A/N: Hello again, here's a new chapter for you guys! Hope you like it! Oh, and I forgot to mention last chapter the song "The Butterfly" is real and it's performed by the Celtic Woman, I highly recommend it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Chaotic; including its character's, the TV show, or the card game. I only own my main characters and this plot.
Sobtjek and Jaal followed the two Elder's for quite a while, but they soon split up, going different directions when Rebecca went one way towards Winter Woods and Diana went another way to a denser part of the Spring Plains.
"I wish Mount Pillar had a forest like this surrounding it, it's so beautiful here." Jaal all but sighed in awe as he continued down the grassy path.
Large trees of all shapes and sizes grew over head, but streams of sunlight were everywhere sparking and glowing like a magical spotlight. The flowers and other animals clearly loved it; the lush vegetation swayed and danced it the occasional breeze that came through, the animals were even enjoying themselves prancing and racing the very wind like lively children that were finally let outside after a long winter.
The animals were really no different from the ones on Earth, if you didn't count the wide variety of colors and patterns they came in. some were natural marking's while others were hand painted by the Fairy's, showing they were either a personal pet or a close friend who just wanted the attention that came with the treatment. Jaal past by a heard of deer lead by a large light grey buck with very large pure white antlers that shined in the bright sunlight when he looked up at the Danian with wide dark eyes that shined with curiosity.
One major thing that made the animals in the Fairy Realms here unique was their eyes. Though they appeared normal the eyes of the buck were laced with wisdom that only came with old age. Jaal too stopped, the buck and he just stared at each other for several moments before the graceful creature walked slowly up the still Danian. When the male deer was less than two steps away from Jaal, the Danian lifted his up his hand slowly, palm down, and let the buck sniff the offered appendage.
Jaal then did something risky and touched the buck on his nose gently. The buck never flinching stood as still as a statue as Jaal rubbed his head, "You're a sweet fella aren't you?" Jaal said softy so he wouldn't spook the buck, for his voice was naturally deeper.
The buck surprised Jaal by nodding his head! "Can you understand me?" Jaal asked, eyes widened. Earning another nod from the buck.
"Wow! Then could you help me find someone?" Jaal asked, getting over his shock rather quickly, "I'm looking for the Elder Diane, have you seen her?"
The buck moved his large head to the south-east, right though some think brush before turning to look at Jaal again. "Thank you." Jaal said. The buck gave the Danian a wink, puzzling Jaal for a minute as he continued on his way in the direction the buck pointed.
The buck watched Jaal leave, seeming to have a knowing smirk on his face as he turned walked back to his herd. Jaal kept walking to the south-east until he heard what sounded like singing, when he saw the Elder Diane walking around a sun drenched clearing in between massive cherry blossom trees Jaal ducked behind one before the Fairy Woman could see him. But Jaal was curious so he peaked around the tree so he could better see and hear the Elder as she sang so beautifully.
The White haired Dove Keeper sang as she called out to her beloved companions; the pure white doves seemed to float down from the tops of the blooming trees along with falling pink petals like softly falling snow in early spring.
Diane lifted her left arm high to let the nearest dove land gracefully on it while the others landed on the ground beside her, looking up with earnest as they cooed. "Hello again my beloved's, have you been behaving yourselves?" Diane asked, the dove on her arm responded by jumping to her shoulder and rubbed against her cheek lovingly.
"That's good." Diane answered, smiling warmly as she petted the perched dove gently as she sat down on the ground among the rest of the others who were pecking the ground for food.
Jaal watched Diane for what seemed like hours as she sat and talked with the birds like they were people, every now and then she would pull out some seeds she had in a small white pouch she carried when she visited them. "You don't have to be shy," Diane called out suddenly, "you can come closer if you want to."
Jaal made a 'oh no I'm caught' kind of noise before he stepped out from behind the tree, looking very sheepish. "I was going to introduce myself I promise, I was just…" he started.
"Watching me?" Diane said, cutting the Danian off with a warm smile.
Jaal just nodded as he seemed to deflate, looking embarrassed to no end.
Diane giggled as she stood up, "I'm kind of surprised," she started, playfulness danced in her eyes as she walked up to Jaal who was mesmerized and watched every detail of the Fairy Woman as she walked, "from what Feleena told us about the Danian Tribe it's warriors are not afraid of anything; but you're too shy to come up and talk to little old me?"
Jaal smiled in defeat, "You're right, that was rude of me." He started before give the woman the deepest bow he could offer, "I'm Jaal, warrior of the Danian's."
"See, that wasn't so bad was it?" Diane said, voice laced with giggling making Jaal blush under his hard outer skin.
"Would you like to join me?" Diane asked, motioning to where she was sitting just moment before among the white feathered birds.
"Um, alright." Jaal said nervously as he followed the Elder over.
"No need to be timid Jaal," Diane said again as she sat down in the middle of all the pure white doves, "I don't bite and neither do they."
Jaal chuckled lightly at the Elder's humor as he sat carefully down by the edge of the close knitted circle of white feathers. When the Danian tried to touch one of the doves they all backed away out of his reach, Diane's giggling made Jaal look towards her again, "You need to make friends with them, you can start by giving them a gift."
"Like what?" Jaal asked, brow raised.
Diane scooted closer beside Jaal with the pouch in her hand, "Cup your hands for me." She said. Jaal complied obediently, Diane then poured some of the bird seed into Jaal's hands and had him lower them close to the ground.
The Elder then sang a couple notes of the same song getting the doves attention. The doves looked up at Jaal for a minute until one brave dove, most likely the one who sat on Diane's shoulder before, hopped about three times up to the still Danian. It then looked up at Jaal with curious eyes before it finally jumped into the Danian's hands and started pecking at the small amounts of food.
"Doves are one of the shiest animals that live in the Fairy Realms," Diane started as more doves began nibbling on the offered meal, "so not many can even get near them. It just takes a special creature with a steady hand to prove your worth."
"How did you know taking care of doves is what you were meant to do?" Jaal asked, looking at her.
"For some Fairy's our jobs are bestowed on us the second we are born, while other's have to discover what that talent is." Diane explained.
"Were you one who had to find your talent?" Jaal asked again.
"Actually no, doves have always been drawn to me ever since I was a little girl." Diane started before smiling warmly, like she remembered a fond memory from her distant childhood, "My mother once told me I would often sneak out of the Nursery so I could play with them, from then on I was their head caretaker."
"At least you knew what you were meant for," Jaal sighed grimly as he wiped his hands of any stray seed crumbs, "for my Tribmates and I it's a little more difficult."
"What do you mean?" Diane asked curious.
"When a Danian is hatched, those who aren't born into the higher classes are considered mandiblor's and aren't seen as anything more than that unless they find their true potential down the road." Jaal explained.
"So how did you prove that you could be a warrior?" Diane asked again.
"One day during an Underworld raid I was the only one strong enough to survive because I fought them and won. After that our former Queen Illexia granted me the honor of the Warrior title. From then on I fought side by side with my Tribemates as we and the other Tribes finally defeated the M'arillian's." Jaal concluded.
Diane was quiet for a moment as she stared at this Danian in awe, then she smiled, "Finding our place in the world is hard if not impossible, but you were brave enough to discover it. You're quite an amazing creature, Jaal."
"So are you, Diane." Jaal said, staring at the beautiful Woman.
Diane looked up into Jaal's dark eyes an saw nothing but truth in them, showing he meant every word, "Thank you." She whispered, smiling warmly.
Jaal's heart all but melted from that, "Can I stay with you awhile, I'd like to know more about you."
Diane blushed lightly behind her mask when she heard that, looking a bit sheepish herself before she answered back, "If you wish to."
The two of them talked about a lot of things, mostly of each other and their worlds. "So what is the home of the Danian's like, Mount Pillar isn't it?" Diane asked, making sure she got the title right.
"Nothing like it is here, that's for sure! But it's been our home for generations." Jaal said.
"Feleena said it was always dark there." Diane mentioned, face morphed into an apologetic look.
"That is true, it's part of the Underworld lands so there is no sunlight ever." Jaal said, shaking his head.
"That's so sad to hear," Diane said with a hand over her heart, "I can't imagine living in darkness. But that is a cruel thing to say to someone who does live in that world."
"It's not a cruel thing to say, it's the truth!" Jaal said with gusto, "Yes Mount Pillar may not be the most ideal place to live but it's essential. We Danian's are known to have very weak eyes so many can't see in bright sunlight."
"Really, does the light here bother you?" Diane asked concerned.
"Oh no I'm fine it's just the older Danian's that have problems with the sun!" Jaal exclaimed.
"Whoo! That's a relief, I didn't want you to go blind!" Diane said.
"Then that would be a tragedy," Jaal started softly, almost whispering it as he stared at Diane again, "I would be heartbroken if I could no longer see the beauty that's around me right now."
