#oliver starfell

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Anyway, I wrote for all of four whumptober prompts this year and forgot to post all of them so I guess I might as well post them now.

Here's one from The SOS Chronicles book one, Mayday, using prompts from day 2: I’ll call our your name but you won’t call back, and day 16: Don’t go where I can’t follow. Takes place at the end of the book when Oliver returns to the slave compound to free his friends Cassie and Silas with help from the crew of The Catacrome:

“You came back,” Cassie breathed. “I knew you’d come back. Mama never thought you would but I knew.” “I’m s-so sorry it took so l-long,” said Oliver. “I d-didn’t mean to take so l-long.” "Well you’re back now,” said Cassie, pulling back. She looked him up and down. “I think you’re taller. Did you find people to help you?”

Oliver smiled a little and nodded. “R-really n-nice people. W-with a spaceship.” Cassie beamed at him. “I knew it. I told everyone, I told them you’d come back, me and Silas, we knew-”

Oliver felt his heart skip. “W-where is S-Silas?”

Cassie froze and stared at him with wide eyes. She looked down. “I took care of him like you would’ve.”

His heart roared in his ears. “I-i-is h-he… d-dead?”

Cassie looked up at him quickly. “N-no, but he’s, he’s not,” she swallowed, and Oliver saw tears gathering in her eyes. “He’s dying, Oliver.”

His breath caught. “W-w-where-?”

She took his hand and led him to a spot on the floor where a single, precious blanket was wrapped around a still form. Oliver could just see Silas’ mop of black hair sticking out one end.

Tears dripped from his eyes and his hands shook as he knelt down and pulled the blanket back from Silas’ face.

Silas was white and still. The little breath he had was shaky and uneven, but it was there, and he had dark, deep circles under his eyes. Oliver pressed his quivering hand to his friend’s cold cheek and tried to think of something to say, anything.

“P-please d-don’t go,” he breathed in the softest whisper.

And then Silas’ eyelids fluttered and Oliver’s breath caught as his friend’s soft, gray eyes stared blearily at him.

Silas’ mouth formed into a small frown. “O-Oliver?”

“Silas,” Oliver sobbed. “I-I-” “You came back,” Silas breathed, his voice as faint as morning mist. “I-I’m s-s-so s-sorry S-Silas. I t-tried, I t-tried-”

“You came back.”

Oliver blinked back his tears and met Silas’ eyes. His friend’s face was filled with wonder, and even as Oliver watched a small smile grew on Silas’ lips.

“I k-knew, I k-knew you w-would,” Silas weakly lifted his hand and Oliver grabbed it, squeezing gently.

“Y-you c-can’t d-die, S-S-Silas,” Oliver sobbed. “I c-came b-back for y-you.” “Just like you said,” Silas grinned. “I c-came to s-save y-you!” Oliver reached out and lifted Silas up, cradling his friend in his arms. He could feel Silas’ ribs poking him as he pulled his friend close. His whole body shook as he pressed their foreheads together.

“Y-you c-can’t d-die.” “I’m glad you’re s-safe,” Silas whispered. “We’re not dead r-right?” “N-no…” “Then you did s-save me,” said Silas, resting his head against Oliver’s chest. “Y-you’re n-not gonna d-die, I p-promised-”

“He will die.”

Oliver flinched at the familiar voice. He looked up and saw Cassie’s mother, Esthe, sitting nearby, watching them with cold, hard eyes and a grimly satisfied expression.

“I told you he would die, whether you left or not,” she continued. “And it’s as I said. You’ve returned just in time to say goodbye. So I’d suggest you do before it’s too late for that as well.”

Oliver shook his head violently and hugged Silas closer. “H-he c-can’t d-die.” “There’s nothing you can do to stop it,” said Esthe. “Accept it. Apparently you’ve done well wherever you’ve been. Be grateful for that and accept the facts. Silas is on death’s door, he can’t be saved.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.”

Captain Dora strode forward and knelt beside him. “Let me see him Oliver,” she said softly.

Oliver carefully laid Silas’s head across his lap and watched hopefully as Dora examined him, running her hands over his frail body.

“Who’s that?” Cassie asked. “C-Captain D-Dora,” Oliver whispered. “S-she’s a p-pirate.” “A pirate?!” Cassie squeaked. She shook Silas gently. “Silas! The lady Oliver brought is a pirate! Didn’t I say he’d find pirates?!”

Silas opened his eyes again and looked up at Dora. “Huh. Y-you were r-right Cassie.”

“Pirate or not, the boy is still dying,” said Esthe. “Even pirates cannot stop death.” “Maybe not, but there’s no one better at cheating it,” said Dora. “And this boy isn’t going to die.”

[twistedgardens]

OC: Atalanta Hero

(Due to my lack of art skills, I will using moodboards to give the general aesthetic of a character)

I have an idea for a fic but I want to save that for a later date. I'm going to be posting the OCs I have in mind to use, so I'm dumping my ideas here and saving them for later when I actually start writing it. All OCs and characters from the source material will be aged up because I don't like writing about teenagers in any capacity (don't like, don't read).

