#children of solstice

[memurfevur-archive]

Out of Heart

Children of Solstice ch. 3

PREV: Ch 2

Character(s): Hyanna Kekkel, Casitt Resshi (@mageofspacemultiverse), Keonin Caniss

About: After a battle has left Casitt worse for wear, Hyanna finds help from a stranger in the woods.

Word Count: 1,176

Two giant hyena puppies padded their way through a thick forest, but only one of them seated two Trolls of different statures. One was the Purpleblood Hyanna with sweat beading on her brows and exhaustion weighing heavy around her eyes. In either hand she held the reigns of both dogs, steering one while leading the other. Tied to her and the puppy was the Limeblood Casitt, who was worse for wear and barely conscious. Despite Hyanna’s warnings, run-ins with hostile Trolls and drones were finally getting the better of him; now, an infection ran deep through his leg and there were too many cuts and gashes on his body to count.

The four of them had been traveling to the coastal region this side of Alternia, but had found nothing of the sort yet-- lost and no thanks to maps with faded translations. Now, they were wandering the forest, recovering from their last fight with a couple of miners they had tried to rob. It surprisingly wasn’t an easy fight; Casitt had gotten the brunt of it and the battle was only won when Hyanna fell asleep mid-fight, activating her voodoos and brutally killing them. They had gotten their prize and more, but at a heavy cost.

On the bright side, the pups-- Barnum and Bailey-- picked up on the scent of other Trolls. It was a risk, but whatever bunch of Trolls were around might be able to help Casitt. Hyanna hoped so, anyway; they didn’t have the best track record for running into friendly locals. Not that they were entirely friendly, either.

Eventually the forest began to thin out a bit and reveal in the distance a rather large hive. Hyanna’s eyes widened at the sight; rarely having seen something so large and full of splendor. The closest she’s come to experience has been the arena-church she grew up in, where it became sparse for her to explore its intricate structures in great detail. She wondered about what kind of Troll may be living there, if there were many or only one. It had to be a Highblood, no other caste could afford such a thing.

This made chances of finding help slim. Highbloods were more often than not pretentious, and if they saw Casitt’s true color then they could both of their lives right then and there. But did they have a choice? Casitt could die either way; it was up to Hyanna to pick the lesser of two evils, and the lesser evil was to hope that someone was kind enough to spare him over letting him suffer in misery.

“There’s a hive up ahead,” Hyanna murmured to the unconscious Limeblood. “You’ll be okay, buddy.”

Suddenly Bailey’s ears perked and he paused, and quickly after his brother mirrored. Hyanna frowned, running her hand through Barnum’s mane, “What is it, boy? What do you hear?”

Bailey barked, and with a wagging tail dashed off into the wilderness, and Barnum, ever so excited to mirror Bailey’s lead, followed. Hyanna lurched forward when Barnum began to run, kicking her heals in and pulling on the harness, her heart falling to her stomach in shock and panic. “Hey boy! Hey easy! Listen, stupid!” She tried reaching back and holding onto Casitt, fearing that he would fall from the two hyenas’ racing. She saw something slip from his pocket, but from the stress of the dogs and the sick boy she paid it little mind.

The pups dashed into a heavily wooded part of the forest, where the trees were denser and grasses turned into jungles of ferns, wild flowers, and varied herbs beyond Hyanna’s understanding. Thankfully, the two pups began to slow and sniff around the ground. Hyanna still wrestled with Barnum’s harness, but Bailey was a further ways a head and seemed to soon be occupied with something. Something that could giggle and talk back to it.

Hyanna finally managed to get Barnum under control and calmed. She squinted in Bailey’s direction, then whistled for him to come back. Whistling was a bit of a difficult task for her, what with her teeth being as large and packed as they are, but with a few attempts Bailey understood and bounded towards his charges.

When Bailey had moved out of the way, Hyanna finally could see what it was the two puppies had been chasing after. A very skinny Troll was sitting on the ground with her wrists supporting her; no doubt Bailey had knocked her over. She had wild, feathery hair with a strange shine to it that nested two curved horns, and her eyes matched the coat she was wearing: a brilliant shining red. She looked up Hyanna and Casitt and the two young but giant hyenas with a kind and amused smile on her face. Hyanna wondered why Barnum and Bailey had been drawn to her, but still she dipped her head and offered a quick apology.

