#now it's just like. river and rocks. a different kind of rocks. some moss maybe. and of course the moon | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hamishpetersen · 3 years

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Belly full of green

Text commissioned for the exhibition Belly full of green by Caitlin Clarke at Hot Lunch Gallery, Ōtautahi Christchurch, 18 June–3 July 2021

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Dear C,

A greasy seam is sewn in the dewed yard. Hedgehog Way. It’s 7:18am and I’m greeting the hens. I wiggle the feeding bucket’s nipple and lodge a chickweed bundle under a brick. This is my time with the past before today begins. I stare at the wet mulch. I see soil-ordinary nothing. I see all the pits people have dug in this soil: midden, kiln, kumara... Maybe if it had never been drained to build roads it would have one day resembled a peat bog: mattressed with moss and heather. So I listen to the stories you tell with your hands to braid yourself back; Neolithic memory humming; immigrant weeds singing in the pot; a shadowed need for old relations; a gift of new language.

*** The ground itself is kind, black butter. [1]

***

“Could you conjure a church?”

Yarrow asks, in reply to the woman now rolling about on top of them. Weeks ago, she asked Yarrow about the stories in the ground around these lowlands, and how to hear them: the chorus of navigators who’d each found their way up this estuary at different points in the double spiral of its memory. She introduced herself as C. A weird name.

“Well, we need somewhere to gather and listen together.” Says Yarrow, “So maybe make something of hay and mud, or wattle and daub? Maybe we just find the five biggest rocks within rolling distance of this old swamp, bury a third of each in the sandier soils, backfill, and put the biggest on top. Call it a dolmen.”

“Or” C adds, “should we go cottage-core and reassemble that falling-down worker’s hut in a sunny spot and scatter-sow hollyhocks, and foxgloves, and batchelors’ buttons? Or, I know, I’ve got an architect friend. How ‘bout we ask them to draw up something modular with an outdoor kitchen and a bunk house for friends to stay in. We could start a vlog about it and run a PatreonTM to pay the engineers, and pile-drivers, and bristly electricians...”

Some of the geese have gathered and are shaking their heads, sharing glances and knowing brows. A moment passes. Others join.

C brushes her palms across the tops of her tarpaulin thighs, getting the picture. She leans forward on two tree knots and stands, putting one wet leaf palm against her lower back, and then the other. Schlup. Schuup.

“Alright, yeah, good point.” Yarrow breathes out, thinking, “That was close, almost lost another one.” And puts on an encouraging look: five tiny white petals around a domed arrangement of pollen receptors and nectar teeth.

C turns back around to the small assembly.

“Right then, it’s agreed: our church will swallow us and be made of us, house and require us, ingest and digest us. Finally, a place to be together in some mycorrhizal chorus of sensation and story. But it’ll be no bigger than you, y’hear!”

Hedgehog nods, smiling a pine needle grin.

“It should be just big enough to fit the congregation of clovers,” C continues, “So we’ll use those 110ft scots pines over there, let them sit in the river till soft as black pulp, pack them into woven willow, and clear these old pioneer trees to make ash for the potato drills and to glaze the goblets. I don’t think the market will ever recover this time, so let’s not worry about the depreciation of attached dwellings like these. We’ll insulate it with ryegrass in April and wash its walls in kelp slime to keep the rain out. That sounds better eh?”

Walnut drops from the canopy in affirmation. The assembly has grown.

“But where?” C asks.

On an incoming wind, the Harakeke raise their precise voices to the group,

“We know how these soils slip around here. If you can help us keep our rito safe from those steel predators, we’ll send the kōmako out to sing you to the sound places for your structure. There are only a few spots down here where we would all have enough soil around our roots and be woven tightly enough by those last kahikatea to hold us all together, to sing at once under a single roof. Just ask, and we’ll tell you what’s needed.”

A sweet old peach rustles a round of applause and mumbles underleaf to its neighbour,

“I wish that rumply old couple had listened to those folks when they planted us in this slump in 1949. My boots have barely had a breath of fresh air in all those 130-something years!”

C thanks the stand of harakeke and takes another plotting pace in algal galoshes, then back again in sappy clogs, plan crystalising while turning a chestnut and two acorns over in her paw.

There’s an urge to begin in pricked ears and cocked beaks held around the yard. Piwakawaka winks and does a kickflip. The assembly seems to be in agreement. Convivial chatter and planning rises amongst the stray cats and buried family dogs, budgies, and chinchillas. C gets to work drawing up plans with the ants.

“Engage bug mind,” they say. And C sinks in.

***

Then he is standing very still, concentrating, rocking on the breeze, and he wriggles his fingers and there are hazelnuts. [2]

***

She gives me slushy tiles and bursting stones. Overflowing geology. Extrasensory archaeology. Blinded by the city, we look for miner’s lettuce and ploughman’s luck. But it’s too early. Or all gone. All I can do today is sit near and watch your back. You cast the space between your fingertip and nail in earthenware and ironsands to record who happened there. What was left and what you made from that. It’s warm to the touch now: bleating, bloated, bleeding, beating. Stained grass windows in the last light of the day.

*** My body is the tent of my body And dwells here on earth

Among us [3]

* * *

1. Seamus Heaney, “Bogland,” Opened Ground (London: Faber & Faber, 1998), 41.

2. Max Porter, Lanny (London: Faber & Faber, 2019), 202.

3. Tusiata Avia, “Apology,” Fale Aitu (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2016), 59.

#writing #ōtautahi christchurch #aotearoa

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beatriceportinari · 3 years

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Hands are done 🤧

#wip #now it's just like. river and rocks. a different kind of rocks. some moss maybe. and of course the moon #but in any case nothing that requires that much lineart hihi which means textures soon #though as I said I've been enjoying drawing on this specific color of metallic pastel

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lluvguts · 3 years

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Cool Blue ; Chapter Five

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚

sneak us through the rivers

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚

☽ warnings: sexual tension, heat cycle talk, touching

☽ fic masterlist

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚

Luca slept through Lorenzo's gentle wake-up of kneeling beside the cave bed and prodding one caring hand against his shoulder. Ever since he was a child the action became normalized, with Luca curling around his father's touch along with a quiet yawn and a sleepy lopsided grin at his level eyes. But now, with the blues of his bedroom brightening as the sun hung above their home, he wouldn't budge. Lorenzo cleared his throat and removed his hand from Luca's shoulder for a moment, seeing how his son looked like a stone at the bottom of a river.

"Hey, Luca," Lorenzo rubbed his back. "You slept through the morning chores. I think the goatfish are missing you."

He stirred in the stifling water making his scales feel congested and stiffened when his eyes opened to his father wading next to him. Now that he was awake, the uncomfortable heat radiating off his skin made Lorenzo pull away with a frown.

"Luca, are you okay?"

"Giuseppe?" Luca slurred, disoriented. He rolled onto his other side to face Lorenzo, who was now floating back to the far wall of his room, gingerly tracing the ripples of warm water that chased his movements.

"Daniela!" Lorenzo cast a fearful look to his son then darted from the room. Though Luca's room was separated there was still the mouth of the cave entrance that had no means of a door and allowed Luca's grandmother (or, alternately, anyone) to peek her head inside at Lorenzo's little shout. Daniela soon followed.

"Y-You said he still had a few months!" Lorenzo returned clutching the hand of Daniela, while grandma Paguro trailed behind wordlessly, smirking to herself.

"All I said was that seventeen was the normal time for this, Lorenzo," Daniela said in a frustrated whisper, her dark tail making rivulets in the water.

Luca blinked at the three of them, now in his private space, then growled. He couldn't really stop himself from doing so, he had been sleeping peacefully enough until they all decided to ruin the dream he was having.

Oh, cod. The dreams he'd been having...

Daniela bent down to look Luca in the eyes, taking hold of his shoulder. Luca winced and placed his hand on top of his mother's. She clicked her tongue in response.

"Yep. Scales are hot...He's sensitive to touch...Been sleeping away most of the day already," She murmured more to herself than to her concerned husband.

"Will be be alright?" Lorenzo piped up, leaning toward Luca.

"Oh please, Lorenzo. You went through your heat too, remember?" Daniela sighed and looked back to him with a scowl. Lorenzo flushed and averted his gaze away.

Luca found his voice. "My...what?"

"Your heat cycle," His grandmother added in, being the third and final family member to join Luca at his bedside. She snorted. "It means you're going to be ready to find a mate soon."

"Mother! I said we should ease him into it! Does that sound like easing to you?"

Mate? A mate? Or...mating? He squirmed at the thought.

Three very different pairs of eyes, all holding separate emotions, glimmered back at him. Luca felt their gazes burning into his scales and crawled away from the ledge of the bed to the point where his dorsal fin brushed the rock wall. The stone cave was smooth and cool to the touch. So silky against his tender scales and spines it made that odd pain burst through his abdomen again until it blossomed into an even more peculiar sort of pleasure. It soothed his feverish scales and reminded him of the practiced hands that had been all over him in his dreams, and as his parents argued only inches from his trembling body he bit down on his tongue to keep quiet.

"Are you in pain, Bubble? Where does it hurt?"

"Oh, poor thing, look at him shaking. Great job, Daniela," Luca's grandmother chided with a light chuckle.

Not for what you may think, Luca thought with an internal groan of discomfort.

"What did I do wrong?" Daniela turned to growl at her mother.

"He's your son."

Daniela's tail flicked angrily. "Well what did you do when it was my time, mother?"

The older woman examined her scales, and, without missing a beat, "Sent you out to the breeding grounds. Don't point the claw at me, missy. You and Lorenzo had a fairly nice time."

"Breeding grounds?" Luca shrieked. His back was fully pressed to the cave wall now, to his parents it only confirmed their assumptions on his fear but really Luca was doing it because it felt better than the boiling water around him.

Even the word sounded primitive. Luca had seen--not by choice--a few of the goatfish going through a particular season of...breeding, and if what he'd been forced to watch while sheperding was anything remotely close to how it was for sea folk, he didn't want in on it. Well, he knew how it was for sea folk, of course. Daniela had been hell-bent on initiating that conversation much earlier than Luca would have preferred.

"Can we talk about this later?" Luca begged, sliding back down onto his kelp bed with his claws raked through the fins on his head. "Please? I just want to go back to sleep."

"Go back to sleep?" Lorenzo chuckled. "Son, you've been sleeping this whole time--"

"Oh, nonsense," Daniela put her hand on Lorenzo's snout, quieting him. "He'll need all the rest he can get if he really is in heat. Besides, it'll keep him away from the neighbor's. I think they have a young girl around Luca's age, and that's the last thing we need."

"Uh, I'm right here?" Luca said angrily. His whole body felt like it was spinning on a wheel of emotions with no axis, just one blending into the other.

Lorenzo gave Luca a sympathetic smile before he was pulled away by grandma Paguro into the cave channel outside his room.

"Don't worry Lu," Daniela took hold of both Luca's hands, squeezing them. "This'll all be over in a few weeks."

"But," Luca looked to her algae dress swaying with the water, feeling his face warm up. "You're saying that...all of these things I'm feeling are just because of the heat?"

"Yes, baby." She tapped the back of his hand reassuringly. "I know it's confusing, but I promise after you get just a little bit more rest, we can explain it later. Okay, Bubble?"

Luca had a million things to say, and he wanted to say them now. He wanted to tell his mother that he thought he was going crazy because he'd had the best and most vivid dreams of his entire life. Well, maybe not say exactly that, but it was definitely up there. Or the fact that every time he moved, a starburst of pain cramped in his stomach, low and threatening, but all that came with it were thoughts dirtier than the time uncle Ugo decided to make whale for dinner. He wasn't supposed to think things that vile!

And, most of all, the beautiful land monster boy he'd met at the cove. With his tanned skin that reminded Luca of the tender underside of the brown conch shells he used to collect. And the sun kisses on his skin! Each one like a splash of color gifted from the fish in the sky! His eyes, bright expectant shards of sea glass Luca wished he could touch. Alberto, marvelous and witty, painting the rocks that lined the pool at the cove. Luca, marveled and wincing with feeling. Just thinking about him made his stomach ache. It made him ache all over. But it wasn't a sorrowful, sore pain.

It was an ache of need. Of want. Once his train of though passed through thinking innocently of Alberto's kind eyes and lopsided grin, it focused more heavily on the way Alberto bit his lip and the lean muscles that made up his body until he had to catch his breath because his mother couldn't catch him like this.

So all Luca did was nod at his Daniela's words, all worked up again, and wave weakly as she swam out of his room.

He fell back onto the bed, chest heaving.

This was impossible. And she had said it was going to last weeks?

"Oh, sharks. I'm so dead," Luca groaned, digging the flat part of his hand to his belly. He traced one of his gills with his eyes closed, savoring the feeling and the memories of the night before. Luckily for him, the entrance to his bedroom was facing out into the hallway, where there was only silence.

A considerable amount of silence.

Then an idea broke through his hazy thoughts of Alberto. Luca flipped himself over and swam to the mouth of the cave, glancing at either side of the hallway. No one was in the rooms beside him, and from the eerie quiet they all must have left the house so he could sleep.

Guilty bile rose in his throat, but Luca didn't care. There was no feasible way he was falling asleep. He checked the hallway one more time before taking an old blanket made of sea moss and throwing it on top of his bed, along with stuffing a few lumpy pieces of coral he'd stashed away underneath that until it formed a lumpy version of himself under the covers.

He didn't believe that what was burning in his chest for Alberto was just because of some stupid sea monster thing.

/ / /

"Alberto! How are you already here?" Luca popped his head out from under the still water to stare at his friend. "I didn't think you'd be wandering around."

When Luca had snuck back to the wide rock opening to the cove underwater, he could already smell Alberto from above. His salty scent, mixed with other delicious things too overpowering for his sensitive nose, but he could find it anywhere. There was a sweetness lingering in Alberto's scent, it was honey and flower petals.

Alberto smiled apologetically with his hands on the straps of his bag. "I wasn't wandering around. I came to see you." He undid the latch on his bag, the very one where all of the fun paint colors came out of if Luca was correct, and produced a towel. Luca's brows were pulled low as he watched from the edge as Alberto crouched down to him and dunked it into the water.

"What're you doing?" Luca pointed at the towel, once light and radiating weird land monster smells but was now dull and soaking in sea water.

Alberto's face went pink, a color Luca loved looking at, and shrugged. "I, uh, thought that this might help with the sun." He knelt down on his bare knees and draped the dripping towel across Luca's shoulders. "You can come out of the water now. Now it shouldn't hurt as much."

Alberto helped Luca up until they were both sitting, cross-legged, staring at each other. The towel was heavy with the weight of the water around him, but was nice against his scales. He pinched the corners of the towel and nestled deeper inside of it.

"Thank you," Luca whispered with dark cheeks. When he looked at Alberto now the words mate and heat and breeding grounds appeared in his head unannounced and his skin crawled with the indecision of everything spinning around him.

"You good, Luca?" Alberto leaned closer toward him, growing concerned. Luca wanted to smack him, with his face inches from his nose the stench, albeit a lovely one, rippling off his tan skin was too much. They were things Luca did not know the names for in the human world, but all the same he smelled intoxicating.

Luca took in a deep breath, his gills still clogged with sea water, and nodded uneasily. "Is it okay if I try something?" He rushed to ask in his preheat, head-pounding state.

"Uh, okay?" Alberto sat back normally. "Are you gonna take me to Atlantis or something? Hate to break it to you, Luca. I might be an expert at swimming but I don't think I can breathe underwater like you."

The arrogance rolled off Alberto in waves, and Luca fought to keep his head steady.

"No! That's not what I meant! It's not even called Atlantis, you know. And if I wanted to take you, the water pressure is too deep for your ears. You'd probably die or something."

"Then what did you mean?"

Luca scooted closer, claws still gripping the towel like a cape. "Sorry, it's just that...you're the only land monster I've seen. Ever. So, like, there's a lot of weird things about you that I need to know about."

Alberto snorted. He placed his arms behind his back and looked to Luca with a glint of a challenge in his eyes. "Like what?"

"Like your stubby claws, for one." Without hesitation Luca grabbed for one of Alberto's hands, crawling to sit beside him and examined his fingers and nails chewed down to tiny stubs. "They're so weird. You can't do anything with these."

Alberto only watched with a smug look to conceal his awe.

"I'm gonna skip the whole no-tail thing," Luca continued, scanning Alberto's body. He drank in his skin and the shiny stuff that looked like water beading along his temple and around his tank top. It seemed cool, and he wanted to touch it but he kept his hand back.

"Alright, have you had your fun already? I know I'm not as amazing as you are," Alberto asked while Luca crawled closer to pat his fluffed up curls. "Not everyone can be a sea monster."

"Okay, now this is weird," Luca commented on Alberto's messy hair. His hands moved slowly to his forehead, checking to see Alberto's flat expression when his claws grazed the sides of his face.

"...What?" Alberto asked, leaning closer. "So, you're touching my face?"

Luca blushed and let his hands rest on each side of his jaw, holding him in place. "You don't, uh, feel anything?" If he could only slip his fingers beneath Alberto's ears...that was the most delicate part. That was where he'd scent him.

His breath hitched, and all he'd done was touch his cheeks. Scent him? He couldn't, he wasn't a sea monster. But...something in him wanted to. It really, really did.

"Am I supposed to feel something else? All I feel are your slimy paws on my face."

Luca hissed playfully. "Slimy? It's a natural coating. I'd dry up out here if I didn't have it...And they aren't paws, Alberto. They're hands just like yours."

"My fingers aren't webbed." Alberto held up one hand to make his point.

"Whatever."

"Why are you asking anyway?"

"Because," Luca let his gaze drift over Alberto's face, shiny with sweat and dotted in freckles. "Because it's supposed to, uh--"

"Does it...feel differently for you?" Alberto stared with new knowledge at Luca's face. "Is that why?"

Luca couldn't breathe. He only nodded. Alberto registered the breath Luca was holding, his yellow eyes wide and pupils blown.

"Ah, okay," Alberto whispered. He sat up straighter and lifted one hand off the grass, placing it directly on Luca's cheeks, his thumbs just grazing the base of his audial fins. His thumb and index fingers gently took hold of them, feeling their slippery texture almost in the way Alberto might relish in the softness of velvet. His touch was soft, tentative and curious but most of all wholly him.

All of the sea water that was dripping down Luca's face had dried up, and in its place was the shock that Alberto was touching him, not just touching his hand or his shoulder, but his hands were--

He couldn't even finish his line of thought. When he was touching him, the pain that had pooled in his stomach lightened. But it didn't stop the tingling that spread all through his legs and up his spine.

Alberto hummed his interest, gauging Luca's pinched face for any sort of reaction, before letting his wonder get the best of him as he slipped his fingers behind his fins, just above his gills.

"Hmm," Eyes shining, dark pools leaving Luca helpless as to what Alberto was doing. "These gills are interesting. They don't feel like the normal ones you see on a fish or a shark. You know, my Papa taught me all about marine biology, but maybe it's a bit different in your case. Though this seems to be the same..."

To refer his point Alberto ran his index finger in a slow, agonizing circle there on his skin.

A pathetic little purr rose in Luca's throat, and he hurried to correct his mistake by slapping his hand over his mouth.

He spoke around his own hand covering his lips. "Mngh! I'm sorry! I just! You're--"

Alberto shushed him and peeled Luca's hand away. "S'okay. Sensitive, huh? I guess I didn't think of that."

Luca bit his lip and nodded, clamping his tongue between his teeth. "Very."

His gaze lightened a bit, flicking over to Luca's cheeks tinged a deep, flushed blue. He let his eyes roam down to his throat, where he could see his frantic pulse beating away, trying to keep himself under control. And, finally, to the dappled line of brighter, more opalescent scales that trailed down Luca's waist until they disappeared into the hem of his mossy shorts.

Luca knew those what those markings on his skin were, such a light blue it teetered on the edge of pink.

They were signs of a sea monster in heat.

Luca swallowed hard, his throat much too dry, while Alberto's green eyes soaked him up. Alberto's next words were chosen carefully, softly spoken, barely a puff of electric air around his warm scales. When did they get so close?

"Is it...a bad sensitive?" Alberto pressed, genuinely interested, and lifted the pressure of his hands off of Luca's gills. "Or a good one?"

Luca snapped his jaws tight, he could feel the blood drumming in his throat at that. Somehow he found himself drifting to Alberto for the curve of his chest, both arms on him created a little curve for Luca to hide in. His heady scent drove him further, enough to rest his temple on Alberto's collarbones, lungs burning to keep his breathing normal. Alberto stiffened around Luca's touch, but only for a moment. He sighed and his fingers resumed their teasing touches along his neck.

"A g-good one," Luca breathed out. That painful burn pooled in his stomach, making those pink scales itch and Luca couldn't help but put his hand there on his belly to suppress the cramping. But that wasn't all that was bothering him. He realized, as the pads of Alberto's fingers pressed on his gills, on his scent glands, a warm pleasure bubbled up like molten honey hidden in his shorts, and he knew he had to scoot away before it was too late.

What would he think of him then?

That he was just some gross, horny little fish seeking comfort from everything that didn't make sense and find the answers in the arms of a boy?

But Alberto wasn't just some boy, Luca chided himself. As much as he wanted to side with the rational portion of his brain the other, more primal parts of him knew that there was someone here, there was a boy here, in his space.

A strong, tall boy who had his arms wrapped around him and could probably smell the heat on him.

But that boy also was so tantalizingly close, the dull ache in Luca's stomach erupted when he buried his face into the crook of Alberto's neck. Alberto's scent changed in an instant. A deeper, muskier smell that had a spike of fear that dissipated in an instant. He growled, and nudged his nose up to the base of Alberto's jaw, tasting his richness in the air.

Luca's tail whipped out from behind him and latched onto Alberto's bare ankle, tugging lightly and flaring up his fins to display. He would make such a good mate, Luca thought deliriously, letting his mouth part. He would leave such lovely marks on his skin to show for it.

"Luca, are you alright?" Alberto tensed, and his grip on Luca loosened.

Luca wriggled uncomfortably with the heat that trembled and throbbed between his legs, opening his mouth poised on Alberto's neck, only thinking of the blood rushing through him and the need to be full. His teeth kissed the sweat on Alberto's neck, and Luca let out a whimper in surprise.

"So pretty...you smell so good, Alberto." Luca mused. The heat wasn't allowing him to think clearly anymore, his head was muddled with Alberto's scent and the overarching desire to claim him. He rose off his knees, while Alberto held his breath in confusion, and Luca pressed his full weight onto Alberto in one sloppy motion. His hips stuttered as they met Alberto's waist, relieved to have some friction, and Luca already knew the other boy could feel what had been dripping there. "P-Please, I need you."

Alberto gasped and shoved him off, harshly. Luca fell back into the hot grass, the towel around his shoulders stank of mildew and heat. He blinked back at Alberto, who was scrambling up on his feet, chest rising in uneven bursts of air. As he stood he blocked the sun and his entire front half was bathed in shadow. But the absence of the sun did not hide the blush that blistered along Alberto's nose, not a delicate rose in bloom but like an aggressive blaze that colored its path. So much that it reached the tips of his ears.

Neither spoke for minutes. Both breathing heavy, one in shock and the other in embarrassment, sweat dripping from their skin. Alberto felt the spot Luca had left on his neck, then shuddered when he saw the unhinged glint in Luca's yellow eyes.

"I'm sorry...I can't control it," Luca whispered. His breath caught on the wind, raw with shame and a tumult of conflicting emotions, and he wouldn't be surprised if Alberto didn't hear him.

Alberto took another step back when Luca crawled out of the towel and went to the edge of the pool. "What do you mean you can't control it? What the hell were you even going on about?"

Luca, eyes streaming, slipped into the water without a sound. The cool waves lapped at his hot scales and they soothed him, but only on the outside. There was something twisting around inside of him that wouldn't go away, even if he wanted it to.

He couldn't control the way he felt.

He glanced over his shoulder before murmuring. "I'm in heat."

#luca #luca fanfiction #luca paguro #luca x alberto #luca and alberto #luberto #luberto fanfic #luberto fanfiction #alberto scorfano #luca disney #pixar luca #luca movie

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zidanetilornitier · 2 years

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The Maiden of Pinnacle Rocks

Ah, Pinnacle Rocks. A relaxing, gorgeous location surrounded by moss covered trees, rushing water, lush, green grass, fog, and various cliffs and rocky spires. Grass crunched under boot, shoe, and paw as everyone stepped out of their respective tents. A pale blue rat, clad in lightweight, barely colored, baggy sleep clothes, an orange ribbon tied to her brown tail, groggily applied pressure to her lower back, sighing a sigh of relief as it gave a few sharp pops.

"Sleep well?" A small, tiny rather, black mage asked as he stood beside the tall Burmecian woman, her tail swishing softly. The tiny black mage, clad in an azure oversized sleep shirt, the lower hem of which is obscuring his bare feet, nervously fidgeted with the brim of his tawny, conical hat. The tall woman looked down at him, a soft smile on her sharp face as his gentle, nervous, glowing gold eyes locked with her own emerald irises.

"Not really." She replied as a man stepped out of a nearby tent, clad only in white long underwear, repeating an apology as he moved to lean up against a nearby tree. With the man now behind the tree, the sound of clanking iron could be heard. "I think I slept on a rock all night. Not to mention a certain Zidane Tribal was snoring so loudly last night that I got little sleep to begin with." A blonde boy, a bit slight of stature, with a long, slender, ashe blonde tail with a slightly tufted tip stepped out of a different nearby tent, shirtless and clad in only baggy, teal pants. He yawned, his tail lazily swaying behind him. He stretched as he looked at the tall Burmecian woman, his grey-blue eyes glinting a bit mischievously.

"I didn't snore." He retorted, a smirk on his face as he tied some of his ashe blonde hair into a ponytail.

"Then who did?" She replied, giving him a disgruntled look. "If it wasn't you, Zidane, then who? Steiner?" From behind a nearby tree, a peach skinned hand pops out from behind it, forefinger extended skyward.

"I sleep on my stomach so I don't snore and disturb Her Royal Highness!" The person to whom the hand belongs to said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh, just can it, Rusty." Zidane groaned as he stepped towards the communal water jug. Carefully gripping the ladle, he tilted his head back and poured some cool, crisp water into his mouth, making sure to not let the metal ladle touch his lips. The sound of someone balking came from behind the tree. Zidane chuckled as he set the ladle back into the jug.

"Yo, Freya." He called out as he crouched down beside the former campfire, placing fresh tinder and wood on top of the stone surrounded pile of ash; with it being so foggy, starting a fire by hand would be a major pain, doable, but a pain. At least the tiny black mage could summon fire. "You want anything? I'm making breakfast for myself and wanted to see if you wanted any."

"I don't trust your ability to cook anything more than just burnt toast and sooty cheese-eggs." Freya said with a slight huff as she grabbed the water ladle and got a drink for herself. Zidane feigned being seriously offended, but only for a second.

"Well, excuuuse me, oh high and mighty dragoon. First off, we don't have rations like that, we've got salt pork, dried mushrooms, pickled limes, and hard tack." Zidane stated as he motioned for the small black mage to draw near, a distaste in his voice at the vinegar soaked pickled limes and tooth chipping hard tack. "I was just going to boil some river water and try to turn some of the hard tack into a kind of porridge. Maybe, if I wanna be a masochist, I'll add some of the lime flesh or salted pork. Vivi, would you please?" He gestured at the pile of wood before him, and leaned back a bit as Vivi, trying to be fancy, snapped his bare fingers just as he summoned fire. Fire leapt from his hands and onto the wood, setting it alight as a new camp fire. Zidane nodded a thank you.

"You, of all wretched people, need to eat those limes! I dare say you don't want scurvy." The figure from behind the tree called out.

"Oh, wow, somebody's got some smarts in that iron-capped skull of yours!" Zidane retorted, a mildly condescending tone to his voice. More balking from behind the tree. Freya gave him a smack upside the back of the head.

"At least try to be nice to Steiner." She hissed as Zidane rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head without comment.

"Y-you're welcome." Vivi stammered, having finally spoken up, mildly drawing attention away from Steiner as he moved to head back into his tent.

"You want some of my breakfast?" Zidane offered as he reached for the nearby ration crate.

"N-no thank you, I don't feel too well eating so soon after I wake up." Vivi shyly replied, staring at his feet. Sharply, a hand patted him between the shoulder blades, startling him into looking up at the hand's owner. It was Zidane, giving him a sympathetic look as he held a pair of hard tack pieces in his right hand. Freya, taking advantage of the open ration box, grabbed a piece of hard tack, snapped it in two, and wedged a piece of the insanely salty salt pork inbetween, making a disgusting breakfast sandwich. Both. Zidane and Vivi gave Freya looks of disgust, but otherwise said nothing.

"Alrighty. Let me know if you do." He stated as he placed the two pieces of hard tack on a nearby rock. Quickly, he popped up from his seat and reached for the pot, only for his attention to shift as the sound of rustling wool cloth could be heard. From a nearby tent, its patchwork exterior standing out from the surroundings, a maiden, clad in a (mildly) fancy, white nightgown, stepped tiredly out, her long, dark brown hair in rather messy rivulets, indicating a less than optimal sleep last night. Boy, despite that, she sure was gorgeous... "G-good morning, Dagger!" He called out, stammering a hair as he caught himself getting too distracted by her beauty that he almost dropped the cast iron pot on his bare feet. He smiled a toothy grin at her, now gripping the pot's handle a bit firmer. Before Dagger had time to look over at her shorter, ashe blonde companion, the sound of clanking came out from behind the nearby tree; it's Steiner. Quickly, he ran, stepping between her and Zidane. She looked over just in time to see Steiner, red-faced and hunched over a bit, to her left.

"Princess Garnet!" He said in a relieved and excited tone. "Would you like me to make you some breakfast? I could go hunt for something, I-"

"No need, but I deeply appreciate the offer." She replied softly, pausing to yawn. "I think, given the weather right now, something warm for breakfast would be nice, so I'm going to ask if Zidane'll share." A grunt came from over where Zidane was resided, having just sat down and now busy sifting through the ration box. The excitement he got from the idea of being able to do something for Garnet, thus insuring she's close by, had made his tail wag furiously, but, to insure he wasn't creating a dirt cloud behind him with his tail, he had to sit on it. His tail tip still tried to wag, though.

"I would love to make you breakfast!" He told her as she tiredly nodded, adjusting the bundle of orange clothes that he just now noticed she was carrying.

"Thank you." She replied. " While you're busy with that, I'm going to go take a bath. Just so you all know where I "went kapoof" to." And with that, she stepped into the fog. Zidane was now at an impasse. Either sneakily follow her, maybe get a chance to see her shirtless for once, or stay and cook breakfast for both himself and her. His stomach voiced its opinion with a noticeable growl before his brain came to any conclusion. After sifting through the ration box enough, his bare fingers grazed the lip of a paper sack, just what he was looking for. Carefully, he pulled the small sack out if the ration box, revealing a poorly drawn mushroom on it. The sack's contents, upon examination, are of the common puffball mushroom, presliced, alongside some small straw mushrooms and woodear mushrooms, with all of them being dry. It was Vivi's idea to grab the bag, and, according to him, a good mushroom can make even just straight boiled bog water palatable. The sack was delicately placed by the two pieces of hard tack Zidane had selected earlier.

As he stood, reaching for the pot handle, he scanned his surroundings, planning how to best slip past the tents with the pot, which is likely to swing with each step. Sure enough, as he began to walk past Freya's tent, the pot swayed, tugging at his arms as he did so. It wasn't too heavy to carry, but due to the uncomfortable handle, it had a tendency to sway, the uncomfortable handle digging into his pale, bare hands. Once he approached the river he was looking for, he leaned down and gently used the pot to scoop up a half potful of water. Carefully, he stood back up, paying particular attention towards the water within the pot, making sure to not spill any. Slowly, he slipped by Vivi's tent, internally wincing as some of the water sloshed out and wet it. Just a few more steps, and, with a sigh of relief, he placed the pot on the fire. As he waited for it to boil, his tail swishing softly behind him, he sat, taking his Mage Mashers out of his tent just prior. With one blade in his hand, he grabbed an old rag from the ration box and dipped it lightly into the now simmering pot of water, careful not to burn his fingers.

Delicately, the rag was slid along the blade, cleaning it thoroughly, before moving onto the other one. Satisfied that the Mage Mashers were clean, he set one on a flat stone, then placed the hard tack on top, then the other blade, and wrapped it up in the cloth. Steadying his hand, he slipped one of his gloves over it, and, with a mighty swing, brought his fist down upon the fabric-hard tack-Mage Masher sandwich. A resounding crunch from between the blades drew everyone's attention for a bit, but as they watched Zidane dump the now pulverized hard tack into the pot, returned to whatever they were doing. Next, he swiped a spoon from the ration pot, smiling a bit as he watched the water begin to thicken as the hard tack crumbs swelled. Grabbing the mushroom sack with his gloved right hand, he carefully shook some of the mushrooms into the pot, just enough to add flavor, texture, and color. Then, all that was left, was to wait and stir every so often to avoid burning. Slowly, but surely, this strange, mushroomy porridge began to look more and more edible as the hard tack and dried mushrooms absorbed more moisture.

The sound of footsteps approaching him drew him out of the daze he was in. How long had he been stirring the pot? He couldn't tell, but the pot's contents were starting to smell fragrent, anyhow. Glancing over his shoulder, he smiled at who he saw: Garnet, hair lightly damp, taking a seat beside him. She smiled in return and, while Steiner gave the two a worried look from behind.

<She's with that street urchin...!> Steiner thought to himself, internally fretting about how Zidane would treat her. He watched with bated breath as Zidane's tail mildly curled in the direction of Garnet. It didn't touch her, but it was within inches of her ass. Freya, seeing the scene unfold, how Zidane was trying hard to hide how much he liked being with Garnet as he served her a bowl of the "porridge", making sure to give her some of the mushroom bits, and how Garnet, most likely unbeknownst to herself, seemed pleased to be in Zidane's presence, to how Steiner seemed to be having an internal conniption on how the two teens interacted on amicable terms. With a strict goal in mind, a plan, if you will, she strode towards Steiner. Though she had only been fully dressed for about thirty minutes, with her original plan to not do laundry today, she wouldn't mind having to change out of her then soiled dragoon gear if it meant getting Steiner to leave them alone.

