"Puck! I thought you had your tree network watching her!" Tak's sweet demeanor gave way to a snarling beast as he glared at Robin. The Wood-Sprite took a step back, visibly shaken.
"I told you not to use that name!" Tak took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself,
"Robin, this is no time to squabble about titles. Elsa is here and the gods only know how long she has been listening. But more importantly, she slipped past your perimeter unnoticed; what else might find its way in?"
"She was unreported, not unnoticed." Puck said, still rather defensive. When Tak continued to stare at him, unblinking, he decided to explain further. "The network was set up to guard her against danger, not monitor her. Trees don't think in the same ways that you do; they noticed her movements, they even discussed it, but they never thought to report it to me because she was in no immediate danger."
Elsa had been standing in place the entire time, staring at Tak, in obvious shock. She started stumbling in his direction, breaking into a frantic run. As she hobbled towards him, she began speaking rapidly; words tumbling out of her mouth and over each other,
"I wasn't here long, I couldn't hear anything. How can trees watch me? What else would want to come through the perimeter? Why am I in dange--" She stopped short, noticing Robin for the first time. She dove next to Tak, hugging him tightly about the neck, "Tak, what is that thing? I don't understand what's happening to me. But I knew it! I knew you were different, I knew you could understand me. Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me? Oh, Tak, I'm scared."
"I know, my dear, and I am so sorry. But I'm here now, I'll always be here for you."
After a few minutes of Elsa desperately attempting to soak up all of Tak's conversational ability, Robin walked up to them and cleared his throat, "It seems as if introductions and possible explanations may be in order while we decide how to proceed from here." Elsa started and clutched Tak in an even tighter embrace,
"What is that thing?" She cried, hiding her face in the little dog's fur, "What does it want?"
"This being," Tak began to respond, "is one of my oldest and most trusted friends. He is the only reason I was able to take care of you for all of these years. Robin is the life line for both of us; if you trust me, you inherently trust him as well." Elsa's expression went from self-preservation to self-reproachment as she rose to her feet, brushed the wrinkles from her dress, and performed a perfect curtsy in front of Robin,
"My dear sir, you must think me wholly without manners. I beg your forgiveness for my thoughtless and crass words; everything is just coming as quite a shock to me." Robin, already beaming from Tak's words, let into a small dance, ending in an elaborate bow.
"Think nothing of it, ma cher, you are truly handling this all with remarkable composure." He raised her proffered hand to his lips and smiled, "And may I just add, it is simply incredible to be meeting you in person." The odd little sprite's exuberance was contagious, and he and Elsa were soon chatting, arm in arm, as old friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment