From rayek Thu Feb 2 21:09:51 1995 Return-Path: Received: by netcom14.netcom.com (8.6.9/Netcom) id VAA14085; Thu, 2 Feb 1995 21:06:22 -0800 Date: Thu, 2 Feb 1995 21:06:22 -0800 From: rayek (R'ykandar Korra'ti) Message-Id: <199502030506.VAA14085@netcom14.netcom.com> To: dewshine Subject: somewhat creativedly edited winnowill telling a story Status: RO edited to make it more linear - i.e., as it "would have happened" in rl, rather than in semi-random MUSH-talk order... ----- begin log ----- Evening falls clear and cold over the snow-covered Holt. The first stars of evening appear above. You look down from the branch and see... Clearing by the Old Willow(#123RHJ) This clearing, last among the trees before the land changes slowly to marshes, is dominated by an impossibly massive willow tree. Much of the ancient tree is hidden by its ever-blowing fronds, which veil it and the entire clearing in quiet, green-grey shadows. The air holds a rich mix of scents: water and wood, elf-scent and wolf-scent, earth and the occasional whiff of fire. The fallen log by the tree, the quietly gurgling 'fountain' off to one side, the willow's gnarled roots, and even the soft earth underfoot encourage one to sit and sing or speak or send... or just to watch and listen. The entire area is tinged with a gentle, subtle sense of magic and age, centered upon the giant tree. To the south, the land slopes gently uphill. A path runs from Sun-Goes-Up to Sun-Goes-Down, with the nearby marshes lying off in the former direction and the more secluded parts of the Holt in the latter. Just off to the northeast, past the fountain, is a small pond. Contents: Calmwind(#7032Jpq) Ashes Hollow log Squirrel Obvious exits: Branch Old Willow Hillside Path Starwillow Copse Marsh Pond You swing down from the branch to the path below. West Bank of the Pond This narrow strip of a path runs wedged on one side by closely tangled young trees, and on the other by the thick grasses surrounding the nearby small pond. Just overhead, most of the tangle of branches comes from the huge gnarled willow tree that dominates most of the surroundings. Evening falls clear and cold over the snow-covered Holt. The first stars of evening appear above. Obvious exits: Pond Branches Clearing Around the Pond You wade out through the grasses into the water. Pond The pond is covered by thick, blue ice and a thin layer of powdery snow, except where the passing feet of elves and wolves have brushed the snow away. The pond is wreathed by tall, frozen marsh grasses on almost all sides leaving only the wide stretch along the Hubward bank. Occasionally a cold wind blows across the pond, whirling up snow, towards Away-from-Hub. All along the Sun-Goes-Up side of the pond, you see a curving tangle of brush and grasses, sheltering the otherwise open space from view of anyone not within the Holt. Just to the north is the largest open bank; to the south is the Holt trail, though you must move through tangled grasses to get to it. Just over towards Sun-Goes-Down is the Holt proper, and the Old Willow dominates the view. Obvious exits: West Bank South Bank North Bank Trollkiller splashes! into the pond. You look southward and see... South Bank of the Pond This narrow, winding pathway is shielded in almost all directions save up, where the open sky allows clear illumination to mark the trail. The foliage is that of a place on the fringe between wood and marshland; tall young trees to the south and west, dominated by a massive distant trio of willows, are set off against a tangled barrier of brush and grasses that curves gently across the trail just off to the east. Thinner grasses mark the edge of a pond immediately to the north. Evening falls clear and cold over the snow-covered Holt. The first stars of evening appear above. Contents: Pwyll Kalthe Winnowill Joy Obvious exits: Holt Copse Itchgrass Circle Pond You clamber out onto the south bank of the pond. South Bank of the Pond This narrow, winding pathway is shielded in almost all directions save up, where the open sky allows clear illumination to mark the trail. The foliage is that of a place on the fringe between wood and marshland; tall young trees to the south and west, dominated by a massive distant trio of willows, are set off against a tangled barrier of brush and grasses that curves gently across the trail just off to the east. Thinner grasses mark the edge of a pond