Name: Atalanta Hero (based on Hercules from the movie and Greek mythology)

Age: 20

Hometown: Delphalos Island

Parents: Damian and Rhoda (adopted); Basileus Olympia (bio dad), mother?

Siblings: About a dozen half siblings from her bio dad

Mentor: Philippa Faunus (based on Phil from Hercules)

Education

School: Starfell University of Arcana and Herbology; previously Olympia Community Tech

Major: Bachelors in Monstrology (the study of monsters, identification and slaying)

Minor: Heroics

Dorm: Doxadomeni ("glory-given")

Position: Dorm Leader

Teams and Extra Curriculum: Spelldrive team captain, track team captain, wrestling team vice captain

Favorite Class: Heroics

Least Favorite Class: History, science, math

Personality

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Accessory: the leather headband her mom made

Favorite Food: baklava, candy and junk food in general

Least Favorite Food: Kale

Favorite Animal: Literally all of them except snakes

Hobbies: Swimming, surfing, video games, yoga, fishing, charity, helping people, working on her car, skateboarding

Likes: surfing, cars, dogs, broom-riding, video games

Dislikes: doing math/science homework, sand in shorts, having her pictures taken without her permission, her bio dad, clams

Strengths: amiable, compassionate, kind, helpful, courteous, brave, friendly, honest, generous, optimistic, passionate about her, moxie, determined, adventurous, polite, modest

Weaknesses: absent-minded, one track mind, gluttonous, clumsy, forgets her own strength, stubborn, bottles things up, easily riled up, oblivious at times, daydreamer, distractable, people pleaser, idealistic, overconfident, childish, naive, accident prone, reckless

She would also be described as competitive, but it falls under both positive and negative aspects.

Probably has ADHD

I imagine her having a southern California accent, or at least uses a lot of So. Cal and surfer lingo

Physical Appearance

Height: 6'3

Weight: 200

Build: Athletic

Hair

Color: Strawberry blonde

Length: Roughly shoulder length when let down

Texture: Wavy

Eyes: Amber

Skin Color: Tanned olive tone skin (very Mediterranean)

Notable Features: A straight nose (Greek, we would say), slightly fringed bangs, crooked nose (it's been broken a couple times)

Magic

Atalanta has supernatural strength and speed thanks to her powerful birth father. That does not mean she has perfect control of it. Atalanta has a habit of accidentally breaking things due to her inability to fully calculate how much force to use in day to day life. It's taken her several years just to get better control of her super strength, and still has a few accidents a weak. Those around her often have to beg her not to help just to prevent potential accidents.

Atalanta channels her magic through a short sword, like this one, instead of a pen.

Unique Magic: I Need A Hero

Atalanta's unique magic allows her to gain a boost when she's doing something heroic. She becomes more in control of her strength and is able to perform super human feats for a short period of time. Along with the power boost, Atalanta's physical body takes on a golden glow like a demi-god.

Weaknesses: Atalanta's magic has to be constantly monitored and relies on her physical ability. In other words, Atalanta has to work out every day or her magic will consume her, resulting in an overblot. Anger is a serious trigger that can lead to overblot if she's not careful. Use of her unique magic lasts for a very short period of time, about 5 to 10 minutes. The more often she has exercised prior to use, the longer it lasts. The less activity, the stronger the likelihood her magic will consume her and result in overblot. In the best case scenario, Atalanta can overexert herself right before overblot is about take over and pass out before becoming a danger.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Drawing SOS Chronicles things again

The first time Oliver meets Almitak in "person", things get a little tense. After all, you can't transfer your soul into the body of a willing victim child without some drama.

(Silas and Silvie in the background are not having fun watching their friend get possessed)

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Random SOS Chronicles snippet from book 1, Mayday: when you’re only 8-years-old and terrified, hiding in the vents from aliens but the kids following you are even younger and you’re an escaped slave, so you have to be the adult.

           Oliver looked around. The place they’d landed was bigger than any they’d been in so far- big enough that they could stand up in it. He stared at the floor for a moment, then spied a hatch.

           “We can see where we are,” he said as he tugged on the lock bar. Nix wordlessly came over and helped him pull it back. The hatch whooshed open and the boys peeked through.

           “I think we’re one level above the cargo bay,” said Nix. “I only came down here once but they keep the brig cells down here. Not that we ever have any prisoners.” Nix sounded disappointed.

           Oliver shuddered then took a deep breath, ignoring how tight his chest felt. “Are there stairs or an elevator down to the cargo bay?”            “Yeah, both, I think, but they’re in the middle of the hallway. If anybody’s down there they’ll see us.”

           Oliver weighed the risk in his head. Going down another level in the vents would mean more falling- maybe straight down this time, which wouldn’t be good- but if the attackers saw them they’d almost certainly be captured.

           “I’ll go down and see if anyone’s around,” he said finally.            “What?!” Nix stared at him like he was insane. “If they catch you they’ll kill you like they did to Miss Tina!”

           Fae whimpered. Oliver frowned and shook his head.

           “I told you, I don’t think they killed her. It’ll be okay. If you hear someone chasing me go the rest of the way in the vents- but be careful in case there are any more drops.”

           He jumped when Nix grabbed him, staring at him with fire in his eyes and a voice that wavered. “If you go, who’s gonna look after us?”

