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 Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 10:03 pm
 The winter had continued to be boring since Miela and Daring Do had returned from their expedition to Fae Clearing. There was work to be done in her plot of land, to be sure, to prepare it for spring, but most days she just lazed around, wishing for something to do. Some new adventure.
She'd kept a close eye on the seed pod she'd acquired. The outer husk had mysteriously fallen off when she'd picked it up the first time, but perhaps it had been loosened by the weather and merely came off when it had been manipulated. Still, she'd kept a close eye on it. It sat on her shelf, much larger than any seed she'd ever encountered. Perhaps, since that huge tree had clearly dropped it, it would grow into another huge tree just like it. She'd plant it come spring and see what happened. The most curious thing about it was the shimmery, opal-like coating that now covered the seed's surface. Hers had come out to be pale pink, while Daring Do's was orange. What was the difference? They came from the same tree, so why shouldn't they look the same? Curious indeed.
Miela had been lying on her bed, reading one of the few books she'd been able to bring with her from Equestria, when she heard a strange noise. A soft, rocking sound. She looked up and realized the sound was coming from her shelf, where she'd put the seed pod. As she watched it rock gently back and forth, erratically, she realized with a start: "It's not a seed at all!" she exclaimed. "It's an egg!" She hurried to get the seed-egg off the shelf so it wouldn't fall and damage whatever was inside.
She put the moving egg on her bed and took a step back to watch. It didn't occur to her that whatever was inside might be dangerous, or wild, or not good to have inside her bedroom. She just watched in wonder as slowly the shell broke apart, and a strange little creature emerged:
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Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 8:46 pm
Huge green eyes stared up at Miela. How could a sweet little thing like this be dangerous? "I daresay you're the largest caterpillar I've ever seen," she said to it with a nervous laugh, tentatively moving a little closer. It had a head like a Fauny, and the arms and chest of a Fauny, but the bottom half of it was...entirely foreign. Three sets of feet, each smaller than the last, on a chubby, insect-like body. It was pale pink, just like the seed--er, egg, it had come out of. Its back had a star-like pattern repeating down its length.
"What are you, little one?" asked Miela, wide-eyed with curiosity.
She looked around the place she was in. Where was this? Must be home. Who was this person talking to her? Must be Mother. What was this aching feeling in her stomach?
Hungry.
The little cater-fauny began to wail. "Oh, no, no no," cooed Miela, instinctively scooping it up into her arms. Its bottom half did not feel bug-like at all; it was warm and soft like a child. Or an infant? Had she stumbled upon some strange Pae hybrid? She'd heard of such things happening before, but what sort of Faun would mate with....? Surely not. Besides, Miela reasoned, rocking the cater-fauny and making cooing noises at it, this little creature had hatched from an egg, wasn't born of a Pae.
What if she'd stolen this egg from its nest? Her cheeks flushed. That would be just awful of her. But there had been no mother around, just those strange trees...and that forest was no place for a little thing like this to grow up!
"Come on, little one," said Miela, stroking its cheek. "Don't cry. Are you hungry? I bet you're hungry. Let's go down to the kitchens and find you some nice...leaves or something." Cater-faunies ate leaves, right? Miela started toward the door, and then stopped. Did she really want to bring this little one out where others could see? What if someone took it away from her? What if she were ordered to put it out in the wild? What if she were ordered to leave the Tree? No, no, she couldn't risk it.
"You stay here," she says to the cater-fauny, putting it down on her bed. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."
Mother was leaving. Abandoning her! She wailed even more.
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 12:48 pm
Well, since Mother had abandoned her, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She was hungry. Starving. Famished! She'd die if she didn't eat soon. She knew instinctively what she needed to eat, but couldn't find it anywhere. No leaves to eat. Better find something else. She climbed down off the bed and crawled over to the bookcase. There was an open book on the floor. She picked it up--these looked kind of like leaves. She tore a page out and started to munch on it. It didn't taste very good, but it was better than starvation. She tore out more and more pages, eating them as fast as she could. It seemed like her hunger would never go away!
Miela returned a few minutes later with a huge bowl of greens to find the little creature destroying one of her books! "No, nonono!" she gasped, putting the bowl on the bed and rushing over to pick the cater-fauny up, who of course began to wail, bits of paper stuck to her chubby cheeks.
"I told you I'd be right back!" said Miela, exasperated and bouncing the little one in her arms. "Books are not for eating!" she said firmly. She sat on the bed again and pulled the bowl of greens closer. "Look, this is food," she said.
Mother had returned! With leaves! She dove into the bowl with gusto. The leaves satisfied her hunger like the not-leaves hadn't. Within moments she'd consumed every last leaf from the bowl, and was suddenly very tired. She curled up in Mother's lap, ready for a long sleep.
Miela sighed with a little smile as the little one crawled into her lap and fell asleep. She stroked her hair. "I guess I'm your mother now," she said quietly. "I'll call you Calanthe, the most beautiful flower of all."
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