Celebrian's Escape
Roleplayed Short Story / Written 7/11/04 / Rated PG-13

This was originally roleplayed, so it is a collaboration between me, Chesh, and Silver. My writing will be done in magenta, Chesh's will be done in green, and Silver's will be done in blue. I will also break each section off with a small breaker writers will be set apart that way as well. Celebrian escapes from the pirate ship where she's being held captive and finds rescue at Ainad's woodland cottage.


It was night time again. Celebrian had stopped paying attention to where they were going, she felt too drained to do much more than what she already had to. In another few hours he'd come looking for her again. Exhausted, she hoisted herself up over the edge of the ship to peer out into the darkness that had befallen the ship. Everything was blurry, she blinked her eyes a couple of times to focus, everything was still blurry. Or was it? She squinted into the darkness, straining to make out the details of her surroundings. Her eyes weren't blurry, the area she was now in was shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see 5 feet in front of your face. She looked down into the water, which did not reflect the moon nor the stars clearly shining over head. She'd been here before, it had been awhile, but she had been here. Straining her ears now, she could hear the sounds of nocturnal dragons hunting nearby. She wasn't too far from the Clan it seemed. She looked around herself, no one else was on this deck. Without thinking she hurled herself over the side of the ship, her wings stiff from not using them in so long, and glided to land. She wouldn't be able to fly tonight, she was too tired at the moment, but the adrenaline rush of finally being home drove her to run as fast as she could.

She'd only been on these islands once before, and at that time she was mainly unconscious, so navigating her way back, without the ability of flying was proving to be more of a task than she had previously bargained for. She had to get off of Cam'Wethrin before anyone noticed she was missing though. After that she wouldn't have to worry. They wouldn't come looking for her tonight, which would prove for an excellent head start. After 2 hours of running in and out of caves on the island, she finally found one that lead her southwest. Being so small in stature proved effective for her, as the tunnel tapered off to a crawl space in more than one area. Fresh air finally started to cool the tunnel, and Celebrian found herself outside once again, in the middle of what looked like a mountain range. She was back in the Dragon Clan, and from here she could easily bee line to the only place she could think of for a quick refuge- Ainad's house.

---Meanwhile---

Val was searching every hiding spot on the ship he could think of, asking every passing pirate if they'd seen anything. "WHERE IN BLOODY HELL IS THAT GIRL!?!?" He leaned on the rigging and stared out into space, trying to think of a hiding spot he missed, his eyes finally focusing on the island in front of him. "...THAT MANGY STRAY!" He snarled out into the bay, realizing for the first time, that he probably shouldn't have gotten this close to her home without ensuring she wouldn't run away first. He jerked his neck sky ward to judge the time by the placement of the moon. Cunning little bitch... it's too late to do anything now. Tomorrow, she had better hope she turns up dead before I find her.

---Back to Celebrian---

Celebrian had made it to the woods, and was charging down the beaten path that lead to Ainad's. Something in the back of her mind made her wonder if this was a bad idea all together, but she pushed it aside and moved on until the dull light inside the windows were visible. She collapsed on her knees at the doorstep and pounded on the door with her right fist, using her left arm to keep herself propped up, panting for air.


Ainad had been sitting, curled up on one of her pink sofas reading a romance novel. She was dabbing at her leaky eyes with a handkerchief when she was nearly startled off of the couch by a loud knock at the door.

"Coming, coming!" she called out as she quickly marked her place and wiped her eyes one final time before opening the door. She stared straight ahead into the darkness, not noticing anyone at first before her eyes fell downward and she saw the young girl kneeling there. "Err... do I know you?" she asked politely as she offered a weak smile, not having recognized Celebrian at first. "Is there... something I can help you with?"


Koarai had been seated out on the beach-like area near his home, staring off into the hazy distance of the ocean. It seemed so... peaceful, and yet somehow something in his conscience kept giving him this 'vibe' that something wasn't quite right tonight.

