Good morning, smurfshines! The Smurfs say hello! And so do I! Hello, everyone! Hey, I have some good news! I'm going to try to keep posting from different computers until I get my laptop back from the shop. So, in the meantime, please be patient and thank you all for the reviews. Answer time!
flowerpower71- First of all, YAY! I'm glad you're doing better! And, hey, if their's gonna be any fluffiness between anyone, I wanna make it look good. So, thanks for that.
Crafty: (grumbles) Yeah, let's lower the fluffiness volume to a minimum and smurf it that way. Especially with ME! (mutters to self) Even if it was pretty nice...
Gutsy: Aye. I'm a Scottsman Smurf! Not a marshmallow! (whispers to self) But dat doesn't mean I don' care...
*cough*DENIAL!*cough*
Crafty: What was that?
Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.
Chloe & flowerpower71- Thank you both for your concerns for Crafty's past...or what she remembers so far, anyway. She really appreciates it.
Crafty: Yeah. Even if I don't get them all back. I'm perfectly happy with where I am right now. But thanks all the same you guys.
Okay, disclaimer time! I only own Crafty, Hummer, and the animals stated in the previous chapter.
Gutsy: We belon' to Peyo. Now, c'mon! Let's get smurfin'!
Gutsy woke up earlier than usual that morning to get some things together before their trip to visit Homnibus. He, like Hefty, had his own little workout routine of his own that he followed every morning. He made it his duty and responsibility to keep himself as strong and alert.
"Ye're gonna smurf out dere if ye don't 'ave de common sense to keep yerself as strong as a ram!" He always said. In fact, he claims he keeps himself stronger than a ram and more of an ox.
He was in the middle of doing a full set of sit ups (which, in Gutsy's case, would be about 35) when there was a knock at his door. He jumped to his feet, grabbed a wet towel and dabbed the sweat off of his rusty brow as he went to answer it. The door opened to a smiling Crafty and Hummer.
"Ah, a fellow early smurfer!" Crafty joked holding out a Smurfberry for him to take. He chuckled and took it gratefully. He always ate after his morning exercises and he was starving. He gestured for the two of them to come in and they were only happy to oblige. For the first time she's been there in the Smurf village, she actually got to see the inside of his mushroom.
As she thought before she entered his home, most of the cloth in his home was the same as his own kilt. A dark blue plaid. His curtains, his blanket, and (besides his pants and Smurf hat) his clothing were all the same pattern. It struck her as unique since he was so dedicatted to his Scottish heritage. Well, he is the only Scottsman she's ever met, but nontheless, she liked it. Surprisingly, Gutsy had bookshelves filled with books. Only these were no ordinary intellectual books like Brainy or Papa Smurf had. These were all folklores and legends. Mythology and fantasies. Some were of Smurf legends and others were those of other creatures and cultures.
"You're a fan of stories, I smurf?" Crafty asked taking a book off of the shelf. It was titled Smurfs and the Magical Stardust. She skimmed through the pages, quietly observing the text and pictures of the slowly decaying book.
"Ah, ye've noticed, eh?" Gutsy chuckled. "Aye. Another talent of mine. No Smurf's a better story teller den yours truly. Well, maybe except Grandpa."
Crafty raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Grandpa? Like Grandpa Smurf?"
"Bingo, right on de smruf dere, lass. He lives over in de different side of de village. I'll show'em to you later, when we get back."
"Say, Gutsy? Can I borrow this?" Crafty asked gesturing to the book.
"Dat? Oh, I don't know, lassie. Dat piece of mine is a pretty smurf-filled story. Adventure. Danger. Ye wouldn't be interested," Gutsy waved his hand dismissively, but Crafty could see the playfulness in his eyes. He held his chin high as though he had won a war for himself, which in the case of him and Crafty, it kind of was.
Crafty knew exactly what game he was playing with her. Both knew how to play this game well, but most of the time Crafty came out on top. This time wouldn't be any more different.
"Yeah. I guess you're right, Gutsy. I guess action and adventure just isn't for a meak Smurfette like me," Crafty dramatically sighed. Then she smirked, "I wonder if one of Brainy's books are more exciting than this boring old thing."
Gutsy frowned and looked at her in a funny way. "What? Are ye smurfed in de head?"
He snatched the book from Crafty's hands and held it up, "Dis book 'as more interestin' things to look at on one page den dat numptie's got in all twenty of 'is "geniusness" put together!"
"Twenty-one, actually. He smrufed me the first copy of it when I first got here. Never touched it, though. But, you know, since this book's way too awesome for me to smurf, who knows? Maybe I'll bring it with me to Homnibus' to read," Crafty smirked as she saw a caving beginning to form in Gutsy's mind. For some reason, though, she thought she saw something strange in his eyes. It looked like...Jealousy? Why would he be jealous?
"Oh, yeah? Here. Read it an' just try an' tell me dat it's as borin' as dat Smurf's "Quotations"!" Gutsy pushed the books into her arms and crossed his own, huffing indignantly.
"Thanks. That's all I wanted," Crafty grinned patting his shoulder and making her way to the door. She looked back at him and giggled as she saw him with his unusual yet adorable confused expression.
It never get's old! He's too handsome when he does that, She thought to herself. Her eyes widened and she shook her head at the thought. I mean adorable! Gosh, what the smurf is wrong with me? I must be hungrier than I thought I was or something.
Crafty took the Smurfberry she had in her hand and took a bite out of it, continuing her exit. She turned back to him and said after swallowing, "By the way, Papa says we'll be leaving soon and we need to go to his mushroom when we're ready."
She went and continued on her way to Papa Smurf's mushroom. Gutsy shook his head and smirked at the doorway, completely impressed at her play of their little game.
"Dat lass will do great things," he chuckled running to catch up with her.
"Alright, my little Smurfs! I promise that the four of us will be back by nightfall. But, if something should happen, come smurf for us at once! Is that understood?" Papa announced to the crowd of Smurfs.
"Yes, Papa Smurf!" All the Smurfs cried out simultaneously.
"Good. Be good now, Smurfs!" Papa waved to them as he led Crafty, Gutsy, and Hummer to Feathers. Each of them took a place on the crane's back. Papa was in the front, Gutsy in the middle, and Crafty right behind him. Hummer decided to take a seat on Feathers' head, though she didn't mind much at all. She began flapping her wings, hovering off of the ground slightly before shooting off higher into the air.
Crafty had to admit it: It was amazing flying up in the air like this. She was up in the air only one other time, but it was with the bald eagles and...well...yeah, this was much better than being fought over for food in mid-air.
There was a powerful wind-drift that shook them all. Crafty grasped onto Gutsy tighter and she could feel him chuckle in his chest as he turned back and asked smugly, "Scared, are we?"
Crafty scoffed, "No! I was just surprised, that's all!"
"Mhmm. Sure ye were, lass. Sure ye were."
"I was!"
Papa, Hummer and Feathers couldn't help but laugh at their semi-playful argument. It went on for several more minutes but the humor and entertainment in it all never faded. Finally, Papa said, "Now, now, you two. That's enough. We're here, now."
The both of them stopped and looked down below. There was a modest cottage with smoke mellowly rising out of the chimney. Feathers landed softly on the ground near the door and let the Smurfs off of her back. Papa patted her head thankfully as Hummer hopped off of her and onto Crafty's shoulders. She and Gutsy followed Papa as he approached the door and casually knocked on it.
There were footsteps and the door opened wide and Crafty saw who she thought to be Homnibus. He was a tall man with a long, white beard. He wore a dark blue robe with a matching cap on his head. His face looked aged and weary, but still full of youth, wisdom, and kindness.
He looked around, confused as he didn't see anyone at the door, "Hmm. I wonder who that could've been..."
Papa chuckled and called up, "Homnibus, my old friend! Down here!"
Homnibus casted his eyes down and laughed, "Oh, Papa Smurf! It's you! It's been quite some time since you've stopped by. Come! Come in!"
He stepped aside to let his three small visitors into his home. Crafty looked all around and found the place to look a lot like Gargamel's hovel only with many differences. It had more of a homey feel to it. That and it wasn't filled with anything that looked like traps.
"So, Papa Smurf. What brings you to my neck of the woods? Fancy a game of chess?" Homnibus asked pouring himself a cup of tea.
