Hearing the voice, Edmund partially opened his eyes to see the face that it came from, and he became awestruck. Standing a few feet from him was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen...There was absolutely no possible way that she could be real. A hallucination caused by the fall, perhaps? Edmund pushed himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes, thinking that the image would fade away like a dream. But, when he looked back up, she still remained.

She looked exotic but mesmarizing, like a like a new breed of orchid. Her skin was the color of soft suede and her long hair was as black as midnight. But what Edmund could not look away from was her eyes, eyes that seemed to pull you in like the high tides of the sea, and were the same color as well. He dug through his mind, trying to think of something to say, but the only words that came were, "What is your name?"

Was he staring? Edmund did not even realize that he was until just now. He cleared his throat in attempt to regain his composure. "I was merely looking at your animal there. Is that a wolf?" Almostly immediately he felt idiotic. But if he had announced to her that she was the most angelic and radiant creature that he had ever layed eyes on, she probabley would have ran away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. How rude of me. My name is Edmund Lovelace." He placed a hand behind his back and gave a short bow. "I am normally not this awkward. I must of hit my head harder than I thought." As he came out of his bow, he once again caught her eyes and became lost in them. Then, without even realizing it, his mouth began to move on its own. "You are very beautiful."

(Oh, how I love a sappy character..)

(lol that's cool)

After he had entered the camping grounds, Edmund was offered a seat around a small fire with the other men where they insisted that he tell them off all that he had seen while exploring. Of course, he told them of the giant trees that he had encountered and the strange animals and flora, but he made sure to leave out the part about the mysterious girl. They laughed and awed at his stories and then continued on with their own conversations and drinking. Edmund, however, barely touched his ale and could only think about Tala. Was she one of those so-called savages? No..she couldn't be. From the stories and deions that were told to him, she was anything but savage. She was just as majestic and beautiful as the world that she lived in.

(Indeed.)

When dawn finally broke through the horizon, Edmund quietly left the small camp towards the still darkened forest. With him, he brought his small pack with a few supplies in it for emergencies along with some food and water. He was bound and determined today to find that woman again, even if he had to flip the world upside down to find her.

Edmund walked a long time through the forest, long enough to watch the sun rise over the trees in its slow morning rotation. After a while, he finally paused to rest and take a drink from his water bag. But even though he had rested, his mind still raced without pause. Would he ever find her? Is this just a waste of time? Is this just plain curiousity?

Then he would remember her face, her eyes, her tanned skin, and it caused a warmness within him. A warmness that he had never felt before.  Shoving his water back into his pack, he continued on, hoping that he would run into Tala once more.