The World of Layonara
Character Development => Development Journals and Discussion => Topic started by: ystrday on January 08, 2008, 01:01:14 AM
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To our son, Trouble, may this book be with you and hold all your dreams, wishes, your good times and your bad times, and to always remember you are loved. Love your mom and dad.
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** sat at the table, quill in hand, Screech sat precariously on the chair arm next to him, Trouble frowns at the journal, and looks to his mother sat in the chair opposite hopelessly.**
I don't know what to write mom. What... what am I supposed to say?
** she leans over with a smile and ruffles the silver streaks in his hair **
You write what you feel like son. Whatever you want. What happened today.... What you'd like to happen tomorrow.... thing's you want to remember... how you feel at this moment.... thing's like that.
** he looks down at the journal infront of him, opened on the first page, the inscription written in elegant writing, then looks back up**
Do you have one too?
** she smiles and nods, tapping her fingers on the wooden desk **
Mmmhmm. And Daddy has one too I think... not that he'd ever show me I bet. You're supposed to keep it hidden... this is just for you to read, and you only show those you "really" want to show it too.
Why... I bet Tyra's even got one too.
*he grins a bit, looks down at the paper, and a tiny gleam appears in his eye. He nudges Screech a little, and whispers something Tegan can't seem to understand to the little Belinarian white faced monkey.
It blinks a little, looking at him strangely, then looking at Tegan almost fearfully, before looking back to Trouble. The young boy simply nods and smiles.
With a choked screech, the monkey patters onto the table, dips its hand in the Ink bottle, and slaps its hand down on the first page, leaving a perfect monkey hand impression on the paper.
With a giggle, the young boy starts writing, slowly and carefully near the hand-print....*
My name... is Trouble Tempest.... and this... is Screech....
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....Screech is a Belinawian white faced monkey, or at least daddy says he is. He says he rescued him from a circus years and years ago, because Screech didn't want to go back.
I'm glad he did... Screech is my best friend.
I think its strange though. A lot of people dont understand when Screech talks. Daddy does a little... not much, but a little... but mommy and Tyra dont understand him.
Tyra's nice too... she's my friend... but uck... she's a girl... and sometimes likes to do silly things. And I don't think her daddy Shiff likes me being around her... I heard them say I may be a "bad influence". Not sure what that means...
I do lots and lots of work too. Beli and Krys come round and show me how to punch bully's hard on the nose if they pick on me... .but... I'm not sure mommy likes that. She glares at Uncle Beli when he tells me to punch bullys... and I hide round the corner incase she throws fireballs at him like she does daddy.
But I miss Uncle Godim. They told me he died.
He used to make me laugh... tell me stories... and make little magical dragons dance on the carpet for me. I make mom take me to where he sleeps now.. down in Spellyguard.
Mommy and Daddy are strange. Sometimes... I don't think they like each other.
Dad's always getting wrong... and mom say's he is more trouble than a hundred Screech's in a very small room, and one day she is going to bury him up to his neck in the desert and leave him there. Mommy burns his hair sometimes when he's naughty... and throws fire at him and laughs. But dad's quick on his feet... and just ducks the fire and laughs.
And then dad calls mom a Fox. I've never seen a fox... but I hear that farmer's dont like them going near chickens because they hurt them... so I think its a bad name. And he always make me promise not to tell mammy things... like he is keeping secrets.
Like the time he cooked dinner and burnt all of mommy's blueberries... or when he came home and forgot to take his boots off... and left mud all over the floor.
And sometimes they're silly. They dance around the room and giggle, and then later at night... I hear funny sounds from their room when they think I'm asleep. I think they play silly games sometimes.
They had a talk to me... because I did something to mommy's hand when she cut it one day. But... I don't know what I did. Mommy said its because I've got her weave in me... somewhere in my stomach. She said it might have something to do with me being able to understand Screech and the animals.
I just thought everyone could do that though.
Tommorrow... mom's taking me into Pranzt for some shopping. But... I hate it there. I always feel funny.... tired when I go there.
But dad's taking me into the woods again afters. We need some branches so I can try and make my first bow. I'm going to call it... Destroyer of Tyra!
** the young lad giggles and folds the journal away, passing it to Screech who clambers up onto the back of the couch, leaps onto a candle holder, and slides the journal into a recess up by the ceiling*
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It is so awesome! The past few weeks since mommy and daddy talked to me about magic and stuff, Mommy has been showing me how to figure it out. How my magic works. At first I was excited, I wanted to blow things up like Mommy does, but all I got to do was mom called a light spell.. whoopeee.. then I got so mad because nothing happened! I felt so stupid, waving my hands around and nothin happening. I am glad Tyra or Auhry was not there, or they would be laughing at me! I did not want to go to the grove today and work on it. I tried batting my eyelashes like Dad does at Mommy, but nothin.. Dad told me that is all it took. Even whining didn't help, just made her give me that mommy look and well off we went to the grove. Then it happened! ohh yes it was awesome! I did it! Mom was sure right, when I closed my eyes and really concentrated it will happen. And it did! I.. I did not want to tell her at the time but I felt this overwhelming power coming from the trees, the ground all around me pour through me. And bingo light! It didn't last very long, but bloody hell it was awesome! On our way home after going to the Temple and picking some blueberries. I told Mom what I felt and she understood what I was talking about and I felt better. It felt weird talking to my mom about magic stuff, its not like talking to Dad about fishing and stuff, you know guy stuff. Mom had me try to cast a light spell outside the city, but I had a hard time calling the same power I did in the forest. She hugged me, and told me it will come. Then I saw Daddy and we went fishing and salvaged more wood for my training. Just wait till I show my friends what I can do!
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Dear journal I don't know what to say, but Mom noticed I aint been writing lately and asked me if I had lost it. I told her no, but I figured I better write something. Things at home are alright, but they are sure acting weird. Dad coming and grabbing mom and dipping her and stuff making my mom giggle. Gross if you tell me, I mean geesh get a room I tell them when Dad starts to kiss her. They tell me I will do the same thing when I am older. heck no! I am not kissing no girl, bad enough I have Tyra hanging around me, wanting me to do magic tricks all the time. She's fun to tease though, she get so mad and her face turns all red. What I love most to do is walk with Screech in my forest. I feel so comfortable there, that I just want to stay there forever. Now I am practicing on my own, Mom does not know but I think she has an idea. When Mom tells Dad about what I am doing, my Dad isnt so sure sometimes what to say so he just pats my head and says "good job". I am beginning to feel agitated I am going to go grab a few of mom's pies and a few canteens and head to my forest.
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** Screech, at a signal from Trouble, leapt onto the bears back, and tugged and yanked the small bag from around its neck. Old Grumpy turned just a little, giving the white-faced monkey a look as though to say " Your my dinner!"
The monkey gave the bear an alarmed glance, then hurridely dragged the bag from around its neck and dragged it over to Trouble, who lay snuggly on the grass under a tree. The young lad opened it, pulled out a journal and quill, and began scribbling away whilst his two friends exchanged unusual glances at each other*
I made a new friend. Old Grumpy dad said he was called... but of course... Old Grumpy said his name was something else... but I liked it. He cornered me when I went to Folians grove.. and at first I was scared. But... Old Grumpy said he recognised my scent and that he wouldn't hurt me.
He lets me ride on his back now, and he shows me all around the woods.
He even showed me where not to go... where some big dog-heads live.
I took Tyra once to see them... but she was a big scardy cat and wanted to go back.
She's real impressed with what I can do now... and I can even make some plants move a little on their own.. .but... I have to concentrate real hard... and it makes me tired.
But it was so awesome! This big vine came out the ground, and wrapped itself around Screech's leg. At first I was worried it might hurt him... but... I concentrated real hard.. and it went back into the ground.
As daddy would say.. " Paggered!"... I think.
Mommy and Daddy came back one night... all singing and dancing and way more happy than normal. Mom even let dad have a drink, and they opened this big bottle of wine and said it was a "special occassion".
Mommy showed me this ring she said daddy gave her, and daddy showed me this huge lump on the back of his head mommy gave him with a shovel.
Apparently... that means they own each other now. Forever and ever.
** Trouble stuffs the journal back into his pack, and shouldering it, leaps onto Old Grumpy's back, who seems more than accomodating. Yelling at Screech, who then leaps onto the bears back, and onto the lad's shoulder, the two of them go galloping through the woods of Folian... on the bare back of Old Grumpy the Grizzly bear. **
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I try and keep out the house as much as I can now... or at least as much as mom and dad will let me. Mom's been upset about something... it's obvious... though she's still always nice to me. And this time... I don't even think it's dads fault.
He's creeping around the house quietly like me... trying not to upset her. He's always hugging and saying "it will be okay"... but they won't tell me what its about.
Screech managed to eavesdrop a few times for me... but all he can tell me is it's something to do with Trith and family. So I don't get it. Trith's family... or mine?
If Trith's done something naughty and upset mom... I think I'll get Screech to poop in his shoes next time he comes round.
It's funny... but I'm starting to feel so much different out in the woods now. It's like... I can hear and smell and see so much better out there.
I think... I wonder... if I'm a little different. Does that make me weird? A freak?
That's what one boy called me. A freak. He said it wasn't right for people to talk to animals. That it was not normal. That... I'm a freak.
I was so angry! At first... I was going to get one of those vines to come up out the ground and trip him over. I concentrated and tried and tried... but it didn't work... I was just soooo angry!
Then him and his friends started laughing at me... and I ran all the way home crying.
Am I a freak?
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** Tegan burst through the door with an air of fury about her and pointed sharply to the end of the hall, not even looking down at her son who, sullen quiet and upset, shuffled through the door.
Screech the monkey leapt from Trouble's shoulder as the boy shuffled past him mother, abandoning the boy to his fate it seemed. He glanced up as he passed her, that bottom lip pressed forward just a little, and his tear streaked eyes batting softly. **
"I've seen that look before Trouble Tempest! It will not work! Now to bed!" she said loudly, pointing again down the corridor and stomping her foot on the hardwood floor, her face a mix of anger and dissapointment....
... but... it was getting harder for her to keep the smile from her lips.
" But... but moooom..." he whined, turning with a pleading look.
" No! Not until you tell me "why" you did that? And don't give me that " it was an accident" story young man!" she said, wagging a finger at him.
The young lad sighed and slumped his shoulders. " Alright, ... I'll tell you."
He takes a deep breath, daring to look up at her mother's angry face as he spoke.
" He called me... a freak." he said subdued.
" A what?" she leant closer.
" A freak." he said louder, shuffling his feet.
She sighs and folds her arms, a sad look on her face as she peers down at him.
" I see. Hmmm. Well... do you really believe this boy deserved what you did to him for calling you that?"
Trouble shuffled and shrugged, looking at the floor in that pathetic " Im sowwy" child like way.
" So because of that.... you thought it might be funny... to have lots of vines come up off the floor, and start wrapping themselves around poor Toby Tomkins? The poor boy was terrified!"
" He called me a freak! I dont like him. He picks on me!" the boy sobbed, sniffling.
For the briefest moment... a smile flickers on her lips.
" You know he wet himself... dont you? Hmmm?" she looked down at him, her face still showing a faint remnant of dissapointment.
Trouble looked up impishly, a sly smile on his lips and a gleam in his eye.
The monkey, sensing his startling and, surprising victory over his mother, leapt onto the lads shoulder again.
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He's not being fair!! I am almost 12 going on 13 and he's treating me like a baby! What is one bloody week alone in Folians Grove, it's a sacred place no hunters walking about. Who would dare confront me with Grumpy around?! He's -NOT- being fair! one bloody night he says one bloody night he says. At least Mom saw what it ment to me, and gave me two nights at least. Noooo unfair, unreasonable dad says Nooo bloody hell in this lifetime. I got so mad I through things off the table and stormed off to my room and slammed the door.
*Throwing his journal on the bed, Trouble goes to the music box and cranks up his music really loud that could be heard throughout the house*
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* Trouble leant up against the windowsill, his head in his hands, staring out through the glass sheet miserably. The sun was just about to sink below the horizon, and the little road outside his house across from the garden was busy with people heading home after a hard days work.
Screech sat on the windowsill beside him, quite and sullen, seeming to share in the silent misery it's master did. Everyonce in awhile, Trouble would reach out and ruffle the monkey's head reassuringly, smiling weakly before going back to gazing longingly outside.
But the monkey wasn't convinced.
" It just goes to show Screech. Parent's can't be trusted. They were fine to let me stay in the house when I was worried about the whole Percy incident. But now I want and am ready to go back outside... oh no... then its " No Mr. Tempest! You are grounded!" *he mimics his mothers voice*
* he sighed again, exasperrated, just as a bird lighted on the windowsill on the other side of the glass. With a slight, forced smile, Trouble began tapping on the glass to get the birds attention, seeming to sense and feel the freedom the bird possesed so close to him.
He sighed softly again, unable to restrain himself from sending out his own message to the bird... a sense of being trapped, caged, miserable and depressed...
... with a sudden chirp of birdsong, the bird leapt off the sill and dived into the air, taking to the skies and flying East.*
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** Note to self: Put something in here
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Note to self: Put something in here
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*Waking up one morning, Sall rather hurridely gets dressed and washed, and then seems to idly wander the house, or at least it seems.
He follows Trouble from room to room, scrutinising the movements and actions of the young man, watching what the lad wears, how he eats, and sighing and chuckling as Trouble spends nearly 30 minutes in the mirror, combing his hair and altering the tiniest creases on his clothes. Finnaly, all prepared, Trouble bids farewell to his parents and skips happily out the door.
With a soft chuckle, Sall turns to Tegs and grins widely.
" Well... I think I got an idea whats going on... but ...you may not like it."
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"What are you all dressed up for?" Trya asks her best friend for as long as she can remember. "What, is your mom making you go to the temple or something? *as they sit together by the pond in Haft Lake*
Trouble leaning back on his elbows with a grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes staring back at Tyra. Who will not admit it to her, but she is his best friend, he can always count on Trya to be there sass and all.
"Why not?" *he shrugs slightly". Trya giving him a dubious look, gives him a longer look. "You combed your hair! *she moves to touch it in awe. Trouble seeing her about to touch it, softly smacks her hand* "Don't touch it, took me thirty minutes to get it how I like it."
Just then three girls turned the corner, spotting Trouble they began to giggle as they passed, whispering among each other and shyly waving to Trouble. Trouble waving back to them, giving them a wink as they pass making the girls giggle more. Trya rolling her eyes at this total display of grossiness hits Trouble on the arm to get his attention again. "Ow! You didnt have to hit me that hard for nothing"
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Trouble turned the corner in the Haft Lake district, nodding politely if grudgingly to the dwarven guard stood at the corner.. who seemed to only glower back at the young man.
Screech skittered on ahead and darted for the front door of their house.. but suddenly stopped and looked into the back garden, its attention caught. Curious, Trouble patted his shoulder and the monkey leapt up to perch there, and the young man moved around the side of the house.. already smelling smoke and burning wood on the wind.
Appearing in the garden, he was surprised to see his mother and father, waiting for him, smiling and chuckling at each other as he appeared, a small roaring fire was ablaze infront of them.
Even the two raccoons perched atop the bins waited expectantly, chittering away to each other and occassionaly diving into the bin and reappearing with some scrap of left-over food which it nibbled on.
" Whats going on?" he asked, moving over to the fire.
Tegan smiled and walked over to him, giving him a hug and pulling the satchel with his school books inside off his shoulder.
" Its sort of a tradition I hear. The day you leave school...." she smiled and gestured to the fire, ".. you get to burn your shirt."
Sallaron just stood, a smile on his face, his arms folded and waiting expectantly... and surprisingly, Screech suddenly leapt from Trouble's shoulder and over and up onto Sall's shoulder.
Trouble paused... looking at the fire. A gleam appeared in his eyes, and a wry grin spread across his face.
" Thank Folian!" he laughed, and in an instant, literally ripped the shirt from his back and tossed it in the fire.
Sall and Tegs laughed and clapped a few times, his mother giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek.
" Congratulations son. But now.. what are you going to do with all this free time?"
Sall nodded.
" Aye... dont think yer gonna be lying around the bloody house all day. I can think of plenty things ya could be doing"
Trouble grinned and hugged his mother back, peering over her shoulder at his dad.
