Disclaimer and Warnings: See Chapter 1
" Xena ? ", said the surprised bard.
" What happened after I was hit ? ", said...ahh...Xena?, " And why do I feel..different? Hey, you look taller! "
Gabrielle snapped out of shock and blinked rapidly. ' Well now or never. I just have to tell her gently. With Finesse, yeah I can do finesse! I'm a bard, I can do this! '
" Gabrielle ? ", said Xena, who then barked, which surprised them both.
" Xena, Ares turned you into a dog ! "
And, well, so much for Gabrielle's bardly skills being put to use this moment.
" What ! ", screamed (the warrior?...dog?...whatever the point is Xena screamed!) Xena.
' Smooth bard, real smooth. Finesse. HAH!, Yeah right...'
The bard spoke to her...Xena? (I don't know if I have the guts to use the endearment 'love' , hehehe, 'puppy love' ! Ahahahahaa)
" You've been turned into a dog, Xena. That spell that Ares used went wrong. C'mon, we need to get to a safe place. We're five minutes from the Amazon border, we can make sense of this there. "
Meanwhile, Xena's thoughts consisted of remarks about the God of War's linage and escapades with various farm animals and centaurs, until her dirty,dirty mind regestered what the bard had said about going on to the Amazons.
" What!, Gabrielle I can't go to the Amazons like this! "
" And why not? "
Xena, not wanting to admit she was worried about her pride, quickly voiced another one of her, albeit sorta lousy, concerns. Well, this one was serious, at least.
" Because I'm a huge dog! The Amazons don't have dogs! The closet they've been to them is coming across wolves, and the strays walking around a village when they go to get supplies. The archers in the greeting party we're sure to get will see me near you and think I'm a threat! " 'Hah!', thought warrior-in-animal-skin. (Hehehehe, get it?)
Gabrielle paused and considered what Xena had said. She had a point, it would be dangerous for them to walk to the Amazons with Xena in her current...form.
But...
What if they didn't have a reason to think Xena was a threat.
How could she make sure that the Amazons wouldn't spring into action when seeing a huge animal near her?
Wait a minute!, with horses and cattle, people have ropes around their necks. Slaves had collars that slave traders would attach a rope to. She could use their spare rope to make a loop and and then put around Xena's neck. The Amazons wouldn't be worried if they saw that the 'animal' next to her wasn't dangerous! Then, she could have the blacksmith and crafter make a leather collar for Xena, with a hoop incase they ever needed to have her on the leash again.
' Oh yeah ', the bard thought, ' I'm sure that will go really well with Xena. NOT. Still, its for her own good. We have to get to the Amazons, and then we can start trying to turn her back. '
Just when Xena she had won, the bard raced over to Argo and started digging through the saddlebags. Xena looked on curiously, then sat up and tilted her head.
Gabrielle,finally finding what she was looking for, let out a whoop of joy, and then ran back to her (Hehehehe) loyal companion, carrying their spare rope.
" No they won't ", said the bard as she got down on one knee in front of Xena (Not like that you shameless romantics, they're already married), and started to pet her head.
' Hey what's she- oh, that feels nice...', thought Xena, as Gabrielle started to scratch behind her ears while talking again.
" Xena I'm going to use some of our rope as a leash. You'll be walking on the side of me while I hold the other end of the rope and when the greeting party asks who you are, you'll answer instead of me and we'll explain on the way to the village. ", said the little bardly genius a matter-of-factly.
Xena opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it as she realized her bard had the right idea.
' Dammit! ', thought the warrior,' She has a point.'
Xena was quite for another minute, then looked Gabrielle in the eyes and said, " Alright. "
Gabrielle stopped petting Xena and held one end of the rope with both hands. She moved her right hand to the very edge, then made a loop big enough to fit around Xena's neck. She tied the knot and then picked up the other end of the rope. She made a much smaller loop, just big enough for her hand to fit through, then tied off the knot. Xena manuvered her head so that Gabrielle could slip the bigger loop around her neck. Gabrielle adjusted the rope and then declared her invention complete.
" Now on to the Amazons! ", said Gabrielle.
" Great. ", Xena said sacarcasticly.
" C'mon Xena, don't be like that, we'll be at the Amazons soon. "
And with that, the bard and her warrior-dog continued on to the Amazon village.
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