it's island time
Wispy was held in chains, painful chains, she didn't know how they made them but somehow they made her feel weak, and disconnected. She couldn't use any of her control over her home domain like this. She almost wished she was connected to a tree so she could wrap up her enemy in bark, or a flower so she could concoct a sleep poison. She knew the other's were jealous of her too, she was connected to the wind and could cause tornado's if she had enough anger inside of her.
The man in armor took of his helmet and sat down next to her. His hair was shaved sort, and his skin was a nice olive glisten with sweat. He wore the common uniform, no decoration. How wonderful, they sent a regular to deal with her.
"Your going to break eventually, sooner rather than later you'll tell us how you guys kept turning and you will be turned back. We already have the first step done."
Wispy gave him the best glare she could, his gaze softened in returned. "Think about it Kaitlyn, you could be a hero." She must've looked confused. "I forgot you guys seem to loose your memory after you undergo this transformation. Why do you care about the earth more than your own people how could you just abandon us? Right you wouldn't know that either."
Wispy took a gasp, trying to fill herself with air. It wasn't enough, she could never get enough air with these things on. She saw a wisp of concern among his failed poker face. She winced and kneeled over. "if you do care about me help me,' she croaked, hoping she didn't smile or laugh, or do anything that would give away how much she was faking. This was her best attempt to escape, she couldn't loose it. She winced again for good measure, then she stopped herself from doing anything further because she couldn't risk overdoing it too.
She felt his hand on her back. "I can't, I'll die if i disobey orders." She hated his argument. "All of humanity will go extinct if I disobey mine." His hand seemed to lift slightly. "Isn't your goal to kill us? Only leave those of you who have transformed?"
What type of lies had he been feed? "No, we only fight those who are unwillingly to change, so desperate to cling to their corrupted inventions that they would drive their world to destruction for a sake of their ease of life." She heard a clink and looked to see she was no longer chained to the floor.
"I don't want to fight, but I can't give up my memories." Wispy could work with this. She looked up, trying to show gratitude through her eyes. "I'll take you to the most isolated village, where you won't have to fight." She took out the key and freed her arms form the chains of torment.
She took a deep breath. The air here was stale, but she could work with it. "Mother earth, you have graciously accepted me as one of the chosen who get to be close to you and live for eternity. Please accept your child who wants to flee the war, and not fight against you into your loving arms. A village where he can learn the wisdom lost to the sake of ease of life." She exhaled and the winds around her former friend lifted him to flight.
"Wow, wow, wow ohh! Ahh! What's happening? What did you do? Wait, I'm flying. it doesn't hurt! I'm not dead! I'm okay! This, this is so fun! Now what?" Wispy laughed, maybe he wasn't lying about knowing her in her original life. Maybe, mother earth will accept him back into her loving arms. She's already shown she's willing to give him a try, that's definitely a good start.
"Now, we fly. We're going to shoot up as fast as possible. Don't worry, your wind will make sure you can still breath." Wispy gathered up all the air she could around her and once she heard rushing footsteps of the enemy realizing what has happened she propelled herself and her ally with all the might of what she could gather. Bullets attempted to reach them but where thwarted by the swirl of wind that kept them going to the sky.
Then once they were above the clouds, where only planes could reach them Wispy could take a proper deep breath. The air wasn't the best, traces of gasoline where left floating around from those flying war machines which the human race seemed so obsessed with, but it was so much better than the air that was ridiculously filtered.
This time when Wispy exhaled she was able to get them on track to their destination. Mother Nature would guide them, show the young boy where he needed to go. Then she could test him. She could figure out if he's worthy of her protection, if he's willing to relearn his way of life to one that doesn't cause such destruction to the rest of her creation. Maybe he could become one of her children again.
Wispy looked beside her to see his bright smile, the joy in his eyes which shined as bright as a diamond help up to the sunlight. It was all good sings. He wasn't scared of the change that was a coming. He was already accepting how powerful nature was. Maybe he accepted it before his moment, maybe just maybe he was always willing to do what he just did. Maybe Wispy didn't have to convince him to free her, maybe he was just scared of her.
"You know I would thought the tornado girl, the largest threat to the human race, would be a lot less willing to spare me." Wispy laughed in response to his comment, and then noticed how his joy faded before he spoke up again.
"They told me you were Kaitlyn, I didn't actually know if you were her. She went missing when we were just kids, like still in primary school kids. Do you even know what primary school is?" Wispy shook her head no, and he kept going. "Well we were really young, and we went into the woods to play a game of hide and seek. We weren't supposed to go into that stretch of the woods, because it was home to a couple forces of nature, but we went anyways. We were stupid kids. She found me really easily, I was never very good at hide and seek. Then I counted and she went to hide. I could never find her. Then a few days later they reported that the force of nature beings they've been keeping a watch on had gained a new member. A young member made of clouds with power over the wind. I thought of her because she always loved trying to reach the sky. She would climb tree's, buildings, mountains, she never stopped."
Wispy didn't know what to say. His theory sounded correct, but she couldn't confirm it, becoming apart of mother nature's most elite task force has a price.
"Then you became the first to go on the offense instead of defending a national park, for a stretch of undeveloped forest. I remember watching the news of the youngest girl in mother nature's stock taking out entire office building of cooperations, only the ones contributing to climate change without second thought, but still it was terrifying, yet I still thought of Kaitlyn. She never backed down, would a pick a fight just because someone was being rude to me. When they caught you, I was almost sad because I thought you would be killed, and then I would loose you forever, but you said you live forever?" After so much of his monologue passed, Wispy forgot that he was capable of asking her questions.
