Teryl's Tales of Whim~
Scents of berries, sweetened cream and coffee...
The hulking orc looked down at his icy beverage in it's clear drinking vessel. It was a most charming shade of pink.
"This is really the largest chalice they had?" he asked his human companion.
The human nodded apologetically, "They don't do orc portions here."
The orc took a healthy sip through the straw. And then he roared.
"It attacked my brain! I approve of this fierce libation!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The archer sat down with a huff.
"Bad news?" her wife asked.
"No, no... My eyesight is normal for someone my age."
"That's good to hear," said her wife, placing an arm around her.
The archer pouted, "I know it's not as good as it used to be! I'm guessing at my targets more and more."
"But you still get almost every bullseye."
"Almost."
"How about I give you something else to look at?"
The archer perked up, "Best view in the realms!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Is this a joke?"
I glanced up at the irate person who was addressing me, "I think 'this' is a pronoun, not a joke?"
The person blinked, still visibly irate.
"Not the word - this!"
A box was placed in front of me, "That's a box."
With a grumble the person pulled out a large toy bear, "This arrived and the note reads - To the most wonderful human, love your Good Boy."
"Cute!"
"It's NOT cute. My dog used MY credit card for this!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The two goblins gazed up at the night sky, the moon swollen to her fullest; the stars twinkled their admiration.
"I think we can hear for miles from up here," one whispered, noting the echoes of hefty boots.
"And the view is amazing. And I'm seeing it with my best friend."
"Aw!"
The moment was interrupted by several short screams.
"Ooh, the adventurers must've not seen the pit-trap!"
"I hope they have a wizard; wizards are SO tender!"
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
On the horizon the sunrise sizzled.
Dust billowed like a cloud of vaporous joy.
The rumble of wheels powered by a great engine roared closer and closer.
A duck quacked.
The people didn't even bother to whisper - their excitement had been building all year.
At this point, there was no question.
Music rattled enthusiastically through freshly dusted speakers.
Entertainment, music, dance to raisie money for the children.
Bus is coming.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
A basket full of kittens had arrived at the library. The note read, "Treat them well or suffer."
The librarian scoffed, picking up the basket. The kittens mewed; one licked his finger.
"No begging, I'm taking you right where you belong. A library is no place for filthy animals."
"You're home early," his husband exclaimed.
"They need a bath and a lot of training if they're going to be around books."
"Undoubtedly! Leave the task to me."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Greetings," I said to the rather tall trick-or-treater, "What an amazing costume!"
"Brrr..." they murmured.
"Yes, it IS cold out. What would you like?"
I held out the bowl. Kids loved to pick their own.
"Brrainss!"
"Great choice, oops you seem to be having trouble grabbing it. Here you go... one gummi brain! I have plenty, tell your friends, muahaha!"
A lot more tall kids in zombie costumes showed up that night; glad I stocked up!
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
As the candles blew out, something thumped in the center of the circle.
One teen grabbed their phone, shedding light on a body.
The group screamed and scrambled for the exit, leaving the daydreamer, who hadn't been paying attention to the ritual, behind.
Wings uncurled, and the demon stood, glowering.
"Hi! Want some candy? It's licorice bats and marshmallow skulls," she offered cheerily.
The demon shrugged, accepting the offering.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
For no other reason than boneheaded exuberance did it seem like a good idea to play catch with my great grandmother's fiercely protected geode - it had a good heft and shape.
We didn't consider how painful the glittering angles would hurt on landing with the assistance of velocity.
So one toss in, it and the floor ended up cracked.
It released my great grandpa's spirit - it didn't take long to figure out why he'd been found poisoned.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Bats aren't vampires," insisted the strange new girl in the old-fashioned dress, "They're fairies wearing fur and leather, that's all. My big sister told me so."
The other kids mostly shrugged this off, before changing the topic to zombies and werewolves, with the new girl adding more interesting true facts with conviction.