"Maybe some other time, my friend. I've actually smurfed by hoping you could assist me with something," Papa explained.
"Oh?" Homnibus raised an eyebrow. "And what is it you need help with?"
Papa gestured for Crafty to come forward and she obeyed nervously. Papa put a comforting hand on her shoulder as he introduced, "Homnibus. I would like you to smurf Crafty. Gutsy and my other Smurfs smurfed her in the forest only a few weeks ago."
Homnibus smiled and kneeled down and held out a hand, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Crafty."
"It's nice to smurf you too, Homnibus," Crafty shyly greeted shaking one of his fingers.
"Anyway, Crafty has lost her memory completly. I've given her my strongest potion to smurf them back, but it only smurfed one memory."
Homnibus thought for a moment, stroking his long beard in the process. "I see your problem. I'll have to look into my books. But first, there is something I must attend to."
"Of course. Is there something me or my Smurfs could help you with?" Papa asked as the three of them walked behind Homnibus into another room.
"Oh no, it's fine. I just have a wounded animal to attend to. The poor thing was nearly torn apart when I found her a few weeks ago."
Crafty froze in place. Could it possibly be...no. It couldn't be.
She shook her head and continued to walk. When they entered the room, Crafty's eyes widened. On table sat a large, soft-looking nest. In that nest was a large bird with glorious red and yellow feathers. It was currently asleep as its chest was rising slowly and steadily. Gauze and bandages covered its body to cover its wounds.
"Meena," Crafty whispered.
"Why, yes. That is indeed her name. Have you met her before?" Homnibus asked hearing Crafty. Gutsy and Papa turned to her knowingly. They already knew that she had indeed met the comatose phoenix.
"Yeah. She smurfed me from being a dinner from some eagles. That's probably why she's so torn up," Crafty said, now feeling guilty for what had happened. The three of them climbed onto the table and Hummer just flew up there and sat on the nest.
"There, there, Crafty," Papa squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "There was nothing you could've done to prevent it even if you weren't in your right smurf of health."
"I guess so..."
There was a groan and a loud yawn as Meena stretched her wings and sat up slowly.
"Ah, Meena. Good to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Homnibus asked kindly.
Meena gave out another yawn and replied wearily, "I'm fine, Homnibus. Well, doing better, at least."
"Hi, Meena," Crafty greeted nonchalantly.
The eyes of the phoenix widened as she saw her familiar little savior. She smiled happily, "Oh, hello there! I'm so glad you're safe and doing well. I thought you didn't survive that fall."
"Yeah, you're not the only one, sister," Crafty replied.
Meena noticed the identical creatures behind her and asked curiously, "Oh, and who are your little friends?"
Homnibus decided to start the introductions, "Meena. This is an old friend of mine, Papa Smurf. He is the village elder of his own Smurf village."
"Why, it's a smurfy pleasure to meet you, Meena," Papa said patting Meena's clawed foot.
"A pleasure indeed, Papa Smurf. Smurf. So that's what you are then, hmm?" Meena directed the question to Crafty.
"Smurfette, actually. But yeah, you've got the idea."
Meena nodded and turned to Gutsy, "And you are...?"
Gutsy, deciding to make a dramatic first impression, took off his hat and bowed as he replied, "Gutsy. Gutsy Smurf. Gutsiest Smurf te be smurfed under de blue moon and founder of dis Crafty Smurfette."
He finished gesturing in Crafty's direction. Crafty couldn't help but giggle in response to his idea of an introduction. Meena noticed this and smiled knowingly. However, she also had to laugh at Gutsy's introduction. It was silly, but at least he was being more of a gentleman than other creatures she had ever met.
"Oh, and this here is Hummer. I saved a little while ago."
Hummer flapped his wings in greeting to the large phoenix. She graciously bowed her head in respect.
"Well, Meena. I have this salve to rub on your wounds. Then I'll need to look more into Crafty's case."
"I have a better idea, Homnibus," Crafty said. "How about Gutsy and I take care of those wounds and you and Papa Smurf can look through those spellbooks while we're smurfing."
