Derek's Chapter…Kinda
They awoke in the morning to the sounds of birds chirping. Well, rather, Day woke to the sounds of birds chirping, and then she rolled over and pushed Night out of bed, which woke her up. Guinever had to use the toilet-trees, and poked Lyndsey until she got up to take him out. Grundy was sleeping peacefully, until his bed disappeared out from under him.
"What's going on?" he stuttered in a half-asleep, confused voice.
"Oh, sorry Grundy! Musta forgot about you," Night giggled. Day gave her a shove.
"That wasn't very nice!" she said. But she was smiling, too.
"Ugh," Grundy replied. Then he went off to use the toilet-tree, too. When he returned, the girls had changed outfits. There was a clothing tree nearby. Grundy wondered how they had gotten it. So he asked.
"How did you get a clothing tree?" he asked. Since it wasn't technically animate, since it couldn't move around, but wasn't really inanimate, since it was alive, he was confused.
"Oh, we got it together!" Day said. "The Good Magician taught us an important trick! If I can't get it myself, and Night can't get it herself, then we can probably get it together!" She smiled at Night, who smiled back.
"Oh, I see," he said. "You talents are growing." The girls glowed at the compliment. He smiled back, somewhat proud of them. Then he inspected their outfits.
Day was wearing a light blue skirt, which Grundy personally thought showed off too much of her shapely legs. (Mainly because he was married…and knew her attention was going to Raven). She also had a pale yellow shirt on…but it was a strange shirt, a kind Grundy had never seen before. It had no arms, but it did have straps. And it didn't cover all of her belly. It made Grundy's eyes bulge, but he didn't know what it was called. She had plain blue runners on, and her hair was hanging down.
"What sort of a shirt is that?" he asked, prying his eyes away.
"It's a tank top!" Day said happily. "We made some Mundane clothes," she explained.
"Oh," Grundy said. "Very nice." He would have told her to put on a different skirt and a larger shirt, but couldn't find a good reason. They would be spending another day and night in the village, more than likely, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't find another reason to make her change.
Next he looked at Night. Of course, her outfit mirrored Day's. Or Day's mirrored hers. Either way. She had on a similar mini- skirt, but it was a rich, dark blue. And her 'tank top' was a silvery-grey. Her running shoes were blue, also. They were actually the same colour as Day's. Her hair was tumbling down her back, in a similar style as Days.
Last came Lyndsey. She was dressed slightly more conservatively in pants…but they weren't full pants. In fact, they were pretty much the same length as the short skirts, Grundy noticed with dismay. They were a pale blue colour. Her shirt was even stranger than the other two. It was a pretty light purple colour, but it only had one shoulder. The other shoulder was bare. Grundy shrugged, unable to figure it out. Lyndsey's pretty hair was pulled back into a 'pony tail.' Grundy figured it was called that because it resembled a horse's tail. A pony must be like a horse, although he had never actually seen one. With her hair back, the colour of her eyes was even more apparent. They shone with a dazzling purple brilliance. Guinever was donning a new green bow.
"Everybody all done?" he asked. The girls all nodded. "Good. Go ahead and get yourselves some breakfast. I'll be there in a moment, as soon as I change." The girls walked off a little, and Grundy picked some new trousers and a shirt off the tree. He put them on, then walked over to where the girls were.
They had various kinds of fresh fruit: apples, bananas, cherries, and pineapples. He looked at them pensively. "Don't worry," Lyndsey said. "They're not explosive." Grundy relaxed. They also had red juice, and orange juice. Grundy settled down and ate with the girls.
When they were done, the girls looked eager to go. "Let's go find Raven," Day said. "He promised to show us around the village." She was grinning.
"We could search around ourselves," Grundy suggested, with a hint of a smile.
"NO!" all the girls said, simultaneously. Grundy laughed, expecting that answer.
"Um, I mean, we couldn't be that rude," Day said, composing herself.
"Of course not," Grundy said with a smirk.
Just as they were about to get up and walk towards Raven's cottage, two figures approached them. One was the Demoness Metria, who Day and Night recognized from the Companions that they could pick at the starting of the game. With her was a flying computer screen, and in it was-
"Derek!" Day exclaimed. The computer screen turned her way.
"Mya?" it said. "What are you doing in this game? And why haven't you been at school?" It occurred to Day that it was Derek speaking, from inside the computer screen.
"Hey, I'm here too," Night said.
"Steph?" Derek asked. He looked confused.
"Why is he in that screen?" Day asked Metria, tapping on the screen.
"He doesn't believe in magic. I just can't get him to, no matter how much skin I show him," Metria said, her clothes defusing.
"Uh, I think I can help you with that, if you put your clothes back on," Day said. Metria complied. Day nodded. "Listen, stupid," she said, taking the computer screen in her hands, "magic is real. So accept it." She gave the computer screen a little shake, then let it go.
"Oh," said Derek. Then the computer screen slowly disappeared, and Derek appeared beside them.
