26th of Zi’da, 722
A shoe-for-you, a shoe-for-me, a shoe for the fairy in the Tree
Continued from here...
Chest's interior was getting complex these days. With Winston spending much of his time as a fairy the last week, archways had now appeared at the top of the walls, like little airvents in the eves, joining the rooms together. There were little shelves all around the rooms, with little perches, and fairy-sized tables and chairs. Further to this, Winston had fashioned himself a complete set of fairy-sized tools to use while he was in his smallest form. Further to that, as soon as Kelpie found out that he was not only fairy-sized but making fairy-sized things, she started spending a lot more time at his workshop than usual, fluttering from room to room and chattering constantly.
"What's this?" Keplies asked curiously. "Dat es a wind chime." She giggled, which was a sound something like the tinkling of bells. She took a deep breath in and then blew ... The chain of chimes let off a pleasant and soft ringing sound that resonated around the roon. "Oh, it's so wonderouse, Winston! I simply MUST have one." Winston smiled. "Yuh welcome to 'ave dat one." He said with a smile. Kelpie exploded into frantic giggling. "Oh THANK you. Thank you SO MUCH!" A shocked expression appeared on her face. "But I don't have anything to pay for it?" Winston chuckled, his little friend had been bringing him cakes, buns, pies and other fairy snacks for the best part of a season now. "By my count, me still owe yuh at least 24 pies worth af wind-chimes."
Kelpie whizzed out of the room, only to return again a moment later. "I'll be right back. I couldn't possibly accept such a charming chime without observing proper reciprocity." At which, she vanished through the hole in the wall again. Winson was not ENTIRELY sure that the Fairies used the door like everyone else. They seemed to come out of nowhere most days and vanish as mysteriously.
He took a bight of a blueberry biscuit as he plunged the horseshoe into the water. It gave off a satisfying hissing sound as the metal cooled. He inspected it closely and tapped it with his hammer. It let off a clear and tuneful ringing sound.
All that remained to do now was the finishing touches, buffing and generally speaking making the fine-looking horseshoe, shine. He had made a little chain of the same metal, adding a very simple clasp to each end so that it could be hooked onto the shoe without falling off to easily.
It had to be said, that while a horseshoe was certainly not the most complex thing to make, this one was pretty good ... though he was certain it would not serve as an actual shoe for an actual creature and he hoped that this was not the intention. "It would have to be a one-legged creature, of course." He said to himself and chuckled. Joe called in from the kitchen, where he was presently pretending to eat cake in an effort to remember what they tasted like. "Only crazy people can talk to themselves!" Winston paid him no heed as he continued to work the metal on the rotary buff, that span as he worked the flywheel.
A little while later ...
Candlemarks passed as he worked the shoe into a finished state, not stopping until the unique blue/purple and smouldering colours of the alloy he had created shimmered in the light of the furnace.
"That looks good." Offered Joe, helpfully. "You think it's ready?" Wintson held it up and gave it another gentle tap. It rang a beautiful C tone. It rang for several moments. Then he started to hum through the shoe, holding it in front of his mouth. The metal reverberated with the sound, just as the sand did. He smiled, satisfied with his work. "Me tink dat et es."
Kelpie burst back into the room at speed. "I found it! I found the thing! It is wonderouse! I found the recipe! Joe attempted to look at what Kelpie was brandishing in her hand, but the fairy seemed to be incapable of remaining still. "Wat es it Kelpie?"
"Oh. It's the cake recipe for Deaf by Chocholate!"
Winston's eye's bulged with anticipation. "Wa ... Really? Are yuh serious? Don't play wid meh naw Kelpie. Do yuh really 'ave da recipe right dere?" Kelpie nodded enthusiastically, the sound of bells ringing out as she did. "Yes. Here ..." She said, offering it to him. "... in reciprocity for the chimes." She said, happily, as if doing this set right some wrong that was afoot. "Me didn't know yuh could cook." He exclaimed excitedly, but Kelpie giggled dismissively. "Oh I don't cook. Well, not unless it's summertime and THEN I cook in the heat of the sun, let me tell YOU. But no, that's my grand-fairies' recipe. She used to say, a good recipe for food is a good recipe for life!" Kelpie nodded, whether she understood the adage or not.
His eye's had not returned to normal yet as he took the little scroll. He held it like it might be a forbidden tablet full of clandestine secrets. Joe rolled his eyes. "Man, the way you run a business, you're going to eat like a poorer forever!" But the ferret was not listening. He opened the scroll and began reading, speaking the words aload as he slowly got more and more confused.
Joe roard with laughter, bobbing back and fourth as he gasped for air. "AAAAhhhhhhhh-hahahahahaha! ... You have ... Hahaha ... Just given away ... He-he-he ... TRIALS of work ... Hahaha ... for a piece of paper full of GIBBERISH! Hahahaha!" His laughter was not evil or unkind, he was genuinely tickled by the irony. Finally having the recipe of his dreams, but not being able to understand it! Winston however was not deterred at all.
"Me know, right?! De original recipe! En de ORIGINAL language! Wid no room far mistaken enterpretashan!" The tone of his voice got higher and higher as he continued. "Oh my Immortals! THANK you Kelpie!" The two faries danced around each other, bobbing and chuckling in the air. "Yay! We are dancing!"
The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: WHHHHAAAAAT?!
Winston: Me 'ave NO idea wat dis means.
Curiosity: Yeah, but just imagine if we can work out how to speak Fairy.
Winston: Oh de possibilities!
Curiosity: I bet she's got more.
Winston: Moooore?
Curiosity: Yeah, more recipes! Ask her for more recipes!
Curiosity: WHHHHAAAAAT?!
Winston: Me 'ave NO idea wat dis means.
Curiosity: Yeah, but just imagine if we can work out how to speak Fairy.
Winston: Oh de possibilities!
Curiosity: I bet she's got more.
Winston: Moooore?
Curiosity: Yeah, more recipes! Ask her for more recipes!
"Me need tuh get tuh workin' dis out right away! Ef yuh 'ave any fairy friends dat need someting dat 'ave any af dee's, me wud be maw den 'appy tuh take dem aff deir 'ands." He said both happily and absent-mindedly.
As Klepie fluttered up to he new chimes, she fluttered here wings and as she passed, they let out a soft and soothing tinkling sound. She giggled and flew past a second time before eventually taking it and vanishing back to wherever it was she lived with a ... "YIt's CHIME to leave! Bye-bye!"
Joe shook his head as the ferret absentmindedly wandered off towards his living area, still in fairy form. "... an' bake far 371 shakes af a Bumblebear's tale ..."
In a dreamland far, far away ...
The large celery trees were reaching up high into the thick canopy above his head as he fluttered through the forest. He was picking ingredients from the bushes, collecting the things he needed as he read through the fairy food recipe book. "Two doodlewobs, three jackerlantern flaps aaaaand ... yes ... one sunny giggly-wiggly." He said to himself as he fluently read the recipy.
He bent down to collect one of the sunny giggly-wigglies when a voice called out. "Hello again!" Winston looked up suddenly to find the dream fairy from before, sitting in a celery branch. "Hello again, I was going to get in touch. I have finished your Lucky Horseshoe." He said in fairy-speak as he lifted the horseshoe over his head from where it hung on a chain around his neck.
The dream-fairy flutterred down and took the shoe from Winston with a beaming smile. "Oh my word! It's fantastic!" The fairy fluttered it's wings and as it rose and the tinkling of bells rang out from where-ever fairies summon this sound from, the shoe resonated gently with the sound. The fairy giggled, causing even more tinkling of bells to chime. He spun around and held the shoe up to the light. "Oh it's PERFECT! Thank you so much. You have done a great job."
Winston bowed in mid-air. "You are most welcome. If you would spread the word to your friends. I would be most grateful." The fairy nodded emphatically. "I will, don't you worry. Oh please, accept these in thanks for your effort." With which, the fairy threw two small objects to Winston ...
Suddenly Winston opened his eyes ... He was in bed and it was dark. He was sure he hand something in his hand, but when he opened it, there was nothing there. He frowned and the memory of the dream faded. He had a lingering memory of talking complete gibberish that seemed to make sense at the time.
He sat up and stretched. "Mun, fairies en me dreams es ..." He looked down at his bedside table and paused. Sitting upon it were two canine teeth. He picked them up. "Wolf teeth?" He turned them over in his hand. "OOooooohhhhh! Huh. Me wonda wat dees will do. Heh. Maby dem will nat do anyting ... Den again, per'aps dem will turn me entuh a wolf ..." He looked down at his, still ferrety body and gingerly placed the teeth back down on the table and smiled. "Well dat es a ting far tomorrow Winstaan to work out." He agreed, with himself and lay back down and went to sleep.
