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Jehan's frantic cries were easily caught by Gitana, who was doing a good job of cleaning the grime and washing her wound with the stream water. The water was strangely cold, and utterly refreshed the female gypsy, the singing stream bobbing along the creek further down where Gitana's eyes could not follow beyond the veil of trees.
Meanwhile, intrepid Jehan was moving down quickly, crouched down as he half-slid, half crawled down the steep slope. It seemed he was going to make it just fine, when his foot got caught in a thick buttress root, and inertia doing the rest, making him land on his face into a deep puddle of drying mad.
The sudden motion and the sweet aroma of the clay filled his nostrils; before the disgustingly cold and offending clayey texture covered his face and threatened to move into his nostrils and lips.
Gitana at the same span of time was suddenly surrounded by little Blue Gnomes, the paint on their face instantly giving their identities away. None truly came up to her hips, but they faces were curled up into a sneer. Each one seemed meaner than the other as they slowly moved to form a circle around the gypsy. No weapons were drawn, and even though these creatures were short, they would overcome the girl with sheer numbers alone.
"W'at yer be doin' here in de Dolwoods, lassie?" One of them rasped, arms crossed, seeming unimpressed no matter what the girl was going to say. They've stopped encroaching on her personal space after they stood about three paces away, and didn't seem to be of an immediate threat... yet.
Gitana might not know it, but Jehan was within earshot, just slightly less than a hundred meters away, behind a bush and nursing more of a bruised ego as mud slide down his face and hair.
"Pay respects to King Bettelgrim of de Dolwood." Another one of those little Blue Gnomes uttered excitedly, their hands waving and sweeping toward one of them, who didn't exactly look like a King in any mannerism or bearing, and if any, was perhaps an inch taller than all the rest of them.
The Blue Gnome in the meantime, seemed contented with the title and the show of authority, and was giving Gitana a look as if waiting for her to pay homage to him. Of course, it was all up to Gitana how she was going to do it, if she was going to do it.
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