A little orange Dracoling walks through the alley on his way to his make shift workshop on the out skirts of the city. He kicks a rock as he melancholically shuffles his feet on the ground. A few minutes ago his dad had been scolding him for his obsession with flying. But he doesn't want to think about his dad right now, all he wants to do is to go and work on his latest design.

Then he stops as a chill runs down his spine. A sense of someone watching him compels him to turn around to look. He gives a shrug as he spins back around to continue walking. But that is when he sees it. Within the shadows he sees two pinpoint purple eyes pierce into his soul.

He falls backwards onto his back in fear. He yells out to the creature "What are you?"

"Hmph. Rude." A small, grating voice replied from the shadows. "It's who, not what!"

Hylltywyll had just been on their usual mischievous streak, messing with strangers in the city, pulling some pranks on passerby, and spotted something interesting. A Dracoling. It wasn't often one saw a Dracoling in this city, so he'd just followed the little guy on a whim. Apparently he was a bit more observant than the Fairy had expected though, catching sight of him stalking in the shadows. It was partially his own fault, underestimating him so much that he hadn't even deemed it necessary to use any magic to hide himself.

From the shadows, a tiny, fuzzy creature emerged, covered in dark purple fur with large, bat-like ears and bird-like feet. He stood even shorter than the small Dracoling, at only 2 feet tall, but he appeared even smaller as he stalked forward on all fours. His eyes were piercing, almost entirely black save for the bright pupils that faded from purple to blue. He stopped a few feet away from the fallen Dracoling and stood up. He pulled his hood off of his head, his ears slipping out of the holes in it that were made just for them, his face more visible in the light to show his mischievous smile.

"So, who are you?"

Hearing the creature's voice in front of him, the young Dracoling slowly rises to his feet to show he is not scared. He brushes the dust stuck to his black leather apron and burlap pants. "My name is Gobul, Gobul Giblin," he says as he takes off his tinted goggles.

He looks up and down at the odd features and colors of the small person in front of him. He reaches out to the creature for a handshake with a big goofy smile across his face. "I'm sorry I said that, you kind of startled me. What's your name?"

Hylltywyll eyed Gobul's offered hand suspiciously. He wasn't big on the whole 'friendly greeting' thing, choosing mostly to be alone or unseen by those he was messing with. He seemed innocent enough though, judging by his goofy smile. He probably didn't have a spell ready to harm him. He couldn't sense any magic being cast.

"Hylltywyll" He replied as he took Gobul's hand and shook it for about half a second before quickly retracting his arm.

He looked Gobul up and down, glancing at his goggles, apron, and pants. Hm. It didn't look there was much worth stealing off the Dracoling. There was nothing very shiny on him. The goggles looked kind of nice, but they probably wouldn't fit Hylltywyll very well. He looked back to Gobul's face again, still just a tad suspicious of the, in his opinion, overly friendly Dracoling.

"So, what are you doing here? I've never seen someone like you before. Not in this city."

Gobul retracts his hand and places his hands on his hips with the same extremely friendly smile on his face. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, friend. My dad and I run a potion shop just ‘round the corner,” he says, pointing behind his back to the busy market.


He walks over to a nearby barrel and leans his back against it. “I’ve lived ‘round here almost my entire life, and I just love the people who live here.” Gobul looks at the purple creature with curiosity and walks over to Hylltywyll to get a better look at him. “You don’t seem from ‘round here; where you from, and why do I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to see you?”

There it was again. Why do people keep calling him 'friend'? He never asked to be friends and wasn't trying to become one! He didn't need friends, and that definitely wasn't just what he told himself, it was the truth! Definitely.

Hmph. Why would anyone love the people in this city? Most of them were snobby nobles or pompous merchants. No one Hylltywyll could ever say he loved. What was wrong with this guy? 

Hylltywyll took a step back as Gobul came closer. He didn't like being so close to someone, being examined like that. He still didn't trust the friendly Dracoling as far as he could throw him, which was not very far at all considering he was only two feet tall. He also wasn't trusting enough to actually share where he was from, choosing to just ignore that question entirely.

"You wouldn't have seen me at all if I was really trying!" Hylltywyll growled indignantly with a huff. The Fairy's stealth abilities were amazing! If he'd actually been using any of his magic, he would have been practically invisible, completely silent, and totally unsmellable. That last part was especially impressive, in his opinion.

"Watch." He growled as he backed up, into the shadows and seemed to just completely disappear, his form cloaked in shadowy magic that made him blend into the darkness between the junk and clutter. He stood there with a smug smile, thinking Gobul must be thoroughly impressed by his display of magic.

---

One With the Shadows

Gobul is unaware of how uncomfortable he is making Hylltywyll and wonders why he is so jaded toward him.

His eyes light up with a twinkle of admiration as the small purple creature merges with the darkness. He quickly pulls out his notebook and a pen from the pouch on the front of his apron and starts doodling and enthusiastically asking questions.

“How did you do that? Can you just do it, or do you have to cast a spell? Can you see while you do that? What do shadows smell like? Or feel like? Or *gasp* taste like?”

Gobul couldn't see the faces Hylltywyll was making while hidden in the shadows, but if he could, he would have seen just how confused the Fairy was by all of his sudden rapid-fire questions. What do shadows what? Small like? Taste like? Shadows don't have any of that, they're just shadows! What was this Dracoling on? Hylltywyll shook his head, clearing his thoughts. At least Gobul had asked a question he could answer.

