Shianni's Ride

This was inspired by 's contest for underappreciated characters. I signed up for Shianni and Shale because I love them both. But then realized it'd be cool to have them both in one image!

This is an AU where Shianni is brought with the city elf warden (in this case, my own personal Miris Tabris) and she injures herself so Miris puts her on Shale. It'd imaging this image takes place within a conversation like this one:

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"Must I carry this fleshy thing? It--" Shale lamented, only to be interrupted by her newest burden.

"Go-Shale, GO!" Shianni cried before pointing off to the distance, looking more excited than Miris could remember her being in many years.

"IT IS LOUD. Tell it to get off." Shale snapped, glaring down at Miris. She had done much for the it that gave it purpose, but this task was one she was not willing to tolerate. Still, this burden it was one that the main it liked. Would it not want her along if she crushed the burden it?

"She's hurt, Shale. She'll slow us down if you don't carry her." Miris sighed. She should have known this wouldn't be easy.

"Why can't the painted elf or the other it carry this it? Aren't they supposed to be 'strong'?" Shale grumbled, currently refusing to move while the burden it continued to wriggle unpleasantly on her shoulders.

"They've got their weapons and their packs. We don't carry people over great distances. But it's nothing for you, Shale." Miris wasn't certain that Shale would respond to flattery, but it was all she had at the moment.

"We need to get over that hill. Goooooo!" Shianni cried, making Miris' job even harder because Shale's stone head turned to look at the elf and she made a small disgusted noise.

"Shianni. You're not helping." Miris snapped. She loved her cousin, but sometimes she regretted bringing her along even if she did empathize entirely with her need to escape the Alienage.

"Oh," Shianni replied sheepishly. "Right. Sorry. It's just high up here and I can see so much more. I feel like a bird!"

The moment that that word came out of Shianni's mouth, Miris put a hand to her temple. That was probably the worst thing to mention right at this moment...

"...can I squish it NOW?" Shale rumbled, her hands already partially clenched and itching to either crush Shianni or at least shove her off her shoulders.

"NO," Miris barked. After a moment, she composed herself again and managed to speak more evenly. "Please, Shale. You're the only one that can help her."

That said, Miris looked to Shianni, lips pursed whenever they weren't forming words. "Cousin, I love you, but keep your mouth shut for a little while. And never, EVER, mention flying things."

"Er... right... okay..." the red-haired elf replied quietly. "You're very nice to help me, Shale," she offered up a moment later, awkwardly patting Shale's head.

"Do that again and I will toss you off and crush your skull in the ground," Shale growled.

Shianni stiffened, realizing that this was going to be considerably less fun than she thought it'd be and wondering if she could indeed walk fast enough to keep up, regardless of her sprained ankle.

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Hey guys, long time no post (I know  and I'm sorry ).

I've actually got a LOT of little things lined up to post for my general comic AU, but I gotta get the submissions in for this contest for . I would have had this done quite a while ago, but I kept having to re-do shit 'cause I found things I'd missed. There are probably still a ton of mistakes, but deadline's here so it needs to be submitted.

This is one of three that I said I would do, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get all three done in time. I'm certainly not getting any sleep tonight while trying, though!