immediately to the north. Evening falls clear and cold over the snow-covered Holt. The first stars of evening appear above. Contents: Pwyll Kalthe Winnowill Joy Obvious exits: Holt Copse Itchgrass Circle Pond Trollkiller splashes out of the pond. ** Hi hi hi... ** Pwyll blinks sideways at Joy. ** A trip where? ** And then he smiles at Winnowill again. ** I like to hear stories. ** Joy blinks and smiles, waving ** Shush... she's gonna tell a story. ** Winnowill says "Or Kalthe may tell you one of his." Trollkiller shakeshakeshakes, discreetly out of the way. ** Brr! ** Winnowill raises her head with nothing more than a short smile, "Hello, Trollkiller." Kalthe sends openly ** My Lord, I am of no match to your skill... but if you wish me to try I shall humbly attempt such. ** Kalthe looks to Trollkiller, nodding, ** Greetings ** Joy glances at Kalthe curiously. Pwyll twists around and beams at Trollkiller, then turns back to the gliders. Trollkiller is fluffing out wet fur. ** Hello again, Kalthe... ** Winnowill inhales deeply, then looks down to Joy and Pwyll. "Do you know the story about the elf that could not fly?" Joy blinks at Kalthe, "Wow..." Joy glances back to Winnowill, "No..." Winnowill says "Would you like to hear it?" Joy nods and smiles. Pwyll shakes his head. And then nods quickly, flopping down right where he is. Joy shuffles Pwyll into her lap, so there. Joy musses up his hair while she's at it. Winnowill says "First, I must tell you somethings so you will understand." Pwyll mrmphs quietly and fixes his hair -yet- again. Trollkiller, looking relatively dry, plops down beside Joy and Pwyll. He messes up Joy's hair. Pwyll giggles. Trollkiller senses in a locksend, Pwyll sends, with suppressed excitement, ** I found a whole ravvit hole. ** You locksend ** Really? Around here, with the wolfpack so close? ** to Pwyll. Winnowill says, "All gliders can fly. Every one of them. Then came a glider who could not. She was pretty, and tall and by far the most beautiful glider of Blue Mountain, but she could not fly at all. So the other gliders would tease her and fly around her and call her names." Joy mmrphs and fixes her own hair... then bwaps Pwyll for giggling. Winnowill makes an evidently perturbed, childish face of disgust. Joy giggles. Pwyll frowns a little. Joy hmms, turning serious. Winnowill sends openly ** The vast, glorious expanse of Blue Mountain where all elves fly. Only one young glider walks upon the cold, stone floor, quiet, dark. ** Winnowill raises her eyes and nods once to Kalthe. Kalthe nods and floats off. Kalthe heads into the Willowholt. Trollkiller frowns, tilting his head. Winnowill says "So this young elf tried and tried as best as she could but just couldn't fly. But do you know what the Lord of the mountain told her?" Winnowill waits, eyes partially narrow. Joy blinks, eyes wide, "What?" Winnowill says "Why, the Lord told her that if all gliders could fly, she would have to be able to fly to be a glider, or she could not be one. She would have to leave the mountain." Pwyll frowns even more deeply. Trollkiller senses in a locksend, Pwyll nods, albeit distractedly. Joy swallows and frowns too. Trollkiller starts to say something, but stops himself. Not his story. Joy sends openly ** How awful of him! ** Pwyll sends openly ** I bet there was some elf that liked her! ** Winnowill says "And what do you think this young glider could do? She was all alone." Winnowill lowers her head until her eyes are very close to Pwyll's and Joy's. Winnowill says, "This elf had a secret that the other gliders didn't know about." Joy ooohs. Pwyll draws his head back a little, but arches his eyebrows, still listening. You locksend ** I'm glad it isn't like that here... ** to Pwyll and Joy. Trollkiller senses in a locksend, Joy nodsnods. Winnowill says "She could 'listen' to what the other gliders were thinking, what they really wanted. And she had great magic that she practiced, magic that would make the other gliders, especially the Lord, fear her if they knew about it." Trollkiller snorts. ** Sounds like humans. Except for the listening part. They're all scared of magic - even magic that isn't real. ** Winnowill says, "She watched the dreams of one glider in particular, a glider who wanted to fly like the birds do, not with magic. If the Lord knew that, this glider would be despised also." Trollkiller remembers it's not his story and