A Werewarg in Felarya

Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you all seemed to like the ending! I wanted to end on a cheery note after the downer that was the previous chapter.

French snack wrote:

Good continuation. I liked the added comment at the very end.

I do always wonder, though, how morally-inclined predators think they can recognise murderers and rapists wandering around...

Well I'm sure Andry will be able to find a plethora of them somehow...

Though there are plenty of bandits wandering around, the process of Andry not eating certain people might need some fine tuning. I guess it will depend on how the next story works out. It certainly isn't as straight up as she says, and Joseph might have to stop her from trying to sneak a bite or two.

timing2 wrote:

That was an unexpected ending and excellent ending! I like how things turned out, though it seemed a little too convenienient for Andry to show up and be caught by Phil that easily. Maybe he was hiding his true range from her all this time, hoping she'd wander too close?

Still, the scene worked well and I'm happy to see Joe & Andry together after all that. Father Smith would've been happy, I think. I do hope Andry does her best to make sure Joe stays well fed. After some intense training by him, I don't think that'll be too much of a problem. Now, if only they can keep from getting on each other's nerves...

Andry got caught because she has a tendency to think of herself as invincible, when she really isn't. Giant Naga's are impressive even by Felaryan standards, but that doesn't mean there aren't things that can be dangerous for them. Andry forgets this fact sometimes, say doesn't pay as much attention to her surroundings as she should, (Which is part of the reason she is such an abysmal hunter.)

This will be more apparent once Joseph starts to instruct her.

EliteCreature wrote:

i wonder that too!... wow....a naga persuaded to wear clothes AND not eat humans (except bad ones...which brings us back to snack's question...how does she know who is good and who is bad?

Well some of that stuffs still in the debate process, the main reason that she'll be wanting to wear clothing will be protection, and to carry tools/weapons.

Well now that that story is done I got the first chapter of another one, ready to post.

This one will be shorter, and detail Joseph's attempts to teach Andry how to hunt "proper."

Disclaimer: Felarya, and all related characters concepts, etc, belong to Karbo

Hunting 101

Lesson 1 - Choosing your Prey.

There are three rules to surviving on Felarya.

Keep your eyes, ears and nose, if possible, open at all times.

Stay in cover as much as possible, avoid being out in the open.

And don't be fooled by a pretty face.

That last one is really important.

–Felaryan Adventurer's Almanac Volume 23

The naga slowly ran her tongue over the little human in her mouth. He squirmed and struggled and cried out, but to no avail. Her saliva washed over him, soaking his clothes and causing him to slip and slide across the mouth. He hung onto one of the long fangs jutting up from the front of her mouth, hanging on to it desperately. The tongue pressed into him, breaking his hold and moving him backwards towards the the throat,. This was it, he was going to be swallowed, he was going to...

"ANDRY!" roared someone the outside of the Naga's mouth, "What in the Sam Hill do ya think yer doin'?"

The man found himself suddenly flung into a cheek as the naga spoke. The chattering of the teeth next to him caused a shiver of fear to run up his spin.

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm eating," The naga known as Andry replied simply, "Why do you got to make a big deal about it Joe?"

"Andry, don't ya remember that little promise ya made? The one about NOT eatin' people?"

"Hold on I" Andry paused as her captive wailed loudly, "Quiet you!"

"Fer cryin' out loud Andry, let the poor guy out!"

Andry complied spitting the man out onto her hand but still holding him tightly. He looked around and saw the huge naga still grasping him, and the man below them, looking up at the naga accusingly. It was quite a drop to the ground, he'd break at least a few bones if he fell that far. The closed his eyes and whimpered softly to himself.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted!" began Andry, glaring at the offending man in her grasp, "This guy here is bonafide monster!" declared Andry, proud of her discovery, "And I've got proof!"

"What proof?" asked Joseph, crossing his arms.

"This!" Andry twisted her torso around, and with her free hand picked up something. She turned to face forward again, and dropped something to Joseph. He caught it and inspected it.