“I’m sorry, they’re still learning. Are you okay?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. It was a friendly surprise, is all.” The red Troll’s eyes lingered on Hyanna for a moment, then to the other troll bound to her. Her brows furrowed, and Hyanna took this as an opportunity.

“Yeah, um, can you help us? My friend is sick and hurt, he’s not doing too well.”

The other Troll pushed herself to her feet and paced towards them. Barnum’s tail began to wag quickly, but Hyanna pulled on Barnum’s harness trying to keep him from becoming too excited to sit still. The woman in red approached Casitt, placing her hand on his forehead to check his temperature and immediately pulling back with a cringe. She looked over him, noticed the bandaged injuries stained in bright green, and her eyes widened in recognition. She nodded firmly, “Yes, we can help. My moirail and matesprit lives in the hive up there. My moirail will give you shelter and my matesprit is a doctor, and I and my pack will do our best, too.”

Hyanna brightened at the news, “Oh! Oh thank you.” She settled herself and Casitt so that there was more room on the saddle. “Get on, we can ride there.”

The other Troll seemed hesitant to climb aboard the canine, but a quick glance at Casitt as a reminder spurred her on. She wrapped herself around Casitt, helping to keep him onto the beast more securely. Hyanna did a motion with the leash, and was able to successfully pull Barnum into the lead once again with Bailey trying to get another sniff at the stranger close behind them.

“Cute lusii. What are their names?”

“Barnum and Bailey,” Hyanna answered, tugging at Barnum to prompt him to slip into a run.

“Yours?” Asked the stranger, raising her voice over the heavy pattering of paw steps and excited puppy panting.

Hyanna hesitated, then called over her shoulder, “Hyanna. That right there is Casitt.” The stranger nodded and said nothing in return, which made Hyanna yell back, “So who are you?”

“Keonin. You’ll want to take a left up here.”

[mageofspacemultiverse]

CoS: Out of Sight

SUMMARY: After escaping from the Sightdog's carnival, Casitt and Hyanna (@memurfevur) make their way through the wilderness, and... 'bond' in the process.

Word Count: 1550

√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√

Hsssssss-hsss-hssss

         It was raining. The cloud-tears were soothing kisses on the many aching dots scattered across his skin. Bruises, he faintly thought; although with dumb-bells holding his eyelids down, he couldn’t exactly be sure. Was he home? Was mom making morning tea...?

         “...hey...wake...up........look, I’m about two seconds from kicking you.”

That voice. His ear twitched towards it, a little muddy but its rough under-tones were enough to throw the discomfort aside. His eyes twitched, opening with effort and scrunching closed quickly as some stray pain shot through them. He turned to the side with a groan, then tried again.

         “...two......one....zero, alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you.“ His brain was still too fraught with the fog of slumber to properly register, but the quick shot to the ribs made him yipe and roll over quickly, wrapping up further in the dirty tarp he’d been swaddled in. A familiar feeling – fear mixed with rage – flooded his veins as he glanced up with fangs pressed tightly together.

         Hyanna stood over him, her imposing form solid compared to his pulse. The tired lines under her eyes seemed especially prominent today.

         “Fuckin’...what was that for??” Casitt was too disoriented to stifle his growl, pressing a hand to his ribs and nursing them while he wheezed; ah well, another bruise to add to the pile.

         Hyanna only shrugged. “It was your idea to hit the road in case some-troll’s tailing us.”

         “Aren’t you people -ahh- nocturnal? Nobody’s gonna be...out.”

         “Depends. If Sightdog sent a bounty hunter, she would give them protection from the sun.” She crossed her arms, the sunlight a silhouette around her cloak, the barren branches like a crown over her.

         Shaking his head disdainfully, Casitt slowly made his way upright, quickly wrapping the makeshift cloak around his bare skin as the light rays sought to make a meal of him. “Fine, we can fucking get moving. Oww, Moon above...” He glanced down at his body, feeling the internal urge to protest – they still hadn’t eaten in a day and he was starting to feel it sap his energy, but he was well-acquainted with the feeling. He wasn’t as sure with her. “How’re the mounts?”

         Without waiting for an answer, Casitt looked past the thicket of corpse-like trees to the creatures held on leash to one of the trunks with their rousled manes of shaggy fur. The burgundy was called Barnum and the mottled gray was Bailey. Hyanna had named them, of course; Casitt had offered the names of ‘Mutt’ and ‘Other Mutt’, but she hadn’t been all that enthused.

         “They scared off a few caw-beasts while you were snoring your little lungs out, though I think we need to find water soon, they’ve been panting a lot.”

         Casitt reached into the back pocket of the pants hanging loose on his hips, digging out a carefully folded map. The two had found it in the locker of an abandoned drone gas station, which he’d also raided for some temporary clothes. He walked to one of the trees and unfolded the paper, pressing it against the rounded surface of the plant. His tracking eyes flickered for a moment, recalling their location in proportion to the region, then his fingernail pressed into their slice of woods, tracing around.

         “That’s......” His internal compass pointed his finger westward, past the beasts. “Probably...two hours that way. Big ravine cuttin’ off the forest from some fields.”

         “Are you sure? I’m still not over when we got lost the other night. An hour in the wrong direction before we-”

         “I’m sure- look, who’s the fuckin’ guy with experience and who’s the girl who spent her entire adult life holed up in a curtain cone?”

         Hyanna bared her own fangs dangerously in response, curls bouncing on her head. “Look, dumbass, do you really need to start something every five minutes? It’s a simple question, are you sure?”

         “Yeah, I’m fuckin’ sure!” Casitt’s voice was rising. His ribs still pulsed with pain; he hoped her foot deservedly did too.

         “Great! Wonderful, look at you, communicating! Jeez, have to always act like some big shot!” She half threw her hands up before going to unleash the barkbeasts. With a hiss to himself, Casitt stuffed the map back into his purloined pants and wiped some spit from his lips.

.....

         Just over two hours later, and they were in rough shape. The heat, even if not direct, was sapping their energy more than usual. Hyanna had almost fallen asleep twice, and Casitt’d had to quickly retrieve the smelling-salts from his side satchel before she fully hit the hay as their pets whined pitifully. When their land-mark finally came into view, a doubtful half of Casitt washed away its worry, and they dashed to the shoreline with gusto. It tasted sour and acidic, and they all splashed their skin until it sparkled.

         “There’s a village south of here, I think.” Casitt commented after a gasp, hands tingling from how much water he’d thrown into his face. “Might be able to grab some supplies before moonrise too. Maybe even get sanctuary.”

         Between gasps, Hyanna’s face twisted in concern. “Good point...but, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to endanger anybody else. We’re kind of trouble, you know?”

         He quirked an eyebrow. “Hyanna, it’s gonna be that way no matter where we go. We can’t run forever.”

         “I know, I know...”

         “......but?”

         “But...it just wouldn’t be good of us.”

         Part of Casitt could appreciate the sentiment behind her kindness towards others; others that were never kind to, or oblivious of, their suffering. It was the obvious hopeful aspect that he'd always known with Rosi. The other part, though, really couldn’t stand it all that much. “Mmm...is it good of us to die out here in the woods then? Starve to death? I bet Sightdog would get a fuckin’ riot outta that, put that on....what did she call it, tele-vision?”

         “You don’t need to exaggerate, I just don’t want someone else to be collateral damage because of me, because of us.”

         “You want to talk about collateral damage? Pshh! You decided to come along with me, I’m walking collateral damage, okay? Things turn bloody when I’m involved and people die, that’s just how it is. It's either you, or it'll be someone...else...”

         He didn’t exactly realize the sting of that statement until after he said it. Hyanna looked at him for a moment, looking ready to scoff and trade another barb, but something must have tipped his hand and her eyes fell. “Is that...why you wanted to go alone and leave me behind at first?”

