forsyth | Accomplishment!

Yay, I finished the ROUGH DRAFT of the KidFors story. I think there's a couple inconsistencies on names in part of it, like for the mage. And some of it might be edited later to fix continutiy and stuff, but for now, it's rough drafted. Yay.

Part 1
Part 2

Creepy, one month and a day exactly between when I posted the first part, and the finished rough draft part. I should be faster

"I said shut up, Fors you little brat!"
Eliza's grin got bigger. I could see this was being filed in the little sister blackmail torment drawer. "Okay, that's enough," Mom said, "I think the whole town's heard you both by now."
"But Mom..." Edalin protested.
"But nothing," she said and turned to me, "Forsyth, what were you doing?"
There wouldn't be any point in lying, especially since I'd already told Mom what I was gonna do. "Looking for your backpack," I said.
"Aye, that's what the lad said he was doin," Patch said, rounding the corner.
What was he doing here? Hey, what's that... hey! He's got Mom's backpack! He coulda told me that, why that...
Mom turned to Patch. "That's what he'd threatened to do. Thanks for watching it for me," she said.
Everybody was looking at Patch. So nobody was looking at me. He was holding Mom's backpack out toward her and coming toward us. We'll see about that! I darted forward and jumped up at the backpack. SNAG!
That didn't quite work out how I'd planned. Patch was looking our way and saw me run, tried to yank the backpack up out of the way. So I just snagged the straps, and... sorta hung there. Blah. Gave him too much warning to get a grip on it. "Uh, hi," I said, as Patch lifted me and the backpack up, "I found it."
"I guess ye could look at it that way," he said.
Eliza and Cedric both burst out laughing. Edalin was still in her "take offense at everything" mode, so she was just sorta gaping. Mom smiled and chuckled a little. "'E's persistent, ye gotta give 'im that," Patch said.
I dangled, then started swinging back and forth, to get some momentum and get up off Patch's arm. "Patch, put him down," Mom started.
Then I swung up high enough and grabbed Patch's arm and climbed up on that. "I'm fine," I said, "I'm gonna rescue your backpack!"
Oddly enough for an old scarred veteran soldier, Patch was very ticklish. Something I exploited then, starting to tickle him to make him let go of Mom's backpack. Which wouldn't fall, I still had the straps wrapped around my other arm.
"'Ey! No fair, cut that out!" Patch yelled.
"Forsyth!" Edalin yelled.
Mom sighed. "Forsyth..."
Cedric and Eliza kept laughing, spurred on by Patch's laughter. "'Ey! Leggo! Quit it!" Patch yelled, trying to swat and shake me off.
No way I was gonna get swatted off that easily. But the flailing and swatting served a purpose. Mine. Mom's backpack slipped out of Patch's grip, leaving me with my prize. THEN I let go, and let Patch's flinging send me flying, sortakinda plannedly. I hit the ground awkwardly and kinda hard, but with the backpack clutched to my chest. Victory!
Edalin ran over toward me. "Give me that, it's Mom's!" she said.
I was ready for her this time though an dove between her feet when she got close, and then I was off. Heh, not as smart and perfect as she thinks she is, now is sh...URK.
Some ungrateful ingrate tripped me! In my moment of triumph! Who would dare do such a thing, and make me drop the backpack... Oh. "Uh, hi Mom?" I said as mom plucked the backpack from the ground.
Note to self. Don't gloat until I get away. Cedric and Eliza were still laughing, and Edalin joined in too. What the hey, I looked like an idiot, so I started laughing too. "I think I'll keep an eye on this now," Mom said.
"So, do we get our presents now?" I asked.
"Forsyth, quit being so greedy!" Eliza said.
"Presents!" Cedric said, clapping his hands and bouncing.
Correction, BOTH my sisters are bossy brats. I stuck my tongue out at Eliza and rolled out of the way as Edalin's shadow fell across me. Ha, she missed! I stuck my tongue out at her too. She sighed and rolled her eyes at me, evidently deciding the satisfaction she'd get from catching me and tormenting me would be less than the dignity she'd lose chasing me. I win!
"So, ye wish ye were on the road again already?" Patches asked Mom quietly. Not quiet enough for me to not hear it, obviously.
Mom chuckled and shook her head. "Nah, it's good to be back. 'Sides, if I was gone, you guys would have to deal with them like this all the time. I like a few of you too much to do that to you."
"Presents!" Cedric yelled again, slipping free of Eliza and running over to attach himself to Mom's leg.
"Aren't you getting a little old for that?" Mom asked him, ruffling his hair.
"No," Cedric said, honestly, which made her laugh.
Pah, stealing my lines, the little doofus. Well, guess I could excuse it, since Mom started rummaging around in her backpack, probably for the presents. Woo.
"Well, let me see. If it's broken, you'll have to blame Forsyth."
"Hey, me? No way, it's Edalin's fault. And you tripped me!" I objected.
Cedric stuck his tongue out at me. Where'd he pick up such bad habits? Hmpf, bratty little brother. "Here you go, Cedric," Mom said, handing him a thin wrapped box.
"YAY!" Cedric yelled and sat down to tear it open.
"Here you go," Mom said, holding a book out to Eliza.
"What is it, what is it?" I asked, peering around her.
"Hey! Mine! Get back, brat!" Eliza yelled.
"Aww," I said, "I just wanted to see!"
"Oooh, thank you, Mom! I love his poetry!"
Blarg. His poetry. Sure. Stupid sisters, going all gooky over stupid long-haired singers. Wasn't even good poetry, either. "For my love is like a boundless stream/ and your face haunts me in every dream." Come on, that's stupid. And if it were any cheesier, it'd make mice puke. Sisters. What can you do with them?
Cedric'd gotten his box unwrapped and open, and pulled out a shiny shirt. "Ooooooh," most of us said at once.
"Yay! A knight shirt! Yay! Thank you, Mommy!" he said, clutching it to his chest.
I tugged at part of it, to look at it better. It wasn't REALLY a knight shirt, it just looked like it'd had armor plates painted on it or something. With very shiny paint. Mighta been magic, illusions aren't that hard to do... Very shiny, though. Cedric's cuddling of the shirt pulled it out of my hand, then something bonked me on the head. "Ow!"
Edalin laughed. Eliza giggled. Mom even chuckled a little. Bah, girls are evil. I looked down, there was a box lying by my feet. I picked it up. It was covered in little cranks, dials, locks, and other things. "Oooh, a puzzle box, what's in it?" I asked
"The point's not to know, silly."
"Yeah, but I wanna know."
"Forsyth, can't you ever just not ask questions?" Edalin asked.
I thought for a second. "No, why wouldn't I?"
"It's a beginner lockpick set. But you can't have them until you get the box open."
"Oh! NEAT!" I thought for a second, "But I've already got a set."
"You do, eh? Where'd you get it? I gave my first set to Edalin."
"And I keep them in my backpack..." Edalin started.
"Yeah, those. I borrowed them, Edalin wasn't using them, she's got her own now."
"HEY! Mom gave those to me! They're special! Give 'em back!"
"I stole them fair and square!" I shouted back.
I had a head start this time, no way she was gonna catch me. Behind us, I heard Mom and Patch laughing. "At least I didn't tell them about your mushy journal!" I shouted back at Edalin.
"Hold still, you!" she yelled.
"Gotta catch me first!" I laughed, and kept running.

Fin.

I think some of the family interaction might need a little bit of reworking, twelve year old Fors isn't coming across QUITE right. Oh, and for those interested, Fors's family...

Mom - "Lightfingers"
Dad - Michael

Kids, in age order

Edalin - Fors +4
Eliza - Fors +2
Forsyth
Cedric - Fors -5
Terry - Fors -12

I still haven't come up with a good last name, Cedric goes by Cerinbroak later on, but that's the name of the town and he's all paladiny, so. Baker's no good at all, even if it is descriptive. His mom doesn't use her original last name, hasn't for years, for reasons I might get into in something else. Or her real first name, until she ran into Fors's dad, anyway, and they ended up sorta settling down. She went by "Lightfingers Ladraeo", Ladraeo being Semi-Bastardized Foriegn for Ferret. Or thief, I forget which. Anyhew. And yes, the family names are a rather weird selection, the result of adventuring and traveling and the fact I suck at making up names, too. And yes, the +/- is ages, relative. And they're somewhat approximate, I may tweak them a little bit to make everything fit, later on, if necessary.