Tylwyth Te
Story by kantucknadie on SoFurry
A young girl is lured out into the woods by a fae. Little does she know she doesn't need to fear the Fae, the fae better watch out for Grandma!
A storyteller frame story based in my Terra Ragnarok storyworld.
"Tylwyth Te"
By Kantuck Nadie Nata-akon
version 1.3
Based upon a video "Fae" at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzKcsnkwik. My thanks to the creators of it, I certainly enjoyed it.
--
Storyteller night! How the members of this unusual tribe looked forwards to the concluding day of the week. Ever since the peaceful tribe was formed, only a hundred or so years ago. Storytelling night was used not exclusively for pleasant entertainment, but even to properly resolve disputes. The offending parties acting out stories they dreamed up much like a typical play and the engaged inhabitants unanimously choosing the best.
Now this night was extremely special, for they received a person from the university. He was a storyteller in his own right and everyone asked for him to speak this night. Reluctantly he agreed and the entire tribe, aside from the guards who drew the short straws turned up. Currently in the tent we identify the storyteller getting ready.
In the pit of my stomach, I had moths the size of vultures all fighting it out. The crowd outside the tent was swelling by the minute. The great campfire, which was ringed with the tribe's members, laced the air with the scent of cedar smoke, but the general chatter filled my ears. Adjusting my robe, I nearly jumped when the chief of the tribe walked in, calm as a well-fed cat.
"Michael, are you ready?" He asked smiling.
Was I ready? came a noble thought, [I]No way[/I]. But turning and carefully looking at him, I finally said "Yeah Thomas I think I am" came the deliberate lie. "It's absolutely ridiculous however. I can stand at ease in front of a hundred males and females in an academic setting in a prestigious university or a common town. But a lively bunch of precocious youngsters?"
A grin "I can understand." then he laughed. The lined copper colored face gained a few more lines "Kids can see so much, and they don't possess the social control as [I]mature adults should have."[/i]
We both laughed, as we stepped out of my tent into the warm night air.
Thomas raised his hands to address the members, and I slowly looked them over. An orange glow flickered about, lighting the members already gathered, and offering the ones coming in, a light to find a seat.
The standard human members were dressed in formal clothing, while the sea of animal faces, dressed far lighter. The most interesting part of the Hindvalan tribe, for the six plentycael species was all uplifts. Deer based Anikawi; Nearly all sitting in a group somewhat separated from the rest. Omecs and their descendants of Claude the scribe, the ghostly white-furred Dorgos, both from the Jaguar of South America. Rosetted marked faces of the Omecs, but the rosettes virtually gone on the colorless visages of the Dorgos. But both feline species, like all cats, seemingly superior but yet calm in demure.
The canine Siriuians looking as happy with their tongues flapping in their jowls; big round eyes looking admiringly at us, their visible tails wagging slowly as if they dearly wanted to just jump up and hug me. Finally, the hulking giants of the equinian Hevrons carefully taking their time to come in. Humans were scattered around with them, which seem to be the crucial reason this chiefdom was so unique. No where else was such a cultural group genuinely known. Indeed, a few independent groups and towns may typically have one or two distinct species; likely most of the time Siriuians since they, naturally coming from the faithful dogs loved to be with humans. But the others no.
The general chatter respectfully died down quickly when they saw their chief. I couldn't help but to stand in respect to him as he commanded the diverse races in peace. Each one thought differently, yet all respected him as a leader.
"Friends, thank you all for coming." Thomas started which was a bit redundant. Then he turned to me and I smiled and nodded to the crowd. "As I told you several days ago, we now have a guest speaker, Michael Burris. In thanks for your putting up with his nosy questions"- general laughter-. "He has agreed to speak at every storytelling night until his tenure expires and returns to the university." He slowly backed away, "Michael, the stage is yours."
This was it...no backing off now. No fake illness. I cleared my throat and...greeted them with "Osiyu all."