           Oliver blinked, surprised to see Nix’s fear, to see the tears in the other boy’s eyes, to hear his words and feel that Nix meant them. He had forgotten that Nix was two years younger than him, it was easy to forget, since Nix was as tall as he was and always acted like he knew what he was doing. But Nix was younger than Cassie, and Cassie got scared sometimes, even though she was much braver than Oliver. Oliver got scared too. He was almost always scared.

           What did Silas tell him when he was scared?

           Oliver lifted his hands and set them on Nix’s shoulders, looking into the other boy’s eyes. “Being scared isn’t something you can change. All you can do is keep going till you get past the fear and you can see the stars or the sun shining again.”

           Nix stared at him. “What?”

           “You have to keep being brave,” said Oliver. “Even if I’m not around to remind you, okay?”            “Until we can look out a window at the stars?” said Fae. “Because if we can look out a window the bad guys must be gone, right?”            Oliver nodded. “Right.”            “If you go,” said Nix, his voice still shaking a little. “Am I in charge?”

           Oliver tilted his head and shrugged. “I don’t think it matters who’s in charge as long as everybody works together.”

           Strangely enough, Nix seemed to relax. “Okay,” he said. “Fine. But be careful, okay?”            “I will,” said Oliver. He looked out the opening at the floor far below and winced.

           He looked back up at Nix and Fae and tried to smile. “C-could, can you guys help me down please?”

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Oliver: w-who is it? w-what are you doing in m-my house? what are you d-doing in my h-house?

Almitak: I want waffle fries

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Things the kiddos in my sci-fi story The SOS Chronicles are good at:

Silas: Navigation and map-making. When they encounter a bizarre nebulous maze of anomalies Silas is the only person able to navigate them through it. At age ten. He’s good at flying shuttles and could easily learn to fly the entire ship if he wanted, but he’d rather make maps of the stars and planets they visit. He also tends to be the voice of reason in his group of friends, with minimal effectiveness.

Cassie: Technology. She loves tearing things apart to see how they work and rewiring them to do something completely different. Which is very helpful when your enemies have giant mecha droids. She’s also an eternal optimist (she learned to be one to combat her mother’s intense pessimism and morbid takes on life) and has far more energy than anyone has the right to possess.

Silvie: Fighting and sensing danger. Being an Aguithan, Silvie has incredible senses of smell and hearing which is useful for avoiding capture on her home planet. Though she’s small she is a fierce and ruthless fighter, a skill she developed to survive on her own for four years after her mother died. She will fight you first and ask questions later. She’s also incredibly good at climbing, as most Aguithans are. She is very blunt and tells things as they are- good or bad.

Oliver: Magic, hope, friendship and forgiveness. Oliver, as of book 3, is bonded to a space dragon named Almitak, and together they must learn to work together to master Almitak’s immense magical power. Oliver becomes terrifyingly proficient at this- able to stop blasts from a laser meant to destroy a planet and even travel in time. He is also incapable of holding a grudge and prefers to make friends with his former enemies/antagonists- in fact, this is how he befriends Almitak. He has a deep well of hope that allows him to keep going, and help others to, even in the darkest points of his, and his friend’s lives. His kind heart and loving nature might just save the universe.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Behind every scared, beat up little boy there is a ghostly space dragon ready to destroy you for laying a finger on him.

... or at least behind this little boy there is.

I wanted to draw beat up little Oliver and I’ve had this image of Almitak standing behind him like a vengeful guardian angel in my head for a while so it seemed the perfect time to combine the two. Just don’t look too closely at Almitak’s horns I’m exhausted and still kind of sick and I didn’t have it in me to figure them out.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

*spontaneously posts about her sci-fi series*

Bad habits the SOS Chronicles kiddos have as a result of their pasts: food.

Oliver, Silas and Silvie will eat anything. Literally, in Silvie’s case. Oliver and Silas are a little better but not much.

Silvie can and has, eaten garbage. Like, actual pieces of garbage. Paper bags that smelled like they might have once had food in them and such. When the boys are on Aguitha she can tell them which plants are poisonous, except she doesn’t know the word “poisonous” she just knows, “yeah, that plant is bad it made me sick for a week.” “oh yeah and that one made me lose feeling in half my body for four days.” “oh that one’s not so bad, it only made me sick for a day or two.”

Oliver and Silas are a little better, but only because they had someone to tell them the difference between edible and non-edible items. They will eat moldy food without question- they didn’t even know what mold was until they came on board the Catacrome. “Wait, that fuzzy stuff on food is bad? It was on all our food at the slave compound.”

Nancy, their adoptive mother, has a hard time correcting these behaviors because she’s had similar issues in her past. Like, obviously she tells the kids not to eat actual garbage and moldy food, but if it’s been in the fridge a week and it smells kind of weird but no fuzzy stuff? Probably fine. It’s not that she doesn’t know that this stuff is bad, she just doesn’t always think about it.

Almitak, the space dragon sharing headspace with Oliver, is no help because he doesn’t understand human food until months after he starts getting his memories back.

