Haven in the Woods

[Illilli]

"We could probably get some small coin for herbs I can gather, though that would take a long time... I'm thinking that since we have so many of these vines covering the floor..." She picks up a near by trailer and points out the little roots where a leaf is joined to the vine. "We could probably root some of these and take them for trade. They aren't exactly common... And since we can fly we won't be leaving a trail for someone to come try and rip us off..."

"If I had the supplies I could sew some simple clothing. Lace sells well but that would take alot of time to make, it takes me an evening to make about six inches of the stuff. Though I could do simpler patterns that work up quicker..."

She rambled on about restocking the kitchen, dredging the little pond in the corner to remove the slime smell, washing, stretching and smoking the deer hide to make a soft bed fur when Ander made his presence known.

Illilli looked down at Ander when she heard the sneeze and noticed his eyes were open and looking somewhat clear and sharp.

"Welcome back Ander... Geldenwing has been taking such wonderful care of you. Are you feeling better?"

[Geldenwing]

The sneeze made Gelden jump in surprise. While Illilli gracefully welcomed back their young friend, Gelden launched herself forward, pulled the boy against her and wrapped her arms around him in a thorough hug, fighting tears of relief.

"You're awake again, and I'm so happy to see you awake! Did you sleep good?"

She pushed him back to examine him. His torso was about 3/4 of her entire body size, which would make such movements impossible once he was on his feet, but from this position she could manhandle him at will. Especially since he would most likely be a bit disoriented, anyway.

Not that she cared about that.

"You need new clothes, Lily and I decided. Do you have any, or do we need to steal them? I bet Lily could sew you some from hides, but that takes so much work and time, and you need new clothes now. Are you hungry?"

The faerie released him and looked over at Illilli.

"Do you think he's hungry?"

[Ander Valman]

Ander's sneeze had alerted everyone to his presence. When his name was said, he realized that he had been listening to a soft voice speaking of mundane things, cleaning some place up. He had been so immersed in his memories, and trying to clear things in his head, that he had completely missed it.

He was welcomed back to wakefulness at the same time he was pounced on and dragged up by the winged girl. Geldenwing. The name came to him through a fog in his brain when he needed it. He was hugged, asked if he was ok, and scolded about his clothes all in two breaths, and he couldn't get a word in edgewise. The sudden movements made him a little dizzy and disoriented, but fought through it to remain upright with willpower he didn't know he had.

Ander couldn't help but smile at her, openly and honestly. He nodded when she asked if he had clothes, but didn't mention they were almost as bad as what he was wearing. He wasn't really hungry quite yet, his stomach still feeling a little queasy at the thought of food.

He finally turned a shy smile on Illilli, his mother's voice suddenly reminding him to thank someone for anything they did for him.

"I..." he started, then coughed and cleared his throat, his voice a little scratchy and his throat dry. "I'm sorry to be a burden on you," he began again, drawing his legs up so he was sitting cross-legged. "Thank you for everything. I don't know how long I was sick, but it probably wasn't easy for you." He looked each in the eyes in turn, then smiled sadly, his eyes drifting to his hands fidgeting in his lap. "I'll be out of your hair soon, just as soon as I can walk and move around properly again."

Ander glanced up at Illilli and Gelden again, before looking back into his lap.

[Illilli]

Illilli snorted when he mentioned leaving so soon.

"Its not like this place isn't big enough. And you do need some help... can't be having you go off all unprepared... You are a nice brave young man. You did save us from that badger ya know."

She focussed on putting a few more twists on the reeds she was weaving into the rim of a basket.

"All this place needs is a little love. It does have so much to offer." She looked up and smiled at the little glints of light reflected on the gemstone encrusted walls between the glowvines. The doorways into the adjoining rooms beckoned invitingly, empty though they were.

"Fresh water, good forage and some hunting near, privacy from those magic obsessed townsfolk near by... You wouldn't believe how aggressive they can be!" she shook her head.

"They were angry with us for just being what we were born to be... Even if we didn't know what we were at the time." A glint shone in the corners of her electric blue eyes.

"They got mad at Geldenwing just for changing her size!" Illilli sighed exasperatedly.

"But now I'm ranting again... I'm sure if we are careful we can find just what we need on the edges of town and stay clear of those nutjob guards."

