Tall Grass:
Shortie by Lone Wolf
Requested by and featuring Nahane Storm ( ^.^ )

~Just lay me in the tall grass and let me do my stuff~

	Within the trecherous mountain passes of the realm of Rhydin - chaos 
and moron capital of the universe - there was a small valley, untouched by 
any and all creatures capable of rational (if that's what you could call it) 
thought. The plants grew wildly, evolving in their own ways. The trees gave 
off sweet scents, which enticed the local butterfly population. The birds 
sang their ever-sweet songs as the rest of the local wildlife population - 
the squirrels, chipmunks, and other such critters - played merrily through 
the tall grass.

	A single stalk of tall grass swayed against the wind, seeming to act 
on it's own. It would take some approach to realize that it was snapped off 
at the middle and was in the mouth of Ukali. He was quite relaxed on this 
day - he had his head rested on his hands, one knee was up, and his eyes 
were shut. Even though he had only light reddish fur on his body, the sun 
felt absolutely fantastic. For once in his existance, he was enjoying 
himself.

	There was a soft jingle - metal on metal on metal. His eyes snapped 
open. Someone - something - was with him. He slowly sat up and looked around. 
Suddenly, a flash of movement. He spun his head in that direction. "Wh-who's 
there?" he asked, fear playing in his voice. More movement, behind him. He 
spun around, now on his hands and knees. He was shaking a little, visibly 
afraid. He ducked down low, hoping the tall grass would provide some cover. 
He started to back away. But no luck. A large maned wolf leaped at him. 
"Ahhh!" The wolf tackled him. He landed on his back. The wolf landed on top 
of him, it's forepaws pinning him down. He looked away, very scared for his 
life. Then he heard the jingle again. He looked at the wolf's ear. It had 
many piercings and a gold earing to fill each. He looked at the wolf's eyes. 
"Nahane?"
	The wolf seemed to smile and licked him a bit.
	"Nahane!" He gave the wolf a hug. The wolf kept up with her affection. 
Slowly, but surely, she began to shift. In a few moments, she was a 
beautiful anthro maned wolf and, instead of licking his face again, planted 
a kiss on his lips.
	"Hey Ukali."
	He smiled. "Where have you been?! I haven't seen you in...in..." He 
thought a little bit. "In a long time."
	"I know." She got off of him.
	"How have you been?" he asked, sitting up.
	She shrugged. "Ah, you know. A mercenary healer's life is never done. 
So many lands to see, so many people to meet...not enough time to hang out 
with you." She kissed his cheek. "What have you been up to?"
	"Ah, the usual. Wander around, get in touch with nature, and compose 
new songs." He chuckled. "I'm so in touch with nature, I should just give up 
bardhood and become a druid!" Of course, he had no intention of doing that.
	"Nah...that's not a life you'd want. A spirit like yours should roam 
free!"
	"Yeah." He layed back down. "Really wish I could travel with ya."
	She smiled. "I could use a bard for those lonely nights. And since 
you're just about my boyfriend, it would work out. But I'm sure my mount 
wouldn't be able to handle the extra weight."
	"What extra weight?" He pointed at himself. "I lack the belly most men 
have." 
	Or any belly for that matter. 
	"I don't wear much." 
	Just a cloak and the pair of gray, shredded shorts he'd had since he 
escaped slavery. 
	"And my lute and bedroll wouldn't add too much. I mean, compared to 
what you wear?"
	She giggled and tapped her chest. It rattled. "Plate mail over chain 
mail. I guess you're right."
	He chuckled. "Don't worry. If you don't want me to go, I won't. I'm 
not really a fighting bard."
	She rolled onto her belly and rested her head on her hands. "Speaking 
of which, got any new songs?"
	"I've got one. If you want, I can play it for you." 
	"Please?"
	"Okay." He sat up and pulled his lute from under his cloak. He gave it 
a quick tune, sat it on his lap, and started to strum.

	What these two didn't know, however, was that this lute was no 
ordinary lute. Ukali had recieved it from a fellow bard who, unfortunately, 
has just lost his last marble. The lute, as ordinary as it seemed, was 
enchanted. It was made of an amazingly light wood and has a very odd, though 
very powerful spell cast upon it. Ukali didn't know this, but could somehow 
activate it's magic.

	He started to play his song. The lute's magic kicked in. As he played, 
the lute cast an aura over the entire area. The wind calmed down. The birds 
silenced their songs. The other forest critters stopped frolicing and 
listened. Everything seemed to stop. Everything was calm. Nothing moved. 
Nothing made a sound.

	As for Nahane, well, she had the best experience of all. The lute knew 
she was listening, so it cast the second half of it's spell on her. She was 
blanketed in a very warm feeling. It soothed her aching body and sent her 
onto her side. She shut her eyes and listened. 

	All of Ukali's songs told stories through tone and mood. The lute 
added pictures to it. It flooded Nahane's mind with a beautiful scene. She 
found herself - the tomboy that she is - in an elegant evening gown, sitting 
at - of all places - a cliff by the sea. The salty breeze that accompanies 
nearly every sea in the world blew past her, blasting all of her senses at 
once. She looked out over the sea and saw a wonderful sunset. She shut her 
eyes and sighed.

	At that moment, she felt a hand - a gentle touch - on her shoulder. 
Her hopes were proven right; when she turned, she saw Ukali standing there, 
in his cloak and shorts, smiling. He sat down next to her and looked out at 
the sunset. She smiled, leaned up against him, and sighed. She didn't want 
this slice of heaven to end...

	She opened her eyes. The song was over. The animals and wind were calm 
for a few seconds before they started back up again. Ukali was still sitting 
there, the lute in his lap. His head was lowered, eyes shut, deep in 
concentration. She sat up and nudged him. "Ukali?"
	He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Yeah?"
	"That was beautiful." She hugged him. "What's it called?"
	"I call it Sea Star."
	"It's a great name for a great song. Thank you for sharing that."
	He smiled. "My pleasure." He stood up. "Want to head back to my cabin? 
Maybe grab a quick bite to eat before you go galavanting off into the sunset 
again?"
	She stood and took his hand. "Of course. Who knows, maybe you'll join 
me for a campaign." He laughed and tugged on her arm gently. "I'm coming."

	The small valley is always peaceful. It has never been tainted by the 
chaos around it and hopefully never will be. It has obtained a state of 
virtual perfection. Perfection, they say, that cannot be improved. But for 
that one moment, that short ten minutes, perfection was improved upon by the 
Sea Star. The trees will tell you that. The wind will tell you that. The 
animals will tell you that. And so will the tall grass.

End
Ukali is an RP character and is © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>
Nahane Storm is © her player ( the greatest nutcase around! ^.^ )