Fantasy ~ FableWood ~

[Bea Delaine]

Elena nodded. She did sleep well. She brought a plate to Luness as she knew the other couldn't get up.


"Glad to see you awake." She said quietly as she placed the plate in front of the other.


Walking back to Ward, she took a seat and smiled at him, uneasily.


"I did sleep well.. But I sort of wish today wasn't happening. Last night went by too quickly. I'll deal though."


She examined his clean new clothes and his healthier complexion.


"You look well. How are you feeling?"


(Sorry!!! I fell back asleep and died a little bit inside. Some tea made my morning)

 

[Hel]

Alexander smiled back, and returned the squeeze, after wishing Quincy a good night he left to find his room. Once there, he climbed into his bed and wrapped the blankets snuggly around him. 'This is no nest of embers, but I suppose this will have to do' Alexander thought to himself, then he wondered if he could find a fireplace to sleep in, but surprisingly fell asleep before he was able to truly contemplate that course of action.


The next morning, Alexander went and ate breakfast. Food was one of his favorite things in life, after all. Then as he finished he saw the children playing with one of the humans and a shifter in the snow, and decided to venture outside to watch if not to join them. As he walked he left footprints of melted snow in his path, through which one might almost be able to see the dirt, or grass underneath.

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr was about to leave when she heard Luness' comment about her inability to eat. The first instinctive reaction she had was to offer her her aid but then thought otherwise. As much as she wanted to help her she needed to get the others know about today's mission.


Guilt still churning in her stomach she walked to Luness and kissed her on her forehead.


" I have heard human tales about this sort of ritual " she told her in whisper " In their world it means that one person loves and trusts the other - and that is how I feel. Rest easy, will you? " she smiled at her before standing up.


" I think I will take my leave. " she announced out loud. " Have a pleasant day. "


As she left the tent she felt guilty about not wishing Elena a happy birthday - but it was to change soon anyway. She made her way to the town where she saw Leia, Leo and some children staring at something strange. She walked up to them to explain the situation.

 

[Flutterby]

Quincy slept later the next morning; when she woke the sun was already shining through her window. With a long stretch, she climbed out of bed and pulled on the warm clothes. She ate alone in the hall. It would seem everyone else was already about their daily business. She felt better this morning, with no sluggish sensation to bother her. Feeling full and happy, the kelpie grabbed her cloak and moved outside, walking along the streets and absently seeking her companions.

 

[SilverFlight]

((Take it easy @Bea Delaine if you need more sleep go get it ))


Leia listened intently as the dread raven explained. The children dashed off to catch Banba and then so did she. If took a while to find the shifter, but after realizing that one particular tree was chuckling she explained the fact of Elena's birthday to it.


"We're going to need a distraction." She remembered seeing a library on her adventure with the children.


"Elena likes to read I'll bet, wanting to be a writer and all." She ran back to the great hall and announced to everyone in it what she wanted to do.


"We need to create something big. Decorations! And food!"


"A cake?" offered one of the cooks, "And music!" Offered the innkeeper.


"Oh this sounds like fun!" Soon many people were a buzz with talk and excitement.


"We haven't properly thanked any of you for ridding us of that dreadful sorcerer. Please, let us deal with the planning." The innkeeper's wife volunteered and soon began bustling into action.


Leia sat down at the table next to Anya and Ethan, motioning for the others to come over as well. "Okay, I think I can keep her distracted, but anyone who wants to help is welcome. Ward's going to try and find this flower with anyone who wants to go with him. The plan is to all meet back here by late afternoon and surprise Elena when I bring her back. How does that sound?"


When all had chosen the role they wanted to play Leia nodded and got up.


"Right, I'll go free Ward. Everyone who's going should meet outside the great hall."


"Much better." Ward answered Elena happily. "Its like nothing happened." Then he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.


"Well today you wont have to 'deal' alone." He said. Getting up he stretched his torso experimentally. "Alta, you are a wonderful healer." he remarked, taking his coat and cloak off the peg.


