Extinguisher get! Fire extinguisher, by your side, it is!" it said, running straight to our scared friend.

Me looked to the right and saw a device about his forearm in size, which looked odd in that scenery. At a fraction of a second he was wielding it pointed to the small toasted one.

"This button?" he asked, already pushing it.

"NnnOOOO"...

T-ZIUUUUMMMMMM!

What an interesting sword... The fire extinguisher was that red and flaring thing to the left, much probably...

Dear diary: the tea was awful. But the small one was à point.