*Smurfs angrily kick author onto stage*
Ow... I guess I deserved that...
Smurfs: AND WHY DID YOU DESERVE IT, BENNY?!
I was gone for so long...
Smurfs: HOW LONG, BENNY?!
*Sigh*... Five months.
Smurfs:AND IS THIS ACCEPTABLE BENNY?!
No, it's not.
Smurfs: ARE THERE ANY EXCUSES FOR THIS, BENNY?!
No, there are not.
Smurfs: Glad to see you have that straight!
*Grumbling* They were never this irritating on the show...
FrittzyCrazy- I am glad your mind is boggled. That's what I was aiming for. And yes, there may have been some symbolism... *smiles mysteriously*. And thank you so much for the kick in the pants. Here's your update, albeit a little later than you requested. Just... please don't go into the light. :P
TbKitty00- I'm glad you like it so far! :D
Limi- That's exactly right! Good job! :D
Flamestarter- I noticed you went from chapter one to ten in a day. Welcome here, and I'm happy you like this so much. I only wish I could've greeted you sooner.
Sapphire9089- Thanks so much for taking the time to review! I really appreciate it! :D Yes, I like to give Brainy some depth, and he had shown a caring side underneath all that ego. I just exploited that. :) I don't really have more plans for Tracker's stump, but maybe it'll serve significance in another story. *Shrugs*
thatonesmurfX103.9- I really hope Azrael won't eat Thoughtful! Their friendship was just beginning! :) As for Tracker... well, you'll just have to find out, won't you?
ALERT: This story was plotted out in June 2012. Any similarity is coincidental and I guarantee I copied off of no one. Everything with the exception of Gutsy is based off the cartoons.
I own Thoughtful and that's basically it.
Enjoy the horridly late update!
Smurfs:THAT'S FOR SURE!
*Sigh* Smurf y'all later!
Benny
A few hours had passed before Tracker awoke and peeked inside his hollow. Thoughtful seemed to be hovering between the stages of sleep and consciousness, shifting every so often and rubbing her face. Tracker made his way over to her and gently shook her shoulder. In one swift motion she shot up, and then held her head as though trying to remember something. Tracker leaned down, attempting to catch her eye. "Are you alright?"
It took some time before she made eye-contact readily. "Yes, I think so."
Tracker leaned casually against the wall, trying to sniff her subtly. He could usually smell injuries or abnormalities pertaining to the Smurf body, but Thoughtful came up as perfectly normal so he relaxed a bit. "You were asleep in the forest. At least, it looked like you were asleep." He tried to come across as nonchalant, in case it was a sensitive subject. "Weird place for it though." The statement was deliberately open-ended, prodding at her to fill in details.
She didn't seem reluctant to do so. "I had another... um, vision. I guess it was more powerful than the other ones. I sort of passed out." She rubbed her face again. "Oh, I hate calling them 'visions'. It makes me sound mystic."
Tracker laughed lightly. "Maybe you are. Who knows?"
The feathered Smurfette finally glanced around the hollow, gaze lingering on everything. Tracker allowed her a few moments, chest swelling the slightest bit with pride. Finally, Thoughtful turned her gaze to Tracker again. "How long did it take you to do all this?"
The woodSmurf appreciated how she'd skipped asking stupid questions like 'where are we' or 'how did I get here'. "Well, it was a gradual thing. A little here, a little there. Probably smurfed me a little under a year to get all this settled."
She smiled at him. "It must feel nice to have somewhere secluded to sit amidst nature and contemplate with no one to interrupt."
"Mostly I just use it during summer, when the smell in the village gets," his nose wrinkled, as if detecting something foul, "ripe." They both laughed. Then Thoughtful's eyes grew wide behind her glasses and she stared at the bed in which she currently resided.
"Oh smurf, this is your bed." She squirmed out from under the covers, straightening her clothes and hat embarrassedly. "I'm so sorry to intrude."
"Oh no, it's fine. Don't worry about it, really." Silence descended. To keep it from getting odd, Tracker asked, "What was your... sighting about?"
Thoughtful groaned good-naturedly. "That's almost as bad. It was about a forest. Not this one, it was a pine forest. And there was a cliff as well. And... a river." She shook her head, apparently giving up her description. "It's hard to explain."
"It's okay." Tracker said quickly, not wanting to strain her. He pushed himself off the wall, leaning back and stretching his spine then retrieving his walking stick. "Think we should start back to the village? It's well after noon."
Thoughtful nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. Tracker showed her the way to the staircase inside the trunk and taught her how to find her way back to the tree from the main path. She listened intently. "So we're the only two who know where your tree is?"
"Naw," Tracker shook his head, "Miner, Timber, and Camper all visit sometimes, but they have their own 'secret' places and we keep to ourselves and respect each others' privacy."
Once Tracker had been assured that Thoughtful memorized the route, they headed back in the direction of the village.
