𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 & 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧Number of People: 07 (03 ♂ | 04 ♀)
Number of Animals: 04 (04 c | 00 o | 00 h)
Servings Needed: 00 (2 fasting posts left)
Next Request: Post 4
Yemons: 90
Mod: Spookypuff
Families |
Items and Food |
Mentors |
WorldbuildingLife went on. Pine and Forest grew quickly to pony-size over the course of the year, but thankfully didn’t need to eat more than once every couple of days. They were still growing and Elizabeth expected them to be at least as large as a horse once fully-grown.
The first time Pine “spoke” to Elizabeth was a shock but, having been raised on fantasy books, less of one than it could have been. Raphael had been delighted and he and Forest were constantly chattering away to themselves, looking for something or playing somewhere. Elizabeth was much more sedate but she had to admit that going to the beach and watching as Pine frolicked in the waves was worth her time.
Helen taught Elizabeth everything she knew about medicine (which was, admittedly, very focused around dentistry) and the pair explored their new world to see what herbs and such they could find. Willow was gathered as painkillers and mint was gathered both for tea and to clear their stomachs. Pine often accompanied the mother and daughter, nibbling on fruits or chasing after whatever small animal caught her attention.
One evening, after gathering her courage, Elizabeth admitted to her parents that she apparently had magic. Fire magic, specifically. They’d taken it much better than she’d feared, with a simple hug and a shrug. Raphael was jealous, of course, because
he didn’t have a cool power. But something in Elizabeth told her that she wasn’t the only one; they simply didn’t know what they were developing.
As spring changed into summer, the world became a furnace outside of the forest. As much as she loved the heat, Elizabeth was grateful for the trees that provided them with shade. Summer then turned to fall, and she doubled down on her efforts to learn how to patch up and modify her clothes. While she’d long stopped growing years ago and she’d brought with her several changes of clothes, they were beginning to look more tattered than she was comfortable with. But new skills weren’t the only things that were gained that fall.
***
Elizabeth was beginning to try and ride Pine, as the dragon had grown big enough to support her weight. The issues were that feathers weren’t easy to hand onto, and there wasn’t anything they could use to make reins or straps with. So flying was out of reach for now, although Pine was willing to give Elizabeth short rides on foot.
That day, the pair ate their lunch at Willow Creek, in a particular clearing that Pine had found which quickly became a picnic spot. It was nice, for a fall day. The leaves were turning pretty colors and the air was warm with a hint of a breeze. Elizabeth still carried her pistol just in case something tried to jump out, but she was also carving a spear so that she’d have backup. She was no Kaladin, but she figured that she could at least stab at the danger.
Elizabeth nearly choked on her sandwich and rubbed her hands together quickly when a bright flash engulfed her vision, leaving her seeing stars as it faded.
What was that? asked Pine, getting to her paws. Her head was forward and her tail twitched, almost like a cat in the process of hunting.
“I don’t know,” Elizabeth murmured. “But we’re about to find out.”
It won’t hurt you, said Pine, determined.
I’ll eat it first.“I’ve got the gun. It’ll be fine.”
Elizabeth and Pine crept towards the trees, where there was something that almost sounded like speech. Elizabeth was still seeing stars so she nearly missed the two women who lay on the ground. They shrieked and scrambled out of the way. As Elizabeth blinked, seeing the world around more and more clearly, she took in the details of the scene; one of the women had straight black hair hastily cut to shoulder-length and the other had long, dark red hair. Both were white and were wearing sturdy clothes that looked…very similar to the ones Elizabeth herself wore. The strange women had most of their skin covered and carried backpacks. The black-haired woman had a sword by her side and it was stained with something that looked like either rust or blood. Maybe both.
“Who are you?” demanded Elizabeth, pointing the gun midway between the pair while keeping her finger off the trigger. If necessary, she would shoot. But she’d much rather not since it would be messy and traumatizing to everyone involved.
The black-haired woman recovered first and sat up. “You must be the daughter,” she said wonderingly. Elizabeth’s mind stopped, reset, and booted up again. Seriously? Would she
never escape that? “Is George your father?”
Okay yeah, this was a bit too…not coincidental but
something. Annoying, at the very least. “I’ll take you back to camp if you stay ahead of me and don’t try anything funny,” she said, neatly avoiding the question. Her voice held only the hint of a wobble. “And my dragon will back me up.” Pine growled slightly to make the point.
