Death by Ploot Ploot (6 page)

"This is an odd
custom." Krue scratched the back of his neck. “What mean you by
romance?"

"Ah, well, when you
give your lady something really nice . . . well, I mean it doesn't have to be
elaborate or costly–
ouch
!"

Suleila had kicked her
shin.

"But,
ah, it
could
be, of course."

Krue gave his wife a
narrowed look. "Costly, you say?"

"Most costly, my
husband." Suleila confirmed by nodding her dainty chin. "However is
one to
know the value of the gesture else
wise?"

"Hmm." Krue
knew his Familiar wife too well. He was being toyed with in some manner. And he
also knew that Familiars were partial to luxurious things. It was the texture,
the sight, and the touch that excited their senses.

He decided to go along
with it, liking the possibilities inherent. He turned to his eldest son.
"What will you get your Adeeann for bringing such a unique and
costly
custom
to us men on Aviara, son?"

Lorgin threw his father
a quick glance before responding. "I am sure I will come up with something
appropriate. For such an auspicious event.
Something
no one else could give her."

Oh
boy. She just might,
might
be in trouble here.

"Gr-great."
Her smile was rather sickly.

Krue then turned to
Traed and Yaniff. "It appears you two got off easily on this."

"Nonsense."
Yaniff brought a goblet of juice to his lips and sipped. "I shall have to
undo whatever damage is caused to Aviara by this. That will surely be no small
task for this tired wizard."

"Yaniff!"
Suleila and Deana called out.

He chuckled. "I am
jesting. Just jesting."

After
the evening meal Traed stood to leave.

“Thank you, Adeeann, for
your ‘barbecue’. I
must go now; there are
some things I need to attend
to for my upcoming journey.”

“When do you go?” Krue
asked him.

“I will leaving in a few
days."

Suleila watched the tall
Aviaran with a mix of worry and compassion. Her blood relative Brygar had been
captured by slavers and so far his discovery and return had eluded her
son-of-the-line. It was a dangerous task. The hunt would probably take him
farther into Oberion territory than was safe or wise.

"Be careful, my
special son." She walked over and hugged him.

It always amazed Deana
that Traed allowed Suleila do that. She had asked Lorgin about it once and he
said that he thought Traed held Suleila in a special place as she had been
overly kind to him when he was a troubled youth, finding a place for him in her
heart as her special son.

They all wished him
well.

Yaniff stood to walk out
with the younger man. When they were alone, he spoke.

“I may not see you
before you go so I will tell you now: Do not come back without him,
Traed."

"What would you
have me do?"

"The time grows
short before the opportunity closes. You
must
find him now lest it be
too late."

Traed nodded. "I
understand."

Yaniff patted his
shoulder. "I have great faith in you. You will find him, for, by
Aiyah
,
I cannot. He is deep in Oberion lands, shielded even from my sight."

Traed wondered what
chance he had, if a mage as great as Yaniff was blind.

"You have a great
gift of Sight. Greater than you know. Use it wisely, my son."

With those comforting
words, Yaniff turned and went back to the group.

The following day
Suleila and Deana decided to go to the village together, despite the heat.
Suleila had declared that shopping would overcome the hot day.

As usual, Suleila did
most of the actual shopping. The woman was a shopping force to be reckoned
with!

Deana
suspected she accompanied her energetic
mother-in-law as comic relief. She usually
enjoyed going along, as the Familiar woman was so entertaining. They always had
a lot of fun together, often laughing at silly things that only the two of them
would see.

In the square she
noticed that several of the women were openly smiling at her while at the same
time many of the men were giving her stony-eyed looks.

Suleila.

Looked like the chatty
Familiar had already
passed around the tale
of St. Stooges Day.

Her suspicions were
confirmed when an older woman and her husband passed her and winked while
flashing her new bracelet at Deana. The next woman simply whispered her
gratitude by declaring, "A day for men to shower us with gifts and be our
slaves! We thank you so much for this custom!"

Huh?
That
was not
what she had said. As usual, these Aviarans had mucked up her meaning!
She gave Suleila a narrowed-eyed look.

The pretty Familiar
simply laughed gaily, waving off her concerns. "I thought I might improve
on your fine custom a bit. Surely, you could not object, Adeeann, as soon you
will benefit from this new custom as well." She winked at Deana.

The reality of what
Suleila was saying hit home with a thud
. Oh my God.
She gulped.
Lorgin.
Lorgin would be furious! She wasn’t supposed to introduce too much of her
world here. Something to do with disrupting the space-time continuum . .
. or something.

He still hadn't forgiven
her for introducing the concept of the good ol' greaseburger to them. It
was still appearing on several cafe menus albeit
in a
much altered form then what she had described. They obviously did
not do beef here.

Who
cared?

When Lorgin found out
about this new twist to
her holiday, they
could start serving Deanaburgers.

Because
she would be dead meat.

Krue had gifted his wife
with a beautiful necklace earlier in the day.

Suleila had shown it to
her when they took a break, sitting in their favorite outdoor cafe in the
square to sip mir and nibble on some Aviaran
sweet
cakes. The Familiar woman had almost been shy
when she revealed the lovely present.