" Oh... I was thinking about maybes a little trip to Katherian for a few days."
Sall paused and laughed, clapping his hands together.
" Bloody good choice son. Ya lucky bugger!"
Tegan stepped back and frowned, looking a little confused.
" Er... Katherian. But.. why? Its horrible... full of slavers and dangerous. Why go there?"
Trouble paused... and didnt say a word, but the mischevious smile played across his face. She looked dubiously from Trouble to Sall, confused.. before Sall finnaly mouthed the silent words " Xeenites"
Again she paused a moment... then her eyes narrowed and her brow knit together in that all too familiar way, to the point father and son both chuckled and took a wary step back.
" Like bloody hell you are!"
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Dad's been gone for over a week already, and Mom tries to keep busy. When she heads to town I go with her, help her collect materials and what not. I don't mind it so much as I used to walking inside crowded places, but it's still not my favorite thing to do. I definately couldn't walk with Grumpy in one. I am now finally left alone in Vale after I brought Grumpy with me the last time, all I wanted to do was refill my canteens and give him some water. Though must say it was interesting watching the people scatter away yelling.. Bear..bear.. bear. Yeah.. yeah.. yeah.. the same ol arguement.. they -don't know- he's friendly and worried about their kids being eaten. Anyway, I don't mind helping out like this, but I wish she can stop with the mothering just a bit, geesh by all that is Folian, I know I can use a cloth to wipe my mouth, but sometimes you use what is closer and at times that is my sleeve. She doesn't even say anything about it, no, all she does is give me a look, and I know I am busted. I have a feeling that no matter how old I get and no matter what I can do, there will always be a part of her that sees me as a kid.
I'm gonna miss our talks like this, because well soon I am gonna leave home and venture out there on my own like my parents did. *gets a gleam in his eye* I am going to go out there and leave my mark, venture places no one has been and let the world know Trouble Tempest exists!
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*Trouble spending a lazy day relaxing against Grumpy, the big ol bear in Folians Grove*
I am so ready to be out on my own. But I know it'll not be the same as being at home with my mom and dad taking care of me. We had a long talk the other day about that. They sense I want to be on my own and they both agree that it is almost time as well. I also heard the same story -again- about how they arrived in Mistone with nothing, had to learn everything on their own, nothing was handed to them on a silver plate, and how how it made them stronger. And there went Dad saying he walked twenty miles in the snow with no shoes, both ways just to collect some corn for an order. I want to prove to them and myself I can do that too, with no hand outs, no freebies from anyone, but to live on this land is to be self reliant. I will always have a home here, but from now on if I needed anything I will have to provide the means to buy it or collect it whatever it may be. My mom was quick to reassure me that they still loved me, and still did wish to take care of me, but I was quick to tell her I understood where she was coming from. I also told her I wanted to do things on my own, and I saw how much pride they had for all they earned on their own and I wanted that for myself. To know that I, Trouble Tempest, earned all that I would have on my own blood, sweat and tears.
When I sit here among nature away from the city I feel so at peace. There is a beginning, a middle and an end, but it starts all over again, and nothing is taken for granted, it is all used given back to nature to help the coming future. Now it is my turn to give something back. I hope I can do as well as my parents did.
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I met a man, Elgon was his name, and he seemed to have similar abilities to myself though much more pronounced of course. Shifting... the ability to change into an animal. He said one day I would have the ability too... but... well... I certainly did not see it coming. But it did. I was merely thinking about it and concentrating, as I would when asking for Nature's aid when it happened. Okay... maybe's a Boar wasn't the greatest example... but it was only because I saw one anyway. And Screech nearly panicked and ran off and left me.
But... I lost my concentration half-way through the shift... and suddenly I hurt all over. It was horrible! Not to mention that the entire transformation felt... way too uncomfortable and disconcerting. Elgon said it would feel wonderous, well it certainly did not. I think I'll leave this shifting alone for the moment... until I get the hang of it.
I also met another man, I'm guessing a bard the way he was hollering in the Goblin caves. The thing is, there were some bats flying around out of the way of everybody and he just went in.. and well screeched them to death. I was so totally shocked at it, that I didn't know what to do or how to react.. but now thinking back of it.. I feel angry at how people can be so cruel to defenseless creatures of this world. If that ever happens again to any creature they are going to feel a bit of lightning where the sun don't shine.
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*lay up against the tree in one of the highest branches, Trouble chews the end of his quill whilst Screech bounces from tree to tree playfully*
Well well... been here a few months now. And quite a lot has happened.
First thing I should mention. Mom and Dad.
Just who are they?
I thought mom was mom... cooking, cleaning, washing my clothes, dissapearing for a few days with friends to talk about... umm... cooking and cleaning.
And dad. Never seeming happy with what I do... spending most his time in the carpentry shop doing this and that... and dissapearing for days and weeks at a time to do... well... dad things. Getting drunk with friends and doing very little.
But to find they were adventurer's! And successful ones?!
And to hear some of the things they've done... it just doesnt fit. I cant get my head round it.
But.. seems Im making my own adventures now. A few people I've come to trust... the big bulking ton of muscles that is Ark, the totally humourless Lady Ell, the dissapearing reappearing dwarf... and the rather hot but sharp Phyress.
And the help I've received too. Lots of it. From people who knew mom and dad.
At first I wanted to say no... but when Daniel handed me that Iron scimitar... well... would have been stupid to say no.
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Well... I had my first.... umm... not even sure what to call it really....
Feel for the Land? Would that be right?
I'd fallen in with some people to help out the Queens regiment, which Screech reminded me incessently was not a good idea. But i went anyway.
Some Slaver's had made some kind of tunnel from the Deep, and were fortifying their positions near the beach.
A big tentacled one-eyed thing had done something to the land, and the second we stepped into the forest, everything attacked us!
Now I mean everything! Trees... plants... spider.... everything
I knew something was wrong... and for the first time, I totally opened up to the land around me.
It hurt.
Badly.
I thought my head was going to explode. The Eyed thing had corrupted and poisoned the land, making it attack us.. but somehow... I managed to sever its link to it.
Mom and Dads going to be so psyched! Fighting slavers and taming the lands!
Just wait till they here about this Tunnel we found going from the Deep to the Surface... transporting Slaves! They're going to be so proud... Im going to make Dad eat his " be careful" words!
Jaelle finnaly made a move on me. I knew it wouldn't be long... she can't resist my innate charms forever. Havent seen her since though... but then Ive been really busy.
And Mom and Dad. They've been missing a long time now, and people keep asking where they are.
All I know is they went to some Red Bear Sailors buffet meeting in Hurm... and I havent heard from them since. I think its been nearly a month now.
I might have to detour to Hurm soon, just to see what they've been up to, or what Trouble they've got themselves into.
Tch.. Parents. Sometimes... you just cant take your eyes off them for a second.
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A Druid.
That's what I am labelled as. Where it seems the source of my skills come from.
Being a Druid.
But... what exactly is a Druid?
Am I supposed to have certain responsibilities? Conduct myself a certain way?
Im certainly hoping not. I may have these skills and abilities at my disposal but.... should I be doing something specific with them as oppose to merely minding the typical adventurer doesnt slay any and all wildlife he happens to pass on his ventures?
I'll be honest. I do little. I travel here and there.... do as I please when and where it suits me.
" Living up to my name-sake" and " You are no Saint Trouble Sir" seem to be comments I'm hearing a lot lately.
I've done nothing wrong though. Im living for me... taking fun and pleasure where and when I can. How can that be wrong or frowned upon? Isn't that supposed to be the point of this life?
There's a few now I've met who do things there way.... and I'm becoming closer to them... particulary one. She does things her way and cares little of views, being totally blunt and straight with me... something thats as refreshing to me as a long sleep and cold shower... which is usually whats required after our meetings.
This may backfire on me if mom and dad ever find out of course.... but certainly no reason they should.
Another is the same... though totally opposite.
She does what she wants... when she wants... but it all seems to follow some moral code for her. Even when she appears to be outwardly and sharply blunt with others, she still treats ( or believes) she's treating them with respect.
" I have a lot to learn.. " Caerwyn had said. Personally I wanted to blast his head off for being so self-important in judging me but comparing me to himself.
