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Story time with Nimran

NimranNimran Member Posts: 4,875
Ah, what is this? Weary travelers at my doorstep? Why, it’s been some time since I’ve had some company. Come, take a seat by the fire, and I shall regale you with a story. I promise you shan’t regret it.

Comments

  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    *Looks for a ferret free seat*
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985
    *Looks for a seat-free ferret*

  • NimranNimran Member Posts: 4,875
    And so the two children made their way deeper into the forest, Callie stopping occasionally so that Alex could keep up with her. Despite having longer legs than his friend, Alex struggled with the twisted roots and outstretched tree branches that riddled the path, whereas Callie had no trouble winding her way through. Alex tried his best to mimic her seemingly effortless steps, but his feet were larger and clumsier than hers, and he would frequently trip over a root or stub his toe on a rock. Every time he stumbled, Callie would look back at him to check if he was okay. Her concern made him feel terrible, not just during this trip, but every time they would travel into the woods to play. Stumbling around so much and forcing Callie to wait for him made him feel like he was a burden to her, and that was the last thing he wanted to be.

    For her part, Callie was far too busy enjoying Alex’s company to see him as a burden. As they walked on, she kept asking him questions about his life in Lark. “So, how are things in the civilized world?” she asked him. “I see you’re still sitting around by yourself after finishing your chores. Don’t you ever play with the other kids?” Alex shrugged. “Not really,” he said reluctantly. He felt somewhat embarrassed whenever Callie asked him if he had friends in the village. The answer was always the same: no. Callie’s head swiveled towards him with a look of disappointment. “Why not?” she asked. Alex shrugged again, and replied “They all just want to pick on me when I’m around. They don’t like me.” He noticed Callie suddenly stopping in front of him, and he stopped and looked up from where he was scanning the path to see her turned fully towards him, a look of surprise on her face. “Why would they do that?” she asked, shaking her head slightly. Alex shrugged for the third time. He was about to say “I don’t know,” but Callie held up her hand and quickly cut him off. Her head suddenly turned to her left, and she seemed to be staring intently at something in the brush, though Alex couldn’t see anything. He didn’t have to wait long to know what Callie was looking at, however, as a strange form emerged from the brush.

    The form was of a large, hulking man with sickly yellow skin dressed in a variety of different animal pelts that seem to have been thrown together haphazardly to make a coat. His face was unlike any other that Alex had seen before, with a large, sloping forehead, piercing yellow eyes, an upturned snout for a nose, and two sharp tusks protruding from his lower lip. The creature hadn’t noticed them before stepping out onto the path, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the two children standing there. Upon seeing them, his mouth twisted into a smile, and he took a step forward, speaking in a low growl “I found small humans.” That first step was also his last, however, as the roots and vines surrounding the path immediately shot forward, catching and holding his arms and legs in place. The creature grunted in surprise and thrashed all around to break free, but the entangling plants held fast. Callie grabbed Alex by the arm and pulled him into the brush on the other side of the path. Alex was still too dumbstruck by the creature’s appearance to move, forcing her to pull harder. “Alex, WAKE UP!” she shouted at him, her voice trembling. Her eyes were shifting between him and the creature, who was beginning to successfully force his way out of the plants. Upon hearing her shout, Alex quickly regained his senses and followed his friend into the brush. Not long after, the two children heard a loud snap as one of the vines was pulled from its tree.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I was JUST thinking about this thread an hour ago.
  • NimranNimran Member Posts: 4,875
    The next few moments seemed like an eternity. Alex could barely stay on his feet, pulled along as he was by the surprisingly strong halfling. The two children had left the relatively clear ground of Callie’s path. Gnarled roots and hanging vines seemed to jump in front of them every second, and she had to spend more effort to keep Alex from tripping as they ran. Despite this, they were still making quite a bit of distance from the path. When Callie finally stopped running, they were far from where the creature found them.

    The children breathed heavily as they surveyed their surroundings. The forest was dense with trees where they stopped, and they could barely see in the darkness cast by the leaves overhead, so they had to rely on hearing instead of sight. After a while, Callie took a deep breath and exhaled, relaxing her posture. “I think we lost him,” she finally whispered. Alex took that as his cue to speak. “What was that?” he asked, not daring to look away from where they had come from. “An orc, I would say,” Callie replied. “They’re big, surly people who usually live in isolated communities in mountains. There’s a village of them not far from where we were, though.” Alex turned to look at her in astonishment, though he could barely see her in the shadows. “What?!” he exclaimed. “There are more of those things here? And they’re living so close to my home!” Callie nodded grimly. “Yeah, it’s a problem,” she said. “Look, I know you must have been shocked to see an orc for the first time, but Alex, I want you to understand one thing. They are people, just like you and me. They might look different and have a different culture, but they are still just like humans.” She smiled and gave him a reassuring wink before starting to walk back in the direction from which they came. “Come on,” she said. “You should get back home before it gets even darker. Don’t tell anyone what you saw today, okay? It’s best that your village doesn’t find out about the orcs.” “Why not?” Alex asked as he fell in line behind her.

    “Because it will not end well if they know,” Callie answered him without looking back.
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