Post by Head Moderator on Aug 21, 2013 16:15:50 GMT -5
MAKING FRIENDS
WIBBELS, THE WINDLING
abenedictionhymn is Viola Harrington
aardvarkcavalry is Wibbels
Well! That was exciting. Wibbels had noticed something odd, and had ridden his rusty steed on over to it, and next thing he knew he went right through and popped out somewhere else! The portal then winked right out of existence, of course, because it wouldn't be much of a story if he could just get home. Whooooooaaaa! What in the world just happened, Duwell?" The aardvark let out a grunt in response, then started wiggling its snout along the ground, searching for some tasty bugs to eat. The windling sighed, then dismounted and flitted up to land on a tree branch and have a better look around. "What're we gonna do, what're we gonna doooooo? And where are we? Are there at least ants, Duwell?" The aardvark had no response. "Hmph. Fat lot of good you are in a conversation."
Viola had arrived only a few days ago to Navahla, but being a half-nymph (despite her being the sea kind) she did like nature quite a bit and so it was in the nearby forest that she was wandering. Her wavy blonde hair was braided in a crown around her head, and she wore a simple dress that came to her knees, and she was barefooted. She had a bag across one shoulder, in it some snacks and a favorite book. She had climbed a tree - she'd always been somewhat of a tomboy - and was settled against the thick trunk when she heard something below. Peering down, she saw the aardvark and its rider appear from out of nowhere! "Goodness gracious!" Swinging down, she landed with a soft thud onto the grassy ground and folded her arms across her chest. She looked rather young the way she was dressed, younger than she actually was, but that worked for her benefit in many cases. "Hello."
"Hey!" He hopped off the branch he'd taken after the girl leapt down to the ground, and then his wings went to work, keeping him hovering about six inches in front of her face. "You're pretty short, for a grounder." He squinted at her, hazel eyes staring for a moment, before he moved back a bit, though didn't descend. Sure, eventually he'd run out of energy and not be able to keep himself in the air, but that wouldn't be for quite a little while! "I am Wibbels! Where are we, grounder? Duwell and I, well....we just sort of appeared here. And I feel awfully exposed." His skin color didn't quite match the surroundings, anymore! He had on a little tunic that looked like it might well be made of leaves, or perhaps grass, and matching trousers, along with a belt with what looked like a long needle stuck through it! Hair was hanging freely at the moment, and he was also barefoot.
She watched the creature, he seemed like some odd sort of faerie, and it made her laugh softly. She reached her hand out, so he could sit in the palm of her hand if he wanted. "You're cute Wibbels. I don't know about your beastie there though. I mean, I like all manner of beasts but that's an odd one." She grinned and then sat down on the ground whether he'd sit in her hand or not, and tugged her bag around with one hand and dug into it. "My name's Vi, not Grounder. And you are in the kingdom of Sarkotos, very close to the capitol city of Navahla. On Arith." She added that last part in as she tilted her head, sending thick blonde hair over a shoulder.
"I'll have you know that Duwell is an aardvark, and he is a war veteran! An esteemed, mighty steed. We've been partners since I joined up with the cavalry." He flew over again, but didn't sit in her hand. Instead, he plopped himself down on her shoulder, all 12 pounds of him. "Cities, bah. At least I didn't show up there, I suppose." He had, of course, plopped on the shoulder she'd leaned away from so he didn't get all tangled up in her hair! "Nice to meet you, Vi, and I didn't think grounder is your name, but you aaaaaaaaaare a grounder just the same!" And then he yelled, quite loud for such a little thing! At least he didn't aim it at her ear. "DUWELL! Come over and say hello to Vi!" The aardvark looked up from his snuffling, then moved over and wiggled his snout at Vi.
She swiped her hair out of the way so he could sit there and leaned against the tree as she listened to him. She smelled really, really good! Her nymph blood after all, did make her smell just delightful. She pulled out a chunk of soft bread and plucked a bit and handed it to him, and then when the aardvark came over offered the creature a bit of bread as well. "Hello Duwell," she said in sylvan, just in case the creature could understand it. "Do veteran aardvarks eat bread?" She honestly had no idea. "I've cheese as well, and water. And... oh yes, and a green apple." She paused, and chewed on some bread herself, then spoke again, "If I'm a grounder, what are you?"
Duwell sniffed at the bread, but then moved away and started digging into the ground with those strong claws he had on his front feet. He'd found some ants! So he dug them up and started to slurp 'em into his mouth with a long, sticky tongue. As for Wibbels, he leaned in and sniffed at her, since she did smell rather good, then took the bit of offered bread and chewed on it, speaking some sylvan around the bread in his mouth. "He just eats ants, mostly. And termites. That's really about it." He nodded. "You wanna make good friends with him, bring a handful of ants next time!" He flew off of her shoulder then and hovered in front of her face again, his face just all bafflement. "I'm a windling, of course! Goodness gracious, this must be a terrible world if you've never heard of a windling!"
