Sorry for the long delay. Lots of stuff happened! First, I experienced a power outage where I lived from February 23rd, 2023 - February 26th, 2023. Then I get an allergy cold soon after the power came back on. Then the stats broke on this site, which I'm relieved has been resolved. :) Then my connection broke with Frodo, which Frodo and me are still recovering from. So yeah, that was an experience.
That said, let's continue the story! :)
Adrenaline rushed through Janus' veins. She knew her task would be to entice Pan to bring her back her panpipes. The only question was how she was supposed to go about doing this. Did she know what she was doing? Of course not! If she did, she wouldn't be here! But she knew it was better to let Helen, Jock, and Maximus take over.
Janus was only a Padawan learner after all. Helen was in charge! As was Jock, and so was Maximus! What role did Janus take?
Janus waited until after Helen, Jock, and Maximus wandered off, in search of others to ask to find Pan, before Janus snuck off into the forest near the Jedi Temple. If she didn't know where to find Pan, then it was obvious that Pan would find her. And soon! But why then was she lulled into following this path? Did this mean that Janus would find something worthwhile in these woods, when no one was looking for her?
Janus sniffed the air! There was a satyr smell she couldn't ignore. It smelled of hair and pine needles. It was a very distinctive scent that led her towards a glen, where she spotted a log cabin. Seated atop a grey stone rock was Pan, God of the Wild, looking very much like the satyr he was.
Janus hid behind a lush, green bush, catching Pan's eye in moments. The bush's rustling sounds drew Pan over to her. Pan set a second pair of panpipes down on the lower rock platform. He strolled away towards the rabbits, playing a tune for them, using his own panpipes to guide them to the folds of the stream, where few dared to travel.
"Well," Janus sniffed, entertaining herself, "this looks easy." Yes! Here was her chance! She could whisk away with the panpipes and be none the wiser! But would Pan see her? Now, that would be interesting.
Janus sniffed the air, sneezing loudly and betraying herself. She ducked behind a bush, right as Pan looked in her direction. Janus hesitated, hoping Pan wouldn't see her. Moments passed. She looked up. Pan vanished.
Janus huffed. Something felt off.
Quickly! She would steal the panpipes, and be none the wiser. If only wisdom was on her side. She looked around, tensed up and bereft, without much knowledge over what became her. She crouched low on the ground, darting around the bushes and around a tree. She made a beeline for the panpipes, seated by themselves on the rocky platform.
Yes! They were almost hers—
"Hey, you!" Pan spoke up. The hairs on the back of Janus' neck stood up. Janus gulped. Pan loomed over her, leading Janus to see his rather tall, rather big, shadow creep over her.
Janus looked up at Pan, knowing she was in trouble.
Pan placed his hands against his hips, glowering at her. It took several seconds, before Pan smirked in her direction.
Janus reached for the lone panpipes, hoping she would take them. Only for Pan to grab up the lone panpipes and strap them to his belt.
Janus sighed in defeat. This wasn't over. Not by a long way! She'd get those panpipes back! Yes, she would!
"Shh!" Pan quieted Janus down with his music, sending the Dalmatian into a lull. No longer in control, Janus collapsed on the lush, green grass. Sleep overcame her, leading her to remember no more.
.
Helen approached a fellow dragonoid with pink scales. It was here Jock and Maximus were bereft and quiet. They didn't like this. But Helen wouldn't have it!
"Are you sure about this?" Maximus asked, cautious. "She might not be trustworthy."
"Maybe we should look for Janus," Jock said, searching for Janus.
"Hush! I'm sure, she's not bad!" Helen stated, even as she started asking the pink dragonoid some questions, "Hey, Lily! Where did Pan go?"
The pink dragonoid, Lily, shook her head. "You won't find him. In fact, you won't find your friend either. Pan lives in there!" She pointed out to Helen, Jock, and Maximus the luring forest that stood before them. The forest smelled of magic and faeries, something Helen hadn't planned on.
"Well, we've got to get in there!" Jock cried, knowing these woods were infested with faeries! This was brilliant!
Lily cackled. "Good luck. Few go in there, and even fewer come out. You'll never find them."
"Well, we need to get in there," Helen said, pleased with this news.
Maximus' legs trembled. "What? Now?"
"Do you want to go in there?" Jock asked Helen, sure she knew this was right. "I could go in there, find Janus and Pan."
