“I am not known for my advisory-" Aragorn begins. Gimli's snoring interrupts him and while he wants to talk over it, he knows how important it is for Legolas to hear it. With how far the dwarf sleeps, he needs to hear it.
“But you will hand it out, yes?” Legolas tightens his grip on his bow, visibly turning a muted red. Even beneath the pale moonbeams his skin is shaded, the purple and blue hues of night clinging like a shield. He turns towards Aragorn, who is half-lain in his sleep pack, leant up on an elbow to peer at both sides of the quarrel.
Legolas quirks a brow, and sends a look so close to an “I dare you” that Aragorn merely laughs. Still the dwarf snores.
“This hatred…tell me is it yours only, or is it all elves.”
“You have lived with them, do you not know?”
“That I have, but Elrond was hospitable to all, Dwarves included.” He turns a thought over in his mind. “I remember a group so jovial-“
“Yes, I too met them.” Legolas tosses another look at Aragorn, and when he narrows his vision to Gimli sleeping just over his shoulder he winces. Catching Aragorn's eyes again, he stones his face and returns to his watch.
“It is not only mine. But for him, perhaps it is.”
This Aragorn thinks, is not about his loathing. It is something far more sacred.
He watches Legolas peering out into the darkness, how often he spent his watches tracing the stars and whispering to them, relying solely on his ears to catch what approached. Now he looks deep into the woods.
Aragorn clears his throat. the sound another rough bark to accompany the forest around them. The leaves flutter, the wind whistles, Gimli sucks in another breath in preparation for another thunderous rumble.
Aragorn lays back down, content to let Legolas stew in whatever self-inflicted misery has him so admonished. He is just nearly asleep when he hears Legolas begin to speak. It is muttered and too soft for him to fully make out but somewhere inside he knows it is a prayer-like confession, for himself only. And through his sleep-bleared eyes he can see him send a longing glance at the dwarf once more.
Up next is another old fanfic OC, this time it’s Redleaf! :D I always loved her name, and her design, and she’s been needing a new sheet for a while.
You can find the reverse side of her design here.
For her physical description, Redleaf is described as a medium-furred, muscled she-cat with a round, scruffy face. She’s between her parents in height, though leans much more towards her father’s height, and is between her mom’s poofyness and her father’s more ragged pelt.
For her pattern, Redleaf is described as a red-brown tabby she-cat with green eyes. As always, I made her an exact mix of her parents’ colors, except for her eyes, which are her mother’s shade of pale green. I liked how the mixed colors from her parents turned out, and I added a reddish nose fade like her father has. Her pattern is a bit more similar to her oldest incarnation, and is a good mix of her parents’s patterns.
Overall, I’m really happy with how she turned out. :D
I found the - hopefully official 🤞- signatures of the four seasonal ministers of Pixie Hollow 😍🪻🌻🍁❄️ I have never noticed it before, so I do not know if they have been publicly leaked on the Disney Fairies Wiki for a longer time or if it is something new according to the new Clarion and Milori book which is going to get published... I do not know much about the storyline nor what it will be about but I sincerely hope that the seasonal ministers will play a significant role in the story. 🙏 If not, I do not think I am going to read it. I am not a big fan of Lord Milori, precisely - I do not like him at all. 🙊 He is too masculine and too self-conscious, in my humble opinion. The other thing is that I hate how they let Snowflake vanish without any explanation. Hopefully it will get addressed in this upcoming story. ❄️
Anyway, back to the signatures! I think they wonderfully depict the spirit of each of the four ministers! Hyacinth's writing is so neat and meticulous, just like his diligent personality. 🪻💚 Sunflower is rounded, full of chill and flowers 🌻💛, Redleaf's letters are longer and more chaotic, just as the leaves that fall unpredictably on the streets 🍁🧡 and Snowflake's signature is just pure art of spiky icebergs 🧊🩵
Which one do you like the most? Even though Hyacinth is my guilty pleasure, as far as the writing is concerned it is definitely Snowflake's signature 😍 It slightly reminds me of my own writing style 😇
“The desert?” Oddstripe stopped halfway through scoring his claws down the stones framing the entrance to the healers’ den to look at Scorchplume, unsure if he had heard her question properly.
The ginger she-cat cocked her head and smiled. “Yes, you came from out east, didn’t you?”
“Oh,” he melted out of his backbend into a more natural sitting position, “why, yes, I did.”
“I thought so,” purred Scorchplume sweetly. He smiled back. He noticed the tired lines under her eyes had started to disappear. It seemed she was finally getting proper sleep.
“I was wondering if you could tell me about it,” she continued. “I’m considering traveling that way and I’d love to know what I should look out for.”
“Alright,” he shrugged, happy to be helpful. “Um, I’m not sure where to start though.”
