Nayeli
03-14-10, 12:36 PM
Closed to Izvilvin!
It all started with a squirrel. The squirrel talked. It said: “Hey! Trouble! Danger!”
Nayeli crouched down and looked into the little animal’s beady eyes. It looked terrified, but then again, squirrels always do. “What’s wrong, Ahanu?” she asked.
The squirrel scampered back and forth, and chewed on its paw nervously. “Stranger! Elf! In the forest!”
“There’re a lot of elves in this forest,” Nayeli said patiently.
“Yes, yes, but this one was different! He had black skin! White hair! Danger!”
The squirrel was giving her a headache. “Alright, alright. I’ll keep an eye out, okay?”
“Oh, there’s another thing too, yep, there is. The Queen is very unhappy, she is. She says there’s big trouble coming for all of us.”
“What queen?” Nayeli asked, genuinely curious.
“The Squirrel Queen!” Ahanu said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. “But I can’t tell you anymore. Can I have an acorn please?”
Nayeli pulled an acorn out of her pocket and fed it to the little guy. He scurried off without a goodbye. Nayeli stood up and shook her head. Whatever magic had given that squirrel the gift of speech had given the Innari tribes of the Great Forest a mixed blessing. Ahanu made a great spy, and he only needed to be fed a few acorns as payment, but he was a bundle of nerves. Most small mammals were; it came from being chased around by things trying to eat you all the time.
She did wonder what he had seen that scared him so much. An elf with black skin and white hair? She’d heard legends of the Drow, but surely one couldn’t be on Scara Brae. And what could that business about a Queen of Squirrels possibly mean? It was a laughable idea. She pondered it as she walked along the path of her patrol, but could come with no answer. She would keep her eyes open.
It wasn’t long before she was interrupted by a second talking animal: this time a bluejay.
“I hope you’ll be back for dinner, Nayeli,” the bluejay said.
Nayeli sighed. The squirrel had been much cuter. “I’ll be back as soon as I finish my patrol, mother.”
The bird looked at her sternly. “I don’t like how your father gives you these pointless jobs. You’d be better off at home, working around the house and finding yourself a husband.”
And what could I possibly want with a husband? Nayeli thought, but for once she bit her tongue. “I’ll be home soon. Ahanu told me he spotted a strange elf passing through this area; I’d like to see if I can spot him.”
“Fine. Just don’t get into trouble,” Nayeli’s mother said, and with that the glint of intelligence disappeared from the bluejay’s eyes, and it fluttered off into the air. It was rather irritating how her mother couldn’t let her go so much as a few hours without possessing some little creature to check on her with. Wouldn’t a powerful shaman have something better to do than piggyback on the minds of birds?
She didn’t let it get on her nerves too much. It was a beautiful fall day—the kind that only comes once or twice a year. The crisp air chilled her face and hands, but her fur-lined clothes kept her warm enough. She basked in the golden light and marveled at the fiery reds and oranges of the leaves around her. The area of her patrol was safe and calm, and so she strolled leisurely through the woods. What she’d told her mother about the elf was partially true—she was interested in the elf Ahanu had seen—but mostly she just wanted to enjoy the day while it lasted.
The path she took crossed an eastward road that passed through the forest towards the City of Scara Brae. It wasn’t used much anymore, but if she sat by it she would have some pretense of working, rather than just lazing about. She shimmied up a crabapple tree and sat amidst its branches, facing the road. She chewed up a crabapple and swallowed it almost whole, hardly paying attention to the bitter flavor. After a short while of sitting in the tree, she found her eyes beginning to droop, and it wasn’t long before she dozed off.
A squirrel came by and stared at her. It cocked its head at the young Innari girl that was now sitting in its home, and then scurried off.
Nayeli awoke after only half an hour, when she heard someone approaching in the distance. She sat up bolt upright, and listened closely. She had large ears, even for an Innari (the people who humans sometimes call goblins), and she could discern that it was a single man or woman on foot, walking to the east—in the direction of the city. Could it be the strange elf that Ahanu had told her about? If so, maybe her patrol duties weren’t wasted at all. She didn’t trust elves further than she could throw them, it might mean trouble. She pulled her bow from her back and loosely notched an arrow…just in case.
Careful to be silent, she peered at the path ahead of her and waited for the walking figure to arrive.