Maybe I do have a lot to learn.
But personally... I think Im doing pretty well so far.
If people wish to claim Im a true Druid. So be it.
If they wish to believe I am as my name is... Trouble.
Then so be it.
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Losing has an unusual taste to it.
Not one I intend on sampling again.
It dawned on me gradually, during the voyage from Krashin when I could hardly contain myself from shivering and shaking from the cold and pnuemonia that set upon me.
I'd made a wager for something I wanted... and rather blindly allowed myself to be used for her entertainment. In truth a part of me didn't truly think she would do it... but she did... and either the freezing cold waters shocked her spell from me the moment I hit them.... or she did it on purpose.
And when I clambered from the icy waters, shivering and shaking... she wasn't even there.
It wasn't even then when I hit my lowest... but when she took me to the Mistite Temple. I actually felt close to death, I was sure of it.... and I had no option but to put my complete trust in her as she lead me to the Mistite Priestess on the island.
And the Priestess smirked at me.... enjoying and amused by my condition before she healed me.
I'd been too obvious with what I wanted.... and too intent on making a -show- of what time spent with her meant. Perhaps in some ways I am transparent... it seem's to be.
Perhaps thats why some, Miss Ell, Raven to mention a few.... seem to think they can read me like a book, and grade me, giving me merit on substance.
And far too easily... like the wager... I accept it.
I will never be so blindly, foolishy transparent again.
Ever.
I will take what I want... and accept no "price" for it.... no "stakes"... no compromise.
Always.
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Things are going well.
Better than expected in honesty.
Mom and Dad -finnaly- came home.. amidst grand tales of brave deeds that... still to this moment... I find a little unbelievable.
But it's been confirmed. Dad's been a busy bee... and I've hardly seen him, keeping to himself until this banquet at Hurm.
Mom's been at her guild mainly... though she still likes to track me down and see what Im up to.
So far... despite Malkor's rash outburst and Jaelle's warning... I don't think they suspect anything.
My gifts are.... in honesty... growing wilder than I'd imagined. I confess it's unusual that... although I dont know -how- or -why- Im obtaining these skills... I'm finding myself excelling in their use and enjoying them.
Phyress... we adventure a lot together, and despite people's constant belief we are together... we arn't. Oh Ive tried for entertainment's sake... but she doesn't seem to be one like that. She's requested I learn to dance and accompany her to some form of ball dance... which... I've reluctantly agreed to.
And Miss Ell's another... who... after several days of travelling, to my surprise, imparted her tale of woe to me. I advised her as best I could, but she certainly over-complicates things. But then, this is devout religion, not something I have ever understood myself.
Not even my simplified tale of the Tomatoe managed to make her understand what she is missing. A shame really... so much time has passed for her... and so little fruit.
I understand Tyra has left home. In honesty, now hearing about it, I feel a little guilty for not having dropped in sooner to see her since her fathers death. But Im sure her feet will come my way soon enough.
So things have perked for the moment... considering what I wrote in my last entry.
The only fallout may be if my mother and father find out what's been happening behind closed doors and attempt to interfere.
I've already made my decision in that regards.
Should it come to that... I simply wont -let- them intefere.
-
* Trouble sits on the Tempest's bench in Folian's grove, thoughtfully twisting a golden ring on his finger, delicate leaves and vines subtly carved upon the surface.
An occassional glance to Screech keeps this thoughts from wandering too far, the monkey leaping from tree to tree and occassionaly darting down from the branches to chase and toy with some of the Fisher's by the stream.*
I don't get it. *he mutters to himself*
These were her rules to start with.
All that secrecy... keeping it from mom and dad... and then bearing the storm when they -did- find out.
All to find what I was trying to keep a secret... isn't even the same thing anymore.
*he rubs his neck a little, closing his eyes to clear his head as a warm breeze sweeps through the wood, carrying with it the smell of seasonal jasmine and aloe.*
At the moment, does it even matter? To me... and for me... does it even make a difference?
Not yet it doesn't... no. Not yet.
But it will soon.
** the monkey suddenly appears up at Trouble's feet, the white and black fur on its body soaked from chasing the fisher's through the stream.
It looks up at him dubiously, unable to fathom what's made his friend so sombre, but curious as to why the hell he's talking to himself. **
-
Sooner rather than later it seemed.
Muireaan.
Dad's friend... Uncle Shamur's girlfriend. By Folian... I used to help mom make her chicken soup years ago!
I mean... that was bad.
And if Muireann's one... who could the others be??
And she'd never tell me either!
But thats gone now. Tears in the rain apparently.
Screech stopped traveling with me for awhile after that, and, I just roamed basically....
... and... Im still just... .umm.... roaming.
-
* The Dalanthar market was busy this time of day. Merchants shouted and hollared from their market stalls, customers bribed and haggled over prices, children darted playfully around the grass with dogs chasing them, all as the sun shone down brightly across the shimmering lake.
A few had noticed the young man stood rather seriously by the lakes edge, looking fairly serious in his stance and under his green hood. More so unusual they noticed was the white faced monkey that stood on the grass beside him, the two looking at each other on occassion as though holding a conversation.
" I cant have it both ways Screech. Protect people... and I hurt others. Be honest... and I hurt others.
I'm done with protecting or caring what other people think or how they feel... either way... I take the brunt of it."
Eventually, the monkey seems to screech in irritation, folding its arms and skittering a few feet away from the young man. He looks over, regarding the monkey sadly a moment, and then, uncaring for the many people who now would be watching and looking... proceeds to throw off his clothes into a pile by the lake, and completely naked... dives into the water.
Time after time, the young man dives down into the water, gone for a minute each time, before breaking the surface in gasping, choking breaths. He would catch his breath, and dive back down again.
The final time... he was below the water much more than a minute. And a few people who were watching, began creeping to the waters edge, fearing the young man may have drowned.
But again, he broke to the surface of the water more explosively, choking and gasping for breath as he swam for the shore, throwing something that sparkled in the sun onto the grass as he heaved his exhausted body out the water.
Falling flat on his back, fully naked, caring not a whit what people saw or thought, he took the ring in his hands, twirling it thoughtfully in his fingers, the leaves and vines etched on the surface standing out brilliantly in the light.
With a relieved sigh, he slips the ring tightly back onto his finger*
-
Women.
Bizzare creatures.
* he chuckles to himself, sat in the comfy leather chair, the candle-light from the lamp above him spilling warm light through out the Xeenite bedroom. Jaelle stirs in the bed with a soft groan, and he quietly snaps his journal shut, ready to slide it under the chair out of sight should she awake.
But a moment later, she's still and asleep, and he continues writing.*
As I once said to someone.... a tomatoe is a tomatoe... but, depending on how they're grown, each one can be as different to the next as the sun is too the moon.
Some of them say one thing.. " Do not feel obligated to help me! I am NOT a damsel in distress that needs you to come charging to my aid!" ...
... and so you comply...
.. and not a few weeks later, the same woman is mad at you, storming off in a tantrum.... because you "no longer seem to worry or care!"
I wanted to scream " Because you told me not too!"... but thought best of it.
Some seem to change their mind as and when the moment suits them, and somehow expect you to keep up.
Others are so independent and fun-loving, that its a surprising and startling contrast. They expect and want nothing but the basics, and seem to survive off the bare minimum. Of course, sometimes their sense of humour can be flawed. Running towards the entrance of a Gnoll stronghold and shouting "Helloooo?" is either remarkably brave, stupid... or the sense of humour got lost in translation.
Others... well... I'll veer to parents.
I know she's looking out for me, but she really just doesn't get it, no matter how I try to explain it.
Mothers... I guess sometimes.... they just refuse to see the truth. Well... I can't hold her hand for ever...
**he chuckles a moment at his entry, pausing a moment, wondering whether to scribble it out or not, and decides against it*
But as a side note, something struck me again whilst we fought our way through Sinister woods, battling the dark Treants there.
" If I were a "real" Druid, I'd likely have permission to blow you up simply for mentioning that!" I'd said jokingly to Phyress.
It came out so glibe and easily. "Real" Druid.
I have their skills, their gifts but... deep down, I truely dont consider myself one of them.
So the question begs... what then am I?
