Sunday, March 9, 2014

I Am Cruel To My Characters...

Sana asked for a small bowl of simmering soup while Lepl served himself a heaping pile of sweet stalks and mixed grains. Food in hand, they joined an exhausted Rashan and dozing Mefus off to one side of the eating area.
“Things up here seem to be going well.” Sana said at one point.
“You should have heard them earlier,” Rashan grumbled. “Everybody needed an ingredient someone else had, and I had to run all over the place with their supply sacks and tools.”
“I guess you don’t like being a cook’s helper?” Lepl asked him. The ritikai bared his teeth at the sky, then gestured to Mefus.
“At least I’m better off than him. The poor guy volunteered to move around firewood to where it was needed, and those cooks never let him stop. This is the first break we’ve had in the four hours since coming back to this stupid forest.”
“Well, you should be glad to know it won’t be much longer before the digging is done.” Sana told him. “By morning, we’ll be ready for the attack order. Be glad Crant is keeping everyone busy until then, or we’d have to worry about people fighting amongst themselves.”
“I thought you’d appreciate more of that, Sana.” Rashan teased. The kitsune just glared at him, then resumed sipping at her meal.
A sudden screech caused them all to look up as Hren Rakhe descended towards the group. The gryphon’s landing was enough to wake up Mefus, who glanced around blearily as Tali dismounted and came over.
“Gods above and below, my backside is killing me.” The girl groaned as she plopped down.
Chuckling, Sana drained the last of her soup and set down the bowl. “Makes me glad I don’t have to ride another creature for hours on end.”
“Don’t get me wrong, no sore feet is very nice at the end of a long day, but still, they’re easier to deal with.” Tali explained, ignoring the gryphon that was now nibbling at the end of her blond hair.
“Look on the bright side,” Mefus said. “We Animkind don’t use mounts of any sort, so that’s never an option.”
“Though there are plenty of times that others might mistake you for mounts.” Giggled Rashan. The girls looked from him to the frowning centaur and back again, slowly realizing what the ritikai meant.
“Wow. Just, wow.” Tali stated, while Sana started to laugh.
“What? What happened?” Lepl asked, still confused.
“Nothing.” Mefus growled, his gaze boring into Rashan. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Some human too busy to see what he was doing tried to put a saddle on Mefus.”
“Blast it, Rashan! I told you not to say anything!”
“Can’t be helped, my friend. I’ve been corrupted by Aldra’s prankster habits.” Now all of them except for Mefus were laughing uncontrollably. Several people nearby looked over to try and figure out what was so funny, much the young centaur’s annoyance.
“That’s it!” He finally yelled, standing. “I’m going to find Cally.”
“Don’t think you’ll get any better of a reaction from her!” Rashan called after him, still getting his breath back.

Couldn't resist sharing this scene with you all, as I've always wanted to have something like this happen to my poor centaur. Granted, it does serve a purpose, as youngsters preparing for a battle to save their world still need a bit of humor in their lives, as do the rest of us.
I also happen to be in Colorado this week, visiting grandparents and attempting to make serious headway with various art projects. My Dad and step-family are trying to stay indoors as much as possible, but I love the snow and the crisp, mountain air. Not that Texas hasn't been this cold lately, but we only have iced-over puddles to show for it.
So, on that note, I hope you're enjoying the weather where you are, or else have someplace to get away from it!
-Triscribe

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