Ribbontail: Enter Emalia
Chapter 11: PuppetRibbontail rejoins

Author's Note: Please read my artist's comments before continuing. :3
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By high noon the rain had not slackened in the least bit, curtains and curtains of dark rain showering down from the heavens.  It was as cold, dark, and dreary as it had been early in the morning. The forest around them was caught in a delicate rainstorm, accented by a soft trace of mist.

Though she now had a companion, Ribbontail was unnerved and worrisome. When not watching for her guiding star in the sky, she found herself glancing about with nervous gestures, peering against the sheets of rain for shadows. The very thought of the existence of Eclipsians now unsettled her greatly.

O’liday, however, seemed perfectly content with the situation. He had nestled himself between Ribbontail’s shoulders, where her soft mane ended and became a pillow of sorts. Being a smaller feline, O’liday immediately took this opportunity to rest there, curled up against the crook of her neck. So content was he to simply relax, his nose tucked into his soft scarf as though nothing would happen.

Before falling into this quiet state, the two had spent the entire morning exchanging stories. Ribbontail kept her own story hushed, making it unbeknownst to anybody but herself. O’liday did not seem to be a firm believer in the gods either way, so Ribbontail chose to remain silent about herself.

To contrast this O’liday talked incessantly, bragging on about his travels across Emalia. His species name was “Feliulf”, apparently. At only twenty-one years old, he boasted stories of exploring lush jungles, tumultuous deserts, and the coldest of mountains. Ribbontail kept herself quiet and listened, pleased to just nod and agree. Apparently this young feline lived most of his life alone, wandering from place to place to visit and sightsee; his family lived in a large city he had called “Bazaar”, which according to him rested in the middle of the desertous regions. Instead of living with his family he roamed alone, relying on none but himself.

But nomad or not, Ribbontail was content to have little O’liday by her side. He was quite a friendly companion, intuitive and heartwarming.

Though terribly nervous about this wilderness, Ribbontail forced herself to trek swiftly through the forest, keeping to a steady walk instead of the limping crawl she had used earlier in the day. Above the thick forest around them the dark sky loomed. Occasionally a branch of lightning would arc across the black clouds, always followed by a low moan of thunder.

It was a long while before Ribbontail became tired, her mind wandering back to her original thoughts of this world; she thought she would be greeted by many admirers, safe from harm. She thought it would be fun and enjoyable, yet here she was, paws sticky with mud and fur matted down by the undiminished downpour.

Sighing, Ribbontail let her eyes drop to the muddied forest floor, her ears flicking.

“You okay, kid?” came O’liday’s voice from behind, followed by a short yawn.

Ribbontail lifted her head and peered halfway over her shoulder, smiling as she saw O’liday. She stopped her slow saunter to give him a short-lived, forced laugh. “Just bored… that’s all.”  

“You sure, dudette?” O’liday paused to shake the remaining drops from his eyes. “You sound ripped.”

“Well, I…I guess I just don’t feel safe here,” Ribbontail admitted sheepishly, “when I came here I thought it would be fun. I thought I’d like it here.”

Shifting his position oddly and shaking fur from his coat, O’liday grabbed a hold of Ribbontail’s mane and leaned in close to her ear. “Dude, you’ve got to learn how to just chill. Sure it can get gnarly sometimes, and the weather sucks in some places, but it’s not so bad once you’re used to it.”

Ribbontail lifted her golden eyes and blinked twice, peering back at O’liday once more. “Yeah, but what’s the rest of the world like? Is it any better than this forest?”

Fondly, O’liday yanked Ribbontail’s left ear. “Sure, man. Emalia’s a rad place. I don’t know what your pad back at your home was like, but you totally will love the rest of Emalia. Like I said, dude, it’s a nice place if you learn to look past the uncool things in life. Right?”

“I guess…” Ribbontail’s ears flicked against the rain again, and O’liday slid back down into his resting place between her shoulders.

There was a brief pause before Ribbontail added, “But are we safe? How many Eclipsians are there on Emalia?”

Ribbontail could feel O’liday snuggling back down into the thick fur between her shoulders. As she trekked up the hill, paws sliding in the damp forest foliage, she awaited a response. Finally O’liday meowed, “Well dude, there are a ton of Eclipsians here. Not sure how many there were where you come from, but Eclipsians you’ll find anywhere. Some think they own some places even. ‘this is my place’ and stuff. Totally uncool.”

Pausing to yawn and stretch, O’liday fell silent for a few seconds. Then he continued with an assuasive, “But sure we’re safe, as long as you know how to not get bombed. Eclipsians are pretty stupid sometimes.”

Another forced laugh escaped Ribbontail’s lips.  

“You and I might not be bruisers, but at least we can get a bodyguard. We are going to get back that spirit guardian of yours, right kid?” O’liday added finally, seeing this obligatory grin Ribbontail showed.

Ribbontail nodded. A sickly strain on her stomach told her that she had not gotten over this fear, that some beast was after her. Shaking off the inner sensation, Ribbontail drew forth a smile, then continued on. Perhaps O’liday was correct: maybe PuppetRibbontail could have been of use.

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Together O’liday and Ribbontail traveled through the forest, soaked to the marrow by the heedless downpour. By now Ribbontail’s paws were aching, weary of trudging through the rain-soaked forest. Her fur seemed more like a carpet hung across her body, and less than a silky coat.

Overhead, thick black clouds still hung low, rain continuously pouring down from above. By now the two had spent most of the day plodding about in the rain, stopping only occasionally to rest and dry off. Even O’liday began to show signs of slight detest; he hid under his soaked festive hat and grumbled piteously.

“Duuuude…” he groaned, “I’m so tired of this uncool rain!”

Without turning to acknowledge her sopping-wet companion, Ribbontail answered with a tired moan. “You try traveling in this rain. At least all you have to do is sit there and relax. On me.”

“Well excuse me, dude. I happen to have a mondo fur coat. Why would I want to get it messed?”

Ribbontail chuckled as the thought of a mud-soaked O’liday ran through her mind. Part of her wanted to buck her shoulders and send the feliulf crashing into the wet forest floor, but as she did her eyes caught sight of a familiar fallen log. It was a tree that had crumbled over, sitting propped up a few feet on another tree. This provided a relatively triangular window It was a distinctive enough tree, and Ribbontail nodded to it.

“There, this is near where I left PuppetRibbontail.”

Ducking under a half-fallen tree, Ribbontail peered through the gloomy undergrowth with apprehensive eyes. Indeed, before her spanned the great lake she had come across the prior day. It appeared far different now, with the heavy rain cloaking the clearing in a certain obscurity. Tendrils of white fog rolled about the lake, curling and writhing like living creatures.

Ribbontail had half expected the lakeshore to be uninhabited. However, she was quite alarmed to find the dark frame of PuppetRibbontail sitting there, exactly where she had been. Head hung low, the demon- her spirit guardian- loomed in the mud that lapped against the dark lake. Her eyes glittered in the unnatural light. They were once seemingly emotionless and bleak, but now they were dark with a lonely and abandoned light.

“There,” Ribbontail whispered to O’liday, shakily extending a paw to point through the underbrush, “she’s still there.”

“Aww, poor little thing.” O’liday slid off Ribbontail’s shoulders and brushed a fern aside, gazing out through the clearing. “You just left her there in the rain? Bogus!”

The young wolf gave no response. Breathing hard, she pushed her way through the thick undergrowth and into the rain with O’liday hurrying alongside her.

In the ailing light Ribbontail padded to the dismal PuppetRibbontail. She could only stare at the creature, its frail frame washed clean of blood and grime in the rain; rainwater licked over exposed bones and trickled from her lowered face.

Ribbontail took in a sharp breath and lowered her ears, her eyes shining sorrowfully through the dark rain. This poor beast. Emotionless or not, she had been left out in the rain to await her master. Ribbontail had intended to not come back, to leave this helpless slave of hers by the lakeside for the rest of eternity.

How selfish of me… Ribbontail thought to herself as she gazed at the crippled spirit guardian.

“I…” began Ribbontail before shutting her mouth. She did not know what to say.

With that, PuppetRibbontail became aware of her master. The little beast turned her gaunt, deformed head, and the aberrant light glanced across her mouth-stitches and sunken eyeholes.  Ribbontail withdrew herself, taking a step back.

O’liday seemed less frightened, taking a welcoming step forward. With a single paw he grabbed a skeletal foreclaw of PuppetRibbontail and shook it. “Nice to meet you, dude. So I hear you’re Ribbontail’s spirit guardian? Wicked!” A carefree, stupid smile broke across O’liday’s face.

PuppetRibbontail did not greet O’liday at all. She merely stared at Ribbontail, as though awaiting her master to say something.  

Silently, Ribbontail peered down at O’liday, and the two exchanged quick glances. A sigh escaped from Ribbontail and she fixed her gaze on her spirit guardian, “PuppetRibbontail, I’m sorry for leaving you here.”

The rotting mass of PuppetRibbontail gave no response.

“I…I thought you were disgusting and I didn’t want you following me. I'm really really sorry though… do you forgive me?” Ribbontail gave an ashamed bow, lowering her head as a sign of respect. She had mistreated the poor beast, thinking of none but herself. All she wanted was forgiveness for her disrespect.

Still, PuppetRibbontail did nothing.

"A g-goddess shouldn't be so mean to her own followers," Ribbontail finally admitted to the sorrowful PuppetRibbontail, "It's one of the gods' laws to help the lower beings, and I really should have done that. I-"

Finally O’liday threw Ribbontail a stone glare, cutting her short with an excited grin. “Forget the goddess stuff. Just give her a command, dude!”

There was a pause, a brief crack of thunder in the distant forest, then a cough from the young wolf goddess. Ribbontail lifted her head and blinked against the rain, stuttering as she gave a bleak command. “PuppetRibbontail, stand!”

In a shivering motion, PuppetRibbontail rose to her paws and stood before her master, that expressionless face tilting back to stare Ribbontail in the face. A short bolt of lightning flashed across the sky above, illuminating the creature's features for a brief second. She was now a living beast of sorts, her hollow and desolate eyes filled with an abrupt understanding.

"Yeah!" O'liday gave an elated jump in the air, running over to shake PuppetRibbontail's mangled claw again. "Totally awesome. This thing's going to come in handy, man."

Ribbontail smiled; it was a nervous grin that eventually beamed with a slight confidence.

“So…” she stammered down at O’liday, who abruptly ducked under her belly to escape the rain, “so PuppetRibbontail will protect us?”

“Sure,” O’liday nodded, smiling, “righteous, huh? See now we call these guys ‘spirit guardians’. I kinda told you about that this morning, right? They’ll do anything you tell them to, whether it’s juggling or surfing or… even better, attacking an Eclipsian. Some things they kinda don’t do, like ‘go away’ or ‘kill yourself’”

Ribbontail stared at PuppetRibbontail, imagining the nightmarish beast grappling against OmenBeast. As little as she was, she was invincible and could certainly not die easily.

“Totally amped! I always wanted one of these things, dude.” Ribbontail peered down to see O’liday’s face light with a sudden smile. “Talk about neat. Like a butler. Dude, I’ve always wanted a butler.”

Suddenly Ribbontail felt less nervous and more secure; the dislike that she had previously held against PuppetRibbontail was gone and she felt more comforted by her. PuppetRibbontail could be her protection, O’liday her source of companionship. Perhaps they could both serve the same role- perhaps these two would be her friends here. They were so much better, far more refined and kind, than Fidei or WereRibbontail ever could have been.

“I guess I’ve always wanted one, too,” Ribbontail agreed, smiling at PuppetRibbontail, “And a friend. I wonder if you can befriend spirit guardians.”

“I‘m sure she can!” O’liday hopped about and swung himself up onto Ribbontail’s back, his now-designated seat. He kicked Ribbontail‘s sides as though she were a horse, before curling up between her shoulders. “Now let’s get out of this rain!”

Ribbontail gestured for PuppetRibbontail to follow, and the trio turned and ran splashing through the clearing. As they dove into the forest underbrush, O’liday reached up and tugged Ribbontail’s ear. “So her name’s PuppetRibbontail, huh? Kind of unoriginal. Totally lame. Maybe I’ll call the little dude ‘Puppet’”.