literature

Flying Through the Swamp [Thumby, Waldor]

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The golden fairy was out in her front garden, watering the plants growing there and checking ripeness. She knew some of them were ready to harvest. She had put the babies down for a nap, more or less. Mel seemed easier to put to bed lately.. which was a relief.

 

Waldor moved through the streets carefully and walked up to Thumby's house, pausing as he got closer since the fairy was outside and moving about. "Good day, Belina."

 

"Hmn?" Thumbelina looked up from the fruit she had been inspecting, a warm smile taking over her face as she returned to her feet. "Good day to you as well Waldor." She laughed lightly and walked over to him. "To what to I owe the pleasure?"

 

"Merely a question of taste." He stayed where he was lest he move and step on something. "May I inquire as towards colors you are fond of."

 

She had stopped in front of him, but his question surprised her and caused her to blink a few times before tilting her head a bit. "I like most colors.. What would it be for? If I knew the application it would be easier to narrow down."

 

"Hmmm." His wings shifted around him, "I am preparing to restart glass-works and require practice. I had intended to make something as such but have no usage for small things." Was that an explanation? He felt as though he just talked in circles.

 

Again Thumbelina blinked, though this time her brows went up as well with her surprise... Slowly though, her warm smile returned. "You wanted to make something for me?"

 

Waldor's feathers fluffed around his collar and he hissed softly as he bit back the immediate denial. "...perhaps."

 

"Glass... Hmm.. Earthier colors I suppose? Golds, browns and the like?" Thumbelina continued to smile happily. "Honestly though I would love anything you make for me.. I'm just.. very happy you thought of me."

 

He tilted his head and thought over the chemicals he could add to the sand to get shades of colors like that. "Yellow, greens, oranges as well? Brown will be difficult but I believe I can imbue gold and copper through sand with little difficulty. Is there any stone you are most favorable of?" The owl fluffed up more. "You are my friend, of course I considered you when I decided to retake up glass-works."

 

"Then I suppose you must be my best friend here." Thumbelina laughed lightly. "Because most of the time I only get things from my other friends when I ask first." It was true, while she often did get things and assistance from her friends, no one ever really just 'surprised' her with gifts. It made her.. very happy. She wanted to hug him.. but the way he kept his wings around himself made it very hard...

 

He was very pleased by her first comment but his smile faded quickly into a dark scowl as she continued. "That is unfortunate, they should be more considerate and respectful of your kindness."

 

"I don't mind. After all, they are always very helpful when I need their assistance." She continued to smile. "I'd give you a hug.. but I worry that hugging over your wings would be uncomfortable.. and you always cover yourself with them.."

 

He grumbled but shrugged off his annoyance with her other friends. Waldor straightened some then shifted his wings back for her. "Forgive me, it is an old habit. Tucking them to me means I am less likely to bump things and damage them."

 

Her smile grew, she didn't actually expect him to move his wings.. maybe he actually liked hugs? That would be nice, she also liked hugs. Taking the signal as an offer, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Have you hurt them recently? Would you like me to look at them?" She spoke softly while she hugged.

 

He would not soon admit it but yes, he did like hugs. Waldor hugged her back and shrugged slightly. "I have not other than the occasional cow bite...though soon I would like to practice flying again when you have the time to go with me."

 

As she ended the hug she took his clawed hands, giving them a light squeeze with her own as she said. "I always have time for you. Would you like to go now?"

 

Oh, he was well and truly a fluffy owl at this point. Waldor shifted his weight on his feet before clearing his throat. "I would not want to impose upon you, were you not busy before I arrived?"

 

Thumbelina smiled more as she released his hands. "Just gardening, I can come back to it later."

 

He frowned some. "I would offer to assist you with it but I would likely do more harm than good."

 

"If you want to learn how to garden I have no problem teaching you. It's very easy.. but if not don't worry about it.. I usually just just garden because I find it relaxing and it clears my thoughts for awhile." There was a small flicker of sadness that she quickly blocked out, forcing herself to smile and remain positive.

 

Waldor's mouth twitched at the corners. "I am familiar with growing plants, it is your system I am not familiar with. Because I cannot see I usually grow things in ordered systems that are easier for me to recognize." He held out his hand to her. "Teach me. I will learn and can assist you with your work in time."

