“Bird gone?” she shakily asked.
“Yeah… bird gone,” a girl replied as they saw their friend holding up the very dead bird that was still smoking.
“I don’t like birds,” Pip frowned. “They scare me.”
“What in Eden was that?” an elf cried out.
“She didn’t like the bird,” the child called over. “It scared her.”
“It scared her?” another woman exclaimed. “She fucking scared us!”
“She did all that just to get rid of a bird?”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“It’s okay!” Falla called out with a nervous smile. “She just doesn’t like birds. They always try to eat her like she’s a bug. She was just protecting herself, that’s all!”
“She wouldn’t hurt anyone with her magic,” Luna promised with eager nodding. “She’s a really nice girl. She just gets scared from seeing birds.”
“Don’t you have a harpy in your group?” a woman asked in bewilderment.
“Yes, but she’s nice,” Falla reasoned with a shrug. “Pip loves her. It’s just normal birds she doesn’t like.”
“Please don’t be mad or scared,” Luna begged. “Really, she wasn’t doing anything mean. She was just scared, she was just-”
“So cool!” a child cheered out with a hop. “Wow, that was so awesome!”
“That scared the shit out of me!” another laughed. “I didn’t know what the fuck that was!”
“Wow, you have so much magical power!” a young girl cheered as the children crowded the curious fairy. “That was so incredible!”
“It… was?” Pip asked as her glow returned to blue.
“You fucking fried that bird!” a girl laughed. “That was amazing!”
“Look at it!” the child holding the bird up said. “It’s fucking toast!”
“Do it again! Do it again!”
“Yeah, do it again! I want to see you do it again!”
“You… do?” Pip wondered.
“What are they doing?” Falla asked in disbelief, herself and Luna watching in awe as the children laughed and hopped around anxiously while one of the girls lifted Pip up in her palm.
“They’re not… scared of Pip,” Luna realized.
“Incredible!” an elven woman cheered. “See? It was just like I told you, that’s what I saw that fairy do to The Sisterhood in Green Haven. That was the power of our littlest savior!”
“She could have blown us all up!” another cried out.
“How dare you have so little faith in our heroes!” a ranger scolded her. “That fairy saved many of our sisters on that horrid night by using her power, and not once did she harm any of us in the process!”
“She shot that bird out of the sky with a blaze of ungodly power!”
“And she fried many monsters of The Sisterhood who tried to kill us! She has only attacked true threats to her, not her friends or any of us!”
“I promise she’s not a danger to any of you!” Falla called out, fluttering over in front of the crowd and turning to face them with a worried smile. “Pip may be extremely powerful with her magic, yes. Pip may be considered a Darker One in this world, yes. But I swear on my life that she won’t hurt any of you or would ever want to. She’s as peaceful and gentle as they come in this world.”
From behind her a large torrent of fiery energy of deadly power blasted out from the gathering of little elves, streaking across the field and striking into a nearby hillside that it ruptured and set on fire. Falla paused for a moment while the children laughed joyously before continuing.
“She’s… she’s really kind and caring to those around her. And-”
Another stream of inconceivable power blasted out again from the cluster of little elves, tearing through the ground and razing upward along the charred hill as it cleaved through the mound with a thunderous roar.
“I swear,” Falla slowly continued. “She’s nothing but a sweet, little delight to have around. Really, you’re all as safe as-”
Again a powerful torrent of golden and crimson light blasted out from the fairy as the children cheered and laughed excitedly, the beam of deadly energy slicing through the nearby knoll and demolishing it into rubble and smoke that collapsed inward from the extreme force.
“-you can be,” Falla shakily finished, with the elves before her staring wide-eyed at the sight of a hillside being annihilated by the fairy’s magic. Luna merely watched with eyes of wonder at what Pip had done while the children were dancing around and applauding the fairy’s magical power.
“So… in conclusion,” Falla said with her voice cracking slightly. “Pip is not a threat to you, and you’re all perfectly safe having her around. I promise.”