"Bah, it's probably just a storm that's making me feel uneasy. I'm gonna go see Ainad, see how she's fairing. Haven't seen her for a while now; her, and Aire. What do you say, Koj?" he asked, looking to his right.

Koj squeaked delightedly through a nibble full of chocolate pocky, hopping to his feet from his sitting position.

"All righty then, we better start heading over there now before the rain picks up more so. Let's get dressed and head over there."

The two of them got dressed. Koarai dressed in a white dress shirt, with matching black dress pants, topped with his jean jacket, freshly cleaned, with some dark, sleek shoes 'pon his feet. Kojeru on the other hand, wore a simple black t-shirt, his usual white jeans, and some runners. Both began to head towards the cottage at a decent pace, where they would meet Ainad and Airaniel.


Celebrian stumbled forward a few inches and fell through Ainad's doorway. Forgetting the fact that she was hardly recognizable, and being too upset to care, she latched onto one of Ainad's legs and began sobbing, managing to get out the words "Missed you" and "scared" and "hungry" in between breaths.


Ainad stumbled backwards at first, a little worried as to who this visitor might be when slowly she started to remember... something about her seemed familiar. She choked back a small sob and took a wild stab at who it might be, "C... Celebrian?" she knelt down beside her and hugged her tightly before pulling back and speaking almost breathless with concern, "What happened to you? Come on inside, let's clean you up..."


Celebrian obediently got to her feet and followed Ainad inside, wiping her eyes as she went. Now that she was standing upright, she was about the same height as Ainad, only a little shorter. Her skin had gotten darker, and her eyes were slightly reddened from crying. She had somehow acquired an anthro form and now had light silvery hair, rather dreaded, and pulled back in a pony tail. She moved slowly, her legs were stiff from running for so long.

She peered around the familiar cottage that she hadn't seen in so long. Everything seemed so cushy from what she had recently become accustomed to, she thought she might be able to fall asleep right there standing up.


Aire peeked out from around the corner, wondering who could be arriving so late. It was no one she had ever met before (that she could remember at least).

Ainad had pushed aside some cushy pink pillows and made a place for Celebrian to sit. "Have a seat, dear." she said, "I'll go find you something to eat!" she hustled off into the kitchen and returned with a pitcher of pink lemonade, a plate of chocolate chip cookies, and a tofu sandwich. "I hope you like tofu." she said as Aire winced behind her. Ainad was having a hard time grasping what had caused such a sudden change in Celebrian's appearance, but she decided it'd be best to just get her fed and rested first before she asked any questions... and she should probably let Dedo know immediately since he was probably worried sick.

She scribbled a note to Dedo and argued with Hugs a bit before the defiant Sylphus finally decided to take it to him.


It didn't take Celebrian long to inhale the sandwich and half the cookies. She sat there sipping her lemonade, listening to Ainad arguing with Hugs about getting in touch with Dedo, which left her rather excited. She'd have gone straight to him if she knew how to find him, but had figured Ainad would be the easiest to find and the next best thing.

Finally being seated, fed, and comfortable, it was no surprise that her eyes were fluttering to stay open and her head kept nodding down to her chest. Eventually she gave up the fight, still partially conscious of what was going on around her, but half asleep so at the same time, it seemed like everything was in a dream now.


Behind some bushes and shrubs sidling the house two Dragons hid unnoticed, spying from the corner of the house to where the entrance was. Well, one of the two that is.

"Koj? Did you see what I saw? Ainad... err.. your mom just let in some stranger into the house. I don't recognize her at all, and she was clutching her leg! What could she be thinking? What if this person is some poor beggar who's pretending to be lonesome and then begging her to allow this stranger into the house so that they can steal everything in the house and get away when Ainad's not looking?!" gasped Koarai, having finished his run-on sentence.

It was suddenly completely quiet, save for the sudden crunching on a pocky from behind Koarai, which almost made him jump. "Dad, you worry too much. I really think you should go to the doctor. You get suckers there, they'll make you feel better." Koj said, looking non-impressed with the pocky stick now hanging loosely angled on his lips. "We should just head in and make ourselves at home like we usually do. Don't want to turn up with a thousand crickets chirruping on our heads, do we? We'll end up scaring mom more than when she finishes reading off another romance novel."

Koarai twitched, eyeing his rather 'ordering' son, as he was dragged to the front door.

"You have the keys, right?"

Koa checked his pockets, digging in deep till he found the glittering silver item with a couple key chains attached. Unlocking the door, the two of them entered, one more uneasy than the other.


"Koarai!" Ainad squealed half-quietly so that she wouldn't wake Celebrian. She leapt forward and threw her arms around his neck. "Celebrian's back! She's alive!! She's changed a but, but..." she whispered excitedly as she motioned to Celebrian laying on the couch. "It's so relieving to have her back!"

Aire, who had been watching still from behind the corner stampeded out to cling to Koarai's leg, "DADDY!!!" she shrieked before she was hushed by Ainad. "Sorry..." she whispered as she let go of Koarai's leg and pounced on Koj in a hug-glomp.


"Heyo!" Koa said softly, tightly hugging his mate. His gaze wandered to where Ainad directed, peering over to where Celebrian lay now asleep on the sofa. "Ahh... I was wondering where she was, hadn't seen her on Clan land for the longest of time. When was the last time we saw her?"

Koj bopped over and hugged his mom tightly, giving an 'I missed you a lot' sort of speech before being tackled onto his back. "OOMPH! Waiiiii!!! A killer sumo dragon is gonna kill me with its heavy weight! Heelllp!" Koj gasped silently in 'terror'. But once he had finished his act he hug-glomped Aire back. "Missed Aire... how've you been, 'my little sumo'? Gained weight I see. Must be eating too many of mom's cookies." he grinned, pocky still firmly clutched between white teeth.


"I HAVE NOT!!" shrieked Aire at the idea that she had been gaining weight. "You're the one who's gonna get pudgy with all those Pocky Sticks you eat!!"

"Shhhhh!" Ainad hissed at Koj and Aire as she turned on the lights outside, several small blue lanterns surrounding the meadow lit it in a faint blue glow. "Go play outside!" She herded them out the door and went to fetch a blanket for Celebrian.

Once she had covered Celebrian to keep warm, she turned back to Koarai. "I just sent a note to Dedo, I hope he gets it soon. She hasn't said anything about where she's been, but I don't really want to ask her just yet. Maybe we should wait until she's had a nice rest and then Dedo will be here." She gathered the dishes and went to go put them in the sink.


Koj's eyes were now slit in a seemingly deathly glare at his twin. "I will not, they don't even have 1/10 of the amount of sugar on them as ONE of mom's cookies. Eh? Outside? She actually let's us out this late? Isn't she afraid we'll get abducted by humans or something?"

"Ahh... all right then. How long do you think it'll take till Dedo gets here? Maybe he can give us a steady explanation. How'd you know if this was Celebrian or not? I mean, just look at her... she's completely different looking."

"Dad thought you were gonna be robbed by this beggar you let into the house." Koj piped up, pointing to Celebrian.


Ainad looked curiously over to Celebrian sleeping on the couch. "Well..." she said, "I don't know, she's still a lot like her old self, even if she looks really different." she said. "She's still got some stripes and the same wings..."

Aire shrugged, "I think it's not a burglar but one of mom's friends. I've never seen her before though." She kicked a small stone into the brook and twirled some of the water with her finger. "The meadow's pretty safe." she said, "Mom can sense it if we're in danger here... but that never happens."


"That's true... I doubt there'd be anyone around here who would harm us. Besides, they'd have to get through me before they could steal you away!" Koj said grinning again, puffing out his chest and pointing a thumb at it.

Koarai scratched his head. "Whatever you say, whatever you say... though I will agree now on a closer look she does have some old similarities. Hmm. Anyhow, how've you been?"


