StoryPaws: A Mystical Old World Story: The Toxics 14

Story Paws: Stories to help you pause, and relax. Felicity is swept into a Mystical Old World where plants and beasts are equal, and all is heard. There she meets Reuben, whom she must help, to save his beloved Old World from the threat of the Toxics...if she wants to return home.

Use this story to help you unwind, rest, and take a mindful pause. You may like to listen to the first 13 installments of this story first, or simply jump in and use my voice as a tool for rest!

Blessings, Maite

Transcript

CHAPTER XIV.

THE WEST The second crossing was awful.

With the moon hidden by the stormy weather,

The rough seas were invisible walls of icy water that pounded and crashed with terrifying velocity.

The outraged bellows of Georges sang out into the storm's rush.

"'The Oceanid would normally swim deep below a storm like this,

" explained Wolfgang to Flisty,

Shouting to be heard.

He began to speak with her occasionally.

Perhaps Pippa's burgeoning friendship with him helped.

Flisty wrung out her hair as a large wave emptied over them all with a roar.

Ruben ensured everyone was well anchored and then joined her.

He helped squeeze out her dripping curls and tenderly wiped her drenched face with something dry he had tucked inside his clothing.

Flisty took it.

It smelt of him,

His familiar spicy scent.

She tried to speak but the storm was too noisy to talk properly.

He nodded as if she'd spoken.

She couldn't tell if he was smiling.

She tried mind-sharing.

As she broke into his thoughts she saw an image of a girl with a fat,

Stripy tail.

The girl had her face.

"'Ew!

' "'Are you OK,

Flisty?

' cried Ruben hoarsely,

Unaware as yet of her mind-presence.

And then he sensed her inside him.

"'Ruben,

' said her lively voice,

"'Ruben,

Where will we go when we land?

' Flisty wanted to think of landing.

She could only think of land,

Of heat and solid ground,

As this lashing,

Crashing ocean claimed them.

Ruben's deep voice replied and his eyes held her gaze as they continued their private conversation and he filled her mind with beautiful images.

We will pass through the country of Georges,

Baking dusty plains that echo to the sounds of the Toro herds.

Then on through ice-peak mountains,

Whose pine-clad lower slopes look back south to a land of the fragrance and their forests,

In whose verdant canopies they sway with the thermals of the western skies,

As they look forward to the open plains,

The golden passes,

And Orion country,

My homeland.

I feel your love,

Ruben.

Your homeland must be a very special place.

' "'You'll see,

Little Flisty,

' whispered his voice in her head.

He raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed her palm before moving away to see if everyone else was safe from the storm.

Flisty settled down into a damp but warm spot next to Pippi,

And tried to sleep in spite of the howling tempest.

The next morning the storm had passed and they were deposited on a golden strip of sand,

Already warm at this early hour.

Further back lay a line of bush into whose depths the others had disappeared in search of food.

Ruben had let Flisty doze after the dreadful crossing,

But she jumped up now,

Uncomfortable to be alone in this open landscape,

Hunting through the jungly thicket.

She could hear no voices,

Only the clicking,

Buzzing and raucous chatter of the forest life.

She looked up but could see no sign of the strata.

"'I suppose they've done their job for now,

' she thought.

They only said they would guard us to the western isle.

But she would have liked to have heard their beautiful singing again.

' A branch cracked ahead of her and she stopped walking and held her breath.

Gus appeared with armfuls of a ribbon-like plant.

They flowed over his elbows and trailed from his head.

He looked like a popped party streamer.

"'What are you doing,

Gus?

' she laughed.

Gus beamed.

"'Ruben suggested we all find different foods to show you how abundant the western isle is,

' he said.

You were absolutely still.

We all agreed you needed much rest after that dreadful crossing.

He came up to her and stood disentangling his spikes from the thick ribbons.

"'In my world we have many plants too,

' Felicity said,

Helping him.

She pricked her finger on one of his leg spikes.

"'Oh,

Felicity,

Forgive me,

' said Gus.

He looked truly sad.

"'You are a gentle soul,

Gus,

' said Felicity,

Touching his arm carefully.

She thought of his three top branches as arms and his two bottom ones as legs.

"'I like the names you give to our things,

' said Gus,

As he now began plaiting the ribbons skilfully.

"'Your names are simple and interesting.

Arms?

Legs?

' He lapsed into silence.

"'Are you so different from your own kind?

' asked Felicity.

Gus took a moment and then he spoke.

"'Well,

I think there are many toxics who'd like to be one with our world,

But they don't believe it possible.

That there's no way they can mingle with other species and belong.

"'They've given up faith,

But perhaps not hope,

' he said.

