Dreamblood
Loki Burrfoot, youngest child of the renowned Tasslehoff Burrfoot, kicked up piles of fallen leaves while he walked. The kender bard could have chosen a more luxurious method of travel from Qualinesti, but none would have been as satisfying as kender tradition of wandering.
"Except maybe riding on a dragon," he mused. "That'd be fun and impressive." He let his mind dance around the idea. After a pause, he added aloud to himself, "Are there kender-sized dragons?"" The thought was cleared from his mind abruptly as he saw Palanthas in the distance. With a mile wide grin, he gave a little skip of elation and strode forward at a renewed pace.
Loki was on a trip to visit his eldest sibling, Firespice, who held the prestigious job as one of the city guards in Palanthas. Of course, the only reason he owned that title was because of his ability to get into anywhere and find out anything. He was also allowed to search people for hidden weapons and things, but the elder kender considered this detail more of a perk than a burden.
Firespice had been thrilled to hear how his siblings faired in the last letter Loki had penned to him. After their initial separation, Loki quickly finished his bardic lessons with his elven tutor, Vansal. A full fledged bard, Loki had promised his friend and teacher he would visit again and together they could perform in Vansal's homeland, but he had to see his siblings. Setting off for Solace, Loki found word that his sister traveled abroad these days – not a cleric of any holy order, though she still strived to find the one for her – but using her innate celestial gifts to heal both body and soul in her travels. While on the path to Palanthas, where he was sure Firespice still was, he had the fortune to bump into Crentha on the road. The two had a merry reunion, and shared many tales. Crentha invited Loki to come with her, for together they could only enhance each other's ability; the siblings shared a bond that seemed to strengthen one another when in each other's presence. Confident he would see Firespice at another time, Loki agreed and off brother bard and sister cleric went. They wandered the roads, visiting places both good and bad, bringing song and joy to the hearts of any who would hear their songs and stories. In time, Crentha had met another priest like herself. He was a priest of Paladine, having found his god, but enjoyed travel of the road to help others in farther corners of the road. Bearing a special love of kender, unlike most humans, Perin had been more than happy to accompany the duo. With the passage of time, the relationship between the two worshippers bloomed and flourished, and they courted.
The bardic kender was going to Firespice, now, to bring news of their sister, Crentha, and her recent wedding to a human priest. Loki found it odd that his elder sister would find love outside of their race, but he held no ill will towards her for it or to her new husband. He knew Firespice would probably tease Crentha until she went mad, but it was all in the name of sibling love. In truth, Loki was thrilled that his flighty, romantic sister had chosen someone who would keep her safe on her life's travels.
Smiling to himself with those heartwarming thoughts, Loki pratically skipped the last mile up to the gates of Palanthas. Even as the two guards on duty barred his entry, his smile did not wane.
"No kender," one replied curtly, with a glare as he almost eagerly poked his sword at Loki. Loki tilted his head, an impish smile growing on his face as the second guard echoed the same words.
"Not even famous ones?" he inquired, half sincere, half mockingly. The two guards snorted at that. Loki frowned and crossed his arms, sizing up the two guards, measuring what he could from them. Eventually, he pointed to the first guard and declared, "You must be Winster Mycloff. The one that likes to bully folks at the gate when you've had a particularly bad day." As the first guard blinked a few times, caught off balance, the second guard fidgeted nervously as Loki continued, "And you're Derkin Oferhal – the one that really wishes he could get of gate duty because that's for rookies, so if you act bored enough you might just get your wish."
"How in the Abyss did you know that?" the first guard, Winster, blustered once he'd gotten his bearings back.
Loki couldn't repress his smug grin, "Oh my brother has told me about all the guards in his letters. I feel as if I know you all almost as intimately as he does."
"The Burrfoot?" Derkin mused. "You're related to him?"
"I'm his brother," Loki replied with a touch of pride. The two guards exchanged glances. "I'm here on invitation by him to discuss family matters." Before the exchange could go further, though, a third guard who was coming to relieve Derkin of duty stopped in open-mouthed astonishment.
"It's Loki Burrfoot!" he exclaimed excitedly. "The kender bard!"
"A fan!" Loki squealed in delight, even as Derkin and Winston were beginning to look caught somewhere between embarrassment and bewilderment. The third guard squeezed past them to shake Loki's hand and usher him in the gates, gushing about how he'd gotten to witness a performance while visiting the Qualinesti. Loki chattered happily, regaling the young recruit with fanciful tales of the elves and their homeland, all while Winston and Derkin remained staring, wondering how things had gotten to the point that kender could be famous for anything other than thieving.
The halls of the barracks were dimly lit. The sun had not set enough to light the candles placed in niches in the walls, but it had set enough for its rays to only be barely adequate for sight. Loki decided it would be a good time of day for picking a spot to daydream while waiting for his brother and watching the sunset – a fond part of the day he'd grown accustomed to while in the company of the elves. Even as he thought this, he began letting his mind wander as he walked; while in a near trance-like state, visions of color danced before his eyes. The young kender had once told his sister that he could see the essence of music during these times. Crentha had laughed and told him he was seeing something even more profound, a heritage gift from their goddess mother – the essence of creation. 'The same thing,' Loki had quipped with a shrug.
A pair of hands clapped onto his shoulders suddenly, shattering the visions and startling him. Loki spun on his heel and threw out a fist reflexively, the blow connecting solidly with the person behind him. His assailant hit the ground with a solid thud and grunt. Loki blinked once to shake off the adrenaline, then again as he recognized it was a fellow kender sprawled on the floor. "Firespice?"
With a groan, the lender kender sat up, tenderly massaging his jaw. "Geez, I didn't think I would ever see the day my baby brother would deck me." Loki grinned gleefully, tackling his brother flat to the ground again in an enthusiastic hug, bringing up another grunt.
"Brother!" he squealed above Firespice's groan. "It's so good to see you! Sorry about hitting you; you shouldn't have startled me like that. Are you okay?"
Playfully shoving Loki aside, though none too gently, Firespice got up and dusted his tunic off. "I'll be okay," he assured Loki. "Come on, get up. Let me get a good look at you." Grinning so wide he felt his face would split, Loki stood and let his brother walk in a slow circle around him, inspecting with a sharpened eye for details that had only grown more keen over the years. "You've grown." It was a lie, but Loki giggled anyway. "Living with the elves so long has nearly turned you into one!" The elder kender mocked a horrified look at the prospect, but his face melted into a soft smile. "Ah, well, I hear the ladies adore elves so at least you won't be lonely while you sit and sing songs to the trees."
"And what about you?" Loki countered with a chuckle. "Is it true that women like men in uniforms with battle scars?"
Firespice stroked his chin in contemplation. "I couldn't say, I have no scars yet. Personally I think that says more about my battle prowess than if I were covered in them, don't you agree?" The two brothers shared a prolong laugh at that, aglow with the joy of being together again. To Loki, it was as if he were looking at a younger version of his father all over again. And to Firespice, it was like listening to lighthearted speech of his mother; albeit a bit masculine.
The younger sibling's face grew more serious as he inquired how Firespice's treatment was going amongst the human soldiers.
"Be at ease," Firespice soothed. "They might not see me as their equal, but I've done enough fair share of work that I won't be harassed." Loki relaxed, his smile easing back into the comfortable grin. At even a word of mistreatment, the bard had been ready to go around and pick a bone or two. With a conspiratory wink, Firespice leaned closer to Loki and added, "Besides, the guys think teasing me is bad luck."
Loki chuckled softly, "Oh?"
"Interesting accidents have occurred," Firespice giggled, his voice dropping into a hushed whisper. "One day they swiped my clothes and stuffed them at the top of a tree. I had to shimmy up there, in winter no less, with only my underpants on!" Loki giggled madly at that as Firespice blushed bright red at the memory, right to the tips of his ears. "That same day, they all got a surprise from the sky when a flock of seagulls passed overhead. Marvelous aim, I must say."
Loki wiped tears from the corners of his eyes as he and his brother roared with laughter. "Is that so? What are the odds?" From the gleam in his elder brother's eyes, he knew there was more to this story.
"About as likely as having a lovely young kendermaiden just happen to catch sight of me and pay a compliment to my choice of undergarment fashion," Firespice concluded smugly.
Loki had finally caught his breath after a few minutes of good, soul cleansing laughter. He smiled fondly at Firespice and declared, "It's good to be half gods." To his surprise, Firespice glanced around with uncharacteristic concern, and shifted uneasily on his feet.
"I don't feel different than any other mortal," he scoffed.
"Other mortals can't perform miracles with their siblings," Loki pointed out. Firespice squirmed uncomfortably. He didn't like speaking about their gift, especially not with Loki. He sometimes felt his baby brother was far too clever and wise for his own good, and that his stay with the elves had done nothing to help that.
"Speaking of siblings," Firespice muttered, seeking to shift the topic. "How fairs Crentha and her new husband? Perin you wrote, right?"
"We are hoping you would come see for yourself," Loki put in earnestly, even as Firespice slung an arm around his shoulders and steered him off to the guest quarters. The elder sighed – it was a sorely tempting offer.
"I have my duty here," Firespice mumbled. He became quite startled indeed when he received a sharp rap on the head from Loki's flute that had seemed to appear out of nowhere. Knowing Loki, he probably had it stashed up a pocket in his sleeve.
"What kind of kender are you?" Loki chasticed. Firespice grinned sheepishly, rubbing the top of his head and wondering how a flute could raise a sore bump. "When did you add 'duty' to your vocabulary?" The elder brother felt quite stupid being given a lesson in kender ethics by Loki.
"Fine!" Firespice gave Loki a gentle shove into the room. "We'll leave tonight then." His brother grinned gleefully.
"That's my big brother!" Loki cheered. "I'll even give you time to go kiss all yoru girlfriends goodbye!" Rolling his eyes, but grinning, Firespice shut the door on Loki's face then turned on his heel and headed to his commanding officer's room to go deliver the news. Most likely he'd get a good scolding for taking an impromptu leave of his duties, but as Loki had just said, since when did that ever bother a kender? That in mind, and at the prospect of seeing Crentha again, Firespice put a bit of skip in his step and was already planning what he'd be packing.