Just then Leia opened the door.


"Hey! Ward, Luness, good of you to rejoin the living."


Alta got up and waved her hands, "This is a sick bay, not a guest house! Stop cluttering up my room, get on with you!" Leia backed up a pace involuntarily, and then remembered why she had come. "Hey Elena, did you see the library?"

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena felt great comfort in the touch of his hand and knowing that he was fully recovered. As Ward went to grab his coat, Elena cleaned up mostly empty plates and helped make the bed so Alta wouldnt be tasked with cleaning up after them.


"Thank you very much, miss. I appreciate you taking care of us." She said, speaking for all of them, though she did not personally impede on the healers schedule. Leia entered and in return Alta became annoyed, so Elena took her leave. As she did so, Leia mentioned a library and her eyes widened significantly like a child on christmas day.


"Hey.. um, Ward. Ill catch up with you and the others later, if thats alright. Leia, would you mind helping me find it? I didnt realize there was one.." she said politely, though failing to feign disinterest.


(Im feeling better. Trust me, if i wasnt i would have gotten off)

 

[Lioness075]

(Luness hasn't touched her food so I'll assume it was left for her)


Luness hissed at Nyr when she kissed her on the forehead. Seriously, what mistake had Luness made in which Nyr assumed that she had to care for her?


Grateful that Nyr was finally gone, Luness shifted her attention to her plate of food and frowned as she wondered how she was going to eat it. It certainly seemed like sitting up was going to be her only option, but the thought of doing so reminded Luness of just how badly her ribs still hurt.

 

[Bea Delaine]

(Sorry. I meant the food thats been touched. As in, whatever was eaten is cleaned up! Should have clarified)

 

[Hel]

Anya was interested, she liked Elena fairly well and thought that maybe ward could use some help finding the flower. Once Elena had left, Anya went into the room where the griffon was, and went over to him. "So I hear you have a secret mission? I want to help."

 

[SilverFlight]

"Hey no worries! I like books." It was true...mostly. Really she preferred anything that wasn't television, though her true passion was the outdoors. "I wasn't gonna leave you alone to find it by yourself." As she went to shut the door behind her she winked to Nyr and Ward.


Ward grinned back at her and sat innocently on the bed until he was sure they were out of sight. Then, rushing to put on his coat he made his way out too.


"Rest well Luness." He said, "Is there anything I can bring you to help?"


He waited for her to answer before leaving. He was just about to leave when Anya came in. "Marvelous! Come with me!"


As they walked back to the great hall Ward told her of the flower and where it was, and where they needed to go to get to it.


"It may prove a bit tricky to locate it, but I have a good feeling."


Reaching the great hall took no time at all and he stood outside, eagerly awaiting the rest of his team.


Leia led the way down a different street. Making sure to keep Elena clear of the great hall for now. She made her way up a narrow staircase and past a wood-roofed arcade, its awnings decorated with hundreds of tiny icicles. The shops in the arcade sold things like fur hats and sweets and other nice things.


Just past the arcade Leia stopped. At the end of a street was a log house, 2 stories and painted a cheerful blue. It's roof was steeply sloped to deal with the piles of snow that fell on it. The building altogether was quite small, but leia grinned as she threw her arms out.


"We're here! You should be the one to open the door."


 
Alta watched Luness carefully.


"You gonna eat that then?" She teased, then went to sit on the bed. She took the plate and the fork and scooped up a mouthful.


"I won't tell anyone." She offered, "Healer's confidentiality agreement."


@Lioness075

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo's walk was very enjoyable. The sights and sounds of the town was great. Eventually he got to the point where he had seen the town and was beginning to wonder how much longer they would be staying in town and made his way to the healers to talk to Ward. He rounded the corner to the healers and saw Ward and Anya off a ways and followed him back to the great halls. Catching up to him outside "Ward!! It is good to see you up and moving around. Are you feeling better? What are you up to?"


@SilverFlight

 

[wolfborn4]

(@SilverFlight ibdid what you asked and read two pages but I'm a little confused about how to reenter?)

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena followed along with Leia, cheerful and in her element. The leather pouch she brought from the other kingdom held her book, in case she wanted to take notes after browsing the historical nonfictions. The shops on the way were welcoming and cute. She eyed a particular shop with sweets, for a moment until she came upon the blue building.


"Thank you!" She gave Leia a grin and pushed the door open.


The book store was beautiful, in a sense. Dark wooden shelf slimed all the walls and held so many hard covers one couldn't see the blue walls behind them. Other shelves broke up the store in sections. Some were covered by glass and held more important looking books.


She immediately made a b line to a maps and historical scripture section, took out some on the geography of fablewoods winter land.

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr consulted with the winds for a bit then returned to the town with anticipation in her eyes. She was ready to venture off on the quest. While she was strolling in the town she noticed Ward and Leo talking - presumably they were preparing for the journey as well. Stepping to them she proudly announced her findings.


" Gentlemen, the winds have told me that the path is clear to the caves, but there one obstacle. The bridge which connect the glacier on the way has long been destroyed. However, I would be more than happy to carry you to the other side. " she looked at the still recovering gryphon " You included. "

 

[SilverFlight]

Leia went in after her and marveled at the rows of books. She followed Elena to the section of her choice and stroked the spines idly. She found one book called 'Great storms of SnowHaven and opened it. She barely had time to yell in surprise when a torrent of wind and snow erupted from the pages.


"Gyah!" The wind pushed her back, away from the book lying on the floor, still spewing snow and cloud and more wind. "What the heck?!"


Ward laughed.


"I think I can manage." he said, and for emphasis he changed back into a gryphon and flapped his wings experimentally.


"Now, let's see about this flower."


With that he started out for the edge of the village, to the far wall that sat nestled into the natural rock. The ice caves the healer had said lay just there, and it was there they would have to start.

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena was absorbed in a map which lifted from the pages and showed motion and miniature versions of the creatures in the area. Suddenly a gust of freezing wind snapped her attention out of her own book. Leia seemed to also realize the books were magic, but in a more frightful manner.


"What happened?!" Elena called out to the other.


Approaching the book was harder than she thought. She finally reach one side and called out to Leia.


"Help me close it."

 

[Flutterby]

Quincy caught sight of Ward and a few others on their way out of town and jogged to catch up. “Where are we going?" She asked cheerfully, if not a little out of character. They were walking with great purpose, Ward particularly. “Is it for Elena?" She asked, guessing that it was to cheer the girl up. She seemed awfully odd last night, even to the kelpie.

 

[zCrookedz]

Flower? What flower? Leo thought to himself as he followed Ward and Nyr. He must have missed something during his walk but it seemed like they might need his help so he followed them. When Quincy joined the group talking about Elena, Leo became even more confused. "Is something wrong with Elena? Are we going after a cure for something??" Keeping pace with the others he kept his eyes peeled for whatever flower they needed.

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr shook her head.


" In the human world people like to celebrate a special event. Every three hundred and sixty five days - with an occasional one extra day - they celebrate the day on which they were born. This serves as an artificial number which counts how old they are exactly. The older they are the more mature they become - according to the theory. "


She paused for a bit, not sure if she was overly cryptic or not.


" On a day such as this gifts to the celebrated person is common. We figured we might as well give her something special. "

 

[wolfborn4]

" Hiya, Ward " Rose said happily, flying in human form upside down in front of the Gryphon. Her dragon tail flicked side to side amused by his expression (she is wearing <p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_05/2014-12-30-08-05-40--1046336149.jpeg.ad810d481f045e9a5083f877a64e4919.jpeg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="51030" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_05/2014-12-30-08-05-40--1046336149.jpeg.ad810d481f045e9a5083f877a64e4919.jpeg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> with the shirt tucked in).