"Yeah, anyone who become's a force of mother nature can never had their soul destroyed. If our body dies our soul returns to mother earth and we come back in a different manifestation. We don't have our memories from our past life, but we have what can never be erased from a soul. Reflexes, personality, some core skills. We've only had a couple people cycle through once but their incredible." Wispy thought back to her younger cousin, who remembered three languages from her past life. She's probably going to be sent all around the world due to that skill.
"So, if you are Kaitlyn, I'll never loose you. You'll always be someone and you're always have some part of you that I knew in there, somewhere. Even if one day, you cycle through so many time's that part of you become's irrelevant."
Wispy wanted to say that she wasn't Kaitlyn, and that was that, but she saw how fragile the teenager flying next to her was. She didn't know what type of horrors he had to face durning the war, and she didn't want to try and imagine it. Instead, she opted to try and lighten the subject. "Wow buddy, it really sounds like your trying to hit on me. We just meet, at least let me get to the village first."
She got the joy of watching the joy return to his eyes as he laughed. "Right, the village, do i need to get out of this uniform so the residents don't hate me upon arrival?" Wispy almost laughed, before she realized he was serious.
"No, no, no, You don't need to get changed out of that before we land. The entire village is full of people who left their post for a life of peace. They are going to want to use that fabric for something. Can't let good resources go to waste, we're better than that." She saw the look of shame on his face as she mentioned that. He was really doing nothing but trying to convince her that she made the right choice in sparing him. Maybe she should try and find and rescue the good souls left in the human race more often. It could help tip the war in her favor, ever less warrior fighting to destroy her people the easier it is to deal with those who are truly evil.
"Maybe we should've stolen a couple of things from the base for them to use, the more resources the better, right?" Wispy didn't have the heart to tell him that a hoarding mentality of that sorts was part of the problem.
Instead she responded with, "They'll be fine, they don't need reminder's of the worse world they've left behind after all." That got another good laugh out of her flying companion, as the two of them continued to soar through the sky, above the clouds, leaving the over civilization of the modern world behind.
The wind in her hair, making the lighting which flowed through her veins feel just so right. Could she ask for a better life than this? Maybe being chained up not too long ago was worth it, so she could apreciate her abilities, the freedom of the sky even better. Maybe it was worth it so she could give her enemies a massive string of defeat after offering them barely a taste of victory. Maybe it was worth it so she could learn the joy in saving the hidden gems of humanity from themselves.
She looked over to him again. "I just realized, I never asked your name."
He responded with a smile and "Oh, right, my name. It's Jake." That was the most disappointing name he could've had. Humans tended to be so boring with names, half of them had lost their meaning over the years too. “I suppose I should start calling you wispy now,” he tacked on, with a slight sense of defeat ringing throughout the phrase.
“You have to admit, Wispy is such a better name than Kaitlyn.” That got another good laugh out.
WC: 2000
The man in armor took of his helmet and sat down next to her. His hair was shaved sort, and his skin was a nice olive glisten with sweat. He wore the common uniform, no decoration. How wonderful, they sent a regular to deal with her.
"Your going to break eventually, sooner rather than later you'll tell us how you guys kept turning and you will be turned back. We already have the first step done."
Wispy gave him the best glare she could, his gaze softened in returned. "Think about it Kaitlyn, you could be a hero." She must've looked confused. "I forgot you guys seem to loose your memory after you undergo this transformation. Why do you care about the earth more than your own people how could you just abandon us? Right you wouldn't know that either."
Wispy took a gasp, trying to fill herself with air. It wasn't enough, she could never get enough air with these things on. She saw a wisp of concern among his failed poker face. She winced and kneeled over. "if you do care about me help me,' she croaked, hoping she didn't smile or laugh, or do anything that would give away how much she was faking. This was her best attempt to escape, she couldn't loose it. She winced again for good measure, then she stopped herself from doing anything further because she couldn't risk overdoing it too.
She felt his hand on her back. "I can't, I'll die if i disobey orders." She hated his argument. "All of humanity will go extinct if I disobey mine." His hand seemed to lift slightly. "Isn't your goal to kill us? Only leave those of you who have transformed?"
What type of lies had he been feed? "No, we only fight those who are unwillingly to change, so desperate to cling to their corrupted inventions that they would drive their world to destruction for a sake of their ease of life." She heard a clink and looked to see she was no longer chained to the floor.
"I don't want to fight, but I can't give up my memories." Wispy could work with this. She looked up, trying to show gratitude through her eyes. "I'll take you to the most isolated village, where you won't have to fight." She took out the key and freed her arms form the chains of torment.
She took a deep breath. The air here was stale, but she could work with it. "Mother earth, you have graciously accepted me as one of the chosen who get to be close to you and live for eternity. Please accept your child who wants to flee the war, and not fight against you into your loving arms. A village where he can learn the wisdom lost to the sake of ease of life." She exhaled and the winds around her former friend lifted him to flight.
"Wow, wow, wow ohh! Ahh! What's happening? What did you do? Wait, I'm flying. it doesn't hurt! I'm not dead! I'm okay! This, this is so fun! Now what?" Wispy laughed, maybe he wasn't lying about knowing her in her original life. Maybe, mother earth will accept him back into her loving arms. She's already shown she's willing to give him a try, that's definitely a good start.
"Now, we fly. We're going to shoot up as fast as possible. Don't worry, your wind will make sure you can still breath." Wispy gathered up all the air she could around her and once she heard rushing footsteps of the enemy realizing what has happened she propelled herself and her ally with all the might of what she could gather. Bullets attempted to reach them but where thwarted by the swirl of wind that kept them going to the sky.
Then once they were above the clouds, where only planes could reach them Wispy could take a proper deep breath. The air wasn't the best, traces of gasoline where left floating around from those flying war machines which the human race seemed so obsessed with, but it was so much better than the air that was ridiculously filtered.
This time when Wispy exhaled she was able to get them on track to their destination. Mother Nature would guide them, show the young boy where he needed to go. Then she could test him. She could figure out if he's worthy of her protection, if he's willing to relearn his way of life to one that doesn't cause such destruction to the rest of her creation. Maybe he could become one of her children again.
Wispy looked beside her to see his bright smile, the joy in his eyes which shined as bright as a diamond help up to the sunlight. It was all good sings. He wasn't scared of the change that was a coming. He was already accepting how powerful nature was. Maybe he accepted it before his moment, maybe just maybe he was always willing to do what he just did. Maybe Wispy didn't have to convince him to free her, maybe he was just scared of her.
"You know I would thought the tornado girl, the largest threat to the human race, would be a lot less willing to spare me." Wispy laughed in response to his comment, and then noticed how his joy faded before he spoke up again.
"They told me you were Kaitlyn, I didn't actually know if you were her. She went missing when we were just kids, like still in primary school kids. Do you even know what primary school is?" Wispy shook her head no, and he kept going. "Well we were really young, and we went into the woods to play a game of hide and seek. We weren't supposed to go into that stretch of the woods, because it was home to a couple forces of nature, but we went anyways. We were stupid kids. She found me really easily, I was never very good at hide and seek. Then I counted and she went to hide. I could never find her. Then a few days later they reported that the force of nature beings they've been keeping a watch on had gained a new member. A young member made of clouds with power over the wind. I thought of her because she always loved trying to reach the sky. She would climb tree's, buildings, mountains, she never stopped."
Wispy didn't know what to say. His theory sounded correct, but she couldn't confirm it, becoming apart of mother nature's most elite task force has a price.
"Then you became the first to go on the offense instead of defending a national park, for a stretch of undeveloped forest. I remember watching the news of the youngest girl in mother nature's stock taking out entire office building of cooperations, only the ones contributing to climate change without second thought, but still it was terrifying, yet I still thought of Kaitlyn. She never backed down, would a pick a fight just because someone was being rude to me. When they caught you, I was almost sad because I thought you would be killed, and then I would loose you forever, but you said you live forever?" After so much of his monologue passed, Wispy forgot that he was capable of asking her questions.
"Yeah, anyone who become's a force of mother nature can never had their soul destroyed. If our body dies our soul returns to mother earth and we come back in a different manifestation. We don't have our memories from our past life, but we have what can never be erased from a soul. Reflexes, personality, some core skills. We've only had a couple people cycle through once but their incredible." Wispy thought back to her younger cousin, who remembered three languages from her past life. She's probably going to be sent all around the world due to that skill.
"So, if you are Kaitlyn, I'll never loose you. You'll always be someone and you're always have some part of you that I knew in there, somewhere. Even if one day, you cycle through so many time's that part of you become's irrelevant."
Wispy wanted to say that she wasn't Kaitlyn, and that was that, but she saw how fragile the teenager flying next to her was. She didn't know what type of horrors he had to face durning the war, and she didn't want to try and imagine it. Instead, she opted to try and lighten the subject. "Wow buddy, it really sounds like your trying to hit on me. We just meet, at least let me get to the village first."
She got the joy of watching the joy return to his eyes as he laughed. "Right, the village, do i need to get out of this uniform so the residents don't hate me upon arrival?" Wispy almost laughed, before she realized he was serious.
"No, no, no, You don't need to get changed out of that before we land. The entire village is full of people who left their post for a life of peace. They are going to want to use that fabric for something. Can't let good resources go to waste, we're better than that." She saw the look of shame on his face as she mentioned that. He was really doing nothing but trying to convince her that she made the right choice in sparing him. Maybe she should try and find and rescue the good souls left in the human race more often. It could help tip the war in her favor, ever less warrior fighting to destroy her people the easier it is to deal with those who are truly evil.
"Maybe we should've stolen a couple of things from the base for them to use, the more resources the better, right?" Wispy didn't have the heart to tell him that a hoarding mentality of that sorts was part of the problem.
Instead she responded with, "They'll be fine, they don't need reminder's of the worse world they've left behind after all." That got another good laugh out of her flying companion, as the two of them continued to soar through the sky, above the clouds, leaving the over civilization of the modern world behind.
The wind in her hair, making the lighting which flowed through her veins feel just so right. Could she ask for a better life than this? Maybe being chained up not too long ago was worth it, so she could apreciate her abilities, the freedom of the sky even better. Maybe it was worth it so she could give her enemies a massive string of defeat after offering them barely a taste of victory. Maybe it was worth it so she could learn the joy in saving the hidden gems of humanity from themselves.
She looked over to him again. "I just realized, I never asked your name."
He responded with a smile and "Oh, right, my name. It's Jake." That was the most disappointing name he could've had. Humans tended to be so boring with names, half of them had lost their meaning over the years too. “I suppose I should start calling you wispy now,” he tacked on, with a slight sense of defeat ringing throughout the phrase.
“You have to admit, Wispy is such a better name than Kaitlyn.” That got another good laugh out.
WC: 2000
it's island time
It wasn't much longer until they started their descent to the village. As they got to lower to below the clouds, a flew flocks of birds flew by. Wispy could easily identify each of them. Th sky was her home. The birds were part of her responsibility. She had to keep them safe. She could feel the physical pain when a flock of them where brought out of her domain for most of their parts to be tossed in a landfill where they would rot but not return to mother nature as intended.
Why did human's start wasting their resources away? Why couldn't they at least learn to return what could, and should be returned to the earth?
At least Jake was impressed, amazed at her knowledge of the sky. "Do you know about the tree's down there too?"
Wispy laughed in his face, "I'm a cloud, I control wind, why would I know about the ground? It's not my domain, it's not my concern. You should talk to the forest guardian if you want to know about their domain." He seemed a little disappointed. Well, nothing Wispy could do about it. Men could be disappointed all they wanted, it wasn't her job to make them happy.
They landed in the middle of a clearing in a forest which she knew modern society would scoff at as being in the dark ages. It wasn't like that though. They were happy, and when you add olden knowledge to mother nature's blessing you get amazing things.
There were tree houses, formed out of the shaping of the tree's bark. The roof being made of branches grown so tight together they've come waterproof. The door made of vines which cling to the wall as a means of locking the door. It was amazing what could be done when some's bonded with a tree even slightly.
There were some living in mud tents, but they weren't nearly as bad as people believed. The inside was covered in a fur rug which kept the ground soft, and the mud kept the place insulated which kept it warm on cool nights, and dry durning the rain. Durning the heat of the summer, the place did become rather warm, but what's to keep people from sleeping under the stars on a warm summer night, and when it's raining it's best to be in a warm building so one doesn't get hypothermia anyways.
there were also some tent's made from animal skins (or wool from the village's sheep herd) entirely, which keep the inside warm enough when it was cold, but didn't make an oven in the summer for those too worried about overheating.
The people of the village all wore clothes either made of animal skin, or of the wool harvested from the villages herd of sheep. The sheep were kept grazing in the limit's of the village, there poop would simply be buried in place by the ground automatically. Mother nature, blessed the land in more ways then just the tree houses. It was better to compost it as came then to pile it up in one spot and slowly have to compost it.
Overall Wispy loved the village. It represented how humanity could live. How much better things could be if they sacrificed the Mordor monster of convenience for the olden ways paired with magic. Jake seemed star struck at all he saw.
“I want to live in a tree!” He exclaimed as he gawked at one of the tree houses.
Wispy smiled and responded with “Well then you need to bond with one of the tree’s. Convince them you’ll be a good partner.”
Jake looked dumbfounded. “How do I do that?” Wispy didn’t really know. She wasn’t as concerned with the trees as those connected to the land were.
“Well let’s see how the council likes you before you start planning a life here shall we?” Wispy was almost certain the council will realize he just wanted to escape the cities that were consumed by the war. Then why would they deny him sanctuary? One less solider, or factory worker, or whatever other job they force people into to ‘preserve humanity’ is one less challenge stopping them from wining.
The other humans have them friendly waves as they passed by, and a couple of nymphs (as humans would call them) emerged from the wilderness to see the new arrival.
After a little bit more of walking through the clearing they reached the tallest tree, with intricate carvings in its bark. Wispy knelt down in front on it as it started to glow. She even stopped floating so her knees were actually on the ground.
“Oh great guardian of the forested landed that surrounds this hidden village, Mother Nature has guided me here, so this human by the name of Jake to revive your judgement. Please may we have some of your valuable time to determine his fate?”
Jake had kneeled down next to Wispy and whispered into her ear, “Should I be scared? Deciding my fate sounds like something I should be like terrified about you know?”
Wispy had to do her best not to laugh. “No you don’t need to worry. The worst that could happen is your left to fend for yourself in the woods and have to convince the nymphs there not to kill you.”
Jake responded rather quickly with, “that sounds pretty bad.”
Wispy didn’t have time to formulate a response to him before a biome nymph emerged from the ground in front of her. “Wispy! You didn’t kill a human for once? That’s a cause for celebration!”
Wispy sighed, of course she had to make a comment like that. She just knew Jake would be terrified now. “He released me, and just wanted an escape from humanity in return. It sounded like a win win to me.”
They gave Wispy a look, one that said she definitely thought there was something more going on. Oh great, this was a silent crush allegation wasn’t it. After a moment of tense silence, she turned to Jake. “So Jake, let’s see if Wispy should’ve killed you after all. Oh don’t look so scared! I have faith in you. This is just a safety precaution. Can’t have spies among us after all.”
She touched her hand to the top of his head and her eyes glowed green. When she spoke her voice echoed with the power of insight. “I see a peaceful soul. One who is scared of the violence he’s faced. I see a kid who was confused as the war started against us nymphs because of how much a problem climate change was in the first place. I see kindness to animals, wait is that a ferret? You had a pet ferret? You snuck her into work because she had separation anxiety awe, wait, you have her on you.”
