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.
It took several days for Tabitha to heal up enough for her to be able to walk around and get back to her normal activities. When that day came, she was so happy, she exhausted herself during training, and Barlow and Sting had to help her to bed. "It was worth it." She grinned before falling asleep.
Despite Mandrake's threat of banishing Rosoide if he bothered Tabitha again, he still admired her from afar, and even attempted to talk with her. When he did, she either ignored him, or said she heard Mandrake coming. She was lying most of the time, but it was still fun to see him scurry away as fast as his legs could carry him.
One day, Tabitha was practicing archery. She like using her own hands in combat, but archery was her favorite. She often chuckled at the form she tried when she first started training. One time, she shot an arrow using her first form, out of curiosity, and the arrow didn't go where she wanted.
While she was shooting arrows, Mandrake walked into the archery training area. He crossed his arms and leaned back against a thick dead plant, watching the Amphibiques. He remembered when she first started training, she didn't know how to use the proper form. In fact, the way she first held it was how everyone starting archery held a bow and arrow. Even Dagda did it, and he was so stubborn—Mandrake insisted he got it from Danu, though his wife begged to differ—he thought his way was the better way. He tried it several times before admitting defeat and holding it the way his father told him to, becoming a better archer in the end.
Mandrake smiled sadly, remembering his son. He brushed a tear away and focused on Tabitha, who still hadn't noticed him. Even though she didn't seem it, or maybe even realize it, she was actually graceful when she used a bow and arrow. She was smooth when she pulled the arrow back, and managed to reset the arrow without having to search for a good place on the bow. She was one of the Boggans' best archers.
Thinking her archery was graceful reminded Mandrake of when he saw her at Peacewaters without her cloak. Despite being sisters, Tabitha and Veronica looked nothing alike in body terms. Veronica was thin and willowy, with small hands and feet, and not very much muscle. Tabitha had good muscles, her hands were average, her feet were on the larger side, and she wasn't thin and willowy like her sister. Rather, she was thicker, though she wasn't at all fat.
Despite being different from her sister, Tabitha danced just as gracefully as Veronica. The image of her dancing at the small party reappeared in Mandrake's mind. Her hips swung from side to side, her upper body twisted to the right and to the left, her arms were up in the air, she turned on her toes, and her head bobbed up, down, and to the sides, making her hair swing about. He found himself smiling at the memory. No matter whether she was dancing or shooting arrows, wearing her chipmunk cloak or native clothing, she was still graceful and beautiful, despite her rough and rugged attitude.
Mandrake shook his head so hard, the ears on his bat cloak flapped, making noises. There he went again, thinking about Tabitha being graceful and beautiful. Grandma Katnip and Toxicad's suggestions that he was in love with the Amphibiques came back to him. At first, he denied them; he didn't know the first thing about being in love with anyone, much less a non-Boggan. All he knew was what his mother told him: he would think about the person in a good light, and despite what others may say about her, he would always defend her, and always want to protect her with his life.
At the time, he had been a teenaged Boggan, just starting his warrior training. Romance had been the last thing on his mind, especially after hearing he was betrothed to Danu, the girl he hated and never got along with, since birth. He had scoffed at the idea of being in love with anyone, much less Danu, and had forgotten about his mother's wisdom until now.
Mandrake often thought of Tabitha in a good light. Even though she made mistakes, and was stubborn as a limpet, he never thought badly of her. And Lord knows he defended her against others who hated her—namely Toxicad—and wanted to protect her with his life, even if she insisted she could take care of herself.
"I know Tabitha misses Wrathwood. If she goes back, promise me you won't let anything happen to her?"
"She can take care of hers-"
"I know, but she can't fight off everything. I can't shake the feeling that something horrible will happen to her, especially after hearing what those Boggans were doing to her."
"I was just as angered. Believe me, I won't let them off easily."
"Good. Promise me, Mandrake, that if she returns to Wrathwood, to take care of my granddaughter."