Andy James is the only one who knows anything about what food is healthy. And thank goodness for that because everyone else is a mess.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Things the SOS Chronicles kiddos are bad at:

Silvie: Communication. The combination of being autistic and living on her own for four years after her mother died when she was 5 means that she has no idea how to talk to people. She comes off as very abrasive, uncaring, and downright rude. She is, as I mentioned in the strengths post, extremely blunt. Which is a strength and a weakness depending on the situation. Because, well, telling soldiers she’s fighting with “we’re surrounded and heavily outgunned” is important strategic information, but telling it to a cave of refugees is... not necessarily good. And Silvie has no idea how to tell when relaying this information is appropriate or not or how to soften it for a particular audience.

Silas: Physically, Silas is pretty fragile. He gets better the longer he’s on The Catacrome, but the effects of his early childhood where he never had enough nutrition, was forced to work long and oppressive hours, and was frequently ill, have taken their toll. If there is an illness to be caught on an alien world Silas will probably get it. He’s not very strong either, and he’s terrible at fighting. Generally, he dislikes weapons, especially the laser guns that are the standard weapon of the universe. Unfortunately he doesn’t have the physical strength to wield a non-lethal weapon like a staff.

Cassie: She has a terrible time focusing on things she doesn’t want to do. I think she's probably ADHD. She tends not to explain what she’s doing or ask for permission, preferring to just do the thing if she can, which gets her into trouble if whatever she’s trying to do goes badly or if she was really not supposed to be doing it. She gets into a lot of unintentional mischief.

Oliver: Magic, defending himself, and fighting. Oliver starts off not being able to control Almitak’s magic at all and instead being controlled by it. Thus he develops a fear of it and a reluctance to use it. He has no skill at traditional fighting, partially because he has no desire to hurt people. If he could, he would befriend everyone in the universe, but, unfortunately, not everyone wants to be his friend. He will let himself get beat up without ever fighting back and has a hard time standing up for himself.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

And in other SOS Chronicles news, I think I'm going to change Oliver and fam's last name from "Starfell" to "Starchaser".

Why, you ask? Well, because the family's last name comes from Dora, who is based off my beloved cat and therefore appears in some form or fashion in all my books. In The Restoration Saga, Dora as a kitten is partially raised by/adopted by two dogs and a pair of mini horses along with her siblings after their mother goes missing. And the name of one of the mini horses is Starchaser. And that's a pretty awesome last name for a space pirate and her adopted family.

So then I ask you; why wouldn't I make this little connection between my book serieses?

So yeah, for anyone who cares, Oliver and his family will now have the last name Starchaser.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Whumptober day 3! Hopefully I tag this right because it’s an alt prompt. Featuring Silvie!

Protect Protect Protect

           Silvie sat perched in the branches of a tree outside the rebel hideout she and Oliver and Silas were visiting. Her keen yellow eyes saw everyone who entered and left the dark hole at the base of a massive tree stump, one that made the tree she sat in now look like a twig. She could smell their scents too, the boys’ familiar ones mingling with new scents of the Aguithans who were hiding there. If she listened she could hear their faint voices, though she couldn’t make out the words.

           The boys were making plans. Silvie was keeping watch. She didn’t like being around new people. Even other Aguithans made her nervous; she had been on the wrong end of their claws and teeth too many times for them to seem friendly. Not yet, anyway, maybe it would change someday (Oliver said it would).

           A new scent reached her nose and she tensed. Blood. At the same moment the voices in the cave rose and grew harsh. Her tail flicked, and she sprang out of the tree, twenty feet to the ground below. She ran to the mouth of the cave and crouched there, ears strained to hear.

           “Stop it, leave him alone!” Silas’s voice sounded scared and strained, like someone was holding him back.            “Look kid, you’re strangers here, we have to see if the rumors are true. If your friend really has all that power inside him it shouldn’t be too hard for him to give us a glimpse. Then we’ll believe you.”

           A growl rose in Silvie’s throat, and her hackles rose. Idiots! They didn’t understand! Oliver would get hurt if he used Almitak’s power, they hadn’t mastered it yet. But he wanted to help, Oliver always wanted to help, so he came anyway and now-

           She heard a cry and Silas screaming and smelled more blood.

           She saw red.

           A roar tore from her throat and Silvie ran forward, launching herself at the nearest Aguithan scent. She couldn’t see, but she felt fur and flesh tear as she ripped her claws across them. The Aguithan screamed. She didn’t wait. She launched herself at the next scent and sliced her claws through it too.

           The mist over her eyes cleared, and she saw her friends. Silas was restrained to one side by a large Aguithan with gray fur and an ugly scar on his face. In the center of the room was Oliver, his eyes consumed with light, terror covering his face, as he was held between two other Aguithans. One held a knife with blood on it.

           All this she saw in a frozen moment. She snarled, and sprang at the nearer Aguithan holding Oliver. She ripped her claws through his shoulder and ears, then pushed off him and slammed into the second. Oliver fell from their grasp and crumpled on the floor.

           Silvie looked up from the gashes she’d torn on the other Aguithan’s chest. Her claws dripped blood and her eyes were wild.

           “They are under my protection,” she snarled. “And they don’t have to show you anything.”

