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frostsinth · 4 years ago

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A Line in the Sand - Pt. 2

Intro - Part 1| - MasterList

Another part of this lovely Lizardman for @ivymemnoch‘s commissioned Monster Match. It’s fun to have all these lovely little misunderstandings between them. In this section, Devaraj’s reveals a bit more about his profitable work, and Sera thinks about taking off.

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In the end, I’m not sure what woke me. Was it the soft thrum of insects, waking with the first rays of dawn? Or perhaps it was the soft twitter of birds, that grew from a petering distant echo to a soothing trill around me. I remember hearing the soft snorting huff of Nur, sensing the big draft had wandered close to my sleeping spot. Feeling his heavy steps shake the ground slightly before he drifted off again. Whatever the cause, my eyes slowly opened, and a yawn stretched my mouth.

It took me a few belated moments to reconcile my current place with my memories of the previous evening. I blinked groggily a few times, rolling and looking about. As my brain woke more, I considered the soft tented cloth over my head, and the warm bedroll around me. The scent of sand came to my mind, but not to my nose, and I realized I was alone in the makeshift shelter once more.

I rolled again, shifting and shaking the last of the sleep from my eyes. Managing to pull myself up and look around the small clearing. But the reptilian man was nowhere to be seen. Nur stood by the side of the small nest we had made, snuffing and huffing at some dried branches. The saddle and bags were still where I had left them the night before. So wherever he had gone… It couldn’t have been far…

“...Shri?” I called hesitantly, rubbing at my arms as I emerged from the soft warmth of the blankets. There was no answer, and straining my ears, no sound of movement.

Slowly, I crawled out from beneath the tent, peering between the bows and trunks of the trees around us. I could just make out the road in the distance, and sighed as the soft crackle of leaves crunched under my boots. For a moment, I thought this might be a blessing… and opportunity to escape. Certainly he was out of sight and earshot, and he had opportunely left all of his supplies behind. I wandered over to the bags, glancing at Nur almost guiltily as if the horse might betray my malicious thoughts. I shifted from foot to foot, glancing about. But I was confident the strange man was nowhere near.

I kneeled beside the bags, and started to reach out to one. Then I hesitated. A flash of intense yellow eyes, the glint of teeth. Not frightening, but instead… friendly. Welcoming. Kind. I sighed again, shaking my head at the nerve of my conscience and dropping my hand. I also couldn’t quite shake the reminder of his words when I had asked him if he was worried I might steal from him; “You could certainly try. It would be amusing.” … I wondered if perhaps there was a magical charm on the items, or if there was some sort of anti-thief trap… Well, I would just wait, I determined. Until we reached the next town. That way, I wouldn’t have to risk anything nor take his supplies, and could simply slip away into the shadows. Honestly, it was probably for the best I left. I doubted he knew exactly what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into when he had signed me on.

Shaking myself again, I stood and slowly pivoted on one foot. Looking around the small clearing again. Wondering where exactly my new ‘employer’ had gone. I walked over to Nur, who lifted his behemoth head as I approached and wuffed softly, his huge flanks fluttering with the deep breath. He nudged me with his big nose, his nostrils flaring, and being that his head was almost the size of my entire torso, even that gentle touch had me staggering a step to maintain my balance. He snorted again, taking a step towards me and flattening his forelock against my chest. I scratched behind his speckled grey ears absent-mindedly, still looking about.

“Do you know where he went?” I asked the gelding, then had to jerk back to avoid being tossed aside as he lifted his head and shook it with another loud snort. I smiled, wondering if that was a real answer, and patted his velvety nose. “Well, I suppose I should go look for him then?”

Nur looked at me with his big, dark eyes, and no answer seemed forthcoming. I ran my hand up and down his nose, then turned and considered my options. The way back towards the road seemed mostly clear; unless he had gone there and travelled up or down its length a ways, I should be able to see him from where we were camped. So that left the notion that he had headed deeper into the woods. I gave Nur a final pat, then began to pick my way through the woods beyond.

“Shri?” I called softly, the unfamiliar word still heavy on my tongue.

I was careful to keep a scan of the surroundings as I moved, not wanting to accidentally miss him during my search. I doubted that would be very likely; even with the vegetation, the man was far too large and broad to simply hide in plain sight. Though his mottled green scales might blend rather well with the shifting foliage. The chill night before reminded me that fall would be upon us sooner rather than later, though the air was very mild now. I wondered briefly how the cold-blooded lizard man would fare in the snows, and had an amusing image of him hibernating in a log cabin with a roaring fire and a bloated belly. A few yards in, I heard the sound of running water; perhaps a small stream nearby. I decided that it might have also drawn his attention, and turned to make my way towards it.

I caught sight of his shoulders between the trunks of the trees, and almost sighed with relief. I didn’t notice until I had broken through the treeline that it was not the beaten grey of his cloak that caught the fresh morning sunlight, but the green of his bare scales. A delayed heartbeat later, I realized he was completely without clothes again. I nearly fell over as I staggered to a halt, frozen in place by the full sight of him, unobscured by steam or darkness.

The crisp golden rays splashed down his broad shoulders, pricking his mottled green into a smoky emerald color. The scales looked smooth, and rippled as he drew in long, deep breaths. His broad shoulders were squared, and I was again stunned by their width, at least double my own. From this angle I could clearly see the base of his four dark grey horns protruding from his skull before curling forward, and the delicate fan of the leathery skin on the top of his head between the spikes. I followed the curve of his spine down his muscular back, each muscle more pronounced and defined by the shape of his large scales. Tracing down to the point of his spine, just about his bottom, where his tail protruded. It was long and thick, perhaps thicker than my thigh, with a flat top studded with the soft flat spikes on either ridge. I hadn’t gotten nearly so good a look at it before... I wondered how much he could move it. He had it half curled around, forming a semi-circle around his large, muscular legs which were neatly folded in a criss-cross pattern beneath him. I could see his huge arms were relaxed, palms resting open on his knees and the soft yellow/cream color of the scales there bathing in the light.

“Good morning, Sera.” He called lightly without looking over his shoulder. His thick voice had me jumping in surprise. I saw his head tilt, saw the flash of his yellow eye as he considered me out of its corner. “I trust you slept well.”

If he was upset I had been spying on him, he didn’t show it. Nor did he seem particularly concerned that he was completely without clothes; I noticed them folded neatly into a pile beside him. I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the pulsing of my blood beneath my cheeks.

“Ah… Apologies, shri… I did not mean-”

He made a noise deep in his chest, shaking his great horned head. “I am merely greeting the sun, Sera. There is no need for your words.” The tip of his tail twitched. “Come, join me.”

“Greeting the sun?” I echoed, venturing closer tentatively.

He nodded looking up at me. Even sitting, his head was nearly to my shoulders. “Yes. I believe it is similar to how you humans… what is the term, break fast?”

I started to answer, then suddenly gave a soft ‘eep!’ instead as his hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked, firmly but gently. I tumbled onto his lap, and he wrapped his huge arms around me. I was so startled, my mouth dropped open, and I froze. A deep rumble formed in his chest, vibrating against my cheek, and his thick flat tail came around and dropped heavily across my lap. Further entombing me in his embrace.

“W-what are you doing?” I stammered, so surprised I forgot to try to wriggle free.

His scaled brows were arched slightly when I finally managed to pull my head far enough back to look up at him. I stiffened as I felt the tip of his tail flick where it had fallen on the inside of my thigh. A fresh wave of heat washed through me, and not all of it went to my face. Pressed against him, I was once again surrounded by the scent of sand. His scales were smooth and silky over his firm muscles, and I was given the distinct expression of touching a rock that had been warmed by the sun. Part of me wanted to run my hands over those scales. To feel the grooves and see if they lifted and overlapped or met carefully at the edges.

“I am returning your warmth, Sera. As you so kindly shared yours with me last night.” His words brought me to the present and I jumped a little. He titled his head curiously to the side. “Though you seem quite warm already. Have you been sunbathing as well?”

“N-no,” I finally remembered how to move, and started to wriggle, trying to right myself and scramble out of his arms, “I just woke up and found you gone so-”

“Ah, I forget that humans do not sunbathe. Save for pleasure.”

I found the way his tongue rolled over the word ‘pleasure’ was far too much for me. He unwrapped his arms but otherwise did not try to help or hinder my fight to regain my feet. I clumsily rolled from his lap onto the soft grass in front of him first onto my bottom then settling on my knees, glancing up at him through my lashes. His long scaled lips curled back again, revealing those sharp teeth in what I assumed was a smile. His tongue slipped out, and I swallowed hard again as a tingling rush went through my body. I cleared my throat, and rubbed at the back of my neck.

“How long have you been out here?” I asked, trying to change the subject and looking for something else to stare at besides his broad chest.

He gave a soft hmm, eyelids drooping in a pleased manner. “As soon as the air began to warm this morning. But now that you are up, we can be on our way.”

I fell back on my hands as he stood, his big body moving with a languid grace that I found surprising for his size. I craned my head back to look up at him, and couldn’t help my jaw dropping open a bit. By the Gods he was big… and there was far too much of him to see without his clothes. I couldn’t help skimming my eyes over a particularly private point between his hips (if only ever so briefly on the way up to his face) and was slightly surprised to see… nothing. The same smooth scales of his stomach as far as my quick glance had perceived. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed. My mind wandered dangerously and I felt my cheeks flushing darker. He offered me that toothy, lipless grin again and his large clawed hand. I wondered if he knew what I was thinking, and my guilt had me hot at the collar as I sheepishly put my hand in his.

“Why not head back,” He told me as he gently pulled me to my feet, “Start packing camp while I get dressed. We should be able to reach the next town in an hour or two, and can have our meal at their tavern. Yes?”

I nodded, my tongue still too large for my mouth and my head still buzzing with thoughts that really should never be brought to light. I didn’t wait for further instruction, heading back between the boughs. Within a few minutes, I broke through the trees to find Nur nosing the tent canvass curiously. He raised his big head when I approached, and gave a huff that sounded oddly disinterested for a horse. I patted his velvety nose briefly, then went about rolling back up the tent and bedroll and tying it tight. Trying hard to dislodge the image of sun warmed scales from my mind. I was just hoisting up the saddle with both hands when Devaraj returned, his scarf hanging loose about his shoulders but otherwise fully dressed again. I couldn’t help the wandering eye that drifted down the edge of his low collar as he strode over.

“Excellent, thank you, Sera.” He praised me, taking the saddle from me and easily slinging it over Nur’s back. The draft bobbed his head almost eagerly.

I was glad he had returned when he did; I wasn’t sure I would easily be able to reach the big horse’s back. As he secured the straps, I gathered up the bags and bedroll over my shoulders and carried them over.

“Do you have… business in the next town?” I asked, curious despite myself. I realized suddenly that my opportunity to part ways with the reptilian man would be coming sooner than expected... It left me with a strange tingling regret in my chest.

“Not in the town, as such, but in their crypt.” He told me, taking the bundles and slinging them behind the saddle. I moved around to the other side to secure them there.

“Their crypt?” I echoed, surprised.

“Yes, crypt is where-”

“I know what a crypt is,” I interrupted, and slipped under Nur’s neck to come around to the same side as him again, “But what business do you have at a crypt??”

His toothy grin returned. “Ah, I am what my people call a prizrasha. A… charmer, I suppose would be the best translation. Of spirits.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Yes? Do you need to pass?” He looked at me, his fierce eyes curious. “Why do you say ‘excuse me’? Do you need some time to yourself?”

“No.. I mean... “ I shook my head, blinking stupidly a few times trying to sort myself out. “I-I said it like… excuse me, as in I’m not sure… I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”

“Ah! Excellent, I did not know this.” He started to turn back to finishing securing the saddle and removing Nur’s hobble. “I said I was a prizrasha, as my people call us. And we are spirit charmers.”

“Y-yes, I heard the words,” I stammered, stepping out of the way as he moved to secure the reins and flip them over the gelding’s head, “I’m just not certain I understand what you mean by… “spirit charmers”.”

“Hmm.” He patted Nur’s flank, turning to look at me. “I suppose it is a rather inadequate description.” He stood by his mount’s head, taking up the reins and jerking his chin towards the road as he began to lead him out. “What is it that your people call ‘spirits’?”

“A ghost.” I replied, following him hesitantly. “A phantom. The… spirit of someone who has died that lingers on this plane.” I tried to keep the shiver from my voice.

He nodded along as I spoke. “I believe I see. This is a part of it, I am sure. However, I suppose the translation is poor… Nessiim have a stronger word for it. The dushrasha. It is the spirit of those who have passed, yes, but it is also in those still living.” He paused, seeming to struggle for words. “It is… hard to explain in this tongue.”

“So… What is it that you do with the… dushrasha?” I asked timidly, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. If I had thought him strange before, I certainly found my previous thoughts on him downright dull compared to them now.

“I charm them.” He replied, his voice light with the teasing tone returned to it. “A prizrasha speaks to the spirit and can cure what ails it. It is a form of healing that is not limited to the living.”

We had reached the road now, and Devaraj pivoted Nur to face the right direction before turning to me. I took a step back warily, then stopped myself. I placed a steadying hand on the draft’s flank, turning over his words in my head.

“... I-I’m still not sure I understand what it is you do-”

“It is rather simple, I suppose,” He placed his hands on his hips, looking down at me with his head tilted to the side, “A prizrasha is uniquely skilled at dealing with all manner of things. Sometimes, I am called to deal with a so-called malevolent spirit, other times to heal someone deeply scarred beyond the reach of local healers. Yet other times, to deal with untamable beasts.”

I opened my mouth to say more, but was silenced by the gasp that escaped instead as he hoisted me up, his big hands scooping around my waist, and sat me at the horn of the saddle. I quickly adjusted, swinging one leg over so I could properly sit rather than riding side-saddle again. A breath later the leather squeaked as he bounded up into place behind me. I tried not to stiffen as I felt the rough material of his tunic brush my back. Nur was already moving before he had fully settled, eager to be off.

“And for this particular… job?” I managed, my voice whisper soft.

“A dushrasha has been harassing the town, or so I am told.” He explained. “I will be seeing what ails it, and hopefully helping it leave this plane to its final resting place.”

A shiver went down my spine, and I jumped a little as his big arm came around my hips. Perhaps it was meant as a reassuring gesture, but instead it had me swallowing the lump that formed in my throat at his words. It’s fine, I told myself, you’ll be leaving soon. It doesn’t matter what he does.

“Have I upset you?” He asked as he used his big thighs to steer Nur around a deep rut in the road. I was surprised that his voice sounded… concerned.

“Ah.. n-no shri.” I assured him, and hoped again that part of his strangeness did not extend to being able to detect a lie. “I am just… surprised…”

“Dushrasha are not evil, Sera, even those without a body left on the mortal plane.” He told me as we rode along. “Most are pained, or tied by some grief or unfinished business. In both the living and the dead.” I felt his chin come to rest on the top of my head. “Think of me as a Healer, though perhaps at times this word is also a stretch.”

I nodded, falling silent. Trying to reconcile with the writing snake that was my stomach turning knots in my gut. We rode quietly for a time, and I tried not to pay too much attention to the soft sensation of his chest rising and falling against my back. I jumped again as his arm coiled about my middle suddenly flexed.

“If you are afraid, Sera… Please do not be.” He told me, his muzzle now beside my ear. My eyes flicked to the corners, as if they would be able to see him from there without moving my head. His long tongue flicked out, nearly grazing my cheek as it did. “I will keep you safe. No harm shall come to you, I promise.”

I felt my blush returning, and dipped my chin down. A thousand different possible responses came to my lips, but I could abide by none of them passing beyond. So I remained silent, giving only another curt nod in response.

It mattered not, within another hour we were at our destination. A small hamlet with a dozen buildings or so clustered around a main field. There were other houses in the distance, likely farmers and hunters. I doubted there were many people here who did not live off the land. We rode over a crest in the hill, then down the long muddy road. Heads raised as we passed, and whispers were quickly exchanged. I saw more than a few shoulders tense and hands go for the nearest item passable for a weapon. I shifted in the saddle, but a glance over my shoulder did not reveal how Devaraj felt about his welcome.

We rode unmolested into the center of town, stopping beside the tavern (as indicated by an old swinging sign in the shape of a foaming mug over its door). Nur tossed his head and snorted in irritation, obviously displeased with the likelihood of being stalled again. He scooped one meaty hoof into the soft ground, tossing clumps behind him as Devaraj slid from the saddle behind me.

“Go and procure us some food, yes?” He told me as he helped me down from the saddle. “I will secure Nur and bring in our bags. Then we shall notify the town leaders that we have arrived.”

I glanced over his shoulder at the numerous eyes lingering on us as he dug through the purse at his hip and pressed a few coins into my hands. Based upon what I saw, I doubted very much we would need to announce our arrival.

But I did as I was told and turned to duck into the tavern. Ignoring the eyes following me and the whispers brushing just beneath the scope of my hearing. I wondered briefly how good Devaraj’s hearing was.

The tavern was dim, dusty, and in disrepair. There were a few patchy holes in the rafters that allowed thin beams of broken sunlight to filter past the old wooden frame and hit the dirt ground below, and were the main source of late as the windows were far too grimy to provide much. A spattering of tables, mostly empty save for a few seedy sorts nursing chipped mugs, and a greasy bar at the far wall that looked as though it had seen better days. A few heads raised as the door thunked closed behind me, but interest was quickly lost in favor of whatever content they sipped from their cups. I made my way over to the bar, where a large bellied man sat rubbing at a mug with a dirty cloth.

“Ay, miss, what’ll ye need?” He asked as I approached, his voice gruff but polite.

I nodded to him in greeting. “Two breakfast plates. Sausage, egg, biscuits. The whole works if you have it.”

He returned my nod, placing the cup on the counter and slinging the cloth over his shoulder. “No’ a problem, miss. That’ll be three piece, yeah?” When I dropped the coin in his extended meaty hand, he gave me a cheery, broken toothed grin. “Ye’ll be wanting something to wet yer palate too?”

“Ale would be fine.” I replied, leaning against the bar for a moment and glancing around. The man disappeared into the back room, and I heard pots clanging and the creak of a stove cover opening.

I lingered for a minute on my meal request. Wondering if it would be sufficient. After all, I had forgotten to ask what Nessiim ate. I chewed over this for another moment, before a sudden wave of realization washed over me like a bucket of cold water splashed at my back. This was my opportunity. Devaraj would be otherwise occupied, and I could easily make myself scarce even in a town as small as this. Maybe even catch a ride with a traveling merchant or farmer to the next town. Certainly I didn’t want to have anything to do with his… work. A shiver worked its way down my spine at the thought of our earlier conversation. But it was quickly replaced by the skipping beat of my heart in my breast at the memory of his muzzle next to my ear… I will keep you safe. No harm shall come to you, I promise... I rubbed my fingers against the worn wood of the bar, trying and failing to assess why I suddenly felt so reluctant to leave. I had always been on my own, for as long as I could remember. What could possibly make me want to change that now? I glanced about again as my anxiousness rose, and my palms itched to relieve the room of their valuables, sparse as the pickings would be. Something to take my mind off… I shook my head and sighed. Resisting the urge.

The door thunked open again and I peeked over my shoulder to watch the reptilian man duck his huge horned head to fit beneath its frame. His entrance had the current patrons reacting much differently than my own; I saw them stiffen, uncurling from over their drinks and wary scowls quickly forming on their lips. If he noticed, Devaraj made no indication. His sharp yellow eyes settled on me and he gave a gentle nod before making his way over to an empty corner table. The closest adjacent table’s occupants quickly took their leave, gathering their things and scuttling to another table. I frowned, surprised by the abject fear I felt wafting off the patrons. Sure, he was an unusual specimen. But he was hardly aggressive looking... Or was I simply biased now?

I pivoted to attend to the barkeep, who’s return had returned preceded by the creaking of hinges from the kitchen door. He had two iron plates piled high with greasy looking food, and he plopped them down in front of me.

“Lemme get yer ale, Miss.” He told me. I returned a polite smile.

“Hey! Scaly!” Came a loud voice from behind me, and I stiffened slightly. “What the hell is wrong with you? You some sort of… devil spawn?”

I turned in time to see one of the burlier men approaching the corner table boldly. His shirt was stained and filled with holes, and he had a large crooked nose he looked down to glare at Devaraj. He had nothing on my companion’s muscle, but was certainly tall and heavy set enough to cause trouble.

“Indeed not, sir.” Came the thick reply, and I noticed the reptilian man’s usually airy tone had been replaced by a twitchingly harsh edge.

“Don’t ‘sir’ me, scales. I’m not your sir.” Growled the man. “We don’t let devils around here.”

Devaraj blinked slowly at the man, and I noticed his long tongue dart out briefly. The man stiffened at the sight, his eyes widening by a hair. But then he gritted his teeth, and I noticed his fists ball. I quickly gathered the plates in hand and bustled over to the table.

“Apologies for the delay,” I told Devaraj quickly, laying a plate in front of him and deftly putting my body between him and the irritated patron, “I hope this will be to your satisfaction.”

“Oi!” Came the expected grunt from behind me. I turned, pretending to just have noticed the man. He looked me up and down, scowling. But I saw a seed of doubt forming in his eyes. “.. You know this beast?”

“Beast?” I scoffed, hand to my chest, “By all that is holy, you must be joking. You mean you don’t recognize him?? You are the true beast if you would think him as much!”

The man blinked stupidly, my insult flying over his head. “...Eh?”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Well, I do apologize, I had believed you to be a traveled and educated man who would know a Spirit Charmer when he saw one!” My dry tone was lost on him, and I sighed deeply. “And here we are, summoned by your own leaders and treated to such disrespect!”

I noticed the rest of the room suddenly rapt with full attention. I squared my shoulders and craned my neck up to look at the man before me. I saw him glance around to his companions, becoming more uncertain by the minute. He reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“... Spirit Charmer, you say?”

“Yes! One of the best, for which I am certain you are all proud that your leaders were able to procure one of such notoriety!” I cocked my head to the side at him. “Unless we were mistakenly misinformed to your… troubles.”

I saw more than a few more spines stiffen, and the barkeep came slowly over with the two mugs of ale. I saw him eye Devaraj warily, then turned his attention back to me.

“Yer here about the spirit at the craig crypts?” He asked tentatively, placing the mugs on the table.

“The very ones.” I bluffed, hoping that was indeed what we were here for. “Have you been plagued long?”

The barkeep and his patron exchanged a look, and the crooked nosed man nodded slowly. “Ay, miss, we have. There’s a terrible keening most nights, and the things’ been killing sheep now… We’re worried it might be takin’ the children next.”

“Has anyone passed lately?” Devaraj asked, speaking up for the first time. “Or has the crypt been disturbed?”

“...There’s an old legend of a man who lived out by the craigs...” The barkeep answered hesitantly, glancing at the scaled man over my shoulder. “Folks’ be suspectin’ its his angry spirit hanging about.”

“Well then, it seems like my employer and I arrived just in time.” I exclaimed, hoping no one saw the nervous shiver down my spine at the mention of the spirit. “... Unless of course you’ve found an alternative method to deal with your spirit? We have many demands for his skills and would be happy to be on our way-”

“N-no ma’am… ah, miss…” The barkeep held up his hands, and even the crooked nosed patron shook his head sheepishly. “We be right glad yer… ‘employer’ is here.”

I cocked my head to the side again. “Are you now? Pardon, I was a bit confused by our welcome.”

When I looked pointedly at the other man, his face ruddied and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “Beggin’ your pardon, Miss… Sir,” He looked over my shoulder at Devaraj, bowing his head humbly, “I didn’t know… I won’t bother you further…” He bowed his head and quickly scuttled out the door.

