The Tale of Lermin and Gugenheimer
Characters: Linu, Ayita
Camp Willow: Swaying Reed:Tavern
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A friendly atmosphere greets you as you step down the small stairs and into the Swaying Reed Tavern! Otters and other beasts talk peacefully to each other over their october ales, strawberry cordials, and other drinks as time passes by. A large mirror is above the bottles, flasks, and small barrels of drinks and the counter is just in front of it. An otter works behind the bar most of the time, and when he's off duty, someone usually takes over for him. Candles flicker every now and then whenever someone comes through the willow door. There are also two large glass windows on either side of the tavern, across from one another. There are some tables and chairs as well for relaxation.
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Its just in the day. Where still most beasts are at work, but are getting off hour by hour. And here is Linu. In the tavern... Getting drunk... ON JUICE! Got yeah! He sits on top of a table in the back of the room. Where there is small pile of bricks and paper and coloring sticks. He hums to himself as he draws around his blocks. This is what he does when he gets off from school. No more orphanage. Or wandering alone. He sits on his belly kicking both his tiny otter feet in the air.
Drawing? Ayita has no such luck. She's /working/! She passes Linu as she paces back and forth behind the bar, taking orders and filling them out, sliding foaming tankards, and plates of steaming food across the counter to the beasts eagerly awaiting them. Since adopting Lin, her regular, obnoxious, 'fan club' seems to have settled down; perhaps being a mum isn't as attractive as some think. As a lull in business settles, the ottermaid scoops up a plate of kippers, a biscuit, and a few vegetables and places it by her son. "Here's your dinner, sweetie." She says, ruffling up his headfur. "Watcha drawin'?"
Linu smiles and goes to sit up. Going for the kippers first. Giving a bit of a grimace to the vegetables. EWWW, "Thanks mommy...." He mmms at the rub. Before he holds out his picture and there is a silly kid picture of an otter. It... Looks? Like Ayita. Kinda. Sorta, "Its you!" he giggles.
Ayita grins wide and looks at the drawing like its the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. "Well, I've never seen myself drawn so beautifully! We can hang it up when we get home, yeah?" She points to his plate now "I know vegetables are gross, but they make you grow up with big muscles and shiny fur. AND -" she waves a paw to draw him closer, like she's about to give him the secret to life itself.
Linu Smiles as she likes the pictures, "Yay! It hwas hard to draws you... Otters are always hards to draws." he giggles before ewwing loudly, "I dont want to be big. I want to be small... and have unshinies fur..." he nods. But is intrigues at what she has to say. So he leans in as well.
"If you eat all your veggies...I'll give you the /biggest/ slice of my world-famous Otter Cake!" she raises an eyebrow at him. The kid drives a hard bargain. "And you've drawn me wonderfully, I especially love my tail!" and then she adds "Vegetables also help you swim better." Which is technically true. They make you healthy, healthy people swim better. Its a simple science.
Linu eyes go big like saucers at Ita, "Cake?" he looks at the vegetables then back at her. He hums as he thinks its over for a few seconds. Cake?... No cake? Curse you mommy! He sighs and grabs a bit of a veggies. One of the smaller ones, "Fine... BLARG...." as he eats, "Stupid... Science..." he grunts.
Ayita smiles and pats his head. "Good job Lil Lin. I'll be right back." An otter is waving his empty mug annoyingly. "Yeah I'm comin'!" She hustles off, snatches his mug and resupplies it with the strong-smelling ale. "Three." she tells him as he holds up a pawful of coins. She scoots them into the pouch at her waist and makes her way back to Linu.
Linu grunts as he eats each vegetable. This is GROSS! But for cake... He just eats as much as he can before he just shakes his head and pushes the plate away. No cake is worth this. But at least he got through more than half of it, "Okay... No more. Its gross..." he goes back to eating the kippers. mmmmm. Fish.
He didn't finish the vegetables...but Ita can tell he tried his hardest. She smiles to herself, going over to the cake plate and slicing off a sizable piece and sets it aside for when he finishes up. Then she's being hailed again - she refills a drink, collects some coins, and is back to check on her son's progress.