*line break*
Thoughtful stood staring at the bustling village in awe. "What are they doing?"
Smurfs scuttled around, carrying things to and fro, like boxes of decorations, paper lanterns, and, in Greedy's case, food that stretched her imagination. Ladders were propped against mushrooms left and right, the Smurfs atop them hanging streamers from rooftops. A space in the middle of the village square was being cleared out and swept. It looked like a hill of ants all working together to create something amazing, although the 'amazing' part had yet to show itself in the final production. Tracker just stood back and surveyed the scene with quiet satisfaction.
"Preparing."
Thoughtful tore her eyes away from the busy Smurfs. "Yes, of course, but for what?"
"The Fireworks Festival," both sets of eyes turned to where Brainy was striding up to them, confident and haughty as usual. Nowhere on him was evidence of work, like on the other Smurfs around them. His blue skin was clean of sweat or dirt and the only hint that he was doing anything useful for the preparations was the clipboard under one arm. Once again, Brainy acted as the self-appointed 'supervisor'.
"What's a fireworks festival?" Thoughtful asked, immediately curious.
The question was directed to either Brainy or Tracker, but the bespectacled Smurf answered before the other had a chance. He jerked his chin in the general direction of the rest of the village. "I can tell you on the way. I still have other projects to check on. Come with me." He turned away and headed off. Thoughtful sent a glance to Tracker, wondering how he was taking this. Instead of the tense anger she expected to see, her feathered friend was leaning on his walking stick, an easy smile sent in her direction. A subtle nod indicated that she should follow Brainy now, or get left behind. Thoughtful breathed out a little relieved sigh and trotted to Brainy's left, grinning. She was glad that Tracker didn't have any problem with this, at least, none that he cared to show. Maybe Smurfette had been wrong in her assumption. Before she could expand on this thought, Brainy started to speak.
"About fifty six years ago, Handy invented fireworks after seeing a human alchemist do nearly the same thing. Now we dedicate a festival just to fireworks. Papa says they help relax and ease tensions between the Smurfs, but I believe they're a hazard." He said this last part with a scoff and a defiant push-up of his glasses.
Thoughtful cocked her head. "Why?"
Brainy seemed to be prepared for this question. "They're like a huge smurfing beacon in the sky! They could alert anyone to our location, humans, Gargamel, hunters, anyone." He quieted his voice a little, clearing his throat. He seemed nervous and fidgety and Thoughtful didn't believe it was just because of the upcoming festival. "But... it is really nice to watch."
He didn't say much else, so Thoughtful nodded along to his final statement. "I bet it is."
The silence barrier between them was heavy, the action sounds of the Smurfs surrounding them being tugged into its depths like a black hole. Finally, Brainy broke it again. "Um, the festival is tonight."
Thoughtful nodded again. She'd gathered such information from the way everyone was moving about. He must have known that, so why would he state such an obvious piece of information if it wasn't needed? She stayed quiet, nonverbally urging him to continue with his thought.
Brainy stopped completely in the shadow of a mushroom and Thoughtful did the same out of pure surprise. The noises around them had dimmed to a lull and, with the breeze making the leaves sway, it was a rather nice spot. Thoughtful stared expectantly at the intellect, knowing he wanted desperately to say something. He was practically bursting with anxious energy, shifting from foot to foot and glancing everywhere except her eyes.
"Do you, um," he started, wringing his hands together in front of his chest, "want to watch the fireworks with me?"
The question came like a pillow to the face, unexpected, but gently. Thoughtful stared incomprehensively at the Smurf across from her, now looking up shyly. Her expression made his face fall and his eyes sought the ground again. "I bet someone else asked you already. Um, forget it." He started to move around her.
"Sure." The word made Brainy do a double-take. Thoughtful's face lifted in a grin and she clasped her hands behind her back in order to keep them from wringing themselves. Brainy stared at her like he'd just heard a ghost. The feathered Smurfette continued, "It would be my pleasure to watch the fireworks with you, Brainy."
The energy returned to Brainy's body in the form of giddiness as opposed to anxiety. A wide smile stretched his face into a rare beam of warmth. "That's~ that's smurfy! I'll have a blanket out and we can sit on it together~" he broke off, seemingly realizing something. "Oh! I have to prepare!" He turned and began to leave, stopping just out of the shadow of the mushroom to glance back at her. "Um, I'll try to be at the top of Firework Hill. Find me there." Thoughtful nodded in understanding and Brainy rushed off.
Nightfall wasn't until a few hours away so the spectacled Smurfette had some time on her hands. At a loss, she simply retreated to her own mushroom and climbed onto the roof to watch the others work. She didn't even realize that Tracker had climbed up beside her until he spoke.