@SilverFlight

 

[zCrookedz]

A wave of realization washed over him. Leo nodded to Nyr and kept following. He had heard of birthdays before, but was unaware that Elena's birthday was today. "Ah i see, well then we must get the flower for her." He kept following Ward and Nyr until the Dragon dropped in out of nowhere. "Hello there young drake, we are off to find a present for a friend. Care to join us?"

 

[Hel]

"Woah, there's another dragon?" Anya asked, she supposed it made sense, but she had no clue that there were others. "You guys know her?" She asked. When Ward had shown her the flower, she couldn't immediately find it, but now that they were in the caves she realized she knew exactly where it was. "And it's just a celebration, you know, 'congratulations you survived another year, hope you make it another one because we enjoy your company!' That type of thing." She added, on the end, listening to their conversation about birthdays.


Anya turned and nudged Ward, to get his attention, before veering off to the right, motioning for the others to follow her.

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo contnnued to follow, listening to Anya. "It may seem slightly trivial to those who arnt dragons and live for a very long time. Humans enjoy celebrating the year of thier birth, and we should help the humans anyway we can. They are not from here and we should try to make them feel more at home." As Anya tugged Ward in the direction he continued to follow but turned to the newcommer. "Actually i do not believe i have had the privilege of meeting you young drake. My name is Panthera Leo, but everyone calls me Leo. Guardian of The Great Forest Spirit Lilly." HE bowed his head the best he could while running.

 

[SilverFlight]

((@Wild Born you still need to re-write your profile, I had to take it down you were gone for so long. @KattRai @DawnAntalios There was a bit of disconnect between the info given so I tweaked it a bit so your posts fit together. The bridge is a little further in, and Ward is actually in gryphon form ^^' ))


Ward nodded at what Nyr had explained. He added the bits about where they were going so Leo and Quincy were on the same page.


"The Glaciem Star would be a good gift, don't you think?" Suddenly they were interrupted by a face that was all too familiar.


"Rose!" Ward cried and nearly bounded on top of her, he stopped just in time however and engulfed the small girl with his great wings.


"I thought we'd left you behind for good in Branbern!"


He looked to the others, realizing that most did not know who this was.


"Everyone, meet Rose, a young dragoness that has more than proven herself a valuable ally. You came just in time, I think we might need your help. Rose, this is Leo, Anya and Quincy." He introduced them, gesturing to the lion man, the girl and the kelpie in turn.


They arrived at the entrance to the caves before long. Ward looked up as the icicles dangling just above the entrance. His breath rose in clouds from his grey beak.


"Hard to believe any sort of plant grows in there." Ward followed as Anya tugged at his feathers. "How do you know where to go?" he asked curiously, and suddenly stopped. True to what Nyr had said the bridge that led deeper into the caves had long since fallen down.


"Rose, do you think you could carry Leo over that?" Nyr was strong to be sure, but he wondered if Leo's size would be too much for the dread raven.


Leia struggled against the wind when suddenly it seemed to divert. The air spirit counter-acted as much as it could and allowed Leia to dive for the other side of the book, snapping it shut with the loud 'thwap!'


Leia lay on the floor for a moment, face down in the snow. "Boy...if reading was like that back home you wouldn't find anyone watching tv." She grinned. "Sorry about that" She got up and slipped the offending book back into its place on the shelf.


"Does everything in this place do that?"

 

[Hel]

"Hello, Rose." Anya said with a smile. "And I'm not sure, Ward. I've always known where I wanted to go with my life, and I spend my time envisioning what it will be like when I get there. When I do that here, though, it becomes... more. If I see myself with the flower, I know how to get there. It's hard to describe, and sounds silly know that I've said it aloud." She added at the end, brushing her long hair back behind her shoulder.


When they found the bridge had been looking, Anya's expression fell. Maybe she wasn't as helpful as she thought, having lead them to a dead end. She wondered if she could do the trick she did before, when she escaped from the wolves.