A Gloomy Teatime (Woe)

[Rabu]

1st of Ymiden 720, not lucid

Among the branches of an ancient tree, there was a house carefully crafted with stray twigs and rocks. It had been there for generations and in that time had become completely covered in all manner of moss, Lichen and and colourful fungi. The only thing still visible of its original structure was the front door, with a little knocker in the same of a snail made of petrified Ojobon wood. This was the house that Rabu only visited once in his life before his crippling fear of heights made the trip impossible. It had belonged to his mother’s family and was where his grandparents lived. This long forgotten place in Rabu’s memory was where the Mortal born of Rabbits would dream of tea parties and comforting lies.

“WWWWWeeeeeeeooo!” the tea kettle screamed as it began to boil. Rabu rushed to pull it off the heating stone and poor the scalding liquid into the pot to create a fresh brew of earl grey tea. Rabu then set it on the kitchen table and made the last finishing touchiest to his dirt scones. A tapping came at the door just in time for him to place the scones on the table.

“Come right in!” Rabu called out cheerfully.

The door opened and a squirrel in a pale green dress walked in, carrying a platter of what looked like some more mounds of dirt.

“I brought my specialty!” The squirrel sang with a toothy grin.

“Excellent I was hoping you’d bring your famous chestnut surprise cookies.”

“If you ever get tired of them just tell me.” The squirrel placed them on the table next to Rabu’s dirt scones.

“Pfft Never!” Rabu shot back with a pouty lip and arms crossing in childish defiance “I could eat these to the end of time Phylis!”

“You’re just saying that but I’ll take the compliment.” Phylis chuckled.

“Good.” Rabu nodded firmly.

Phylis took a seat at an available chair at the dining table and began nibbling on one of Rabu’s dirt scones.

“So who all is coming?” the squirrel asked when she was done chewing her earthy treat.

“I think Jere and Dev’rai said they could make it but just about anyone could show up at this point.”

As if on cue a tapping came to the door and Rabu took no time in welcoming them in.

[Woe]

1st of Ymiden 720, Dreaming non-lucid about being a child 8 arcs-old.


It was dark, and Woe was lost in the woods. Why was he in the woods? His master would be angry if he found him out of doors without leave! Woe was about to turn around, and try to find his bearings when he spotted something scurrying up the bark of a large tree. They looked to be in the middle of a cemetary, at least there were standing stones about and markers where there really ought not to be, in wild wood. Woe shivered, the chill of early Cylus creeping into his bones.

Again, he heard another strange sound, and then a small door shutting and opening. It was then he noticed how the tree had a warmth to it. The closer Woe got to it, the less chilly he got. He crept up to the large tree, and felt the bark. It was warm to the touch! And there was a smell of boiling water. Perhaps someone was brewing tea...

Woe wanted some tea to get rid of the chill, and shelter for chasing away the dread that surrounded him. So with some effort, he began climbing up the tree. He was never a great climber, being gangly of limb even at his young age. He hated heights, and disliked climbing in the extreme. His balance had always been poor when trying to climb things. Nevertheless, he did so, and when he arrived at the top of the tree, he found an odd entrance, that was large enough for him to pass through.

He opened the door, and entered. Inside, he saw a small squirrel, bearing a platter of dirt, and a... wooden doll-like creature, with rabbit ears. Unlike a doll, it was entirely mobile, moving about in the kitchen and getting ready for guests. Woe felt completely lost and out of his element here, but couldn't resist the warmth of the tea room inside the tree. He cleared his throat, and said, "Excuse me... What... Where am I? Can you tell me how to get back to Andaris?"

He fought against the incredulity of the situation. It was strange, but something about it felt very real. It didn't occur to him that he was dreaming, or that he was no longer a child. Or that these strange creatures inhabiting this warm space were not, in fact, real. He waited for an explanation of where he was, tapping his foot and standing at the door. A cold breeze flew in, shutting the door behind him, and pushing him in with it. He stumbled a bit but kept his feet for the most part.

"Er... I'm sorry. I'm a bit clumsy... Are you making tea?"

