There's another reason for this double feature. I'm leaving on vacation in a few days, & will be gone 'till the middle of the month. So I hope these chapters keep you all going until I get back :)
Okay, I've delayed enough, lol. We're missing one more character in this re-telling, so the time has come…
Dena didn't actually scare easily, but she was cautious. She also worried at finding another tree like the one Quen and Syrvic had fought, though none of the ones near the Golden Path resembled the killer apple tree.
After a while, the group realized it was simply too dark to go on, and Syrvic warned that this was the most dangerous time to be in Skerna Forest. At Dena's suggestion, they made camp right there on the Golden Path. Although he was skeptical, Syrvic preferred the girl's theory about the magic the road supposedly had. Quen stayed close to Dena while the robot went off to get firewood.
"I thought you said the trees around here were sick. Why would you want to burn their wood?" she asked.
"Just because the timber can't be used for building or making paper, doesn't mean it can't burn," Syrvic pointed out. With that, he used his laser to cut up a fallen tree near the road.
Dena remembered seeing the robot recharging soon after sunrise. It was very strange, seeing his metal skin pulsing with shimmering light in the wake of the newborn sun's rays. Even Quen found it fascinating to see how the robot kept his batteries charged. For once, Syrvic had been the one being battered with questions from the scarecrow that morning. Now all was quiet…too quiet.
The robot managed to get a fire going on the road, though Dena discovered she had to keep further away from it than usual, for the metal of the road heated up under the burning wood pile. Once more, her eyes followed the gold path as it stretched into the darkness.
"Gilda wasn't kidding when she said it was a long trip to the Mage," Dena said, pulling her knees to her chest.
"How far is it?" Quen asked, petting Tahoe.
"Not sure," the girl replied, "but if we have to go any farther I'm gonna scream."
"Why?" Syrvic asked.
"Where I come from, people usually go long distances using cars or airplanes, not walking. You'd think we had signed up for the hiking trip of the year."
"What are cars and airplanes?" Quen asked. Dena rolled her eyes, not really up to explaining, though she had a feeling they didn't exist in Eldan. It made her wonder just exactly how people, if any, got around.
"Can I make a request?" Syrvic asked.
"What?" Dena said.
"Can you wait 'till we get out of this wood to scream? Any loud noises we make, especially now, might attract those wild animals you scoffed about, or worse yet, the Monster."
"Sure," Dena said, rolling her eyes once more.
Not sure of what else to do, Dena lay down on the hard, metal road and attempted to go to sleep, though lying on solid gold was far worse than hard ground. She remembered hearing about people who bragged about how tough they were for sleeping on plywood boards instead of beds, and it made her wonder just how stupid they actually were for doing that. Nobody in the world could be comfortable sleeping that way. She tried lying with her head on Tahoe, but the puppy didn't like the weight of her head on his belly, so he quickly moved away to another spot to snooze.
Dena went through a painful, troubled sleep for less than an hour before she heard a strange noise nearby. She sat up, listening, only to realize someone was weeping. She looked around and saw Syrvic sitting on a log he'd apparently carried over to use as a seat. He was facing away from the fire, slouched over, his sobbing quiet and very sad to listen to. Dena got up, her anklets shimmering in the light of the fire as she went over to the robot.
"What's wrong?" she asked. She heard something shut and Syrvic quickly looked her way, surprised.
"Oh! Nothing, nothing you need to worry about. Don't mind me," he said hastily.
"Were you crying?" Dena asked, putting a hand on his metal shoulder.
"No," he shook his head too quickly, "I can't cry. I can't make tears…at least, not anymore."
"But I heard you," she said quietly. Syrvic looked at her with his one eye for a long moment before turning away.
"Why were you crying?" she asked.
"You don't want to hear it." The robot said dismissively.
"Sure I do," Dena offered, kneeling down in front of him, "don't be scared to tell me." Syrvic looked at her for another long moment before speaking.
"It's about the heart again. You don't know how much I miss having one. To feel it beating in my chest, feel it speeding up when I got excited or scared, to feel it flutter at the pretty girls in the villages, to hear it sing when I was cutting trees, doing what I loved most." He then pressed a panel on his steel chest, causing it to become transparent before he made it slide open.
"That's where the robot heart was supposed to go. But all I have is an empty chamber. Nothing would make me feel better than to have that empty hole filled."
Dena gazed at him while she listened. And when he finished, she couldn't help but reach inside and touch the empty chamber, which was slightly larger than her fist.
"I'm sorry he did that to you Syrvic." She said. The girl had been so moved by his words that she got an idea. She took the robot's metal hand and placed it on her chest, below the collarbone. His eye blinked in surprise before looking down. Dena wasn't really aware of it, but Syrvic had changed his vision so that her body seemed as transparent as glass. The only thing he saw now was her heart, glowing a bright coral pink in her chest. Sensing its vibrations brought comfort to him, and he smiled in his own way.
Syrvic then pulled Dena into a very warm hug.
"Thank you," he whispered. Dena smiled.
"You're welcome," she whispered back, before going over to her spot near the fire. The robot watched her lie down before going back to sentry duty.
Quen, who had been sitting with his legs folded near the edge of the road, had been watching Dena tossing and turning in her sleep, knowing that she was in even more pain than usual. He had an idea to help Dena, but was unsure of how she would react.
"Dena?" he said.
"Yeah?" the girl replied, reluctantly lying down and using her arms to support her head.
"I was just wondering…" the scarecrow's voice trailed off.
"What?" Dena prompted tiredly.
"Since there aren't any beds around, maybe you could use me."
Dena sat bolt upright, staring at Quen in shock.
"You gotta be kidding me," she said in disbelief.
"Well, the farmer who made me used to sleep on a straw mattress. Maybe you could let me be your bed for the night," Quen suggested, the expression in his eyes innocent as ever. Had such a proposition come from anyone else, Dena would have been instantly suspicious, but because of the scarecrow's sincerity, the girl could only assume he genuinely meant to help. She then sighed and lay down again.
"I can't do that to you Quen. It wouldn't be right," she told him.
"I wouldn't mind," he told her, "and you need sleep worse than I thought. It's hurting both me and Syrvic to watch you suffer like this."
"Suffer like what?" the girl demanded weakly, not really wanting to listen.
"You're in pain when you sleep. I see it. Every night you toss and turn, and in the morning you look awful. Please, I want to help."
Dena turned her weary dark eyes towards him, considering for a moment before finally giving in.
"I suppose you would have pestered me about it all night anyway," she grumbled as she got up and came over.
"Maybe not," the scarecrow replied quietly.
"No funny stuff," she warned Quen as he lay down.
"I promise," he said.
It felt very strange, and though straw poked Dena in various places, Quen actually felt much better compared to the hard metal road. She lay very stiffly on her side, grateful that the darkness hid her embarrassment, and worried her face would set on fire any moment. She was surprised at how warm he was, and curious at how he had his own body heat.
"I'm not crushing you, am I?" she asked.
"No," the scarecrow replied, "I can't feel pain except when I'm on fire." He looked warily over at the dying campfire as he spoke.
Dena attempted to relax by talking.
"I was thinking about yesterday," she yawned, "when I wished the fire-dogs would drown and the tree broke. I don't think their fire was what made it break."
"What do you think it was?" Quen asked. Dena was quiet for a moment.
"I think it had something to do with the Anklets." She finally let out.
"Why would you say that?" the scarecrow inquired. Dena sighed.
"I guess…oh I don't know. Gilda said they were the most powerful anklets in Eldan, and yet she wouldn't tell me what they do. All she told me was that they were the first ever made, and that the Black Norn wanted them real bad."
"Do you think they grant wishes?" Quen asked.
"I'm not sure," Dena replied, "let's experiment. I wish we were in Jaden right now."
Nothing happened.
"Okay, I guess it's not that simple," the girl said, though she was disappointed. With that, she surrendered to sleep, relaxing for the first time since her first night in Eldan. It actually pleased Quen to see her this way, and he rested a hand on her shoulder, holding the girl close as she slept.
Several hours later, Dena woke to a very strange sound. She couldn't tell whether it was some form of snuffling or if some animal was trotting about in the nearby dirt.
"You okay?" Quen asked curiously. Dena stretched.
"Yeah," she replied, "I just need to make a pit-stop."
Thankfully, this sort of thing had happened often enough in the past two days that the scarecrow wasn't asking silly questions about it now. He lay still while the girl got up and inspected the fire. Syrvic was still watching, though Tahoe had woken up, the retinas of his puppy eyes flashing emerald green in the dark where he lay. The fire had gone down to a few smoldering embers, so Dena grabbed some twigs from the pile Syrvic had set aside and gently blew on them to bring the flames back.
As she headed over to the trees, Syrvic asked,
"Where are you going?"
"I gotta use the ladies' room," the teen told him.
"Can't you hold it 'till morning?" the robot asked, "It's still dangerous right now."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Dena snorted, "And no, I can't. Just relax, I'm not going far." The robot had half a mind to use his night-vision to watch her, but he never could bring himself to watch others doing private activities like that, so he kept his audio sensors on alert.
Meanwhile, Dena didn't actually need to go to the bathroom. It was just an excuse. Once she was behind a layer of trees, she went to go investigate the sound. There was something weird about it, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She could swear she'd heard it before.
The girl tread carefully, worried she might step on a twig and snap it, or fall flat on her face in the dark. She kept the light of the campfire visible, so she would know where to go back to. Dena came to what felt like a clearing, though all she could see was starlight up above the black tree branches. All was silent now, and the girl realized that she had been on a fool's errand. She sighed at her stupidity and turned to follow the firelight back to her friends. It was then she heard the noise again. Dena turned, her weak human eyes unable to pick anything out from the darkness around her. All was silent again, though the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end.
Another noise came behind her, and Dena turned in time to see something huge take a flying leap out of the trees and pounce on her. The girl didn't even have time to scream, having the wind knocked out of her as landed on her back. The creature snarled and batted her with a huge paw, causing Dena to gasp and squirm out from underneath it. Her pulse skyrocketed as she scrambled to get to her feet, only to be knocked to the side, the monster immediately on top of her again. It growled, pinning her to the ground with a huge clawed paw. Dena finally got some air back into her and screamed,
"Help! Quen! Syrvic! Somebody! Help!"
Immediately, Dena saw a bright light flashing through the trees. Syrvic was running towards her, his eye lit up like an angry flashlight.
"Holy hand-grenades!" she heard him gasp in disbelief. Quen ran and stumbled along behind him, and Tahoe came rushing at their heels, barking like crazy. However, the light didn't improve things, for Dena found herself underneath something that had four legs and lots of teeth.
"Let her go, now!" the robot threatened, pointing his laser beam at the monster.
"Don't make me use these," Quen added, putting up his dukes. To Dena's surprise, the monster actually answered back.
"Back off, junkyard, she's mine!" it snarled at Syrvic.
"You can talk?!" Dena said in shock, to which the beast growled at her.
"Let her go you big jerk!" Quen yelled, getting closer with his fists. The monster only laughed at this.
"Nice try dirtbag," he chortled. His rumbling voice had a slight accent that reminded Dena vaguely of a New Yorker.
"I'll have you know, I'm full of hay," the scarecrow said, insulted.
"Even better, mattress boy," the monster said, swiping at him. Quen ducked out of the way. It was then Tahoe got brave, outraged at seeing his mistress at the mercy of the monster. The little shepherd ran up, growling and barking angrily at the creature that was ten times his size. The monster threw an irritated glance at the puppy.
"You're next, pee-wee," it growled, taking a swipe at Tahoe.
Dena was absolutely livid at this, seeing this big brute trying to hurt her dog.
"Why you son of a—" with that she punched the beast right on the nose.
