A Very Popular Party

Jedi escorted Neffydd up the walk and through the gates of his friend's garden. While she had met his human friend, before, she wasn't expecting him to be the type to hang out with many Fae. The moment she passed through the garden and into the door of the kitchens, she knew better.

I should never assume... She thought to herself as she was greeted by a sparkly Water Sprite and a stout Mountain Faun. She was well-met by Human and Fae, alike. Hands were shook often and warm smiles spread liberally throughout the night.

"Hello there!" An older Human woman caught her attention. She turned to greet the woman who volunteered that she was the mother of the man who owned the house. "Neffydd, is it? Oh! I've heard of you, once... Only good things, though!" She smiled and chatted for a bit longer before turning to pull food from an oven.

Neffydd turned at a familiar sight and greeted a friend Jedi had introduced her to a few weeks ago. He was a suspicious sort, but they got along well enough.

"Are you having fun?" Jedi checked with her after a few minutes, knowing how crowds could make her nervous.

"Surprisingly; Yes!" She smiled up at him and they got squished together a bit as someone passed behind her folded wings.

He smiled back. "I'm going out for a smoke." He tipped his head back toward the garden.

"I'll go with." She liked the people here, but there was so much new that a breath of fresh air would do her good.

"The pinata isn't for a little while..." Their host said from the trestle tables set up on the patio.

"We're just stepping out for a bit." Jedi replied and walked over to greet his friend with a handshake. "This is quite a party!"

"Yeah, man!" He smiled wide and gestured toward the out-building garage. They could see hazy light pouring out of the thin glass windows. "You can go in there, where there's heat."

"We were actually going to have a smoke..." Jedi rebuffed.

"Oh, they're smoking in there." Their host pointed at the door as it opened to let a person and a jumble of soft sounds out, into the chilly night.

"What are they smoking, in there??" Jedi's tone was light and conspiratorial.

"A little bit of everything!"

"Oh?" Jedi looked at Neffydd. "We like everything; don't we?" She gave the menfolk a sharp-toothed grin and nodded. Jedi grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the garage and their host opened the door for them.

There was a round of introductions once they had all filed through the door. More smiles and nodding and handshakes before Neffydd found herself placed in a chair next to a charming woman with a happy face.

The cloud of smoke got steadily thicker, after that, as people wandered in and out of the large-ish room. There were jokes and razzing; curious questions about Neffydd's physique and profession; snacks, drinks and other consumables passed around at satisfying intervals.

"Here..." Late into the night, Neffydd began to feel that sensation at the back of her throat. "Drink this for me?" She handed her glass to Jedi. He wouldn't keep her from drinking it, but if he was holding it she wouldn't be tempted to take a sip every few seconds.

"Done, already?" Jedi's friend asked with a sly grin. Neffydd checked the display on her mobile com.

"Yup." She showed him the lit face of it. "I might just be."

"Oh, wow!" His eyebrows raised. "I think I should be going to bed, soon, too."

"How'd you get here?" Jedi perked up. He had been slowly falling into a slouched trance, while watching the party goers move in the haze around them. Those extra hours at work were really chewing him up...

"Walked." His buddy shrugged. "It's only a little over a mile."

"It's pretty chilly out." Jedi glanced toward the door. The window in it had fogged over at the corners. "You want a ride?"

"Only if you're already leaving..." His friend was hopefully hesitant.

"Yeah, we're about done." He looked at Neffydd who shrugged and nodded. "I'm pretty beat."

True to party form, they couldn't leave without spending a bit more time polluting the air quality and chatting about all kinds of silly nothing.

A short aeon later they called it quits, for good. They slipped out the side door and walked down the car park to the street.

Just Another Day in Pinedale

"Nevy!" The girl to Neffydd's left was agitated. She kept leaning over the table to look out of the Pinedale Inn window. "I think our friend is in need... She looks distressed. She may need our help."

Neffydd looked up from her chess game with her sister's lover, an elf with giant bloodlines, Fia Minaya Onorata, to face the human Nord, Floki, directly. She was looking out the window again so Neffydd leaned over a bit to look out, with her.

Shael was in the courtyard speaking with the mercenaries who had gathered by the fire. She seemed agitated, but Neffydd knew she had things under control. She sat back down and made her next move at her sad little chess game.

"If there's one thing Shael is good at, it's getting men to do her bidding." She winked at Fia, who smiled back and took Neffydd's rook off the board. The innkeeper's husband chuckled with the traveling games master and said something just the polite side of lewd.

"Oh..." Awe tinted Floki's voice. "She found someone..."

"Just one?" Neffydd looked up in disbelief.

"No. Five." Floki's eyes were following the group as they passed the window and marched down the well-worn road. A few minutes later Fia had nailed Neffydd's king to the wall and Neffydd was finished with her ale.

"Let's go see if they still need help." Floki begged Neffydd.

"OK." Neffydd pointed down the road. "They went this way."

They hiked up the path to the crossroads and started to turn right, toward the voices of a group who seemed to be in a heavy discussion. Neffydd heard Floki gasp and turned to their left to behold a pair of hideous creatures baring down on them.

No sooner had Neffydd drawn her sword, than she realized that the creatures were Bagmen and if she were to be hit by their fear spells she would be held, powerless to stop them for injuring her and Floki then looting their valuables.

She started to run toward the people who were gathered in the common yard of a grouping of buildings just down the path.

"Help us!" She was all she could scream before her world turned into a nightmare.

Icy fingers of apprehension gripped Neffyd's spine, sending tingles into her body and clasping her lungs in a vise-like grip. She fell to the ground and the people morphed into monsters. She could hear the terrified screaming of her compatriot and the hungry growling of the monsters as they gathered around her body, paralyzed in fear. She covered her head as one of the beasts reached toward her. She screamed for help, hoping the noise would scare the creature away.

She felt fingers brush her shoulder and a warmth flowed through her body. Be calm... The thought flowed through her, chasing her terror away.


"OK... I got ya." A gentle voice said from above Neffydd. "Calm down. Are you hurt?"

Neffydd took a deep breath and a mental inventory before shaking her head. She looked up, into the lean face of her elven savior.

"N-no..." She stuttered. "Just... Just the fear, I think." She pushed herself up, off the ground and stood on shaky legs. She took a few deep, cleansing breaths and followed the elf into the common yard. Floki was escorted by another and they were set on a bench to wait for an escort back toward the Inn.

"Does this happen often?" Her breathless companion asked.

"Every time I visit this forsaken place." Neffydd sighed. "At least it's not raining... Yet."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

O/C 5-8-14:

Do to popular request and gaining permission to use the proper place name, I have changed the name from 'Springdale' to 'Pinedale' to reflect the Kingdoms of Novitas' town.

Some of the characters are recurring people in my blog, (& life, for that matter,) therefore some things about them may deviate from KoN cannon. Please understand that this is a fantastical retelling of my life, so most of the posts are going to be out of KoN cannon.

Thanks for reading!
 ~:}Y{:~
Leigh