Dragon

Just couldn't stay away, this list was too good to just write 1 story out of. This is waaaay over the limit but somehow I think marius will enjoy it anyway.

The Messenger

Butterneeper stood at the entrance to the cave wonder why his most excellent mistress had chosen him over the other pixies for this job. She claimed, with a twinkle in her eye and a hint of laughter bubbling within her, that he was the only pixie who was pixilated enough to take on this task but he was starting to think he’d done something to anger her. That was ridiculous of course, everyone knew his most excellent mistress didn’t get angry. She was the patron of all things green and growing and also of the birds and the pixies and while she may be hurt by your actions she was very slow to anger. But all that was neither here nor there, Butterneeper thought as he stood peering into the dark cave and steeling himself for the task at hand.

He took the first step in, then another, and another yet and kept on going knowing that if he stopped now he might not be able to make himself go on. The darkness of the cave quickly changed to a muted crimson glow that made the walls appear almost like they were coated with blood but Butterneeper knew this could not be so. His most excellent mistress would not send him forth into a charnel house even if there had been some incident where he hurt her feelings. He couldn’t help but think, though, of how much he would rather be nestled back in the huge tree trunk where he lived with a most enjoyable company of fellow pixies.

The cave walls opened up into a huge chamber filled with a ruddy light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere and his eyes fell upon his reason for being here, a huge red dragon lying across the floor with her head perched on her front feet in a sleeping pose. Excellent, Butterneeper thought, I’ll just creep up and whisper my most excellent mistress’s missive in the dragons ear without ever causing her to stir. Then I can leave with my mission accomplished and not get eaten.

Butterneeper prepared to step across the chamber when suddenly a furry paw pinned him to the ground and he managed to wriggle around enough to see a large, tailless orange cat with a wicked grin on its face. Now his thoughts ran much more along the lines of How did I get mixed up in this mess!? A rumbling, yet musical voice said “What have you got there Oscar?” and he realized the dragon was speaking to the cat.

“Oh great Dragon,” Butterneeper called out as loud as he could, “Spare my life please for I bring you a message from my most excellent mistress the Lady Marius.”

Incredibly the dragon shooed away the cat with a gentle Scat and looked at Butterneeper with those depthless golden eyes. “Speak your message friend.”

“My most excellent mistress requests your company... and a story.”

Butterneeper had never heard a dragon chuckle before, but he knew his life was not about to end. Ah dragons do love to spin a good story.

giraffe

Hi, Dragon. I almost thought you were going for a "cave in", but you made it very sweet.

Dragon

That was entirely inspired by marius sending her pixies out to chivy those of us who were dragging our heels. hehehe

marius

marius had plans for the first half of the day and then life had plans for the next part of the day, [blame giraffe - lol!] but all in all - lovely, sunny, bird-singing day and nice to finally be able to catch up with TW. So many stories!

ladyhwin:
'cat tail' is so fun. Has a great cat-feel. Lovely setting and tone too.
'Peaceful Beauty' is exactly that. Must say, thoroughly enjoyed sitting in my car and watching that scene. Many lovely visuals, especially like, " ...eight black legs trampling the beautiful yellow flowers, mixing them with the soft earth." The 'mixing' part got to me because it makes the reader feel the love for the scene, for the animals, in an such an interesting way. Clapping!

giraffe:
Loss (level 2) LOL! Quite a take on Buddhist ideas all around, especially impermanence, cravings and haha - 'maya is an illusion.' Love the part, "Well, doh, that's the goal. No company can sell it. You can't lose it." Doug should be smiling: giraffe is back! Clapping!

Dragon:
"The Messenger" certainly pulled me in. That poor little Neeper, what a task he had to perform! I almost got to wondering if that 'Lady Marius' really did have it in for the little fellow. (Still kind of wonder - giggle) Especially enjoyed that the Dragon chuckled. Am thinking the pixies are going to write a poem about that some day! And, no doubts about it, Dragons *do* like to spin a good tale! Clapping again!

You thinkWriters all rock! And just want to thank everyone for this pixilated time. It isn't over yet so if there are any little ideas 'neeping' at yer heels ... wanting to charm us, make us scratch our heads or even scare us into oblivion ... tee hee, bring 'em on! : )


And a PS for giraffe: was searching for Buddhist quote on impermanence ... only 2,000,000 of them! So, you get this instead. Tee hee.

"Just as the highest and the lowest notes are equally inaudible, so perhaps, is the greatest sense and the greatest nonsense equally unintelligible." -Allan Watts

giraffe

Marius. I like Alan Watts - even though he was considered kind of the Timothy Leary of Buddhism. Never heard that quote tho. Thanks.

