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Post by astralguardian on Sept 8, 2005 16:45:02 GMT -5
Just down the road, well... ok a ways down the road and along the left hand fork, which is very nasty for carts mind you, lives an old lady. Some would say a hag, others an ogre. Though, I must question that description as most ogres are at least eight feet tall and have a voracious appetite for small children and foul tasting wine. No, this hag... I mean old woman must stand no taller than four feet. At least two feet of the orginal woman now reside in a hunched forward position. I suppose one could call the poor old woman a giraffe if it wasn't for her minute size. Anyway, she lives along of course, afterall, who would want to live with a foul tempered miniature giraffe right? So on we go.
Kurtsie murmured behind the obnoxious cackle of her rooster. A lump of animal furs and patched together cotton blankets began to stir, as if a shrew began to wiggle about preparing for a nightly hunt of nasty beetle dinner. Out from underneath the stewing covers flopped a boney, wrinkled hand. A snort and s niffle and the covers slid down from an old womans head. A frazzle of wire-like hair mish moshed about felt the wrinkled hand scratch and scritch at the scalp.
"Moan, grumble, moan" Kurtsie explained to her aged dark grey feline, Melsbeth. With a creaking and cracking, Kurtsie rolled to aside and planted to wool socked feet upon the wood planked foor.
"Heerrrreeaaarumrumrum" Kurtsie stretched and waddled pains takingly to the cedar table covered with various bowls, cups, satchels, god-knows-what else really.
"Time to your breakfast, dearest" She smiled in a half daze at Melsbeth, still grogy from her slumber. The cat rose from her basket with a long, oh so comfy stretch.
Kurtsie began rifling about the table with peering eyes, almost covered over by the wrinkles on her brow.
(yes? No? Maybe?)
It's probably too early to tell.... let me know if I should run with it, Bridgie.
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Post by astralguardian on Sept 8, 2005 17:01:33 GMT -5
anyway, as I was saying...
From her elegantly silver crowned ears, Kurtsie could hear the village boys up to no good once again. She picked at the rogue greyed hair from her ears as she leaned towards the front door and window of her cottage. A glimmer in her eye and a smile up on her face, Kurtsie broke the cottage's nightly air with the front door. Fresh morning dew scented air wafted into the cottage, bringing a fine, soothing smile and breath from the old witch. She stood still for a moment with her eyes closed and a shaking hand holding the door latch. Then an eye popped open and caught a glimpse of the boys skipping about and seemingly raising a ruckus over something. She watched from her hazing peripheral, one of the children limping along in pain. Her lips scruffled and and scowled as she thought to herself for a moment.
Normally, she would have been up in time to keep the boys away from the old keep with her keen act she thought to herself. Too bad the night before had been so.. enlightening. She chuckled to herself as the thoughts of the herbs and brew bringing forth the nature spirits in their many forms of dancing, celebration and music.
"Father's going to whip us when he finds out we've been to Shadenmoore," The tallest whined in a whisper, as not to let his parents know of his forbidden adventures from an hours walk away.
"YEah? well my dad's going to put moe to work in the fields until I'm thirty!" A younger boy replied in a bundle of broken nerves.
"You already are working in dad's fields you dope." The older boy whispered back with a hiss.
"Knock it off you two, we need to think of something quick! A handsome young boy about the age of twelve intervened.
"What about me?" The limping child spoke in her high, worrisome voice. "I'm the one with the now cracked noggan and scrapped knees, and it hurts so much Andrew, what I am going to do? I can't hide this from mum!"
"I don't know yet Anna, I know we'll come to the answer before we rach home." Andrew spoke in a tone of reassurance.
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Post by Bear the Mystic (and cuddly) on Sept 8, 2005 21:07:12 GMT -5
Oh my, I find myself quite interested! AG, your gift for painting a picture and thoroughly enthralling the reader from the first sentence are truly a gift. Please, do continue.
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Post by Calibri on Sept 8, 2005 21:15:34 GMT -5
Bridgie inserts clapping hands emoticon! Good work, AG! She is just as I imagined her, and the storyline is going just as planned! Please continue!
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Post by phoenix on Sept 9, 2005 4:15:51 GMT -5
The guardian the weaver of words! This sounds just like bridgie ;D (ducks to advoiding foam flying ufos)
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Post by Calibri on Sept 9, 2005 9:41:13 GMT -5
Me Phoe? LOL! ***hurls foam caper***
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Post by phoenix on Sept 9, 2005 14:39:09 GMT -5
*** Ducks at incoming ***
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Post by astralguardian on Oct 10, 2005 12:42:09 GMT -5
Oh I can't let this one die out either.... this one's going to be a fun one  |
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Post by seleena on Oct 11, 2005 11:19:01 GMT -5
You have to continue this one, AG!
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Post by astralguardian on Oct 17, 2005 12:50:48 GMT -5
Just as the children scuffled up to corner of the old witches stone fence and found themselves hesitating further. The two older boys slowed and became silent as Anna and Andrew seemed to keep their recent pace. Pace widened between the children as the older boys moved to the other side of the bumpy road. Andrew became aware of this change in marching order and looked awkwardly towards Sammy and Samuel.
“What’s gotten into you two all of a sudden?” Andrew spoke slightly irked at their hesitation. Sammy and Samuel responded with a stuttering finger-pointing gesture at the old witch- the hag standing outside her earthen and dilapidated cottage.
“We were just on our… way umm home, we were we’ll be going then!” Sammy took lead as Samuel followed suit with shoes clapping madly against the dirt road. The hedge witch watched with furrowed brow as the two boys scattered down the road in a flight for their lives; she would have eaten them if she had been quicker, no she thought to herself, that’s just too funny.
Kurtsie changed her attention to Andrew and Anna, who had stopped in the middle of the road, Anna hold her throbbing head with a shivering hand. The pain from her scraped knees was sending waves of stinging shivers all through her body. Andrew moved slightly towards the old woman, as if to shield Anna a magical spell. A hard swallow betrayed Andrew’s stout stance to Kurtsie. She admired him for protecting his sister.
“Your friends seem to have buggered off then.” The old hag’s voice broke the awkward silence. She watched the two children closely, her lips coming attempting to reach a smile.
“Yes, it would appear that way, but we didn’t mean any harm we don’t wish to cuase trouble, we…” Andrew pleaded with Kurtsie, even gesturing forward with a step towards her, but Kurtsie responded with a wave an a wincing face.
“None of that boy, none of that. No need to plead excuses with me,” She looked at Anna carefully and sighed deeply, “my poor dear, you look to be in awful pain. Why not come inside, I’ll clean up those knees and get you something for that nasty bump upon your head.” Kurtsie gestured back towards the cottage door that stood open, the old cat stretching her way outside.
It sounded wonderful to Anna, but she looked towards Andrew, seeming for permission. Andrew agreed with Anna’s thought and nodded, then looked at Kurtsie with stern eyes.
“…but no tricks witch we don’t want to be spell bound or eaten, and if you try something, my father will…” Once again Andrew’s raised and chatty voice was stilled by the old woman’s flailing hands. She chuckled at the boy and looked him straight in the eyes.
“I have no plans to eat anyone, ever,” her chuckle seemed pleasant to Andrew, who’s face fell to a calm. “If you come on inside I’ll tell you a little secret.” The old woman continued with a tone of intrigue.
Inside smelled SO good to Andrew. Cinnamon sticks, spices and herbs of all kinds permeated the air with their hypnotic aroma. He could make out all types of flowers and plants and their smells as his eyes darted from one fascinating detail to another. Melsbeth had followed them back inside and was wrapping herself and her tail about his dirt and mud covered ankles.
Kurtsie was busily washing Anna’s poor knees with a cloth and some water. She had placed something else in the water that she explained would help keep the cuts and scrapes from getting infected. Anna watch the hedge witch with a dazed look of wonderment. She looked old, yet the air around her, the almost invisible shimmer around her, seemed full of energy and youth.
“Reading my aura are you young one? Did your mother teach you such things?” Kurtsie spoke softly in her grandmother-like voice while tending to Anna’s knees. Anna was not certain how to respond. Her mother had told her to never mention such things in the presence of others as it was very, very dangerous.
“My mum told me never to talk about it” Anna spoke hesitantly.
“I see. It is quite alright, I understand her concern.” Kurtsie smiled, her bent and crooked teeth greeting Anna.
“ I see Melsbeth has taking a liking to you, boy, it is a good think, means she trusts you”. Kurtsie spoke cheerfully as she finished with Anna’s knees, blotting them dry. Andrew smiled in return and bent down to pet the old cat. Melsbeth purred and pushed up against his hand.
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Post by astralguardian on Oct 17, 2005 13:03:24 GMT -5
“It would seem I was a bit late this morning,” Kurtsie spoke as she readied something Andrew could not see from his place within the cottage. “I wasn’t quick enough with the ghosties, was I?” Her waving voice chuckled slightly as Andrew and Anna listened in astonishment.
“You have control over the ghosts of Shadenmoore?!” Anna raised a frightened tone.
“No deary, oh no most certainly not, they don’t need me to tell them what to do. No! the ghost sin which you young ones continuously confront every so often in an attempt to enter Shadenmoore, are but my own tricks! Just illusions. I try to keep young explorers from entering Shadenmoore, it’s quite dangerous you know. Rotted floors, old beams, it’s quite unstable for anyone to be wandering around in these days.” The hedge witch waddled back to Anna and placed the dampened cloth on the side of her head. “Here, now hold this to your noggin for awhile until lit stops hurting.”
“So, what was the secret you wanted to tell us?” Andrew faced the old woman with a curious gaze. Kurtsie smirked towards the young boy and sighed.
“I was your age once, difficult as it may be it imagine,” She watched them smile. “I was an adventureous little tike such as yourself!” Kurtsie poked at Anna’s shoulder as Melsbeth found a comfortable spot in the old rags of Kurtie’s lap as she sat in an old, creaking chair. “I used to play there all the time, even though my mother and father told me to never go there. I would play with the sprites and fairies and talk to the spirits all day until the sun was setting upon the trees. I learned so many great things from them and they were my friends.” Anna and Andrew listen in Awe as Kurtsie told her tales.
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Post by celebrin on Oct 17, 2005 16:38:17 GMT -5
I love this one! looking forward to what's to come! ;D
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