OPENBOOK

ABRAXAS the LOVESICK SEA DRAKE

From the misty parapets of Welkin Heights, Teo and his angel kids peered earthward, past Valhalla and Olympus, beyond the fields of Elysium and Arcadia, and other afterlife abodes of gods and souls of man. They focused on a small cottage nestled comfortably in an isolated greenwood vale, specifically on the banks of a nearby brook. There sat a barefoot peasant girl, with tousled hair and tattered dress, and a most unbecoming scowl. She was grumbling to herself, or rather, grumbling at another sharing the bank. It was a porcupine, and she was ordering it to back off.

The porcupine must not have felt like leaving, and emphatically expressed his point.

“OWww-w-w!” The girl failed to duck away in time, and a load of quills ended up stuck in her … end. She tried crying, but quickly learned wailing like a cranky babe did nothing to ease her pain. Next, she grabbed one of the quills and yanked. “OWWWW-W-W!”

Muffled laughter from above. Shana looked up at the clouds, shook her fist … and was just about ready to fade right back out of this prickly situation.

“Don't even think about it!” Teo said.

“You can't expect ME to stay like THIS! What've you DONE to me?!” Shana screamed even louder, stomping her bare foot on the ground where it landed on the discarded porcupine quill. She tried, but couldn't hold back another “Owww!”

“Tsk … 'Ana Sweet, you're the one who picked a fight with a porcupine. As for the rustic and her meager attire? Well, we can't have Mythlewild's premiere deity traipsing around in all her celestial majesty and glory. Can we? Down there, in that guise, you must learn Humility … I'm sure that's one of those Virtues too. And remember to count your blessings.”

“I've none to tally yet!” She grimaced while extracting another quill.

“You have one,” suggested Teo. “Thankfully, that was a very small porcupine. Your punctured backside should get you inside the front door of that cottage for some doctoring … first you have to haul it over there. Let's not forget what you're here for.”