"Osiyu dideyohvsgi" promptly came greetings from the tribal members. This social group loved the elderly and teachers, and to be called 'Teacher' was a distinguished honor. This only made me more nervous. I chuckled delightedly, took in a deep breath to calm...
And began my classic tale.
"This story was told to me, when I was in Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky where I was stationed for a time. It came from a riverboat pilot who liked to talk and gamble, and he was quite a storyteller too. His name was Agus 'Pothole' McDuck, and trying to match a deal with me he agreed to tell me one of his..." I made some air quotes,'true stories' which produced a scattering of laughter. Then before I could continue...
"Teacher?" one of the Anikawi fawns asked, in a voice so soft it was hard to hear her, "Was he a Trader Joe?"
I merely smiled at the fawn, careful not to reveal teeth. Making her tilt her head in confusion, but I did promptly confirm "Yes he was, Fawne. When he wasn't gambling, or telling tall tales he would sell anything on his ship, the 'Drennan Whyte.'"
She giggled and clapped her paws recognizing precisely what a Trader Joe was. Therefore continuing...
"Not long ago, in the town of Limestone." Pausing because of the sight of Pentycael ears perking up, and knowing smiles on human faces. A trio of siriuian pups, all glossy black furred started swishing their tails in unison; most probably brothers, at the mention of the town.
"There was this small home, deep in the woods. A simple box, with windows on all sides, and flowers and a garden. A path leads further into the woods and in this modest home lived an elder; a grandmother and her granddaughter, Cleo."
"In the house, the grandma had baked some paw-paw pies, and a large iron kettle of stew was in the fireplace slowly cooking. But before either could eat, the grandmother had started cleaning, much to the disappointment of Cleo. For you see it was a warm summer day, the sun was shining, and..."
"Sighs...Gramma, how much longer before we're done?" Cleo said as she slowly orbited her hand over the glass. Only giving a halfhearted effort really.
The round woman walked up to Cleo, and smiled, as she squinted down at her, "Not much longer, honey. I know it's pretty outside. I just wanted these windows cleaned is all. It's going to rain in a day or so."
The girl nodded, "Yes Gramma" she didn't quite believe her of course. But she knew too there was something very special about the elderly woman, despite her nearsightedness. Cleo put her rag into the water again, and drew it over the window. Bringing a smile to the elderly woman, "Thank you deer, now once the windows are cleaned, you can go out and stay out till dinner, OK?"
Cleo's face light up "OK!" And so the young girl started with renewed vigor. however, after the third window...she was gazing forlornly out of it again at the green forest, the flowers waving gently in the breeze and the bright green..."Gramma!"
The woman walked up, "What is it, Cleo?"
She pointed to the window, "There was something out there, a green...uh, well"
The elderly grandmother squinted out of the window, not seeing anything of course, "Cleo there's nothing out there aside from the flowers, and forest" she smiled and rubbed her head, "Why don't you go outside. You need to get out now. Run along!"
I had to pause my telling, when I saw their reactions. The 'unison' brothers stopped wagging, and a Omec kitten spoke up.
"What did she see?" he asked, and his mother growled a bit down at him. He ducked his ears, as she said "Remember his title..." in which he added "Dideyohvsgi"
"Why the girl saw something green, like a cloud" I conducted my hands to describe what she was seeing, "a green cloud that floated just outside of the house. It's shape forming a face at times, then a body then returning to being a cloud. However, when Cleo stepped outside it paused and floated to her finally forming a face, then a green body, with a white coat, big pointed ears, and white hair."
The Fae, as Cleo thought of him flitted around for a bit then swooped down and BOOPED her nose. Both giggled at the silly act. In a moment, the Fae flew away slowly, circling around trees, looking at Cleo and heading deeper into the forest.
Cleo was dancing about the shore of a pond; still as glass and like a mirror. She could see her new friend floating just a meter above and both laughed and played. The Fae continued moving on, Cleo easily keeping up with him, as he went up and over a huge tree that had fallen over years ago. She climbed up through the roots, laughing softly, as was the Fae who was also enjoying this playful chase.
When Cleo walked down the great dead tree, the Fae circled in the clearing until he was sure she was still following.
--
"Now folks. You know what that Fae did?" There was a general murmur of the tribes people, and no one could guess. "Well, I'll tell you what he did. He flicked his finger, and behind the girl great brambles started to grow. Stickle-branches and woody vines with broad leaves filled the space where Cleo had walked though just a moment before! Why the girl was very unaware of it happening, and the true nature of her new friend.
Some siriuians started to growl, while the Omecs and Dorgos looked even more smug thinking the girl was foolish. One siriuian growled, "Did Cleo get away?"
"No" I said shaking my head at the dalmatian based siriuian. But all is not lost, for something happened even that Fae didn't expect!"
--
Cleo had continued to walk along, then passing a tree, her foot caught a root and down a hill, she rolled coming to a stop at the bottom. The Fae heard her starting to cry, and he turned with a look of concern. Putting his hand on his mouth he flew back and found Cleo sitting as she held onto her sore ankle.
He didn't know what to do to help, but as Cleo watched, he floated a couple of meters above her, curled into a ball then drop and land on the ground. Only to reform into the shape of a white fox! However his eyes; yellow was the only evidence this was the same Fae.
Cleo distracted from her sore ankle saw her new friend's transformation. The Fae-fox danced around her for a moment, then ran behind a tree and Cleo could see the glow of the Fae. Poof! Walking around came a tall white deer! But with the same yellow eyes.
Everyone in the tribe all turned and looked at the group of Anikawi. They didn't appear to enjoy being the center of attention, as they pulled their ears back and looked very annoyed in their long faces. "[I]Oops. Something to remember next time.[/i]"
"As the girl gasped, seeing her new friend shifting into a deer, she reached up and the Fae-deer lowered his head and nuzzled into her hand. But what happened next, surprised her no end!
"For you see, children. As soon as she touched the Fae-deer's muzzle he reshaped once again, and as if a mirror was placed in front of Cleo, he was now a mirror image of her! Matching every move she made, laughing at her.
"[I]Oh I have them[/i]" I thought. Even the Hevron, as stoic as the domesticated horses they were created from, was showing great interest.
--
They both was deep in the forest, and a small basin contained a rock castle, a grey half-bubble of stone, buried in the side of a mount with a roof over the edge. A ring of fairy mushrooms encircled the bottom. The Cleo-Fae giggled softly, as he took Cleo's hands into his. Then as his eyes started to glow with a yellow light, Cleo's glazed over.
The Cleo-fae pulled her hands gently at first, then finally he danced over to the rock castle, and around the ring inciting Cleo to walk forward. He continued his dance, giving up the form of Cleo, as he took on his general shape with a flare of white fire. As he danced around the ring, the mushrooms glowed. Cleo, hypnotized by the Fae slowly walked forward to the ring. But just as she was about to step within the ring...
There was not one voice in the entire tribe, even the fire seemed to quiet down as they all waited to hear what was going to happen.
One human girl now broke the silence, crying softly. As that voice came over, I smiled and yelled "Cleo! - It was the grandmother, calling to her." I told them.
Cleo, hearing her grandmother's voice paused, her foot almost inside the circle. Suddenly the spell ended, she looked around seeing a dark cold forest. Trees everywhere, nothing but green and worse of all; she couldn't remember any of it! It was just trees, and grass and leaves and everywhere looked the same.
She looked back to the Fae. He was floating above the fairy ring then looked down sadly for a moment. Was he sadden? Or bothered? It's hard to say.
Suddenly a demonic look came over the Faes face. Teeth turned sharp, a dark coloration formed over his green, and as Cleo watched, he floated higher and higher till he turned to her and out folded a set of huge white wings! Flapping slowly, grinning evilly as he looked at her!
