Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Lol @ ‘hapgry’))

Riven would most likely have a chat with Misty and answer any questions over breakfast. He flinched at the tap on his shoulder and turned around, the picture of astonishment. “Huh? Wh-why? I mean…you mean…right now? But I was just about to hop in there” That’s when it dawned on him. He slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t explain things properly again. I meant for you to shower after me and then we could go downstairs and have Mum’s pancakes together. Here…” Blushing yet again, he moved out of the way, allowing her room to move past him, “Why don’t you go first? You’re our guest after all. It was rude of me not to offer. Did I say there was soap in there? Well, there's soap...” flustered, he trailed off.

Eying the clothes she was holding, he was puzzled. “Hey, why are you taking your old clothes from yesterday? They’re all dirty. I did put out some new clothes on the end of the bed in that room you were staying”

He avoided saying ‘my brother’s room’. The words were still too painful. Everyone in Riven’s house avoided mentioning his brother.



“Mmm…” Bess sang playfully in response to Midnight’s question, lacing her hands behind her back and swaying gently from side to side, “I thought perhaps we might be able to make a trip to tribe number twelve today; that’s shared territory between humans and elves. They had a special alliance which led to the elves sharing their land with the humans who came there”, she explained, not bothered about having to do so. Bess was patient when it came to helping others, whether it be filling them in on information they needed or showing them how to do something. That was also part of what made her a good listener.

“I hear there’s a really nice doctor there and he has this machine that I think you might enjoy. It lets pregnant people look inside their belly to see the babies inside!” she smiled, patting Midnight’s stomach lightly for emphasis. “They have more advanced technology than we do. I thought it might be something nice that'd get you out of the village for a while. It’s not like we wanted to keep you locked up here. But I’ll let you decide”.

When they were greeted by Aidenna, Bess returned the smile and replied “D’you have any quick errands or light missions to run? I’d like to get out of the village, maybe visit tribe twelve with my friend here”.

***

Aidenna swung her hammer around thoughtfully, tapping it on her leg while scrutinising the pair. “Hmm…you’re still recovering from that last scouting party, aren’t you my dear? And your friend here looks as though she wouldn’t be suited to anything too involved. Well, how about you just scout around for me a bit today? Report back on any suspicious activity from other tribes, or if you see any more markings gouged into the trees on our border. Oh, but if you do manage to get to the humans and elves’ tribe, would you bring me back some more of that concoction they put on arrow tips? They promised me some in exchange for a favour I did for them a while ago”

Noticing Midnight’s attention on her crafts pieces, Aidenna chuckled heartily, “Ohh, so you like what you see here, do you? Thank you. I suppose I could let you have one, for a fee” she offered. Aidenna was always happy to see others showing appreciation in her work.

She spent a lot of time carefully crafting each item, adding her own personal design to them as well as her Crafter’s Mark. She could probably be persuaded into discounting them it if Midnight showered particular praise or interest on any one.



“Righty-oh, we can give that a try” Grinning broadly at the Squirrel’s remarks, Nikola dove into the forest after them, quickly catching up to where Fer de Lance was chattering at the other guy for going the wrong way.

***

“You don’t say?” Morning replied, feigning incredulity as he shambled to a stop. He smiled inwardly, knowing his lazy plan had worked. Now all they had to do was show him where to go.

***

“Come this way” Nikola pointed off into the forest, towards an ancient mossy tree. It had twisted tap roots with little flowers springing up all around it from the moss. It grew beside a thin, meandering trail. “That way will lead straight to the canines” she whispered, stepping quietly over fallen leaf mulch and twigs.

***

“N-kay” Morning assented, smiling as he switched directions. He patted his pockets, as though checking for something, “I don’t have any chew toys on me, so that’s probly a good idea”

***

“What? No arguments? You’re an easy one” Nikola commented with a chuckle, slightly taken aback by his reaction.

