Subject: It seems like each line is its own paragraph. Hmm. (nm)
Author:
Posted on: 2023-01-19 21:45:45 UTC
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I found a skeleton in my closet; or, a really old, really bad original story by
on 2023-01-16 05:16:04 UTC
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So my sibling Lightning and I were going through old stuff under my bed when they found a story written in a journal, written in 2017-18. Apparently I wrote it ages ago, though I don't remember it. We looked it over. It was a piece of original fiction that managed to be eighteen chapters long, plus a prologue and an unfinished chapter, and wow is it bad.
I'd tell you why it sucks, but it's best if you saw it yourself. All SPaG errors have been faithfully preserved. I'll probably post a chapter every day or two, assuming I have the time.
…
THE SHAPE SHIFTER
PROLOGUE
Jen sat at the campfire, roasting s'mores, while her parents prepared the tent. Today was Jen's twelth birthday, and as a present, her mom and dad had taken her to the nearby woods to camp out in the wilderness. Jen loved the wilderness--she liked how it was mysterious and untamed, unlike urban areas.
Jen's father came over to check on the s'mores. "Jen, the s'mores are all burnt now! Next time, don't leave them so close to the fire."
"Sorry, Dad," Jen apologized.
"Oh, don't be sorry! After all, this is your first time at this--and besides, the smores aren't that badly charred." Jen's father tried a s'more, and nodded. "Delicious." He returned to the tent and continued helping Jen's mother setting it up.
Jen was about to try a burnt s'more for herself when she heard a howl pierce through the forest. Her parents didn't seem to hear it--they continued setting up the tent as usual.
Driven by curiosity, Jen stood up and started traveling in the direction of the howl.
…
It wasn't before long when Jen glanced around and realized that she was lost. It was foolish of me to do that, she thought. Jen turned around to see that her path was blocked by a black wolf.
The wolf was about as tall as a horse, with two red eyes--twin pools of blood. Its lips were curled back in a snarl.
Right then, the wolf pounced. Straight at Jen.
Jen saw her whole life flash in front of her--from the moment she was born, to her first birthday, to the time that Jen accidentally painted herself blue, to when Jen tried to eat a pencil in first grade. Every important and embarrasing aspect of Jen's life played out right in front of her.
The wolf was almost upon Jen. Its claws were extended. Its mouth was open, revealing sharp, deadly teeth.
This is the end, thought Jen. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. Sorry, Mrs. Conemar, for me getting a D on thee math quiz. Sorry, Emma, for not returning your Magic-eight ball. And your pants.
A small grey wolf appeared out of nowhere, knocking the black wolf to the side. They fought, claws against claws and teeth against teeth. The grey wolf was only about half the size of the black wold. As Jen watched, the grey wolf turned to face Jen and shouted, "Run!"
Jen had no idea how the wolf could talk, but she turned and sprinted deeper into the woods. She was afraid to know what happened to the grey wolf. He had caught the black wolf by surprise, but that was the only advantage that he had. Soon the black wolf would overpower thee grey one, and pursue Jen. Out of fear, she ran faster.
Jen ran for so long that she started to wonder how she could've ran for so long without tiring. Then she realized that she wasn't even human now--she was a horse, galloping like the wind.
…
Luna was running at full speed. She had memorized the whole layout of the woods, and she knew that the shape-shifter was headed to a certain clearing. If Luna wanted to meet the shifter, she had to reach the clearing before the shifter did.
Luna reached the clearing just as a chestnut horse burst in. Upon sighting Luna, thee horse slid to a stop and whinnied. In the blink of an eye, the horse was replaced by a young girl, with wavy dark brown hair and emerald-green eyes.
…
Jen had reached a clearing, but it had a wolf in it.
At first she wanted to bolt, but the wolf--a white one this time--had a warm aura around it, as if it meant no harm.
Before she knew it, Jen was a human again. She collapsed, her whole body aching from the long run.
The white wolf gently laid its paw on Jen's forehead, and she instantly felt better. The aching faded away into a dull throb.
"Whatever you do, don't try to sit up. I'm Luna, by the way."
"I'm… I'm Jen," Jen replied.