“I am right sorry fer Kam, there,” the barkeep continued as the other patrons made a point to go back to whatever had been occupying them before, “None of us ‘ave been gettin’ a good sleep, right? An’ we havena seen a… a Spirit Charmer before…”

I stepped to the side, moving to take the bench across from Devaraj. “Certainly understandable, such a profession is rare in these parts, I am told, which is why it was wise of your leaders to send for one.” I looked him over, staying on my feet a moment longer. “My employer and I have travelled a long way to be here, I hope it is alright that we take a meal before speaking with them?”

“N-not at all!” He exclaimed, bobbing his fat chin nervously. I saw his eyes flicker back over to Devaraj, but quickly dropped his gaze. “We’re on edge, sir, I hope ye understand. Wut with all the… activity in the area.”

Devaraj nodded his long chin, but otherwise said nothing. The barkeep stuttered out a final apology as well as a farewell, then moved back to his place at the bar. Leaving us alone to our meal. I picked up the biscuit, which was still warm from the oven, and broke it in half between my hands. An uneasy murmur had settled through the tavern, but other than a curious eye here and there, we were left to ourselves.

“That was expertly handled, Sera,” Mused my companion quietly, picking up his mug and giving it a curious sniff, “I do not believe I have ever had such an easy introduction.”

I scoffed softly, staring down at my food and chewing slowly. “That was easy?”

“By comparison, yes.” I peeked up at him through my lashes to see his elongated mouth stretching into a closed mouth smile. “I am pleased you decided to take my employment offer.”

I nodded lightly, hiding a blush and the stab of guilt that came from the thought of what might have happened had I decided to abandon him just a short while earlier… I took a quiet sip of my ale, then gestured to his plate after I replaced my cup on the table.

“I-I wasn’t sure if you would mind a traditional breakfast… Do you have a food preference?”

He chuckled lightly, and I watched as he took a bite of the sausage. “I do not. I am content with whatever meal I can procure. Though I must say,” He managed to smack his scaly lips, “This is better than I have yet had in your lands. It smells quite good.”

Another stab of guilt, wondering exactly had he been eating before that this greasy slop seemed so decadent to him. I swallowed my mouthful and took up another. As I took another swig of my ale, I used the opportunity to glance about again discretely. But it seemed we would not be bothered again, though I was certain our appearance would still be on the villagers’ lips for many days to come.

“You are good at this, Sera,” He intoned, and I turned my attention back to him, “One day in and you have already proved your worth tenfold.” He tilted his big horned head to the side and snaked his long tongue out at me. “Perhaps you deserve a raise.”

I choked on a quiet laugh, shaking my head. “You haven’t paid me yet… Besides, I’d settle for my own bedroll…” A blush rose to my cheeks. “And a horse… if possible.”

“Hmmm.” Came his response, and his thin nostrils flared slightly. “I will miss your warmth when we ride, but understand it might not be most ideal for you.” A finalizing nod. “We shall procure you a mount before we depart then.”

“H-how long will that be?” I asked curiously.

“Depends on the situation with this spirit. But I suspect it shan’t be more than a day or two at most to soothe its ails and bring some peace back to this town.” He took a large mouthful, scarfing it back with a pleased rumble in his deep chest. I watched his throat ripple as he swallowed. “There will be a contract ready by the time we finish, I am certain.”

That gave me a start. “... We?”

His toothy grin returned. “But of course! I shall be most grateful for your assistance, Sera!”

I pushed my plate away, unfinished. Suddenly having lost my appetite.

....

UPDATE: Part Three HERE

#A Line in the Sand #lizardman boyfriend #lizardman lover #lizardman x human #dragonborn #dragonborn lover #dragonborn boyfriend #monster lover #monster boyfriend #monster romance #monster x human #tails-and-scales #slow burn #ghosts???#terato #exophilia #commission

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saeyoungchoismaid · 5 years ago

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Lucky Charms | chp. 1

Pairing: Satan x f!reader Genre: fantasy au Warnings: slight gore?? Summary: The hunt begins and you have until sunset to accomplish your main goals. Find a monster and be able to stay in your village. Chapter: 1/? A/N: 2.9k WORDS GUYS. TWO. THOUSAND. NINE. HUNDRED. H U H? Lmao I never write this much what in the world. Also, I say female reader but so far the reader isn’t referred to with female pronouns so

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As a monster hunter, you didn’t expect any of this to happen.

Well, monster hunter is a strong word. You aren’t exactly considered to even be one yet.

You didn’t want to be a monster hunter though. This duty was placed on you as soon as you were born, so you didn’t have much of a choice. It’s not your fault that your dad was a legendary monster hunter and everyone expected you to be as well.

Now, here you are, standing in an arena filled with hundreds of people staring down at the lot of you as they scream and cheer. You look around you to check out the competition, trying to reassure yourself that you’d be fine. That you can do this.

But you can’t. How can you? You don’t want to kill anything.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the yearly Hunting Games! I’m your host, Thoredo!” The crowd goes quiet when the host starts to speak, everyone watching him circle the group in the middle.

“You all know how this works but just in case you forgot or there are newcomers, I’ll explain it! Our lovely hunters here are of hunting age! They will prove their worth by going and slaying the mightiest beast they can find! Each creature known to man is placed somewhere along the point system. The more rare and harder to kill the monster is, the more points our hunter gets! To prove that they’ve slain a beast, they must bring back a piece of the monster! An eyeball from a cyclops, the nail from an ogre, a scale from a siren! Whatever can prove the killing! Our hunters have until sundown to be back or they are disqualified, also meaning they’ll be kicked out of the village!”

You gulp at the last part, trying to calm the shaking of your hands. You clench them into fists, listening to the crowd roar. Thoredo smiles at the crowd, looking at them as he rounds the group to the front of you and your peers. He then looks at each of you, a smirk coming to his face.

“Again, you have until sunset. If you don’t get back before then, fail to slay a beast, or only kill a monster that doesn’t have enough points or isn’t on the point system at all, you will be banned from the village and you may never return. Questions?”

Someone actually raises their hand to ask a question but they get ignored. “Great! On your mark, get set, go!” he shouts.

You quickly run over to the table stacked with weapons. You grab a bow, a quiver filled with arrows, a dagger, and twin swords. You quickly strap it all to you before running out of the arena. Most of the other competitors took the main front entrance out of the village before dispersing. You decided to head back to your house, slipping through a split in the fence that surrounds your village.

You run until your village is far behind you, out of sight and out of mind. You slow and catch your breath, trying to figure out what the game plan is. You’ve been thinking about this day since your father became a legend. You sigh and run a hand through your hair, your mind going a hundred miles a minute.

Some people even expect you to miraculously find and kill a unicorn, even though they’re extinct. You hate to disappoint, but that’s not happening. Even if you did, you can’t kill it.

You can’t kill anything.

You sigh again, rubbing at your forehead. You’ll have to find a monster that’s already dead and just take something from it. And if you can’t even do that, you’ll just have to leave your village and find a nice cave to live in.

You take a deep breath and nod your head once, determination filling you. You have to do this. You can do this. How hard can it be to find a dead monster?

You start to walk further into the woods, listening to the woodland creatures call out to one another. You glance up into the sky, noting the placement of the sun. It’s still late morning, so you have plenty of time to find a dead beast and return home.

Apparently, it’s harder to find a dead monster than you originally thought.

Hours and hours later, you’re still on the hunt. You look into the sky occasionally to see if you can see vultures circling the sky over something about to die but no luck. You shouldn’t have had your hopes so high. Some of you aren’t even expected to kill anything or come back alive. Not many things can kill such ferocious beasts and live to tell the tale.

A little after noon, you stop by a creek to take a little break. You’ve been trekking around the woods for hours on end and your feet are starting to hurt. You stare longingly at the water, letting out your nth sigh of the day. “Sure would be nice if I could drink you,” you say to the water. You stare at it for a long moment, your brows furrowing when the water seems to sparkle, and not like the normal kind of sparkle.

It seemed to almost glitter for a moment. Then, something urges you to drink it. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you know it’s a bad idea, that you shouldn’t, but the water just seemed so appealing. You rest on your knees and lean over the water, cupping some into your hands before bringing it to your lips. Instead of it tasting dirty or fishy, it tasted just like the water from the watering well back in your village.

You smile and drink some more, getting plenty of water before standing. You then continue on with your walking, praying to all gods that you’ll find something to bring home.

About three hours after the sun’s peak, you grow a bit tired again. You relax on top of a stone, catching your breath as you wipe the sweat away from your brow. After a couple minutes of relaxing, the ground suddenly shakes a bit.

You become confused, and worried, as you slowly stand up. Your eyes flash this way and that, wondering if there’s an earthquake. You’re quickly proven wrong when you hear a roaring voice coming from within a big cave.

“Who dares to cross into my forest!” comes a booming voice from within the cave. You gape as a monster appears before you, watching its eyes look around before landing on you.

“You! How dare you! You must die!” the ogre roars, starting to stomp his feet. Your legs shake with the vibrations he sends through the earth, making you grab ahold of the rock you were previously sitting on to prevent you from falling.

“I’ll leave!” you promise, wishing you could run away but the ogre doesn’t let up his stomping. He starts to laugh, pausing his brutal stomps.

“And let my dinner leave?” he asks as he swipes at you, his brute nails scratching your arm. You cry out and move away, hearing more roaring laughter from him. Since the ground has stopped shaking, you take the opportunity to run. You just break through the trees when you hear the laughing stop, making you quickly press yourself against a tree.

“Hey! Where’d you go, dinner?” the beast roars, its footsteps booming in the now quiet woods. Your heart attempts to fly out of your chest with how hard it’s beating, the pounding resonating in your ears.

You gasp for air as quietly as possible, the adrenaline rushing through your veins causing your body to shake. You close your eyes for a moment, trying to think of a plan. Something in you suddenly tells you to open your eyes, the message repeating throughout your body when you don’t instantly do it.

You take a deep breath before complying, seeing a flash of white. Your eyes widen before squinting, trying to make out what you saw.

“Huh? Is that you, dinner?” you hear the ogre question, its footsteps moving in the opposite direction that you’re hiding. You chance a look around the tree, seeing the flash of white again. Your brows furrow before you realize this is your chance to get away.

You start to run again, silently thanking the white entity for helping you escape. You run in the direction that you first saw it, running as fast as your legs will carry you. You run until you reach a pond, panting as you look around at your surroundings. You were keeping track of the direction you were going so you’d be able to get back to your village, but now you’re completely lost.

You sit on the ground, continuing to look around you to see if you recognize anything. You look up and only see limbs of trees, the sun only able to slip through some gaps. You don’t know which way the sun is facing and you also don’t know how much time you have left in the day. How long have you been running?

You sigh and lay back in the grass, feeling a cool breeze blow over your heated body. You close your eyes, feeling sudden fatigue take over your being. Maybe you can just rest for a couple of seconds?

Yeah, that couple of seconds turned into you falling asleep for a couple of hours. You awake in a panic, seeing the sun is no longer shining through the gaps in the trees. It’s still light outside but the sun isn’t high enough for the trees’ limbs to block. Now, the trunks of the trees are blocking the sun from your view.

You quickly stand up, starting to pace as you brainstorm ideas. How are you supposed to get back? How are you supposed to bring a monster part back home? Even if you wanted to slay a beast, you probably didn’t even have the time for it.

You run your hands through your hair for a minute or so, trying to come up with a plan; something, anything at all. As you’re conjuring up ideas, you hear a stick break behind you.

You quickly spin around to see another flash of white. Is it the same thing that helped you before?

“Hello? It’s you, isn’t it? The one that helped me?” you ask, spinning in a slow circle in search of the flash of white. When it flashes between two trees again, you quickly run over to it but nothing is there, of course.

“Please come out. I won’t hurt you. I want to thank my savior. To thank my white knight,” you call out, smiling to yourself at the last part. You sigh when they don’t come out, wondering what they are. They clearly aren’t human from how fast they move.

You start to think of different possibilities, ruling out a few things that are the wrong size or color. You walk over to the pond, looking in to see all sorts of colorful fish you’ve never seen or even heard of before. You look around the crystal clear pond, trying to spot more fish or other new species.

Your brows furrow when you see something white reflecting in the water on the opposite side. You look up and all the air leaves your lungs, your body freezing on the spot.

There, right before you, is a unicorn.

The beautiful, mystical creature tilts its head back at you when you spot it. You don’t know what to do with yourself, too afraid you’ll spook it away.

This creature helped you? But why?

You take a deep, shaky breath before standing on quivery legs. “Hello?” you ask softly, not wanting to spook it. It huffs out air through its nostrils, taking a few steps away from you.

“No, no. I won’t hurt you,” you say softly to not spook it from across the pond, putting your hands out in front of you. It shakes its head a bit, its white hair flying around its head at the motion.

You start to walk around the pond when it neighs, going on its hind legs before taking off. “No!” you shout, cursing yourself for scaring it. You groan and plop back down on the ground, laying down and staring up into the trees.

That was a once in a lifetime opportunity and you messed it up. Your eyes squint towards a tree branch, swearing that you saw a streak of bright green; a green too light to be part of the forest. You slowly sit up, staring up into the trees. Suddenly, something crashes from the trees and falls to the ground. You jump up, afraid that some creature has come to attack you.

You’re about to pull out your sword when you realize that the creature isn’t moving. You slowly walk towards it, wanting to get a better look. That’s when you realize what it is.

A Cockatrice.

The Cockatrice is a male, the brown-and-green body with a green tail proving this. You make sure to keep your distance though, knowing just how deadly they are. You look around you and find a stick, taking a deep breath as you pick it up.

You slowly lean forward, using the tip of the stick to poke the maybe-dead beast. You tense when you poke it, quickly moving away just in case it was still alive. You stare at it for a second, looking for moving of any sort but find none.

Then, you start to smile. This is perfect! You can bring this back and get a good amount of points for this! You don’t even think anyone has ever tried to capture one of these things. You take out your sword and slowly stab it through its body. You have to make it look like you slew it, after all.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper to the grand beast despite it already being dead. The fact that it’s already dead is a whole other thing to ponder on. It doesn’t look old but then again, you don’t know all that much about Cockatrices.

Your nose scrunches as you drop the stick and pick it up by its tail, looking it over. You’ve, obviously, never seen one up close before. Man, is it ugly. You’re still smiling though. You honestly can’t believe it.

Your smile instantly drops when you realize that you still don’t know how to get back home. You look up towards the trees, deciding to leave this area to try and use the sun to get back home.

After leaving the clearing and actually being able to see the sky now, you see the sun is slowly sinking closer to the earth. You curse and start to run, praying you reach your village in time.

You run for who knows how long before finally reaching your village, seeing the village is starting to be cast in shadows. You run to the arena, hearing the grand horn blow just as you enter. You almost fall to your knees, your lungs burning, and your legs shaking from the exertion and almost giving out on you.

You go to stand in line with the rest of the competitors on wobbly legs, dropping the Cockatrice in front of you. You pant to catch your breath, looking down the line at everyone. Some people aren’t here and some don’t have anything in front of them or in their hands. Poor fellas.

You look forward again as the announcer starts to speak, thanking us for our hard work and bravery, and blah blah blah. He then asks each of us to step forward when the judges call our names, to show them what you slew.

Some people did really good; others, not so much. When your name is called, you pick the Cockatrice up by its tail and step forward.

“(Y/n) (L/n), what did you slay?” one of the three judges asks, clearly already seeing what’s in your hand but wanting you to announce it anyway.

“A Cockatrice,” you reply in a strong voice, letting the whole arena hear you. Whispers and murmurs instantly break out in the crowd, your eyes roaming over unfamiliar faces that stare back at you.

“A Cockatrice?” another judge asks, standing and leaning forward to get a better look at what hangs in your hand.

“Yes. I slew this beast with my own hands,” you lie, turning it to show the cut that you put into its body. The judge nods once before sitting down, leaning over to whisper amongst the other judges.

After a couple of pregnant moments, the middle judge stands to speak. “(Y/n), we give you a ten. Good job. You are the winner.” Cheers erupt in the crowd, your body relaxing at this news. Not only did you pass but you won. Guess it won’t be so hard to pass on your father’s legacy after all.

“Let’s all celebrate at the tavern!” Thoredo shouts above all the cheering, starting to walk towards the exit. Everyone starts to stand from the seats, walking down the stands to go to the tavern.

You look to the people who lost, your chest seeming to grow heavier with each look at someone who must leave their home. Some looked mad while others were crying, all looking devastated. That could’ve been you. That was almost you.

You were just extremely lucky to have found that Cockatrice.

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wellhellotragic · 6 years ago

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Be Alright 1/?

Hey peeps. I found this about a week ago sitting in my docs. I have everything finished except for the last chapter so I guess I’ll try to polish that off soon. My brain can’t seem to concentrate on my book alone so hopefully working on this will jump start the muse again.

Summary: Sometimes all it takes is one phone call to completely turn our lives upside down.

He'd left. That was all she'd known. He'd packed up in the middle of the night after a stupid fight, leaving no trace behind of where he'd gone. But when David's phone rang one night telling them that Killian was in a hospital in Boston, everything changed. For Emma, it was the last call she ever expected and it meant facing the ghosts of her past and releasing everything she'd kept bottled up and hidden away.

But then again sometimes it's the tragedies in our lives that finally let us feel again.

A/N: You may recognize part 1 and be really confused. (you also more likely won’t recognize it though) I had a really nasty anon trolling my box daily for a while there so I published this on AO3 under a different name to avoid more trolling. I only posted the first part before I forgot that it existed...

It was strange being there. A newness that left Emma feeling uneasy. It made sense that her brother and sister-in-law had chosen to purchase a larger place considering the newest little Nolan would eventually want a room of his own. The new house wasn’t very large or fancy, but it was in a safe neighborhood and that alone had been worth maxing out their budget according to David. Ever the vigilant protector.

Emma Swan had never been one to believe in ghosts. Not literally at least. Weird knocking noises were almost always just old pipes. The scratching noise against the window in the bedroom was probably just a tree branch. But she did believe in the ghosts of memories. People were always abandoning her, always leaving her with the phantom of themselves. The fleeting feeling of what had been, of what could have been. But there, in that new house, there was nothing, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Not when it meant his ghost wasn’t there anymore.

“So, how are things with Graham?”

“Jesus, a little warning next time would be nice.” Emma sputtered out, trying not to spill her cocoa out on the new dining table.

The conversation up until that point had been relaxed. Mary Margaret discussing the field trip she was planning on taking all of her children on the following week. Emma filling in the holes with gossip about Leroy’s latest arrest after drunkenly trying to serenade one of the nuns in the middle of the night. Then out of nowhere the conversation shifted, nearly taking her head off from the whiplash.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. You guy have been dating for what, almost a year now?”

Emma gave her sister-in-law a non commentmental shrug.

“I heard he asked you to move it with him.”

Emma shrugged once again, hoping to avoid the inevitable.

“You know, you haven’t seriously dated in years, and Graham is just such a wonderful guy. I’m not sure why you’re holding back. I mean, I know that everything with Neal left a scar, but not every guy is him, Emma.”

“Margs, I’m not holding back as you put it. I’m just going slowly. A year isn’t actually that long for most people.”

It wasn’t the first time they’d had the conversation, and probably wouldn’t be the last either, but Emma’s patience had been especially low that day.

“I know, sweetie. I just worry about you. That’s all. Graham isn’t going to wait around forever.”

It was the last straw, the final thread holding her together.

Emma opened her mouth to launch into Mary Margaret and her overly optimistic view of life but was interrupted by cries coming from the next room. Closing her eyes to calm herself, she listened to the shuffling footsteps leaving the room.

Mary Margaret cooed against the baby as she found her way back to the kitchen so she could finish preparing their dinner. The next thirty minutes were spent in relative silence as Emma felt every piece of herself wanting to flee back to the safety of her own apartment. They passed baby Leo back and forth but barely said more than two words until David arrived home and it was finally time to sit down and eat.

The dinner was filled with tension on Emma’s part. David seemed none-the-wiser as he told them about the new computers he had ordered for the station. Her entire body felt on edge as she tried to banter back with him about how much time they’d save filling out reports on the new ones. Mary Margaret asked her twice if she was feeling alright after noticing the way she’d been pushing her food around her plate rather than eating it.

She hadn’t had much of an appetite at all that day, but explaining that to them would have only lead to questions she wasn’t ready to answer. Instead she did her best to plaster on a smile and take small bites, forcing herself to swallow the food in front of her. She pretended to be fine, just as she’d always done, but as David brought up having seen Graham earlier that day, the scales tipped and not in Emma’s favor.

“He said he hasn’t heard from you all week, Ems.”

“And your point?”

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe that you should talk to him rather than just leaving him hanging. That maybe-”

“First off,” Emma started, “I didn’t leave him hanging. He asked me to make this big huge life change and I told him that I needed some time to think it over. And that’s what I’m doing. Thinking about it.”

She stood, ignoring the way the chair scrapped across the wooden floors behind her.

“And my romantic life is none of your business. Either of yours.”

David had the foresight to look properly chagrined, but Mary Margaret wasn’t quite as ready to let it rest.

“Emma! We’re both just looking out for you. You have these walls and you try to block everyone out and it’s not fair to those of us that love you.”

She was about to respond but her rebuttal was cut short by the wailing of David’s work phone, and Emma silently prayed that whatever it was would be enough to end dinner early.

“Nolan.”

Emma watched as the exasperated face he’d been sporting shifted to something more serious as he stood and walked out of the room, signaling to both women to stay put. Neither of them spoke until David reemerged a few minutes later, holding a piece of paper in his hand. Emma could see an address on it, some place in Boston.

He was visibly shaken by the call.

“David, what is it? Who was on the phone?”

He took a deep breath and Emma immediately felt a tug deep in her stomach. In the time she’d known him, in the decade since his mother had welcomed her into their home with welcome eyes, she’d seen his stoicism. The way he remained calm in tough situations. How very few things ever rattled him.

“That was a friend from the Boston PD. He uh, he called to tell me that Killian’s been in a bad accident. That he’s in the hospital and they’re preparing him for surgery.”

She was falling, the kind of falling that left you breathless when you hit the ground. The air whooshed from her lungs, leaving a sickly burning sensation in it’s wake. But somehow, she was still standing.

“Oh, David. Did they say anything else?”

Emma listened, unable to form words of her own.

“No, not really. I guess they found my number under his emergency contacts in his phone.”

She stood, unmoving, unfeeling, simply detached as they started making plans to head down to Boston. Mary Margaret packed a bag for both her and David, while he started dressing Leo for the cold winter air. It wasn’t until they were completely ready almost to the door when Emma finally snapped out of it.

“Wait, you guys should just leave Leo here with me.”

Both of them looked at each other, mouths agape, stunned that she’d chosen not to join them.

“Guys, it’s a five hour drive on a good day, and there’s no telling how much ice is on the roads out there. Plus then you’ll spend heaven knows how long in a hospital waiting room. That’s too much sitting around for him and he’ll just end up getting restless.”

As sure as she was that Mary Margaret wanted to argue against her, Emma could see the resignation in David’s eyes.

“She’s right, and the last thing either of us needs right now is for him to pick up something in the hospital.”

“Margs, I’ve got him. He’ll be fine here with me.”

Mary Margaret hesitated before handing the ten month old off to her, promising to call and check in with them every few hours.

The night progressed slowly. Emma tried to keep her thoughts focused on her nephew as she changed him back into his pajamas and fed him one last time. But eventually he drifted off to sleep for the night, and Emma was forced to place him in his crib, losing the only distraction she had left.

Emma showered and borrowed some clothes from Mary Margaret’s dresser, before cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Unwilling let her mind drift back to him, she made her way to the couch and turned on netflix, settling on an episode of The Office that she’d seen dozens of times already. Sometime around the end of season two though, it became too hard to focus on and she switched to a recording of Rizzoli and Isles on the DVR.

She was just drifting off to sleep when her phone went off, causing her to bolt upright. It was David telling her that they’d finally made it to the hospital and that Killian was still in surgery. There had been a car accident about three miles from Killian’s apartment. Someone had hit a patch of black ice and spun out into oncoming traffic. David left her with an unsolicited promised to call and update her when they found out more.