"'And then there are those who've given up even wanting to belong,

And who live alone.

"'They're the most lost.

' His eyes darkened and Felicity felt the chill of total isolation wrap around her.

She shivered.

She thought of her family,

Her mother,

And even her sister,

Her father,

The smiling,

Scratchy face of her grandfather,

And Al.

She had people who she knew cared about her,

Even if they didn't always manage to show it.

She imagined if they all disappeared.

Just her alone on the earth with a load of strangers,

Cold faces who went home at night and forgot about her.

Getting up each day and knowing whatever she did,

It was known only to her.

Good times and bad times.

Who would she tell each evening?

This was the world of the toxics,

She realised.

But Gus was different.

"'Yes,

Felicity,

And I believe there are others like me.

We crave company and laughter and love.

We admire beauty,

' he continued aloud.

"'We cannot accept our destiny,

But we know destruction is not the way.

These dark toxics are more than lost.

They're vengeful and could bring this world down with their destructive intents for the roots.

The ancients were right.

They must be stopped.

' "'Can you help the quest prevent them?

' said Felicity,

Copying Gus,

Who was continuing to deftly weave the ribbons of plant into a firm interlocking wand as he spoke.

"'Yes,

' he said in his handsome voice,

And Felicity remembered how she had first seen him,

Such a mix of ugliness and beauty,

So lost and yet so giving.

"'There is surely a place for you in this world that claims such harmony,

' said Reuben,

Who had silently padded up.

"'You read my mind,

Reuben,

' said Felicity,

For once happy to share it involuntarily.

"'Yes,

It's not hard here,

' he replied,

Taking a deep breath of the warm,

Pure air.

Felicity flopped down beside them and unfolded a purple,

Leathery leaf as large as a dinner plate.

As his fingers neatly peeled back the edges,

Its contents were revealed.

"'Oh!

' gasped Felicity in delight,

For on its glossy,

Veined surface were piled a collection of multicoloured balls.

They were divided in two halves like tiny meringues,

And the filling in their tiny centres was of the palest cream.

Felicity felt her mouth water.

They smelt absolutely delicious.

Reuben and Gus laughed as they watched her eager face.

"'Not yet,

Felicity,

' said Reuben,

As her hand crept out to take one.

"'We'll wait for the whole feast to arrive.

I promise you the patience will be worth it.

These foods work together.

Alone they're good,

But taken in their correct combinations and order they are truly magnificent.

" Felicity heard his stomach rumbling and realised she couldn't think of when they'd all last eaten.

She stood up.

"'Is there somewhere I can bathe and take care of my needs?

' she asked,

A little embarrassed.

This side of things had been tricky,

But somehow Reuben had always allowed everyone time to make themselves comfortable and clean.

If they couldn't eat yet,

Then Felicity was determined to wash.

Reuben led her into the forest.

There was a stream with some flat stones at its edge.

Felicity hoped Reuben was not going to stay.

She stepped carefully to the edge of the water and began with relief stripping off the crumpled clothes she'd been wearing since the day of her mother's school reunion.

Her throat felt tight as she allowed herself to think of her mum.

To her surprise a sob broke the forest's hush.

Worse,

Reuben had not left.

"'Felicity,

' he said and clambered over to her.

"'You were supposed to have left,

' she said in gasps.

She couldn't stop.

It was awful.

Her eyes were screwed up and her wails echoed back and forth across the little glade.

Reuben said no more.

He simply held her,

Firm and close,

And Felicity could open her eyes again.

The birdsong and strange noises of the forest returned.

She gave a huge,

Juddery sigh.

"'Thank you,

' she said to Reuben's damp jacket front.

She went to step away,

But he held her tight.

She was unsure what to do,

So she politely waited a moment.

Then she tried to pull away again,

But still his strong arms held her close.

She cleared her throat and pulled her face away from his chest to try and see his expression.

His hazel eyes were dark brown,

The pupils large.

His face was so close she could see the sunlight creating a teardrop of illumination down his nose.

Very gently and looking straight at her,

He lowered his face and kissed her.

Warmth ebbed through her.

It felt as if Reuben's breath filled her with sunshine.

She remembered once,

As a tiny girl,

The perfect bliss of sun on her face,

Birdsong in her ears,

And a warm hand holding her tight.

Reuben's kiss returned her to this deeply buried memory,

A moment of utter contentment.

As he let her go,

He held her face a moment between his hands.

They were trembling.

"'Please forgive me,

Little Felicity,

' he said.

I knew not how else to bring you back to the light.

' He stepped back,

Smiled lopsidedly,

And left.

Felicity melted onto the warm stones.

She wasn't sure how long she sat.

