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 Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:49 pm
She had slept deeply, and had strange dreams. A tree towered above her, but seemed to lean close, listening, watching, waiting. The presence in the tree felt benign and made her smile, made her feel safe. Suddenly the odd light object she'd found earlier among her things was in her hand. Somehow it felt right to have it then, to have it there. She raised it to the tree as an offering, a gift. But the moment it touched the rough bark, an explosion of bliding light and deafening sound flung her back, and she woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in bed, sweating profusely.
It had been a dream. Just a dream. Her ears told her she was where she was supposed to be, and that all was calm. Her pounding heart slowed with each deep breath she took, and she relaxed again, laying back on the pillows. When her damp face was dry again, she decided she'd better get up. It was hard to want to anymore, with this wonderful, soft bed to sleep in. How strange her life was now! She had no idea that it was even stranger now than before.
Rolling onto her stomach, she shimmied to the edge of the bed to drape her legs over the edge and to the floor. She nearly fell off the bed entirely when her feet hit the floor almost immediately and her knees buckled. With a little gasp, she righted herself and stood beside the bed, completely baffled. Had someone lowered her bed in the night? Without her noticing. She reviewed climbing in bed the night before... it had been the same height as usual. But now... it definitely was lower. How in the world had that happened?
Shaking her head and dismissing the boggling problem, she turned and stepped towards the door, only to be brought up short a whole step early by banging her knee against the frame and nearly beaning herself on the door she'd left partly open. Frowning now, she turned and walked back to the bed, mentally measuring the distance. Before she'd gone far enough to reach the bed, her shin met the frame. Wincing, she sat on the shorter bed and rubbed her knee and shin. What was the deal? Her whole room was smaller? She prodded Arc, but he only murmured sleepily and closed her off. Sighing, she rose and made a much more careful way to the door and out into the hallway. Surely noone would have changed the bathroom.
She was walking quickly with a hand along the wall, and nearly fell into the bathroom due to reaching the gaping doorway before she expected to. Astonished and mildly outraged, she made her way much more carefully in the bathroom. Sure enough, everything seemed... smaller! Her feet were flat on the floor now when she used the toilet, rather than just brushing her toes against the floor. She could reach the sink's handles without going on tiptoe. What in the world had happened??
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 10:57 pm
Back in her room, having snagged something to eat downstairs before returning, she sprawled on her bed again, hefting the cube due to Arctang's pressing insistence. She hesitated before letting him take over again. She knew she'd not be allowed back for a long while yet, and dawdled letthing him in. But his presence was like someone looming in intense eagerness over her shoulder, so she finally shrugged and let go.He surged forward excitedly, fingers already stroking each row on each side, to refamiliarize himself with where everything had been last time he'd put it down. The complexities of this puzzle absolutely thrilled him. The possibilities were practically endless! But for right now, he was focused on lining up the glyphs from each language, so that the top rows read 123, second row 456, and the last row 789, on each and every side.
It sounded plenty simply, but was far from that. He set to work determinedly, his mind whirling away the possible moves to achieve his desired end. It was hours and hours later, when, with a final click, all panels on the cube fell into place. A faint whirring began inside the puzzle cube, and it warmed within his hands. Very quickly. Hastily he set it on the bed and scooted back, vaguely alarmed at the unexpected results to his solution.
The whirring changed to humming, which grew steadily louder and louder. If he and Rairne could have seen it, they would have noticed light growing brighter and brighter between the panels, and the center panel of the uppermost side of the cube folding inwards, opening a hole that shone with the same white light. The scent of scorching fabric accompanied a sudden roar of wind, like a tornado suddenly whipping through the room.
The moment the wind and roaring stopped, something heavy landed on the bed with them, and all was quiet. Arctang, still in control, paused in surprise. What had happened?
A noise like a clearing of a throat, made him tip his head up, up up towards the origin. Whatever it was... it was tall. (art by the wonderful Ryugen) "Pardon if it wasn't your intent to free me, miss, but I believe I owe you more than just thanks." The bed rocked as he carefully stepped off the odd soft dias he'd been standing on. Still the girl stared at him with clouded, pale eyes. Curiuos, he realized there was no physical means for her to see him through all that. "Ah, and again I ask your pardon, my lady, I didn't know you had such an ailment. Let me introduce myself. I am Rajakhrev, and I am happily endebted into your service." He executed a bow, then felt silly doing so, for she could not see it!Arctang finally came to his senses and spoke up. "You do not only address a child, but also a god, the Pie Bird, with power over Numbers." He made himself sound stern and commanding, since surely such a thing coming from a child must sound like a tale. "I am Arctang, and you should think carefully before entering my service, for I shall keep you long past what you supposed the child you see might, for I am deistic. Your service will be long, should you still choose to do so." He paused thoughtfully. He really could use someone devoted to him and Rairne, however, that would look after this small (though swiftly growing) body. "However, your service will not be without reward. So consider carefully, Rajakhrev."
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 12:00 am
The large satyr lord blanched a bit as he realized the full extent of whom he addressed. The child was a god? Or... housed a god? It was somewhat confusing, but he accepted it as it was. Child or god or both, this being had rescued him from his magical prison. He wasn't sure how long he'd been trapped within, but he had a hunch it had been a long, long while. "Ah, my Lord, forgive my mistake. Do not fear that I shall quail before the years of service before me, for you have given me back the years that were stolen. I am now free, and you are the reason why. It shall be my pleasure to do your bidding in all things."
