| An Innocent Trade | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 31 2015, 12:11 AM (108 Views) | |
| CastawayNine | Dec 31 2015, 12:11 AM Post #1 |
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As the sun began to set, beams of sunlight stretched around the silhouette of the kingdom. Crickets began to chirp with the song of dusk. As the sun continued to slide down the sky, a young witch bounded along the path by the river towards Terrantiquus, her satchel clanking with equipment. Around her neck slithered her snake, Mustard, her yellow scales glittering as the remaining light caressed them. In the witch's arms, she cradled a fat black cat, whom purred loudly against her neck. The witch followed the trail to meet a man for a trade. He had agreed to supply her with breads and cheese if she would give him potions of deep sleep. The poor man had explained how his insomnia left him too weary to make food, but if she could help him, she would receive some of his foods. As she reached the meeting place, she checked the sky for the time of day. The red fog and purple rim of the sky let her know she was early, as she preferred. She sat on the table-sized trunk of an old tree, which once had flourished in life, but had since fell after wind had finally pushed its weight too far. The trunk served as a great meeting place, and was often the choice of the witch. Pepper stretched his legs shakily, yawning as he woke from the movement. He groaned and slinked out of the witch's lap and onto the trunk, where he proceeded to sleep once more. The girl crossed her legs, adjusting her glasses with one hand while she fumbled through her bag. Mustard eagerly slid in as well, and the two set out several potions. Now, all they must do is wait. Edited by CastawayNine, Dec 31 2015, 12:13 AM.
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| Saddyvan | Dec 31 2015, 12:25 AM Post #2 |
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The sun was finally going down. A shadowy clump rose out of a hole in the base of a tree that a rabbit had previously called home and rolled its way to the treeline. Innumerable bones clattered after it, dancing along the ground trailing the tattered mass of ashen fabric, many of them coming to a rest in an amorphic shape slightly resembling a skull. After a second it became clear the dusken shape was a cloak as it slowly filled with a chorus of gently chattering bones as they took their designated place in the amalgamate body if their owner. The last of the bones exited the hole in the ground, but these were different. A chain of lazily hanging ribs and vertebrae adorned with a tiny skull sleepily looking around as it gently floated out with much more care than the bones that had come before it. The skeletal snake was nestled inside its masters hood and curled itself into a spiral on the back of its master's neck. "You don't have to wake just yet, Ribbon, but I can't have you sleeping all night, it's almost dusk, almost time to move," said the now humanoid figure, whose mouth, while only made of random small bones, agilely and carefully enunciated each syllable as if it took great effort and concentration to form each one,but was skillfully produced. The figure looked out onto the old dirt path, scanning for movement as the shadows of the trees cast by the setting sun drove across the opening. The figure pet the snake gently with his pointer finger, scratching its skull as his mouth creaked in preparation to say, "Just as soon as it's dark." Edited by Saddyvan, Dec 31 2015, 01:27 AM.
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| CastawayNine | Dec 31 2015, 01:22 AM Post #3 |
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Only a pale sheet of light illuminated the sky as the witch continued to wait. She compulsively wiped her lens with her apron, squinting sternly and crinkling her small, pink nose. The air cooled her skin, producing even more of a flush to her nose, her cheeks, and the point of her ears. As she focused so intently, she failed to hear her customer stepping towards her on the trail. Pepper lazily opened one eye, silver glinting in the dark. He let out a groaning, "Mrrrooowww." Which caught both humans' attention. The witch quickly pressed her glasses back onto her face and shifted towards the man. Her cheery voice perked up, in almost the form of a song, "Hello, Jeb! Was your trip easy?" The man stumbled forward, the smell of alcohol crisp on his lips. His circular gut jiggled as he came to an awkward halt in front of the witch. "Yes'm, I did. Are those'uns mine drinks?" Jeb asked, gesturing near the potions. The liquid shone even though the night had swallowed most of light. It swirled a light blue with flecks of gold and green. The witch lifted a bottle proudly and pulled off the cork with a loud pop. A steam of shining blue sparks danced in front of her face. Jeb leaned in and smelled the steam, which gave off a relaxing aroma. His face was now close to the witch's, who began to smell the cheap rum on her customer's breath. She crinkled her nose reflexively and looked back at Pepper, who had now sat up and was staring directly at Jeb. "Well, yes, they are all yours..." She glanced back at Jeb, now taking notice to his person. His arms wer at his sides, his hands clenching and unclenching. "Tell me, did you forgot your breads at home?" Jeb blinked owlishly at the witch at first, then straightened himself completely. His stature beginning to loom over the girl's. "Hrmph," He coughed, then stepped forward, never breaking eye contact with the girl, who now was instinctively leaning away. "Naw'm. I nevah made no bread. 'm sure glad you're as dumb as ya look, Miss Bastia." There was no longer distance between the girl and the man. Pepper began to hiss loudly, his fur erect, while Mustard hiss and chilling harmony. The customer was too drunk to fear the animals, and pressed one hand firmly on the girl's leg, grinning. Edited by CastawayNine, Dec 31 2015, 01:42 AM.