[Rabu]

The door opened to reveal a very young tall folk man, judging by his clothes he was a foreigner from outside Desnind. The sad looking talk folk child was visibly shivering from the cold outside like a lost wolf cub. Before Rabu could welcome the tall folk in, they spoke up with questions.

“Andaris?” Rabu raised a brow in confusion and looked back at Phylis the Squirrel to see if they knew. For a moment he experience a momentary feeling of Deja vu as the dream reality and his real world knowledge conflicted. Though Rabu’s memories of the physical realm were so weak they were easily overpowered. “I’m afraid I don’t know of such a place but you can stay here until we find out.” There was always rooms for guests in one of the Kufuata households and if not Rabu knew of plenty of alternatives.

“Come in, Come in. Make your self at home.“ Rabu gave his most welcoming smile as he gestured for the child to join them. As if the young Tunawa had summoned it himself, a cold wing pushed the boy inside and closed the door. The child blamed it on his clumsiness but Rabu could feel the wind rush into the room.

“Oh its horrible outside, you poor soul” Rabu rushed over him to see if the boy needed any help but he picked himself up quick enough and didn’t seem to need any assistance.

“Relax, have yourself a seat and help your self to a cup of tea and some treats.” Rabu said as he followed by example, taking a seat next to Phylis the squirrel.

“You’re just outside Megani, its close to the city of Desnind…do any of these names ring a bell stranger?” Phylis chimed in, her ears were wiggling with curiosity at the boy. It wasn’t every day a squirrel encountered a tall folk that was even shorter than her.

[Woe]

The scene unfolded before the young version of Woe. A talking squirrel, a house in the trees, an oversized, talking, wooden, rabbit tunawa. It was hard to believe, in truth. It was almost enough to pull him into lucidity, in realizing this was a dream he was having. Yet Woe held onto the illusion that he was lost in the woods northwest of Andaris. So, when invited, he came to sit by the table, waiting for a cup of tea.

The first thing he did when sitting down, was pour himself some 'tea', which didn't look like tea at all, but hot, steaming water. Giving the 'tea' the benefit of the doubt, however, Woe drank it. His face scrunched up in surprise, as it tasted... very much like water. "This is not tea, this is hot water..." Woe insisted, but drank it anyway, as the heat from the drink still chased away the cold.

Next, he looked, but couldn't find the cookies. "Not to be rude, but I don't see any biscuits or treats... All I see are packed balls of dirt..."

When the squirrel spoke to him, informing him of the city of Desnind and Megani, asking if they ring any bells, young Woe had to shake his head. "No, where are they located? Krome? Venora? Have I really walked that far? Oh, rats... I'm in trouble if I've wandered that far... I should start back as soon as possible..."

But Woe wasn't certain that leaving right now, in the middle of darkest Cylus was a good idea. He could at least take advantage of the strange creatures' hospitality. He looked to the rabbit-looking tunawa and then the squirrel, and introduced himself, "I'm Woe, by the way. Who are you folk? And do you have any real food here?"

[Rabu]

“Oh um… isn’t that what tea is?” Rabu’s posture shrunk down in embarrassment. He bit his lip and took a moment to look back into his memory of the times he had watched tall folk make tea.

“There was the boiled water and then…oh!” Rabu’s eyes went wide with recollection. “The leaves!” he called out. He opened a small cupboard and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a clump of dried crumpled leaves. The leaves were barely holding together and brown as the dirt Rabu likely found them in. He lifted the lid off the pot with one hand and used his other to sprinkle the musty leaves into the pot with a smile of accomplishment.

“That solves that!” Rabu congratulated himself.

“Oh there we go I had a hunch this tea was missing something, thank you for that suggestion kind stranger.” Phylis smiled and nodded to the young Woe.

The small victory was squashed as soon as Woe added another complaint about the “treats” and Rabu’s smile instantly plumeted.

“oh..you don’t like the treats..” Rabu tried his best to cover up his upset with a weak smile but his mournful voice gave away the hurt he felt.

“I mean he is a tall folk Rabu” The squirrel chimed in. “They don’t tend to be fond of eating dirt.”

“..But it’s the most fertile soil I could find…” Rabu mumbled to himself while looking down at his hands as he nervously twirled his index fingers together.

Rabu went back to his cupboard for something more appropriate for his guest to eat. He found a dead wasp, and a few poisonous mushrooms that were known to cause a Tall folk’s limbs to fall off. The Tunawa sighed to himself and looked in another cupboard.

“Oh i’m sure you’re not that faraway and you’ll catch a death of cold if you leave now,” Philis gave the boy a concerned look and shook her furry head. “The forest is no place for a young boy to be wondering around alone at night.”

“I’ll go with him.” A monotone voice came from the shadows behind Woe. It belonged to someone that looked strikingly similar to Rabu but with much darker features and a more solemn face.

“Oh its Gloom, how nice of you to join us!” The squirrel greeted the newcomer with a smile that boldly showed off her gleaming rodent teeth. She turned her large obsidian eyes back to the boy “Woe this is Gloom, I’m phylis and our host over there is Rabu."

“I’ll be with you in a second I may have found something.” Rabu called back. “Woe is it? uh..how do you feel about spiders? is that something talk folk eat?”

[Woe]

"Close? Water heated with leaves steeping in a bag or something? No no not putting the leaves right into the tea, that'll make the people drinking it choke!" Woe rubbed his face, and as he did so, he began to shift into his adolescent self. As he was at roughly 12 years or so old. It was an odd change, but Woe didn't seem to notice or care about it.

Woe muttered to himself under his breath, as the tunawa celebrated his engenuity, "That solves nothing but to ruin what might've been a fine teapot..."

"Treats?" Woe lifted a brow incredulous that this creature thought dirt was a treat. "What manner of person eats dirt? That's absurd! This whole place is absurd..."

Gloom sat down next to Woe at this point, in the stool directly to the left. "Rabu is a bit dim, Woe. Don't mind him too much, but stay awhile. Maybe it won't be too terrible."

Woe shifted in the seat uncomfortably, which was now rather too small for him. "Fine fine, Gloom is it? What a strange name for a... what are you things, anyway?"

"We're tunawa... And yes, I never knew my mommy and the evil groundskeeper who raised me decided to give me a slave name." Gloom sighed listlessly.

Woe stared at him for a few moments, and then shrugged, shifting in his seat as he took the tea that was offered. He took one sip, and nearly gagged. "Well, I've never even heard of a tunawa. Is that some sort of talking rabbit?"

The voice of Rabu came from the kitchen, and claimed to have found something. Yet when he asked if tall folk ate spiders, Woe froze, chilled to the bone. "We don't eat spiders, no, those are poisonous, besides Spiders keep pests away. Spiders are our friends..."

"I like spiders too." Gloom chimed in briefly.

Woe had almost enough at this point, and almost was on the verge of rising from his seat. However, something held him back, compelling him to give Rabu another chance... But as he did so, he felt himself waking up. Almost remembering that he was no longer a child or adolescent, but a grown adult. He began to wake up, and despite his best efforts to hang on or attain some semblance of lucidity, he slipped away from the dreamscape, and ended up back in his bed in Quacia.

Gone, but leaving Gloom behind, the pale rabbit-eared tunawa sighed at Rabu. He rose from his seat as well, "It's no wonder you have no friends, Rabu. You really ought to learn some manners." So saying, the tall tunawa walked out the door, and slammed it behind him, walking off into the night, to try and find where Woe had gone.

[Praetorum]

Rabu

Points: 15
Magic: No
Skill Review: Appropriate

Knowledges
None

Loot: None

Injuries: Your feelings got hurt

Renown: None



Woe

Points: 15
Magic: No
Skill Review: Appropriate

Knowledges
None

Loot: Gloom (NPC)

Injuries: None

Renown: None



Overview
It is extremely funny to me that Woe and Rabu are existing in completely different genres. I love how both of them are completely clueless about each others physiology. Overall, a sweet, short meet and greet that serves its purpose.

Speaking of its purpose, I’d have preferred if you linked the PSF ticket where gloom got approved in the request. In this case though I was able to find it easily enough, so it’s all good.

Enjoy your new not!rabu buddy :3


Word Count: 2493 Words