A Little.... Off

Rae opened her right eyelid, pausing in her meditation, as she watched Twig the Whysp pass yet again in front of Raes' door. She had sensed the Whysp pass back and forth at least a dozen times, in front of her door and her curiousity had finally gotten the better of her.

The Whysp passed slowly by again, but this time Rae opened her other eye and called to the small ball of light just as it moved out of her sight.

"You're either practicing to be a tennis ball or you've got something n your mind?" Rae inquired to the now empty doorway.

"I know you're there, Lightbulb, you might as well come in," Rae attempted again.

Slowly, the small whysp glided into the doorway.

"Um...Can I ask you comething?" Twig asked without pretense.

"I can take you to the mall after I'm done here, if Spy ain't got the time, Sure," Rae replied.

"NO!... that's not...that is....May I come in?" Twig stammered.

Rae was taken aback. Did she just ask my permission? Now THERE'S something you don't see everyday.

"Yeah, Comeone in," Rae said a little perplexed. She had to admit that the whysp seemed a bit troubled, like she had something fairly serious on her mind. Then why isn't she talking to Spy? Why ME?

Twig glided thru the doorway and paused in front of Rae.

"I wanna ... talk to you about Spyral," Twig said.

Answers THAT question, Rae thought. "What's up with the Angel?" she asked.

The small figure of Twig bobbed, slowly wringing her hands and looking in all directions now, except directly at Rae. "He's .... not quite right," she finally said.

Rae almost laughed out loud. "Twig, NOBODY here is 'Quite Right'," she said. "you oughta know that by now."

"No, that's not what I mean," Twig replied. "Something's wrong, he's ...... not himself. She looked at Rae then and Rae could see the genuine distress and concern in her eyes.

Rae knew that a tendency to exagerate came as second nature to Twig; but she also knew that when it came to the angel, the Whysp was all business. Nobody in the Mansion was quite clear on the exact nature of the relationship between the angel and the whysp, but it seemed more than friendship, more than family, but not quite like lovers.

Some kind of 'Immortal thing', who knows?, was the best guess around the Mansion.

Regardless, Rae thought, if she's willing to come to me for help, somethings gotta have her stirred up! As the Whysp had never quite seemed to warm up to Rae as yet, even though they had maintained a civil relationship with one another, they had not exactly become anything more than acquaintances. Rae had always chalked it up to some kind of jealousy on the part of Twig, concerning Spyral. Perhaps this was a turning point...

"Okay, so what's wrong with the angel?" Rae asked.

"He's .... well, it's just that ...." Twig fumbled. "Oh! You just have to come and see ...." she finished.

Where Is he?" Rae asked, spreading her hands wide in question.

"The Treehouse," Twig said. "Come on!" The whysp then glided to the door and puased. "You coming?"

Rae rose, stretched, then strode after Twig, who glided quickly down the hallway in the direction of the door leading to the bridge to the Treehouse. "Right behind you," she said.

Twig and Rae quietly peeked thru one of the windows of the Treehouse, at the figure of Spyral, the resident one-winged angel, as he sat in the middle of the wood slat floor. The angel sat among a group of about half a dozen assorted stuffed animals of different size and color, and appeared to be dealing out playing cards to a pile in front of each.

When the deal was finished, Spyral checked the cards of each animal, placed their individual bets, discarded, recieved new cards, and then bet again for each, all the while seeming to chat with each one all the while.

Rae turned to face Twig, being careful to whisper quietly and not alert the angel to their presence.

"So he's practicing his card game," she spoke. "what's the problem?"

"Watch," was Twigs reply.

Rae turned her head back in time to see the angel reach to the side away from their view and lift a tray that he then set if front of him. From the tray, he lifted a small porcelain cup and teapot and began to pour "tea" into the cup. he held it out in front of him and spoke very politely to a large pink stuffed bunny to his immediate right.

"Darjeeling, Mrs. Nesmith?" he asked with his most charming smile, then set the cup in front of the bunny, before beginning to "fill" other cups.

Hey, that's Jilas' tea service! Rae thought. She again turned to face the Whysp. "So he's practicing his Social Skills," she said. "The angel always has been a little introverted when it comes to gatherings."

"Keep watching," Twig replied.

Rae once again turned her head to watch, just in time to see Spyral leap to his feet, and place his hands behind his back, looking like a schoolchild about to give a recital.

"AHEM!" the angel said, and proceeded to recite in a sweet sing-song voice.

"I had a little turtle,

his name was Tiny Tim.

I put him in the bathtub,

to see if he could swim.

He drank up all the water;

He ate up all the soap.

Now he's sick in bad,

with a bubble in his throat."

The angel then sat back down, gathered the cards and began to shuffle them again.

For a third time, Rae turned to face the Whysp, who simply bobbed in place, with both arms folded across her chest, one eyebrow lifted in question and her lips pursed, as if daring the sorceress to once more assuage her suspicions.

Rae knew she was beaten this time. "Okay, You got me there! I don't have a clue WHAT the Hell THAT was.........." she could only shrug. She turned back to the window again, to watch as the angel dealt out the next hand. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.

