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Post by ❅ Icy Dragon ✩ on Apr 26, 2021 22:50:54 GMT -7
W o l f T/W: kidnapping, violence, blood
As the light of the sun began to fade and gave way to dusk, the air grew thick with tension. Hidden away beneath brush and under a coat of reddish dust, Wolf lay completely still. Her emerald gaze remained fixed on the encampment below. Several carriages formed a semi-circle around a low burning campfire. The well fed steeds had been tied away to nearby trees or hobbled. It'd take some time to free them all, should the alarm sound. However, Wolf did not fear any alarm. The guards were gathered around the fire with their weapons laid aside. Only a handful remained somewhat alert near the outskirts of the camp. Those who rode inside the coaches remained a secret, hidden behind thick velvet curtains that did not dare be drawn open. Once meat hit the fire, Wolf was certain the last few would be lured out from their elaborate, wooden hides.
It'd been nearly a week now that Wolf had tracked the caravan and the first night she'd been able to observe. The collection of elegant carriages appeared to be dawdling. Normally the journey through the passage would take only two days. Travelers would attempt to avoid spending more than one night, if able. She hadn't ascertained the reason for the slow movement. Each of the wagons made no attempt to conceal the riches they bore. Even the horses that drew them were of fine breeding with either coats of onyx or pure as snow. Wolf was no idiot, she knew that just about anything she could scavenge off these travelers would be worth the trouble. However, there was certain to be a reason that the caravan did not show fear. Either they were complete morons or they had a defense strong enough to not worry in the slightest about a thieves or marauders. She had a feeling it was the latter.
True night finally settled over the encampment as sky darkened to an inky hue. A sliver of the moon offered little excess light other than the dwindling fire. The flames were only kept alive when the sole awake guard would remember to toss another log in. It appeared Wolf had been incorrect with her assumption that food would draw out even the most elusive. No one had left the carriages yet, only the guards who rode around them slept on the ground now. This was frustrating, but offered a more tempting possibility. Perhaps the precious cargo wasn't live. The caravan could contain jewels, fine clothes, or god knows what else. Even better, they could simply bear a messenger with a letter that could shift the tides of whatever political war was ongoing. Wolf found such things to be outside her cares - considering she was outside the law. However, she knew just how much a hostage like that could be worth. It was becoming increasingly clear that she'd need to get a look inside those gaudy wagons.
With only one guard not yet victim to meat and whiskey, there seemed no better time to get started. Standing halfway between five and six feet with more lithe muscle than fat, Wolf was well adept to the life of stealth. She cautiously rose to her hands and knees as the guard took a seat beside the fire. The man's face remained mostly concealed by shadow, but his gaze appeared to be fixated on the flames. It gave Wolf enough confidence to push herself back and away from the rock strewn cliff she'd been laying on for hours now. From the inky, cliffside shadows, she heard a gentle whine. The girl whipped around, a finger drawn to her lips in a silent cue to shush. The command was taken seriously as the whining subsided and the creatures took a step forth into the faint light. Only if she squinted, could Wolf make out the shapes of her two feral companions. Creatures that bore sharp teeth and an instinct that drove them to kill, yet could be made loyal. They would serve as her protection.
Silently, Wolf crept along the boulders that lined the cliff. The wolf duo that trailed behind remained low to the ground and quiet. As she passed the circle of carriages, Wolf paused briefly to survey the embankment and area below. Dark shadows veiled all the elegant detailing of the coaches and potentially hid any peering eyes. A frown weighed down the corners of her mouth as she considered that someone could be watching from behind the curtains. A nocked arrow could easily find its way to her chest from a hidden enemy. With so few on watch, the girl was almost certain that there had to be something she was missing. She'd need to be careful.
Having decided that simply slipping down the cliff was too risky, Wolf backtracked briefly to an area concealed by brambles. Their thorny clutches were enough to conceal her movement at the cost of only a few scrapes. Her hounds would refuse to follow this alternate path, but she could call upon them later if needed. Alone, she crawled down the rough cliff face. Each jagged rock attempted to tear her clothes or mar her flesh. Only the thin veil of a hood protected her face from the onslaught of brambles, which kept her pinned close to the rocks. Wolf ground her teeth and remained focused on the task. No small scratches would distract her now.
To reach the base of the cliff was a great relief. Wolf easily slunk from the shadows that concealed her descent on the cliffs into the pitch shadows of the carriages. From experience, she knew that the more valuable items wouldn't be on any end wagon. Those to go first and last were merely misdirects. No, her prey would be towards the center.
With all the stealth of a panther, Wolf crept along the wheels of the wagons - out of sight. The dancing shadows from the fire hardly touched her beyond the wheels and tall grass between her and the flames. Hardly more than a sigh or grunt escaped the only waking guard and Wolf knew he wouldn't be sober enough to notice her at this point. As she reached the second caravan from the center, she paused. This was as good as any of time to finally get a peek at the valuables within. A smirk played over her lips as the girl slowly pulled herself up and gingerly reached a hand up to poke aside the curtain. Just a little bit, just enough for her to see what her long awaited treasure would be.
Wolf held her breath as she pressed her cheek against the cool wood of the wagon. She had to blink a few times as her eyesight adjusted to the darkness concealed within. The opposing window was dimly lit by the fire and cast a faint, orange glow across the bench. Her green eyes widened as a piece of ivory cloth became visible in the din. It appeared to be fine lace, like something that might adorn a lady's dress. The cloth trailed up onto the bench opposite her window and Wolf leaned a bit closer to peer in further - but her gaze made it no further.
A roar that seemed the mix of feline and monster jolted the bandit from her curious stupor. Solely acting on instinct, Wolf sank to the ground as her hands deftly found the bow stashed away on her back. The arrow as nocked before her sight had even adjusted to the change of light and found the beast that stood before her. A beast of a cougar with muscles tensed and indicating an onslaught of lethal claws. She released the arrow and in the same motion, rolled over her shoulder and scrambled up to her feet. A blur of tan hide and the harsh creak of the wagon as the lion slammed against it told her all she needed to know. Cussing silently to all the gods she knew of, Wolf spun on her heels and sent another arrow towards the enraged cat. It lurched forward with one massive paw and swiped at the arrow, knocking it enough off course that the typically lethal point merely grazed its shoulder.
Dread wasn't a normal emotion for Wolf, but she certainly felt it as the cougar began to stalk towards her. Her lips pulled back into a snarl, mocking the murderous cat as it tried to mark her as its prey. The two began to circle one another and in that moment, a sliver of light caught Wolf's eye. A metal cuff appeared embedded in the cougar's hind leg. At first she hadn't noticed, as the fur had nearly grown over the edges - likely from years of wearing it. From there, it was easy to spot the rope that tethered the beast to one of the other caravans. The lack of guards was starting to make sense now.
A plan formed with the ferocity of a rogue wave. Before it could even be put into worded thoughts, Wolf yanked free her dagger from its sheath and bolted for the carriage that restrained the cat. The sudden dash didn't spare her from the cougar's rage as it lunged after her and swiped at her leg with its claws. A searing pain caused Wolf to stumble and she managed to throw herself down next to the carriage and roll beneath it with the momentum. The lion was quick to follow, growling and hissing as it reached beneath the wagon with its outstretched claws. Knowing that the noise had likely stirred the guards, Wolf wasted no time in pulling herself along under the belly of the wagon - keeping to the far side to avoid the cougar's swipes though it still managed a good slash along her arm. Just at arm's reach away she could see the hitch the rope was tied off to. A sloppy knot. It was only a matter of time before the cat freed itself and devoured its captors, so why not hurry things along?
