Sole Wolfess and Kid
© 2022 by M. Mitch Marmel and Walter Reimer

(The Sole Wolfess and Aedith ‘Sunny’ Winterbough are courtesy of E.O. Costello. Thanks!)
Thumbnail art by  fenn.perrox, cropped by  marmelmm

Part Five.

He smiled slightly. His fur was short and graying, and his skin appeared three sizes too large for him. “You seek virtue.”

I nodded, conceding the point. Humility is a virtue, after all. “Do we all not seek virtue?” I asked.

His smile broadened.

I returned the smile. “What advice can you give me?”

He sat back and closed his eyes, and at first I thought he’d fallen asleep. Finally he said, “These are qualities a Seelie Elf should cultivate. Their eyes must be anxious to see clearly; in their countenance, they should be anxious that it appear benign. In an Elf’s demeanor, they must be anxious to be respectful, and in regard to their speech, they should be anxious that it be sincere.” I waited, and he added, “When doing business, be anxious to be reverently careful. If they have doubts, be anxious to ask others for advice. When an Elf is angry, they must think of what difficulties their anger may cause them, and when an Elf sees gain, they must think of Seelieness.” His eyes twinkled. "And a cervine elf must be anxious not to eat too much roughage."

[Note appended to manuscript: “He actually said that?”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Elves Don’t Lie, Master.”]

I tried not to laugh and bowed from my seated position. “My thanks, Kung,” and with that I got up and went to bed.

And I spent some time awake, thinking over what the old sage had told me.

The next morning, we were served breakfast, and what a production it was. A bell rang as the sun came up, and as I awakened there was a soft knock on the door. “Come in, please,” I said. Sunny started to stir as a group of young femmes entered. Three carried tables, two small and one large, and another trio carried trays with small, covered dishes and bowls on them.

The smell coming off them made my mouth water, but Elves Don’t Lie, I wasn’t exactly familiar with what I saw when the covers came off the dishes.

The maids smiled and bowed, and left Aedith and me alone to sort things out.

The only utensils were spoons and paired sticks, and Aedith gave the array of dishes a dubious look before asking me, “What is all this, Mommy?”

“I’m not sure myself,” I admitted to her, “but we’re on an Adventure,” and I grinned, “so let’s find out together.” By this time her stomach was apparently asking her pointed questions, so she nodded and we sat down to eat. Sitting down involved sitting on the floor on cushions; the tables were quite low.

It was all very strange to us. There was a soup, very flavorful but a trifle sour, and these pillow-soft white buns stuffed with feral meat – duck, I think. There were also pickled vegetables and a small selection of grilled meats. It may have been strange, but everything was very tasty.

“Where are you going, Mommy?” Aedith asked as I suddenly got to my feet and walked over to the door of our room. I opened the door and looked for Master Kung.

It looked like he hadn’t moved since I spoke to him last night. “Master Kung?” I asked, and he opened one eye. “Good morning. May I ask you to share our breakfast?”

The eye closed, and after a moment he gave me a single nod and started to struggle to his feet. I helped him up, and we went into the room. I showed him to a place by me, so we could share the table.

Aedith was using her spoon and eating her soup. She paused and said, “Good morning, Sir.”

Kung settled himself down and bowed gravely to her. “Good morning, young lady.” I offered him a bowl of soup, and he began to eat. After making his way through the soup, he picked up two of the sticks and started eating from a bowl of white grain.

“What are those, Sir?” Aedith asked.

Kung paused. “We call these kuaizi. Would you like to learn how to use them?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes, please!” He smiled and demonstrated how to hold the two sticks, and how to manipulate them to pick up food and bring it to the mouth. To her credit, Aedith picked up on it after only three tries, while I kept having difficulty.

[Note appended to manuscript: “Why didn’t you just honor your primitive forebears, wolfess, and stick your muzzle into your plate?”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “I’d like to see YOU try to use them, you thick-fingered indefinite.”]

I eventually got the hang of it, more or less, and we managed to finish breakfast. The maids came and cleared everything away, pausing to bow low as the Emperor’s daughter entered. “I do not mean to intrude – “

“Please,” I said. “It’s no intrusion, my Lady. Master Kung was teaching us how to eat with kuaizi.”

The canine said placidly, “Even the act of eating with proper etiquette has potential.”

A bit cryptic, that.

“I had wanted to ask you a question, my Lady, about those furs that attacked us last night,” I said. “Why would they dare to attack your father’s home?”

The wah femme looked perplexed, and had a brief conversation with Kung, who nodded and said, “The Lady Meigui asks if you recall your last encounter with her.”

I thought for a moment. “When we had finally caught up with Cloverfield.” That roe-doe was more trouble than she was worth, and I found myself hoping that she was gone forever after she fell into the fire-fissure in Kahanomoku.

She nodded and spoke in low tones to the canine. “She says that certain of her retinue listened to the words of the doe, and fell under her sway. It is they who are the bandits that have attacked the Celestial Emperor.”

“What do they want?”

“There are objects stored here,” Kung replied, “of great antiquity and power, whose possession can bestow good fortune and prosperity. The Jade Emperor is in great distress that they always seek to steal his lucky charms.”

I nodded gravely. These talismans could be magically religious, and Fuma only knew what the bandits planned to do with them. “If you need my help – “

The femme raised her paw. “No,” she said. “You are a guest within our gates. My father has spoken to the Gate – “

He spoke to it? Hmm.

“ - and he has told me that it will reopen in two days. Therefore, he has commanded me to tell you that you, and your daughter, may rest and refresh yourselves before resuming your journey.”

I smiled. “Please thank your father for me, and thank you both for your hospitality.”

The Princess smiled and bowed, while Kung said, “Hospitality, among Elves that follow the True Path, requires no thanks. It should be as natural as breathing.” He suddenly winked. “But thank you, my Lady.”

The Princess, Meigui, left shortly thereafter, and Kung also left as the maids returned to offer baths and comfortable clothes to me and Sunny. I kept a wary eye on things, while Aedith simply enjoyed all the new things to see and do. The robes that they gave us after we’d dried off were made of a very comfortable fabric, and were both dyed in red. One of the maids bowed us out of the bathing-room to a pleasant garden where some children were playing. They all seemed to be Sunny’s age or close to it. A couple were tossing a ball back and forth, and Aedith scampered forward to see if she could join them. I briefly wondered how they’d get past the fact that she didn’t speak their language, but they seemed to understand each other well enough.

I sensed someone coming up behind me, and I turned to see Kung approaching. He looked a bit less unkempt, and I guessed that he’d also taken the time to get cleaned up. “It is a delight to me to see children at play,” the ancient canine said. “It reminds me that the Resplendent Land may continue to grow brighter still.”

I nodded, but I was thinking. Did Aedith know Elf-mind? She seemed to understand Stella and the other children in Elfhame well enough. I would have to see, because while all Elves have the capacity to speak using Elf-mind, not all can or do. Although it is inherent, opening the pathway must be taught, and is usually the first and simplest bit of Gramarye taught to an Elflet. It improves with practice, like so many things do.

Sometime after supper, I thought, would be a good time to check.

Laughter caused me to turn and I grinned to see that a spirited game of leapfrog had started. The children, almost all of them red pandas with a few canines and felines, were having a grand time, and I felt . . . joy, I think, that my daughter was enjoying herself playing in the sunshine.

Until Aedith leaped over one of the other children . . .

And stayed in midair, her exposed fur glowing in the sunshine.

There was a chorus of “Hei!” and “Wa!” from the other children, and several shrank back as Aedith laughed and extended a paw to one of them. One kitten reached, and when she took my daughter’s paw she gasped as her own feet left the ground. She grinned and chattered something to the other children, who now came forward, linking paws.

Kung blinked. “It is indeed a wonderful thing, to see something new when one is old,” he chuckled.

All of the children had now linked paws with Aedith in a huge ring, and were dancing back and forth about a yard clear of the ground, and several of the maids and nannies were wringing their paws. One had fainted. “Kung, could you please let them know that this a Talent that my daughter has, and that the other children are perfectly safe?”

“Your daughter can fly?” he asked as he got to his feet and spoke placatingly to the assembled femmes. They calmed down, but only slightly.

“In the sunlight,” and I explained that Aedith was a Wild Priestess.

I then had to explain what I meant by that.

When I looked up again, the children had let go of each other, and were having a fine time tumbling and dancing in midair while some of the maids, not accepting Kung’s explanation, chased around below, calling to their charges and begging them to be careful.

Elves Don’t Lie, it was all I could do to not start laughing at watching the women rushing about frantically, all of them looking up at the children and two colliding with each other as a result. One had climbed up on a carved stone feral lion, and was trying to reach for her charge, who stayed just out of reach, giggling happily.

One of the maids was chasing a young puppy, and not seeing where she was going. There was a cry and a splash as she tripped and ended up in an ornamental pond.

But I was also thinking. Ooo-er and I are Aedith’s parents (yes, along with the Master; it’s complicated, all right?) and Ooo-er and I can manifest wings. I’d learned the trick in the Blaec-Graf, and had taught it to Ooo-er.

Perhaps it was time to teach Aedith, along with teaching her how to use the wings properly. Of course, not the exact same way it was taught to me.

[Note appended to manuscript: "But what about the time you and Miz Tali - "]

[Note appended to manuscript: "Never mind that."]

My ears twitched and I turned to see the normally placid and imperturbable Kung laughing until tears rolled down his cheeks at the sight of the nannies and maids trying to pursue the flying children.

“Capital!” he finally managed to gasp. “Capital!”





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