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| Saddyvan | Dec 31 2015, 02:04 AM Post #4 |
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As soon the darkness had taken its hold on the path, the cloaked figure and his pet snake set out, keeping close to the treeline. The figure's feet gently and silently strode across the ground as if he were slightly hovering between steps. What he constituted for eyes darted to each small noise in the night. He was in an unwelcome land, every stranger was an enemy, the only friend he had was Ribbon, but frankly that's all he thought he needed. From umbra to umbra he darted, swift calculated movements to conceal himself as best he could, but soon he heard voices ahead. At first they were unintelligible mumbling, but as he approached they became more clear. "...did you forgot your breads at home?" The cloaked figure eased into a shadow of a nearby fallen tree, he peaked over, on the other side of the half rotten trunk was a strange setting: a small round women, a snake, a fat cat, a couple potions, a drunk man, and lot of no good. The cloaked figure kept a close eye on the scene. "Hrmph...Naw'm. I nevah made no bread. 'm sure glad you're as dumb as ya look, Miss Bastia." The man inched up to whom he had called Miss Bastia and firmly grabbed her leg with one hand and grinned menacingly. The cloaked figure took action: "I wouldn't do that." He tried to grumble as deep as he could, but didn't reveal his location. He slowly dissipated the bones that made up his body along the ground to conceal himself almost entirely. "`oo's there?" the man asked, quickly snapping around to look behind him, losing focus on what he was about to do. A tattered cloak fell the the man's feet. He kicked it over to investigate, it was completely empty so he quickly kicked it aside. As soon as it hit the ground again, the figure made as spectacular entrance as he could, thousands of bones of various sizes sprung forth from every nook and cranny, spiralling violently to the cloak, quickly filling it with its normal human shaped inhabitant who promptly replied, "I am." The man staggered back, but was too drunk or too stupid to be frightened away that easily. "You're not allowed around here MONSTER!" and swung his fist at the figure, who quickly dispersed around the drunk's slow punch and reformed. The figure could feel this man's bones within him. Weak from a poor diet and a neglectful amount of exercise. It took very little effort for the figure to cause the man's teeth to rocket from their sockets, through his cheeks in a small mist of blood, into the surrounding woods. The man fainted near instantly. The figure looked down at the heap of sorrow, then up at the women he had helped defend. He expected to see her running, but instead just a stare. There was no fear, he gathered, confusion sure, but from what he could tell, she was unafraid. The silence grew tense for a second, he had not met many who didn't run. He hadn't had to introduce himself many times. "I'm Rattle." He blurted to end the deafening awkwardness, his pet snake hovering over the fallen tree, still groggy from its nap, but eager to meet new people. Edited by Saddyvan, Dec 31 2015, 02:16 AM.
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| CastawayNine | Dec 31 2015, 02:33 AM Post #5 |
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As her leg was held, Bastia froze, her face whitening with fear. She twitched her fingers, trying to manage a reach, but with too much fear of retaliation. As a husking voice distracted the man, Basita shrunk away to the middle of the trunk. Pepper pacing around her maliciously. He and Mustard both clicking and hissing a warning call even further. The three all watched as an amalgamation of bones defeated the drunkard quickly. Having seen grotesque actions, Bastia made no sound, nor made intentions of fleeing. She did, however, have residual shivers from her fear of the man. She shifted her eyes between the collapsed heap and the creature ahead. She was unprepared to be spoken to, so as the wraith introduced himself, her ears twisted forward, twitching with stimulation. She waited a moment, before crawling off the trunk, bottle of deep sleep in her hand. She stumbled forward to the man. She glanced up at the creature again, making sure no attack were to be made again. This wraith, a floating spirit of bone and voice saved her. Saved her from some drunkard who had planned all along to- Crash. In a moment of overwhelming anger and fear, she threw the bottle at the man's head, tears lining her lower lids. The bottle had shattered on contact, soaking against the man's skin, its effects ensuring his unconsciousness. A gash stripped both the man's still-red nose and his lip, leading blood onto the night-blackened grass. Bastia stared blankly at the blood, her lips tapping together and pulling away as she tried to remember her own name, but her thought was far away from her. Instead she continued to look down at the man, as if when she looked away, he would jolt up once more. |
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| Saddyvan | Dec 31 2015, 03:31 AM Post #6 |
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Rattle held out his hand to receive Ribbon, who wrapped around Rattle's arm and clankily slithered up his sleeve. He observed Bastia and the potions she had still sitting on the stump. Those weren't normal quality potions: glowing, sparkly, magic, this was expert level stuff. Rattle grew cautious of the so called Miss Bastia, he had let slip the one thing that had kept him alive long enough to make it this far inland in Terrantiquus: his secrecy. In a rush of regret and panic, he started to hover backwards into the woods, slowly immersing himself into the darkness, the only haven he knew of in this fearfully intolerant place. |
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| CastawayNine | Dec 31 2015, 03:41 AM Post #7 |
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As Bastia's mind came back to her, she perked her head back up to Rattle. Or rather, the space that no longer occupied Rattle. The darkness has engulfed him well, for Bastia was completely incapable of seeing him. His presence, however, lingered. A cold wisp in the air around her. She stayed still for a moment, before meekly holding out a hand, which still twitched with anxiety. "My name, the witch peeped, cutting the silence once more, "My name is Bastia Amanita." Though she was shaken, her voice rang out like it always did as she introduced herself, "I'm named after a mushroom." She paused, then closed her eyes, her breath fogging the air in front of her. She waited, hoping her trust would not fail her twice. |
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2:17 PM Jul 11