He hovered in the air, chuckled evilly as he stared hungrily at Cleo. She on her rump, pulling her legs close to her and so afraid of her former friend she turned tail and ran!
Her former friend was flying right behind her, laughing evilly. He snapped his finger, and a tree sprouted right up in front of her, which forced her to dodge around. He then flew in front of her, making her stop and return which she came. Then she tripped! As she got up, she cried out. A evil thorny vine was wrapping around her boot, holding her tightly. But Cleo was crafty, she pulled her foot out of her boot!
Now loose she was running hard for the house. She could see it in the background, and in the window the fireplace glowed softly. The Fae was flying right behind her still laughing. Panting she kept running and jumping over rocks and trees.
"Cleeeoooo!" Grandmother's voice echoed through the forest
"Grandma!"
"Cleo!" she cried, holding up the lantern, and cursing her poor vision. But from out of the bush, Cleo came running, both boots protecting her feet over the rocky path, and she ran right into her grandmother, her arms wrapping around the soft, wide woman.
"Oh Cleo, there you are! Don't get lost ever again!" she gently admonished her, but so glad to see her she embraced her gently.
I had to let them catch their breaths, while I scanned the group. Siriuian tails all wagged quickly, a couple of the Omecs purred, and one licked his paw. A Hevron foal smiled, "Grandparents be blessed." he said in that bassy voice his species had.
"But..." I continued slowly, "When Cleo looked up at her grandmother, her eyes was glowing yellow, and a predatory grin was on her face, as she said in Cleo's voice "I won't Grandma."
Ears perked, one Omec kitten growled, showing her teeth, "No! Suddenly everyone was talking noisily, and angry, but I was expecting this one. "Gentlemales, females, children please. I'm not finished!" I rose my hands, and I don't think, unless they saw me as a teacher, I would have gotten such a quick reaction. They quieted down with all eyes on me.
"Now as I was saying, the Fae was grinning up at the woman who had trouble seeing. She was sure this was the true Cleo, but as they was about to go into the door...out burst a voice.
"Grandma! That's not me!"
Out of another bush, [I]The real Cleo[/i], her foot still bare of the boot she had to leave, was running toward the house. The Fae turned, growled and hissed at her, an evil look upon his face. The need for the subterfuge over he shifted into his normal green and turned, "No, she is mine!" he said with a loud growl.
Even though the grandmother couldn't see well [I]with her eyes, she could see by other means[/i], and she saw through the illusion, and rose her hands! As she started chanting in a language older than all, the Fae suddenly turned and growled, "NO!!!" Now showing true fear on his white face!
The grandmother began to glow in a bluish light, and the Fae screamed, and gave a hard flap of his great wings, he tried to quicky fly away. But with her outstretched fingers, she made a series of signs, and glowing red ribbons shot out from her hands right at the Fae. He looked over his shoulder, and grew cold at the terror he saw coming toward him.
The ribbons matched his speed, but as she opened her hands, the ribbons overshot the Fae, and formed into a huge snake's mouth with white fangs! She closed her hands and the snake mouth closed around the Fae curled into a ball screaming!. Suddenly a flash of light, the snake mouth and Fae blinked out of existence!
When that was done the real Cleo ran up to her and hugged her tightly, "Grandma! I was so scared. Thank you! I won't wonder off again!"
The woman just smiled and hug her, "It's ok my dear I'm just glad your safe. Now come in for some tea." She then lead the tired girl into the safety of the house, and as the door closed the whole house glowed blue.
--
The story finished, I looked around and smiled. Every member of the tribe had their mouths open, including the Chief. Not expecting such an ending, he laughed and patted me on the shoulder, "That was great, Mike!" I just grinned for I didn't know I had it in me. "And that, folks, is my story."
The end.
(As a side note: The ending in the video was at where the Fae was grinning up at Grandmother, and speaking to her in Cleo's voice. I didn't like the ending, so as you can see I made a different one. Never mess with a grandparent protecting her granddaughter! - evil laugh)