A Fae, a Mage and a...What is That Thing!?

[Lasair Anubail]

((Closed))


She felt the wind pass through the long strands of her bright red and golden hair. She even felt a few of the strands pulled from their very roots as they caught in the piece of wood that narrowing missed her skull. Instead of hitting her though, the large wooden club smashed into the trunk of the tree beside her. A showering of bark fell down all around her, catching in her hair and scraping across her sensitive skin.

“Honestly, can’t we work this out?”

Her golden eyes looked up at the large creature before her. A mammoth of a being, it was easily over seven feet tall, a little on the hairy side and very, very angry looking. But she couldn’t figure out for the life of her why. She hadn’t done anything to it, she’d simply been taking a quick little stroll in the woods and all of a sudden bam! He pops out of nowhere and decides he wants to kill her. But there had to be a better solution to ending this than her dying. That just wasn’t right.

The thing before her didn’t appear to be listening to her though. One well muscled arm easily bigger than her waist bulged as he pulled his weapon free from the large dent now in the tree. Grunting and growling in a language she couldn’t comprehend he swung at her again. Her bare feet dug into the decaying leaves and twigs on the ground, propelling her forward into a free fall on her stomach. Whimpering at having landed so roughly on the ground, she quickly scrambled to her feet and turned back to the beast.

“Violence isn’t the answer!”

She ducked down under another blow and tried to run around the creature, but he simply turned around and once against tried to smash her with his giant stick. It barely missed one of her wings.

“If you cut off negotiations it can only lead to war!”

Yet there appeared to be nothing else going through his mind. What was she going to do? She didn’t know how to fight…but Tristram did!

“Tristram!”

The top flap of her Never-Ending Rucksack popped open and out came an eight-inch perfect miniature of her friend, Tristram, even right down to the Draconian scale detail in the wings. In his tiny hands, one of which was like a dragon’s claw, he proudly held a spear as if expecting to rid the world of all evils with it. Her brave little Tristram. Without needing any commands, the tiny version of her best friend spread his wings and took off into the air towards the creature. His small stature made him much more manoeuvrable compared to the bulky form of the beast. Even as he swung his large piece of wood at the plushie, he was able to easily weave in and out of it. Barely anyone could compare to a Draconian in flight. Using his spear, Tristram ducked under another blow and then sped towards the creature’s ugly face, stabbing him in the eye with tip.

The beast roared and cried out in his pain and Lasair couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He may be some kind of beast, but that didn’t mean he deserved to be in pain and it was now her fault that he was.

“Tristram, enough.”

But her little plushie didn’t listen to her, not surprisingly as Tristram rarely listened to her anyway.

Instead he charged right back into battle. It was useless though. His little spear was only angering the creature more, creating small cuts here and there but never anything that was helping either of them.

“Tristram, stop!” But he didn’t.

Instead her little friend was crushed against a blow by the creature sending his small body flying backwards and into a tree.

“Tristram!!!” Her scream echoed in the silence of the forest.

He fell to the forest floor without moving.

Hearing the sound of large feet crunching against dried feet, Lasair turned back to the creature with tears in her eyes and a heart fluttering in the cage of her chest. Her small hands, wiped away the moisture around her eyes as she slowly backed away from the creature. Once again he brandished his weapon at her. A stick, it was nothing more than a piece of wood. He bought it up over his head and brought it down towards her as if to squash her like a little bug. At the last second she rolled out of the way. Before she could stand up though, an incredible pain exploded across her back and one of her wings as the wood was slammed against her. She went flying three feet into a nearby tree. Smashing her shoulder and the side of her head off it before landing on the ground. A tear in her left wing was already beginning to leak silver blood over her dark red dress.

[Tshael]

Tshael had not been looking for a faerie in Concordia, nor had she been expecting to run into a troll. Coming home from Dheathain was personal for her, a walk through Concordia to help her remember the humid rain forests all the better. She'd wanted to be accompanied by the half-shadowed wolves and darting avian watchers of her homeland, not someone's terrified shouts. Her best intentions, however, were never the ones that were most apt to come to pass. Sure enough, the sounds of an attack were nearby, and her hooved legs flew through the thin underbrush - so easily passed through compared to the rolling tangle of Dheathain!

When she came to face Lasair, her eyes saw the spattered silver blood, the advancing troll, and knew what must be done. Magic came so easily to her here, close to where she'd been birthed. Flowers nearby rolled themselves back in the bud, as if they felt the mage's anger and did not want to see what she had in store. Her fingers and mind worked fast, and as the troll began to run towards the woman again, Tshael breathed inwards, and released the web of earthen thread she'd created in her mind.

Sheer rock came hurtling up, throwing chunks of smaller stone and mud in a random circle. A wall of rock moved upwards, and the troll slammed into it, adding it's fall to the vibration that rocked the earth around the small clearing. Before the beast could manage to rock back into a crouch, thick vines dropped from a nearby tree like serpents, danging for a moment until they stretched out, snapping and twisting around the thing's limbs. It roared angrily, but found that it's bindings were too thick to struggle free from. Exhausted, wailing piteously like a child, it was born to the ground, held by it's living prison that came from the forest and grew ever thicker around it.

