A/N I do not own the movie, Epic; it is owned by Blue Sky Studios. I DO own my OC, Tabitha, and her species, as well as a couple of other characters that will pop up.
Alu in Chains:(3)No one gets out of a battle unscathed, so I think he had a few bumps and bruises ;)
(4)Thanks :) I've been kinda interested in it, though not enough to take a class. I had a plastic bow and arrow set when I was younger; the arrows had suction cups. I lost all the arrows and accidentally broke the bow X3 I try and make information seem interesting; glad it didn't come across as boring.
Tabby needs some friends in the Boggan army :)
(5)That's just the way I see it. I guess I got a little inspiration from horseriding.
(6)I think the Tabitha vs Mandrake battle was my favorite thing to write in that chapter.
(7)It IS cute and ironic :3 I got the name Keller from Helen Keller, despite the bat being only blind.
(8)She IS pretty smart; much smarter than some of the other Boggans XD Thanks :)
I think Mandrake and Tabitha mocking him was the icing on the cake.
Rain of Mystery: Thanks :)
"Hey, Tabitha? What was your life like before you came here?"
Tabitha raised an eyebrow at Sting's question. It had been the day after she stole part of a scroll for Mandrake, and after she "met" the Leafmen general, Ronin. It was still a week and a half before the pod-choosing ceremony.
"We were just curious," Barlow shrugged. "We only know you came here because the Leafmen called you a Boggan. You never really revealed too much of your life."
Pursing her lips, Tabitha decided it couldn't hurt to let her best friends in on her life story. It wasn't as though it were a great mysterious story. "All right, then." She nodded. "As you probably already know, I was born in an Amphibiques tribe that lived near a pond. Amphibiqui care for the water, and its plants and creatures. So, we're a staple part of the ecosystem of the forest."
"That's probably why Mandrake never had a problem with them." Barlow said.
"He did say he never had trouble with them. Anyway, most Amphibiqui love the water, and spend most of their lives in it. Well, not me."
"You're afraid of water?" Sting asked.
"No," Tabitha scowled. "I just don't like it. I'll swim if I need to. Even I need to be in the water sometimes. But I prefer not to most of the time. So, as you can imagine, I wasn't the most popular in my tribe. Because of my dislike for water, no one expected me to amount to anything. I got into the habit of pushing myself to do something so that I would get it done right and quick. Sometimes they'll notice, sometimes they won't."
"What about your parents? Any brothers or sisters?" Barlow was curious.
"Pfft, my mom and dad were always arguing, so they never worried about me. They hardly noticed me." She grumbled under her breath. "I have an older sister who hates my guts, and a few brothers, most that are older than me, though I do have a younger one. I actually have five brothers in all, and lucky me is practically the baby of the family, and an outcast to boot. One day, I got tired of my life, and just up and left. Not much to know, boys, but just enough."
"So, home is where you got to always exhausting yourself in training?" Barlow asked.
"What do you mean?" She narrowed her eyes.
"He's right, Tabitha," Sting nodded. "At the end of training, you're always tired and panting. Barlow and I've seen you collapse into bed, and don't move until morning. We always wonder if you passed out from exhaustion."
"I don't know what you two are talking about. I may push myself, I'll admit it, but I don't over-exhaust myself. Maybe everyone else just isn't trying hard enough. Isn't training supposed to be tiring?"
"Yeah, but not to the point that you're almost passing out." Barlow pointed out.
"Look, I don't think I'm pushing myself too far. I never have. You wanted my life story, and you got it. Deal with it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go do some training." She stood up and walked to the training room, huffing. "I don't exhaust myself. They don't know anything." Shaking her head, she prepared to start her training.
However, at some point, when she was climbing up the high wall, she fell. Groaning, she sat up, making the mistake of leaning on her left arm. A sharp pained cry escaped before she covered her mouth with her hand. She looked at her left arm. To her shock, it was hanging, and she couldn't feel her fingers. Her shoulder had been dislocated.
"Dammit!" She grumbled, removing her hand from her mouth. She gingerly cradled her injured arm, hissing and cursing at the pain. She staggered to her feet, glancing around. No one saw her. Good.
She carefully walked to what she called the Overhanging Ledge to try and reset her arm in privacy. She didn't want to ask for help in case they called her weak. And she definitely didn't want Toxicad or his cronies to see her injured and in pain.
As she leaned back against the wall, still clutching her arm, she heard a noise. She couldn't move too fast, or she risked injuring herself further, but she did look towards the entrance. To her surprise, Mandrake stepped out with an unreadable expression. "What happened?" He asked, nodding at her arm.
"Uh, I was climbing the wall, and I fell and dislocated my shoulder." She answered.
"Hold still." He took her arm, ignoring her hisses and groans of pain, gripped her upper arm, and shoved the bone back in with a pop.
"Gyaahhh!" Tabitha yelled, eyes wide. Sighing, she tentatively moved her arm, happy that even though it was still sore and pained, she could use it again. "Thanks."
"Try not to injure yourself again," He said. "I'd like you intact and in one piece when we take the pod." He turned to go back into the tree, his bat cloak trailing behind him.
Tabitha raised an eyebrow at Mandrake's response. On the one hand, it sounded like he only wanted her up and running to be able to help steal the pod without a hitch. But on the other hand, his first sentence made it sound like he truly didn't want her injured. But was that only in Tabitha's imagination?
