Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen)

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:43 am

Rhys’ acrobatics were definitely provoking a reaction, even if none of their words had. Apparently the trees really did not like to be manhandled, which gave Zeke an idea.
“Listen, you want us to be nice to you, then you have to be nice to us. If you don’t want people do climb up your barks or walk along your branches, step on or fall over your roots, then you will have to extend the same courtesy! Swiping at people is considered rude and insulting! Hanging them upside down even more so! Now, if you want us to stop whatever it is we are doing to insult you, you will have to show us that you are willing to do so too!”

Without further ado, the tree swung around its branches and unceremoniously dumped Zeke onto the ground, where he painfully crashed into said tree’s roots and got a few extra bruises on his already worn body. This had not been the kind of adventure he had hoped for. Interesting it may be, but he preferred the ones during which his body remained intact.
“Ouuff! I think I cracked a rib,” he blurted out once he finally had some air back in his lungs. Of course, it probably wasn’t as bad as he just thought but he was going to have one huge bugger of a colouration in that spot soon enough.

“Thank you,” he muttered, though he wasn’t quite sure whether he meant the tree or Rhys’ help. Regardless, he could now get back onto his own two feet. For how long however, that remained yet to be seen. They still did not know what the trees wanted with them or why they had been punished.
“Maybe it really is a treasure,” Zeke murmured, picking up on Rhys’ earlier train of thought, “just not the kind we would see as such?” Inwardly, the young man sighed. This was ridiculous, and very odd, not to mention almost embarrassing. “Maybe they merely cherish the ground for what it is? Their ground? In which they have their roots? Oh I really don’t know,” Zeke exclaimed, throwing his hands up in a defeated gesture. “I really have no idea whatsoever!”
That’s when Maurice finally made himself noticeable again.
He whinnied and just stared at Zeke as though he were completely dumb.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:38 pm

When the tree dropped Zeke, Rhys slid off the branch he was on and landed on the ground, wincing as the shock wave went up his side and jarred the wound at his side. “Thank you very much.” He said bitterly to the tree, quite sick of the whole situation. These trees were doing nothing for his anxiety.

Noticing Maurice was completely unperturbed by the magical trees, Rhys looked carefully at the unicorn. “Here, Zeke, the trees only mind /us/ being here, but they don’t seem to be batting whatever the tree equivalent of an eyelid is at Maurice. What in the hells is going on?” he asked, pointing at the unicorn who had just started to wash himself innocently.

A branch swung round and clipped Rhys over one ear, knocking him off balance. He reached to grab a tree trunk to steady himself and missed by a few inches, his unreliable depth perception failing him, and fell into the mud. He cursed and stood up, glaring at the tree. “So, no blasphemy either? Bloody hell, it’s not like I swear that much! Zeke, I think we should get out of here. These overgrown hedgerows are driving me mad!” he fumed, quite sick of it all. He didn’t /care/ why the trees weren’t bothering the unicorn, or why they were so damned sensitive: he would rather stand out in the storm than shelter in those particular woods any longer.

Zeke was having trouble enough getting himself straightened up that he did not appreciate the look the unicorn gave him before it nonchalantly began washing itself up. The young man could only agree with Rhys’ sudden outburst though. He had had his share of this forest as well and was more than willing to go back out into the storm rather than staying amongst these trees any longer.

“I do not even have an inkling of an idea why this may be,” Zeke grunted once he finally got back to his feet, ready to leave this place and never return. And then it hit him. “Magical trees. Unicorns are magical beings, are they not?” Though the connection thereof was not quite clear to him. His face still had a slightly blueish tinge to it and he was a bit worried about the rushing in his head, but he was sure it would ebb away after a while, or at least he hoped it would.

“That is very true,” a female voice suddenly said. “I am sorry for the harsh welcome you have received within my woods, but please, rest assured that it will not continue as such. The trees will not bother you any further and you may safely stay within their shelter until the storm has passed.”
The being stepping out onto the path all of a sudden was much like Zeke would have imagined a fairy and he was staring at the woman with his mouth hanging open and his eyes opened wide. Never had he imagined encountering one, nor had he ever believed them to be real. But apparently here he was, standing in front of one such fairy.