quiets down again. Then frowns again at the new part of the story. Joy blinks, her eyes narrowing... Winnowill says "Elves don't like other elves that don't think the same things they do. They don't like it when there are other elves that are different because they are afraid ofthem. Oh, they won't admit it, but they fear what they don't understand. (She smiles warmly.)" Trollkiller looks like he does _not_ buy it. Winnowill says "This young glider who could not glide secretly met with this other glider who did not want to fly like the rest of the Mountain. In the blackness of night, she changed his body into the of a bird, making his arms into wings, so he could fly without magic." Winnowill says "The young glider then went to the Lord and told him of what she had done." Joy says "Wait..." Winnowill says, "Yes, Joy?" Joy says "You're... you're talking about that flyelf... the one that came here with Bree?" Joy says "I remember him..." Ahdran emerges from the nearby clearing. Winnowill says "Tyldak, yes." Joy says "You did that to him?" Joy blinks again, looking at Winnowill incredulously. Trollkiller sends, ** I've heard that mountain folk are different. I wonder if this is one of the ways... ** to Joy and Pwyll. Winnowill raises her eyes nodding once to Ahdran, turning her attention back to Joy, "Allow me to finish the story, then I will answer your question." Pwyll's eyes widen. Joy smiles slightly at Ahdran then looks back to Winnie. Joy says "Okay... sorry." Ahdran looks a bit apprehensively at Winnowill, and moves quietly over next to Joy. Trollkiller smiles at Ahdran. Winnowill says "When the Lord heard of this he was furious, almost as mad as a troll can make you." Trollkiller raises an eyebrow, but adds nothing to _that_ line... Pwyll just watches Winnowill tell the story, not paying attention to anyone else, really. Winnowill makes trollish gestures, her fingers waving like troll mitts, her mouth forming a comical parody of a troll face. Ahdran smiles quietly at Trollkiller, and nods to Pwyll, pausing a bit uncertainly near the others. Pwyll squints, and smiles, a little, maybe. Winnowill says "The young girl did not have to say anything other than this: This is because I cannot fly." Winnowill says "The Lord then realized how wrong he had been. An elf that had such power should not be turned away. But more importantly, an elf that knew how to take care of her own tribe and did not hesitate to do so was very valuable indeed." Joy smiles slightly and nods. Pwyll sends openly ** Like a good hunter, huh? ** Winnowill says "Yes Joy, I shaped Tyldak, that little glider who could not fly is me. So many elves want to help you and take care of you because they 'have' to, it is their Way to watch out for their own tribe. There are not very many of us that take care of our families because it is our choice to, because we want to. Like Savah, I take care of my family, I keep them safe and nurture them as they should be." Winnowill says, "Like a good hunter, yes Pwyll." Joy blinks, pondering this... Ahdran watches Winnowill thoughtfully, then glances at Joy. Joy looks back up at Winnowill and smiles widely. Winnowill says "There is no instinct in my blood that forces me to do something, like every elf should, I make my own decisions based on what is right, not what my blood says I should do. That is what being a glider is." Pwyll squints at Winnowill, trying to puzzle lots of things out at once. Winnowill smiles warmly, seductively. Pwyll sends openly ** We do what's right too! ** Ahdran kneels behind Joy, touching her shoulder lightly. Joy glances back half-facing Ahdran. Trollkiller nuzzles Pwyll. ** Of course we do. ** He looks at Winnowill. ** I've never been one to say that blood is everything a person can be. ** (Simultaniously as above) Joy sends openly ** Of course we do Pwyll, we're gliders, too. ** Pwyll nods at Joy, and giggles a little at being nuzzled. Then he shrugs at Winnowill. ** It's just coz! ** Trollkiller nods at Joy. ** Willowholters, gliders... ** He looks at Ahdran ** Willowholt sunfolk... ** He sends a picture of Woodhawk. ** Willowholt wolfriders. ** Ahdran says quietly, "Blood is not the most important. It's who you love." Winnowill says "Wolf blood loves because it is inherently instinctual." Winnowill says "It is who you are to love like a wolf, but is that the same as loving like an elf?" Trollkiller