Post by Beets The Beetle (Feenix) on Oct 10, 2023 11:55:48 GMT
Co-written with the gentle hearted half-giant father figure himself Andy D , sorry I-I've got something in my buggin'eye! đŞ˛
Long after the lush jungle covered island and itâs tall stoney peak etched with the name of itâs owner had vanished back into the mysterious mists, Beets still finds herself perched on the yard arm of the main sail staring into the gleam of the nine orbs and metallic surface of that dragon etched disc that she had practically wrenched-grasp and all-from the long dead remains of the nefarious Captain Jimmy Midnight.
The energetic echo of the suggestion from her fast shooting friend Sorrel that âPerhaps it imbues the holder with strange draconic powers..â or the less quick off the mark afterthought of âit could be itâs horribly cursed..â swirled slackly in her mind till she finally releases them into the sea breeze with a disappointed sigh.
Beets guessed she should be grateful, snapping the treasure fused hand off of an unfortunate if murderous pirate captain couldâve had very bad consequences. It was âvery reckless, stupid and selfishâ she berated herself, not quite unable to hear the tone of her halfling friend Marto as she did so. One curse was bad enough. Still, what if it had granted her-
The noise of someone clearing their throat made her jump, and she peered up to see one of the crew staring peculiarly at her from the crows nest above, his gaze particularly she realised focused on the reverse-side of the procured disc in her hands moulded grimly to which was the long decayed hand of itâs previous owner. She swiftly covered it from a pastry wrap from inside her jacket and gave the shipâs eyes a wide grin. âG-good strong south-easterly,â she started enthusiastically. âW-with this weâll be home in..no timeâŚâ she trailed off, seeing her attempt of establishing any form of good natured conservation with the crew was well and truly sunk-if only Kavel had been clearer in explaining that it was the previous-and now deceased-crew that had tried to murder him on their the voyage to Kavelland before sheâd threaten them with a violent gutting and overboarding should any one of them lay a finger on her friendsâŚ
Making a swift awkward exit she glided down towards the front of the ship, trying not to meet the eyes of any of the other crew members before she was slowed by the strange sight of not one but now two broad-rods protruding out from the front of the ship, one of whichâs immense yet finely chiselled figurehead appeared to be deciding where to set up the portable rod he carried. âKavel?â Beets remarked to herself as she alighted herself atop the other unoccupied beam.
The Legacy was sailing at breakneck speed on its journey back from Kavelland to Port Ffirst. Thanks to The Legacy's magical sails, the journey which would take an ordinary ship weeks to achieve, would only take The Legacy two days at most.
Whether it would be weeks or days at sea, Kavel was determined to get some exercise done regardless. Being away from Kavel's corner was no excuse to skip a workout. So says Kavel.
Kavel, standing on the quarterdeck with Captain Donatress, was in the middle of setting in place his immovable chin-up bar for a nice late workout. Sudden a shout of panic from Captain Donatress halted him.
"Kavel stop!"
The goliath, holding the rod above his head, finger hovering over the button that sets it in place, turned to face the captain.
"You fool!" The half-orc, female said whilst pulling at his shoulder, "that rod will stay in place while the main mast will crash into it, and likely break it off at the speed we're going!"
Kavel sheepishly lowered the rod and set the locking mechanism back to its safe position. "Shit. Good point captain. My bad," Kavel said, embarrassed, but also frustrated.
âKavel?â Beets asked above the sloosh of the water as it was sliced by the stern of the great ship below as she watched her friend examine the rigging and then planks at the front ship intently.
Looking up towards his flying comrade, Kavel had an idea. âBeets!â Kavel shouted over the sound of the ocean being cut through by the speed of the ship, âI canât set my chin-up bar safely to exercise. Come here. Let me grab hold of your calves as you hover above me. Good resistance training for the pair of us. Chin-ups with a vertical, unsteady grip for me, and for you; you have to carry my weight.â
âUm well the shipâs moving pretty fast Kavel, Beets stated, gesturing to the generous breeze whipping her shoulder length hair. âIf I donât keep the pace up with my wing beats with the extra weigh-um mass.., we could both find ourselves aâflit at sea.â
âYes. Good point,â another one too, Kavel thought to himself, disappointed now that both his ideas for pull-ups had been rejected. Exercise would not ellude the goliath strength enthusiast though. If he had to settle for just press-ups, burpees and free-squats then so be it. But first, âwhat are you up to, Beets?â
âOhâŚJust thinking I guessâŚâ Beets says as she lays flat along the bowsprit, tucking her beetle legs around it with her arms behind her head and starting to do sit ups. Being in the very presence of Kavel always gave her the itch to stretch her muscles. âLot has happened since we first met on that trip to together to the Feywild hasnât it?â
"Where you challenged Queen Nicniven to a fight?
âY-yeah..Not the best idea was it?â Beets remarks with a wince.
It was rather bold, Kavel thought to himself. âHave you been back since?"
âNot to that part of the Feywild specifically noâŚI did go on scouting mission to check out the head of That Wild Hunt, saw Queen Titania get speared in the gut and take it like it was nothing-which being a fey magic illusion I guess it was. Martoâs sisterâs adoptive Mom is pretty impressive.
âHowâbout you big guy?â Beets asks as she finds her rhythm with the sway of the ocean on the ship with her sit-ups. âS-still seeing Natalie?â She asks cautiously.
Kavel had been quite intertwined with the business of the Wild Hunt. He had been used by people wanting to free the Lord of the Hunt from his captivity, and he had been present when the Lord was freed. Kavel had also been involved in a more recent matter involving the Lord of the Huntâs giant mount, Oriniax - a near fatal matter, for Oriniax. That incident, it seemed to Kavel, closely preceded what his friend Beets had just told him about. The goliath felt he should perhaps question his friend on the scouting mission, as she put it, but the question about Nathalie was more important to him. The Wild Hunt was business. Nathalie was his heart.
âStill connected,â Kavel began, but the word connected did not feel right anymore. âConnectedâ better suited Kavel and Nathalie when their souls were magically bonded together with their damphenite bangles. But, they had to give up that connection, for the sake of Nathalie, and her people. âConnectedâ, the term, now hurt.
âStill in love,â Kavel corrected himself. âWe talk as much as we can, daily, with the twenty five word limit available to us with the Sending Stones we have.â Kavel looked down at his right wrist, the spot where he once wore his unbreakable - once unbreakable - bangle. âBut, itâs not the same, not even being able to visit each other, not even once a month now.â
âOh, Iâm sorry,â Beets replied sadly. âI-I mean not sorry that youâre still in love b-but um..well⌠Her response faltered in her mouth.
Kavel stared at Beets, doing sit-ups precariously on the bowsprit of the ship, or at least precariously if you couldnât fly - if Beets fell, she should be able to recover her position with her wings, and not splash into the ocean. What really caught Kavelâs attention though, was the shape and size of the bowsprit.
Using his powerful, and flight capable legs, Kavel jumped towards his comrade on the bowsprit in front of him. With great dexterity and athleticism, Kavel caught the bowsprit with his hands, and let his body fall down below the bowsprit while he gripped the bowsprit with his strong hands.
âAha!â Kavel yelled with excitement, as he began to do pull-ups on the bowsprit, âI found a place to do pull-ups on the ship! Good find, comrade!â He said, giving credit to his fairy friend.
Any further thoughts of love were cast from Beets' mind by the acrobatics of her goliath friend and the steady rhythm she could now feel thumbing through the wood of the bowsprit beneath her. She hoped it could support Kavelâs girth.