She heard the water gurgling,

And she saw the green fronds swirling and dancing beneath the water,

But she was detached from the scene.

As if in a trance,

She finally stood up,

Finished undressing,

And stepped into the cold water.

Felicity's icy embrace returned her to her full senses.

Flipping flip,

Splashing all over and gritting her teeth before dunking her long tresses into the water,

She washed fast and furiously.

She washed out a few bits of clothing,

But didn't dare get the heavy things wet.

The shawl Reuben had lent her seemed to dry miraculously with a shake,

And she wrapped it around herself gratefully.

She sat for an hour or so,

Watching the clothes gently steam on the stones.

She found since Reuben's kiss everything seemed to take on extra colour.

She enjoyed watching a trio of tiny turquoise birds engage in a love-fight.

The cocky males sparred angrily as the female watched with apparent nonchalance.

The victor claimed his prize,

And Felicity looked away with a happy smile.

It seemed only polite.

Her fur had been replaced with pain,

And she dressed in the damp but warm clothing,

Carried the outer layers,

And returned to camp with hope of sustenance at last.

The quest-troupe had reassembled.

Georges was standing by the shoreline,

Looking back at the circle of friends gathered in anticipation of the coming feast.

There was a trail of vegetation from where he stood back to the group.

Felicity was astounded by the feast,

Added to the plaits of leaf that Gus had by now piled up high,

Were many more of these tiny merengue-things.

Wolfgang and Pippi had carefully made a match the size of a rug,

Of criss-crossed white rubbery shoots that wobbled where they lay.

Scrat and Little Green had filled large conical-shaped flowers with a pale lemon-coloured liquid,

And carefully placed tiny matching conical flowers by the side,

With which to scoop and drink.

As Felicity approached,

They all turned to her with pride.

"'Now!

' she said,

Holding out her hands with wonder.

They all began to speak at once,

Until Georges bellowed,

"'Silence!

Enough talk!

Let's eat!

' to which everyone readily agreed.

Felicity sat next to Pippi and Wolfgang.

Pippi tipped her head sideways,

Sensing a change in Felicity,

But Felicity kept her face averted and focused on Little Green and Scrat,

Who were eager to show off the treasures of this isle's pantry.

"'We've plaited strape,

Thanks to Gus,

' they said.

Felicity took one and looked at Gus to see how it should be eaten,

But it was Ruben who called across.

Like this Felicity,

And with a mischievous wink,

Crunched his white teeth firmly through the whole plait before tearing off a large chunk and chewing hard.

Felicity tried and was surprised to feel that the leathery,

Ribbon-like plant had dried to this crunchy,

Slightly chewy consistency.

It tasted almost meaty,

She thought.

"'Dip it,

Felicity,

' called out Gus with difficulty as his mouth was rather full.

Felicity watched him to see what he meant.

He'd taken a scoop of the liquid and dipped his plait into it.

The liquid turned the plait pure white.

Scrat passed Felicity a scoop,

And Felicity dipped.

"'Mmm,

It tastes salty now,

Like beef jerky,

' she thought,

Swallowing noisily.

She sipped the liquid,

Expecting it to be salty,

But its flavour was simply refreshing,

Like a good mineral water.

She helped herself to a couple more scoops before trying the next offering.

George had tossed a few of his leaves in her general direction,

Whilst hoovering up more than half of them himself.

Felicity tentatively nibbled the edge of one.

"'Jacket potato,

' she thought.

Getting to the pace of this feast,

She walked over to the mat of wobbling shoots.

Their appearance was a little unappetising,

But she could not offend Wolfgang Pippi.

She knew they would have chosen something difficult to harvest,

And therefore must honour their courage and hard work.

She closed her eyes and bit into the shoot.

"'It was absolutely disgusting,

' Felicity retched.

Everyone broke into Rourke's laughter.

She opened her eyes and stood,

Hands on hips,

Facing them.

"'Argh!

' she said,

Discreetly spitting out the last trace of the disgusting plant.

I am so,

So sorry,

Pippi and Wolfgang.

I simply cannot eat those.

.

.

Things,

' she said,

Finally,

Dashing back and drinking some of the water.

It was Little Green who saved her.

She stopped giggling and said,

In her exquisite voice,

"'Dear Felicity,

You must not eat the shoot.

You suck out its syrup.

Look,

Like this.

' And her pretty little mouth daintily drew the syrup out of the revolting plant.

Felicity took another from Scrat,

Who was still cackling,

And bravely sucked.

The syrup was delicious,

Of course.

It tasted of sweet spice like the precious amber liquid that Gus had in his leaf flask,

But stickier.

Felicity took another shoot.

The flavour was perfect after the saltiness of the plaited strape.

Ruben had been right.

It was worth waiting.

Feeling sated,

Felicity peeked a glance at him.

He and Gus sat back to back.

Gus had withdrawn his spine so Ruben had a comfortable backrest.

Felicity knew he was aware of her.

She felt Pippi's interest and tried to block her mind from everyone,

But it was very difficult here.

"'This is the Western Isle,

Felicity.

We're far from the toxic's influence.

You must increase your mind-strength.

' Ruben was in her head.

She looked at him.

His eyes were closed.

In fact,

He looked almost asleep.

Everyone looked drowsy.

How many silent conversations were actually going on,

She wondered.

"'What a crazy world,

' she thought.

And yet was it?

Ruben opened his eyes and looked directly across the clearing into her own.

She felt that sunshine warmth spread slowly through her.

They smiled at each other.

Georges and Pippi exchanged glances.

Ruben handed round the tiny meringues and Felicity gathered a few of the leaf-plates and helped him.

Everyone appeared to be excited that Ruben had found these delicacies of the Western Isle.

"'Well done,

Ruben 4000,

' said Georges.

"'How did you manage to find these in just a few hours?

' "'Remember,

Georges,

This is close to the habitat of Mayan harmonics,

' replied Ruben.

"'Orcadia is not far,

And she sent help.

'" Georges glanced at Pippi,

But they concealed their thoughts.

"'How will she accept Ruben's enharmonic,

Pippi?

' "'Not well,

I think,

' was the silent reply.

Unaware,

Ruben walked up to Felicity and said,

"'Close your eyes and open your mouth.

' So she did.

He popped two of the tiny creations onto her tongue.

The moment they touched down,

They began to fizz.

"'Ah!

' she exclaimed.

She closed her lips and let the fizzing explode on her tongue.

It was such a funny feeling.

She giggled and opened her eyes.

Georges was trotting back and forth,

Throwing his head up and down and shaking it from side to side.

Wolfgang and Pippi were sneezing and then taking more with little growls.

Scrap was cramming three or four in at once and running around shouting.

Little Green gently sucked one at a time,

Eyes closed,

As if in meditation.

Gus's method was to roll two round his mouth and keep a straight face.

She and Ruben began feeding them to each other,

Two at a time,

And spluttering with laughter as the fizzing,

Crackling meringues tickled their mouths and inside their noses.

The chaos could have gone on all afternoon.

Ruben had collected so many fizz-ruffs.

But suddenly there was a rustling in the forest.

Beginning to work as a pack,

They lined up in their places.

Wolfgang and Pippi stood out front,

With Ruben centrally behind them.

Felicity felt strong.

She placed herself immediately behind Ruben and in front of the remainder of the troupe.

Pippi looked at Ruben and they seemed to agree.

But Felicity heard Gus move quietly closer.

Behind Gus was Scrat and Little Green side by side,

With Georges bringing up the rear.

"'Name yourselves,

Approachers of the West,

' called out Ruben.

His confident,

Deep tones hung in the air,

But there was no reply.

"'I am Ruben,

4000th of the Orion,

And I repeat,

Name yourself!

' His voice was deep and strong,

But still no voice came.

Wolfgang and Pippi stepped forwards.

Wolfgang's dark fur rose up on his back,

And Pippi growled low and steady.

Felicity felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise up,

And a cold chill travel down the back of her arms.

Gus took a step away and pushed his spines out to full length.

There were some extra ones around his face that she had never seen.

They glinted like steel in the light and clinked if they touched each other.

He smiled at Felicity and she heard him in her head.

"'Toxics,

Little Felicity,

But fear not,

All will resolve.

' And then he turned back to look long and hard at Georges.

Felicity glanced back at Georges and saw him as he once must have been.

The greedy,

Bumbling buffoon had gone.

A towering,

Dark beast with wild eyes and long teeth snorted and stamped.

His yellow horns faced forwards and saliva drooled from his mouth.

Little Green spoke.

"'Fear not,

Felicity,

They are simply confused.

Once we have them under control,

I will calm them.

' Felicity could not see Little Green's aura in this bright light,

But she felt it and it eased her.

Scrap stood tall and Felicity noticed he was now taller than she.

Strange things were happening even for this world,

She suspected.

His expression was serious,

But not alarmed.

Felicity forced herself to turn back to the front.

"'Get ready,

Quest family,

They come,

' said Reuben.

And out of the forest stepped the Toxics.

Reviews

First of all,thank you so much for following through with the extra chapters of your book. It's very interesting. I do need to hear this one again though as I feel asleep. ☺🐱🐱🐨