Homnibus thought for a moment, then smiled, "Well, if you're willing to do that, I'm sure there isn't a problem, eh Papa Smurf?"
"Not one at all. You two take care of Meena while Homnibus and I smurf up another solution."
Papa and Homnibus left the room to research some more. Crafty reached into the salve and rubbed her hands together, "Alright. Let's get this smurfed."
Meena tilted her head in confusion.
"It's Smurf language."
"Ah. That makes much more sense, thank you."
For the next few moments, it was complete silence as Gutsy and Crafty removed her bandages and replaced it with new ones after rinsing them off and placing the salve on it. Meen was just too curious, so she asked, "So, Crafty is your name?"
"Indeed it is," Crafty answered proudly.
"So, do you remember anything from before?"
Crafty's face fell, then she answered softly, "No. Frankly, I don't even remember my real name. Gutsy gave me the name."
"Oh he did, did he?" Meena threw a curious look at Gutsy. "And why is it that you chose Crafty, young Smurf?"
Gutsy thought for a moment, "Well, dere hasn' been one jam she couldn' smurf 'erself out of. A life saver too, at dat."
Crafty interuppted, "Which, by the way, you still smurf me one from saving you from Azrael."
"Oh, no no no, I don't. We were even as of yesterday, lassie," He cheekily remarked.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Grouchy got ye trapped in dat cage. When ye fell out, I caught ye before ye could smurf the ground. So, we're even."
"Now, that doesn't count!" Crafty defended. "I was out smurfed because of that recollection potion! I could've smurfed myself if it weren't for that!"
She smirked as she thought of something else, "And technically, you didn't save me. Hummer did. He's the one that stopped my fall, not you."
Gutsy narrowed his eyes in mischevious irritation, "Den I guess you smurf Hummer one den, lass."
Meena laughed aloud at what she was hearing right then and there. Crafty and Gutsy looked at each other curiously and climbed onto Meena's stomach where they stood side-by-side, looking at the bird confusedly.
"What's so funny?" Crafty asked.
"You both are," Meena chuckled. When they tilted their heads, she asked Crafty, "Crafty. Tell me, how long has this Gutsy has been your tercel?"
"My what?" Crafty asked giving her a blank stare.
"Her what?" Gutsy echoed with the same blank stare.
"Your tercel. You know, your moon. Your male. Your mate. Your husband."
"My-Her WHAT?" Crafty and Gutsy yelled simultaneously, unintentionally stepping closer together. They looked at each other and jumped back and landed on their tails, startled at seeing them so close with each other.
"H-He's not my tercel! I mean my husband! For Smurf's sake, we only met a few weeks ago!" Crafty cried out exasperated.
"Aye! An' she's a lassie, but not my lassie! I mean, she's very smurfy an' pretty, but we're too young to even marry!" Gutsy slapped both hands over his mouth at what he just said. He did not mean to say that about her out loud. Not even the negative parts, since it was true, but the one in the middle, about her being smurfy and pretty.
"Oh! Uh...Thank you, Gutsy. You're very smurfy, too. But, yes! Be that as it may, we're way too young to even smurf about marriage!" Crafty said trying to hide her blush.
"Well, aren't you going to say something else? I mean, he did call you smurfy and pretty. You only called him smurfy and though it must mean something incredibly sweet, you should say something else to him. I mean, he is quite handsome, isn't he?" Meena nudged Crafty with her beak playfully. Gutsy's eyes shifted nervously as his blush kept intensifying.
"Of course, he's handsome! But I don't smurf what that has to do with anyth-" Crafty suddenly realized what she just said and also slapped both of her hands over her mouth before she could embarass herself more.
Gutsy wished he could do the same. What Crafty just said about him sent him right over the age. He took the bottom of his hat and pulled it over his face in an attempt to hide his purple face. Crafty went and did the same thing as Meena and Hummer laughed their tail feathers off at the whole scene.
Wow. Talk about embarassing. Hello, everyone! I'm leaving a note down here for something in the story that might confuse some people.
A tercel is the name of a male falcon. I meant for Meena to talk about a male phoenix so she could relate to herself, but I couldn't find anything. Besides, a tercel sounded really cool.
Okay. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review! BYE!