Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"More trees than buildings... Wild trees, taller than the solar-snare windmills!" said the ranger.
Greenery was not a foreign concept to the children; most buildings had bushy roofs, every block had a community garden, and shady trees, never too tall, sheltered and fed the populace along most roads and paths.
The Unstructured growth of a feral forest was terrifying yet engrossing.
"And the canopy is so dense you need your own light-source!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
Tales may be delayed further; I am an individual without insurance and boosters/vaccinations cost a where I am.
A reminder that I have a free Patreon, so you don't have to subscribe at all... Though I suppose there's no reason to while I am not posting tales. But I hope folks will please consider it once I get back to it.
Thank you to the individual who had sent me a donation last week, it was able to almost immediately cover a surprise bill.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The elf sat beside the old monument, waiting for their satyr companion.
A young human sat beside them, nodding at the monument, "Terrible day that was."
The elf nodded.
"How do you remember it?"
The elf was quiet for a while, "Terrified during and after. Humans tend to remember they were hurt and have reason to be angry but not why, where or to whom to direct it."
"And you're still here?"
"This was home to elves before humans arrived."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"It's all knights, princesses and dragons," grumbled the troll, tossing aside another book.
"This one's full of prissy elves and inaccurate unicorns. Look, here's a painting; it's not even stained brown and matted with burrs. And no hoof spurs," complained a goblin from deeper within the library wagon.
The librarian explored deeper in the tiny yet sprawling internal space eventually returning with armfuls of books where the 'monsters' win.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The gold ferns of the alien forest towered above the Away Team, bathing them in shade and the scent of fizz.
"No signs of intelligent life," reported the Science Officer waving a scanning device about, "Nothing unintelligent or hostile either."
"Oops, we've temporarily lost communication with the ship," claimed the Security Officer.
The Morale Officer began unloading the Surprise Birthday Party capsule; the Captain suspected nothing so far!
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The human was lying on the floor, one hand outstretched, holding their phone as it projected sounds and colors under their thumb.
Their Outer-demon made an irritated noise, "Don't we have plans to go on a five day bender with your 'squad'? Crush cocktails and score some c--"
"Jomo. Cos I'm broke 'til next paycheck."
"Already? You viced without me?!"
"Yeh."
"When? How?!"
"Microtransactions - hey, these gems won't match themselves!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"A real fire-breathing dragon? Oh well..." the large scaled beast tilted their head this way and that for a moment, "Weeell..."
"You really stretched out that well," the elf noted, impatience beginning to take root.
"It's all the neck," the dragon grinned, gesturing.
"But your fire, is it real?" the elf asked, getting back to the point.
"I'm a real dragon!"
"And you breathe..?"
The real dragon wilted a bit, "...Magical illusion fire."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
Mac Brebber marched briskly through the rows of cubicles, huffing tensely under his bristling moustache, "Miss Pintersnit..."
"Mizz... Sir," corrected the dark eyed maiden clad in bog-shadow purples and amanita white, her namesake, midnight painted nails continuing to tap away at her designated keyboard.
"Miss-- Ms. Pintersnit! You have a crow on your shoulder."
"Yes, I do, sir."
"Can I pet it, please?"
"Yes you may, sir."
"Eee."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The adventurers were puzzled by the crowd, and more puzzled by the fact the crowd was milling around rubble that used to be their regular inn.
"Blynth," exclaimed most of the party, concerned for the inn-keeper.
"The ale," cried the wizard, causing the party, and the crowd, to turn and stare.
"I think we're in trouble," the wizard quickly pointed out the pitchforks of the advancing townsfolk.
"Answers later, run now," suggested the Bard.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Look, the cat's floating!" I heard my sister exclaim from the doorway. I whipped my head towards the pond outside, but all I saw was a mess of leaves I needed to scoop up.
"No, up by the ceiling!"
I shot an incredulous glare at my sister before a rumbling purr above my head caught my attention. The cat.
"Cats can't do that," I insisted, despite all evidence and even knowing that cats don't let humans tell them what they can or can't do.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Does the event have to be at the Giddy Grape again?" pleaded Kip, holding menus from other nearby establishments.