Jen had a million questions buzzing around in her head and randomly bumping into each other. Who was Luna? Why was she helping Jen? How could wolves speak? Who was the black wolf that had attempted to kill her, and who was the grey wolf that had saved her? How did Luna heal Jen?
And the biggest question of all: how did Jen become a horse? What skills did Jen have, tucked away and hidden somewhere in her brain?
Jen opened her mouth to speak, and managed to croak out, "Who… who am I?…" before the whole world blacked out through her eyes.
…
Luna looked down at Jen, now unconscious. She knew that Jen had lots of questions, but right now, Jen needed rest. The questions that she had in store coould wait.
After all, Luna needed a break, too. She curled up beside Jen, and fell fast asleep.
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1 - JEN by
on 2023-01-17 03:44:51 UTC
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I woke up with a big white fuzzball next to my face.
It took a while for me to remember the strange events that occurred yeesterday--killer wolves, shape-shifting, magic… and Luna.
I prodded the fuzzball. "Luna?"
A head emerged from the ball of fur. For the first time, I took note of Luna's eyes. They were silver, like moonlight. No wonder her name was Luna.
Luna blinked. "I'm trying to sleeep."
I shook her. "Who are you, exactly? How can you talk?"
"Well," replied Luna, "I am thee alpha wolf of the Omega Pack. And I can talk because the Omega Pack is special. Its members get varying amounts of human traits, depending on their ranking. Since I'm the alpha, I can talk and heal, but not that much."
"Healing is not a human trait. Well, it is, but we can't really heal others."
"Really?"
"No! If we could magically heal others, then we wouldn't die of malaria or Ebola or whatever!"
Luna sat down on her haunches. "Well, it's still early. You need more rest."
She licked my face (gross), and I fell back asleep. How did she do that?
…
When I woke up again, Luna was gone. In her place was a Luna-shaped indentation in the grass and a note scratched on a piece of bark: OFF TO HUNT! I'LL BE BACK SOON! MEANWHILE, I'VE ASSIGNED A GUARDIAN TO YOU.
Hmm, wonder what that meant.
I sat up and looked around, checking if Luna was back yet. She wasn't. There was also no sign of the guardian that Luna had mentioned.
Maybe the guardian was off hunting. Maybe they had forgotten about their duties. Or maybe the guardian had went to a wolf-themed disco party instead of coming here to watch over me. Who knows.
A few minutes later, Luna returned, carrying a dead rabbit in her mouth. She set it down in front of me. I'd rather not talk about the blood.
"Where's the guardian?" Luna asked. "Why isn't he here?"
"Look," I said. "I don't even know who this guardian is."
Luna paused for a moment. "You have a point. How can you find someone if you don't know anything about them?"
"Are you avoiding the topic on purpose?"
"No!" cried Luna. "I mean… his name is Ythakor. I assigned him to protect you."
I thought about the grey wolf that had saved my life. "Is he about half the height of a horse, with grey fur?"
"So you do know him after all!"
"No, but he did save my life." I told Luna about the big black wolf that had tried to kill me, and the grey furry rescuer that had likely died.
"Impossible," Luna said. "Ythakor is our best warrior. He could take down ten angry bulls and leave unscathed."
I wasn't sure if ten angry bulls were as strong as a fierce horse-sized wolf, but I decided not to mention that.
"And as for the black wolf…" Luna shivered. "His name is--well, we just call him the Shadow. He's really strong. But not as strong as ten bulls," she added.
I had a feeling that Luna had said that just to reassure herself.
"Are you in love with Ythakor?" I asked.
"No! Don't you want to eat this rabbit? It'll rot if we don't eat it soon."
"There is no way I'm letting this subject drop!"
We argued back and forth until the whole thing deteriorated into a halfhearted poking contest.
Oh, and we also ended up eating the rabbit, too. I managed to start a fire and cooked the rabbit meat, but Luna preferred it raw. After a not-that-hearty meal, we settled down and went to sleep.
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2 - JEN by
on 2023-01-19 03:12:48 UTC
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The bext day, Luna told me that she wanted me to meet the members of the Omega Pack.
Then she had told me that I should shape-shift into a wolf, since the members of her pack were more comfortable around wolves than humans.
I pointed out that I couldn't control my shape-shiffting abilities yet.