 

Thumbelina nodded taking one of his hands and leading it to the tomato cage. "In the front garden I have tomatoes growing on the cage here and carrots growing in the ground.. I have a greenhouse in the back next to the barn.. I have melons growing in there.. I was thinking a few of the tomatoes were getting ripe enough to pick.."

 

Waldor nodded and touched the cage gently until he found the plant. He was familiar with them, or at least his worlds variety but from what he'd read in the book Thumbelina had given him he didn't believe there to be much difference. "If you do not mind that I must run my hands over everything I can help you."

 

Thumbelina nodded, crouching down to check the carrots. "I actually expected you would do so. I don't mind at all."

 

He only nodded in response and began checking the tomatoes on the plant as he came across them, twisting off the ripe fruit as he found them and tucking them into the crook of one of his wings rather than set them down.

 

"Do you eat fruits and vegetables much?" Thumbelina pulled a few of the carrots out, though many were still rather small. She knew that Waldor was fond of meat.. but she had never really asked if he enjoyed produce before.

 

"On occasion. I am more inclined to use vegetables to dye and tan leathers." Waldor moved around the plants to make sure he had not missed any of the tomatoes and froze when one of his wings brushed Thumby. he didn't apologize but did pull the wing closer to himself to avoid bumping her again.

 

"Are there ones that you prefer for eating or dying that I should grow for you?" She didn't mind the wing.. it was actually rather soft. Then she remembered- "Did you care for the cake I had sent you before? Or are you not one for cake?"

 

"Ones with a high oil content are best, though I have no preference." He shifted the tomatoes back to rest in his arms instead. "I did, it was well made and I thank you for it."

 

"I'll remember that." Her smile grew as she returned to her feet. "I'm glad it made you happy." She picked up a basket and placed her carrots in it before taking the tomatoes from him and adding them to the basket. "Would you still like to fly tonight? Or should I come by tomorrow?"

 

"Tonight, if that is acceptable." Waldor brushed off his sleeve lest he'd gotten any dirt on it and tucked his wings back around him. He tilted his head, listening for sounds of the children in case they were about.

 

"The babies have already gone to bed." She commented, noticing his concentration.

 

"Ah, thank you. I was worried I might get tackled by your daughter again."

 

"Is she a bother?" Thumbelina was a bit worried.

 

"No. I would just care to practice flight, not have a child crawl around on me this evening." Waldor waved his hand and tried to make sure Thumby didn't think he actively disliked Melanie. "I am however very fond of her."

 

"I'm so glad.." There was a sigh of relief from her. "You have no idea how happy it's made me to see her happy again." Thumbelina flapped her wings slightly, to hover just above the ground as she waited for him to join her.

 

He nodded and spread his wings, beating them some to ever so slowly lift from the ground. One of his hands did go out towards her, less reaching out and more as a precaution lest he get disoriented again. "In time she will be a fine hunter. If she does not lose interest that is."

 

Thumbelina took the hand lightly, as always she was careful of his claws. She only held him lightly though, if he chose to he could pull away when he so wished. "I don't think she will. She was going on about how cool you were when I tucked her in.. so I'm sure she will bother you often.."

 

He gave her a grateful 'look' and kept her hand as he rose a bit more. He was much more comfortable this time then the last and though he did not necessarily recognize why he did attribute a large part of it to having someone trustworthy as his guide. "I hope I do not disappoint her in the future then."

 

"I have faith you wont." Thumbelina rose higher in the sky with him, though she let him lead. She didn't want to make him move any faster than he was comfortable with.

 

Waldor nodded and rose with her, moving to head in one of the directions he had not yet gotten to explore.

 

She was, more or less, allowing herself to be led by the blind. She kept a look out for large trees or buildings, trying to gauge which area he was flying to.

 

He wasn't sure where exactly they were headed but he assumed his companion would tell him if they went too far from the village or off the island. The were coincidentally headed towards the dark swamp, so perhaps caution was warranted.