“Rhys, pinch me, will you?” Zeke whispered, resisting the urge to rub at his eyes. Was he hallucinating? Or was this actually for real?
As per usual, Maurice seemed completely unfazed, as though he had not even noticed the appearance of a third person; instead he walked over to Rhys and rubbed his face, promptly sending bits of fur flying again.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:31 am

Right, this was just getting too weird. Magic tree, a balding unicorn, and now a /fairy/? Maybe he’d been knocked on the head a while back – for all he knew he was actually in the gutter somewhere, safe in Jiluria. Or maybe he wasn’t – maybe this /was/ actually going on. Either way, he was stuck with it. He needed a drink…

Taking a heavy-handed glug from his flask, he turned to face the fairy, a little calmer. Zeke looked fairly unnerved by the fairy too, which gave him some relief. “I don’t think a pinch will make this lot go away, man.” He said quietly, before clearing his throat (which was glowing warm from the strong whiskey now) and addressing the fairy, trusting his vision for the time being and believing she was there. “Erm, your woods? So you know something abut all this? If you wouldn’t mind – hey!” he stopped, noticing Maurice rubbing bits of fur off himself again. He ducked down (ignoring the ripple of pain through his side as he twisted his scar uncomfortably) and scooped up the unicorn, cradling him in both arms. Maurice was getting a bit heavy, but Rhys didn't really mind. “You stop that, y’hear me? You need to keep some of that fur!” he said sharply to the unicorn. Maurice flattened his ears and bared his teeth, before nuzzling Rhys’ arm and forgetting about it.

Maurice had served the purpose of distracting Rhys excellently, and the man was much calmer about the whole thing. The appearance of all these crazy magic things hadn’t been helping his anxiety, but he did like the little unicorn. “Sorry about that, I, er, thanks..?” Rhys trailed off, not sure how to go about talking to the fairy still. Well, at least the trees weren’t attacking them anymore – that was some comfort, and hopefully the storm wouldn’t last too much longer anyway.

“Would be nice if it would,” Zeke muttered as his pinch-idea got waved away. Of course, he knew himself that it would not help and he would not mind a swig from a flask himself to tell the truth but he wasn’t that much of a drinker, thus he would never be able to hold his liquor, even if it was just a few drops.

Distracted by Maurice as well, Zeke did not pay attention to what the fairy or the trees were doing while both the men either handled or stared at the unicorn. That thing was just too odd, but at least he was still accepting Rhys as his mother, so he did not make a fuss about being picked up.

“So, uhm, yes,” Zeke picked up where they had left off. “Thanks. But,” he considered for a few moments on how to actually go on without offending anyone but then decided that it was already too late for that anyway. “Why all of this? Why the attacking and the whacking? It’s not like we’ve done anything other than walk into a forest for shelter.”

It sounded like the wail of an unhappy child, but Zeke did not care anymore. He just wanted some peace and quiet, a little rest and for his life to return to slightly more normal again. He loved adventures and all sorts of crazy stuff regularly happened to him, but this? This was really out of the ordinary!

“The trees did not know what to do with you,” the fairy replied with a shrug. “It isn’t all too often that humans find their way into this particular forest and they were harshly reminded of their past. Thus the treatment. I really am sorry about that though. Can I invite you to my humble abode for a few refreshments?”

Zeke looked at Rhys with a questioningly raised eyebrow. Should they or shouldn’t they?

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Thu Oct 11, 2012 9:01 pm

Rhys looked back at Zeke with a grin. He wasn’t sure what was going on in the woods, but the offer of free refreshments was always a good one. “Well, I can’t see why not.” he said, just wanting to get out of the way of the trees. They had fallen still, but he was pretty sure they were still grumpy. It didn’t matter what the fairy said: Rhys refused to trust forests as a matter of course, let alone forests with anger management issues.

“It’ll probably be nice to get out of the rain properly too – my coat is soaking.” he added glumly, realising that the damp lump in his chest pocket was a handful of silk scarves, which would probably never dry crease-free again. Now his eye patches might not match their scarves anymore, and that was bad.

“So, what d’ya say Zeke? Worth going for a nosey?” he said quietly. Rhys accepted anything indoors as safe, but he had a feeling he had better ask Zeke before deciding properly. What was the worst that could happen?