"Just take a deep breath and close your eyes," Luna instructed. "Then picture the animal that you want to be."
After I did what I was told, I opened my eyes.
I had definitely become a wolf. I was no longer sitting upright, but sitting on my haunches instead. I looked down at my snow-white paws.
"No," Luna said. "You look too much like me. We have the same height and fur colouration. You even have silver eyes--seriously? Try something like a lioness instead, so that the members of my pack don't confuse me for you and vice versa."
I tried imagining a lioness, strong and proud. When I opened my eyes, I looked at Luna, then my paws. They were a pale sandy color, which looked dusty to me.
"Perfect!" Luna announced. "I like your white-gold fur! Let's go meet my pack!"
…
Luna had warned me that the trip would take a long time.
I didn't expect her to mean more than a day.
As we trudged through the underbrush, I kept getting snagged by branches. After what seemed like the millionth time that a twig hit my face, I transformed into a rabbit and followed Luna that way.
Eventually we came to a rest. I simply grazed on the grass, but Luna didn't eat anything. She just stared at me and licked her lips every once in a while, like she wanted to eat me.
That thought was so unnerving, I turned into a hawk. Luna stopped licking her lips, but she kept staring at me.
I walked over to her. "What's the matter, Luna?"
Luna glanced behind her.
All of a sudden, I could see every shadow, every detail. A few meters away, I spotted a tiny ant crawl under a pile of dead leaves. An eagle wheeled high overhead, so high up that normal human eyes wouldn't have seen it.
Several seconds later, my vision returned to normal.
I stumbled, gasping. Luna turned back.
"What's the matter?" she asked, worriedly.
I replied, "My vision… became very sharp. But only for a few seconds."
Luna's face became even more worried. "You must become a human."
"Why not?"
"The longer you're not a human, the more animal you'll become. The rate at which you become animal depends on how closely related you are to that animal. For example, you'll turn into animal faster if you're a sparrow than a hare."
In the blink of an eye, I was human again. I leaned forward.
"How do you know that?"
Luna leaned forward so much that I was afraid she would bite my face off. Luckily, she didn't.
"There used to be shapeshifters among us," she said, "but they succumbed too the call of the wild. They lost their ability. I can't risk losing you. From this point on, don't use your power unless there's an emergency."
"But why do I have this abilityin the first place?"
Luna leaned forward even more. "You, Jen, are descended from a powerful witch."
I had always thought that there were no such thing as witches. But then, there were such things as talking animals and shapeshifting, so I suposed that witches were also real.
"The witch," continued Luna, "had powerful abilities, like shape-shifting. You have inherited this power.
"There is one catch, however.
"Many creatures want to use you, kill you, or both. Jen, you're wanted by one of the most powerful mythical animals alive. And his name is Drakor the dragon."
-
3 - LUNA by
on 2023-01-21 06:18:42 UTC
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The news probably shocked Jen as much as it shocked me when I was still a pup and learned that the Shadow was real.
After all, you do not want to be wanted by a dragon.
Dragons were big. They had huge claws and teeth. They could fly and shoot fire from their armpits. (Okay, just joking about that last one.)
And especially not by Drakor--he was the biggest, strongest dragon to have ever lived.
I volunteered to take first watch. While Jen went to sleep, I looked and listened for any dangerous things that could be potentially lurking out there.
After a few hours of staying awake, I heard a rustle. I shook Jen with my paw. "Jen? I heard a rustle."
Jen sat up and rubbed her eyes. "A rustle?"
"Yes, and--"
I heard another rustle. Same as the other one, but louder. The hairs of my back stood straight up.
"Run!" I shouted.
Right then, a black talon shot out of the darkness and grabbed me. I struggled to escape, but the talon just gripped me tighter.
"Escape won't be so easy, little one," said a voice that sounded like ice grinding against stone. "You'll have to get past me first."
I couldn't spot Jen anywhere. Maybe she had fled. Maybe she had been captured by someone else.
I hoped that it was the former.
The talon shifted, and I found myself looking at a dragon. His scales were obsidian black, with hints of purple. Razor-sharp spines stuck out of his back and neck like porcupine quills. His eyes were a crimson red.
The dragon spread his wings, great dark shadows. He lifted off into the sky.