 

"Oh, the Swamp." Thumbelina smiled thinking over the area. "Region of the goddess Yin and aligned with the element of darkness... It has a lot of poisonous plants and creatures.. so best to stay high if you want to stay in good health."

 

His brows went up. "Poisonous plant life? Would it bother you if we landed? I could use some items for tanning and other experiments."

 

"Not at all.." She glanced around for a clear place to land between the trees. Finding an area that looked safe for his large wings, she took his other hand as well. "I found a safe spot, you'll have to trust me." And with that she started to lead him back to the ground, paying close attention to the trees' proximity to his wings.

 

Trust. Easier said than done with this bird. Waldor stiffened some then slowly forced himself to relax as Thumby guided them back to the ground.

 

Slowly, both of their feet reached solid ground. "Sorry, I would have let you land solo.. but there are a lot of trees and water.. and the water is toxic.. I just wanted you to land safely." Once they were securely landed she released his hands and surveyed the area the had landed in.

 

"No, I thank you for your care." Waldor pulled his hands back and settled his wings about him as per normal. "Describe the land for me."

 

"In front of us is a large body of poisonous water, and we are surrounded by a thick growth of plauge trees." As she watched thier surroundings, the place seemed very familiar. "We should fly over the water and continue down the path between the trees if my memory serves..."

 

"Plague trees...I have my caps with me, were I to wrap the clippings in leather do you think I might gather some bits from them?" He did however pull his wings back in preparation for flight. "Lead me, Belina."

 

"Of course." Thumbelina hovered for a moment as she waited for him to join her, then she flew over the sickenly green waters and landed by one of the trees so that Waldor could gather his samples. Before they had a chance to gather the leaves though, they were and ambushed by 2 carrion hounds, Thumbelina attempted to cast a barrier on herself, but was unable to as one of the hounds started trying to pull her staff away.

 

Waldor pulled his trophy axe and swung down at the hound closest to his companion. Filthy vermin.

 

As the first of the hounds went down, the remaining hound tried to bite at Thumbelina, it missed, and she attempted to give herself a barrier again. This time her spell was successful.

 

The owl paused as he felt Thumby's magic engage, satisfied that she was protected he moved forward and attacked the remaining beast though the smell of the thing was noxious and he would prefer to be far away from it.

 

When the remaining beast fell, she hurried over to Waldor. "Are you alright?" She was concerned a bit.. it was not her first time fighting these creatures, and before he really had a chance to respond she was already checking him for injury.

 

He stiffened some but allowed her to look him over. "A few feathers ruffled, nothing more. Thank you for your concern."

 

Satisfied that he had not gotten any sort of disease from the hounds, she turned back to the tree. "You wanted some leaves right? Would you like me to keep an eye out for some of the poisonous shrooms as well?"

 

"Alright." Thumbelina began looking by the roots of the trees for some shrooms, instead she found the eyes of a dark sprite, which lunged at her. She panicked and bound the small sprite up in roots and scooted backwards away from it. Thumbelina just.. she could leave it there, it'd get out eventually.

 

Waldor squinted at the thing then held out his free hand to Thumbelina so they could move past the bound creature. "Let's....not tarry further, I have what I need."

 

"A-ah. Yes." Thumbelina took the hand he offered, pulling herself up. "Thank you." She straightened out her now dirty dress and continued down the path after she was sure he was following her.

 

They didn't get far along in that dark place when another sprite appeared out of the gloom. Waldor hissed and stepped forward, swinging at the beast before it could harm him or his companion.

 

The sprite fell quickly, though, it made Thumbelina a bit sad.. They really were cute little babies. Dismissing her overly sentimental nature she continued forward, stopping only briefly when she noticed one of the shrooms along the path. After she had acquired it, she held it out to Waldor. "You wanted one?" She smiled lightly.

 

Waldor blinked slowly then nodded and opened his satchel for her to add it to his bag of swamp loot. "Thank you, Belina."

 

Once the satchel was open she placed it inside. "Of course. I'll let you know if I see anything else of interest." Then further down the path she went. When they were once again at a large body of water she offered her hand to him. "There's an island in the center, it would be easier to land together."

 

He tucked the satchel away and held his hand back out to her so she could guide him. He would rather not land in poisonous water...