Diane looked into the Danian's eyes again and saw what he mean behind those words, her blush became more defined as she whispered back and smiled a "Thank you."
"Would you and your friends allow me to stay longer?" Jaal softly asked again, not taking his eyes off Diane's baby blue ones.
Before the Elder could answer the friendly dove then landed on Jaal's left shoulder, it then acted very sheepish as its whole head seemed to get darker like it was blushing profusely. Right then the dove gave Jaal a literal peck on the cheek, just like a kiss, before rubbing against the Danian's face; giving off a sound that was like a cross between a purr and a coo.
"I'll take that as a 'Yes'!" Diane giggled before smiling warmly up at the Danian, "And I double that."
Jaal's smile became two times larger from delight, making Diane laugh some more. The couple got settled in their conversation, laughing and chatting like nothing else was important going on around them.
Unbeknownst to Jaal and Diane they were being watched. A mated pair of doves from the group of other's surrounding the Creatures cuddled against the other; looking up to the visiting creatures with dreamy looks in their eyes. The exact same eyes the doves were giving the couple were the same one's Jaal was giving the beautiful Elder sitting next to him.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Unlike Jaal who was nicely comfortable in the Spring Plains, Sobtjek was unfortunately not as fortunate; "By the Cothica I've never felt a cold like this before!" the older Mipedian exclaimed, rubbing his arms in a futile attempt to get warm.
After he parted ways with Jaal, the grassy fields turned into a winter themed woods with a blanket of white covering the ground; the powder like snow made crunching sounds each time Sobtjek took another quaking step. There were never really strong winds in the Winter Woods but the soft breaths of cold can chill anyone to the very bone and for a cold blooded Mipedian that had 'freezing to death' written all over it!
"What was I thinking?!" Sobtjek shouted at himself, "I should have known she would be going to the Winter Woods today! I need to find a place to get warm or better yet a way back!"
"There you are!" a female voice exclaimed, making Sobtjek whip his head over to where the voice originated from.
The older Muge saw Rebecca rushing up to him, skirt lifted so she wouldn't trip and a long black cloak around her shoulders. "Rebecca! How did you know where I was?" Sobjtek asked, in between chattering teeth.
"I didn't, he showed me where you were." Rebecca explained, pointing up towards the sky.
Sobtjek looked high, catching sight of a stunning snow owl flying overhead before swooping in with a shriek. Rebecca stretched out her right arm, the snow owl landed gracefully on the offered appendage; it's long sharp black talons wrapped around the Elder's covered arm carefully before folding its wings close to its feathered body.
"This is Snowdrift, my dear friend. He saw you entering Winter Woods and came to find me; then leading me to you." Rebecca explained.
"You have my gratitude, Snowdrift." Sobtjek said thankful. Snowdrift looked over to the old Mipedian with his large black and ageless eyes before giving him a 'whoo' in welcome.
"Here put this on, it will keep you warm." Rebecca said, taking off the cloak she wore and gave it to Sobtjek.
"But what about you, won't you get cold?" Sobtjek asked concerned as he took the clock from the Woman.
"No," Rebecca said, smiling as she shook her head, "the cold doesn't bother me; I just wear that because of the occasional wind."
"Ok…" Sobjtek said, still a bit unsure as he put the cloak around his shoulders. Thankfully the cloak covered him well enough even with his back spikes, there was even a little extra fabric in case Sobtjek wanted to completely cover himself.
"Why did you come here Sobtjek?" Rebecca asked, curious, "You could have turned back when you felt what the weather was like."
Sobtjek then closed his eyes, smiling as a blush came to his face, "Well to be truthful," he started, opening his eyes again, "I was hoping to see you again."
"Y-You did?" Rebecca shuddered, shocked; eyes widened as her cheeks became rosy.
"Yes, I wanted to officially meet you, face-to-face." Sobjtek said, still smiling warmly as his eyes twinkled.
Rebecca's mouth started to open slightly into an 'oh' like she was going to say something, but nothing came out as she continued to stare at this Mipedian standing before her. "Forgive me Sobtjek," she finally started, clearly a bit frazzled, "no one has ever said that to me before."
"Really?" Sobtjek asked surprised, head tilting to the right a little bit, "surely a pretty woman like you has had one admirer in your life."
Rebecca softly smiled, almost sadly as she shook her head just once, "I'm afraid not, you're the first to ever say such charming words to me."
"Well I would be happy to say more if you allowed me to." Sobtjek informed, almost excitedly.
"You don't have to Sobtjek," Rebecca started, giggling at the older Mipedian's enthusiasm, "I'm sure you would run out of things to say after a while."
"I highly doubt it," Sobtjek said, chuckling embarrassingly, "I've read practically every romance novel in the Great Mipedian Library in Al' Mipediam; including my personal favorite, Ode to the Dying Rose."
Rebecca gasped, hand shooting up to her mouth as her eyes widened in surprise, "Did you say Ode to the Dying Rose? I've loved that story ever since I was youngling, I've must have read it at least a hundred times!"
"Me as well! My favorite part was when the Silver Knight saves the Maiden from falling to her death, but ends up confessing his love for her-" Sobtjek started.
"-as the Maiden died in Knights warm arms, lying on a bed of dying rose pedals. All the while pure white snow fell from the clouded heavens in morning, like frozen tears." Rebecca finished breathless, eyes closed as the Elder recited the words of the ancient love story like she had the book right there in her hands.
Sobtjek watched, unblinking as Rebecca opened her eyes again slowly, "That's my favorite part too; beautiful yet tragic at the same time."
Then the Fairy woman chuckled nervously, looking down as the ground, "It's pretty silly isn't it, loving a story so much even though it was written so long ago?" Rebecca asked, but more to herself then to Sobtjek.
"I don't, but I suppose I've always been that way." Sobtjek started, he too looked at the ground, "I always hoped I would find my own Maiden someday, but never did, until now…" his eyes then went back towards Rebecca.
The Elder looked at Sobtjek with question on her face, a soft warm smile started creeping onto the older Mipedian's face as a glint came to his dark eyes. Rebecca's cheeks became a rosy pink as her black eyes widened just slightly when she realized what he meant.
"Guess were both just hopeless romantics, aren't we?" Rebeeca asked, returning the older Mipedian's warm smile.
"I suppose so, but that's what I like most about you." Sobtjek said, snow crunching under his feet as he took a few steps towards the Elder.
"I like that about you too, Sobtjek." Rebecca answered almost whispering it as she reached out her free left hand and grasped his scaly one.
Sobtjek's cold hand instantly became warm again under the Fairy Elder's velvet touch, "Let's get you back to the Spring Plains." Rebecca said, starting for the border. But Rebecca was stopped by Sobtjek, who didn't make a move to follow the Elder.
"Actually," he started, clearing his throat as the older Mipedian squeezed Rebecca's hand gently, "I would much rather stay with you, if you'd let me."
"But won't you get colder?" Rebecca asked worriedly.
"I'll never be cold again as long as you stay by my side, Rebecca." Sobtjek said, in the same warm voice like before.
Rebecca then giggled as another blush dusted her cheeks, "You really do have a lot of charming things to say!"
"Told you I wasn't lying!" Sobtjek laughed also.
Rebecca let go of Sobtjek's hand, much to his dismay, before she said, "Of course you can stay if you want to Sobtjek. But stick close, you can easily get turned around here."
"No problem!" Sobtjek confirmed smiling, wrapping the clock tighter around himself even though the chill had since lifted.
"So, tell me about the other romance novels you've read, Mr. hopeless romantic." Rebecca asked slyly, causing Sobtjek to laugh out loud as the pair started walking deeper into the woods.
Rebecca lifted her right arm again, allowing Snowdrift stretch his large wings and gracefully take to the air before the Mipedian Muge started with a, "Let me think…"
Most times Snowdrift would fly higher into the clouded sky, but today he flew low enough so he could eavesdropped on the pair's conversation. The snow owl has been Rebecca's companion ever since he was about to fly, and never has he felt these feelings in Rebecca's heart.
When a Fairy bonds with an animal, it's both a physical and a spiritual bond; meaning no matter where the other was, a Fairy or their companion can feel what the other was feeling. And right now Snowdrift could feel his mistresses frozen and lonely heart melting as she laughed and talked with the orange scaled Mipedian not two yards below.
Snowdrift couldn't help but let out a 'whoo' of happiness as he slowly climbed higher into the snow falling sky. But unlike the Ode to the Dying Rose, this falling snow resembled tears of joy as it danced and spun in the winter's breeze.
A/N: And here you go guys, another chapter done! I meant to post this last weekend, but it was my birthday and I kind of got distracted, but thankfully I was able to today. See you all next time!