The rope cut easily beneath Wolf's dagger. It fell away to the ground along with her hopes of a clean robbery. The cat didn't realize its freedom immediately and Wolf decided to help that along. She tugged free the short end of the rope and flung one end towards the front of the wagon, hoping to draw the feline's attention. The cougar was quick to chase and sunk its claws into the rope before biting down with what should have been a lethal blow. Wolf couldn't help but smile as she admired the beast and all its potential. It was too bad that cats were much harder to tame than cattle or wolves.
Again and again she yanked free the rope and flung it out the edge of the wagon - each time growing closer to the gap between carriages. The cat was growing frustrated and its growls drew attention from the sleeping guards. Wolf could hear their confusion and alarm, but knew she likely just had one way out now. As the men finally began to awaken from their drunken slumber, the shadows danced around the fire more vigorously and finally the cat's eye was drawn. It hesitated as it caught the rope for the umpteenth time and its amber gaze fixated on the movement on the other side of the caravan. Wolf tensed as she watched the cougar lower itself and still. There was more movement from the fire and a shadow obscured the only dim light that'd reached the cat. It was enough to trigger the cougar. With powerful muscles rippling beneath a tawny coat, the lion launched itself through the slim gap between the carriages. Wolf could not see the result, but the agonized screams and then brief gurgling told her that it'd found its mark.
More cries of alarm sounded and that was Wolf's cue to get moving. She clawed her way out from beneath the wagon back to the outside circle and bolted back towards the one curtain she'd investigated earlier. The small sight had been enough to intrigue her and she yanked open the carriage's door, expecting perhaps rich dresses or silks.
Instead, her emerald gaze fell upon the slight figure of a child huddled upon the bench. Before the scowl could even contort her face, the child lunged towards her and threw its weak, scrawny arms around her neck. It took every last bit of restraint for Wolf not to stab the kid and she instead attempted to pry it off. Her hands reached for the youth's shoulders, though found a shawl embedded with jewels. Curiously, she raised it up to get a better look, momentarily forgoing the need to shove the child away. A heavy brooch with that of a noble crest glistened in the dying light of the fire. Wolf's eyes widened as she realized just what value this brat held. The disgustingly rich nobles would pay a delightful ransom for their heir.
Though she despised the contact, Wolf scooped the child up in her arms and turned to run. It seemed the youth was afraid of whatever, so it remained quiet in her arms aside from the occasional whimper. Even as a straggler guard's attention turned to Wolf and he attempted to chase her, her piercing whistle and the subsequent snarls as the wolves hunted down the man did not disturb the child. Wolf had to admit it was a little harder to get back up the cliff while lugging along the cargo. She fell to her knees several times and added to the collection of bloodied wounds she'd obtained.
Once safely atop the cliff, she hesitated only long enough to whistle again and continued to run once she heard her hounds crashing through the brush behind her. From there, they ran. It seemed like hours of scaling canyon walls and broken pathways. All the while, Wolf held the child as it clung to her neck. She was curious what sort of life it lead where that was the reaction - not that it'd matter. As the sky turned a raw salmon hue, Wolf finally came to rest in a cove hidden along a steep canyon wall. It was deep enough for her and the wolves to duck inside and lounge about without being seen. However, the height above a steep cliff kept it hidden from those who didn't already know of it.
The cave was a welcome sight and Wolf sat down with a loud sigh. Both of her wolves joined her and curled up on either side. She then examined the youth still cradled in her arms. "You're going to have to learn to walk at some point," she stated flatly, her green gaze unamused by the extra effort she'd had to put in just getting to the cave. This seemed to cause the child to stir and it peeked up at her from beneath snowy white bangs. A chill swept over Wolf as she met the kid's crimson eyes. "Sorry," was all he uttered. It took Wolf a moment to fully register just what she'd stolen here. An albino noble? He'd been hidden away in the caravan, not even without a nanny or maid for company. Perhaps he was a secret. Something that some noble assholes had tried to hide away. Wolf grinned.
"Don't be sorry, my little treasure!" she laughed and leapt up to her feet, pulling the young boy along with her. He seemed startled, but Wolf took his hands in her own. "You're worth so much more than being hidden away in a rickety, old carriage! We'll show them how wrong they were to try and hide you," she could hardly contain herself as the thought of exposing some nasty, political secret. Maybe this kid was a bastard child? Marked by a curse? A severely ill prince, tucked out of sight for a second born to become heir instead? Oh, the possibilities were endless and it made her giddy. Wolf spun the child around, swaying their arms as she giggled and danced about. At first the youth seemed confused, but after being twirled several times, he finally began to laugh and spin about. It seemed utterly bizarre to prance about with such glee, but all Wolf could imagine was the terror the caravan would face in the morning light. As she spun, leapt, laughed and danced away the dawn, the guards would be left to pick up the remains of their friends and discover the empty wagon. Perhaps she'd keep the child with her for a week or two - let them really panic before she made her demands. Then she'd give maybe another week to fulfill them before rewarding their compliance with the return of their child. In pieces, if she felt like it.
Wolf ceased her chaotic dance and stilled for a moment, panting. She glanced down to the young boy as he spun himself dizzy and fell to the floor in a heap of giggles. "Now, don't injure yourself," she cooed as she leaned down to pick up the boy yet again. "Wouldn't that be just terrible?"
Wolf - 2,861 Words Notes: Wolf just wrecking lives as a bandit lol In this universe, Cadoc is younger than her and a noble, so she steals him. Little does she know, he grows up to be even grumpier than she is.