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Tue Oct 16, 2012 2:37 pm

Thinking along the same lines, Zeke nodded along to Rhys’ words and wondered what kind of refreshments the fairy was going to offer them. Hopefully something delicious! Or at least some fresh, cool water would be good. They needed to refill their waterskins.

Seeing that both the men were accepting the fairy’s offer, she smiled and waved at them to follow her. Slightly hesitant after all, Zeke decided that it could not become any worse and followed in her foot steps.

“I’m starting to feel rather disgusting,” Zeke murmured to Rhys as the magician was seemingly unhappy about the moisture they were both suffering from. In a vain attempt to rid himself of some of the dirt that had caked his clothes when he had been dumped on the floor, Zeke only managed to get his hands quite muddy but the clothes remained the way they were. “Now that was helpful,” he muttered, giving up on this attempt and focusing on the path instead.

“I wonder where she’s taking us,” he whispered to Rhys, careful that he was not speaking too loudly. Maurice was happily walking beside them, without a care in the world it seemed.
It wasn’t too long until the fairy halted and motioned towards – what else could it be?! – a tree house. But not just any tree house but a tree house of the largest proportions Zeke had ever seen.

“It’s huge!” he breathed as he instinctively flapped his hand against Rhys’ arm to call for his attention.
And huge it was indeed. It looked as though three or four large trees had come together and let the tree house build out of their tree trunks. It had several floors which were combined by winding stairs on the outside of the house. It was a wonderful piece of art, to say the least, and Zeke could not stop himself in stating this out loud. More than once.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Sun Oct 28, 2012 6:50 pm

Rhys nodded at Zeke’s comment and grinned a little. “Yeah, you’re not looking so fresh after that little adventure. It’s just the damned rain I can’t stand, ruining my nice scarves.” He joked, following the fairy without even a second thought. He stopped himself from smirking as Zeke got his hand muddy, not wanting to offend his newfound friend, but couldn’t help finding it a little amusing all the same. He held his pace, looking around for their destination, wherever it might be.

“I’m not sure – I just hope it’s close. My side’s starting to ache after all that rushing about.” Rhys replied, his hand instinctively sliding into his coat to cover the old scar. Twisting about to climb the wretched tree hadn’t done him any good, and he needed a good sit down. He forgot his complaints as Zeke caught his attention and he spotted the tree house, and he let out a sigh of awe at the size of the thing.

“Now that’s what I’d call a tree house.” Rhys grinned, inspecting it carefully. It was beautiful, but more than that, it looked like a proper building. The kind that was safe, like in a city. He’d never been as relieved in all his life. “Erm... how do we get in anyway?” he asked the fairy, trying not to be too forward, but feeling unable to contain his glee at the sight of such a building in the woods. He gave Zeke a look as he started twittering to himself about the beautiful work of art that was the tree house, but otherwise focused on the fairy, rather anxious to get inside and out of the cold weather.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:00 am

The fairy smiled at Rhys’ question and motioned for them to keep following her as she moved towards the complex construction. Zeke’s eyes were all the while darting back and forth between the individual bits and pieces that seemed to make up specific levels of the tree house, unable to utter a coherent sentence. It was just too stunning!

The entrance to the tree house was at the very bottom. There was one stairway winding up around the middle tree trunk while there was another staircase inside the left tree trunk. No matter how wet and muddy Zeke was and no matter how much he wanted to get out of the rain, he said, his ability to talk returning: “I’d much rather take the outside stairs, despite the weather. The other one just looks too confined for my taste.” He looked at Rhys apologetically seeing that they would be in the rain even longer if they went that way but he really would prefer it. Though of course, if his friend insisted, he’d swallow back his anxiety and take the enclosed stairs.

Laughing in her high, melodic voice, the fairy interrupted them: “This is a magical place with magical tree.” She was stating the obvious and Zeke looked at her, not comprehending what she was trying to convey with that statement.
With a gesture towards the trees, the fairy explained: “As soon as we enter the realm of these trees, there will be no rain touching your skin anymore. You will be under the protection of the wood fairies and their friends and thus, you shall not suffer from this horrible time.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Zeke finally noticed what had struck him as odd about the fairy. Not one single drop of rain seemed to reach her. Her clothes were as dry now as they had been when she had first shown herself to the two men, despite the fact that they had been marching through it for a while.