It was a sword, one of the mass produced ones you could find in the shop of any weapons dealer in Negav. Joseph drew it from its hilt and discovered to his shock that the sword was...completely spotless, not even a speck of blood. He sniffed it, and not only was their no scent of blood or flesh or other gory bits. Heck it even had that new sword smell, the kind you get right of the shop. Joseph looked back up at Andry.

"Ownin' a sword don't make ya a murderer Andry," said Joseph shaking his head, "'Cides this thing ain't even been drawn more than once or twice, let alone used on anything."

Andry looked confused, "But he told me he had slain thousands with his skill... Didn't you!" she snarled at the little man, bringing him up to her face.

"I...I lied," gasped the man as Andry's breath washed over him, "I was hoping you'd get scared and leave me alone if I said that, I've never even been in a fight...PLEASE DON"T EAT ME!"

"See," said Joseph, "He ain't a mass murderer."

"Well, he's still I liar, so he deserves whatever he gets," reasoned Andry, raising the man above her mouth and preparing to drop him back in.

The man screamed again.

"ANDRY!" growled Joseph.

"Oh...fine," grumbled Andry as she placed her captive on the ground. "Don't you go lying to people anymore, understand?" she scolded him, wagging her finger warningly.

"I won't I promise!" he said, as he took off running. He couldn't believe he was alive, he was sure that naga was going to swallow him whole! Well that was it, no more adventuring for him, he was going to run all the way back to Negav and never leave again. The world was so beautiful, the air was so fresh.

"Wait kid, stop!" cried Joseph, but the former adventurer was having none of it, he certainly wasn't going back to face that naga, he was home fr–

Suddenly he found himself pulled skyward. The world dropped away from him, as everything on the ground became smaller, and smaller. He looked up to see a humongous talon grasping him, and further upward to see a harpy eyeing him hungrily. He began shivering again.

"Say goodbye ya little squirt," she laughed as she tossed him skyward. The man screamed one last time as he was thrown up into the air, and then came back down. He fell into her mouth, she held him there for a moment as he struggled to climb out. Just as he was about to reach it the harpy closed her mouth, shutting out the last light he would ever see alive.

=================================

Both Joseph and Andry heard a loud gulping sound above them, followed by giggling.

"An' that's why I never run out into a clearin' like that," sighed Joseph, his hat placed on his chest and his head slowly shaking.

Andry looked thoughtfully upward, after a few moments she replied, "You know Joe, you should've just let me eat him. He got eaten anyway, at least I wouldn't have been hungry."

"Aw quit yer whinin' and follow me," growled Joseph placing his hat back on his head and trying to ignore the growing pain in his own stomach, "There's some duikers half a mile that way," he said pointing, "We can get 'em if ya hurry up."

"Fine I'm just saying..."

"Shhh! Ya gotta be quiet remember?"

For once Andry simply nodded, as she slithered quietly after Joseph as he lead her through the forest, intent on getting something to eat.

I still think he was a mass murder!

well i like this! Plz keep writing!

Hehe, I liked it. It was short, but that's not a problem.

You took a common situation in several other stories and turned it neatly upon its head. "A bonafide monster!" Andry just knew she had caught a real bad one.

If only the guy had survived, I'm fairly sure he would've never lied again in his life.

I also liked how Joseph turned even the last bit into another lesson. Good work!

Awesome job dude! One of my favorite stories about Felarya was just made better! Please keep it up!! CHOO CHOO!!

Thanks all.

I suppose I'll just keep writing this story then.

Well, that certainly answers my earlier question. Andry can easily find proof of a human being a monster.

I'm not sure what kind of lesson she'll have learnt from this, though. "If I don't eat him, someone else will" ?

Good continuation, anyway. They're already making an interesting pair.

hehe funny chapter ^_^
I laughed at the mass murderer part, it gives a good glimpse at how Andry think and act, and it promise lot of akward scenes to come

Also I would like to add the little quote from the almanac if you are ok with it

French snack wrote:

Well, that certainly answers my earlier question. Andry can easily find proof of a human being a monster.

I'm not sure what kind of lesson she'll have learnt from this, though. "If I don't eat him, someone else will" ?

Good continuation, anyway. They're already making an interesting pair.