"…I promise. I'll protect her with my life, if I must."
Mandrake's jaw dropped slightly as he remembered Grandma Katnip's request that he took care of Tabitha, thinking something horrible would happen to her. He too somehow knew she would get into trouble she couldn't fight against. It was very eerie that something horrible did indeed happen. And he was unable to prevent it.
He rubbed his eyes, sighing heavily. He had felt terribly grieved when Dagda died. He was the boy's father, and a father protects his children at any cost. And he failed, even though in his dying moment, Dagda said he didn't blame Mandrake for what happened, and that he couldn't have prevented it. And now it happened all over again; Tabitha had been gravely injured, though she was feeling better, and Mandrake had failed to prevent it.
"You okay?"
He looked up, seeing Tabitha standing in front of him with a slightly-cocked head and concerned expression. "Er, yes." He nodded, then thought better. "Actually…I…I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"I couldn't protect you."
"What are y-"
"The night before we left Peacewaters, I promised your grandmother I would protect you. She thought something bad would happen to you. I promised…and I couldn't protect you."
"Mandrake, is this about Toxicad and his Toxicronies ambushing me?" She huffed when Mandrake nodded. "It's not your fault. If anything, I should have been watching my back." She grabbed the long, pointed nose of the Boggan leader's bat cloak and pulled it up so the teeth were hovering above his eyebrows. "I don't blame you for not being able to protect me. It never crossed my mind to blame you, and it never will."
He smiled softly. "Thanks. I…I needed to hear that." You don't know it, Tabitha, but Dagda told me the exact same last two sentences you said.
"Good. I don't like you when you're depressed." She playfully pulled the bat cloak down over his face. "It's not that good for your image."
Mandrake grunted, pulling his bat cloak up. "On a lighter note, I've been curious about something." Tabitha said.
"What?"
"If I could shoot an arrow with my feet."
Mandrake raised an eyebrow. "And…why would you wonder that?"
"In case I'm in a battle, and my hands aren't free." She shrugged.
"Hm…good point. Though you probably couldn't, since you have webbed feet."
Tabitha stood on one foot, and held up her other ankle, spreading her three pointed toes. "I beg to differ, sir. My toes are only partly-webbed."
Indeed the teal-colored webbing between her toes only ran about halfway up her toes. As she stood on both feet, Mandrake rubbed his chin in thought. "How about we make this more interesting?" He left briefly, and returned with a rope. "So you really can't use your hands," He wiggled the rope in silent emphasis.
Tabitha blanched slightly at the suggestion. "You want to bind my hands behind my back?"
Mandrake mentally kicked himself, remembering that she had been tied up when she was beat up. "I won't hurt you, or let anyone hurt you." He gently assured her. "I promise."
Biting her lip, Tabitha eventually nodded and held her hands behind her back. Mandrake tied them together with the rope, remembering to not tie too tightly. She sat down on the ground as Mandrake set the arrow in the bow for her and set it by her feet. He stood back to watch, interested.
Tabitha held the end of the arrow between two toes on one foot, and held the bow between two toes on her other foot. Bending her feet at the ankles, she leaned back, raised her legs, and aimed at the target. She pulled back, surprising Mandrake with her flexibility, and let the arrow fire. It completely missed the target.
Tabitha dropped the bow, tossing her head back with a sigh. "Well, at least I proved I can do it, though I'm a lousy shot at it." She shrugged. "Now, could you untie me?"
Feeling mischievous, and wanting to test her further, Mandrake smirked, "How about you get out yourself?"
Tabitha's jaw dropped incredulously. Then she scowled in anger and determination, and began to try and twist her hands. However, the rope was strong, and refused to break or loosen. She laid down flat on her back and tried to pull her joined arms over her hips to move her hands to her front so she could at least see what she was doing. But either her arms were too short, or her hips were too wide; either way, she couldn't do it.
Sighing heavily, she let her head drop back, and asked again, "Could you untie me?"