“The outside looks fine to me, why not?” Rhys smiled, happy enough just knowing they were on the way to inside. The stairs would probably give a really nice view of the wacky woods too, which would be nice. He wasn’t really one for sightseeing, but it was better than nothing – another adventure in a way. He didn’t usually get the chance to be up high. Besides, he could tell Zeke didn’t want to take the inside route yet.

“Magic? Well, if you have something that will dry out my coat I’ll be the happiest man alive.” Rhys grinned, half-sarcastically. He was fairly convinced that ‘magic’ was a cop-out. Sure, he’d seen the odd fire-magic user who knew what they were doing, and his fair share of dragons, but some little part of him was certain it was all hokum. That was the problem with his tricks – it took the fun out of it all. But it was true that the fairy wasn’t even slightly damp, even in all that heavy rain… ah well, that didn’t seem important as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

The staircase was long, and Rhys had to stop for breath at one point, his side aching. Damn, he’d let himself get out of shape, all that time sitting around indoors, learning ‘magic’. He needed to get out more – this simply would not do. “Just… a second, I’ll be right there.” he panted, looking upwards. They had a good way left to go, and Rhys was getting less sure about the outside route. Inside sounded great right about then, with chairs…

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Sun Nov 11, 2012 4:42 pm

“Come on, Rhys, don’t slack,” Zeke joked, though he only got a few steps further up before he had to take a break himself. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have the practice of being on his feet most of the day, but there still was a difference between walking and climbing stairs.
“These stairs are just endless,” he huffed before forcing himself to keep going again.

The fairy, who was climbing the stairs as lightly and quickly as though she were merely walking the distance between a table and a bar, laughed. “We have almost reached the top, then you can both breathe again. Someone will take care of your wet clothing as well and provide you with some hot beverages and food. Do not worry, you won’t be missing anything you desire.”

Zeke looked back at Rhys, just to make sure his friend was following. “Are you ready to tackle the last bit?”
The view on the stairs had been wonderful, even though Zeke had come to rather dislike the trees in this particular forest. It did not change anything about the fact however that this was an exceptionally beautiful forest however.

Once they finally reached the top, Zeke couldn’t have been happier to be able to take a few steps on even ground. They had emerged into a large chamber, which seemed to be a sort of bar actually. A few tables were even occupied though the bar patrons weren’t very interested in the strangers. They greeted them but after that, they immediately returned to their drinks and conversations.

The place reminded Zeke so much of just about any bar he had visited that he was stunned. “This looks like any normal human place!” he exclaimed much to the fairy’s bemusement.
“Did you think it would sparkle in golden dust?” she asked with a smile. “Just because we’re fairies, doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate the comfort of a decent pub. Now, take a seat. Everything will be arranged for you.”
“What do you think?” Zeke whispered to Rhys as the fairy turned to walk away.

Rhys caught his breath and nodded, struggling onwards as Zeke asked after him. He must have been be getting old. “Yeah, I’m coming.” he said, as he increased his pace to keep up with the carefree fairy. The stairs seemed to take a thousand years to climb, but once they were at the top, the inside was a welcome sight. He was aware of the fairy explaining something, but he wasn’t listening. She had led them to a bar – a real bar! He had never been so happy.

“It’s perfect.” he grinned to Zeke as the other man asked what he thought. “I was just thinking I didn’t have much whiskey left.” Rhys laughed, stepping inside and looking around. No one seemed to notice their arrival, and that was strangely comforting. Rhys’ natural habitat was a dark, sheltered tavern. This felt right.

“Thank you, miss. Erm, where can we sit?” Rhys asked, panting ever so slightly from the stairs but still. Then he remembered that it was a bar, and slouched into a chair by the nearest free table, not waiting for the fairy to look back. He didn’t take his coat off, even though it was soaked and dripping, and instead focused on figuring out the bar system here. He wanted to find out how to get alcohol, and after that he wouldn’t mind what happened so long as no more trees tried to kill them.

The spot was comfortable and once Rhys had figured out the system, the two of them were enjoying their stay in this little fairy bar of sorts. The fairy had kept to her word and had had someone bring them a good meal and some dry clothes, pointing them to the storage room behind the bar to get changed while the fairy, who had been sent with the things, was patiently waiting for them to be done.