“Start with the basics,” she said, swishing her tail over her paws as she settled down. “I’ve heard they’re hard to survive in, is that true?”
“They can be,” he said, thinking back. “You have to stay out of the heat during midday but you need to get into a burrow at night to keep yourself warm or you’ll freeze, especially during leafbare.”
“Really,” Scorchplume mused.
“Oh, yes,” he nodded. “It’s sweltering in the day and shivering at night. Most animals come out around dawn and dusk so you’ll want to hunt then but also be careful for things like hawks and coyotes.” He shuddered at the thought of those massive, cackling things. He’d been lucky enough never to see one up close but their laughter was not something he could easily forget.
“Coyotes?” Scorchplume’s eyes flickered over his movement. “Are they hard to avoid?”
“Um,” Oddstripe frowned in thought. “Not terribly? If you’re hunting and you run into one, just leave the food and it won’t bother chasing you most of the time. I’m sorry, I’m not very familiar with them. They seemed to stay away from where I lived for some reason.”
“Interesting.” Scorchplume’s eyes glittered coldly in thought.
“I’d worry more about snakes, honestly. They like to hide in cool places so you have to be careful not to run into them when getting out of the heat.”
“It sounds terribly dangerous out there,” frowned Scorchplume. “Why didn’t you leave sooner? Was there something dangerous on the other side?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that,” laughed Oddstripe, flapping one of his paws idly. “I grew up there. It felt like home. When my mama disappeared it felt wrong to leave the den empty - it was such a nice spot after all - so I stayed. There were a few cats in the area, I tried to get to know them but they didn’t seem all too keen to get to know me. Until Stranger showed up, of course.”
“Stranger?” Scorchplume cut in, her voice edged with interest.
“Oh, yes!” Oddstripe brightened. “Stranger! She taught me everything I know about healing in exchange for a place to stay and help finding food. She’s actually how I learned about RisingClan! I guess she was from here?”
Scorchplume nodded politely. “Yes, I remember hearing that. Redleaf, they said she was called.”
“Yeah, that’s what Sagetooth said. She never gave me her name, though,” Oddstripe said, remembering her fondly, “not in the whole time we knew each other. So I just called her Stranger. She seemed to like it. Anyway, after she became my teacher cats stopped by more often to get help. Mostly we treated heat stroke and coughs. It was lovely. I hope she’s alright. I think she was going to head for the mountains after I left.”
“Do you know what’s on the other side of the desert?” asked Scorchplume and Oddstripe pursed his lips in embarrassment. Of course, she was here for information, not to hear him ramble on about a cat she would never meet.
“Not first hand,” he said, ears wilting. “The mountains run all along the north side. I think there’s a forest if you go far enough east but I’ve never seen it.”
“Mm,” hummed Scorchplume. “Thank you, Oddstripe. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.”
“Of course!” he purred. “Let me know if you have any other questions.”
She nodded and excused herself, leaving him alone once more. He sighed a little and flexed his claws against the earth. Sometimes it felt like people only ever spoke with him when they needed a problem solved. He wondered what other people had that he didn’t. Even his kits were visiting less and less as they prepared to become warriors. It made him ache.
He finished scratching his claws across the stone, abandoning a few shed claws in the dust, and headed back inside the den to look at the stores again and see if anything needed replacing. After a brief examination, he decided they could probably do with some more borage and started out of the den.
“Ah!” jumped Aldertail who had been heading the other way. “Sorry!”
“It’s alright,” he smiled, stepping back to give her space. “What can I help you with? Are your legs bothering you?” Aldertail looked down at them and he watched her use all of her mental strength not to lick them. He kicked himself for saying anything.
“No, they’re fine,” she said. “I was just coming to see what you were doing. It’s fine if you’re busy, I can-”
“No, no, I’m not too busy,” he said. “I was just going to look for some borage.”
“Oh, okay,” she nodded, chewing her lip. “Um, could I come with you?”
“Oh!” he blinked in surprise. “Of course! I’d love to have you along!”
“Thank you,” Aldertail smiled, visibly letting her shoulders relax a little.
“Don’t mention it,” he purred, rubbing his cheek on hers as he passed her. “Come on, I’ll show you where the best patches grow.”
“Okay,” she purred shyly and scampered to catch up with him.
Oddstripe smiled to himself and led the way out of camp, glad for her company. He could always count on Aldertail to be there to brighten his day. He shook himself out, deciding to leave the moody thoughts in the past where they belonged. Today was bright and sunny and he had great company. What more could a cat ask for?
I love how everyone who learns of redleaf immediately goes to "oh they obviously help each other sleep better or at all cuz they feel comfort for the first time"
It's just so innate about them and it's fun to see everyone realize the same thing.