"I can see just fine. I can see better in the shadows than anyone!" He boasted proudly and then had a fun idea.

"You want to know what a shadow feels like? Why don't you come over and find out yourself?"

Gobul looks up from his doodling to look at the currently speaking shadow. He puts away his notebook and cocks his head as if he is confused at the question. ‘Is it possible for him to go in to?’ he thinks to himself. It would be very informative into his research to find a magical means of flight.

He slowly walks over to the darkness. He reaches out with an outstretched hand but stops a few inches from the shadows.


“Is it safe to touch?” the little Dracoling asks, still wondering if this is a good idea.

"What, have you never touched a shadow before?" Hylltywyll asked, incredulous. What did he mean, 'Is it safe to touch'? Had this guy never stood under some shade, or been somewhere dark before? It's just a shadow. He'd never met someone so ridiculously cautious before!

Well fine. He'd just take matters into his own hands.

Before Gobul got a chance to change his mind about things and step away, Hylltywyll suddenly reached out of the shadows and grabbed the Dracoling by the hand with both of his own and pulled him into the darkness.

Instead of stepping into the shade between the jun stacked on the side of the alleyway, it was like he was pulled into a completely different space that was pitch black in every direction. He couldn't see his hand directly in front of his face, all he could feel was Hylltywyll's hands around his own and that he was standing on solid ground. Solid ground that was completely smooth, unlike the cobblestone alleyway.

Hylltywyll chuckled audibly as he released Gobul's hand and stepped back.

---

Hylltywyll's Shady Shelter

The small dracoling’s face of wonder and excitement turns to surprise as Hylltywyll forcefully grabs him. Gobul struggles against the tightly grasping hand of the creature as he is pulled into what he can only describe as an infinite abyss. He lands on his feet only to trip due to the momentum of his entry.


Gobul looks around his unfamiliar environment and sees nothing around him. Gobul starts to shake due to his fear of the dark. He pulls out a small piece of dried wood and a striker then sets the wood on fire. Gobul grabs the fire and makes it bigger to see around him (Control Fire). He looks around the area and speaks into the abyss.


“Hylltywyll, are you there? Your kind of scaring me, friend.”

With the light of the makeshift torch, the room brightened by only a tiny amount, but it was just enough to give Gobul just a hint of what was around him.

The room was square, and not that large. It was about the size of a small home, like a hut or a cabin. Small glints from Gobul's torch revealed, piled along the walls were countless trinkets and coins, a hoard of stolen, shiny objects that had caught the gremlin's eye and been vulnerable enough for him to slip into this shadowy realm of his unseen.

The walls and floor of the room though, no matter how exposed to the light of the flames, remained entirely pitch black.

Standing right next to Gobul, the torchlight lighting him from beneath to give him an ominous appearance with his face mostly hidden in the depths of his hood, was Hylltywyll, standing there with a grin.

"What's this do?" He asked, holding up one of Gobul's potions. With his nimble hands, stealing it from the Dracoling had been child's play in the few moments of total darkness.

Gobul looks around at the giant horde of stuff that this little gremlin has. He ogles at the treasure horde and is stunned in disbelief at the sheer number of items. He can see jewelry, candelabras, weapons, and a whole lot of solars. There are potions and poisons that an up-and-coming alchemist hopes to make one day.

Gobul looks around at the walls but sees abyssal nothingness. He looks down at the floor hoping to see a wood or stone floor. Instead, he sees the little creature that is Hylltywyll staring up at him standing on the pitch-black floor. He is at first startled, but he quickly recomposes himself to a calmer demeanor.

He looks at the potion in Hylltywyll’s little hands. “Oh, that’s a healing potion. You can have it if you want it, I can always make more,” he says giving the little creature a big smile.

Contrary to how most people would probably react to someone saying they can have something, Hylltywyll was disappointed. It wasn't fun stealing from someone if they just let you have it without a fight! Gobul's big smile just made it worse.

"Hmph." Hyll huffed as he just added the potion to the pile in the corner with a clank of glass on metal. He was tempted to just toss it and let it break, but that would have spilled the potion all over his other things and been a waste. Even if it hadn't been as fun to take as he'd hoped, it was still another prize for his collection, so he treated it with at least a little care.

"So, how do you like touching a shadow?" Hylltywyll asked, pointing to the pitch black floor that Gobul was standing on. Other than the stolen treasures piled up in the room, this place was entirely shadow. He'd at least been honest in giving Gobul the chance to feel solid shadow for himself, though the Dracoling had gotten over his fear of the place faster than he'd expected, or liked.

Gobul is happy that Hylltywyl accepted his gift of friendship. He gives the gremlin an even bigger and goofier smile than before. He was slightly confused at Hylltywyl's reaction to the potion and how he treated his gift, but he was happy nonetheless that he could give his newfound friend something.

He looks around the room again another time while formulating an answer to the creature's question. He looks at Hylltywyl, excited as a person of science and magic to experience something new. "I half expected the area to be infinite, but it is still cool to be in what is essentially another realm of existence!" he exclaims as he pulls out his notebook and starts to write and doodle in it once more.

His face of excitement slowly drifts into sadness as he remembers his failures. He doesn't understand how Hylltywyl can do amazing feats of magic while Gobul can't even make a working flying machine without it falling and destroying itself. He walks over to the center of the room and sits down, racking his brain on how to get as strong as Hylltywyl. He looks up at the gremlin and melancholically asks him a question. "How did you get this strong in magic?"