***

“N-up!” he replied calmly, popping the ‘p’ sound. “I’m happy just to follow Fluffy and Stingy” Oh yeah, those were totally awesome nicknames. “Heh, you like the names? I made ‘em up on the spot” he grinned proudly, chuckling at his cleverness.

***

Sometime later, they were bordering the territory forming the boundary line of another tribe, although it was difficult to tell which one it was. Symbols were scratched onto several of the tree trunks. They should probably go and have a closer look.



“Were taking a breather from guarding the gate” the antelope replied, taking a swig from a flask he was carrying “Got some new trainees guarding it but we have to watch them to make sure they do it right”

“Huh, not that there’s anything to guard it from. It’d make our job less pointless right now if there was” The zebra guard jutted into the conversation. He looked at Desert for a moment like she was crazy, flicking his ears back and swishing his zebra tail, “A run? In this heat? Don’t you want to cool off in the shade? Come over here and have a drink”

Desert nodded and set off in their direction, her wings folded back next to her sides. With the perspiration on her body, and the sun coming down, it looked like a coppery fire consumed her body. She picked up the pace to a canter and slowed down when she reached the shade. Her tail swished and the coppery fire was muted. "So, what's it like being a guard? It must be tedious work."

"Ya know 'twill no go well wit' ya if ya keep making remarks like that." The squirrel chided Morning.

At the mention of the nicknames the squirrel glanced over at Nikola. Obviously he had an issue with the names. Seriously how could anyone that apparently feebleminded manage to survive? He lowered his voice so that the scorpion would be the only one to hear it. "Mayhap we should leave 'im to 'is own devices. Let the beasties put him out o' our misery." Of course his voice held a bit of laughter in it but only enough to show that he wasn't 100% serious.

He began to long for nightfall, then he would be able to make a shift and then he wouldn't have to deal with the indignity of being called fluffy.

When they reached the border he moved to examine the markings on the trees.

"The craftsmanship really shows through," Midnight replied, casually twirling the weapon about her hands with practiced, easy movements of her wrist. After a moment of this Midnight held the spear at eye level, casting her eyeball down the length of the spear's shaft examining weather it would curve one way or the other when throw. Being unused as of yet, the shaft was perfectly straight. "I thought this wood looked different than the rest." she added, testing the spear's point by lightly pricking her finger with it. "Reminds me of the trees that grow near my tribe..."

Stepping a safe distance away from Aidenna and Bess, Midnight ran herself and the spear through some of the practice motions she'd learned growing up. Despite her pregnant bulk, the two blended together seamlessly. The spear becoming an extension of Midnight's own arm and Midnight's skill becoming part of the spear.

Misty stepped back into the room she had com from and looked around the floor near the bed of straw she had arisen from. She noticed the blouse that Riven spoke of sitting on foot of the bed she had not used and went over to the bed post. Picking it up, she could feel it was made form a nicely woven wool and underneath of it were a set of ribbons he had spoken of as well. Riven's mother, had been very kind to give this to her, but she wished it had come with a pair of pants. She was still not used to the idea of not wearing pants or using something to cover her lower body.

She blushed and trotted back over to the bathroom with her new clothes, leaving her dirty ones in the bedroom. When she reached the bathroom she stepped inside it and closed the door behind her, whereupon, she note a hook on the back of the door. After hanging her clothes up, her eyes moved across various items and objects in the bathroom, a vanity, shower, toilet, the typical things one could find in a bathroom, except they were much lower to the ground than standard human ones. She took off her clothes, stepped into the shower, and sighed as steamy hot hit her face. She proceeded to close the door behind her and used the soap and shampoo within to scrub her body as best she could. It was a difficult process considering she had a much larger rump to deal with and she could not wash her backside so easily due to inability to stretch back there no matter how she bent her body.

She prayed that she wouldn't need assistance in the future to clean herself, especially from Riven or his family. That would be like leeching off them. It would make her situation worse.