         Casitt felt heat rush to his face. The stream trickled on as he glanced to the ground, pain filling his chest. “...yeah, it is. Still don’t really get why you’re here. Not like I know where I’m-”

         “-neither do I.” Hyanna’s husky tone was trying to be soothing, with mixed results. “This all...feels like a bad dream. I still don’t know if I’m awake or sleeping. But I know you’re here, helping me to fight off the nightmares. That counts for something, even if that means it’s going to be more dangerous.”

         “...Hyanna...?”

         “I can take care of myself. So can you, it’s not rocket science.” Whatever that meant. “But I bet it’s nice to feel something other than lost, don’t you think? When you aren’t acting like a pan-less baboon, we actually...make an okay team.”

         Casitt thought about it for a second. He’d heard words similar enough before, and he had to push the flashing, painful memories out of his mind for a second, focusing on his breathing. He nodded curtly in response to her, staring into the lake, seeing lost eyes reflected in the surface.

         “...Casitt, I’m here. Willing to follow your lead. You saved my life.” He saw her purple sleeves move from the corner of his eye. “I just...I'm going to try and make sure that doesn't cost someone else their's.”

         “...yeah. No, you’ve...you’ve gotta point.” He turned away from the river, sulking a little beneath his cape, dogs still lapping, Hyanna still eyeing him curiously. It was another repeat. His head felt a little tight, but he preferred not to let it show; nobody needed to see inside his head. Though, with a grunt as his leg met an errant root, apparently, they needed to see his legs.

         Somehow, the dirt felt comfortable: but the sight of a tiny trove of berries that spilled out before him was even moreso.

         “You are actually kiddin- ohhhh! These! These fruit are safe to eat!”

         “They are?” His heart swelled in the sheer luck of the moment, tragedy falling back, away, into his brain. “You...are these the ones you remember eating as a ki- wriggler?”

         Hyanna leaned down, picking one of the puny yellow orbs up between two fingers, then with a small smile dropped it from above her head with her fanged mouth open. It sat on her tongue for a moment before sliding into her throat and out of view. “...ahh, yep! You better not have fallen on any or I’ll beat your ass!”

         “You better not be steppin' on more right now either!” Casitt protested, still on the ground and now grabbing dislodged berries off the floor. One pressed between his teeth released a strong burst of saccharine. He giggled. “...okay, okay, even if I am sick later and this is another prank, that’s delicious.”

         “Yesss! Gogs. I was so hungry. Thought I was going to need you if it was any longer.”

         It was clearly a joke given her hearty chuckle, but internally Casitt cringed; still, nice to know he hadn't been the only one.

[vanessagillings]

Happy Winter Solstice! 🌙✨

[goodshipskypirate]

Oh...

Well, that answers who the Great Eagle is.

Jesus Christ, Resh 'an, you really do have your claws everywhere, sir.

[writeroffantasy03]

Saw the Echoes of the Solstice character art again today and I’m once more wondering why Beau and Caleb look so much older than they are. It’s only been around 6 or 7 years since campaign 2 ended. (Beau is 30 and Caleb is 40/41.)

Liam said something on a recent episode that implied he thinks it’s been decades since campaign 2. (No one corrected him!!! Ahh!!!!)

Maybe I need to accept that character ages are just as unknown as the ages of the PC’s children.

[yuyu-bubu]

oc shitpost everyone say hi guys!!!

[that-cartoony-villain]

the CR cast not knowing their fantasy children's ages are the funniest shit ever

but i have to say this otherwise i might explode because it's my biggest pet peeve, which is people not knowing how to portray certain ages, and i dont mean the cast specifically, im talking about fiction in general

like, i love baby gwen so much, she is my dear child BUT the taldorei reborn de rolo picture was taken in like 832 PD or something, so at the current time of BH campaign (843 PD), Gwendolyn would actually be around 12yo....

anyway i still love it when they dont know the ages cause we get funny shit like Luc being in his teenage years, around 13 to 23 yo

this is all to say, if you're gonna write children in your stories, pls try to at least research their evolution, a 5yo won't be talking wike a wittle baby, they have very developed brains and copy adults so they will be little pricks and wont shut up about things they like!

