~ ~ Welcome to the Isle of Arran ~ ~



This land has been swallowed by the sea.

There was a green place in a land far away, a place with a sheltering bay surrounded by jagged peaks and the shadow of a giant snow-clad mountain. To this place came a group of beings, as diverse as beings can be to one another, and they put down roots and made homes for themselves. Now, this is not to say there was peace in this land. With diversity also comes conflict and soon sides were taken, some friendships forgotten and lines were drawn. Some, thinking bigness means power, blamed the dragons for the conflict. Others, believing magic was the source, blamed the elves and fae. And of course, there were those that said that where you have humans, you will always have problems! So, instead of living in harmonious consort with each other, they split into their respective groups and moved to the four corners of the realm, eyeing each other with much suspicion and chagrin.
But of course, as we all know, in order to survive you have to get along with someone. So new friendships were forged and new bonds made. But in the Isle of Arran, those bonds do not last for long. Someone ALWAYS brings a shadow of a doubt to the fire…and then…things happen.

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Sunday, September 5, 2010

Search for Milk

Jordon sees Emy and gives her a big hug. Emy giggles. "Shall we go the village? Do you think we can find any milk?"
Jordon: Ha! you and your milk!
Emy pouts “I'm thirsty"
Jordon: Alright, wipe that pouty face, and we will investigate. He smiles.
Emy smiles back "Yes Jordon" she says obediently. She flies into the village and immediately gets tangled in the line of drying clothes. She grumbles "Now why did they put wet clothes and rope right where I want to fly? This used to be good flying space!”
Jordon sniffs: Humans just don't consider our needs.
Emy stops, takes a mug of fairy tea out of her pouch and sips some. Then she looks at Jordon and sheepishly offers him the cup. "Want some?"
Jordon nods: Yes, I could use a reviver. He accepts the mug and gulps it down.
Emy watches him greedily. "Don’t drink it all! " she cries.
Jordon: Ah, yeah. He hands it back and says: Good flavor. I thought you wanted milk. I should rename you Miss Fae Dairy.
Emy takes the cup, drinks the rest of the tea and stuffs it back in her pouch. She looks around and says, "There are a lot more houses here now than there were before." She grins in anticipation. "That means more milk for me!"
Jordon looks around the village: It doesn't look like the bare bones it did before.
Emy asks, "Where should we look first? Who is most likely to leave us a saucer of milk?"
Jordon: I have no idea who lives in any of the houses. I would hazard a guess that the simpler human folk would be more like to carry on the old traditions. If so, the tenant buildings or shacks would be more likely.
Emy nod, "You go first.” She follows Jordon into a small shadowed building. "It is small in here and dark. Do you think the humans are afraid of the sunlight?"
Jordon assesses the cottage: No one here. However the fire is going. A homeless person may spend nights here.
Emy says in a small wavering voice "I wouldn't sleep here. Let's get out. It is much too dark." She runs out of the house quickly.
Jordon: Their windows aren't much good. But there is no need for us to dwell in these buildings.
Emy says, "I am afraid of the dark and can't move my wings in them. It is very scary." She peeks in the open door of the next building. "No milk" she says sadly. She shivers. Houses make her feel confined and helpless.
Jordon nods in agreement.
Emy says, "I remember that the baker was very friendly. Do you suppose she left milk for us?"
Jordon: Perhaps, let us look. He peers in the window
Emy tugs at the door, "This one won’t open Jordon" she says.
Jordon: Must be swollen shut. There is nothing there regardless.
Emy says, “Maybe they are hiding something. Imagine locking a door! What do you suppose is in there? Shinies?"
Jordon: Ha, they probably had trouble with squatters or the owners don't care to have Swith sleeping there.
Emy says "ooooo I miss that old minstrel. She played pretty songs that I could dance to."
Jordon: Yeah, when she wasn't soused, and sometimes when she was!
Emy laughs. “She was never too soused to sing and play well." She gives up on trying to open the locked door and flies off to the next building on her search for the bakery.
******************************************************
Emyly Beaumont continues her search for the bakery and enters the next building.
Jordon: It appears the humans built a new building to house their god. Don't they realize the gods cannot be contained to please themselves?
Emy is puzzled by his question and says, "The gods? Is this building a tribute to their gods?"