"So what did Brainy want?" The tone wasn't jealous or suspicious. Tracker portrayed nothing other than good Smurfish curiosity. So Thoughtful told him how the discussion had gone and the woodSmurf laughed good-naturedly. "Ha! It's about time that Smurf grew himself a backbone! Good for him! And good for you too, although I don't know how you're going to stay awake with his jabbering all the time."
A grin slid across Thoughtful's mouth, erasing any of the concern she previously hosted in telling Tracker of Brainy's invitation. "Hopefully I'll find a way." They shared a chuckle and then grew quiet, both content to watch the busy village.
"Tracker!" They both glanced down to see Hefty standing at the base of the mushroom, arms crossed over his chest though he wore a teasing grin. "Get down here and come sniff out more lantern pods for me, we're running out!" He gave an acknowledging nod to Thoughtful and she waved in response.
Tracker heaved a mock-sigh and slung his walking stick back over his shoulder, standing . "Alright Hefty, if you're too much of a princess to find them yourself."
"Oh, you are going to pay for that comment later," Hefty punched one fist into his opposite palm which would've indicated pain in the near future if it weren't for the joking tone. Tracker leaped down beside his brother, gave one final goodbye to Thoughtful, and strode out into the forest.
Thoughtful waved until she couldn't see them anymore. Then her mind started wandering. It flitted from her history (or lack thereof) to variations of the impending 'date' with Brainy to where ink came from to her apparent problem with the Brainy and Tracker competition. She descended so far into her thoughts that she lost sight of the teeming village, living only in the half-awake world of her own contemplation.
Was Smurfette wrong? Tracker had thus far shown no rivalry whatsoever with Brainy, other than that one argument a few days ago. But what was that? Brothers fought all the time. To add to that, Tracker had been given opportunity time and again to ask her to the festival but did he? It was almost like he allowed Brainy to ask her himself. Perhaps Tracker only held her in his best interests, like a big brother would. With this thought in her head she felt... protected in a way. It definitely wasn't a bad feeling. And the notion that no more drama would come between them on her account lifted a huge weight from her shoulders.
One would think that with all the... ugh... visions Thoughtful had been having recently she would have been able to piece together at least a little bit from her past life. But Smurfs lived an extremely long time and it could take ages to trigger a memory of some use. Fragments were hopeful, yes, but she would have much preferred to have some clues as to how she got where she was now. Thinking as hard as she could, Thoughtful tried to remember a time before the Smurf Village, a time with other Smurfettes in their own village, chatting and happy and maybe preparing for festivals of their own. She rewound the past days in the village as far as she could again and again, each time stopping at exactly the same moment. The spinning gray vortex that landed her here. Anything beyond that point in time was virtually nonexistent in her muddled mind. At the rate her sightings were going, how long would it take before she had all of her memory back? Years and years, no doubt. Could she wait that long? What would help her hurry the process along? Could Papa make a remembering spell of some sort? If so, why hadn't he? Was she doomed to live as half a Smurfette the rest of her days, never knowing anything of her previous life?
Thoughtful gradually drifted back into awareness, the sounds and smells and sights of the village once again penetrating her senses. It all seemed so bright and clear compared to the blackness of her subconscious. She smiled as Dabbled passed underneath her and waved. There was a thought. Why dwell in the dark past when there was a sunny present to enjoy? Worry added nothing to a Smurf's life, so why bother? Better to focus on the now and hopefully her problems would resolve themselves.
She pushed herself to her feet. Enough brooding, now she would do something useful. Climbing back through her window, she exited her house and began to walk the paths, asking Smurfs if help was needed in any area of preparation. There were mostly small jobs, but she helped where she could until her services were no longer needed and then she moved on to the next Smurf.
Handy was trying to put up a banner by directing orders to Gutsy and Grouchy, who stood on ladders at either side. It appeared Handy's verbal skills needed work, as one side of the banner was hoisted higher than the other, and then once again as he attempted to fix it. Thoughtful stopped beside him, watching the three Smurfs until Handy was finally satisfied with the positioning. He let out a sigh of relief as Gutsy and Grouchy climbed to the ground again.
"Guess I'm not so good at giving directions as following them." He chuckled embarrassedly, then regained his composure. "What can I do for you, Thoughtful?"
"More like what can I do for you. Do you have any work for me?"
Handy raised his eyes in thought. "Well... I don't, but maybe Harmony needs help with the instruments for the concert." He paused. "Just kidding. Harmony will definitely need help with the instruments. As in, don't let him anywhere near them."
Thoughtful smiled. "Of course."
Handy glanced away to where he heard Clumsy calling. "Looks like someone broke another board. Smurf you later, Thoughtful."