OOC Prompt Section Prompt: #3 Badasses R Us (Bandit) Bonuses: - Prompt done as a human. (+10,000) - Your character dances in some way. (+10,000) - 2000+ words (+50,000)
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Master Commander
wat is love
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They/Them
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4,897 posts
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points
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Co - Admin
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Post by ❅ Icy Dragon ✩ on Apr 27, 2021 21:26:41 GMT -7
Z a n a ' s R o s e T/W: blood, violence to rodents, illness Even with the years that steadily ticked past, Zana wasn't sure she could get used to this. Her life had become enclosed within the walls of a warehouse. It'd become especially true as the issues with her son became more prevalent. It wasn't possible to simply wander off for days at a time like she used to. Link was still too young to be left alone for long - even with the various tutors around that Respira had hired on. However, she didn't resent him for it. The boy needed all the help he could get and she wasn't about to fail yet another child. Link's condition was an odd one, but she hadn't run out of ideas quite yet. Which was what lead to the paper bag she now held close to her chest. It was a new tactic in Zana's endless war against the hunger that plagued her son's mind. Things had escalated recently and no doctor could offer an explanation. Having come from living couch to couch, she wasn't exactly used to the most expensive health care, but she'd at least had her hopes a doctor might help. They hadn't. There was no discernible reason for the agony the boy went through, seemingly at random. It kept Zana awake most nights as she fretted over her son, unable to help. It made her feel useless. Link would scream and cry out from nightmares or enter a feverish state where he craved unorthodox foods. Even when he did devour them, the stomach pains would persist and he'd grow immensely ill. It wasn't uncommon for the young boy to be stuck in bed for days at a time. He couldn't hardly do anything a normal child could and it was eating Zana up. She wasn't going to stop until she could find something to help. Thankfully, Link's latest cravings had left her with an idea. That last attack had been nothing short of a nightmare, though. The mother and child shared a room on the main level of the warehouse (a common thing among their little mafia group). Zana was incredibly thankful for that, as it allowed her to witness the event and clean things up before anyone else had seen. A lot of questionable acts were well tolerated by Respira... but Zana wasn't sure if her son's condition would be one of them. It'd involved quite a lot of blood. Not Link's, of course, but that of the poor creatures he'd managed to catch. Zana had to admit that she'd been surprised by the seven year old's agility. She could have never expected him to catch rodents with his bare hands. Then again, she hadn't expected him to devour them either. The whole room had been a mess of sickly amounts of blood and fur when she'd returned. Link had curled up beneath the bed, his little hands wrapped firmly around the remains of the rat he was gnawing on. The horror of discovering a bloodied room and a missing child had caused Zana to drop to her knees - only to spot her son hiding beneath the bed with his catch. That had been only a month ago. Zana was no doctor, but she wasn't sure that the natural progression of nightmares was to stomachaches, then onto slaughtering rodents. The whole scene had left her unnerved and she'd been sure to not leave Link on his own since then. At least, not where he could get his hands on more rats. She wasn't sure how the others would take the news that her son was acting a bit savage, so she kept the event as quiet as she could. The blood had been bleached away and Link put through about a thousand baths. Zana tried to keep an endless flow of snacks at hand, but it did nothing to curb the cravings. The nightmares and feverish sickness only grew worse until one day in which Link managed to get his hands on some of the dogs' raw food. Upon devouring the uncooked beef, the symptoms worsened, but then absolved completely. It'd been a shock, but it offered Zana some hope. It wasn't very hard after that to suss out types of raw meats that could be eaten without as many health concerns as that of wild animals. In fact, there was a very viable option that Zana simply had just never thought of before and it wasn't too hard to obtain. Sushi. The little rolls of fish and rice wrapped in seaweed had always seemed so fancy and out of reach. Even after spending years living with Respira, it was hard to remember that she could actually get her hands on more than just the basics. It'd been a bit awkward ordering the various rolls when she had no idea what she was doing, but Zana had managed to fill a bag with all the variations she thought might work. There were even several steamed version that she'd optimistically added. Link really wasn't a picky eater past when his stomach hurt, so she hoped he might like those if the flavors were too foreign. Zana took a deep breath as she approached her bedroom. It was a little piece of solitude and she'd given Link free reign of it. Along the base of the gray door, colorful doodles of monsters and animals brought some individuality to the dorm. The room inside had suffered the same fate, with colorful drawings scrawled out over the walls wherever a young boy could reach. Zana did scold him for it, but the drawings helped her feel hopeful whenever her son was too ill to move. She hoped that he'd be feeling well enough to give her experiment a try. Careful to keep the bag balanced, Zana moved it to one arm as she opened the door. She peered inside, hesitating as she saw the sleeping form of Link on his bed. She shut the door quietly behind her and brought the bag in to set on the card table she'd been using as a dining table. (A true wooden table would've met a terrible end at Link's hand, anyway.) As quietly as possible, she pulled out each plastic container from the bag and set them out on the table. There must have been about twenty different rolls as well as several sauces and a cup filled with pickled ginger. Having never eaten sushi before, Zana had just been sure to grab everything that might make it more palatable. Once the table was set, she stood back and admired her work. There had to be something in the heap of food that Link might like. There were so many individual ingredients that they could test and even just Frankenstein their own rolls out of, if need be. With everything in place, Zana moved over to the bed where her son slept fitfully. Even now, she could hear his quiet whimpers as tremors shook his arms and legs. It was likely another nightmare. Zana sighed and gently shook Link's shoulder. " Time to get up," she paused as he seemed to stir, but not fully awaken, " C'mon, I have a present for you!" This seemed to spur the boy into further wakefulness as he began to stretch with a tired groan. Sure enough, Link brought his hands up to rub his eyes then peered up at his mother questioningly, " What is it?" Zana smirked and stood as she pulled away from the bed. There didn't seem to be any fear or pain in the boy's mismatched eyes, so this was off to a good start already. " You're going to have to get out of bed to get it," she instructed and motioned towards the table. Zana hardly had time to pull out a chair for herself before Link stumbled out of bed and came rushing over. The boy climbed into his chair and looked expectantly over the copious containers. He seemed almost excited for a moment, then his face fell as he realized it was likely food. " I'm not hungry," Link complained and looked down at his hands that he wrung in his lap. Well, Zana had expected that, but she wasn't willing to give up so easily. " I know you're not, but I found something that I think you'll really like," she sighed and motioned towards the containers with a slight smile. " It's like candy. Rich people candy. They shove their faces with it all day!" she tried to pique his curiosity or just gain a bit of interest in the food. Anything that might lure him into eating it. However, Link appeared suspicious. The boy's blue and brown eyes scanned the boxes and he poked at one with a frown. " Rich people? But they eat gross stuff... like fish eggs! And brains!" he made a face, utterly aghast with the possibility that the boxes might contain such a thing. It earned a chuckle from Zana who had to refrain from mentioning that Link had likely consumed some form of brains before, but there was no need to darken the mood. " Well, I promise you that there are absolutely no fish eggs or brains in these. I personally asked the chef to not put them in. He said we were missing out, but I insisted," she mused, though in reality had no clue as to the ingredients. What they didn't know, wouldn't hurt them. She opened the first container and pushed it closer to Link's side of the table. It snapped open easily and revealed two neat rows of steamed shrimp encased in lettuce and rice. It was a bit of a relief that the first one was so simple, but Zana tried not to show it. " Now those are tasty. When I was your age, I used to steal these from people's plates at restaurants," she pointed to the small shrimp encased rolls. It appeared Link wasn't easily impressed. He gave her a skeptical look before poking at one of the shrimp rolls. " Isn't stealing bad?" he made a face and added, " That one has a leg." With a frustrated groan, Zana quickly reached over to snatch up the offending roll. A bit of lettuce stuck out in a shape that was approximately a leg. Without missing a beat, she popped the roll into her mouth. " Mm, super good and no legs. Now try one," she said flatly and pushed the container closer. Link scowled at the box, but finally relented and picked up a roll. He cautiously took a bite, then glared hard at the roll as he seemed to contemplate whether it was edible or not. It took a few moments before he finally took another bite and ended up finishing it. Zana sat back with a victorious smirk. If he could just keep that down, then perhaps she'd actually found something he could eat. Link often claimed that just by looking at the food he could tell if he'd get sick after. The silence so far was promising. " Good! Now there's like thirty of these and they're all different... so just try whatever ones look good," Zana commanded and began popping more lids off the containers. The more that she opened, the more colorful the rolls were getting. The raw meats became obvious as they were pink and translucent compared to their steamed counterparts. She tried to push those more towards Link's side of the table. The boy looked a little overwhelmed, so Zana hesitated a moment to try and pick another to try. Her eye caught on another simple looking roll. A raw piece of salmon tucked in neatly with cream cheese and lettuce. She pushed that one towards Link and picked up a piece for herself. " How about this one? Looks edible. No visible legs. I think that's good enough, right?" she questioned as she held the roll up towards the ceiling light as though inspecting it. Honestly, it looked just fine and she hoped the raw meat might win him over. " I guess," Link grumbled and picked up one of the same salmon rolls. He hesitated again and looked to his mother with great suspicion. It earned an eye roll from Zana as she ate the piece in one bite. The flavor was a pleasant surprise. It didn't have the bloody, swampy taste that she'd expect from raw fish. Although, it was unclear if that gross taste was what her son was after. Zana eyed him as he finally relented and took a bite of the salmon. She quirked a brow as he seemed to stop chewing for a moment, but then shoved the rest of the roll into his mouth. " This one's good," Link clarified as he began to shovel more of the salmon rolls into his face. The display made Zana laugh, though partially from the sheer relief that washed over her. It was very unlike Link to continue eating something that made him feel sick. Even if it was just due to the raw fish, she could live with supplying that over rats. " So, I take it that you want more of those?" she asked as the salmon was quickly depleted. The ravenous boy merely nodded in reply as he searched for more of the same out of the remaining containers. " Well, since you like it so much, I'll buy some more tomorrow. If it doesn't hurt your stomach then you can eat as much as you want," she said with a casual shrug. The food was actually a bit expensive, but she didn't want him to know that. Link didn't seem to be paying much mind though as he continued to pick through the salmon rolls and devour them. It made her smile to see such an appetite for normal food again. Her son had grown so skinny since everything just made him sick. It seemed like her persistence had finally paid off. Zana's Rose - 2,319 Words Notes: Zana & Link living in Respira's mafia while dealing with his stomach issues. (Normally caused by carnivore/cannibal item.)
