by Conny Conway
A coffee mug
For my human lass.”
Whiplash was zooming around Shiloh’s head as she had ascended the tree. She answered with a grumble to the greeting.
“Oh me, oh my,
An unforeseen hump
I might just die,
You’re a morning grump,”
The little cat giggled.
“Go away!”
The woman tried to swat the flying kitten away from her face with no success.
” I’m just not as bushytailed as you are. Besides, stop flying around my head, you will give me a headache, Whiplash.”
Lann grinned.
“Do I really smell coffee?”
Derwa held her head low.
“Not coffee, but it does taste very similar. Instead of a bean I use the root of an otherwise toxic plant. The stem, leafs, blossoms and the fruit of it would give you a heart attack, it’s that high in caffeine. ”She explained. “ I also found some dried flourshroms, with some imagination they taste like bread, if you eat them together with the berries I collected it will give you enough nourishment to last you through half the day.”
The winged warrior moved in on the druid, silently, quiet, careful not to make any noise, even held his breath.
He bowed down a little and held his hand in front or Derwa’s face.
He wiggled his fingers.
First Derwa did not react, then with a tiny delay she wondered.
” What are you doing, Lann?”
Shiloh had wondered too, but she was too tired to even speak. She poured some of the hot brew in some sort of conk shell and sipped the aromatic tincture, then she moaned in pleasure as she swallowed the coffee imitation.
“You tell me, Derwa.” Lann prompted.
The druidess kept quiet for a little while, nodded,
“Clever, Lann, very clever.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” He inquired.
Shiloh, a little more awake. paid a little more interest to the conversation.
“Would you have trusted me?” Derwa prompted.
The handsome face of the warrior twisted in thought.
“I guess not.” He admitted.
“Do you trust me now?” The woman asked.
Again the winged man pondered before he answered.
“I would like to.’’ he admitted. “ If you have any more secrets, now is the time to speak up.”
It was Derwa’s turn to contemplate.
“Sometimes I can see,” she sighed deeply, “the future.”
Lann nodded.
“From your expression I gather you see it as a curse.”
The druid kept quiet.
“May I ask you to lift your face?” Lann laid his hand on her shoulder.
First it seemed the druid would duck his touch, then she straightened her posture, she shivered when she lifted her face to him.
Her eye socket should have been empty, but they were filled with round emeralds, not shining or polished, almost grey in appearance, just like the stone on the top of her staff.
Lann’s hand dug a little deeper into her flesh, as to ensure her.
They just stood there in the morning sun, next to the small fire, the druid had lit while everyone else had been asleep.
Her face lost the forsaken gaze and her pale lips curved in a very small smile.
“Thank you, warrior.” She breathed before she turned away from him to hide the tears welling up in her lifeless stony eyes.
He didn’t force her to turn back, he didn’t insist on more words.
“When you are ready to talk we will be by your side. We are your friends.”
The druid shrank a little, she nodded with her back still turned to him.
Lann turned, went to the fire, grabbed one of the shells and poured the steamy goodness in it, the aroma teasing his nose.
He sighed after the first sip.
Shiloh was fully awake now, though whatever just had transpired between the druidess and her warrior she was smart enough to keep her tongue in check.
A questioning gaze slipped from her to Lann, he just shrugged and mouthed the word later. She nodded in understanding.
He sat down on a tree stump next to the female, kissed her nose, squatted at the zooming cat,
“Have you slept well, sweetling?”
“Yes, thank you, Sir Knight.” she played along.
They were interrupted by the unicorn’s descent of the tree.
She whinnied when her hooves touch the rotten leaves which had formed the soft ground in the forest.
“My Lady, you’re up. I hope you had a restful night.” The druidess greeted the white beast.
“Thank you, Derwa.” Xylophia answered.” After Whiplash left and the wisp found us boring and took also off, I found peaceful bliss. I hate to agree with the Matagot but the light of him is extremely annoying when you try to sleep.”
Shiloh’s chin fell, this was the longest sentence that she had heard from the unicorn so far, also the first of her opinion.
“Where is that little light worm anyway?” Lann asked.
As on cue Willie came floating around the brushes, excitedly yelling already from afar
“He found more, oh so much more of the yumminess, He found a bushel. Will you feed him some, my lord? You promised the yummy as payment!” he yelped. “Oh. Please, follow him to the yummies. He is hungry. Some yummies would fill his tummy and his spirit with knowledge of the way.”
Lann smiled, very well noticing the little blackmail behind the willow wisp’s words.
He gave Shiloh a breath of a kiss on her lips, got up and followed the light being.
The female, left behind in the camp, smirked.
Only a few paces around the bushes stood the beautiful plant in all her splendor, the wisp hovered over it in anticipation, just like the day before, the warrior plucked a couple of the stems and fed them to the lantern.
Soon Willie went through the color changes and the zooming, chattering all the while, his changing light brighter than ever.
Lann left the wisp behind as he turned to walk away, when his eyes caught a few bones thrown under the brush.