Everything she’d been holding back finally overpowered her and the damn broke.

One year earlier:

There was no other word to describe it than mind blowing. The way he knew her body, how to hit every spot that made her eyes clamp shut and stars cloud her brain. For two years he'd been surprising her over and over again with his prowess, but that's all it had ever been. Two ships passing in the night. No emotions, no expectations. Or that's what she let herself believe.

There had been an immediate attraction, but at the time he'd been David’s best friend and roommate, and she'd - well she'd been broken. The pain of Neal's betrayal had left her raw and exposed, and it had destroyed her ability to trust people. So they started as friends, not that that had been an accurate portrayal either.

In the beginning, they'd been nothing more than acquaintances. She'd only see him when she went to visit David, or when they went out as a large group to get food. During college, it had been easy to keep her distance from him. She wasn't old enough to go out to the bars with her brother, so she'd stayed in and studied. Occasionally, she'd spy him at a frat party, often on the arm of yet another girl in an ever present stream of women. She'd never had to think about him for long though, grabbing a hold of the first slightly attractive man she could find to help her scratch an itch for the night.

It was better that way. Finding strangers for one night stands. No messy attachments, no worrying about what would come next or how they could disappoint her. During her senior year though, David had started dragging her out with him, his work schedule permitting, and where David went, Killian followed with his cocky swagger and bravado. His innuendo never failed to make her blush.

After graduation, they’d all moved back to Storybrooke to help with an ailing Ruth. She and David had take up jobs as deputies at the local sheriff station, and David’s fiance had just started at the elementary school. Killian had opened his own business as an artisan boat builder. Everything he’d created was with wood he’d personally sourced and approved. Each boat was different and beautiful. He’d had a way about him, everything he touched turned to gold.

Somehow over the years, the four of them had become more than just friends and acquaintances. They’d become a family.

She kissed him first. A night of drinking lowering her inhibitions. He’d kissed her back though, both of them wanting more than the privacy that David and Mary Margaret’s kitchen could provide them given all of the people milling about in Halloween costumes. He’d followed her home than night, and hadn’t left until the morning.

Two years of stolen nights and hidden rendezvous. Two years of her only sleeping with him. Two years of yearning for what they had to be real. Two years of her wanting to tell him that they meant something. Two years of her being too afraid he’d leave if he found out.

“That was,” she panted out.

“Ya, it was.”

She looked over to see him watching her, his smile bright and cheerful as he tried to regain his breathe.

“So, will I see you tonight?”

“It is tonight.”

He barked out a laugh.

“Technically, Swan, it’s morning, and you knew what I meant.”

“I can’t, I uh- have a date with Graham.” Emma grimaced.

She felt the tension fill the room around them.

“I see. And this would be date number two, correct?”

“Ya, but it’s-”

Killian rolled away and stood from the bed, collecting his boxers and pants, dressing at a quicker pace than usual.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I have an early day tomorrow. I best be getting home.”

She new it was a lie. He’d never willing left her bed before morning. She’d even gone so far as to call him on it, which had been a mistake. The beginning of the end.

They fought and screamed. He’d been furious with her. The thing between them, never discussed for fear of how fragile it was, had exploded. She’d pointed out that they weren’t in fact together so her personal life wasn’t his concern, a defensive argument that she knew wasn’t true. He’d fumed, reminding her that they only reason they weren’t together was because she’d always been so adamant about how she didn’t do relationships, but maybe she’d just meant that she didn’t want one with him. She should have told him then, but she’d had too much pride, and instead she’d let him walk away.

And then he’d stormed out, and she hadn’t seen him since. Two days later his apartment had been completely emptied out, along with his rented warehouse. He’d left her, the same way everyone else had.

She barely managed to sleep that night, all of her feelings assaulting her senses. His face, his smell, the small lilt in his voice that became more pronounced when he drank his rum. She’d cried until there were no tears left, and still, she wept, unable to stop, forcing her face into the pillow so that her wracking sobs wouldn’t wake the baby in the next room. Every ounce of strength she had left fled her body, and when she had nothing left to cry, her body curled in on itself of it’s own accord.

She tossed and turned until the first rays of light began to filter through the windows, and it was only then that the exhaustion was finally able to beat away her restless mind, allowing her to sleep. It was short lived though, as she woke to muffled voices calling her name from the living room.

Slowly she sat up, taking in the early hour on the clock before dragging her fatigued body from the bed. David and Mary Margaret had decided to head back home early in the morning after the news had warned of an impending snow storm. It was supposed to be the snowfall of the ages and they were both worried that they’d be trapped in Boston if they stayed much longer. They hadn’t seen Killian, but the surgeons had updated them that he was in stable condition.

They both lamented over not getting to see him, but the emotional toll the night had taken on them had both of them longing to see their son, and neither wanted to be away from him waiting for a storm to pass. Instead, they decided to head up to Boston the following weekend to check in on him, and had plans to send him flowers as soon as they’d learned his room number.

If either of them had noticed the blotchiness on Emma’s face or the dark circles under her eyes, they’d kept it to themselves. David made his way into the kitchen where he started breakfast as Mary Margaret went to check on Leo, who was still sleeping peacefully. They invited her to stay for breakfast but her stomach was still in knots, and she knew that if she’d tried to eat anything, it wouldn’t stay down for long, so she declined, telling them that she needed to get ready for the storm.

Their quaint little town was perfect most times, but when storms came through, everything shut down like it was the apocalypse. The grocery stores would be empty and if you weren’t prepared, you’d starve waiting for the snow to lighten up. She used to go to his apartment on days like that. He was always so good about picking up extra food, always grabbing a few boxes of poptarts for her. He’d even make sure to park his truck in the street so she could have his covered parking space.

He did a lot of things for her, things she’d always taken for granted. The new robe, her favorite wine ever present in the fridge, the copy of Princess Bride that appeared on his coffee table two nights after the town wide internet outage. She’d just been too stubborn to see it at the time, holding on to the idea of them not dating. That if they weren’t officially together, then she couldn’t get her heart broken.

God, she’d been such an idiot.

Barely sparing a minute to put her cold groceries away in the fridge, Emma ran to her room, collected a random assortment of clothes and shoved them in a bag, along with her phone charger. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was back in her old bug, braving the highway to Boston. The snow began falling about an hour outside of the city, but she pushed through, making it to the hospital just before the worst of the storm.

It took some time to find his room, having been originally sent to see a Kameron Jones first. When she finally found him, she braced herself for a moment, willing her heart to stop pounding and her stomach to settle. It had been exactly one year since she’d opened his apartment door to find him gone. The irony of the date not lost on her as she forced the old wooden door open.

The were machines everywhere, she almost didn’t see him at first, too overwhelmed by everything around him. She almost missed the nurse as well.

“Oh, I can, uh, come back later.”

“No, no, stay. I’m just taking his vitals. He’s still pretty sedated and it’ll be a few hours before he wakes up. Are you family?”

Emma wasn’t sure how to answer the questions. A year ago the answer would have be a resounding yes, but now, now they were practically strangers.

“Old family friend.”

The nurse just smiled as she typed away into the computer on the wall.

“Well that’s good. He’s going to need all of the support he can get when he wakes up.”

Emma looked him over. His left hand was hidden away under a massive bandage, and his face had a few bruises, but he didn’t appear to be too beaten up otherwise.

“Is he going to be alright?”

“Oh, physically yes. From what I understand the impact was on the other side of the car. His hand got caught between the door and steering wheel unfortunately. The doctors did their best to salvage it, but only time will tell. We’ll keep a close eye on it’s coloring though”

The nurse must have sensed that Emma needed time herself to process everything.

“Oh, and just to let you know, we haven’t told him about his wife’s passing yet.”

#cs fanfiction #captain swan #be alright #wellhellotragic

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darkvalkyrie6 · 5 years ago

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A cute duckling in an ugly world

A twist on an old story. A cute duckling in an ugly demon world. A cute demon that starts with nothing, fighting trough the world, the insults, laughter of others at her appearance and other demons making fun of her for being cute, for being different.

But that's not how her story ends.

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Chapter 1. The city

There isn’t a more heartwarming moment than a look on a parent’s face full of pride. A mother proud of her child was a thing that could warm a whole room.

“Stop that mom. You’re embracing me and dad.” Alcid said.

“I don’t care. I’m so proud of you. You’re finally going to high school.” Her mother said.

“It’s not like I’m going to be a doctor after this. It’s just high school mom.” Alcid said.

“Yeah, leave the kid alone.” Her father said. “You and I also went to the same high school. You know how it is there. Just a bunch of spoiled brats.”

“Will you let me enjoy this moment.” Her mother said.

“No, because we have better things to do. The bus will be here in fifteen minutes and I still have to tend to the tree eaters.” Her father said.

“Alright, but this is on you. Alcid come and visit us when you have a chance. And don’t forget to have fun.” Her mother said.

The summer’s red sun was still high up in the sky. The bus ride to the city should take about two hours and the ride to the school dorm another hour. Alcid was excited to finally go to the only city. There were smaller towns and villages but this was the only city. She had already been in the city with her father to get supplies for the farm, but this time it was different. This time she was going alone and she’ll have four years to explore the city on her own.

The bus arrived and she got on. This year Alcid was the only one from her village to go to high school. Maybe that was better, Alcid was excited to make new friends. As they arrived at the city, she got out of the bus. She stood in front of the bus station for a few moments absorbing the environment. The city was so big and full of everything your heart desired. She snapped out of it and took out a piece of paper out of her pocket. Alcid read the instructions on how to get to the bus to the school dorms and started to head towards the tram that will take her there. While walking to the tram she looked around just taking in the city atmosphere, dragging her suitcase behind her.

At the tram station, someone bumped into her and she fell. Alcid looked in the direction of the one who pushed her and saw a bunch of guys looking at her and laughing. She forgot that the way she looked would cause problems for here in the city. She was different from other demons. Alcid didn’t have sharp teeth, scaly skin, big claws, horns or spikes on her body, couldn’t roar and scare others. Alcid was smaller than other demons, she was half their size, she had white fluffy fur all over her body, small sharp teeth, long arms, reaching down to her knees, small claws and a black flower that cowered almost the entire left side of her head. Her favorite color was black so she always wore black dresses, jackets and shoes. That made her even cuter.

When the train arrived, Alcid hoped on and took a seat. The train was running on rails above the ground so she got to see more of the city. The city seemed chaotic. In the middle, there was a big graveyard and a lake full of demons relaxing and picnicking. One part was full of tall buildings, with one towering over all the others. It was so big that it was blocking the sun. There were other buildings like the City horror museum and other art museums. Alcid couldn’t wait to go see them all. Her village was small, even compared to other villages, and there were no museums or galleries. The biggest event in her village was the Halloween fair that was only interesting for the little ones.

After some time she saw the school in the distance. It was big. Alcid read that a lot of demons come to this school from their villages because many the villages don’t have their own high schools, like hers. As the train came closer to the school, Alcid took her suitcase and headed towards the doors. She could hear a murmur of voices, insults and laughter. Alcid knew that they were all directed at her. It was tough being a cute demon in a world of scary demons.

When the train stopped, she got out and read the instructions to see where she had to register. The instructions just said that she needed to register at the A3 building but there were around fifteen buildings on the school grounds. ’How am I supposed to know where the A3 building is?’ Alcid thought and looked around. She saw a map of the school grounds, walked over to it, found the building on the map and headed there.

The building was massive, Alcid’s whole village could live in it. Alcid saw a door in the middle of the building and went through. A black demoness was sitting in a small room sharpening her claws. She had long black and red hear, six horns coming out of her forehead, one red and one white eye and claws as long as Alcid’s forearm.

“Hi! My name is Alcid Kirara. I’m here to register.” Alcid said.

The demoness looked at her and said. “You sure you’re in the right place?”

“Yes. My instructions said I have to register at the A3 building.” Alcid said.

“What I mean sweetie is that you don’t look like a demon. You sure you should be here?” The demoness said.

“Yes. I’m sure. I’m here to learn to be a demon.” Alcid said.

“Alright.” The demoness said and then yelled “Shaosi! Get down here! We got a new one!”

After a few seconds, Alcid heard a commotion and someone running like crazy down the stairs. At the last part of the stairs, the demoness missed a step and came falling down towards them. She got up, straightened her clothes and asked the demoness in the small room. “You called?”

“Yes, we have a new one. First year student. Take her to her room and explain the rules to her.” The demoness said pointing to Alcid. Shaosi, the demoness who fell down the stairs, looked at Alcid confused. Shaosi was tall, even for a demon, half of her body was white and the other half, blood red. Both of her eyes were completely black and her shoulders and upper arms were covered in sharp spikes. “You sure this is the new one?” Shaosi asked the demoness.

“Just do as I said Shaosi.” The demoness replied.

“Alright. What’s your name?” Shaosi asked.

“Alcid.” Alcid replied.

“Come with me. I’ll show you your room.” Shaosi said.

While they were walking, Shaosi started to explain things about the school to Alcid. “Welcome to the Exclusive vicious international lethal academy or as we like to call it EVIL academy. Each floor has students from the corresponding year. This is your first year so your room is on the first floor.”

As they climbed up on the first floor and entered the right wing of the building Alcid could hear a loud *kssshsssshss!* sound coming from a closet behind the door.

“Don’t mind that. That’s just Varmparia. She doesn’t like the light so she hides in dark places. Just ignore her.” Shaosi said.

“Ok.” Alcid said.

”Where was I? Oh yeah! On the ground floor are the bathrooms and the cafeteria. Breakfast is at seven, before first classes, Lunch is at three and dinner is at eight. In your first year, you will have all of the general classes but from the second year you will be able to choose the classes you want.”

“I’ll be able to choose classes. How does that work?” Alcid asked.

“Well, not all demons are the same. Some are good at possessing mortals, some age good at scaring them, causing deception and destruction even on a global scale and some are good at tempting the mortals so that they to become demons. So, in the second year you can focus on what you want to do as a demon. I’m currently the best in my class and at tempting mortals to become demons.” Shaosi said and grinned showing her sharp teeth.

After some more walking, they reached a room, Shaosi opened the door and walked in. The room had two beds, tables and closets. There was nothing special about the room, there were no decorations, no pictures, just some scribbles on the walls from the previous students.

“One bed, table and closet are yours. Your roommate will come tomorrow. The rules are simple, you can do whatever you like except killing other students. This year my roommate Oumiu and I are in charge of helping the first year students, but if we are not here and you need help, you can ask any of the older students for help. My room is on the fifth floor, room number 5C.” Shaosi said, gave her a school brochure and said. “Unpack, get comfy and enjoy yourself. You’re goanna like it here. Bye!” Shaosi waved and left.

Alcid sat on one of the beds and took a deep breath. She was here, it was happening, she will finally learn how to be a proper demon. As the excitement eased, she started to unpack. All of the things from her suitcase fitted on one shelf. Alcid decided that she’ll go shopping for new things when she gets a chance. Meanwhile, she lay down on the bed and started to read the brochure Shaosi gave her. There was nothing interesting written in there, but it made the time go faster. Soon enough it was eight o’clock and time for dinner.

Alcid got out of the room and went downstairs to the cafeteria. As soon as she entered the cafeteria, she saw the looks on the faces of other demoness’ and could her murmur of voices and laughter. ‘I don’t think Shaosi was right. I don’t think I’ll like it here.’ Alcid thought, grabbed a tray of food and sat in a corner of the cafeteria, alone.

The next day Alcid was still in bed when her roommate arrived. First, she heard a commotion as if twenty people were running through the hallway and then the door to her room opened.

“Hurry up! I’m not paying you to slack around. Put the suitcases and the boxes in the room. I said… Hurry up!!!” Alcid heard an annoying voice yelling and giving orders. Demon after demon entered the room and put suitcases and boxes on the floor. When they were done, there were ten suitcases and six boxes occupying the whole room.

“Now leave! I sad leave!” The annoying voice yelled and a demoness entered. She had dark gray skin, pointed ears and six silver horns coming out of her forehead, twisting back, framing her head. She had long black hear that reached all the way to her knees, a black dress ornamented by intricate silver stitching in the shape of human skulls. She looked at the room and said.

“Is this where they want me to live? They’re all barbarians like humans. There’s not even enough place for all my things.” The demoness’ said and her gaze stopped at Alcid. “And what are you? You don’t look like a demoness. You look like a children’s doll.”

“I’m Alcid and I am a demoness.” Alcid said.

“Huh, it talks.” The demoness’ said.

“Stop being rude Astera.” Shaosi said. “Alcid this is Astera. Your roommate. Try to get along you two. And Astera try to be a bit less like yourself. Ok?” Shaosi said and left.

“How many things do you have? I’m going to need both closets.” Astera asked.

“Not many, I...” Alcid started to say but Astera interrupted her and said. “Alright then. One shelf is yours and all the rest is mine.” Astera started unpacking and occupied all the closet space. From one of the boxes, Astera took out paper scrolls and hanged them over her bed.

“What are those symbols on the paper scrolls?” Alcid asked.

“Are you from the moral realm or what? Everybody knows that the oldest families have their sacred symbols that bring them luck, prosperity, fortune and other things on paper scrolls.” Astera said.

“Oh.” Alcid replied. Her family didn’t have those.

The first year classes were mostly concentrated on general things like the history of demons. Alcid knew the history by heart all the way to the part when the king and the queen of demons were killed and their daughter went missing, fifteen years ago because the king wanted to ban the killing of mortals. Her village was small and there was nothing to do there, so most of the time Alcid spent reading books. She liked history books, books about hero demons and math. Because of that, the classes that thought general things were boring to Alcid. The worst thing about the classes was that all the teachers, seeing how small Alcid was, asked her to sit in the front row so that she could see. She wanted to sit in the back to avoid others talking about her, quietly insulting her, laughing and throwing things at her. But that was now her everyday routine.

The only class Alcid really liked was literature. She liked books, but she didn’t like the class just because of the literature, she liked it because of the teacher, Miss Xubrah. Every time a student in her class started to talk, laugh or do something without her permission she snapped her tree meter long tail, with spikes on the end at the student, leaving a cut in his face. Soon enough, in her class, nobody made fun of Alcid. Miss Xubrah was everything Alcid wanted to be. She had gray skin, black eyes, she was calm, composed, had long sharp spikes on her head, instead of her hear and that magnificent tail.

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Chapter 2. The friend

Two months into school and Alcid still didn’t make any friends. Everyone she met just made fun of her. She talked with Shaosi a few times about it but Shaosi couldn’t help her. Shaosi couldn’t stop all the demons picking on and making fun of Alcid because she was different. Even Astera, Alcid’s roommate, asked that they moved her to another room because Alcid was damaging her reputation. Soon enough, one of the demonesses wasn’t careful in chemistry class and blew herself up so Astera moved to her room. Alcid was now all alone, but at least she now had a sanctuary where no one insulted her and made fun of her.

In two weeks Halloween vacation will start. Halloween was the most celebrated day of the year. Halloween was the time of the year you spend with your family celebrating, giving each other gifts and eating so much food until you burst. Halloween was special for one more reason. With the red blood moon in the sky, the barrier between the demon world and the mortal world was the thinnest on that day so the student demons, who usually couldn’t cross to the mortal world, each year made a bet on who can scare a mortal to death. Others treated the winner of the bet like a king for the rest of the school year. The teachers knew about the beat, and that they were going to the mortal world without permission, but it was a good exercise for the students, so they let them do it.

Alcid left the school and returned to her village for the Halloween vacation. Her mother had so many questions about the school, other demons, friends she made, but Alcid wasn’t in the mood to talk about school. She dodged the questions telling her mother that everything was fine and asking her how she and her father were. Most of her vacation she spent visiting her friends from the village and in her room.

One day Alcid looked around her room thinking that she could take something with her to school to remind her of home when one of her bone ornaments fell under her bed. She kneeled on the floor and looked under her bed to see where it went. It stopped at the wall, as far away as it could have, of course. Alcid lay down on the floor to retrieve it and when she was under the bed, she looked up. She saw a big piece of paper on the bed under the mattress. She retrieved the bone ornament, stood next to the bed and lifted the mattress. The paper she saw had a symbol similar to the symbols Astera had on her paper scrolls. But how, her family wasn’t one of the old families. Alcid took the paper scroll and rolled it into a tube. She wanted to find out what it meant before she confronted her parents.

With Halloween vacation almost over Alcid went back to school. She got some nice new dresses, jackets and boots for Halloween. Her mother always knew what she liked. As she entered her dorm room, she saw two suitcases and a white demoness with two black horns, with ridges, on her head unpacking.

The demoness saw her and said. “Hi, I’m Kheba. I’m your new roommate.” Kheba said. She was white like Alcid with two small black horns on her, long sharp claws and a tail.

“Hi, I’m Alcid. How come you arrived just now?” Alcid asked.

“My family moves around a lot and there’s a whole bunch of us. This is my second high school and I told my dad that this time I’m staying here because this school has dorms.” Kheba said. “So what kind of a demon are you? What’s your power?” she asked.

Alcid realized that she never told anyone what her power was because no one asked her. She stood in the room for a few seconds and then said. “Well… It’s nothing special. Do you see this flower on my head? It produces an acid that can dissolve anything in seconds.”

“That’s amazing.” Kheba said. “Can you show me?”

“Yes. Do you have anything that you don’t want to see ever again?” Alcid asked.

“Yeah, just a sec.” Kheba rummaged through one of her suitcases and took out a framed picture of her as a small child.

“You sure you want to get rid of that? You look so adorable in that picture.” Alcid said.

Kheba gave Alcid a serious look and said. “That’s why I want to get rid of it.”

“Ok then, put it on the desk.” Alcid put her left hand next to her left ear and tilted her head to the left. A black acid with a silver glare came out of the center of the flower and into her hand. Alcid put her hand over the framed picture and said. “Say goodbye.” she dropped the acid onto the framed picture. The acid started to simmer and dissolve the picture. In a few seconds, the framed picture was no more.

“Awesome.” Kheba said again.

“What’s your power?” Alcid asked.

“Oh, I don’t have any powers yet. I’ll get them when I finish high school. That’s the way my family works. One of my uncles is going to retire soon and I will take his place.” Kheba said.

“What family are you from?” Alcid asked.

“Oh, you never saw one like me? I’m from the Krampus family. I’m the one hundredth generation Krampus. We are one of the oldest demon families. The first Krampus demon dates back two thousand years back, but as the mortal population got bigger, there was more demand for Krampus demons. There are now around two hundred Krampus demons roaming around. Each of us young ones is an empty canvas until one of the Krampus demons retires. Every Krampus demon retires after two hundred years of being a Krampus and then lives the rest of his life in here.” Kheba said.

“So you will get your powers. But why do you have to go to high school?” Alcid asked.

“I need the badge to cross over to the mortal world. Without finishing high school I can’t get permission and go to the mortal world. A Krampus that can’t go to the mortal world isn’t worth anything.” Kheba said.

“Can I ask you something?” Alcid asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Kheba said.

“Your family is one of the oldest demon families, so can you ask them what this means?” Alcid opened her bag and pulled out the paper that was under her bed.

“Hmmm… It doesn’t look familiar to me, but I’ll take a photo and send it to my family. If they know something I’ll tell you.” Kheba said.

“Thanks.” Alcid said thinking that Kheba was the first demon that didn’t make fun of her. Who knows, maybe she just made her first friend.

Alcid noticed that the behavior of other demons towards her changed ever since Kheba arrived and they became friends. The teasing and laughing sopped. It almost seemed that the other demons started treating her like one of them. They still didn’t want to talk to her but at least they didn’t make fun of her anymore, which made the rest of the school year tolerable.

The first year of school ended and all the students went home for summer vacation. Alcid came back to her village concerned because Kheba’s family had never seen the symbol on the paper she found under her bed. Alcid wasn’t sure if she should confront her parents about that or just enjoy summer and try to find the meaning of the symbol on her own. She decided that she’ll visit the biggest library in the city and search for the symbol when she gets back to school.

She enjoyed the summer in the village. It reminded her of the time before she started high school, but the time flew by really fast. In a few weeks, the summer will end and Alcid will go back to school. She talked with her mother and father about which classes to take in her second year. She definitely wasn’t a demon for scaring or possessing people. She was never good at deception or tempting others, so she had a real dilemma. She had to choose classes but she didn’t know which ones. Her mother said that she’ll be proud of her no matter the classes she chooses.

The summer vacation was ending in a week and Alcid went back to school. When she arrived, she was happy to see that Kheba was her roommate again on the second floor. Alcid thought that that was just coincidence but Kheba explained that she asked to be her roommate and if they didn’t make that happen that shell call her father, the head of the Krampus family. Whatever the reason Alcid was happy that she shared the room with her friend.

Still not sure what classes to take in her second year, Alcid went to see Miss Xubrah, which she admired. She knocked on Miss Xubrah’s door and heard her say “Yes, come in.”.

Alcid came in, stood in front of Miss Xubrah’s desk and Miss Xubrah gestured towards her to sit. Alcid sat and said. “I’m sorry to disturb you, I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I have some questions.”

“Don’t remember you? I remember that I had to snap my tail the most in your class because others were laughing at you and making fun of you. Of course, I remember you. How can I help?” Miss Xubrah said.

“Well, actually I need some advice. You always seemed so calm, composed and had every situation under control. I admire that about you and that’s why I’m here. I’m now starting my second year and don’t know what classes to take. Do you have any advice?” Alcid asked.

“Actually I do. Don’t be one of them. One of the scary, manipulative, tempting demons. There’s a whole bunch of them out there. If you become one of them, you will never be anyone in life, just one out of thousands of scary demons. Do something else. I saw that the words and insults others threw at you hurt you, why not make it opposite. Why don’t you learn how to be smart, ruthless, composed, know how to handle every situation and never let anyone stand in your way, never let anyone’s words and insults hurt you again.” Miss Xubrah said.

Alcid was sitting in the chair listening to Miss Xubrah talk and it all started to make sense in Alcid’s head. She thanked Miss Xubrah for the advice and left. On her way to the dorm, Miss Xubrah’s words echoed in her mind. Miss Xubrah was right, all her life Alcid was letting the words of other demons get to her, but they were just words that she could easily throw back at them. She knew now what classes she would take.

Alcid registered for all the classes that would make her smarter, more ruthless, teach her how to fight and how to act composed and in charge of every situation. By the end, Alcid had fifteen classes this year alone. That many classes didn’t give her much free time but she always found time to hang out with Kheba.

Time flew by fast and Alcid forgot about the paper and the symbol she found under her bed. However, she learned many new things that made her more confident and a much difficult target to make fun of.

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Chapter 3. The symbol

By the end of the third year, Alcid was walking from the main school building to her dorm and walked by a group of demons. One big demon insulted her, she threw an insult back at him and stood looking coldly at him. He turned around, saw the way she was looking at him and that only made him angrier. He walked towards her, grabbed her with is left hand by the neck and slammed her against the wall.

“Who do you think you are you little pest? You think you could insult me and get away with it?” The demon said, squeezed his right hand into a fist and prepared to hit her face. Alcid was holding his left forearm with her hands, kicking him and trying to get free. The other demons yelled at their friend to stop but he ignored them. Alcid started to panic and out of fear the acid started to come out of her palms, dissolving the demons forearm.

The demon and Alcid fell to the floor. The demon screamed in agony as the acid completely dissolved his forearm and hand in a few seconds. One of his friends ran to get a teacher and Alcid was just sitting on the floor, looking at her palms baffled. The teacher arrived and they called an ambulance. The ambulance took the demon away and the teacher took Alcid and the other demons to the school principal.

“Explain what happened.” The school principal said.

“The injured demon attacked me. He grabbed me by the neck and started choking me. I saw that was going to hit me and I defended myself.” Alcid said.

“Is that what happened boys? And if you lie I will know.” The school principal asked the two demons.

“Yes. That’s what happened.” They said, not wanting to suffer the same fate as their friend.

“All right. I will not punish you this time because it was self-defense. However, you have to be more careful with your powers young lady. Now off you go.” The school principal said.

Alcid headed to her dorm thinking about what the school principal said. She had powers. Her acid came out of her palms, not just out of her flower. This has never happened before. On her way to the dorm, she picked up a rock and held it in her hand. She concentrated on letting acid out of her palm, but nothing happened. She repeated it all the way, until she reached the dorm. Maybe she couldn’t control her powers at will, but at least, now she knew that she had them. Alcid told the news to Kheba who immediately gave her a bunch of things she wanted to get rid of.

“You can use those for practice.” Kheba said.

“I’m not a garbage can Kheba.” Alcid said with a serious look on her face, but she took the things Kheba gave her.

Alcid practiced controlling her powers every day and after two months, she successfully dissolved a doll head in her hand. She was so happy that she invited Kheba to go out to lunch and shopping with her.

“Yes! You did it! I’m so proud. Yeah, let’s go out, just don’t dissolve my fork.” Kheba said and laughed.

They had fun out walking around town. They had lunch, went shopping, visited the City horror museum and walked past the City library. That’s when Alcid remembered the paper and the symbol. Alcid made a mental note to come back here and search for the symbol. They made it back to school a few minutes before dinner. After dinner, they went to their room and had fun with dissolving things that Kheba gave to Alcid.

The next day Alcid went to the City library and asked the librarian about books with the demon symbols, but the old demon symbols that belonged to old demon families. The librarian gave her a piece of paper with a list of twelve books so she went and searched for them.

Alcid found them, she took the oldest book first and started to compare the symbols in the book with the symbol from the paper. In the oldest book, she found a similar symbol that represented the royal family, it dated back many thousands of years. It wasn’t the same so Alcid kept looking. After a few more books, she found another symbol that looked similar to hers. It represented good fortune for the royal family, it was similar but it still wasn’t the same. There were still five books left, so she took another one. That one was useless, but the next one had a symbol almost identical to hers, only one line was missing. The symbol represented the prosperity of the royal family. This was getting weird, all the symbols that were similar to hers had something to do with the royal family.

Alcid quickly went through the last two books, and in the last book, she found her symbol. Her symbol represented the change and prosperity of the demon royal family. She sat there looking at the symbol thinking that it must be a joke. She was a simple farmer’s daughter, what connection did she have to the royal family that were murdered seventeen years ago. The same number of years as she was old. Alcid put the books back on the shelves and headed back to her dorm room.

In her room, Alcid sat on the bed, looking at Kheba’s symbols. “How do you know if the demon symbol on a paper scroll is real?” Alcid asked.

“Easy. If it belongs to you, or your family it will glow silver if you touch it. I’ll show you.” Kheba said. Kheba had two paper scrolls with two different symbols on it. She touched the first one and the symbol glowed silver. “This is my family symbol. The circle represents unity and the maze inside it means prosperity.” She said and touched the other one that also glowed silver. “This is my symbol, well, not just mine. It is the symbol of the hundredth generation of the Krampus family. All my sisters and brothers from my generation have the same symbol. The four spirals represent strength and the hands with claws above and underneath it mean to keep us safe. Every symbol has its meaning and that meaning gives it power.” Kheba said.

“Wow. So your family gives each generation a symbol?” Alcid asked.

“Yeah, but other families give each of their children a symbol. We are special because there are so many of us.” Kheba said.

When Kheba was in class Alcid took out her paper scroll and touched the symbol. It glowed silver. It had a maze, two hands with claws, one over and one under the maze and two snakes with heads shaped like arrows encircling the maze and the hands. ‘So the symbol means prosperity, safety and the snakes going in a circle probably mean change like the book said. I have to find the royal family symbol on a paper scroll.’ Alcid though. If the royal symbol doesn’t glow, all her troubles will go away. ‘But what if it glows?’ Alcid though.

Summer came and Alcid went back to the village, to her family. This summer she looked at her mother and father through different eyes. Alcid still loved them but she was upset that they were keeping such a large secret from her. One night at dinner, she asked her parents. “Who am I?”

“What do you mean Alcid? You are our daughter.” Her mother replied.

“Dad, who am I?” Alcid looked at her father with a serious face expecting a different answer. She knew that her father wasn’t a good liar.

“As your mother said...” He started to say but Alcid interrupted him.

“I know what mom sad. I’m asking you. Who am I?” Alcid said.

“Ahh… Well...” Her father looked at her mother, who gave him the I’m going to kill you look, and continued. “You are our daughter.” The words came out of his mouth as if they weighed a ton.

“So you are still going to lie to me?” Alcid asked.

“We are not lying to you. You are our daughter. We raised you, we cared for you and we still do. But...” Her mother suddenly stopped talking.

“But we are not your real parents.” Her father said.

“Then who are my real parents?” Alcid asked.

“We don’t know. Men on horses came to our village. They were carrying you, wrapped in a blanket. They told us to take care of you and they gave us two paper scrolls.” Her mother said.

“They told us to put one school in your bedroom, but we didn’t want the others to see it, so we put it under the mattress. And the other one we hid.” Her father said.

“I found the one in my room. I found out what it was and that’s why I’m asking you who I am. Can you give me the second scroll?” Alcid asked.

“They told us to give it to you when you come of age, when you finish high school.” Her mother said.

“It’s my last year in high school, I’ll be eighteen in a few months. What’s the difference?” Alcid said.

“Ok.” Her father said, stood up and went to get the paper scroll.

“If you knew, why didn’t you say something Alcid?” Her mother asked.

“I need to be sure before I tell you what I found out.” Alcid said.

Her father returned with a paper tube decorated in silver letters, he opened it, took out the paper scroll and gave it to Alcid. She unrolled the paper scroll and looked at the symbol on it. On the top was a crown and underneath it was a circle. Between the crown and a circle was the infinity symbol. In the circle was a maze, in each corner of the scroll was a spiral. Alcid touched the crown and the whole symbol started to glow gold.

“What does that mean?” Her mother asked.

Alcid put the royal scroll on the table, took the paper scroll that was under her bed, out of her bag and put it beside the royal scroll. First, Alcid put her left hand on the symbol from her bedroom and it glowed silver. Then she put her right hand on the royal symbol and both symbols glowed gold.

“This mom means that I am the lost daughter of the king and queen of demons that were killed almost eighteen years ago. The exact number of years as I am old.” Alcid said.

“What are we going to do now?” Her father asked.

“Nothing. I will hide the paper scrolls and we will tell no one about this until I finish high school. I have started to gain powers I didn’t have when I was little and with the knowledge and my powers I will avenge my parent’s murder.” Alcid said.

“You have powers?” Her mother and father asked at the same time.

“Yeah, let me show you.” Alcid went out of the house, grabbed a rock, put it in her palm, started to produce acid in her palm and dissolved the rock in seconds. “That’s not all I can do. I can shoot acid at others from any part of my body.” She said happily.

“Wow! You have powers. This is a time to celebrate. I will make your favorite meal tomorrow.” Her mother said.

“Thanks mom.” Alcid said and started to roll up the paper scrolls, put them in the paper tube decorated in silver letters and in her bag.

After summer vacation, ended Alcid was back in school. The last year was the toughest. Together with classes, they had field trips and had to write papers on things they have learned in the past two years. Alcid even grew a bit in these four years. She had to buy a completely new wardrobe because she outgrew all the clothes she brought from home. Now taller, leaner, more composed, with bigger claws she started to look more like a real demon.

When Alcid wasn’t in class or doing homework, she concentrated on finding out what exactly happened to the king and queen of demons. She knew that the king tried to ban killing the mortals and that the demons rebelled. The king had the power to control fire and the queen to control ice. They were so powerful that, in the attack on the palace, they killed more than a thousand demons.

‘So, with such powers, how did they end up dead? They had to be betrayed. But who had the most to gain from killing them and stopping the ban on killing mortals?’ Alcid thought. The only ones who came into that category were the demons that possessed or scared mortals. Then she remembered. There were demons that fed on mortals. They were very rare and very dangerous. They were the largest and scariest demons that could singlehandedly kill hundreds of demons, so Alcid concentrated on these demons.

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Chapter 4. The power

Alcid found out that there was one mortal eating demon that was alive when the king and queen were murdered and that he was here in the demon realm now. She asked Kheba to go on a walk with her and that she wanted to show her something, when in fact she just didn’t want to go alone to talk to the mortal eating demon. When they reached the cemetery Kheba got mad at Alcid because she lied to her, Alcid apologized and told her she had a good reason.

Alcid walked over to the mortal eating demon who was sitting on a grave cleaning his teeth with a broken demon bone and asked him. “Hi, I’m sorry to bother you but can I ask you a few questions?”

The demon sniffed the air a few times and said. “You smell familiar. Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so. Can you tell me if you hated the royal family? You see, I’m doing this for school and I know you were here when the demons rebelled.” Alcid said.

“Of course I hated the royal family. I’m a mortal eater and the king wanted to ban killing mortals.” The demon said. “I felt such a surge of happiness when I ripped his head from his shoulders.”

Alcid could barely contain her rage and after a few moments, she asked him. “Did you kill the queen too?”

“Yes. I ripped her in half and ate her head. Demons don’t taste as good as mortals.” The demon said.

Alcid was so enraged now that she came closer to the mortal eating demon that was ten times bigger than she was, and said. “Thank you for talking to me. We are going to leave you in pieces now.”

“What? Don’t you mean in peace?” the demon said.

“No. You heard me correctly.” Alcid said and shot her acid all over him. In a few seconds, all that was left of him was a few pieces of bones and skin. The first part of Alcid’s plan was over. He avenged her parent’s death.

“Whoa! That was amazing Alcid.” Kheba said. “Do you know what you just did?”

“I killed a mortal eating demon that killed the king and queen. I know. Why?” Acid said and gave her a confused look.

“I got some amazing pictures. You look like a hero demoness on them.” Kheba said with a smile.

“Pictures? Why did you take pictures?” Alcid asked.

“Because it looked legendary. A battle between the smallest demon and the biggest demon. This will go down into history books!” Kheba said smiling from ear to ear.

“Kheba show me your hands. Good. Now promise me that you won’t show the pictures to anyone or tell anyone what just happened. Promise me!” Alcid said with a serious voice.

“I promise.” Kheba said and rolled her eyes.

“Ok.” Alcid said and they left the cemetery and headed to the dorm.

On their way there, Alcid’s mind was occupied with thoughts about the king and queen’s murder. Now that Alcid avenged their deaths, she had to retake the throne. That meant that she needed to find the traitors of the royal family, to learn to see the deception in others. To know when others are lying so Alcid can remove them from the royal palace in pieces. The royal palace was a fortress. There was no way that such a big demon like a mortal eater could just walk in the royal chamber by himself and there is no way the other demons could break down the doors and swarm the palace without help.

Alcid still wasn’t good at telling when people lied or deceived her. However, as in most cases, it’s easier to see one if you are one. So for her last year courses, Alcid registered for all courses that dealt with lying, deceiving mortals, learning to recognize lies and deceit in others, ways to make others reveal the that they are lying and how to read the body language of liars, manipulators and deceivers.

The next morning, Alcid went down to the cafeteria and when she walked in almost all demoness’ looked at her like she was a goddess, not demoness ‘What’s going on?’ She thought. She took a tray of food and sat next to Kheba. While she was eating, she could feel demonesses’ looking at her, but when she looked at them, they pretended that they weren’t looking at her. Alcid looked at her clothes and body and asked Kheba if there was something strange about her face or flower, but Kheba sad that everything was normal, as usual.

They left to go to class and as Alcid was walking to the main school building some demons looked at her wide-eyed, others with awe in their eyes. Al the demons moved out of her way to make room for her to pass and if a demon didn’t move, the others made sure he did. As she entered the classroom one of the demons that always made fun of her was holding her chair, waiting for her to sit. Alcid sat in the chair and the demon pushed the chair to the table.

‘This is all Kheba’s fault. I forgot about the toes. She showed them the pictures.’ Alcid thought and the second the classes ended, she hurried to her room. She found Kheba lying on the bed, on her stomach, listening to music. Alcid took off her headphones and yelled angrily “You showed them the pictures! You promised you wouldn’t and you still showed them! How could you do that?!”

“You forgot the toes.” Kheba looked at her and said calmly with a small smile.

“Just tell me that you didn’t tell them why we were there and what I was talking about with the mortal eating demon.” Alcid said.

“I didn’t. I just showed hem a picture of you killing the demon and a selfie of me with what was left of the demon.” Kheba said.

“Good. Now sit up and show me your hands and feet and the tail.” Alcid said.

Kheba did what Alcid said. “Now what?” Kheba asked.

“Now you promise me that you won’t tell anybody what I was talking about with the mortal eating demon.” Alcid said.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone what you and the mortal eating demon were talking about. That good enough?” Kheba asked.

“Yes. And you know what will happen if you break your promise?” Alcid asked.

“I know. You will dissolve everything I own with your acid, even the clothes I’m wearing, and give me a haircut with it.” Kheba said with a cold look.

“Good. Then that’s settled.” Alcid said.

The rest of the year went by quickly and Alcid learned a lot about how to recognize liars and deceivers, but she wasn’t the best in her class. The best in her class was a demon called Vannal. He could see if someone was lying just by looking at them, he was a natural. Alcid got along well with him and he thought her a lot. She made a mental note to call on him when she’ll need someone to help her find the traitors of the royal throne

Graduation day was in two weeks, which meant that in two weeks school will be over and all the demons she met in the last four years will start their own lives. The thing that hurt the most was that Alcid won’t be able to spend every day with Kheba. She will miss her, but she had a parting gift for her.

One night, they were both in their room. Alcid told Kheba that she wanted to show her something as a parting gift. Alcid opened a drawer and took out a paper tube decorated in silver letters.

“What is that?” Kheba asked.

“You’ll see.” Alcid opened the paper tube and took out two paper scrolls. She unrolled them both on her bed. On the left was the royal scroll and on the right Alcid’s scroll.

“Wait the scroll with the crown. That’s the royal scroll, right? How did you get it?” Kheba asked.

Alcid looked at Kheba and said. ”Eighteen years ago, knights on horses came to my parents, gave them a child and told them to take care of it. With the child, they gave them these two scrolls. I found this one, on the right, under my bed and my dad gave the other one to me. Now, look what happens when I touch them.”

Alcid put her hand on the symbol on the right and it glowed silver.

“But you aren’t from an old family. Why is it glowing?” Kheba asked.

“That’s not the strangest thing. You know the books of the family symbols in the City library. The symbols magically appear in the books when they are created. This one appeared in the book one day after my day of birth.”

“Ours appear the same way. That’s not weird.” Kheba said.

“The weird part is the explanation next to the symbol. The explanation is change and prosperity of the demon royal family.” Alcid said. “Now watch what happens when I touch the royal scroll.”

Alcid put her right hand on the royal symbol and both symbols started to glow gold.

“Whoa! I’ve never seen a symbol glow gold. Does that mean that you are the missing child?” Kheba asked.

“Well, I am the right age and the symbols glow gold. The king had the power over an element, over the fire, the queen too, over the ice, and I too have power over an element, the acid. So you got a really powerful friend here Kheba.” Alcid said.

“Pfffff… You’re not more powerful than us Krampus’.” Kheba said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Two days before graduation Alcid was sitting in class talking to Vannal and two dozen other demons about what are they going to do after school. None of them had a concrete answer. Most of the demons she was talking to looked scary or threatening but how they felt inside and what they wanted to do in their lives didn’t reflect their appearance.

“What if I tell you that there is a way that you can do what you wanted and not be judged by the way you look. Wood a job like that interest you?” Alcid asked.

The demons looked at her confused and one of them asked. “Is this a joke?”

“No. It’s the opportunity for you to do what you want and to not be judged.” Alcid said.

Al the demons said yes at the same time.

“Wait a second. This is too good to be true. There must be a catch. What is it?” Vannal asked.

Alcid looked at him and said. “Smart and scary. That’s what I like about you. There is a catch. The catch is that you all have to listen to me. Does anyone have a problem with that?”

All the demons said no at the same time and Vannal just shrugged.

The school ended. At the graduation ceremony, they all got medals that gave them the power to go to the mortal realm. They weren’t real medals, they were magic symbols engraved into their skin that let them pass the barrier between the demon and the mortal world. After the ceremony, they celebrated the end of school and promised to keep in touch.

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Chapter 5. The change

A week after school ended Alcid gathered the two dozen demons and together with Vannal they headed towards the royal palace. At the main entrance to the royal palace were two guards that told them that visiting the royal palace vas forbidden.

“Well, then that is good for us because we are not visiting the palace.” Alcid said calmly.

The guards looked at her confused and told her to go away, that the palace was locked and that she couldn’t go in.

“You pour souls. There isn’t a place I can’t go.” Alcid said and put her palm on the door lock, she began releasing acid and the door lock started to dissolve. The guards looked at her and the door baffled. Once the lock dissolved completely, Alcid opened the door and she and the demons with her entered the main entrance of the palace.

The main entrance looked unkempt. There was dust everywhere, the floor was dirty and the carpet had disgusting stains and smelled awful. All of this was the fault of the mayor of the city who lived here. All the demons in the demon world were corrupt mortal souls, but the mayor’s soul was so corrupt with greed and disregard for others that he was the number one on the list of most hated demons. The only things that kept him as a mayor of the city were his political ties and the corrupt and greedy souls of other demons in high positions.

They climbed the stairs towards the door to the royal throne room. The door was all scratched up from the battle with the demons, but they were also full of dust and rust. The doors were so full of rust that the larger demons from the group barely managed to open it. The royal throne room looked like the battel and the murder of the king and queen, Vikorith and Domitia Chaios, happened only yesterday. There were broken statues, broken glass, broken furniture and claw marks all around the room and on the floor. Alcid started to walk towards the king and queens thrones, but stopped when she saw blood on the carpet, leading to the thrones. The mayor didn’t even have the decency to clean the blood of her parents. Barely keeping herself composed, rage building inside of her, she asked one of the demons to alert all the media that in an hour something is going to happen on the balcony where the royal family spoke to the public.

In that hour, Alcid asked one of the other demons that was skilled in magic, to make a big screen with sound over the balcony and to show what was happening on the balcony on that screen, so that all the demons on the main square in front of the palace could see. She also told him to make the same screens with sound in all towns and villages.

With twenty minutes to go, Alcid stood next to the balcony preparing for her speech holding the paper tube with silver decorations in her hands. With five minutes to go, Alcid stepped out on the balcony and pulled down the strings that usually held the paper scrolls. She opened the paper tube and took out the paper scrolls. She hanged her paper scroll on the right side of the balcony and the royal paper scroll on the left.

She turned around and saw hundreds of demons on the main square and all the news crews. Alcid started to get nervous but Vannal peeked onto the balcony and said. “You can do it. Just pretend you are talking to us.” He smiled and left.

The big screen over her showed her and the two paper scrolls behind her. Alcid walked over to the edge of the balcony and said. “My fellow demons and demoness I stand today before you as Alcid Chaios.”

Alcid heard a murmur in the crowd of demons but she continued. “I am the lost child that disappeared on the day my parents, the king and queen, Vikorith and Domitia Chaios, were murdered. They were betrayed and then murdered by a mortal eating demon. I avenged their murder and killed the mortal eating demon.” As she said the pictures that Kheba took of her throwing acid at the demon and the demon dissolving appeared on the screen.

“To prove to you that I really am the lost child and heir to the throne, I have the royal symbol and the symbol given to me by the king and queen. They are all in the books of symbols connected to the royal family. I will touch the symbols and you will see that they are my family’s symbol and my symbol.”

At that moment, the mayor stepped on to the balcony and angrily yelled. “It doesn’t matter who you are! I run this city! The time of kings and queens is in the past. You have no authority, no power here! This city, the demon world is mine. Do you understand?!”