A few more twists went into the basket.

[Geldenwing]

"Not they," muttered the faerie with a hmph. "Just the clunky mean one. He put a hole in another man. He wasn't nice and I don't like him."

She continued examining Ander while Illilli spoke, making rapid-fire decisions in her flitty brain about his well-being and care. He thought he was a burden, and that simply wouldn't do. She'd made a promise, and since he'd come back, she intended to keep it. She grabbed his chin firmly (sorta) and tried to pull his face up and meet his eyes.

"Nonsense. You are not a burden on either of us. You're family!"

She grinned enthusiastically at this last bit, then released him to his own exploration. Both Illilli and Ander were family in her mind, though she'd known both of them for barely a week. This was her new home, and these two were under her minimal protection. It was unacceptable for one of her pack to think he didn't belong right where he was. How could she keep an eye on him if he was off wandering about?

"Once you've got your strength back, we're cleaning this place top to bottom, just you wait! These vines will be easy - you know they're sort of thinking? They react to talking, watch - "

She whistled shrilly, an unattractive and harsh racket, and several vines curled in clear distaste, possibly agony. She'd have to work on it, but she thought it got her point across.

"The dirt and patches, though, they need mending. Where's your other clothes? You need to be changed, and properly bathed. Not in that order. Into the tub!"

It was never-ending, and motherly, and quite likely irritating. Gelden was at her peak, unable to focus on one idea for more than a minute before another crowded her thoughts away. She looked at Ander expectantly.

[Ander Valman]

Ander looked from face to face as Illilli told him he wasn't allowed to leave. He wasn't sure how to feel, having been on his own for weeks with the feeling of abandonment caused by his mother yelling for him to leave the house and never come back. Ander's heart swelled with joy, though he tried to suppress the feeling, knowing hope would only cause more hurt if everything were to fall through.

He couldn't. He had found a family again, albeit an odd, magical family, but family nonetheless.

Ander listened to Illilli ramble on, speaking of how they would clean the place and supply themselves for their stay here. When it was clear she was done, Gelden grabbed his face and turned it to look into her eyes. His weakness far from over, his feeble attempts to ward her off were easy for her to get past. The firmness in her voice when she told him he was staying caused more joy to well up from within, a feeling so heady that he was suddenly dizzy with it as it coursed through his body.

It wasn't only the feeling that was making him dizzy. The spider poison was still working it's way out of his system, and he'd be weak for another day or so at least. As Gelden flitted from thought to thought like a bee after pollen, Ander lay back in his little nest, watching her as she talked away. When appropriate he would nod, finding it easier than speaking in his current state. His eyes slowly drooped, and Ander found it difficult to keep them open. His arm lifted as if on a string as he pointed to his backpack, where his spare set of ragged clothes were. This effort alone seemed almost too much, his eyes finally losing the battle to stay open.

He heard mention of someone going for bath as he slipped into a comfortable, dreamless sleep.

[Illilli]

"Oops... he's out again.." Illilli sighed as Ander slipped into a more comfortable state of rest than before.

Finishing the basket she had been working on she filled it and the other she had been making with the dried deer meat. This led to her sweeping the empty stone shelves of the pantry with a branch. When she finished she placed the two baskets of meat on a shelf where they looked lost and lonely in the vast space.

"It is a start..." she said.

She took more of the fir branches and rushes and built Geldenwing a nice little nest between between Ander's pallet by the fire and her own small nest in the recesses of the nook area created by the bar cutting across a corner of the cavern. Illilli's bed was just large enough for her to sit comfortably on in this form. She planned on sleeping in her tiny dragon form as it handled unconventional sleeping arrangements the best. If anything the branches almost seemed... too soft.

"I have got to get some cooking supplies from town, but I am not looking forward to it Geldenwing. That guard in the bar wasn't the only one that had treated me roughly while I was in town. They took me in and locked me up just for witnessing a wicked dragon and a fire monster burn down a section of town. Of course, I did knock off one of the dragon's horns with my little cook pot... I think the horn might bring a good price in town perhaps..." she mused.

"I think I'll wash the boy's things real quick before I get some sleep."