He bowed down, picked one up and expected it thoroughly, only to discover they were rabbit bones, the meat was almost completely eaten away, just here and there were some fibers left.
The dental imprint in those strand suggested the animal had been eaten by a human or human like being, not by wild animals.
A suspicion rose in his mind.
He threw the bone back in the thick bush as he got up, his eyes peered around, looking for telltale signs as he walked the near surrounding.
Sure enough he found foot prints in the soft ground just a few yards away.
He knew the pattern of the sole very well.
Fury rose as he realized he had been deceived by the trickster, the Matagot and Shiloh had been right not to trust that damned creature.
His first instinct was to yell for Willie, but then he thought better. If he would tell the little shit off he might abandon them.
Yes, they had Derwa to show them the foods, nourishment, but the druidess didn’t know the way out of the labyrinth of the forest.
Only the frigging Wisp did.
Lann brooded about their new predicament, still calling Willie all sorts of cuss words.
Bit by bit a plan arose in the warrior’s heart.
In the end he bowed down and ripped the whole plant out of the ground, if Ruebezahl would be upset or not, Lann would teach the willow wisp a lesson, not to mess with a demigod.
As if the green giant had heard his thoughts, Lann heard a thunderous laughter.
He then strolled back to camp, the unholy plant in his hand, the wisp was nowhere in sight but his giggle and ramblings were audible.
“My God, you touched the hell plant.” Derwa stuttered as he sat down by the fire, tearing the brush and all its leaves apart.
“Uhm…” but before he could finish his question she interrupted him,
/>
“The aroma.” she said.
He nodded, not aware that she couldn’t see his motion.
“Are you really holding it?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because only a few can do so, the worthy ones.” She answered quietly.
“Then I am worthy.” He emphasized grudgingly, still shredding at the greenery.
“Hm.” the druid hummed, took a silent breath, “and what did upset you that bad?”
“The frigging willow wisp.” he gritted between his teeth.
Shiloh touched his shoulder, not speaking just offering her silent comfort.
He turned to the human.
“You were right, you and the flea bag. That shitty lantern did not deserve my trust.”
Nothing of the plant had survived but a few seeds.
She rubbed his shoulder, still wordless, knowing instinctively he wasn’t done fuming yet.
“But did I listen to you? No, I knew so much better. Damned, I should have known, should have listened to your intuition. And this damned plant…”
He broke his tirade, swallowed hard, sighed, turned his gaze on Shiloh’s lovely face and said sadly, “Sweetling, I have no idea how to get us out of this mess, unless we convince Willie it would be better to stick with us. Promising him, that we will keep looking for more plants, but destroy the one we fed to him each day.”
Now it was time for her to speak up.
“What happened, Lann?”
“The damned creature took us in circles to end up by the damned flower again. The junkie.”
He spit out the words in disgust, still the seeds in his hands, trying to squish them.
“From the fragrance I know you tore the hell plant up, did you come up on some seeds?”
Derwa said, lifting her face, granting all of them a view of her gem eyes, Shiloh gasped, starred for a moment then mouthed to Xylophia, she is blind?, the unicorn conceded.
“Yeah, I got the stupid seed.”
Lann halted his movement in the middle of flinging the germs into the fire.
“Save them.” The green woman ordered. “With Shiloh’s magic they will grow in no time.”
“What Magic?”
“What for?”
Shiloh and Lann spoke up at ones.
A tired smile played around the druids lips.
“Don’t feed the wisp anymore...”
“I have no intention to.” Lann growled.
Again the green woman smiled, but this time it was lit up by real amusement.
“Each night Shiloh will grow the plant, when it would be time to feed the willow wisp, but only if he does his part of the bargain and leading you to the exit. And every evening you should destroy the bush after you’ll collect new kernels to re-grow the food for the next evening.”
Lann’s face lit up, the human’s didn’t.
“I have no magic.” she exclaimed.
“Yes, you do. You got touched by magic. You must have been close to death as the enchantment laid a hand on you. Since then power is growing inside of you, and it will keep doing so for a while.”
“But, I have never…” Shiloh disputed only to be interrupted by the golden warrior.
“Yes, you have.”
“I have not.”
“Yes, you have.”
“When?”
“When we, uhm, made love.” He answered.
She glanced at him puzzled.
“You lifted us up with the vines.” He said with a sensual smirk. “first I thought I was mistaken, after all, you herded me to new heights, but then, as you calmed down, so did the vines and descended back onto the treetop.”
The erotic grin still on his face, remembering their love making and heat surged through his veins.
“Oh.” She was speechless.
His smile widened.
“I still wouldn’t know how or what to do.” She protested.
“Let me help you with it.”
Lann offered with an ever bigger grin which spread all the way to his eyes.
Again Shiloh had no words to counter his obvious challenge to make love him again.
The druid cleared her throat.
“Maybe I could be of help. And you could stay dressed.” she offered, then amused by Shiloh’s embarrassment she joined Lann by teasing the young human.
” Unless you insist on Lann’s, uhm, help.”
Was there a snicker in Derwa’s voice?