sends, ** In-stink-shu-al? ** Winnowill locksends ** Instinctual, what you feel is right to do, not what you _know_ is right to do. ** Joy nods absently to Ahdran.. Pwyll sends openly ** I'm a elf, and I love my momma and Joy and Trollkiller and everyone. ** Joy fuzzles Pwyll. Ahdran looks at his tan skin. "Some know both, perhaps." Trollkiller leans up and nuzzles Ahdran. He liks his words. Ahdran gives Joy a startled glance. Then he blushes, smiling a little at Trollkiller. You locksend ** You have very interesting ideas. And... not the history I've been told you have. ** to Winnowill. You locksend ** At least, not in your stories. ** to Winnowill. Ahdran looks to Joy again, then to Trollkiller. And finally to Winnowill. "Joy is going with you?" Joy nods absently to Winnowill. Trollkiller blinks at Joy, and raises an eyebrow. You locksend ** Really? Have you talked to Dawn, yet? ** to Joy. Winnowill locksends ** Is it the story itself that is important, or the understanding that is reached from the story? ** Pwyll blinks too, and frowns. ** Joy? ** Ahdran looks troubled. "But... We... I mean, the others..." You locksend ** That's what's interesting. ** to Winnowill. Winnowill extends her hand, fingers over Joy's crown, "Is something troubling you, Joy?" Joy glances up at ahdran, then to Winnowill. Joy sends openly ** She [Winnowill] said she'd like me to go... ** Joy sends openly ** And I want to learn how to fly... to make Father proud. ** Pwyll frowns more. ** I'm gonna learn too. You don't gotta go away. ** Ahdran nods quietly. Winnowill looks between Pwyll and Joy, briefly glancing to Trollkiller. Winnowill says "But I do not live here, Pwyll. The Gliders that can teach you do not live here." Joy glances from Pwyll to Ahdarn, then frowns, "I thought you'd be happy for me, Ahdran." She nods to Winnowill's words. Winnowill locksends ** It is not disturbing if you look into what it means, not just what was said (her sending becomes amorphous, tempting, inviting and enticing you with an answer, waiting only for you to reach for it). ** Pwyll sends openly ** My Poppa's here and he can teach us. ** Ahdran spreads his fingers helplessly. "I want you to be happy, Joy. But it would mean leaving... I mean, No-fur, and... and..." Joy narrows her gaze, "No-fur and who, Sorrow? Is that it, you're upset at leaving Sorrow?" Trollkiller ahs, knowing all about _this_ little conflict of interests... You locksend ** Don't make him pick like that. ** to Joy. You locksend ** Please. ** to Joy. Ahdran says "I don't understand why she makes you so angry. She's nice." Joy stands slowly, hands going to her hips. Joy sighs at a send, then looks down. You locksend ** You're right, I think; your sire can teach you to fly. He's certainly good at it. ** to Pwyll. Joy says "Very well..." Joy remains calm as she speaks, "You can stay here and I'll go by myself. Then you won't have to leave your precious Sorrow." Trollkiller winces. Ahdran says "But I want to be with you, too!" Joy blinks and nods in Winnowill's direction. She looks back to Ahdran, "I have to do this. " Ahdran looks a bit helplessly at the others. You locksend ** Um. Wasn't that kind of the same thing, though? ** to Joy. Pwyll looks really confused. Joy locksends ** He doesn't have to choose. I made the choice for him. ** Trollkiller sends openly ** Well, we all have to do things sometimes. No-fur had to go on his soulname quest; he came back the better for it. ** Ahdran says "Yes..." Winnowill's face becomes calm, not inclined to express either joy or express a bereft sorrow, one that simply watches and listens. Joy nods slightly to Trollkiller. You locksend ** I am surprised, though, that you haven't asked your sire about flight... as far as _I_ know. ** to Joy. Joy locksends ** I have, and he's taught me all he can. ** Ahdran looks down, then takes Joy's hand without looking at her. Joy glances at Ahdran quietly. You locksend ** I can't expect she'll be gone too long. ** to Ahdran. You locksend ** There's no green inside the mountain, after all... ** to Ahdran. Ahdran locksends ** But it's so far away..I worry about her. And..and Sorrow, too. ** You locksend to Ahdran, Trollkiller nods. ** But you could visit, perhaps? ** You locksend ** It's far, but not so far it can't be transited... ** to Ahdran. Ahdran looks up, at Trollkiller. Ahdran locksends ** Yes... Yes, I could do that. I wish I could be in two places at once. ** Joy smiles slightly to Winnowill, "I will be going with you. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I am going." Winnowill says "You have made me very happy Joy. I am sure that your decision will prove to be one of the most important ones of your life." Joy moves to hug Winnowill again ** I have to go tell Mother and Father... ** Ahdran runs his hand through his hair, in a gesture of distraction. "It... It's too cold to travel, now." Winnowill offers a benign hug and then folds her hands together in her lap, "Of course. Remember your chief thinks that every elf should make their own decision, just in case your parents do not agree." Winnowill says "With the bond birds, it will be a short journey." Joy nods and smiles to Winnowill. Joy glances up at Ahdran, her smile fading. Joy loks at him a moment, as if disappointed. She turns and runs off in the direction of her parents' den. Ahdran says "But... Joy, please... if you wait until the newgreen I will come with you." Joy slips into the nearby copse. Ahdran watches Joy run away, takes a step after her, then stops. "No." In a send-pose to Joy, Trollkiller suggests that she talk to Zalen about talking to Joy about what life was like in the mountain for him. >From afar, Joy has heard it a few times, but thanks :) Winnowill looks after Joy, then Ahdran, "Love is a beast some days." (She almost whispers this, the sharp of hearing may hear a tone of amusement.) Ahdran turns to Winnowill. "There is no hurry, is there?" Trollkiller nuzzles Pwyll, and sends something quietly. Winnowill says "For me, yes. I cannot stay here much longer." Ahdran bites his lower lip, and starts pacing the bank of the pond. You locksend ** You can catch up later, when the newgreen comes, and Sorrow is more well. ** to Ahdran. Winnowill says "And when I leave, I hope to bring as many gliders as will come with me." Trollkiller looks up, and sends openly, ** Why? ** Winnowill turns to Trollkiller, "They are my family. The mountain is their home. I cannot force them (something very evasive in her words) to stay, but I can ask them to return with me. Trollkiller looks very thoughtful. ** How can someplace they've never been before be their home? ** Ahdran locksends ** She was so sad and frightened, the last time I saw her. Poor Sorrow. Do you really think I should? ** Winnowill focuses her attention on Trollkiller, "Or should I say, not a place of where their home is, but where they belong." Winnowill says "If a wolfrider was born to the mountain, would you not wish to see them raised, or at least exposed to a wolfrider holt?" Pwyll peers after Joy, and looks around, at Winnowill, Trollkiller, and Ahdran, then peers after Joy again. Trollkiller shrugs. ** If they wanted. Travel is often good. But... ** Trollkiller furrows his forehead, and sends, ** ...the inside of the ground seems an unlikely place to learn to fly. ** Trollkiller senses that Ahdran looks at him, as if about to add to the send. But he does not send. Winnowill says "Safer than flying through trees?" Trollkiller giggles. ** Definately not. Rocks are _much_ harder than leaves. ** Winnowill says "The mountain is the result of magic itself, life flourishes within it." Winnowill says "Leaves hide sharp branches. Rock can, and is, shaped smoothly." Pwyll squints, sending. Trollkiller sends, ** The _mountain_ was there already. The _holes_ are shaped. And Sweetleaf is quite adept at shaping trees - though perhaps they're best left unaltered, since many of the greatest troubles in life come hidden in softness. ** [Editor's note: Trollkiller had _no idea_ of the connotations of this sentence, as they apply to Winnowill.] Trollkiller bounces. ** Of course, most of the time, soft is _very_ good! ** Trollkiller ruffles Pwyll's hair. Pwyll doesn't mrmph this time. He doesn't even really notice. Trollkiller tickles Pwyll. Trollkiller sends, ** But we should get ready to hunt! ** Pwyll bats Trollkiller's hands away. ** There's a ravvit hole... ** he tells Trollkiller absently. Ahdran says "It's so far away..." Trollkiller sends, ** Where? ** Pwyll sends openly ** Out by where the camp is. ** Trollkiller stands, and ruffles Ahdran. ** The ravvit hole? Can't be too far. ** Trollkiller sends, ** Let's go look! ** Ahdran says "Yes... hunt." Ahdran looks distant, giving Winnowill a last troubled look and following the others to the hunt. ----- end log -----