Slowly she turned around and saw the remains of the hillside dropping into a billowing cloud with small bursts of flame within sprouting upward briefly. She witnessed the elven children laughing and cheering as Pip flew around them in a blue streak of light before she gulped and glanced over to the land her co-mate decimated.
“I really hope nobody was over there,” she quietly groaned to herself before taking a bite out of an apple.
“Well, at least your kids are having fun. Right?” Luna reasoned with a weak smile at the elven women. They merely looked to her in speechless disbelief before turning their sights back onto the fairy who their children appeared to adore even more now.
*****
“What in Eden is going on back there?” an elven ranger exclaimed beside Specca, with everyone noticing a torrent of magical might streaking up into the air. The nixie stared in surprise at the spectacle while Snapper was cawing and waving her hands around at the bright lights in the sky.
“Pip,” Specca whined. “Darn it, we told you to be on your best behavior tonight.”
“Was that from your fairy friend?” an elven woman exclaimed. “What… what was that?”
“I’m sorry,” Specca nervously said with a weak smile. “She probably got spooked by a bird. She doesn’t like birds, you know.”
“She did all that because she saw a bird?” a ranger asked in shock.
“Trust me, she’s used far more power than that before when birds have gotten close to her,” Specca sighed shaking her head. “What you just saw was her using some restraint. Don’t worry, she’s not going to blow us all up, she just got a little scared by something in the air. Birds always give her quite a fright.”
“Wait, don’t you have a harpy in your group?” an elf asked in bewilderment.
“Yes, we do, but Pip likes her,” Specca reasoned with a shrug. Seeing only confused and startled stares from the elves, the nixie quickly cleared her throat before hastily walking on. “Anyway, don’t worry about what happened. I’m sure she was just startled by something, nothing to be concerned about.”
“If… you say so?” a woman slowly replied, with all the elves exchanging puzzled looks while others in the settlement were rushing towards the strange disturbance in a hurry. However many more were still gathered near another event, one that Specca and her elven followers approached with a curious eye.
“What is all this?” Specca wondered, seeing not a public shaming taking place but rather a presentation being prepared. In front of a large gathering of elven women and children was a giant curtain made of colorful patchwork and ribbons reminiscent of what a child would have been able to make. The drape was held up by two twisting clumps of roots that grew out of the ground and reached overhead to where they bent inward and intertwined with each other over the display. A few rangers were standing on either side of the event to keep others from peeking around and seeing what was behind the curtain.
“What is going on here?” Specca asked walking up to the drape. “Alyssa? Is this your doing?”
“How ever did you figure that out?” Alyssa replied from other side. “By the way, what the hell is Pip doing? I could see the lightshow from here.”
“I think she just got spooked by a bird,” Specca reasoned with a sh
rug. Without warning another thunderous roar sounded off, with Specca and the elves turning to see a beam of magical light striking a faraway knoll with devastating power.
“Are you sure about that?” Alyssa asked.
“Um…” Specca replied with. Again and again the beams of light struck the hillside, eventually destroying it with plumes of smoke and fire while cheering could be heard from elves near the occurrence.
“To be honest, no,” Specca had to admit. “However it sounds like the elves are enjoying whatever is happening over there.”
“What in Eden?” an elf breathed out.
“Our guests sure are… lively,” another commented.
“Go check to make sure everyone’s alive over there,” a ranger ordered, with two others quickly running off in haste.
“We’re not under attack, are we?” a child worried.
“I don’t believe so,” her mother hoped.
“Was that your friend doing that?” an elf asked Specca. “Is that… normal?”
“I think Pip is just… demonstrating her magic,” Specca called out at the crowd with a forced smile. “That’s all. Nothing to be alarmed by. She’s just playing around I’m sure. Alyssa! Please get out here and help me quell their apprehensions about whatever the hell Pip is doing!”
“People, people, hear me now!” Alyssa called out in a showman’s voice. “There’s nothing to worry about! Our dear friend Pip is just showing off her magical talents of wonder and excitement! However, on the off-chance a flock of birds happens to fly low over your camp, I urge you all to duck and cover as if your life depends on it!”
“Alyssa!” Specca scolded. “That’s not helping!”
“Well excuse me, but I’m a little busy back here!”
“With what? What are you doing anyway?”
“What do you think? I’m getting Sheal ready. Speaking of which, hold still, Sheal!”
“Please, not this! Anything but this!” Sheal cried out in a raspy voice.
“You asked for it, so now you’re going to get it! Hold still, don’t fight me! This is happening just like you wanted! You wanted this, remember?”
“I didn’t expect this!” Sheal whined. “This is so humiliating! You can’t honestly expect me to be seen like this!”
“I can and I do!” Alyssa barked back. “Now shut up and hold still! Goddammit, this is a really tight fit.”
“Where did you even get this from anyway?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just… hold… still… damn, this is going to be really tight with you.”
“This is not properly sized for me to receive and you know it!” Sheal argued, with Specca and the elves exchanging confused looks with one another.
“It’s going to work even if I have to force it!”
“You already are and NNNGRRHH! Stop, it won’t fit!”
“Yes it will!” Alyssa yelled out with energy, followed by Sheal’s sobbing and grunting.
“What is going on back there?” an elf asked Specca. “What is your friend doing to her?”
“She’s… um…” Specca said before shuddering slightly. “Bearing the consequences of her actions, just like she wanted to.”
“Oh god, no!” Sheal groaned in agony. “Please, I can’t go out there like this!”
“You’re going to march your ass out there when I’m done and you’re going repent for your actions!” Alyssa shot back, with Sheal being heard crying out again that made Specca cringe in discomfort.
“I’m so sorry, Sheal,” the nixie quietly voiced in prayer. “Please be brave. I know it must be horrible but I’m sure you can-”
“What are you complaining about?” Rolian asked from behind the curtain with a giggle. “Mine fit me perfectly, see?”
Specca’s eyes bulged as she jumped in surprise, hearing the arachne’s laughter along with Sheal groaning in torment.
“Rolian?” the nixie exclaimed. “Are you back there too?”
“Yeah, I’m doing the same thing Sheal is,” Rolian happily called back, much to Specca’s further shock and confusion. “I wanted to do it too and Alyssa said it was okay. I mean how could I not, it looked so fun. She even made me one that fits so nice and snug. I love it!”
“She… what?” Specca cried out.
“She wanted to join in,” Alyssa reasoned. “Who was I to say no?”
“She… wanted to?” Specca repeated in disbelief. “But- but- but- but how can- why would you- how can she- where would it even- I mean why would she- but that’s just… huh?”
“This is so unbearable!” Felucia cried out. “You can’t honestly expect me to do this as well!”
“Felucia?” Specca blurted out. “What are you doing back there?”
“They dragged me back here and insisted I be a part of this insanity!”
“But you look so cute like this, mother,” Cindy laughed, with Specca’s jaw dropping while Snapper was just chewing on her tie at this point. “You look really good like that. You should be happy you get to do this with them.”
“Cindy?” Specca shakily asked. “You’re… back there as well? But… why?”
“Mom was being stubborn and saying no, so I dragged her over here so Alyssa could do it to her too,” Cindy explained before grunting was heard. “Hold still, mother! She’s not done yet! You can’t go now!”
“No!” Felucia cried out, with Specca staring off into space as she was stunned to her core. “Cindy, this is crossing the line! I refuse to do this! You can’t make me! Let me go!”
“This is going to be good for you! You’ve been bad just like Sheal was and you need to be taught a lesson!”
“Like hell I do! Let me go right now!” Felucia screamed out.
“Alyssa?” Specca fearfully spoke up. “You… you’re doing it to both Rolian and Felucia?”
“Rolian wanted to,” Alyssa reasoned. “And Felucia has been a bitch lately so she deserves it.”