"Hey." She spoke, startling the worrisome knight and making him more aware of his current surroundings. "You. Me. Sparring. How's 'bout it?"

"I... I need to-" Before he could finish, she grabbed him by the arm, her spear in her free hand, and dragged him away from camp. His protests, though polite, were occasionally cut off by Freya insisting that Garnet needs companions her age and that Steiner should lay off a bit.

"You're a bit suffocating, you know." She said as she dragged him further into he fog, her voice getting fainter the farther from camp they got. "I bet Dagger has little to no friends, and she could probably use a new one, anyhow. Besides, Zidane's not that bad. He's just not that good at socializing around newly met women. I should know, it-" She was out of earshot now, and so was Steiner. The only sound in the fog thick air was of spoons scraping wooden bowls as the two teens ate.

"You sure this is just hard tack and mushrooms?" Dagger asked, still in disbelief at what she was tasting.

"Yeppo." Zidane replied, a hand in front of his semi-full mouth as he did so. He swallowed. "Two pieces of hard tack and about a dozen sizeable mushroom pieces in straight river water."

"Well, it tastes better than the sum of its parts, that's for sure."

"Th-thank you." Zidane stammered nervously as he rubbed the back of his head with his dominant hand; compliments from women are a new thing to him, kinda, so he was unsure about how to really respond. "I just thought my "Emergency Gruel" was just that, decent emergency food."

"I'd say it's better than decent. I'd say it's good." A smile curled at the edge of both their lips at what Dagger said. Just as she put the last bite she had in her mouth, she nearly spat it out as something soft grazed her ass and right hip. Zidane quickly looked at her as she coughed, ready to jump to her aid as soon as possible.

"Are you ok?" He asked her, worried. Dagger, though, as she took a drink from the communal water jug, glanced over to see that it was his tail that touched her. As soon as she noticed, he flicked it over to his left and away from her. "Sorry..." He mumbled as he shoveled the last of his gruel into his mouth before collecting dirty dishes. Before Dagger could say anything, naught even a comment on the matter, he got up and left to clean said dishes, his tail oddly and uncharacteristically still as he walked.

The two didn't really interact that much for the rest of the morning, instead taking the time to explore on their own. Zidane, though, was more interesting in climbing trees than actually exploring the land.

"Man, I almost made her choke..." Zidane mumbled sorrowfully, still embarrassed by what transpired at breakfast. He sighed as he began to scale a nearby tree. "Boy, do I feel awful. Why do I feel so lonely right now?" He mused as he situated himself on top of a thick branch, his lithe frame easily supported. As he scanned his surroundings, he froze, for the sound of gentle humming could be heard. Quickly, Zidane, despite being eight feet in the air, tried to conceal himself on the branch by getting as flat against it as possible. Slowly, but surely, the humming drew near. With baited breath, he waited for any sign of the voice's owner. To his pleasant surprise, it was just Dagger. "Bingo." He hummed to himself as he wrapped his tail around a nearby, more flexible branch, the crushed moss staining his tail a bit green.

Dagger was blissfully unaware of what went on above her, instead taking time to inspect a blossom that was by her feet. The delicate flower, a white rain lily, had some dew from within. The dew had a strange reflection, leaving her perplexed.

"What am I looking at...?" Dagger mused as she tried to identify what she was looking at. Meanwhile, just above her, Zidane had a plan he intended on executing. Now standing on the thicker branch, his tail firmly wrapped around the more elastic one, he slowly leaned forward, letting gravity pull him down. Just then, Dagger spotted a face in the dew. A familiar, blondie-blue eyed face.

"Ooh, a fair maiden of Pinnacle Rocks!" Zidane called out, startling her enough to look up. Dagger instinctively shrieked just as Zidane was completely upside down, his face only a foot from hers. Before she could do much more than shriek in shock, he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, his palms on the tops of her shoulders. Using the strength of his tail, as well as the tree branch's natural position and flex, to pull them both up rather swiftly.

"Zidane!" She called out as the branch returned to its original position.

"'Tis I." Zidane replied, pride in his chest and a smirk on his lips. As the two were pulled up onto the bigger branch, he carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, which was much more secure than gripping her by the tops of her shoulders. Once all momentum left them, Zidane guided Dagger to sit with him on the branch, so that her back was in front of his chest. His legs dangled off the sides of the branch, his tail wrapped tightly around it for support, as Dagger squirmed for freedom. One squirm too many and the duo almost lost balance. "Woah. Hang on and quit squirming, please, or it will be "Twas I"."

"O-ok, but what in the blazes made you perform a stunt like... That?!" Dagger questioned a bit harshly as Zidane tried to pull her closer. Of course, she wouldn't budge on her own.

"I dunno." He replied as he went to rub her upper arms instead; hey, at least she wasn't rejecting his touch. "I guess..." It was clear to her that he was avoiding the topic, as if embarrassed by the truth. From below, a shocked and worried Steiner could be seen, having been drawn by her earlier screams.

"Princess?! Princess Garnet?!" He called out, not thinking to look up, before dashing off in some random direction yelling. "I'll save you, Your Royal Highness!" As Steiner disappeared into the fog, Dagger sighed a sigh of relief and leaned back, glad to be rid ofcthe overbearing, protective oaf, at least just for a bit. Upon leaning back, she flushed garnet at the realization that Zidane was still behind her; had she gotten used to his bare arms draped over her shoulders that quickly?

"Heh, glad the Tin Man isn't here to stop ya?" Zidane asked as he gently held her close, a soft, single note hum escaping his lips. Feeling the warmth of Dagger against him felt nice; he'd wrap his tail around her if it wasn't being used to keep them from falling off the branch.

"I guess you could say that..." Dagger softly replied as she peered over her right shoulder to look at him. Is that a bit of blush on the cheekbones? "Sorry to break the flow of conversation, but may I ask what's got you so affectionate today? You haven't answered yet."

"Hmmm..." He mused as he rested his chin on her right shoulder. "I... I genuinely don't truly know... Maybe it's because I strangely feel... Lonely?" Dagger nodded at his reply, which seemed sincere. "You aren't immediately rejecting my touch, which is a plus."

"Yeah..." Dagger sighed, loneliness soaking her tone ever so slightly, unlike Zidane, who hid it remarkably well. "I'm just feeling homesick and lonely, tis all... But, you're the first to see me as a regular person, not some royal on a pedestal. Not to mention... I just want something quiet, comforting, perhaps, to break up the chaos that's gone on so far." She leaned further back against him, sighing again as he closed his eyes. "I just want someone to not judge me for being a princess, is all... You know what, why am I telling you this? You'll tease me about this, I'm sure."

"No I won't." Zidane briefly opened his left eye as he spoke. "I told you I feel lonely. I don't look lonely, and that's because I don't want to look lonely. I confided in you, as did you." Silence gripped the duo, but before with spoke again, she curled up to her right, and closed her eyes, still against him. Gently, his right hand went to stroke her hair, earning a pleased hum from her. With his left hand, he drew a dagger from his pocket, and carefully etched "Zidane & Garnet" into the branch, before he sheathed the dagger and fell asleep, curled around her.

#ff9 #final fantasy ix #ffix #zidane #zidane tribal #garnet #garnet til alexandros #zidagger #pinnacle rocks #Surely the group of misfits didn't just stay for an afternoon. This is an Idea of what might have occured during their stay.#freya crescent #adelbert steiner #vivi ornitier

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isoscele · 3 years

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Lumberjanes Week Day 1 - First Day of Summer

(This is longer, weirder, and later than I wanted it to be, but isn’t that the spirit of the week?)

--------- Jo’s last exam is electrical engineering, and she finishes twenty minutes early. Dr. Quispe winks at her as she turns it in, and Jo tries to smile. The constant fog of formulae and diagrams dissipates from her head, replaced by a more all-consuming calculation.

One hour, six minutes to go.

She drops by her room, picks up the single backpack sitting on the bare mattress. On her way out, Gabi pops out of the lounge. “All done?”

Jo’s smile softens, takes on something real. “Yup. You?”

“I still have an essay, but I’ll probably do it at home. Got any big summer plans?”

“Kind of.” She shifts her backpack higher on her shoulders, silently debating how much to say. “I’m going camping with some friends.”

“Oh, cool,” Gabi says. “I wouldn’t’ve pegged you as an outdoorsy type, Jo.”

“Oh, you know.” Something under her skin humming, some outdated circuitry splitting into life. Forty-nine minutes. “In certain circumstances.”

Gabi giggles. As is the case with every one of their sporadic interactions, Jo wonders if they’re flirting. “Have fun! Don’t get eaten by a bear!”

She swans back toward her laptop and empty M&M packet. If she’d looked back for just a moment, she might have wondered what she had said to make Jo look so devastated.

---------

Mal has a pickup truck. It’s disgusting, with a windshield wiper that sounds like a dying macaw and a clutch that, for two heart-stopping seconds at the beginning of each gear shift, refuses to move at all. Mal has always defended it with a vigor previously only saved for her best friends and favorite bands.

Jo slides into the passenger seat. The radio is blasting heavy metal and the interior smells shockingly of mayonnaise; she has to blink hard to hold back her tears. There are some things that are so beautiful, so precious that it’s impossible to look at them head-on. Jo always forgets, when she’s away.

“You’re in the bus lane,” she tells Mal.

Mal obligingly starts the very long process of getting her car to move. “I thought the idea behind going to fancy science school with adults was that bus lanes were no longer necessary. Also, it’s fucking amazing to see you.”

“The buses shuttle students around campus. Also, I’m delighted that you’re here and I want to give you a hug.”

“Motion passed,” Mal says, and they squeeze awkwardly over the two melted Frosties in the cupholders.

The car jolts into first gear hard enough to throw Jo into the seatbelt, and then suddenly she’s laughing so hard she has to hold her sides to keep herself from spilling over.

“Sorry!” Mal says, “sorry, she’s jumpy around strangers,” which is what she says every summer. It’s a terrible joke laced with an irrefutable affection, and it’s so Mal that it makes Jo laugh even harder.

“We’re not strangers,” Jo says. She pats the center console, feels a little of the polyester flake off on her hand. “Me and this truck go way back.”

“Well, let’s hope you and this truck go way forward, too,” Mal says, “because I’m really not sure the engine’s going to last us to California.”

---------

They pull into the trailhead at around six the next morning, and make silent work of the luggage in the back. The sun’s just starting to come up, blinking warily between the table pines. Mal waves her on, and Jo sets off along the winding path.

The first year or two, they mostly stuck to campgrounds and RV parks, warming hot chocolate on the camp stove despite persistent, obnoxious heat. Jo didn’t think much of it at the time, but now she knows that Molly was trying not to inconvenience them, trying to keep them to the shallows of the forests. Trying to keep anyone from going too far, getting too stuck.

The fact that they were instructed to bring backpacking gear this year doesn’t do much to assuage the constant thread of worry in the back of her mind. This isn’t something they can dip their toes in anymore; the world is always a more dire place than they left it last summer.

The hike is long and treacherous. They go off the trail almost immediately, but neither of them need a map. It sounds cliche to say that they’re following something else, but they are. The anxious chitter of the birds and the sun balking at the edges of the trees and the distant hush of a river form a clear topography in their minds. They walk without discussion, taking each turn as naturally as if they had always lived here.

Around mile seven, they start to hear voices. Mal breaks into a run, and Jo comes crashing after her.

They knock straight into April, who catches both of them with practiced ease. For a moment, the air splits with three different calls of incomprehensible joy, and then they’re lowering themselves to the moss as a single, complex organism.

“Holy Felicia Flames, you guys look great!” April hollers.

“I have so much to tell you,” Mal says.

“Are you trying to set the forest on fire?” Jo asks, wandering over to where April has piled an impressive set of branches and old newspaper. She must have packed most of it in herself; the trees around here don’t look like that.

“Might make our job easier,” April says, and then a grim silence falls over the clearing.

I’m going camping with some friends, Jo had said, as if it was just camping, as if they were just friends. As if Jo’s relationship with these people, the things they had to do together, could be described in such a mundane and immaterial way. As if Jo won’t sit at the fire with them tonight, watching the way the sparks clear the shadows around their eyes, and love them with everything she has in her. As if she won’t hate them, too, for making her come here.

Here they are, in the annual half-second when they don’t know what to say to each other. The moment when the summer teeters, still soft and blameless, on the edge of something sharper.

But then April asks Mal how the band’s doing, and the moment passes.

“I wish I’d thought to bring pictures,” Mal says. “We played at this amazing venue last January--there was this skylight, and it was pouring rain, and people just kept coming in because it was so miserable outside.”

“Aw, that’s great,” April says. “I’d love to come someday, but y’all sell out so fast!”

Mal scratches the back of her neck, looking embarrassed. “Yeah, sometimes.”

“What are we talking about?” Ripley half-shouts. Jo yelps, and then that turns into more laughter, which turns into an incredible group hug. For someone who carries no fewer than three kazoos on her person at all times, Ripley can be surprisingly stealthy when she wants to. Jo never hears her approaching anymore; first, there’s nothing, and then there’s Ripley.

April hugs Ripley so hard she lifts her off the ground. Ripley immediately starts listing all the weird birds she’s seen this year and asking April to cross-reference them with her encyclopedia of creatures.

And then, of course, there are four.

Jo drifts half a step closer to Mal and extends her hand. Without tearing her gaze from the blot of trees, Mal takes it.

Last year, Molly had been sort of--sick. They’d been camping on a bauld where eagles circled high overhead and the flowers were all this terrible saffron yellow, bent under the shadow of the rocks. Molly had walked with a stick, like the Bear Woman--like Nellie used to use, thick and gnarled. But she said that was temporary, just because of a bad fall, and no one talked about how her freckles had almost overtaken the white of her hands, how her eyes were spotted with yellow and seemed to constantly rove towards the sky.

No one had mentioned much of anything, because the year before that they had buried Nellie in the soft earth beside the lake and they had all tacitly agreed not to talk about it. Maybe that’s what growing up is like--finding more and more things that no one is willing to say. Holding a grief in you that sometimes feels so bright and all-consuming that it can’t possibly be real.

“She’ll be okay,” Jo says, quiet so as not to kill April and Ripley’s buzz. “The forest loves her.”

But that’s a cold comfort, because they have all spent the same six summers learning that the forest’s love can be the most terrifying force in the world.

---------

It doesn’t take long at all before a familiar sound comes rolling in from the mountain. It’s a sound like dinosaurs, like goliaths, like the world collapsing in on itself.

It’s a sound that heralds the approach of Bubbles, who these days is about the size of a house.

I don’t know! Molly had said, laughing, the first time they had seen him again. I guess he was just a baby when we met him. I’ve been feeding him a lot of peanut butter lately, maybe that’s it.

Bubbles crashes through the trees, chittering so loud that it sounds like the laughter of a god. On his back, perched awkwardly against the scruff of his neck, sits Molly.

She does look okay. Their home hasn’t killed her yet.

There’s a little more white in her hair, a little more curl to her fingernails. But she’s smiling so wide it’s almost like they’re just here to catch up, like just for today they can afford to be a group of friends and nothing else.

Later, of course, will come the campfire, and the birds falling silent, and even the cicadas forgetting to cry, and they will map out another fraction of the world. They’ll find another dozen stone men, sleeping still enough to be dead. They’ll find perhaps hundreds of potential apocalypses, and they’ll spend the month eating little and sleeping less, preventing the end of the world again and again and again until they can’t even remember what they’re saving.

But right now, Molly slides down Bubbles’ side and yells “Guys!” and the summer bursts into being.

#lumberjanes week #lumberjanes #my writing #sorry about the weird formatting this website is a genuinely terrible place to publish writing

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illwork4anime · 4 years

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Excerpt from Done with Love Ch 7

Ships: Shikasaku, Kakasaku

Scene: While visiting and art gallery with Shikamaru, Ino and Sai for her genjutsu training, Sakura seeks forgiveness from Shikamaru and grapples with how to describe her feelings for him.

[FF | AO3]

She was so bored.

When the four of them had gotten to the Art gallery, Sai had quickly explained that all the pictures on display tonight had been based off of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu,the famous 100 poets waka poems, but that was all he got out before Ino had whisked him away. Sakura hadn't gotten his help decoding a single picture before that. Now she was on her own.

This training was the absolute worst. None of these paintings drove any kind of emotional response from her. It was just a picture. And half the poems she didn't even get. Still, she dutifully tried, standing minutes in front of each one and jotting down notes. Journaling again.

Shikamaru, her only source of entertainment for the evening was sulking on a bench in the corner, apparently still angry with her.

She felt ridiculous now in this stupid dress. Ino had been completely wrong about her 'dressing up' being the key to him forgiving her. Not that she'd expected anything different, but she'd expected some kind of reaction. She looked good, damn it, but he had hardly even glanced at her, let alone spoken to her.

She glances back to Shikamaru again and does a double take. Was he sleeping?

She huffs. Unbelievable.

She decides not to tell him she's moving on to a different room. Good riddance. She's not staying another second because if she has to look at another Cherry Blossom tree in this spring themed room, she's going to set this place on fire.

The next room is summer poems, it seems. A glance around the room and she sees river scenes, mountain paths, landscapes. She sighs again. Here we go.

She turns to begin, but a familiar scene catches her eye. She walks to it, across the room.

The canvas is modest compared to the others around it. It's a simple forest scene, but not just any forest. She knows it in her bones that this is Nara forest.

The familiar green canopy his filtering light down onto a mess of ferns, giving them an ethereal glow. A fallen tree in the center of is covered in moss and small floral weeds. Bedded down against the bark, a deer spotted with white is resting, stretching its neck up as if taking in the glittering sun.

That's her forest. Her chest lightens, feeling that usual calm settle over her. She walks to the center of the room where benches are lined up for people to sit and enjoy that work from afar.

She sits, observing every little detail, but doesn't write a single word. She doesn't need too.

People come and go in front of her, taking in the painting for a moment or two before moving on to the larger, grander landscapes. People who took minutes staring at the pink petals of the portraits in the last room. She wonders how they can't appreciate this one the same way.

Maybe they'd never really been and that's why the passed by.

She doesn't know how long she's been staring at it - minutes, hours – but its apparently long enough for Shikamaru to come check on her.

"Are you done?" he asks, plopping down on the bench next to her.

"Not yet," she says, not sparing him a glance. Her arms are crossed and she's tapping the end of her pen against her lips thoughtfully.

"Do you recognize this place?" she says, turning to him. His gaze darts away from hers. She's caught him staring.

"Looks like my back yard," he grumbles, looking it over for a few seconds.

"I thought so too," she murmurs, turning her eyes back to it. They sit in silence a bit more.

"How long have you been staring at this thing?" He asks.

"I'm not sure," she answers absently.

"What's the big deal? You see this place every day." Shikamaru says, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"I know, but its never enough," she says with a sly glance and a soft smile. "I'd stay there forever if you'd let me."

Again, his eyes dart away from hers and his cheeks flush.

"Don't say things like that." Shikamaru, grumbles and she's not sure why he's angry again.

"Why are you being so grumpy tonight?" she huffs, fed up with his attitude.

"Forget it," he grumbles, standing. "Just let me know when you're finished."

He's walking to the corner of the room again and she follows this time.

"You're still mad at me, and I don't even know why." She says, and he doesn't answer, but slouches down into a chair, content to ignore her.

"I already apologized, didn't I?" She says, "What else do you want me to do?"

"I want you to finish this so I can go home." He pouts, leaning on his hand.

"Just go home now then, Shikamaru. I'm not making you stay." She huffs, hands on her hips.

"Fine," he says, shooting up out of his chair. "Don't bother coming for training tomorrow. Maybe you should just focus on your research since that's so important to you."

She bristles. "What's that supposed to mean?"

His gaze slides to her, "Don't play dumb, Sakura. It doesn't suit you."

"This is about him, isn't it?" Sakura grinds out. "Kakashi."

He stiffens. "Not everything is about him."

"I should be saying that to you." She scoffs, "Look, I get it. He's not perfect. He probably made a dumb mistake with Kurenai and you have every right to be pissed for Asuma's sake, but holding grudges-,"

"I said it's not that," he interrupts.

"Then tell me what it is about," she says and he scowls.

"Just forget it, Sakura. It's too troublesome," he sighs, walking away from her again.

"You don't mean that," she says catching his hand. "I can't stand fighting with you, Shikamaru. I want to fix this so just tell me how."

Something in her gaze finally breaks through to him and he lets out a long breath, eyes dropping to the floor.

"I just," he huffs, rubbing a frustrated hand against the back of his neck, "I wish you would have trusted me enough to tell me what happened, like you did him." Shikamaru doesn't have to say Kakashi's name for her to know.

"I should have." She agrees. She felt like such garbage for hurting his feelings like that. He had helped her through a panic attack, held her hair back when she'd puked her guts out and she couldn't even tell him why he'd had to do it. He's just worrying again about her, caring about her. She was such garbage. "I'll tell you anything you want now. Just ask. I promise."

He studies her face, watching the thoughts and regret flit across. She expects him to ask why she didn't tell him, what exactly was going on with Kenta, but he doesn't.

"Do you love him?" he asks, but its more vulnerable than she expects. She's taken aback but knows better than to question why he's asked.

"Kakashi?" she asks, and when he nods, she says automatically. "Of course, I do. He's like family to me."

His shoulders sag, and he can't look her in the eyes.

"And what am I to you?" he murmurs, hands sliding into his pockets.

She pauses, again taken aback by the question. Friends comes to her first, but the fit of it isn't quite right. He was more than that. Best friends? Too childish. Plus, he had Choji and she had Ino. The relationship wasn't the same.

A mentor? No, that sounded like he was above her and he wasn't. He was her rock, dependable and strong. That was way to cheesy though.

Why was this so difficult?

"I-I don't know," she stammers. He sighs.

"Let me know when you figure it out." He's walking away again. She won't let him.

"Wait," she calls, grabbing hold of his hand, "Let me show you."

Like this? Read more here:

Done With Love - [FF | AO3]

#Done with Love #WIP #fanfiction #fanfic #shikasaku #kakasaku #shikamaru nara #shikamaru #sakura haruno #sakura #kakashi hatake #kakashi

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imaginepirates · 5 years

Text

The Estuary

Full Circle

What have I done to deserve this? He floated in the stagnant waters, thoughts empty save for the image of Elizabeth soaked in red. He could still feel the fabric of her dress against his skin, and the contrast of the blood with her pale face.

The sky looked down on him. For the first time, it began to rain.

What monsters slit a girl's throat?

James couldn't tell if it was the rain or his own tears spilling over his face. Both, probably. Between the estuary and the rain, he was soaked all the way through. He might have worried about getting sick if he wasn't already dead.

The rain poured down in torrents, turning the banks to mud. Even the dense forest couldn't provide shelter from the rain.

Eventually, James dragged himself out of the water. He was alone; even the animals were hiding. And there he was, dripping wet, water sliding off his skin.

His muscles moved of their own accord. He couldn't just sit; he needed to do, because that was what he'd always done. When his father died, he worked off the shock. When he'd hit rock bottom in Tortuga, he drank away the pain. When he knew he'd made the wrong choices, he tried to fix them. He died for them. He'd always done something, even if not the right thing, but in this place, there was nothing for him to do.

So he ran. He ran until his muscles screamed and he couldn't breathe, and continued on until he couldn't feel anything at all. He kept going, rain obscuring his vision, until he collapsed. Until he physically wasn't able to run any longer.

When he got back up again, the rain had stopped. There, in the water next to him, was the vision of a child in a cradle. He stared at the watery reflection of that time.

The beginning.

He traced his fingers through the water. He could go and relive his life, make it better. He could make friends. He could be normal. He knew everything he needed to rise in the ranks. This time around, he needed to focus on different goals.

He would live emotionally. He would learn what it was like to feel again, and he would feel everything so deeply, it would tear him apart. More than anything, it was what he wanted. To feel.

And to be felt for in return.

~~~~~

James sat near the window, looking out over the Caribbean sea. The house was so familiar, but new at the same time. It was decorated differently, to be sure. That had been his wife's choice.

Elizabeth.

It had been a shock when she had accepted his proposal. Things had been different, of course. He'd been nicer to her when they were younger, more open and less stiff. She liked him better that way.

But she still didn't like him. Not really. She married him because he was the best option. She was kind to him; they were close, but only in the way of friends. She did not love him, and though it broke his heart, he pretended they were a happy couple.

He had never been all that good at pretending.

He'd had a better life. There was no denying the benefit of being closer to people. Of letting himself be emotional. Of feeling. It was such a refreshing change.

It was painful, too. He woke up every morning next to a woman he loved with every fiber of his soul. Perhaps some things couldn't be changed. Perhaps, no matter how many cycles of this life he went through, his love would forever be unrequited.

That was the problem. He loved, he loved, he loved. That was what hurt him most.

It was tiring. He was so old. He could feel it, deep inside. He didn't belong, not anymore. He'd lived so much longer than he deserved. He was exhausted, but at least he'd gotten that far. He'd gotten far enough that he wasn't afraid to leave.

I'm exhausting a world that doesn't want me.

He often felt like he was something different, something unlike anyone else. And he was. He didn't belong in the world of the living anymore.

It had been good. That second life. It had been beautiful, painted more vividly than he remembered life ever being.

But he still failed when it came to her. She was the same as always, with her flowing hair and freckled skin, her bright eyes and taste for the unknown. He catered to her as much as he could, but there were some things he couldn't give her. In return, there were some things she couldn't give him.

Maybe it had been selfish to cage her up. Maybe the first time, life had been better for her. It was a life she wouldn't know, now. The hunger for it sat deep within her chest. Some days, when he watched her curl her toes into the sand, he could almost see it break free and run across the waves. Her spirit danced in the waters and climbed the rocks, and all the while she stood still. But she watched. She watched herself do all those things and her toes curled in the sand.

She desired something so much bigger than him. Something so much greater than her reality. He wasn't enough; he never had been.

It was amazing to him, that her whole world was the whole world, and that his whole world was her. He could trace trees in her arms, and oceans on her stomach, and he could find all the life on earth in her eyes. But to her, he was just a man.

He rose from his chair as the sun dipped over the horizon. It sank into the waves, and he sank into bed, stroking Elizabeth's hair as they lay together.

He pressed his face into her hair. He didn't want to look at her eyes, which betrayed her and told him she didn't want him. "Are you happy?" He whispered. His breath tickled the hairs at the base of her neck.

She hesitated. "Of course."

Lie to me again. Please. He couldn't stop the tears falling over his cheeks. They were silent testaments. Hadn't he known from the beginning?

He'd taken the hard path. He'd put in so much work, and relived years that weren't his to have. He'd tried. That was the sad part. He'd tried. And still, he got nothing.

There was no fulfilling his life. Not truly.

~~~~~

When he woke, it wasn't next to a woman that didn't love him.

He was back on the banks of the estuary, face reflected in the brackish water. It's been a long time. For James, it was like coming home. He didn't hate that thought; there was a sort of melancholy feeling that accompanied it, but he wasn't so desperate for redemption.

He'd gotten to taste the forbidden fruit. It had been worth every last bite to become just that much wiser. Now he knew he needed to move on.

He was in the estuary, his old life behind him, a new one ahead. He stared long and hard at the waters of the river. It had taught him, and he had grown.

"Thank you." It was the first time he'd spoken aloud in that place. "Thank you."

With a last glance, he tore his gaze away and pulled himself onto the muddy banks. Moss squelched underfoot as he walked on. Birds chirped, and he glimpsed a deer through the trees.

Every sound and every feeling got sharper as he neared the ocean. The waves crashed over rocks and sand, a rhythm that called to him over the fear of the unknown.

It was time for him to submit to the waters one last time.

He waded into the waves, the familiar sound of them lapping at the shore. Up to his waist, his fingers trailed in the water, creating little ripples on the surface. The river may have shown his past, but the ocean held memories that danced behind his eyes.

Up to his chest. It was cool, and a salty breeze ruffled his hair, just like it always had. He'd spent so much of his life on the ocean. Hours and weeks and months and years at sea. What terrors did it hold for him? He'd weathered the storms and fought for his country. He'd faced sickness, sunstroke, and humiliation. He risked his life again and again, and was fortunate enough to have survived for so long.

Up to his neck. The ocean had been his home. Along with its hardships came its peace, its beauty. How many days had he gazed at the sun reflected off the waves? Hadn't he swam in its embrace? Did it not calm him?

The waters closed over his head, leaving him completely submerged. His eyes were closed, his body relaxed. Somehow, he knew that even if he reached up, he wouldn't break the surface. His feet no longer touched the sand beneath him. He floated in darkness. Slowly, he released the air in his lungs.

After all, how could he be facing the unknown when the ocean had been a part of him for so long?

•@bonjour-frens @tesserphantom @ilikebritsandbands

#the estuary #estuary #james norrington #commodore norrington #norrington #writing #writings #drabble #miniseries #mini series #fanfic #potc #pirates of the caribbean

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cecilspeaks · 5 years

Text

151 - The Waterfall

One morning, as Josh Crayton was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed, he had been changed into a towering, gushing waterfall.

Welcome to Night Vale.

The alarm had been going off for a while, but Josh hadn’t heard it. Now he was going to be late. More upsetting than that, his bed was soaking wet. Josh was mortified until he realized that he had changed into the shape of a waterfall at some point during the night. Josh was used to changing shapes, he had been born a shapeshifter, after all. But he rarely changed into something he hadn’t intended to, never in his sleep, and he could always change back easily. Now, no matter how hard he tried, he just kept pouring and cascading and splashing over rocks, and being super annoyingly loud. Something had gone very wrong.

Lately, Josh had been staying in the form of a human teenage boy. He had grown to like his human shape, at times he even thought he was handsome in an understated kind of way. Last night at a party was the first time he had used his abilities in forever. He normally didn’t like to use shapeshifting as a party trick, but last night had been different. He wanted to impress the boy. Josh changed into all the shapes the boy requested, including a bunch he had never thought to try, like mochi ice cream, primordial jungle flora, a bad idea, a hasty plan, and the gearshift knob from a Nash Rembler.

He’d seen the boy in class before, but had barely noticed him, to be honest. Once they started talking, the boy had become very noticeable. He was laid back, yet keenly alert, like a hawk. Soft spoken yet hilarious, also like a hawk. Teasing, yet kind. Like a very - attractive - hawk.

At the end of the night, Josh wrote his number on the boy’s red plastic cup in sharpie and walked home smiling, even though it was late and he had to get up early the next morning to retake his driving test for the fifth time. He was 18 and still without a license. Every time he had taken the test before, he got nervous and turned into a shape that was utterly unfit to drive. A rhinoceros. A warm hug from an old friend. A bookshelf filled with first edition Zadie Smiths. “Oh, I haven’t read Swing Time yet,” Shoshanna from the DMV had said, plucking the book off of him before failing him for not having eyes with which to check his mirrors.

The alarm sounded again. Josh tried to calm his rising panic, but it was difficult to do with the constant roaring of falling water in his ears and his distractingly chill body temperature. He closed his eyes and repeated a mantra he once heard on a Home Depot radio ad: “A triple thick roof of natural cedar shingles. A triple thick roof of natural. Cedar. Shingles.” It always helped him feel more grounded. But no matter how he felt or what he tried, he was still a water fall tumbling and plunging and rambling along, in picturesque tributaries against his will.

Josh knew he couldn’t drive a car in his condition. He probably couldn’t even open the door handle. And if, somehow, he managed to pass the exam, the thought of getting his picture taken like this was embarrassing at best. There was nothing he could do but sit in his room and froth and foam, and swirl, and wait.

By Monday, the situation still hadn’t cleared up. Josh wanted to stay home from class, but his mother Diane, whom he still lived it, made him go. She said that he was obsessing over his looks, and that no one would even notice, and that he was already nearly failing his history and English courses, and did he want to be put on academic probation his very first year in college? Josh couldn’t argue with this, mainly because there were too many different ideas all smashed together, and it was easier to just do as she said.

His friends on campus thought it was a joke at first. Josh tried to be casual about it. He told them that he was stuck like this at the moment. They were very understanding and treated him just the same as always. He actually started to feel better about the whole thing, and that maybe he was silly for having been stressed about it at all.

In his first class, however, he was sent to the Dean’s office for creating a distraction. He went without argument, and explained that this was a physical condition beyond his control and not some immature hazing prank. He received an apology and was sent back to class with an administrative note in case this became a recurring issue. The note had to be laminated and waterproofed, which took some time, and Josh missed an important quiz.

In the quad, an engineering student that Josh barely knew ran right through him on a dare from her friends. She didn’t even make eye contact with him, just ran away screaming, while her squad roared with laughter at the picnic tables. Josh left campus soon afterwards, not caring about flunking or vanity, or whatever else he was supposed to care about. He felt violated and angry, and also ashamed of himself. These were not sensations he was used to feeling, and on top of that, he had started to grow moss along his ledge, which felt slimy and gross and could not be ignored. His self-consciousness had become overwhelming.

Josh sat behind the Desert Flower Bowling Alley drinking a blue slurpie and watching himself dabble all over the hard-packed sand. He felt some relief in being alone, and in being somewhere that his shape wouldn’t have any consequences. Unless, he supposed, he stayed there too long and formed a river or something like that.

He thought of going way out in the desert and becoming an oasis. That might be exciting. He could donate himself as a public service to the thirsty animals and exiled citizens and fearl toddlers that roamed the land. He could create a grove of green trees and lush plants, a refuse for new life. Maybe even new species of life, all springing forth from his gushing, messy body. He pictured a furry lizard with several blinking golden eyes. He pictured a one-legged bird with psychic abilities. He pictured the years melting away, the oasis growing. A green valley emerging. Then multiple valleys, a new civilization might form, rising around the ebb and flow of his waters, growing from mud huts to Ziggurats, to steel towers, and eventually again decaying, again to mud huts, before disappearing for good. And all the while Josh would be there, steadily supplying the lifeblood of their Earth-bound existence.

Suddenly his phone vibrated in the crevice of his rocky outcropping. There was a text from an unknown number. It read: “Hey Mochi”, followed by an emoji of a winking face. “Wanna do something later?” And that was followed by an emoji showing the entirety of possible human free time activities. This was obviously sent by the boy from the party. The surge of excitement ignited by these fix words was instantly extinguished by heavy, wet dread. Josh cringed at the thought of the boy seeing him like this, and of trying to explain it to him. They didn’t know each other that well and it was just too awkward. Josh tried to change shape again, now with renewed effort. He wanted to see the boy later and in order to do that, he needed to not be a waterfall.

After an hour of intense concentration and no results, his phone vibrated again. “This is Monty, by the way, we met at the party”. Josh burbled in frustration. He thought of several texts he could send back, but none of them were the text he really wanted to send, which was “Yeah I know who you are LOL, let’s meet up”. After a moment of staring helplessly at his screen, he turned his phone on silent and put it back under his outcropping.

Josh stayed behind the bowling alley for a long time, churning and flowing and watching the sunset over the dumpsters. He noticed a thick vapor hanging in the sky above him, and wondered if he was affecting the weather.

[“Always Right” by Anne Reburn]

Josh skipped class the rest of that week. He sometimes went to the movie theater during the day. Usually nothing was playing, but it was at least dark and empty and quiet. And the staff there seemed to appreciate how Josh inadvertently cleaned away the sticky soda and popcorn spills on the floor. They gave him free lifetime passes and encouraged him to return often. He missed the deadline for an essay, which meant that he would probably fail English for real. He ignored calls and texts. He couldn’t stand the thought of being around people. Instead of getting used to his new shape, he just became colder, wetter, slimier, and more uncomfortable by the day.

Finally on Friday around 5 PM, Josh was spotted by some friends who were cruising around town, bumping NPR’s “All Things Considered” on the subwoofer and looking for mischief. They called out to him and pulled over. They were excited to see him and asked all kinds of questions: was he sick? Where had he been? There were rumors going about on campus about him, what was the real story? Josh didn’t know how to answer, so he just shrugged and bubbled and eddied around their tires. They were in an old pickup truck that they had just purchased real cheap from John Peters - you know, the farmer -and planned to take it out driving super fast through the sand wastes. Did Josh want to come? Josh did want to. But he hesitated, eyeing the small cab that would definitely not fit his body. But, on an impulse, Josh jumped onto the track bed, ricocheting off the sides in big embarrassing splashes. Everyone cheered, and Josh almost smiled, and off they went.

The wind ripped past him warm and fast. He joked with his friends through the window. It suddenly felt like any other carefree Friday afternoon. After parading around town for a while, they pulled into the gas station for snacks. Josh waited outside in the truck bed. He was thinking that he would probably go back to class on Monday, when a voice called to him. “Josh, is that you?” Josh knew the voice and it filled him with nervous electricity. “I texted you a few times. Are you ghosting me or did you write down your number wrong?” The boy’s playful forwardness hit Josh with some kind of feeling. “I uh, I I don’t know I’m, I’m I’m bad at checking my texts,” Josh mumbled in a non-playful, unstraightforward way that no one could ever find attractive. The boy named Monty nodded, still smiling. “Gotcha. So ghosting then?” Josh swallowed, and his throat would have been dry except that it was made of pure water. “Nice waterfall,” Monty said, jumping up on the tailgate and letting Josh’s mist cool him off. “Uh thanks,” said Josh, wishing the sun would evaporate him immediately. “I’ve been wondering what you would look like as a bread crumb,” said Monty. The word “breadcrumb” sounded sexy the way Monty said it. “Like maybe from a blueberry scone or something like that,” he elaborated. Josh surged down violently at the ground and said, “I don’t really feel like it right now.” Monty nodded a little sadly and jumped off the tailgate, getting the message. “Sure. Maybe next time, I’ll see you around,” he said and then he was gone. Josh’s friends came out of the gas station and they had bought him an ice cream bar, the kind of with a hard chocolate shell covering vanilla ice cream, with a candy tarantula in the middle, Josh’s favorite. Josh ate it, but tasted nothing.

Josh did not go back to class on Monday. He said goodbye to his mother and walked to campus, and then walked past it, and then just kept on walking. He didn’t have a plan, but after he’d gone into the desert ways he circled back to his oasis idea. Though it started as a back alley blue Slurpie dream, it now presented itself as an actual life plan. Why not? He wasn’t going to graduate college, or get a driver’s license, or be socially functional ever again, he might as well create an abundance of life in an otherwise barren wasteland. Josh felt self-sacrificing and heroic upon arriving at this decision, and marched around all day looking for the perfect place to set up shop, i.e. his new life henceforth forever.

He found an especially desolate location and settled in. But standing there for hours while nothing happened was tedious work. Josh decided to do something productive while he waited, like maybe compose a song or write a novel. He hummed for a while, but discovered he wasn’t talented at songwriting or humming, so he tried to write a novel, an espionage thriller about the college basketball team, but he found he didn’t know enough about basketballs or spies or how to properly craft suspense fiction.

He thought maybe he should try writing something more personal, like a story about what had happened to him this past week. Maybe he could even write it in third person, he could pretend to be some other narrator altogether, some random omniscient God voice totally removed from his problematic body, and try to look at things through its eyes. Maybe doing this would help him get a new perspective on the situation. Maybe that would be useful somehow. Or maybe not. But it was worth a try anyway.

Josh went to work on this project while the rest of him spilled and whooshed, flooded against the sun baked earth. He wrote until he couldn’t feel his body anymore. For a long time, he was only aware of his words and thoughts, his self-consciousness was finally not unconscious. At the end of his story, Josh did feel better, though nothing had changed physically. He still didn’t know if he would ever regain control over his shapeshifting ability. He still had all the same problems he did before, but they didn’t seem quite as insurmountable as they had. That was pretty cool. Plus he made himself laugh by using words like “henceforth” and “insurmountable”. And it felt good to laugh.

He thought if he could get his story read over the air on the local radio station, maybe other people would hear it and understand his situation better too. Like maybe his family would hear it, and know that he was doing OK. And that he would probably come home soon, because there were no animals drinking from his oasis, and he was really just creating a whole lot of mud out here. And maybe his English professor would hear it and let him use it as credit for his missing essay.

And maybe even the boy would hear it. Maybe if the boy was still interested, they could go to a movie sometime. If not, Josh would totally understand, because Josh acted like kind of a jerk the last time they saw each other, but Josh does get free lifetime passes at the theater now, and it would be a shame to waste them on just sitting alone in the dark.

Signed, Josh Crayton.

OK, Josh. Happy to help. Please tell Diane I said hi.

Stay tuned, listeners. No one knows what the future holds. Sometimes all you can do is stay tuned.

Good night, Night Vale, good night.

Today’s proverb: All is not lost. Some of it is intentionally hidden.

#welcome to night vale #wtnv transcripts #episode 151 #the waterfall

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thefifthclown · 4 years

Text

Part 2, Chapter 2-Reunion and Confrontation, and the Demon of Wrath; Scene 2

Fifth, Pierrot, pages 223-231

January 30th, 2AM.

It was about three hours after Lemy’s revival.

Guided by the demon that dwelled inside the red wineglass, the “Glass of Conchita”, Lemy arrived at the northernmost point of Merrigod Plateau, the Apocalypse Cliffs.

It was an enormous chasm. He could faintly hear water flowing below. It seemed there was a river there.

But it wasn’t a height that he would be able to get away unscathed if he fell. Even if he was able to withstand the impact, Lemy couldn’t swim in the first place.

In the pitch darkness, Lemy cautiously pressed forward, careful not to misstep.

Just a bit further. Julia should be by the ‘grave of Pale Noel’ up ahead. Ney said to Lemy.

She was not the “Demon of Gluttony”. There was someone else, a different being, residing inside the Glass. Like Ney, he couldn’t see that being either. Only the voice spoke to him.

Lemy had no memory of having contracted with a demon. It was done without him knowing. So he had no real obligation to obey it. Even if it was thanks to them that he didn’t die before.

But if they told him that his mother was ahead, then he had to keep going. According to Ney, Magician and Sniper were heading that way too.

They would try to bring his mother to harm.

And he wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d gotten appropriate payback against the two of them.

After moving a little ways forward, he arrived at a place that had several large rocks piled up like a mountain. When he moved behind it, he found a cave entrance that went through the rocks.

Go in there. Your destination should be right through.

“But I don’t have a lantern with me.”

Don’t worry. It should be bright inside.

Ney knew a lot. But how did she come to be so well-versed in so many things? He’d asked her several times, but she would never tell him, dodging the question.

After timidly making his way inside, he immediately learned what Ney had meant.

The rocks gave off a faint light. Strictly speaking, the moss that was clinging to the rocks was the thing that was glowing. Thanks to that Lemy still could see inside the cave.

The cave took on a gradual incline that led downward. He advanced, taking care not to lose his footing. The air was pleasant, and a little chilly.

But when he’d made it all the way inside, the coolness gradually lessened. It was as if the temperature was rising.

At the other end, it looked as though the rocks were burning. They were giving off a different light than regular fire. It was blue. Blue flames were burning the moss on the rocks.

If he drew any closer, it might set his clothes on fire. Lemy continued walking while avoiding the reach of the flames.

As he did so—

“Wha--!?”

A ball of blue fire shot at him from inside. Lemy swiftly dodged it. The ball of fire impacted against the rock, and then gave rise to new blue flames.

--That’s the fire magic that the “Red Cat Sorceress” specializes in. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Take care, Lemy. You might not die, but if your body gets burned to ashes it might take some time to resurrect you.

He didn’t need to be told that. Even Lemy had put up with heat. He’d once gotten a burn on his hand when trying to help Phoebe with the cooking. He’d had to endure the awful, stinging pain for a few days until it had healed.

“Ney. Who is the ‘Red Cat Sorceress’—”

That’s your mother, Julia.

“--!? Mom’s a…sorceress?”

What’s surprising about that at this point? Did you think a woman that’s able to lead Pere Noel was an ordinary human being? And you yourself saw her magical tools in the treasure room before.

Thanks to the flames and light of the moss, the inside of the cave grew as bright as if it were midday.

Finally, he came out into a wide space. It seemed it was the deepest part of the cave. He could see some kind of pattern tightly carved into the surrounding rock.

There were three people there.

One was Julia. She had her arms spread, and both of her hands were wreathed in blue flames. There was an old grave marker behind her back, and on it was written the name “Pale Noel.”

There were two people who looked to be facing off against her. He couldn’t see them well from behind, but Lemy immediately knew who they were. Magician and Sniper.

“Mom!”

When Lemy called to her, all three people turned to face him at once. And all of them at once looked surprised.

“Lemy!? Why are you here…?”

His mother looked confused. Maybe she hadn’t wanted Lemy to come there. To keep him from getting involved any more than he was--

But it was too late for such sentiment. Lemy had already killed several people, taking his mother’s directions as his own will. He figured now that he’d come this far, he would see it through to the end.

And it wouldn’t be the “lowest end” that Magician had said it would be. He would kill Magician and Sniper, and then revive Pere Noel too. He was confident his mother would do well, even if she wasn’t president anymore. This story would close on Lemy and Julia’s victory.

Magician looked to be even more shaken than his mother. That was understandable, the foe she’d thought they’d killed appearing before them again in this way.

“Impossible…Gumillia surely dealt him the finishing blow. How…”

Looking upon them, Julia sighed as though somewhat put off.

“Hah…Have you learned nothing these past six hundred years? You must have realized that Lemy made a contract with the ‘Demon of Gluttony’. –A ‘contractor’ won’t die. You can’t kill them through normal means.”

“…What!? But, Venomania and Conchita—“

“You at least remember who it was that killed Venomania, don’t you? Yes, Karchess Crim…He had received a ‘certain something’ from his mistress.”

“--’A Vessel of Deadly Sin’.”

“Exactly. The only one who can kill a ‘contractor’ is someone else who’s similarly made a contract with a demon. The one who killed Conchita was the very ‘contractor’ herself. No matter how powerful your magic is, you are powerless before a ‘contractor’. As long as you aren’t borrowing the power of a higher-grade being than yourself.”

“That can’t be true. I’ve defeated a ‘contractor’ once before.”

“Are you talking about Presi?”

“Yes. The Minister of Internal Affairs of the kingdom of Lucifenia, and the man who tried to secure political power using Riliane when she was six years old. I killed him with my own hands, and he was possessed by a demon.”

On hearing that, Julia laughed scornfully.

“He was just using the power of the demon that had possessed Riliane. He wasn’t a ‘contractor’. So even you could finish him off.”

“That can’t…Then everything I’ve…done until now…”

“You could say that you’ve been very lucky. You must be, to survive this long, hardly ever having to face off against a ‘contractor’ directly. And you’ve had a god acquaintance who stepped in to save you when you needed it. But Held is no longer in this world. And what can the likes of Michaela do, having only just been promoted from a spirit? --There’s no one left to save you now!”

Right as she finished speaking, Julia released a ball of fire from her right hand.

It was headed straight for Magician, but it dispersed as though striking against an invisible wall.

“…I don’t need help from any god. Right now I—Elluka Clockworker—can defeat you all by myself.”

“—Don’t you dare go by that name!”

Elluka continued, ignoring Julia’s angry cry. “Julia—no, ‘Irina’. You aren’t a ‘contractor’ yourself, are you? So I shouldn’t have any problems.”

“Heh heh…Then strike at me with your favored magic. Even if you do, all you’ll injure is ‘Germaine Avadonia’’s body. You can’t finish me off.”

“—I’ll have to destroy the red cat that’s your real body. It looks as though you’ve hidden it somewhere…. I’ll have to take my time looking for it after I defeat you.”

Elluka started to gather lightning in her hand. Sniper followed suit, aiming her gun at Julia.

“Like hell you will!”

Lemy took out his knife and ran towards Elluka.

But Sniper quickly moved to cut Lemy off, and wordlessly fired her gun.

The gunshot reverberated through the cave. The bullet directly pierced Lemy’s heart.

“Guh…”

Lemy fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Blood gushed from the wound.

But he soon stopped feeling any pain. The wound steadily closed up, and the blood stopped.

“My recovery’s much faster than it was earlier…?”

That’s because you’re directly holding the glass. Our Lady’s protection is strong.

“Thanks for the explanation, Ney. …I got it, that’s pretty handy.”

Lemy stood once more.

“…Like a dead soldier. No—those monsters didn’t have such a quick recovery power.”

Sniper was expressionless, but there was a faint bit of sweat on her forehead. That wasn’t from the heat inside the cave.

Give up, Gumillia. Those who’ve contracted with the “Demon of Gluttony” have an especially strong healing power. Your precious gun is useless against Lemy!

Could Ney’s voice reach Gumillia? He didn’t know, but with a practiced motion she ejected all the bullets from her gun, and then loaded it up with different ones.

“If lead bullets are no good—then what about this?”

A beam of light fired from the gun, and enfolded Lemy’s body.

“Ghuh!?”

Assailed by an extreme pain, Lemy was blown backward.

“…”

--But after a few seconds, he once more stood up again. His clothes were in tatters, but there wasn’t a scratch on him.

“Even magic bullets, won’t work…” Gumillia murmured.

Blue fire shot towards her from behind.

“Could you not bully my child?”

Julia had released that fire. Gumillia had been focused on Lemy; when she noticed them and turned around, the waves of flame were already upon her.

Immediately afterward, there was a flash of green light and a thunderous roar. A much louder and more earsplitting noise than the one Gumillia’s gun gave off. In the span of a second, all of the flames had been extinguished.

“—Gumillia’s not your foe. I am, Irina.”

Elluka had her hand thrust out in front of her. She had dispelled the fire by releasing the lightning that she held there.

“…What a pain you are.” Julia once more summoned her flames to hand.

“You’re certainly persistent.” Elluka too began preparing to fire lightning again.

“…” Gumillia wordlessly pointed her gun at Lemy.

“That’s not going to work. You’re clueless, you know that?” Lemy gripped his silver knife.

And so—

Santa Claus.

Pierrot.

Magician.

And Sniper.

The curtain opened on a four-way duel.

<<prev------directory------next>>

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glitchyartist · 4 years

Text

Wait up Ceil!”

Damien crashed through the underbrush after his sister. What did she find this deep in the woods that was this important anyway? It would start to get dark soon and their parents wouldn’t let them hear the end of it if they got lost.

“Come on Dee, we’re almost there!” Celine called back.

“That’s what you said ten minutes ago. This had better not just be another one of your ‘fairy circles’. They’re not magic, mushrooms just grow like that sometimes.” Damien never understood why his sister was so fascinated with magic and the supernatural. Why she would disappear into the woods for the whole day only to return at dusk with pockets full of shiny rocks, one hand grasping several gnarled branches, and colorful feathers and animal bones in the other. He just couldn’t wrap his head around how a pair of twins could be so different. His thoughts were interrupted by Celine grabbing his arm.

“Careful, you almost fell into that hole like I did. We’re here, the entrance is down the hill by the river. C’mon!” She excitedly scurried down the hill, trying not to slip on the leaves. Her brother followed a bit more slowly; He wasn’t quite as used to running through the forest.

Finally, they had both reached the river. By the time Damien had climbed down the bank, Celine was standing in front of a small cave opening. The river going down in the Fall must have exposed it.

“This is where I came out after I fell down that hole and made my amazing discovery!” She was bouncing up and down with excitement. She just couldn’t wait to share what she found with someone.

“Can you just tell me what it is you found already?”

“That’ll ruin the surprise silly! I want you to see this for the first time like I did, with fresh eyes. Besides, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” she gestured for Damien to follow her as she climbed through the opening. He peered into the darkness for only a moment before his sister’s hand poked back out.

“Hand me that flashlight of yours, will you?” he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket to retrieve the light and place it in her hand.

“Thanks, now come on! I’m not gonna sit here forever.” she turned on the light and started crawling through the tunnel. Damien hurried in after her, still desperate for answers.

“Come on Ceil, just give me SOMETHING. You know I hate not knowing what’s going on. Like, what were you doing this deep in the woods anyway? And why did you make me bri-”

“Oh shush.” she turned around and pointed the light at him. “All will be revealed in a moment. Just pipe down and follow me lil’ bro.” she turned back around and continued forward.

“You’re older by two minutes…” Damien muttered under his breath.

They continued in silence for several minutes before the tunnel opened up into a small cavern. The floor was covered in soft, spongy moss. Vines crawled up the wall, draping the opening. There was a hole in the ceiling where weak sunlight was trickling through. Celine pointed up.

“That’s where I fell through. Thank goodness for all of this moss. But this is what I wanted to show you.” she ran over to a brass bowl filled with water sitting on top of a tall rock. Next to the bowl was a small pestle made of marble. She looked down into the bowl then looked back up at her brother.

“You got the rose?”

Damien walked over and pulled the old, wilted rose from their garden out of his pocket and handed it to her. She quickly snatched it up and dropped it into the water. She picked up the pestle and looked at Damien.

“You ready?”

“Ceil I’ve been ready for something, anything, for forever now. Just get on with it already.”

Celine stuck her tongue out before striking the side of the bowl and dragging the pestle around the rim. The resulting tone echoed off the walls of the cave and was prolonged by the circling of the rim. The sound waves rippled the water in the bowl and caused the rose to spin in a circle. Damien looked on in confusion, and then in amazement.

The withered rose with the sad, faded petals, was regaining its life! The once shriveled petals, were becoming the soft, beautiful ones they once were. The more it spun, the more it regained the deep red color it used to be. It seemed like time had been completely reversed within those vibrating waters.

After several minutes, Celine put down the pestle and pulled the rose out of the water to look at it, and then at her brother. He stood there staring at the rose with a completely bewildered look on his face. The look faded when he looked up to see his sister’s smug “I told you so” face.

“Don’t look at me like that! I’ll admit that this is…is…what the heck even is this?” Damien slumped down to the ground to try and collect his thoughts.

“I don’t know!” Celine exclaimed cheerily. “Isn’t it exciting Dee? We’ve got some kind of magical talisman that can restore life or youth or whatever!”

Damien leaned his head back and groaned.

“Why did you have to show this to ME? Doesn’t that boyfriend of yours like this kind of stuff too?”

Celine gave him a little shove and then crossed her arms.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Marvin’s NOT my boyfriend. I just told Wil that so he’d leave me alone. And to answer your questions, one: Marvin and his brothers are gone on a trip. Two: I needed to prove to someone that I’m not crazy about this kind of stuff!” she slumped down next to her brother. “I don’t know anyone else who would be willing to follow me out here. Mom and Dad already think I’m weird, you think they’d wanna trek out into the woods just to crawl through a hole?” she hugged her knees to her chest as she stared at the ground.

Damien couldn’t help but feel a bit sad for his sister. He was the one that always got along with people, was kinda the popular kid, but Celine? She found it hard to make friends. She had a tendency to keep to herself and focus on her interests, but she still wanted a few people to feel comfortable around when she wanted to. She was lucky enough to find Marvin, an equally weird kid with the same supernatural interests, but that was where the luck ran out.

But he was her brother, the one she turns to when no one else is around. And although he didn’t always understand her, he still always listened. He pulled his sister into a hug.

“You are a weird sister Ceil. But you’re my weird sister. And guess what? You were right. Now I have no choice to believe you when you talk about all this magic stuff.” Celine gave a small sniff and looked up.

“So mister know-it-all admits that I’m right for once?”

“Don’t let it go to your head. You also said yourself that you don’t know what this thing is.” Damien looked over at the bowl again. “We should probably keep this to ourselves until we figure out what it is. Maybe we should hit up the library.”

She gave him a questioning look.

“Keep it to ourselves? But this is a huge discovery! We could be famous for this!”

“Which is exactly why we shouldn’t say anything. Anyone that doesn’t immediately think we’re crazy is gonna come here and might do something to disrupt it and might ruin it.” he explained.

“Alright I guess that makes sense. But can I at least tell Marvin? He could help us study it.”

“Absolutely not! You know it’s impossible for him to keep secrets from those brothers of his. We tell NO ONE.”

She gave a pouting look that slowly shifted into a sly smile.

“What if I tell him anyway?”

Damien gave her a similar smile.

“Then I’ll tell Wil that you’re not actually taken, and that you have a crush on him to!”

“Eww! NO! COOTIES! Fine. I won’t tell anyone.” she looked up to the hole in the ceiling. “We better head home. It’s getting dark. It’s not to be out here in the dark.” She shivered.

“Supernatural stuff and the wrath of our parents for being gone this long don’t faze you, but you’re still scared of the dark. You really don’t make a bit of sense do you?” he said, helping his sister stand up.

“Darkness is a sign of evil Dee. The real crazy people are the ones that aren’t scared of it.” Damien couldn’t help but chuckle at his sister’s strange sense of good and evil.

“Come on sis, let’s go home.” They crawled through the tunnel once more, leaving the strange brass bowl sitting behind. The rose still floating on the surface of the water.

Darkness is evil. How absurd. