Disclaimer: mostly not mine. Give credit to Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Ari is mine tho...
AN: Thank you to Pen D. Fox and Dalamar Nightson who've read and given me feedback. I never knew what an ego-boost reviews were. The first chapter was the first I've ever published on the web and I was nervous. I think you'll find this chapter a lot more informative of my character. Any suggestions for the presently-hibernating plot are welcome... I have an idea where it will go, but other ideas are always refreshing. Thanx and enjoy.
Chapter 2: Rain and kisses
A stunned silence swept over the group. It only took a moment, however, for Tas to regain his tongue.
"Wow!! Really?! That must be why I didn't even know I had a half-brother. And plus that's why I've never seen or heard about you. What's it like over there? Do they have dragons or elves or kender? Why haven't you visited me before?"
"I didn't even know this place existed up until a about two days ago. Apparently Grandpa wanted me to know about my roots, met you, and heard about what he," she pointed to Caramon, "wanted. So here I am."
"How did you grandfather find his way between worlds?" Raistlin asked, his curiosity heightened.
"The way he explained it to me was that he read about this world in a book. Several years earlier a couple of human mages visited this place and wrote about it, after several correspondences with Astinius. Grandpa got in contact with these two humans and they showed him how to travel to different worlds. He met a kender woman, fell in love, and had my daddy. Grandpa brought him back to Delaware with him because he though he may be a Pretender-it runs strong in our family. Um... Pretenders are people who can adapt and learn things very quickly and are very smart. Daddy turned out to be an Empath. Empaths read emotion from people by touching something that that person has recently handled, or the person themselves. Raines, a sort of 'mad scientist' and friend of the family, got his claws into Daddy and made him slightly insane. Somewhere along the line I was born to Daddy and someone else. Blood tests were done to determine that I'm 1/4 kender and 3/4 Elvin. They probably know who my mother is, but aren't telling. Not that it matters-any woman who can give up her child without looking back is no one I would want for a mother. I'm not bitter, that's just how I feel." She nodded in finality. "And lengthy answers like that will stop the flow of questions forever."
"Or at least until we can come up with another question," Laurana smirked.
"Point taken. Okay, now that you've all heard my entire autobiography you don't need to ask me anything else. Go... talk amongst yourselves," She shooed them away and started to fiddle with her hair. As they turned back to their meals, she turned to her mug of hot water, digging a teabag from out of her pocket and dunking it in the water before going back to her hair. She methodically began to take out the bobby pins holding her long silver braids up and released the hair. Then she began to work on loosening her braids.
The mage to her left stared openly at her. In his accursed sight she did not wither and decay, but stayed as she looked to normal eyes. She was a bit taller than a normal kender, being somewhere around 4'5". From the looks of it, her hair went well past her knees, long bangs parted in the middle and falling into her almond eyes. The left eye was green, the right one purple, giving off an unbalanced feeling. Her eyebrows were thick and arched, tapering off at the ends. For a woman her jaw was a little too squared, but was still delicate as were her cheekbones. Raistlin guessed that she was young, even for an elf.
"What exactly are you?" he asked, staring at her.
Ariana looked up from what she was doing and glanced at the companions who were immersed in their group discussions. She looked back at Raistlin, "What do you mean? I already told you-"
He cut her off, "You do not age. My eyes see all die-but you stay fresh and young."
"Then the experiment is working! My family... well... Raines in particular, was doing an experiment to stop aging. All of us got our aging clocks stopped, so unless I start it again, I will stay this way forever."
"How... useful..." Raistlin mused.
Ari shrugged, "I don't know. Mayhap," she replied, undoing the final braid and raking through her long tresses with her fingers. "It's not like life can be all that exciting forever. The whole reason life is so great is because it's so short. What one does in a limited amount of time is far more impressive than what one does over a gradual period of time while they have chance after chance to make things right." She paused. "That was way too philosophical and idealistic." Her delicate hands dug around in another pocket, this time appearing with a hair tie to put her hair up with.
Finally, she was able to sip her tea and observe the rest of the group. They were still chatting and eating; the noise they made blended in with the rest of the inn's bustle. Tas was digging through his pouches, sorting the treasures therein. The others talked of the news and what had been going on lately with them since they had last met. She glanced over with the corner of her eye to Raistlin. He sat with his spell book open in front of him, still looking at her. She quickly stuffed the bobby pins away and pulled out a sketchbook and pen. Ariana did several quick sketches of them, and then went into individual detail, capturing physical characteristics and mannerisms. This kept her occupied for some time until the voices nearest her died down. She looked up to find them all staring at her.
