He couldn't really imagine having a friend. He had never really found anything common among his classmates, nobody to reach out to. He was always alone, always an outcast. The random guy who always looks grumpy. He was just...Cole.
You will find a kindred spirit in lightning. Matilda's words whispered in his ears. A kindred spirit...
"Cole?" Phillip's voice broke his train of thought.
Cole jumped and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Kinda spaced out there."
Before either Phillip or Liana could respond, Matilda moaned from her mat on the ground. The teenagers spun around to see the aged woman sitting up and rubbing her head, blinking blearily. Her pointed hat sat askew, and her gray-streaked hair was a bit messy from her restless slumber. "Hsst...My head..." She groaned.
She shook her head as if to clear it of cluttered thoughts, then turned and saw the three staring at her. "What happened?" She demanded.
Liana stepped forward. "A shot of Venomari venom was injected into your bloodstream...I guessed it was a trap laid by Dog Bone. The poison made you--" She hesitated. "...You began to hallucinate. You kept crying, then laughing, singing songs and calling out for somebody."
Matilda's wan, tired expression turned to one of wariness. "Mm. What all did I...hallucinate, exactly?"
Phillip and Cole exchanged a glance. "A lot." Phillip stated simply.
The witch's face soured. "Hsst...Blast those bandits. That stuff gave me one brick of a headache."
Cole shifted guiltily while she rubbed her head and grimaced. She stumbled to her feet and tested her legs. "Head spinning..." She muttered. "...Corpus bones." She then glared at the teenagers. "Hmph. You three are the filthiest kids I've seen in years!"
Looking down, Cole realized she was right. His clothes were streaked with sand and mud, he smelled of sweat and horse hair.
"Just let her sit down somewhere and let her ramble!" Liana protested. "She's not doing any harm."
"Yeah, right. No harm except for my ears." Phillip muttered.
"My little pony, my little pony..." Matilda sang.
"OK, THAT'S IT!" To put it quite simply, Cole knocked her out. She groaned and fell into a thick clump of ferns. The boys then picked up her listless body and laid her down on a blanket. Then they sat down and proceeded to finish their bland breakfast of trail mix while the witch slept.
An hour passed by. Then another. And another. The teenagers spent this tedious time waiting by chatting amongst themselves. Phillip and Liana talked about their life in Ninjago City, and Cole talked about his life with his dad. They took the saddles and bits off their horses, seeing that it didn't look like they would be getting anywhere anytime soon. Phillip helped Cole with unbuckling and tying up stirrups and whatnot, seeing that he kept getting the bridle stuck on Shauntel's ears and making the horse snort angrily.
They eventually got to the subject of Liana's blindness. Cole felt a bit awkward about it, but Liana seemed perfectly fine with talking about how she became blind. Long story short, when she was a mere toddler, she had wandered from a family picnic and ran into a wolf, who had attacked her. Her father arrived in time to save his daughter, but the predator had succeeded in permanently blinding the girl.
"So...What's it like, being blind?" Cole saw Phillip quirk his eyebrow at the question, but he really couldn't think of a better way to ask it.
"What's it like being able to see?" She retorted.
He paused. "Normal, I guess."
"Same for me." She gave a soft smile as she ran her hand through Aquilla's ratty mane. "People act like I'm different and weak just because I can't see. They are the blind ones; they can't see that I can thrive just as well as other girls. I can hear quite clearly, and I can sense the presence of certain people or objects."
How did I completely forget it was a wolf who made Liana blind?
He couldn't really imagine having a friend. He had never really found anything common among his classmates, nobody to reach out to. He was always alone, always an outcast. The random guy who always looks grumpy. He was just...Cole.
You will find a kindred spirit in lightning. Matilda's words whispered in his ears. A kindred spirit...
"Cole?" Phillip's voice broke his train of thought.
Cole jumped and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Kinda spaced out there."
Before either Phillip or Liana could respond, Matilda moaned from her mat on the ground. The teenagers spun around to see the aged woman sitting up and rubbing her head, blinking blearily. Her pointed hat sat askew, and her gray-streaked hair was a bit messy from her restless slumber. "Hsst...My head..." She groaned.
She shook her head as if to clear it of cluttered thoughts, then turned and saw the three staring at her. "What happened?" She demanded.
Liana stepped forward. "A shot of Venomari venom was injected into your bloodstream...I guessed it was a trap laid by Dog Bone. The poison made you--" She hesitated. "...You began to hallucinate. You kept crying, then laughing, singing songs and calling out for somebody."
Matilda's wan, tired expression turned to one of wariness. "Mm. What all did I...hallucinate, exactly?"
Phillip and Cole exchanged a glance. "A lot." Phillip stated simply.
The witch's face soured. "Hsst...Blast those bandits. That stuff gave me one brick of a headache."
Cole shifted guiltily while she rubbed her head and grimaced. She stumbled to her feet and tested her legs. "Head spinning..." She muttered. "...Corpus bones." She then glared at the teenagers. "Hmph. You three are the filthiest kids I've seen in years!"
Looking down, Cole realized she was right. His clothes were streaked with sand and mud, he smelled of sweat and horse hair.
"Just let her sit down somewhere and let her ramble!" Liana protested. "She's not doing any harm."
"Yeah, right. No harm except for my ears." Phillip muttered.
"My little pony, my little pony..." Matilda sang.
"OK, THAT'S IT!" To put it quite simply, Cole knocked her out. She groaned and fell into a thick clump of ferns. The boys then picked up her listless body and laid her down on a blanket. Then they sat down and proceeded to finish their bland breakfast of trail mix while the witch slept.
An hour passed by. Then another. And another. The teenagers spent this tedious time waiting by chatting amongst themselves. Phillip and Liana talked about their life in Ninjago City, and Cole talked about his life with his dad. They took the saddles and bits off their horses, seeing that it didn't look like they would be getting anywhere anytime soon. Phillip helped Cole with unbuckling and tying up stirrups and whatnot, seeing that he kept getting the bridle stuck on Shauntel's ears and making the horse snort angrily.
They eventually got to the subject of Liana's blindness. Cole felt a bit awkward about it, but Liana seemed perfectly fine with talking about how she became blind. Long story short, when she was a mere toddler, she had wandered from a family picnic and ran into a wolf, who had attacked her. Her father arrived in time to save his daughter, but the predator had succeeded in permanently blinding the girl.
"So...What's it like, being blind?" Cole saw Phillip quirk his eyebrow at the question, but he really couldn't think of a better way to ask it.
"What's it like being able to see?" She retorted.
He paused. "Normal, I guess."
"Same for me." She gave a soft smile as she ran her hand through Aquilla's ratty mane. "People act like I'm different and weak just because I can't see. They are the blind ones; they can't see that I can thrive just as well as other girls. I can hear quite clearly, and I can sense the presence of certain people or objects."
How did I completely forget it was a wolf who made Liana blind?
I guess because it never played an important part in the plot?
He couldn't really imagine having a friend. He had never really found anything common among his classmates, nobody to reach out to. He was always alone, always an outcast. The random guy who always looks grumpy. He was just...Cole.
You will find a kindred spirit in lightning. Matilda's words whispered in his ears. A kindred spirit...
"Cole?" Phillip's voice broke his train of thought.
Cole jumped and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Kinda spaced out there."
Before either Phillip or Liana could respond, Matilda moaned from her mat on the ground. The teenagers spun around to see the aged woman sitting up and rubbing her head, blinking blearily. Her pointed hat sat askew, and her gray-streaked hair was a bit messy from her restless slumber. "Hsst...My head..." She groaned.
She shook her head as if to clear it of cluttered thoughts, then turned and saw the three staring at her. "What happened?" She demanded.
Liana stepped forward. "A shot of Venomari venom was injected into your bloodstream...I guessed it was a trap laid by Dog Bone. The poison made you--" She hesitated. "...You began to hallucinate. You kept crying, then laughing, singing songs and calling out for somebody."
