Day Seven - Other Characters

I've been so focused on developing the love story between Robin and Derrel (which is central to the overall plot) that I've been leaving out the protagonist's two crucial allies, Rory and Iris. Iris, as you know from previous blog posts, is the protagonist of "Fire Child", the prequel I'm writing. Rory is Robin's twin brother. In a way, both of these characters act as foils for the protagonist. Iris is exuberant as Robin is calm. Rory is clear-headed as Robin is emotional. Both of these characters are introduced in the beginning of the novel at the hook, but after that they don't get much love until Part II. I need to get readers invested in them, because they are crucial to the plot.

So today I've been working on a scene featuring the two of them. I want to do a few back to back scenes that occur simultaneously featuring these two characters, to break away from Robin's story. Here is a snippet from the draft:

            “You don’t need to remind me of that.” She reached down to scratch her knee. The days were getting hotter as summer approached, and she had begun cutting some of her pants short. “Goren fur, the itchiest material there is!” she declared. “And I declare, I’ve never had anything quite so delightful as goren milk and goren cheese in my life!”

            Rory reached down and tweaked her miniscule nose. “Yes, rub it in some more how you grew up eating the finest food in the land!”

            “I must admit, I prefer cow milk over goren milk any day! Goren milk is so sour!”

            “You should be used to it by now.”

            “Well I’m not, but I’d rather live here and drink milk from those smelly gorens than be shut up in a schoolroom all day.” She darted away from him, arms open wide. “La, this is the life for me!” She had come to a corner where the walkway wrapped around the bole of a giant tree. Thick vines grew up its length and twined in the branches above. A few smaller vines, thick as ropes, hung loosely from above. She reached over the railing and grabbed one, tugging on it to test its strength and durability. “You use these vines for tying things together, right?”

            “Yes. And if you get enough of them, you can make rope bridges. A lot of people aren’t comfortable with those though, which is why we stick to wood.”

            Iris tugged harder on the vine. “I daresay you could climb up and down these if you wanted, instead of using the stairs.”

            Rory looked down at her sternly. “I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t think it’s a good idea. If that thing breaks while you’re on it…”

            Iris had already climbed up onto the railing. She had the vine in her hands and stepped off.

            Rory felt his heart drop into his stomach as her weight caused the vine to swing away from the bridge, carrying her with it. He had a brief mental image of her plummeting to her death, and he screwed his eyes closed. The saw clattered to the floor.

            Iris’s howls of glee brought him back to his senses, and he opened his eyes. She was swinging, clinging to the vine, through the air like a wild woman.

            “Dash it, Iris, get back here! You’re going to get yourself killed!” he yelled at her.

            “Laaaaaaa!” was the only response he got from her as she sailed away on the wind. He watched her, increasingly frustrated, until the vine finally stopped swaying. Then she called out a farewell to him and began climbing down it, hand under hand.

            “May as well admire her spunk,” he muttered as he picked up his fallen saw. Recalling the look on her face as she swung freely through the air, he chuckled and continued on his way.