"Que*?' she asked, supposing that they had asked her another question, turning a shade of pink.
"What are you drawing?" Goldmoon repeated.
Ari closed the book and handed it wordlessly across the table to the woman. She slunk back into her chair to wait for judgment, wishing against all hope that she had not taken it out. Attention on her was not a terribly good thing. Goldmoon flipped through the book, murmuring her approval. Riverwind and Laurana peered over her shoulder.
Ari shifted in her chair and leaned towards Raistlin. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to his book.
"A spell book," he told her, caressing the edge of it absentmindedly.
"Magic is you passion?"
"Yes. My life and my love."
Tentatively she touched the corner of the book. "Sounds a bit lonely. So you live with anyone?"
"My apprentice Dalamar."
"Do you talk much? Is this normal?"
"Do you always ask so many questions? Is that normal?" he retorted.
"I'm just trying to get to know you. If you won't talk for yourself then a prodding is in order. Other than poking you with my finger, the other method is to ask, a practice I hope you prefer."
He smiled tightly, "Perhaps I don't talk because there is nothing to say."
She smiled generously back, "Pretty eyes," then took her book that Goldmoon proffered back. "Well?"
"Wonderful. Very creative and you've used beautiful colors. I really liked the whole thing."
"Thank you. I was going to show my sketchbook to you," she handed the book over to Caramon, "before we committed to a whole wall, in case you didn't like my style."
"Well, let me see then." He flipped through, lingering on several pages. As he neared the end, she warned him, "Careful. Naked people back there."
He paused, giving her a look.
"Hey, it's not my problem-that's just what artists do, okay? Naked people are normal to see for us. They help with the anatomy of clothed people." She shrugged, "Just thought I'd warn you so it wouldn't be any more weird than it already is."
After a little while he handed her sketchbook back to her. "Yeah, you're good. Just make sure we all have clothes on, okay?"
She maintained a straight face, fighting down a giggle, "Not a problem."
Riverwind and Goldmoon shifted and started to get up.
"We should be going..." Goldmoon said, "We were up early."
Ariana stood, going over to hug Goldmoon who readily responded, and Riverwind who merely stood there.
"Statuesque," she murmured, then louder, "It was nice to meet both of you, see you tomorrow."
Goldmoon nodded, "Sleep well," then they departed.
Laurana and Tanis followed shortly with the same farewell hug. Tas, deciding that everyone had left because the fun was somewhere else, also left. He hugged his niece, snabbing a bobby pin from her pocket. Later, when he dug through his pouches, he would find it and discover its flinging abilities.
Caramon rose to his feet, "I need to help Tika close. Raist, would you take Ariana back to the house?"
His twin nodded reluctantly, pulling up his hood. Once they left, Ari snaked her arm through his, shivering a little at the dark that had descended. Several lights were lit and hung in the branches of the tree, illuminating everything with a warm glow. Just as fluently, he pulled his arm away, glaring at her. She smiled back. A biting remark was on the tip of his tongue, but what came out instead was his cough, the one that rattled his whole body and scared him more than he would ever admit. Ari moved to support him, but he shrank back. She frowned, smacking his arm and reaching for him again. This time he let her.
"What was that?" she asked, as soon as he regained his breath.
"A cough," he wheezed, leaning heavily on her and his staff.
"I could see that. Will you be able to make it home? Are you sick?"
"I will be fine. Just give me a moment." He rested on her arm, slowly drawing in breaths that scraped through his windpipe. She regarded him worriedly, visibly wincing with each breath that he took. "You do not need to watch me. I won't die before your eyes," he reassured her, the effort of speaking causing another onslaught of coughing.
They did not speak after that, but concentrated on getting home. Once there, he collapsed into a chair.
"Can I do anything for you?" Ariana asked.
"Hot water," he croaked.
She set about the task, easily acquainting herself with the kitchen. Within several minutes the water over the fire began to bubble. She found a cup and poured him the hot liquid. From a hidden pouch he pulled out a bag of tealeaves. The stuff smelled horrible but he threw in a pinch and drank it down anyway, grimacing.
Art sat down at the table across from him, carefully watching him, as if it would make him feel better. Almost immediately she noted that his breathing seemed easier and there was no longer the impending threat of a coughing fit. Whatever that foul stuff was it worked.
She took the cup and rinsed it, filling it with fresh water and dipping her own tea bag in it. Then, she offered it to him, saying, "Jasmine and Green Tea; improves your mood. Plus it'll get rid of the taste of whatever concoction that was."
He took the tea, sipping at it. Then he pulled out his book and set it in front of him.