-
The monkey scarpered quickly up to the top branches of the nearest tree, as though abandoning or leaving Trouble to his own fate. But he looked confidently and, almost smugly ahead at Legodia.
The Druid looked at him thoughtfully a moment, glancing occassionaly at several other lesser Druids around her, before giving Trouble a quick, curt nod.
" Very well Mr Tempest. I'll not deny I've heard... vague... rumours about yourself and what you are capable of. Some are most complimentary...."
She fixes him with a stern eye.
".... some however, are "not". But let us see shall we. You claim you wish to learn, to educate yourself in the ways and gifts you have been born with...."
She half turns, gesturing to a small glade not far away, a circle of stones surrounding it, sunlight filtering through gaps in the trees to highlight the entire area.
" Come..." she said, " Show us what you can do."
Trouble smirked, his arms folded smugly, and walked over into the centre of the glade.
He was no fool. He could sense that Legodia, and perhaps two or three of the other gathered Druids had immense power and connection to the gland simply pulsating around them.
But he could also sense that the remainder of them, did not hold that much sway with nature. In a contenst, they would simply be no match for him whatsoever.
This fueled him. How could he fail. A short test of his power, to demonstrate he was better than many already under her guidance.
Surely... surely then, he would be accepted as a "so-called-Druid"... surely then he would gain the title of "A leaf".
Stepping into the circle of stones, he closed his eyes, and bowed his head.
He no longer needed any grand hand gestures or waves of his arms to call his power, nor furrow his brow or stare at a single point to focus his concentration.
He stood quiet and still, eyes closed, blind... and called forth quite simply what he could do.
In a heartbeat, the air seemed to get sucked into him... and a shower of burning fire, bright and blinding, blanketed the glade in a roar and whoosh, the heat itself burning the grass around him.
He could hear the sharp intakes of breath from some of the watching Druids, the gasps of surprise. He smirked to himself as he called forth more of his gift.
"What did they expect? Did they think me some lowly puppy?" he thought to himself, and over-come with pride and vanity at the thought of the impression he was making, he called forth all he had.
Amidst a deafening boom of thunder, lightning danced and arced and blasted the entire area he stood in, shattering a few of the stones within the circle.
A blinding shower of sunlight, burning and painfully intense covered the glade amidst a sound that sounded like the hallowing of Angels.
Deadly, barb-tipped vines burst forth from the ground, snaking around the glade creepily as though looking for something to impale.
This continued for awhile, amidst continued gasps and murmurings from the crowd of Druids.... until finnaly it ceased.
And with a smug look, despite his exhaustion, Trouble opened his eyes and walked closer to Legodia and the Druids.
At first, he thought the look on their faces was of pure amazement and awe.
But it wasn't.
Legodia eyed him sternly, her arms folded tightly.
" You have much to learn Mr Tempest!" she practically hissed at him.
Trouble blinked, confused, then his eyes narrowed angrily at the scolding.
" Do not give me that! You know perfectly well not even "half" of your students here are capable of such feats!"
Legodia frowned and took a step towards him. He could feel her anger emenating from her, the raw power, and he took a wary step back as she stabbed a finger at him.
" My Students... when asked to enter the glade... Heal an Animal... grow a Flower... uncontort a Tree root!!
They do NOT reign powers of Death and Destruction down... upon a SACRED glade... simply to impress for their own vanity!!"
She takes a deep breath, controling herself as she looks at him, sadness in her eyes.
" As I said Mr Tempest... you have -much- to learn...."
-
Two months alone in Belinara was all it took.
A mere two months.
Alone, save for Screech the Belinarian white-faced monkey, Trouble travelled far north across the Belinarian continent into the Great Forest.
Amazing how such a short amount of time, and a man alone with his thoughts and memories, can have such an effect.
Almost a year to the day his feet returned him to Whitehorn woods, and he once again came before Legodia and her Druids. She smiled when she saw him approach, a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she greeted him respectfully.
He bowed to her, a little stiffly, as Screech once again dived off his shoulder and abandoned him for the top most branches of the trees.
" Returned once again to show what you have learnt and prove your connection to the land Mr Tempest? Believe it is finnaly time to take your place with us as a Leaf?" she asked softly.
Trouble merely smiled and nodded, his hood rustling.
With another hopefilled smile, she gestured him once again into the open glade, who's lush grash and earth had long ago been healed by Trouble's last rash decision here.
He nodded again and walked into the glade, stopping only to stoop to the floor and pluck a single, small blue flower from the ground.
In the centre of the glade he knelt, and simply pressed the plucked flowers stem into the ground, a fond smile on his face.
Nothing seemed to happen for some time, though Trouble remained perfectly still, that same, calm, serene smile on his face, until eventually he let go of the flower and sat back, crossing his legs.
The flower didn't fall, but stood upright, it's roots having grown and delved deep into the earth in the mere few seconds Trouble had held it in place. Infact, as the others watched, it grew, inching its way taller and higher than before, its petals opening up in full bloom.
And all around him, sprouting up from the grass, in the same eerie slowness, a whole thick patch of the blue flowers sprouted. First the stems, snaking their way above the grass, then the tip would bulge into the pod, before eventually a fully bloomed flower head would burst open.
Trouble sat there, quietly a moment, amidst the thick covering, sweet smelling blue flowers that not blanketed where he sat, before getting to his feet and walking over to Legodia.
She smiled and applauded, seeming truly awed and happy to see the spectacle he had performed.
"Oh well done Mr Tempest... Well Done. Truly you have learnt much. And now finnaly, I think it is time for you to take your place amongst us as a Leaf."
Trouble looked at her and smiled....
... a smile that twisted to a smirk, as his eyes glittered under his hood in mock amusement.
" Keep your Title woman. I have no need of it... and it seems I never have."
He bowed to her, mockingly, and turned to bow just as mockingly to the Druids who had been watching. As if called on some silent message, Screech descended the branches and leapt on his shoulder.
And with a slight flourish, he twisted and turned, walking out the woods and ignoring his "so-called-fellow-Druids" gasps of shock and dissapointment.
-
** inserted inbetween the pages are four loose sheets of paper. Some containing rather brilliantly detailed sketches, others not so good.
The first is of Trouble with Screech on his shoulder, lay against a tree with a distince forested background.
The second of his parents Sallaron and Tegan, dressed for a wedding it seems, the pair of them smiling ahead each with an arm wrapped around Trouble who stands in the middle.
The third and fourth is much less detailed, much less experienced, in fact they could be considered terrible in contrast to the previous two.
An auburn haired elven lady, with her back to the viewer, sitting with her knees to her chin and staring out across a vast blue lake.
The last is of a dark haired woman in tight clothing, stood in stance and weilding a rapier as it seems she makes parrying thrust's against some invisible attacker. *
-
Trouble stood looking around his old room, remaining in the doorway, seemingly not wanting to cross the threshold.
Screech the monkey lay sleeping quietly on the bed, it's fur now aquiring that aged grey tinge as age began to catch up with it.
Scattered around the room were his various possessions and memorobilia... a coloured macaroni necklace hung from a nail on the wall, one of two.
An old an almost rotten hickory long bow lay propped up in the far corner of the wall, and some rather bent and moldy arrows beside it.
A golden dragon egg, the inside an ingenious toy that made snow billow within the glass if it was shook.
A few expertly drawn pictures were placed up in various places around the wall, and on his table were a few books ranging from "Lessons in Dancing: Beginners" to an old book he'd stole from his parents room entitled "Everything you ever wanted to know about s...." ... sadly the rest of the title was worn off.
He sighed softly a moment, almost mournfully, as he dragged an old chest into the doorway and stepped into his old room.
Everything got cleared away. All his clothes, possessions, memorobilia, decorations.... within an hour everything was packed away into the chest and his room looked eerily bare and empty.
Screech still lay on the ready made bed, oblivious to what was going on around him.
Pulling a small envelope from his pocket, he moved over to the dressing table and left it there, in plain sight... the envelope merely stating " To the new kid".
He taps the envelope, making sure it would stay put as he murmurs sadly to himself "I should get a few points for this."
And with a last , thoughtful look around his old bedroom... Trouble dragged the old chest to the storage room and left it there.
-
Sallaron stepped, almost with dread, into Trouble's old bedroom.