Andry has learned nothing, absolutely nothing, common problem with her

Karbo wrote:

hehe funny chapter ^_^
I laughed at the mass murderer part, it gives a good glimpse at how Andry think and act, and it promise lot of akward scenes to come

Also I would like to add the little quote from the almanac if you are ok with it

Sure add away, I'm honored that you want to.

Yeah, Andry's got a different way of thinking, and Joseph is going to have a heck of a time explaining the concept of 'reasonable doubt' to here.

Here's the next chapter. I've decided that this story will be from Andry's perspective.

Lesson 2 - Finding a Safe Place to Rest

Andry slithered as quietly as she could after Joseph. Apparently it wasn't quietly enough as Joseph kept turning around and gesturing at her to be quieter. But that was hardly fair! How did he except her to be as quiet as he was? Its easy for Joe, he's tiny! I on the other hand am normal sized, so its not my fault if twigs and so forth always break when I move!

They finally came upon a clearing in the undergrowth, and sure enough it was littered with duikers, calmly eating the succulent grass that grew in the clearing. The light streaming through the break in the trees fed the grass, as did a small trickling brook that meandered its way through the meadow, where a few of the duikers were drinking between mouthfuls of grass. Truly it was an idyllic scene, the kind explorers would trek for months through dangerous territory to catch a glimpse of.

Andry licked her lips as she stared hungrily at the duikers, saliva running down the sides of her mouth. So many tiny little treats all in one place, and she was so hungry. Andry slowly slithered around a nearby tree, quiet as she could and prepared to pounce into the middle of the biggest group, but she paused, looking around for Joseph, to see what he was doing. But where was he?

Why does he always disappear all of a sudden? Oh well, guess I'm just going to have to handle it myself, alright duikers prepare to be eaten!

Before Andry pounced however, something dropped from overhead, landing onto the duiker furthest away from her. It quickly snapped the beasts neck and roared. That's where Joseph went! I thought he said to be stealthy...

Andry's thoughts were interrupted as all the duikers started to run away from Joseph, and towards her! Quickly she grabbed up as many of them as she could stuffing them into her mouth hungrily. Andry managed to catch six of the tiny things before they started flaring off her, running in different directions. Those duikers were incredibly fast, and even a giant naga would have a hard time keeping up with them when they were at full speed.

Andry finished swallowing the last of the duikers she had caught, rubbing her belly contentedly, "Ah that hit the spot," she sighed, "There's no better replacement for lost food then even more food let me tell ya." She looked down at Joseph, hoisting two duikers on his back, one bleeding profusely from a hole in its throat. "You kill your prey before you eat it, that's so," Andry thought for a moment as shivers ran down her spine, "Creepy!" she decided at last scrunching up her pretty face.

Joseph gave her a long look, and then shook his head, "Reckon it might seem that way," he admitted, "From yer perspective, but I can't just shove 'em down my throat ya can at yer size," he explained opening his mouth to drive home the point. His elongated canines gleamed in the sunlight. Andry had to admit, they were kind of cute, tiny as they seemed from her perspective.

"Anyhow, I reckon we better be moving on, still got more stuff to move outta Phil, and into your place.

Andry grunted in response, I hate that stupid tree.

=================================

"I hate this stupid tree!"

"He ain't stupid," muttered Joseph, "Yer gonna hurt his feelings."

Andry glared at 'Phil' as Joseph called it, stupid, stupid hydra tree! It was huge, many times larger than Andry herself, and covered with all manner of branchlike tendrils, ready to grab up an innocent and unsuspecting giant naga and mercilessly devour her over a period of days! The very thought of it filled Andry with dread.

To Joseph though, Phil had apparently been a safe haven, big enough to house everything he had collected over the years. It was capable of warding off almost all predators, with the exception of fairies of course. He'd lived there for years in the knowledge that he was protected from most monstrosities, pretty or not, and that he could handle the rest if he had to.