[frayed-symphony]

More Concept and creature design dump for my 3rd and final self-published picture book The Midnight Chimes;

Sketches for the setting;

Fairy world creature designs (sadly didn't use these);

Fun character interactions to end on;

Links to read the book;

Limited edition gold foil paperback (listing currently closed); https://etsy.com/uk/listing/1035131739… eBook; https://frayedsymphony.gumroad.com/l/duvee

Thank you!

[maenillustrates]

A whimsical winter wonderland ❄️⛸️✨

[foodandfolklore]

Santa Claus: Paganism or Commercialism

Probably one of the most recognizable icons of Western Winter holidays is Santa Claus. A plump man in a red coat with long white beard who gives presents to well behaved children on Christmas. But where did this character come from? I'm sure many reading will point out old Saint Nick as the origin. Others will draw comparisons to the Holly King and Green man. And there's at lest a few people convinced the whole thing is just a way to get us to buy more during the holidays.

Creation of Santa Claus is largely credited to Clement Clarke Moore, the Author of The Night Before Christmas. He says he combined traits of Saint Nicholas and his Dutch Handyman for descriptors. He's also the one who gave Santa his flying sleigh and reindeer. But he still called the character Saint Nicholas. The Name Santa Claus is thanks to Dutch immigrants who came to America. They called Saint Nicholas 'Sinterklass' which caught on as Santa Claus.

So who is Saint Nicholas that this Santa Claus is apparently based on? Well according to the stories, during the early Christianization of Rome, there was a man was extreme wealth and generosity named Nicholas. He would see people in need and not hesitate to help, expecting nothing in return. He also had a power to know who was guilty and who was innocent. Nicholas became a Bishop and after death, ascended to be a Saint. He is the patron Saint of Charity and Children.

So now he's got some kick ass Saint powers, and can keep on doing cool stuff. And the stories say he did. He would make more food to have enough to go around. Keep people safe. Heal children who died too soon. People loved this guy! They would celebrate him on December 6th; the day of his supposed passing. Children would leave their shoes outside hoping for a treat from the passing Saint.

Okay so, clearly Santa Claus has Christian Roots. Why do people think he's pagan. Well, for a few centuries, things start to get a little muddled. See, the Romans were like a cultural and religious melting pot. So over the thousand years of Saint Nick doing his thing, Christmas started absorbing aspects of other holidays like Saturnalia and Winter Solstice; even changing the date to better line up with these other events. And if you look at some depictions of art from before the Red suit was standard, Santa can sometimes be seen in greens with holly and mistletoe. So If the only information you have is 'Christmas Celebrations are based on Pagan Traditions' it's not a big mental leap to assume Santa is one of those Pagan Traditions.

But the truth of the matter is we didn't have a visual standard until the past 100 years or so. Saint Nick and Winter gift giving exploded in popularity all over Europe, but after a thousand years, baby Jesus took over. Maybe to put the focus back on him? But that didn't seem to remain popular, so a new, meaner version of Nicholas appeared. And I'm not talking about Krampus. His appearance and mannerisms varied from region to region. He would flog or kidnap disruptive children. It was basically all punishment, no reward. Not very magical.

Then people come to the new World of America. A new life, a new outlook, a new way to raise children. They brought with them their story of Saint Nick, now called Santa Claus, and Started telling stories about how he was sequestered away. Far north in the north pole, a place uninhabitable by normal people. He lives there, making toys with his elves, and flies around the world in a single night delivering toys to all the nice children. I never really thought about it much, but the story of Santa Claus really is a Uniquely American Folk Tale.

One last thing; how did Santa Claus Get his signature look? As I mentioned, the story the Night Before Christmas is What cements Santa as Fat, Jolly, and with a full white beard. But he mentions nothing of the colour of his clothes. Many people think that the red suit is from Coca-Cola ads, as before that he was always dressed in green. While I think it's true the Coca-Cola ads help popularize red as Santa's Color, they were far from the first to choose red. Add to that, if red was not selected, there's no guarantee he would be green. When people started illustrating the story The Night Before Christmas, lots of versions of Santa were made. One where he was in all yellow. Another where he was of short stature and brown. Icey blues. All kinds of ideas. Doing research, it seems Thomas Nast was the one who established the look of Santa. He dressed him in red to complement is rosy red nose, gave his coat white trim, a black belt, and topped it off with the signature Santa Hat.