Watching her with the spear, Aidenna smiled at the compliments, both verbal and in the way her work was treated. “You have good intuition too. That wood was sourced from the trees growing in the tropical forest near your lands. I believe M’rala brought it back upon return from her visit to their shaman”

“Tell you what. Why don’t you take that spear with you today? I’ll make a deal with you to pay it off in instalments when or as you find work. I like the way you treat that weapon. Clearly you have the skill and knowledge to get some good use out of it, and besides, it is dangerous to travel without any protection. Even if you decide not to keep it, please take it if only for the journey today” the horse woman offered.

Bess glanced at Aidenna with a self-satisfied look. Her hunch had been right!

“And now, if you’ll excuse me ladies, I have to get back to work” The Smithy lifted her hammer again and turned back to the armour she had been shaping, ending the conversation.

“Well, look at that! Midnight, we’d better get going or it’s going to be dark before we reach the other tribe” Bess prodded, restless to get moving. She turned and started walking away at a casual pace, slow enough for Midnight to catch up when she was ready.



((Don’t worry; there is a way to defeat these that I have worked out. It’s kind of silly. I’ll reveal it in the next post when someone frees Nikola’s voice. I don’t want to make them too easy but I didn’t want to make them too hard either. I am still learning how to do these kind of scenes))

The knives sank into the faceless tentacle monsters with striking accuracy…and passed straight through, flying out the other side. One lodged in a tree trunk.

One of the slimes Fer de Lance had flung his knife through stretched itself along the ground and slithered over to him.

It poked its arms out quickly, punching with each arm in a rapid flurry, trying to hit various parts of his body (around the stick he held). ‘shluk! ‘shluk!’ The monsters movements made a noise like sucking mud. The arms were rubbery, damp and very flexible but it seemed they could also be hardened when the monster was attacking. The ends became like ramming lances just on impact, before melting back again for another hit.

***

Nikola tried cutting one of the tentacles that aimed for her chest, leaning back in time to dodge it and snipping it with her claw. Much to her happiness, the arm cut clean off. Yet the small triumph quickly turned into disappointment. The part that plopped off started to wobble. It formed a smaller blob creature that then attached itself to her leg. “Oh, great! They can multiply”

She stabbed at the cling-on with her stinger tail, still dodging hits from the larger monster. Her strikes didn’t seem to be having much effect. “I remember seeing these somewhere before” Nikola panted between dancing and ducking, and fending off the arms. “They like hiding in dimly lit areas. There’s a method you can use to defeat them. But I forgot - ” she was cut off as a rope-like gooey tentacle wrapped around her neck. She hadn’t been able to dodge it, too distracted to notice the one that had snuck up behind her.

***

Morning was having some trouble with them too. Instead of pummelling in fisted motions, the one attacking him had turned its arms into thin, whippy extensions and was slapping him wherever it could land a blow. He had a cut on his arm from blocking one and a stinging welt on his cheek from another. A growl of annoyance erupted as he stomped on one of the whips with force, simultaneously grabbing a handful of whip-arms in his fist, only to have them both melt away like water and reform. “Stupid booger monsters” He wasn’t angered enough to transform though. It’d take more than that. These were just a nuisance. Dangerous to underestimate, but the mist wouldn’t clear till they’d been got rid of.

Large Forest Hoofed Tribe – Riven’s House

The soaps and hair washes Misty would find were all natural creations, made from plants, fruits, nuts and flowers that grew in the forest. The soap was a liquid type, stored in a container with a spout. She soon would smell like the residents of the hoofed tribe as well as looking like one. The soap was scented like cucumbers rather than a floral, since Riven’s father didn’t enjoy smelling like flowers or sweet things.

Riven listened to his mother’s suggestion and started to feel uneasy. He would like to show her the markets but wasn’t clothes shopping more of a girly thing to do? He didn’t know what sort of clothes Misty would like. She was already annoyed at him for some things, he was not real keen on making her even madder.

“Are you sure you can’t take her? It’s not that I don’t want to but what if I get the wrong things or she doesn’t like any of the clothing here?” he mumbled, folding his arms and leaning his head on them upon the table.