"Yes, but you don't know how to converse with Pan. I'm skilled. I'll find her and Pan!" Helen said, hotly, heading towards the deep, dark forest with its fresh pine trees and dense atmosphere. Helen huffed. No forest was going to stop her from reaching her destination! That was for sure! "Come on!"
Jock huffed, snarling at the sight of the woods. Well, there was the path, and there went Helen. Maximus, on the other hand, trembled under the weight of the forest's atmosphere. He didn't want to go in there!
"Come on, you scaredy dog!" Jock said, darting past Helen inside the forest.
Maximus whined. He knew faeries would get him, just for being Cerberus. No, he couldn't do it! But Helen, Jock, and Janus were gone. And he, Maximus, was alone… again.
No! His friends were in that forest! Surely, he couldn't do this—
"Oh! Oh, what am I doing? What am I doing?! Helen! Jock? Janus?! Where are you?" Maximus whined, darting into the forest.
Oh great! This was not what Maximus wanted! Not at all! Where were they now? Did they miss him?
~o~
Janus awoke inside a warm house. She stood at attention, noticing how cozy the house's interior was. The furniture was made from wood and cushions, while a brimming orangish-yellow fire was kept secure inside a stone fireplace. Janus looked up at the table, from which Pan sat across from her, pouring some hot water inside a tea kettle.
Janus looked at Pan, hardly knowing what to do.
"Come here," Pan said, patting a wooden chair. "I won't bite."
Janus glowered. "Okay," she said, half-amused and half-scared to see Pan. She made her way over to the chair. Seated on the chair, Janus grabbed herself a ceramic, floral teacup. She watched Pan pour some water into her teacup, allowing the herbs to seep into the water.
Janus looked at Pan, trying to reason with him over the panpipes. "I know I angered you. I gave you back your panpipes, that you gave me. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it!"
Pan gulped, setting the tea kettle back on the wooden platform. "You didn't."
Janus cried. Then she stopped crying. "What?"
Pan shrugged. "I've got my panpipes." He patted his panpipes, secured to his belt. He admitted to her, "Now, do you want your panpipes back? I gave them to you as a gift." He smirked, delighting in hearing himself say this, "I figured you would want them back. They are my gift to you."
Janus looked at Pan, concerned. "You mean, you want me to take them back?"
Pan shrugged, smirking to her. "Of course. They're yours." He gave her back her panpipes, as well as a leather strap he made for them. "Here. I added the strap to the panpipes. You should be able to play them better this way."
"Oh, wow! Thank you!" Janus stated, strapping her panpipes over her shoulder. "You have no idea how much I've missed them."
Pan shrugged a third time, nodding to her. "Of course, Janus. Anything for you."
"Right. Well, I should get going," Janus stated, ready to leave Pan's house.
Pan nodded. "As you should."
That stopped Janus. She looked and faced him, telling him, "What do you mean? Where's my friends? I thought they'd be here."
"Well, you must know these are the Faery Woods. Your friends are goners," Pan stated, admitting in a weary tone.
"Can you tell me where they are? Maybe they wandered off, or… or… or maybe they won't be found!" How could Janus be so foolish?! Wandering off on her own like that, while her new friends went looking for her? Did she know if they would find her? "Oh, I'm such an idiot!"
Pan laughed. "I wouldn't blame you." He admitted, as they stepped outside his house. "I would follow the trial. Let the woods guide you to them. It shouldn't take you that long to find them."
"Right. Thank you, Pan," Janus said, leaving Pan's cabin for the woods.
Pan chuckled. "Your friends are goners, Janus. These woods are dangerous, and not just by me. Good luck! Truly! If you find them, bring them here. I'd be happy for them to drop in for tea."
"Right," Janus said, facing him now and waving to him, "Thank you, Pan."
"Good luck! You'll need it," Pan said, heading back inside his cabin, closing the door behind him.
~o~
Janus wandered through the wilderness. The sounds of birds chirping in the near distance, the scent of pine needles as they floated down to the earth could only mean that autumn wasn't too far away. The lush green leaves, scattered on all the dark brown branches, in bushes as well as on some trees, scattered here and there, could only give Janus a hint that this forest was sacred, that no human, no animal could disturb this lush, green wilderness.
But Janus was on high alert: her friends needed her and soon, she feared, as she scoured the landscape, looking for them. But she could not find them. They were not near her. And frankly, she would need them, if only to spare her time and resources looking for them.
But where were they? Where did they go? Surely, they would not leave her behind. No sir! She'd find them.
"Helen? Helen the Shapeshifter? Jock? Maximus? Where are you?" Janus cried from where she stood out in the forest. So far, all she could see were the occasional grey squirrel, munching down on some fresh acorns. His scent was furry, dirty, but surefooted and strong, even as this reluctant grey squirrel made his ascent up a nearby pine tree.
"Helen? Jock? Maximus?" Janus called out again. Clearly, she was missing something, something she was not seeing. Oh, if only she could find them! She'd have her friends' hides, if she knew where to look for them.
Janus called out for her three friends for the third time that nearly autumn day. Nope. They were still gone. Janus nearly sobbed, but bravely put on a strong face, as she neared a winding path, which could only lead to a denser woodland area. This path wound much further in the forest, and Janus wasn't too sure about this path.
Still, she traversed down it, managing to catch up with Helen the Shapeshifter, the purple dragonoid Jedi Master of hers, as well as Jock and Maximus. They were so proud to see her again.
"Helen, there you are!" Janus ran up to Helen, as Jock and Maximus joined them. Janus turned her attention to Jock and Maximus, clearly enjoying seeing them, too! "Jock, Maximus, what brings you three here?"
"We were looking for you! Well, to tell you the truth, Helen has been keeping a very close watch on this forest, since you left the temple," Jock sneered in wicked delight, too cunning for his own good.
Helen rolled her eyes, enjoying herself. "Well, you mustn't count me out of this." She pointed to Janus' panpipes, "I see you've got them back. Well, we'd better get out of here."
"No, wait. Don't you want to meet Pan? I told him he'd want to see you, or else, he's the one that said it," Janus stated, recalling what Pan said not too long ago.
Helen waved her scaly, purple hands in the air. It was obvious she wasn't falling for one of Pan's tricks. "Oh no! If that blackheart thinks he can spot us a mile away, no sir!" Helen shook her head in loathsome triumph, "then I won't have it! You can forget it!"
"Oh gosh, Helen," it was Pan, the God of the Wild. What was he doing here? Pan put his hands against his goat hips, laughing his head off, "I thought you'd miss me."
Helen stood alert and terrified. She faced Pan, at which she replied, "Oh Pan, my most gracious of foes! What brings you here?"
"Foes? I'm sorry, Helen. I thought we weren't enemies," Pan stated. Clearly, he was missing something. Still, Pan waved Helen, Janus, Jock, and Maximus over. "No matter, no matter! Come to my house! We'll discuss more about your quest to defeating the Cave leading to the Underworld."
"How did he know—?"
"Just go with it!" Jock whispered to Helen, silencing her!
Helen huffed, not liking this. "Humph! Well, I'll be."
"Oh, come. It'll be fun," Janus stated, following after Pan, with Janus' three companions followed them.
~o~
The group had just come to Pan's house, when Janus spotted a most interesting sight, out by Pan's lodging house, next door to his own house. Sparkles of balls of light emitted from the area. Among them was an auburn ball of light, flitting around near Janus and Helen. Janus stared in amusement at this ball of auburn light, so much so that she wanted to play with it, but Helen wouldn't have it!
"Hm hm. Those are faeries, Janus," Helen stated, stopping Janus in her tracks. "I wouldn't trust them."
Pan laughed, right from where he stood on his doorstep. "This species of faeries is called fairies. Different spelling, but you get the picture. They frequent my lodging from time to time. That auburn ball of light belongs to a fairy named Fawn. Say 'hi' Fawn!"
The auburn light grew bigger, transfiguring into a fairy with brunette hair, tied back into a ponytail. This fairy wore auburn leaf clothes with long sleeves, as well as a makeshift tiara made from red leaves. Given her appearance, Fawn was clearly an Autumn Fairy. And yet, when Fawn approached a deer, Janus could only assume this fairy's true purpose was being an Animal Fairy. Fawn gently lulled the deer to sleep in a nice pillow of green moss.
"There, there now. That's better," Fawn stated, delighted in this animal.
"Come now. You as well, Fawn!" Pan stated, leaving Fawn to slam her foot on the grass in anger.
"All right! I'm coming!" Fawn said, vanishing into an auburn ball of light and floating inside Pan's house, while Janus, Jock, Helen, and Maximus joined her and Pan inside Pan's house.
It was time to begin their meeting.