It wasn't his anymore. Now childrens toys and clothes were strewn around, colouring sticks and paper lay on the floor, and Jurn lay sleeping soundly on the bed.
Sall watched the kid a moment.... and for a brief moment... a terrible thought crossed his mind as he chew his lip and fought back some tears.
" I'd hand you back in a second if I thought it would bring my son back!"
He became flushed with rage and anger, clenching his hands.... and was just about to stalk out the room.... until some familiar words from an old friend, an elven Priestess of Folian, came to mind through the red fog of his rage.
" The circle of life renews itself. What once was about to fade... now begins to blossom again."
The word did not bring him peace. Or calm his rage.
They merely steadied him.
And with a shaky hand, he placed Trouble's leather-bound, sealed journal on the shelf above Jurn's head and walked out, closing the door behind him.
-
The door to the Tempest's house was left wide-open.
Stepping inside, muddy foot prints could be seen leading all through the house.. up the stairs, into the basement, the front room.. everywhere.
It genuinely looked like the place had been robbed.
Following one set of the muddy boot tracks, they led down the hallway and into a small closet, where a figure rummaged and searched in a small chest, muttering to himself as he did so.
His coat was on the darkest green, almost black, but not quite, and a thick hood covered what seemed to be black curly hair. He seemed pretty thin, but not starved, despite the fact the long dark coat hid most of his features.
After a few minutes of searching, he stood up and gave a sharp kick to the chest.
"Where's my bloody journal!"
-
Well.. I've roamed around a little now.
Seems everyone thought I was dead.
Got to admit.. I'm bloody loving all the Gasps and wide eyes and... "Y...y...you!" when old friends recognise me.
And... some not so much...
Phyress knocked me out.. literally... a sharp knee and Im on the floor flopping about like a wet fish.
And bloody hell.. Uncle Ark.. I thought he was gonna cry right there and then.
Still.. straight off.. the old Tempest charm came into play.
*he stops to grin and straighten his collar before he continues writing*
Some.. Gala thing I got an invitation to.
Pallena... strange lass. Heh... once she's in smiting mode with that bloody beating stick of hers... I half expect her to go " Ugh.... me Smash!"
Then next minute she whippers out words of wisdom that seem like common sense.
Heh.. lets see how she dances without the stick in her hand.
Funny how you can be away for so long, but once your home... it suddenly feels like you never left.
Still.. with it come the old worries and thoughts too.
Not much time to contemplate stuff clambering out the Deep... but once you have time to sit and soak up the sun under a grove of oaks, it all comes flooding back.
Cardin or "Hair" is reminding me. His whole attitude to his worship of Katia and protecting the land.
I mean... I do that too.. obviously. But ... I just start to wonder if thats for me anymore. If I'm even the right sort.
*with a small sigh he slaps the journal closed, lay out in his back garden and catching himself a tan*
-
* Trouble paces back and forth in the front room, tugging on his hair indecisively, and pretty much muttering and holding a conversation with the wall... arguing with it.. pro's and Con's and everything.
After much more pacing, and his voice rising to almost angry levels... it becomes obvious the wall is apparently winning the arguement.*
Well fine.. Godmanit! But I want a whole batch of bloody good points fer this!!
*the shouts the last at the wall, stabbing a finger at it to make his point, before grabbing a bag full of scrolls and inks and storming out the house, slamming the door behind him.
*The wall remains silent in its smug and amused victory.*
-
** Trouble sits perched atop the table, feet on the chair infront of him as he bounces a rubber ball off the wall, catching it on the rebound deftly on each return.
He stares intently at the wall as though listening, then frowns at it.
" Aint I supposed to ask that question?"
He whacks the ball a little more forcefully off the wall as though to make his point, then shrugs.
" Fine.. fine. Well.. don't really know. Maybe get back to scribing... or find Phyress for some travelling or go snooping around mom's guild... or heh.. maybe help Amanda get those bloody diamonds. Reckon I owe her fer that much."
A wayward bounce off the wall almost sends a family portrait of Sallaron, Tegan, Jurn and Trouble crashing to the floor. Wincing at the telling off he would have most certainly received had it fallen, he hops off the table and pulls the portrait down, laying it on the floor face up, before continuing his ball bouncing.
" So.... which one do ya reckon?" he asks the wall.
After a moments silence, he frowns at it, sighing and shaking his head.
"I don't remember that being one of the options I just gave ya muppet."
He frowns again at the wall, as though not liking its question, and begins throwing the ball with such force the wall begins to shake.
" What a stupid question! I'll tell ya why! Cause I aint playing.. I don't bloody dance to that tune. Stand up straight! Shoulders back! Suck that gut in! Stand at attention whilst yer judged on yer Pro's an Con's.
Well Sod that!"
The wall seems to accept this answer, and after venting a few more throws of the ball against the wall, he pockets it and snatches up a small satchel full of inks and papers and heads out the door.
-
Stepping into the house, Trouble shrugged his jacket off and let it drop where he had set his backpack off, literally in the middle of the passageway.
Walking into the front room, he snatches a small rubber ball from the fireplace and hops onto the dining table, beginning to toss the ball off the wall and catch it on its return, the ball thudding on every impact.
" Well... come on then.. ask away." he says simply, an eye on the wall.
He waits a moment, as though listening, then shrugs as he continues tossing the ball off the wall.
" Well so far so good. Had one "bloody" good night I can tell ya," he says with a slight smirk, " ... aint likely to forget that in awhile. So.. yeah... no complaints."
Again a silence follows as he bounces the ball off the wall, and then his whole attitude changes from cheery to annoyed, as though he didn't like something he's been asked or told.
" Well what do you think? Within a day was nearly up to three points. One bloody day!!"
He curses softly, the impacts off the wall beginning to get harder and harder, shaking portraits and vases softly.
" I mean.. the first one was enough! I shoulda' blasted right there an then. I mean... the hells?! Before I wouldn't have given 3 points! Someone said something like that I'd have been on 'em in a bloody flash!"
Trouble sighs softly, the easing back of throws against the wall going in time to his own abating temper. He seems to listen quietly a moment, then just shrugs.
" Don't know.. hang around home for a bit really. Heard some weird rumours bout mom and po... ah.. speak of the Pit Demon and...."
With a wry chuckle, he catches the ball deftly and shoves it in his pocket, half turning on the table to face the door as it swings open and the sound of two arguing voices can be heard coming in and dropping bags.
" But sweets... you know I love that place." his fathers voice chimed softly from the doorway.
Tegan strode into the room, full of fury, showing Sallaron the hand without even looking at him. Seeing Trouble sat on the table, her anger ebbs away long enough for a smile as she walks over to kiss his brow.
The young man smiles up with a murmured "Hi mom. Problems?"
Tegan smiles down at him, toying with the silver streak in his hair, before turning back to face Sallaron, a face full of thunder.
"Why don't you explain it to your son "DEAR!" ... go on... ask him what -he- thinks a holiday home should be like!" she half shouts at him, a sudden warning tell of lightning dancing across her finger tips.
This obvious Tempest Tell-tale sign usually suggested Trouble should head for his room, but it seemed he was being dragged into it.
Sall sighs and smooths down his coat, looking at Trouble pleadingly.
Sadly, the young man was at a loss as to how to help his father, and just gave the honest answer.
"Holiday home. I don't know. Nice cottage overlooking a lake, in a nice warm place. " he says.
Instantly, Sallaron is pointing and wagging a finger at him.
" See! See! Ours is over-looking a lake!"
Its obvious in an instant that was a bad idea.
Tegan turns slowly on her heels to face him, folding her arms, her face icy.
" Yes dear, you are quite right... " she starts off softly, gently, " ... it does indeed have a nice view of a lake.... something I did want..... but...."
Then her hands clench as she takes a step forward in anger, raising her voice.
" NOT A FROZEN LAKE! NOT A FROZEN LAKE ON A FROZEN MOUNTAIN! And dont says its a Cottage Mr Tempest! Its a TOOL SHED!!! A tiny, run down Tool shed halfway up a frozen mountain, near a frozen lake in Breuth, on the outskirts of an icy town filled with ale guzzling dwarfs!! How is THAT a holiday home!"
-
Tegan and Sall burst into the house in a flurry, a variety of curses escaping them as one quickly began throwing foods and traveling equipment into a bag, and the other began quickly tidying up.