It didn't take Hugs very long to locate Dedo as he actually wasn't too far away at the moment. He snatched the letter from the irritable cloud shortly after receiving a shock, literally. Smoothing his hair back and glaring at the cirrus he unfolded the letter to read through Ainad's hand writing. What's so important that she can't wait to tell me her- Dedo dropped the letter and flew to Ainad's, walking through the door without knocking, as per usual.

"Celebrian? AINAD!? I got your letter!"


Ainad quickly got over the surprise of Dedo barging in and rounded on him with a vicious "SSHHHHHH!!!!" She pointed to where Celebrian was sleeping on the couch and whispered, "Poor dear needs her sleep! You can stay here tonight, if you want, so you can be here when she wakes up. Otherwise, don't disturb her until she wakes up on her own!"


Dedo looked over at Celebrian, looking baffled at first, but after a few moments, his expression turning to relief. "Not wake her up??? But she just got back! We have to have a party or something! Come on, I'll go wake her up and you can go cook something ...or order out..."


Ainad grinned, "Ooooh!!! A welcome back party!! What a good idea!! But first..." she said sternly. "Let her sleep. We'll plan the party tomorrow and we can have it tomorrow night." She left and returned with another set of blankets and handed them to Dedo. "There's an arm chair over there that should be comfortable. Then we can spend all day cooking and planning..." she was starting to get excited - parties were definitely her favorite pastime.


Dedo gave Ainad a blank stare, but instead of saying anything, he decided to humor her. "Thanks Ainad, I'll see you in the morning then?" He headed over to the chair she had indicated, scootched it closer to where Celebrian was sleeping, and wrapped up in the blanket...though it didn't do much for him.

He wasn't a mind reader, but sitting there watching Celebrian while she dreamt gave away a little bit of what she had been through, there was a lot of fear in her right now for some reason. Being true to his word to let her sleep, he refrained from waking her up to ask her what had happened, and spent the rest of the night simply watching over her.


Looking around the cottage through drooping eyelids, Koarai leaned his head on Ainad's shoulders and began to slowly drift off. "I missed this shoulder too... hehe..."

"Was that uncle Dodo that just went into the house?" Kojeru said, watching Aire whilst nibbling on more of that same pocky stick. "Maybe we should head in, I'm not tired at all, but I don't want to get my clothes soaking wet." A couple light raindrops had fallen on his shirt, quite noticeably.


Ainad brushed some hair out of Koarai's eyes and grinned. "Well, let's all go to sleep then. I'll go call the kids in."

Aire yawned, "Yeah, let's go inside, I'm getting sleepy. We can get Uncle Dodo to play with us tomorrow." she grinned mischievously and started heading towards the door as Ainad called outside for them to come in.


"Okay Mom!" Koj shouted, waving to her, then turned back to the yawning Aire. "Hey, able to walk there? I can give you a piggy back, despite your weight." he said winking and getting into a crouched down position.

"Okay, hun... " said Koarai groggily, forcing his head to lift from her shoulder.


Aire ignored the comment about her weight and leapt onto Koj's back. "Are you staying here tonight?" she asked. "I love it when Daddy and Koj stay the night!"

"Why don't you go on to bed?" said Ainad as she kissed Koarai lightly on the cheek. "I'll put the kids to sleep and be in in a minute."


Kojeru pretended to haul himself up slowly making more 'you're heavy comments', but in truth, he found Aire to simply be as light as a feather. Marching inside, he looked around. "Where's your room, Aire?"

"Okay, okay... I'll head up then. Hurry up, I need tucking in too!" grinning toothily as he went to the room and flopped lazily onto the rather fluorescent bedding.


"Mine's on the left." said Aire, instructing Koj on where to go as they entered the house and trotted past Ainad. "Mine's in BLUE not PINK."

Ainad dimmed the lights in the living room for Dedo and Celebrian and followed the twins into their room to do the usual check (brushed your teeth? washed your face? kiss goodnight and tuck in) before turning off the lights and crossing the hall to her room so she and Koarai could go to sleep. They had a big day ahead of them.


The End



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