It all started with a squirrel. The squirrel talked. It said: “Hey! Trouble! Danger!”
Nayeli crouched down and looked into the little animal’s beady eyes. It looked terrified, but then again, squirrels always do. “What’s wrong, Ahanu?” she asked.
The squirrel scampered back and forth, and chewed on its paw nervously. “Stranger! Elf! In the forest!”
“There’re a lot of elves in this forest,” Nayeli said patiently.
“Yes, yes, but this one was different! He had black skin! White hair! Danger!”
The squirrel was giving her a headache. “Alright, alright. I’ll keep an eye out, okay?”
“Oh, there’s another thing too, yep, there is. The Queen is very unhappy, she is. She says there’s big trouble coming for all of us.”
“What queen?” Nayeli asked, genuinely curious.
“The Squirrel Queen!” Ahanu said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. “But I can’t tell you anymore. Can I have an acorn please?”
Nayeli pulled an acorn out of her pocket and fed it to the little guy. He scurried off without a goodbye. Nayeli stood up and shook her head. Whatever magic had given that squirrel the gift of speech had given the Innari tribes of the Great Forest a mixed blessing. Ahanu made a great spy, and he only needed to be fed a few acorns as payment, but he was a bundle of nerves. Most small mammals were; it came from being chased around by things trying to eat you all the time.
She did wonder what he had seen that scared him so much. An elf with black skin and white hair? She’d heard legends of the Drow, but surely one couldn’t be on Scara Brae. And what could that business about a Queen of Squirrels possibly mean? It was a laughable idea. She pondered it as she walked along the path of her patrol, but could come with no answer. She would keep her eyes open.
It wasn’t long before she was interrupted by a second talking animal: this time a bluejay.
“I hope you’ll be back for dinner, Nayeli,” the bluejay said.
Nayeli sighed. The squirrel had been much cuter. “I’ll be back as soon as I finish my patrol, mother.”
The bird looked at her sternly. “I don’t like how your father gives you these pointless jobs. You’d be better off at home, working around the house and finding yourself a husband.”
And what could I possibly want with a husband? Nayeli thought, but for once she bit her tongue. “I’ll be home soon. Ahanu told me he spotted a strange elf passing through this area; I’d like to see if I can spot him.”
“Fine. Just don’t get into trouble,” Nayeli’s mother said, and with that the glint of intelligence disappeared from the bluejay’s eyes, and it fluttered off into the air. It was rather irritating how her mother couldn’t let her go so much as a few hours without possessing some little creature to check on her with. Wouldn’t a powerful shaman have something better to do than piggyback on the minds of birds?
She didn’t let it get on her nerves too much. It was a beautiful fall day—the kind that only comes once or twice a year. The crisp air chilled her face and hands, but her fur-lined clothes kept her warm enough. She basked in the golden light and marveled at the fiery reds and oranges of the leaves around her. The area of her patrol was safe and calm, and so she strolled leisurely through the woods. What she’d told her mother about the elf was partially true—she was interested in the elf Ahanu had seen—but mostly she just wanted to enjoy the day while it lasted.
The path she took crossed an eastward road that passed through the forest towards the City of Scara Brae. It wasn’t used much anymore, but if she sat by it she would have some pretense of working, rather than just lazing about. She shimmied up a crabapple tree and sat amidst its branches, facing the road. She chewed up a crabapple and swallowed it almost whole, hardly paying attention to the bitter flavor. After a short while of sitting in the tree, she found her eyes beginning to droop, and it wasn’t long before she dozed off.
A squirrel came by and stared at her. It cocked its head at the young Innari girl that was now sitting in its home, and then scurried off.
Nayeli awoke after only half an hour, when she heard someone approaching in the distance. She sat up bolt upright, and listened closely. She had large ears, even for an Innari (the people who humans sometimes call goblins), and she could discern that it was a single man or woman on foot, walking to the east—in the direction of the city. Could it be the strange elf that Ahanu had told her about? If so, maybe her patrol duties weren’t wasted at all. She didn’t trust elves further than she could throw them, it might mean trouble. She pulled her bow from her back and loosely notched an arrow…just in case.
Careful to be silent, she peered at the path ahead of her and waited for the walking figure to arrive.