"Conquest!" Metria exclaimed, wrapping her body around Derek. He struggled, but not much.
"What?" Lyndsey asked.
"Victory, achievement, accomplishment, triumph-"
"Success?" Lyndsey asked.
"Whatever," Metria said crossly. Then she turned to Day. "How did you get him to believe?" she asked, curious.
"Ah, I guess it's a Mundane thing," Day said. "Girls are always right. You just gotta know how to get through to 'um." Metria looked quite confused, but also thoughtful.
"How to get through to them," she repeated, quietly.
"So, what are you doing here, Derek?" Night asked. Metria had untangled herself from him.
"I'm playing this wild game called 'Companions of Xanth! It's so much fun!" Derek said. Then he launched into some technical computer mumbo jumbo, but Night blocked that out.
"That's cool," she said.
"You're only cold because you aren't wearing much, birdbrain," Grundy said. Night laughed.
"Not cold, cool! It's a Mundane term," she explained.
"Oh," Grundy said.
Derek had finished his spiel. "So, what are you guys doing here?" he asked.
"Uhh…" Day stuttered. "That's a bit confusing."
"No it isn't," Night said. "Day and I are really Sorceresses. We originally came from Xanth, but accidentally ended up in Mundania. Now we found our way back."
"Day?" Derek said dumbly.
"Yah, our names are actually Day and Night," Day said.
"Oh." This was all a bit too much for Derek to handle.
"We should be departing," Metria said, rubbing close to Derek.
"What?" Lyndsey asked, picking up Guinever, so he wouldn't be sad.
"Leaving, taking off, departing, exiting- wait, I had the right word!" she snapped.
"I know," Lyndsey said. "I was just wondering why you were going so soon," she explained.
"Oh," Metria said, becoming slightly foggy. "Well, Derek needs to go find his Talent. That's the object of the game, you know."
"Right," Lyndsey said.
Night and Day stood in front of Derek. "Be careful, ok?" they said. "Maybe we'll see you later."
Derek looked like he didn't really want to leave, but Metia was pulling on his shirt sleeve. "'K," he said. "Bye." Then he walked off, Metria close at his side. Her clothes were defusing again. Derek was in for some adventure! The last the girls had heard of him, he had won the talent of waking maidens with a kiss. They wondered what he would need that talent for…
"Let's get going," Grundy said. The girls all nodded in agreement. They started off towards Raven's cottage. Day, Night, and Lyndsey, with Guinever on her shoulder, all starting running. They were giggling. Grundy sighed. Dealing with women…it was just too much to handle!
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They awoke in the morning to the sounds of birds chirping. Well, rather, Day woke to the sounds of birds chirping, and then she rolled over and pushed Night out of bed, which woke her up. Guinever had to use the toilet-trees, and poked Lyndsey until she got up to take him out. Grundy was sleeping peacefully, until his bed disappeared out from under him.
"What's going on?" he stuttered in a half-asleep, confused voice.
"Oh, sorry Grundy! Musta forgot about you," Night giggled. Day gave her a shove.
"That wasn't very nice!" she said. But she was smiling, too.
"Ugh," Grundy replied. Then he went off to use the toilet-tree, too. When he returned, the girls had changed outfits. There was a clothing tree nearby. Grundy wondered how they had gotten it. So he asked.
"How did you get a clothing tree?" he asked. Since it wasn't technically animate, since it couldn't move around, but wasn't really inanimate, since it was alive, he was confused.
"Oh, we got it together!" Day said. "The Good Magician taught us an important trick! If I can't get it myself, and Night can't get it herself, then we can probably get it together!" She smiled at Night, who smiled back.
"Oh, I see," he said. "You talents are growing." The girls glowed at the compliment. He smiled back, somewhat proud of them. Then he inspected their outfits.
Day was wearing a light blue skirt, which Grundy personally thought showed off too much of her shapely legs. (Mainly because he was married…and knew her attention was going to Raven). She also had a pale yellow shirt on…but it was a strange shirt, a kind Grundy had never seen before. It had no arms, but it did have straps. And it didn't cover all of her belly. It made Grundy's eyes bulge, but he didn't know what it was called. She had plain blue runners on, and her hair was hanging down.
"What sort of a shirt is that?" he asked, prying his eyes away.
"It's a tank top!" Day said happily. "We made some Mundane clothes," she explained.
"Oh," Grundy said. "Very nice." He would have told her to put on a different skirt and a larger shirt, but couldn't find a good reason. They would be spending another day and night in the village, more than likely, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't find another reason to make her change.
Next he looked at Night. Of course, her outfit mirrored Day's. Or Day's mirrored hers. Either way. She had on a similar mini- skirt, but it was a rich, dark blue. And her 'tank top' was a silvery-grey. Her running shoes were blue, also. They were actually the same colour as Day's. Her hair was tumbling down her back, in a similar style as Days.
