Fae Conundrum

[Yvonne]

Felicity seemed to be distracted a moment, preoccupied with her thoughts. Hopping down from the roof-top took a while but soon enough Yvonne had the neanderthal’s go ahead to do so. She jumped and, as the strong woman caught the dwarven hybrid, Felicity’s arms seemed weaker than when they’d thrown her onto the roof in the first place.

Yvonne looked at her friend with concern and confusion. Suddenly I be more than ye can bear? What be tha matter? The neanderthal warrior hastily averted her eyes and changed the subject, before her well-being became the subject.

Still worked up from giving her speech to the Dheathainian people, the half-and-halfling glowered. I thought we be doing so well, talking our feelings through. Why go back? Achromatic eyes turned on Shaseth, their drakari guide, who answered Felicity’s question before she could. Well, we not be alone any more. That must be it. Mayhap we can revisit this later.

“If we knew where to find the vandal, we would have dealt with them ourselves,” Shaseth answered. “We don’t know where they’re hiding, who they are or how many among their number. We have a few opinions, but… well, better to avoid wild goose chases,” the scale said, deciding on restraint. Shaking his head and walking on, through the crowd, he beckoned that they follow.

“Come, I will show you to my home. You can both see the damage for yourselves and draw your own conclusions.”

~~~

Cold timber walls surrounded the trio as they stepped inside the drakarian hovel. Thatched roofing loomed overhead, made of straw, packed tightly together and secured with cord. Thatch couldn’t be the ideal roofing solution in a tropical rainforest as it currently dripped water to the floor below. Animal skins decorated the flooring, draped over chairs and hung like curtains in doorways.

Shaseth’s family huddled around a dancing, luminous campfire at the heart of the main room. It warmed their home passably, but hissed occasionally as drops of water fizzled into vapour at flame’s touch. His drakari mate arose from beside the fire and their forlorn children, to welcome him home and to embrace him. The children lingered near the warmth, barely looking up at their father or the new arrivals.

“Hello beloved. These are the two of which you spoke earlier?” she questioned with a hint of suspicion.

“Yes, these ones confronted Zrazire. They have come to aid us once more, in the search for the vandal. Such is their generosity,” Shaseth explained, speaking highly of them.

“Who will fix our roof? Who will replace our windows?” his wife prompted, an edge to her voice and worry for her children creasing her brow.

“Everything will be fine soon, dearest. You will see. They will find the vandal and put an end to all of these problems,” the drakari husband stated.

“I do not want to hear anything more about vandals!” Shaseth’s wife declared. “I am thinking of our cubs, our home and so should you!”

“Of course I think of our cubs. I think of our home and the homes of our neighbours, Shaseth insisted. “The culprit needs to be caught so we can all carry on.”

Yvonne smoothly intervened before their argument spiraled out of hand.

“Mayhap we might see these windows? See if there be something we can do?” Yvonne asked gently, seeking permission from their guide’s wife. Shaseth needed no further convincing.

The lady drakari huffed, sighing. “You may as well,” she said, resigned. She turned and walked to an adjoining archway where she parted the animal skin curtain for them, looking back. Yvonne followed with Felicity close behind, however one of Shaseth’s sorrowful children stepped in between them and looked up at Felicity with wide, snake-like eyes.

The neanderthal hybrid stopped to give the little drakari girl before her a moment of her time. Yvonne looked over her shoulder and listened, waiting patiently. The drakeling wore her dark brown hair in dread-lock pigtails, her face almost entirely covered in emerald scales save her mouth and chin. She stared into the teenager’s eyes without blinking, her lower lip and chin quivering as though she wanted to say something, but didn’t know that she should. On the verge of tears, she gestured with an infantile claw for the redheaded hybrid to come closer.

Felicity knelt down and met the little one on her level, giving the drakari cub a reassuring smile. “W-w-what’s the matter, sweetheart?”

The little drake girl pouted, looked down. “Will you fix our--” she started, but her mother quickly cut her off.

“Jesnys! We don’t speak with strangers, do we?” the suspicious parent stated more than questioned.

“...but I--” Jesnys attempted.

“No buts,” her mother said.

Tears welled up in child’s big azure eyes, her lower lip trembled - the quiet of the storm. She bawled her eyes out, wailing and giving her mother tone in her voice even as she cried.

“--but I only wanted to play on the seesaaww! My seesaw doesn’t-- seesaaww anymore!” the drakeling complained, sniffling loudly and wiping at the tears wetting her scales.

“Enough, Jesnys, let the stranger pass.”