Twig floated to the windowsill, and joined her in watching the angel, who was now passing around "fresh crumpets" to his guests. "About a week or so," Twig relied.

"That long?" Rae asked, wondering why nobody else had noticed any strange behavior on the angels part.

"IT'S LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT!," came a loud shout from below them. "NOT RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT! HOW MANY TIMES DOI GOTTA SAY IT??!"

"What the frell?" Rae asked, as she and the Whysp left their place at the windowsill, and moved to where they could peer at the ground below. They saw SunAeryn standing at the bottom of the small set of cement stairs leading out from one of the side doors of the Mansion. She appeared to be looking down at her fuzzy Yellow Duckie Slippers and ...... scolding them?

"AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO THE RIGHT THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING TO THE LEFT! I AM SO COMPLETELY TIRED OF GOING ONLY WHERE YOU TWO WANNA TAKE ME! ALWAYS YOU-YOU-YOU! WELL JUST THIS ONCE, IT'S GOING TO BE ME! WE'RE GOING TO GO WHERE I WANNA GO, GOT IT??!!" Sunny shouted at the slippers, before striding off towards the holo-simulator room, muttering under her breath as she walked along.

"Well, THAT wasn't like 'Quite Right' either, now do ya think?" Twig asked Rae with a sidelong glance.

"Not .......... Quite ......" Rae replied.

She seemed about to make another statement when a loud sound, followed by a large impact tremor filled the air. She whirled so quickly she became momentarily dizzy and almost stumbled in her haste to move to the other side of the footbridge. She reached it in time to witness Gerandon, Jila Cosas dragon lowering his head and preparing to charge ......... the thick rock wall surrounding one of the Mansions gardens. Jila Cosa sat atop him, with a too large knights helmet upon her head, which looked about to fall off and possibly take her with it on the way down, and holding aloft one of Ragnars large Viking spears.

"FORWARD DARTAGNON!" she cried aloud. "WE MUST SAVE THE KING! WE ARE HIS ONLY HOPE! FORWARD DARTAGNON! ONE FOR ALL, AS WE ARE ONLY ........ TWO!"

With that, the great dragon leaped forward, charged at top speed and rammed his head into the rock wall, making the ground tremble once again but only succeeding in sending small chips flying from the garden wall. He immediately began to back up for another try, Jila Cosa urging him along.

Rae turned to Twig then, who bobbed lightly beside her. "Have I been in a hole these past few days, and everyone has gone over the Deep End?" she turned back to look at Jila and Gerandon, then looked once again towards the window where they had observed the angels 'tea party'. "What the FRELL is going on with EVERYBODY?!"