“She will bring these to your room to dry. They should be ready for your departure in the morning. The rain will stop during the night and the trees will no longer bother you, thus you may continue walking through the forest if you so wish.” With those words, the fairy swept out of the room again and left them to their own devices.

“Seems like they don’t want us here longer than necessary,” Zeke observed. “Though I can’t say I’m unhappy about that. As nice as this place is, it just isn’t for me.”
It was an odd experience in Zeke’s opinion but he kept his mouth shut for now, enjoying his meal instead. There was no need to dwell on too many questions; it would only make his head spin no matter how wonderful it was here. Things had just been too odd from the moment they had entered this forest.

“Look, they even brought a nice bowl for Maurice,” Zeke said between mouthfuls. Frowning as he observed the unicorn, he muttered: “Apparently it would have been easier to use a tub and just put him in it. Just look at him! He looks as though he’s bathed in the food, even though his mouth is the only thing fitting into that bowl.”

Rhys wasn’t even sure what the meal was when it arrived - he’d figured out how to get himself some slightly better quality whiskey and good ale, and hadn’t really stopped drinking since he settled down. He wasn’t far enough gone to disgrace himself – that took rather a lot of effort for such a seasoned drinker, but he was happily oblivious to almost everything going on at least.

“Ah, yes, thanks for that. Leave my pockets alone.” He smiled cheerfully when the fairy appeared, before going back to his meal. It was quite lovely, he thought, but he wasn’t sure if that was the drink thinking. Maurice did seem to be enjoying his though. Rhys imagined they’d never know quite how the little unicorn had gotten what looked like stew so far down his back legs, but it was certainly interesting. He wondered if the fairy had even noticed their odd magical companion, or if maybe unicorns were a little more commonplace around here than he had initially assumed.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, they do seem rather keen to have us gone. That nice fairy doesn’t seem to mind us, but every –HIC- one else seems to be avoiding us like the pox. Look at the tablesh nearest us – empty.” Rhys commented, before yawning. No matter how strange things were, he was looking forward to the thought of a proper bed.

Zeke looked around the place cautiously. He hadn’t even noticed that the tables nearest them had emptied. Hadn’t they been empty right from the start? All of a sudden, he wasn’t quite so sure anymore and it worried him a little. However, it seemed as though Rhys didn’t mind very much what was going on, though maybe that was just the alcohol speaking; after all, the trickster hadn’t stopped in quite a while and still happily kept going as if his life depended on it.

Of course it wasn’t as though Zeke wasn’t drinking anything at all, but he was taking it slower. His drinking experience was nothing more than a couple of ales every now and then. He had never much enjoyed it or had the money to allow himself to spend it on alcohol alone.

The way Rhys wondrously looked at Maurice though made Zeke think along the same lines. “It really is odd that nobody has noticed him. Maybe they don’t see him the way we do? But they obviously see him, after all, they have fed him. Odd...”

Not too long after, a new fairy stepped into the tavern and brought their dry clothes back to them. Obviously they had used some sort of magical means otherwise they would never have been dry already.
“Thank you, most kind!” said the young man before an idea struck him. “Say miss, please excuse the odd question, but what do you think of our little companion?” Gesturing towards Maurice, who more and more resembled a pig – behaviourwise -, he looked at the fairy questioningly.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:53 pm

The new fairy paused and raised an eyebrow at the two men (and one unicorn) in confusion. “What about him? He’s what, two feet tall? Multi-coloured fur, couple of bald patches that you might want to get a cream on, but that’s about it.” She replied, sounding completely unflustered. Rhys studied her expression for a moment, shaking his head.

“No, what we mean is, do you see anything unusual about him?” he replied. The fairy shook her head slowly, clearly suspecting that the men had been drinking too much or something. “Nothing at all. He’s just an average young male unicorn… maybe I should go…” she said slowly, depositing the dry clothing and inching away. They had clearly rattled the magical folk a little more than they had realised, so in a way it was no wonder the enchanted trees had attacked them.

“Well, that was odd. Never thought I’d hear ‘average’ and ‘unicorn’ next to each other.” Rhys commented as the fairy left again, rushing to the other side of the tavern. It looked as though she had only brought up the clothes on her way, as there was a seat saved for her at the other side of the room. The others greeted her warmly, which further enforced Rhys’ idea that the fairies didn’t especially like them. The hour was growing late, judging by the light outside the tree-tavern, so it would probably be a good idea for the two of them to turn in for the night soon. It would be wonderful to wake up properly rested instead of slightly achy for a change.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Wed Jan 02, 2013 7:04 pm

As he was listening to the fairy’s reply, Zeke wondered whether he and Rhys were just living in a completely different existence plane. Unicorns were anything but normal where he came from but apparently for the fairies, they were quite ordinary. What did pique his interest more than that however, was her comment about a cream to put on the bald patches. If that really helped, then maybe they should get some.

“Odd indeed,” Zeke murmured as he watched the fairy escape. “And you know what I just realised? Weren’t our clothes supposed to be waiting in our room to be dried?” It probably wasn’t important though but he did think it was a little weird. Overly good customer service it seemed.

“What do you think? Should we ask one of the fairies for some of that cream for Maurice’s fur? It could actually help him and I am a little worried about the amount of patches he’s sporting in the meantime. But maybe we should do that tomorrow. It is getting late after all.”

Motioning towards the door through which the fairy had entered earlier, Zeke downed the rest of his glass and headed towards it, hoping that Maurice would follow out of his own accord. Then again, Rhys could always carry him; it was of no use Zeke even considering picking up Maurice as the unicorn would definitely not appreciate the gesture.

Once outside, Zeke looked around for a bit, slightly confused as where to turn next. After all, the fairy hadn’t explained where their rooms would be. Though apparently the fairy who had brought their clothes had realised this too and was suddenly outside the pub again as well, offering to show them to their resting place.

“Hmm? I hadn’t noticed – about the clothes I mean. And as for the cream, in this place, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was already waiting for us when we woke up. I wouldn’t worry about it until morning.” Rhys nodded, his voice slow and deliberate as he put every effort into not slurring his words. He didn’t appreciate sounding like a drunkard until he was drunk blind, and he’d been vaguely pacing himself in case he offended another magical thingywhatsit that day.

Following Zeke’s lead, Rhys stood shakily, and promptly fell back into his seat, his knees refusing to work from the volume of whiskey inside him. He stood again, this time more carefully, swayed slightly, but stayed upright. Maurice was actually following after Zeke, but Rhys swept him up and turned him on his back in his arms all the same, cooing at the unicorn happily. Then everything was a blur until he found himself beside Zeke, outside the pub entirely, at the top of those horrific stairs again. Oh, the fairy was there too though, so he was presumably in safe hands for the time being.

Thankfully their rooms were only a little way down the wooden staircase, and looked rather comfortable. “I fear I may be a little sh-sh… sick… in the morning, Zeke…” Rhys warned, realising that he would probably have the most horrendous headache when they set out for the next part of their journey instead of feeling refreshed. “Sho fair warning, I may be a little irritating… no I mean irritable. Yesh, that one.” Damn he was getting worse. It was standing up that had done it – he had been fine with the bowl of food in front of him. Definitely time to turn in for the night, before he stumbled down the rest of the bothersome stairs…

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Sat Jan 05, 2013 9:37 pm

Zeke was a little worried that Rhys might not just be sick in the morning but that he might be sick with him in his vicinity, a prospect the young man did not very much look forward to. “Ahm, maybe you should drink some more water before going to bed, just to.. you know.. maybe avoid the catastrophe? Or the worst thereof?” Zeke was by no means an expert but he figured that maybe that could help. He’d seen some of his travel companions drink lots of water or tea before going to bed after a heavy drinking night so maybe it was actually helpful, though of course there was no way he could tell for sure. They would just have to wait and see.

Maurice settled comfortably on a little carpet next to one of the beds, so Zeke motioned Rhys towards that one, it was also the one closest to the small basin the fairies had left them for washing up. “In case you need to throw up,” he explained as he gestured towards it.

The next morning came quicker than Zeke had hoped. The beds were so comfortable and he just didn’t wake up because that meant they would have to leave as well. It was hard to tell from their vantage point whether it was still raining or not since the magical bubble or whatever it was that was put around the fairy town was holding it off. Here was hoping it had stopped. Zeke wasn’t particularly looking forward to being soaked even more.