Alcid looked calmly at him and quietly said. “I have all the right and all the power I need.” She smiled at him, put her hand on his forehead and acid started to run down his face. In a few seconds, the mayor was gone. Alcid heard cheering from hundreds of demons on the main square.

“Now, quiet down and look.” Alcid turned around, lifted her right hand, touched her symbol and it glowed silver. Then she lifted her left hand and touched the royal symbol. Both symbols glowed gold. Alcid heard a simultaneous whoa sound of hundreds of demons. She lowered her hands and turned around back towards the square. The demons were all, for a few moments, looking at her wide-eyed and then started chanting her name repeatedly. “Alcid Chaios, our queen! Alcid Chaios, our queen...”

The demons in the palace helped her take down the scrolls and put them in a safe place. With the mayor gone it was time to renovate the palace. She ordered the guards to summon the staff in the throne room. Alcid was standing in the middle of the throne room when the staff members began to enter. When they all kneeled before her, she asked. “Can you explain to me why the most important room in the palace looks like this?” However, she got no answer.

She walked over to one of the staff members and told him to stand up.

“I asked a question and I expect an answer.” Alcid said.

“The mayor told us to leave it as it is.” The staff member said.

“You see, it’s not that difficult.” Alcid said. “There are fifty of you so I will put you to good use. I have tasks for all of you. I will give you a month to clean the palace and make new carpets and decorations.”

“You will remove the damaged things and clean the dust, the mold and help the workers I’ll hire to repair the damaged windows and statues.” Alcid said to the men.

“You will make a new carpet for the throne room and wall decorations. The new royal colors are white, black, red, blood red and silver. The carpet in the throne room will be black with a silver edge and blood red symbols from the royal and my paper scroll. Do you understand?” Alcid said to the women.

In the meantime, Alcid will use the time to find out who betrayed her parents. She asked the guards if there was anyone here, in the palace, who was in the palace when the king and queen were murdered. The guard said that the mayor chased away everyone from the palace and put his own people in.

Alcid also used the time to fulfill the promises she made to her demon friends. She asked her friend what they wanted to do and got some strange answers from such scary demons. One wanted to be chief of staff, another a librarian, one less scary one liked animals so he wanted to run the stables, the biggest of them all wanted to be the leader of the royal guard. Alcid warned him that the guards at the palace were the mayor’s guards ant that they were probably spies for others. She told him to get rid of the guards that are here now and to look for other demons who wanted the job. She also planned to get rid of the staff members when the renovation was over and make a clean start.

After two weeks, an older demon came to the stables and left his horse there. He ran up towards the place. The guards stopped him wanting to know what he was doing here and what his intentions were. He was a big demon so he just pushed them aside and ran towards the throne room. Seeing that it was under construction he started yelling. “Alcid! Alcid! Alcid, where are you?”

Alcid heard the commotion and ran down the stairs from her room. She walked over to the throne room and saw a big demon standing there looking at her. Alcid looked at him confused as he ran towards her and hugged her tightly. “Oh, Alcid. I thought I would never see you again. I’m so happy that you’re alive.” He said.

“Ahm… Can you please let me go and tell me who you are?” Alcid said.

The demon let her go and still holding her by the shoulders he said. “ I’m Sigurd, I was your father’s best friend. I was crushed when you went missing and when they murdered your father and mother. But when I saw you on that screen, two weeks ago, I rushed to get here, to see you.” Sigurd said.

“You knew my father?” Alcid asked.

“Not only knew him, but we also grew up together. His nanny was my mother and we spent each day together.” Sigurd said.

“Could you tell me about my parents?” Alcid asked.

“Absolutely. I can tell you right now that they would be proud of you.” Sigurd said.

“You must be hungry and thirsty after your trip. Let’s go to the kitchen and you can tell me about my parents.” Alcid said.

“You said the magic word, lead the way.” Sigurd said.

They sat in the kitchen, eating and drinking. Sigurd told Alcid stories about her father and about how he met her mother and funny stories about his friendship with her father. They talked almost all night, but at one point Sigurd felt tired and they called it a day. The next few days Alcid enjoyed Sigurd stories and one day she asked him. “Were you here when they attacked my parents?”

“No. I was on a mission to help a village. Maybe if I was here that wouldn’t have happened.” Sigurd said.

“Do you know who was here and who held a grudge against my parents?” Alcid asked.

“Everyone liked your parents. Your father wanted to ban killing mortals because, when you were born, he didn’t want to see you with the blood of mortals on your hands. But I don’t think that the ban was the real reason your parents were murdered.” Sigurd said.

“Why?” Alcid asked.

Did you look at your family tree? Sigurd asked.

“I did. It’s huge.” Alcid said.

“Let’s go see it.” Sigurd said.

“Can I ask a friend to come with us?” Alcid asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Sigurd said.

Alcid called Vannal to join them and they headed to Alcid’s room. They opened the map of the royal family tree on the floor of the room, Sigurd pointed at Alcid’s grandparents and said. “This were the king and queen before your parents. As you can see here they had two children, your father and an older son Roknin.”

“Why is his picture gray?” Alcid asked.

“I’ll get to that. Roknin had a son Ulrahr. This is him here. When your grandparents died the new king would have been Roknin and then Ulrahr, but… Roknin died and that made the second son, your father heir to the throne. That’s why Roknin’s picture is gray.” Sigurd said.

“But Ulrahr is still alive and probably angry that he’ll never be a king.” Alcid said.

“He could be a king if he killed your parents and you. And I think he did that but he didn’t kill you, so he still can’t be the king.” Sigurd said.

“What do you mean can’t be king? What if I never found out I was the heir to the throne?” Alcid asked.

“The royal crowns of the king and queen are magical. If the true king or queen doesn’t wear them, they look like they are made out of stone. However, if the real king or queen wears them then they are gold. He probably tried the king’s crown and it remained looking like stone.” Sigurd said. “Be careful, he now knows where you are and he may try to kill you to get to the throne.”

“I will, thank you for the warning, but I’m not that easy to kill.” Alcid said with a smile.

“Yeah, I saw your stunt with the mortal eating demon. Impressive, really impressive.” Sigurd said.

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Chapter 6. The crown

One night Alcid just went to bed. A few moments after she heard a squeaking noise and saw that the window was opened. In the corner of her eye, she saw something move, lifted her hand in the air and said. “I saw you. Whoever you are, you are not going to have a fun time here.”

The shadow jumped on her bed and yelled “Booo!” Alcid, startled, screamed and almost fell out of bed. Then she heard a familiar laugh and said. “Kheba! Are you insane? My heart skipped a beat.”

A dozen guards entered the room but Alcid told them that everything was all right, that her high school friend just started her and she sent them away. The guards, confused, left Alcid’s room.

Alcid hugged Kheba and said. “Look at you. You got your powers! You are a Krampus now.”

“Yes, my uncle is still teaching me but look at my horns. Aren’t they beautiful?” Kheba asked.

“Yes. And you are not white anymore. You look stunning.” Alcid said.

“This year I’ll go with my uncle to the mortal world to see what a Krampus does there, but next year I’m going alone. Next year I’ll be a real Krampus.” Kheba said with pride.

“I’m so happy for you. But don’t miss my coronation this year.” Alcid said.

“I won’t. I promise.” Kheba said.

“Oh, no you don’t. Show me the fingers, toes and the tale and then promise.” Alcid said.

Kheba did as Alcid said and they laughed. Kheba had to go but she sad that she’ll come back and visit when she had time.

Alcid spent the next week with Vannal gathering information out of people. They needed to know where Ulrahr was hiding and Vannal’s skills came in handy here. They found out that he was in the city and probably had spies in the palace. That was all they needed. They returned to the palace and went to the throne room.

First, they summoned the staff members to the throne room. They told them to wait at the beginning of the room and one by one called them in front of the thrones. They asked each of them if they knew where Ulrahr was. Vannal read them and dismissed those that weren’t lying. After about fifty staff members, Vannal signaled Alcid that the staff member in front of her was lying.

“Why are you lying to me?” Alcid asked.

“I’m not lying. I don’t know where he is.” The staff member said.

“Then what are you lying about?” Alcid asked.

“Nothing, I swear.” The staff member said and started to sweat.

Alcid put her thumb on his shoulder, released a small amount of acid. The staff member screamed in pain. She said. “Don’t make me repeat myself because I will repeat this too.”

“Alright. He pays me to give him information about you. We always meat at the small square near the fountain with demons eating a mortal.” The staff member said.

“When does he expect new information?” Alcid asked.

“Tomorrow.” The staff member said.

“Good, you will guide us there and act like nothing is happening. If you so much as twitch the wrong way or say something to him Ill dissolve all your bones with my acid. Do you understand?” Alcid said and the staff member nodded.

The next day Alcid and Vannal followed the staff member and saw him talking to Ulrahr. When they were done talking, Alcid and Vannal continued to follow Ulrahr all the way to a house. They looked through the windows and saw him throw his jacket on a chair and sit go in the kitchen. He started to act out, throw things, smash plates and scream angrily. When he calmed down, he sat in a chair at the table with his head in his palms. Alcid and Vannal snuck into his house, Vannal grabbed his hands and threw him on the floor, still holding his hands. Alcid took some rope and they tied his hands and feet.

Alcid put her hand over his mouth and said. “You know what I can do with my hands. If you scream it will be the last sound you will ever make. We have some questions for you and with each question, you don’t answer you lose a finger. Every time you lie, you lose a toe. Do you understand?”

Ulrahr looked at her full of rage but nodded. Alcid removed her hand off his mouth, sat in front of him and said. “Were you at the palace when my parents were killed?”

“No.” Ulrahr said.

“He’s telling the truth.” Vannal said.

“Did you kill my parents and try to kill me to become a king.” Alcid asked.

Ulrahr looked at a calm face and said. “No, I did not kill your parents.”

“He’s telling the truth.” Vannal said.

“Yeah, he is. The mortal eating demon killed my parents. So let’s rephrase the question. Did you come up with a plan to kill my parents and me and put it in motion to become a king?” Alcid asked.

Ulrahr looked at her with hatred in his eyes and said. “No.”

“He’s lying.” Vannal said.

“Ok. One toe less it is.” Alcid said and dropped a few drops of acid on one of Ulrahr’s toes. Ulrahr screamed in pain as his toe dissolved.

“Alright. I made a plan to kill you and your family but they took you away and my plan failed.” Ulrahr said through his teeth.

“Do you plan to kill me now?” Alcid asked.

Ulrahr looked at her angrily but didn’t say anything.

“Do you really hate your fingers that much?” Alcid asked.

Ulrahr leaned forward, looked into her eyes and said. “I dream of it every day.” Then he spat in her face.

“Vannal, I think we are done here. Ulrahr I’m sorry you’re so obsessed with being a king. It’s nothing special. I liked my life more when I was just a simple farm girl. I hope that in your next life you get what you want.” Alcid said, put her hand on his head and let acid run down his body until there was nothing left of him.

When the renovation of the palace was completed and the palace shone in its new glory Alcid decided that it was time for the crowning ceremony. She scheduled the date and invited the most important demons, but she also left the palace doors open to anyone who wanted to come. The day before the ceremony Alcid took Vannal to the roof of the palace. It was the best spot to look at the red moon. She loved to spend time here.

“Why did you bring me here?” Vannal asked.

“To give you something.” Alcid responded. Alcid liked Vannal. He sometimes acted like a fool but most of the time he was serious and composed. The thing she liked most about him was that he was smart and very perceptive, He had black four horns, two on each side of his head, coming from his temples and going to the back of his head. He had black fur all over his body with intricate white pattern starting from the corner of his eyes, down the side of his face to his shoulders, arms and torso. He also had short hair that made him look like a mad scientist sometimes.

“What?” Vannal asked.

“You’re smart. Figure it out.” Alcid said looking at him with a smile.

“A push off the roof?” Vannal asked.

Alcid laughed and said. “No. I’m not goanna kill you. I want to give you this.” Alcid took out a golden ring decorated with royal symbols.

“Why are you giving me this? This is a king’s ring?” Vannal asked.

“Because I like you, I admire you, you’re funny, smart, cute and I don’t want the throne next to me to be empty.” Alcid said.

“You’re asking me to marry you and be the king?” Vannal asked and Alcid kissed him.

“Yes I am. So what do you say?” Alcid said.

“Yes.” Vannal said.

On the day of the crowning ceremony, both thrones were occupied.————————————————–

I really don't know where I got the inspiration for this story. I just woke up one day and started writing it.

I didn't use any movies, books or series for inspiration the story is my original work. This is just the result of my weird imagination and brain telling me what to write. I hope you liked it :)

It’s still just a story, like all of my other stores. It doesn’t have a deeper spiritual, moral or ethical meaning.

Thanks for reading :) Every comment is welcome

#tw violence #tw implied murder #tw murder #tw demons #demon world #demon powers #fantasy

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rantsaboutponies · 5 years ago

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Season 9 Retrospective

One last ride.

If this final season proved anything, it’s that nothing matters anymore. I mean, it’s kind of been that way for the last few, but this one crystallized that. The final score (W-L-T) was 1-5-20; the sheer amount of “meh” episodes is staggering.

I wonder how this show will stand the test of time. If it had aired for just those first two seasons, it probably would have been a classic, “canceled too soon” series that maintained its small but passionate group of fans for decades to come. That’s not going to be the effect, though, if you keep a series going well after the point that it should have ended. If you continue out of momentum for six or seven years past its expiration date, you’re going to end up driving your fans away by creating an atmosphere of apathy, and indeed, that’s exactly what happened. Sure, diminishing returns are still returns, but you’re going to reach a point where the majority of people have dropped off, and that’s when not even your financial responsibilities will justify your existence anymore. It might ironically turn out that the longer the show runs, the less it will be remembered. For a recent example, look at what happened to the Transformers movies. From the fiscal side, you had what looked like a good thing going; it was just a whole bunch of people complaining that these movies sucked, which didn’t matter to you as long as you were still making money. And then the fifth film came out, and you lost $100 million. Everyone who was still continuing to give these movies a chance had officially run out of patience. (I guess continuing well past anyone giving a shit is something Hasbro has yet to learn from.)

Anyway, enough rambling. This final ranking is going to be tricky, since there were just so many Tie episodes that I really didn’t give a shit about, but #1 is going to be easy because there was only one Win in the entire season. That would be...

#1. “Student Counsel”: Once again, putting Starlight and Trixie in an episode together will basically guarantee hilarious dialogue. I don’t know why they’re not getting their own spin-off.

And it’s a pretty steep drop-off from there...

#2. “Between Dark and Dawn”: I guess seeing more of the sisterly relationship between Celestia and Luna was halfway interesting (even if it wasn’t that different from what we saw in “A Royal Problem”). The fact that they seemed to forget about the main storyline at the end was kind of dumb, though.

#3. “Twilight’s Seven”: You know what, at least it was different. A heist? Sure, why not?

#4. “The Last Laugh”: There’s something ironic about this show having an episode about how it’s bad to move from doing something creative (and that you love doing) to a mechanized, monotonous process of doing the same thing and losing the passion and interest you once had. I wonder if the writers were aware of what they were doing here.

#5. “The Summer Sun Setback”: When you get right down to it, this plot wasn’t too different from the finale. This one was just smaller and focused on a single event. Either way, at least Tirek and Cozy Glow had fun fucking with them a little.

#6. “A Horse Shoe-In”: Some of the teaching auditions were kind of fun, but this wasn’t a Starlight/Trixie episode that had a ton of humorous dialogue. Very disappointing.

#7. “The Point of No Return”: Twilight doesn’t freak out about minor stuff anymore! That’s why she’s going to rule Equestria very, very soon. If I lived in Equestria, I’d be terrified for my future.

#8. “Common Ground”: I kind of wish the moral here could have been, “It’s possible not to have the same interests as someone else and still have a healthy relationship with them,” but with this show, we’ll have to settle for, “If you look really, really hard, you’ll be able to find an aspect of their interest that you like enough to keep yourself entertained.”

#9. “Sweet and Smoky”: “If you’re useful, people will stop making fun of you.” The lesson of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, now in dragon form!

#10. “She’s All Yak”: “Tell me about it...stud!” I never got on board with the “Yona is best yak” train (I mostly just found her obnoxious), but I absolutely agree with the “Jesus Christ, please stop trying to kill her!” crowd.

#11. “The Big Mac Question”: This was probably the most in-one-ear-and-out-the-other episode this season. I don’t even remember what happened. Big Mac married Cheerilee, right?

#12. “Frenemies”: I’ll be honest, this is the episode that aired while I was at Everfree Northwest, and I wasn’t really paying attention. The only thing I remember about it is “Gregory’s Bell”. As far as I know, that was actually in the episode proper.

#13 & #14. “The Beginning of the End”: Weird that Sombra never came back. Nope, he’s totally super-duper for reals defeated this time.

#15 & #16. “The Ending of the End”: I’ve mentioned this before, but big, epic battles do absolutely nothing for me when there isn’t any substance to them. If some super-powerful being is fighting some other super-powerful being, it’s no different from a normal being fighting another normal being. Scaling it up doesn’t make it more interesting. The plan involving undermining everypony’s trust in each other was a good idea, but they forgot that every single background character in this show is dumb as a box of hammers and changes allegiance on a dime, so that was never really going to work. Plus, the fact that it was Discord the whole time was just...ugh.

#17. “Dragon Dropped”: Oh, really, Rarity? Now you care about Spike? Geez. We can’t end the show without Spike continuing to be a punching bag. (But he’s buff in the last episode, so it’s fine.)

#18. “The Last Crusade”: Given how a few of the later episodes on this list, I’m surprised it didn’t turn out that Scootaloo’s parents were secretly testing her the entire time. “We just wanted to make sure that you really meant it when you said you didn’t want to move!”

#19. “Uprooted”: After Sombra destroys the Tree of Harmony, the Student Six have to work together to...decide how best to memorialize it. I just wanted to remind everyone how moronic the premise of this episode was. That’s all.

#20. “The Last Problem”: God, this framing device sucked. Without it, this episode might have been higher on the list. As it was, it rendered the entire thing pointless.

#21. “Daring Doubt”: Wow, it turned out the villain wasn’t really the villain the whole time! Please ignore any contradictory information that may have cropped up in previous episodes.

Did you notice that there were three unrelated episodes this season whose titles began with “The Last...”? Talk about uncreative.

#22. “Going to Seed”: Children really don’t need more outlets encouraging them to believe adults who lie to them for their own gain and/or pleasure. There really needs to be a show that teaches, “There are people out there who profit from lying to you.”

#23. “2, 4, 6, Greaaat”: This and the next one on this list are the double-header of “It’s okay to trick and manipulate someone if you think it’ll teach them a lesson they need to learn!” episodes.

#24. “She Talks to Angel”: Notice in both of these cases (Rainbow Dash’s in the former, Fluttershy’s in the latter) that these were not, in fact, lessons that they needed to learn! Twilight and Zecora just got to be smug assholes and pat themselves on the back at the end. Yippee.

#25. “A Trivial Pursuit”: Remember, this was the episode immediately before Celestia told Twilight how qualified she was to run a country. This was a mere seven episodes before the finale. Character growth is super easy if you just say that it happened! Also, as a major trivia buff, this was just insulting on every level.

#26. “Growing Up Is Hard to Do”: This episode really brought back the name of my blog. After so many that I didn’t care about, it felt good to have a nice long rant again, and boy, did this one deserve it.

So...what will G5 bring? Different characters? Different stories? Different writers? At this point, who knows? Maybe I’ll be there to find out.

#my little pony: friendship is magic #my little pony friendship is magic #my little pony #friendship is magic #mlp fim #mlp #fim #my little pony spoilers #mlp spoilers #spoilers #season 9 retrospective #retrospective

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nightblink · 7 years ago

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Blink Reads Oathbringer - Chapters Two, Three, and Four

Chapter Two – One Problem Solved

Hello Adolin, my sun son, I have also missed you so.

Good man, taking charge and organizing your people just like you've been raised to. Find that purpose in usefulness. Find that distraction. You're going to need it.

Heralds, I'm a terrible person, but I want you to b r e a k.

That's not almost a relief, that is a relief that they found the body, because you are too honest for your own good and The Worst Liar and it's going to tear you apart inside trying to keep this a secret. It's almost a tiny weight off of your shoulders, being discovered and that small step closer to your own Damnation, isn't it?

Oh shit, Dalinar calling out Teft by name-

“Looking for him? You lost your highprince.” Why do I find this so fucking funny. It's such a little thing and yet I'm cackling.

'connoisseur of death' – Dalinar why you gotta be so Extra(tm)

(we all know why, it's a Kholin Genetic Affliction)

I was listening to The Way of Kings not long ago and it sticks out as Dalinar catalogues Sadeas' face and wound that Adolin likes to and is skilled at using his fists while on the battlefield. Also managed the overpowering and stabbing while beat to shit and with at least a broken wrist. If he'd actually managed to get Sadeas in the ring, I'd give the man under a minute, if Adolin didn't drag the 'fight' out for the vicious pleasure of it.

SEBARIAL AND PALONA, AYYYY

'He didn't trust most of the highprinces farther than the wind could blow them.” Dalinar. Dalinar you do know that you live in the stormlands, where I know that a Highstorm's stormwall has been known to lift boulders and carry large trees at least 640 kilometers. The wind can blow anyone pretty damn far.

…..actually, that explains everything, considering how easily you trust.

(Wisdom was your dump stat, wasn't it. Ten sapphires says you have a negative modifier for Insight.)

Palona says what we're all thinking. Give that woman a medal and a nice spa day.

L o r d I forgot how much I liked Sebarial and his combination of common sense (for a Highprince) and snark.

[whistles] I knew Urithiru was massive, but that description puts my visualization on a wholly different scale. Ten tiers, each of eighteen levels? Is 18 going to be another number to watch out for?

RICE PADDY ROCKBUD FIELDS

BrandoSando what powers do the squires osmose from their Radiant. I want a list broken down in detail, stat.

Bridge Four, never change.

Dalinar. Dalinar, he would have undermined you at every turn. Forget uniting Roshar, you wouldn't have been able to unite Alethkar with Sadeas sowing dissent and tearing down everything you try to build! Think what you may, but Adolin did what must be done.

Good man, Aladar. Good to know that you can change when faced with new information. Sebarial being Highprince of Commerce was practically guaranteed from the point we heard of him building a proper economy on the Shattered Plains. Adolin as Dalinar's right hand and general was a given.

But what is Renarin to do, other than attempt to figure out his powers? It's a high-priority task, to be sure, but Dalinar, couldn't you entrust a little less personal of a responsibility to him as well? Make him feel like part of the greater whole rather than set aside as he's always been…?

[sighs] I suppose we'll see how this plays out.

Chapter 3 – Momentum

Ohhhhh, and here we get one of the three chapters released way long ago that I did read.

'Rockbuds crunched like skulls beneath Dalinar's boots' What a line what an iconic line-

Almighty Dalinar you were more arrogant than Adolin easy; you can damn well see where he gets it from

This entire visual is glorious and I'm reveling in the descriptive flavour. Who needs a movie when this plays out in the imagination so well?

He can make a line of spearmen waver with just a war cry, Heralds

I said it the first time I read this chapter and it keeps running through my head – the Blackthorn is fucking terrifying

Even now, he's having trouble feeling the Thrill, or at least getting it to catch and hold. I can't imagine he was anything close to proto-Radiant at this point, but perhaps Alethi predisposed towards Radiant-ness have an innate resistance?

(We never read of Kaladin feeling the Thrill.)

OOOP, THERE IT IS.

I would like to rage.

Bloody as it may be, the thought of young!Dalinar spinning with his poleaxe like a dancer is viscerally satisfying on some deep level.

“I just go where he points me.” Dalinar confirmed for guided tactical missile.