The two women looked at each other and started laughing, a relieved sound tinged with hysteria. “Thank god,” said the black-haired woman, voice trembling slightly now. Her eyes shone. “Lead the way.”
***
Elizabeth, on Pine, herded the women into their camp where her papa was waiting. They claimed to know
a George, but she couldn’t be sure if it was
her papa. She hadn’t asked for their names because she didn’t want to seem too friendly (yet) and hadn’t given hers either.
“Keep going,” she said when the pace flagged. “It’s just up ahead.”
“You’ve said that…how many times?” asked the redhead.
Elizabeth blushed and rolled her eyes even though the women in front couldn’t see her. “I mean it. It’s not that far.” The forest opened up into the clearing where they’d been living and she saw her papa…talking with some strange man. The other man was black and dressed in dark clothes, also neck-to-toe. There was a bag beside him and some sort of firearm.
“Manny!” the black-haired woman practically screamed, running ahead. While Elizabeth was surprised, she told herself that clearly the woman hadn’t been too much of a threat and didn’t need… Well, she didn’t need
that.
The black man turned around and his eyes widened. As Elizabeth slid off of Pine, she heard his answering cry of: “Jessie?!?” Better safe than sorry.
“Lizavetachka!” called her papa jovially, standing up. “Come meet the other members of our little group.”
Elizabeth squinted exaggeratedly and looked at the redhead, who shrugged in return. Her little smile seemed both apologetic and mocking.
Should I eat them if they’re giving you trouble? suggested Pine lightly. Elizabeth turned away as she broke into a fit of laughter, waving off the visible concern from both the redhead and her papa. Once she recovered, she gave Pine a couple of affectionate pats to the shoulder before walking to her papa. She sat down and leaned into him.
“Who are these people?” she mumbled.
“She gave us the welcoming gun-in-face,” said the black-haired woman--Jessie?--with amusement, sitting down on the ground. “When she did that, I thought for sure that she had to be your daughter. No one else would do that.”
“Well, I didn’t know if you were a threat!” Elizabeth protested. Looking closer, she thought that Jessie, Manny, and the other woman were probably about her age. Maybe a couple of years older. Despite her initial suspicion of them, they had apparently traveled with her papa for a bit and were from
her world. She squashed the little ember of hope before it could grow further. She didn’t want to think about it.
“Anyways, I’m Jessica,” said the black-haired woman. “This is Emmanuel, and that’s Grace.” Grace waved shyly as she also took a seat on the ground. “It’s been a few years,” said Jessica, now serious. “You just…disappeared one day. We didn’t know where you’d gone and we tried staying together. It worked and then today, Grace and I were scouting the houses when there was a bright light and your kid here was pointing a gun at us.” George chuckled and Elizabeth blushed again.
“I don’t know what happened,” said George. “One moment I was out hunting and the next…” After a few moments of silence, he continued. “I found my kids a few days later. Liza, where’s Raph?”
Elizabeth grimaced. “Probably out with mom. Listen, Pine and I were doing a patrol along Willow Creek. We were having lunch when we…
met…Jessica and Grace. I woke up early for it, too. Wanted to have lunch while it was warm out.”
George nodded. “You’ll meet him when he comes back with my wife.”
Jessica smiled. “It’ll be good to see her again.”
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There were some changes but many things stayed the same. Emmanuel became the primary hunter, while Jessica and Grace took over most of the scouting duties. They patrolled the territory, looking for anything or anyone out of place. Elizabeth and Pine still did their own thing, but it was much more relaxed. Now that they weren’t the only ones, they would sometimes go fishing or gather berries. She particularly enjoyed the strawberries, although as fall dragged on, they became smaller and scarcer.
One day, her mom announced that she was pregnant. While Elizabeth and Raphael were excited for another sibling (or siblings, Elizabeth thought), she had a feeling that she know who would be the midwife. And she was the exact opposite of excited for the blood. Yech.
One day, probably some time in the late fall or early winter (seasons were hard to count but they seemed similar enough to the Earth seasons that they were using the same calendar), Pine uncovered a pair of dragon eggs near the base of the mountains. No words needed to be spoken; Elizabeth created a sling using her jacket, grabbed the eggs, and hopped onto Pine. The young dragon gallopped all the way home, occasionally augmenting herself using short flaps and glides. It was the closest that they’d come to flying so far and it was exhilterating.
“Hey Raph! Taffy!” Elizabeth called as Pine skidded into camp. “Get a nest set up. We got two more!!”
Raphael, who’d been relaxing and chatting with Forest, shot up. “
More dragon eggs?!?” he exclaimed. Forest looked over, golden eyes bright with interest.
“Yeah, and I don’t know how old they are. C’mon. You and Forest, go get some stones or sticks or som’tn’.”
Her brother sprang into action, looking for some suitable branches and stones to make a nest from. Elizabeth turned to the campfire and made an “up” gesture with her right hand. The flames flickered and strengthened in response. She smiled. So far, she hadn’t burnt down anything. She wanted to keep it that way.
I’ll get Helen? offered Pine, head cocked questioningly.
“Sure,” Elizabeth replied. “Tell her that we’ve got it under control for now.” Pine snorted with amusement and galloped off into the trees. Elizabeth turned back to the eggs. They looked much larger than Pine and Forest’s had been, so either it was from a different species or these eggs were closer to hatching. They’d have to set up a rota of who would watch them, so that they didn’t miss the hatching. If it went like the last time, the dragonets would imprint on whoever was nearby and she
really didn’t want to lose them.
“Thanks, kiddo,” she said, grabbing a few sticks from Raphael and helping him make the nest just out of range of the campfire. The idea was to keep them warm without setting them on fire. It had worked just a short--had it been a year? two years?--while ago. “Alright, let’s get the eggs in here. Pine’s gone off to tell mom what we’ve got.”
Pine returned soon with Helen, who had been gathering fruits. “What’s up?” she asked, shifting the basket in her arms. Elizabeth simply pointed. “Oh!
More dragons?!”
“I think so, yeah,” said Elizabeth. “They look similar enough. I’m thinking of doing some kind of…not patrol but like have a couple people watching them at all times.”
Helen nodded vaguely. “Sounds good. Anyways, call me back when everything’s ready?”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, sighed, and deflated slightly, exaggerating as she often did to make her point. “It
is ready, mama.”
“Oh. Well, good job, I guess?”
“Hhhhhhhhhhh.”
***
Jessie fiddled with her rapier, going through lunges and jabs, practicing against an invisible enemy. Ever since Elizabeth had figured out that she had fire magic, the others had been testing out what they could do. Jessie, as it turned out, could summon swords. Among other things. But this was the one she was most confused about. What use did she have for a sword, now that there weren’t any zombies to kill?
Because you don’t know what’s in the ocean, a little voice whispered.
Because you don’t know what’s beyond the mountains. Because you don’t know what’s outside of the forest.“Shut up,” she grumbled.
“Wassat?” asked Manny, opening one eye. He was what Elizabeth had termed as “conjurer”, able to make things appear in his vicinity seemingly from nowhere in particular. He’d conjured more clothes for them once they’d figured it out, and the four women had been enormously relieved to not have to wear the same tattered clothes for the foreseeable future.
“Bad thoughts,” replied Jessie. “The usual.”
Manny nodded, serious. He sat up. “Listen, you could teach Raphael how to fence. I think he’d
love that and you could work out some of that nervous energy.”
Jessie inhaled and exhaled deeply. “I would, but I was only a student. I’d feel bad teaching the little guy all the wrong forms and moves.”
“Well,” said Manny with a shrug, “we’re talking about survival. Teach him about that.”
Jessie started to reply when she heard a tapping. Manny rocketed to his feet, eyes wide.
“The eggs!” he said. “They’re hatching!”
Jessie cursed. “I am so not ready for this,” she said with a little nervous laugh.
“But having our own dragons will be the coolest thing ever,” mused Manny. “Imagine
flying. Jessie,
imagine flying!”
Jessie grinned. “Yeah,” she said wonderingly, as the eggs broke in two. The dragonets that emerged were very different from Pine and Forest; these were spikier and larger, for one. Jessie crouched as the paler one, which had a pale lilac body and cream-colored wings, stumbled over to her. A name came to her unbidden: Crystal. It let out a little croak and everything was right with the world. “I bet you’re pretty hungry, hmm?” Jessie asked in the tone reserved for babies and cute animals. “Want me to get you something to eat?” A little cheep. “Do you like strawberries?” A questioning sound. “We’ll have to fix that right away.”