The ferry popped out from the back of Jake’s uniform. “Can she stay please? Even if I can’t, I want her to be safe.” Wispy couldn't believe she didn't notice an entire ferret was with Jake that whole time.
The guardian nymph beamed. “Welcome to the village Jake, and of course she can stay, we needed a rat chaser. What’s her name?”
The ferret climbed out of Jake’s clothes when she heard rat and started sniffing around. “Her name’s Daisy.” Daisy perked up at her name, but then seeing that there wasn't any issue that needed her, she took off. Probably to go kill some rats.
The guardian nymph turned to Wispy. “I’m so glad you didn’t kill him! Your first retrieval was a big success. Did you know the ferret was even there?”
Wispy shook her head, and tried to not sound ashamed when she said. “No Selene, I didn’t know.”
Selene turned to the group. “Go find Jake a home, daylight doesn’t last forever you know.” A couple of young guys grabbed Jake to take him for a tour. Poor guy looked like he was going to faint, but that was a common side effect of having your soul peered into. He would be fine by the mourning.
Once they had space, she turned to Wispy. “Well, it makes sense you didn’t sense the ferret they are underground animals. Don’t be so down about it. Anyways, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you in a while, and being captured, I know it can be difficult.” That was putting it nicely. Humanity saw nymphs as below them, so they weren't afraid to commit what they would consider war crimes to a fellow man.
Wispy didn't want to focus on that though. She just couldn't think about those handcuff, their drain of her connection to nature. How she could never get enough air, and kept dazing off to converse energy. No she had to focus n something else instead, something else that was only bothering her a little bit. “Jake, he thinks he knew me back when I was human. He thinks I’m Kaitlyn, a girl who went missing in nymph populated woods a bit before I was formed.” Selene gave Wispy a big hug.
“Well, does it matter to you? Who you were?” Wispy thought for a second, before shaking her head no. “I have other things to worry about. I need to get back to the front lines.” It was the easiest escape. She wouldn't think about the past if she was fighting her her future, allowing her life to be throw on the line, in the present.
Selene pulled out of the hug. “Already? Girl, you need recovery time. Are you even connected enough to fly? You’ve been on the ground for longer than usual.” Wispy realized once it was pointed out that she hadn't been floating automatically. That was unusual, and probably a sign of her being disconnected from nature.
Wispy knew she was right, that recovery time was the solution to her physical weakness, but she didn’t like it. They needed her out there. She was the first nymph go go on the offense. She basically started the war. She couldn’t not fight in it. That wouldn't be fare. “I’ll be fine. I can at least fly the wounded to safety until my strength is up.”
Selene gave her a glare. “Do you really think you’ll get stronger if you’re working all the time? Did being captured mess with brain?” Wispy wanted to scream that it did, and that's why she had to go back out there, so no one else got captured and had to experience what she did.
Wispy waved it off. “It’s not like you can stop me.”
Selene gave a disturbing smile, “I can.”
Wispy got so surprised she flew backwards some before landing and scattering some dirt in the process. “What do you mean you can? What are you going to do? Tie me up?”
Selene looked too happy about this. “I can let the general know you’re injured from your time captured and your options will be rest here or go and get sent to a village or safe house to rest after you've flown all the way to front lines.”
Wispy deflated in defeat. She just had to get better as soon as possible. Then she could go back to fighting. “I’ll go take a nap.”
Selene had the nerve to say “sleep well!” How was Wispy supposed to sleep well when her sisters were fighting on without her? How could she rest with some of them held in captive situations like her's. Not everyone will be lucky enough to have a human so willing to free them and escape to some hidden village. Now with her escape, there far less likely to even allow those humans with strong hearts to visit. Now more than ever rescue plans had to be made.
wispy flew up into the branches of the grand tree. She knew Selene wouldn't mind, she was the one who ordered this nap in the first place.
WC: 2000
Why did human's start wasting their resources away? Why couldn't they at least learn to return what could, and should be returned to the earth?
At least Jake was impressed, amazed at her knowledge of the sky. "Do you know about the tree's down there too?"
Wispy laughed in his face, "I'm a cloud, I control wind, why would I know about the ground? It's not my domain, it's not my concern. You should talk to the forest guardian if you want to know about their domain." He seemed a little disappointed. Well, nothing Wispy could do about it. Men could be disappointed all they wanted, it wasn't her job to make them happy.
They landed in the middle of a clearing in a forest which she knew modern society would scoff at as being in the dark ages. It wasn't like that though. They were happy, and when you add olden knowledge to mother nature's blessing you get amazing things.
There were tree houses, formed out of the shaping of the tree's bark. The roof being made of branches grown so tight together they've come waterproof. The door made of vines which cling to the wall as a means of locking the door. It was amazing what could be done when some's bonded with a tree even slightly.
There were some living in mud tents, but they weren't nearly as bad as people believed. The inside was covered in a fur rug which kept the ground soft, and the mud kept the place insulated which kept it warm on cool nights, and dry durning the rain. Durning the heat of the summer, the place did become rather warm, but what's to keep people from sleeping under the stars on a warm summer night, and when it's raining it's best to be in a warm building so one doesn't get hypothermia anyways.
there were also some tent's made from animal skins (or wool from the village's sheep herd) entirely, which keep the inside warm enough when it was cold, but didn't make an oven in the summer for those too worried about overheating.
