Gummadoon Fields
Do it again Corvi!
Despite himself and despite all the weight on his shoulders, the teenaged cub laughed out loud. Yanking back on the reigns, he brought Vite back to the fence at the edge of the fields where Flynn was sitting on the top most post. Blastus was inside the field, leaning his back against the wooden railing, chuckling.
Tres bien, Corvi. He praised lightly. Your jumping is well past what it should be for your age.
At this, Corvi gave a smile. He had always loved the riding. His parents had their small farm but because of that, theyd always had at least one pony. He had been riding almost since he could walk. When he came to train under Blastus, he had been given his first introduction to the unicorns but he had taken to them easily. They were so similar to the ponies he already knew.
Blastus had taken him and Flynn out to the fields. He had taken Flynn somewhere first, giving Corvi a few hours to himself. The teenager had taken advantage of that to go check on his siblings. They were doing well as could be expected. Cori still had his questions but Morri was handling it well. Cori had been sleeping when he got there so he took some time to give Morri some time. They had not said much, just sat with one another outside by the flowers that Mother had loved so much. While it had caused pain, it had also given a faint sense of comfort. They had relaxed, laid back, enjoyed it.
In fact, he had almost completely lost track of time. When he had finally bothered to look up, he had seen that he was supposed to meet Blastus and Flynn in less than two minutes. He had rushed inside, checked on Cori, given Morri some instructions as well as promise to be back later at night when he could get away and gone running off to the courtyard to meet his mentor.
He had arrived to some small teasing that this week was not the time to be courting females but he had taken the jibes with a smile. It was an excuse he would allow for the moment and was honestly probably a lot better than some of the ones he would have come up with. Flynn had dropped them after one or two remarks and then started to jabber, jabber, jabber about how Blastus had let him into the ACTUAL COUNCIL CHAMBER and he had actually SEEN where they did all their work and HOW AWESOME it all was.
Well, naturally, of course he had seen it. Of course he knew how it worked. He had been Blastus trainee for nine years, since he was three years old.
But, well, everyone in Gummadoon, not just the knights, always commented how well Corvi handled the little ones. It came from having two younger siblings he supposed. After his father died, he got even better at it, trying to play somewhat of a paternal figure to them. It didnt always work and sometimes he wound up falling back to the annoying older brother as his sibling Morri called it but nonetheless, it was good practice.
So, he just gave Flynn a smile as they walked along and let him educate him on all the wondrous new information he had acquired. He had paused occasionally and let Corvi ask him questions and oh, Corvi had asked. Some of them even stumped Flynn and he had looked to Blastus but the elder knight had only responded, Well, answer him Flynn.
To the last of Corvis questions, Flynn had thought and thought and thought before saying, with a small bit of a pout Idunno.
The reaction to this shortcoming had not been what he had thought. Rather than being ridiculed for it, he had been praised for it. Oh he had stared for that, baffled. To his shocked look, Blastus had replied, Not everyone will always have an answer Flynn. It is tres better to admit not knowing than trying to give an inaccurate reply.
Flynn didnt seem to completely understand the reasoning behind that, probably because like most of the boys, he thought the knights were all knowing and should always have an answer. It was something Corvi had learned only a few years ago, that his idols and mentors were not gods and were not undefeatable.
That brought them up to where they were at the moment. Blastus had brought them out to the fields and brought out Vite. Corvi had more practice so he had taken to jumping the stallion over various targets set up. Flynn got a kick out of just watching, his eyes darting to and fro. Blastus didnt say much until he was done but Corvi knew by his face that he was impressed and that his speed had most likely improved from last time.
Can I do it too Blastie? the smaller boy asked as Corvi turned Vite around and made his way back to the fence. Blastus eyed the smaller boy as Corvi slowly dismounted.
Non, no jumping yet Flynn.
Oh the boys face had fallen but Blastus gave him a smile. Mais, I see nothing wrong with you riding.
Now THAT face Blastus liked a whole lot better. The boys ears perked back up and his eyes sparkled. Corvi pushed himself up onto the fence as Flynn leapt down and ran for the stallion. Blastus chuckled and caught the boy about the shoulders Attente, attente! he commanded gently and turned the younger cub to meet his eyes. Ecoute he said gently tapping the childs ears.
Flynn nodded firmly, his eyes wide. He touched his own ears and reassured his mentor Qui, Im listening He told him, using the little bit of French he was starting to pick up. Blastus lifted the boy up and set him on the stallions back, saying,
Good. Youre not quite ready to do this solo yet, petit celui. Blastus told him as he swung up to sit behind him. He nudged the stallion lightly with his ankles then handed the reins to Flynn, one in each hand, who stared at him. Blastus gently turned the boys head back around Watch where youre going, petit celui. He said simply. The horse will go where he is directed. He smiled and patted stallions neck. Clicking his tongue, he pulled the reins left and the horse trotted that direction. He pulled the one in his right hand and the horse turned to the right. He pulled back all at once and Vite came to a halt. He smiled down at the little one and handed the reins over. Pointing ahead, he said, Go around the barrels Corvi was jumping petit celui.
Nervously, the boy grasped them then with a gentle nudge on the horses sides, he started forward.
Gummadoon Sick Bay
Toni laid still, his head perched on Gumlittles chest. It had taken some doing but Gumlittle had coaxed the child into his arms. Here now, he laid, silent. He would occasionally stir if he heard something but overall, he was still. Gumlittle found this a bit disturbing because Toni was usually his little rambunctious one. Still, it wasn;t unexpected either.
