A Land of Flowers and Fae

Journey

Lavan had ridden Pyrrah on several occasions. He had never ridden with another passenger before. Yet, he couldn't complain about the close proximity to Elina. The biggest hurdle was not getting distracted by his own magic singing every time she brushed against his chest. Plus, she had brought snacks.

"Larkspur, would you like a fluffernutter?" Elina offered.

The sylph rushed closer and plucked the cookie from Elina's hand. She solidified and munched on the snack as she coasted beside them.

"Thanks Ma'am" The sylph said between bites.

"Dont I get a snack?" Lavan asked.

Elina turned back towards him and held up one of the butterfly-shaped cookies. He leaned forward and took a bite from it while it was still in her hand.

She chuckled "I meant for you to take it dummy"

He took another bite "Eh, it tastes better this way"

When he went for a third bite she shoved the rest of it in his mouth, making him grumble in protest.

He felt a pair of eyes on him and looked over to see that Larkspur was staring at them, both her hands covering her mouth. Her eyes sparkling with glee. She, apparently was enjoying the show. He cleared his throat, needing to introduce a topic before he completely destroyed his own reputation.

"So Larkspur, how many of the fungi and firebirds would you say Dalhia had under thrall?" He asked, a bit too formally.

Larkspur straightened up, her role as a messenger an fact finder slamming down over her animated face.

"She has around thirty firebirds. I couldn't see an end to the fungi. I'd say she managed to grab at least four whole tribes from the Bogs of the Hinterlands. I don't think she has more than a couple dozen dryads on her side. She's definitely relying on the fungi to make up her numbers. I circled your hall a few times before I got spotted" she puffed out her chest in pride at her sneaking abilities.

"Impressive" he said, knowing the compliment would make her preen. But she had more than earned his trust over the last couple days "Any idea where exactly Dalhia is keeping the Guardians? Or how many she's captured now?"

The sylph hesitated "As for that Im not so sure. I figure they must be inside your hall. I wasn't able to search inside but I havent seen anywhere else that was guarded. Also, aside from the three she's already got I wasn't able to see any more Guardians"

Lavan wanted to stroke his beard with thought but couldn't really while he was keeping himself and Elina steady. He settled for crinkling his brow. "She will have to send out parties to capture the rest of the Guardians. If we know which one's shes got we might be able to get a better idea of where she's headed next and warn the others to take precautions" he mused.

"I can go check on the other Guardians" Larkspur offered.

Elina spoke up "Havent you been flying around nonstop for days? Don't you need rest?"

Larkspur smiled "Don't worry about me ma'am. I took a decent bite out of a thunderhead last night so I have enough wind for a few days!"

Elina wrinkled her eyebrows "Oh, that's nice then" She said politely.

Lavan cracked half a smile "Sylphs very rarely sleep like we do. If they stop moving for too long they'll lose their form. They give themselves energy by eating strong winds or storms"

Elina blinked "Oh my, that's amazing!" She turned to Larkspur "You must be a very strong sylph to eat a whole thunderhead on your own"

Larkspur whirled in her joy at the compliment "Why thank you ma'am! I happen to be one of the fastest wind spirits in Fairytopia! Why else would Lord Lavan make me his personal messenger!"