Jordon: Yes. They sit in comfort to pay homage to him.
Emy moves close to the stained glass window and smiles when she sees the light beams highlight the colored window. She sighs, "This is so pretty and shiny. Do you suppose..." she trails off and looks at Jordon. She jumps up on the windowsill, puts her grubby hands on the glass window and pushes against the individual bits of glass, hoping to find something loose. She says "Just one piece..."
Jordon: what are you thinking now?
Emy puts her hands behind her back. "Nothing" she says trying to look innocent.
Jordon moves closer to see if she is up to something and looks at her suspiciously. Then why are your hands behind your back? He raises an eyebrow. One piece of what? You take something from their god house and the humans will seek you out.
Emy grimaces in disappointment. "It is all stuck tight. Nothing is loose." She scoffs. "I didn't want one anyway." She jumps off the windowsill.
Jordon nods his head in understanding. (She really did want a piece of pretty glass.)
Emy heads for the door, spies a planter filled with flowers and plucks two lilies from it, offering one to Jordon.
Jordon takes the flower and sniffs at it. Nice odor, he says.
Emy puts the remaining flower in her hair and grins. "Am I as beautiful as the Queen now?"
Jordon smiles. You are indeed lovely
Emy sniffs her flower. "Yes, it is very sweet." She dimples at Jordon's remark and giggles. "I am lovely, aren't I? Now...where is that bakery?"
Jordon: There may no longer be a baker here
Emy says in horror, “No baker? No pies? Then what do the humans eat?”
Jordon: We can check down at the other end of town
Emy nods. "I will follow you Jordon."
Jordon laughs at the idea of Emy following him for a change.
******************************************************
Both fae fly off toward the gate, but Emy dawdles along and then stops at the barn. She calls out to him, "Look, Jordon, a cow!" and she opens the gate to the barn.
Jordon turns around and heads back.
Emy says "Do you think this cow belongs to that elf?"
Jordon: Yeah, she owns all of the livestock.
Emyly Beaumont grins with a malicious look in her eye. "Want some milk Jordon?"
Jordon: Yes, I have a taste for it. He moves to sit on the milking stool beside the cow. He milks the cow with a fine technique, squirting milk into the pail.
Emy giggles and moves closer to the milk pail. She a dirty finger in the pail and then puts the finger in her mouth. "mmmm…Fresh and creamy. That elf sure takes care of her animals."
Emy opens her mouth and points to it. "Here, Jordon."
Jordon aims and squirts directly towards her mouth.
Emy catches most of the milk while the rest dribbles down her chin as she swallows "Delicious." She looks at the overflowing pail. "I think you have enough in the bucket. Aren't you going to drink any?"
Jordon stops milking the cow and points at the pail. After you ma’am.
Emy kneels and drinks from the pail in huge gulps, leaving about half the pail for Jordon. "Done" she says as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. She hands him the bucket. He lifts the pail and drinks his fill
Emy smiles at the cow, patting her gratefully. "Thank you Betsy. Your milk was fresh and sweet today. Tell the elf she takes good care of you."
Emy says "What do you think Jordon? Isn't that the best milk you ever tasted?"
Jordon: nods. Fresh and sweet.
Emy say,s "I think the village is safe from tricks this day."
Jordon wipes his brow in relief: I do not care to be taken to task by the ancient one. It has been pleasant to escape that. It is not as though I can fly faster, or higher than he.
Emy scrunches her eyes and looks at Jordon. She clucks like a chicken.
Jordon grins watching her. You are in a silly mood!
Emy says dismissively, "Oh the ancient one. I have not seen him lately. and HE was not the one who persecuted me. That was the elf. Imagine, she thought taking the milk Betsy gave was stealing!"
Jordon: If it is not left out in a bowl or cup for us, it is not meant for us
Emy shrugs. "Then she needs to put locks on the stall door and tell the humans to leave us some milk." She grins. "Not that I can't undo a lock with the glamour"
Jordon: Hah, she doesn't care if we have milk. She is not adhering to the old ways.
Emy frowns "No she is not, yet she wants us to honor her ways." She skips out of the barn and looks at the gate. There is something she needs to do, but can't remember what. She looks at Jordon. "The gate... something..."
Emy smiles as she watches Jordon close the stall door. "Yes! that was it! I promised the elf I would close it!" She says "You are so wise Jordon."
Emy then opens and shuts the gate so her promise to the elf would be fulfilled. After all, she had given her word…

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