literature

The Legend of Dandelion

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The fire crackled and flared into life, sending shadow and light dancing over Taiga’s face. She shrank back from the heat of the rising flames, but she did not retreat. She sat alone on a log, mesmerised and distant, like she was seeing something in the flames, living in another time.

Caatinga stared at her, from where she lurked near Deen and Lapis, and for the first time, Taiga seemed so far from her, for she belonged in another world. The drilbur slumped to the ground, miserable, and she felt Deen’s eyes on her, but she ignored him. She only raised her chin when the golduck began whispering to his brother, and scrambled to her feet when the lombre scampered off. Caa made as if to follow, but Deen stopped her.

“Listen,” was all he said, his eyes dancing in their infuriating way.

And so Caatinga did.

“Taiga.”

The nuzleaf stirred, drawn out of her reverie by the sound of a voice, soft as wind in the trees.

“Taiga.”

It came again, gentle as a ripple of water over mossy rocks, cool and deep and green.

She blinked open her eyes, and found him there, the lombre she had scorned earlier in the day. Her lips twitched, and she turned her head, but did not leave. I thought I was dreaming of Wyrdroot. But it is just this boy again, enemy of mine.

“Will you tell me a story, Taiga?”

She jerked her head around, and fixed her narrowed eyes upon him. Surely he was joking. But no, there was sincerity in every line of his sad and trusting face. And those eyes… Like amber they were, so bright, and beautiful. Even after the way she had treated him, he honoured her still, by asking such a thing from her. Stories were as breath to her – they kept her alive.

“Very well,” the nuzleaf said at length, and settled on her log. The lombre made as if to sit beside her, but her eyes stopped him in his tracks. “I will tell you a story, but do not mistake that as friendship.” Her tone was sharp, cutting, but when she spoke again, it had softened somewhat. “The story I’ll be telling is about… Your kind, boy. I suggest you breathe every word in, so that some other day, you can breathe them into another, and give them life.”

The lombre settled before the nuzleaf, the fire crackling at his back. It was warm, but the two grasslings were far enough away from it, that it did not dry them out. He sat before her alone, but as her voice came alive, unfolding the story before him, others were drawn near, because she was a born storyteller.

“I came from a great forest in the north, and as long as there have been trees there, so has the clan I come from. But, in time, others came, and claimed they belonged too, and there has been unrest in the Great Wood ever since. But this story is not about my clan, or about the war the rages on to this day. It is about one like you. What is your name?” Here, she looked down her short nose at the lombre.

“I am Lapis,” he said simply.

“Lapis,” the word curled off her tongue like silk. “Legend tells of a lombre that walked alone, as you seem to. He wandered alone, for he had grown tired of the fighting. He was sure there was more to life than the petty squabbles that broke out every day between my kind and yours, between our enemy clans. He wanted to use his life for the benefit of others.” A smile rolled across her lips.

It was like a revelation.

“His name was Dandelion, and one day, in deep Spring, when the light in the forest was green and fresh and singing with life, he went to the aid of a nuzleaf, and saved her from death at the hands of three of his kin. ‘You would betray us, Dandelion?’ the largest of the three lombre – a male called Springbone, spat. ‘I will do what is right, my brother, no matter who it is I must stand against.’ And when they moved to attack again, he fought with valor, and drove them off. The nuzleaf was badly injured, losing consciousness. He cradled her to his chest, and carried her off, limping into the shadows of the trees.”

“Oh! O-Oh, I’m so glad he helped her!” A bright, young braixen piped up, drawing nearer, and she settled beside Lapis. “Did she g-get better? I hope so…” The girl trailed off, and shared a glance with the lombre. The fur in her ears was braided.

“Don’t you worry,” Taiga mused, eyes glittering in the firelight. “The Great Wood, it takes care of its own. The nuzleaf, whose name was Wysteria, she began to recover within a few days, and was quick to explain. ‘Dandelion, I did something wrong. I took something from your clan, something that they want back very much. They’ll come looking for me, and it will be better for you to be gone when they do.’ He refused to leave her, however, and silenced her protests. ‘I know what it is they search for. I just do not know why it is that you would throw your life away for such a thing. It is of no value to you.’ But Wysteria just shook her head. ‘On the contrary, nothing matters more to me than this.’ And she revealed it to him, a stone that glistened like water, and at its center, a hollow that contained a single droplet.” Taiga paused, as another voice piped up.

“Wha’ was it?” a little, fluffy zigzagoon asked, wide-eyed and curious.

