Recursive fanfic: Forgotten Realms
Sep. 4th, 2023 06:45 amNestling: The Other Side (1597 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
When he finally reached the Surface, Drizzt stood still for a long time, just looking around in wonder, but eventually, the chill of the moving air—the "wind", he thought it was called—got to be too much for him, and he retreated back into the cave a bit and curled up against Guen.
But even as he shared in her warmth, he was thinking about what he would do once the "sun" rose and it was warmer.
Even though the wind proved to be stronger further up the slope from where he had left the Underdark, Drizzt spent the next two days climbing higher—though he was always careful to make sure he had a sheltered spot to rest the night in.
And on the third morning, he called Guen to him when the sunrise was almost finished, wanting to share at least some of such a glorious sign of their freedom with her.
But she had barely greeted him when a noise from above them caught his attention—and hers, from the way she froze—and he started moving towards it on instinct alone.
His mind—and Guen—caught up about the time he drew his swords, and he recognized the noises as the sounds of a battle of some sort.
And though common sense said he should avoid getting involved, between the foul scent on the air, the itch under his skin that he somehow knew was an indication of an evil being, and Guen's clear agreement with intervening, he continued up the slope.
Just a little higher, and he could see the combatants. The two large humanoids—each more than twice his height!—were clearly the aggressors, by the way they had the white creature bracketed between them.
And the itch under his skin agreed with that assessment, so he charged right in to engage one of the humanoids without any further consideration.
It didn't take very long before he was able to trick his opponent into falling off the ledge they were on, leaving it plummeting down the side of this gigantic reverse cavern.
He was vaguely aware of Guen having done the same to her own opponent, but then his attention was caught by the white creature they had saved, and he was stunned motionless with amazement.
It was an image of perfection, with fluffy wings, eyes that showed the intelligence of a being—like Guen's did—and pure white in color.
That pure white—coat, he decided, since it looked like it had the same softness as a bat's fur—was marred by blood on a shoulder just in front of a wing, however.
And while he wanted to go clean the wound for it, and apply some of his small supply of clotting powder, its posture and those intelligent eyes also showed a wariness, like it knew the reputation drow had.
Then Guen stepped between them, looking at the fluffy-winged, four-legged being, and after long enough that the wind had caused him to start shivering, it made a beckoning sound and its posture changed to what he could tell was a cautious welcome, and he started moving towards it even before Guen looked at him.
Once he had tended the wound, he began to back away again, only to be surprised when the being came forward and hooked its head over his shoulder.
Gently—very gently, given how wary it had been such a short time ago—it nudged him towards the nest it had been defending, then urged him to get in and— Oh! That was an egg in the nest. Was this a female, then?
Once he had settled himself beside the egg, the being positioned itself where it could keep him warm in addition to the egg. Yes, this was definitely a female, and she had apparently decided to treat him like a nestling.
And by the time Guen had to leave, he could tell that his friend was quite relieved by the way the female was treating him.
When the male returned to the nest, his initial reaction to Drizzt's presence woke Drizzt from a drowse and rather made him wish that Guen was still present to reassure the being.
But the female spoke to the male, and he flew off again, with an attitude that Drizzt could somehow tell was one of skepticism.
The male's much friendlier attitude upon his second return made Drizzt realize that the female must have told him about the giants that Drizzt and Guen had dealt with, and after he inspected Drizzt himself, the male settled into the nest, sharing warmth with both Drizzt and the egg as readily as the female was, and Drizzt soon fell truly asleep.
And when Drizzt woke later that day, feeling much better rested than he had since reaching the Surface, the male nudged him out of the nest, with the female's encouragement, and started pointing out assorted plants to him.
It didn't take long for Drizzt to realize that the male was showing him things that he knew Drizzt himself could safely eat, and when he went back to sleep, his stomach was full, and he knew he could be somewhat less careful about conserving his remaining rations.
The next day, a third giant came to the nest, and after Drizzt and the male had worked together to defeat it, the male gave Drizzt the same sort of thankful nuzzle that Guen sometimes did after a battle.
And when Drizzt called Guen the day after that, a tension in the male that he hadn't even realized was there vanished after the male spoke with Guen.
As the days slowly got warmer and more plants started appearing, the male was able to show Drizzt more and more plants to eat, and by the time the narrow stalk-like plants the fluffy-winged four-legged beings preferred to eat were growing strongly, Drizzt knew a wide variety of plants he could safely eat.
Before the egg hatched, Drizzt had not gone further from the nest than was necessary for foraging. But once it did—and he was sure that his protectors did not need assistance in caring for his nest-mate—he started exploring the greater area.
Soon enough, however, that exploring led him into trouble, when he stumbled across a mixed band of evil beings.
