Gormglaith | Page 3

naked and
casperish little sister Gobnait who was in busy gab with a hovering
goblin toonishly cast like a big, yellow, black striped honeybee and
yelled,
"I'm home!"
"Hi Gormglaith!" came a chirpy greeting from the kitchen.
"Hi Giorsal. Where's Geileis?"

"They're here somewhere... I think!"
"They?"
"Here I am!"
By a narrow doorway Geileis Grendel Hafgan Halsen stood swathed in
dark shadows, orange sunset flooding behind her. Six feet tall with a
lank frame bearing wrinkled grey longstockings pulled up to her bare
flat chest and wearing big yellow Frisian wooden klompen Geileis
seemed about twenty, after which one looks elsewhere for clues. She
greeted Gormglaith with canny blue lake eyes, shoving back neck
length straw hair and smiling chalkenly as kynn are wont to do when a
clannin daughter comes home for supper.
"Look," said Gormglaith, holding out the prism straight armed. "Devon
gave it to me."
Geileis grinned at her twin daughter.
"That's neat!"
"Ripping, Gormglaith!" answered someone else.
"Shenn Grainne Grendel!"
"Gormglaith Grendel Hafgan Halsen!" said a shorter girl with long
yellow hair and sunken eyes, hands on hips in black longstockings,
platinum edged klompen to match (and among the very few hints she
was nudging a hundred and ninety).
They hugged and kissed and spun.
As the sun's last beams blew rafters of ruddy orange through wefted
windows the three of them stood and played with the prism, splitting a
wide band of true red onto the chalky stone wall. Seeing a bright
rainbow of light streaking from her sister's hand Gobnait forgot the bee
and ran over to wrap an arm each about Geileis and Gormglaith's
thighs.

"That is a Nichneven..." said the moppet, tugging at their legs whilst
shrewdly following it with a deft stereo stare.
They scrunched on an embroidered rug with the prism. Gobnait soon
wandered off with a weary sigh. Gormglaith stayed cross legged,
Geileis and Grainne with knees drawn to chins, glittering prism at their
klompened feet.
"We were having sunflower butter and strawberry jam butties," said
Gormglaith, "reading Lundin Sundering and she set it on the board. She
says it's for Harvest Home, since I got another Tales of the Knotty
Kindel book for my birthday and Yule is moons off. She's had it for
over 225 years and says it was old when she got it."
"Yule or Harvest Home," Geileis sighed, "it's quite the token."
"I saw Findabair..." said Gormglaith, leveling a smile.
"...She wants to plight."
Twin daughter and kynn held likened looks as Grainne cast Geileis a
sharpening glance.
"...Oh!" said Geileis, shaking her head. "What'dst thou say? Who's the
lucky third?"
Gormglaith leaned back and grinned.
"I told her I'd think about it."
"Gurfling..." came a silvery tongue as the front doors opened.
"...to a dodgy end." said a lower one.
Gormglaith sprang up like a spindly apple snatcher robot.
Enid Hafgan Halsen was of shorter than middling height, a faaish grass
witch with sly hazel eyes and sandy hair falling lankily in two thin
braids, long bangs sweeping forward over hidden cheeks and a hint of

overbite which by most tellings some girls found weird and fetching.
At her side was Aine of Knockaine, pillywigginish and lithe yet hardy
with a pushed up, squish nose and blue black, orange streaked hair in
big thick braids hanging to her waist. They were both in the abiding
grey longstockings, handy cutty sarks and thrash wooden klompen
worn so wontedly by thralls in the West Meads.
"Looky!"
"Gasping, Gormglaith," said Enid, nudging her bangs. "Cracking
prism... ash ice, looks like a Nichneven... this thing'll split starlight.
Where'dst tha get it?"
"Devon Fayrbirn."
"...Lapped two thousand years ago, at least," Enid said as Geileis
entwined her like a gangly cat, "and looky here... oy!"
Geileis had slapped her bottom, pulling away with a tight grin.
"Hi Grainne," said Enid, handing the prism back to Gormglaith and
casting an unflappable gaze, bangs slipping over her long face.
"Hi Aine!" blurted Geileis, grinning wide, "...how's Ailis?"
"Hey Geileis. Oh, she's fettle... fatter."
Everyone laughed.
"Tell her I'll come by tomorrow and feaze her!"
"Ok Geileis," answered Aine, braids quivering.
"Oh, Aine'll eat with us tonight," said Enid. "A reaper scrozzled on the
slope by the larch grove, gurfling like a window washer down a well."
"Fy."
"Yeah, both shims... anyway she's going to help Giorsal and me make

the swap after supper."
"By the way y'all..." Geileis said clanninishly.
"...Giorsal gathered pumpkins!"
"Lilies!" answered Enid, wrapping herself in reedy arms and swaying
with eyes closed. "I'm craven!"
Giorsal came from the kitchen with hip length, milky ponytails
swooshing.
"Hey Aine," she said, "dost tha recall that gingerbread spell...?"
Words tumbled as Geileis spun Gormglaith by the shoulders.
"...And thou 'glaithen girl might get to nest ...tidy and bright for supper
tonight!"
Geileis