Post by E. R. O'Donnegale on Jul 1, 2008 21:07:49 GMT -5
I think I have found my thread! I write (it's the only thing I can do) but not fan fiction per se. CC (CONSTRUCTIVE criticism) is always welcome.
Small crunching noises resounded through the forest as three figures made their way across a patch of fallen leaves. They stood in a line, but their demeanor was relaxed and happy, as if they were not walking through as musty forest with no rest in sight. The person to the left of the middle one was apparently regaling the others with a tale of some sort and, as they walked, continued to gesture and speak with enthusiasm. He was shorter and more sturdily built than the other two, with broad shoulders, muscled arms and a few not-too-noticeable scars that suggested fights that had gone well for him. His animated talk has punctuated by short, quiet comments by the fellow on the right, which were often accompanied by laughter from the girl in the middle. These remaining two were both tall and slender, but he towering over she. He, like his companion on the right of the lady, was muscular, but unlike the other he had a slighter, but taller frame. The girl in the middle, whom both were looking at, had a slight figure, like her comrade’s, but without his brawn, thus giving her long limbs a slightly wasted look. Her face had not lost its childish circular shape, though, and was presently flushed, both with exertion and merriment. She was not quite pretty, but interesting to look at, her round, white cheeks dotted with freckles and her bright green eyes sparkling with fun and a little mischief. Both males made a great act of being there only for her amusement, only to keep her contagious smile in its place.
“So he says, ‘You wanna piece a’ me?’ and I say, ‘No, sir,’ ‘cause he looks like he’s the son of a monkey and an elephant that escaped from the zoo, y’know? So then, he gets all flustered, like, whoa! I wasn’t expecting that! Then he gets angry and comes up and grabs me and says, ‘You wanna piece a’ me if I say you wanna piece a’ me!’ Then he holds me right up to his face and, man he smells like he’s escaped from the zoo! Then he says, with me right up close to him like that, ‘An’ I say you wanna piece a’ me!’”
“So what’d he do?’ she asked, chortling, “Knock you over with his smell?” The storyteller looked pleased with himself for making her laugh, pulling a couple of stands of dark hair out of his face as she waited for his answer.
“Well, then,” he said, “We hear a voice from behind him. It says, ‘Hey, what if I want a piece of you, too?’ So he whirls around and there’s Kay!” The girl applauded in delight, but the other boy rolled his grey eyes.
“I didn’t say that,” he pointed out, “I said, ‘Put my friend down’.” But the dark-haired boy waved Kay off.
“You’re ruining the story,” he said carelessly, returning to his story weaving, “So, then the guy just stands there, like, oh, two guys! This is a real poser! After he stands there for a bit, he throws me on the ground – that hurt – and says, ‘C’mon, botha youse!’”
“‘Youse’?” chuckled the girl.
“Yeah, that’s what he said!” the boy said, enjoying the effect of this.
“So then what?’ she asked him.
“So then we fought him!” he said triumphantly.
“I still say you shouldn’t have picked a fight with him,” said Kay, “I’m still hurting from that, Ryan,” he added, rubbing his neck.
“Ah, you worry too much!” said Ryan, waving a casual hand.
“And you worry too little,” Kay shot back. But she in the middle had already tired of this.
“Are we there yet?” she asked though Ryan’s response.
“Almost, Lady Elisa,” said Kay, with an almost teasing smile.
“How come he can call you that but I can’t?” complained Ryan. The girl Kay called Elisa paused for a moment in thought.
“’Cause I like him better than you,” she finally said with a look of grave decision. Ryan groaned and Kay laughed.
“That’s heartening, E.,” Ryan said sarcastically.
“What can I say?” E. said with an air of a princess, “I am here to serve.” As Ryan opened his mouth for another jab, Kay shouted and startled them both.
“Look!” he said, pointing up ahead, “We’re here!”
Jane carefully perched herself in an overhanging branch of the tree she was climbing. Or trying to climb, more accurately. Mary Jo was better at this than she, and MJ would’ve probably scaled this tree in two minutes, but never mind that. Climbing in a dress was harder than she thought. She finally settled in the tree with both of her feet hanging off the side of the branch like she was riding it sidesaddle. Now she could do what she came up here to do. She looked out over the forest, hoping to see some sign of movement. E., Ryan and Kay were due any minute, but knowing the three of them it would most likely be a while before they appeared. Jane shifted a little on her uncomfortable perch, trying to find a better seat. Although she didn’t enjoy sitting in trees, she liked having a break from the all the cleaning the little band was undertaking. She smiled remembering how comical Jane Erika and Lauraine had looked up to their shoulders in suds.