Tshael, from her place, walked over to the fae woman, stooping to retrieve the small winged ...toy? For a moment, golden eyes regarded Tristram with interest and curiousity. It was much like the little pet she'd made of crystal and scale in that hot, wet place, but somehow more intricate and amazing than the little whelpling. Love was put into this, and for the first time, she took a good look at the winged woman.

"Aileen" she asked quietly. This wa the woman who had helped her to form her whelpling, but how had she gotten here so quickly? Tshael had made the utmost haste in her journey back home. There was also a thinning, if Tshael could remember correctly, in the body, but it had been a mere week since last Tshael had seen her. "Have you been ill?"

Behind them, the troll grunted and roared again, and Tshael moved to help her up, handing over the unconscious Tristram plushie as she did. "We have a need to talk and move at once." she said as she began to lead the injured fae from the copse and deeper into the forest.

[Lasair Anubail]

A-Aileen?

Confusion ran rampant in the already fuddled mind of the Fae. Her thoughts were scattered and she couldn’t properly focus on anything expect the pain radiating from her wing. It hurt so much. She’d never felt anything like it before and it made it hard to concentrate on anything else but the pain. She didn’t even know what had happened. There was a beast thing and Tristram had been hurt and then she thought she heard someone else, but she couldn’t be perfectly sure. The next thing she knew some strange woman was helping her up and handing over Tristram to her. She could see the cotton stuffing coming out of his body in several areas where the material was ripped. She would have to sow it later, but not right now. She couldn’t.

Whimpering, Lasair allowed the woman to lead her away from the beast that had so viciously attacked her and deeper into the woods. His cries to free himself made her heart skip a beat and her one good wing flutter in fear. She wanted to transform, she wanted to be small but she kept the urge at bay. Why had such a thing attacked her? She’d never done anything to hurt him. There wasn’t any need for it.

After a few minutes the cries vanished into the lush surroundings, swallowed by the vibrant trees and the calls of birds and other animals. It was like Luthmor but so much different. Deep in the forest, the stranger showed Lasair to a log long ago fallen over and covered in a soft green moss. She thankfully sat. She didn’t want to move anymore, but she raised her head and looked at the woman before her, a woman with the legs of a horse? Curiosity almost overrode her pain, but she decided to ask her questions later.

“Y-you…know my sister Aileen?”

While Lasair was away from Dheathain, Aileen had agreed to take over her Synthesis Shop while also managing the Crystal Manipulation Shop. It was a lot of work and she thanked her sister greatly for it, especially considering she wasn’t that great when it came to synthesizing. She could easily make items Lasair had already prepared and had a list for, but making new things was difficult for her. Her abilities lay more in Crystal manipulation.

The pain was cutting into her thoughts again, reminding Lasair that she needed to heal her wounded wing. She could already feel her dress clinging to her back, soaked by her blood. Fae could easily bleed to death when their wings were injured due to all the blood that flowed through them.

“Avery…”

An eight-inch version of a man wearing only a pair of leather pants and two steel daggers on the belt emerged from the depths of her Never-Ending Rucksack. With his one wing, he flew around to the front of her and hovered in the air before her.

“Put Tristram somewhere safe and get me my Wound be Gone, please.”

The plushie did as she asked and flew down to her hand, picking up the unconscious doll from the grip of her tiny fingers. Then he flew around back to her rucksack once more. After a few seconds, he emerged again, this time carrying a large vial that was almost the same size as him. He had to use both his arms to completely wrap around the vial and hold on to it lest he drop it. With a bit of a struggle, he managed to fly with the vial over to Lasair and drop it in her hand.

“Thank you.”

Avery took that as his cue to return to her rucksack once more.

“Could you…” Lasair looked up at the woman with horse legs, “please apply half of this to my wound?”

[Tshael]

Tshael took the potion from the fae, leaning down to apply it to the gossamer wings. As she poured the liquid carefully along the tear, the silver came less thickly, and she could feel a warmth beneath her fingertips as the edges began to fuse back together. Handing the vial back, Tshael took a good look at the little plushie that was peeking out from underneath the flap of the rucksack, her suspicions confirmed as the chagrin spread along her lips.

"You seem to know my nephew, Avery, Miss ... ?" She asked, her voice lilting upward with the question.

The simple fact that the fae knew of the King of the Beauty was a little strange. Tshael had never known the boy, who must surely be a man by now, to leave the sanctuary of the hidden Concordian city. Had he really gone all the way to the rainforest continent? It was intriguing to the Dranak, amazing really. Then again, it was this girl's sister that Tshael had seen. If this woman spent much time within the confines of the forest, maybe Avery had happened upon her one day in his prowlings of his kingdom. Surely he'd seduced her, after all, she didn't look like the kind of woman who would seek the Moontae out.