Finishing a set of pull-ups, Kavel swung himself around the bowsprit, so he was now sat on top of it, facing Beets, with his thighs squeezing the bowsprit, and his legs outstretched, under the wooden beam, and crossed at the feet. With his legs securing his position, Kavel was able to lean back a little for comfort. He crossed his arms, and nodded towards his comrade. âWas that not the first time, earlier, when your body changed and you looked more like a beetle?â
Kavelâs question threw her, she hadnât expected the conversation to become focused on her. âUh, well uhmâŚâ Beets sighed. She couldnât hide things from Kavel. âNoâŚâ She admitted, ears drooping. âLolli says, when she came back around when I thought she was..gone. I was, fully beetle..Beetle-likeâŚS-she could still tell it was me, but I donât remember being me, I donât remember it at all.â She sat, hands sat atop on the wood in front of her as she stared into the swirling black depths of the water below.
âNo one was hurt by your beetle form, back on Kavelland. I thought I should mention that, if you are worried. How about the first time?â
âNo. No, everyone was fine.â Beets confirmed simply.
âGood.âKavel said. The response seemed to confirm something he suspected. âI think even though you seem to go crazy during the transformation, youâre still focusing on the enemy. You become more focused, maybe single-minded, but not feral. Donât you think?â
âI suppose if you put it like that it doesnât sound so bad.â Beets says glancing up at Kavel. âI-I just at least hope it can stay that way.â
âDo you remember ripping off Jimmyâs dead head by chomping his neck with those mandibles you grew?â
Beets nods silently and
shivers, the memory of shaking off the darkness that driven her with her friends calls to see the decapitated head bounce down the pile of assorted trinkets into the water returning. At least he was already deadâŚ
âWell. Had Jimmy been truly alive, he would have truly deserved your chomp - he has tried to kill me twice now!â Kavel said, whilst showing two fingers to Beets to emphasise his point.
âMaybe itâs scary for you, this uncontrolled transformation. But, âhelp Lolli and Kavelâ, your instincts; they seemed right to me. Even if it was overkill, like Oziah said. Then again, could any of us have been certain that Jimmy was dead? After all, he should have been dead months ago.â
âThanks I guess Kavel.â Beets murmursâŚ
âDo you still do the breathing exercises I showed you?â
"Beets sits up, legs logged around the bowsprit, shutting her eyes and letting the sound of the ocean roar and wind ruffling her hair sink into the back of her mind as she takes a few deep long breaths in...and out...In...and out...
She smiles as she feels the knot of worry in her gut lesson slightly.
âGood,â Kavel said pleased. âDid you forget your worries, even if only for a few seconds?â
âYeah..thanks Pa..Uhm-Kavel!â Beets quickly corrects herself, her eyes opening wide, ears turning pink with embarrassment.
Kavel let the name âpaâ go unnoticed. But he let the silence between them rest there for a few seconds before saying, âdo the breathing exercise regularly. Itâs good for you. Good for everything.â
Kavel uncrossed his legs from under the bowsprit, and sat up, legs straddling the bowsprit, and rested his hands on his knees, and looked straight at Beets before saying, âyou are one of the strongest adventurers. This is true. You are quite the thicc-boi. This is serious too. Varga, Ivan, and I - we have either or will soon be adventuring only on Daring Council request. I think you are going to find that more adventuring parties will really be relying on you to protect them with your strength. Master being aware of your mind, so you can master your transformation, and be the strongest Beets there is.â
Beetsâs emerald green eyes shimmered from the rippling sea below as the dying light of the setting evening sun pin pricked the tears that flowed down her cheeks.
She swallowed back a gulp and nodded, before slowly rising up to walk slowly forward, wrapping her arms as far around her keg chested friend as they could go before letting her head rest against him. âThank you Kavel. For everything. I know Pa and Gramps would thank you too, if they could.â
Kavel hugged Beets back, his arms engulfing his fairy comrade fully. âYou are welcome. And whenever Nathalie and I have figured out our solution for seeing each other more regularly, you should come visit. Until then, hold on to me,â Kavel put his feet on the bowsprit, and propelled him the short way back to the bow. Pulling away from the hug a little, Kavel said, ânow I must find another part of the ship to exercise with.â
Beets smiled and wiped away a tear as she nodded and watched her friend head off happily along the deck.
Who knew a guy with such a big heart and equally big muscles could fly so high.