It honestly didn't cross his mind to wonder if this master would be good or fell, gentle or harsh. If he had bothered to think of it, he would not have troubled himself over wondering. He was an honor-bound race, and this was not a debt that could be paid with anything other than his life. If his master chose to take that life, twould be no less than he'd be willing to give.
This certainly was a rather pleasant turn of events! Arctang couldn't help but feel pleased. "Very well then, Rajakhrev, you are now mine to bid." A faint scent of smoke wafted past him, and he frowned. "And firstly, is the bed afire?" It wouldn't do to lose his and Rairne's comfortable sleeping spot to flames.
"Nay, my Lord, tis only a scorched spot upon the cloth that covers the... bed." So that was what it was called? He stepped closer to the odd contraption that was a bed, and reached with one long-nailed hand to pick up the metallic cube that rested in the middle of the darkened spot. It was quite warm to the touch, though his thick skin protected him from such things. "I believe this is where the heat originated, master. It is a cube, metallic and many-sided." He frowned at it, a niggling feeling of dislike at the sight and touch of the object.
"That, Rajakhrev, was your prison," Arc informed him solemnly. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised it had burned the comforter a bit, but chose to be grateful that it hadn't succeeded in alighting the thing. "Here, I shall put it away. He held out his hand for the cube, which he nearly dropped when it was surrendered. Rairne's hands might not have been quite as soft and tender as those of other children her age, but the warmth of the metal was almost too much for her. Hastily, he plunked it into a pottery bowl someone had placed in the room. He supposed it was meant to be decorative, but it would suit the purpose of keeping anythnig else from scorching for the time being.
Still, Arc knew nothing of this new servant of his, and he wanted to know more before he slid back into quietude to rest after this exertion. "Come here, Raja," he commanded. There was no other word for it but command. Still, it didn't seem to bother the creature, for ihe came and knelt before the diminuitive figure of his child body. Feeling awkward, Arc did as Rairne had with Finn-att. He used her delicate fingers to trace the creature's jawline, nose structure, browline. But as he did so, his knuckles grazed something else. His hands traveled above his hairline, discovering first two small horns, triangularly shaped, but also two very large, curving hornse, with subtle patterns on them, as if they were carved. Within his hair was also a twining of vine, warm as if alive in a rather un-foliage way. He seemed clothed in furs, but from the sound of his steps, he also must be partially furred himself, as he walked on hooves. Arc was tiring, though, and allowed himself to ebb back into the background within their shared mind, letting Rairne again come to the forefront.
Raja endured the ordering and inspection with quiet grace, fully aware that the god could not see him to know him, and that this must be the only way. When the youthful hands fell away, he stood again, stepping back respectfully. But as he waited quietly, slight changes in body language and facial expression clued him into something shifting. And when the child spoke again, his instincts were proved correct. For it was the proper voice one would expect of an adolescent girl.
"You are very strange," she stated matter-of-factly. It wasn't even with any hint of bafflement, though definitely tinged in curiousity. "What are you? You aren't a cow, and you aren't a horse either." How that whole train of thought came to be, she didn't divulge. But she could easily hear that he clearly didn't have as many hooves as Finn-att had. He moved on two feet, and she wanted to know why.
"Ah, little missy," he smiled, noting her momentary roll of eye at his way of addressing her. "I am indeed strange to you, aren't I? You are correct, I am neither cow nor horse." His voice was warm with laughter, giving an impression of sun breaking through clouds to warm the face. "I am a satyr, part man, part goat. Or that is how the humans describe my kind." His chuckle rumbled like a distant spring storm. "However, I am quite a large goat, if that analogy held true."
She humored him in what he called her. After all, apparently he was now Arctang's servant? Which made him her servant too. The concept seemed odd... someone to serve her? What in the world would they do with him? He didn't seem to be difficult to talk with, at least. She liked his laugh. "But why do you wear fur?" she queried, probably impudently if she'd been any child, and he'd been as he had once been, king of all that was of the time of spring. Instead, he settled himself to the floor in front of her, tucking his cloven hooves beneath him comfortably.
"I wear them for many reasons. This fur keeps my bare skin warm when it is cold," he pointed out amiably, not minding answering her question. Odd. Once upon a time he'd been imperious, a ruler in his own right. But his time, however long, within that cube had apparently mellowed him. All he could feel right now was grateful, and gentle towards this rather small-bodied diety and host. He found it intriguing that they were both within the same body, co-existing with apparent ease. She certainly didn't seem fazed by the presence of Arctang within her own body. "I also wear them as proof of... well, of what I was before I was entrapped." That was true enough. There might be sense in letting go of the trappings of being king. He was no such thing now, after all. "But I also just like how they feel," he confided with her in conclusion.
She listened, getting more of a feel for this new person in her life. Arctang's sleepy presence assured her that he was here to stay, so she might as well get to know him, right? "So what were you before.. well, whatever happened that got you inside that thing?" Her brows furrowed as it occured to her to wonder how someone so BIG had gotten into something so small! "What did happen, anyway?"
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