OOC Prompt Section Prompt: #4 Absolutely Average Bonuses: - Your character eats foreign/strange food for the first time. (+10,000) - Include another character in your prompt. (+10,000) - 2000+ words (+50,000)
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Master Commander
wat is love
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They/Them
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Post by ❅ Icy Dragon ✩ on Apr 29, 2021 9:11:58 GMT -7
S a r i e l
Ivory clouds floated lazily in a clear, emerald sky as the afternoon sun bore down on the beach. Sariel lay sprawled in the sand as he watched the clouds slowly pass by. It was fairly quiet and only a few birds squawked from the jungle. That’s the way things had been lately. Quiet. It was starting to get to the colt and he longed for joyful shenanigans with his siblings. It was hard to do when one was missing, even halfheartedly. Even worse, he hated to try and be happy when it was clear that the others around him weren’t. It was just as irritating that he couldn’t join in on the efforts to locate his brother. The adults said it was too dangerous. Sariel knew how to take care of himself! He was nearly a year old and not just some little foal anymore, yet his parents refused.
The spotted colt heaved a heavy sigh as he turned his gaze to the trees. When standing they towered over him, but from the ground, it became clear that the trees scraped the skies. Puffy clouds caught on the highest branches and became tangled. Sariel wondered what it’d be like to be so giant that the sky was within reach. Would it be cold like the ocean? Could he even breathe up there? As the colt squinted again at the patches of crimson behind the clouds, he thought he saw the sky ripple like the surface of a pond. Maybe there were fish hidden away above the sky’s surface, just like those in the ocean. How he wished he could just reach the treetops to find out… but he knew better and his gaze dropped down to the crystalline shells scattered across the beach.
Each shell gleamed in the sunlight and cast of a sparkling, rainbow shadow. Sariel loved these shells the most. He wanted to wear one around his neck so he could have something to match his parents’ necklaces. They’d probably love it, but the shells were so small that he didn’t think he could run a vine through it. With another heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and wondered just how long he could bask before the tide washed over him. The calm, quiet atmosphere of the beach nearly lulled him to sleep. It likely would have if it weren’t for the growing pressure against his forehead. Sariel was determined to ignore it, but once it began to push his head back, he was forced to open his eyes again to look.
Bright rainbows blinded him momentarily and the colt jumped up to his hooves in shock. He blinked away the burning sunspots and finally got a good look at the intruder. His jaw dropped as he realized it was a massive shell. It seemed to glow in the sunlight and reflected rainbow patterns across both Sariel and the sand around it. Curious, the colt nudged the shell and found it to be incredibly light. It rolled over easily, causing a kaleidoscope effect on the refracted rainbows. Sariel hesitated as he thought about the sudden growth of the shell. He’d been thinking about how tiny the shell had been, right? It wasn’t able to be used when so little. Yet here it was, even larger than him and creating more beautiful light than before! Had he done that?
Skeptical of this potential power, Sariel turned towards the forest and decided to focus on that instead. He stepped around the massive shell and walked straight up to one of the cerulean trees, it’s spiked leaves swaying in the breeze. It was one of the massive beasts that touched the sky and even now, Sariel could see a cloud trapped within its top branches. He closed his eyes and focused on the image of the tree before him. Over and over he pictured the branches shortening and the tree shrinking down until it was barely knee-high. The harder he focused, the more snapping and crackling noises he heard from the tree itself. Once it grew quiet again, he opened his eyes and let out a thrilled squeal. He’d done it! The once impossibly tall tree was now only as tall as his chest. Wisps of white cloud remained stuck in its branches, but most seemed to have escaped.
Sariel looked around in amazement, wanting to know if anyone else had seen this magical feat. However, not a single soul was on the beach. He sighed and looked back down to the tree. A frown barely had time to form on Sariel’s maw before he got an idea and reached down to snatch the tree up by the base. It was smooth and hard to hold onto, like a shell, but he managed to hold it firmly. The colt bolted along the beach. Each time his hooves met with the sand, a vivid green light began to dance in the starry sky above. It writhed like a snake and slithered along to match his pace. Sariel was glad for the company and light that lead him to the cove where his parents would be.
They were there, as per usual. Sariel saw his father first as he stood where the waves lapped the sand. It was hard to tell where the ocean stopped and his father began, as the stallion was made purely from water and kelp. Waves rippled down his neck and around his rear legs in an ever flowing tide. Sariel approached and held up his miniature tree for display. It took his father a long moment to slowly turn and look, the cascade of saltwater shifting its path down his face with the movement. Two gleaming pieces of green sea-glass peered down at the tree and Sariel puffed up with pride. “Look what I did! It was big, but I made it little!” he declared and it earned an approving hum from his father. However, it didn’t seem a large enough discovery as his father’s attention again returned to the endless waves and the stallion stilled.
Sariel sighed and decided to continue on anyhow. He spun towards the cove and trotted in, taking little time to find where his mother stood against the back wall. She was relatively easy to spot - a mound of stark white quartz with dark shells spotting her coat. Sariel approached her with just as much optimism as before and held the little tree up. “This was a really big tree, but I made it small! I can make shells big too, watch this,” he spat out the tree and turned towards one of the ivory shells on the ground. It was easier to focus this time and after only a few seconds with his eyes closed, Sariel could feel the shell pressing up against his leg as it grew. Pleased, he opened his eyes and pranced around the newly horse-sized shell. “See!” he chirped and tried to nudge the shell closer to his mother, but it seemed too heavy to move. A soft, earthy rumble caught Sariel’s attention and he looked up to see her slowly swinging her head around. Her quartz hide seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and reminded him of the shells. She gave an approving hum - just the same as his father’s - before turning her head back towards the ocean.