And while he could have dealt with either the goblins or the giant on his own, both was enough of a challenge that he would have called Guen if she was able to come. And that was before he took into account the five long-faced furry ones and the two large beings that bore a resemblance to both goblins and the long-faced furry ones.
So before he engaged in the inevitable fight, Drizzt gave the high, piercing whistle that was the closest he could get to his protectors' shrill scream of challenge.
When Drizzt's male protector responded to the drow's whistle, he was accompanied by a handful of the other fluffy-winged four-legged beings that lived in the area, and in the end, though neither Drizzt nor his allies came out of the fight uninjured, the giant and both of the goblinoid long-faced furry ones were dead, and most of the other beings had fled.
And then, his male protector gave Drizzt one of the most glorious experiences of his life when he allowed Drizzt to ride him back to the nest.
Sharr had long since come to the conclusion that whatever Norvor was taking him to see must be in the Rauvin Mountains, but as they passed over Maldobar and he started to see an occasional pegasus, he realized that Norvor must have received a request for aid of some sort from the pegasi who lived in this area. Which left him quite curious as to what they needed aid with.
But when Norvor began to descend, Sharr had to admit that a drow who had been on the surface long enough for his gear to have started failing—accompanied by a panther twice the size of any normal one—was not at all an option he had considered.
But Norvor's body language was not hostile, and the panther—which Sharr strongly suspected was of astral origin—was acting protective of the drow, so Sharr hauled his knee-jerk reaction firmly under control and prepared to speak with him.
Norvor and the panther exchanged clear greetings even as Sharr dismounted, and once he was settled on his feet, he spoke.
The drow's expression of incomprehension at Sharr's greeting in Common was not truly unexpected—even if Sharr might have wished otherwise—nor, given the suspected origin, were the subtle indications that the panther did understand it.
What was unexpected was that the panther then nudged the shorter of the two blades the drow bore, at which point, the drow's face lit up with excited realization.
And then the drow said "Hello"... in Goblin.
Sharr responded in the same language, returning the greeting, giving his name, and asking for the drow's, but even as he did so, he was surreptitiously studying the blade the panther had nudged, and by the time the drow had declared himself to be "Drizzt Do'Urden" and asked for Norvor's name, Sharr was fairly certain that that blade had been taken from a goblin.
Which spoke well of Drizzt's openness of mind, for him to have understood from that single nudge that the panther was indicating a language Sharr would understand.
And as Drizzt answered his own question about the panther's name, Sharr knew it would be an interesting summer.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
The events of ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
senmut's fic Nestling, from the POVs of Drizzt and Sharr.
Nestling: The Other Side
When he finally reached the Surface, Drizzt stood still for a long time, just looking around in wonder, but eventually, the chill of the moving air—the "wind", he thought it was called—got to be too much for him, and he retreated back into the cave a bit and curled up against Guen.
But even as he shared in her warmth, he was thinking about what he would do once the "sun" rose and it was warmer.
Even though the wind proved to be stronger further up the slope from where he had left the Underdark, Drizzt spent the next two days climbing higher—though he was always careful to make sure he had a sheltered spot to rest the night in.
And on the third morning, he called Guen to him when the sunrise was almost finished, wanting to share at least some of such a glorious sign of their freedom with her.
But she had barely greeted him when a noise from above them caught his attention—and hers, from the way she froze—and he started moving towards it on instinct alone.
His mind—and Guen—caught up about the time he drew his swords, and he recognized the noises as the sounds of a battle of some sort.
And though common sense said he should avoid getting involved, between the foul scent on the air, the itch under his skin that he somehow knew was an indication of an evil being, and Guen's clear agreement with intervening, he continued up the slope.
Just a little higher, and he could see the combatants. The two large humanoids—each more than twice his height!—were clearly the aggressors, by the way they had the white creature bracketed between them.
And the itch under his skin agreed with that assessment, so he charged right in to engage one of the humanoids without any further consideration.
It didn't take very long before he was able to trick his opponent into falling off the ledge they were on, leaving it plummeting down the side of this gigantic reverse cavern.
He was vaguely aware of Guen having done the same to her own opponent, but then his attention was caught by the white creature they had saved, and he was stunned motionless with amazement.
It was an image of perfection, with fluffy wings, eyes that showed the intelligence of a being—like Guen's did—and pure white in color.
That pure white—coat, he decided, since it looked like it had the same softness as a bat's fur—was marred by blood on a shoulder just in front of a wing, however.
And while he wanted to go clean the wound for it, and apply some of his small supply of clotting powder, its posture and those intelligent eyes also showed a wariness, like it knew the reputation drow had.
Then Guen stepped between them, looking at the fluffy-winged, four-legged being, and after long enough that the wind had caused him to start shivering, it made a beckoning sound and its posture changed to what he could tell was a cautious welcome, and he started moving towards it even before Guen looked at him.