"Ow!" the monster suddenly cried out in pain. Immediately the weight was off Dena as the creature backed away, holding his nose. The girl scrambled to her feet and immediately scooped up Tahoe before joining Quen and Syrvic. Quen put his arms around Dena while Syrvic kept his laser pointed at the monster, though now things were starting to get confusing. The wild, bloodthirsty monster they'd been dealing with had very quickly crumpled down onto his hindquarters, crying and rubbing his nose.
"That hurt," it sobbed, "did ya hafta hit so hard? I'm gonna get a nosebleed for sure!" Dena stared at it oddly, though at the same time, she was amazed at what Syrvic's light revealed.
The beast that had attacked her was the strangest she'd ever seen. It was very big, for Dena's head only went up to the thing's shoulder. It looked across between a lion, a leopard, an eagle, and a dragon. It had the overly muscular body of a lion, the clawed back feet of an eagle, and a light gold pelt with black spots like leopard. Its neck was somewhat longer than a lion's, with a head like a dragon, though covered in smooth fur. A pair of feathery ears stuck out of the beast's head like horns, and its eyes were bright yellow and slitted like a cat's. It had an incredible mane of shimmery feathers that covered the back of its head, neck, shoulders, spine, and tail. The feathers were bronze and black, with shimmers of deep orange and dark green. The creature's tail was whip-like, though covered in a fan of the feathers at the base as well as more thinly along the rest. It reminded Dena of a dragon's tail, with a stinger on the end. But what caught Dena's eye the most were its wings. The creature had the most amazing set of wings made of the same, shimmery bronze feathers. Never in her life had she seen such a strange and terrifying beast.
Though now, seeing him crying and rubbing his nose, he didn't seem so scary.
"What did you expect?" Dena scolded, "Scaring me half to death in the dark and insulting my friends. And how dare you pick on a poor defenseless puppy!"
"You didn't have to cave my nose in," the monster blubbered. Huge tears were now pouring out of its eyes, soaking its fur and feathers.
Dena exchanged looks with Syrvic and Quen. The robot had lowered his laser, though he remained wary of the monster. Quen kept his arms protectively around the girl, not at all eager to see her menaced again. Dena didn't object, though she carefully slipped out of the scarecrow's arms and approached the beast.
"God, you act like I stabbed you in the heart, calm down." She told it, for something very strange inside told Dena that this creature was not what it seemed.
"I mean, what did you expect when you bully people not as…powerful…as you are? God, you are such a wimp."
"Thanks a lot," the monster said unhappily through its tears, "now the whole world knows about it." Dena looked him over, weirded out and fascinated at the same time now.
"What exactly are you?" she wanted to know.
"I'm a griffin, what's it to ya?" the beast sniffed. The girl stared at him funny.
"You're not like any griffin I've ever seen," she commented.
"How many have you met?" he asked.
"Um, none," the girl admitted.
"Just as well, they scare me," the griffin said.
"Wha—how can you possibly be scared of your own kind?" Syrvic asked in disbelief, joining the conversation.
"I'm scared of lots of things," the griffin told him, "if they were handing out badges of bravery I'd miss the line twice. Sometimes when I see my face in water I even scare myself. I haven't been able to sleep in weeks because things in this forest terrify me."
Dena thought for a moment.
"Why did you attack me?" she asked.
"It's something I do," the griffin explained, "I scare travelers coming through here. Keeps me from going bonkers in this place. I didn't mean anything by it, I was gonna let you go. That's what I do with all of them. Growl and snarl a bit and they go running off, screaming. No harm done."
"You have got to be kidding," Dena said incredulously. She turned to the others.
"Guys, I think we just met the Monster of Skerna Forest."
"I'd believe it," Quen said.
"Same here," Syrvic said irritably, turning to the griffin.
"You looked pretty serious about tearing Dena apart. What assurances do we have that you aren't planning on eating us the moment we turn our backs?" With that, he pointed his laser at the beast again, powering up as he spoke. The griffin immediately shrank away, frightened by the weapon.
"That's as good assurance as any," Dena said, putting her hand on Syrvic's arm. She gently had him lower the laser. By now the griffin had calmed down, though he was still sniffing as she came over. The girl put Tahoe down and tentatively reached up to touch the creature's nose. Once apologies were made, she gazed up into the griffin's eyes, now feeling assured he wasn't going to hurt her or her friends.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Themen," the griffin answered.