Last came Lyndsey. She was dressed slightly more conservatively in pants…but they weren't full pants. In fact, they were pretty much the same length as the short skirts, Grundy noticed with dismay. They were a pale blue colour. Her shirt was even stranger than the other two. It was a pretty light purple colour, but it only had one shoulder. The other shoulder was bare. Grundy shrugged, unable to figure it out. Lyndsey's pretty hair was pulled back into a 'pony tail.' Grundy figured it was called that because it resembled a horse's tail. A pony must be like a horse, although he had never actually seen one. With her hair back, the colour of her eyes was even more apparent. They shone with a dazzling purple brilliance. Guinever was donning a new green bow.
"Everybody all done?" he asked. The girls all nodded. "Good. Go ahead and get yourselves some breakfast. I'll be there in a moment, as soon as I change." The girls walked off a little, and Grundy picked some new trousers and a shirt off the tree. He put them on, then walked over to where the girls were.
They had various kinds of fresh fruit: apples, bananas, cherries, and pineapples. He looked at them pensively. "Don't worry," Lyndsey said. "They're not explosive." Grundy relaxed. They also had red juice, and orange juice. Grundy settled down and ate with the girls.
When they were done, the girls looked eager to go. "Let's go find Raven," Day said. "He promised to show us around the village." She was grinning.
"We could search around ourselves," Grundy suggested, with a hint of a smile.
"NO!" all the girls said, simultaneously. Grundy laughed, expecting that answer.
"Um, I mean, we couldn't be that rude," Day said, composing herself.
"Of course not," Grundy said with a smirk.
Just as they were about to get up and walk towards Raven's cottage, two figures approached them. One was the Demoness Metria, who Day and Night recognized from the Companions that they could pick at the starting of the game. With her was a flying computer screen, and in it was-
"Derek!" Day exclaimed. The computer screen turned her way.
"Mya?" it said. "What are you doing in this game? And why haven't you been at school?" It occurred to Day that it was Derek speaking, from inside the computer screen.
"Hey, I'm here too," Night said.
"Steph?" Derek asked. He looked confused.
"Why is he in that screen?" Day asked Metria, tapping on the screen.
"He doesn't believe in magic. I just can't get him to, no matter how much skin I show him," Metria said, her clothes defusing.
"Uh, I think I can help you with that, if you put your clothes back on," Day said. Metria complied. Day nodded. "Listen, stupid," she said, taking the computer screen in her hands, "magic is real. So accept it." She gave the computer screen a little shake, then let it go.
"Oh," said Derek. Then the computer screen slowly disappeared, and Derek appeared beside them.
"Conquest!" Metria exclaimed, wrapping her body around Derek. He struggled, but not much.
"What?" Lyndsey asked.
"Victory, achievement, accomplishment, triumph-"
"Success?" Lyndsey asked.
"Whatever," Metria said crossly. Then she turned to Day. "How did you get him to believe?" she asked, curious.
"Ah, I guess it's a Mundane thing," Day said. "Girls are always right. You just gotta know how to get through to 'um." Metria looked quite confused, but also thoughtful.
"How to get through to them," she repeated, quietly.
"So, what are you doing here, Derek?" Night asked. Metria had untangled herself from him.
"I'm playing this wild game called 'Companions of Xanth! It's so much fun!" Derek said. Then he launched into some technical computer mumbo jumbo, but Night blocked that out.
"That's cool," she said.
"You're only cold because you aren't wearing much, birdbrain," Grundy said. Night laughed.
"Not cold, cool! It's a Mundane term," she explained.
"Oh," Grundy said.
Derek had finished his spiel. "So, what are you guys doing here?" he asked.
"Uhh…" Day stuttered. "That's a bit confusing."
"No it isn't," Night said. "Day and I are really Sorceresses. We originally came from Xanth, but accidentally ended up in Mundania. Now we found our way back."
"Day?" Derek said dumbly.
"Yah, our names are actually Day and Night," Day said.
"Oh." This was all a bit too much for Derek to handle.
"We should be departing," Metria said, rubbing close to Derek.
"What?" Lyndsey asked, picking up Guinever, so he wouldn't be sad.
"Leaving, taking off, departing, exiting- wait, I had the right word!" she snapped.
"I know," Lyndsey said. "I was just wondering why you were going so soon," she explained.
"Oh," Metria said, becoming slightly foggy. "Well, Derek needs to go find his Talent. That's the object of the game, you know."
"Right," Lyndsey said.
Night and Day stood in front of Derek. "Be careful, ok?" they said. "Maybe we'll see you later."
Derek looked like he didn't really want to leave, but Metia was pulling on his shirt sleeve. "'K," he said. "Bye." Then he walked off, Metria close at his side. Her clothes were defusing again. Derek was in for some adventure! The last the girls had heard of him, he had won the talent of waking maidens with a kiss. They wondered what he would need that talent for…
"Let's get going," Grundy said. The girls all nodded in agreement. They started off towards Raven's cottage. Day, Night, and Lyndsey, with Guinever on her shoulder, all starting running. They were giggling. Grundy sighed. Dealing with women…it was just too much to handle!
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