Exhausted from her travels, Brae slumped down under a nearby tree and peered up at the bright blue sky. It was a nice feeling, peace, which was one of the privileges earned from leading a nomadic life. She shifted slightly on the ground and lead against the tree as she watched a few birds fly by under the sun.
Curious as always, Fayrik, perched comfortably in a low branch of the very tree Brae had decided to slump against, shifted forward a little to peer down at the traveller beneath her, her orange, careful not to snag her delicate orange dragonly wings on a sharp branch. She saw a lot of travellers come by here, and she loved watching them; the sights were always interesting, and on occassion, she even got to talk to some!
But Fayrik was also a shy fae, quite unlike her louder cousin and brother, and rarely initiated a conversation, unless she sighted an injured being. Besides...some travellers could be dangerous. You never knew, though in Fayrik's case, caution was really never an issue. She could be far too trusting for her own good.
So, instead, she watched in silence, a dragonfly-winged young fae the size of a shorter human woman, ever curious.
Brae was startled out of her slumped position when she heard a sudden movement. Looking over, she realized it was a sort of creature with pretty orange wings. She was relieved it was nothing more, her travels has made her suspicious and wary.
Fayrik gave a start when the woman below sighted her and greeted her. Had she been that noisy? A slight blush of embarrassment colored her cheeks...the woman probably thought her odd, probably thought she was spying! Which she sort of was...but not really! She was just curious!
And kinda lonely.
But, the surprise quickly left the young fae, and soon enough she beamed a warm, cheerful smile down at the woman.
"I'm Fayrik!" she introduced, leaning over the branch a little to get a better look and reveal herself more. And then, her smile turned sheepish. "And...uh...I wasn't spying on you or nothin'..."
"Yup! I live here!" Fayrik chimed, dangling her legs over the branch. "And one day, I'm gonna be the guardian of these woods! Well...maybe. I hope so! My big brother imagines so, at least! But...then...he's also a slacker, so he doesn't really count," she added matter-of-factly.
"But enough about me! Whatcha doin' around here? You sure look like you've been busy!"
Brae smiled, "That's neat, I wouldn't know what to do if the job of guardian was handed to me," she said and laughed, "probably make a mess of everything."
"But enough about me! Whatcha doin' around here? You sure look like you've been busy!"
"well, not really that busy, I had just finished tracking my way around the woods and decided to plop down here for a bit of a rest. I've heard some pretty good things about this forest too--how it's so nice and quiet around here. I could really get used to this. Most places I've been around are so dangerous and not to mention muddy," she said, and glanced at her mud-drenched clothing.
Brae Alexandra
Now I lay me down to study, I pray the Lord I won't go nutty. If I should fail to learn this junk, I pray the Lord I will not flunk. But if I do, don't pity me at all, Just lay my bones in the dorm hall. Tell my prof I did my best, Then pile my books upon my chest. Now I lay me down to rest, And pray I'll pass tomorrow's test. If I should die before I wake, That's one less test I'll have to take!
"Nice and quiet...heh heh, well, most of the time! But...I've seen a lot of not-so-quiet or nice stuff here, as well. Like, there was this one girl that I helped heal that got stabbed by someone! That was sad. But that's really the worst of it! But I haven't been here all that long...I just got bored since my brother and cousin left my tribe, so I decided to come here! After all, if I'm gonna be guardian one day, I better be familiar with this place. 'Course...I'm supposed to be going back home soon...they say I'm too young to be out on my own. Feh. Stupid rules and stuff."
With a small sigh, she dropped down nimbly from the tree and landed beside Brae, a look of curiosity on her freckled face. "Muddy and dangerous places, huh? Ooo...where've you been? Sounds pretty adventurous."
Brae shrugged, "everywhere. The forests, the mountains, caves, prairies, even crossed paths with a pack of wolves. They chased me for about a day and a half before finally giving up," she told the faery and shuddered as she remembered how close she was to death.
"Well, what about you? Have you been exploring anywhere?" she asked curiously.
Brae Alexandra
Now I lay me down to study, I pray the Lord I won't go nutty. If I should fail to learn this junk, I pray the Lord I will not flunk. But if I do, don't pity me at all, Just lay my bones in the dorm hall. Tell my prof I did my best, Then pile my books upon my chest. Now I lay me down to rest, And pray I'll pass tomorrow's test. If I should die before I wake, That's one less test I'll have to take!
"Wolves! Whoa! And they chased you that long? Wow, musta been some pretty hungry wolves!" Fayrik commented in wonder...and shook her head at the question, a look of annoyance crossing her features.
"Nope...not really. Been exploring this forest, and the forests I was born in, but..." She gave a snort. "I'm not allowed to do much exploring yet. I'm not old enough, the tribe elders say. Bleh. And I only have a few more years to go, too! So close to coming of age...but the elders are really anal about that sorta thing. They won't give any leeway. So, I gotta wait. I'm not even really supposed to be here, but..." Her expression turned mischievous. "What they don't know can't hurt, right?"
Okay...so maybe she did have a little of Makyo and Raijah in her, after all.