Once he had tended the wound, he began to back away again, only to be surprised when the being came forward and hooked its head over his shoulder.
Gently—very gently, given how wary it had been such a short time ago—it nudged him towards the nest it had been defending, then urged him to get in and— Oh! That was an egg in the nest. Was this a female, then?
Once he had settled himself beside the egg, the being positioned itself where it could keep him warm in addition to the egg. Yes, this was definitely a female, and she had apparently decided to treat him like a nestling.
And by the time Guen had to leave, he could tell that his friend was quite relieved by the way the female was treating him.
When the male returned to the nest, his initial reaction to Drizzt's presence woke Drizzt from a drowse and rather made him wish that Guen was still present to reassure the being.
But the female spoke to the male, and he flew off again, with an attitude that Drizzt could somehow tell was one of skepticism.
The male's much friendlier attitude upon his second return made Drizzt realize that the female must have told him about the giants that Drizzt and Guen had dealt with, and after he inspected Drizzt himself, the male settled into the nest, sharing warmth with both Drizzt and the egg as readily as the female was, and Drizzt soon fell truly asleep.
And when Drizzt woke later that day, feeling much better rested than he had since reaching the Surface, the male nudged him out of the nest, with the female's encouragement, and started pointing out assorted plants to him.
It didn't take long for Drizzt to realize that the male was showing him things that he knew Drizzt himself could safely eat, and when he went back to sleep, his stomach was full, and he knew he could be somewhat less careful about conserving his remaining rations.
The next day, a third giant came to the nest, and after Drizzt and the male had worked together to defeat it, the male gave Drizzt the same sort of thankful nuzzle that Guen sometimes did after a battle.
And when Drizzt called Guen the day after that, a tension in the male that he hadn't even realized was there vanished after the male spoke with Guen.
As the days slowly got warmer and more plants started appearing, the male was able to show Drizzt more and more plants to eat, and by the time the narrow stalk-like plants the fluffy-winged four-legged beings preferred to eat were growing strongly, Drizzt knew a wide variety of plants he could safely eat.
Before the egg hatched, Drizzt had not gone further from the nest than was necessary for foraging. But once it did—and he was sure that his protectors did not need assistance in caring for his nest-mate—he started exploring the greater area.
Soon enough, however, that exploring led him into trouble, when he stumbled across a mixed band of evil beings.
And while he could have dealt with either the goblins or the giant on his own, both was enough of a challenge that he would have called Guen if she was able to come. And that was before he took into account the five long-faced furry ones and the two large beings that bore a resemblance to both goblins and the long-faced furry ones.
So before he engaged in the inevitable fight, Drizzt gave the high, piercing whistle that was the closest he could get to his protectors' shrill scream of challenge.
When Drizzt's male protector responded to the drow's whistle, he was accompanied by a handful of the other fluffy-winged four-legged beings that lived in the area, and in the end, though neither Drizzt nor his allies came out of the fight uninjured, the giant and both of the goblinoid long-faced furry ones were dead, and most of the other beings had fled.
And then, his male protector gave Drizzt one of the most glorious experiences of his life when he allowed Drizzt to ride him back to the nest.
Sharr had long since come to the conclusion that whatever Norvor was taking him to see must be in the Rauvin Mountains, but as they passed over Maldobar and he started to see an occasional pegasus, he realized that Norvor must have received a request for aid of some sort from the pegasi who lived in this area. Which left him quite curious as to what they needed aid with.
But when Norvor began to descend, Sharr had to admit that a drow who had been on the surface long enough for his gear to have started failing—accompanied by a panther twice the size of any normal one—was not at all an option he had considered.
But Norvor's body language was not hostile, and the panther—which Sharr strongly suspected was of astral origin—was acting protective of the drow, so Sharr hauled his knee-jerk reaction firmly under control and prepared to speak with him.
Norvor and the panther exchanged clear greetings even as Sharr dismounted, and once he was settled on his feet, he spoke.
The drow's expression of incomprehension at Sharr's greeting in Common was not truly unexpected—even if Sharr might have wished otherwise—nor, given the suspected origin, were the subtle indications that the panther did understand it.
What was unexpected was that the panther then nudged the shorter of the two blades the drow bore, at which point, the drow's face lit up with excited realization.
And then the drow said "Hello"... in Goblin.
Sharr responded in the same language, returning the greeting, giving his name, and asking for the drow's, but even as he did so, he was surreptitiously studying the blade the panther had nudged, and by the time the drow had declared himself to be "Drizzt Do'Urden" and asked for Norvor's name, Sharr was fairly certain that that blade had been taken from a goblin.
Which spoke well of Drizzt's openness of mind, for him to have understood from that single nudge that the panther was indicating a language Sharr would understand.
And as Drizzt answered his own question about the panther's name, Sharr knew it would be an interesting summer.