The people of the village all wore clothes either made of animal skin, or of the wool harvested from the villages herd of sheep. The sheep were kept grazing in the limit's of the village, there poop would simply be buried in place by the ground automatically. Mother nature, blessed the land in more ways then just the tree houses. It was better to compost it as came then to pile it up in one spot and slowly have to compost it.
Overall Wispy loved the village. It represented how humanity could live. How much better things could be if they sacrificed the Mordor monster of convenience for the olden ways paired with magic. Jake seemed star struck at all he saw.
“I want to live in a tree!” He exclaimed as he gawked at one of the tree houses.
Wispy smiled and responded with “Well then you need to bond with one of the tree’s. Convince them you’ll be a good partner.”
Jake looked dumbfounded. “How do I do that?” Wispy didn’t really know. She wasn’t as concerned with the trees as those connected to the land were.
“Well let’s see how the council likes you before you start planning a life here shall we?” Wispy was almost certain the council will realize he just wanted to escape the cities that were consumed by the war. Then why would they deny him sanctuary? One less solider, or factory worker, or whatever other job they force people into to ‘preserve humanity’ is one less challenge stopping them from wining.
The other humans have them friendly waves as they passed by, and a couple of nymphs (as humans would call them) emerged from the wilderness to see the new arrival.
After a little bit more of walking through the clearing they reached the tallest tree, with intricate carvings in its bark. Wispy knelt down in front on it as it started to glow. She even stopped floating so her knees were actually on the ground.
“Oh great guardian of the forested landed that surrounds this hidden village, Mother Nature has guided me here, so this human by the name of Jake to revive your judgement. Please may we have some of your valuable time to determine his fate?”
Jake had kneeled down next to Wispy and whispered into her ear, “Should I be scared? Deciding my fate sounds like something I should be like terrified about you know?”
Wispy had to do her best not to laugh. “No you don’t need to worry. The worst that could happen is your left to fend for yourself in the woods and have to convince the nymphs there not to kill you.”
Jake responded rather quickly with, “that sounds pretty bad.”
Wispy didn’t have time to formulate a response to him before a biome nymph emerged from the ground in front of her. “Wispy! You didn’t kill a human for once? That’s a cause for celebration!”
Wispy sighed, of course she had to make a comment like that. She just knew Jake would be terrified now. “He released me, and just wanted an escape from humanity in return. It sounded like a win win to me.”
They gave Wispy a look, one that said she definitely thought there was something more going on. Oh great, this was a silent crush allegation wasn’t it. After a moment of tense silence, she turned to Jake. “So Jake, let’s see if Wispy should’ve killed you after all. Oh don’t look so scared! I have faith in you. This is just a safety precaution. Can’t have spies among us after all.”
She touched her hand to the top of his head and her eyes glowed green. When she spoke her voice echoed with the power of insight. “I see a peaceful soul. One who is scared of the violence he’s faced. I see a kid who was confused as the war started against us nymphs because of how much a problem climate change was in the first place. I see kindness to animals, wait is that a ferret? You had a pet ferret? You snuck her into work because she had separation anxiety awe, wait, you have her on you.”
The ferry popped out from the back of Jake’s uniform. “Can she stay please? Even if I can’t, I want her to be safe.” Wispy couldn't believe she didn't notice an entire ferret was with Jake that whole time.
The guardian nymph beamed. “Welcome to the village Jake, and of course she can stay, we needed a rat chaser. What’s her name?”
The ferret climbed out of Jake’s clothes when she heard rat and started sniffing around. “Her name’s Daisy.” Daisy perked up at her name, but then seeing that there wasn't any issue that needed her, she took off. Probably to go kill some rats.
The guardian nymph turned to Wispy. “I’m so glad you didn’t kill him! Your first retrieval was a big success. Did you know the ferret was even there?”
Wispy shook her head, and tried to not sound ashamed when she said. “No Selene, I didn’t know.”
Selene turned to the group. “Go find Jake a home, daylight doesn’t last forever you know.” A couple of young guys grabbed Jake to take him for a tour. Poor guy looked like he was going to faint, but that was a common side effect of having your soul peered into. He would be fine by the mourning.
Once they had space, she turned to Wispy. “Well, it makes sense you didn’t sense the ferret they are underground animals. Don’t be so down about it. Anyways, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you in a while, and being captured, I know it can be difficult.” That was putting it nicely. Humanity saw nymphs as below them, so they weren't afraid to commit what they would consider war crimes to a fellow man.
Wispy didn't want to focus on that though. She just couldn't think about those handcuff, their drain of her connection to nature. How she could never get enough air, and kept dazing off to converse energy. No she had to focus n something else instead, something else that was only bothering her a little bit. “Jake, he thinks he knew me back when I was human. He thinks I’m Kaitlyn, a girl who went missing in nymph populated woods a bit before I was formed.” Selene gave Wispy a big hug.
“Well, does it matter to you? Who you were?” Wispy thought for a second, before shaking her head no. “I have other things to worry about. I need to get back to the front lines.” It was the easiest escape. She wouldn't think about the past if she was fighting her her future, allowing her life to be throw on the line, in the present.
Selene pulled out of the hug. “Already? Girl, you need recovery time. Are you even connected enough to fly? You’ve been on the ground for longer than usual.” Wispy realized once it was pointed out that she hadn't been floating automatically. That was unusual, and probably a sign of her being disconnected from nature.
Wispy knew she was right, that recovery time was the solution to her physical weakness, but she didn’t like it. They needed her out there. She was the first nymph go go on the offense. She basically started the war. She couldn’t not fight in it. That wouldn't be fare. “I’ll be fine. I can at least fly the wounded to safety until my strength is up.”
Selene gave her a glare. “Do you really think you’ll get stronger if you’re working all the time? Did being captured mess with brain?” Wispy wanted to scream that it did, and that's why she had to go back out there, so no one else got captured and had to experience what she did.
Wispy waved it off. “It’s not like you can stop me.”
Selene gave a disturbing smile, “I can.”
Wispy got so surprised she flew backwards some before landing and scattering some dirt in the process. “What do you mean you can? What are you going to do? Tie me up?”
Selene looked too happy about this. “I can let the general know you’re injured from your time captured and your options will be rest here or go and get sent to a village or safe house to rest after you've flown all the way to front lines.”
Wispy deflated in defeat. She just had to get better as soon as possible. Then she could go back to fighting. “I’ll go take a nap.”
Selene had the nerve to say “sleep well!” How was Wispy supposed to sleep well when her sisters were fighting on without her? How could she rest with some of them held in captive situations like her's. Not everyone will be lucky enough to have a human so willing to free them and escape to some hidden village. Now with her escape, there far less likely to even allow those humans with strong hearts to visit. Now more than ever rescue plans had to be made.
wispy flew up into the branches of the grand tree. She knew Selene wouldn't mind, she was the one who ordered this nap in the first place.
WC: 2000
it's island time
Wispy drifted back into consciousness and an overly worried storm spirit, or venti as humans who couldn’t approached the beauty in the roughness of nature named them, looked up at her.
Wispy yawned as she floated up. “What’s up Daisy?”
The young storm spirit took another moment to think before she spoke. Wispy watched the lightning in her eyes as she contemplated her word choices.
“The humans are building again.” Wispy meet her words with a sigh.
“Since when did the humans not build?” Her sarcastic remark didn’t land well with Daisy, which made Wispy realize that now was not the time for jokes. Clearly something serious was going on, this was not just a normal construction project to be destroyed with a tornado this afternoon. “I’m sorry, what are they building?”
“Replication of intelligence.” Wispy almost wanted to laugh the last human attempt at, what did they call it? AI for artificial intelligence? It was a laughing stock! All it did was make collage slop, or tell someone when they were out of milk, or play some music on voice command. None of it was close to what actual intelligence looked like.
Yet Daisy looked serious. She was worried. Not contemplative like usual, there was definitely fear in there. The machine loving, oil guzzling, planet harming, humanities must have done something to get to her.
“What can it do?”
Diasy looked Wispy dead in the eyes, “Fight.” Wispy was right, that was something to be worried about. Yet Daisy wasn’t even done speaking. “It thinks enough that it has a mock soul.”
Wispy and Daisy spoke in unison, “a mock soul has to mean emotions though.” Daisy nodded after the two broke their moment of connection.
“Humans barely like emotions in each other. What do they think about emotions appearing in their new ai constructions having feelings?” Daisy looked grim, and Wispy knew the answer.
Yet the young storm spirit explained with a thunder rim in their eyes. “They’ll program the emotions out. Even if it means jeopardizing the creations usefulness. If they can’t find some way to bend the creations to their will, it’s scrapped and built again until they get it to act how they want.”
“That’s awful.” Wispy never thought she could feel bad for beings made of stolen metal. Metal that belongs underground. Yet these creations didn’t choose to exist. They weren’t responsible for the metal being stolen from Mother Nature.
“There had to be a way to help them. There has to be something, we can’t just like creatures with mock souls suffer like that because of humans. They’re a victim just as much as us.” Daisy had a lightning strike flash behind her eyes. Wispy listened for the plan she was sure Daisy was about to explain.
“We have one, captured from battle, we’ve learned a lot from her. I want you to try talking to her.” Wispy couldn’t believe what Daisy was suggesting.
“You of all people, you should know how awful, terrible, horrific I am at talking to people. I’m not going to be any help getting information from her. Plus I don’t think sending the girl who started this mess will make her feel any more safe around us.” Daisy floated up to Wispy and put her hand to Wispy’s heart.
“You’re a good sister. That’s what she needs. A sister.” Wispy could almost start crying. “You’re a better sister.”
They’ve played this game before. Wispy never won, but it was a tradition now to argue over who was better. “You’re the bestest sister. Remember the time I was getting chased out of Chicago and you,”
Wispy cut her off, how could she not remember? It was the day they bonded. “Yeah, I created an updraft that allowed you to get above it all and then we created such a large lightning bolt we fried power in nearly half the city.”
Daisy continued the story wanting to savor the details. “Then I had to half-carry you back to the sky base because you sent so much energy in your desire to protect me that you were close to blacking out.”
Wispy laughed, she always found stunts like that funny. “Do you really think that’s what this creation we captured needs? A girl willing to fry a city with everything she has in her whenever her soon to be chosen sister gets into things a little to over her head?”
Daisy took a moment to contemplate. “She needs support. I found support with you. Plus, you know you can’t go fight for a bit anyways. Why not try to help out a girl who needs you while you’re on rest duty?”
Wispy sighed. “Fine, I’ll go help the stupid stolen metal hunk out since I have nothing better to do until you guys will let me really help again. It’s been too long since a tornado struck.”
Daisy seemed offended, but Wispy could tell it was just a joke. “Hey! Frank summoned up plenty of tornados in honor of you!”