But all that changed when he and Andry had made their deal. If Joseph was to instruct her, he couldn't be doing it from within such a horribly dangerous predator as Phil now could he! And so after a very long argument involving multiple debates, agreements, going back on previous agreements, alcohol, pages worth of statistics, at least one color coded chart, enough cursing to make harpy blush, and one very confused slug girl now suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, Joseph conceded that he would have to leave Phil for the time being, and instead migrate to the next safest spot, for his pupil's sake. Which as it turned out, meant he was moving in with Andry. This also meant that he and Andry, but mostly Andry would have to move much of what Joseph kept in the big tree to her dwelling, which was quite a trek to carry so many items. Andry hadn't complained however, as she was willing to agree to anything so long as it meant that she wouldn't ever have to see that accursed tree again.

Phil had almost eaten her a few weeks before, and if Joseph hadn't saved her...Andry shuddered at the thought. I should light a fire and burn the thing down, burn it to the ground! Andry smiled at the thought, Yeah, that would show that pile of bark whose boss! Andry could already smell the smoke...Wait a second.

Andry took a big sniff and realized she did in fact smell smoke. She looked down, and saw Joseph roasting the duikers over a fire, they smelt delicious. She remembered how good the ones that Father Smith had given her were. The priest had been a nice man, much nicer than Joseph that was certain. Andry had asked Joseph about him, which resulted in him staying silent for a whole day! That meant he must have been eaten, but Andry was confused as to what could have possibly done it, and Joseph had refused to answer any of her further questioning either. It better than have been one of those two fairies!

She looked back at the duikers, their juices just starting to rise through the meat and her mouth watered. Suddenly, Joseph's method didn't seem as creepy as he had at first thought it to be. She needed to test out this hypothesis, maybe she'd just sample one of them and then she'd make her decision.

"Hey Joseph, what's that?" asked Andry pointing off in a direction behind him. He turned to see what she was talking about, "No, no the other thing," Andry continued as the end of her tail slowly moved closer and closer to the duikers roasting over the fire. She could feel the heat against her scales telling her that she was close to the delicious prize. If she could just grab it...

"Get away from there!" roared Joseph suddenly, as one Phil's tendrils lashed out to grab the end of Andry's tail at incredible speed. Andry remembered her experience a few weeks ago and for a moment she froze watching as the tendril came closer and closer. At the last possible second, Andry came to her senses and flung the end of her tail out of the way.

Its intended target having escaped, the tendril flailed against the ground, knocking over one of the roasting duikers and causing it to fall into the mud. The carcass rolled for a minute and stopped in front of Andry, well within arms reach. Andry took no notice of this prize however as her attention was currently focused elsewhere.

"That horrible tree almost ate me again!" Andry roared, "That's it, that thing is firewood!" she declared, grabbing a nearby branch and jabbing the other end of it into Joseph's firepit. After a few moments she pulled it back out of the fire, the end of the branch now firmly ablaze, "Ha ha ha," the giant naga cackled, "Now you burn tree!" she said as she threw the branch at Phil.

The flaming branch bounced off of Phil and fell in the mud where to Andry's disappointment, the flame died. She scratched her head puzzled, "Why didn't it burn?" was all she could say.

"'Cause, ya nitwit," Joseph began, "Its too green, ya need a lot more fire to burn down livin' wood. Anyhow why'd ya gotta go and try and burn down ol' Phil anyhow?"

"Because he tried to eat me!" Andry yelled back at him, "Do you have any idea what thats like?" she asked.

Joseph just stared at Andry incredulously for a few moments, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.

Andry realized what she had said, "I mean besides you know," the end of her tail squirmed uncomfortably, "Uh, anyways, do you mind if I borrow this duiker?" and with that Andry bent down and picked up the duiker that had fallen into the ground and wiping it off. With a quick toss she threw it into her mouth, savoring its flavor before swallowing the thing whole. Finished, she licked her lips, "Thanks!" she chirped, before eyeing the second duiker hungrily.

Joseph, having snapped out of his stunned state, ran so fast he seemed to blur, tackling the cooking duiker to the ground, and devouring it as fast as he could, ripping pieces off barehanded and stuffing them into his mouth.

"Sheesh," Andry murmured, "No reason to be so greedy."