"What's wrong with it?" asked Briti, feigning confusion.
"The drinks are watered down, the games are rigged, and... honestly I think the food is watered down too," he said with a shudder.
"But their karaoke system," she exclaimed.
"It's cool that it can access songs from the fae realm, but you always pick the same one!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The Dining Table was a massive stump of wood, smooth topped, displaying many rings; and sprouts off the edges, branches heavy with fruit, both common and exotic, if not seemingly impossible.
"There's apples growing right next to the strawberries," the princess pointed out to the sorcerer.
"Yes, your favorite! I remembered..."
"But I'm terribly allergic to apples," snapped the princess, "Now I know you intended to kidnap my twin!"
"Drat."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Even as a crow, the knight is bound by his oath," explained the Court Wizard.
The bird could be mistaken for a silver taloned raven. It ruffled it's magnificent plumage as it bowed to the Queen.
"He vowed to find my niece and bring her home, but he has returned empty... winged. Why should I not have him baked in a pie?"
The crow cawed indignantly, "Because she's run off to learn magic and ornithology - she'll return once she graduates."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"If that thing gets into my knitting again, I'm sending it to your aunt in the ocean!"
I'd heard the threat several times since the cat had been gifted to us. Most of us had accepted with glee, but not mother.
"That's not nice," we'd say, "You know aunt Coralina is allergic."
"I bet she sent the beast just to mess with my things."
It took some effort, but once the cat learned to knit it became mother's best crafting companion.
#TootFic #MicroFiction #Writing #TerylsTales #Caturday #Fantasy
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
It had been days worth of time but the time-traveler was having a rather boring go of looking for problems to fix in the past or present.
A distraction lead them to trip over a holographic flower-bed. Bruised with a mouthful of grass, insult was added by a bird dropping guano onto their head.
"Oh lucky!" exclaimed a passerby.
"Lucky?!"
"Yes, statistically! Due to the Avian Decimation?"
The time-traveler made a note to look into the event.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The Odd Client sifted through the items methodically.
"May I examine this bandilby fur deeply before purchase?"
"You may," said the hunter.
"May I examine the antmole pelt deeply before purchase?"
"Sure."
"May I examine this schawk tooth deeply before purchase?"
"Yes."
A girl stepped in carrying a basket of berries.
"Who is this?" snapped the Client.
"My daughter, Ruby."
"May I--"
"No!"
"Then tell her to leave while we business."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
Unprompted, the child asked, "How does an orc become a wizard?"
"Same as everyone else; I went to school to learn how to harness the vast and mys--"
"Why are your teeth like that?" interrupted the small human of fleeting interests.
"Where is your parent or guardian?" the orc wizard sighed, glancing about the library.
"Hair-dresser. Aunt Lulu is getting married in the Bahamas."
"Let's see if you can learn a special wedding spell..."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"We do not go out at night for there are things in the dark that cannot be--"
"Explained?" snorted the adventurer.
"...Reasoned with," finished the interrupted innkeeper, scowling.
"What can't be reasoned with must then be overpowered," proclaimed the adventurer, flexing before flinging open the door, powerful legs hurtling them into the twilight.
Barely past moonrise, the adventurer returned humbled... and needing a change of britches.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"There's something scary about a Portable Toilet that's bigger inside," mumbled Fyn.
"You've been in Little-Big Books & Beverages, and you've stayed at the Phone-Booth Hotel, those're huge inside too," his companion pointed out.
"Six stalls, two baby-tending stations, and three showers... What if storm winds tip all that over?"
"It's wheel-chair accessible?"
"Oh yes, can't forget to potentially injure the differently-able as well!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"When you smell the bloom, you will meet your doom."
The sign-maker looked up from her notes, "Isn't that a bit severe? Why not simply instruct visitors to not sniff the flowers?"
"It's scent is temptingly sweet, but it'll blow you off your feet."
"Oh, it causes extreme respiratory distress?"
"One must take the warning literally, one sniff will separate your shoe-stuffers from your body."
"...I'll use my loudest red paint for this one."
BLM🖖LGBTQIA+Curious multi-fandom dabbler. Learn me a new thing or just tell me what you love - your shared experiences can shape bonds and understanding.
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