           The Aguithans stared at her, all of them but the one holding Silas sporting wounds from her claws. They were not half as bad as the ones she’d received when she was littler. They would heal.

           The Aguithan holding Silas let him go and he ran to her, froze for just a second, then bent over Oliver, who was crying. Silvie looked down at her friend and saw the cuts on his arm and chest. They hadn’t even taken his jacket off, and now it was torn. Oliver loved his jacket.

           Silvie’s eyes met the gray Aguithan’s. “I should kill you.”            He stared back at her, uncertain, then smiled a smile full of teeth. “I think you would, even though you’re just a kitten.”            “We don’t want your help,” she snapped.            “I-it’s okay, Silvie, I’m okay,” came Oliver’s shaking voice, and she turned to him, eyes softening.

           “I won’t kill them,” she told him, calmly. “But I should.”            “If your power is half as much as that girl’s,” said the gray Aguithan, pointing to Silvie. “Then we’ll fight with you.”            Silvie scoffed. “Not very good fighters if you can’t even stop me.”            He shrugged. “Or maybe you’re just a good protector.”

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Alright, I said I’d try and make a character introduction post for The SOS Chronicles because I’ll be posting whumptober stuff from it so here we go:

Main characters:

Oliver- an 8-12 year old boy who in the first book escapes slavery in order to find help to rescue his best friend Silas. He becomes a member of the crew of the spaceship Catacrome and spends the rest of the series trying to free every enslaved person he meets so no one has to suffer like he did. He is gentle and kind, but also very brave and determined when he sets his mind to something. Loyal and self-sacrificing to a fault. He has light orange hair and brown eyes and is well below average height after being kept as a slave for eight years.

Silas- a 9-13 year old boy who is Oliver’s oldest and best friend. An extremely skilled natural navigator, Silas is one of the only people in the galaxy who can navigate The Net, a mass of anomalies, portals and magic that is particularly dense over one specific point... he is also one of the only people who can get through to Oliver when he is taken over by Almitak’s powers. He is anxious and often fights bouts of hopelessness and depression, but his love for his friends can bring him out of this darkness. He is taller than Oliver, but still small and skinny, with black hair and gray eyes.

Silvie- a 10-12 year old Aguithan girl that the boys find and befriend after accidentally discovering her planet (Aguitha). While not a slave, she lives in constant fear of the Enforcers who patrol her planet- but you wouldn’t know it. She has lived on her own since she was 5-6, and deals with prejudice from her own people for her strange autistic behavior. She is fierce and easily angered, slow to trust and quick to bite (literally). However it doesn’t take long before she’s willing to fight and die for her new friends, and once earned her loyalty is unyielding. She is small and slight, with brown hair and fur on her face, arms and torso, which gives way to scales on her legs, feet, and lizard-like tail which has a tuft of fur on the end of it. She has catlike yellow eyes, sharp claws and pointed teeth.

Almitak- a 3000+ year old Space Dragon who has been imprisoned and being used as a weapon on Aguitha. He does not remember who he is, only his name and that he hates the Aguithans for trapping him. After he meets Oliver and Oliver offers to help him, he transfers his soul and conciousness (and immense power) into the small boy so that they now share one mind and body. When Almitak first meets Oliver his only form is a black sphere surrounded by waving blue, gold and purple tendrils, but as he remembers who he is he recovers his humanoid form and, eventually, his dragon form. In humanoid form he has blue, scaly skin that shimmers purple, and yellow hair on his head and arms. He has also a long tail and can manifest wings if he so desires, and his eyes are purple. In dragon form he has a body like a Chinese dragon; long and sinous, but with legs and wings. He has almost limitless magical powers.

Algol- the Villain. Another Space Dragon and the current leader of Aguitha. He believes that by conquering the universe he can bring peace and order to it, as he believes he has done on Aguitha. He also happens to love and crave power, and despite already being one of the most powerful creatures in the universe he is always trying to find ways to make himself stronger. He is manipulative and analytical. His colors as a humanoid and a dragon are red, gold and black.

Other important characters:

Nancy Starfell- the 20-something captain of The Catacrome who adopts Oliver, Silas and Silvie as she finds them. She can be very fierce and determined and she is extremely capable after being raised by a former space pirate. She loves her crew and her children fiercely and she would do anything for them.

Andy James Danson- The Catacrome’s first mate and Nancy’s childhood best friend. He and Nancy are deeply in love with each other and both of them don’t know how to admit it. Friendly and easygoing unless you threaten someone he cares about.

Cassieopeia (Cassie) Storm- Oliver and Silas’ optimistic friend from the slave compound they grew up in who joins them on their adventures on The Catacrome. She’s a year younger than Oliver.

Milo- the cadet who rescues Oliver and then befriends him and either helps with or inadvertently causes several other adventures. Cheerful, carefree, and a prankster by nature. He has dark orange hair and green eyes and is four years older than Oliver.

Dora Starfell- a former space pirate and Nancy’s adoptive mother. She is 75-80 when the series begins, but you’d never know it from watching her. She is the most successful pirate of her age and was never once caught or had enough evidence gathered to convict her of piracy. She now works at the Space Academy on Earth training cadets. She is terrifying, kind, and utterly unflappable. She has long wavy brown hair streaked with gray and green eyes speckled with brown.

