Please, Tell Another Tale...

DragonSong · May 18, 2018, 12:27:22 PM

Krysta found herself laughing as well, circling around him briefly in a blur of silver and green before pausing to hover in front of the fox again, whose tongue was lolling as his tail wagged and he yipped playfully at them.

She chuckled again. "I think he likes us!"

quaggan · May 21, 2018, 05:39:30 AM

Maldwyn couldn't deny it, he was quite excited about making such a strange new friend. Oh, he was familiar with plenty of tales and songs featuring animal companions and bonds transcending the limitations of species, but he never experienced it himself! The tips of his wings were fluttering with excitement at the thought. He wondered if the fox would recognize them again, should they venture into the Niahi Woods once more. And he should make the same level of effort - he stared intently at their new friend, trying to etch his form into his mind and find some characteristics that could help him distinguish him from all the others of his kind - the shape of his ears, the length of his tail, the texture of his fur.

Of course, there was one ritual of first meetings that they were yet to perform. He turned back to the Princess, squashing back the anxiety about asking her to do all the talking - he couldn't communicate with the fox, there was only one way to handle this.

"I can't speak to him, to my shame
But could you ask about his name?"

DragonSong · May 21, 2018, 09:41:22 AM

The princess brightened at the request, and she giggled softly as she fluttered over to perch on the crown of the animal's head. The fox yapped and swished his tail back and forth, tongue lolling.

"I'm Krysta," she told him, then gestured to her companion. "That's Maldwyn. What's your name?"

The fox paused, then gave a growling little huff and a sound rather reminiscent of the sneeze. Krysta nodded and took to the air again.

"They don't really have names the way we do," she translated for the minstrel, "but he says we can call him Brier. He got stuck in a brier patch as a kit and got a nickname from it, sort of."

quaggan · May 23, 2018, 10:18:04 AM

He nodded with acknowledgement. That made sense - even though most pixies he knew used the names given to them by either parents or others, some chose to change it to better reflect their life and achievements, or adopted adequate monikers. That included his own mother, Caerwyn the Candlelight - her title was one she bore for over twenty years. It was one she won in a game her friends organized when a few human travelers strayed too close to Dreamhaven. The rules were simple: steer a moth mount as close as possible to the flames of torches and lamps humans bore, but do not get noticed or set on fire. While Caerwyn has achieved far more ever since, she kept her old title out of pure pettiness - as long as she held onto it, the only way for another pixie to claim this name would be to beat her record. And it's been a while since any humans wandered close enough to Dreamhaven...

He quickly found his way back to reality, lest he become completely lost in thought. He turned his attention back to Brier, who was watching them with a... curious expression? It was hard to read a fox's body language, even harder since he didn't have any wings. How were they supposed to find out if he was happy if he didn't have wings to flutter with joy? Perhaps he should rely on the Princess for this as well.

DragonSong · May 23, 2018, 06:40:59 PM

Krysta was chatting amiably with the fox while Maldwyn seemed lost in his own thoughts. She'd settled herself on a mushroom cap, legs tucked to the side and wings shivering lightly every few seconds, betraying the intensity of her interest.

Brier, for his part, had settled himself down in front of her and was huffing and yipping in turns as she chattered at him, ears cocked and tail swishing gently.

The princess glanced up at her companion after a few moments, smiling. "He wants us to come back and visit. I'm sure we can, right?" True, it wasn't exactly easy to slip away from royal duties, but she was sure she'd manage somehow.

quaggan · May 25, 2018, 02:47:13 PM

He nodded with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"I swear, we'll come to visit you.
By the stars' light, I'll see this through."

Of course, almost as soon as those words left his lips, he began to worry about actually fulfilling this promise. What if despite his best efforts, he wouldn't be able to tell Brier from other foxes, and got eaten? What if he gets lost in the woods? And even if he managed to find his new friend, he couldn't exactly talk to him like the Princess could - and her duties in the castle would probably keep her far busier. Maldwyn couldn't possibly expect the Princess of Dreamhaven to accompany him every time he went out to the woods!

DragonSong · June 01, 2018, 12:26:49 PM

Krysta beamed and the fox yipped happily. "See? It's a promise," the princess said with a happy flutter of her wings as she hovered before the animal's nose and patted his snout affectionately.

But it seemed their adventure had to be coming to an end. She glanced up, noticed the angle of the sunlight, and looked back to Maldwyn with a small pout. "We should head back, before we're missed."

quaggan · June 02, 2018, 01:25:07 PM

He glanced cautiously towards the sun. Out of all celestial bodies, this was one he got along with least - its absolute, controlling dominance of the diurnal sky was too overbearing for him to deal with. It was good that the Princess kept the time in mind. Next time, he would have to try it too - perhaps his mother could suggest him a way of measuring the passage of time.

He carefully picked up his lute, putting it back in the case. It would be stupid to forget and later have to come back here later. He almost reflexively performed an appropriate farewell bow, but foxes probably had a completely different etiquette to consider! How should he say farewell? What if it was some sort of a tail move? He didn't even have a tail!

DragonSong · June 08, 2018, 03:06:17 AM

Whatever Maldwyn was doing, the fox seemed to understand the gist, particularly as Krysta buzzed around his head and chirped, "Bye bye!"