“I th-think I know!” The braixen chirped. “W-Was it a--”

“A water stone” Lapis breathed, oblivious to the frown on the braixen’s muzzle, and the droop in her ears. There was such joy on his face though, such focus, that the girl soon forgot that he had interrupted her, and returned her attention to Taiga, and her story.

“Yes, Lapis. It was a water stone. They are very rare in the Great Wood, and that is why the lombres were willing to kill for it. There was only one ludicolo in their clan at that time, and the water stone was intended for his successor. The brave nuzleaf called Wysteria had other plans. She claimed that the stone had drawn her, despite the fact that it could not change her. ‘It is meant for none of them, Dandelion,’ she told her rescuer. ‘Who then?’ he asked of her. She said nothing, just pressed the stone to his chest. The surface of the stone was spider-webbed with cracks, and Dandelion watched with fever-bright eyes as Wysteria cracked the stone in two. ‘You,’ she whispered, and touched a jagged edge of the rock to his small beak. A ray of light filtered through the canopy and struck the shard of stone. The light refracted, and lit up the whole glade. When Wysteria blinked the brightness away, she found herself alone. Dandelion was gone.”

On either side of Lapis, the small zigzagoon and young braixen shifted and fidgeted, eager to hear more, but the lombre seemed transfixed. Taiga felt conflicted, and for a moment, wondered why she had agreed to tell him a story, let alone this one.

“Wysteria knew loneliness for several days, and then she was alone no longer. A troupe of ten of Dandelion’s clan showed up to take back what they claimed was theirs, and she knew this time, she would not be so lucky. That they would not find the treasure they so desperately sought was the only comfort Wysteria had, and she boldly told them so. They surrounded her, and moved in, pushing her back into the river. They struck her, but she did not fight back. She had accepted her fate. ‘I will not fight,’ she told them tiredly, and Springbone closed the distance between them.” Taiga paused to draw breath, and was pleasantly surprised to find that a small crowd had gathered. She leaned back for a moment, before lifting her hands, and gesturing as she continued.

“The river was threatening to pull her under, when the water erupted behind her. A huge webbed hand swept Springbone aside, and then wrapped around Wysteria, drawing her back. It was Dandelion, and he was a magnificent and mighty ludicolo. And he had come for Wysteria. The lombres he had once called brothers and sisters were in varying state of shock and awe. Springbone and two others braved the shallows of the river, ready to defend themselves. But Dandelion made no move to attack. ‘Don’t be afraid, Wysteria,’ the ludicolo told the nuzleaf. ‘Hold your breath.’ And Dandelion disappeared into the river, bearing Wysteria to safety.”

“What happened then?”

“Dandelion returned her to her kin.”

“No, but! Why? W-Wha’ if the gwoup of lom… lombwe came looking for Wysteria again?!” the zigzagoon squirmed beside Lapis, his bristly tail twitching.

“What is your name?” Taiga asked him. “And yours?” she turned to the braixen.

“I’m Orpheus!” the zigzagoon chirped, with a wag of his two-toned, fluffy tail.

“M-my name is Ciela,” the bright-eyed braixen introduced herself.

“Those are good names,” Taiga said. “You wear them well, little ones. Shall I continue now?” She received a chorus of nods and eager murmurs. She smiled, and listened to the fire crackle. “The two were met with fierce opposition from Wysteria’s kin. The nuzleaf clan kept the ludicolo at bay with aggression, and treated Wysteria with scorn as she pleaded her brothers and sisters to listen, to imagine another kind of life for themselves. Only three males from among them listened, one of them freshly evolved. The older two were twins – the only ones of my kind that I have ever heard of. They were Mosstalon and Alderthorn, and they wanted to be free from the hatred that lingered in the very air they breathed.”

“And the boy?” Lapis asked. “The young one?”

“Ahh, he was Maplemane, and he was the youngest of them all, but the wisest. He left with Wysteria, and the twins followed him, for he had convinced them that Wysteria’s was a better way of life. The five of them journeyed to the outskirts of Dandelion’s clan, and over the course of several weeks, the four nuzleafs warmed the hearts of the territorial lombre clan, and in time, they earned the respect of many. The only one who refused to change was the elder, the only ludicolo aside from Dandelion. He was Cypress, and he would not let go of his enmity. There came a day when Maplemane entered into the grove of the lombre clan. Cypress was outraged. ‘How dare you come here!’ he bellowed. None of his kin and offspring moved to attack the young nuzleaf, and, furious, the ludicolo moved to strike the boy down himself.”

“No,” Lapis whispered, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what Taiga was saying.

“B-But Maplemane, he hadn’t done a-anything wrong!” Ciela protested.

Wwwhyy?” was all Orpheus said, his masked face filled with confusion.

“Because, little one, there was a darkness in him, like there was in most of the nuzleaf clan. It blinded him, and he refused to believe that there was another kind of life to be had. Do not fear though, no harm befell Maplemane. The lombres that had once been aggressive toward Wysteria, Springbone among them, came between the ludicolo and the passive nuzleaf. ‘This is the future of your kind,’ Maplemane told the older ludicolo. ‘They can see now, that there is a better way to live.’ Dandelion appeared from between the trees, and the two ludicolo stared at one another. ‘No more will this forest bear witness to the shedding of blood,’ Maplemane continued. ‘Me and my kin are not your enemy. You are your own enemy. We will suffer no longer for a dispute that happened long before our time, a second-hand hate that has nothing to do with any of us. Put aside your animosity, Cypress, and join us. Or watch me stand at Dandelion’s side, and lead your clan to a better place.”

“Did he go with them?” Lapis asked, his voice strained.

“No, Bright Eyes, he did not,” Taiga said softly. “He watched them go, hissing a warning after them. ‘You go to your death, the lot of you!’ It was Dandelion who turned and spoke a reply. ‘No, we go to a better life.’ But Cypress, he was stubborn, and he would not give up easily. ‘What if there is nothing out there?’ he cried. ‘Oh,’ it was Wysteria who spoke this time. ‘But what if there is?’ And they were gone, and Cypress was the only one who remained.”

“That’s s-so sad,” Ciela whimpered, and Orpheus and Lapis seemed to be in agreement.

“Yes, it is sad,” Taiga continued. “Cypress grew bitter, but he began to see for what felt like the very first time. He realised that they had been right. He was glad his sons and daughters and kin had gone, that they would have a better future, but he wished, now, that he hadn’t been so stubborn, and that he’d gone with them. It was too late for him, though – the nuzleaf clan began to wonder why the woods were so quiet, and they came investigating. Three of them found Cypress alone, and when he adopted a defensive stance, they melded into the forest’s shadows. He knew they would be back with more, to finish him off once and for all. Then the forest would be theirs and theirs alone.” Taiga paused to scan the crowd, and saw the roserade and sneasel from earlier. They were sitting on a log nearby, and the sneasel had consented to the roserade putting his arm around her. There was no sign of Caatinga, and Taiga felt a stab of guilt. She knew how Caa loved her stories, especially ones about her forest home.

“Did he run, this lone ludicolo?” asked a voice from the crowd. Taiga looked over the faces again, picked out a few who individuals. There was a zangoose, a smeargle, and a mawile and aromatisse standing close together. A panpour with pale eyes, and whimsical smile. She thought that it was his voice, because it had been cool and soothing like water.

“No, he did not. Cypress did not run from anyone. He accepted his fate, as Wysteria had not so long ago. And when the clan of nuzleaf returned, with their shiftry leader among them, Cypress faced them boldly, and did not shrink back in the face of death. ‘Take it, then!’ he said to them. ‘You can have the forest all to yourself. It has become diseased with hatred and discrimination. They were right, there is no life here. Only misery. I will be glad to die and be free, knowing that no harm will ever come to my progeny at the hands of you and yours.’ And then the shiftry crouched low, darkness swirling in his eyes. Cypress closed his eyes, but no attack fell upon him. Perhaps his death had been a painless one? But no. He opened his eyes, and there was Dandelion, standing before him!’ She paused, pleased by the cheers from the young ones. The nuzleaf found her gaze drawn to Lapis, and she marvelled at the light in his eyes. There was a beauty in purity, and his almost took her breath away. She struggled to find her voice, and any progress she had made was lost when that golduck appeared, the one from the restaurant! He sat behind the lombre, and wrapped an arm around him

“Enjoying the story, Lapis?” he asked, to which the lombre nodded enthusiastically.

Taiga shifted, uncomfortable with those fire eyes settled on her. The golduck’s emerald piercing glinted in the firelight.

“I want to hear the end,” said another voice, rough and gravelly, and Taiga’s eyes went wide as Caatinga appeared, and sat down beside the golduck.

“The shiftry,” Taiga began slowly, holding her drilbur friend’s gaze. “He advanced, but Dandelion held his ground, and from the shadows came Wysteria, Maplemane, and the twins Alderthorn and Mosstalon. The five stood between the shiftry and Cypress. ‘We will come back with more,’ the shiftry threatened. ‘Let us finish this now.’ Dandelion did not relent. ‘There will be no endings here,’ Maplemane told the one who had once been his leader. ‘There are only beginnings.’ He flinched under the glare the shiftry shot his way, but he, too, did not back down. ‘You will regret this, my son,’ the shiftry spat, and then he and his were gone.”

“The shiftry, he was Maplemane’s f-father?” Ciela exclaimed, her ears twitching. “How could he…” the young braixen trailed off, her ears flattening.

“It is… hard to explain,” Taiga replied slowly. She would not look at Lapis, she couldn’t, not now. “My kind, we are very stubborn, and… We do not forgive easily.”

“Duzzee have a name, da mean shiftwy?” Orpheus asked, his ears twitching too.

“Oh yes. Everyone, and everything has a name. But whatever his must have been, it did not sit well with him. The story of Dandelion has no place for the name of one who refused to change.” Taiga let her words hang in the air a little while, before resuming her tale. “He did keep his word though. We never break our word. He and his whole clan returned a few days later. But the grove, it was deserted. Dandelion and Cypress were nowhere to be found.” She fell silent and leaned back, a tired smile on her lips, and the light of satisfaction shining in her eyes.

“W-What?” Ciela said, after a few moments of silence. “Is that the end? What a-about Cypress though! Did he leave with them?”

“Yeah!” Orpheus sat up on the other side of Lapis, his head tilted to one side. “Did da… darkness inside ‘im, umm, bend, in da end?”

Taiga gave no answer to either of them, for her gaze was firmly fixed upon the one that sat between them. The lombre was avoiding her gaze, and had lifted a hand to rest briefly on his brother’s arm. Only then did their eyes meet – the lombre and the nuzleaf.

“Did he choose a better way of living?” Lapis asked, so softly that Taiga couldn’t be sure that he had spoken at all. The question was in his amber eyes too, though, just in case she hadn’t caught his whisper.

“Well,” she leaned forward, and the three young ones moved in close. “No one knows for sure, but I like to think so.” She stood, and there was a smattering of applause, before a murmuring sprung up, and the crowd began to dissipate.

Ciela rose, and thanked Taiga, before rushing over to the smeargle, and glancing back once to wave goodbye.

A few moments later, the zangoose Taiga had noticed earlier approached, and spoke softly to Orpheus.

“Thanks, um…”

“Taiga.” The nuzleaf said.

“Thanks for the stowy, Taiga! I loooove stowies, and you tell weal good ones!” The little zigzagoon grinned broadly. “Maybe later you could tell me anovvu one?”

“It’d be an honour, Orpheus. How does a tale about an adventurous linoone sound?” She spread her hands before her, in a thoughtful gesture. She glanced down as the young zigzagoon placed a paw on the palm of one of her hands.

“Dat’ll be da best!” he said, and somehow, his smile grew even wider.

Taiga watched him scamper off with his zangoose companion, and thought about returning to Caa’s side. But when she looked for the drilbur, she couldn’t find her. There was no sign of Caatinga, nor the mysterious golduck who seemed to be following her. The nuzleaf wasn’t alone though.

Lapis had lingered while the rest had dispersed and disappeared. He remained sitting before her, quiet and still, lost in his thoughts.

Taiga did not want to disturb him, or give him further cause to speak to her. She suddenly felt very self-conscious, a dark and dirty creature thrust into center stage. The story she had told him, it revealed the truth of her kind, of her clan, in a softer and somehow darker light.

“Have you ever seen him?”

Taiga started, and tilted her head at Lapis, confused by his question.

“Dandelion,” Lapis clarified, his amber eyes wide and wondering.

“It’s… It is just a story, Lapis. Passed down from generation to generation, as a way of explaining why some things are, and perhaps how they came to be.” Taiga frowned, and bit her lip, searching for the golduck, who seemed to be of some importance to this boy.

“No!” the lombre shook his head firmly. “You should know that there is truth in everything. He is real. He has to be! It would explain everything, just as you said!”

Taiga sighed deeply, and said nothing. She was a Teller, and he… He was a Dreamer.

“I’ve not come across any of my own kind, not until I came here. No-one knows where I belong – no one has ever been able to tell me where my clan might be. They must be in the desert, where Dandelion took them! And you…” Lapis trailed off. “There must be a reason for your hatred, even if it is an inconsequential one. Generations ago, your clan lost some of its best – a pair of twins, a brave female, and the young and wise heir – and they chose to leave the Great Wood, with the enemy clan. You said yourself, Taiga. You and yours do not forgive easily.” Lapis held her gaze. “For what other reason would you bear a second-hand hatred that you inherited from the ones who came before?”

Taiga, still, remained silent, and lowered her gaze. The words of the lombre were logical, and she wanted to believe him. But she did not dare hope such a thing.

“Are you afraid?”

The question took her by surprise.

“No! What would I have to be afraid of?” she spat, suddenly defensive.

“You are an outcast in this land. You cannot go home. You are like me, and do not belong anywhere. Maybe you’re afraid of the truth, and the possibility that ones like you can change. Or… Maybe it is the not-changing that frightens you. In your story, Cypress could’ve been killed by his enemies because he refused to change. And the shiftry, well, he lost the one most important to him, and might’ve missed out on a better life because he wouldn’t leave, he wouldn’t reason, and he wouldn’t let go of his anger.” Lapis was silent for a moment, his face serene, and his eyes so gentle and warm. “Kindness is not something to fear, and forgiveness, even if it doesn’t come easily, is something worth struggling towards. And if you’re afraid that you’ll never be accepted, never be worth something… Then you should find better souls to surround yourself with. Because Taiga?”

There it was again, that cool, dew-drops on leaves voice. It called to her, and she couldn’t help but look at him.

“There is no one else like you.”

She quivered at his words, and there was no denying that they were heartfelt. The words dripped from his tongue like they were small and subtle, but they landed on a still surface, and the ripples they made were substantial, far-reaching, life changing.

“I… I am not good like Dandelion,” she stammered. ‘Or like you,’ she trapped the thought within. “And I am not brave like Wysteria. I never left… I never left, even though…”

“Look around you, Taiga. You aren’t there any longer. You did leave. And, in my eyes, you are brave. And good. Even though you hold onto your contempt, you haven’t hurt me, even though I saw in you the desire to do so. You’ve sat here, and told me a story that you discerned that I would love, even though it cast shadows on your kind. You’re like Cypress, Taiga,” Lapis reached for one of her hands, to stop her as she turned away, head dropped in shame. “The darkness inside can bend, and you can find the way to a better life, once you see the light.”

Taiga stood still, and drank his words in. They were precious, and life-giving, like water. They shaped her, just a little, in the way that Caatinga’s words had started to shape her, ever since they’d met. They would be Carvers to her, Caatinga, Lapis, and maybe that golduck too. And together, they would help her grow into somebody she could be proud of.

“I can see it, Lapis,” she whispered, meeting his amber eyes. “I can see the light I want to follow.”

Caatinga and Deen stood behind her, and she had yet to detect their presence. They both marvelled at her words, and at the change they could already see in her.

“What does she mean?” Deen murmured to Caatinga, his tone even and casual. “About light?” His fire eyes watched Caatinga as the drilbur stared ahead.

“You are blind if you cannot see it,” Caatinga breathed, her expression one of wonder. “I feel sorry for you.”

“What?” Deen raised a brow, surprised (and pleasantly so). “You mean Lapis?” He turned and watched the two grass hybrids standing with one another in silence, and suppressed a victorious smile.

“Can’t you see it, pouring out of him? Caatinga sounded disgruntled, as if the golduck’s obliviousness offended her. “Light and life. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Deen murmured in agreement, but his eyes flicked over to settle on the back of Taiga’s head. “It really is beautiful.”
:iconpmdunity:

Windfall Application




So, this was originally part of a 5 part/chapter submission for the Frosty Festivities. But then, a bunch of stuff happened, and I never got 'round to it. I especially loved this part though, so, I finished it off a short while ago, and here I am now getting around to submitting it.

Taiga is a storyteller, as seen in her app, and well, what are gatherings around campfires for if not sharing stories??

Yeaaaaaah. Also got a couple of my NPCs in there. Love 'em.

And, of course, Ciela and Orpheus, little bundles of adorbs they are! Thanks for letting me use them, guys <3 Really appreciate it! I hope I wrote them okay... 
 
Hrrr, I think that's all for now. Ugh, I feel like I haven't done much in aaaages, and I've been pretty absent and quiet, so, I'm sorry 'bout that. But I'm still here, still thinking about things, and attempting to keep up with other stories and art. <3

Anyway.

Ciela (and Orianna) from Skeletal Star are Airanke's
Orph (and Eury) from Lyrelight are MiaMaha's
Taiga, Caatinga, Deen, Lapis, Dandelion & co are miiiiine

Pokémon belongs to Nintendo

© 2015 - 2024 sinistroscribe
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MiaMaha's avatar
Sorry for taking so long to comment, I was waiting for a good day to sit down and focus to read! X3

This was great!! Taiga truly is a wonderful story teller! What an interesting tale. QwQ And I love the interaction between her and Lapis by the end. It must be wonderful to witness the very moment someone develops further as a person before your very eyes, ehehe.

And thanks for the cameo!! Orph was a cutie, hommgg! \QwQ/ And you did great with him, no worries there~!