Esthe Storm- Cassie’s mother who raised Oliver and Silas alongsid her daughter in the slave compound. Extremely jaded and pessimistic about everything in her life.

Luna and Sirius- twin siblings who can shapeshift into kittens who Oliver meets while captured by EUNAP (the space government, think the Federation in Star Trek but infinitely sketchier). Luna is cheerful and friendly and has long white and gray fluffy hair as a human and kitten, while Sirius is shy and reserved and has sleek black hair as both a human and kitten.

I think that’s it, but if I think of more I’ll add them in!

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Whumptober day 4! Ft. Oliver when he’s captured by EUNAP (the space government)

Disoriented

           Oliver felt someone gently shaking him awake and winced as the motion jarred his injuries. He curled tighter into himself and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn’t morning yet, there was no sunlight through the cracks in the shed walls.

           “Oliver! Oliver wake up!”

           The voice wasn’t quite familiar and the shaking got worse. Oliver whimpered as the movement sent searing pain through his chest and sides. Tears formed in his eyes. Where was Silas? Why didn’t he tell whoever it was to stop and leave him alone?

           Had the guards beaten him? Or- oh, right, he had fallen off the wall trying to make sure he could climb to the top of it. Cassie’s mother said he had broken his ribs.

           “Leave him alone, Luna,” said another unfamiliar voice. “I think you’re hurting him.”

           Oliver’s head started to pound in agreement. Jolts of pain made his breathing broken and his eyes squeeze shut even tighter. Breathing made his chest hurt more and- oh, oh stars he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe-

           In a panic he jerked up into a sitting position, trying to heave air into his burning chest. Instead, pain exploded all over his body and he screamed in fear and anguish. He was going to die, he was going to die and leave Silas all alone and-

           ‘Oliver.’

           He sobbed, but he knew the voice. It was soft and deep and soothing, and it calmed his white-hot terror.

           ‘Breathe, Oliver. I know it hurts, but breathe deep.’

           Oliver dragged air into his lungs. His breath sputtered and he doubled over as knives of pain stabbed through his chest. But he kept breathing, slowly, carefully, until his pain lessened into a throbbing ache.

           Oliver gave a hiccupping sob and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. He was in the big cell, with Luna and Sirius. Close by, they watched him, eyes wide.

           ‘I am sorry, little one,’ came Almitak’s voice in his mind. It sounded so sad and broken that Oliver wanted to hug him.            “Don’t be sorry,” he said softly aloud. In his mind, Almitak sighed.

           “Okay, I won’t be,” said Luna, kneeling down next to him. “You okay? They must’ve drugged you really good this time.”            Oliver sniffed, more tears dripping from his eyes. “I wish I still was.”            Sirius came over and sat on his other side, gently setting a hand on his back. “The pain will either go away or they’ll heal it before next time.”

           Oliver nodded, and as he did the pounding in his head worsened. He pressed his aching head into his hands as his tears redoubled and his broken body shook with painful silent sobs.

           He felt Sirius and Luna’s arms wrap gently around his shoulders, and in the mindscape he felt Almitak’s presence cover him like a blanket and cocoon him, easing his pain. Oliver found himself sitting in his mind wrapped in warm purple, blue and gold light.

           “Go to sleep, little one,” said Almitak. “I will sit up in your mind for a while.”            Oliver curled up in the light-blanket. “Okay, Tacky. Wake me up if you need a break.”

           Almitak gave a choked laugh and shook his head.            “I won’t.”

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Whumptober day 1

Alright, so, like last year I’ve written up some bits of my science fiction story, The SOS Chronicles, for whumptober. If I ever have time I’ll also post a story synopsis and character introductions for the series. Regardless, I hope you enjoy them!

Day One: A Little out of the Ordinary (ft. the human boy Oliver and Almitak the amnesiac space dragon sharing his mind)

           “T-Tacky?”

           Almitak groaned and pressed a hand to his head. It wasn’t fair that he could be in pain and not have a physical body. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Oliver, who sat across from him in the mindscape.

           His breath caught and panic jolted through him. The boy was covered in blood. Why was he covered in blood?! The magic they’d been trying had been so simple-

           He sprang up and rushed over, kneeling down and running his hands over Oliver. “What happened, where are you hurt?” he asked frantically.            “I-I d-don’t know,” Oliver said, his voice shaking with terror. “M-my chest h-hurts.”            Almitak pulled back the fabric of Oliver’s shirt and hissed as his eyes were met with a bloody gash. “No no no no, this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

           He pressed his hand over Oliver’s chest and directed a burst of healing magic through it. Immediately, Oliver’s breathing became less labored, and Almitak felt a shudder of relief.

           When he looked up at the boy’s face, however, Oliver was very pale, with dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted. Almitak’s panic rose again and he started searching for more injuries.

           “Where is it, where are you hurt?!” he hissed, more to himself than the boy.            “Tacky I-I’m not hurt, y-you healed me.”            “Then why are you so pale?! You look like death is about to take you!”            “W-we were practicing.”            “That doesn’t explain this-”            “Y-you said your m-magic would drain me.”