Ari found several small candles about the kitchen and lit them with the cooking fire. She set them around his book; leaving for her room, she told him where she'd be if he needed her. Behind her back he scoffed.
After Caramon and Tika had come home and went to bed, Raistlin was still up at the kitchen table studying. Rain started to pelt down on the treetops, softly at first, then with increasing speed. A door snicked open and a pattering of feet was heard. Ariana appeared in shorts and a tank top. She went to the window and cupping her hands, peered out. Satisfied that the rain was heavy enough she headed for the door. Gripping the knob, she looked over her shoulder, "Will you dance in the rain with me?" she whispered.
Raistlin looked up, making a face, "And catch a cold? I get sick easily enough, thank you."
"Suit yourself." And she was gone out in door in a flash. Immediately she was soaked to the bone. The rain poured down, drenching everything and making it slippery. Into a small clearing between the trees she stopped, pulling out glow sticks on strings from her pocket. Very softly humming a tune she began to swing them rhythmically, then faster until they swirled and arched around her. She began to dance along with them, letting the beat in her mind take her steps and go. Presently she was joined by several kender who cheerfully danced right along with her. Ariana passed the glow sticks off to them so that her hands were free to join into the movement. There were playful shrieks of joy and someone started to sing an off-tune song, which apparently no one else knew, but were happy to sing along with, filling in their own words. That turned into a screaming match and the neighbors in the trees began to yell. Quickly, the group broke up, running at the sight of several of the town's peacekeepers approaching.
Ariana took off, dodging around a bit and hiding in a bush for a while to avoid being caught. Finally, she was able to sneak back into the house where Raistlin was still reading.
He glanced up as she shut the door behind her. "What was going on out there? It sounded like a pack of drunken kender."
She paused. "They weren't drunk... and how many is exactly a pack? I think there were enough for two. Where do you keep the towels? I could use several."
Raistlin rose. "I'll get them. Tika would skin you alive if you dripped all over her nice clean floor." He was back in a minute with two dark towels in hand. He tossed them to her, saying, "I would also change if I were you- you're revealing things best left to the imagination," then he gathered up his spell books to leave.
"Wait a sec," she murmured, moving towards him. When he turned, she reached up and snagged his collar, bringing him down to her level. Before he could protest she pressed her lips to his, lingering on his bottom lip for a moment.
Raistlin pulled away sputtering, books falling from his grasp. "What the hell was that?" he demanded.
*'what' in French
AN: Thank you to Pen D. Fox and Dalamar Nightson who've read and given me feedback. I never knew what an ego-boost reviews were. The first chapter was the first I've ever published on the web and I was nervous. I think you'll find this chapter a lot more informative of my character. Any suggestions for the presently-hibernating plot are welcome... I have an idea where it will go, but other ideas are always refreshing. Thanx and enjoy.
Chapter 2: Rain and kisses
A stunned silence swept over the group. It only took a moment, however, for Tas to regain his tongue.
"Wow!! Really?! That must be why I didn't even know I had a half-brother. And plus that's why I've never seen or heard about you. What's it like over there? Do they have dragons or elves or kender? Why haven't you visited me before?"
"I didn't even know this place existed up until a about two days ago. Apparently Grandpa wanted me to know about my roots, met you, and heard about what he," she pointed to Caramon, "wanted. So here I am."
"How did you grandfather find his way between worlds?" Raistlin asked, his curiosity heightened.
"The way he explained it to me was that he read about this world in a book. Several years earlier a couple of human mages visited this place and wrote about it, after several correspondences with Astinius. Grandpa got in contact with these two humans and they showed him how to travel to different worlds. He met a kender woman, fell in love, and had my daddy. Grandpa brought him back to Delaware with him because he though he may be a Pretender-it runs strong in our family. Um... Pretenders are people who can adapt and learn things very quickly and are very smart. Daddy turned out to be an Empath. Empaths read emotion from people by touching something that that person has recently handled, or the person themselves. Raines, a sort of 'mad scientist' and friend of the family, got his claws into Daddy and made him slightly insane. Somewhere along the line I was born to Daddy and someone else. Blood tests were done to determine that I'm 1/4 kender and 3/4 Elvin. They probably know who my mother is, but aren't telling. Not that it matters-any woman who can give up her child without looking back is no one I would want for a mother. I'm not bitter, that's just how I feel." She nodded in finality. "And lengthy answers like that will stop the flow of questions forever."
"Or at least until we can come up with another question," Laurana smirked.
"Point taken. Okay, now that you've all heard my entire autobiography you don't need to ask me anything else. Go... talk amongst yourselves," She shooed them away and started to fiddle with her hair. As they turned back to their meals, she turned to her mug of hot water, digging a teabag from out of her pocket and dunking it in the water before going back to her hair. She methodically began to take out the bobby pins holding her long silver braids up and released the hair. Then she began to work on loosening her braids.
