Golden Bawls [Act II]
Posted on Sat Aug 31st, 2024 @ 7:11pm by Rynlan Nemari & Jerant van Rijn
Mission:
Into the Qniverse
Timeline: Following: It's Not Easy Being Green
2116 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure
The mood had relatively calmed, out under the dappled shade of the forest. Rynlan was no longer being manhandled by a Vulcan and had been placed on a rock by the water's edge. Crewman Ramirez was no longer crying, mostly due to the support of Zorak and with no thanks to T’Lar who took great pleasure in logically disputing the finer points of the archaic story.
"While the narrative of 'The Frog Prince' is rooted in ancient Earth folklore, its logical inconsistencies are glaring. The notion that a sentient being could be transformed by something as trivial as a kiss is highly improbable. There is no empirical evidence to support the idea that affection, or any other emotional display, could induce such a significant biological change.”
Before she could finish her analysis with her arms crossed over her chest the ominous voice from before echoed out from all around “No, no this still won’t do.” SNAP.
In the blink of an eye, Emily had disappeared, her damp pillow falling to the floor as she was replaced with another figure. Another unexpected hop and a croak escaped Ryn, “Emily!” he squeaked rather than his usual deeper tone. The crack in his voice wasn’t something he’d experienced for some time.
Emily? Jerant turned and tripped over something....something he felt was pulling him off balance altogether. "What the hell," he muttered as he glanced down at.. He frowned. "Why am I in a dress?" He queried, looking around to see a Vulcan female he didn't recognize standing nearby. Before them was a large pond and...a frog which was making squeaky noises. And calling a name. "Who's Emily, and where am I?" He demanded as he groped around in an attempt to gather up all the fabric. He made a single step and felt his foot twist sideways, nearly going down a second time. He muttered a rare profanity as he discovered he was trying to walk on heels.
He could sense two beings, the Vulcan and the frog. "Who are you?"
“This is Ensign T’Lar from Science and Crewman Zorak from Medical Support. And I am Rynlan Nemari.” Ryn gestured to the two that remained, the Vulcan and the Bolian. He recognised the face but couldn’t put a name to it. “I’m just smaller and more … green than usual.”
“Mr van Rijn … yo- you do suit blue.” The Bolian tried his best not to smirk. The name sounded familiar to the Orion but they’d only seen each other passing through the Mess Hall or corridors. He made sure to avoid Medical unless it was necessary, the last thing he wanted was additional nutritional input on meal plans.
“Crewman Emily Ramirez was previously in your role before you replaced her. The story would dictate that you are the princess of a kingdom and you must kiss the frog once the ball has been retrieved from the lake.” T’Lar was much more matter-of-fact and irritatedly adjusted the frill of her collar.
Jerant looked thoughtful for a moment, also wondering how he had initially missed the Bolian. "Oh...I know this story, I remember my Human grandmother telling it to me and my sisters when I was little." He shuddered visibly at kissing the slimy creature. "And there is more to it." He looked towards the frog. "You need to visit the castle and be persistent about being let in... So where were you at before miss Ramirez was replaced with me?"
Ryn exhaled with another quiet croak, “Well, it had taken us a while to calm her down. She wasn’t taking it very well. I didn’t see the ball when I was in the lake, but I should be able to take a better look now.” A sidestep waddle turned him toward the water and a sharp leap catapulted him out into the lake.
Zorak picked up the pillow that Emily had dropped and passed it to Jerant, “It might be a little wet.”
The water felt more comfortable to the Orion than it had previously done, especially as he wasn’t weighed down with the soaking linen and leathers. He bobbed his head back up to the surface, “Give me a minute.” He warned before disappearing down and into the forest of weeds and stems that had already been huge, but now looked like the towering trunks of green.
Just like above, the pads gave dappled shade, he looked for a glint of gold. That’s what he was told it was anyway. There was movement from what should have been small fish that were only slightly smaller than himself. There were dark shadows that moved more ominously in the distance, he’d need to keep an eye out in case anything was bigger.
Jerant chuckled as he saw Ren dive off, then kicked off the shoes before he would break anything by trying to walk on them. "Oh where is my golden ball," he mock-wailed as he sat on the edge of the pond, "it fell in as I was playing with it and it's my favourite. I'll do anything to have it back." For once he was grateful for having Human grandparents, who had retold many a fairytale when he was little.
The Orion moved through the water with ease, weaving between weeds and searching for a glint of gold that would get them on the way to normality again, he hoped at least. There was a very apparent want to resurface, as he would if he were humanoid but amphibians didn’t require that. From the corners of his eyes he could see the shadows move, darkness moved in at speed. Getting bigger and bigger.
Oh no. That’s a fish, a BIG fish. He moved as quickly as he could, taking shelter under a cluster of large rocks. He buried down unter something smooth and cold, not as coarse as the stone—the ball. The big fish couldn’t get in low enough to push its nose into the crevasse, however, it took great pleasure in pacing back and forth.