She got up and retrieved the Ander's clothing from his knapsack and spent the next 15 minutes sudsing them up and rinsing them out in the large kitchen sink. Soon they were a few shades lighter from lack of dirt and smelled faintly of good lavendar soap. There was not much she could do about any rents or tears as she didn't have a sewing kit. She hung them up to dry.

"Hmmm, need a sewing kit too..." she yawned as she stretched.

"It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow I think." she focussed and with some trouble and a headache managed to change into her smaller form. She left her clothing where it fell and curled up nose-to-tail in her nest.

"Night Night Geldenwing." she yawned.

"Night Night Ander." she added though she was pretty sure the boy was very much asleep.

"Night Night Glowvines."

She was quite surprised when the vines slowly dimmed to a comfortable sleeping darkness.

[Geldenwing]

The little fae looked worried when Ander slipped away again, remembering how easily he'd died earlier, but Illilli was calm, and his chest continued rising and falling in the natural way. It didn't stop the panic, but it gave her a way to control it until she was calm once more. She sat back on her haunches, examining the boy thoroughly for any signs of deadness, then looked at Illilli at the mention of buying supplies.

"Oh, that's easy. Who says we need to do it the human way? Just be small and steal. I do it all the time."

She crawled over to the pallet Illilli had made and settled her bum on the branches. She's always liked fir branches; they were buoyant and bubbly yet soft enough to be comfortable. She gave Illilli a most glittery smile.

"Thanks! This is wonderful!"

She moved and shifted until she was comfortable, then settled herself down against the foliage and closed her eyes. She slept on one side, curled up like a puppy. And she wouldn't sleep for long; the little faerie rarely slept more than a few hours at a time.

"'Night 'night."

* * *

Later, in the quiet, she awoke. It had only been a few hours, but Gelden was fresh as Spring rain, alert and perky as ever. She first checked Ander to make sure he was still breathing, and then looked about the cavern. Illilli was already ready, and within moments the two women stole away.

Gelden paused at the cavern entrance, though, and looked back. She'd promised Ander he'd be safe. If she weren't here to protect him...

She gently took one of the glowvines, and whispered into the closest leaves.

"Please keep him safe. Don't let me make a bad promise."

She kissed the vine, then, with a little giggle for emphasis, and took to running after her friend. She didn't want to change sizes. Not just yet.

[Ander Valman]

((Catch Illilli and Geldenwing in "Finder's Keepers"))

Wakefulness came slowly to Ander. Coming up from the deep, dreamless sleep of healing was a little like swimming towards the surface of a lake after diving almost too deep. Lungs thumping from lack of air, mild panic setting in ...

Ander's eyes blinked open to be greeted by more blackness. His breathing came in ragged gasps as he tried to piece together what had happened. He was still weak from the poison, although he felt better and more clear-headed than he had at any time in the previous two ... three? ... days.

He remained lying down, regaining control of his panicked breathing. When he was once again breathing deeply and evenly, he realized that he could see, although slightly. At first Ander thought that the sun had risen, but when he cast a glance towards where he was sure the entrance was, there was no sun-warm glow. It took him a few moments to realize that the light was coming from the glowvines.

Perhaps the vines had realized that he was awake, and would need to see ... or perhaps they just randomly brightened and darkened. Ander didn't think about it too long, as he suddenly realized something else was missing. He couldn't hear breathing or moving around of other people. The only sound he heard was the faint rustle of pine branches as he breathed in and out.

Ander firmly quashed the rising panic within, telling himself they were here somewhere, that they wouldn't have left him without good reason, that they weren't far off. Even as he tried to regain control of his feelings, magic seeped from him without his knowledge, an untrained form of location magic pulling at him. His head turned, and instinctively, he knew where they were, and which direction.

Ander frowned. How would he know something like that? He shouldn't have, he knew, and yet he was certain, in fact, would have bet his life and the life of his mother, that he knew exactly which direction Gelden and Illilli were. He slowly sat up as he pondered this odd development, careful not to go so fast as to cause another wave of dizziness. As he did so, the glowvines brightened, shedding more light on the cave.

Ander carefully looked for where he remember the backpacks being stored. His was still there, looking ragged and disheveled against the earthen backdrop. Both Gelden's and Illilli's were gone. Again he fought the panic, telling himself that they must have gone to get supplies. He vaguely remembered a conversation the previous night before he had succumbed to his weakness and his need for more sleep.'

Ander shrugged off the pine branches that had stuck to him with sap, slowly rising to his feet. He stumbled once, catching himself on the wall of the cave with one hand. He slowly made his way outside to relieve himself, then came back in. It was nearly dawn, and he was wide awake and wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon.

He also recalled mention of a bath before he drifted off to sleep. He glanced around the cave, smiling as the glowvines burst into radiant light around him. It almost seemed like they had kept their soft glow only until he had fully woken, realizing that perhaps their brighter light would have hurt his sensitive eyes before they got used to the light. Ander shuddered at thinking of glowing vines with intelligence like that, but it did seem like that was what was happening.

Ander decided he was going to help clean up their new place a bit before he jumped in for a cleansing bath. No sense getting clean only to get dirty again by cleaning. He looked down at the branches strewn across the floor, most in neat piles, others haphazardly lying on the floor. He began to gather them up, taking armloads to a corner and piling them there.

Once finished with that chore, and feeling better for having begun to get his blood flowing, Ander moved into the first bedroom, the bedroom Gelden had first looked into. The place was a mess, but he decided that he wanted to clean it for Gelden, so she'd have a place to sleep when she came back. He liked Gelden. She had promised to keep him safe.

Ander went to the crib first, carefully moving the vines wrapped around it off, trying not to hurt the seemingly sentient plant. Bits of the crib crumbled in his hand as he pulled it along the floor, and occasionally bars would break as he dragged it. He finally managed to get it out of the cave, setting it several feet away from the entrance.

He had to pause and get his breath after moving the crib out of the cave. His legs trembled and his arms shook, and he knew that he wasn't back up to his full strength yet. He still felt weak, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

With renewed determination, Ander went back into the cave and the first room. He went to work on the bed now, dragging the mouldy, critter-infested mattress out to rest atop the crib. The frame itself followed, after Ander had broken it into several manageable pieces.

Once the room was cleared, Ander grabbed a few branches and began to use those to sweep the dust and debris out of the room. He piled that in a corner in the main room, thinking to add to it the dust and debris from that room as well. He dragged the pile of branches that the three of them had slept on into the room, deciding that it would be better if they all slept in a room away from the main entrance. He piled the branches into three large piles.

By the time Ander was done his self imposed chores, he was drenched in sweat, and the sun was coming over the horizon. He decided before he did any other work, he would go have a bath. The thought of being clean was suddenly very appealing.

He quickly went into where Illilli had shown him the bath and ran some water until it was nearly full, and steaming hot. As the water ran, he quickly went out into the main room and found some little bits of soap in his pack. At least he had thought to bring that, and had used it while in cold streams and ponds. At least he would be able to relax in a hot bath.

Ander quickly disrobed and washed his clothes, setting them on the a shelf to dry. He then slipped into the hot water with a loud sigh. As he quickly washed himself, he noted how much dirt came off him and floated in the water. Once finished, he lay back with another sigh and decided to enjoy the warmth of the bath.

His eyes closed and he drifted between sleep and the waking world.

[Geldenwing]

It was a long, long time before the fae began her weary way home. It had been an exciting and interesting time, but Illilli was far more suited to determined goals than Geldenwing could ever be. She just got so bored.

Nonetheless, she wasn't coming home empty-handed. In the course of their midnight thieving, she'd found herself a pack, and stuffed it to the brim with any food she thought a young male might find interesting. Meats. Candies. And one stalk of brocoli, just for appearance's sake. She had a notion that it would be quite hilarious to see the look on his face when she produced the broccoli.

She'd left Illilli behind to continue her own thieving. She'd had to nag and mentally push and challenge her dragon friend until the woman got over the whole "moral" thing. Gelden's reasoning was flawless: they needed this stuff, and the shopkeepers didn't. Easy enough.

In her tiny arms, she carried two sets of bed sheets, minus the comforters. Those were far too bulky for her slight frame. Gelden felt like a pack mule or something, some miniature beast of burden that could only manage one sack and two sets of bedsheets. Some mule she made.

It was slow goings, which was why it had taken so long. Gelden hadn't even considered that she'd need to walk back, since she couldn't possibly carry so much stuff in her teeny faerie form. It had made the entire walk a very grumpy, muttery one, and by the time the cavern's dim entrance approached, the fae was in a right foul mood.