The mage to her left stared openly at her. In his accursed sight she did not wither and decay, but stayed as she looked to normal eyes. She was a bit taller than a normal kender, being somewhere around 4'5". From the looks of it, her hair went well past her knees, long bangs parted in the middle and falling into her almond eyes. The left eye was green, the right one purple, giving off an unbalanced feeling. Her eyebrows were thick and arched, tapering off at the ends. For a woman her jaw was a little too squared, but was still delicate as were her cheekbones. Raistlin guessed that she was young, even for an elf.
"What exactly are you?" he asked, staring at her.
Ariana looked up from what she was doing and glanced at the companions who were immersed in their group discussions. She looked back at Raistlin, "What do you mean? I already told you-"
He cut her off, "You do not age. My eyes see all die-but you stay fresh and young."
"Then the experiment is working! My family... well... Raines in particular, was doing an experiment to stop aging. All of us got our aging clocks stopped, so unless I start it again, I will stay this way forever."
"How... useful..." Raistlin mused.
Ari shrugged, "I don't know. Mayhap," she replied, undoing the final braid and raking through her long tresses with her fingers. "It's not like life can be all that exciting forever. The whole reason life is so great is because it's so short. What one does in a limited amount of time is far more impressive than what one does over a gradual period of time while they have chance after chance to make things right." She paused. "That was way too philosophical and idealistic." Her delicate hands dug around in another pocket, this time appearing with a hair tie to put her hair up with.
Finally, she was able to sip her tea and observe the rest of the group. They were still chatting and eating; the noise they made blended in with the rest of the inn's bustle. Tas was digging through his pouches, sorting the treasures therein. The others talked of the news and what had been going on lately with them since they had last met. She glanced over with the corner of her eye to Raistlin. He sat with his spell book open in front of him, still looking at her. She quickly stuffed the bobby pins away and pulled out a sketchbook and pen. Ariana did several quick sketches of them, and then went into individual detail, capturing physical characteristics and mannerisms. This kept her occupied for some time until the voices nearest her died down. She looked up to find them all staring at her.
"Que*?' she asked, supposing that they had asked her another question, turning a shade of pink.
"What are you drawing?" Goldmoon repeated.
Ari closed the book and handed it wordlessly across the table to the woman. She slunk back into her chair to wait for judgment, wishing against all hope that she had not taken it out. Attention on her was not a terribly good thing. Goldmoon flipped through the book, murmuring her approval. Riverwind and Laurana peered over her shoulder.
Ari shifted in her chair and leaned towards Raistlin. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to his book.
"A spell book," he told her, caressing the edge of it absentmindedly.
"Magic is you passion?"
"Yes. My life and my love."
Tentatively she touched the corner of the book. "Sounds a bit lonely. So you live with anyone?"
"My apprentice Dalamar."
"Do you talk much? Is this normal?"
"Do you always ask so many questions? Is that normal?" he retorted.
"I'm just trying to get to know you. If you won't talk for yourself then a prodding is in order. Other than poking you with my finger, the other method is to ask, a practice I hope you prefer."
He smiled tightly, "Perhaps I don't talk because there is nothing to say."
She smiled generously back, "Pretty eyes," then took her book that Goldmoon proffered back. "Well?"
"Wonderful. Very creative and you've used beautiful colors. I really liked the whole thing."
"Thank you. I was going to show my sketchbook to you," she handed the book over to Caramon, "before we committed to a whole wall, in case you didn't like my style."
"Well, let me see then." He flipped through, lingering on several pages. As he neared the end, she warned him, "Careful. Naked people back there."
He paused, giving her a look.
"Hey, it's not my problem-that's just what artists do, okay? Naked people are normal to see for us. They help with the anatomy of clothed people." She shrugged, "Just thought I'd warn you so it wouldn't be any more weird than it already is."
After a little while he handed her sketchbook back to her. "Yeah, you're good. Just make sure we all have clothes on, okay?"
She maintained a straight face, fighting down a giggle, "Not a problem."
Riverwind and Goldmoon shifted and started to get up.
"We should be going..." Goldmoon said, "We were up early."
Ariana stood, going over to hug Goldmoon who readily responded, and Riverwind who merely stood there.
"Statuesque," she murmured, then louder, "It was nice to meet both of you, see you tomorrow."
Goldmoon nodded, "Sleep well," then they departed.