"A windling.... I can't say I have, you're the first I've ever met. That doesn't mean there aren't more around, but maybe not from where I am from in Bryony. I'm here to see my sister, I don't live here. At least not yet." She snickered watching him slurp up the ants and gave a nod. "I'll remember that. Ants and termites huh?" She tugged out her waterskin and opened it, and washed the bread she'd been eating down, then offered him the waterskin. She'd hold it for him to make sure only a few drops came out, no sense drowning him, if he wanted water that is. "It's a fine world, really, though it's obvious you've been magicked here from some other place. So, I think you should stay near me until you get used to this place. Cause there's a lot of terrible creatures here that would just as soon stomp on you as look at you." She grinned and reached out, tugging on one of his bare feet. "You're far too cute to become a stain under someone's boot."
"Oh! And aardvark cucumber, but you probably won't find any of that unless I brought some with me, if you don't have aardvarks!" He flew around in a litle loop, then spotted the waterskin and swooped in to take a drink! A few drops would be plenty. "Thanks, Vi! ViViViViViViViViVi!" He let out a little laugh and went back to looping and flying about randomly, but he was listening, because he came to a halt when she mentioned terrible creatures. "......oh no! Well anyone that tried to stomp on me would get this in their stupid grounder foot!" Said as he drew his needle and brandished it, then he let out a yelp when she tugged on his foot and scrambled way, moving over to land on Duwell's back, causing the aardvark to let out a displeased little squeal, but it soon went back to eating up those ants he'd found. "They'd also have to be pretty tall, since I could just fly way above them."
"Well, I just have never seen one before. What sort of area do they live in? Cold forests, warm forests, deserts, mountains, jungle?" She grinned, he was rambunctious good lord. But she didn't mind, oddly enough. "That looks like a needle. I could make you a real sword or something I bet. It might be hard but I'm a weapon maker. I could sew you some armor too! Aww it would be like when I used to make clothes for my dollies." She wiggled her toes and leaned her head against the tree, in thought for a moment, then lifted her head. "There are really tall things here. Like giants."
"It's my lance! It's also a needle though, I stole it off of a grounder who had about ten thousand of the silly things. A proper weapon would be good, maybe a really pointy stick, or a sharp rock stuck on the end! I really don't like this metal very much, but it's all I got." He shrugged, and stuck the needle back down into his belt, lying back on Duwell and giving him a scratching at the base of one of those long ears of his. "I can sew my own armor though! Well..clothes, really. But if you put enough of them together it's almost like armor, right? I'm not a dollie though! And you'd have to know how to make it fit with my wings there. And I can fly higher than giants! They're tall, but they're still just grounders. And they're so slow! You can fly around 'em fast enough that they get dizzy and fall down. Well...you can't."
"Could do a pointy stick, or make it like a small arrow with a rock at the end sharp enough to hurt things. Well it will do, I doubt anyone likes to be poked by a needle." She wiggled her fingers and chewed on her bottom lip a moment. "I've poked my fingers plenty." She grinned hearing he could sew, "Well aren't you just the most resourceful windling ever. And I know you're not a dollie, but you're about the size of some of mine. But, I don't play with dollies anymore. I'm far too old for such things." She tilted her head up just a little, and then took another drink of water. "No, no I can't do that. But I can slam my fist into them in the right spot and make them unable to do anything else for several minutes. I'm a monk. Well, trying to learn to be one."
"I usually don't fight giants, I just talk to them, and if they get all annoyed then I fly around til they don't know what's going on anymore and escape. Sometimes I can make friends with them though!" He nodded, then hopped off of Duwell and into the air again to fly around a little, thinking on what she'd said. "I made clothes for most of my friends back home! If you poke your fingers, you're not doing it right." He said that last bit very solemnly, as if he believed she really didn't know that already! He zipped over suddenly! "WEEEE!" And then he plopped onto her shoulder again, kicking his feet around, thumping them against her arm, but not enough to hurt of course. "I think if you punched me you'd just send me flying."
"Some giants aren't all that terrible. Sometimes you can trade things with them." She watched him fly around as she rested against the tree, then smirked at his proclamation. "Yes, I am aware." Then he was on her shoulder again, acting all crazy. She laughed and gave him a poke in the tummy. "I'm not just a monk though, I'm an arcane monk. I could make a magic cage to hold you and what would you do then, little mister?"