I was grinning foolishly through most of this. Andry's dislike of Phil, her relation with Joe, her final line... I was particularly amused when she said it was creepy to kill your food before eating it. Good to see them getting along!

(I won't ask what happened to the slug girl!)

French snack wrote:

I was grinning foolishly through most of this. Andry's dislike of Phil, her relation with Joe, her final line... I was particularly amused when she said it was creepy to kill your food before eating it. Good to see them getting along!

(I won't ask what happened to the slug girl!)

Thanks for the compliments!

I figured that most Felaryan predators would find Joseph's method of hunting and eating disturbing at first, seeing as how they swallow everything and rarely have to watch something die.

I actually think the prospect of watching your friend get swallowed alive is far more horrifying, because of the fact that you'd probably think somewhere along the lines of "oh god i dont wanna feel that burning acid" while they watch their friend get helplesly swallowed. since thats more of a submission thing.

getting torn apart though is also really bad too. I guess it comes down to how much you like vore XD

And so after a very long argument involving multiple debates, agreements, going back on previous agreements, alcohol, pages worth of statistics, at least one color coded chart, enough cursing to make harpy blush, and one very confused slug girl now suffering from post traumatic stress disorder?! That is so freaking funny!! Poor slug girl.... I wonder what happened to her- wait a second I'm pretty sure I don't want to know now.

hahaha funy chapter

Those two really make a nice, feisty duo ^_^ I think it's one of the source of the fun we can find in Felarya, those difference in the vision of things

Only now got caught up... I really love your story. Joseph is just a different character than what you normally see in Felarya yet he seems to fit in just perfectly.

It continues? Great!

Though I wonder where does he get his voidcaps, they're supposed to grow in the desert... or the thermo flowers, since they grow only in volcanoes and mountaintops... then again, you're the boss.

Anyway, pass the roasted duiker, fellow, I'll keep reading.

SuperPieGuy9 wrote:

And so after a very long argument involving multiple debates, agreements, going back on previous agreements, alcohol, pages worth of statistics, at least one color coded chart, enough cursing to make harpy blush, and one very confused slug girl now suffering from post traumatic stress disorder?! That is so freaking funny!! Poor slug girl.... I wonder what happened to her- wait a second I'm pretty sure I don't want to know now.

Oh don't be worried she'll be fine after about a decade of therapy and counseling.

Karbo wrote:

hahaha funy chapter

Those two really make a nice, feisty duo ^_^ I think it's one of the source of the fun we can find in Felarya, those difference in the vision of things

Thanks, that's kind of what I'm going for, every character (well main character anyway) has a distinct way of viewing the world, and most of the conflict and humor arises from this.

Jætte_Troll wrote:

Only now got caught up... I really love your story. Joseph is just a different character than what you normally see in Felarya yet he seems to fit in just perfectly.

Thank you, I'm glade you like it, and that you think Joseph fits in well.

Stabs wrote:

It continues? Great!

Though I wonder where does he get his voidcaps, they're supposed to grow in the desert... or the thermo flowers, since they grow only in volcanoes and mountaintops... then again, you're the boss.

Anyway, pass the roasted duiker, fellow, I'll keep reading.

Thanks, as for how he gets the voidcaps and thermo flowers and so forth, Joseph actually makes expeditions into these regions when he's running low in order to stock up on useful items. He actually has quite a collection of some of the stuff.

I wonder when the next chapter comes... *sigh*

I know from my experience that writing on a schedule is hard. Having both free time and the will to write line up is hard.

Jætte_Troll wrote:

I know from my experience that writing on a schedule is hard. Having both free time and the will to write line up is hard.

Yeah you and me both. Plus writer's block seems to be a rather common thing. I find it best to sorta daydream chapters when you're writing them. It makes things a lot more fun and also a lot faster.

SuperPieGuy9 wrote:

I wonder when the next chapter comes... *sigh*

Yeah, about that...

Well I had finals, which kept me to busy to write, and now preparations for Christmas...

I'm going to try to get the next chapter out before or right after Christmas.