Now that Santa had a Standard uniform, kids could recognize him instantly. Malls started to set up areas where you could take your kids to see Santa, encouraging you to go to shopping. Products need only draw a Santa on their package and boom, limited seasonal item. Sometimes it feel like Santa Claus was Created just to sell us stuff. But he wasn't. He wasn't even created to guilt us into a faith. He was created to bring a little magic a wonder into the holiday season. Regardless of what holiday you may be celebrating. Santa doesn't care. Santa only cares that if you are kind, that kindness should be rewarded.

[lykos-with-a-gun]

Mad

Luffy is mad, i don't want that here, i need happy luffy to survive.

C'me here!, down here! Come down for more fun facts!

Luffy is still 19 in this au, his b-day is still 5 may, (kodomo no hi/children's day)

Nika doesn't have an age, or a b-day, so luffy makes him be his older brother (nii san)

Luffy says that Nika is 25, n his b-day is 21 June, (that day is the summer solstice, n the most longest day in the year)

Nika thinks usopp is a cool liar, a very cool and brave liar

Robin can understand the idiom alternates talk

The east blue gang existed in the void century aswell

Alternates like Nika are called dead children (that small detail is important for the lore)

If Nika had an age then he would be older than the void century

Nika is taller than luffy (yes, he can actually get out of the body you saw it in the other pic, but anyone could see him, I will draw how he looks like when the people can see him later)

Dead children like hovering around luffy and Pao (Nika)

That is all!

Be kind, be safe.

[charkyzombicorn]

Myth and god au

Christmas themed holiday.

It’s just Dr. Kureha (demigod of chopper) traveling around the world with chopper and healing sick people. In return she steals furniture.

This is in celebration of Uta being reborn as human the first time. The gods don't really get it either but it's fun

[mageofspacemultiverse]

Children of Solstice Ch. 2 - Out Of Mind

Summary: A close encounter spawns endless squabbling between the two outlaws, but Casitt and Hyanna's journey eventually shows them a golden opportunity.

Word Count: 1,611

Hyanna Kekkel belongs to @memurfevur

Casitt Resshi belongs to me! B)

“Aaoow! Hey, easy, easy!!”

         “Oh my Gog, stop whining and hold still already...”

         Casitt stifled another whine as Hyanna examined his leg without much of a delicate touch. The remnants of the smashed drone were disarrayed next to them, clobbered to pieces. Some small bits of shrapnel had embedded in the skin just above his knee, with one noticeable sliver sticking a bit deeper than the rest.

         “Remind me again why I put up with this?” He hissed and growled, staring as blood sputtered around the shard’s edge. “Everything was-“

         “It was your idea! You’re lucky it didn’t turn you into pupa food.” She gestured with a foot to the razed patch of smoking dirt a few feet away where one of the drones blasts had aimed for.

         “You had to cannonball it, Hyanna? You almost hit me!!”

         “I didn’t almost hit you-”

         “Bullshit, I could feel the wind!”

         “-Hmm. If you keep talking I might actually, though.”

         “Look I was handling it, okay? I was learning how it worked, and besides it wasn’t like we could just leave it zoomin’ around, broadcasting where we are to Sightdog or whatever other- hgggh!”

         His air was frizzier than normal with sweat, and as Hyanna flicked at the embedded metal he stiffened his jaw, thumbing the dull points of his pendant to help ignore the feeling. “You didn’ ha- GHHHH, okay, okay, j-just, rip a fuckin’ piece of my pants off first!” When her face flushed, he couldn’t help but groan and rub his forehead even as the pain made his body tremble. “Stop being a weirdo to the injured. A small strip on the leg, just...tear it off slowly, I’ll use it as a bandage.”

         “This is so getting infected, you know that right?”

         “I’ve dealt with worse, but I- egh- can’t walk around getting freak-metal poisoning.”

         It was clear Hyanna was a bit resilient to tending to his wounds, and he bled bright lime as she worked. Barnum and Bailey panted from a near distance, their muzzles slobbering at the bloody mess, but were still a bit unnerved by the drone’s appearance to try offering their medical expertise.

         “I’m mad at you for wasting the soap too, by the way. Hehehe, I wanted to take a bath when we got to the coast.” She teased after pulling one of the smaller pieces out with a pair of rusty tweezers. The supplies they’d gotten from the last villagers they’d stayed with were scarcely enough – old hardened bars of soap with concerning blue spots and a small urn of dried curative herbs. A pacifistic diamond pair had offered sanctuary, though they’d accepted to Hyanna’s chagrin. It was a nice arrangement for a day or so ‘til some royal Indigo-blood had to come rolling in before they could really get settled, trying to hunt some heads; when she lost her head, they had to get going again.

         “I’m sure they’ll have fuckin’ soap wherever we’re going.” Casitt pouted, swathing his knee in the poor excuse for a wrap before standing with some effort. “It’s been four days of nothin’, but we should be there soon, right?”

"Yeah, map says so."

         None of their maps had panned out to much besides getting far enough away from Sightdog. Charity hives were a no-go, as was anything that needed to be bought. They’d been getting by on dine-and-dashes for the most part, alienating the vast majority of trolls they met along the way. It was an odd lifestyle that they somehow managed to make work, even despite their daily disagreement on just how they should be making it work.

         But their marathons and navigating said they should be coming to some sort of coastal port soon. Casitt had never been to any seafaring locale, but if these water-traveling ships were legitimate, maybe they could sail somewhere else, free from that influence. It was a long shot, but at this point so was everything.

         Hyanna helped him to his feet, and he wobbled and nearly buckled but managed to find some balance. “Oh well. One of these days you’ll listen to me. And when that day comes, maybe I’ll trust you to not get yourself killed, how’s that?”

         “Fine...point taken, no more drone duels.”

Even with his wounds, he tried to hobble back to their cart around the back of a grouping of boulders. Hyanna entertained his pride for a moment, but with a huff of frustration Casitt quickly found himself picked up off the ground by the back of his collar. “Hey! What-“

         “That was too painful to watch, I’m sorry.”

         “Fuck your pain, put me down!” He seethed, which only served to make Hyanna chuckle. “I can walk! I’m not your...bag of beans!”

         “Bag of be- I just dressed your wounds, you’re gonna make them worse, idiot.”

         “Shut! Up! Don’t patronize me chuckle nuts!”

         “Your threats are cute, hehehe. What’re you going to do?”

         “I will bite you," Cassit dangled and he flushed with embarrassment. "I will bite. So hard!!”

         “Heh, fine, you want down?”

         “Yes, I- EHAA??”

         His collision into the back of the cart after she hurled him was certainly disorienting. Too bruised and battered from the fight, Casitt just lay there as Hyanna collected the remains of the drone and brought them to their cart, before the party of four continued on the rocky trail.

         =========

         The afternoon...did not get much better.

         “We seriously followed the wrong map? Are you...kidding me?” Casitt rested his elbow against a thick wooden stick now they used to play ‘fetch’ with the twin hounds. The pain had mostly subsided, but the fatigue had killed everything from his tone except for despair. Hyanna was looking at the piece of paper in question, puzzling through images while he sulked by the stony mouth of some sort of cave network.

         Denial dragged into silence as she deciphered and he grimaced, but eventually even Hyanna’s patience broke and she flung the folded map to the ground. “Hell...I mean...no, we got the right one, but we were looking at the wrong half of it. They weren’t kidding when they said it was five-in-one.”

         “This is why I asked to be our guide, you know-“

         “Please!” She snapped, teething pressing against her lower lips. “We were going backwards towards the Carnival again with you leading. I had a panic attack dude?”

         Casitt rubbed the back of his head. “And again, I’m sorry, but I mean-“

         “But nothing. I trust you a lot, but you’re either a liar or an alien, and you’re definitely stupid.”