Frustration clawed at Sariel’s insides, but he just offered a smile and took a step back. His parents must still just be worried. It was sorta what he’d expected, but it was still a little hard to accept. Probably just as hard it’d been to accept that his brother was still gone, months later. Tears sprung to his eyes as the frustration grew. It felt awful to know he couldn’t do anything. All day long he just had to sit on the beach and couldn’t help. Sariel was sick of it. He was old enough to help out, he could do something!
The colt’s gaze fell back onto the enormous shell and the tree laying in the sand. Maybe he could do something. Quickly, he looked to both his parents and began to back away. “I’ll be back! I’m just gonna… uhm.. go find Vasariah,” he stuttered, but neither of his parents seemed to notice and Sariel turned to run. As his hooves found their way across the shore, he squeezed his eyes shut. He imagined himself growing taller and stronger. Sariel imagined that the spots on his hide would glisten and gleam like the stars in a night sky - so that he could be seen from far away. With each stride, it felt as though more of the earth was being flung under his hooves.
When the colt finally opened his eyes, he found his wish had come true. A colorful jungle stretched out below him, but the previously giant trees were only up to his shoulders and the clouds floated around his withers. Curious, he tilted his head up towards the brilliant, azure sky and nearly jumped when he saw his own reflection. An absolutely massive version of himself where all his ivory coat glowed brightly. Even his eyes seemed to burn brightly - like teal fire. A creature composed of both night and starlight.
Satisfied with his improvements, Sariel broke into a gallop to begin his search. The forests raced beneath him as each stride took him farther than he could run in an hour. Birds chirped excitedly and flew up to greet the new beast that could touch the skies. Sariel tried to not get too distracted as he scoured the forests. In the distance, he could see an endless ocean that bordered the dense jungles of home. Beyond the thick greenery, the trees turned to pine and the land shifted into a barren, mountainous region. The colt had never been able to explore such an area before, so it seemed like a good place to start.
With such an immense stride, it took only minutes before Sariel found himself at the base of the mountains. Even as a giant the peaks soared above his head. It’d be much easier to climb, but he couldn’t simply step over them as he had done to the forests. Slowly and meticulously, he began to search the mountainsides. Each dark boulder or crevice shadow he searched in hopes of finding his onyx coated brother. He nudged rocks down the slopes to search behind and ripped up several trees simply to peer into the forest. Yet, however much he searched, he found nothing.
Sariel’s frustration was beginning to grow again when he spotted the shimmering green lights that’d graced the night sky before. It was dark now and they shone just as brightly as his starry coat in the night. The dancing lights grew closer and twirled in a circle around his neck. He couldn’t help but smile a little. “Can you help me?” he asked the lights, to which they began a frenzied spiral before bolting across the sky. Sariel jumped as the sudden movement, but chased after them. He leapt over the lower ridges and had to climb the taller peaks carefully. The dancing lights raced along faster and faster, causing Sariel to stumble and nearly fall several times. However, he kept chasing them and refused to halt until they finally slowed and began to circle a ledge on one of the far mountains.
As Sariel approached, the light from his star speckled hide revealed a dark figure huddled against the cliff side. He lowered his head to get a better look and froze as he recognized the form. An equine made of coal, snow and two piercing emeralds that sought him out in the darkness. “Naberus!” he cried and leaned forward to touch his forehead to his brother’s. Naberus reached up to return the gesture and then backed up a step, looking to Sariel with a clear question in his gemstone eyes. “Oh - I can do weird things now!” the colt tried to explain, but quickly shook his head. “Get on my back, we can go home,” he offered and lowered himself down next to the mountain ledge. There didn’t seem to be any other paths up or down, so that must have been why his brother had gotten stuck and couldn’t come back. Such a simple thing, but it’d caused so much pain!
Once he felt the tiny hooves of his brother climb aboard his withers, Sariel stood again and turned away from the mountains. He began to walk home at a pace where he figured he wouldn’t cause his brother to fall off. However, it didn’t take very long as he climbed over the ridges and was soon back strolling through the jungle. The ocean rose up on the horizon and Sariel halted once they neared the beach. Again he closed his eyes and pictured himself slowly growing smaller and the trees sprouting branches as wide as boulders for Naberus to step onto. Without looking, he could feel as his brother stepped off his shoulders onto a tree and he quickly imagined himself back down to regular size. As he opened his eyes, everything was exactly as he’d planned. Naberus had picked his way down the tree stairs and stood there on the beach, looking like the king he ought to be. Sariel grinned and bolted over to pull his brother into a hug, wrapping his neck over the young stallion’s shoulders. The coal smeared a bit on his hide, but Sariel didn’t mind. Everything was right again.
--- Overhead, a bright moon lit up the night sky and illuminated the stray clouds that floated by. The dim light bathed the beach and even patchy areas of the jungle, where the leaves rustled gently in a warm breeze. Sariel laid among the leaves of the forest floor. The colt’s eyes remained gently closed as he slept peacefully through the night. Every so often, his ear would twitch or a leg would quiver as though he was dreaming of something grand. In the morning, he’d likely find the stress of daily life again, but for that night he’d be able to rest as if the world were at peace again.
Sariel - 2,370 Words Notes: Sariel dreams of finding his brother Naberus and repairing his family once and for all.