“I hope Chef is doing okay in there. I mean, what bad stuff could be down in there?” Zorak peered out of her water, looking for ripples and disturbances, glancing back at T’Lar who undoubtedly would have something useful to add to the conversation.
T’Lar remained stoic, her eyes narrowing slightly as she observed the water’s surface. “Given the unpredictable nature of this scenario, it’s likely that the lake harbours more than just typical aquatic life. The presence of a large predatory fish is not out of the question, particularly in a situation engineered to test us. Such a creature could pose a significant threat to Mr. Nemari in his current form.”
She continued, her tone measured but firm. “There could also be other dangers—hidden obstacles, strong currents, or additional predators—that may complicate his efforts. We should stay alert and be ready to intervene if necessary.”
Jerant ignored the Vulcan woman, peering down into the water as he sat on the edge of the pond. "Did you find my ball?" He implored, doing his best to get into his role. The dress was constricting his upper body movement while the length was considerably more than he was tall, even if he would've worn those shoes. And those were a health hazard on their own! "Please?" He begged, "it's very dear to me and I'll do anything to have it back. Please mister frog!"
The Vulcan quirked a brow at Mr van Rijn, her face remained stoic as he pleased for the return of his precious golden ball. In a beat, she broke the silence in her monotonous tone. “While your portrayal of a princess may be in keeping with the parameters of this scenario, I fail to see how it will expedite our resolution of the current situation.”
Zorak on the other hand stifled a chuckle at Jerant’s fitting performance. His blue-skinned face broke into a wide grin. “You’ve really not a flair for this! Who knew you’d make such a convincing princess? Maybe you should look at performance art in the future, a side hustle.” A soft sigh escaped his lips, “I’m sure Chef will have that ball back in no time, and then you can get back to, uh... not wearing that dress." He gave a reassuring pat on Jerant's shoulder, trying to be supportive while clearly enjoying the absurdity of the situation.
The pike, or barracuda—whatever it was— snapped at the rocks in frustration. Ryn’s mind raced to find a way out. He needed to lure the fish away so he could retrieve the ball and at least hint to the others that he may need help. How could being so small alert the others, he’d be a tiny target compared to the size of the lake let alone the over of the lily pads.
Back where he came from was a thick forest of weeds, if he could move fast enough it would be a good way to delay the predator and get back to the ball, making his way up to the surface. The Orion took a moment to make sure the fish was further away and with a hard push out from the ball he lurched out from the crevasse, swimming into the weeds in a zig-zag as fast as his webbed limbs could carry him.
The erratic movements and thick fibrous stems were enough to ensnare the fish if only for a little while. Pulses of its struggle ripped out from its thrashing as Ryn dove back toward the crevasse to heave the ball out from the outcrop. Clutching it tightly with each laboured scooch up closer to the surface. He hoped that from the surface the fish’s struggle would be visible.
Jerant chuckled to himself as the Bolian patted him on the shoulder and he buried his face against the man's shirt for measure. "Oh Please," he 'wailed' as he listened for the frog's return. At the splash of water, he made a show of turning back towards the water. "Oh! You brought it back!" He exclaimed while taking the ball, nearly dropping the wet slippery object in the process.
The Betazoid got to his feet, ball in one hand while gathering up the mesh of skirts so he wouldn't trip. "I have my ball," he called in jubilee, while trying to run back to the castle, throwing up and catching the golden object with glee.
Ryn hung on for dear life as he was pulled out of the water gripping the cold wet ball, what felt like a swim that should have taken a few minutes was clearly just a new meter. He began to slip-slide off the ball as it was launched into the air with a dull wet splat back to the dusty dirt oath.
The Bolian rushed over and scooped up the frog, “Are you okay Chef? Here let me help.” He carefully dipped Ryn into the water removing the imprinted pebbles into his sticky skin and washed away the dirt before lifting him to inspect more closely.
The former Orion spluttered away the dust after his rinse, “Thanks Zorak, what are we supposed to do now?”
The Vulcan moved in close to the pair as Jerant gleefully galloped off with his recovered possession. With a raised brow, she pieced together the ‘logical’ next steps. “While the immediate objective of retrieving the ball has been achieved, we should remain vigilant for additional nuances within the narrative. The original tale may have other details or requirements we are yet to encounter.” She glanced at Zorak and Ryn, adding with a hint of concern, “We must be mindful of the finer points, even if our 'princess' is too preoccupied to consider them at present.”
“You’re not wrong Ensign, we should follow closely we don’t want to get on the wrong side of any royal guards or more unusual occupants in this forest,” Ryn answered unsure of what it was they were getting into.
Zorak jogged after Jerant, cupping his damp blue hands over his passenger just to make sure he didn’t fall, “Mister van Rijn!” He called as he tried to keep up.
Though he heard his name, Jerant ignored it as he ran back to the castle as best as he could without tripping over the rustling fabric around his legs and feet. It wouldn't do to fall just before reaching the guards, would it?