The crib sat outside the entrance, gutted and rotted and useless. Gelden froze upon seeing it, and her mood shifted crazily within her, swaying between bitter depression and general sourness. But she wasn't built for depression, and couldn't sustain the emotion long enough. She'd been grumpy before; now she felt like a sourpuss, too.

Next to the crib sat the splintered pieces of the bedframe, and, as the fae woke up enough to notice her surroundings, the disgusting mattress itself.

A sane, normal person would assume that a bored but determined teenager had taken to cleaning one of the filthy rooms within. Gelden, on the other hand, immediately assumed that he'd been attacked, robbed and/or killed, and in their search of the cavern the thieves/murderers had tossed aside these items, disgusted when they yielded no valuables of any kind. Her mind slashed through several scenarios - she walked in, to see Ander cold and dead and still - she saw flecks of blood scattered - or the worst of all, she walked in, and he was gone.

And she had left him, and hadn't protected him at all.

The faerie stood for several minutes in her own fantasies, and they grew worse and worse as she thought more and more. What a wonder, that she strove to keep such a silly brain turned off. It did her no good at times like this to be all thinky. Her brain settled down after a bit, after it had thoroughly distressed the poor little woman, and she shot into action, running full-speed into the cavern.

"Ander! Ander! Are you alright? Where are you Anderareyouok?!"

[Ander Valman]

Ander was running through the small copse of trees outside of Shim, a portion of the forest that was less forbidding, and stuck out towards the town. Ander and some of his friends played there often, shooting each other with self made bows and arrows, the ends of the arrows purposefully blunted and padded to be sure no one was seriously injured.

Dodging between trees, he could see his best friend to his left, hunting him. With a chuckle, Ander dodged behind a tree, then changed direction and ran towards a rock outcropping. Jumping down a small incline, he slid down to the bottom. Looking up, he saw his best friend looking down, arrow drawn and aimed ...

But it wasn't his best friend; it was him...

With a wicked grin, his other self released the arrow. Not a blunted arrow, but a real arrow. The arrow hissed through the air, the feathers rippled as it flew towards Ander. He moved his hands up to protect himself, the entire time knowing it would do no good. The arrow would hit him, no matter what he did ...

*********

"......... Anderareyouok?!"

Ander gasped, sitting upright. Water splashed over the edges of the tub, splattering onto the floor. The water was tepid, and he began to shiver. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but it was obviously long enough for the water to cool.

As he climbed quickly out of the tub, still shivering, he realized he didn't have anything to towel himself off with. Realizing that someone had come back, finally clueing into what had woken him, Ander shouted back.

"I'm in here! Just having a bath ... You didn't happen to bring towels back, did you?"

Modestly, he slipped his clothing from the shelf he had hung them to dry and wrapped them around himself. The clothes were still pretty wet, but clean.

Ander shook his head, trying to dispel the disturbingly real dream he had just had. After the shake of the head, he looked expectantly to the doorway of the bathing room.

[Geldenwing]

Gelden had stopped in the center of the large cavern, twirling this way and that, looking for the smallest sign of life, death, or Ander. She was too panicked to notice that the cavern looked neater, cleaner, and realize that criminals didn't clean up after themselves. It was only when Ander's young voice floated out from the direction of the bathroom that she felt intense relief wash through her, along with both reason and awareness. She finally noticed her surroundings.

"Oh!" No emotion came faster to the tiny woman than surprised happiness. Ander's day's work was appreciated in the space of all of ten seconds; once satisfied, the faerie, still carrying her large bag slung over one shoulder and the bedsheets in her arms, burst into the bathroom to see...

"Don't ever not answer me again!"

She would have wagged a finger at him, but for the sheets in her arms. He'd asked her a towel, and she looked down at her bedsheets for a moment, trying to remember if she'd brought towels or if she'd left them with Illilli. Illilli was smart; she was need-oriented. She had the towels. Gelden had sheets.

She shuffled the sheets in her arms for a moment, then pulled out a flat sheet and held it out to Ander. Who needed flat sheets anyway?

"Here, I have this. Lily's gettin' more goods back in town; I got bored."

