Chapter two: Welcome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Winding Circle, or any of its people and/or places/things/other, but wish they'd visit. Based on (and with permission! Stay back minions!) Camilla Sandman's OFUM. Here's hoping I can live up to her and the authors of all the other stories I worships' standards. And thank you to Elvea, who is a fantastic beta-reader! Smooches and chocolate for you. Or just chocolate, your choice ^ ^.
**
"Miss, please try to calm down."
"WHERE AM I??" Shawna screamed. The young man trying to stop her from screaming winced.
"You're on your way to The Winding Circle Temple of Fanfiction," he explained. "Didn't you read the form?"
"But-but, it's not real," she wailed. "It was a hallucination!" The boy shook his head.
"Here Uneny, I'll take care of it," said a voice behind Shawna. The young man-Uneny, nodded and left, looking relieved. Shawna turned around slowly. Standing there was a tall, solidly built black girl, a bit younger than her, leaning on an ebony staff capped in bronze on one end and iron on the other.
"I'm Daja Kisubo," the girl introduced herself. "You are aboard the Third Ship Kisubo which is taking you to Winding Circle, along with the others."
"Others?" Shawna said shakily.
"Other fanwriters who have written about us," Daja explained. "You were our last stop."
"Oh," said Shawna in a small voice. Daja seemed to be repressing a grin.
"Follow me," she said, turning around. Shawna obeyed. "For the rest of the trip, you'll be staying down below," she said, opening a hatch and starting down the ladder. "Come on, it's not that bad," she said after looking up and seeing she wasn't being followed. "Just go down backwards, facing the ladder." She hopped to the floor and stepped to the side. Shawna followed hesitantly, not completely sure of her footing. Surprisingly, she did not slip.
"I made it!" she said, smiling at Daja. Daja smiled back.
"How nice," she said, turning to walk down the small hall. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and squinted at it.
"Um, Daja, may I ask you a question?" Shawna asked hesitantly.
"Lessee-what? Depends on the question," Daja said, looking between names above doorways and the piece of paper.
"Um, didn't your family, um, drown?" Shawna shifted uncomfortably.
"Yes. They were resurrected for the university," Daja answered. "Ah, here we go. This is your cabin for the remainder of the trip. Please do not come on deck unless in extreme case of seasickness, as it would not be a good idea to distract the crewmembers. Have a nice day." She turned around and headed back to the ladder, leaving Shawna to enter the cabin.
"Watch it!" someone snapped as she entered.
"Sorry," she said automatically. "Wow, it's really dark in here."
"Idiots," said a third voice. "Here." Light filled the tiny area as someone pushed aside a curtain covering the small window. "I'm Riana," the person added, stretching her legs as much as possible.
"Shawna," Shawna introduced herself. She turned towards the third person.
"Alli," she said sitting down on a small bed. "You two too? Glass dragon?"
"Yep," Shawna and Riana replied.
"I wonder how long it'll be before we get there," Riana said thoughtfully.
"Land Ho!" Came a faint cry.
"That was fast," Alli said, standing up. Shawna peeked out the doorway. Down the hall, others were doing the same thing. Some had already started their way up the ladder.
"I think we can go," she said, poking her head back in.
"Joy," said Riana as she shoved past her.
"That was nice," Shawna muttered. It was fairly hard getting on deck, as the many fangirls were fighting each other to be first up, and she did end up getting an elbow in the face.
"Owies," she whimpered, holding a hand over her eye. She made her way up along with the others (more because she was swept along with the crowd, but at least she got up), and blinked at the sight of the busy seaport they were currently docking in. "How did we get here so fast?" she wondered. "Magic?"
"Plothole," answered a crewmember, overhearing. "They're all over the place; we thought it might be easier to catch this one."
***
"Miss DL, the students are here!" Miss DL looked up from the stack of papers she was looking at.
"Wunderbar," she said dryly. "Did they pick up the two others I asked?" Pasco nodded.
"Ciela and Kai?" he asked. Miss DL nodded. "Yes. They're training the dragons, right?"
"Yes, and you can stop pretending not to be relieved," she said briskly. "It's not much of a secret that none other than Tris and Keth and a couple others are willing to get near the darlings." Pasco grinned sheepishly. "Better get them over to Discipline quickly, I promised Rosethorn that her workshop would not get dismantled, and I'm a bit afraid that a mini-balrog on his own.... yeah."