Matilda's wan, tired expression turned to one of wariness. "Mm. What all did I...hallucinate, exactly?"
Phillip and Cole exchanged a glance. "A lot." Phillip stated simply.
The witch's face soured. "Hsst...Blast those bandits. That stuff gave me one brick of a headache."
Cole shifted guiltily while she rubbed her head and grimaced. She stumbled to her feet and tested her legs. "Head spinning..." She muttered. "...Corpus bones." She then glared at the teenagers. "Hmph. You three are the filthiest kids I've seen in years!"
Looking down, Cole realized she was right. His clothes were streaked with sand and mud, he smelled of sweat and horse hair.
Phillip and Liana didn't look much better; their mud-streaked clothes were torn, dark splotches where the bandits had slashed at them stained their shirts, and their faces were covered in sweat and earth. The horses grazing peacefully didn't look much better...Nor did they smell much better.
Matilda wasted no time in rummaging in her little carpet bag and grabbing medical supplies. Remembering how the bandits were talking about how the bag was empty, Cole figured there was some sort of magic in the bag that could keep a great number of objects inside, yet appear empty when someone who didn't own the bag opened it.
Even though the teenagers' wounds throbbed rather painfully and Phillip even complained of feeling light-headed, Matilda insisted on treating the horses first. With her tart instructions she had them use water from the river and foul-smelling soap she had to wash away the clumps of mud on the horses' legs, bellies, torsos, tails, and manes. Then they brushed their fur and manes, and cleaned the mud out from the hooves. The latter was the most difficult for Cole, not only because he had no idea how to do it in the first place, but because he was secretly wary of the horse crushing his toes or smashing his fingers or something.
Phillip was a patient teacher for this bit. He showed Cole how to bend over by the horse's leg, lean against the animal until it lifted its leg, and grab the hoof to scrape the mud and grass out of its foot. Cole could barely see the hoof in the awkward position he was in, let alone clean the mud out. It didn't help his increasing uneasiness when Matilda muttered behind him. "Better not get that bump in the middle, that's the sensitive bit...You'll probably end up with a hoof smashed in your face if you hurt the "frog"."
"Thanks for the helpful advice." Cole groaned under the strain of bending over. "Maybe next time you could--AARRG!"
He didn't get to finish, for Shauntel had stepped on his foot.
Once Matilda was satisfied with the state of the horses, she let the teenagers have a quick bath in the stream before tending to their wounds. Liana of the three had the least amount of cuts and bruises, for, as Matilda noted with approval, Phillip protected her from the worst of the ill treatment of Dog Bone's gang. While Liana brushed her tangled hair on a log with Phillip bandaging a jagged laceration on his leg beside her, Matilda was tending to the cuts on Cole's head. When she saw the damage done, she had exclaimed crossly; "How many times did you let those clowns crack your head like an egg, boy?!"
Cole tried not to flinch whenever she wiped medicine over his wounds, but the foul-smelling liquid burned and stung like crazy. Whilst the witch tended to the wounds on his head, he asked her. "Are there magic ways of healing people?"
She paused in wrapping the linen bandage. "Yes..."
"Why don't you use magic to heal us?"
A wry smile curved her lips. "Well, I figured you three wouldn't feel comfortable with a creepy, crazy hag messing with your bodies. You just might decide to burn me."
He rolled his eyes. "Could you heal us with magic?"
Liana paused brushing her silver hair, and Phillip glanced up in interest.
Matilda hesitated, then reached into the little bag sitting beside her on a mossy stump. After rummaging about, she pulled out a small glass bottle of bright red liquid. She held it out for Cole to see. "This is a potion of healing." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.
He gazed at the bright potion with curiosity. "Huh. And this will...Heal me?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, it will make you explode and recarnate as a talking chicken with the power of rainbows. Of course it will heal you! That is," She added with a raise of her eyebrow. "If you want to give it a shot."
Looking at the little bottle, he noted how the color of the potion was similar to the color of the yew berries.