"Bust my way out of it, of course." He snorted, as if that had been obvious all along! "Or get Duwell to claw you up somethin' fierce!" He gave her finger a swat with his tiny hands after that poke, then hopped off her shoulder and landed on his feet with a little grunt, stretching out some. "Are there any other small people around here? I'll get a crick in my neck or wear out my wings if you're all tall!" He got such a worried look on his face when he said that last part, one might think he was deathly afraid of it! He was leaning back a little to stare up at her face, too.
"Ha, of course, bust your way out. No getting Duwell to claw me up, I would rather not have aardvark wounds. Or really any wounds." She watched him, then shrugged. "Yeah, there's lots of faeries around that are about your size. Maybe a wee bit smaller. And when I went messing around the forges yesterday I saw a little creature just about your same height. She was a pretty little thing, but I could have sworn she was a doll. But no, she was walking and talking. Maybe I could help you find her and you could have a friend your own size even if she is an animated dollie."
"Well then don't lock me up, silly!" That was of course the most obvious solution. He looked over to Duwell and scowled, then stepped over and gave him a nudge in the side. "Hey, you silly beast. If you eat all the ants, what are you gonna eat tomorrow, hm?" Duwell let out an unhappy grunt, but then walked away from the little anthill he'd excavated and flopped down onto his side, curling up. Wibbels looked back to his new friend then and nodded! "Yeah! That would be soooooooooooooo nice of you. A pretty little doll person, hm? Could be trouble, she might not be able to resist my charm! Faeries I can probably find on my own, but I don't know anything about finding people in forges, or cities."
"I won't!" She held her hands up, and furrowed her brow. But seeing the aardvark flop over like that brought a string of giggles from Viola. She pulled her eyes away to look back to her new windling friend. "I don't mind at all. I very much doubt she will be able to resist your charm. If you come into the city with me, I can take you to the forge tomorrow and we can find the little lady."
He fidgeted a little, frowning and thinking on going into the city, but after a while he nodded. "Okay, as long as I can ride on your shoulder, or your head, or something. I don't go into cities very much. Silly grounder things, they could have so much grass if they got rid of them! Oh! You asked where aardvarks live! They live in hot grassy areas." Nod.
"Oooh, I've never been to hot grassy areas, that's probably why I've never seen them. And yes, you can ride on my shoulder but not on my head... that would look way too silly for one thing. I have a room at an inne, well I'm sure we could sneak your beasty up there too unless he ...she... would be happy in the stables."
"Pffft I'd be the most fashionable hat you have ever, or will ever wear." He grinned, then looked to Duwell, who was already asleep. "Nah, he'll be okay here. Unless it's a pretty sorry inne, he won't have much food around there anyway. I'll find him later!" He flitted up into the air again, then zoomed on over and plopped down on her shoulder once more.
Well that sounded like it was time to move, so she shoved her things into her bag and rose upwards, letting him sit on her shoulder. She put her bag over her other shoulder, and tugged down one of her braids that encircled her head and handed it to him. "There, hold on." Then she headed back through the forest towards Navahla. She wasn't too far out, already they could see the country manors outside the city and the big lane that led right through the gate. And the bustling city within. "I like the mountains, and the ocean most." She said, out of nowhere, just because.
"Weee!" It was fun to sit on someone's shoulder when they stood up! Almost felt like flying, but not quite. He grabbed onto the braid when she offered it and wrapped it around one hand so he wouldn't drop it. He grabbed on a little tighter as they got closer to the city, but he made sure he wasn't pulling on her hair, at least! "Mountains would make my skin look all rocky, but they're fun to go to. I've only been to big lakes, I haven't seen an ocean before. It's not scary?"
"Your skin changes like a chameleon? That's pretty interesting. Lets you blend in I guess?" She kept on walking, hopping over fallen logs and just being quite carefree as she finally reached the lane and the gates of the city were before them. She walked through, not even giving a second glance to the knights there, and made a turn to head towards the inne. "I suppose the ocean would be scary to someone that wasn't prepared but my mother is a sea nymph...I love the sea. It's in my blood. It's a whole other world beneath the waves just like above ground. Cities, meadows, mountains - everything."
"Yep! It takes a few days though. That's why I'm all green and brown right now, but not the right kind of green and brown!" He swung his legs a bit while she walked, looking around, eyes a little wide at all the huge buildings, and the silly grounders in their heavy metal clothes. Not that he'd never seen heavy armor before, he just wasn't sure what the point of it was! It was easier to just not get hit, wasn't it? "Ooo, is that why you smell so good? He tugged her braid to his face and sniffed at it again.
"Oh. Well it will be fun to see what you change into next." She skipped along then, darting around people and hopping over puddles until the inne came into view. It was a big place too! She headed for the main door and into the tap room. She was new so she really didn't know many people, just her sister and Kythin, and there had been a drow ogling her. "Yep. If you think I smell good, you should smell my mother. She smells all fresh like the wind across the ocean, it makes you just want to smile and be happy. Sometimes people like my scent too much and they bother me." She shrugged and shook her head. "I'm used to it by now."
"If I stay put where you found me, I'll probably just look the same as I do now, but different shades so I match better. Or I could go somewhere snowy and turn alllll white. Or somewhere sandy and get all yellowy. I dunno what the ocean would make me. Probably blueish." He shrugged as well. "And sometimes I talk too much and it bothers people! You'll probably get bothered by my real quick if you smell good and I talk your ears off!" He gave a little poke of a finger to her earlobe, then hopped off her shoulder and onto the bar, looking over at the bottles. "Wow, lookit all these big grounder drinks!"
"Maybe a nice blue-green. But the sand can be different colors too. Some beaches are beautiful white sand, some are yellowish, and some are black, white and grey pebbles with the sand under it." she slid onto a seat at the bar and folded her arms in front of her. "I like having someone to talk to. I don't think you will bother me, but if you do I will let you know. I don't see any reason to pretend." She shrugged and then lay her cheek against her folded arms. "You drink alcohol?"
"Ahhh, that all sounds neat! Maybe you should take me to see one someday, I bet I'll feel safe with you there. And if I lay on the sand for a few days I can turn that color!" He grinned, liking the idea of being a new color! He could switch to a color none of his friends had seen before, and if he figured out how to get back home he could show 'em! "Pretend? Pretending can be fun! But only when it's not hurtful. And I drink windling drinks! Not big grounder alcohol, it'd probably make me all stupid with just a sip."
"A few days?" She had to snicker at that, and lifted her head from her arms and stretched ,then yawned. "Pretending can be fun but not when it is more like lying. Unless there is a really good reason for lying, in that case that's ok!" She winked at him and then pointed to the stairs. "Well, do you want me to find you something more to eat and a drink like hot tea or lemonade or something? Or would you like to come and see my room? I'm getting tired so I need to sleep a little bit, if you don't mind. There's lots of room in my bed if you want to sleep too."
"Whaaaat? More to eat?" he patted his thin self right on the belly and shook his head. "I couldn't believe you gave me so much bread earlier, I about stuffed myself to bursting! And I had plenty of water, too. I can always come down by myself and sneak something if I get thirsty later. I wanna see your room! I wanna see your room!" He hopped off the bar and flew around in a quick little figure 8, and almost flew straight into the ceiling. "AHH!" He dropped, turned it into a dive, then swooped just above the ground and back up to rest on her shoulder. "I'm used to having more room, ha!"
"Oh dear. No stuffing to bursting, little friend." She nodded, he certainly could come snoop around. Up she went, when he said he wanted to see her room and she grabbed her bag again and watched him be all crazy with a giggle, then when he settled on her shoulder she went towards the stairs and took them two at a time. "Hang on!" Up she went hopping the stairs, and then she skipped down to her room and tugged a key out of one of the small pockets on her dress and unlocked it, then stepped inside. It was a basic room, with it's own small bathroom, a full size bed, a dresser, a desk and chair, and a nice comfy chair near the fireplace. Nothing special as far as inne rooms in this inne went, one of the cheap rooms. But the bed looked comfy and it was clean. "Here we are. My room."
"WEEEEEEE!!!!" He did like riding on her shoulder when she bounded up the stairs and skipped. She was pretty fun for a big wingless person! He flitted about her room once they got in there and he took some time to snoop about and see what was what, eventually moving to settle on the armrest of the comfy chair, stretching out some. "Hmm, maybe I should take a nap too! Hopefully you don't snore, and hopefully I don't either!"
"I don't think I do." She grabbed a nightgown and stepped into the bathroom for several minutes, and soon came out cleaned up, her hair in a braid, and wearing a white nightie. She moved over to where he'd stretched out on the arm and smiled down to him and gave him a little affectionate pet with her fingertip against his side. She had grabbed a handkerchief on her way over ,and put it over him. It smelled nice, like her. "Sleep well." She headed over to her bed and got under the covers and curled up on her side, where she could watch him until she fell asleep.
He was practically asleep by the time she came out of the bathroom! All curled up on his side so he wouldn't get his wings all bendy. He stirred a little when she gave him the little pet, then pulled the handkerchief around him a bit more, mumbling something in Windling, but even another of his kind would be able to understand it very easily, and then he was off in dreamland!