A Witch's Tale.
"No, I know what I shall do." Voice full of barley contained laughter. He looks speculatively at Nala's back as she goes about her book keeping. "I shall tell you a story?" "what kind of story?" One of the children ask, head tilted suspiciously.
"Well now I don't know if you know this but your dear Aunt Nala, (for they were all called Aunt and Uncle regardless of bloodlines or even species to the younglings), used to be quite the wild one. In fact they used to call her The Hellion." Nala freezes hand mid air about to replace a book to it place on the shelf, she spins around.
"Nathaniel" She says warningly, eyes narrowed.
"She was quite the wild child when when she was a youngling. Did you know, thanks to her fathers status and her mixed blood, her father thought it best she have her own body guards? Only she caused such mischief that the body guards dreaded their turn!" He says conspiritutivly. "Nerves, you see, for she was always getting into some hair raising trouble", he says theoretically, getting into his story now.
Nala snorting derisively, "freakin crybabies! Royal guards of the Throne! The most feared warriors in the Land! And completely unable to keep up with one biddy halfling," she says some what smugly. Just as she is finishing her sentence, the Shifter King and childhood friend, Malick, walks in and on hearing her speech replies,
"Biddy halfling my furry ass Hellion! You Breaking them in was their trail by fire! Their initiation, if you will. If they survived you they could survive anything!" He laughs wickedly, looking at the children sensing their restlessness, catching on to the game that the warrior was playing to entertain the cubs.
"I remember a certain cocky young warrior so sure of himself that no halfling would get the better of him, so obstinate and strict on your routine. I wonder what ever happened to him? Hmmm."
"MALICK! DON'T!" she shouts, knowing full well of the time he was talking about in fact Malick knew most of the gory details of her more wild days. He himself had been involved in his fair share of her schemes.
"Ah yes, I remember. I seem to recall a binding spell, and amorie chair!"
"MAL!" Nearly hysterical, she does the only thing she can think of to shut him up. Her hand jerks in an oddly graceful cutting/throwing motion, towards the Shifter King, The big male suddenly falls silent, his lips mashing shut. Turning, he glares at Nala, who has a rather satisfied look on her face.
"Ah yes," Nathaniel says to the children. "That children, as Nala has just demonstrated, younglings, is the spell on silence," he says. The children shriek with laughter at the small halfling's daring as not many beings would take on their king, as he earned his Alpha's alpha status by blood, and the sweat of his brow. Not even the most hardened warriors would dare what this tiny female dared to. They all waited with baited breathe to see what their Alphas reaction would be.
"The Spell of Silence," Nathaniel continues in a sober voice, betraying none of the mirth he cannot quiet hide from his eyes. "Cannot be broken buy anything other than the caster. Nothing can make the recipient break the spell, not even under duress. Quite useful in times of war or in hostage situations and such.". The Shifter King not liking being shown up, least of all from the slip of a halfling that stood across the room, red hair curling riotously around her head in a untamable halo. Green eyes sparkling with mocking humor, with a edge of defiance she will never quite be able to hide. He begins a deep chested growl, starting to rumble deep in his gut but ending in a strange gurgle as it cuts off, unable to escape. Trying unsuccessfully to smother their giggles, the children liking seeing their all powerful Alpha brought down a peg at the Sylph Witch's antics.
This further embarrassing him, his glare intensifies, his eye turning molten bronze showing a silent warning and quite clearly what will happen if she didn't reverse the spell immediately. Almost anyone else would of heeded that instinctive need to back down. Nala was not anyone else, she was half Dryad and half blood witch. Her very existence was impossible and she had had to fight tooth and nail just to live to grow, and she had learned a few tricks along the way growing up in a warrior lead world where only the powerful of brutally strong survived a hard journey for a halfling Sylph, known for their serene gentle manner and earth magic, and one of those tricks was giving arrogant immortals something to think about.
"Lets hope that Nala remembers to reverse the spell before he gets too hungry, and obviously before the Drow Ambassadors get here to review the Alliance terms," the warrior chuckles.
"If you ask me it's an improvement." Nala says eyeing up the big tiger Shifter, trying unsuccessfully to snarl again, she continues. "What's the matter, Mal? Cat got your tongue?" She taunts, and that's when he explodes into action. Pure steeled muscle, blurring with his speed. Nala knowing this was coming, takes off with the natural speed and agility of her mothers race her laughter trailing behind her.
"And that, " says the warrior once again to the younglings sagely. "Is why you must never pull a tigers tail!"