           Almitak froze. Slowly, he lifted his head and met Oliver’s eyes. The boy smiled at him, but there was pain in his expression. “I-I’ll be okay after I sleep, Tacky,” he promised.

           Almitak slumped and pulled himself away. He was such a fool. Why had he ever done this to a child? He had known his power couldn’t be contained in such a little body, so why had he…

           “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have thought of the adverse effect it would have on you.”            “I-it’s okay. I have to learn h-how to do it,” Oliver reached out and patted his hand. Almitak caught it and held it gently. Such a little hand, such a little boy.

           He looked into Oliver’s eyes and felt a deep sadness in his heart.

           How could he have done this? To this sweet, innocent, gentle little soul.

           “I’m sorry,” he said again, knowing it would never be enough.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

So I haven’t been posting my whumptober stories on the right days, but I only have two left so I’m just going to post them the next two days. This one features Oliver and Almitak when they’re captured by EUNAP (the space government) and being experimented on/tortured.

Day 21: You’re safe now. Take me instead

           Almitak stared at the small boy in the cell breathing unsteadily, like every breath hurt him. (they did, he had felt the boy’s pain, he could still feel it now if he focused on it.)

           He couldn’t let them keep doing this. Oliver was too afraid to use his power except to help others, that Almitak had seen when they helped the other children escape. But perhaps if he didn’t have to do anything but let go, if Almitak agreed to not even try and harm anyone…

           Oliver stirred, and Almitak’s amethyst eyes darted to him. He knelt down and sat beside Oliver, resting his hand on the boy’s shoulder, so that at least Oliver knew he wasn’t completely alone.

           “Tacky?” Oliver didn’t open his eyes, and his voice was cracked and tired.            “I am here,” he said softly, rubbing the boy’s shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing motion.            Oliver sighed. “I wanna go home.”

           Something in Almitak’s old heart cracked. He leaned down pressed his head gently against Oliver’s.

           “Let me take your place,” he said. “Please do not suffer this anymore.”            Oliver blinked and looked up at him, confusion in his brown eyes. “What?”            “Let me be conscious when they hurt you,” said Almitak, pulling back to look at the boy more easily. “I- I cannot heal you, it would be counterproductive, and I know you- I know we cannot yet access my full power. If we could I would bring this whole miserable place crashing to the ground,” Oliver’s eyes widened and Almitak continued quickly. “But I know you do not want that either. You are a strange boy, Oliver, to not wish vengeance on your enemies. But we are bound now, you and I, and I cannot call upon my power without your consent. But I can take your beatings and keep you safe, hide you deep in your own mind where you cannot be hurt. Let me, please.”

           “I-I don’t want them to hurt you,” said Oliver. “You’ve been hurt e-enough.”            “So have you,” Almitak countered. “I share your body now, Oliver. Let me share this too. Let me protect you, please. I cannot stand to see you suffer like this.”

           Oliver stared at him for a moment, then reached up his thin little arms. Almitak could recognize the gesture now, he had seen countless children do it, though he could not remember when. He scooped Oliver into his arms and held him close.

           “I don’t want you to get hurt,” said Oliver. “B-but I d-d-don’t want to d-do this anymore,” he buried his face in Almitak’s shirt. “I-if you w-want to I w-won’t s-stop you.”

           “Then I shall.” Almitak said, pressing a kiss to the top of Oliver’s head. “I shall.”

           The next day when they came for the boy, Almitak was the one in control of Oliver’s mind. Oliver was sleeping soundly deep in the mindscape, where no pain or horror would touch him.

           He was led to a room with a familiar table. He climbed onto it and allowed himself to be strapped down.

           (He could have torn the straps to bits and flung the table through the wall. He could have torn the scientists to pieces for what they’d done)

           (He did not.)

           They injected him with something. For a few moments there was nothing, then-

           Pain exploded in his limbs. He screamed, and felt Oliver’s throat grow hoarse as the poison wrapped around him, sending needles of pain through every vein in his borrowed body. He twisted in his bonds to no avail.

           (He could have broken out easily if…)

           The pain slowly faded and left him feeling weak and fragile, tears running down his face. His chest hurt when he breathed. It reminded him of another time when he was at a different tormentor’s mercy…

           Why had he agreed to this? To endure this agony?

           But then he saw Oliver in the mindscape, his face relaxed and peaceful for the first time in months.

           His resolved strengthened, and he took a deep breath, ignoring the tears in his chest and throat.

           He was doing it because he loved the boy. And for Oliver, he would endure a thousand tortures for a thousand more years.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Whumptober day 14 because, big surprise, I did forget to post it, rip.

This scene has Oliver, Almitak and Sirius and Luna the twin shapeshifters.

“I’ll be right behind you”

           Oliver’s chest heaved and his legs burned. He hadn’t run so hard and so fast since he escaped the slave compound, and he hurt even more now than he had then.

           But he couldn’t stop. Just like last time there were people counting on him, but this time they were running alongside him.

           Sirius gripped his hand tightly and Luna ran just a little ahead of them, their bare feet pounding on the hard floor while alarms blared around them. In his mind, Oliver could feel Almitak tense and ready in case of danger.

