Goddard instantly stops moping about his newly discovered "condition" when Bast sits next to him. "I think I can hear you in my head," he says a bit confused. "I think this place has done something to me."
VOX buzzes.
"Could you go away? I am not crazy!"
Bast frowns. "You can hear me in your head? How strange! Perhaps you run a fever? I will check." Her face a mask of concern, she places her lips on his forehead, careful to avoid his horns.
ReplyDelete"Well. You run no fever."
Eartha suddenly sits up, her eyes gleaming in the firelight. "Perhapz he haz been poizioned by an azzazzin?" Her eyes narrow to slits at her comment. "We really know nozing of him, do we Bazt?"
ReplyDeleteOrzad turns to face Goddard, "Goddard have your tried some of this fish?" Orzad notices that Goddard is not his normal self " is there something wrong Goddard?"
ReplyDeleteBast waves her hand at Eartha, studying his eyes. "Your eyes are clear, though the strangest colors. It could be an assassin, but why? He is a chavi, and a gadje chavi at that."
ReplyDelete"Zat could explain zee zings earlier like zee floor and hiz falling through it." Eartha jumps up and begins looking about nervously. "It iz a magickal Azzazzin, I am zure of it!" She begins to skulk to the shadows as if to hide from whatever is wrong with Goddard.
ReplyDeleteBast shakes her head. "No, I do not think so, Kitty. I think he needs a spoon of Manan's cure."
ReplyDelete"Um...yeah...no," Goddard stammers.
ReplyDeleteWhhaaaa?!
"Is that uh...how you usually check for fevers?"
I doubt...if all those dreams are to be believed...but this place is nothing like the dreams.
His thoughts of dreams are wiped away when there is talk of assassins. "An assassin?" He asks concerned. "And...my eyes? They were always this way." He gets a bit nervous when Eartha starts to move in the shadows and goes to stand up, but is pulled back down.
"What!" He tugs on his tail and it's actually through the wheel of the wagon.
Bast takes his hand and studies his palm. "Kitty has always been melodramatic. I think you are merely ill."
ReplyDelete"Or losing your wits, chavi."
"Yezzzz Bazt, he iz ill with zee death. He will be lucky to zee morning with an azzazzin like zis after him. I fear we will be next on zee lizt." She scours the shrubline searching for the assassin, hoping she doesn't find him. Fear grips her when she realizes no one else seems concerned.
ReplyDelete"Kitty, I doubt it. Look in the chest under my bed and bring me the jar of Maman's cure. You know the one."
ReplyDeleteGoddard moves his tail again and it's free. "Ok...I'm not going totally nuts. And...I mean...I could have an assassin coming after me," he whispers. "I am an assassin of sorts...what's to say you can't counter assassinate?" he gulps.
ReplyDeleteBast smiles softly, as if to a child. "Chavi," he hears, "you do not have an assassin after you. I am sure of it."
ReplyDeleteEartha springs up the steps and searches furiously for the jar. Upon finding it, she quickly brings it to Bast. "Hopefully this will do it."
ReplyDeleteBast shakes her head, amused. "Kitty, why are you so worried? He is in no danger from voices in his head."
ReplyDeleteEartha forrows her brow. "Bazt, you have never been zought out by an azzazzin of my peoplez. Zey can uze many zkillz to end thier prey. So, I muzt confezz, poizon iz rare and conzidered weak and cowardly." She goes back and sits down slowly beside Orzad and watches Bast work.
ReplyDeleteShe rolls her eyes. "Kitty, you'll have him holed up the wagon for weeks, acting this way. I don't plan on sharing my bed with him, and there is no more room inside."
ReplyDeleteAll the while, she silently pours a thick concoction onto a spoon. A dark green and thick like pitch, Goddard can see tiny twigs and unidentifiable crushed bits in it.
Goddard puts a hand on either side of his head and messes up his hair in frustration. "Your lips don't move but I can hear you..."
ReplyDeleteHe sighs as VOX bounces around his horns.
When Bast returns with the concoction on a spoon, he frowns. "I'm not eating that am I?"
"You are. It will cure whatever ails you," she says. Holding up the spoon, she waits patiently for him to take it.
ReplyDeleteEartha watches the exchange between Bast and Goddard. "Go ahead, take it. Zhe will get it in you one way or another. Zis way iz much eazier." She then makes a sour face. "Truzt me, I know."
ReplyDeleteBast gives Eartha a pleased smile. "It's not so bad, Kitty. I always rewarded you after," she adds.
ReplyDeleteHe looks at the spoon and it's twiggy contents then sighs. "Ugh...ok fine...I mean...it could help or it could just be gross right? I don't think it'll kill me..."
ReplyDeletePlease don't have this kill me...
He closes his eyes and quickly takes the "medicine". His eyes open wide and he coughs a few times before he flops over, leaning on Bast. "That was horrible," he mumbles. "And not even the taste so much...it's like a swallowed a patch of land."
Bast laughs, and the bottle corks itself and floats back into her wagon. "You will not die from it. The land is good for you. Don't they have such medicines where you are from?"
ReplyDeleteOrzad walks over to Goddard with a plate of Fish and beans "You need to get some food into your body and are they messing with you."
ReplyDeleteGoddard sits up and coughs again. "No. We don't have anything like this." He takes the plate from Orzad. "Or this. I mean...I know what it is...but we don't have it." He hungrily shovels food into his mouth. "And messing with me? They are just trying to help me," he grins.
ReplyDeleteNot hungry, Bast pulls her cards from a pocket and begins to shuffle through them, occasionally drawing one and muttering to herself about it. "What do you eat in your home, chavi?" she asks absently, still looking at cards.
ReplyDelete"It's uh...different," he mumbles and takes another mouthful of food. How do you even describe eating a dream...or a nightmare...
ReplyDelete"Sometimes the food is really good and sometimes it's pretty bad but either way, you eat or you end up hungry." He puts his empty plate on the ground beside him and sigh. "I'm so hungry," he whispers to himself.
Bast doesn't look at him. You are more of a gadje than I first realized, she thinks. Flipping another card, she smirks. The Wanderer. I always thought it was meant for me...perhaps not?
ReplyDelete"Where is it you are from, Goddard?"
Eartha frowns and crosses her arms. "Perhapz'kitty' would rather tazte zomething elze bezidez boiled chicken or beanz to get rid of the tazte." She mumbles to herself as she begins to get up and walk over to the lightening man. Het tail twitches as she sits down next to him and watches his hands, waiting for sparks or even lightening to spring forth.
ReplyDeleteBast laughs. "I gave you sweets once, and you didn't approve. What would you like next time, sweet Kitty?"
ReplyDelete"Perhapz I zhow you, perhapz you enjoy as much az me." She smiles at her private thought and begins to chuckle a bit when she looks at the little man with a tail.
ReplyDelete"Far away. Well...I thinks it's far away. It seems that way right now." He looks up at the sky. "Part of me wants to go back because its all I've known. The other part of me wants to stay here because its so different."
ReplyDeleteI want to tell you...tell all of you...but...would you even want me around if you knew?
He sits quietly and listens to Bast and Eartha talk.
Bast simply gives her a confused stare. "I have no idea what you mean when you say things like that."
ReplyDeleteAfter staring at the card in her hand a minute more, she slips it back into the deck. "Homes are good," she tells Goddard. "Having one, I mean. Wagon life and the Longo Drom is all I know."
Eartha stands after watching the wizard's hands for a bit. She then walks over to the wagon and climbs the stairs to go inside. As she walks past goddard, she lets her tail drag against his neck slowly and very intentionally.
ReplyDelete"I was bored there," he mumbles. "It's why I ended up here. It's harder to live here..."
ReplyDelete"But it isn't boring," he says with a smile and as Eartha's tail moves across him, Goddard's own tail almost seems to wag. He quickly grabs onto it to stop it. "Uh...reflexes?" he laughs.
Eartha looks back over her shoulder as she climbs the stairs and opens the door. "Mmmmm... good to know zomething haz reflexez around here. Never know when zomeone may need a good flexing." At that, she closes the door behind her and settles into a pile of pillows.
ReplyDeleteBast watches her, lips parted in confusion. "I will never understand what she means sometimes," she says. "I just hope she doesn't shred the pillows again."
ReplyDelete"At least you have pillows. All I have is this." He takes his hooded cloak off and balls it up before placing it on his lap. VOX lands in the middle of the pile if fabric and closes the iris.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the fabric and the way the cloak sat on his body, no one was really able to tell that he wears no shirt. He has a few scars on his body and one large deep scar along his ribs. He wears worn pants and boots. The hilts of his daggers can be seen poking out from the sides of the boots.
Bast gasps when she sees his scars in the firelight. "What happened?" she asks, trailing her fingertips over his ribcage. "What could have done this to you and let you live?"
ReplyDelete"We'll I'm going to get some sleep" Orzad looked around to find something to lean against. Orzad decided to lean against one of the cart's wheel. He stabbed his spear into the ground so it was sticking up and had his maul leaning against the cart. Orzad sat down and covered his chest using his clock but kept the right side of his body and face covered.
ReplyDeleteOrzad slips when he leaned against and the clock falls off from his head, exposing that his right side of his face is metallic and his right eye is glowing red. Orzad quickly fixes his cloak I hope no one saw that
"Something from 'home'," Goddard says scratching his head. "I'm alive because I beat the sense out of it," he laughs. "I just...screwed up and it caught me."
ReplyDeleteHe leans forward and uses a clawed finger to made a crude drawing in the dirt. "Like this," he says softly. The image resembles a large wolf with a long tail and large horns that curve around, almost like rams horns. Down it's back are spines.
He looks scarier than he is...
Bast shivers in the warm night. "What a horrible home you must have," she whispers. "How did you beat something like that senseless?"
ReplyDeleteGoddard shrugs. "It was ok. Kind of boring at times. And it was easy enough," he grins. "I'm not as flimsy as I look," he swats the drawing away with his tail. "I'm fast...and strong." He stretches and then quickly curls back up. "Ow ow ow my back I think I pulled something," he whimpers.
ReplyDeleteBast laughs. "Perhaps you should become flexible, too," she tells him, grabbing a warm stone near the fire. She tugs at a scarf tied around her scalp and wraps the stone it, then presses it gently to his back. "Better?"
ReplyDelete"Yeah...much much better," he sighs and relaxes. "And...I guess that's true. The biggest, strongest tree can come crashing down easily if it doesn't bend some."
ReplyDelete"Kitty and I can teach you to stretch," she offers. "It's necessary for life on the road."
ReplyDelete"Sure. We can do that in the morning," he says sleepily. "By the way...You wouldn't mind if I slept on the top of this thing would you? Or...even under it, if it just so happened to rain."
ReplyDeleteBast shrugs. "I don't mind. The driver's bench offers some protection, and the seat is wide. I might even have a cushion for it somewhere."
ReplyDeleteGoddard stands up slowly, making sure VOX doesn't fall from the pile of cloth. "I'll be fine. But I should probably start getting comfortable now. Soooo I guess I'll see you later?"
ReplyDeleteShe nods and wishes him a good night. Alone, she pokes at the fire, not wanting to go inside just yet. Maman, I miss you, she thinks, projecting the thought out to her grandmother. She waits, but hears no response. Is there a limit to her power? Can she not hear me any longer? Silly me, it's late, she'll be sleeping.
ReplyDeleteStanding and stretching, she moves the heavy kettle from the tripod and carries it to the town's well. The rest of the town sleeps as she starts scrubbing.
It seems quiet now. Goddard heard what he assumed was Bast, still doing something around the fire but now it's silent. He puts his dark hooded cloak and tucks VOX away in a pocket. Orzad has too many bad dreams...I want something good tonight...I wonder what a cat person dreams about...
ReplyDeleteHe carefully peeks around the wagon. There seems to be no one around. No one awake. He moves from the spot where he was resting and stays in the shadows.
It takes some time to scrub out the kettle, but Bast is used to it, and her bells and shims chime cheerfully as she scrubs. Dusting sand from her hands a final time, she admires her work. Not bad.
ReplyDeleteGrunting a little, she carries it back to wagon and sets it on the small porch off the back of the wagon. Bast wipes her hands on her skirt and sets about banking the fire for the night. She putters around a bit more, as though not quite willing to sleep.
Before Bast returns, Goddard manages to sneak into the wagon. He carefully closes the door, but not quiet all the way. Cats are lazy...this should be easy... He silently creeps across the floor, to get close enough to Eartha to try and eat a dream.
ReplyDeleteEating a dream consists of a long, wide drawn out yawn and then a fine purple smoke seems to float through the air.
With little else to do, Bast gives up and decides to go to bed. Touching the door, it swings open slightly.