"Interesting name," the girl commented, "Mine's Dena." With that, she introduced the others. She invited the griffin over to their camp on the Golden Path.
"How can you be so nice to me?" Themen asked.
"It's just my nature, can't get around it," the girl shrugged.
She had Syrvic relight the fire before sitting down with Quen. Themen settled awkwardly down near Dena, and the robot sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching the griffin warily. Tahoe trotted up and leaped into his mistress's lap.
"You know, we could use somebody like him on our trip," Dena told Quen and Syrvic.
"Since when?" the robot demanded, "He almost killed you!"
"You know he wasn't gonna do that. After all, he's forgiven."
"I am?" the griffin said in surprise.
"Yeah," Dena nodded to him. She then turned back to Syrvic.
"I'm just saying, the Mage could help him in the bravery department. I mean, if he could possibly get brains for Quen, a heart for you, and me back to Nebraska, what's a little courage for the big guy over there gonna cost him?"
"I see your point," the robot said flatly.
"So whataya say?" Dena said, turning to Themen, "We're seeing the Mage of Eldan for help. Wanta come along? Get some bravery?"
"Aren't you afraid I'd embarrass you and your friends, being a cowardly griffin?" Themen asked back.
"Nah," Dena shook her head, "I've been around enough strange things not to be bothered by that. Please, come with us. We can help you out." All of a sudden, the monster started crying again. Dena looked at her other friends in alarm.
"What did I say?" she asked anxiously.
"You're just so nice," Themen sobbed, "nobody's ever been that kind to me before."
"Aww, you're welcome," the girl beamed. She went over and wrapped her arms around the griffin's neck, only to end up with a shower of salty tears all over her dress and a big furry front leg crushing her slightly.
"If I still had a stomach I'd throw up," the robot muttered.
"Syrvic, don't make me come over there," Dena warned as she went back to Quen. The scarecrow was thankfully more easy-going about this whole situation, and had not complained once about the griffin since Dena had made peace with it. He simply lay down and let Dena use him for a bed again, though Themen did something that surprised both of them. Just as Dena settled down, the griffin came over a few minutes later and lay down behind the girl's back. He then spread his right wing to cover both her and Quen up, like a large, feathery blanket.
"Um, thanks," Dena said in astonishment, though all Themen did to reply was snore loudly.
Wow, the girl thought as she went back to sleep, the people I meet in this place……
So there we have it, our "Cowardly Lion," lol. It also appears Syrvic isn't in the mood to be friends with Themen for now. Maybe he'll stop being a stick in the mud later ;)
The Cowardly Lion was played by Bert Lahr in the original 1939 movie, and I'm told he was a comedian, which probably explains why his character is a huge source of humor in the film, lol. In fact, I once watched Wizard of Oz in an old-fashioned theater that only showed old films, and people were laughing their heads off when the Lion came bounding out of the woods and "menacing" Dorothy and her friends. Even Judy Garland was not immune to Bert's silly antics.
While they were filming that scene, poor Judy kept bursting out laughing while trying to do her lines, and at one point, the director actually had to take her behind a tree and slap her before she could calm down. Judy Garland then nailed the scene in one take, though the director felt awful about what he did. However, when he went to say sorry, she actually thanked him because it helped her snap out of her giggling fits. If you watch the Cowardly Lion scene, you can actually see Judy trying not to laugh before she says "My goodness, what a fuss you're making!"
Bert's costume weighed 90 lbs. and was made of real lion skin, though his makeup made it difficult to eat, so he'd have it re-applied after meals. (Same story for the scarecrow). I actually read on Internet Movie Database that the scarecrow, tin man, and the lion couldn't eat in the studio cafeteria with other actors and crew that were working nearby, because their costumes and makeup scared people, rofl. They had to eat in their dressing rooms instead. (Gee, if they tried that today, people would mob them for autographs, lmao). :D
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapters & I'll get back to you after I come back from vacation. Bye for now all :)