Longing for Adventure

Ronia slowed down from her quick pace to observe the forest. The sun had begun to set and had turned the world a soft orange, including the blue birds tweeting softly in their nests. She whistled back at them in perfect harmony while smiling. If she could she would spend all her time outdoors, but she promised her parents that she would not walk through the forest at night, so she went to the small town that lay conveniently between her workplace and her parent’s home. She walked into the local inn with the intention of getting a room. It was instantly broken when she witnessed a wooden bar stool fly across the room and landing on what seemed to be a very drunk adventurer on the other side. He screamed in anger and began racing for the bar at full force.
“What barbarians! They should keep their fighting out of the bars!” she thought to herself as she hastily exited the inn. She stood in the middle of the street; daylight running out quickly. She could try asking a villager for a bed but decided against it; she hated being a burden on others. This only left one option; sleeping in the forest. She knew it would be against her parents’ advice but she doubted her parents would want her sleeping in a bar where rowdy, drunk adventurers were either. She walked out into the forest, close enough to be able to see the street lamps but far enough away that townspeople could not see her. She picked an old willow tree with plenty of drooping branches to hide her and set up a makeshift bed out of leaves. As soon as she finished she laid down the sounds of nature lulled her to sleep. She felt right at home outdoors.

Profile:

Name: Taraxavl

Age: Many summers, Taraxavl not know how count more than fingers

Sex: Male

Appearance: Taraxavl be troll, be twice as big as white skinny little men, have long pointy ears, green short fur, golden eyes and yellowish teeth pointing out at side of mouth, messy longer hair with twigs n leaves in (Taraxavl big fingers to clumsy to get out) on head, arms and chest.

Abilities: Taraxavl big! Taraxavl strong! But can move very silently. Hear good. Fear skinny little men, because always come with forks and pitches when go to them houses. Also scream very loudly, high pitch hurts in ears so so much.

Personality: You see when meet Taraxavl.

End of profile.

Taraxavl crouch hidden behind a big oak, watch little human...girl? Taraxavl not sure what is what... make a bed of leaves below willow tree and then sleep. Taraxavl curious about human thing, seen human often, but human never saw Taraxavl. Taraxavl good at hiding, but only troll in forest. Sometimes feel lonely. Sometimes speak with other troll in pond, who make funny face, but only speak when Taraxavl speak and not make sound. Taraxavl always listen very much, cause maybe other troll have very small voice, but never hear. Taraxavl scratches head. Taraxavl scared but moves closer to willow tree. Human smells good. Like food and not like food. Taraxavl bends down to smell human more.

Alysia sat at a wooden desk in her village’s musty old library, surrounded by books. She felt terrible. She wished from the bottom of her tiny fairy heart she could help Rita. She had sense the rabbit’s aura. It was a horrible shade of grey. The thought of it made Alysia shiver. She felt ashamed, though she knew deep down it wasn’t her fault she didn’t have her healing powers yet. If only she had been born sooner, she could have been able to help Rita. Alysia sighed. She reluctantly picked up a book and half heartedly sifted through it. Usually being among books helped calm the desperate Nature Fairy. But today, Alysia was too distraught. It wasn’t like these books could help her heal Rita.
That’s when it hit her. Alysia could not believe she had been so blind. She slammed the book shut and flew up to the top shelves, where the nature fairy section lay. Her bright pink wings casted a magical glow on the spines of the books. She frantically scanned the rows for the book she needed.
Her tiny fingers grabbed hold of a brown leather cover. It felt smooth and worn under her gentle touch. She read the title. The Nature Fairy’s Guide To Organic Herbs and Healing Plants.
Alysia smiled. All she had to do was search this book. Hopefully, an anti-depressant or wound-healing herb of some sort would be revealed inside. She excitedly returned to her seat and wasted not a moment in uncovering the secrets of the plant world.
After an hour of flipping through the delicate pages of the old herb bible, she came across exactly what she was looking for.
Alysia eagerly left the library and flew as fast as she could towards the forest. Once deep inside, she came across the plant she was looking for. She delicately pinched a petal off the blue healing flower and caressed it lovingly between her little fingers.
“There may be a chance after all, Rita,” Alysia whispered under her breath. All she had to do was fly home and brew this petal into a tea, let Rita take a sip, and hope that the best will come of it.

Taraxavl breath in through wide nostrils. Human smell like honey form stingy things, but also like plants and salty water. Also like Earth. Very strange. Taraxavl lost in memories. Suddenly human move! Human awake! Taraxavl too lost in thought! Taraxavl make steps back, but making too much noise! Hear rustling leaves and bushes. Suddenly human says "Who there?" Taraxavl freeze. Nowhere to hide!

“What the...where the?” Ronia said in confusion. The girl had confused her; could this be the person who was watching her as she slept? She stayed silent for one moment as she looked her over as best she could in the moonlight. She wore a peasant gown, which seemed more impressive than her old dress. Both her hair and complexion were very pale, almost milk white. She thought to herself
“The only people who could even attain that shade of white could only be vampires! No, you’re being dumb, you’d be eaten by now. Daughter of a lord- I mean they rarely get sun as they don’t work. But then why would she be out at night? Oh who knows, makes more sense than a vampire.”
She snapped out of her deep thought when she realized Distance was still staring at her intently. She answered her questions
“Hello uhh...Distance? There is an inn but when I got there it was full of drunkards tossing around furniture so I decided not to stay, too loud for my liking. I thought it might be quieter out here, but I think one of them had come out here and was watching me, did you see any big, drunk men come out here by any chance?”

“There, that should do it!” Alysia poured the tea into a small bowl and placed a large leaf on top. She hoped that this would help her good friend Rita the Rabbit. Alysia was excited to show Rita the cure she had concocted, although the fairy still wondered what was bothering the rabbit so much.
Alysia opened the wooden door and flew hurriedly out of her small, acorn shaped home. She was careful in holding the tea and balancing it, hoping it would not tip. She could not afford to spill the medicine and have to start all over. She felt she was running out of time.
Once Alysia had reached the edge of her village she surveyed the site in front of her. It was already dark out, maybe even the middle of the night. Luckily for her, there was a beautiful full moon out in the sky that casted a glow almost as bright as day, illuminating the field and the tips of the forest trees. Her wings gave off a faint pinkish glow as well. The light comforted Alysia, telling her everything was going to be alright. The only thing in her way of saving her friend was the flower field she so dearly loved. Flying quickly over that field led her to the edge of the forest, where Rita usually could be found this time of night nibbling on leaves and small insects.
“Rita,” Alysia called out. She waited a moment, but the rabbit was nowhere to be seen.
That’s odd, Alysia thought to herself, Rita usually comes hopping eagerly when I call her. Maybe she is too upset and is hiding somewhere.
This seemed logical to Alysia. She called out to her friend again, “Rita, where are you? I have something to show you.”
Still no answer. Alysia tried one last time. She placed the tea on an old tree stump and began her search, using her nature powers to move away any branches, twigs or plants in her line of view. She needed to find Rita. Desperation was beginning to take over. Alysia realized she was getting close to Rita’s burrow. Feeling stupid, as she probably should have check there first, Alysia flew back and scooped up the bowl of tea. It was cold now, and she hoped it still held its potency.
Racing back to Rita’s burrow near a large oak tree, hoping to find her furry friend and give her the home-made medicine she worked so hard on.
“Riiitttaaaa,” she drew out the call, wishing the rabbit would come already. Alysia was growing weary. She sighed and placed herself next to Rita’s home in the ground. She masked her wings and set the bowl on the forest floor next to her.
“Rita, I know you’re upset, but please listen. I have a gift for you! I may not have my healing powers quite yet, but you know I would do anything in my power to help you.”
The forest remained quiet, save for the occasional chirping of a cricket. Alysia took a deep breath. This was harder then she had thought it would be. If only she could make herself smaller then she already was, she could go inside Rita’s home and talk to her there.
“Rita, please. Come out? Here, I made you some tea. It’s medicine from a blue flower I found. I searched the library by Fairy Creek for a book on healing plants. I found exactly what you need. Rita, please come out and take a sip! I’m so worried about you.”
Alysia stood up and began to pace. Any moment now, Rita will show her tiny head and she can help her. She can fix her friend. She can make it all better.
Alysia felt something like a fire build inside her. She didn’t know what that feeling was exactly. She remembered one time, when her mother was still alive, one of the pixie boys, Allon, pulled on her hair in Magiks class. When she got up later to go answer a question on the board, Allon had tripped her. She had fallen flat on her face in front of the entire room. At this point, Alysia was feeling the fire in her heart for the first time. She stood up, her face red as a poppy flower, and slapped Allon right across the cheeks. Alysia got sent to the Head of Ministry’s office and got a good scolding. Tears rolled down the small fairy’s cheeks. When she got home later that day, and told her mother of the mean pixie boy and the feeling she experienced in her heart, her mother had described that feeling as anger. That was the first time Alysia felt anger or hatred towards someone or something. The second time was when her mother died.
Right now, Alysia tried to control her feelings. She didn’t want to get angry at a friend. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, counting to ten slowly. When she was done, she opened her eyes and began walking around the burrow.
Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. It was a purple flash, coming from behind the large oak tree. Alysia had never seen anyone in these woods before, besides her animal friends.
She cautiously approached the floating purple thing. It wafted lightly in the faint breeze and glowed in under the soft moon light. It was long and it led out of her sight, behind the tree. Alysia had to be brave, for she didn’t know what lay behind the massive oak. She had taught herself to never think of the bad things that could happen, and to focus only on the good.
But what she saw made her worst nightmares come to life. Behind the oak tree was Rita. The poor rabbit was bloodied almost beyond recognition, and tied in a purple ribbon.
Alysia screeched, and quickly cover her mouth. She squeezed her eyes tight, and prayed that this was a dream. That could not be Rita. Though her Nature Fairy senses determined it was the sad rabbit under the bloody mess, she tried to deny it. Tears began trickling down her face. They became cold as they soaked her fingers and ran down her arms. She sobbed and fell to the ground.
Daring to take another look, Alysia peeked through her hands and glanced hesitantly at the body. That was indeed Rita.
Through her burden tears, Alysia gently untied the purple ribbon from her friends’ body. She went back to the bowl of tea, poured it out onto the tree stump, and used the bowl to dig a hole in the ground.
She then placed the tiny rabbit’s body inside the hole. She hunched on the ground, over the small grave and cried. Her tears dropped onto the creature, making the bits of blood that were still fresh run into the dirt. She said a silent prayer, telling Rita to be strong in her new world. She told Rita that even though she had tried to mend her, she was sorry she was too late. Alysia said a few more words to the rabbit before vowing to avenge her deceased friend. Covering up the body with dirt, Alysia picked a yellow dandelion and placed it lovingly atop the grave.
Standing up, Alysia clutched the bloodied ribbon between her fingers. This was now the third time she was feeling immense anger. She felt she should be ashamed she was feeling such things, for all anger brought was hatred and loathing, and those were two things fairies did not stand for. But her morals could wait. She was going to find this killer and make it wish it never had been born.