ReplyDeleteStrange. Kitty practically slammed the door...
Opening it fully, she sees Goddard bending over Eartha and screams.
Goddard looks up quickly. He heard Bast yell but in his head. It's like she was scared into silence but her mind wasn't quiet at all.
ReplyDelete"Uh...this is really not what it looks like," he stammers softly, backing away from Eartha. The purple smoke recedes and Goddard grits his teeth. So close...
Bast grabs the nearest thing to her hand- a wooden spoon- and brandishes it.
ReplyDelete"What were you doing to her?" she asks, both voice and hands shaking. "If you've harmed her, I'll kill you myself, and mount your horns above my door."
"No! I would never!" He whispers. "Just...put the spoon down...she's fine..." Goddard holds onto his horns and backs into a corner with a sigh.
ReplyDeleteShe takes three steps, advancing slowly. "What were you doing, gadje?" she demands quietly. "And don't think you can lie to me," he hears.
ReplyDelete"I was...eating," he mumbles, lowering his head. "Well...tried to anyway."
ReplyDeleteHe shakes his head, still not looking up at her. "Don't tell anyone else...they'll freak out too. And don't beat me with that spoon. That hurts. It's happened before." Goddard finally looks up at her and in the dark she can see the very faint glow of red and blue from his eyes. "I-I have to eat dreams," he says softly. "It's why I was still so hungry. Yeah, regular food will be ok for a little while, but...I can't completely live off of it."
Her mouth hands open. Dreams? She lowers the spoon a little, hands still unsteady. "You really aren't from here, are you?" she whispers. "Not this...this world."
ReplyDelete"No...I'm not...and normally, I'd just try and play dumb but...you just know things...and you'd know I was lying and that would just get you mad and I don't want to do that..." He tries to slowly move around Bast so he can leave the wagon. "I'll just go be weird someplace else, ok?" he laughs embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteShe lowers the spoon. "Don't eat hers," she decides, "not without asking. You can have mine, if it won't harm me." Finally, her voice is steady again. She gestures to the door. "And make sure you close the door, or cone through the front."
ReplyDeletePushing the door open, she lets him pass her.
Goddard nods and quickly stumbles out of the wagon then climbs up onto the roof. He pulls the hood up over his head and remains nestled among the boxes and barrels.
ReplyDeleteTaking a deep breath, Bast leans against the door. That was...different. Quietly, so as not to disturb Eartha, she pulls off her boots and bells and begins to prepare for bed.
ReplyDelete"Goddard?" she asks silently, hearing him move on the roof. "I imagine it won't be long till I'm sleeping.'
I can't go back in there...NO! Stop thinking! I bet she can hear you STOP! UGH! NO! Where's VOX to hit me in the head when I need it...AHHH!
ReplyDeleteGoddard bumps his head softly against a barrel in frustration and sighs. "I'm going to go insane," he mumbles.
To ensure that she sleeps deeply, Bast pulls the cork from a small dark bottle and takes a drink. Moments later she turns back the blanket on her bed, already feeling the effects of the draught.
ReplyDeleteMaman, you're a saint...
Sebastiana's eyelids fluttered, then closed like two doors sweeping shut behind someone. Warm and comfortable, her mind turned to family.
ReplyDeleteHer colorful dreams were full of firelight, music, dancing, and laughter.
Goddard's stomach growls and he has a difficult time getting comfortable. "Ugh I hate this VOX," he mumbles to the still, quiet orb. "Wake up damn you!" He snatches it up and gives VOX a shake. "I'm hungry and sad," he whimpers to the orb.
ReplyDeleteIt momentarily opens it's iris and buzzes. "I know she did but...now it's awkward," he whispers. VOX buzzes again, almost angrily, and floats away. "Fine!" Goddard hisses after it and climbs around the front of the wagon. She said to come this way. He carefully makes his way into the wagon and freezes. He had no idea her bed would be so close to this opening.
Goddard sits on the floor by her head and takes a deep breath. I have never felt bad about this before...why do I feel bad now!?
Bast sighs in her sleep and rolls over, hand dangling off the side. The expression on her face is content, maybe even happy.
ReplyDeleteOh...this looks like a good dream... He watches her hungrily for a moment then rests his hands on his stomach. "That's it," he whispers. "I'm starving." He yawns a very big, long yawn. The purple haze appears again and he inhales it. At the end of the yawn, he swallows and Bast's dream abruptly ends. He sits by her and sighs happily.
ReplyDeleteBast flinches, her dream disappearing so quickly it startles her awake. She turns bleary blue eyes to Goddard, the drug making her feel light headed and giddy.
ReplyDelete"Hello you," she projects, practically giggling in his head. She waves her little finger at him.
Goddard flinches, not expecting her to wake up, let alone giggle in his head.
ReplyDelete"I'm sorry," he whispers as if he broke some priceless jar of hers. "I didn't mean...I...would it make this any better if I said it was a delicious dream?" he chuckles.
"You can think at me, you know," she giggles again. "I'll hear you."
ReplyDeleteShe raises up on her elbow and leans dangerously forward, staring intently at Goddard's horns. With a verbal giggle, she licks it.
"A little delicious, perhaps."
She CAN hear my thoughts! DAMN! You can hear me? All the things I've thought...AHH...damn...oh wait...hi? There! That's reasonable...
ReplyDelete"I don't know if I could keep doing this," he mumbles and raises a brow when she licks the horn. "Are you ok? Ya know...I've stabbed things with that."
"Mm-hm." She yawns, the drug still affecting her. "Was it tasty? It smelled like fire and salt."
ReplyDeleteHe nods slowly "Yeah..." then carefully and cautiously pats her head. "Glad you're ok then...You should probably go back to sleep huh?"
ReplyDeleteOn command, her eyelids swing down, and a soft snore escapes her.
ReplyDeleteWith a sigh, he relaxes and heads out of the wagon. Goddard climbs back onto the roof and curls up between some barrels with his cloak. VOX returns and lands by Goddard's neck before shutting off again.
ReplyDeleteThe blue sun is just starting to rise when Bast wakes up, marveling at how well she slept. After washing and dressing, she sees to Betas needs and sets a pot of water to heat on the renewed fire.
ReplyDeleteBy the time the sun is fully over the horizon, she has made a breakfast of porridge with chunks of dried meat in it, seen the village smith about a second spare wheel, washed and hung laundry to dry, fed the chicken, and bartered for spices.
Orzad wakes up before the sun in up and stretches his legs and arms. He looks around and notices he beat everyone else up. Orzad decides to talk a walk around the small town its been a long time since he has been in any form a civilization that wasn't for a military reason. Orzad walks into the market and found the same vendor that he helped the night before and he had some Snawsberrys in stock and he bought one and carried to walk around the town until the sun was up eating his Snawsberry.
ReplyDeleteHe returned right after the sun rose with more snawsberrrys in hand and found out what everyone else is doing.
Goddard twists and turns as the growing brightness from the sun and the sound of the awakening town start to make it difficult to stay asleep. "I thought people slept for much longer," he complains to no one. He yawns, stretches and effortlessly hops down from the roof. He walks over to the fire, dragging his feet and plops down by it, yawning and stretching again.
ReplyDeleteBast comes around the side of the wagon, a basket of roots, leaves, and jars in her arms. "You're awake! Good! Stir the pot," she tells him, nodding to the spoon hanging off the tripod. "It should be ready, feel free to have breakfast."
ReplyDeleteSitting nearby, she starts sorting and sometimes cutting, the roots into jars.
Goddard picks up the spoon and thinks about last night, when he almost had it cracked over his head. "What is this?" he asks getting as close to the pot as he can, trying to examine it as he stirs it.
ReplyDelete"Porridge with bits of dried meat. Boring, but filling."
ReplyDeleteShe produces several bright ribbons and uses it to mark specific jars as she works.
He scoops some into a bowl and tastes it. He shrugs and continues to eat. "What are those? You aren't making anymore of that remedy are you?" He makes a sour face as he thinks about the flavor and texture of what Bast have given him the other day.
ReplyDelete"Oh...how did you sleep?"
Orzad returns to the camp and see that Bast and Goddard are up and walking around. "How was everyone's night?" Orzad said as he finished one of his Snawsberrys. "Goddard you want a Snawsberry, How about you Bast?" Orzad said while holding up three more Snawsberries, a red with green spotted fruit the size of and apple with fuss all over the skin.
ReplyDelete"I slept very well. And these are for traveling. Some you can eat raw, others have to be roasted, and so on. It is always good to have a store of dried food you can eat while moving."
ReplyDelete"My night was stressful," Goddard tells Orzadas he takes the fruit with his tail. "You have to peel it," he tells Bast. He smiles at the thought of traveling with this group of beings. Just the thought of traveling at all and the new things he'll come across and learn about excite him. If I end up bored here, I'll be surprised.
ReplyDeleteShe shows them both a green ribbon. "Green means you can eat it raw. Everything is is dangerous raw." She takes the fruit and expertly runs her knife over it, peeling it quickly. "Beta is quite fond of these when they're still bitter," she says.
ReplyDelete"How was it stressful? I assumed you slept well."
"Weeeelllll...you know...the...spoon and...ugh," he looks down into his bowl of porridge. I hope this will be easier as time goes on...or I'm going to be hungry a lot...
ReplyDeleteShe shrugs, still sorting roots and leaves. "It was not so bad, that. Startling, but it worked out, yes? Come again tonight, I will not be so drug addled."
ReplyDelete"Sure," he says with a nod and switches the bowl to his tail so that he can peel the fruit.
ReplyDeleteEartha finally stirs a bit and stretches her curvy frame as she yawns widely. She raises up and looks around, seeing nobody in the tiny wagon with her, she rolls over with a sigh of dejection and lays there for a few more minutes.
ReplyDeleteAfter slicing the fruit and ladling some porridge into a bowl, Bast stands and walks over to the wagon. Poking her head, she smiles at Eartha. "Sleep well, Kitty?" she asks, bumping the door open with her hip. "I brought you breakfast."
ReplyDeleteEartha turns in the bed of pillows to face Bast. "I slept well, just not as deeply as I would have liked. You know I always sleep better after... well... after." She finishes her sentence with an ever-growing smile on her lips. She then takes the bowl from Bast and begins to eat the porridge and even takes a few bites of fruit to please Bast.
ReplyDeleteBast's eyebrows knit into a frown. "After what? You always seem to sleep fine to me." She watches Eartha eat a few moments. "I imagine we'll be leaving today, is there anything you need?"
ReplyDeleteEartha seems to get a bit of a pout on her face. "There iz alwayz zomething 'a kitty' needz, the queztion iz, will zhe ever get it?" She stands and sits the bowl on a small shelf and stretches again. When she tosses the blanket into the pile of pillows Bast sees that she is only wearing a few silk scarves covering the minimum to still be cosidered decent in the loosest of terms.
ReplyDeleteBast jumps to her feet and wraps her arms around Eartha from behind. "I don't understand you," she laughs lightly. "Or what you mean half the time." She twists the cat in her arms and looks up at her. "What can I do to make you feel better?"
ReplyDeleteEartha looks into Bast's eyes deeply. "I'm zure you would do anything to pleazs me if you only knew. Perhapz zome day you will realize." She smiles sadly and breaks away to get dressed so they can begin getting everything packed and loaded properly.
ReplyDeleteShaking her head, she takes the dish outside, then sets about getting her wagon ready to travel. The smith brings by her wheel and helps her secure it to the wall, attempting to seduce her but succeeding in cutting his fee in half.
ReplyDeleteEartha gathers all her belongings and repacks her backpack and belt pouches to the best of her ability and then moves about securing any loose items in the wagon. After she's done with that, she comes outside and climbs on top to secure the sacks and barrels with rope and nets. When she is finally satisfied with the security of the roof, she climbs down. Doez anybody know if there iz a ztream or pond near by? I really would love to cool off."
ReplyDeleteBast nods. "Across town. You see that building, with the colored glass? There's a clear stream behind it. There's even a hedge on the banks for some privacy. We camped near there last time we came through this area."
ReplyDelete"There aren't any terrible creatures of death in that stream are there?" Goddard asks, unsure if going in any body of water is a good idea after what had happened before when he and Orzad were at that lake.
ReplyDelete"Last time I was by water, I tried to fish and ended up being attacked by a huge blue beast!" he shudders.
The sun is is working it's way high into the sky as Eartha reaches the creek and finds the place Bast spoke of. Very glad it iz dezerted, would hate to have to chaze anybody away. A grin plays across her face as she slides out of her dress and eases into the cool water. She finds a somewhat deep spot and lets the water wash away the grim and weariness of the day. Closing her eyes and alowing herself to mentally drift home for a moment as she floats in the water.
ReplyDeleteBast laughs at him. "There are terrible creatures that lie in wait in the creek," she says dramatically. "Some say they wait for a horned, god-like creature to steal away to the depths of their home and force him to care for their little monsters."
ReplyDeleteGoddard leans forward and narrows his eyes at Bast and stares at her for a moment. "I don't know whether to feel afraid or complimented," he says with a serious tone. His face then takes on a look of concern and he slumps. "But really...are there monsters in there? A swim or something would be so nice but I'd like to not end up a snack for something."
ReplyDeleteShe shrugs and turns away. "Perhaps there are. But my experience has always been good. I think I will go join her."
ReplyDeleteGathering up a clean change of clothes, Sebastiana follows after Eartha.
Goddard grabs his pack and begins to follow Bast. "But...what if you get attacked? Why take the chance? Are there guards posted just in case?"
ReplyDelete"At a creek?" she asks. "Of course not. Do you expect a giant soul-smothering fish to crawl from the mud and rip your very being apart?" She pauses thoughtfully. "Well, that could happen, I suppose. But you are more likely to be attacked by a Pine Wing," she explains, and goes on to describe a vicious bird a hand span long covered in poisonous spikes that shots them out of it's wings when attacked.
ReplyDeleteGoddard gasps. "I've seen those!...I...I think..." He scratches his head. "Or maybe it was something else. Or no...maybe it was both those things. That's horrible!" he mumbles to himself, still following Bast.
ReplyDeleteEartha quickly swims to the bank and gathers up her dress. She dives back into the water and scrubs it quickly against a smooth rock to work the dirt and sweat out of it and then returns to the bank and drapes it across a bush to dry. Her ears perk up as she hears Bast and Goddard approaching so she heads back into the deep water to continue enjoying the cool freshness of the water.
ReplyDeleteShe shrugs again. "It is life. Danger lurks behind every corner and bend in the road. Kitty," she calls, "are you still here?"
ReplyDelete"I guess that's true," he says thoughtfully. "I'll just have to be prepared."
ReplyDeleteShe peeks through the hedge and sees Eartha swimming. "I never thought cats liked water, but you are strange," she laughs, ducking behind the bushes and stripping down to her chemise. She wades in, sighing as the cool water wraps around her knees and soaks the hem of her garment.
ReplyDeleteGoddard keeps an eye out on the banks of the creek, expecting some creature to emerge at any moment and attack. He sighs once he realizes he's worrying for no reason and decides now might be a good time to clean his cloak and wash up.
ReplyDeleteEartha watches Bast as she eases into the water. "Come now, Bazt, you muzt ruzsh the water. I t will laugh at you if you don't mazter it quickly." Eartha turns about slowly in the water as she observes Goddard clinging to the shore like a frightened lamb. "your cothing zimply makez the water laugh at you more. You muzt shed it, like you muzt zshed your fear." She smiles at her last comment and continues to watch the pair of little lambs.
ReplyDelete"I don't swim as well as you," she reminds Eartha. "I'll go as slowly as I like."
ReplyDelete"Azzz you wizsh, zee water zimply laughs all the more." Eartha eases over to a shallow spot and lets herself rest on the sandy bottom of the stream, letting a bit more of her body be exposed.
ReplyDelete"Water doesn't...laugh..." Goddard mutters to himself. "Or does it?" He leans closer to the water and loses his balance, landing face first in the water. "Well...I guess that's that," he laughs, sitting up and taking off the cloak and his boots.
ReplyDeleteBast looks over her shoulder at him as she unbraids her long dark hair. "Brooks babble, why can't they laugh?" she asks. When the water is up to Bast's chest, she dives under, not quite as fish like as Eartha, but not awkward or fearful of the water either.
ReplyDelete"Zee Bazt? Goddard knowz, you muzt attack zee water and zshow it who'z the mazter." Eartha grins and looks directly at Goddard. "I am zure you are very good at being zee mazter, aren't you, Mazter Goddard?"
ReplyDeleteBast hears the last part of Eartha's question when she pops up out of the water. "I'm not so sure, Kitty," she grins, pushing her hair back. "Last night he was quite timid."
ReplyDeleteOrzad walks over to where everyone else is hanging out and notices they are all having fun in the stream. Orzad just sits at the edge of the water and starts to wash up his armor and cloak.
ReplyDelete"Really??" Eartha perks her ears up intently. "Maybe we zshould mazter him then?" She begins to crawl out of the stream on all fours, letting the water slowly expose her bare body. "He may be meant to be the zerving one."
ReplyDeleteGoddard just looks back and forth between Bast and Eartha, feeling as though he's missing something in their conversation and he walks through the water. He isn't watching where he steps and suddenly disappears as he drops off into a slightly deeper area. Seconds later, he reappears and coughs a bit.
ReplyDelete"Poor, poor Goddard. perhaps if you loze your clothing, the water will quit making a fool of you. It sees thingz zuch az zat az an inzult to it'z purity." She gestures toward the bush where her dress hanging. Zee? Zat is why the water rezpectz me, I rezpect it."
ReplyDeleteBast laughs. "That is not how you attack the water." Curious, she watches Orzad linger on the bank, a dark spot in the otherwise bright cheery day. Why doesn't he come in? she wonders.
ReplyDeleteI agree, he should join us. We do need a big strong man to protect us. She turns toward Bast and smiles. It seems Goddard hasn't the power or fortitude to keep up anyways.
ReplyDeleteBast sniffs at the cat. "Do not give a stranger so much credit. And I like Goddard. We share a secret already."
ReplyDelete"You just want me to take my pants off," he smirks before slipping on a patch of algae and ending up under the water again.
ReplyDeleteBast laughs and offers her hand. "Come here and tread the water. Keep your feet off the floor and you will not slip."
ReplyDeleteGoddard takes Bast's hand to steady himself before he goes back into the water and takes her advice. He isn't a graceful swan in the water, but he can manage fairly well.
ReplyDeleteEartha purrs to Goddard, "I will take them off for you if you wizsh, makez no differanze to me." She begins to move toward him, a smile crossing her lips as she does.
ReplyDelete"There, see?" She releases his hand and dives again, opening her eyes in the crystal clear water. Feeling mischievous, she swims deeper and behind him.
ReplyDeleteHolding her breath as long as she can, she pinches his side and swims away.
Goddard turns to Eartha. "I feel like that would cause me to sl...HEY!" He quickly swims over to a shallow part of the creek and stands up, frantically examining his side. "Something bit me! Am I bleeding? Is it poisonous?"
ReplyDeleteBast surfaces some distance away just in time to here his distress. "Goddard! Are you hurt? Did the evil soul smothering river creatures try to take you away with them?"
ReplyDeleteEartha takes on a serious and concerned look. "Waz it a river lampray? Zay haz many rows of teeth and a tongue az zsharp az a dagger." She rushes to him and begins to run her hand across his side and gently tugs at his pants to see if there is a bite. "Zey have been known to attatch themzelvez and feed off of the fluidz of unwary swimmerz, leaving nothing but a withered huzk on the zshore."
ReplyDelete"A what? How many teeth? Dagger? Can it attach itself? How big?" Goddard runs his hands through his dripping hair, trying not to panic and once satisfied that there are no water monsters attached to his head, grabs his tail and checks that as well.
ReplyDelete"Zere iz only one way to be zure, ztrip off your clothing and we will check your body for anyzing unusual." Eartha has a look of fear playing across her face.
ReplyDeleteBast smiles and floats on her back, her chemise floating around her. Check him well, Kitty, she thinks to herself. She remembers a time when she'd asked Maman why Eartha seemed to grow up so much faster than she did, and her grandmother's careful explanation about how Eartha's breed gained maturity long before a human.
ReplyDelete"Someday, you will understand her needs, my little drabarni. Till then, indulge her brazen behavior." her grandmother had said. And she had, until Eartha's clan had left Bast and her kumpania. The cat constantly confused her, but she loved her endlessly.
Eartha begins to tug at Goddard's trousers and belt. "You don't underztand the need to make zure you are zafe, we muzt be zure you are not aflicted with anyzing harmful."
ReplyDeleteGoddard sits down on the bank and looks around. "It's just us? No one else right? Or..." he looks down at his lap. "What am I even looking for anyway?"
ReplyDelete"Yezzz, only uz. I know what to look for, I will let you know if I find what I am looking for." She gives him a reassuring smile as she waits for him to strip.
ReplyDelete