Linu eyes the cake. But knows he will get reprimanded if he eats the cake first. So. He goes back to eating the nommy fish. The okay bread. And shunning the veggies. They shall be banished to the nether realms. He smiles as he mom comes back, "Im okay... I know you have to worry and stuffs... But i can eat myself..." he nods slowly.
Ayita rummages under the counter for a towel and starts to clean up some of the dirty dishes. "You may be able to eat for yoursself, but I get lonely over there all by /my/ self...especially with that guy-" she points discreetly to a burly looking otter in the corner. "-staring at me. His muscles make him look like a potato."
Linu giggles lightly and then nods, "Oh okay... You dont have to be stareted at by Mr. Potato man" Its just slightly unnerving really. He is used to eating alone. Well. By alone. He means with no grownups. As the caretaker had a lot of otter to deal with. He hums a bit as he eats. Sounds very much like Phils favorite song to whistle.
Ayita isn't really there the whole time, she's occasionally runs off to take an order, fill an order, clean a plate, or engage in some quick banter with the customers. Still, she can tell that Lins still getting used to eating with an adult, so she only goes back to hover periodically. "Haha, Mr. Potato Man...I like that." she laughs. Hey, its a clever name.
Linu chuckles, but doenst get it, "Tanks. I ... Made it myslefs." he grins and laughs. Going back to eating. He is getting used to it. The only other adult hovered like her when he ate was... Well. Phil. But it didnt really bother him. As Phil was silly and his 'Big Brother'. When the little otter is done with his kippers. He pushes it away, "All dones... BRING ON DA CAKES!" he reaches out for the cake... But he is so full. And cant quite reach it. Not going to stop him though.
Ayita pushes the plate towards him. "Alright, you've earned this cake!" she grabs him a fork, puts it near the plate and then stands back: dibbuns and their cake: ITs best to clear the vicinity before someone gets hurt.
Linu smiles and even though he is full to bursting... There is always room for cake. But what is this? Ze fork? Linu needz no ze fork! He needz LE SPACE! As he goes at it with his paws. Like a mole to dirt. He digs at it. Getting it everywhere pretty much. All over him. And the table around him. But he giggles all the same.
Ayita sighs, shaking her head, but smiling. "Slow down bud, don't make yourself sick!" she calls on from the sidelines, preparing a towel to clean up the resulting carnage.
Linu stops just enough to rebuttal, "No." before going back at it. He will eat the cake HIS way. And if he gets sick. He will think that it was well worth it. Now its hard to tell. What is cake. And what is Linu.
Ayita merely stands back and watches, arms crossed. Sigh. She's going to have a mess, /and/ a dibbun to clean after this is done.
Linu fisnishes. Well. There is no cake like object anymore. And Linu does seem to stop. He sits on his cakey bum as he licks his claws clean, "Mmmm... That was good..." Huh... Strange feeling in his stomach. I wonder what that could be.
"You shouldn't eat so fast, you'll get a tummy ache." she lectures, going after the cakey counter with her towel, scrubbing up the results of the massacre. Maybe next time he wouldn't get /quite/ so big a piece.
Linu shrugs, still cleaning his claws, "Im okay... Oh..." he places his paws on his stomach, "Oh... IT hurts!" he ergs as he falls on his side, "OwieOwieWOie!" he was bout to cry when... He burps. And not just any burp. A burp to rival the most drunkard of beasts. It almost reverberates the tavern. Linu sighs as he sits back up, "Ahhh... Much better." he grins.
Ayita is ready to go into comforting mom mode when..."Well. Better out than in." she looks up at the bar. It seems to have gone quiet. "Ate too much cake." She explains, and the beasts seem to take that as an answer because they all nod, ah, and go back to their business. The ottermaid goes back to wiping off the counter. "See why you shouldn't eat so much?" she smirks, flips the towel over to wipe with the non-cakey side.
Linu shakes his head, "Nope... I dont see... I feel louds better nows... Can i have more cakes?" he asks with saucer eyes again.
"I think thats enough for tonight." She replies, before running off to refill a few mugs. "I don't think the building can handle another belch like that last one!" she calls across the bar to him.
Linu awwws. And nods. He is quite content of licking himself of the leftover cake. He then chuckles, "Ooo. I wanna find outs..." Gonna have to experiment with that one. Might be... Dangerous.
Dangerous indeed. The roof would cave in! "Well, I'll make sure that I'm faaaar away for that one." She goes after a few paw-shaped cake prints in the wood.
Linu giggles, bouncing a little bit, "I will bring da house in!" he laughs and holds his paws in the air. Then the realizations sets in. He is dirty. And more than that. He is sticky, "Im all stickies..." he mutters looking at his arm and frowns a bit. Forgot about THIS part of cake digging.
Ayita nods. "Yep. Thats why forks come in handy sometimes!" She finishes off with wiping the counter. "In a few minutes you can go jump in the pond to clean off. But if you go swimming too soon after you've eaten, you get cramps and those are not fun!" Life lessons. Always handy.
Linu nods a bit, "Ive had crapies before..." he shakes his head, "Not funs..." Still gonna do it anyway... Cause he is a REBEL! "No fork. Forkies are slow. And bigs... Paws are better..." he holds out his webbed paw, "They make goody spoon." he giggles and bounces more.
Ayita shrugs. "Well, I suppose that make senough sense. Its messy though!" When he gets older he'll discover the lovely-ness of forks. And spoons. And knives. She has to run off again to tend to a few of the boothes, wipes off the empty ones with a wet rag, and then returns. "I think its been long enough, why don't you run out to the pond, jump in for a bit, then come back and dry off? I get off work soon and its getting near your bedtime."
Linu nods a bit as he jumps off the table without even blinking, "Okay mums. Make sure to keepy that pictures..." he says as he vamooses out of the tavern, and into the pond. He shortly in about half an hour....soaking wet, "Okay. Im back mums!" he bounces around now. At least he is dry.
Ayita grabs a towl from under the counter and tosses it to him to wrap up in, just to make sure he's all dry in time for bed. The late-night bartender arrives and relieves her, freedom! Before she leaves she grabs the picture, rolls it up carefully and sticks it in her bag, giving herself a mental reminder to hang it up in his room or something. "Alright, bud - you ready to go home? If your not too tired I'll tell you a bedtime story." she opens the door for him.
Linu grabs the towel and dries off his head fur. Which sticks up in every place. He then goes to wrap it around his middle. No real need too. He still wearing his pants. But he likes to pretend to be nakky sometimes. He bounces out the door. Does he look like he is tired? He nods quickly at his mum, "Im not too tired... Waht story? Whatstory?Whatstory?Whatstory?Whatstory?Whatstory?Whatstory?" he grins.
Ayita holds up her paws. "Woah, slow down!" She gives a shifty, mysterious glance to him. "Its....a suprise! The faster you can get into your nightclothes and into bed the quicker you get to hear the story!" She bribes, walking towards the residential path.
Back Home
Camp Willow: Ayita's Cabin
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A simple, smallish cabin with all the basic needs. The main room is - in a word - cozy; the floor is occupied by a large, round rug whose stiches are a combination of blues, silvers, and greens in a simplistic, rustic design. The wall straight ahead has a small, low, wooden shelf centered against it; several knick knacks lined up along it - including a small wooden statue of an otter.
~*~
In the center of the rug in a little wooden coffee table, and two cushy brown chairs are situated on opposite side of it. To the left, are the doorways to the kitchen and a bedroom, while to the right there is only one door - to another bedroom. In between the doors to the kitchen and bedroom sits a small, potted tree - about the height of a full grown otter. It has large, dish shaped leaves that droop with their own weight.
~*~
Linu smiles and giggles...and then begins to race home, "Come on mommy! You're slow..." he says as he runs as fast as his little pads can take him. Getting to the resident homes first he makes it to the door and jumps up to turn the nob. He forgot... He dont have a key... So he just hangs there until she get here.
Ayita follows at a jog - its hard to run in her barmaid's dress - but doesn't get there long after him. She has longer legs, afterall. She pulls the key from her bag and opens the front door for them. "You get into your nightie, I'll get into mine!"
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Oh, the terror of a dibbuns room! This one in particular isn't too bad, though still on the messy side. Like the rest of the house, this room is small - though not uncomfortably so. In one corner, a dibbun sized bed sits; a pretty blue quilt acting as a cover. At the end of the bed is a nightstand with a clear glass bowl on it - a small, plain looking silver fish swims around lazily within it.
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In the middle of the floor is a big, round rug: its coloring is the same as the quilt's, a deep, navy blue. Aside from the bed, there is little furniture: a little shelf for random belongings, and a toy chest are situated against the opposite wall. The floor is scattered with toys, and the occasional muddy pawprint.
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Kids these days...
~*~
Linu nods as he jumps off the nob and into the house. Quickly going into his room. And after a very quick and awesome nakky time. He is in his night clothes. Which is nothing more than a pair of shorts. He climbs up onto the bed and sits on it. Waiting for his mom to appear, "Mom! You take forveressssss!" he holds his paws to the sky and flops on the bed.
Meanwhile, Ayita has taken off her dress, folded it nicely, changed into her own nightie and rubbed some flower extract over her fur to make it shiny for the upcoming day. Finally, she steps into Linu's room, having made up a story in her head only moments before, and sits on the edge of his bed. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Gotta make myself pretty for tomorrow." she looks down at him. "Are you in a comfy, story-listening position? You'd better be: This is the best story ever!"
Linu rolls his eyes as he curls up into the sheets, "Ahhh! Im lost!.... Oh. Here we are..." His rudder pokes out where his head should be, "Hold on..." he grunts and after a little more turning, then his head pops out, "Here i am...." he snuggles up to his pillow before saying, "Imready. Gogogog!" he smiles.
Ayita settles her bum into a comfy position as well and laughs as he gets lost in the sheets. "Alright." She pauses for suspence "Once, a long time ago, there lived a very young Otter. He lived in a big village, everyone there was happy, and there was never a shortage of food. Everyday, he would go to the riverbank with his parents and they would fish from sun up to sun down, and have such fun. But...one day, that all changed." Once again, suspensful pause.
Linu likes it... Up to the pause. He blinks a bit and holds the sheet up to cover his nose. And his eats go back slightly. But he remains silent.
"Their village was attacked by an /evil/ beast named -" she quickly thinks up a name "-Gugenheimer. Huge, mean, and scary; Gugenheimer took whatever he wanted from whoever he wanted it from - and no one ever defied him. Because; aside from being cruel, and vicious Gugenheimer was also a creature the likes of which hasn't been seen for seasons...A wolf." She howls for affect. "His howl could be heard for miles around, and one night...it was heard in the village."
Linu blinks quickly now as he covers his entire face with the sheet. The only thing that can be seen is his ears that are quite alert. He mummbles quielty, "What happen next?" going to poke one eye out.
"Gugenheimer raided the village, the beasts who lived there were too afraid to stand up to him, so they hid in their houses and let him take anything. That is...everyone except the young otter mentioned earlier. His name was Lermin, and he wanted nothing more than to be a warrior. When Gugenheimer wasn't looking, he threw a rock at him - which made the wolf very angry indeed. He chased Lermin, trying to slash at him with his huge sword! But Lermin was small, and quick, and jumped into the river and managed to escape. He vowed to find Gugenheimer and get revenge on him for stealing from his people - and when he returned home that night, he found that his village was...gone. Completly burnt to the ground, and not a beast in sight. Everyone...had vanished!"
Linu now goes to hide under the covers. The lump of sheets and otter is seen moving around until it bumps into Ita, "Then... Then what happened?" he ask calmly. And its really obvious that the little otter is trying to snuggle up to ita under the covers.
Ayita puts a reassuring paw on her son and continues the story. "Lermin knows that Gugenheimer had taken the village people and captured them, so he vows to find them...And he searches, and searches, and searches. Whole seasons pass, and he continues to track Gugenheimer. Lermin is an adult now, and a strong, noble warrior - one day, he hears of a raid in a nearby town, a raid done by a huge, cruel wolf. Lermin sets off to find the wolf that ruined his life, fully intending to take revenge. He approaches, the village, and there - standing with his sword held high above his head, howling like the devil himself...Is Gugenheimer."
