Oh, my litttle flashlight

He waited as she thought, glad she had picked up on the hint, and his own happiness grew as she came forward with the correct answer.  "Caius thought hard, searching for a response.  He was a clever wolf, though, and after a time he too put forth an answer.  The very same that you gave.  The sphinx flapped her mighty wings, and for a moment he thought she would attack him there, but instead she moved to let him pass.  'That is correct.' she replied, and so he passed the first task thrown before him."  He gave her a congratulatory wave of his tail for her correct answer.


This was normally when a pause would come.  The story was long, and stretched over many nights.  Here he would continue, however, for he had promised at least three tales.  And he was enjoying the telling about as much as she was the listening, from the look of it.

"Thanking the good fortune that had allowed him to pass through unscathed, Caius continued on, delving into the forest's depths.  He knew that the dragon's lair would be near the center, but what he did not know was that these woods were not only full of magical creatures.  They were enchanted themselves.  Any who tried to pass through them would find themselves hopelessly lost, for the trees had a wicked sense of humor and loved changing the paths on unsuspecting travelers."  

This second tale was one of his father's favorites, and Dante wasn't sure how Osprey would take it.  He was quite sure, though, that the woman would get a far different lesson from it than what Atrix had tried to teach his children years ago.  "Trusting the paths, Caius wandered for what felt like days, until he was extremely weary and doubting himself immensely.  None of the paths he took seemed to draw any closer to the center of the forest, and instead he seemed to circle endlessly, always ending up in the same clearing where he started.  It was tempting, at this point, to even begin cursing the gods who had led him here to begin with.  But he was not quite that foolish.  He knew that none of those tales ended well."  Gods were rather prideful creatures and hardly let insults like that pass.

"Finally he gave up, having come upon the clearing for what must have been the fiftieth time, and sat down in the center, gazing at the sky above hopelessly.  I'll never find it, he thought sadly, and he felt as though he were watching his dreams of a home of his own fade away before his eyes.  He was beginning to worry he would perish in those woods, forever wandering, never able to even find a way out.  Then, a voice spoke.  'Are you lost?'"

"Caius was astounded, for he had met no one in all this long while.  Happy to hear even a voice, he called out 'Who wishes to know?'  Suddenly, a small, yellow bird appeared before him, landing on the earth before his paws and looking at him with one beady eye.  'Perhaps I can help you?'  the bird responded, though it gave no name to his question.  It was obvious that the animal was magic, for no normal creature could make it's home here, and therefore Caius was leery.  Still, he needed the help.  This was the question... should he trust the bird to lead him to the dragon?"  He looked at Osprey questioningly.  Though it would not affect the outcome of the tale, he was curious as to what she would choose when facing such a situation.

I too forget, so I twist them <3 haha.  I find it easier to start with a base though rather than completely my own ideas.  it's awesome you can come up with your own like that though!