Short Snippets - The Laughing Lake
Tales from the Fantastical Universe of Angelika Moonglenn
The Laughing Lake
Jynx and I had arrived at the base of my mountain just as the sun descended over the Willowmist River. Penlop’s youngs would be there soon, so I directed the apple green sparks from my fingertips to light the bonfire. I breathed in the earthy scent as the flamed spit, crackled and hissed when the resiny wood burnt. I smiled. I love the humid air of a summer night, sitting by a huge bonfire, reading books and singing songs.
“Jynx, there almost here! Our first bonfire with the youngs. Jynx… Jynx are you listening to me?”
Jynx flopped onto his other side so he could see the flames, but he could not see me. “Prrt.”
A tiny smile began to emerge on my face. Jynx tried to make me believe he hated youngs. But he really didn’t. After all, when little Cortani had been lost in the Quilleaf forest, he had been the one to snuffle up and down the trees until he found her.
“Lika! We’ve come! Denlop, hurry up!” Mysta bounded across the scree, her curly brown hair pulled into rolls with pinko grass, and her bright crimson and orange coat glowing gently in the dim light. At her command her cousin Denuin increased his pace towards us. She certainly was Penlop’s child.
Denuin, with his raggy jeans and his eternal muddy face, stomped over towards us. His feet slapped through the wavey edge of the crystal waters of the lake and sank down onto the velvety grass rugs I had placed beside the flames. He looked at me. “Any tretas?”
I grabbed the bags of the popped grain that I had gotten from the mogul’s village that morning and gave them to the youngs. I picked up my kraken-skin covered writing book and opened to my last entry.
“Mysta, you asked for another tale. This one is called, The Laughing Lake.”
I sat onto one of the blankets, reveling in the warmth and crackle of the bonfire, a glowybug settling down onto my shoulder. I started to read.
Far away, on the edge of the Charmed Waters where the dragon stones rise out of the Joshul lake, the waters become perfectly still at the end of summer. The people’s ancestors say that only when the lake sees something extremely funny will it awaken. Otherwise, the waters remain silent, cold and unmoving. The fish swim inland to the elusive lakes, the air chills, and the season turns.
One day, the littlest dragon Aralyn, nicknamed Ara, came down from Dragonveil. She was so small that her feathery wings had not yet grown thick fur around them. She still had chubby cheeks and she couldn’t breathe flames, instead pops of puffy ivory smoke fluffed up in the air wisping away almost immediately. There was no way she could join her siblings’ dragon wars.
Ara spent much of the warm days scratching her rubbery hide upon the spiky centers of the Celestial flowers, eating the tender blackish-blue stalks of the vein grass as it rose from the rocks, and sleeping on charcoal scented dragon moss.
Each day Ara grew and became stronger, but flames refused to come from her mouth. She still could only send steam shooting upwards. She was still not ready for the dragon wars.
As her body grew, she dreamed of the lands over the craggy peaks where she wanted to swoop and dive over rustling trees and cold, dank water.
One day, when her brother Minhs returned from a journey to the Quilleaf forest, Ara sighed and began to mumble to herself. “Why do they always get to do the fun stuff? Just because I can’t puff?”
Ara turned her hunter body in circles, her dotted hide glistening in the pumpkin sun. She stomped and huffed. She broke rocks and cut down shrubs with her talons. She also destroyed a fillymog’s nest, the mother bird hovering above her, swooping down to peck her silver-lined wings.
Without the regent dragon’s consent, Ara raised her trembling wings to the sky and took flight. She glid on the wavy wind currents over the lava falling down the outer volcanoes of the Dragonveil, past the snowy peaks of the Silverbacks Mountains, to Joshul lake. A great gust of swirling wind hit the little dragon against her wings. Ara spiraled downwards landing on the shores of the lake.
“Ah, nuts!” Ara stamped the sand, spraying it outwards into the lake. There was no smooosh as the sand hit the water. There was no gleaming as the sand reflected on the sun at the surface. There was no kissing of the shore as the water shifted.
“Flames! This must be the lake that dies in the summer. Snikeldy Do! If I’m the one who wakes the lake up, the regent’s got to let me into the war games.”
Ara flapped her little wings so that the crusty sage colored sand dropped downwards onto the beach. She pulled her plump body upwards just above the lake. Ara had seen her brother Riff skimming the surface of the black lake last month, his small talons whipping up water in tendrils as he flew. Surely, the lake would laugh for that.
Ara flapped her wings and set out over the water trying to lower her soft nails under the surface. But her nails had not grown long and sharp enough yet, and her tummy was fill of Vein grass, so it hung in the water, spraying its way down the lake. The lake did not move, and the lake did not laugh.
In the shimmery grass, a white creature awakened, his steely blue eyes looking over the grass as it glimmered in the wind. He took a step through the grass to the edge of the lake where he could watch Ara.
Ara landed on the shore, sighed and closed the inner membranes of her eyes around her golden irises. She concentrated to call upon the collective minds of the hive just as Momi dragon had taught her. Soon she was getting ideas from all over the hive about what caused laughter.
There were lots of suggestions, but Ara didn’t like any of them. Most of the suggestions were like Zip’s. He wanted her to throw herself in sizzle ferns. Really? The vents under the ferns often exploded sending dragons upwards. The other dragons laughed, thumped, and hooted when this happened, but Ara didn’t. It was too hot on her tender behind to sit on a vent and the water always smelt like sulphur. No sizzle ferns for her.
Instead, she had seen Flick lower her nose into the warming pods, snorting, and blowing big, boisterous bubbles earlier, so she lowered her head into the water and began to blow. There were no beautiful rainbows bouncing in bubbles, there were no pop pops and the surface stayed as still as a window.
Near Ara, the creature’s fur glimmered as he stomped through the shimmery grass and approached the edge of the lake. He watched Ara whose face had turned bright orange, eyes had turned entirely black and was spitting as she tried to talk.”
“ Chuff…. Chuff…Chuff. Brrrp-prrrt!” The creature, tall, strong and handsome, sat on the shore, flicking his tail.
“Ashes! Go away, wazzy cat! “Ava’s head wobbled as she stood tall, crossing her front limbs in front of her.
“ Chuff…. Chuff…Chuff. Prrrt-brrt.” The wazzy cat now lay on its side so close to the edge of the lake that his reflection almost jumped out. His whole body shook and his mouth merrily moved up and down.
“Croon on, wazzy cat!” Ava stopped, her mouth opener wide as she began to bounce up and down on the shore. Of course! She knew what she had to do. She had to sing!
Bang… bang… crack… Ava’s muscly tail hit the trunk of a fallen tree, sending it spiralling towards a lily filled pond. The fruity smell from the nectar of moonveil lilies exploded into the air as her tail smashed them.
“ Chuff…. Chuff…Chuff. Prrrt-brrt.” The wazzy cat jigged across the sand, fell over, and began kicking his legs upwards into the air. His voice was high, uncontrollable and unending.
‘You… You… umph!” Ara thumped, thumped, thumped her feet in the sand. “I don’t care wazzy cat! I’m going to sing!”
Ara stood up tall and extended her delicate neck upwards. She opened her mouth, exhaling, sending the smell of decayed meat and earthy grass into the air
The wazzy cat’s nose screwed up but he continued to frolic in the sand.
Ara hummed a couple of throaty notes and then began to sing.
Oh, measly lynx with azure eyes,
Go scold and pester the dragonflies.
I’ve had enough of your jesting zest,
Go prank your weasel he’s built for tests!
Ara finished singing and studied the mirrory surface of the lake. There was no movement and there was no sound. “Dingle eggs! Why won’t you laugh!”
The wazzy cat shook as his stomach moved rapidly in and outward. Small tears fell from his eyes onto the ground. He rolled again, and in one merry move smashed into the lake, landing in a deep hollow.
BRRRT?
Splash!
Smack!
Slap!
The dragon laughed, her high reedy voice awakening the water gnomes. She watched the wazzy cat delicately pick up his feet and slap them down again in the water.
The lake began to awaken. A large, repeated rumble came from the lake. It strengthened in tone and wavelength, until the sound of water lapping on the shore rose into the air. Fish began jumping, frogs began croaking and water birds began to pick on small fish at the shore.
“I did it! I made the lake laugh! I must go tell the regent!” Ara puffed up her wings and ran to take off. Her wings glimmered above the lake, and her soft song accompanied her. She opened her mouth expecting smoke to come out. Instead, a strong, hot, crackling flame burst from her mouth. Ara chuckled. “Righty!”
The wazzy cat pulled himself out, shook his hair, and began to growl quietly. “Mrrraaaah… “Rrroooww...Mmmmraaa...” The wazzy cat skulked back into the shimmering grass and disappeared into the night.
Angelika lowered her book. “The legends say that any time a wazzy cat and a dragon meet, their will be mischief.”
Angelika looked the smoke and flames of the fire. The youngs were bouncing up and down waiting for her to begin another story. Jynx’s back was turned while he grumbled. I felt his presence in my head. “Not happen!”
I tried not to giggle. Jynx always wanted to be seen as powerful and in control. He hated being laughed at.
“That’s not what the story says, Jynx. Besides, the wazzy cat was the true master behind the laugh.
Jynk’s fur puffed up. His azure eyes opened. “Me hero!” He began to lick his paw before, stopped, cocked his head and began to spit. “Wazzy hero! No, me!’
As the purples and greens of the aurora bobbed up and down behind me, and the fire snapped and crackled, and a few jaz bugs sang to me. I investigated Jynx’s glowing azure eyes.
I felt warm and my heart began to sing. I really did love sitting by the licking flames of the fire, reading tales, even if they annoyed Jynx.
Jynx plowed his head a nearby shrub, his tail flickering. He really could not stand being laughed at. I vowed to try to help him learn that you needed laughter and joy to make a life full.
The youngs were now bubbling up and down and chattering in a whisper. I watched their joy as they picked up a couple of stones and began skipping them in the river.
I smiled once more and pulled my notebook closer to me. It was going to be an interesting night. “Guys! What would you like to hear next!”