 

Taking his hand in her own, Thumbelina led him to the center island. She stopped there for a moment to try and remember which way was better to go. Knowing that she would soon take flight again, she simply continued to hold his hand.

 

Waldor followed dutifully and listened to the swamp around him. "I take it this is not somewhere you often go...forgive me for dragging you to this place."

 

"It's not that.." She looked around a bit before leading it to the only path currently open. "I have been here many times.. I just.. The sprites remind me of children.. so it saddens me to fight them." She had no sooner brought their feet again to solid ground, that another sprite attacked.

 

"Hmm..." Despite having heard her thoughts upon the sprites the owl was taking no chances and lashed out at the creature as it appeared. "I am not hindered with the image of them and have no such qualms."

 

"That's alright.. I'm just too soft hearted I suppose." She smiled softly before taking his hand again. "I think I saw the path clear up some." She hovered slightly as she waited for him to join her.

 

Heavy wings beat a moment and soon the owl was hovering with her.

 

Thumbelina carefully led him over more sludge filled water, making sure they were high enough to avoid it as well as leading them around low hanging branches. Turning another sharp corner, Thumbelina found herself face to face with yet another sprite. She barely squeaked out a startled noise before it had shot dark magic at them, hitting Waldor severely.

 

The owl screeched in pain and swung his axe at the creature in return for daring to strike him like that.

 

Thumbelina panicked and quickly went to work healing his injuries, she didn't even notice the sprite fall to his axe. She had her priorities, and she did NOT like her dear friends hurt. "Are you alright?"

 

Waldor shuddered from the feel of her magic then straightened. "Yes. Thank you." Once he felt well enough to move he stepped around her and swung at the most recent sprite to spring up in front of them before the thing could attack. The owl was quite tired of of those tiny creatures.

 

Wide eyed, Thumbelina glanced back at the now dead sprite... She hadn't even seen it arrive. She nodded her thanks just as another one appeared. Where were all these sprites coming from?! It cast a sort of magic on them.. but Thumbelina was unsure of the effect..

 

Thumbelina was surprised when the sprite was still standing.. It was even laughing.. What was that spell..? Thumbelina didn't want to wait and find out. She swung her staff at the sprite. Cute or not, she didn't want it hurting her friend as the other had. The sprite just sort of lazily floated out of the way, still laughing.

 

He frowned. His limbs were heavy and movements sluggish. Whatever the sprite had done to him it was working. Waldor was unable to avoid the sprites next attack, once again feeling himself begin to bleed, a feeling he did not enjoy in the least. He lashed out again at the creature. If he was going to fall, it would be in battle.

 

That shut the sprite up, causing it to fall to the ground as Thumbelina went back to work treating his wounds, her concern very obvious.

 

He clenched his teeth and stayed silent as she worked and made a further mental note to finish the armor he had started for himself.

 

As they came towards the other side of the swamp, a thin stretch of beach just coming into view and the smell of saltwater on the air they were ambushed by two of the hounds from before.

 

The stench of fetid meat on top of the reek of swamp made Waldor wretch and he crushed the closest beast in a weak attempt at making the smell disburse.

 

Thumbelina, worried about all the attacks, focused on creating thick barriers around both of them.

 

He relaxed just a bit as the presence of a barrier on both of them registered. Waldor took a deep breath and cut down the other...rotten meat beast.

 

The hounds melted into piles on the squishy ground. Between them and the shore was a lone sprite, laughing at them. As they approached it spun around, summoning a great herd of swamp creatures around it.

 

It just dodged though, and one of the foxes poisoned the pair.. as another knocked Thumbelina out with a mighty bite, barrier and all.

 

The thick poison coating him made Waldor wince but he stepped forward anyway and swung at another of the creatures.

 

Eventually all the monsters fell to Waldor's axe. He was victorious.. Sort of. His companion had fallen in battle.

Waldor officially hates sprites. 

Thumbelina Mifmemo
Waldor ScelestaNix
Word Count: 3517
Screenshot: sta.sh/0p3ci6pd5e8
© 2014 - 2024 ScelestaNix
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Aquaphen's avatar
I thought it was already official he hates everything