And there's the arrow, and Dalinar is impressed. Nearly gets shot again with just how impressed he is. (Now's not the time for competency-kink to kick in, buddy.)

Dalinar. Dalinar, anyone else would call this a bad idea.

“He's got a hole through his chest. Tough break.” Dalinar please.

….Sadeas had golden Shardplate. Sadeas had golden Shardplate. I suppose this must be before he picked his colours as Highprince, and I am entirely unsurprised that he'd go that showboat-y. Was he forced to give up the gold at some point? Is that why his Plate during the current timeline was painted red as opposed to Elhokar's golden set?

“Oh Dalinar. What would we do without you?” Sadeas, I'm afraid your flirting isn't going to work on this one.

Chapter Analysis: young!Dalinar classed straight Barbarian. WIS for dump stat.

Chapter Four – Oaths

[squints at the pre-chapter quote] Theory that the book Oathbringer in-universe is Dalinar's biography is rapidly declining. Still possible, though.

THE EVERSTORM RETURNS.

!!!! He's feeling the Stormfather's emotions? The soulbond can transfer emotions between spren and Radiant and vice versa? Be still my heart.

Stormfather is bascially a cat, ignoring Dalinar just because he doesn't want to come when called, confirmed.

SNUGGLES

Not only snuggles but bared safehand aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh- I love how that's more a sign of trust and intimate familiarity than anything inherently sexual.

The Everstorm is at least slower than a highstorm, but that's not a whole lot of reassurance. “It wouldn't tear down cities, but it did rain destruction upon them – and the winds would attack in bursts, hostile, even deliberate.” Yeaaaah, definitely not. How powerful can those “deliberate” gusts be, I wonder?

Gavilar was your control back then, wasn't he? External control, rather then the internal discipline you keep now.

You want to- you want to get married before you let yourself 'get seduced'. I mean, that's entirely fitting with the Vorin religion and the Alethi in particular being so focused on oaths, but damn, man. I thought you two were already quietly together.

INFORMATION ABOUT SHSHSHSH GIVE IT TO ME GIVE IT TO M-

….shit. You're telling Navani about the lack of memory. Hoooooly shit.

Hostage? Hostage?!

I am abruptly SO MUCH more concerned for Adolin and Renarin, Adolin was only thirteen and Renarin even younger I thought she'd fallen ill or something but a hostage situation can you imagine how that impacted the boys, how that must have scarred them to the core – during their formative years! I- fuck. This is going to get some serious attention on the RP blog after I've finished Oathbringer.

The thought of Elhokar faced with Dalinar and Navani's wedding vows is partly so hilarious that I almost want it to happen, but on the other hand I feel he'd spontaneously combust with sheer embarrassment and I probably would too.

Dalinar you lunatic.

….still stuck on hostage situati-

'silk-covered virgin' – does that mean that the Alethi traditionally get married in silk clothing? I'm imagining the men in a vest-and-takama set, the women in something light and flowing. There's no way that Dalinar isn't in his uniform right now though.

True spren versus subspren? What would constitute a subspren? Is that akin to the difference between honorspren and windspren, or is there a further level of spren that we haven't seen yet?

What do your sons think of this, Dalinar? They who remember their mother? I don't think they're opposed to you remarrying – on the contrary, they'd want you to be happy, but… what do they think?

BRIDAL CROWN. I NEED TO ART THIS ASAP.

Red is lucky, making a note of that.

“A lady must be prepared.” Oh hush, you planned for this to happen.

This. Is not going to make Elhokar feel any less like he's being ousted as king. This will undermine his confidence in his position even further, which is not good when King Social Anxiety is already pretty much at rock bottom and recuperating from an assassination attempt.

The face of the storm itself opening up overhead, the world hanging on a suspended breath… I'm getting shivers, no wonder the crowd exploded with awespren!

OH GOOD YOUR BOYS ARE THRILLED. Grinning! And joy! And, despite the Alethi not being big on contact, hugs. Adolin you touch-starved nerd

Oooof. That is pretty heretical, Dalinar, you have to admit that. Even atheists like Jasnah are probably less 'heretical' in the eyes of Vorinism than someone 'faithful' proclaiming that God Is Dead. In this time when your goal is unity, this isn't going to help you in the slightest.

[looks at map of Alethkar at the end of the chapter] [looks up]

Why. The everloving fuck. Is there no scale for distance. THIS IS A BASIC PART OF MAPMAKING. I WILL COME OVER THERE AND BEAT IT INTO YOUR HEADS-

...still stuck on hostage situation and I’m apparently not getting over it anytime soon

#oathbringer spoilers #blink reads oathbringer #and bitches about IMPROPER MAPMAKING

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wittypenguin · 5 years ago

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King Kong vs Godzilla (1964) [US Version]

There’s a fundamental problem with this film from the outset: the two studios involved are making it for entirely different reasons. Universal International was cashing in on the ‘Big Monster’ / kaijiu craze (The Blob, The Thing, The Creature from the Black Lagoon) by combining RKO’s character ‘King Kong’ with something exciting and foreign in Toho Studios’ property ‘Godzilla.’ Meanwhile, Toho Studios was using its big anniversary as a studio as an excuse to cram all of its popular actors and intellectual properties into one film, scattering logic to the four winds to accomplish it (it’s a wonder we don’t have Toshiro Mifune come strutting through brandishing a katana at some point). While those two driving forces don’t have to be at odds with each other, the US version takes the original, Japanese version and attempts to frame it in some sense of rational predictability, an approach which is inherently flawed. I’m going to try to ignore that part as much as I can here, but a subsequent viewing found me unable to stick with this version past the ½-hour mark, as the ‘framing device’ is so incredibly wooden and clunky.

Be that as it may; on with the show!!

COLOUR! WIDE SCREEN!! Questionable use of colour for lettering of credits!!!

We begin with a plate shot of Earth that looks a lot like the Universal International title card background did. While we slowly zoom in, we get… a Hamlet quote…? This seems a bit too much, but, okaaaaay…

Then we get a grainy UN building plate shot which we’ll see a couple of times, because this is also part of the ‘Americanization’ of the film. The UN has a News Service, and it’s telling us all about the various things happening in all the nations which are presumably united now. They beaming their broadcasts to us via the Universe Space Station in orbit around the planet. Shots of the USS are lifted from The Mysterians (1957), so we can also see alien flying saucers arriving at the station, but it’s never explained, so maybe this transfer is better than the film makers expected and we weren’t supposed to see them at all.

Hey, the Chilean reporter is Victor Millan, the young husband / boyfriend from A Touch of Evil!

There are earthquakes in Chile, plus melting ice floes in the Bearing Straight, so the world is having a rough time of it.

The last time we saw Godzilla, he was buried in an avalanche, so clearly that’s where the big lizard will emerge from here. A recent increase in water temperature in the Bering Straight causes a US submarine with some researchers to be sent to take a look, and they debate their course of action in a large control room on the sub, which comes complete with an “undersea periscope.” I doubt that is an Actual Thing.

Buddy, you can call it any sort of exotic fruit from the Faroe Islands you feel like claiming it is, but it will still be a strawberry. — — — —

Meanwhile: King Kong is on Farou Island, where a berry is being grown which has non-addictive and narcotic properties that a Japanese pharmaceutical company wishes to incorporate into its product line (don’t ask, just accept it [we actually learned about this fruit during Mothra, but this is a different island near the Marshall Island H-Bomb testing range (I think)]). A team of Tokyo TeleVision people are sent to the island to get the berries plus the mighty Kong as a marketing stunt (ibid).

“Hokkaido” is not pronounced like that. At. All.

Repeatedly, the English dubbing has Japanese characters pronounce it as “hawk-eh-EYE-doh,” not only mangling the name but adding an extra syllable into the bargain. The Japanese UNTV reporter, played by James Yagi, pronounces it properly as “ho-KAI-doh.” You would think someone might think to themselves ‘hey, maybe the Asian guy’s pronunciation is the right one…?’

The depiction of the natives of Faroe Island [above] are creations of racism. Not only are they in blackface, they carry African-style shields with similar markings, yet are South Sea Islanders located just off the Marshall Islands. Plus there is liberal use of feathers in headdresses which look remarkably similar to the people of the North American plains regions. Wow. There may have even been a bone through someone’s nose, I didn’t look that closely. Even allowing for early-60s comedy sensibilities, this is really bad; nearly “Andy Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s” territory. It’s important to view this as a stereotype of the time, as well as a depiction of a non-existent people (perhaps with the defence ‘so how could anyone be offended?’ well… uh…).

I’m stunned that Japanese trains not only do not have radios to receive a warning about Godzilla, they also lack a reverse gear to back away from him. Also, where did these buses to save all the rail passengers suddenly come from? If they were able to corral all of these motor coaches, couldn’t they have somehow got word to… never mind.

Must so many O-scale model trains be made to suffer?

I want many of these cars. Most of the suits, also.

There are massive leaps of ‘logic’ here that I’m positive make more sense in the original Japanese version. Then again, it may be like the material above and we should stop looking for that. This is the problem with the American sections: they keep trying to root the story in half-real science and logic, but that should be avoided with every effort! ‘When will the fools learn…‽’ etc.

Kong looks more like an extremely badly made Sasquatch than King of the Apes. For one thing, his arms are (occasionally) much too long and the person inside clearly has their wrists at Kong’s elbows (but this detail oddly comes and goes). Also, he’s covered in some sort of steel wool or matted shag carpeting. His face is an awful excuse for any sort of simian form. It’s an embarrassment.

Godzilla, on the other hand, is a happy, fun-filled dinosaur who is extra-mobile compared to his earlier appearances. He jumps up and down and claps his… paws? …claws? …hands? …front feet? He’s like a young child! Okay, a 300 foot tall child capable of throwing boulders bigger than houses, but he’s got that playful energy.

The model work is really uneven: the ships, trucks, earth movers, and so on look ‘good’ to ‘great,’ but the human figures look uniformly like little plastic objects which can only described as ‘human adjacent.’ It’s like you described human form to a blind and stupid person, and they carved a figure out of Jell-O using a spatula. On a warm day.

Why does the army try catching Godzilla in a pit and exploding dynamite around him when he survived an H-Bomb? They tried that with electricity-conductive nets in Mothra and he worked clear of them. Even with here adding an acid bath and burning gasoline, it seems…

Why does Godzilla now avoid encountering electrical lines when he basically conquered it before? Has he learned that it’s more hassle than it’s worth? Can Godzilla be considered this sentient?

Also, what’s that white guy doing in the Japanese army?

Sorry, I forgot that logic isn’t a part of these things… [:: heavy sigh ::]

When Kong grabs a girl and people shine lights at him, he does what he knows best: climbs to the top of the nearest building. In this case, it’s the Diet (Japan’s Parliament), and the top of the dome is about level with his shoulder, so it doesn’t really count as a huge visual statement or accomplishment. It would be like you standing on a chair: yes, you’re higher up, but it’s not exactly a K-2 level of accomplishment, is it?

Additionally, Godzilla actually destroyed that building in the first film, but they’ve had awhile to rebuild, I guess.

Where’d they get this awful quality of film showing people evacuating Tokyo (Chiba in the Japanese version) via the docks? Answer: Chikyû Bôeigun (1957), and there are a few other bits of footage that film supplies.

I swear the rocky area that’s supposed to be at the base of Mt Fujiyama was modelled on the big rock thing Star Trek TOS used all the time.

Am I supposed to be rooting for Kong? I’m rooting for Kong here. Godzilla just seems like a real dick, frankly.

Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya deliberately gave King Kong a semi-comical personality, because he did not want Kong to frighten young children, and wanted the general audience to root for Kong over the more frightening Godzilla.

Ah. Good to know.

The film features the Davy Crockett, a portable missile-launched nuclear weapon developed by the United States. At the time, this weapon was still classified.

Who would have expected this film to be a source of military secrets?

Late on, we see Kong practicing gavage using a tree! It’s actually a call back to a bit in an early production still from King Kong (1933) showing him doing that to a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Between Godzilla and King Kong, no historical monument will ever be left standing.

Thanks to the English dubbing laying it on with a shovel, dialogue provides a fair few repeated statements about ‘electricity makes Kong stronger’ near the end. Thank goodness they do, as I certainly didn’t remember that from a few scenes ago and missed it the first five times time here.

Godzilla disappears, presumed drowned…? Kong survives and we see him wading away from Japan, so the people of the Island Kingdom are safe once more!

The best thing about this version is it leaves one with a strong desire to see the original version.

★★★☆☆

#Gojira #Godzilla #Kiing Kong #Criterion Collection #Dear God What Have I Done to Myself?#Complete lack of katana

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beastsoulsauthor-blog · 7 years ago

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Beast Souls Volume 2

Beast Souls Vol. 2

By Aaron McCoy

2/26/2015

(Scene: We start with Blaze looking over the sheet. As he hears a rush of feathers he steps outside excited. Stepping outside he finds Argyl arriving with a young blonde boy about 4’11 feet tall. The boy has a bowl-type cut with rough bangs. The boy has a “scraggly scholar” look, a white dress shirt with brown vest (both wrinkly) along with a loosened tie. Think old style London prep school. With khaki shorts and slip on loafers.)

Blaze: “Is THAT him!?”

Argyl: “Yes, may I introduce to you, the young master Eugene.”

Eugene: “How do you do? It is good to meet you.”

(Scene: Holding out his hand for a handshake, Blaze kind of ignoring it)

Blaze: “You’re shorter than I thought you’d be! Argyl, you SURE this the same guy from the sheet? The sheet said this guy was a “Combat Specialist”.”

(Scene: Pulling his hand back Eugene shrugs and states)

Eugene: “You’re more brash, and vulgar than I thought a LEADER would be.”

Argyl: “Easy you two. Yes, Blaze, he is a combat specialist. No one is better at disposing of threats in an effective manor with minimal effort and damage to surrounding area. He’s also a master strategist.”

Blaze: “Strategy doesn’t mean SQUAT in the heat of the moment. Instincts will get you farther in a fight than some lame chess-like moves!”

Eugene: “Excuse me? You do realize I’ve caught twice as many rouge souls as you, and with HALF the collateral damage. Do you realize how much work you create for the society when you go burning buildings and trees to the ground!?”

Blaze: “Yeah, SO!? What’s a few trees and buildings when it comes to the safety of the world?”

(Scene: As they are replying and forth they get closer and closer until they are nose-to-nose)

Eugene: “Sure, burn down someone’s home or business just to catch an AMATEUR user. Cause THAT’s necessary!”

Blaze: “IT IS WHEN I FIGHT PIP SQUEEK!”

Eugene: “EXCUSE ME YOU FIREY FRAT BOY!?”

Argyl: “ENOUGH!”

(Scene: As Argyl yells the two immediately stop and turn toward him hands by their side.)

Argyl: “You guys will HAVE to get along. If you are going be Proud Souls, then this is who you must work with. If you guys can’t manage to get along then the whole thing will be called off and you BOTH can go back to hunting amateurs for the rest of your lives! Do you WANT that!?”

Blaze and Eugene: “No Sir!”

Argyl: “Good. Then try to understand each of you has different strengths. These strengths complement one another. You’ll find this in time. For now, get along for your own sake. I will be bringing you your first order in a couple hours. Feel free to explore your new home and get settled in.”

Blaze: “Alright, I guess its fine, just try not to slow me down in the field ok Eugene?”

Eugene: “and YOU try not to BURN the field.”

(Scene: As Argyl disappears the two head into the house to sort out their bags and explore their new home. The following scenes show the two heading through the house and finding the same exact room they want in a comical fashion. At the last moment both realize they are setting up a bed in the same exact room)

Blaze: “What do you think YOURE doing!?”

Eugene: “Obviously I’m setting up my living space.”

Blaze: “Oh, no no no! Out this is my room!”

Eugene: “What!? No! This is the most tactical room! It is the first room on the first floor facing the entrance lot. A perfect view should we ever be attacked”

Blaze: “I don’t care about that, but the sun will come through the windows at JUST the right time of day.”

Eugene: “Good if we ever are attacked you can just stare into the sun”

Blaze: “and what’s THAT supposed to mean lab rat!?”

Eugene: “That you’d function better as a blind mascot than the leader! You Hot-head Punk!”

Ember: “Remember Blaze, Argyl told us we have to get along if we want to KEEP this position.”

Scene: (Blaze Takes a sigh and starts to continue to make his bed.)

Blaze: *SIGH* “Fine! Just keep your stuff over there.”

Eugene: “Gladly. After all it can be beneficial for the leaders of a unit to share a room.”

Blaze: “Yeah, sure…. whatever.”

Scene: (After a couple hours, while sitting in the kitchen the two hear the familiar flapping of Argyl arriving. He comes in the door before they can stand)

Argyl: “No need to stand. I can debrief you here.”

Scene: (Blaze and Eugene sit back in their chairs after glancing at one another.)

Argyl: “Your first mission will be in the far north. In the American State of Alaska. It appears something troubling is occurring with the magnetic fields which cause the Aurora Borealis. Lately scientist in the area say the lights have been dimmer, unpredictable, and one night they didn’t even show up at all. As you know this most likely indicates a Rouge Soul in the area. We believe he’s somehow using his powers, whatever they may be, to affect the magnetic fields in the area. We need you two to go investigate, find the reason, and if it’s a rouge soul……capture them.”

Eugene: “Hmmm……interesting, to affect such a grand scale astronomical magnetic field they are either a very special, or very powerful user.”

Blaze: “Good. I finally have an excuse to use my big guns!”

Eugene: "That's just the mindset that will get us in trouble!"

Argyl: "Regardless you should BOTH get going. I have feathers that will take you there now."

(Scene: Argyl shoots feathers forward as they touch Blaze and Eugene, the two explode into a burst of feathers)

(Scene: Reappearing now in a land of ice and snow. Alaska a barren coordinate with an outline of a science station in the distance.)

Eugene: "Holy hell! It's freezing! Brain, Jacket." Stuttering*

(Scene: The Brain appears floating just above them. A strange stereo-typical UFO shaped object, with a large-headed green man as its pilot. Underneath the UFO shaped object, a cone of light appears. Within that light; cloths and jackets start being threaded together as if by the light itself.)

Blaze: "Meh, I guess it is a little nippy?"

Eugene: "At least put cloths on to TRY and blend in!"

Blaze: "Alright, alright, I will."

(Scene: The cloths drop to the ground as Brain disappears. Blaze and Eugene begin picking up the clothing.)

Blaze: "WAIT! How did you do that!?"

Eugene: "What summon cloths?"

Blaze: "Yeah, PLEASE tell me you do more than that?"

Eugene: "OF COURSE I DO YOU IMBECILE! That was just one of Brains functions, Brain is my beast soul."

Blaze: "Oh yeah, what else can it do?"

(Scene: Blaze starts a floating fire keeping them warm as they quickly change, and Eugene explains.)

Eugene: “Brain can answer any logical question within reason. He uses my soul as direct energy “fuel” for the questions answer. The harder the question, the more of my soul’s energy is needed to answer. So, things like asking about the future, or questions concerning death and love are too strenuous. He can also manifest “inventions” if I can contemplate their creation in an adequate logistical manner. Essentially, he can make technology from about some 50 to 80 years in the future.”

Blaze: “Most of that kind of went over my head, but you’re saying he answers questions and spawns techno-marvels?”

Eugene: “Essentially, yes.”

Blaze: “That may actually be useful!”

Eugene: “And here I was just waiting on your approval of my usefulness.”

(Scene: As they finish with their conversation and wardrobe change they notice a set of concrete squares in the distance, some with large satellite dishes perched on top.)

Eugene: “That must be an arctic research facility lets go get more info on these strange events.”

(Scene: They approach the plain looking scientific buildings, as they approach the largest Eugene has a surprised look across his face.)

Eugene: “I almost forgot! Our paperwork!”

Blaze: “Paperwork?”

Eugene: “Of course! Why would these government scientists feel the need to answer two random strangers’ questions, furthermore how would we explain getting out here in the first place? We need a cover. I have just the thing, Brain two government ID’s please.”

(Scene: The Brain appears again above them spawning ID badges just the same as he did with the cloths before. The two don their badges.)

Blaze: “Says here we are “Fund Coordinators”?”

Eugene: “Indeed, nothing scares scientists into talking more than thinking they’re going to lose their funding.”

Blaze: “I see, so are we ready to knock NOW?”

Eugene: “Yes, but please, let me do most of the talking.”

(Scene: Scowling at this Blaze allows Eugene to rap the door. As it opens a pudgy man with disheveled black hair, clean shaven, and a lab coat opens the door. His name tag read “Dr. Belliam”. As he spots the two and sees their badges he frowns.)

Dr. Belliam: “What is the meaning of this, we were not supposed to be reviewed for another six months, and you guys never come out personally. Couldn’t you have called?”

Eugene: “I regret to say that a phone call would not suffice. We’ve been hearing about the strange reports of the lights not behaving like normal. We want to make sure this isn’t affecting our investments negatively.”

Dr. Belliam: “I see…Well we have been having, disturbances. Nothing yet, has disturbed our research. Come in and I will give you the details.”

Eugene: “Thank you sir.”

(Scene: The two follow the pudgy man down corridors till they reach his office. As they enter he motions them to sit and offers them hot coffee.)

Dr. Belliam: “A little something to warm you up. No one gets used to this level of cold I promise you that.”

(Scene: The two accept and begin sipping as the doctor goes into explaining.)

Dr. Belliam: “About two weeks ago our reading of the magnetic interplays of the Earth, the Sun, and the lights began showing what we call, regular irregularities. The magnetics are usually predictable down to a T, based on solar flare activity. Yet, every night around 3am, the readings above the frozen lake to the north go haywire. They spike sometimes, other times they disappear completely. The exactly location changes nightly. Also, it’s incredibly dark out there. Catching whatever is causing this anomaly is becoming impossible. We have been thinking of setting up cameras.”

Eugene: “I see, cameras would be an un-needed expense, I believe my partner and I’s government training will suffice. We will go out on the frozen lake tonight and locate where the strange readings are coming from.”

Dr. Belliam: “Are you sure? This could be dangerous we don’t know what’s causing it. Magnetic fields of that strength can be dangerous!”

Eugene: “As I said my partner and I can handle it.”

Dr. Belliam: “Well, who am I to argue with the government. You’re welcome as guests till tonight.”

Eugene: “We thank you for the hospitality. Is there a private room which my partner and I can discuss tonight’s operation?”

Dr. Belliam: “Certainly, I’ll show you two to your guest bunk.”

(Scene: The three head down more corridors until they come to a small room with two twin size beds, two bedside tables, two desks, and two couches.)

Dr. Belliam: “A bit modest, but I hope it serves.”

Eugene: “This will be fine, thank you.”

Dr. Belliam: “If you sort all this mess out I’ll be the one thanking you two!”

Eugene: “We can hope.”

(Scene: With a smile at the doctor Eugene begins to close the door as Belliam walks away. Once Eugene is sure he is far enough down the hall he turns to Blaze.)

Eugene: "Good we could convince him to let us handle it, even better he had not already set up cameras."

Blaze: "Yeah, I doubt normal people last very long against Soul users."

Eugene: "Yes, and the Society clean-up crew are sometimes not so clean."

Blaze: "Very true. What do we do until 1am?"

Eugene: "He did say we were guests. Perhaps we are entitled to a meal?"

Blaze: "Yeah! Now we're talking. Hard to get anything done on an empty stomach."

Eugene: "For once we both agree."

(Scene: Eugene uses the intercom system to request meals. Shortly after a rap on the door signals the arrival of food. After eating in silence awhile they speak.)

Blaze: "So, I've been thinking. Since I'm the leader of this unit, and you're my co-captain, we should know more about each other, right?"

Eugene: "I suppose. More info is hardly, if ever, a bad thing. What would you like to know?"

Blaze: "Your Beast Soul, it’s one of the most unique I've seen. Even its powers are strange. So, I'm curious, how did you come by your powers?"