After the carpenter had departed, Thoughtful made her way to the grassy field currently covered with instruments. She stopped for a minute to take it all in, lips parted in awe. Musical devices of all shapes and sizes were lain carefully on the grass; things like flutes, cellos, drums, accordions, ocarinas, and a piano. Cautiously, she stepped around the instruments setting her feet lightly as if these were sleeping baby animals, not to be awakened. Other Smurfs were scattered among the instruments, such as Drummer and Narrator, tuning the strings and pegs to the best of their abilities. Harmony wandered around, trumpet in hand, 'supervising' the maintenance. They called out greetings, but went back to their work, leaving her to investigate.
She inspected the instruments she didn't know, handling them with utmost care and then placing them back on the grass. She observed something that looked like a bag with wooden spires sticking out from both ends, a contraption that looked like a small mouth operated piano, and a little whistle in the shape of a horse. She blew in the mouthpiece as gently as possible while still making noise. It sounded exactly like the horses that passed through the forest every so often. Thoughtful wondered what it was used for as she set it down.
A different instrument caught her eye. It was a set of reeds, differing in length, tied together with twine and curved. It wasn't a particularly impressive flute, yet Thoughtful felt herself drawn to it. It was lightweight and smooth in texture. Raising it to her lips she blew across the open holes of the reed, pulling a clear note from their depths. It caused the surrounding Smurfs to raise their heads.
Narrator raised his eyebrows. "That was a smurfy first try, Thoughtful." His deep baritone caused the curved flute in her hands to vibrate. Gazing at the flute, Thoughtful didn't feel like it was a first try. The position of her curved hands was too familiar, the mouth formation she'd made to draw such a clean sound anything but instinctive. No, she'd been taught how to play this, and play it well apparently. So why couldn't she remember its name?
"Harmony?" Her brother glanced up at her at the mention of his name. "What's this called?"
His eyes flicked down to the instrument she held. "Oh, those are Pan Pipes."
Thoughtful looked down at the pipes again, repeating the name to herself. She blew a few more notes and smiled at the flute.
A drum riff followed her notes and she looked up at Drummer in surprise. He was grinning, a spinning drumstick in each hand. "Care for an accompaniment?"
"Shouldn't you wait for the concert?" Thoughtful asked. Drummer laughed, playing a roll.
"This is practice! Come on, Narrator, pick up yours! See if you can play anything, Thoughtful."
Narrator hefted his violin onto his shoulder and lay the bow on the strings while Drummer set the beat and Thoughtful brought the pipes to her lips. At the same time Harmony put the trumpet mouthpiece to his mouth.
"NOT YOU, HARMONY!"
He sheepishly lowered it.
Narrator plucked a few notes, then started an easy song, one that even Thoughtful knew well by now. She joined in on her pipes and Drummer happily played along.
At one point, another Smurf jumped in on the piano but all Thoughtful could do was glance up before once again concentrating on the flute at her lips. Then, other Smurfs began to pick up instruments and play along with the familiar tune until they all had a miniature concert going on right in the field. The Smurfs that couldn't play were stamping or clapping to Drummer's beat and Hefty had taken it upon himself to keep Harmony's cacophony out of the musical.
Thoughtful was aware of some things. Things like the acute sound of Tracker's mouth organ and the distinct tune of the bag of pipes that Gutsy was blowing into. Things like the music lifting her heart to the ever darkening sky and the pattern of intake and exhalation coaxing the beautiful breathy notes from her pipes. She felt alive.
As she paused to take a deeper breath, the clearing around her changed. Stone walls grew up around the mushroom houses, blocking out the orange sky above. The Smurf figures around her blurred and a gigantic fire rose up in the center, casting shadows on the rock around them. The instruments stayed, but the clear music dulled to a rush in her ears, accompanied by light laughter. Dancing shadows leaped around, giving the otherwise dim cavern a spooky appearance. Thoughtful couldn't feel the heat of the blazing fire, couldn't see the faces of her dancing compatriots. She was there, but she was removed in a way.
Before she could focus the sighting faded back to the Smurf Village she knew. No one had noticed her brief pause, and there was no break in the melody at all. Before she could start dwelling on what she'd seen, she filled her lungs again and continued to play.
Orange faded to violet, and then purple to black with a single red slash created by the setting sun. As the last sliver of daylight vanished over the trees, the mini concert finished their number with a flourish. After a second of total silence, the crowd erupted in claps and cheers, smiling faces lit by the glow of the paper lanterns. Thoughtful's chest rose and fell, regaining the air she'd used during the concert, and gazed at the pipes in her hands with a mixture of admiration and pleasant confusion. She didn't know how she could play, but she was delighted that she could contribute to the village festivals in some way. As she cast her eyes around the clearing, seeing all the laughing Smurfs, she didn't feel detached like the recent sighting. The thoughts of her history and lost memories faded and she felt like she'd lived here all her life. Happiness filled her soul the same way air had filled her lungs when she was playing.
Over the bustling crowd, someone shouted, "to Firework Hill!" The Smurfs began to move as one, and Thoughtful moved with them.