OOC Prompt Section Prompt: #5 Do u Believe in Magic Bonuses: - Your character has suddenly had a major feature about them changed. (+10,000) - Have this event be a dream! Apply dream logic to it and have things a bit wonky. (+10,000) - 2000+ words (+50,000)
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Post by ❅ Icy Dragon ✩ on Apr 29, 2021 9:17:12 GMT -7
C a d o c T/W: violence, gore Even with his limited senses, Cadoc could tell something was very wrong. Each breath of night air held a strange metallic-like scent as well as the more obvious reek of fire. Alarm forced the colorless stallion to his hooves and his harks pinned back as he looked around the dark forest. Shadowy blurs stood out against a moonlit sky and nothing looked off. There was no glow of fire, as there had been once before. Still, Cadoc knew better than to simply go back to sleep. If those Helkaer bastards were back, he was ready to tear into them for trying to burn down his home yet again. With a disgusted snort, the draft began to try and silently pick his way through the trees. His harks twitched every direction as he tried to listen for the sound of any movement (or roaring flames). There seemed to be a distant hum, but silence otherwise. With no visible differences and no real noise to go off of, Cadoc turned to his sense of smell. He lifted his skull up into the air and breathed in deeply. His nostrils flared as he again scented the strange metallic and smokey thing. There was very little breeze to swirl the air and so Cadoc was able to follow the scent through the forest. The reek of burnt wood and something else eventually drew Cadoc into a clearing. However, he hesitated at the edge as he knew there definitely had not been a clearing here prior. His ears pinned back flat as he attempted to look around. Overhead, his bleary crimson gaze could pick out that there were no longer tall pine trees blocking the moonlight. Instead, it appeared as though a pond sized area had opened up to the sky. As he lowered his gaze to try and peer into the shadows of the trees, he could only make out the darkened lumps of his fallen, wooden friends. The pale stallion stepped closer and lowered his nose to the bark. It still felt rough beneath his velvety maw, but definitely was not burnt. Now growing irritated, Cadoc raised his skull and began to move towards the center of the clearing. Each step took far too long as he couldn’t see the tree branches to avoid slamming his legs into them. By the time he came close to the large, shadowy mound in the center, his legs were battered and he was irritable. What seemed like several fallen trees laid on top of each other and just radiated the stench he’d picked up on. There were small pieces that seemed burnt upon further inspection and yet something hard beneath the branches that he couldn’t reach. As he struck out at it with a hoof, the strange object made a clang. It didn’t sound like a rock. Cadoc wasn’t sure he’d ever really encountered something like this before. However, it was in his home and seemed responsible for taking down his precious trees. With grim determination, Cadoc pressed on with his investigation. The draft stallion forced his way under several of the fallen trees and circled the round object until he came across a hollowed out area that opened up to an underside. A dim green light caught his attention and allowed him to squint to make out what appeared to be an entry. He thought the strange object might have been a cave then, risen out of the earth? Perhaps thrown when the volcano erupted again? Whatever it was, it was lit from within and that was enough to grow his curiosity. It was as though this foreign mound wanted him to find it. The dim glow allowed for Cadoc to wander inside with ease. It grew brighter the further he went and the cave opened up into a wide cavern. The strange rock was smooth beneath his hooves and clanked loudly with each step. However, the noise merely echoed back and didn’t summon anything. Cadoc peered around the cavern, squinting as the bright lights allowed him to see a bit more. The area was tall enough for him to stand, but he wouldn’t be able to rear. It was wide enough that he could probably fit both himself and all his siblings with no issue. Around each wall, he found a sort of ledge that contained even more glowing lights of various colors. Curious, he pushed one of the larger, red buttons with his nose. A hiss sputtered from the entryway and Cadoc spun around in surprise, his hind end slamming into more buttons in the clumsy motion. The shadows of the entryway grew lighter and it appeared as though a wall rose up to cover it. Just as sudden as the wall, the ground lurched beneath him and Cadoc stumbled as he fought to keep his balance. The vague humming noise he’d heard prior grew louder and seemed to cause the floor to vibrate beneath his hooves. A chime similar to a bird’s irritating chirping echoed through the cavern as the ground began to steady again. Cadoc found himself struggling to stand still as it seemed to sway like the ocean still, but he soon found his balance. As he looked up, it became apparent that other changes had been made as well. One of the cavern walls now showed an image of the forest where he’d just come from. It was far brighter and consisted of more colors than Cadoc could normally see and he was shocked to be able to see individual branches again. Branches had blurred into shadows when he was only a child. It’d been years since he’d seen them so detailed. However, the stallion’s joy was short lived as he realized there were other figures moving around the trees. Where several large pines had fallen, silver creatures that resembled starved bears were circling with gnashing teeth. Cadoc squinted as he tried to make sense of it. The creatures would bite down on the tree’s trunk, then another would come along with a different looking mouth and begin to break the tree into pieces. His ears pinned flat again as he watched them tear apart his precious friends and then move on to fall even more. Blood began to boil within his veins as the flames of anger spread. How dare they! Cadoc didn’t know what the hell these creatures were, but they dared to touch his most treasured friends and rip them to shreds. It could only mean that he had to return the favor. The muscled brute turned on his haunches and rushed over towards the front ledge that possessed the most buttons. He spent a half second trying to examine them before giving up due to the bizarre symbols scrawled over them. It’d be impossible to understand them all. These things had to do something. So, he slammed his chin down on as many of the buttons as he could. The ground lurched again and sent Cadoc stumbling again, though he fell to his haunches this time. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and peered up at the view of the trees outside again. The silver creatures had stopped their tree mutilations and seemed to be running in circles. A splatter of silver and green stained one of the tree trunks and Cadoc realized that one of them had been destroyed. He squinted hard as he tried to figure out what the little shiny beings were doing now. They appeared panicked and Cadoc decided that was exactly what he wanted. They should feel the same pain they were putting his trees through. Again, he slammed his chin down on the buttons. This time he went one at a time to monitor what they each did. Several sent the ground spinning, but he managed to sort out which ones did what direction. The view of the forest changed when each of those were pressed and he figured it meant it was the direction he was moving. When he pressed an emerald-looking button, a flash of green shot out into the forest and into a piece of mutilated tree. Shattered pieces of wood were sent flying and it caused Cadoc to still. A slight smirk formed on his maw as he pressed the button again and yet another flash of green destroyed the branch that lay in the same spot. The silver creatures stilled and one by one, turned to look up at him - but it was too late. Cadoc tripped over himself as he raced to push the buttons that nearly swept him off his feet. The ground turned and his view centered again on one of the silver creatures. Without hesitation, he again pressed the emerald button and watched as the flash eviscerated the strange being. Splatters of gore and what he assumed to be entrails lay strewn over the ground and tree branches where the being once stood. The other creatures began to scurry in panicked circles and several began to rush towards Cadoc and the cavern entrance. “ Fuck off,” Cadoc grunted as he hurried to again turn the ship and slam down the death button yet again. It was much more difficult to aim while the little silver bastards ran around. A few of the green flashes landed in the trees and sent several more toppling over, which only fueled his rage. His crimson eyes grew teary from the strain as he stared hard at the forest. If he grew too close to it, his nose would hit something that’d distort the view with colorful ripples. Aiming was even more frustrating due to it, but that wouldn’t stop him. It took working into a rhythm for Cadoc to take down another of the creatures. He spun on his haunches from side to side, slamming his chin down on whichever button might lead him closer to eradicating this threat to his home. At some point, the repeated abuse left his lip bloody and an obvious bruise was forming along his jaw, but it didn’t slow him. The blood smeared ledge merely told him which buttons to continue to use. As he twisted and danced side to side, hitting that death emerald button over and over, more of the creatures fell… or rather, exploded. Only one managed to evade his relentless attacks and reached the area beneath his cavern (which he realized had raised up somewhat, by the angle of the view). As Cadoc struggled to get the strange cave to move backwards enough to regain view, he heard a loud thud below him. Immediately the ground gave way beneath his hooves as it plummeted and threw him into the ceiling. He yelped as his spine slammed into the cold, hard rock-like roof and again as his legs came crashing down onto the floor. Dazed, the pale stallion struggled to get back up to his hooves. He was quite a bit more bloodied now and his pristine white coat was certainly stained with crimson. The once bright green lights dimmed as a burst of air shot into the cavern. Shadows again filled the area where the entry had been and Cadoc readied himself. At first he almost missed the being as it crawled into the entry way. The dark shadow was hard to spot among the others and only when it reared up in a charge did Cadoc spot it. He bellowed and tried to rear up, though slammed his head against the ceiling as he did. Even so, his hooves struck out and kept the creature at bay. Up close, he could tell that it was much scrawnier than a starved bear and had much longer, gangly limbs. It was as though a skeleton had silver skin drawn tauntly over it. The foreign beast reeled back away from Cadoc’s hooves, but threw something sharp that cut along his foreleg. The stallion landed hard and wasted no time charging forward towards his attacker. He lashed out with his front hooves again and struck the ground hard enough for it to dent beneath the force. However, the creature was faster and managed to dodge his attacks. In frustration, Cadoc again charged forward and feinted another strike, instead he lurched to the side and grabbed the beast with his teeth. The creature lost its balance and quickly tumbled to the ground. Seeing the opportunity, Cadoc bolted forward and slammed his hooves down into the monster. It screeched and clawed at his legs, though the stallion did not let up. His attacks continued until the silver beast lay still beneath his hooves and he wore a coating of its bizarre silver and green blood. Exhausted, he stepped over the fallen being and into the entry way. It was quiet again. Cadoc slowly stepped down the hallway and again out into the night. His harks swiveled as he looked around the inky shadows. There was no movement. Several bodies lay strewn over the trees, yet no more emerged from the shadows. Pleased, he ventured away from the clearing. No more of his precious friends had to fall tonight and if he encountered any more of those strange creatures, he knew exactly what to do. Cadoc - 2,196 Words Notes: Don't mess with Cadoc's trees. Prompt: #1 Aliens
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Post by ❅ Icy Dragon ✩ on Apr 29, 2021 9:22:21 GMT -7
An unfamiliar feeling woke Abysm from his sleep. Instead of his smooth coat and mostly senseless hooves, he felt a rough skin against his leg. When he went to move his hooves, a strange sensation replaced them and caused him to jerk his head up to try and see it. With a tilted head, he stared down at the strange appendages that lay out before him. Raptor-like legs. Very, very large ones. With talons that could rival bear claws and win attached to the end of each toe. Abysm pushed away from them with a start - unsure of whatever massive bird he was laying beside. As he moved, the legs came with him and he realized very quickly that his feeling was that of them.