They seemed a fluster, and not in a good way, Sall muttering and grumbling and Tegan shouting various orders at him, going through her mental checklist.
" Food... clothes... Clothes! Gah! ... oh... travel tickets... and don't forget the bank forms!" Tegan shouted out to her husband as she began collecting certain clothing from the laundry pile.
An arm full of various clothes, she hurried to the bedroom with them, bursting inside.
"MOM!"
"TROUBLE!!"
With a gasp of shock and surprise, Tegan leapt out the bedroom, slamming the door behind her and leaning against it, stunned, as the pile of clothes fell from her arms to the floor.
"Oh my god... Oh my god..." she murmured, her hands covering her eyes as though she'd just seen the most nightmarish and horrid thing imaginable.
"SALL!!!"
A moment later Sall came hurrying over, grumbling.
"What? I got the bloody food... I... er..." seeing her expression, he frowns and looks at the bedroom door.
"What?
Shaking her head in disbelief, stunned beyond recognition, she steps away from the door, turns around to face it, and sighing, she knocks.
Sall raises an eyebrow at her, then looks at the door curiously as though it might suddenly shift into a person or start floating from its hinges.
Instead, slowly, very slowly, the door opens ajar just a little, just enough to see candlelight from inside the dark room, and then suddenly, his face flushed and embarresed, and resplendant in his mothers pink dressing gown, Trouble slips through the ajar space and closes the door behind him, facing his mother and father and looking like a child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
" Er... ahem.. Hi er.. pops... hi mom. We... I... I er... didn't expect you back for... for... a few days yet." he stammered, tugging the lovely pink dressing gown tightly around himself and tieing the frilly cloth belt in a nice little bow around his waist.
Tegan frowned, the oh so familiar look of dissaproval on her face as she folded her arms and glared at her son.
Sall however, took a few more moments to understand what was going on, and when he did, it was all he could do to bow his head behind Tegan and chew on his tongue to stop himself rolling on the floor and laughing.
Eventually, a few sharp elbows to the rips from his wife brough the seriousness out in him.
" Just WHAT is going on here young man? Hmmm? Care to explain why She is in OUR bedroom? Hmmm" Tegan said softly, but with no disguising her obvious anger as she tapped her foot off the floor.
Troubles eyes flicked to his father, pleading for some backup. But Sall shook his head, biting down on his lip hard to keep from laughing whilst trying to look stern.
" You answer your mother son."
Trouble sighed, resigned to his fate. Nothing would get him out of it, he knew that.
So he shrugged, and a gleam came to his eye, as he stood defiantly before them.
" Ya want all the vivid details?"
Tegan gasped and promptly and gently smacked the top of his head.
" Don't give me that attitude Trouble Tempest! That is OUR room.. and I... bah! We don't have time for this!" she flailed her arms in the air, and stabbed a finger at Trouble, poking him in the chest as her face flushed angrily.
Now this was a tell tale sign for the Tempests... both Trouble and Sallaron knew it well. As soon as you got poked in the chest, you'd better start behaving. And so he stood up straight , prepared to take the brunt of whatever was about to come.
" Now you get your lady friend out of here... and get your things pack!"....
... and then... she whole expression changed. She sighed softly, her voice dropped to a soft, calming whisper as she looked over at Sall, and then back to Trouble.
This scared Trouble more than anything.
" Get your clothes and traveling gear together... and... send her home..." Tegan waved a weary hand at the door.
" We're traveling to Vehl, and Jurns meeting us on route...."
She reached out to put a hand on Troubles shoulder, who looked terrified at the sudden change in his mothers mood.
".... your Uncle... Arkolio... he's... passed away."
She might as well have stabbed him, stuck a tube in the wound and drained all his blood.. because thats what it looked like happened next.
All the blood drained from his face, his mouth dropped and his eyes widened.
He just stared straight ahead... stunned... for a long time... and it was only then mother and father realised what the Uncle had truly meant to him.
-
"Huh?"
Trouble stopped mid stride, turning slowly, letting his eyes scan in a circle the woods around him.
The sun beat down through the gaps in the trees, the branches swayed gently in the breeze, making shadows and shafts of light appear and dissapear across the leaf covered ground.
For a moment though, it all went silent.
The breeze seemed to die to a whisper, the birds ceased their chirping, the gentle swaying of leaves and bushes froze as though holding its breath.
Trouble did another circle, turning slowly, looking for whatever it was he thought he heard... whatever it was he felt niggling in the back of his mind.
Seeing nothing around him, nothing to explain it, he closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in and out... in and out...
... and then he sighed, almost sadly and... as though in defeat.
" Fine... fine... I'll... I'll do what I can." he murmured, opening his eyes and looking to the sky.
Wrapping his coat tighter around him, he turned right around and began walking back the way he came... each step with that little more purpose than the last one he took.
-
Trouble felt like an idiot.
Looking down at himself, he just sighed and rolled his eyes, fishing a small rubber ball from his pocket and bouncing it as quietly off the wall as he could.
It wasn't quietly enough, and the elven lady, dressed to look like a farmers wife, opened a single eye amidst her meditations and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
" Fine... fine... I'm gone" he muttered, and flashing a weak smile at her, slipped out the Inn room and stood in the passageway, bouncing the ball off the far wall and catching it on its return.
Had anyone been passing, they may have wondered at the man, who stood in the obvious dark clothes, and filthy tattered working apron of a farm man, and what he was doing in the passageway bouncing balls off the wall.
But their wasn't anyone passing.
The inn they chose at Phall was certainly not the most extravagant, but nor was it a complete dive. It was however, quiet.
And with Drach's patrolling and stood on guard in every corner of the streets outside, quiet and low profile was probably a good idea.
As he sank into his familiar routine of throwing and catching the ball, questions came to him from the wall, and as always, he sighed and rolled his eyes and cursed at the wall for even asking them.
" Well what did ya expect? You said I should get bloody involved... well here I am... dressed up like a sodding potatoe farmer, in a town overun with Drachs... and not having the slightest bloody clue what Im doing here!" he murmured to the wall.
A moments silence passed, as he tilted his head and listened to... what appeared to be... nothing.
" Yeah... yeah... I know.. history repeating an all that ... I know Pops did this same bloody thing years ago.. yadder yadder yadder... " he makes yapping motions with his free hand to the wall, " ... but at least he knew what he was bloody doing! I mean what.. I get told I'm a selfish git, eat some bad cheese, and then what... I take a walk in the woods an grow a conscionce! An now what... I'm doing my bit supposedly, an I somehow end up in the lions bloody den... an worst of all.. I dragged her into this somehow too!"
He frowns and thunks the ball off the wall again, hardly and loudly as his irritation vents, and it almost shakes the wall. Catching it on its return, he squeezes it tightly, listening once more, then snorts and rolls his eyes.
"Oh thats great.. uh huh.. those supposed to be pearls of wisdom?! Watch and see? Lot of bloody help you ar...."
He stops suddenly as the room door opens and Ell peers from within, looking at him in concern and confusion. Her tead tilts up and down the passageway, and seeing no one around, looks at him steadily.
"Who are you talking to Trouble Sir?"
"Er... " Trouble flushes a little, pushing himself away from the wall he was leaning on and tucking the ball back in his pocket.
" Er.... I was .... er... anyway... aint you supposed to be mute? No talking!"
And with a wry , teasing grin, he ushers her back into the room, following behind her, but not before he gives a final, annoyed glare at his nemisis, the cause of all his troubles....
... the wall.
-
The sound of Troubles rubber ball bouncing off the cave wall echoed ominously, and more than once his friends around him shot him annoyed glances and glares to stop it.
He never did though, he simply gave them a blank look and continued throwing and catching it off the wall, lost in his thoughts. But eventually, he did move to the back of the cave, where the curious little garden, set up so many years ago, still seemed to thrive an survive in the cold climate.
Eventually, as the silence in the back got to him, the voice of the cave wall began to get louder, its tone quizzical, its intent probing...
" Course I still hear it, " he mutters in answer to its silent question, " ... been hearing it ever since we set off across this frozen bloody wasteland. Can't get it outta my head."
Thunk! Thunk!
The only sound made from the cave, interupted on ocassion by the little giggle from Amanda and Storold, which by now, had become like background noise that everyone hardly seemed to notice.
" Well, see pop's first I guess, ... " he again, answered its question, " ... bleed him dry for all his info about it all, and then, get a team an go find it. But I ain't stupid... aint no way we'll be the first one's there. An they ain't likely to let us look without a fight."
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
A long time passed as Trouble seemed to listen, then he sighed softly, head bowed a moment, as the wall's next question seemed to fill him with dread.
" Don't know... " he sighs again, " ... I honestly don't know. Me an him set the record straight, I've pulled myself off the hook... will just have to wait till I get back to see if there's even a rod still there fer me to grab hold of."
THUNK! as he slams the ball off the wall irritably.
And then he grins, a wry, impish grin at the wall, as it seems to ask something amusing.
" Trust is... never being truly sure if you "can" trust."
He quotes, like it's something he's just learnt and committed to memory.
With another grin and a nod at the wall, almost as though thanking it for taking it's time to listen, he pockets his rubber ball and returns back to the cave to once again, pass playful and teasing jokes and insults back around until the storm passes and it's time to move on.
-
* Candel light spilled across the old oak table as Trouble rolled his rubber ball around in the palm of his hand, flicking it from palm to air, back and forth, until he set it motionlessly on the table and just stared at it.
Finnaly, he snatched up his quill and began scratching at the now dried and old pages in his journal*
Been some time since I wrote in here.
Sometimes I like to flick back to those first few pages, just to see how old mom's inscription is... or to see how much Screech's hand print has faded.
It's reminding me how many long years ago this started, whats happened between then and now... and sadly, how much bloody older I am and... how different I've become.
Another peculiar talk with Amanda has reminded me how I was back then.. how I thought and acted... and working alongside Legodia these past few days has drilled home much the same.
So where to start?
The ball?
I find it amusing as hell now I realise what it does for me.
At first it was just something to do, helped me concentrate, question myself... centre myself... then the questions came to mind started surprising me, and slowly, I realised it really wasn't me asking.
When I realised that, it came to me so much easier.
I can hear the whispers in the wind, the signals in the swaying of the trees, and the words in the ripples in the water.
It seems bizzare to me now that I never noticed it before, but its there, clear as day.
All I need do is bounce that ball, open myself up...and its all there in full colour.
I wonder if Legodia saw it that day in the woods, and thats why she gave me the offer. Our last meeting didn't exactly end well.
But it works ... and I'm doing my part. I followed the wind to Bastion... dead Bastion. Its rotten corpse had left a taint on the land, so we burnt it and cleansed it. A job well done.. and certainly not a small one.
And all through that journey to find him, whilst the wind and the air was with me, I looked around often to find the one who should have been... wasn't.
She was distant, with her own taint around her, a one I'm powerless to heal or remove... one I don't think I should even try to.
She's with me but... at the same time... not.
And until our time with the Druids in the Whitehorn, I thought perhaps she may never be.
The time there was, amazingly, educational. I almost felt like slapping Legodia sometimes, every incident, every situation, she seemed to turn to me, looking for my answers to the questions.
And all I could do was admit. I don't "know" the bloody answers! I just wing it.. do what I think is best! If its right.. then Yay! If its wrong.. then fine, I'll take the brunt for that!
Strangely, that seemed to be the right answer all along.
So after a few days in Hempstead, doing what I can for the town, clearing rubble and managing the lumberjack parties... I headed back to the Whitehorn where she has a job for me.
Like everything else thats going on with me right now... I'm just winging it... doing the best I can.
And eventually... we'll see how it all goes.
This is coming with me though.
It's brilliant... and I can't thank her enough for the thought of it. Maybe I'm too hard on her sometimes, she just confuses me is all. Or maybe its the other way around.
*inserted between the pages is a pink sheet of paper, the words written upon it done in flamboyant styling*
As written by Rocky the Bard:
The sun came up, the dawn of day,
Iellwen rose to make her way,
From hearth and home to place afar,
A journey long and tortuous.
Her quest to reach that place of calm,
To lie within her lover's arm,
And hear his heartbeat slow and slow,
tranquillity achieved.
The road was long, the weather foul,
She wrapped in azure cloak and cowl,
Whilst rain clouds chased her all the way,
From break of dawn to close of day,
Down to that tempestuous sea.
The Captain of the ship he waited,
Turgid stance and breath abated,
He called to her to make great haste,
No time to lose or wind to waste.
She leapt across from land to sea,
Her fate now all but sealed.
They made their way past harbour wall,
Out to stormy sea, the squall,
the wind and waves both gaining stature,
Iellwen's eyes in all but rapture,
The Tempest now approaching.
The Captain's strategy appeared,
to race the wind and waves he feared,
he threw up all the sail he had,
the old , the new, the good , the bad,
in hope of his escape.
Iellwen watched the weather chase,
the Tempest on their heels kept pace,
the cyclone formed and it bore down.
The sailors fearing they would drown,
grabbed anything they thought would float,
and left the now storm damaged boat,
and Iellwen to her fate.
The ship now held in Tempest's grip,
Iellwen cried and bit her lip,
It's form, it's power spun her round,
No sight of land, or earth, or ground,
She lay upon the spinning deck,
The tempest slowed, caressed her neck,
Her heart, her head, her very soul,
Almost her very being it stole,
Then gently laid her on a beach,
And drifted far from sight.
Iellwen staggered to her feet,
Her body heaving, warm, replete.
She cried out to the gods above,
Aching with joy, with hope, with love,
And now she waits without thought or care,
For Tempest to return to her.
-
"Trouble!"
Trouble stopped in his tracks, wading into the waters of lake Palden, the water sloshing up against him just up to his waist. The stench of death and decay in the air was almost overpowering, and bugs and mosquito's danced across the surface of the oily and polluted water like they were doing a little dance.
He half turned, trying to keep his balance, and looked up to see Holly, one of the Druids helping with his task. She had a hand over her mouth, her eyes glazed as she pointed a finger to something floating in the water not far from Trouble.
" Its... another one.. " she murmured softly, and let her hand drop as though she was exhausted beyond measure.
Trouble turned to look where she pointed, and saw it. It seemed like nothing more than a pile of rags floating on the surface of the water, but neither of them had any doubts they would find yet another body face down underneath it.
Sighing sadly, Trouble wades his way out to it, flies and bugs buzzing about above it or crawling over the few parts of the cloth that hadn't soaked yet.
He stumbled for a moment, loosing his footing on the lake floor as it dropped sharply and the water came up to his chest, just below the neck.
Cursing, he reaches out, his fingertips brushing the cloth rags and holding on, pulling them towards him. This was the fifth body they had found this week.
But the second he began pulling it towards him, his stomach shriveled and his heart pounded.
It was too light.
Way too light.
"Holly.. go.... " his voice warbled a moment, " ... go see how the rest are doing huh?"
He turned slowly to look at her, his face saddened, knowing already she would know what it is. Her features crumbled, and wiping an eye, she nodded and hurried off away from the lakeshore.
Making sure she had gone from sight, Trouble slowly, using his fingertips, rolled the body over infront of him. The stench hit his nostrils, the colour and expression on the bodys face shriveled his soul.
It was all he could do to turn away and chew on his hand, fighting back the whimper and tears that seemed to spring from nowhere at the sight.
Taking a moment, catching his breath and calming himself, not looking back, he dragged the body of the dead child to shore, and wrapped it up in a white blanket.
-
Sunlight shimmered off the clean waters of Palden lake, flashing glare to any passerby's on the lakeside road with dazzling brilliance. Occassionaly the sweet, fragrant air would be filled with either loud or soft splashes, as the lively fish now dived and leapt from the waters to catch the few flys that bobbed across its surface.
Trouble lay on the soft, green grasses of an embankment nearby, Iellwen in his arms with her eyes closed, as Trouble took a long, slow look around the lake... his lake.
The diseases removed, the waters cleaned... and once that had been done, the lush, healthy green came back to the plants, the air filled with a mixture of herbs, and the animals returned to their ways.
Balance.... basically... was restored.
With a soft sigh and a kiss on Iellwens brow, Trouble just smiles as he whispers.
"You know what. I think I'm done."