Shiloh flushed, gazing back and forth between the druid and the winged man.
Derwa felt compassion with the human beauty.
“Come here, child, and bring one of the seeds with you.” she advised.
Shiloh did as the druid had asked and staggered to her.
The druidess knelt into to dirt and asked her to do the same, she then instructed the female to dig a hole and place the kernel into it and bury the germ.
Afterwards Shiloh rubbed the dirt of her hand onto her jeans.
“Now, close your eyes, child, don’t think of anything except of sun and warmth, relax, feel the sun, enjoy the kiss of heat onto your bare parts. Don’t listen to your surroundings, don’t listen to me, just feel, become one with the warmth. At the same time imagine warm rain falling on you, on your head, feel it drenching your clothes, the water is warm and energizing, feel it, become the water and the sun. With your mind’s eye see the small seed in its warm bed , sleeping oh so tightly, let is wake up, don’t force it, keep calm, let the kernel stretch its limps, growing a root, elongating deep into the ground, the sun is mocking it to show itself to the above, let it follow the call, let it spruce, grow, stretch its stem, feel the fertile climate and give the plant a butt, beautiful and unique to this realm, let it blossom, let it shine. Allow the flower to mature and build seedpods. Stay relax, Shiloh, wiggle your fingers and toes, disconnect from the sun, from the rain, stop the energy flowing through you, and shut it away into your heart. Gently, child, very gently open your eyes.”
She did as told and stared.
In front of her was a flower so pretty, so bright in its orange, yellow and purple, it shone like a sun.
Shiloh reached out to it.
“Don’t touch it, child. You made it grow but the plant is not yours to have.” The green woman warned and the human stopped startled, lifted her gaze to the man.
His eyes were filled with pride.
“I knew it, it was you lifting us into heaven.”
The human’s eyes filled with love for the winged warrior and a shy smile curved her lips.
‘Ah, she is so kissable.’ Lann shuddered and literally had to rip his gaze from her, otherwise he would have rushed to her, grabbed her and made love to her up in the tree cubicles, again and again.
“What shall we do now?” He inquired instead of the green druid.
“Now, we shall call the wisp, destroy the plant in front of him, show him the seeds and tell him that he will be fed at the end of our daily trips.”
Of cause Willie had a fit, even mourned the plant, the waste of it, was about to leave them stranded until he heard that they would still feed him every evening, that they, and only they, have the reserves to do so, but only if he held to his word.
Sputtering, yelling and complaining he started to lead the small group through the forest, finding clearings for rests, where they ate whatever Derwa had discovered and harvested on the way.
She had apologized, to no one specific, as she had taken one giant egg from an immense nest.
She reserved this for their evening meal in the hopes she would come up on some wild tubers, which she and Shiloh could fry.
If the Gods were with them they might even find some berries, fruits or similar for a dessert.
After their lunch they kept walking, further and further through the trees. Sometimes they had to climb over fallen trees.
Lann had offered Derwa his help, she had denied proudly and he had shrugged.
The same situation arose as they had to climb a knoll overgrown
by gnarling roots, again she denied.
She had not even finished speaking as she stumbled over one of the tree roots.
The golden warrior caught her, swept her up in his muscled arms, she protested, he ignored her outburst, carried her all the way up to the top, which was crowned by a huge tree, the trunk was barren to where the boughs started, no moss had built on it, a face was carved into its bark, at least it seemed like it.
A gentle wind caressed its leaves, rubbing the branches against each other, the sound of a moaning imitated by the breeze.
Shiloh craned her neck trying to see the very top of the tree, but it was hidden from the ample amount of foliage.
The unicorn leaned against the rough bark and rubbed her back, sighing at the relief of an itch.
“Fracking donkey. Get of me! Take your fleas of my trunk or else.”
A deep voice thundered over the knoll, startling every one of the mixed group of companions. Lann had knocked his bow with an arrow, ready to shoot, to defend his friends.
“Maggots, get of my knoll.” the voice bellowed.
This time they had seen the carved mouth move and in wonder Shiloh gasped.
“It talks.”
“Of cause I talk, vermin. Now, piss of.”
“We’re sorry we didn’t mean to disturb…”
Lann was interrupted by a deep groan from way above, a male voice, pain saturated. “What the hell?”
“Oh my gosh, there is a man dangling in its vines.”
The human woman breathed in shock.
The groan repeated followed by a yelp in agony.
The wooden mouth bore an ugly smirk.
“Get off or keep him company.”
Lann hurried his friends to safety down the little hill, followed by the repulsive laughter of the tree.
“We can't leave him there.” Shiloh exclaimed as they clambered out of danger.
Lann shushed her, but his eyes had this look, which Shiloh knew too well already, it announced that he would not let the man die, he was working on a plan for rescue and the female fell silent quickly.
The golden warrior guided them a few yards further, then instructed to stay there, to not follow him under any circumstances.
He turned back and ascended the knoll again. Halfway up he knocked his arrow again while the tree greeted him with a viscous scowl.
“So be it.”
It declared swiping his huge branches at the warrior, he ducked.