Linu shakes, "I... Hope Lermin defeats that nasty Gun-gin-high-ner..." he nods forcefully. Listening intently as the story unfolds.
"You'll find out soon!" she takes a breath, and dives back into the story, continuing to make it up as she goes along. "Lermin holds his sword up high and charges Gugenheimer! Yelling as loud as he can - 'My name is Lermin, you kidnapped my family, prepare to die!' Gugeheimer looks up, and grins an evil, evil grin. 'I have killed many!'-" Ayita adopts a deep, gravelly voice for the wold "-'I do not remember you.' Lermin picked a rock off the ground and threw it at the wolf. 'Remember me now?!' Gugenheimer did. 'You! You are that otter!' He let ou another howl...and charged." Ayita looks down at Linu. "You see, even though the evil wolf has hurt a lot of people, he remembers Lermin because the brave little dibbun threw a rock at him, and managed to escape. The knowledge that a small child could escape his wrath drove him crazy as the seasons passed."
Linu smiles and cheers when the otter throws a rock at the beast, "Yeah! You get him Lermin!" he gulps as the charging begins. And Linu is no psychoanalyst. So what she says at the end... Makes... Some since. But not alot.
"Their swords met in a clash of metal, and the fight began. Gugenheimer was bigger, and stronger than Lermin, but Lermin was faster. The wolf almost had him beat several times, but he was able to wiggle his way out of peril almost every time. But there was no way he could win - the battle was almost evenly matched, but he was tiring much faster than Gugenheimer. He would have to do something crazy to survive... They were in a village, and Lermin ran from Gugenheimer, climbed up on a barrel, then jumped up onto a stack of boxes and managed to get onto a roof. He jumped from roof to roof, staying out of Gugenheimer's reach and throwing rocks at him to make him mad...then the wolf let out a mighty growl and /jumped/ onto the roof with Lermin."
Linu doesn't make any move ment or sound. But when she stops he pokes her in the butt, "Hey... Keep going. I has to KNOW!" he ergs.
Ayita laughs. "Alright, alright." Then she's back to her serious, story-telling voice. "They battled on, jumping from roof to roof. Lermin could see no way he was going to win, so he tried another crazy idea. He jumped to his belly and slide, going to knock the wolve's legs right out from under him, and they both fell from the roof, Lermin on top. They landed with a THUD and the young otter jumped upright, sword raised above his head. Gugenheimer had been knocked unconcious by the fall - this was Lermin's chance to kill him...but he couldn't. The otter put down his sword, and instead tied the wolf up too tight to escape, and they put him in a jail. Killing, even if it is someone as evil as Gugenheimer was, is still wrong. When the wolf awoke, he was locked up, and tied up, and Lermin was standing there. He was suprised that the otter had shown him mercy, and knowing that he was defeated, told Lermin that the people of his village had not been killed - they were all still alive, but working as slaves at the wolve's stronghold. Now that he was captured, his brother would take over as Wolf King...and a whole new chapter of Lermin's adventures unfolds..."
Linu Yays when the otter wins the day... Going to poke out his head again from underneath the covers. He smiles at his mom, "Im kinda mind that he didnt kill him... But..." he nods, "It is wrong..." he settles back into his bed, "...So. I guess the... *Yawn... the rest of the story will be late then?" he asks.
Ayita nods. "Gugenheimer is locked in jail, where he will spend the rest of his days. Lermin did the right thing not killing him." She stands, moving to tuck Lin in. "Oh, yes, Lermin went on many, many adventures after that, I'll tell you about his search to recover his family next time." she bends over to kiss his forehead. "But its time to go to sleep now!" she yawns herself. "Mm. I'm sleepy too."
Linu smiles and nods as he is tucked into bed, "...Well. Good.... I want to know what else that happens." he closes his eyes, "Okay mommy..." he smiles at the kiss, "Good night... Thanks for the story..." he he turns on his side. His little rudder poking out the side of the sheets. Slowly patting the side of the bed.