Fluttering back to the minstrel, she grabbed his hand and started towing him after her. "C'mon, we should hurry!"

quaggan · June 09, 2018, 08:18:38 AM

Maldwyn followed. Most of the time, he'd just fly up and let the Princess drag him, but his wings were getting tired. He just tried to keep up, especially since he couldn't find the way back on his own. He was too busy looking around and admiring the beauty of nature to keep track of their surroundings - and he's never used this route before!

"The sun is slowly fleeing the sky,
As our shadows longer grow
The moon's ascent drawing ever nigh
Will we make it? Do you know?"

DragonSong · June 12, 2018, 01:50:10 AM

"Oh we'll be fine," Krysta chuckled almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth. She was getting used to his odd speech patterns. "My parents hardly ever notice what I actually do all day, as long as I'm where they expect me to be by dinner," she added with a roll of her eyes.

quaggan · June 14, 2018, 04:49:42 AM

That was very surprising. Why go to the whole trouble of making a child if one was to just ignore her existence wholeheartedly - save for dinner, of course? Or perhaps ruling Dreamhaven was so busy and time-consuming, the royal couple couldn't even find time for their only daughter? It was such a heartbreaking situation.

His shadow was staring at him in an accusatory manner, as if trying to urge him on while the sun was still up. He quickly followed. Maldwyn wasn't as constrained by time - his mother was quite used to him coming back late at this point. But he still didn't want to get the Princess in trouble - especially with the Queen and King! They had to make it back to the palace in time.

"Your life sounds so lonely indeed
So, do you sneak out every day?
If castle lacks that which you need
Secret trips are the only way..."

DragonSong · June 16, 2018, 01:59:23 AM

"Oh!" Blushing suddenly as she realized it had sounded like she was complaining, Krysta stuttered in her flight for a moment and shook her head, waving her hands quickly. "No no, it's not that bad, really! Just...they're busy, that's all. I'm not lonely or anything."

She smiled, and as she did she realized she was lying.

Reasonably uncomfortable with that discovery, she cleared her throat and looked ahead again. "Let's just say I sneak out enough that I know the quickest way back," she chuckled a little sheepishly.

quaggan · June 21, 2018, 02:36:24 PM

Maldwyn nodded in assent. The more he learned about Princess Krysta, the more alike she seemed to all the rebellious royals from the ballads, sneaking out of their castles in disguise and mingling with the common folk (and foxes, in this case). She said that she wasn't lonely, so that was probably right - in all the stories, such status-defying highborn had a lot of friends across the boundaries of class - and species, in Krysta's case.

This mushroom looked familiar! He wished he could know whether it was because he passed it by when leaving the secret tunnel, or if he remembered it from a previous trip to the woods. Perhaps he should begin to pay more attention to his surroundings - in a way different than drawing inspiration, that is.

DragonSong · June 22, 2018, 07:42:45 PM

Krysta remained relatively quiet as she led Maldwyn back to the tunnel, eventually fluttering down to the ground and gesturing for him to stick close as she ducked back into the entrance.

quaggan · June 25, 2018, 02:23:21 PM

The minstrel followed the princess, doing his best to remember his surroundings in case of the future trips. It was hard to keep himself from becoming distracted by the beauty of nature, and definitely wasn't something he would want to repeat! What was the point of being outside if he couldn't even draw inspiration from his surroundings? He released a sigh of relief when they reached the tunnel.

This time, he kept his wings carefully squished close to his body, to prevent the repeat of the incident from last time. He moved slowly in order not to bump into the Princess, and did his best to stay quiet. He didn't know how far they were from the castle entrance, and didn't want to alert guards.

DragonSong · June 25, 2018, 10:34:48 PM

Feeling more than seeing Maldwyn moving along beside her, Krysta reached out and took his hand in the gloom of the tunnel.

"Just a bit further," she encouraged softly. Her silver hair and wings seemed to glow slightly as the light of the sun faded from view. By the time they got back to the palace grounds, it would likely be moonrise.

quaggan · June 28, 2018, 12:51:20 PM

It was dark inside the tunnel, but he could feel the sky's nature shift from reflected radiance into quieter sort of darkness, and what followed. The soothing influence of the moon flowed through him and pulled him away from the emotional axis and into the rational one. Now he could remember clearer the last time they've gone through, the specific length of the tunnel and how close they were to the castle. He knew he could still speak quietly, and not be overheard by the patrolling guards.

"Do we still have enough time?7
When does your family dine?
I didn't hear the night chime...
But I can sense the moon's shine..."

DragonSong · July 04, 2018, 11:02:47 PM

"Oh, we'll be alright," Krysta assured with a quick smile. "It's only just moonrise. As long as we hurry, we can be back in the main hall before my parents ever realize we were gone."

quaggan · July 05, 2018, 10:43:26 AM

The minstrel nodded. Sneaking around wasn't his forte - it was in his nature to make music, not to stay silent. But if he got caught, being an accomplice to the Princess' outings could cost him his position as the court minstrel - or perhaps, depending on how angry the Queen and the King were, he could even get exiled from Dreamhaven.

So he reined his impatience in and carefully moved within the tunnel, without making a sound. Whenever Krysta stopped, he waited without asking - they were probably close to the castle, and he didn't want to draw the guards' attention. He would let her take the lead - she's done it before, she knew best what to do.