           Oliver wasn’t sure he could even do anything if they were attacked, but Luna and Sirius wanted him to come with them, they were sure he could help them. And he wanted to escape. Needed to escape. He had done it once before, he could do it again.

           Every time Oliver heard yelling Tacky re-routed them. Oliver didn’t know how his friend had the layout of the facility memorized, but that wasn’t important right now. Right now what was important was running and breathing and trying desperately not to trip over his own aching feet.

           Guards appeared in front of them, too fast for Tacky to give them an alternate route. Immediately, Luna shifted into a small, fluffy gray kitten and Sirius yanked him against the wall before following his sister and changing into a sleek black kitten.

           Oliver watched as Luna shifted back right in front of a guard, punching him in the throat before he could react. She grabbed the man’s gun as he started coughing and slammed it against his head.

           Just past her, Sirius executed a similar attack on the second guard, except he appeared behind this guard and kicked him in the back of the knee to bring him down. When both guards were down the twins beckoned for Oliver to follow them as they started to run again.

           Oliver took a breath and pushed off from the wall, almost falling to his knees. He gathered himself and followed them as fast as he could.

           They encountered no more guards. Oliver’s heart soared as Luna shot the controls for the main doors and they opened, revealing a green yard with a path through it and a space shuttle at the end of it.

           “Almost there!” Luna grinned breathlessly. She grabbed his hand and Sirius’ as they started to run again.

           Then, without warning, soldiers poured out of the shuttle, guns primed and ready.

           Oliver’s heart pounded and blood roared in his ears as his friends froze, pulling him to a stop. He looked over and saw horror on their faces, and fear.

           ‘More are coming. I-I’m sorry, Oliver, I didn’t, I couldn’t see them, my powers are so weak now, I-”

           It didn’t matter. Against so many there was nothing they could have done.

           Soldiers surrounded the three children, keeping a good distance, with their guns trained on the three small figures.

           And suddenly Oliver was taken back to another moment, just like this one, where he and his friends had been surrounded. A powerful, otherworldly force he didn’t understand had possessed him them and saved them in a terrifying act of self-preservation.

           Now, Oliver called that force Tacky, and they were friends, but Tacky couldn’t use his powers now. He had tried and said he couldn’t.

           Oliver could feel Almitak’s power bubbling just below the surface of his mind, held at bay by a force he didn’t understand. What could possibly stop Almitak’s power? Surely the scientists couldn’t do that…

           But with a sudden clarity as the soldiers moved closer, Oliver realized what could.

           Ever since the confrontation with the soldiers on Aguitha Oliver had been terrified of the power inside him, terrified of hurting people like that again- thoughtlessly, uncontrollably killing. He hadn’t been in control then, and Almitak had acted out of fear, but…

           But Oliver didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to go home.

           He looked at Luna and Sirius, clinging to each other, defiance and terror written across their faces in equal measure. They didn’t deserve this.

           Oliver took a deep breath. He had said he would help them escape. So he would.

           He reached deep inside himself and tugged on that vast expanse of power with shaking hands.

           ‘Protect them,’ he said to it. ‘Don’t kill anyone, just protect them.’

           The power responded, rising up and flooding through him, trying to sweep him away. But Oliver held on stubbornly, more afraid of what would happen if he let go than of what pain might come if he didn’t.

           A bubble of light engulfed him and Sirius and Luna, knocking the soldiers back.

           “Oliver?” Luna asked, her voice uncertain.            “Run,” Oliver whispered through gritted teeth. “Run!”

           And run they did, grabbing Oliver and dragging him along as they charged for the spaceship.

           Oliver tripped.

           He crashed to the ground, his hand flying out of Luna’s.

           He felt the power draining him, holding him down. If he let go he could run, but-

           Oliver lifted his head. Tacky was screaming in his mind, but he couldn’t hear the words. He looked up and saw Luna and Sirius at the edge of the spaceship ramp, facing off with the frozen soldiers.

           Oliver took a breath and lifted his hand.

           Light shot out from it and knocked the soldiers away like leaves. They tumbled to the side and left the way free for his friends, who ran to the door of the shuttle and stopped, looking back to him.

           “Oliver!” screamed Luna, starting back for him.

           Oliver shook his head. He couldn’t hold the soldiers back and run. He was already exhausted, his whole body shaking like he had a fever.

           “Run,” he whispered, moving the barrier to block his friends from coming to him. Luna ran stubbornly against it and Oliver saw the horror on her face when she realized what was stopping her.

           “NO!” she rammed against it, but Oliver held it fast. Sirius grabbed his sister’s hand and pulled her back.

           Oliver felt Tacky with him now- or maybe he had been there the whole time- and his hand flicked up.

           The ramp of the spaceship began to close on his friend’s panicked faces. Oliver heard engines start and wondered if Tacky had done it.

           The spaceship rose shakily into the sky and sped towards space.

           Oliver collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, eyes wet with tears.

           He had done it, Luna and Sirius would be safe.

           He heard Almitak talking to him, heard the soldiers yelling, felt someone grab him and shake him…

           And Oliver smiled. He had done it. He had helped his friends.

           And he hadn’t killed a single person.