“Boo.” Jane nearly fell out of the tree at the sound. She turned her head quickly around to come face to face with the grinning face of a boy who was sitting on the branch next to her and wiping the rebellious streak of blonde in his brown hair out of his eyes.
“Maverick!” she exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart, which was still pumping, “What on earth possessed you to do that?!” But she already knew. Maverick spent most of his time trying to live up to his lively name.
“You climb trees horribly,” he said conversationally.
“Do you have to rub it in?” she asked.
“No,” he said, grinning still more, “So what’re you doing up a tree when you so obviously would rather be dusting cobwebs out of breadboxes?”
“I was watching for E, Ryan and Kay, for your information,” she said primly.
“Well, then,” he said, “It might interest you to know that they’ve just arrived by the other way.”
“Maverick!” she said, throwing her arms up in exasperation (which nearly threw her off her delicate balance on the branch), “You couldn’t have told me that sooner?”
“Nope,” he said, the eternal grin in place as he swung his legs over the side of the tree.
“You’re impossible!” she exclaimed.
“Thanks!” he told her.
“Can’t you go torture someone else for a while?” she asked, massaging her head.
“Well, Laurel won’t react when I talk to her, E. is impossible to talk to without getting a headache, McJane is just McDucky, Drika always gives me these really scary looks, Lauraine tells me to do something useful and Tanna keeps threatening to take my head off if I talk to her anymore,” Maverick listed, putting up a finger for each girl. Jane groaned, smiling ruefully.
“I need to go see E.,” she said, preparing to make the perilous climb down.
“Here.” Maverick slid out of the tree and landed on the ground as gracefully as a cat. He held his arms up to Jane. “Jump.” She narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to find a catch or a trick, but apparently she preferred this to trying to get back down in her skirt. She jumped, landing safely in Maverick’s arms.
“You didn’t drop me,” she said, surprised.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to my head,” he said, setting her on the ground, “And, besides, who am I to ignore the calls of a damsel in distress?”
“You talk to Kay too much,” she said, with something that was halfway between a frown and a smirk. Maverick was about to answer when a voice cut him off.
“Jane A.! Maverick! E., Ryan and Kay are here! And, more importantly, it’s time for a snack!”
Escape to the Forest of Arden
Chapter 1
Refuge and Snacks
Chapter 1
Refuge and Snacks
“They say he is already in the forest of Arden, and a many merry men with him; and there they live like the old Robin Hood of England. They say many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world.” –As You Like It
Small crunching noises resounded through the forest as three figures made their way across a patch of fallen leaves. They stood in a line, but their demeanor was relaxed and happy, as if they were not walking through as musty forest with no rest in sight. The person to the left of the middle one was apparently regaling the others with a tale of some sort and, as they walked, continued to gesture and speak with enthusiasm. He was shorter and more sturdily built than the other two, with broad shoulders, muscled arms and a few not-too-noticeable scars that suggested fights that had gone well for him. His animated talk has punctuated by short, quiet comments by the fellow on the right, which were often accompanied by laughter from the girl in the middle. These remaining two were both tall and slender, but he towering over she. He, like his companion on the right of the lady, was muscular, but unlike the other he had a slighter, but taller frame. The girl in the middle, whom both were looking at, had a slight figure, like her comrade’s, but without his brawn, thus giving her long limbs a slightly wasted look. Her face had not lost its childish circular shape, though, and was presently flushed, both with exertion and merriment. She was not quite pretty, but interesting to look at, her round, white cheeks dotted with freckles and her bright green eyes sparkling with fun and a little mischief. Both males made a great act of being there only for her amusement, only to keep her contagious smile in its place.
“So he says, ‘You wanna piece a’ me?’ and I say, ‘No, sir,’ ‘cause he looks like he’s the son of a monkey and an elephant that escaped from the zoo, y’know? So then, he gets all flustered, like, whoa! I wasn’t expecting that! Then he gets angry and comes up and grabs me and says, ‘You wanna piece a’ me if I say you wanna piece a’ me!’ Then he holds me right up to his face and, man he smells like he’s escaped from the zoo! Then he says, with me right up close to him like that, ‘An’ I say you wanna piece a’ me!’”
“So what’d he do?’ she asked, chortling, “Knock you over with his smell?” The storyteller looked pleased with himself for making her laugh, pulling a couple of stands of dark hair out of his face as she waited for his answer.
“Well, then,” he said, “We hear a voice from behind him. It says, ‘Hey, what if I want a piece of you, too?’ So he whirls around and there’s Kay!” The girl applauded in delight, but the other boy rolled his grey eyes.