And her version of Avery wore pants.

[Lasair Anubail]

Her wing was already starting to feel better, the effects of her healing potion working very quickly. The wound was slowly sealing itself back up as it stopped the flow of her blood. The pain drifted away as well. If only her mind would focus a little more easily. The knock to her head had rattled her brain and she was having a hard time thinking straight even with the pain gone. Perhaps it would fade with time and little bit of rest.

“You’re Avery’s aunt!? But he doesn’t have horse legs; he has wings…well oddly enough only one wing. And it’s not even a normal wing, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before!” She was beginning to rant a bit here. “Why do you have horse legs? Were you born like that? Is it natural? Can I touch them?”

The little Fae had completely forgotten about the fact that the horse legged woman had wanted to know her name and the possible way she had come to know her supposed nephew. Her myriad of questions came flying from her mouth instead of explanations. But her fast moving mind quickly reminded her of the fact that she had asked her something. If it didn’t she would have sat there waiting for an explanation instead of continuing to talk without giving the woman a chance to answer.

“Oh, my name’s Lasair Anubail, Aileen is my twin sister and she’s running my Synthesis Shop while I’m off exploring the world!” She stood up from her sitting position on the log while she said that. Her face held high and her hands in front of her, tightly clenched into fists as if to show her determination to see what Althanas had to give to her. Besides a troll hell bound on killing her. But she’d already forgotten about that. She was safe and it was in the past. It couldn’t hurt her anymore.

“And yes, if Avery Nito is your nephew, than I know him! He came into my shop around three or four weeks ago, just before I left. He needed a fertility crystal for some reason. I couldn’t imagine why he’d want one of those with what he had, but he wanted one none the less.” She hands lowered from her sides as she looked up at the tall woman, smiling. “I needed some of his blood to make the crystal, so while I was at it, I made a plushie of him too because I liked him a lot. But don’t let him know because I didn’t tell him I used it and he might get angry.”

She giggled and winked at the woman. “How do you know my sister, miss horse lady?”

[Tshael]

"I met your sister at your shop," Tshael explained as she led Lasair farther from the troll. She could feel the vines crackling as he was breaking free, and if the day ended with him only taking his frustration out on the vines, trees and stones around him, it would be a good day. "I had my own business to take care of there recently, much like my adopted nephew."

The forest was beginning to take up it's normal sounds, birds calling and insects chirruping in the canopies. It was lighter than what weighed on her now, the knowledge of just why she came home. It wasn't just to feel better from her ordeal in Dheathain. As they moved deeper into the forest, she could feel it, pulsing somewhere within. She was moving closer to the place where she'd lost her son, and Fate was coming quickly for her. She paused as they passed a thin babbling brook, and turned to Lasair.

"I've a need to walk beyond these lands. I will be adventuring into hell itself, and I have to admit that I don't want to walk alone. If you go with me farther than this stream, continue with me into the forest, I can't guarantee that you'll come back alive." She paused, steeling herself for the next step that took her onto a small rocky walkway that crossed the stream. "When we get to the altar, I don't know what we'll find."

[Lasair Anubail]

A lot of what the woman said made little to no sense to the Fae. She had no idea what Hell was or why the woman could not guarantee her safety passed such a tiny little stream. It didn’t look very dangerous on the other side. In fact it looked rather peaceful. There were more trees just like there were here and though they cast dark shadows upon the ground, there seemed nothing different or special about them. Indeed they looked like every other part of Concordia she had seen so far. But the woman had already stated she didn’t want to go alone, so why wouldn’t Lasair go with her? She had saved her life when that nasty, smelly beast of a thing had decided she looked like something fun to smack around with a stick. She owed it to her in a way and Lasair wasn’t one to have things owing to others. Well, she didn’t think she was anyway. She couldn’t remember owing anyone anything.

Shrugging, the tiny Fae followed step behind the woman and joined her on the rocky path. Nothing seemed to happen. She didn’t die that was for sure; for she could still feel the air she was breathing. Oh, and there was no pain. Death was painful and since she felt fine she must still be alive. Perhaps the woman was being a little over-imaginative.

“I know what it’s like to not want to go places alone.” Lasair said to her with a large smile. “That’s why I created my plushies. They’re always with me and they always keep me company so that I may never be alone. Though it’s not the same as having the real person with you, they are still alive and they feel, talk and well, generally act as their real selves.”

Mentioning her plushies reminded Lasair that she would have to fix Tristram soon. He was probably still unconscious and he would probably remain that way until she was able to repair the damage done to him. Right now didn’t seem like the appropriate time though. Perhaps later on today when they stopped for rest or when they set up tent for the night. That sounded much better.

Taking a few steps forward, the Fae walked by the horse-lady and then turned back to her, “What exactly is hell? Is it a town that you must go to? And what do they worship at their altar?”

The Draconians had altars that they worshipped their Gods at. Perhaps she would be going to hell to give worship to one of her Gods and the trials would be long and hard, which was why she didn’t want to go by herself.