Shrugging, gritting her teeth at her sore shoulder, she went back into Wrathwood as well, deciding to do something else that didn't involve her shoulder too much.
A week later, Dagda approached Tabitha. "Hey, Tab, how's the shoulder?"
"It's fine." She said, wiggling her left shoulder.
"Fancy a practice battle? It is the night before the pod-choosing ceremony."
"You know I always fancy a practice battle." She grinned.
"Cool! Starting…now!" He made to tackle her, but she jumped over him with a laugh, grabbed her whip from her pocket, and whipped at his feet, catching him by surprise. Then, she swung her leg to hit his ankles, but he jumped up, spun around, grabbed the front of her coat, and threw her into the wall.
She gasped slightly in pain, but luckily wasn't injured. She charged and punched Dagda across the face, and kicked him in the chest, making him fall back. But then he grabbed her foot and swung her to the side. When she landed, the whip fell out of her hand.
Dagda quickly grabbed the whip, and when Tabitha got up, he swung the weapon, managing to wrap the tail around her ankle. He pulled it back, tripping her again. "Dad always says to keep an eye out for the enemy trying to use your own weapon against you." He said, planting a foot on Tabitha's back. "'Cause that could be your downfall."
Grinning slightly, she rolled over, making him fall with a surprised yell. "Did he also tell you to watch out, for an enemy may have a trick up their sleeve?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she took her weapon back.
"He actually did, yeah." He nodded, holding out a hand. Tabitha took it and pulled him to his feet. "That was pretty good."
"Thanks. Shall we get to sleep?"
"Sounds like a plan."
The next morning, as Tabitha gathered her bow and arrows for later, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something large and furry out of the corner of her eye. "What the-"
"Hey, Tabitha!" The rat lifted a skull on its head, revealing the Boggan underneath. "Didn't recognize me, huh?"
"Dagda? What the heck is that?"
"It's a rat's pelt, what's it look like?"
"Where'd you get it?"
"When some soldiers and I were finding out where the pod-ceremony was being held, there was a bit of a meet up with the Leafmen. We lost a man, but that doesn't matter, plenty more where that came from. Anyway, one of us hit a rat. I decided to make a cloak out of it. Whatta ya think? I look just like Dad now."
Tabitha let a half-smile grow on her face. Dagda always idolized Mandrake, and wanted to be just like him. "Yeah, just like him." She blinked. "Wait, you said you found out where the pod-ceremony is?"
"Yep." He nodded proudly. "Let's go." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards Mandrake's throne room. As they passed the guards, Dagda pushed the mosquito, laughing, "I don't think I saw a salute, Boggan!"
Tabitha rolled her eyes as she heard the bigger Boggan of the pair laughing, and getting in a squabble with his partner. She pulled her wrist out of Dagda's grip as they came into the throne room. Mandrake was standing, facing away from them, stirring his staff in a large crack filled with rot.
"We had a little skirmish with some Leafmen this morning," Dagda said to his father. "A rat got caught in the crossfire, so, I got a new coat." He smiled, then said nervously, "It's, uh, just like yours."
Mandrake glanced at him and Tabitha before asking, "Did either of you find the location of their ceremony?"
Tabitha crossed her arms and watched, with a light chuckle, as Dagda stood up straight. "Uh, yes sir. I did. It's way outside of our borders-"
"You mean their borders?" Mandrake corrected bitterly, finally turning to look at the general and warrior. "The Leafmen think they can keep us contained. Surround our beautiful island of rot with their hideous green forest."
"So arrogant!" Dagda snapped, though it was only to appear to be agreeing with Mandrake.
"Not to mention selfish." Tabitha added truthfully. "Don't they think or know Boggans need a place in the forest too?"
"All in the name of balance," Mandrake continued, stepping down the slight hill. "I'm sick of balance! No matter how much of the forest we destroy, the queen re-grows it with one wave of her hand."
"Sh-she needs to be cut down, to the root!"
"Exactly," Mandrake nodded with a slight smile. All three of them looked down at a little shoot that had managed to grow in the rot-filled territory. "Today, we'll show them you just can't stop the rot." He touched the plant with his staff. The rot immediately took affect, reducing the little plant into shriveled up arrows. "If the queen dies without an heir, the Leafmen can't re-grow anything, leaving the balance in our favor forever," He gathered the arrows in one clawed hand, and held them out to Dagda. "Leaving you and me, rulers of a desperate, desiccated kingdom."
Dagda took the arrows with a firm expression. "I won't let you down…Dad." He added with a smile.
"I know you won't. You look good in rat. It's…slimming."
Tabitha waved at Dagda as he left the throne room with a broad smile. "Are you ready for your first major battle, Tabitha?" Mandrake asked, seeming to finally acknowledge the Amphibiques. "This may very well be the most important battle in your Boggan lifetime."
"I'm ready, sir." She nodded. "The Leafmen and queen won't know what hit them!"
A/N I wrote this chapter in one sitting, though I took a couple five-minute breaks. Some chapters take days to finish, so this isn't bad :)
Just a little taste of Tabitha's past life. Poor girl has way too many brothers XD Not sure why I added her getting injured. Maybe just adding a little bit into her character, showing that she DOES get injured, and can be stubborn about it? I dunno. I just let my mind and fingers to all the work.
Since we're getting into the movie, and those who've watched it know what's going to happen to Dagda, I figured this was about my last chance to show his and Tabitha's friendship. They're good friends, though not as close as she is to Sting and Barlow.
