Disclaimer: I don't own Fairly Odd Parents, but I do own Dwalin (as much as one can own a Goblin). Read, Review, and Spread the word.
FOP
A breeze ruffled the grass surrounding the two humans sitting and the three faeries floating. Poof was blowing spit bubbles and giggling. Tootie was plucking the grass while Timmy was watching her closely. Cosmo and Wanda shared a nervous glance, before turning towards Tootie.
"Tootie, sweetie, you aren't suppose to know about us. Da Rulz state that -" Wanda began, but when Tootie turned to the pink haired woman with a smile, she stopped.
"That should a Godchild's faeries be discovered, the child shall lose said faeries, whom shall be placed with another Godchild – I know." Every looked at her sharply, and she chuckled softly.
"Well, in so many words, yes; but how do you know that?"
Tootie looked out across the pond with a soft smile, seemingly trying to decide if she should tell them everything or not.
"I just do. So, I know, Wanda, where your worry is seated. Don't bother about Da Rulz or Jorgen; as far as he's concerned your secret is still safe. Now, what else did you want to know?" Cosmo and Wanda shared an uncertain glance, but Tootie's knowing sigh stopped them from further questioning about how she knew.
"Well, how did you meet little old what's-his-face?" Timmy asked, and his female companion couldn't help but laugh softly.
"Dwalin. His name is Dwalin, and I met him the same way you met your faeries. I needed help." She eluded, but before Timmy could question her further a large rustling came from the tree line. The three faeries changed into guard dogs while Timmy and Tootie sat up even just a bit straighter. Suddenly, Dwalin was back on the dark green grass, b-lining for the group. Immediately Tootie stood, concern painted on her pretty face.
"Dwalin?" she called, and at the sound of her voice Dwalin started shouting for her.
"Tootie-Man-Brat! Tootie-Man-Brat!" he sounded terrified and rushed, causing Tootie to grow panicked. As quickly as her name left his lips, he was there, standing in front of them and panting.
"Dwalin, Dwalin what's the matter? What happened?" she asked with worry, bending over and placing a delicate hand on his shoulder.
"Tootie-Man-Brat . . . Dwalin . . . help . . . Mieg-Mistress . . . trouble . . ." he couldn't quite piece together a sentence, and Timmy leaned over to whisper in Tootie's ear.
"Who's Mieg?" he asked, and Tootie had to consciously fight the shiver that wove its way up her spine.
"Mieg is the leader of the Goblins." She whispered back, and he turned to Wanda and Cosmo for confirmation. The pair could only shrug in uncertainty.
"Dwalin tried to help, he did. But Mieg-Mistress told Dwalin he needed to find help. Needed to find Tootie-Man-Brat. Tootie-Man-Brat go with Dwalin now." Dwalin had taken Tootie's hand off his shoulder and was pulling it now in the direction of the woods. She didn't ask anymore questions, just zipped up her jacket and nodded.
"Tootie wait!" she paused momentarily and turned to look at him. Eyes wide and black hair shinning in the moonlight, Timmy couldn't help but think how appealing she could be.
"Should you really be going with him?" Was all he could think to ask, and Tootie became even more attractive as she grew annoyed.
"Dwalin is my friend and I trust him. You can stay here or go home if you want, but I'm going to help him in anyway I can." She affirmed, and Timmy watched her for a moment before turning to his faeries. Poof and Cosmo both had never looked so serious, so confused as in that one moment. It was Wanda who helped influence his decision, by nodding with a maternal expression.
"Alright, we'll go with you." Timmy offered, and Dwalin, who had been tugging on Tootie's arm again, paused mid-pull to eye Timmy suspiciously.
"Who are you Man-Brat? Are you Timmy-Man-Brat" he asked darkly, maneuvered around Tootie to inspect the young man through narrow eyes.
"Yes, I'm Timmy, and these are my faeries, Wanda, Poof, and Cosmo." Timmy introduced as civilly as possible, and Tootie nearly laughed as Dwalin wrinkled his nose at the mention of faeries.
"Come quickly, Dwalin runs out of time." He issued after a moment of studying, and grabbed Tootie's hand again to pull her though the forest. This time she didn't hold back a laugh when she caught her little Goblin friend mutter disgustedly under his breath the term faeries.
With a shrug and indifferent expression, Timmy, Poof, Cosmo and Wanda made after them, trying to keep up with the spry Goblin. He weaved in, out, and around tree branches and fallen logs, completely disregarding the paths created for bicyclists, joggers and hikers. Timmy stumbled more than once before managing to catch up to Tootie and, to a lesser extent, Dwalin.
"Dwalin, don't you think we can slow down a bit?" he asked breathlessly, and Tootie watched as Dwalin as he decided to humor the teen.
"Maybe if Timmy-Man-Brat doesn't like Dwalin's rush, he should go home." It was obvious to everyone that Dwalin did not think highly of Timmy, and it was also becoming apart that the feeling was mutual.
"Can't we just have Cosmo and Wanda poof us to wherever the hell we're going?" Timmy was having a harder time communicating, so Tootie pulled Dwalin's hand back. The group slowed to a walk, which Dwalin was less than pleased about, but wouldn't argue with Tootie.
"Cosmo-Faerie and Wanda-Faerie can try, but Faerie magik can't lead to Goblin magik." Dwalin explained haphazardly as he began pulling on Tootie's arm much the way Cosmo had with the leash earlier that evening.
"Wait, what? Why?" Timmy stopped suddenly, causing Dwalin to groan with frustration. Wanda looked nervous, and Cosmo chuckled anxiously. Their Godchild rounded on them so fast, Cosmo almost lost his head.