Mandrake had been hiding his chuckles at Tabitha's attempted escapes. Regaining his composure, he knelt by her on one knee, resting his arm across his bent knee, and leaned over her so his face was right above hers. "What's the magic word?"
"Untie me right now, or I'll kick you."
"That's not it." He held her legs down with the other hand in case she tried to kick him.
Tabitha huffed angrily. She was about to tell him to untie her again, and head-butt him, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rosoide coming. He knew Tabitha did archery training at this time of day, and evidently didn't see her lying on the ground, Mandrake leaning over her in a suggestive position. Panicking, Tabitha leaned her head up, but instead of head-butting Mandrake like she originally planned, she kissed him deeply. He froze, wide-eyed, as Tabitha moved her lips against his, managing to pry them apart and push her tongue in. Through barely-opened eyelids, she saw Rosoide freeze, stare at them with a flabbergasted expression, which turned disappointed and upset, and finally turn and leave.
Once he was gone, Tabitha leaned away from Mandrake's mouth and rolled away. "Untie me! Now!" She yelled.
Still looking stunned, Mandrake untied her hands. She stood up, rubbing her wrists. "Thank you." She said. Finally!
"What was that?" Mandrake finally asked.
"Huh?"
"That kiss. Why did you kiss me?"
"Oh, that. Uh, I saw Rosoide coming, and I…I panicked, okay? It was the only thing I could think of. Maybe now he'll finally leave me alone." As she turned to leave, she looked back at Mandrake. "By the way, even though you didn't like your wife, she was a lucky Boggan." She quickly walked away, smacking herself in the head, scolding herself. Tabitha? What the heck was that? Why would you even say that? That is the stupidest thing you have ever said!
Behind her, Mandrake simply stared after her, still feeling a little bewildered, but certainly not unhappy.
Later that night, as Tabitha finished up her training and was preparing for bed, Barlow approached her with a smirk. "So, someone got a little action in the archery arena, huh?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tabitha asked, though she knew perfectly well.
"Rosoide said he saw you and Mandrake kissing in the archery arena, and in a very interesting position. Care to explain?"
Sighing heavily, Tabitha explained about her curiosity of shooting an arrow with her feet, and Mandrake's idea of tying her hands behind her back to further interest the challenge. "After, he wouldn't untie me. He wasn't being malicious, just irritatingly mischievous, for lack of a better word. I saw Rosoide coming, and I panicked."
"So, you just kissed him because Rosoide was coming, you panicked, and didn't want to explain what was going on?" Barlow asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Does anyone else know?"
"No. Strangely enough, he only told Sting and me."
"Good. There is nothing going on between Mandrake and me. It was just a harmless kiss, nothing more."
"Didn't sound too harmless." Barlow remarked with a chuckle as both warriors walked to the warriors' sleeping quarters.
"Geez, did Rosoide really watch that closely?"
Unknown to the two Boggans, a certain scrawny Boggan trainee was secretly listening, and filled with a new hope and happiness.
A/N I think I said it before, but some of my ideas come as I'm writing. My fingers seem to have a mind of their own as they type. Some of said ideas in this chapter were Dagda being stubborn when he was little, Mandrake's thoughts about Tabitha (and he denies he's falling in love with her X)) and brief backstory history of our favorite King of Rot.
Tabitha shooting a bow and arrow with her feet was inspired by an episode of VicTORIous from Nickelodeon (I came to dislike the show [and Dan Schneider shows in general] but it had its good moments) I haven't tried it, but I imagine it would be quite hard; especially for Tabitha, given her toes are all the same size, pointed, and are partly-webbed.
I think the most interesting/best part of the chapter was when Tabitha kissed Mandrake when Rosoide was coming. Rosoide probably would have left anyway, since he's afraid of Mandrake. But we all panic at certain times. Plus, Tabitha apparently doesn't regret it X3 Unfortunately, since Rosoide heard Tabitha say the kiss was harmless and she and Mandrake weren't "together," it was for nothing...