“Oh, you’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much. All you have to do is give her an honest opinion, but with kindness. And if I know my own son, that’s something you should have no problems doing. Now, stop lying around and make yourself useful, will you? We need someone to set the table.” The sizzle of the mushroom and buckwheat and the potato pancakes she was making mingled with the other scents in the room. “Until that happens, nobody is having a bite”

“Right! Sorry mum” Riven stumbled up from his chair almost instantly, going to the cutlery drawer and starting to lay out the place settings. His normal routine was a wee bit different this morning and he somehow forgot to do it. He heard the sounds of water stop from upstairs and hooves moving around on the floorboard. I hope she comes downstairs soon. She’s okay up there isn’t she? His eyes had drifted towards the ceiling, not paying attention to where he was going.



Thankfully the Siamese’s light coat colours helped her blend into the swishy gold and browns of the grassland. Not so much the amount of noise she was making. Butterflies and insects disturbed from their perches fluttered away from wherever she was, giving her location away.

***

“Oh, that feels really nice” Blyds thanked her, enjoying the soft, fanning breeze that the Pegasus created with her wings. “You’re right, it does keep the flies away”

“Don’t get too hot now. We’re used to flies after all” said the other guard gruffly, though he looked grateful for her attentions. “Have you had enough to drink? Wait…what was that?” Before he could hear her answer, the zebra guard ducked down and started to sneak through the grasses toward where Nabel was hiding. “Halt! Show yourself, stranger. What brings you to the hoofed tribe’s land?” His spear was aimed at her hiding spot, ready to be thrown at the target or else prod her or bar an attack.

“Uh oh, we’ve got some company. Looks like this job got a little more interesting” Blyds mumbled to Desert Fire, walking out from under the tree to call out to his companion, “Hey, Crawshay, we’re supposed to leave them to the trainees, remember?”

Misty took in the smell of the cucumber soap left for her by Riven's family and lathered it across her upper body. "I suppose they like to smell like the plants they live with, and eat them." Misty noted to herself as she grabbed a sponge and rubbed the bristles of it across her stomach. The soap sank into her skin and she could see the particles of soap break apart in an instant, pulling out a great amount of dirt as they did. She applied this soap to her legs and looked around at what else she could use that would help her clean herself.

She found the shampoo hanging from a rack and grabbed it, realizing the label said, "Garlic shampoo." She wet her long, black hair an let it hang over the sides of her face as she dumped the garlic shampoo over top of it. For the next few minutes, she spent her time scrubbing herself down before she went about turning off the water and cleaning the shower.

When she was done with this she put on Riven's mother's blouse an tied the red ribbons she had into her hair. Looking once in the mirror she was happy with the twin ponytails hanging from the back of her head and decided to go show Riven. She hoped he was not too nervous, mad, or whatever else he was feeling around her. She had frankly been a bit pushy, but only because this was her second day being a half horse.

Slowly climbing down the stairs, she was glad she was not a half cow creature. They could probably never climb stairs. That said, she stepped into the kitchen to find Riven's mother cooking and Riven gathering utensils. She said nothing to them and sat down at their kitchen table, just taking a seat where she wanted to since she had no idea where she should sit.

Nabel yelped when a spear appeared in front of her. "Yikes! Wasn't expecting that." She got up and put up her paws. "Nabel Neko-jin at your service. Just trying to find some new herbs to cook with. Our tribe is all out, and they let me go find some. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to make some new allies, right?" She babbled, not knowing what to say. Desert got up and followed Blys, though she stayed behind him. She recognize the neko-jin. She gave her a lift at times and she kept her warm with her fur at night. "Before you do anything, Crawshay, I know her! She's Nabel. I gave her a lift some time ago. She's friendly. I bet, that once you get to know her, she'll curl up to you on a cold evening." Desert clamped her mouth shut, hoping that she didn't say too much. Nabel heard that friendly voice. "Desert!" She bounded over, jumped on Desert's back, curled up and started to purr. Desert gave a smug smile. "See?"