Shock left him absolutely frozen as he tried to make sense of things. Had he finally snapped? Was this what his mind had finally come to? He flexed the talons on his front legs and twisted his head to peer at the feathered legs that rose up higher. It was strange that he was even able to move in such a way and he realized fairly quickly that he could reach down to touch his sides in such a manner it’d be impossible. But he had seen birds do it.
Again, the crimson stallion froze and just observed. This time he focused on where his maw should be. He couldn’t see his own nose, but rather saw feathers that fluttered with the slight breeze. Uncertain, he tried to push himself up to his hooves. The movement was foreign and the stallion fell immediately. With a sigh, he again stretched out his talons before him and unfurled each toe to get a firm grasp on the ground. It felt extremely foreign to even be able to grab the dirt, but he focused hard on doing it. With more secure footing, he tried again to lurch up to his ‘hooves’. He stumbled and struck out with a front leg to try and catch his balance. The talons again grasped at the dirt and held him firm.
Once standing, the unsure stallion swayed a bit, but held fast. He was in the same place he’d fallen asleep - a little ledge near the top of the canyon. The bright sun had warmed his coat (and feathers?) as he rested and still hung low in the sky. Several yards away, his vulture stood atop a rock and was staring hard at him. Abysm snorted indignantly and opened his maw to speak, though the sound that came forth was not that of his own voice. A harsh squawk with a piercing shriek to end it was the only noise he could make. Alarmed, he swung his head to the side to peer at his vulture for help. The bird made an amused shriek and opened its wings to fully spread the feathers out. Abysm stared for a moment as he tried to understand. His lack of comprehension seemed to take too long as it was only a matter of moments before the bird hopped up to his back. It pecked at his shoulders and then further out - at an area that Abysm knew shouldn’t have been there. He furrowed his brows as he again turned his head back to look and only then realized that part of his feathers had been furled wings.
Abysm staggered forward and nearly toppled over at the revelation. The ground seemed to sway beneath him and he felt nauseous with just a bit of curiosity. Atop his back, the vulture chirped in alarm and glided back to the ground a few strides away. There, it sat and watched. Abysm really wasn’t sure what to do with himself at that point. It felt like a dream, but he was certain that he was awake. Even though the body was most definitely foreign to him, he could still control it how he wished (for the most part). It felt as though vague memories were guiding his movements. Memories of lifetimes long ago that he couldn’t quite reach.
After taking a deep breath, the stallion finally attempted to walk forward again. His legs were a bit more steady now that he wasn’t half-panicked and half-asleep. It felt wonderful to stretch his talons and he glanced hesitantly back towards the large wings atop his shoulders. It’d probably feel wonderful to stretch them as well.
Carefully, Abysm instructed his wings to stretch out just as he would tell his leg to take a step. The new appendages snapped open before he could even finish the thought and the weight offset caused him to sway again. He’d been right though, it did feel good to stretch his wings. So it’d be even better to fly, right?
As if sensing the stallion’s thoughts, his vulture friend tilted its head up as if challenging him to do it. Abysm balked at the thought of falling from such heights, but if his wings would support him… it’d be a whole other story. He glanced over to the cliff’s edge and where it met the lake that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. If this were some sort of psyche break, he wouldn’t die by merely jumping into the water, would he? No, no, he figured it’d be safe enough. However, he didn’t hesitate to begin to beat his wings and rotate them to practice the movements. It felt so strange, yet again, as if something long forgotten.
Knowing he couldn’t just practice forever or he’d end up losing courage, it was not long before the stallion approached the cliff’s edge. The lake rolled in gentle waves below him and appeared clearer than usual. He hesitated, realizing that his gaze could pierce the water’s surface and spot the shimmer of fish below. It was certainly sharper than before. With a heavy sigh, he backed up a few strides with his wings extended outwards. He’d watched countless birds take flight and from what he could see, his own feathers resembled that of an eagle. He knew how eagles flew. He could replicate that.
Not giving himself a chance to back down, Abysm launched himself forward into a gallop and closed the few strides between him and the air. He leapt out into the empty space, his wings frozen in a moment of fear. What was he doing? This was insane and he knew it. Some sort of magic or lost mind. A sense of falling tore at his stomach and he squeezed his eye shut as he was sure the plummet would begin.
But it didn’t.
With all the power he possessed, his wings snapped open to catch the air before they began to beat and struggle to steady his weight in the air. The reflex was enough to force Abysm to reopen his eye and try to righten himself. He’d fallen a good distance down towards the water, but he was now gliding awkwardly above it. With each beat of his wings, he fell closer to it and rose just a little. It’d take more than a reflex to steady himself. Abysm tried to calm himself and took a breath, forcing his wings to work in sync and generate the lift he’d need. As he drew close to the cliffside, a gust from the wind current threw him upwards into the sky.
Abysm wobbled and faltered, but forced his newfound wings to continue to carry him upwards. Beneath his hooves (and talons), the water’s surface grew more distant and the waves smaller. A shriek caught his attention and he turned to watch as his vulture raced up to greet him, gliding over wind currents to ease the strain of flight. Abysm watched closely and shifted his wings to do the same. From there, it became much more peaceful.
As the crimson stallion glided over the lake and then over the chasm that made up his canyon home, it all seemed so different. He fell and rose again to meet with the birds that lived in the canyon walls as many decided to join in his flight. The vulture remained close and he learned fast from observing it. The rush of the wind through his feathers and the serenity of the skies soon consumed him. There was no more room for the doubts and fears he bore so heavily on the earth. They’d been whisked away by the wind. Instead, he now found only the peace he’d always sought.