“Look, as you predicted! There is a pot of cream there for Maurice. Or that’s what I assume it is,” Zeke muttered as he reluctantly got up to inspect the paste. “How is the head this morning? You’re not feeling sick, are you?”

When Zeke started talking in the morning, Rhys’ first response was just to grunt and moan at him. However, he knew fully well that he’d have to get up, and pulled the warm sheets away from his head to sit up. “It’s been worse, and no, not gonna throw up.” He said after a short pause, looking around. Maurice didn’t look so leased about being woken. He glared at the two men for making all that noise, then hissed- wait, hissed? That wasn't right. “Erm, Zeke? Did you know unicorns can hiss?” Rhys asked carefully, reaching down a hand to pet the unicorn. His head spun just a little when he leant over, but the contents of his stomach still felt safe, which as a relief.

Maurice calmed down after that, looking happier than ever, which gave Rhys a chance to get up properly. That was, he sat up, and promptly realised he didn’t know where his coat, or more importantly his shirt, was. The sheets had slid down past his shoulders, so he quickly grabbed the edges and draped them around his neck, before looking around the room. This was uncomfortable.

His coat was on the end of the bed, along with his scarf. His eye patch still seemed to be in place, which was also nice, and his shirt… on the floor across the room. Great. He pulled the rest of the warm bedclothes over his shoulders and wrapped himself up before finally standing to gather up the accursed item of clothing. It seemed a lot of work trying to pick up the shirt and change into it while still bundled in the blanket, but Rhys wasn't really comfortable with it any other way. When he was finally all in order, he made the bed nicely and began to fluff up the pillows like he would at home. It helped clear his pounding head a little.

“Right,” he said brightly, ignoring the way his own voice echoed in his ears, “who’s going to sort out Maurice and that cream then?” Damn he wished he hadn’t had that last whiskey.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:08 am

Zeke couldn’t help but grin at the way Rhys was handling the morning. It was funny to say the least, and most of all the huddling in the blanket cracked him up. Worse than a girl! And Zeke should know, he had grown up with two sisters, one of which really had been a prude. Probably still was actually.
It briefly reminded him of how long it had been since he had been at home but he forced the thought back towards the dark parts of his mind, not wanting to dwell on such memories now.

“Yeah, the hissing… I don’t know… I suppose that should be for other animals rather than unicorns, but to be honest, with Maurice, nothing is really surprising me anymore. He just is odd. Different.” Zeke finally picked up the conversation again when Rhys was fully dressed and making his bed, already taking care of his own as well. He wasn’t quite sure whether it would be appreciated or not, but he did what he thought was appropriate.

“Not quite sure about the cream. I’d suggest you do it since he likes you best,” suggested the young man as he looked upon the somewhat grumpy unicorn. “Or maybe you hold him and distract him while I apply the cream? That might work better.”

Picking up the pot, Zeke was glad to find some kind of cotton swab next to it with which he could apply the cream. It didn’t smell particularly nice so he was glad he wouldn’t have that smeared all over his fingers, though of course it wouldn’t make the experience any more pleasant for Maurice. The latter was already eyeing Zeke and the pot, clearly not very happy about how the man was looking at him or already dreading what might happen to him.

“Alright, you hold, I apply. Let’s get this over with. And please, please keep his teeth away from me.”

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:39 pm

Rhys had finished his bed, and turned away to swap his eye patch over, assuming those in his pockets had been washed nicely by the rain and fairy magic. The new one was pale blue.He turned around as he was pulling out his scarves, looking for the one that matched when he Maurice edged a little closer to him: within grabbing distance. They wouldn’t get a better time to sort him out, so Rhys scooped him up and hung the unicorn’s head over his shoulder, pinning the animal’s forelegs. The rainbow fur that was left tickled his neck, just over the scar the scarf usually covered, but it stopped him being as aware of the cold air on it which was pleasant. Maurice wasn't happy about it, and kicked like there was no tomorrow. He was stuck, though, and gave up after a moment, going still in Rhys’ arms. That would likely change when the cold cream touched his skin…

“Go, then, I’ve got him,” Rhys announced, smiling, “But hurry if you can – he’s getting heavy!” The little unicorn had grown rapidly since he hatched (Rhys had never gotten over the strangeness of a furry little unicorn who only ate meat hatching from an ice cold egg), and was almost too big for Rhys to cradle now. Not that he was going to stop, but the unicorn really was much too big.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Wed Jan 09, 2013 8:43 am

The cream was cold indeed, very cold, and Zeke hoped that the fact that he was holding the pot in his hand would warm it a tiny little bit. It probably wasn’t even worth the hope though. If the cream had remained cold for so many hours, it was certainly magically enhanced and wouldn’t warm up from merely being held in a warm palm.