Laurana and Tanis followed shortly with the same farewell hug. Tas, deciding that everyone had left because the fun was somewhere else, also left. He hugged his niece, snabbing a bobby pin from her pocket. Later, when he dug through his pouches, he would find it and discover its flinging abilities.
Caramon rose to his feet, "I need to help Tika close. Raist, would you take Ariana back to the house?"
His twin nodded reluctantly, pulling up his hood. Once they left, Ari snaked her arm through his, shivering a little at the dark that had descended. Several lights were lit and hung in the branches of the tree, illuminating everything with a warm glow. Just as fluently, he pulled his arm away, glaring at her. She smiled back. A biting remark was on the tip of his tongue, but what came out instead was his cough, the one that rattled his whole body and scared him more than he would ever admit. Ari moved to support him, but he shrank back. She frowned, smacking his arm and reaching for him again. This time he let her.
"What was that?" she asked, as soon as he regained his breath.
"A cough," he wheezed, leaning heavily on her and his staff.
"I could see that. Will you be able to make it home? Are you sick?"
"I will be fine. Just give me a moment." He rested on her arm, slowly drawing in breaths that scraped through his windpipe. She regarded him worriedly, visibly wincing with each breath that he took. "You do not need to watch me. I won't die before your eyes," he reassured her, the effort of speaking causing another onslaught of coughing.
They did not speak after that, but concentrated on getting home. Once there, he collapsed into a chair.
"Can I do anything for you?" Ariana asked.
"Hot water," he croaked.
She set about the task, easily acquainting herself with the kitchen. Within several minutes the water over the fire began to bubble. She found a cup and poured him the hot liquid. From a hidden pouch he pulled out a bag of tealeaves. The stuff smelled horrible but he threw in a pinch and drank it down anyway, grimacing.
Art sat down at the table across from him, carefully watching him, as if it would make him feel better. Almost immediately she noted that his breathing seemed easier and there was no longer the impending threat of a coughing fit. Whatever that foul stuff was it worked.
She took the cup and rinsed it, filling it with fresh water and dipping her own tea bag in it. Then, she offered it to him, saying, "Jasmine and Green Tea; improves your mood. Plus it'll get rid of the taste of whatever concoction that was."
He took the tea, sipping at it. Then he pulled out his book and set it in front of him.
Ari found several small candles about the kitchen and lit them with the cooking fire. She set them around his book; leaving for her room, she told him where she'd be if he needed her. Behind her back he scoffed.
After Caramon and Tika had come home and went to bed, Raistlin was still up at the kitchen table studying. Rain started to pelt down on the treetops, softly at first, then with increasing speed. A door snicked open and a pattering of feet was heard. Ariana appeared in shorts and a tank top. She went to the window and cupping her hands, peered out. Satisfied that the rain was heavy enough she headed for the door. Gripping the knob, she looked over her shoulder, "Will you dance in the rain with me?" she whispered.
Raistlin looked up, making a face, "And catch a cold? I get sick easily enough, thank you."
"Suit yourself." And she was gone out in door in a flash. Immediately she was soaked to the bone. The rain poured down, drenching everything and making it slippery. Into a small clearing between the trees she stopped, pulling out glow sticks on strings from her pocket. Very softly humming a tune she began to swing them rhythmically, then faster until they swirled and arched around her. She began to dance along with them, letting the beat in her mind take her steps and go. Presently she was joined by several kender who cheerfully danced right along with her. Ariana passed the glow sticks off to them so that her hands were free to join into the movement. There were playful shrieks of joy and someone started to sing an off-tune song, which apparently no one else knew, but were happy to sing along with, filling in their own words. That turned into a screaming match and the neighbors in the trees began to yell. Quickly, the group broke up, running at the sight of several of the town's peacekeepers approaching.
Ariana took off, dodging around a bit and hiding in a bush for a while to avoid being caught. Finally, she was able to sneak back into the house where Raistlin was still reading.
He glanced up as she shut the door behind her. "What was going on out there? It sounded like a pack of drunken kender."
She paused. "They weren't drunk... and how many is exactly a pack? I think there were enough for two. Where do you keep the towels? I could use several."
Raistlin rose. "I'll get them. Tika would skin you alive if you dripped all over her nice clean floor." He was back in a minute with two dark towels in hand. He tossed them to her, saying, "I would also change if I were you- you're revealing things best left to the imagination," then he gathered up his spell books to leave.
"Wait a sec," she murmured, moving towards him. When he turned, she reached up and snagged his collar, bringing him down to her level. Before he could protest she pressed her lips to his, lingering on his bottom lip for a moment.
Raistlin pulled away sputtering, books falling from his grasp. "What the hell was that?" he demanded.
*'what' in French