"Didn't you have Frostpine and Daja there to make sure Leogoles would not do too much damage?" asked Dedicate Moonstream, the head of Winding Circle Temple.
"Well, yes, but the minis can be tricky, the cuties." Miss DL bent to scratch Gimley behind.... well, where his ear would be if balrogs' ears were visible. "Yes you are, yes you are a cutie...."
"Miss DL, if we could get back to the subject matter,.." Moonstream rustled some papers, and Miss DL sat up straight again, blushing slightly.
"Right. Sorry." She looked at another of the enrolment forms. "Poor Briar."
"Another one who lusts after him?" Moonstream pursed her lips and shook her head. "I suppose this is good for the rest of us, but....."
"As soon as this first batch of dragons gets trained, I'll send some to him," Miss DL decided, glaring at a form from a Mary-Sue lover. "Do you think everyone is ready for the onslaught of fans?"
"No." Moonstream shook her head. "But we are more prepared than we would have been, with you."
"Yes, I suppose that my being a former fangirl does hold some weight," Miss DL said dryly. "But, um, could you not mention that please? I try to forget those days." She shuddered.
"Of course." There was silence for a few moments. "Perhaps you should tell Gimley to follow Briar for a bit..."
"Mmm, not yet, I need Gimley here for intimidation effect, and if Briar stays in the staff section until everything's ready, he should be fine." Moonstream nodded.
"Hopefully." There was silent for a few more moments before Sandry poked her head through the door.
"Miss DL, Dedicate Moonstream," she said, nodding her head in greeting. "The students are waiting."
"Can you tell Briar he may want to hide for a bit?" Miss DL asked, rising. "It seems most of the students so far lust after him." Sandry looked like she didn't know whether to be amused or to be horrified.
"He's on his way to the staff section right now," she said after a moment. Miss DL stretched.
"Well, let us go greet the students," she said, smiling toothily. "So it begins," she added quietly as they left
** Notes: And the third bit is finished. I apologize to would-be reviewers, I had no idea that I had the thing on "does not accept anonymous reviews"! Will be changed immediately. And I know I misspelled "Tortall". I'll change that as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Winding Circle, or any of its people and/or places/things/other, but wish they'd visit. Based on (and with permission! Stay back minions!) Camilla Sandman's OFUM. Here's hoping I can live up to her and the authors of all the other stories I worships' standards. And thank you to Elvea, who is a fantastic beta-reader! Smooches and chocolate for you. Or just chocolate, your choice ^ ^.
**
"Miss, please try to calm down."
"WHERE AM I??" Shawna screamed. The young man trying to stop her from screaming winced.
"You're on your way to The Winding Circle Temple of Fanfiction," he explained. "Didn't you read the form?"
"But-but, it's not real," she wailed. "It was a hallucination!" The boy shook his head.
"Here Uneny, I'll take care of it," said a voice behind Shawna. The young man-Uneny, nodded and left, looking relieved. Shawna turned around slowly. Standing there was a tall, solidly built black girl, a bit younger than her, leaning on an ebony staff capped in bronze on one end and iron on the other.
"I'm Daja Kisubo," the girl introduced herself. "You are aboard the Third Ship Kisubo which is taking you to Winding Circle, along with the others."
"Others?" Shawna said shakily.
"Other fanwriters who have written about us," Daja explained. "You were our last stop."
"Oh," said Shawna in a small voice. Daja seemed to be repressing a grin.
"Follow me," she said, turning around. Shawna obeyed. "For the rest of the trip, you'll be staying down below," she said, opening a hatch and starting down the ladder. "Come on, it's not that bad," she said after looking up and seeing she wasn't being followed. "Just go down backwards, facing the ladder." She hopped to the floor and stepped to the side. Shawna followed hesitantly, not completely sure of her footing. Surprisingly, she did not slip.
"I made it!" she said, smiling at Daja. Daja smiled back.
"How nice," she said, turning to walk down the small hall. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and squinted at it.
"Um, Daja, may I ask you a question?" Shawna asked hesitantly.
"Lessee-what? Depends on the question," Daja said, looking between names above doorways and the piece of paper.
"Um, didn't your family, um, drown?" Shawna shifted uncomfortably.