“Alright, I’ll be quick!” Zeke immediately began plastering the cream onto Maurice’s bald spots, trying to be as efficient as possible in as little time as he could managed. Nonetheless, the unicorn was not pleased with the procedure and began struggling again. “If he gets any bigger than this, we will have to find another way to do this, if we have to do anything like this again, that is.”

Working on the last bald patch he could spot, Zeke sighed. “This is it! Finally! You’ll get an extra lovely breakfast for being so good Maurice!” He wasn’t sure whether the unicorn even listened to him or wanted to hear this now but he figured it was worth a shot to try and appease the little guy. “And breakfast actually sounds good right about now, I’m starting to be really hungry.” As if on cue, Zeke’s stomach rumbled. “How about your stomach? Think you can manage some food? Or would you rather keep a diet today?” A grin spread over his face as he looked at Rhys.

Subject: Re: Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen) Tue Jan 22, 2013 9:54 pm

Maurice was clearly not enjoying himself, and began to kick. Mercifully Zeke was quick with the cream, but the little unicorn still managed to kick Rhys in the belly before he was released. Rhys bit back a curse, noting that the unicorn’s hooves had become an awful lot harder recently, before brushing himself down and reaching back for his scarf – the one that so beautifully matched his new patch. He wrapped it around his neck and tied it in an overly delicate bow at the back before finally clearing his throat and attempting speaking again.

“I’ll be fine, jus’ need a light breakfast I think.” He grinned, his head stopping spinning slowly. He’d forgotten the feeling of a proper hangover, since he tended to take his liquor in small, regular doses, so the bad head was more of a shock than he had remembered. Fresh air had to help. “Shall we go then?” he suggested, patting Maurice carefully on a fluffy, cream-free patch. He couldn’t remember the way back to the pub with the nice food, so he was relying on Zeke leading the way. Or another fairy – there seemed to be loads of them around, and each one seemed happier to help than the last. It was weird, how helpful they were. It was like they wanted the three of them to finish whatever business they had here quickly and get out.

“Alright then, light breakfast it is,” Zeke laughed. “Though I can’t promise mine will be as light as yours.” He was thinking of a delicious plate with eggs and bacon instead of whatever they could hunt in the woods,just for a bit of change, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up too high either, just in case the fairies weren’t offering that kind of breakfast. Dinner had been rather scrumptious, so maybe they would be in luck for breakfast too.

And indeed, they were! “Wow, would you look at that!” Zeke breathed as he nudged Rhys in the side. Yet another helpful fairy had appeared seemingly out of nowhere shortly after they had left their room to find the way back to the pub and she had led them there, wishing them a lovely breakfast and a wonderful day. Odd thing, Zeke thought but he couldn’t say he minded the friendliness.

Breakfast seemed to be anything anyone could wish for. “Look, they even have light stuff for your poor abused stomach,” he joked as he pointed towards some bread and cheese and fruit even. The pub was almost full to bursting and they barely managed to snatch a small table with two chairs still standing around it. The fairies didn’t seem to mind them this time around though, so Zeke felt a little better about the atmosphere.

“Let’s enjoy breakfast and then find the fairy from yesterday to thank her. Then we should be on our way. If the weather above this tree-village isn’t playing any tricks on us then it should be quite nice even outside of here. Best way to get some travelling done!”

» Out On A Whim (Zay X Eldarwen)
» A meeting in the City {Artemis~StormKatz}
» Frost in the spring? (Spiritdragon & Stormkatz)
» Average Jilurian Antics. (Stormkatz, Artel and Zay)
» Eldarwen & bluemoonstonight {Title to come}