"It would be considered rude, sport." Wanda assuaged, and Tootie decided that would be a good time for her to jump in.
"There's a section of Da Rulz I guessing you haven't seen yet, all about race relations and how to keep them from warring on one another. The Leprechauns, Goblins, Nature Faeries, Pixies, Godparent Faeries, Sprites, Brownies, Elves, they all have to be kept happy; and in case you couldn't tell, Goblins and the Godparent Faeries aren't exactly chummy. There's this whole other world and even though you're connected to it, you know next to nothing about it." by the time she finished her small speech, Tootie was flushed and worked up, Dwalin peering around her side and nodding abundantly. The little creature was so funny looking, Timmy had to hold back a laugh lest he anger him.
"So you see, Timmy, Faeries can't just poof into Goblin territory, just like Goblins can't just bustle into Fairie Land. Goblins especially are very secretive, and one has to be invited before entering." Wanda finished, and Timmy nodded, not bothering to continue questioning seeing as Dwalin was growing impatient.
"Oh boy! I always wanted to visit the Goblins! Come on Wanda, when in Rome, dress like eggs!" Cosmo suddenly shouted, and poofed he and his son to look like Dwalin, and Wanda, loving her husband, didn't bother to tell him the saying was 'Rome wasn't built in a day'.
At the sound of wand magic, Dwalin stopped and turned to examine Cosmo. After a few seconds of nearly mercilessly scrutinizing the moronic faerie, Dwalin nodded his approval.
"Dwalin thinks Cosmo-Faerie has good taste."
*
The group had been traveling for what seemed like hours in near silence, and Timmy couldn't handle it anymore. Approaching Tootie, he shoved his hands in his jean pockets and tried to look casual.
"So, why does he eat homework?" he asked, and Tootie sent him a sidelong glance before smiling at the Goblin in front of her.
"I've never been able to figure that out. All I've gathered is that paper with lead shavings on it for him is like chocolate is to most humans. Sweet and tantalizing and an excellent dessert." She explained, and Timmy nodded while finding another question.
"And the third-person thing? Why does he do that?"
"All Goblins do. It's their way of showing respect, companionship, or irritation. I think it's fun, but can be really tough to keep up at times. Dwalin's told me that in most Goblin villages one will be ignored unless they speak in the third person, and sometimes he'll ignore me without realizing it. But he's been pretty good at listening to me when I don't, and I've been getting better at using it when he's around." Once again Timmy nodded, before asking his most important question.
"Why doesn't he like me?" Tootie looked at him out of the corner of her eye while ducking below a tree branch.
"He strongly feels that crystal rose in your pocket should have been made for me." Timmy stopped, reaching into his jacket pocket to finger the exquisite rose. Tootie, on the other hand, continued on as if her statement had no affect on her. Although something inside of Timmy told him that was most definitely not the case.
"Dwalin, Tootie-Man-Brat wants to know what happened to the other Goblins." Tootie suddenly announced, and Dwalin looked over his shoulder with sad, wise, and innocent eyes.
"The Roma-Demons." Was all he said, and Tootie's brow furrowed as she tried to translate the term.
"Roma, Roma, Ro – Gypsy? Gypsy Demons? Gypsies!" she exclaimed, eliciting a startled gasp from Cosmo and Wanda.
"Gypsies!" they both called, and Dwalin nodded without looking at them.
"I don't get it. What's so bad about Gypsies?" Timmy asked, not failing to notice that everyone in the group picked up the pace.
"Gypsies capture magical creature with the purpose of harvesting their magic and selling them." Wanda explained, while Cosmo paled.
"So, they're like Mr. Crocker?"
"Yeah, only they're actually good at their job!" The green haired faerie answered, and Timmy suddenly felt terrified.
"That's why Dwalin is in a hurry." Dwalin called back irritated, immediately forcing the travelers into a run again.
In just shy of an hour, when Timmy was sure they weren't in Dimmsdale anymore, Dwalin stopped them in front of an archway made from oak trees.
"Dwalin, where are we?" Tootie whispered, and Dwalin looked on in awe of what appeared to be a gateway.
"The portal that leads to Riocht Meirg." He replied, and Timmy huddled closer to Tootie.
"But Dwalin always told Tootie-Man-Brat that Riocht Meirg was to be avoided." She reminded him, and Dwalin nodded without removing his eyes.
"But fastest way to Goblins is through it. No choice." Tootie nodded, and Timmy caught her shudder.
"What's that mean?" he asked, and Tootie turned to him with a somber expression.
"Riocht Meirg roughly translates to Kingdom of Rust. A place to evade if possible." She explained, and Timmy felt more confused than ever.
"A Kingdom of Rust? That makes no sense in the middle of the forest." He argued, and Tootie sighed before explaining it more thoroughly, noticing she had a larger audience consisting of three faeries.
"Tell me, Timmy, what do you think of when you hear Kingdom of Rust?" she prompted, and he was silent in thought for a few seconds.
"I guess I think of a big city like Downtown Dimmsdale, only rusty." He stated, realizing how stupid it sounded after it left his lips. Much like everything else he said.
"Rust doesn't always mean oxidized metals. You were pretty close to what the Goblins mean when they call this place the Kingdom of Rust. It's a deserted waste land with terrible monsters every so often. Like Land of the Dead, only magical creatures instead of zombies." She finished, and Timmy visibly gulped.
"And we're going in?" he choked out, and Tootie turned back to watch Dwalin walk through the gate and disappear in plain sight.
"Apparently."
FOP