2/17/15
For the past few weeks, Ahni had been entirely too busy exploring the nooks and crannies of the Tower of Earth (where she found some strange machine with flashing lights and crazy sounds and little metal balls), flipping through every single book in the library, and playing "Pin the Tail on the Neo" with the elementals to remember a promise she had given the night she squared off against Claire.
"There shall be a JUNGLE!"
The memory hit her just as she was sneaking around a corner to divebomb Neo for the eighth time that day, and she gasped. Of course, that meant her cover was blown, the angel had seen her, and she had to (try to) whistle innocently with her hands behind her back. Neo, however, was skeptical, and he eyed the little half-elf with a hand on his hip for a few moments before breaking out in giggles. "Did you remember something, Mela*?"
Ahni rocked back and forth on bare feet, nodding. "It is something I promised, but I had forgotten until just this moment. I was not planning anything." Apparently she was trying to cry innocence on the whole divebombing affair, even though no accusations had been made. "But you must wait here while I fulfill my promise. You must not look out of the windows at the Isle." She spoke very seriously as she rocked on her feet, one finger held up towards Neo. The seriousness gave the angel cause for concern, Ahni could see it on his face and in his lovely eyes. He was worried for her. "It is a surprise, Mela*, that is all. You must keep it a secret from everyone until I am finished! I will be all right, I promise. If you would like, I shall take a few elementals with me, and Carbuncle too." The concern on his features didn't soften as he considered Ahni's words, but eventually he begrudgingly agreed to keep his nose out of it. With a giggle, Ahni skittered over to pop a kiss on the corner of his mouth and dashed off to find her boots and longcoat.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"It is not working, Aier*. Why is it not working?" Ahni huffed and puffed, hands on slim hips. Carbuncle's tails swished as the critter sniffed at the patch of uncovered earth in front of the pair. The elementals had formed a large ring around the little Keeper and her summoned pet, facing outward to keep watch. "It should... just... grow, uma*? I am doing the thing..." She was muttering to herself and fidgeting and didn't notice Carbuncle shifting about until he yipped at her. Emeralds swiveled down to peer at the creature. He stared up at Ahni very seriously, and the ruby embedded in his forehead glowed steadily brighter and brighter. The lightbulb went off in Ahni's addled brain. "Oh, of course! I must Focus. How could I have forgotten?"
Ahni clapped her hands together and closed her eyes. The air directly around her shimmered, became thinner, as the translucently emerald sheen of her aura appeared at her toes. With the Key around her neck, she had no worries about a certain anthropomorphic plant disrupting her Focus. Her aura climbed up her body, and once it completely enveloped her, she opened nearly-solid-white eyes, the only break being a thin ring of ethereal green where the edge of her irises should have been. The Weave showed Ahni the ebb and flow of magic on Twilight Isle, the combined peony/emerald aura of Carbuncle at her feet, the rocky swirls of the elementals standing guard around them. A smile quirked the corner of her mouth as she lowered her hands, palms facing upward.
Grow.
The earth responded immediately, tiny sprouts popping up in the patch of ground in front of her.
Grow!
The sprouts shot up, accelerated by the magic Ahni was funneling through her small body, became saplings and then young trees, blossoming and growing even more.
GROW!
Ahni had envisioned trees she had read about in the Tower's library, trees she had never seen before because they lived in a place called "the Rainforest," and she couldn't find any region in Rhydin that claimed that name. The trees grew steadily upwards, twisting and turning as the little Keeper swayed on her feet. Finally, Ahni gasped, her aura disappeared, milky eyes reverting to their normal state -- though her kaleidoscoping irises remained nearly colorless. Carbuncle nudged at her leg in concern, but Ahni stayed on her feet for once. Rain began to fall in the constructed Rainforest. The elementals surrounding them turned as one and made their way upwards to the canopy to complete the directive Ahni had given them on the way to the Isle. With her last bit of energy, Ahni formed a sign and scribbled on it.
Jungle tea party! All are invited, except for Anubis because he is a meanface.
She crooked a finger at the outermost tree. A vine willingly grew around the trunk and gently took the sign from Ahni's hands, securing it at eye level against the trunk itself. The little Keeper swayed a bit, almost lost her balance, leaned against another tree to steady herself. Carbuncle whined and tilted his head towards the Tower of Earth. When Ahni didn't move as expected, the teal critter yipped and nudged her leg. "Uma, Aier, amin tena lle**," came the soft reply from the half-elf as she pushed off of the tree and took a few shaky steps towards the Tower. "The small ones can complete the rest." Carbuncle nodded in approval before tiny teeth latched onto Ahni's pantleg and pulled her toward a conveniently-appearing fissure in the ground that would transport them back to the Tower.
The elementals spent the rest of the day building a two-tiered treehouse and fashioning a thick vine rope (to be attached to a platform) that could support the weight of varying-sized visitors. Many of them stayed behind once their job was completed so that they could make tea and cater to the whims of anyone visiting the treehouse.
* Mela = Love
Aier = Little One
uma = yes
** Yes, Little One, I hear you
For the past few weeks, Ahni had been entirely too busy exploring the nooks and crannies of the Tower of Earth (where she found some strange machine with flashing lights and crazy sounds and little metal balls), flipping through every single book in the library, and playing "Pin the Tail on the Neo" with the elementals to remember a promise she had given the night she squared off against Claire.
"There shall be a JUNGLE!"
The memory hit her just as she was sneaking around a corner to divebomb Neo for the eighth time that day, and she gasped. Of course, that meant her cover was blown, the angel had seen her, and she had to (try to) whistle innocently with her hands behind her back. Neo, however, was skeptical, and he eyed the little half-elf with a hand on his hip for a few moments before breaking out in giggles. "Did you remember something, Mela*?"
Ahni rocked back and forth on bare feet, nodding. "It is something I promised, but I had forgotten until just this moment. I was not planning anything." Apparently she was trying to cry innocence on the whole divebombing affair, even though no accusations had been made. "But you must wait here while I fulfill my promise. You must not look out of the windows at the Isle." She spoke very seriously as she rocked on her feet, one finger held up towards Neo. The seriousness gave the angel cause for concern, Ahni could see it on his face and in his lovely eyes. He was worried for her. "It is a surprise, Mela*, that is all. You must keep it a secret from everyone until I am finished! I will be all right, I promise. If you would like, I shall take a few elementals with me, and Carbuncle too." The concern on his features didn't soften as he considered Ahni's words, but eventually he begrudgingly agreed to keep his nose out of it. With a giggle, Ahni skittered over to pop a kiss on the corner of his mouth and dashed off to find her boots and longcoat.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"It is not working, Aier*. Why is it not working?" Ahni huffed and puffed, hands on slim hips. Carbuncle's tails swished as the critter sniffed at the patch of uncovered earth in front of the pair. The elementals had formed a large ring around the little Keeper and her summoned pet, facing outward to keep watch. "It should... just... grow, uma*? I am doing the thing..." She was muttering to herself and fidgeting and didn't notice Carbuncle shifting about until he yipped at her. Emeralds swiveled down to peer at the creature. He stared up at Ahni very seriously, and the ruby embedded in his forehead glowed steadily brighter and brighter. The lightbulb went off in Ahni's addled brain. "Oh, of course! I must Focus. How could I have forgotten?"
Ahni clapped her hands together and closed her eyes. The air directly around her shimmered, became thinner, as the translucently emerald sheen of her aura appeared at her toes. With the Key around her neck, she had no worries about a certain anthropomorphic plant disrupting her Focus. Her aura climbed up her body, and once it completely enveloped her, she opened nearly-solid-white eyes, the only break being a thin ring of ethereal green where the edge of her irises should have been. The Weave showed Ahni the ebb and flow of magic on Twilight Isle, the combined peony/emerald aura of Carbuncle at her feet, the rocky swirls of the elementals standing guard around them. A smile quirked the corner of her mouth as she lowered her hands, palms facing upward.
Grow.
The earth responded immediately, tiny sprouts popping up in the patch of ground in front of her.
Grow!
The sprouts shot up, accelerated by the magic Ahni was funneling through her small body, became saplings and then young trees, blossoming and growing even more.
GROW!
Ahni had envisioned trees she had read about in the Tower's library, trees she had never seen before because they lived in a place called "the Rainforest," and she couldn't find any region in Rhydin that claimed that name. The trees grew steadily upwards, twisting and turning as the little Keeper swayed on her feet. Finally, Ahni gasped, her aura disappeared, milky eyes reverting to their normal state -- though her kaleidoscoping irises remained nearly colorless. Carbuncle nudged at her leg in concern, but Ahni stayed on her feet for once. Rain began to fall in the constructed Rainforest. The elementals surrounding them turned as one and made their way upwards to the canopy to complete the directive Ahni had given them on the way to the Isle. With her last bit of energy, Ahni formed a sign and scribbled on it.
Jungle tea party! All are invited, except for Anubis because he is a meanface.
She crooked a finger at the outermost tree. A vine willingly grew around the trunk and gently took the sign from Ahni's hands, securing it at eye level against the trunk itself. The little Keeper swayed a bit, almost lost her balance, leaned against another tree to steady herself. Carbuncle whined and tilted his head towards the Tower of Earth. When Ahni didn't move as expected, the teal critter yipped and nudged her leg. "Uma, Aier, amin tena lle**," came the soft reply from the half-elf as she pushed off of the tree and took a few shaky steps towards the Tower. "The small ones can complete the rest." Carbuncle nodded in approval before tiny teeth latched onto Ahni's pantleg and pulled her toward a conveniently-appearing fissure in the ground that would transport them back to the Tower.
The elementals spent the rest of the day building a two-tiered treehouse and fashioning a thick vine rope (to be attached to a platform) that could support the weight of varying-sized visitors. Many of them stayed behind once their job was completed so that they could make tea and cater to the whims of anyone visiting the treehouse.
* Mela = Love
Aier = Little One
uma = yes
** Yes, Little One, I hear you