         “And you’re a shut-in with no life experience, it’s all even.” Casitt reacted unhelpfully. A fire smoked behind Hyanna’s expression, but uncharacteristically he was quick to acquiesce. “But okay...I take it back. I’m sorry.”

         The Carnival...he could see she was trying to not blink back tears, and it tugged at his heart. Sightdog’d had her by the neck when he stormed into that room, covered in purple blood from head to toe. Tried to blackmail him, and Casitt had seen the pain and defeat in her eyes. Years of abuse, years of...nothing but blood on her hands...he was crestfallen now sure, but he couldn’t help feeling guilty about even scaring her slightly at the thought of being back there.

Adjusting his position and crossing his arms, he glanced again to the cave. “So...do you know where we are, though?”

         “Not really. Map says there’s some ghost towns north and southwest of here. Exxogino and Kirithra. Old mining towns.”

         “Sure looks like the hole they crawled out of,” Casitt mumbled to himself, before he caught Hyanna staring for an explanation and he just shrugged. “Sorry, mumbling. So this is some...unmapped giant hole-“

         “I HEAR YE-{! WHOSE OUT THERE TRYNA TAKE A CUT -{?? COME OUT-{!”

         The dogs began to bark, and Hyanna got to her feet as two tall, burly trolls emerged from the darkness like comets in the night sky, both wearing head-lamps and juggling two large backs on both shoulders. The one who spoke, spittle flying onto the rocks he clambered over, was garbed in bright violet overalls adorned with some telltale symbol and enough piercings in his face to make a bracelet out of that took the attention of his garish multicolour mohawk. The other man looked to be olive of some sort, with an extra eye on the side of his neck and a club strapped to his back.

         Casitt, though, was drawn to the sight of something far more intimidating, far more captivating. A glimmer, an opalescent twinkle in the bulging pocket of both of them. Small crystals of cerulean blue embedded into a pocket of grey stone. He didn’t know the exact type, but he’d been ever fascinated by the prospect of holding them in his hands. Gemstones...there were gemstones in this mine?

         “Are you...are you seeing what I’m seeing, H?”

         “...I am, Cass.” He smirked despite himself, knowing the conflict on her face without looking. The two quickly zipped in the direction of the dogs, behind cover of another boulder.

         “And...are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

         “Hmhm...I don't know. Your leg’s still banged up, maybe we can try talking to them? Negotiating? Kind of getting sick of every encounter getting violent.”

         “Aren’t sea-dwellers like...all pompous pricks? Thought that’s what you said? C’mon, we need the money, and they have weapons!” The barking of the dogs and the sounds of some aggravated yells and whines escalated the feeling. “C’mon...Mutt and Other Mutt are gonna need us.”

         “Please, they aren’t touching our boys. Now, just listen to me for once and rest your freakin’ leg! I’ll take care of ‘em-”

         “Nah, not a chance.”

         She sighed. “...Yeah. I know...hehehe, well, don’t be too slow then.”

         Hyanna obligingly grinned, and in sync they raced over the stones towards the continued sounds of panicked shouts. Sure, they hadn’t found any ocean, but there were still thrills to be had. For better or for worse, they’d find a way.

[strwpup]

i don't think we're at the end of these characters stories even slightly, but how possibly could this end that won't be bigger than this solstice. like we have high level characters from both of the other main campaigns, it's the 8 year anniversary, there's a ton of cryptic shit happening to the twitter,

my crack theory is that they will lose and they will get split up and spat out in different places, dividing them into three seperate parties to run three seperate campaigns at the same time to give matt a little break and get a chance to show off other people's talent [maybe matt is even not one of the dms at all and that's how he had time for the d20 show 👀] because no single party can fix this alone

i refuse to believe they aren't planning anything with the opal/lolth/children of malice burrowing under the divine gate thing. we have to at least be getting an exu right

[everypigeondeserveslove]

will someone think of the children kill Trent Ikithon

[the-hearth-and-the-wild]

In the first shining moment he saw the whole strange-familiar world, glistening white; the roofs of the outbuildings mounded into square towers of snow, and beyond them all the fields and hedges buried, merged into one great flat expanse, unbroken white to the horizon’s brim.

Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising