Almost Drabbles

Roleplaying and Games
21

Pippin squeals, screeching with laughter as she jumps over the chair, and Wynn follows, his shirt pulled over his head in the impression of… something. The last time I was paying attention, I think I heard someone say he was ‘the monster under the bed.’
Absolute waste of time.
I tap the spoon idly on the ceramic, watching them mess around.
“Don’t do that.”
I glance up at Ren, who cuts neatly into his naan and eats it up.
I frown, just as Pippin barrels into me.
Time seems to slow as I glance at her.
“LUX, SAVE ME!” She’s laughing, hiding behind me and clutching onto my shirt as if her life actually depended on it.
Wynn’s smile wanes slightly when I look at him, and even Ren looks over.
I blink, once, twice— no, I should react now, or they’ll think something is wrong.
And nothing is wrong, just that I’m having a hard time pulling my lips up into a smile and even pretend to care about this stupid little game of tag of theirs.
I take a breath,
And I’m all smiles.
“Stay behind me, Pip, I’ll make sure to vanquish your monster for you,” I grin, pointing the spoon at Wynn. “He doesn’t even look that tough.”
Wynn tilts his head, looking at me as if asking for permission, and when I blink at him, no idea what he means, a faint smile graces his features, right before his chest fills my vision and we both fall, the chair toppling to the ground. And Wynn has me in a hold of some sort around my neck, ruffling my hair rather aggressively.
“What—“ before my reflexes kick in to being blatantly tackled to the floor, Wynn’s laughing.
“Not so tough, huh?” He chuckles, and I can hear Pippin laughing somewhere to my left.
Just a game.
Still part of the game.
I struggle to get out of his hold, taking shallow breaths before whatever emotions bubbling inside me can explode.
“That— That wasn’t fair,” I say, having a hard time keeping my voice light.
Can’t I just crack his jaw? It’d be much more satisfying than whatever this is.
“You talking about fair?” He says, laughing.
Hold on, I can’t attack him. Who knows how ugly that’ll end up.
I smile grimly, and grab his torso. He barely tenses before I heave him over my shoulder, dropping him on the carpeted floor and getting out of his grip in the same motion. His hands tangle in my jacket, though, and I fall beside him, grunting.
He has the audacity to be laughing, and I make a face as I sit up, looking around at the others, who seem to be sharing similar sentiments of amusement over whatever transpired just now.
This whole place reeks of stupidity, and as I pull on another smile, I can feel the idiocy starting to sink into me.

next!
pop

2 Likes
22

Kara took another breath and hit play. The nameless man in the video’s mouth mouth began moving, the sound of his saliva piercing through the screen and running down Kara’s insides.
Kara felt herself tense, the whistle of the man’s breath through his teeth, the forceful pop of his P, the dampness of his breath shaking her and pushing her into a posture of defense, her hands over her head as though warding off a blow.
She hit pause, breathing hard. All of her muscles were tense and her heart was racing as though she had to fight or flee.
Kara slammed her fists into her pillow, then held it to her face and screamed, not caring if the neighbors heard.
“I can’t do this, I can’t do this.” she said.

Next:
Brave

3 Likes
23

“So?” He repeats, and I take a breath, step back, let my eyes move over the others working diligently over their computers.
Traitors.
“I am asking you a question, Lux. I expect an answer.”
I grimace, look at the man holding my papers.
“I’m sorry.” I say, smiling as best as I can.
“And…?”
“And?” I repeat, feigning confusion.
He sighs, dropping the report into the trash. “I can’t do this with you today. Leave.”
Gladly.
I turn around—
“Do you think yourself brave, Lux?”
I pause, taking another breath as I plaster on a smile again, turning to look at him. “Sorry?”
He stands up, apparently taking this as cue to get into my personal space, stepping up to me until I can smell the ham sandwich he probably had for lunch on his breath, and count the individual hairs in his eyebrows.
“Acting stupid won’t get you far,” he breathes. “One of these days, your head is going to show up at our door on a silver platter. And I’ll be the one smiling.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir,” I say, taking a few steps back and doing a half salute. “Incredibly insightful advice. I’ll make it my new life motto.”
He growls, and maybe that wasn’t the appropriate response, so I make a show to check my pockets.
I pull out my phone and look over the blank screen. “Oh this is very important. I have to take this.” I look up at the manager apologetically- “Really sorry-“
I all but run out of there.

next!
nose

2 Likes
24

“It’s really blocked up in there. If you wouldn’t mind, Tiredlily…” Chomp said, his voice nasally.
“Certainly.” Tiredlily agreed, leaping easily down from her friend’s massive golden back and approaching his nose.
She matter-of-factly stuck her fingers into his nostrils and dug out great mounds of partly dry snot, tossing them into the stream until she couldn’t feel anything else in his nose. Then she stuck her hands in the stream and washed them thoroughly.
“So do you think this cold is going to get worse?” she asked.
“Thank you. No, they usually last a few days then end.”
Tiredlily nodded, leaping back onto his back.
“Do we need to put off seeing the other dragons? I was curious about them…” Tiredlily said as Chomp got to his feet.
“Unfortunately, yes. They’d kill me if I gave them my cold.” Chomp laughed, leaping up and being his powerful wings, rising straight up above the forest.
The land spread out below them, further and further below them. Tiredlily never got tired of that sight or the amazing feeling of soaring through the air.

Next: Shock

2 Likes
25

“I’m shocked you came back.” Dora said.
“Well, I can hold my breath for a while.” her friend said, emerging from the pool with water dripping from her clothes in waterfalls.
“And the killer mermaids?” Dora asked.
Brianna waved a hand.
“No problem. Easy peasy.”
“Okay.” Dora said, staring flatly at her.
Brianna stared back easily.
“And the kraken, and the unfriendly water dragons, and the poisonous killer fish, and the deadly chemical leak?”
“Long story. Easy peasy.” Brianna said. “Man, I could really use a bite to eat.”

Next: young

2 Likes
26

And the kraken, and the unfriendly water dragons, and the poisonous killer fish, and the deadly chemical leak?
:joy:

Nidhii leans against the rotting wooden structure, listening to the chittering around her.
The woods are quiet today, for once.
She straightens, slowly circling the small cabin, trailing her hands through the tall grass. The sharp, wet blades slap against the skin, her steps are muffled by the dead undergrowth at her feet.
There was a time when the scent of this place, of this old, dewy grass, of the static water, of a spring just passed and never returned, would’ve set her heart jolting and her hands shaking.
She runs her eyes over the landscape, still much too familiar to her. Memories. There were so many memories made here, ones she would come to remember. Her throat is dry, and she cannot swallow. She dared not speak yet. One day, she’d be able to do that, too.
She comes to resume her position at the cabin wall, leaning against it as she closes her eyes, listening again for that voice, for the one she remembers still from when she was young.

next!
sparkle

1 Like
27

Crystal bounced into the meeting, three minutes late.
The other girls in the Gem Squad raised their eyebrows, but accepted that she was here now.
“Jade’s not here again?” Crystal asked.
Diamond shook her head, the red crystals floating around her swirling irritably.
“Well, I’m sure she’s just busy with something.” Crystal said, trying to calm the agitated energy in the group.
“Busy? I honestly think she’s off having fun.” Quartz scoffed. "You’ve seen how disinterested she was last few times she came here.
If Crystal was being honest with herself, she hated the group. She stuck with them because it was her duty to do the best job with the power she’d been given, and the Gem Squad was stronger together.
The rest of the girls were so spiteful and petty. Crystal felt she was absorbing toxicity just by being there.

Torian rubbed his pointer finger over the green gem embedded in his chest. It was a reminder of a job he was ignoring.
This magical gem had just started growing there one day, and with it grew the power to turn into the magical girl Jade.
Torian hated it. He hated the insane, godlike power and the randomness of it, never knowing if he’d be reprimanding petty criminals or fighting demigods.
And why him?
Even after asking the other magical girls, he had no answer. They’d all randomly grown their gem. There was no common thread in bloodline, achievement, mindset, anything.
If anything the common thread seemed to be that they were incredibly mean spirited.
Torian sighed. He hoped he wasn’t actually like that.
Then there was Crystal. She was always trying to appease everyone, too weak willed to leave, Torian supposed.
Anyway, Jade wasn’t rejoining the Gem Squad. None of them knew her true identity, since anonymity was the one thing everyone in the superpowered group could count on.
The Gem Squad would do their job just as well without him, and besides, he wasn’t even sure they were helping anyone with their efforts.
“If they turn to the dark side themselves, I’ll go stop them if Crystal doesn’t.” Torian said, the fading light from the window casting his bedroom into darkness.
He lay back on his bed, enjoying his free time.

Next:
Fool

2 Likes
28

Torian walked to school humming a tune. The trees seemed greener than ever and he felt almost optimistic about life.
There was something empowering about putting his foot down and cutting off the friends that weren’t doing him good, he reflected. After leaving the Gem Squad he’d broken it off with a few school friends.
It was like after having done it once the action was familiar and easy.
Suddenly he felt an arm around his neck and claws prickling his face.
“Foolish human. You never look where you’re going.” the demon whispered, licking its lips.
Torian looked around, quickly realizing there was nobody around.
“There’s nobody around.” the demon repeated, opening its mouth.
“You’re the fool.” Torian said, transforming in a burst of tiny floating gems that threw the demon off of him.
The rocks returned to orbit around a green haired girl in an intricately floofy green dress.
Torian had never really bothered to look at Jade’s costume. The important thing was the power she had.
He raised a hand and pointed at the demon, who exploded into a mess of blood.
Torian shivered. The power was chilling. Any of the Gem Squad could teleport, turn invisible, or kill anyone without similar superpowers by simply pointing at them.
The green gems floating around Jade returned to her and Torian walked quickly, wanting to be away from the street before anyone found the demon’s remains.

Next:
Brain

2 Likes
29

“Brainssss…” says a zombie, lunging at me.
I move out of the way, sure someone is going to chase it down in a moment.
Sure enough, a girl in a lab coat appears behind it in a cloud of blue particles and stabs a needle into the zombie’s back. It collapses.
Without seeming to really see me, the girl points a gun at me and shoots.
Nothing happens, but she dissappears along with the zombie.
Covering a yawn, I keep walking.
I know what the gun was supposed to do- it was supposed to erase my memory. Whatever secret scientific group she’s from, the public doesn’t know about it.
There are more groups like that, magical, scientific, and whatever else, than I care to count. Hardly any of them know about each other due to their memory erasure technology and magics. However, none of their it works on me.
I happen to be at the center of a number of prophecies and predictions. According to my mother, many strange people showed up at my naming party to tamper with my brain.
And this is the result. I have to deal with knowing about all these crazy dangers to the world, but I’ve always been careful to avoid getting involved in anything. Saving the world from one threat is enough stress for anybody, taking on multiple world ending threats weekly would just be too much trouble.
I don’t know about all those prophecies or predictions. Nobody has convinced me to join their cause yet, and I intend to keep it that way unless there’s really something in it for me.

Next:
Feel

2 Likes
30

I stand in an empty hallway. In the distance the sound of a bell rings over and over again.
I quietly ask,
“How did I get here?”
It feels as if the sky is in another dimension, as if there’s no way out of these claustrophobia inducing halls.
There’s an exit sign ahead. I follow it to a door that I somehow know is locked.
I knock on the door and the sound empties into the yellowish halls behind me, pressing in on me from both sides.
I turn back to where the door was only to find a blank wall.
I pound my fists on it but the sound only emphasizes how close the walls are. I dash down the hall and it continues endlessly, featureless, close, closer to me…

Next:
Triumph

2 Likes
31

:0 is the magic girls one a new story you’re working on? It’s so interesting! I remember you mentioned the world ending every week one, but that one’s new XD

:0 the last one is a nightmare
.
Nimur lunges when the other one is distracted, a valiant chirp escaping his lips, as he plunges the fallen knife into the alien’s side.
Their companion turns now, eyes widening, and Nimur crouches, tensing the muscles in his back legs, and leaps. His snarl falters when the new height gives him a glimpse of the rest of the ship, where he can see his crew fighting for their lives-- and seemed to be losing. Then he slams into the wooden mast that he’d aim for, scrambling to dig the claws of his nails into the wood as he begins to climb, ignoring the cries below him.
Every curse he’s ever learned over the five decades of this long, long, life falls from his lips in a steady torrent, and he flinches, almost losing his grip when a sudden bullet embeds itself a bit above his head.
He keeps climbing, and leaps onto the upperdeck, landing with a hissing yowl as he wipes the sweat from his eyes and gives the retreating cry.
His crew, if they heard, continue to fight tooth and nail as Nimur looks over the edge of the ship, to his own, which waited, floating gently off to the side-- too far to jump.
A sudden blow to the back of his neck catches him offguard-- he’d heard no one approach-- and he drops to the ground and launches himself away, turning to give the goon who’d gotten him a kick to the face in the same movement.
“Don’t get cocky,” he mutters, as he hits the deck and gets back to his feet. He looks again, back at his crew, and so much anger courses through him at the Nightingale’s apparent triumph over his ship.
This was a lost battle.
.
I know nothing about space, or space pirates, and I rarely write action scenes-- so I had no idea what I was supposed to be picturing through this XD (the most experience I’ve had is pirate 101 and a book I forgot I read. Maybe Captain Jack Sparrow lol)

next!
roar

2 Likes
32
Summary

Maybe I’ll work on it more- the magical girl one is based loosely on some OCs I had when i was really little. Both of them were just started here. yeah, I was inspired to write the world ending one as a flash fiction.

yeah! It was inspired by my dentist trip today and the eerily silent waiting area (with a faint sound of bells, I never figured out what that was) XD

there are a lot of different versions of space pirates- this one reminds me of treasure planet, if I remember anything about that film?

I know space pirates from a lot of middle grade fantasy stuff where there’s actual spaceships and air locks and rayguns and all that. In that kind feel like there’s usually artificial gravity in some parts of the ship/scenes and maybe not in others, everything is designed to be navigable in zero gravity, and all that. Oh, also like ender’s game.

Then there’s mecha space pirates- where the ships are huge and everything is way bigger than it needs to be XD

I haven’t actually watched pirates of the caribbean…

Matilda’s mother was yelling about something again. Her poor caretaker. The roar of Geraldine’s voice echoed from the other wing of the house, where Geraldine lived with her caretaker.
Matilda herself was quite old, and by all rights her mother should be dead now. She was taking up space on the property.
Matilda fingered the rose colored quartz stone on her chest, a grin pulling at her lips.
Having magical powers didn’t need to be all about saving the world. It was okay to use it for selfish reasons now and then. After all, nobody would know.
Matilda transformed into Rose Quartz, a pink themed, eternally youthful magical girl with a sweet voice and the magical power to mold the world into something as pretty perfect as herself.
“She slips and falls. She’s an old lady, after all.” Quartz said, her wide, pink hued eyes the picture of innocence.
“And she hits her head and it splits open in a splatter of blood! The old witch dies immediately!” Quartz said, her eyes narrowing, and snapped her perfect pink gloved fingers daintily.
She called back her pretty floating gems and transformed back to the music of the caretaker’s screams.

Next:
Fruit

2 Likes
33

Leilah watched a fly eat rotting fruit in the fruit bowl, her elbows planted on the kitchen table and her cheeks smushed against her hands. Her older sister was supposed to be home from work already and watching her, but a half hour had passed and she was nowhere to be seen.
Leilah didn’t get along with the other kids in sixth grade. She was reprimanded by the teachers for being too irritable, too blunt, too competitive, then for being too quiet.
She figured she didn’t need to try, because nothing she did would work.
The fly buzzed out from behind a black banana. No, it was another fly. She spotted a few more crawling along the fruit.
The clock ticked slowly, taking its time on the way to the next hour.
Leilah knew where her sister was. She’d seen Penny with her boyfriend before, Leilah knew she was likely to skip babysitting to spend time with him. And afterward she’d give Leilah some cheap candy, as if that was any kind of a compensation.
But Leilah didn’t make trouble about it. Having dad dole out punishments and mom freak out as if the world was ending would only make Penny hate Leilah.
Leilah fingered a hard lump right in the center of her ribs. It was an orange diamond. Or probably not, it was probably some material that was all magical and nobody knew about or something. It had started growing there and given Leilah the power to become a magical girl a while back.
It was an escape from her life, sure. Perhaps a welcome one. The things the Gem squad did as magical girls seemed as far removed from reality as it got.
Leilah’s head nodded and dropped into her arms, and she dozed off as the slow creep of time inched forward.

Next:
vegetable

2 Likes
34
:D

all these thread-fancy stuff like quotes and line breakers and summaries
how I have missed you in discord
XD
not that discord really allows for longer replies lol
also hitting enter without hitting shift doesn’t automatically send ;-; That, I really did not like.

XD I went to a dentist like a week ago?
but yea bells are weird :thinking:

this one reminds me of treasure planet

Oooh I’ve seen it but haven’t watched it!

Oh, also like ender’s game.

heard of it but haven’t read it XD

I know space pirates from a lot of middle grade fantasy stuff where there’s actual spaceships and air locks and rayguns and all that. In that kind feel like there’s usually artificial gravity in some parts of the ship/scenes and maybe not in others, everything is designed to be navigable in zero gravity, and all that.

:0 all the middle-grade fantasy I read was… not space pirates XD

Then there’s mecha space pirates- where the ships are huge and everything is way bigger than it needs to be XD

voltron

I haven’t actually watched pirates of the caribbean…

hhh everything besides jack sparrow is boring tbh, but jack sparrow is so fun to watch!!

She was taking up space on the property.

XD
ooO interesting names!

Matilda transformed into Rose Quartz, a pink themed, eternally youthful magical girl with a sweet voice and the magical power to mold the world into something as pretty perfect as herself.

:0
!!
cool!!!

She called back her pretty floating gems and transformed back to the music of the caretaker’s screams.

:0 that
:0

ok you HAVE to read Miss Guillotine! It’s a dark-themed magical-girls thing! (I’ve never watched or read Madoka past a few episodes tho and I don’t plan to XD)

:0
this is so interesting! Leilah’s personality and her family and her magical-girl-ness!

Stab. Stab. Stab– clatter.
He hears someone call out as the cherry tomato he’d been picking at finally launches itself off his fork, onto the table.
It rolls a little while, hits one of the fancy cups, and comes to a stop.
Lux looks up as the girl sitting across from him talks to someone beside her, and he realizes he can see her lips moving, but he can’t make out what she’s saying. The cherry tomato left a trail of transparent juice in its wake, staining the pretty patterned tablecloth.
He stands up, reaching over to grab at it, and his shirt catches on something. His bowl, he realizes, as he looks down, watching the soup inside swish. His fingers brush the surface of the now-mangled cherry tomato, displaying multiple lines of holes that would match with his fork’s.
He grabs the tomato and pops it in his mouth, pushing his chair back as he turns away from the dining area, planning to go out to get a breath of fresh air.
It’ll do him some good, clear his head.
The tomato is bitter on his tongue, exploding with taste.
He makes a face.
He never liked vegetables.
There are people around, and as he moves to step past whoever’s blocking his path, they grab his arm, and he narrows his eyes at the contact. He looks up to meet their eyes. It’s one of Wynn’s friends. Great.
Not particularly in the mood to play nice, he ignores whatever the boy is saying, and pulls his arm away, shoving past him to walk out the door.
He’s going to regret that later, he knows.
He can just make up some excuse.
He walks out the doors, his hands in his pockets as he makes his way down the now-familiar halls.

next!
pick

2 Likes
35
Summary

Ohh yeah. I got used to the enter/shift thing, but still, it’s nice to have a reply button. And summaries, those are amazing. And not having to work on every little quote to put it in quote form.

XD

I think I couldn’t find miss guilliotine on a free place, if that was the one you recommended a while back!

oooh

“I sense another demon on the loose. I don’t know why they even bother existing when we can just,” Quartz made a throat slitting motion, laughing
Amethyst laughed along, a high piercing sound.
Diamond rolled her eyes.
“Lame. Anyway let’s go do this.”
Quartz glared at her.
Crystal quietly followed the group teleportation.
Now that Jade was gone, it was just the four of them. Amethyst was sure there were other magical girls who had the incredible power of the gems, but only the ones who’d sought each other out had found each other.
Amethyst didn’t know why the magical gems had picked her, but she loved the energy of the group. The constant discord between members soothed her soul.
She found their ignorance amusing as well.
The demon was currently living in an alleyway, eating the remains of some dead animal she’d found on the road. Amethyst could tell from her eyes that she knew she couldn’t win, but she put up a fight, countering the first waves of magic the group sent at her.
“I haven’t hurt anybody, this is roadkill.” the demon said.
Certainly her ragged clothing and thin frame suggested that she wasn’t hunting humans. Amethyst didn’t expect for a moment that Rose Quartz or Diamond would stop to consider that.
“Wait.” Crystal said.
Ah, but then there was Crystal. She was different from the others.
“What.” Quartz said flatly.
Crystal made a gesture, and the demon blocked it again.
“This won’t hurt you. Please, if you want to live.” Crystal said.
The demon allowed Crystal’s next wave of magic to reach her.
A blue aura shone around her, making her skin look greyer and her horns softer.
“Will you kill any humans in the future or wreak havoc?” Crystal asked.
“No.”
The glow intensified, then died back down.
“She’s telling the truth. We’re not killing her.” Crystal said firmly.
“It’s a demon. You know how demons are. Look sweetie, I’ll just take care of this real quick and you can close your delicate little eyes-” Quartz said from between clenched teeth.
Crystal took that opportunity to teleport all of them away, then make another gesture.
“I’ve hidden her. You won’t be able to teleport back to her.” Crystal said, biting her lip.
Amethyst knew how even of a match pitting their magic against each other’s was. If she was that demon she’d get out of the area right away, it’d give her a chance at least. And she’d write her will.
Amethyst let out a small laugh.
Quartz took that the wrong way and glared daggers at her and Crystal.
“You foolish idiots.” Quartz hissed.
“Looks like it’s that time again. I’ve got to be getting home.” Amethyst said in a sing song tone, hoping to provoke a reaction out of Quartz.
Quartz sputtered in rage as Amethyst teleported away to a quiet cave with crystals hanging from the ceiling and a still, beautiful pool that shone with the light of crystals in the depths.
Amethyst’s floating gems came back to her, and she transformed into an androdynous, humanoid creature with sharp horns, towering wings and red eyes.
A demon.
Neris laughed lightly. There was actually nothing left in their plans for the day except to sleep.

Next:
Tough

2 Likes
36
lol

XD

I think I couldn’t find miss guilliotine on a free place, if that was the one you recommended a while back!

aww it used to be free on lezhin
Miss Guillotine - Gaje/stego - Webtoons - Lezhin Comics
:smiley: they’re doing that thing again where they free up couples of chapters at a time!
sometimes they’re paid, but sometimes Lezhin makes a few webtoons free to increase interest, or something

Amethyst was sure there were other magical girls who had the incredible power of the gems, but only the ones who’d sought each other out had found each other.

:0

Crystal took that opportunity to teleport all of them away, then make another gesture

:0

Neris laughed lightly. There was actually nothing left in their plans for the day except to sleep.

:00
aaaa
that’s cool! Their story is so interesting!!

“Nidhii.”
Arlum turns around at the sound of his daughter’s name and wife’s voice.
The passageways of the complex seem quiet, besides a few servants who were following him to his Uncle’s building.
As Navee’s voice continues, no doubt on one of her many reprimands of their child, he finally finds them in the garden, where Nidhii stands drenched and head down in front of her mother, who looks about ready to blow.
He approaches quite hesitantly, not usually involved in the relationship between mother and daughter, which seemed to him a complicated one. His wife’s much… tougher, on Nidhii than he’s comfortable with, though he usually understands where she’s coming from.
He notices a flash of green at his daughter’s feet, and sees something slither around her leg. He surpasses a shudder. His daughter has always been strange. She’s almost pitiful, in the way she attracts the strange creatures.
Arlum places a placating hand on his wife’s shoulder, who flinches, and turns to him, her eyes softening. The woman leans back into his shoulder for a moment, before straightening.
“Look at what she’s done,” Navee sighs, and at first, Arlum doesn’t get it.
Then he sees the patches of black on Nidhii’s clothes, the singed edges and the smell of smoke in the air.
“You didn’t,” he says, narrowing his eyes.
Nidhii finally lifts her head, meeting his eyes briefly, looking about ready to cry. “I didn’t want to do it. They make me-”
“Nidhii,” Arlum says, barely able to contain his anger. Nidhii goes quiet and drops her eyes again.

next!
point

2 Likes
37
long

Darius walked softly into the Cursed Cave, fear trickling from his heart and into his movements, making them softer, more careful.
Being asked to enter a dark cave system inhabited by evil spirits was like a nightmare.
His mind couldn’t comprehend how his father expected him to do this, how the school required its students to fight ancient demons in this cave in order to take ownership of a Cursed Weapon.
And so many students failed… For every student to succeed there were two who didn’t.
Darius’ weak magic activated, letting out a faint glow from his heart that his enhanced eyes could see by.
In front of him was a sword.
Darius’s heart sank just to see it. Even in the darkness, it seemed as though tendrils of pure hatred rose from the hilt.
A shadow stepped from behind it and grabbed it, pulling it from the ground in one wide, angry motion.
Even with his enhanced vision, Darius couldn’t see the person clearly. But he recognized the outline, he recognized the way the anger flowed through the limbs.
It was Darius himself, or rather his shadow.
Whether it was an illusion or a dream, Darius knew he had to kill it or it would kill him.
But he had no weapon. He remembered the lessons on this- the evil spirits fed on hatred. Drawing his weapon would only bring about his own demise.
But the thing in front of him, the monster, was running toward him with a blade made of malice, steaming with purple black fear.
Darius screamed, possessed by the desire to get away from the blade, as far away as possible, even as he feared greater horrors lurking in the darkness.
At the last moment he rolled out of the way, his shadow scraping the air out of the space where he had been.
Darius was vageuly aware of blood running down his back where he’d scraped himself on the rough rock. The fear was overwhelming him as he desperately backed away from his shadow, hitting a wall.
‘Calm down!’ he told himself. He knew he was lost if he panicked, he’d gone over this in his training.
But his training had never told him exactly what to do.
There was a bright yellow spot on his shadow now. It was completely foreign, not a part of him or anything he knew.
He ignored it and looked right into the darkness of his shadow.
It was a beast made of anger at his parents for sending him here, loneliness that nobody cared for him beyond whatever power he could gain, distrust that his friends were not just with him for power.
“It’s valid. You’re valid.” Darius said, smoothly stepping out of the way.
His shadow’s blade struck the wall and cut through it like butter, rock flying in every direction. What incredible power, some corner of his mind noticed.
“I can’t tell you that any of that is wrong. But nonetheless…” Darius stepped easily around the darkness as it swung the sword that meant absolute death at him again.
“I will not let it overwhelm me!” Darius grabbed the thing’s throat, but his fingers sank into it.
The thing sunk into him and he felt a moment of barely controlled rage heaving underneath his skin before it sank deep beneath the surface, lurking, waiting for the time to burst out.
The sword in front of him, sunk nearly to the hilt into the pure hard rock, held no more fear for him.
Darius clasped his fingers around the hilt and pulled it out of the ground.

Later, in his dorm, Darius studied the sword lying on the desk. Even in a regular, well lit room, it glowed darkly as if radiating anger.
It would be a constant struggle to keep it from overwhelming him.
Darius was treating the cuts on his back when he noticed something bright and yellowish orange on his chest. Right… this had been on the shadow before it fused with him. Part of the powers that came with the sword?
He ran a finger over the warm gem.
He felt that he had control over it. He tested that and it split into many tiny droplets, hanging perfectly in the air around him as his body changed into something else.
At that moment, the door opened and his roommate Kylis walked in. He stared at Darius for a moment, mouth slightly open.
“Who’re you?” he asked.
Darius put a hand in front of his face. It was a soft brown female hand with perfectly trimmed fingernails.
Silky yellow orange fabric was twined perfectly around the thin arm, leading to some kind of stylish dress.
Darius was puzzled more than anything else, but the first thing he needed to do was convince his roommate he wasn’t some random stranger in a weird costume who wandered into the boys dorm for whatever reason.
He called the gem back to him, and it fused into one bright shape as his real form returned along with a brief wave of relief that he wasn’t about to be stuck in that form.
“It’s just me.” he said.
Kylis just looked flatly at him. He was good at the whole ‘weird looks’ thing.
“I don’t know either.” Darius told him.
He put a hand to the wounds on his back. The incredible mysterious power of the gem in his chest seemed to ask him a question, and he allowed it to work. In the blink of an eye, the wounds were gone.
‘You could do so much with this power.’ said a sinister voice in his head. It was his shadow’s voice.
Of course, this power came from his shadow.
“It’s an evil power. I don’t know why it looks like a teenage girl, but I’m sure it is born from hatred.” Darius muttered.

Next:
Strong

2 Likes
38
Summary

cool!!!

“It’s valid. You’re valid.” Darius said, smoothly stepping out of the way.
His shadow’s blade struck the wall and cut through it like butter, rock flying in every direction. What incredible power, some corner of his mind noticed.

hhhhhhh I like the tensionnnn

Silky yellow orange fabric was twined perfectly around the thin arm, leading to some kind of stylish dress.

:0

The incredible mysterious power of the gem in his chest seemed to ask him a question, and he allowed it to work. In the blink of an eye, the wounds were gone.

:00

It takes three weeks for her to figure out Kyte Sajan is not capable of having a heart.
What else would explain the failure of not one or two-- but all fifteen of her attempts to get him to meet her small request? She’s tried getting Sophie to talk to him, she even went to a stupid banquet for his sake, she got him a nice set of robes to wear, she did everything except one thing.
She catches up to the prince, who was striding ahead of her rather quickly.
“Just. Please. Hear me out?” Noon sighs, finally reaching the point of begging. “I want to see her. I feel like I could remember something-”
Her brother halts where he stands, and Noon almost runs into him.
Kyte turns to give her a look so cold it would’ve made her back off under any other circumstance.
“Please–” She repeats, in case he hadn’t gotten the message.
“Noon Syla, are you challenging your crown prince for a duel?”
“A d-duel?” She stutters, backing off immediately. “No.”
“I have no other way to interpret your insistent demands, even after I’ve told you no plenty of times. You want to meet that pesky little human?” he turns to her fully, and he waves around the book in his hands, looking ticked off. “Fine. You can. Meet me tomorrow at dawn.”
“Kyte–” She squeaks, absolutely unwilling to get into any physical fight with him after she saw him incinerate their fridge once. She knows how strong he is.
“No?” He says, raising a brow.
“No,” she shakes her head–
He turns around and starts to walk off.
“But–”
He pauses, only briefly.
“…Nevermind,” she sighs.

next!
yellow

2 Likes
39
Summary

these feel like interesting scenes from some big fantasy series!

Darius dreamed he was walking through a field of bright yellow sunflowers under a crystal blue sky.
The scene looked pleasant, but there was a definite stink in the air coming from the sunflowers.
“Are sunflowers really supposed to smell…?” Darius wondered, but his voice came out as the high voice of that weird girl he could transform into.
Uncomfortable, he brought a delicate hand to his mouth. How could he transform back in a dream?
“A new member of the Squad… You’re Amber, right?” a girl’s voice said.
She was garishly bright blue, surrounded by crystals that reflected an excessive amount of light.
“Who are you?” Darius said, cringing at the voice coming out of his mouth.
“I’m Crystal. For some reason, people who have gained a gem’s power tend to find me in dreams. I don’t know where this power comes from, but other people with this power have gathered. On sunday at noon, on top of Trace Mountain, is where we’re meeting next.” She smiled, looking slightly stressed. “Welcome to the Gem Squad.”
Darius shook his head, his ridiculous braided candy colored hair bouncing.
“I don’t want to use this power.” he said.
It was an evil power, he could feel it in the stink of the sunflowers, in the way all the darkness in him rose to the surface when he took this form. Which meant…
“I don’t trust you, you know. If you mean to harm me, come at me now.” Darius said, but the weight of his words fell flat in the high, young voice of his current form.
He pointed a hand in front of him and materialized his magical energy into a sword. It shone with the uneven, soft texture of amber, but he could feel a lurking malice in it. An energy that would lash out at anything, even himself, if he wasn’t careful.
“That is not my intention.” Crystal said.
She floated into the air, letting off blue light almost too strong to look at.
“I can’t force you to join us. But we’re doing good for the world, and I believe we can do more good together. We find bad people by searching for information in our own time and sharing it, and then we punish them together. But it’s not just about that, we try to talk them out of it. We clean places up with out magic.
If you want to know more about us, you know where to find us.
Trace Mountain, at noon on sunday.” as she rose her voice grew fainter and fainter, until she was gone from Darius’ dream.
The stink of the sunflowers grew stronger, and Darius felt trapped and suffocated in the girl- Amber’s- skin.
He tried, desperately, to transform back.

Darius woke up, gasping. He was sweating and his heart was racing.
In the comfort of his own skin, his heartbeat slowed down and he reconsidered Crystal’s offer. He wanted to know more about the power of these gems.
Nobody had asked him about the gem when they’d been congradulating him on capturing the sword. They hadn’t mentioned it and he hadn’t brought it up. He assumed they were unrelated, but then what on earth was the gem?
When his father sent him out into some war for the sake of some ridiculous pride, Darius would no longer have time to learn anything.
He was deeply wary of this power, but he at least wanted to know where it came from.

Next:
destruction

2 Likes
40
Summary

that’s because they are! Just stories I’ve planned and written versions of, but these scenes are what I imagine happened after the point I stopped writing them, or between some scenes in the plot

hhhhh he’s lucky Crystal is the one with this power and not one of the others!!
and wow he’s probably right that the power is evil in some way considering the other girls XD

The stink of the sunflowers grew stronger, and Darius felt trapped and suffocated in the girl- Amber’s- skin.
He tried, desperately, to transform back.

hhhhh coool!!

Noon steps through the wreckage, shocked by the level of destruction around her.
Despite herself, she starts to wonder about her surrounding area, the story of what had happened here, until tears drip from her eyes.
Here we go.
The girl she’s become is obviously attached to the place in some way. Noon walks through the ruined city, her voice tearing her throat apart as she calls for names she doesn’t know anything about. She can feel herself starting to deny the situation, become frantic that they–whoever ‘they’ are-- may have survived, though bodies litter the earth around her.
In a daze, she walks through broken pavement and lingering smoke, climbs over exposed metal and charred grass. She knows she should feel the physical pain, there’s no way she can walk through this destruction without getting hurt. But she doesn’t feel anything, not when she steps through broken glass, not when her foot gives in the carnage and she crashes through a car’s windshield by accident.
She recognizes something, finally, or thinks she does. The faded red of that building seems familiar, and she makes her way towards it. She falls to her knees and starts digging. For what or why, she can’t remember.
She lifts pieces of broken wood, tries fruitlessly to budge concrete, pulls off some bits of what seem to be plumbing, and at some point her hands come away red, and she stares at them, and she can feel it, she’s about to lose it, and all she can do is sob.
Then there’s suddenly some movement beyond her, and when she looks up, the source is a girl climbing through the destruction towards her, someone she recognizes immediately.
Lydia’s cheeks are stained pink, she’s dressed in the strangest fashion of some billowy white gown, as if she were cosplaying a ghost.
Noon wants to laugh, but the body she’s in is in so much pain. She wants to call out to Lydia, reach out and touch her and feel her warmth, because she’s so, so cold, but she can only stare, bringing up crimson-covered hands defensively.
“What-” Noon says, and an unfamiliar voice comes out.
Lydia’s eyes go to her hands, and her expression immediately crumples into clear worry, the dork that she is.
“You’re hurt,” Lydia says.
‘Oh, really?’ She wants to say, probably followed by a roll of her eyes.
Then Lydia’s eyes fall lower, and her eyes widen.
Noon follows her gaze, and sees the blood on her clothes.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Lydia’s saying then, a little breathless, and catches her arm. Noon tries to shake Lydia off, but her grip is firm. “I’ve been trying to get reception, but–”
Noon shoves her away, despite very much wanting to follow this idiot to wherever she wants to take her. It’s probably safer there, anyway.
“What are you?” is what falls out of Noon’s mouth instead.
“…Noon?” Lydia is saying, confused.
It takes a while for Noon to realize she’s been recognized-- but that’s impossible, she’s not even herself right now, she’s in someone else’s body.
She wants to check to make sure, but again, she’s not in control.
“Stay away from me,” Noon is snapping instead, backing away.

next!
hero

2 Likes