A Pixie’s Quest

CHAPTER 4 A Pixie’s Apprenticeship

A ray of morning light peeked through a crack in the curtains and woke Rianne. She groaned with dissatisfaction as she rolled over and adjusted the really fuzzy pillow under my face. “When did Cleo get fuzzy pillows?” She thought to herself as she fluffed the pillow a little more.

As her brain registered that the “pillow” was more squishy than fluffy, it breathed. She sat up with a sudden feeling of being emotionally uncomfortable and looked around the room until the blur from sleep left her vision. As it cleared she turned to look behind her at the weird squishy “pillow” just to get an eyeful of utters hanging half out the top of Cleo’s dress. Rianne groaned again as she smacked and shook her head. She rubbed the sleep and boob from her face as she untangled herself from their sleep pile on Cleo’s enormous bed. Rianne’s mouth felt dry so she went to the small kitchenette sink and grabbed a glass of water. She wondered how they even ended up in a pile instead of their usual night out sleep spots when she remembered that we had decided to stay for a few more drinks and a couple of songs before deciding to go home. Those few drinks turned into a ton of drinks, with Poky not being the only one who puked in the beatle buggy on the way back. Rianne had apologized profusely and paid the poor driver a couple extra polished ash wood chips. They had chosen to crash at Cleo's apartment because it was the closest. They had thankfully made it to the entrance of the tower after shift change. She guessed that none of them cared enough to make individual places to sleep so they all piled onto Cleo’s massive silk moss bed. Rianne giggled as she remembered being woken up by a moo at one point in the night because Poky had bit Cleo for rolling over and almost suffocating her. After that she did not remember anything other than blissful sleep.

Right at that moment the bells tolled for seven o’clock which informed her that they were going to be late if they did not get moving right then. Finishing her water she set the glass on the sink as she went and picked up an actual pillow that had fallen to the floor and threw it at her drooling friend’s face.

Loudly she urged “Hey! Get up! Cleofain! Get up or we are going to be late! Cleo! Don’t make me get the water!”

Cleo let out her own groan as she slowly lifted herself up and rubbed sleep from an eye. She made a weird face like something felt off and looked down to see that her giant boobs now hugged the haltered top of her dress in between them. She let out another grumble, fixed it, and headed towards the washroom. Next Rianne collected yesterday's clothes and an extra short sword that she had left there for emergencies. She combed her fingers through her messy hair and tied it back into a braid. She had slid off and stepped out of her dress just as Poky wriggled her way out from under the pile of blankets that had landed on her tiny body.

“I am going to need a hammock if we keep choosing to stay here. That overly bosomed beefalo almost squashed me three different times last night and practically suffocated me just now.” Poky grumpily mind buzzed as she scratched behind her antenna.

As Rianne shimmied into her short tunic, laced her leaf leather vest, and pushed her wings through the holes in both said “We can shop for one on our next day off if you want. I think the Being Bed and Baths store has some decent quality ones. That and after last night's expenditures we need it to be cheaper.”

“ Oooh, that reminds me that I have to find Joey before next week. I need to shake him down for my pay from the last run I helped him with.” She buzzed as she fluttered to the washroom and caught Cleo off guard which caused her to stumble all the way to her wardrobe.

“I hope she doesn’t get into any trouble helping that shady coyote.” Cleo mumbled as she slid on pants and tied them above her tail with practiced ease.

“Poky knows how to handle herself when needed and to count on us for things she can’t do on her own” reminded Rianne as she finished lacing her boots.

She strapped on the short sword and side stepped Poky as she flew past rubbing her face with a damp cloth. Rianne went to the bathroom sink and grabbed the spare toothbrush. After she brushed her teeth she washed her face and dried off with the Caprinae Fae wool and cotton towel she had used the night before. Cleo had expensive tastes but was always worth the chips.

As Rianne hurried out of the washroom, the bells chimed again, announcing the arrival of 8 o’clock and her eminent doom. A pop quiz and an hour long lecture from Joel on the importance of time management was in her near future. She tossed her coin purse into the side pouch on her sword belt and ran out the door.

She yelled back over her shoulder “I’ll pick up my stuff after combat practice Cleo! Meet me at about noon Poky! See you two later!”

As Rianne headed down the stairs, out of the tower's entrance and almost ran over a few Beings, she realized that she did not have her messenger bag, writing pad or books. So as she got to the East Tower she made a detour to the library and into her mother’s office, instead of going straight to the stairway, for her spare supplies. She found the bag of textbooks on top of a filing cabinet and slung it over her shoulder. Her mom had a ton of writing pads in a drawer, she took one and a couple of charcoal pencils, then hurried out. Rianne saw her mother as she exited the library, kissed her surprised cheek and waved goodbye as she went through the doors and up the stairs.

The library had been built into three of the nine floors of the East Tower. The fourth floor was used for ten year files on all of the city's businesses, law stations, and public spaces that had yet to be sorted into the Library’s record vault. It was also where most information apprenticeships started. The fifth was the kitchens and dining hall. The sixth and seventh floors held the college classrooms. The last two floors were the training grounds. The tower was dug out before the isopod (pill bug) powered elevators. Provost Jacobs used the excuse that “the students needed to consistently build their endurance, so an elevator was not needed” as to why he did not have an outside one built. It was also used for why the uneven stairs were never. They were so uneven that a Being had to be as self aware as possible or slip and break an ankle. Needless to say, making it to the fifth floor in under ten minutes was a task and Rianne’s wings about gave out halfway up from helping her keep her balance. She had to catch her breath after she reached the last landing.

Begrudgingly she thought to herself “ I really need to take Rainherd’s wing exercises more seriously.”

After Rianne straightened from her bent over posture she was still rather thirsty from the dehydration of the night before. She walked over to the running water basin (because fountains did not fit the ancient aesthetic) and drank deeply. Straightened again and wiped her mouth as she headed towards her first class. Rianne gingerly knocked as she entered, and to her surprise Professor Gable was not in, even though the rest of the class was.

She found an empty seat, sat, and then strategically asked the class gossip “Hey Gabs what’s going on? Where is Professor Gable?”

Turning with what had to be choreographed surprise Gabriella Frank an annoyingly bright fuchsia colored Damselfly Pixie answered “Oh?! You don’t know. I figured someone would have told the Dean’s favorite student by now. Maybe you’re not so special after all” She paused expecting a retort. Getting none she checked her perfectly sharpened red manicure and continued “Hmm….. anyway the Dean’s burns were worse than predicted so all the professors are scrambling to delegate the rest of his duties. Professor Gable has just heard and was called out. He gave us a study period until he returns. You know you were lucky, Riri. He had only been here for two minutes and hadn’t noticed your tardiness.”

“Well the extra work does keep me on my toes so they probably thought I was too busy to be bothered. Thanks for the rundown anyway Gabsalot.” Rianne sniped.

She turned back around and rolled her eyes as she opened her book on Proper Messenger Etiquette by Tier or Title of Employer. Rianne knew the etiquette like the back of her hands but knew a small screw up would still get her killed. So she chose to reread it as often as she could, wanting it to become an unconscious habit. Rianne was halfway through the text when the bells chimed for ten o'clock. It was time for the next class and Professor Gable had not yet returned which made her start to worry a little. However on her way to Messenger Coding and Decoding she caught a glimpse of him walking out of the professor’s meeting room and thankfully not in time to give her an essay assignment.

Professor Daisy Daggart was in charge of her next class and had also just come from the meeting room. She taught students how to write in code and how to decode another’s work, as well as the history of both. Daisy was Dean Joel Daggart’s daughter. Rianne enjoyed her lessons probably a hundred times more than Joel’s old and tired ones. Professor Daggart had a knack of keeping her students engaged with whatever she needed them to do.

Daisy and Rianne’s father had been in college together and studied closely under Joel. Rianne’s mother had said that if it hadn’t been for Daisy’s fondness of the female anatomy she would have worried about Noah and her being such close friends. Daisy and Christa had become closer when Rianne’s father passed, which also caused Joel to come and check up on them more often as well. Joel said that was because he wanted to see Rianne had the same opportunities as her father did. Which translated to him wanting her to be able to take over for him if and when she expressed the interest in being a Messenger. Luckily for him, she took after her father in that aspect and decided to join the college right after her forty fifth birthday. Joel had immediately started giving her extra lessons. So he could get her to surpass her father as soon as possible. Though selfishly he just wanted to beat the previous Dean’s record of youngest and brightest messengers.

Rianne looked for her marked seat as soon as she found a space in the quickly formed line on the front wall. Professor Daggart changed the seats whenever she introduced the next lesson. As her students, they had to decode the name of the lesson using the marking system of their seating. They had slate name plates she would move around, set ascue and rewrite in specific ways. The message had to be figured out before the last chime of the clock or they would be docked points and if the Being were to be late Professor Daggart would lock them out of that day’s session until finished and received a zero. Students had to write what they thought the new lesson was on a tiny piece of paper and slip it to their professor without having the others see. She would then read it, burn it and nod in a way that said yes or no. All of that had to be deciphered within the first two weeks or she cut you from her class and the only students who wanted to serve the highest class of the city’s Beings would take her class. However if the class was failed for any reason the Being had to start their college education over from the very beginning. Professor Daggart’s class was not just on coding messages but also on being very aware of your surroundings. As a messenger serving the upper crust, if they could not read the room they would easily lose their head or at the very least an appendage.

Once deciphered, Rianne found that the next lesson was on Ancient Russian Morse Code. She wrote it down, slipped it onto a throwing needle and flicked it at her desk with as minimal movement and noise as possible. Poky had taught Rianne that move after she begged her for two straight days after she caught her practicing on one of their apartment’s walls. Professor Daggart noticed it, read it, and raised her right brow while dipping her left very feathery antennae. Beaming from the inside knowing she got it right Rianne walked to the wall of windows to wait while the rest of the students finished. Daisy took a moment and looked Rianne in the eye with her cherry red ones and smiled approvingly with a mouth full of needle-like teeth after Rianne took a spot closest to her seat. The expression had unsettled a fair amount of the unprepared Being. Professor Daggart’s bright eyes and pinkish teeth were set in a cloud of pure white fluff and looked like they would snap a soul right out of a Being’s body. Joel Daggart’s eyes and teeth were a slightly deeper shade but gave the same eerie effect. Venezuelan Poodle Moth Fairies were all from one family line which made them extremely rare and as such were made part of the upper classes when the First Queen founded the city. They were also all well accomplished in whatever field they chose to study in. Rianne had known Daisy and Joel all of her life so she had a slight advantage at reading their body language and made their scare tactics less effective. As the last chime rang out they all took their seats and the lesson began.

Morse code was simple enough, however a Being needed extensive knowledge in different languages and ancient world history to know what was a landmark, art, scientific discovery or a famous person in all of known time. After the Cloud Jewel Calamity the earth had no way to communicate and thus all world history stopped. The Next Beings still had the urge to herd themselves together which was how most of the Outland villages and the roaming Fae tribes began.

The Sandstone Palace was found hidden near a place that was once called the Kinzua Dam of the Allegheny Reservoir, by First Queen Alexandria and her New Pioneers. She had claimed it at first as a sanctuary for any Being needing a place to call home and grew the rest of the city slowly from there. This was taught first through children’s stories from parents then lessons taught by the elder family members or primary schools for the younglings who could mature outside of life sustaining habitats. Then if a Being chose to go to college or take up an apprenticeship it was a required history course. The college students and apprentices went into more depth of the city's history. However Christa had no family and with the help of Joel after Noah died, drilled any and all knowledge they could into Rianne head from early childhood. Rianne’s sisters had started their apprenticeships by that time and only had their mother to teach them. Their mother would always say that “knowledge was the greatest asset for a Being to have. Misinformation was the cause of disasters.” This saying would always follow any time the siblings would complain about learning so much.

As the bells chimed for the two hour lunch period, Professor Daggart gave the study work, in code of course and sent her students on their way. As Riane was busy looking for Poky in the dark corners of the hallway ceiling she accidentally crashed into what felt like a meat wall..

After she landed on her butt and everything she had in her arms had dropped to the floor Rianne apologetically said without looking up “Oh! Ow! s**t! I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

As she curled her legs under herself, and still not looking at the Being Rianne began to gather her spilled supplies. As she took inventory of what she collected, a meaty hand held out one of her translation books and said in an alluringly deep voice “Not a problem at all miss. I’ve been told that I am very… sturdy.”

Rianne then picked herself up from the floor and as she went to take the book, she finally looked up and up and up until she met the icy blue eyes of a very large, cloud white, male Beefalo Fae. As she took the rest of him in, Rianne thought that he looked like a manly replica of Cleo. Then it suddenly clicked in her flighty Pixie mind that this flesh mountain was Cleo’s twin brother, whom she had not seen since her thirties when Cleo had decided to leave her tribe and live solely in the city. Tye, the tower of steak, smirked as he looked down and saw the realization cross her face.

“Tye! What? What are you doing here? It’s been decades. How long are you here for? Where did all this muscle come from?” Rianne questioned, still slightly stunned.

Someone behind Tye cleared there throat, which made Tye’s smirk disappear and had him standing even taller than before.

“Pardon for the mishap Miss Heartwing. I am here on official business with the City Queen and only staying until that is finished However it seems that she has been delayed so I was offered a tour.” Tye said in a professional tone. Then bent down slightly and with a wink whispered “Oh and the muscles are nice right? Do you wanna feel them?”

“Sheash, Tye, when did you get so stuffy? Miss Heartwing. Pftt. In your dreams” Rianne lightly teased him back.

Then another wall of flesh stepped around Tye and tartly said “That would be Chieftain Tyelark, to you bug.”

Miffed at how rude the other meathead was but also reading the now tense atmosphere of the small circle of Beings, Rianne neutralized her face and with the most professionally sweet voice retorted “Oh, I am terribly sorry sir. I was not aware the last Chieftain died. My condolences to the new Chieftain Tyelark. I ask for your forgiveness as an old friend. Might I also inquire who that is so as to not offend any further.”

Trying not to lose his composure and laugh Tye cleared his throat before he replied “All is forgiven Miss Heartwing. Father is not dead, he simply stepped down or rather forfeited when I challenged him for the position. Also this stick in the mud is called Puck and he is my personal guard dog as well as my reminder when I have to be… stuffy.”

Mumbling something about not being a stick or muddy the meathead turned and began scanning the crowd.

As Rianne got a better look at him she realized what kind of Bovine Fae he was and losing all her professionalism asked surprised “Is he a Spanish Bull Fae? How can that be? We haven’t made any contact with anyone past the Appalachians as far as I know. Is that your official business? Did you find a way to contact the other side of the world?”

“No, unfortunately that is not the reason I’m here. Luckily for me he was actually born on this side of the planet. Not sure on his history though. Found him orphaned, in a slave fighting ring about a decade ago, on the remains of an Old World cattle ranch and decided to keep him.” Tye replied, smirking again at Rianne’s reaction.

“Well he is awfully protective for a cow are you sure he isn’t actually part dog” Rianne replied as she crossed her arms and watched as Puck shifted one way or the other depending on who walked by too close or ogled too long.

“Ha. Ha. I’m simply doing my job Miss. Heartwing.” Puck retorted with a glance her way.

“Oh it seems like the guard dog has a sense of humor.” Rianne jabbed back.

“Oh, speaking of job, Rianne, I have one for you.” Tye intervened as he got a hold on his composure once more.

“Alright then Chieftain Tyelark what is your message and to whom?” Rianne asked as she got back into business mode and pulled out her stolen message pad and oak gall ink pen.

“A short one will suffice I think. I Chieftain Tyelark Catahecassa hereby request that Cleofain Catahecassa meet me for a noon lunch tomorrow in my temporary apartments.” He finished with a wink.

One of the tour guides stepped closer and asked “Chieftain Tyelark if you are finished would you like to continue?”

“Yes, let’s finish this tour before 1, I’m starting to get hungry. Good day Miss Rianne Heartwing” Tye said, slightly bowing his head and rolling his eyes.

“Thank you Chieftain Tyelark. I Rianne Heartwing will deliver this message to Palace Guard Cleofain. Please sign this message receipt here at the bottom. Have a nice day.” Rianne replied as she handed the receipt book over to be signed and finished with a bow of her own.

Once they had departed down the hallway Rianne thought to herself “Hmm what a weird day.”