Gods Come In Many Forms
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Obernewtyn belong to Isobelle Carmody
Spoilers: "Obernewtyn" and "The Farseekers" … this is set somewhere between the two (during the two years not written about).
A/N: I wrote this many years ago for a challenge on the fabulous obernewtyn . net site – cannot remember what the conditions were but I know that specific words were to be mentioned... enjoy. I never realised Obernewtyn had a home at fanfic . net!
"Blab" is normal talk
'Blab' is telepathic talk
oooooo
In the long grass of a meadow, a creature had a strange glint in their eye. Now, this creature had the mischievous nature of a six-year-old boy let loose on his baby sister. "Baby did it" was probably one of the first phases that the young boy had learnt to say. Anyway, this boy is imaginary, so back to the much more interesting creature.
There are all kinds of people in this world (including the animals, birds, fish, etc) – some are boring, some are leaders, they can be good cooks, bullies, heroes, and some just add colour and spice to our lives. And (of course) there are some that are just plain annoying. Many of those who have had the – urm, pleasure of meeting this creature, have named him such. Others just say that he is talented. Which, I suppose he is. Though, I say he is a he. Could be a she for all I know, for the creature will not tell, and it disappears before anyone can have a look. :cough cough:.
In distant lands s/he is a legend. For s/he is known as the God of Chaos.
Unfortunately, s/he hasn't been around in these lands for very long, and so all but a few have any inkling what has been let loose. It is very unfortunate for those few who live in the shadow of the mountains, for the creature is preparing its first attack on two unsuspecting humans…
In the fields of the great castle of Obernewtyn, a (rather beautiful, in my honest opinion – though I do have a strange take on beauty, so don't get me started on that) cat of whom goes by the name of Maruman, was in one of his more playful moods. So attentive the feline was to his prey, that he didn't realise that he had an audience.
Elspeth Gordie and Rushton Sereaphim eyed the scarred cat downwind, so not to be caught.
"How about a bet?"
Rushton turned his head around at the whispered request. "What happens if you win?"
"I get to burn down the entrance doors, so to remove the gold."
"And if I win?"
"Then you get to have me agree with an issue at the Guildmerge." Now, this was tempting to Rushton, as it seemed that lately she disagreed with whatever he said.
"Deal," he whispered back. "He gets the bird."
"He misses," Elspeth replied.
They shook hands on this. They now waited with bated breath.
Maruman's eyes glinted in the sunlight as he watched his prey. The tiny bird (that beforetimers could have mistaken for a blue tit) was standing on the sundial, catching a few rays, the odd "tweet" to her friends who swooped by. Maruman made sure that he was crawling with his stomach as close to the ground as possible to take advantage of the long grass. 'One more paw-step…' he thought with anticipation.
Suddenly, a mass of a hair-ball cannoned out of the grass, direct contact with the bird imminent.
Maruman landed on the sundial with a soft (actually more of a) heavy 'thump' (it was a proper stone sundial, and so did not fall under his weight), in his paws nothing but a few golden-blue feathers.
A giggle from his right brought him back to earth, and not even that giggle coming from that particular person could swipe the weird mix of a frown and a growl from off his face.
"I win the bet!" Elspeth jumped up and down. Rushton performed a strange version of Maruman's own frown.
"You cheated."
Elspeth continued to giggle (she was still a bit high from all of the cheese she had eaten for firstmeal). "We didn't include it in the rules that I had to keep mentally quiet. And I couldn't let that poor bird die now … she has family… think of it as charity, as your one good deed for the day…"
Rushton broke when Elspeth did those puppy eyes. Not that he would ever let her know that. "You won under the conditions set." He said stiffly (this was said without remaining eye contact, but rather picking up the disgruntled cat and placing Maruman in Elspeth's arms). "Now you have to deal with him instead of trying to get your own way."
During this, Dameon, Rushton's confident, had silently approached the trio. He spoke, his amusement clear as a bell. "You can say some daft things occasionally. It'd be like asking me for a mirror."
"As if I would ever say; 'I wish I had a mirror! Oh, Dameon, can I borrow yours?'" He replied in a sarcastic voice.
"Why would Dameon, of all people, own a mirror?" Elspeth asked, her giggles temporarily forgotten.
"I am not asking for a mirror," Rushton's frown continued to grow.
"Is it a square one? Or jagged? 'Cos he could hurt himself." Elspeth pondered for a moment. "How about a triangle-shaped one?" A frown before, "though you could still cut yourself on the points…" she muttered more to herself than to the older (and dazed) boy.
(Dameon during this 'conversation' was just enjoying the ride of so many emotions in one location in the period of mere seconds) (Rushton at this point had run out of things to say about a mirror)
Elspeth suddenly gasped, having just realised the obvious. "'Cos you do realise that he is blind, so he couldn't actually see himself anyway. And anyway, mirrors are very expensive, and his cousin has all of his money, and therefore, anyway-"
"Can you stop saying 'anyway'?" Rushton growled.
"Nope!" Elspeth started to giggle once more. "Anyway, anyway, anyway…" she sang to herself, swinging Maruman from side to side. Maruman, completely unimpressed by the attitude of the supposed Innle, jumped from her arms and slunk away from the bizarre, daft humans (Maruman has started to have just a little of an attachment to the word daft. Methinks that Maruman hasn't entirely got away with the I-am-so-not-completely-daft fairies that had seemed to infiltrate the camp).
Maruman watched the exchange between the two males and the giggling female to their right. Dameon had got one thing right. They were all daft.
If only they had the clarity of one of the futuretellers, they would have been able to realise what exactly was going on.
The creature watching them in the long grass did its own version of Elspeth's giggle. His/Her powers did work on their minds. Oh, s/he was going to have fun…
oooooo
After the creature had snucked away, calm seemed to return to those in the meadow. All were confused and temporarily stunned into silence. Dameon, was the first to speak once he saw that Elspeth and Rushton had managed to stop giggling and frowning (respectively).
"Now you are back with us normal folk, what was that all about?"
Elspeth turned around to face him. "I don't know, I'm not really the giggly type. Though I don't know what you think Rushton was acting differently – he always frowns."
"I don't always frown."
"You do."
"I don't!"
"Children!" Dameon forced them to feel calm. "You are not acting your age! You are supposed to act like adults."
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
(Both of these 'sorry's were very subdue. The creature's control had after-affects depending on how much s/he enjoyed himself)
Dameon simply shook his head and started to make his way back to the castle. "I'm going to find Matthew. At least I'll be able to understand him." Rushton and Elspeth watched him go silently, before falling to the ground.
"We're not acting childish are we?"
Rushton pondered over the question (he was beginning to have some control over his brain back), "I think we were."
Elspeth, also beginning to feel normal (well, as normal as you could get at Obernewtyn), replied with; "Do you think that a young'un was having fun?"
"We normally test them when they first come – wouldn't you recognise any changes imposed?"
"It could be that he or she is an empath rather than a farseeker. The only reason we know that Dameon calmed us down from our," Elspeth coughed, "argument, was because we know he can do it."
"I'll get one of the guildens to look into it." Rushton got up and offered his hand to Elspeth. Once they were both up Rushton shouted, "You're it!" and ran off.
"Hay!" Elspeth shouted in annoyance and sprinted off.
I guess that the creature's influence had a little more punch left than I previously realised.
oooooo
The creature slipped into the kitchens through a gap in the bottom of the wooden door that went out into the courtyard. Mindful of the cooks preparing midmeal, s/he skipped around their feet.
"There you are! I thought you were going to miss the juicy bits!"
Accepting the pieces of ham, the creature tiptoed towards a darkened corner of the kitchen.
'Where have you been?' asked the mother.
'Just out.'
'You should behave like your sisters and brothers. Knowing your luck you will only live to six moons.'
'But, mummy-'
'No buts, madam. You are staying in the basket until tomorrow's midmeal. You need to understand that actions can have consequences!'
The creature growled at the mocking laughter of her sisters and brothers. Why did the dogs have the run of the place? Apart from Maruman, of course. She admired how he seemed to reign over the small creatures.
Of course he didn't seem to notice her. No one seemed to notice her (apart from Mother, she growled again). Even pulling that trick on the humans. But Maruman normally picked up on things going on in the minds of creatures and human-creatures. Her youngest sister called it a crush. She just called it a curiosity (common amongst their kind) and influenced her sister to snub her nose.
For, Casta of the Kitchen Kittens, would never have a crush – not with anybody.
A/N: 'Distant Lands' at the beginning of the fic is correct – for Casta is very tiny, and she had never been further than the outer edge of the courtyard before! And she hasn't been alive for very long, so she hasn't been in these lands for very long … simple deduction really!