"Yes. They were resurrected for the university," Daja answered. "Ah, here we go. This is your cabin for the remainder of the trip. Please do not come on deck unless in extreme case of seasickness, as it would not be a good idea to distract the crewmembers. Have a nice day." She turned around and headed back to the ladder, leaving Shawna to enter the cabin.
"Watch it!" someone snapped as she entered.
"Sorry," she said automatically. "Wow, it's really dark in here."
"Idiots," said a third voice. "Here." Light filled the tiny area as someone pushed aside a curtain covering the small window. "I'm Riana," the person added, stretching her legs as much as possible.
"Shawna," Shawna introduced herself. She turned towards the third person.
"Alli," she said sitting down on a small bed. "You two too? Glass dragon?"
"Yep," Shawna and Riana replied.
"I wonder how long it'll be before we get there," Riana said thoughtfully.
"Land Ho!" Came a faint cry.
"That was fast," Alli said, standing up. Shawna peeked out the doorway. Down the hall, others were doing the same thing. Some had already started their way up the ladder.
"I think we can go," she said, poking her head back in.
"Joy," said Riana as she shoved past her.
"That was nice," Shawna muttered. It was fairly hard getting on deck, as the many fangirls were fighting each other to be first up, and she did end up getting an elbow in the face.
"Owies," she whimpered, holding a hand over her eye. She made her way up along with the others (more because she was swept along with the crowd, but at least she got up), and blinked at the sight of the busy seaport they were currently docking in. "How did we get here so fast?" she wondered. "Magic?"
"Plothole," answered a crewmember, overhearing. "They're all over the place; we thought it might be easier to catch this one."
***
"Miss DL, the students are here!" Miss DL looked up from the stack of papers she was looking at.
"Wunderbar," she said dryly. "Did they pick up the two others I asked?" Pasco nodded.
"Ciela and Kai?" he asked. Miss DL nodded. "Yes. They're training the dragons, right?"
"Yes, and you can stop pretending not to be relieved," she said briskly. "It's not much of a secret that none other than Tris and Keth and a couple others are willing to get near the darlings." Pasco grinned sheepishly. "Better get them over to Discipline quickly, I promised Rosethorn that her workshop would not get dismantled, and I'm a bit afraid that a mini-balrog on his own.... yeah."
"Didn't you have Frostpine and Daja there to make sure Leogoles would not do too much damage?" asked Dedicate Moonstream, the head of Winding Circle Temple.
"Well, yes, but the minis can be tricky, the cuties." Miss DL bent to scratch Gimley behind.... well, where his ear would be if balrogs' ears were visible. "Yes you are, yes you are a cutie...."
"Miss DL, if we could get back to the subject matter,.." Moonstream rustled some papers, and Miss DL sat up straight again, blushing slightly.
"Right. Sorry." She looked at another of the enrolment forms. "Poor Briar."
"Another one who lusts after him?" Moonstream pursed her lips and shook her head. "I suppose this is good for the rest of us, but....."
"As soon as this first batch of dragons gets trained, I'll send some to him," Miss DL decided, glaring at a form from a Mary-Sue lover. "Do you think everyone is ready for the onslaught of fans?"
"No." Moonstream shook her head. "But we are more prepared than we would have been, with you."
"Yes, I suppose that my being a former fangirl does hold some weight," Miss DL said dryly. "But, um, could you not mention that please? I try to forget those days." She shuddered.
"Of course." There was silence for a few moments. "Perhaps you should tell Gimley to follow Briar for a bit..."
"Mmm, not yet, I need Gimley here for intimidation effect, and if Briar stays in the staff section until everything's ready, he should be fine." Moonstream nodded.
"Hopefully." There was silent for a few more moments before Sandry poked her head through the door.
"Miss DL, Dedicate Moonstream," she said, nodding her head in greeting. "The students are waiting."
"Can you tell Briar he may want to hide for a bit?" Miss DL asked, rising. "It seems most of the students so far lust after him." Sandry looked like she didn't know whether to be amused or to be horrified.
"He's on his way to the staff section right now," she said after a moment. Miss DL stretched.
"Well, let us go greet the students," she said, smiling toothily. "So it begins," she added quietly as they left
** Notes: And the third bit is finished. I apologize to would-be reviewers, I had no idea that I had the thing on "does not accept anonymous reviews"! Will be changed immediately. And I know I misspelled "Tortall". I'll change that as well.