I did! That's like at least one third of my childhood right there.
Omigosh, mine too! From age 2 to age 10, I've watched VeggieTales. What? Ha, ha, ha, no I don't watch VeggieTales with my three younger siblings even now. Okay, fine I might.😁😁😁
I did! That's like at least one third of my childhood right there.
Omigosh, mine too! From age 2 to age 10, I've watched VeggieTales. What? Ha, ha, ha, no I don't watch VeggieTales with my three younger siblings even now. Okay, fine I might.😁😁😁
xD The classic VeggieTales is too good a show to quit watching.
He shrugged. "Sure." While wary of drinking something that may not have from his world, he was curious to see what magic potion tasted like.
She handed him the little bottle, saying. "Just a sip will do. Drink too much, well..." She smiled grimly. "The results aren't pretty."
Pushing away a nagging feeling of uneasiness, he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a sip. The bright red liquid was cold, yet burned down his throat, and he gagged. The taste was tart, and yet had a sweet touch to the mixture. It wasn't a pleasant drink, but it wasn't too bad, either. Though his stomach turned when the stuff hit the natural acid of his body.
"It'll take a few minuets to work." She returned to bandaging Cole's head, and he allowed himself to relax. He closed his eyes and ignored his churning stomach, instead focusing his attention on the sound of birds singing and chattering up in the treetops, while faint afternoon sun fell in warm, soft rays through the canopy of leaves.
Opening his eyes, he said. "Matilda..."
"Mm?"
"Right when you were pricked by that poison...You looked at me and said..." His voice drifted off.
She scowled at him impatiently. "Well?"
He took a deep breath. "...You said that I looked just like my mother."
There was a deathly silence. Matilda's fingers froze in handling the bandages. Phillip gazed warily from where he sat while his sister paused with one hand still in her hair. A couple of birds even fell silent, as if they too felt the tension in the air.
Matilda's response was quiet. "Well...I suppose you resemble your mother somehow, whether though physical features or personal attributes. Everyone has their parents' traits, it's completely normal."
Cole turned around to face her and scowled. "Don't play dumb!" He snapped. "I know you know more than you're willing to admit, now tell the truth! Did you, or did you not know my mom? If so, why keep that little fact to yourself?!"
He shrugged. "Sure." While wary of drinking something that may not have from his world, he was curious to see what magic potion tasted like.
She handed him the little bottle, saying. "Just a sip will do. Drink too much, well..." She smiled grimly. "The results aren't pretty."
Pushing away a nagging feeling of uneasiness, he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a sip. The bright red liquid was cold, yet burned down his throat, and he gagged. The taste was tart, and yet had a sweet touch to the mixture. It wasn't a pleasant drink, but it wasn't too bad, either. Though his stomach turned when the stuff hit the natural acid of his body.
"It'll take a few minuets to work." She returned to bandaging Cole's head, and he allowed himself to relax. He closed his eyes and ignored his churning stomach, instead focusing his attention on the sound of birds singing and chattering up in the treetops, while faint afternoon sun fell in warm, soft rays through the canopy of leaves.
Opening his eyes, he said. "Matilda..."
"Mm?"
"Right when you were pricked by that poison...You looked at me and said..." His voice drifted off.
She scowled at him impatiently. "Well?"
He took a deep breath. "...You said that I looked just like my mother."
There was a deathly silence. Matilda's fingers froze in handling the bandages. Phillip gazed warily from where he sat while his sister paused with one hand still in her hair. A couple of birds even fell silent, as if they too felt the tension in the air.
Matilda's response was quiet. "Well...I suppose you resemble your mother somehow, whether though physical features or personal attributes. Everyone has their parents' traits, it's completely normal."
Cole turned around to face her and scowled. "Don't play dumb!" He snapped. "I know you know more than you're willing to admit, now tell the truth! Did you, or did you not know my mom? If so, why keep that little fact to yourself?!"
I bet she's his mom!!! Now, maybe she's Misako's sister! Or maybe I've run out of guess!