There
was no doubt that Krue had been listening
to her version of Valentine's Day and had
literally taken it to heart. There was also no doubt that Lorgin's father loved
his wife deeply. The fine, intricately wrought chain was magnificent. It was
clearly no ordinary gift, but one that he had given a great deal of thought to.
It also must have held some deeper significance for the two of them by the way
Suleila acted when she looked it. A blush literally graced her smooth cheeks.

Deana sighed happily.
I'm
just an ol' softy, I guess, but it is romantic.

She decided to pat
herself on the back for introducing the holiday on Aviara, after all.

Even if it had gotten
twisted a bit.

Lorgin and the rest of
the Aviaran men would just have to deal with it.

Yeah,
like the wimps they are,
she groaned,
slapping her forehead.
Repeat to self one thousand times: Aviaran men are not Earth men. Aviaran men
are not . . .

The walk back home
through the forest was nothing short of breathtaking.

Night had fallen.

On Earth, walking
through the woods or city streets alone– especially at night– was something she
never did. It just was not safe.

Aviara was different.

She
never got over the sense of freedom she felt
whenever she strolled through the Aviaran
woods by herself. She loved it.

Yaniff had even
enchanted the pathway for her. Tiny creatures, similar to fireflies,
intermittently lit the way for her along the path like a string of living fairy
lights. It was so lovely.

The air was scented with
night-blooming flowers. Stars twinkled through the canopy of tree limbs. As she
approached the
Towering
Forest
, the immense
sentient trees recognized her and turned their limbs so additional moonlight
would filter down to further lighten the path for her.

A light breeze kicked
up, indicating the end of the heat spell.

It reminded Deana that
in this case it truly was a heat
spell
.

It would be nice to have
some early gharta this
year; the sweet
fruit had grown on her once she had
gotten over her embarrassment of
being referred to one by her husband in an embarrassingly
naughty
way.

Yaniff’s twinkling path
led right to the base of their tree.

When the platform
reached the top, she was surprised to see all of the levels lit up with
literally hundreds of flickering candles. Lanterns glowed through the open
windows from the inside of the main trunk where their indoor living quarters
were. Initially, she had been surprised that they could utilize fire in any
manner while in a tree; but Lorgin had once explained to her that the Guild had
placed
a protective spell on the entire
Towering
Forest
so it
would never burn.
She had to admit it was incredibly cozy to have candles and fireplaces inside a
tree house.

Lorgin had lit the
candles and torches so she would feel welcomed home. For a fearsome Knight of
the Charl, he certainly had a romantic side.

Although he would rather
be tortured to death than admit to such a thing.

He had obviously gone
out with Melody. She was alone.

A sudden breeze ruffled
the surrounding foliage.
Crystal
chimes that hung from almost every limb echoed softly to the rustling leaves in
the night. In the distance, ahead of her, the pool shimmered in the soft wind,
reflecting starlight and the branches overhead. From the next level a thin
waterfall streamed lazily into the pond like a silvery trail of clear molasses.

She held her breath. It
was still the most perfect place she had ever been, and every day she was
thankful that this was her home.

As she walked forward,
lush grass cushioned her steps.

She quickly kicked off
her sandals in favor of running her bare feet through the thick, velvety
cushion. With each step, krozia released a clean, fresh scent that
mingled perfectly with the night
tasmin
. In the moonlight the white
flowers that surrounded the pool swayed gently in time to the lapping of the
water.

Deana sat down by the
edge of the pool and ran her hand through the water, taking a few moments rest
before going inside to make the evening meal. She was sure Melody would be
hungry– if her father hadn't over compensated by stuffing her with Aviara's version
of Scooby snacks while she was away.

It is so quiet and
peaceful . . .

How
often does this happen?

Surveying the magical
scene around her, she decided she should take advantage of this opportunity by
taking a solo dip in the pool. Maybe float around a bit without the fear of a
six and a half foot Charl knight sneaking up on her to dunk her under the
water.

A few minutes later she
exited the interior of her house carrying a soft krilli sheet and one of the
sheer kaftans she preferred in lieu of a robe. The soft material caressed her
skin and would have made an excellent nightgown– had Lorgin ever allowed her to
sleep in it. He told her he preferred the feel of her skin to any cloth,
spellbound or not. Which was OK with her.

Stopping
by the edge of the pool, she spread the
krilli sheet across the carpet of low growing
krozia
plants. Then she tossed her kaftan
onto the sheet.

Just before she got into
the water, she remembered to 'ask' the Tree for privacy. This was something she
was still getting used to. The Tree was sentient but one didn't communicate
with it in the tradition sense. Lorgin explained it to her by saying that the
Tree held a consciousness that had accepted him and thus by proxy his family
and whomever he would allow to enter. In her case, he thought it best for her
to touch the main bark of the trunk and concentrate on what she was seeking. In
this instance, she wanted to block the platform which led up to their living
quarters to temporarily ban anyone but Lorgin and Melody, so that her privacy
might be respected. Lorgin communed on a much deeper level with the Tree than
her; but she was able to convey simple requests.

She loved this Tree and,
perhaps, on some level it knew as it always seemed to shelter and care for her.
It never communicated with them in the traditional sense, but it
provided
.

After setting the
platform to privacy mode, she went back to the pool, wading into the quietly
churning water. After the hot day, it was refreshingly cool.

Once
in the center she dipped below the surface.
When she came up, she flipped the sodden strands
of her hair out of her face.