The Adventures of Naila and Ming (Brian Kesinger's Writing Challenge)

The Adventures of Naila and Ming

"Oh, Ming, don't be silly. He wasn't trying to eat me," Naila murmured as she sketched the outline of the half-giant that they had encountered a few hours ago.

"I beg to differ," Ming insisted, as he mixed the colours that she would be using to the paint the giant's fiery coloured hair. "He picked you up and sniffed you. If that isn't preparing to eat someone, I don't know what is."

Naila took the paintbrush from him, smiling appreciatively. "He was just being friendly. Besides, if he had eaten me, I would have just woken up."

She started painting the giant's curls which sprang from boulder-shaped head. Ming was busy mixing the colours for his ash-coloured skin.

"We don't know that you would have woken up," Ming replied as he handed her the next paintbrush. "You've never been eaten before."

"I think I'm going to call him Barnabas," Niala mused, ignoring Ming momentarily. She tilted her head to the side as she attempted to view her painting objectively. "He looks like a Barnabus, doesn't he?"

"I think he looks more like a Dorf," Ming replied amusedly. "Do you get it? Dorf? Like dwarf? It's a pun, Niala!"

He snickered to himself and Niala paused to glance up at her old friend fondly. After their fourteen years of adventures, she would never tire of his jokes.

"You know, I think we're going to have to go back and finds out what his name was. A painting is never complete without a name."

He whizzed around her head excitedly to grab another paintbrush for her as she resumed painting. "As long as I get to see the fairies from the cave. Fairies sure know how to party!"

Naila laughed. "Fine, you can visit the fairy caves while I go and see Barnabas – or whatever his name was."

"As long as he doesn't eat you," Ming replied in a sing-song voice. "You were lucky I got there when I did. I was all YA! YA! YA!"

Every "YA!" was punctuated with a blow of the paintbrush against an imaginary opponent, spattering dots of shamrock green paint over both of them.

"Ming!" Naila squealed, standing up to reveal her mother's travelling cloak covered in paint.

He blew the imaginary smoke off of the end of the end of the brush after his final blow before noticing her ruined cloak. "Sorry about that, Nai. Let me get that for you."

Ming pointed his paintbrush in her direction and light shot out of the end in a narrow streak before covering her entire cloak in an unearthly glow. Within seconds, the cloak looked as good as new.

"Thanks," Naila told him gratefully as she sat back down to paint again. "Where do you suppose we'll end up tonight, Ming?"

She took the shamrock green paintbrush and filled in Barnabus' eyes.

"I hope it's at the bottom of the ocean like last week!" Ming answered enthusiastically. He conjured up a round fish bowl onto her desk and a snorkel mask that appeared into his face before he dove into the fishbowl from where he had been hovering. The water splashed out of the bowl and Naila rolled her eyes.

"Well, in that case, I hope we see Morgana again," Naila replied, nodding towards the painting of the blonde curly-haired mermaid that was pinned to the wall. "She was nice."

Ming rested his elbows on the edge of the fishbowl as he eyed the painting dubiously. "I don't think I ever want to hear her sing again."

Naila tried to hide her smile as she recalled how at the sound of Morgana's beautiful song, Ming suddenly became very tipsy: hovering unsteadily in the air, crashing into the cliffs and shooting sparks out of his tail. It was only when Morgana had retreated into the ocean that he regained his senses. He swore his would conjure up some ear plugs before she began singing again.

Ming flew out the fishbowl and it disappeared as soon as he had exited it. He hovered over Naila's shoulder for a moment to inspect her painting of Barnabas. It was only half-done.

Ming whizzed around to her face and pulled down tinted goggles, which helped her fall asleep, and began to pull on her cloak. "Come on, Naila. Let's go to bed! I want to go exploring!"

Naila laughed as she allowed herself to be pulled in the direction of the bed. The painting would simply have to wait: it was time for another adventure.