The boy tensed slightly. Gumlittle eyed him What is it Toni?
He shifted his eyes up at Gumlittle and after a long moment, he asked Do I have to speak to Mother?
Taken aback, Gumlittle shifted his ears. Sure enough, he could hear the poor woman weeping. She sounded heartbroken. He looked back to Toni who shifted his eyes downward I know you all said she didnt mean to but he bit his lower lip and clutched his stuffed fish a bit more. But I dont want to see her. He buried his face into Gumlittles chest.
Wewont force you to see her, Sport. He said gently, stroking the boys hair. I know shes really upset though. Shed probably want to see you.
He knew that. He knew now what had been real and what had been magical influence. He knew his mother may have been obsessed with his father and probably still didnt believe he was dead, but she didnt hate him. Still, he couldnt erase her face from his memory of the past few days. It had cut deep, though through no fault of her own. He knew if she really WAS herself again thenyeah, she probably did want to see him, to speak. But, those memories were not imagined. They may have been created through magical influence but they DID happen. He couldnt wipe her dark look from his memory, much as he tried to. He eyed his mentor a moment and added Not yet, Gummie.
Gummadoon Halls
It had taken Tavi forever to find a time when she could snag Cubbi alone. She had run into him in the hallway. Plucki was heading to ready some things for dinner, said that Gumlittle and Martinni would cook that evening meal but they still needed wood for the fire among other things. Cubbi had taken this moment to slip away, though he hated to do it. He wanted to spend time with Plucki.
What Tavi?
I dunno what happened Cubbi but somethings happened. She said simply. The girl went on to describe her odd experience with Karleni. Cubbi gave her an odd look and she wasnt sure what he made of it.
Cubbi, well, he didnt know what to say. That was a good thing, wasnt it? It meant that at least there wasnt anything lingerin in that gummi woman anyway. Maybe her real self wasnt such a jerk. Still, that didnt give him anymore answers and that thought that had been loitering, that question about asking about Emi and when, well, he thought hed finally forced it out of his head! But no, now this reminder pushed it to the front again.
Should I ask them tonight? he asked Tavi. The knights know, dont they? He hoped in a way that she wouldnt answer.
Tavi blinked. Every piece of her body said that they didnt know how much time they had. But the other part of her said that if she could help Karleni like she had, then they must have still had some time otherwise, it wouldnt have been that easy. If somethin was trying to attack right here and now, wouldnt there be more signs?
And there was also a more selfish reason:
It was alright to relish in that one victory, that freeing of Karleni for a time, wasnt it? And it was okay to just let Toni try and recover first, wasnt it? It was right to let the knights relax for a little bit, wasnt it?
Not yet. She finally said. She wanted to give more, like maybe give a reason why or when would be a better time or how long they probably had but all she could stammer was Not yet, Cubbi.
Not the best answer maybebut it would do for now.
Gummadoon Sitting Room
Cubbi had certainly come to one conclusion. Well, actually two conclusions to be perfectly honest.
One that so far every single meal he had here had been yummy to the extreme, more so than anything Grammi had ever made, although that certainly didnt raise the bar too high. Still, he never pictured knights as people who cooked, aside from meals over a fire on a mission. The fact that both Plucki and Gumlittle had proved him wrong was mind blowing. The other squires had informed him that tomorrow morning when Blastus and Corvi made breakfast he would be blown away.
He certainly loved to eat so he looked forward to that!
Second, he had come to the conclusion that Gummadoon was far too big. He had stopped briefly to speak with Tavi and then had rushed to catch up with Plucki, only to find himself completely and utterly lost. He had wound up, somehow, back around where the Armory was. He still was trying to figure out how he managed that.
He finally managed to run into Corvi who was heading out of his room from a bath, he had been outside doing something apparently. Corvi hadnt said anything about it, hadnt even asked Cubbi if he was lost, just taken his hand and led him downstairs. Cubbi was grateful for things like that, made him feel a lot less dumb about silly mistakes like getting lost.
Plucki hadnt mentioned it either, at least not out loud. Cubbi wondered slightly if he would be treated to something about not wandering off when they were supposed to go downstairs together or not, later. In any event, he made a point of it to remember that Plucki could move pretty quickly.
But now, here they were, perched on pillows and blankets around the fireplace and actually being allowed to eat their dinner there. Cubbi had been petrified at first, worried about making a mess and being deemed, even if it was silently, as a slob or a baby or something but then Flynn had proceeded to drop the whole plate all over his front and no one had even laughed.
It meant Blastus had to leave for a minute to help him clean up, but the overall atmosphere of none of that taunting really calmed his nerves.
Now, he was nervous for another reason. He had already decided that it wasnt the right time to ask about Emi but there were lots and lots of other stories he could think to ask. However, he had heard that the boys would tell the knights some stories of their own, too. Well, what did HE have that could possibly be of interest? He wasnt a soldier or nothing like that.
Luckily, his thoughts were interrupted as the door reopened. He turned, expecting to see Blastus but to his surprise, it was Gumlittle. When had he slipped out? The knights were good at that and he wanted to learn that kind of trick! He sat up completely though, seeing that Gumlittle wasnt alone. Toni! he blurted out, grinning.
Sure enough, perched in Gumlittles arms was Toni. He still looked a wee bit flushed in the cheeks and he had thick bandages on each of his wrists but he managed a weak smile in response to Cubbis greeting. Gumlittle smiled at the pink cub then lifted his eyes to Plucki and said Sarrika was reluctant but she said as long as he doesnt overdo it, a good dose of stories would do him loads of good.