Wispy had to stop her face clouds from turning the shade of the light purple seen at sunset. She couldn’t seem flustered. She had to say something she could say if that comment was about anyone else. “That was sweet of him, but we all know my tornados are better.”
Daisy scoffed. “Do you really think a cloud spirit can have a finer storm magic craft than a storm spirit?”
Wispy leaned back slightly in the way she was floating. “Yes, yes I do.” She meant it to. Shes had plenty of competitions with Frank, so she knew she could beat him.
Daisy dropped the act. “I am glad you’re alright. When they captured you, I had no clue if I would ever get to see you again.”
Wispy pulled her younger sister in for a hug as they floated up to the great blue sky they shared a connection to. “I wouldn’t dare leave you like that, never, not happening.”
WC: 1000
Wispy yawned as she floated up. “What’s up Daisy?”
The young storm spirit took another moment to think before she spoke. Wispy watched the lightning in her eyes as she contemplated her word choices.
“The humans are building again.” Wispy meet her words with a sigh.
“Since when did the humans not build?” Her sarcastic remark didn’t land well with Daisy, which made Wispy realize that now was not the time for jokes. Clearly something serious was going on, this was not just a normal construction project to be destroyed with a tornado this afternoon. “I’m sorry, what are they building?”
“Replication of intelligence.” Wispy almost wanted to laugh the last human attempt at, what did they call it? AI for artificial intelligence? It was a laughing stock! All it did was make collage slop, or tell someone when they were out of milk, or play some music on voice command. None of it was close to what actual intelligence looked like.
Yet Daisy looked serious. She was worried. Not contemplative like usual, there was definitely fear in there. The machine loving, oil guzzling, planet harming, humanities must have done something to get to her.
“What can it do?”
Diasy looked Wispy dead in the eyes, “Fight.” Wispy was right, that was something to be worried about. Yet Daisy wasn’t even done speaking. “It thinks enough that it has a mock soul.”
Wispy and Daisy spoke in unison, “a mock soul has to mean emotions though.” Daisy nodded after the two broke their moment of connection.
“Humans barely like emotions in each other. What do they think about emotions appearing in their new ai constructions having feelings?” Daisy looked grim, and Wispy knew the answer.
Yet the young storm spirit explained with a thunder rim in their eyes. “They’ll program the emotions out. Even if it means jeopardizing the creations usefulness. If they can’t find some way to bend the creations to their will, it’s scrapped and built again until they get it to act how they want.”
“That’s awful.” Wispy never thought she could feel bad for beings made of stolen metal. Metal that belongs underground. Yet these creations didn’t choose to exist. They weren’t responsible for the metal being stolen from Mother Nature.
“There had to be a way to help them. There has to be something, we can’t just like creatures with mock souls suffer like that because of humans. They’re a victim just as much as us.” Daisy had a lightning strike flash behind her eyes. Wispy listened for the plan she was sure Daisy was about to explain.
“We have one, captured from battle, we’ve learned a lot from her. I want you to try talking to her.” Wispy couldn’t believe what Daisy was suggesting.
“You of all people, you should know how awful, terrible, horrific I am at talking to people. I’m not going to be any help getting information from her. Plus I don’t think sending the girl who started this mess will make her feel any more safe around us.” Daisy floated up to Wispy and put her hand to Wispy’s heart.
“You’re a good sister. That’s what she needs. A sister.” Wispy could almost start crying. “You’re a better sister.”
They’ve played this game before. Wispy never won, but it was a tradition now to argue over who was better. “You’re the bestest sister. Remember the time I was getting chased out of Chicago and you,”
Wispy cut her off, how could she not remember? It was the day they bonded. “Yeah, I created an updraft that allowed you to get above it all and then we created such a large lightning bolt we fried power in nearly half the city.”
Daisy continued the story wanting to savor the details. “Then I had to half-carry you back to the sky base because you sent so much energy in your desire to protect me that you were close to blacking out.”
Wispy laughed, she always found stunts like that funny. “Do you really think that’s what this creation we captured needs? A girl willing to fry a city with everything she has in her whenever her soon to be chosen sister gets into things a little to over her head?”
Daisy took a moment to contemplate. “She needs support. I found support with you. Plus, you know you can’t go fight for a bit anyways. Why not try to help out a girl who needs you while you’re on rest duty?”
Wispy sighed. “Fine, I’ll go help the stupid stolen metal hunk out since I have nothing better to do until you guys will let me really help again. It’s been too long since a tornado struck.”
Daisy seemed offended, but Wispy could tell it was just a joke. “Hey! Frank summoned up plenty of tornados in honor of you!”
Wispy had to stop her face clouds from turning the shade of the light purple seen at sunset. She couldn’t seem flustered. She had to say something she could say if that comment was about anyone else. “That was sweet of him, but we all know my tornados are better.”
Daisy scoffed. “Do you really think a cloud spirit can have a finer storm magic craft than a storm spirit?”
Wispy leaned back slightly in the way she was floating. “Yes, yes I do.” She meant it to. Shes had plenty of competitions with Frank, so she knew she could beat him.
Daisy dropped the act. “I am glad you’re alright. When they captured you, I had no clue if I would ever get to see you again.”
Wispy pulled her younger sister in for a hug as they floated up to the great blue sky they shared a connection to. “I wouldn’t dare leave you like that, never, not happening.”
WC: 1000