“Fuck you!” Felucia yelled at her.
“I can make it a tighter fit for you if that will shut you up!”
“I don’t care how tight it is, I care about how embarrassing it is! There’s no way I’m going out there in front of those assholes looking like this!”
“You look cute like this, mother!” Cindy argued as more rustling and shouting was heard from the sand wraiths. “Now stop being difficult! This is a good look for you, you should be happy!”
“Why are you on their side, Cindy? I’m your poor mother who’s being tormented by that fucking little witch!”
“Oh my god, shut up!” Sheal yelled at her. “If I have to suffer like this then you do too!”
“That’s bullshit!” Felucia argued. “You were part of The Sisterhood by choice! I was captured by those two fucking lunatics who ran the gang, I didn’t want anything to do with them!”
“But you really do look so cute like that, Felucia,” Rolian giggled. “Juggy thinks so too.”
“Fuck you and fuck your stupid jug of rum!” Felucia yelled. “Dammit, let me go, Cindy! I don’t want to do this! I don’t want this! No!”
“You’re going to do this and you’re going to like it!” Cindy argued as she could be heard trying to restrain her mother. “Now take your punishment and be a good girl! We need to be good girls now, mother! So be good!”
Specca merely stared at the curtain in complete bewilderment before noticing Snapper chewing off half her tie. She quickly yanked away what was left and growled in frustration as the young swarm snapped her teeth excitedly.
“Excuse me,” an elf asked walking up to her. “But… do you know what this is all about? What are they doing?”
“I… am afraid to know,” Specca merely replied with.
“Alright!” Alyssa cheered as she scurried out from behind the curtain. She hopped on her feet with a playful twirl of her staff before waving her hat in the air. “We are all ready to go! Thank you all for-… Specca? You okay? You look kind of pale.”
Specca merely looked over to the curtai
n where she could hear Rolian giggling, Sheal groaning in agony, and Felucia arguing with her daughter. After a moment she turned back to the witch while slowly shaking her head in disbelief.
“You… did it to Rolian and Felucia as well?”
“Yep yep,” Alyssa agreed with a nod. “Rolian wanted to make amends because she was technically part of The Sisterhood, and Felucia… yeah, she’s a bitch and she deserves this.”
“You… did it to them too?” Specca again repeated with a twitching eye.
“Yeah, I just said I did.”
“But… how?” Specca asked. “I mean… how could… how would it work with… I mean… for crying out loud, how could you have done such a thing to those two? How is that even possible?”
“It was no trouble,” Alyssa assured with a wave of the hand. “I may have skimped with the magic used to erect this curtain for display, but I used quite a bit of my skills to give all three of those girls my finest labors. I think they turned out very nicely if I do say so myself.”
“I… you… they…” Specca uttered while Snapper was cawing and waving her hands around playfully. Alyssa showed a puzzled smile to Specca’s reaction then hopped to the side and waved her staff around in a presenting manner.
“Ladies and children,” she called out, with the elves gathering around to witness the spectacle. “I’m here to present to you all three lost souls struggling to find their way in life. They’ve made many mistakes on their ill-traveled paths, have caused many problems for those who they believed at the time were the true villains in the world, and one in particular is a fucking bitch in her own, loudmouthed way.”
“Fuck you!” Felucia shouted.
“I won’t lie to you, they were once considered evil,” Alyssa solemnly announced. “Hated by many, feared by all, and for one she likely had no friends at all her whole life which is why she acts like she has sand up her vagina all the time.”
“I’m going to kill you!” Felucia roared.
“They seek redemption for their misguided ways,” Alyssa continued. “They seek forgiveness. They seek mercy. They seek to be reborn in the world as good souls who share our dream of a brighter tomorrow. And most of all, they seek humility in the face of their misdeeds. So it is for you, all of you, to judge and bestow upon them pity only if you truly believe they can be redeemed in the eyes of those in this world. For their burden on their souls can only be lifted through sacrifice, shame, and reparation.”
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I Page 40