Eugene: "It's not a pleasant story, though I'm sure most Beast Soul births aren't. I suppose I can tell you if you really wish to know.

Blaze: "Honestly, yes, I do. I've never had the chance to openly talk to another Beast Soul user casually."

Eugene: "Hmmm. A sentiment I can relate with. Alright, I'll tell you the story of how Brain came into being. It starts in the days of my early childhood."

(Scene: As Eugene Narrates we see images of the things he talks about, the bullies, the fancy boarding school, the birth of brain.)

Eugene Narrating: I grew up in a rich family. Naturally they shipped me off to boarding school in Welsh-lands as soon as possible. At this school the dumb kids were praised for their rugby ability and the smart kids were praised for their grades. While I've always been hyper intelligent, my ability to communicate this at the time was less than sub-par. Causing many problems for me. Both with grades, and with bullies. After years of being called "stupid" by cruel kids on both sides, I was broken. I didn't understand how everyone could consider me stupid. Then one day the bullies got particularly cruel. They started beating me, making fun of the way I talked, the observations in class I had made. As I struggled against them I remember thinking "This is how I die". I deeply wished that my mental strength somehow translated to real strength. That wish crystalized; hardened into something real using my fear of death as catalyst. Thus, Brain came into being. When he appeared in a flash of lights the bullies dispersed running confused away from my battered body.

(Scene: Back in the room now food and plates being stacked and collected.)

Eugene: "After that they avoided me. I couldn't help but use Brain for some harmless pranks against them. That's when Argyl first appeared with my warning from the Society."

Blaze: "I see. Thank you for sharing. I understand why Brain is what he is."

(Scene: A rap at the door signals food clean up. Afterwards Blaze and Eugene lay in their respective beds.)

Eugene: "So, what about you, how did your powers surface?"

Blaze: "Well, since you shared, I will too."

(Scene: A couple panels showing time passes and Blaze retelling his story from volume 1. After the story is over we see them getting comfortable again.)

Eugene: "Interesting. I believe our powers were highly reflective of circumstance and innate nature of character. I wonder if this is the case for most users."

Blaze: "I don't know. This is the most talking I've done to anyone NOT Ember in years. I'm exhausted."

Eugene: "That's understandable. We should rest before tonight anyways. Shall we take a nap?"

Blaze: "Sounds good to me!"

(Scene: At this comment they both get comfortable and shut off the lights. Eugene is sure to set the alarm for 12am. At 12am they are awakened by the alarm. They get dressed and prepare for the long cold walk to the frozen lake. As they leave they are stopped at the front door by the doctor.)

Dr. Belliam: "You guys going out to the lake? Here's a map to it so you don't lose your way. Please be careful, and let us know what you find."

Eugene: "Indeed we shall. Thank you."

(Scene: They grab the map and head into the cold night.)

(Scene: Being led by clues on the map, the two find themselves and a giant frozen lake where, in the distance, a strange man stands with arms and hands outstretched. At the end of those hands, black foggy orbs float ominously, seemingly affecting the northern lights above.) Blaze: "It seems the society was right, that's got to be a Beast Soul user!" Eugene: "Yes, those orbs, they must be linked to his power." Blaze: "We have the drop on him, this will be easy" (Scene: Before Eugene can argue, Blaze forms a Fire-Gun Finger shot and lets loose charging from cover. The man turns; stern stone-like features, blonde hair, and tall broad build. From head to toe dressed in an immaculate white suit with black accents and bright red tie. He raises a black orb to the flame, and it's absorbed completely) Blaze: "Neat! But there's more where that came from." (Scene: Charging forward Blaze begins bending Ember's flames to his will. The stoic figure and Blaze dance in a interplay of flames being absorbed by black fog-like orbs.) Stoic Figure: "Imbecile!" (Scene: The figure raises his right hand as a more solid black orb forms, as he does Blaze is sucked forward toward him violently) Blaze: "Waugh!" (Scene: Blaze flies through the air at high velocity toward the man, as the his broad figure pivots and slams Blaze's gut with a resounding bone-crushing punch.) Blaze: "Ugh" *coughing blood; passes out* (Scene: As Eugene curses, he stand from behind cover.) Eugene: "I've got it! Brain, Rad-Wave Pistol!" (Scene: Brain spawns beneath him in his regular fashion a small ray gun device. He turns toward the man standing over Blaze.") Eugene: "So you think you're strong because you pick on people smaller than you!? You think that’s what strength is? Try me." (Scene: Saying this he fires the gun, as a solid green bolt flies toward the man, he raises his hand and orb in defense but upon absorbing it there is an explosion) Mysterious figure: "Argh!" (Scene: As the smoke clears a purple glowing scar is shown across the man's right arm) Mysterious figure: (strong German accent) "Damn you both! You will regret this." (Scene: As the man says this he uses both hands creating an orb around himself. As it shrinks he disappears with it. Eugene turns to Blaze, frowning he finds the feather. Pressing it to his head the scene changes to a hospital. In a plain hospital suite Blaze lays asleep with Eugene at his side. Blaze slowly wakes.) Blaze: "Where, where am I?" Eugene: "In the hospital they have on this research base." Blaze: "What happened to the Rouge Soul?" Eugene: "I hurt him badly, but he escaped." Blaze: "Damnit, I wasn't strong enough!" Eugene: "Strength had nothing to do with it, you still don't see do you? He controlled gravity. His orbs sucked the oxygen out of your flames! That is WHY they were useless." Blaze: "...Then how did you defeat him." Eugene: "As soon as I realized what his power was, I knew what could stop him. An unstable particle under insanely high pressure becomes an atom bomb, so I fired a radioactive particle into his black orb." Blaze: "You defeated him in one shot..." (Scene: After this profound statement, Eugene nods softly as Blaze turns to look out the window. A long silence passes between them.) Blaze: "I'm sorry. I realize why you were made my co-captain. How you show your strength is different, but I respect it." Eugene: "No need for apologies. I thank you for the compliment. I admire your physical raw power as well. Between the two of us...there is nothing we cannot do." (Scene: Hearing this Blaze smiles, nods his head.) Blaze: "Thanks for saving my life, and next time we won't let our mark get away. Teamwork first from now on." (Scene: Saying this Blaze outstretches his hand) Eugene: "Teamwork first" (Scene: Eugene shakes firmly as the issue closes with a shot of them determinedly staring at one another smiling.)

#beastsouls #beast souls #comicstory #Comic story #fiction #creative writing #fantasy #manga inspired #comic idea #comic in progress

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the-roadkill-cafe · 8 years ago

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The Company of Trees Part 5

Summary: Sakura is bullied, a dead kekkei genkai is reborn, and things go a little bit…differently. Mokuton!Sakura

Rating: T

Author’s Notes: As always, many many thanks to @jaycrowind for her editing. All remaining mistakes are my own. Thanks also to @elenathehun , @stormwind13, @hiruma-musouka, @beyondthemoor, @phoenixyfriend, @sariasprincy, @thriceandonce and @tozettewrites for their encouragement and ideas. Please enjoy.

Chapter Warnings: mild body horror

Previous Part: Part 4

“Again,” Tenjouma ordered.

Sakura panted with her hands on her knees. All around her there were trees of varying shapes and sizes, providing a much appreciated shelter from the brutal sun.

“I can’t,” she said. Her legs trembled at just the thought of growing more trees. She was out of chakra and exhaustion was making her control tenuous.

Tenjouma’s expression was unpitying. “You can and you will. Do it again.”

Sakura tried to straighten and groaned in the process. Between morning taijutsu training with Enchuuma and now ninjutsu training with Tenjouma, her body felt like one giant bruise.

“Quit your complaining.” Tenjouma cuffed her over the head.

Tears pricked at her eyes but she valiantly tried to hold them back. She recalled Danzou’s words in the Hokage Tower. The Nidaime didn’t cry. Be like the Nidaime. Sakura took a shuddering breath.

“Yes sir,” she replied. She readjusted her position and twisted her hands through the necessary hand seals. Her chakra responded sluggishly but once it was pulled through her coils, the Mokuton answered as quickly as it always had and needed little of her own guidance.

Mokuton: Jukai Koutan.

More trees burst through the ground and stretched towards the sky. Sakura didn’t have the energy to attempt to see how far she could spread her chakra and grow more trees, nor to force her trees to new sizes. Her head throbbed with the effort of keeping her kekkei genkai from sapping more of her chakra so it could continue its growth. Activating the Mokuton was always a trial. The struggle wasn’t in encouraging it to grow; it was in controlling the growth and stopping it once started.

Tenjouma paced around the new trees, examining them with a critical eye. Sakura released the jutsu and fought to ignore the pull on her chakra. The Jukai Koutan Jutsu wasn’t the same as the Shodai’s; they were even written with different characters to reflect the difference in scale. Where Sakura could only grow a three or four trees at a time, the Shodai could create an entire forest. A sea of trees in comparison to a world of trees. Sakura frowned. Not that her version looked much like a sea.

At last, Tenjouma nodded. “Acceptable, for now. We will have to work on improving your stamina and chakra reserves. The larger they are before puberty, the more they will increase afterwards. Now, clear this away.”

Sakura withheld her frustrated whine and nodded. The only benefit she could see to all this was that, each time she molded the Mokuton, it became easier and easier to work with. She barely needed signs anymore to activate it, and only needed the Snake Seal to focus herself when actively manipulating the trees.

She formed said seal and sent out the remnants of her chakra to the closest trees. They shuddered as she urged them to shrink back into the ground. Her temples throbbed again and the pain turned the edges of her vision grey. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fingers tighter as she forced the trees to act against their nature. Her back itched tellingly.

The trees were nearly done reversing their growth when Sakura lost control of the Mokuton. The pressure to simply let the bloodline ability loose had become too much. A branch burst from her spine, shortly followed by three more. She staggered under the new draw on her chakra.

“And I see we also need to improve your control over the Mokuton. I will not allow these outbursts,” Tenjouma gestured at the branches stretching from her back. “Do they still respond to your emotions?”

Sakura grunted in the affirmative as she worked. Like most unskilled shinobi, her chakra reacted to her emotions. And when her chakra reacted, so too did the Mokuton. Luckily for Sakura, she hadn’t had any incidents in public. The worst loss of control she’d had yet, besides attacking Ami, had been when her mom had made her anmitsu for dessert one day. As she’d gone to hug her mom, branches had sprouted from her arms. Since then, controlling her emotions was just an extra layer to suppressing the constant urge to release her hold on the Mokuton and let it grow as it pleased.

Tenjouma frowned. “We can fix that with some genjutsu training as well. Your records from the Academy say that your intelligence scores are high, but both the records and Enchuuma agree that your taijutsu needs considerable work as well. I hope you don’t think I’ll accept substandard physical ability just because you’re capable of memorizing a textbook.”

“No, Tenjouma-sama,” Sakura muttered. She stopped her efforts for a moment to catch her breath. She was nearly done with the trees she had grown during training, but recalling the branches from her back was just one more thing she had to do.

“Good. You’re not hopeless. With time and effort, you will be an excellent heir to the clan.”

It didn’t feel that way to Sakura. Every training session with Tenjouma resulted in hours’ worth of harsh critiques about her abilities. The only thing about her that seemed to please him at all was her chakra control.

Tenjouma waited with her while Sakura struggled to clear away the evidence of the Mokuton, both in the field and on her body. He always did, no matter how long it took her. Afterwards he would escort her back home before disappearing to do whatever it was that old people did. It was the only time Sakura ever came close to liking him, instead of simmering with resentment.

She stumbled when she finally finished her work. The world around her seemed to spin and tilt, and her head ached fiercely. Tenjouma placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

“See? I told you that you were able to use the jutsu one more time. You must strive to push your limits every day,” he said. She nodded wearily in response, unable to make a reply.

Sakura shuffled through the winding streets to her house with Tenjouma at her side. Every day against her will the neighborhood became more familiar. That side street was a short cut to the Academy. That right fork went to a small but fantastic tea shop. Soon enough, it’d feel as normal as her old neighborhood. Sakura scowled at the ground.

“Head up, Sakura.”

Sakura straightened her posture at Tenjouma’s command. It took more effort than it should’ve but she felt she could be forgiven, with the way her body complained about every movement she made.

Soon enough they were at her house. Tenjouma left after she bowed and said her goodbyes. She trudged the house without acknowledging her mother’s cheery greeting. Instead she climbed the stairs to her bedroom and only the desire to clean up after practice kept her from throwing herself on to her bed.

She still had Academy homework yet to complete before the weekend was through. Then it’d be back to school all day followed by training with either Enchuuma or Tenjouma. At least Enchuuma was nice while he told her that her taijutsu sucked. Tenjouma had no mercy whatsoever. Even the days when she trailed after him while he did “clan business” were full of things for her to memorize by the end of the day so she could repeat it back to him. Sakura hadn’t had time to play with Ino in what felt like years. The only time they had together anymore was at school during breaks and lunch.

A bright spot arrived in the form of a new friend when Sakura returned to school. The day started like any other, with Tatema appearing at her house early in the morning to take her to the Academy and disappearing like a shadow the moment she passed through the gates. Upon seeing Ino, Sakura felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She dashed forward to greet her friend and forgot about the aches in her hands from taijutsu practice and the weak-kneed feeling she still had from chakra exhaustion.

Ino dropped her conversation with a girl that looked like she was from the Inuzuka clan when she realized Sakura had arrived. “Sakura-chan! How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?”

“The same as last weekend,” Sakura scowled. “A lot of training and clan stuff.” She flexed her fists at the memory of training. Tenjouma’s warning from the beginning of her Mokuton training echoed in her mind. If she couldn’t learn to maintain control over the Mokuton, she’d be a danger to everyone around her, and the Senju would have to train her in isolation until she mastered it to their satisfaction. That alone was enough encouragement to at least make sure Sakura wouldn’t lose control in public.

“What kind of training are you working on?” The Inuzuka girl asked. Sakura blinked in surprise. The girl had never spoken to her at all before. In fact, Sakura didn’t know if she even knew what her name was.

“Just some ninjutsu and taijutsu,” Sakura replied. That was safe to say, right? Tenjouma didn’t want anyone to see her Mokuton until it was mastered, and she wasn’t supposed to talk about it at all with outsiders, because it was a clan secret. But Sakura didn’t think that ninjutsu and taijutsu training was such a big secret; all shinobi had to train in those areas eventually.

A boy appeared at Sakura’s elbow, startling her. “Are you any good at them?” he asked bluntly. Sakura’s jaw worked up and down for a few seconds. She recognized him as a fellow classmate, Sarutobi Daisuke.

“I mean, you probably need a lot of work,” he continued blithely. “You don’t seem to score that great on them during the practicals in class.”

Sakura flushed. The Inuzuka girl leaned in with interest. “But you’ve got the Mokuton, right? So, can you use it or not?”

Luckily, Ino interfered before Sakura could make a fool of herself. “Could you two be any more obvious? It hasn’t even been thirty seconds and you’re asking her about her bloodline limit! Do you think she’s stupid? Sakura-chan and I can tell you’re only interested in her now because she’s a Senju.”

Daisuke shrugged. “I was just doing what my dad told me to, I don’t really care besides seeing the Mokuton. It’s a super cool jutsu, you know?”

“And so what if we only care now? What is she going to do about it?” the Inuzuka planted her hands on her hips. Daisuke leaned away from them as the air became noticeably chillier.

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do about it,” Ino bared her teeth. Then, in textbook perfect Academy form, she punched the other girl solidly in the face. The force of it knocked her on her back into the dirt. Ino stood over her prone form. “No one gets to use Sakura-chan for anything. I don’t care who they think they are. If you want to get at Sakura-chan, you’re going to have to get through me.”

Sakura noted in the back of her mind that Daisuke had disappeared towards the main building. Most of her focus was drawn towards Ino. In that moment, with the sunlight glinting off her hair and her fierce expression, Ino was everything she aspired to be. Sakura’s fists clenched.

The Inuzuka girl shook herself and then climbed back to her feet. A long growl issued from her throat before she launched herself at Ino. Ino met her part way, and before Sakura could fully take in what was happening, the two of them were wrestling in the dirt. Formal taijutsu was completely abandoned as the Inuzuka sank her abnormally sharp teeth into Ino’s arm. Ino in turn grabbed her hair and seemed determined to rip it out of her opponent’s scalp.

Sakura danced around them anxiously. Should she help Ino? How could she interfere that wouldn’t make Ino look bad? But didn’t it make Sakura look bad that Ino had to fight for her? Before Sakura could decide what to do, Mizuki-sensei had appeared and was pulling the two of them apart.

“What is wrong with the two of you?”

Ino pressed her lips together mutinously as she glared at the Inuzuka girl. The girl snarled back at Ino. Neither answered Mizuki-sensei.

“Fine, then. I’ll be sending the two of you home, where you won’t be able to disrupt classes and you can explain why exactly you got into a pointless brawl,” he said. He let go of both of them and beckoned for them to follow him to the office. “Senju, get to class before you’re late.”

Sakura swallowed. Now was her chance to start sticking up for herself, instead of relying on Ino to do it for her. “It’s Haruno, sir,” Sakura said in a squeaky voice.

Mizuki-sensei turned. “What was that?” His brow was arched in curiosity and his expression indicated no irritation, giving Sakura the courage to repeat herself.

She coughed to clear her throat. “My family name. It’s still Haruno. I…it hasn’t been changed.” She didn’t know what would happen if she denied the Senju clan in its entirety, but she could keep her name. Tatema told her so.

“I see. Well, Haruno, my point still stands. You need to hurry along or you’ll be in trouble with these two here,” Mizuki-sensei’s voice soured as he glanced at Ino and the other girl. Sakura bobbed into a bow. She waved at Ino before heading towards her classroom.

Sakura settled into her usual seat with several minutes to spare. She pulled out her notes and homework, and when Daisuke tried to catch her attention, pretended to study them. It wasn’t like he knew she had spent her time outside of training making sure her homework was up to its usual standard and she was prepared to answer any question Iruka-sensei had for her. She wished Ino was beside her to make the day less dull, but Sakura knew she also had to prove she wasn’t reliant on her.

The morning and lunch went well. The lecture was comforting in its normalcy, punctuated by Iruka-sensei having to stop to scold misbehaving students. At lunch, Shikamaru had dropped into Ino’s seat and put his head down for a nap. Before he could doze off, Sakura asked him what he was doing there, instead of sitting with Chouji.

“I just want to sleep today, and you’re not being troublesome,” Shikamaru answered. Mere seconds later and he started to snore. Sakura felt her face pull into a scowl. She wasn’t ever troublesome! For a moment she thought about making as much racket as possible to chase Shikamaru off, but as long as he was next to her, that meant no one else could sit next to her either. And really, there were worse people to sit next to than Nara Shikamaru.

It was the afternoon that took a sudden turn for Sakura. When Daikoku-sensei came in to teach the afternoon session, he announced there was going to be a surprise taijutsu practice session, to make sure they had been practicing their forms at home. Sakura glanced down at her still bruised knuckles. She had been doing lots of practice with Enchuuma, but despite his encouragement, Sakura didn’t know if it had actually made any difference.

The class shuffled in a single file to the outdoor training area. Excited whispers made their way to Sakura’s ears. A taijutsu practical was different than chakra control exercises. Often, the children abandoned formal stances for victory-at-all-costs strategies. Thus, taijutsu practice was a prime spot to establish hierarchies.

Daikoku-sensei had a box with everyone’s name inside in order to create blind matches. He announced the participants at the conclusion of each match, forcing Sakura to wait with her heart in her throat for whom she would be paired with. Would it be Sasuke or Kiba, who had some of the highest taijutsu scores in class? Or would she be lucky enough to draw with Shino or Shikamaru, who had much lower scores?

“Hyuuga Hinata vs…” Daikoku-sensei swished his hand around inside the box. “Haruno Sakura!”

Sakura swallowed. She had forgotten about Hinata. It was sort of easy to, she thought guiltily, because of how quiet she was. But Hinata also had some of the highest taijutsu scores in class. Sakura guessed it was from training for her clan style, the Gentle Fist, though Sakura didn’t know what exactly it was comprised of.

Sakura made her way to the makeshift arena, Hinata following suit. She fought the urge to hunch over and instead pulled her shoulders back and head up, as Tenjouma so often had to remind her. When she stood across from Hinata, they both made the Seal of Confrontation.

“Please be kind to me, Sakura-chan,” Hinata said formally. Sakura decided against verbally replying, lest her voice croak, and just nodded.

“And, start!” Daikoku-sensei called.

Both of them stood there. Neither of them had it in them to make the first move to start the fight. A pleasant summer breeze blew by while they stared at each other.

“Um,” Hinata said.

Sakura raised her fists. As she suspected, Hinata didn’t even bother using an Academy form and instead shifted to her clan’s style with the tell tale open palm.

“Girls, you have to do this some time,” Daikoku-sensei said.

Sakura nodded. “Right. I’ll just, um.” This was her chance to show that she was strong enough to not be bullied. She just didn’t have the heart to hurt Hinata, or was even sure she was good enough to face her.

She threw the first punch. Hinata moved with Sakura’s motions as if she were water, stepping back with Sakura’s momentum before striking at her open side with her palm. Sakura barely managed to twist out of the way. Her eyes narrowed when she realized Hinata didn’t follow through with her strike. That was her weakness. If Sakura could take advantage of that, she might win.

That had been Sakura’s hope. But Hinata, despite her unwillingness to push Sakura hard, was still better at taijutsu than Sakura. No matter how fast Sakura threw her punches or where she tried to hit Hinata, Hinata had a counter for her. As frustration mounted, an itch began underneath Sakura’s skin.

Sakura scrambled backwards to give herself time to bring the Mokuton under control. Hinata pressed her advantage and lashed at Sakura repeatedly. Sakura dodged them by the skin of her teeth, having given up on trying to hit Hinata and instead solely focusing on dodging and preventing the Mokuton from bursting through her skin.

Pain lanced through Sakura’s head from the tension. She stumbled. Hinata’s palm struck her shoulder hard and it was only sheer stubbornness that kept Sakura on her feet. Her blood prickled beneath her skin. In an effort to keep from losing control, Sakura swung her arm wildly. Only by luck did her knuckles collide with Hinata’s chest. Hinata stumbled backward in shock, her form broken by the force of Sakura’s hit.

Feeling emboldened, Sakura pressed forward. Her momentary success lent her the will to suppress the Mokuton. Hinata was hesitating and wide open. She landed another hit before Hinata began to react once more.

In another six or seven strikes, the match was over. Sakura huffed on the ground before Hinata. A few weeks of extra taijutsu training was no match for Hinata, who had likely been training since she could walk.

Hinata peered down at Sakura. “Thank you for the match, Sakura-chan.” She paused, then added, “Y-you’ve improved since the l-last time we had taijutsu p-practice.”

“Thank you,” Sakura replied as she got to her feet. Her face burned with humiliation nonetheless and the Mokuton was a creeping thing in her veins.

Hinata held out her fingers and Sakura wrapped hers around them in kind, for the Seal of Reconciliation.

“Excellent work, girls. It’s time for our next match,” Daikoku-sensei prompted. At his urging, they both left the fighting area and stood with the rest of their classmates by the fence.

Sakura stood by herself, her nails biting into her fists. She knew her taijutsu was bad. She knew a few weeks worth of training with Enchuuma wouldn’t make her any good. It didn’t make losing sting any less.

“Sakura-chan?” Hinata said.

Sakura startled and looked up. Hinata pressed her fingertips together uncertainly and failed to meet Sakura’s stare.

“You must have been training hard,” Hinata gestured at Sakura’s hands. “W-while we were fighting, I saw your hands. D-doesn’t your clan heal them?”