	The Archives A Little.... Off SeventhAngel Rae opened her right eyelid, pausing in her meditation, as she watched Twig the Whysp pass yet again in front of Raes' door. She had sensed the Whysp pass back and forth at least a dozen times, in front of her door and her curiousity had finally gotten the better of her. The Whysp passed slowly by again, but this time Rae opened her other eye and called to the small ball of light just as it moved out of her sight. "You're either practicing to be a tennis ball or you've got something n your mind?" Rae inquired to the now empty doorway. Silence...... "I know you're there, Lightbulb, you might as well come in," Rae attempted again. Slowly, the small whysp glided into the doorway. "Um...Can I ask you comething?" Twig asked without pretense. "I can take you to the mall after I'm done here, if Spy ain't got the time, Sure," Rae replied. "NO!... that's not...that is....May I come in?" Twig stammered. Rae was taken aback. Did she just ask my permission? Now THERE'S something you don't see everyday. "Yeah, Comeone in," Rae said a little perplexed. She had to admit that the whysp seemed a bit troubled, like she had something fairly serious on her mind. Then why isn't she talking to Spy? Why ME? Twig glided thru the doorway and paused in front of Rae. "I wanna ... talk to you about Spyral," Twig said. Answers THAT question, Rae thought. "What's up with the Angel?" she asked. The small figure of Twig bobbed, slowly wringing her hands and looking in all directions now, except directly at Rae. "He's .... not quite right," she finally said. Rae almost laughed out loud. "Twig, NOBODY here is 'Quite Right'," she said. "you oughta know that by now." "No, that's not what I mean," Twig replied. "Something's wrong, he's ...... not himself. She looked at Rae then and Rae could see the genuine distress and concern in her eyes. Rae knew that a tendency to exagerate came as second nature to Twig; but she also knew that when it came to the angel, the Whysp was all business. Nobody in the Mansion was quite clear on the exact nature of the relationship between the angel and the whysp, but it seemed more than friendship, more than family, but not quite like lovers. Some kind of 'Immortal thing', who knows?, was the best guess around the Mansion. Regardless, Rae thought, if she's willing to come to me for help, somethings gotta have her stirred up! As the Whysp had never quite seemed to warm up to Rae as yet, even though they had maintained a civil relationship with one another, they had not exactly become anything more than acquaintances. Rae had always chalked it up to some kind of jealousy on the part of Twig, concerning Spyral. Perhaps this was a turning point... "Okay, so what's wrong with the angel?" Rae asked. "He's .... well, it's just that ...." Twig fumbled. "Oh! You just have to come and see ...." she finished. Where Is he?" Rae asked, spreading her hands wide in question. "The Treehouse," Twig said. "Come on!" The whysp then glided to the door and puased. "You coming?" Rae rose, stretched, then strode after Twig, who glided quickly down the hallway in the direction of the door leading to the bridge to the Treehouse. "Right behind you," she said. ***** Twig and Rae quietly peeked thru one of the windows of the Treehouse, at the figure of Spyral, the resident one-winged angel, as he sat in the middle of the wood slat floor. The angel sat among a group of about half a dozen assorted stuffed animals of different size and color, and appeared to be dealing out playing cards to a pile in front of each. When the deal was finished, Spyral checked the cards of each animal, placed their individual bets, discarded, recieved new cards, and then bet again for each, all the while seeming to chat with each one all the while. Rae turned to face Twig, being careful to whisper quietly and not alert the angel to their presence. "So he's practicing his card game," she spoke. "what's the problem?" "Watch," was Twigs reply. Rae turned her head back in time to see the angel reach to the side away from their view and lift a tray that he then set if front of him. From the tray, he lifted a small porcelain cup and teapot and began to pour "tea" into the cup. he held it out in front of him and spoke very politely to a large pink stuffed bunny to his immediate right. "Darjeeling, Mrs. Nesmith?" he asked with his most charming smile, then set the cup in front of the bunny, before beginning to "fill" other cups. Hey, that's Jilas' tea service! Rae thought. She again turned to face the Whysp. "So he's practicing his Social Skills," she said. "The angel always has been a little introverted when it comes to gatherings." "Keep watching," Twig replied. Rae once again turned her head to watch, just in time to see Spyral leap to his feet, and place his hands behind his back, looking like a schoolchild about to give a recital. "AHEM!" the angel said, and proceeded to recite in a sweet sing-song voice. "I had a little turtle, his name was Tiny Tim. I put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim. He drank up all the water; He ate up all the soap. Now he's sick in bad, with a bubble in his throat." The angel then sat back down, gathered the cards and began to shuffle them again. For a third time, Rae turned to face the Whysp, who simply bobbed in place, with both arms folded across her chest, one eyebrow lifted in question and her lips pursed, as if daring the sorceress to once more assuage her suspicions. Rae knew she was beaten this time. "Okay, You got me there! I don't have a clue WHAT the Hell THAT was.........." she could only shrug. She turned back to the window again, to watch as the angel dealt out the next hand. "How long has this been going on?" she asked. Twig floated to the windowsill, and joined her in watching the angel, who was now passing around "fresh crumpets" to his guests. "About a week or so," Twig relied. "That long?" Rae asked, wondering why nobody else had noticed any strange behavior on the angels part. "IT'S LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT!," came a loud shout from below them. "NOT RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT! HOW MANY TIMES DOI GOTTA SAY IT??!" "What the frell?" Rae asked, as she and the Whysp left their place at the windowsill, and moved to where they could peer at the ground below. They saw SunAeryn standing at the bottom of the small set of cement stairs leading out from one of the side doors of the Mansion. She appeared to be looking down at her fuzzy Yellow Duckie Slippers and ...... scolding them? "AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO THE RIGHT THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING TO THE LEFT! I AM SO COMPLETELY TIRED OF GOING ONLY WHERE YOU TWO WANNA TAKE ME! ALWAYS YOU-YOU-YOU! WELL JUST THIS ONCE, IT'S GOING TO BE ME! WE'RE GOING TO GO WHERE I WANNA GO, GOT IT??!!" Sunny shouted at the slippers, before striding off towards the holo-simulator room, muttering under her breath as she walked along. "Well, THAT wasn't like 'Quite Right' either, now do ya think?" Twig asked Rae with a sidelong glance. "Not .......... Quite ......" Rae replied. She seemed about to make another statement when a loud sound, followed by a large impact tremor filled the air. She whirled so quickly she became momentarily dizzy and almost stumbled in her haste to move to the other side of the footbridge. She reached it in time to witness Gerandon, Jila Cosas dragon lowering his head and preparing to charge ......... the thick rock wall surrounding one of the Mansions gardens. Jila Cosa sat atop him, with a too large knights helmet upon her head, which looked about to fall off and possibly take her with it on the way down, and holding aloft one of Ragnars large Viking spears. "FORWARD DARTAGNON!" she cried aloud. "WE MUST SAVE THE KING! WE ARE HIS ONLY HOPE! FORWARD DARTAGNON! ONE FOR ALL, AS WE ARE ONLY ........ TWO!" With that, the great dragon leaped forward, charged at top speed and rammed his head into the rock wall, making the ground tremble once again but only succeeding in sending small chips flying from the garden wall. He immediately began to back up for another try, Jila Cosa urging him along. Rae turned to Twig then, who bobbed lightly beside her. "Have I been in a hole these past few days, and everyone has gone over the Deep End?" she turned back to look at Jila and Gerandon, then looked once again towards the window where they had observed the angels 'tea party'. "What the FRELL is going on with EVERYBODY?!" A Little....Off (1)