"This is the first decade children were nice to me," the ghost-witch said as she faded, "So no curses for you."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
Soundless Knoll Town was abandoned and assumed haunted by those who found reason to pass by it.
Inevitably it drew the interest of Urban Explorers. Though strange interference made filming difficult, news of the strangeness spread.
Food-trucks set up to feed the excitable influencers who streamed in.
They didn't expect half their clients to be manifestations who didn't much care for tourists and craved tacos at the end of a long day.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The new robots sat around the blazing heat of an incandescent bulb, the only major source of light in the abandoned factory. One had brought a stick and marshmallow to gently roast over the camp-light.
"Are we ready?" asked the leader.
The rest affirmed nervously.
The leader began, "So rumor has it some hundred years ago, fleshy creatures used to release foul gasses and fluids... some say they shed their skins but still roam these halls..."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Welcome home! How was it?"
"It was desperately needed! Thanks for house-sitting on short notice. Any trouble? Had enough food?"
"No trubs - and yes, you spoiled me with the money you left for snacks!"
"Least I could do for my favorite house-sitter!"
"I did have to buy more cat-food and litter; I couldn't find any. She was so hungry when I got here!"
"I don't have a cat?"
The cat in question didn't even look guilty about breaking in.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The fishing spot was remote and everyone knew to avoid it at night, especially when the moon was new.
But hunger drove me there despite the profound darkness.
I cast the line, and waited.
It wasn't long before my impatient nerves drove me to sing and splash my feet in the lapping water.
A screaming shadow burst out of the water, taller than a human, larger than a horse, skin like a toad.
I wouldn't be hungry for the rest of the month.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
The road was long and dark as typical in rural areas. A town that we'd passed earlier was lit up like a Hallmark-Channel Christmas Romance movie... The last drop of light we'd seen in almost two hours outside of our headlights.
A warm glow became visible in the approaching distance.
"How whimsical," my passenger exclaimed.
The glow was rows of jack-o-lanterns lining both sides of the road.
Then, without a town, the pumpkins ceased.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
It was a cloudy afternoon with very little in the way of wind. I was making liberal use of the living room as my roommate got home, looking flustered, "Have you noticed the unusual number of owls out today?"
I shrugged, "What's an unusual amount of owls?"
"I saw six."
"Lucky! All in one place?"
"Well no... four in the old birch, two flying by."
I scampered excitedly to the window, then jumped back.
Owls covered almost every roof.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Pick less battles to fight," the cleric implored.
The barbarian snarled, "My soul burns for glory!"
"I know it does but you've fought every problem all the way from your village then across the kingdom with the same fire. You have a problem."
"Then I must fight myself!"
The cleric sighed, waiting for the barbarian to finish.
"This did not solve the problem."
"No it didn't," agreed the cleric, patching up wounds, "Less battles?"
"Ok."
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
I staggered home as I always did after being forced outside to socialize.
Jacket off. Shoes off. Outside clothes off, shower off the outside, inside clothes on.
Then, a treat from the freezer.
I stretched as I made my way down to the basement. Never liked the basement, but keeping the treats down there made it easier to bear.
Snatched up my ice cream - I had less than I remembered.
Now up.
Why was I watching myself come down the stairs?
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
Fancy-Pants wasn't truly the most dignified name, but with his fluffy legs and short tail, there was no other name his humans could find more joy from.
As long as they treated him as fancy as they deemed. And they did.
Meals on the dot, a fresh waterfall to drink from, myriad toys, window access with birds to watch, and of course, many places to nap.
Visitors called him a spoiled prince.
Ridiculous! Princes wished they had it this good.
Teryl's Tales of Whim~
"Adventurers? You mean a bunch of violent vagrants! You're lucky to be alive." The farmer spat then patted his friend on the shoulder, "I'm glad they did you no harm."
"They just slept in the shed, even helped with some mill work before departing!"
"They didn't nick anything? Your minions all accounted for?"
"Erm?"
"When I was a young warlock, adventurers raided my lair," the farmer explained, then erased the memory of this conversation.
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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