Sakura’s nose wrinkled as she recalled the memory of her asking Tenjouma that exact question. “Suffering through minor pain builds character. I will only get healing if I am seriously hurt,” Sakura parroted. Never mind that the bruises on her knuckles interfered with her taijutsu work. But Tenjouma had laid down the law and the rest of the Senju obeyed. When Sakura had tried to ask Enchuuma and Tatema for treatment, they both had refused as well, citing Tenjouma’s rule. Sakura was not to be given any healing while she was in training.

“I-I see,” Hinata replied. “My clan often feels the s-same way, but our hands are too important to d-damage, so we use this.” She pulled a small jar of balm from inside her baggy coat. In the background, screams and cheers echoed as Naruto fought with Sasuke.

Hinata opened the jar and dabbed her fingers into the balm before reaching for Sakura’s hands. She was too stunned to stop Hinata from slathering it over her bruises and cuts. Sakura didn’t think she had ever seen Hinata act this bold. Then the healing from the medicinal balm took over. The aches in Sakura’s hands disappeared almost instantaneously and the redness was soothed immediately. Some of the older bruises even faded before her eyes.

“It helps to heal not just b-bruises and small cuts, but also treats i-inflammation of the tenketsu,” Hinata explained. “It is h-helpful if you use techniques that regularly e-expel chakra from them. This is my mother’s own recipe.” She blushed and looked down at the admission.

“This is wonderful, Hinata-chan, thank you,” said Sakura. “I couldn’t have asked for a better opponent.” And Sakura knew that to be true. Anyone else in class would’ve held it over Sakura’s head that she had lost, even Ino, who was above all else, very competitive. It was probably only Hinata would think to treat her opponent’s injuries after a spar.

Hinata pressed the jar into Sakura’s hands. “You can have this one. I can m-make more.”

Happiness bloomed in Sakura’s chest. She cradled the jar gently in her hands before tucking it away into a pouch. “Thank you so much, Hinata-chan. This will make taijutsu practice a lot easier.”

Hinata murmured something unintelligible and looked down again, her fingers returning to their fidgeting.

“Do you want to be friends?” Sakura blurted. Hinata’s head rocketed up, her pale eyes wide as she met Sakura’s own for the first time during the conversation.

“What?”

“It’s just…there’s no reason why you can’t hang out with me and Ino. Unless you don’t want to…” Sakura trailed off. Maybe asking Hinata to be her friend was a mistake. Even though Hinata had always been nice to Sakura, that didn’t mean she liked her; Hinata was nice to everyone. At least Sakura would know it wasn’t because she was a Senju or had the Mokuton.

“It’s okay if you don’t want—”

“I’d love to,” Hinata interrupted. She clapped her hands over her mouth. “I-I’m sorry Sakura-chan, I just…”

As Hinata’s voice drifted away, they both stared at each other until they burst into giggles.

With Hinata’s agreement, Sakura felt that the day had become perfect. It didn’t matter that she had lost a match in front of her class, or that people still stared at her. Sakura had made a new friend. Not only that, she had made a new friend without Ino’s help. Hinata was Sakura’s own friend.

Sakura couldn’t keep her grin off her face, even as the day ended and Hinata walked away with her own shadow, a teenaged shinobi she had introduced as Hyuuga Tokuma. She waved excitedly at Hinata until she disappeared, uncaring if she looked silly. It was then that Sakura realized that for the first time since Tatema began escorting her he was late.

She peered around the front entrance to the Academy, trying to spot his dark hair, to no avail. She rocked back on her heels. It wasn’t like Sakura didn’t know how to get home, but to the best of her knowledge, she was supposed to be walked home. Was this a test? Should she wait or get moving on her own?

“Are you waiting for someone?”

Sakura whirled around. Standing there were Sasuke and an older boy who could’ve only been a relative. He had the beginnings of stress lines and long dark hair pulled back from his face.

“Um, yes, I’m waiting for…” Sakura trailed off thoughtfully. She wasn’t even sure how exactly Tatema was related to her. They certainly didn’t look a thing alike, so they probably weren’t that close. “For my cousin?”

“I see. My name is Uchiha Itachi. We can wait with you, if you’d like,” he offered.

“Nii-san!” Sasuke tugged at Itachi’s clothes. “What about shuriken practice?”

Before either Sakura or Itachi could reply, Suzume-sensei walked back from where she had waved off a few students. “Is there going to be a problem here?” She looked steadily at Itachi, who remained placid.

“Not at all, sensei. I offered to wait here with Haruno-san for her cousin,” Itachi said.

Suzume-sensei turned her gaze to Sakura. “Is this right, Sakura-chan? He’s not bothering you?”

“No, Suzume-sensei, I’m fine.” Sakura watched Suzume-sensei leave with puzzlement. Had she looked upset by Itachi?

She turned back to Itachi. “Thank you for waiting with me.” She didn’t really understand why he would want to, especially with Sasuke looking more and more impatient beside him, but she appreciated it all the same.

“Sensei thinks that because you are the heir of the Senju clan and I am the heir of the Uchiha clan, we will fight with each other,” Itachi said. Sakura blinked. That was off topic. Not that they really had a topic to begin with, but it was an odd thing to say. But it did explain why Suzume-sensei was so concerned.

Then the other part of his statement clicked. “You’re the heir of the Uchiha clan?” Sakura looked Itachi up and down with renewed interest before flicking her eyes over Sasuke. She knew Sasuke was from an important family in his clan, but she hadn’t realized he was the second born son of the main family.

“Yes, I am the heir,” Itachi replied. He looked like he might say more, but Sasuke interrupted.

“And he’s a chuunin already! Nii-san is the going to be the strongest shinobi in the village.” Sasuke’s expression challenged Sakura to contradict him.

Sakura took in Itachi’s pale face with its stress lines. He looked like he was only a few years older than her. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to be both an heir and a chuunin already, and yet Sakura knew that she was staring at what she would someday become. “Your clan must make you train very hard, since you’re a chuunin so young.”

Sasuke seemed to miss part of her statement and beamed with pride. “Nii-san trains everyday with Otou-san.”

“You’re correct, Haruno-san. Training is very difficult.” Itachi’s dark, serious eyes however, told Sakura that he had completely understood her.

Sakura swallowed. “Does it ever go away? Or at least get easier?”

Itachi shook his head slowly. “There is no escaping the clan.”

“Sakura-chan!”

Sakura tore her eyes from Itachi to find Tatema approaching. For the first time Sakura saw a frown pull at his mouth and his dark eyes were hard as he considered Itachi.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Sakura-chan,” he said without looking at her.

“It’s fine, Itachi-san was just waiting with me and we talked a little bit. He was very nice.” Sakura tried to stress the last bit. If Suzume-sensei thought that Itachi and Sakura might argue, who knew what Tatema thought they were doing.

Tatema’s face relaxed but he still didn’t return to his usual pleasant smile. “I see. Thank you for your hospitality, Uchiha-san.”

“It was no trouble, Senju-san. Have a good day, Haruno-san.” Itachi bowed before urging Sasuke away, who looked confused and a little disgruntled. Tatema stared hard at Itachi’s back before he too pulled Sakura away.

“I’m sorry for being late,” he apologized again. “I was called to the mission desk. I leave tomorrow morning, once a team has been fully assembled. I’m going to introduce you to my older brother; he’ll take you to and from school while I’m gone.”

Curiosity filled Sakura. “Didn’t you say once that he was married?” she said as she followed after Tatema.

“Yes, that’s right. His name is Retsuma, and his wife is Sakumi,” Tatema answered.

Tatema led Sakura down a new street through Hanarakuen. Retsuma and Sakumi’s home was farther from the heart of the district and instead closer to the training fields on the outskirts. On the way there, Sakura learned from Tatema that they needed the space for Retsuma’s lab, who was a genjutsu and poisons specialist. Sakumi, by contrast, worked in Intelligence, where her role was anything from spy to saboteur and everything in between.

“He inherited Touka-obaasama’s talent for genjutsu. He might be even better than Tenjouma-ojiisama,” Tatema confided to her.

“Touka-obaasama?” That was a name Sakura hadn’t heard before.

“Touka-obaasama was the elder cousin to Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama. After their deaths, together with Mito-sama they ran the Senju clan. Tenjouma-ojiisama is her only surviving child,” he explained.

Tatema approached a nondescript house and entered with little ceremony. They lined up their sandals neatly in the entry way, and then Sakura followed Tatema further inside. As she did so, she peered around for evidence of the lab, but disappointingly, found nothing. It would’ve been fascinating to see real work and not the manufactured examples they showed to the Academy students.

In the next room they found a woman sitting at a low table and drinking tea while perusing a few scrolls. She had long chocolate brown hair tied in a low ponytail over her shoulder, and sharp grey eyes. And then her yukata gaped open as she turned to face them and Sakura realized she was actually a he. Sakura blushed.

“Retsu, I’ve brought Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan, this is Retsuma,” Tatema said. Sakura evaluated them again. Tatema had short, shaggy dark brown hair bordering on black and brown eyes, making him seem like Retsuma’s opposite. But they both had long, angular faces with a sharp jaw and broad shoulders with tanned skin.

“Hello Sakura-chan. It’s good to finally meet you,” Retsuma smiled at her. A strange, light feeling came over Sakura. She grinned at Retsuma.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Retsu-niisan. I can call you that, right?” Sakura dropped to the table across from Retsuma. “You’re so pretty. The prettiest person I have ever met. Prettier than Ino-chan.”

Retsuma covered a smile with his hand. “Am I? I’m flattered; thank you, Sakura-chan.”

“Retsu, cut that out.” Tatema placed a hand on Sakura’s shoulder and with a sudden jolt, the dreamy feeling she’d been floating in disappeared.

“No need to spoil my fun, Tatema. I was testing her genjutsu aptitude,” Retsuma said.

Sakura turned bright pink as she realized what she’d confessed to Retsuma.

“Tenjouma-ojiisama is handling her training, not you,” Tatema snapped.

“You’re so uptight—it was just a little genjutsu. You failed, by the way,” Retsuma informed her.

Sakura hunched over in embarrassment. She didn’t even know anything about genjutsu. They hadn’t covered that yet at the Academy. How was she supposed to know how to detect one, let alone dispel it?

“She didn’t fail anything because there was no test. Don’t be late when you pick her up, and if she tells me that you put her under another genjutsu or, worse, tested a poison on her, I’ll tell mom.”

“Would she even notice?” Retsuma murmured. “But yes, of course, I’ll take good care of her. It’d be boring if something happened to her before she ever improved.”

Without another word, Tatema picked Sakura up by her arm and pulled her from the room.

“Leaving so soon?”

“Her parents will be wondering where she is,” replied Tatema. “Come along, Sakura-chan.”

Once again Sakura followed after Tatema obediently, this time out of Retsuma’s house and to her own. Tatema seemed annoyed by the visit to his brother’s but not nearly as stiff as he was when he saw Itachi.

“Your brother is scary,” Sakura said tentatively. “I don’t think I like him.”

Tatema barked out a laugh, releasing the tension in the air. “Try growing up with him. Normally he doesn’t do that sort of thing, at least not without permission. It’s bad taste. He’s in a mood; the elders have probably been bothering him again.”

Sakura wrinkled her nose. Was that all the old people in the clan existed to do? Harass the younger members until they obeyed them? “About what?”

“Retsuma has been married to Sakumi for a few years now, but they still haven’t had a child. I would’ve thought they would relax a little after adopting you into the clan, but it seems like they’ve only gotten pushier about it. I’m surprised they haven’t said anything recently about me not being married,” Tatema said. “But that’s not for you to worry about. Now you know who Retsuma is, and he’ll be there to walk you to and from school while I’m gone.”

“Will you be gone long?” Sakura hoped not. She was finally used to Tatema and he was the nicest of the Senju she had met so far, with Enchuuma being a close second.

“Only a few weeks. I’ll be back before you know it.” They stopped in front of Sakura’s house.

She looked down at her sandals before glancing back up at Tatema. “You’re not so bad, so come home safe, okay?” Tatema’s jaw went slightly slack at her words. Sakura took the opportunity to run inside her house. No need to make it anymore awkward.

As she leaned against her door, she took in a deep breath. She was not looking forward to having to be stuck with Retsuma, especially not if she had to worry about genjutsu or poison all the time. But, Sakura smiled to herself. Not even Retsuma’s presence could dull the fact that she was going to meet with not just one friend tomorrow, but two. And with that thought in mind, Sakura headed upstairs to get changed for training, already looking forward to using Hinata’s balm on her knuckles.

#roadkill writes #the company of trees #haruno sakura #mokuton!sakura

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jmsebastian · 8 years ago

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Rewards: How Breath of the Wild Fails at Incentives

I will admit up front that some of the things I don’t like about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild aren’t issues with the game itself. There is something inherently unrewarding to me about open world games that, naturally, this title shares with other games of its style. That isn’t completely the fault of the game’s design, nor the implementation of the tropes that go along with open world games. Open world games just aren’t really very interesting. For all there is to see and do, the understanding that nearly all of it is inconsequential makes the incentive to go uncover it disappear. While Breath of the Wild offers a lot more in the moment to moment action than other similar titles, it still suffers from this basic flaw. Because it’s a Zelda title, that flaw is both more pronounced and more problematic.

Just to get this out of the way, the game is too big. The common concept of value with regard to video games is amount of content, which can roughly translate into how much total time a player might spend playing. Open world games take this simplistic formula to the extreme, cramming in more side quests, collectibles, and places to visit than are required to reach the end game in an effort to make players feel that the money they spent was worth it. In a game with no story or particular goal in mind, say, Minecraft, for example, more often does translate into more. The larger your world, the more players can uncover as they go about experiencing the world. When you have a game like Breath of the Wild, which has a fairly concise and urgent story it wants to tell, there’s no way to make such a huge world fit into that story. There is also the issue of diminishing returns. With so many things to explore and find, the value of each find begins to drop. Finding a piece of opal can only be exciting so many times before the player either doesn’t need anything from them or no longer remembers what they can be used for. There’s an underlying lack of payoff in a world overflowing with stuff.

There are three major types of rewards the player receives for exploring the overworld: towers, shrines and collectibles. In terms of incentives, towers provide a reasonable reward to encourage players to find and activate them. They allow Link to obtain more detailed information on the map about the region the tower resides in, for one. They also give the player a good view of the surrounding area and provide platforms from which one can parasail Link down into otherwise difficult to reach areas. As an added benefit, they allow for fast travel between areas. Most of the towers are easy to get to and scale, but a few have environmental challenges that must be overcome in order to activate them. Even without the map information being filled in, the ability to fast travel or glide to nearby areas makes towers valuable. There is one major problem with fast travel being tied to towers, however, which is that it isn’t exclusive to them, sadly cutting off their usefulness by as much as a third for many of them.

(If you want to fill all that in, you’re going to be climbing a lot of towers.)

The second reward for exploration are the shrines. The shrines are self contained puzzle palaces that test the player’s skill with particular items, concepts, or combat. Shrines unlock fast travel similar to towers, but the main draw of the shrines is that they contain unique items that can be retrieved as well as Spirit Orbs. Spirit Orbs allow Link to gain heart containers or increase his stamina meter by trading in four orbs for each heart or stamina increase. The shrines are where the reward system, so ingrained, in Breath of the Wild really breaks down. Shrines always have a Spirit Orb as their main collectible. Unfortunately, since you need four orbs at a time to upgrade Link, there have to be a lot of shrines to guarantee enough orbs to satisfactorily increase Link’s abilities. This results in the player spending the majority of their time in the game’s overworld looking for shrines.

(Get ready to collect tons of these.)

Knowing what the reward to each shrine is going to be before entering really mutes the excitement of discovering a new one. Nintendo tried to mitigate this somewhat by including treasure chests in the shrines that have unique items, but rarely is the item good enough to justify spending the time figuring out how to access them. The puzzles that would normally make up a dungeon in a Zelda game are instead isolated and sterile. Many are enjoyable, but none last longer than a few minutes. In a weird twist, many of the shrines don’t even feature puzzles, but rather force the player to square off against a robot opponent. These tests of strength are all the same, just scaled up or down in difficulty. It feels as though they were added just in case players never engaged enemies in the overworld (which is something you can pretty much get away with if you want to).

What’s most frustrating about the way the shrines are implemented is that there is an obvious solution to making them more meaningful, one that was pioneered in the very first Zelda game. When you discover a hidden cave in The Legend of Zelda, you don’t know what you’re going to find, but no matter what it is, it’s useful. Some caves contain rupees, useful for buying items while doubling as bow ammunition. Other caves contain NPCs who convey important clues to progression. Some hold heart containers. The dungeons you traverse all have a special item that can be used to make progress somewhere else in the game, like the ladder or flute. Heck, the first cave in the game holds your main weapon, which is possible to miss or ignore. Breath of the Wild could have followed a similar design philosophy, where one shrine might offer you a very good and unique weapon, whereas another might offer a heart container or stamina increase. Not knowing exactly what was hidden inside, yet knowing it would be worth the effort, would have given shrines real purpose and remained somewhat mysterious. Since there is a hard limit on how many heart containers and how much stamina Link can have, it would have meant greatly reducing the number of shrines, certainly, but more care could have been placed on the shrines themselves. They could have been made bigger, more elaborate and interesting. Combined uses of the runes could have been explored more fully. They could have implemented the strengths of more traditional dungeons without forcing players into the hard progression sequences that made A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time so limiting.

The third reward that weaves its way into practically every aspect of the game is consumable items. Nearly everything in Breath of the Wild acts as a consumable. Fruit, arrows, monster parts, rupees, the Spirit Orbs, even weapons. Consumables are a tricky thing to get right in games. Drop too many of them and a game can become a cake walk. Drop too few and players will get frustrated that they can’t simply get something they need in order to allow them to make progress. Breath of the Wild actually manages to find a middle ground with this, but in a way that takes away the point of looking for items in the first place. The issue at hand is that all items must be replaceable. There are a few exceptions to this, such as the Master Sword (which is the only weapon that can’t break), but everything else either goes away when you use it or breaks down with use.

Since so much of the game has a shelf life, it can’t very well give out items that players would find too valuable to use. During my playthrough, I found myself hanging onto weapons that were a bit better than the usual stock I could get by defeating local enemies. That, of course, put a crunch on my inventory space, which forced me into decisions on which weapons to keep and which to use more often or discard. This was an interesting proposal at first, until I realized that none of the weapons were really worth worrying about as the amount of damage I could do didn’t increase or decrease dramatically enough to make much difference. So long as I wasn’t running around using a tree branch as my main weapon, I’d be able to take care of the overworld enemies just fine. This realization really sucked out the desire for me to fight enemies for more weapons, or scour the shrines for chests that might contain better weapons. Once I received the Master Sword, I forgot about other weapons almost entirely.

(Whatever it is, I don’t need it.)

The Master Sword, itself, is an interesting case, as it stands in such stark contrast to the way the rest of the weapons in the game work. Obviously, Nintendo couldn’t let the Master Sword be destroyed. All it would take is an absent minded player whacking away at some rocks and watching the most iconic piece of the Zelda mythos splinter into pieces before they got angry calls. Instead, they placed an arbitrary use limit on it so that it would power down for a while, similar to the way the special abilities earned from the beating the Divine Beasts work. This was a very poor compromise to make. While getting the Master Sword isn’t a herculean feat by any stretch, there should be some real reward for going through the effort of getting it. Sure, having a strong, unbreakable weapon might have made the game a bit too easy, but the amount of time spent in the game needed to get the Master Sword would have made this a trivial concern. Players who found the weapon too powerful could always opt not to sue it. The result is the inclusion of a weapon that has no practical purpose, which feels underwhelming at best, and a bit of a broken promise at worst.

The consumable nature of the game also means that Breath of the Wild has to assume that players might not have any items that weren’t forced upon them. To Nintendo’s credit, they did manage to get a lot of positives out of this dilemma. While the puzzles that litter the game aren’t very deep or involved, there are often a few ways to solve them. This was a necessity, of course, since players could very easily have gotten stuck at various points without having the right equipment and not knowing what to look for to solve the problem they were facing. Part of the joy of this game was in examining the tools at your disposal, then figuring out how you might combine them to achieve your goal. This is great for a little while, but soon gets repetitive, as it almost always boils down to using one of your four major runes: the Remote Bomb, Cryonis, Magnesis, or Stasis. Since the game couldn’t count on players having particular equipment at any given time, puzzles revolve either around things placed in the environment itself, or utilizing one of the four abilities granted to them by the Runes that the story guides you toward finding. Any less obvious methods for solving puzzles are done either because a player feels particularly playful or the puzzles are so straightforward that they become boring to solve using the intended method.

So what we’re left with in Breath of the Wild is a huge world filled to the brim with content that simply doesn’t matter. Very little in the game matters, ultimately. So little, in fact, that nearly everything past the introduction sequence can be skipped entirely. While there are a minimum number of bosses that need to be fought to beat the game, you can do so simply by storming Hyrule Castle and boss rushing them all at once. Sure, it’s a real challenge to do that without considerable familiarity with some of the more intricate combat mechanics, but once competence has been achieved, it’s hard to justify spending any time doing anything but going straight to the end game once players know it can be done.

(To be fair, the flurry rush is a pretty satisfying move.)

The upside to the majority of Breath of the Wild being made up of filler is that it has spawned a pretty fervent speedrunning community. Zelda games are no strangers to speedrunning, but the enthusiasm with which Breath of the Wild has been met by speedrunners makes me think some of that has to do with the fact that the game, on its own, doesn’t have much to offer. Instead, many players have taken to exploring the game on their own terms, trying to shortcut their way to the end as fast as possible in the hopes that such an experience would provide the reward the game, itself, could not provide.

I had hope that the story of the game would be enough to tie it all together, or at least give me a reason to care about why I was playing. Sadly, the implementation of the story is, perhaps, its greatest downfall. There isn’t much story to speak of, but in contrast with every other title in the series, Nintendo felt compelled to give this story voice. It would be easy to criticize the English language actors for the game’s cringe-worthy bad voice work, but the material is just as dreadful. Every spoken line is a cliche, and when it’s combined with the obvious fake voices being put on to match the characters, the whole thing feels disingenuous. Perhaps it’s a bit of an unfair criticism, but since there were no other language options to choose from, I had no choice but to skip over the cutscenes in order to spare myself hearing the labored work of the actors.

Along the same letdown, I was surprised by the lack of memorable music in the game. For a series with so many iconic themes at its disposal, Breath of the Wild contains none of them. That alone wouldn’t matter, as one can hear the Ocarina of Time score only so many times before it loses its magic. Upon finishing the game, only one tune remains in my mind: the horse stable melody. Part of the problem is that the score is adaptive. There’s a piece that plays when Link comes in close proximity to an enemy, there is a different song that plays in towns or when rock monsters form from the earth. None of them feel like themes, though, nor do they behave much like themes since they fit so many different places and situations. The music feels consumable much in the way weapons do. As such, the score is utterly forgettable and would have played just as well entirely without one.

While my overall impression of the game is unfavorable, it would be dishonest not to mention that while I was playing the game, I had fun. Moment to moment, there was quite a bit to keep me occupied. It was nice to see the return of Lynels to the franchise, for instance. The environments, devoid of meaningful content as they might be, were enjoyable to look at, walk around in, be in. There was a distinctive and enjoyable art style that worked in many ways the way the Wind Waker’s aesthetics did. Being a cross platform game between the Nintendo Switch and Wii U meant sacrifices had to be made, but those limitations only made the overall look of the world better. Sure, the Wii U version frequently had frame drops in the single digits, but those still shots looked great. There’s something incredibly charming about Breath of the Wild that makes me recognize that in spite of its deeply rooted flaws, it’s a pretty good game. Like Super Mario 64 before it, Nintendo proved that personality can be 9/10ths of a game. While I do think Breath of the Wild will see a similar retroactive re-evaluation along the lines of Skyward Sword, I certainly can’t begrudge anyone who loves the game now and forever. I sure enjoyed it while I was playing.

#legend of zelda #breath of the wild #nintendo #zelda #video games

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