Nylecoj

This one is for the pixies, 432 words with the title


Pixiated

One evening when the moon was bright and the north winds were just starting to chill the ground, six pixies sat crouched in a tiny space near a window of a small cottage where the boards had pulled apart, listening intently to someone within tell a story about dragons and knights, fights and treachery, princesses and heroes.
“Butterrrrrrrrrr…Neeeeeeper!” interrupted a frightening screech just as the hero of the story fell into a tree trunk.
“Why won’t those frogs scat?” muttered the pixies as they looked around for signs of danger. An incident with a frog could very well be the death of a pixie, and they knew it. Slowly they settled into the crack again, drifting back into the story, until all their attention was once more with the unfortunate hero who was up to his neck in a mess, quicksand actually.
As he sunk into the sand he raised his arms above his head, taking one more great gulp of air! Here the storyteller seemed to be at a loss, for he stood up abruptly, telling the children gathered around that they would have to wait for tomorrow to find out the rest. The children pleaded for more, and the pixies did too.
“Dragonflies!” called one of the pixies, “Rescue him with dragonflies!”
“Very well,” the storyteller sighed at last. And at once the hero was stuck again. But now, as he reached up, a horde of dragonflies buzzed around him, and where they touched him, he began to glow, rising out of the sand, slowly at first, gaining speed as the dragonflies lifted him until soon he stood upon the sand as though it was solid.
The pixies cheered from their hiding place, nodding their approval of the hero’s escape. A frog croaked again, scaring the company of pixies with how near it was that time. Cautiously they peered about, grumbling over the loss of the story. A veil of clouds had drifted over the moon, casting eerie shadows about the friendly house that was then more inviting than ever.
“Look!” hissed a pixie pointing to a green tree frog that stared back at them with huge, colorless eyes that blinked slowly as though certain of a good meal. The pixies cast about for a weapon, but there was none at hand, not even a needle.
“Dragonflies!” exclaimed the pixies and leaping from their perch, even as the frog groped towards them, they landed upon the blue-green dragons and flew away amidst mixed cheers and laughter as the storyteller ended, “And they all lived happily ever after. The end."

marius

Oh ho ho! Marius cracked up at this one. Just about slapped my knee. (seriously!) Glad you got a um, 'longer' story in, Nylecoj! LOVE the pixies flying to safety on Dragonflies! Tee hee - wonder if those insects ARE related to Dragons. Hmmm. Claps for Nylecoj! Thanks for the fun!

marius

Another Oh ho ho! marius has just realized that going kayaking with her sister at seven tomorrow morning kind of interferes with passing the torch as planned. What was I thinking???

So, if there's time to pass the torch before sis gets here in the morning, will do it then. Otherwise, will wait until the afternoon. : )

Qsilv

Gonna be late... tho' technically it's still the 28th here
...not in the running anyhow... just can't let it go undone.
Depending on how you count the weirded words, it actually may be 234!


The Keeper of Spring

Down in the hollow
way down in the hole
there lives a fair maiden
her hair all aglow
t's said she's enchanted
t's whispered she's green
now'f all y'ol' butterneep's
could just keep it clean
for five measly minutes
or maybe for ten
before yer stray libidos
rise up
un-bid-
den
you'd see for yourselves
when the moon it rides low
(present comp'ny excepted
-- and you ought to know
who you are) it appears
there's a wisp of white gunk
rises up from each tree
encircling the trunk
twining all up the lee
til it kisses the stars
and sighs its way down
and she makes that her arch
crossing silently on
to the netherland
neverland
primrosy
park
where she dances with cats
you've all seen THAT sight
heard the partners go spat!
as their jealousies rise
a-swirling and sparkling
and get tangled in lies
and we call it lightning
and thunder and -- imps
Thor's goblins and trolls
tossed into the mix
all pixie-late raindrops
too clean to be seen
by mortals with
blue eyes or even with green
but those whose eyes glow
sienna or gold
can watch the fey folk
and half take a joke
like as not it's on them
anyhow cuz they're mean
and the incidents grow
when they think they're unseen
it makes quite a mess
so perhaps now it's best
we slink
quiet
awe-
way
.
.
.
!

marius

Well, the drat pixies have been in my dreams and why am I awake at 3:30 in the morning, Missouri time? Think we all know.

So it's almost torch-time (what else to do at this wee hour) but first:
Nylecoj, I was VERY tired by the time I read your story. Yes, it cracked me up - such a fine story for the pixies. (I mean, those little neepers have certainly had their way with this thread. And, who can blame them? It was such fun and they DID inspire many a fine work. But wanted to add about your story, it really is a very good story and I enjoyed it immenselly. (Oh stop, you little buggers, you can tell her yourself how much you like it. In fact go bug HER, wake HER up instead of me. Where's my bowl of water ...)

Now Qsilv! So happy you joined us. Tee hee, kind of thought you belonged in this pixie of a very strange and fun TW ... and so you do! Perfectly! The Keeper of Spring, quite lovely and lyrical. A truly fitting ending for all our delight. Thank you so much. Claps for Qsilv! : )

marius

You guys rock! Thanks for making this a very fun ThinkWrite. Was such a joy to read all your stories and comments! Got a real kick out of how people used the word butterneeper. That word is a rather frequent joke around our home, but our creativity never took it to the realms you all did! Read on for highlights of butterneeper uses and meanings. (Also the exception – Doug’s own made-up word.)


"Here's how the incident started, officer. He called me a ‘butter-neeper’ and I lost it.”
.....Josh, by giraffe

“She was enjoying this little story. Then she said, ‘But, isn’t that ButterNeeper I saw parked
out front?’ ”
.....A Good Idea, by marius

“When asked what she did for a living, she told people she was a butterneeper. No one knew what that meant, and that was her reason for saying it.”
.....The Pixilated Trunk Incident, by midnightpoet

“There was a certain look in his eyes when he watched. They grew dark and little specks of butterneeper seemed to spark out of his iris.”
.....Oliver, by Doug

“She named the pixilated parrot Butter, bought him a chatterbox companion named Neeper.... Poor Annabelle and her, odd, somehow strangely elvish, Butter-Neeper situation.”
.....Of Chattering, Elves and Other Mysterious Matters, by ladyhwin

"Sir, I believe you ARE a butter-neeper! Put your hands behind your back."
.....JOSH Ch.2, by giraffe

“It was a truncarticulated posie and its bloom was as green as the grass in the full summer sun enriched by the rainforest storms that caressed its silky leaves.”
..... Truncarticulated Posies, by Doug

“Finally Brad put the ladder back, and when carrying it off to the garage, I heard him say something unintelligible, and then ‘....ButterNeeper isn’t happy.’ ”
.....ButterNeeper by marius

“Our firm, 'Buttuer, Neepierre and Scattery', was only into low-risk investments.”
.....THE HAPPLESS CHILD, by giraffe

“ ‘Well, to improve your appearance, here's a salve ...Use it 15 times a day.... And for the fatigue, I'm prescibing 'MANTEX'.’
’Doc, you know I only get my drugs from you. But, er, the knee perspiration? Will this help that?’ ”
..... THE DOCTOR'S, by giraffe

“Ask the captain, his bread and butter are trapped under forty fathoms of saline. Neepers are flourishing off the remains of his wayward ship.” “Yes…quite the quixmickle indeed.”
.....Captain Hargood, by Doug

“The silly butterneepered creature charged me, stepped on my bare foot, nipped my shoulder and returned to her usual, sweet self.”
.....Memories, by ladyhwin

“The speaker said some more – which included the name, ButterNeeper – and pushed him off.”
.....no title – (“another wierd story”) by ladyhwin

“As insane as butter-neeper-minded cats, the gust of wind mixes with the clouds, rests for a while and thinks up new annoying and disturbing ideas.”
.....The Wind, by ladyhwin

“Often I look at the wonderous creations my butterneepers make and I just give it up.”
.....LOSS, by giraffe

“Alera stood atop the watchtower and looked out into the night. It had an eerie kind of stillness about it that she had rarely ever felt, so still, in fact, that she could even hear the butterneepers peeping softly among the reeds that grew in the moat far below her.”
.....All Along The Watchtower, by Dragon

“Since coming to this part of the forest two days ago, he had heard nothing but tales of her from the elves, pixies, ButterNeepers and squirrels.”
.....”A Cat Tail,” by ladyhwin

“A pixilated look in her eye, the last horse dashed after them. She was big, in height and weight and made quite an imposing sight, charging through the grass and flowers, causing even the obnoxious Butter Neepers to scatter.”
.....Peaceful Beauty, by ladyhwin

" ‘Things’ come and go. So do people, urges and butterneepers.”
..... LOSS (Level 2), by giraffe

“Incredibly the dragon shooed away the cat with a gentle Scat and looked at Butterneeper with those depthless golden eyes. ‘Speak your message friend.’ ”
.....The Messenger, by Dragon

“Butterrrrrrrrrr…Neeeeeeper!” interrupted a frightening screech just as the hero of the story fell into a tree trunk.
.....Pixiated, by Nylecoj

And please don’t forget Doug’s revisiting of “quixmickle” and giraffe’s new pharmaceutical, MANTEX.

And, last ...
“...but those whose eyes glow
sienna or gold
can watch the fey folk
and half take a joke
like as not it's on them
anyhow cuz they're mean
and the incidents grow
when they think they're unseen
it makes quite a mess
so perhaps now it's best
we slink
quiet
awe-
way
.
.
.
!
.....The Keeper of Spring, by Qsilv



Now ... the pixies kept me awake most the night arguing about who should carry the torch. They argued for every single ThinkWriter to be the next torch bearer but in the end, they could not, would not, stop laughing about the name of the law firm, 'Buttuer, Neepierre and Scattery.'

Neither can I, so ... giraffe, please step up and take the torch. (Might I suggest leaving it overnight next to a bowl of purple water, pat of butter .........)

giraffe

As I stand proudly on the rim of this canyon watching the sun set over one of the most creative TWs in history, with a tear in my eye (the music swells - probably Shostokovich) I accept the challenge, Your Majesty! (applause). Give me an hour to soak the prize in grape juice and margerine. Is that cheating?