"Well, there was this doggy. He was a very clever doggy. He said things like...like...'I would feel infinitely more comfortable in your presence if you would agree to treat gravity as a law, rather than one of a number of suggested options.' He said that. I only remembered it. In my head."
-Delirium, in The Kindly Ones, by Neil Gaiman.
Victoria Alexandra Chylde had no business in the Rhy'Din Bestiary, but she couldn't quite pass it by without going in.
And once she was in, she couldn't quite leave without seeing.
And once she saw, she couldn't quite stop herself from touching, cuddling, and kissing everything from the furry to the flying.
Hey kid.
Semi-pointed Elven ears perked to the sound of a distinctly non-human voice pattern. It was too high and too low all at once. It was too soft and too musical. If a feather could speak, Viki imagined, it would've sounded like such.
Hey, over here!
The girl abandoned the puppies and the other curiosities and followed the voice - a voice which she seemed to hear above any other, a voice that no one else in the vicinity seemed to hear at all.
Do you think you could get me out of here? I shouldn't even be in here. I'm an endangered species, even in Rhy'Din.
Viki's eyes couldn't have been any wider. Her flesh wouldn't stretch that far - believe me, she tried. The voice in her head belonged to a unicorn. The creature was tethered and stuffed into the very back of the Beastiary.
It looked at her funny.
I know you can hear me.
Viki sat on the floor beside the beast, staring at his long legs, his mane, and that odd looking thing which protruded from his forehead.
That's a horn. Stop staring. It's rude. The unicorn peered down at her with brilliant blue eyes - so brilliant, in fact, she started to cry. Her beauty was no match for his.
Oh, that's wonderful. Attract attention to us now!
Viki sniffed and inched closer. "Why are you talking to me only in my head?"
Because I haven't the vocal chords and no one else seems to hear me but you. Do you think you could get me out of here?
Fortunately for the unicorn, Viki didn't question things like that. "Okay!" She chimed. Then, as she beckoned the shopkeeper near, she began to untie his reigns.
"How much? Is this enough?" She happily dumped a bag of silver onto the shop's main counter. The man eyed her suspiciously and counted every coin. Then, when he had the sufficient funds, he smiled, and greedily added a few extra charges for the creature's room and board.
Viki rolled her shoulders into a shrug, thanked the man, and stepped out with her new friend.
"So what's yer name, horsey?"
Sullivan. And I am not a horse. I am a unicorn.
"What kind of name is Sullivan?"
What kind of name is Victoria?
"I met a lady once. She asked if I was a victim or a victor. Can I ride on your back?"
The unicorn stretched its neck and then dipped toward the ground.
One good turn deserves another. Where are we going, kid?
Viki hoisted herself onto the creature with little difficulty. She had become quite skillful in climbing ever since she had to use the clubhouse's roof entrance, which was the only entrance.
"Let's go home! I still haveta ask Talomar if I can keep you. He'll say yes though, dun worry." She had met a fire elemental the other day at the Red Dragon Inn. Ember was her name. To Viki's surprise, Talomar had agreed to having Ember live in his fireplace, but Ember and Talomar had butted heads and the elemental refused to go near the castle. Therefore, she didn't think The Count would have much objection to unicorns, as long he and Sullivan didn't butt heads, and since Sullivan didn't really speak, then there weren't going to be any problems!
Viki was always taking in strays. In turn, Tara was always taking her in.
So Unicorn and Chylde were off. Every now and then, the girl stretched heavenward and reached for an apple from a passing tree - when it reality, they were really the ones passing, but she liked to think of it as the other way around. And every now and then, she would reach over and offer an apple to her new playmate, who would almost always accept, and then, when she retracted her arm, she would turn the apple around and bite into the other side.
-Delirium, in The Kindly Ones, by Neil Gaiman.
Victoria Alexandra Chylde had no business in the Rhy'Din Bestiary, but she couldn't quite pass it by without going in.
And once she was in, she couldn't quite leave without seeing.
And once she saw, she couldn't quite stop herself from touching, cuddling, and kissing everything from the furry to the flying.
Hey kid.
Semi-pointed Elven ears perked to the sound of a distinctly non-human voice pattern. It was too high and too low all at once. It was too soft and too musical. If a feather could speak, Viki imagined, it would've sounded like such.
Hey, over here!
The girl abandoned the puppies and the other curiosities and followed the voice - a voice which she seemed to hear above any other, a voice that no one else in the vicinity seemed to hear at all.
Do you think you could get me out of here? I shouldn't even be in here. I'm an endangered species, even in Rhy'Din.
Viki's eyes couldn't have been any wider. Her flesh wouldn't stretch that far - believe me, she tried. The voice in her head belonged to a unicorn. The creature was tethered and stuffed into the very back of the Beastiary.
It looked at her funny.
I know you can hear me.
Viki sat on the floor beside the beast, staring at his long legs, his mane, and that odd looking thing which protruded from his forehead.
That's a horn. Stop staring. It's rude. The unicorn peered down at her with brilliant blue eyes - so brilliant, in fact, she started to cry. Her beauty was no match for his.
Oh, that's wonderful. Attract attention to us now!
Viki sniffed and inched closer. "Why are you talking to me only in my head?"
Because I haven't the vocal chords and no one else seems to hear me but you. Do you think you could get me out of here?
Fortunately for the unicorn, Viki didn't question things like that. "Okay!" She chimed. Then, as she beckoned the shopkeeper near, she began to untie his reigns.
"How much? Is this enough?" She happily dumped a bag of silver onto the shop's main counter. The man eyed her suspiciously and counted every coin. Then, when he had the sufficient funds, he smiled, and greedily added a few extra charges for the creature's room and board.
Viki rolled her shoulders into a shrug, thanked the man, and stepped out with her new friend.
"So what's yer name, horsey?"
Sullivan. And I am not a horse. I am a unicorn.
"What kind of name is Sullivan?"
What kind of name is Victoria?
"I met a lady once. She asked if I was a victim or a victor. Can I ride on your back?"
The unicorn stretched its neck and then dipped toward the ground.
One good turn deserves another. Where are we going, kid?
Viki hoisted herself onto the creature with little difficulty. She had become quite skillful in climbing ever since she had to use the clubhouse's roof entrance, which was the only entrance.
"Let's go home! I still haveta ask Talomar if I can keep you. He'll say yes though, dun worry." She had met a fire elemental the other day at the Red Dragon Inn. Ember was her name. To Viki's surprise, Talomar had agreed to having Ember live in his fireplace, but Ember and Talomar had butted heads and the elemental refused to go near the castle. Therefore, she didn't think The Count would have much objection to unicorns, as long he and Sullivan didn't butt heads, and since Sullivan didn't really speak, then there weren't going to be any problems!
Viki was always taking in strays. In turn, Tara was always taking her in.
So Unicorn and Chylde were off. Every now and then, the girl stretched heavenward and reached for an apple from a passing tree - when it reality, they were really the ones passing, but she liked to think of it as the other way around. And every now and then, she would reach over and offer an apple to her new playmate, who would almost always accept, and then, when she retracted her arm, she would turn the apple around and bite into the other side.