She waited for a moment, then beamed at Ander.

"I saw you cleaned some stuff. Thank you! You're a good help."

The similarity to a dog's praise was not intentional.

With that, the little fae turned and bustled out into the main cavern, toward where she remember the kitchen to be. It was behind the bar, and hopefully, it wasn't as disgusting as her brain was whispering it could be.

[Illilli]

Illilli paused long enough outside the cave to collect her clothing from where she had hidden it before the night's escapades.

She happily trudged into the cavern and hollered, "I'm home! Oh wow you must have been busy!"

She came in and thunked her pack down on the cleanest spot of the bar and started unloading the goodies from her pack. She paused a moment to throw a soft fluffy towel at Ander when she noticed he was dripping wet.

The rags were stashed on one of the few shelves Illilli had cleaned in the pantry area. The towels joined them in short order.

The new silverware, bowls, utensils and cups were likewise lined up neatly near by. She finished her unpacking by stacking the blocks of soap near the sink, and placing the new big pot on one of the storage hooks hanging out of the fireplace.

"Much better," she said half to herself.

She went back to the large sack she had pilfered and cooed over the threads and fabric she had brought back.

"Its all one color, but I got us ten yards of this stuff! New set of shirts, pants and underwearfor all!" It was easy to tell she could hardly wait to get a needle into the fabric.

"I can maybe find some plants and dye these later if we want... but this stuff is so nice. It breathes!" she giggled and then yawned as it had been a very long night.

[Ander Valman]

Ander took the flat sheet and wrapped it around himself, perfunctorily drying himself with it. The sheet was quickly soaked through, but the sheet was still warmer than sitting in wet clothes.

He made sure to dry his hair after Gelden had left, so as to not embarrass either of them. Of course, he wasn't sure that Gelden embarrassed at all, but he knew he did. Avoidance was his best friend at the moment.

Still dripping slightly, Ander came out into the front portion of the cave, and quickly received a towel in the face. Now that he actually had something to dry himself with that would work better, he ran back into the bathroom for a bit of privacy. He decided he'd chance putting his clothes on, which he discovered were a little drier than he thought.

He came back out of the bathroom to Illilli cooing over her new pieces of cloth. Smiling at her shyly, he said, "Thanks for the towel. What are you going to make out of that?"

Ander pointed at the fabric, semi-interested. He scanned the floor nearby for a good spot to sit, then settled in cross-legged near Illilli.

His shy smile again appearing on his face, he asked, "Would you like any help with that?"

[Geldenwing]

Gelden held it in and held it in, until her eyes were about to pop from her skull. She was horribly curious, but some nagging sensation at the back of her head told her that it was a Not Good Question to ask. And so she fidgeted and squirmed in her skin, trying to distract herself with this and that and the other thing, too.

Illilli has, as promised, provided actual towels, and Gelden was relieved of the guilt of having forget such a simple thing to include in her own supplies. She supposed food was important, but honestly...towels! While she moved about the kitchen, thoroughly distracting herself from the Bad Question, she pondered on her personal inability to focus on Important Things. Like towels. And -

Here she'd opened what she remembered had been the ice box, and for once, the ancient dragon's magic had left this spot sparkling clean, just like the tub became. Gelden beamed and silently thanked her long-lost friend for focusing on Important Things. Somebody sure had to.

While she loaded up the fridge with her assorted food items, she pondered the Bad Question. Her attempt to ignore her curiosity had, of course, only made it worse as the seconds passed, until she felt she might burst from the need the know. She decided that it was ridiculous to hold it in like this; she would simply march outside, look Illilli straight in the eyes, and blurt out the question. And damn to the consequences!

Gelden giggled to herself, for thinking a naughty word.

Satisfied with her task, she marched out of the kitchen and grinned at Illilli's enthusiasm. Ander had made himself comfortable on the floor, and Gelden decided to follow his lead. She plopped down next to him, crossing her legs before her with her feet resting comfortably near her hips. Now was the time to ask.

She couldn't get past the sense that she was about to say something Very Inappropriate. She huffed and puffed, and decided she'd been around serious people far too long. She raised her eyes and met Illilli's gaze steadily, and finally voiced her nagging thought that had plagued her for the past several minutes.

"What's underwear?"