“I didn’t say that,” he pointed out, “I said, ‘Put my friend down’.” But the dark-haired boy waved Kay off.
“You’re ruining the story,” he said carelessly, returning to his story weaving, “So, then the guy just stands there, like, oh, two guys! This is a real poser! After he stands there for a bit, he throws me on the ground – that hurt – and says, ‘C’mon, botha youse!’”
“‘Youse’?” chuckled the girl.
“Yeah, that’s what he said!” the boy said, enjoying the effect of this.
“So then what?’ she asked him.
“So then we fought him!” he said triumphantly.
“I still say you shouldn’t have picked a fight with him,” said Kay, “I’m still hurting from that, Ryan,” he added, rubbing his neck.
“Ah, you worry too much!” said Ryan, waving a casual hand.
“And you worry too little,” Kay shot back. But she in the middle had already tired of this.
“Are we there yet?” she asked though Ryan’s response.
“Almost, Lady Elisa,” said Kay, with an almost teasing smile.
“How come he can call you that but I can’t?” complained Ryan. The girl Kay called Elisa paused for a moment in thought.
“’Cause I like him better than you,” she finally said with a look of grave decision. Ryan groaned and Kay laughed.
“That’s heartening, E.,” Ryan said sarcastically.
“What can I say?” E. said with an air of a princess, “I am here to serve.” As Ryan opened his mouth for another jab, Kay shouted and startled them both.
“Look!” he said, pointing up ahead, “We’re here!”
Jane carefully perched herself in an overhanging branch of the tree she was climbing. Or trying to climb, more accurately. Mary Jo was better at this than she, and MJ would’ve probably scaled this tree in two minutes, but never mind that. Climbing in a dress was harder than she thought. She finally settled in the tree with both of her feet hanging off the side of the branch like she was riding it sidesaddle. Now she could do what she came up here to do. She looked out over the forest, hoping to see some sign of movement. E., Ryan and Kay were due any minute, but knowing the three of them it would most likely be a while before they appeared. Jane shifted a little on her uncomfortable perch, trying to find a better seat. Although she didn’t enjoy sitting in trees, she liked having a break from the all the cleaning the little band was undertaking. She smiled remembering how comical Jane Erika and Lauraine had looked up to their shoulders in suds.
“Boo.” Jane nearly fell out of the tree at the sound. She turned her head quickly around to come face to face with the grinning face of a boy who was sitting on the branch next to her and wiping the rebellious streak of blonde in his brown hair out of his eyes.
“Maverick!” she exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart, which was still pumping, “What on earth possessed you to do that?!” But she already knew. Maverick spent most of his time trying to live up to his lively name.
“You climb trees horribly,” he said conversationally.
“Do you have to rub it in?” she asked.
“No,” he said, grinning still more, “So what’re you doing up a tree when you so obviously would rather be dusting cobwebs out of breadboxes?”
“I was watching for E, Ryan and Kay, for your information,” she said primly.
“Well, then,” he said, “It might interest you to know that they’ve just arrived by the other way.”
“Maverick!” she said, throwing her arms up in exasperation (which nearly threw her off her delicate balance on the branch), “You couldn’t have told me that sooner?”
“Nope,” he said, the eternal grin in place as he swung his legs over the side of the tree.
“You’re impossible!” she exclaimed.
“Thanks!” he told her.
“Can’t you go torture someone else for a while?” she asked, massaging her head.
“Well, Laurel won’t react when I talk to her, E. is impossible to talk to without getting a headache, McJane is just McDucky, Drika always gives me these really scary looks, Lauraine tells me to do something useful and Tanna keeps threatening to take my head off if I talk to her anymore,” Maverick listed, putting up a finger for each girl. Jane groaned, smiling ruefully.
“I need to go see E.,” she said, preparing to make the perilous climb down.
“Here.” Maverick slid out of the tree and landed on the ground as gracefully as a cat. He held his arms up to Jane. “Jump.” She narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to find a catch or a trick, but apparently she preferred this to trying to get back down in her skirt. She jumped, landing safely in Maverick’s arms.
“You didn’t drop me,” she said, surprised.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to my head,” he said, setting her on the ground, “And, besides, who am I to ignore the calls of a damsel in distress?”
“You talk to Kay too much,” she said, with something that was halfway between a frown and a smirk. Maverick was about to answer when a voice cut him off.
“Jane A.! Maverick! E., Ryan and Kay are here! And, more importantly, it’s time for a snack!”