Abysm - 1,416 Words Notes: If you love birds enough, you will become bird. Prompt: #2 Fantastical Fantasy
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Post by ❅ Icy Dragon ✩ on Apr 29, 2021 16:54:18 GMT -7
Even though it should have been, all was not well. There was a deafening sort of silence that'd wake the dead. An unnatural occurrence in an otherwise perfectly normal morning. Such an event had actually happened over and over again, but Chime had never been awake during it. She'd never been aware that it was happening. Something had happened to change that. A glitch? Chime didn't even know what that was, yet the foreign knowledge was flooding into her mind. It felt as though the revelation was there - right out of grasp. If she just reached up a bit higher then maybe she could understand it.
And she almost did.
It became clear that the world had frozen around her. The early morning sun shone golden over the forest and cast long shadows into the canyon, but it did not continue to rise. Birds ceased their song and hovered in the air, mid-flight. Even Midnight could not be roused or even moved from her slumber. Chime had never felt more afraid, but she had to investigate. While the whole world ceased to move and she was the only one awake to see it, the pressure was on to figure out just what the heck was happening. The entire moment felt like a brutal case of deja vu and Chime struggled to remember when this had ever happened before. Never, of course. But the more she insisted that this was the first time, the more dark memories tried to seep out from the edges of her consciousness. Like a loose thread that she was struggling to catch. It told her that this sort of thing happened all the time, just that she didn't remember it. Something was just blocking her mind like...
...like writer's block.
Chime's eyes snapped open wide as the memories finally flooded in. She yelped as the rush of so much lost time felt like an ice pick had been shoved through her consciousness. Hours, days, years of time spent simply frozen as the world sat or lunged forward without her. Months of time in between when she was able to move and memories of being in multiple places at once, even backwards in time, began to surface. All those moments where she'd merely remained in a limbo of existing, but without use, began to form a more cohesive picture. This world wasn't real. At least, not the type of real she understood. It existed as some kind of game and only when activated did life move on. However, she realized quickly from sifting through her memories that life moved much more frequently for some. Time even twisted on a whim. All those she'd met who strangely remained the same age, even a year later. There were events she knew about, despite not actually remembering them happen. To think about it made her head hurt, but she refused to stop now that she was getting answers. For some reason, she'd been awoken during a time where she wasn't "in the game". No one else had been awoken though. Midnight was always with her while awake and never before had the scenery around her stopped. This had to be something different.
"Hello?" she questioned out loud, though the instructions to do so came before she could even start to make a noise. It startled her and she glanced around, feeling a bit paranoid as though someone were watching. There was no one there, of course. The whole world still stood frozen in place. More memories burst forth in her mind - memories of times where she'd realized that she was only doing something after some sort of subconscious instruction. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it happened with everything. It sent a chill down her spine. She was just some sort of piece in a game. Left aside when not in use and made to jump around time and space with no free will. It was a hard pill to swallow and she didn't want to.
Instead, she tried to recall everything that'd happened.
If her actions weren't controlled, that meant the game had designated the way she acted and her personality. It controlled her friends, family and what'd happened in her life. However, she realized that nothing truly bad had happened so far. In fact, she was often instructed to be happy, cheerful or determined. Even her father seemed happier when she was around - which was important. It meant that the game wanted her to be happy or at least a positive force. She knew of others who had a much more brutal life and if this was all a game, then they'd been forced into that. Not her, though. She hadn't met that sort of fate. Yet.
"I know you can hear me," she called out and winced as yet again, she heard the instructions to do the action before she even spoke. However, it was what she wanted to say. It made Chime question if being commanded to do things had actually shaped her personality in that way over time. Would she be different if she hadn't been controlled since birth? It was a frightening thought, but she wanted to look towards the positive, as it was much easier to manage. "I just want everyone to be happy. And safe. Safe and happy. I know that you can do that, so... please? I mean I'm really grateful that everything turned out this way so far, so I don't want you to think that I'm ungrateful, but I'd just rather have any bad stuff happen to me instead of them. Not that I want any bad stuff anyway. If we could just stick to adventures and friends, that'd be amazing!" she began to ramble, feeling a bit silly that she was just talking out loud, but something told her that her message was still going through. "Oh, also! If you can just control everything, then you can control how I do leading the herd, right? I want to be amazing. Make me this fantastic badass who knows everything about fighting and healing - I'd be so cool! There'd be nothing for the herd to be afraid of, because I could just fix it all! That sounds good to me," she declared and stomped her front hoof to empathize the point.
A sudden laugh burst from her maw and it seemed to startle the mare. She hadn't meant to do that. The instructions had been so quick that she hadn't even thought about it. "As you wish," the words tumbled out of her mouth in a strange way. It'd just been orders this time, not words that she wanted to say that'd come from what she considered her own personality like the prior ones she'd spoken. Alarm caused her to freeze up as she considered if this was a sort of message from the game. If it could force her to do things, it could certainly force her to speak words she wouldn't normally say or have reason to. In that case, she'd been triumphant, hadn't she? 'As you wish' sure sounded like an agreement to her demands. Considering all the memories she had of actually doing things compared to the knowledge she had of others who she hadn't seen at all, it appeared that she got to play the game more than them. That meant that perhaps she was a favorite? So, maybe the game really would listen. The possibility was enough to ease her mind a bit from the shock she'd just gone through. Perhaps she could make further demands in the future. It certainly felt like she had an actual personality and wasn't completely fake, so there might be more to the game than she knew. She'd have to settle with that knowledge and try to make more demands if these panned out. However, she had the fleeting feeling that she might not be woken up in this manner again and probably wouldn't remember it. She'd just have to hope for the best.
Chime - 1,340 Words Notes: This got so meta, hope you can follow along omg
Prompt: #6 The Sims 5: Wild Equines Edition Bonus: Overachiever (+50,000)
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The Outsider walks among us
riposte and tear until it is done
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They/them
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10,841 posts
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points
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Addict
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Post by + ebonite + on May 1, 2021 19:46:07 GMT -7
Entry Check
Prompts: 1. Aliens 2. Fantastical Fantasy 3. Badasses R Us 4. Absolutely Average 5. Do U Believe In Magic 6. The Sims 5: Wild Equines Edition
Completed Event: Yes
Points Earned: - Completed Event (100,000) - Overachiever (50,000)
Prompt 1: Aliens - Word Count: 2196 (2000+ words) - 50,000
Prompt 2: Fantastical Fantasy - Word Count: 1416 (800+ words) - 15,000
Prompt 3: Badasses R Us - As A Human (Bonus) - 10,000 - Dancing (Bonus) - 10,000 - Word Count: 2861 (2000+ words) - 50,000
Prompt 4: Absolutely Average - Eating Strange Food (Bonus) - 10,000 - Include Another Character (Bonus) - 10,000 - Word Count: 2319 (2000+ words) - 50,000
Prompt 5: Do U Believe In Magic - Major Feature Change (Bonus) - 10,000 - Dream Logic (Bonus) - 10,000 - Word Count: 2370 (2000+ words) - 50,000
Prompt 6: The Sims 5: Wild Equines Edition - Word Count: 1340 (800+ words) 15,000
Total: 440,000
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