Topic: Finding a Lost Pix

Kitty Helston

Date: 2006-12-08 21:42 EST
Kitty noticed she hadn't seen nor heard from Amthy for several days. Basically she hadn't seen her since Miles refused to leave the Malign Manor to let Tara move in. Amthy had said something about going to stay with Tara in the swamp... and that was the last she saw of her.

She knew she had given the Pix one of her marbles a long time ago. And, knowing Amthy, it was probably in the bottom of that magical bodice pouch of hers. They were little more than distress beacons. They let her know if someone needed her, if the activated it. And if she was seeking them, they were a homing beacon. So while she was sipping her coffee in the Inn, and nobody was wanting her attention at the moment, she slipped into the dark corners of her mind.. and sought out that particular marble.

She felt it... and through it she felt for Amthy's presence. It was there. She was alive, although not particularly happy, it would seem. It guided her, towards the swamp.

So she took her jacket, went to her house and made sure she handled a number of blankets so she could call them to her later, and then went out and into the swamp.

Amthyst Oak

Date: 2006-12-08 22:15 EST
Elsewhere, namely the Swamp of No Return

?But you said to go this way.?

?Go that way!?

?I already went that way,? Amthy snuffed to the chorus of voices in a woebegone tone. Lantern-like tsavorite-hued eyes focused on a downed, half-rotted tree that she had seen a dozen times already and slept in twice.

?Look! Look! A big brown bird is eating a little yellow one.?

Amthy stomped her foot and her toes squished into the soggy soil. ?Which way is ?that way??? Little red scratches lined the nymph?s arms and legs, but they went well with the bug bites that she couldn?t stop itching.

?The clouds taste like water.?

Her nose scrunched up and she looked toward the darkening sky. She could see it in patches between the trees. ?That?un looks like a bunny,? Amthy observed.

?Let?s go this way!?

One voice rang out excitedly above the others, drowning out talk of flowers and beaches that lined a distant, foreign shore. A shore that had absolutely nothing to do with the swamp Amthy had been lost in for several days already. Tara?s cottage, she decided, had been make-believe, code talk, or invisible; possibly all of them or none of them. She wasn?t sure yet. The wind pulled at what remained of Amthy?s skirt and pushed at her back. The nymph swayed on her feet with a squawk. ?Where do the trees end??

?We have seen the end of the trees.? The Wind whispered reassuringly.

?But in which direction?? She unstuck one foot and then the other. She splashed one into a stagnant puddle. A frog ribbitted and jumped away from the threat of her toes. Squealing in delight, Amthy scuttled after it with modified froggy leaps that made her dirty green hair flare around her face and shoulders.

?This way!?
?No, that way!?

?Ribbit!? Amthy chirped noncommittally as her wind sibs argued amongst themselves, distracted by the way the light dappled over the nearby pools of water and the pair of eyes that seemed to hover right above the water?s surface.

Kitty Helston

Date: 2006-12-08 22:31 EST
Her boots were sticking in the mud as she moved through the trees. Sheesh it was cold out here. She paused after she was well within the swamp and let her eyes flutter to a half shut position so she could lock onto that marble again. There it was... it had moved direction.

She altered her direction slightly and headed that way. She sloshed through water and muck, but paid it no mind. The pix was out here and she wanted to find her.

Suddenly there was a splash of water as one of the swamps many gators came up and tried to catch her for dinner. Kitty didn't even pause as the Helston shotgun came to her hand. She aimed at the gator and pulled the trigger, blowing it's head into a million smithereens. One less thing that was going to eat her friend.

When she sensed the marble was close, she began to call out.

"Amthy? Pix honey? Can you hear me?"

Amthyst Oak

Date: 2006-12-08 22:58 EST
?We told you to go that way.?

?I did go that way!? Amthy wailed pitifully. She was cold, tired, and hungry. Not to mention she was shoulder deep in muck. She had tried to follow the floating eyes, but they had disappeared beneath the water.

?You went this way.? The Wind gently corrected.

Amthy was at a loss at the exact moment when ?that way? became ?this way.? Apparently, it had right around the time she started swimming in the swamp. Her little chin quaked as she released a shuddering breath. Tears sprang up to wet her lashes as she clung determinedly to the slender trunk of a tupelo. ?I-I wanna go home!? She yowled childishly to her Wind Sibs.

?Come away with us.?

?I dun?yeow!? Amthy screeched as something in the deep, dark water pinched her toes. Immediately, she balled up and stopped trying to touch the ground. Her torso bobbed up and she hugged the tree with what remained of her strength.

?Amthy? Pix honey? Can you hear me??

Her heart lept and turned all fluttery with hope. ?Ki-Kitty?? She called into the very scary darkness that smothered the swamp. It was a foolish thing to do, she knew. What if it wasn?t Kitty but some naughty water Unseelie? Amthy puffed out her dirty cheeks and scrunched up her algae filled nose. She felt another pinch and something brush against her hip that made her whole body shake and shiver with the a case of the heebie-jeebies. ?Over here! Over here!? She squealed throwing caution to the wind. ?Hel--gurgle!"

Kitty Helston

Date: 2006-12-08 23:11 EST
?Ki-Kitty??

Her head snapped in that direction and picked up her pace.

"It's me Pix! I'm coming! I'll be right there!" She yelled out.

Suddenly she heard a slight splash of water.

?Over here! Over here!? Now she was running. Her feline vision could see the Pix in the water, clinging to the tree, and then suddenly she was yanked under.

?Hel--gurgle!"

"Amthyst!" She dove into the water without a second thought. She used that marble to guide her as she swam through the grimey water. Soon her fingers touched the hide of a gator. She didn't give it a second thought. She dug her claws into it, then shoved her claws into it's eye sockets before she used her strength to pry it's jaws open and pull the Pix from it. The gator thrashed, most likely dieing from the injuries she had given it, but her concern was getting Amthy to the surface.

Once the broke the surface she held Amthy with one arm and swam to the edge, pulling her up onto more solid ground. She hunched over the small nymph and pushed the green hair from her face.

"Amthy? Sweetie? Are you with me?"

She was already taking her scarf off and using it to wind around Amthy's bitten leg.

Amthyst Oak

Date: 2006-12-08 23:30 EST
Amthy, it seemed, had very yummy legs. And not only men and women thought so. It was a distressing trend for animals to feel the need to take love-nips. The nymph sputter-spit a sob that turned into a hacking cough. She trembled violently. Her teeth chattered. The back of her throat and nose stung from her misguided attempt to breathe the icky swampy water that Kitty had rescued her from.

"Amthy? Sweetie? Are you with me?"

Once she was done coughing up her lung, Amthy lurched herself at Kitty. She couldn?t bring herself to talk, not yet, but she could motivate some tears. Kitty tended to her leg and she tried to get control of her shocked little self. It didn?t happen right away, but after a few minutes had ticked past; Amthy spoke.

?I-I dunn wanna live with Tara anymore!? She hiccoughed, wiping the slime from her mouth and cheek with the back of her hand.

Kitty Helston

Date: 2006-12-08 23:39 EST
The pix coughed and gasped for air as Kitty watched her with furrowed brows. At least she was breathing and conscious. Then suddenly she found she had a Pix body attachment. She sighed and hugged the poor woman, trying to calm her down. Eventually she let loose enough so Kitty could bind the leg with her scarf.

?I-I dunn wanna live with Tara anymore!?

"That's probably a wise idea m'dear. And I know Miles misses you." She smiled at her as she tied off the make-shift bandage. She called a few of the blankets she made a point of handling to her and wrapped them around the Pix. Then she wrapped one around herself before she picked Amthy up.

"Promise me, the next time you decide to go swimming in the swamp, you'll take me with you?" She chuckled and held her close while she carried her back into town.