His talon clenched me even more tightly, so tightly that I blacked out.
…
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a large pit. The walls were nearly vertical, making it impossible to climb out. I looked around, searching for something that might help me escape, and I spotted a grey object on the other side of the pit. Cautiously, I crept closer to the object.
As soon as I got close enough to discern what the object was, I gasped.
It was Ythakor.
He was so thin that I could see his ribs sticking out. He had numerous gashes on his side and face.
Ythakor stood up on shaky legs. His eyes, once a bright blue, were dull.
"What happened to you?" I asked.
"It was the Shadow." Ythakor grimaced. "I couldn't kill him. In the middle of our fight, he ran away. Even though I was wounded, I followed him."
"Then how did you end up here?" I asked.
"Well, I would've asked the same question to you," replied Ythakor.
"You go first."
"Alright. Anyway, I followed the Shadow, and found him talking to a dragon. I stepped back, but snapped a twig. They both heard me. I bolted, but the dragon was faster. He caught me and put me here." He sighed. "Your turn."
I recited my story of me and Jen, from the moment I met her to the moment that I was taken. Ythakor listened patiently, nodding every once in a while to show that he understood. When I finished my story, he said to me, "I have something to show you."
Ythakor turned to the ground and pushed aside a slab of rock, revealing a small niche containing a dagger inside. He nudged the dagger. "Mark? You there?"
The dagger floated up to eye level and replied, "Dude! You just--is that a newcomer?"
I gaped. Ythakor grinned.
I had seen plenty of weird things in my life. Once I saw a wolf in a tree. Another time I saw a rabbit adopt an eagle. Then there was that time when Ythakor kissed a tree. But a talking, floating dagger? It made it into the top three.
Eventually, I managed to say, "Uh…"
"Oh," said Ythakor. "Luna, meet Mark, who is a magic floating talking dagger. Mark, meet Luna, alpha wolf of the famed Omega Pack."
My reply: "Um… hi?"
My thoughts: What if he stabs me? He might do that if I say the wrong thing! I can't say too much when he's around!
"Don't worry, I don't bite. But it's not like I have a jaw," Mark pointed out.
"Even if I say something insulting?"
"You're Ythakor's friend. Ythakor isn't evil. Therefore, you're not evil."
Mark had a point. (Oh, sorry. That was bad.) I asked him, "How do you know that Ythakor isn't evil?"
"Well," said Mark, "I can look inside anyone's soul. Ythakor's soul is mostly good, so I--oh, heck no. A dragon is approaching!"
Mark dropped into the niche, and Ythakor quickly slid the slab over the opening just as the morning sun was blocked by an enormous sihoulette.
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4 - JEN by
on 2023-01-22 05:55:38 UTC
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As soon as Luna told me to run, I had transformed into a horse and left. The tree leaves rustled in the wind, the light rays always shifting, but I had no time to enjoy the scenery. I had to keep going.
When I knew I was going to be safe, I had stopped & grazed on the grass before turning back human, and rested for a while.
I started to wonder about Luna. Had she escaped, or was she caught?
Maybe I shouldn't dwell on that too long.
I got up and started walking in a random direction. I wandered about, looking for subtle clues that provided clear evidence that Luna had escaped.
Eventually, I came across a footprint. It looked fresh, but it was too small to be Luna's footprint--it looked more like a pup's footprint.
Hmm, a pup. There was a pack nearby, but I couldn't be sure if it was the Omega Pack.
I stepped forward--and found no ground beneath my foot.
I slipped, lost my footing, and fell down the sloped shaft.
Half of my brain, the logical side, thought that the shaft I was sliding down could lead me to the Omega Pack.
On the other hand, the primitive half of my brain was thinking OH NO THE WORLD IS ENDING I'M GOING TO DIE!
About two seconds later, the shaft ended abruptly, and I shot forward into a pile of straw. Or, at least it felt like straw. It was pitch-black in here.
In the darkness, I heard a gruff voice say, "It's the shifter. But without her escort."
"You mean Luna?" said another voice. This one sounded friendlier than the first one, and it was feminine, unlike the first voice, which was male.
I heard the first voice say, "Yeah, I know. She could be eavesdropping on our conversation. I don't want that."
"But--" protested Voice Two.
Something hit the back of my head, and I blacked out.
…
When I regained consciousness, I looked around. I appeared to be in some sort of vast cave, dimly lit by what appeared to be glowing worms. There were multiple tunnels branching off from the cave, leading to who knows where. The cave was barren at the moment except for me and the glowing worms.
I tried to shift my body into a more comfortable position, before I realized that my hands were tied behind my back. I attempted to shape-shift into a wolf, a cat, a rabbit. Nothing happened.
I started worrying about what happened to my powers. Maybe I could only shape-shift a certain number of times every week. Maybe my powers required an object to work.
An object.
But what object?
My mind ran through my memory of things that I was wearing when I went out into the wilderness.
The clothes on my back--still there. Not enchanted. Shoes--still there. Not enchanted. My bead bracelet--fell off during the flight from the Shadow. Not enchanted.
My moonstone earring…
It's gone. I can't see it, but I don't feel its familiar weight pulling on my ear.
So where is it?
There was only one answer.
The wolves took it away while I was unconscious…
My mind snapped back to reality just as a wolf emerged from one of the tunnels. Her fur was a pale creamy color, her eyes chocolate brown.
The wolf trotted over to me.
"Where is my earring?" I demanded.
She shook her head. "I don't know. It's probably in the treasury."
I recognized the wolf's voice--the same voice as the female wolf in the dark cave.
I asked, "Who are you?"
"Me? I'm a nobody, from a family of nobodies."
"No, be honest," I said.
The wolf looked uncomfortable.
"My name is Einia. I'm the scribe of the Omega Pack. Someone tells me to put something on the record, I do it. Someone tells me to write a letter to a faraway relative for them, I do it."
"Who was that other wolf in the dark room?" I asked.
"The other wolf… that was Grimpaw, the spy." Einia gulped. "He can turn invisible. He could be watching us at this very moment."
As if on cue, the voice of Grimpaw said, "Yes, I am."
-
5 - LUNA by
on 2023-01-24 04:37:01 UTC
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The dragon swooped down and landed in front of us. Her scales gleamed crimson red, her eyes amber orange. She was small for a dragon, about five times my height, but still huge.
"Ahem," said the dragon. "Lord Drakor has sent me to question you two about the whereabouts of a certain shape-shifter.
"What if we don't share our information?" asked Ythakor.
"I will have to torture you over and over until you tell me," replied the dragon.
"Oh." Ythakor muttered something inaudible under his breath.
"Excuse me," said the dragon with a frown. "Did you just call me a dratted fire-breath lizard?"
(Here's a thing about dragons: they have better hearing than cats.)
The dragon started to whirl her tail in a circle, until it made a noise like--well, a whip.
(Another thing about dragons: their tail whips are even more painful than regular whips, because they have little barbs on their tail, and in some cases those barbs are venomous.)
"Okay, okay, I'll talk!" said Ythakor. "No need to be dramatic! I'm Ythakor. My lo--I mean friend here is Luna."
"Were you just about to say love?" I demanded.
"Um…"
The dragon snorted. "Get on with it!" She paused for a moment. "If you talk, I'll bring you meat! Lots of meat!"
"You haven't even introduced yourself yet," I pointed out.
"Lord Drakor told me that I'm not allowed to introduce myself," said the dragon. "I'm only allowed to request you two for information and torture you if I have to."
I turned to Ythakor and said, "Sign language to discuss our plan."
Ythakor nodded. He made the sign for bring out, sticking his snout into an imaginary hole, then taking it out. He then made the sign for mark, pretending to slice his own face with a claw.
I replied with: Mark. Scared. Dragon.
Ythakor them signed: Forge. Dragon. Fire. Special. Fly. Talk. Dragon. Free.
After lots of practice with sign language, I knew what Ythakor meant: Mark is forged by dragon fire, so he's special. He can fly up and threaten the dragon. She'll then have to set us free.
I shook my head. Not. Work. Dragon. Reinforcements.
Ythakor replied with: Take. Chances. Must.
Meanwhile, the dragon hissed. "You two done conspiring yet? Rember, I'll bring you food if you talk." Her tail swished back and forth dangerously.
I turned to Ythakor and made the sign for Lie, laying one paw on my head and bringing it down to my mouth.
Ythakor nodded.
I turned to the dragon and said, "Her name is Jo and she can only change into a mammal."
The dragon nodded. "Lord Drakor will be pleased." She flew out of the pit, and returned with a limp deer in her talons.
When the dragon set down the deer, we attacked it with such ferocity that a few minutes later, only several bits of bone scraps remained. I licked my lips.
"That was the fullest meal that I ever had in the last few days," I said.
Ythakor nodded. "Me too."
We both curled up and fell asleep as soon as we closed our eyes.
…
When we woke up, the dragon was gone.
Ythakor slid aside the rock slab on the ground and said to Mark, "We're safe now."
Mark flew up. "Not cool, man! You just woke me up from the best dream ever!"
"You say that all the time, Mark. By the way, do you know that dragon that came and asked us questions?"
"Oh, that dragon…" Mark went silent for a long while. "I was forged from her fire. I'm really scared of her, though."
"What's her name?" Ythakor asked.
"Her name is Flareon. [Present me: Yes, for real.] She has the hottest fire of all the dragons. I think that's because of how--"
"Just get to the point!" I said. (I know, that was bad.)
"Well," replied Mark, "Flareon is really small compared to the average dragon, but she is famous in the dragon world, second only to Drakor. She's good with tools and weapons, not to mention the fire-breath."
"What's her greatest weakness?" I asked.
Mark replied, "I'm not sure. It was either water or ice. Huh, water. There's a stream on the other side of the pit."
Ythakor turned to me and said, "Race you to the stream!"
Before my brain could process all that information, Ythakor was already halfway across. Man, he was fast.
I started bounding along, but it was too late. Ythakor had reached the stream and drank ferociously from it. I had no idea why he didn't realize that there was a stream--maybe he wasn't in the mood to explore previously.
When his turn was over, I drank from the stream. The water was sweet and fresh.
After I was finished, we raced back to Mark. This time, I won.
"C'mon, Mark." I coaxed Mark to get back into the niche.
"All right." With a yawn, Mark flew back into the niche and fell silent.
The sun was setting. It cast beautiful red and orannge rays across the horizon.
Yawning, I curled up and fell asleep.
-
6 - JEN by
on 2023-01-30 01:48:19 UTC
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[Oh, gag me with a spork. I typed up the entirety of the chapter here and posted it, but it didn't save, so I have to retype the whole thing. Darn Laws of Narrative Comedy… I don't like it when I'm the one being targeted!]
[At least I found my notebook. It was hiding under my bed. I have no idea how it got there.]
[To mitigate a potential kerfluffle like the one that just happened, I'll post half the chapter first, then edit the post to include the rest of it. I'll do the same with subsequent chapters.]
A wolf appeared right in front of us. His fur was a dark grey with hints of red.
"Grimpaw." Einia sounded determined, although her voice trembled a bit. "I thought that you were supposed to be spying on the falcons."
"They assigned someone else to that job, silly." Grimpaw chuckled. "And besides, those falcons aare harmless."
"No, not those falcons," replied Einia, still with that slight tremble in her voice. "The ones from the Aether Circle."
Grimpaw counterattacked with, "I meant those falcons."
"How do you know that the falcons of the Aether Circle are harmless?"
"They have a secret alliance with the large cats, and we're allied with the large cats. Hence, in a way, we're allied with the falcons."
Einia turned to me. "Everything's weird these days, see? Ythakor has probably been kidnapped. Luna is gone. The falcons are allied with the big cats. Grimpaw just said hence."
Grimpaw blinked. "You're right. I mean Einia, not the shifter. Ythakor and Luna are both gone. I just said hence."
"I have a question," I said.
"Feel free to ask," replied Einia.
"Well, if Luna is gone, who runs the pack?"
"Oh." Einia paused for a moment as if thinking. "No one knows. Only Luna and the temporary leader knows. We suspect that it's Luna's adopted son, Shadowhunter. Black fur with gold flecks, gold eyes with black flecks. Weird, right? Shadowhunter is nervous and fidgety. Luna likes to call him her 'little moonbeam'."
"How old is Shadowhunter?" I asked.
"A few years old, perhaps," said Einia. "I heard a rumour that Luna wants to have actual pups, though. Actual sons and daughters."
"Why didn't she tell me?" I wondered.
"The alpha would probaly be humiliated if she told you about that," was Einia's reply.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" interjected Grimpaw suddenly. "How come you two get all the fun, and I just sit here doing nothing? It's boring over here."
"Oh, of course you can join in," Einia scolded. The trembling in her voice had vanished. "Why didn't you?"
"I thought that I couldn't!"
"Of course you can--" Einia stopped. "Did you hear that?"
We all went silent.
High above us, there was a thump, followed by a musical clatter. The sound of metal against metal.
Anotther thump, another clatter. Louder this time.
Thump and clatter. Thump and clatter.
At this point, small rocks started to rain from the ceiling.
Grimpaw looked grim. (Don't laugh.) He extended a claw, and sliced my rope binding. I stood up and rubbed my sore wrists, flexed my arms.
"Follow me and Einia," Grimpaw said. "No time for celebrations."
He turned and fled down one of the tunnels, with Einia following. After a split second of decision, I did the wise thing, and followed them.
-
7 - LUNA by
on 2023-01-31 03:03:11 UTC
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[This chapter contains minor self-harm.]
Flareon continued to bring us venison, and we drannk from the stream whenever we were thirsty.
And for some strange reason, Mark stopped responding.
He didn't fade away or anything, he just…
stopped talking.
I had no idea why.
And when I tried to ask Ythakor, he just said, "Nuh-uh."
Ythakor never said nuh-uh, so appparently something deeply unsettled him.
But what was it?
When I tried asking Ythakor, he just said, "Nuh-uh."
So something deeply unsettled him, by, like, a LOT.
It seemed like Ythakor had lost his memory of speech, andd had forgotten every single word except nuh-uh.
I started getting bored, bored out of my skull, out of my brain.
I started doing everything I could to keep us entertained.
First, I did an ancient ritual dance. I howled like--well, a wolf--and leaped about.
No effect.
Next, I gathered up some dust, and threw it over my fur, then shook it off.
Nothing.
Out of desperation, I took Mark and pricked my paw with him.
Ouch.
But miraculously, Mark sputtered to life. "Man!" he said. "That felt awesome!"
I frowned. "You need a blood sacrifice to work?"
"Yeah!"
"Who was the last person who gave you the offering?"
"Hmm, I think that it was Flareon or some other dragon. Who knows."
I groan. "Get. To. The. POINT!" (I keep running into that pun.)
"Cool down, Luna!" said Mark. "I need a blood offering to work. A prick, I work for five days. A small cut, fifty. Anything larger is a thousand days."
"Why does it work like that, Mark?" Ythakor asked.
"Well," replied Mark, "I don't know."
"No?" I asked.
"Nope," replied Mark. "Here comes Flareon!"
We covered up Mark just as Flareon soared overhead and dropped a hunk of venison into our little pit. Oh, well.
After dinner, we went to sleep, my paw still hurting from that little prick.
…
That night, I had a dream.
I stood at the edge of a cliff, peering down into a dark abyss. It seemed to reach down, down, down forever, though I knew that that shouldn't be possible.
A voice chuckled from deep within. Then the voice spoke, one that sounded like the hissing of a thousand snakes.
"I will have her," crooned the voice. "Might as well give up now."
"Never," I growled.
The voice hissed. "Then you will die a painful death, far away from everyone you love. Come, little wolf. Come down!"
A chunk of the cliff I was standing on gave way, and I fell, screaming, tumbling, into the blackness.
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8 - JEN by
on 2023-02-02 06:18:57 UTC
Edited
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Einia led the way, running at full speed, with Grimwolf following close behind. I trailed at the back.
I had no idea where we were headed--some sort of shelter, perhaps. I wasn't sure.
The tunnel twisted and wound through the earth, like a large serpent. The tunnel was wide at first, but it narrowed. Eventually we came to a section in which the tunnel suddenly twisted into a steep slide. Without hesitation, we jumped through.
The slide-tunnel, as I like to put it, was so long that I spent about two minutes in it, until it slowly evened out and deposited us into a deep underground lake.
I gasped for air, kicking my legs furiously. (I) No, I CANNOT escape giant killer wolves and dragons just to drown in an underground lake. No way is it going to happen. (I)
Somehow, I had found the shore and climbed out, followed by my 'buddies', Grimwolf and Einia. We were in a vast underground cave, with a ceiling so high up that I couldn't see the top, even though there were practically glowworms everywhere.
The cave was also huge in volumn--apparently the lake was at one of its walls, if I can put it that way. I couldn't see how far it extended out.
Oh, and did I mention thay it was damp, but warm?
So apparently we were really deep underground. But how deep?
I decided not to ask that question, because I was aware of all the rock on top of my head. And what if it all came crashing down?
That would be bad.
Real bad.
Ahead of us, a couple dozen wolves milled around, having gotten here first. They varied in fur color, eye color, height, and the way that their body was sculpted.
A wolf strolled over to us.
"Hello!" he said. "My name is Shadowhunter, in case you were wondering."
Einia had described him perfectly--black fur with gold flecks, gold eyes with black flecks. I noticed that he tapped his paws on the ground when he spoke, and despite his smile, his eyes flicked from side to side.
"It's Einia annd Grimpaw," said Grimpaw.
"And I'm Jen. Nice to meet you," I said.
"You should join us over here," said Shadowhunter. "You three are missing out om all the fun."
He promply ran away.
"Well." I glanced at Einia and Grimpaw. "What are you waiting for?"
A couple of the wolves were playing cards. Two were playing chess. Several of the pups played hide-and-seek among some off the large rocks jutting out of the ground, and the rest of them listened to a story being told by one of the oldest-looking wolves I'd ever seen, with a limping posture and tired eyes.
Grimpaw and Einia had busied themselves in a game in which they took turns scattering bones. I had no idea jow it worked, but I was too scared to ask--especially with those bones.
Eventually, I went exploring.
The cave was so large ans so high up thay there was plenty of room to explore.
The section that I was in probably accounted for less than one tenth of the actual cave, including the lake.
I scooped up a glowworm, and started off.
What was out there?
A small patting noise.
"Please don't go out there." Shadowhunter sounded desperate. "Wolves have gone out, and they never come back. If you want to walk, stay near this section."
I wondered what had happened to the wolves.
What had made them disappear?
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Status update: My notebook has vanished. by
on 2023-01-26 06:45:23 UTC
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Obviously I can't keep posting the story until I find it, so the posting will be put on hold until I find the notebook.
But then, stuff that I lose have an annoying tendency to never turn up again. So this may just be the last of the story I can post. I hope not, though. I hope to MST the whole thing eventually.
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You can still MST what you've posted already in the meantime. (nm) by
on 2023-01-26 14:18:56 UTC
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It seems like each line is its own paragraph. Hmm. (nm) by
on 2023-01-19 21:45:45 UTC
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I mean, there's a solid premise in there... by
on 2023-01-16 17:30:08 UTC
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A girl is out on a fun camping trip with her family (and they seem to have a good relationship, which is nice!), and then she winds up in a life-or-death situation that unlocks a latent supernatural ability. Cool! I have many questions about that, and I'd probably keep reading to find out answers!
Sure, horses and wolves have been done, and the prose ain't Tolkien, and the title is painfully on-the-nose... but as something I'm guessing you wrote at about age twelve, I'd call it a good start. Were I advising this young writer, I'd start by asking my questions about Jen's powers and see how much planning has gone into how they work and fit in to the setting. A lack of that is where I'd anticipate things start getting silly and where a nudge in the right direction might do the most good. {= )
~Neshomeh
P.S. My Jenni says hi to your Jen. {; P
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I think I was 12-13 when I wrote this. by
on 2023-01-17 03:58:20 UTC
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And even if it was good for a 12-year-old, I can tell that my writing has improved considerably since then, and going through this today makes me want a lot of Bleeprin.
As a side note, the power is explained a bit in chapter 2.
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As original fiction, it’s not PPC-able. by
on 2023-01-16 13:22:50 UTC
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However, if you want, you (or someone else, if you’re okay with that) could MST it. If you want, I could post such to the Asylum.
—Ls wrote a similar story a similar amount of time ago. But his was worse-spelled.
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Hmm, I'll consider an MST. Could be fun. (nm) by
on 2023-01-17 03:16:46 UTC
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