JohnDoe wrote:

SuperPieGuy9 wrote:

I wonder when the next chapter comes... *sigh*

Yeah, about that...

Well I had finals, which kept me to busy to write, and now preparations for Christmas...

I'm going to try to get the next chapter out before or right after Christmas.

Well that's good to hear. I'm awaiting the next chapter eagerly.... mwahahahaha!

Well, this took me long enough to get out. I think I waited a little to long to get this one done, and it suffers a bit from it, but oh well that's how it goes sometimes.

Lesson 3 - The Tools of the Trade

"Hey Joseph, when are we going to be done moving all this.....junk?

Andry lifted the large sack that Joseph had made out of a bunch of old hides, roughly stitched together with some fairly fresh sinews in order to make a suitable container. In it was the junk, as Andry put it, a bunch of human nonsense. She never understood why humans, and the rest of the miniature races for that matter, deemed it necessary to haul around junk all the time. Where did they get it? And what was it for?

"It ain't junk Andry, everything here has a purpose," explained Joseph.

"Yeah even this?" she asked holding up a small pot. Well small from my perspective anyway, Joseph could probably take a bath in it

"Its a cauldron fer cookin'" Joseph explained, "As well as other things, like mixin' up various concoctions used to fend off predators, making soap, mixin' up solutions fer tannin', cookin up mash, and...well lots a stuff," Joseph finished.

Andry scratched her head, "I'm not sure what half of that means, are you sure its essential?"

"Yeah Andry I'm sure," said Joseph as he made his way back into his dwelling to gather more stuff, "Put it back in the sack."

Andry complied, grumbling, "Easy for you to say, you don't have to carry all this stuff, I'm not a pack animal you know!" She hated being forced to wait as Joseph slowly brought item after item up out of from under Phil. But of course, she couldn't get closer without being dragged into the hydra tree's maw, so here she was, stuck on the outside, waiting for Joseph to unpack, "This is so boring! When are we going to be done moving all your stuff?" she complained.

"Oh quit yer whinin', this is the last trip," came Joseph's voice, echoing out of his den. It was soon followed by Joseph carrying a few small barrels under his arm, and what appeared to be a large bullet on his shoulder.

"Okay, now what is that stuff?" asked Andry, "Explain why I have to lug all that stuff all the way back home!"

"Well this stuff is very important because...um...Joseph shuffled his feet for a moment, "Andry do ya know what alcohol is?"

"No. I don't"

"Okay well then," said Joseph looking somewhat relieved, "Let's just say I need this to make my medicine, and leave it at that alright?"

"Alright then I guess-wait a second! Nobody gets sick on Felarya!" Andry realized with a start, "What would you need medicine for?" she asks, bending down and staring at Joseph suspiciously.

"Its for...when...I..." Joseph thought for a moment, "It helps me go to sleep, sometimes."

"Oh," said Andry, "Well then I'll be sure to get some of that next time I can't sleep," she said, straightening back up.

"Yeah..." said Joseph, quickly retreating back into his den to grab some more stuff. Andry watched him go, So much weird stuff...I mean medicine? Really? Its probably some of that poison he used on me, when I tried to eat him that first time! How dare he! Concoct poison to hurt poor innocent predators. What a load of bull-what's that? Now that looks promising!

The item in question was a very large chest that Joseph was pushing out of the den, with a big padlock on the front of it. As soon as Joseph moved it close enough, Andry snatched it away. She held it next to her ear and quickly shook it like a child shaking a present, trying to figure out what was inside. At last she gave up guessing and grabbed ahold of the lid, preparing to rip it off.

"Leave that alone!" roared Joseph from below, "Keep yer giant nose outta there!"

"Well what's inside?" asked the Naga, who happened to believe she had a rather appropriately sized nose for her overall body size thank you very much, "I bet its something embarrassing. It is isn't it?" she asks starting to started to rip the chest apart, with no apparent effort.

"Dammit Andry stop and...I'll take you for a little target practice after this, okay?"

At the mention of target practice Andry's face lit up "Really? You promise? Your not going to chicken out and hide from me again like last time are you?" she asked accusingly.

"Nope," Joseph said quickly, "I promise, now will ya please just leave that chest alone? Its private stuff in there, alright?"

"Alright then," Andry said, shoving the chest into her sack, and swinging said sack over her back, "Let's get a move on. We're wasting daylight, and I don't want to do my target practice when its dark."

Joseph gulped, "No Andry, neither do I."

=================================

Andry slithered excitedly away from her den, with a bundle of makeshift wooden spears under her arm. When she had gotten a few miles away she took the spears and stuck them into the ground, point first, counting out three in total.

It had taken Joseph three days to teach her how the make the things, especially since she only had stones to work with. She had ripped several small saplings out of the ground and slowly sharpened them on rocks till she had a workable wooden point. Then she had to smooth out the shafts so that they wood be more aerodynamic, and fly straighter. Finally she had to taper the ends so that the weight was concentrated towards the head, otherwise the would fly end over end when she was trying to throw them long distances. Sure they had a rough look about them, and one was a bit shorter then the others because she had gotten frustrated and broken off a point while she was sharpening it, but Andry was still proud of her handiwork, not matter what Joseph had said about them.

Andry grabbed the closest spear and chose and nearby tree. She concentrated on it, and readied her spear.

"Now Andry remember what I said about the throwing spears.

"Yeah Joe, I remember."

"Make sure you pick your target."

"Yeah Joe, I remember."

"And remember to make sure that nobody else is in the same general direction."

"Yea Joe, I remember."

"And remember that a spear is not a toy a-"

"Dammit Joe will you just let me throw the thing!" and screamed in frustration, "Just because I almost hit you that one time."

"I barely got outta the way in time!"

"And its only a little spear, anyhow."

"Ya do realize that it makes a hole bigger than I am when it hits something, right?"

Andry shrugged, "Yeah, well, at least that explains why you've been hiding on top of my head for the last half hour." She shook her head in spite as Joseph had to grip onto her hair to keep from falling.

"Oh will ya just throw then damn thing, ya oversized sidewinder."

Andry pulled back and threw the spear. She watched as it flew through the air and embedded itself in the center of the tree. Andry reared up in joy, "Hey Joe did you see that? Right on target!" she cried, "You were worried for nothing."

"Huh, I'm actually a mite impressed," Joseph said scratching his head, "Why don't ya try an' hit next one? See? The one behind it? The white one?"

"I see it," Andry said as she snatched another spear and readied it, before lobbing it at the tree. The spear arched through the air and once again embedded itself in Andry's target. She clapped her hands in joy, "See, I'm getting it!" she cried.

"Good girl!" Joseph roared from his perch atop Andry's head. "Let's see if you can get a triple," he said as he searched the area for another target, a challenging one this time. "Ya see that big tree way back there, the one with the knothole?" Joseph said pointing.

"Yeah," the naga affirmed, grasping the third and final spear.

"I want ya to put that spear right in the center of that knothole, now remember ya have to throw a bit harder, and aim a bit higher than usual to hit somethin' at that distance alright?"

"Okay," said Andry readying her spear yet again.

"Alright then fire when ready."

Andry stared at the center of the knothole, and prepared to throw her spear. She took a deep breath, and let it out, and then she launched the spear with all her might. It flew the air and hit dead center in the middle of the knothole. Andry cheered "Did you see that Joe!"

"Yep,"

"Well what do you think?"

"Its a good shot Andry, a damn good shot. Only one problem."

"What?" asked Andry questioningly.

"That wasn't the tree I was talking about."

Andry looked closely at the 'tree' she had hit and she realized it was cursing, quite loudly. A large green hand reached down to pull the the spear out of the knothole.

"Reckon that there Dryad looks mighty pissed," Joseph said from atop Andry's head.

Suddenly the third spear flew past the top of Andry's head, barely missing Joseph, and striking a tree directly behind them.

"Say Andry, I think its about time I teach ya the single most useful Felaryan survival skill of all," Joseph said as he watched the spear vibrate from the force of the throw.

"Yeah, what's that?"

"RUN!"

Oh my god I loved that ending!! That was definately worth the wait!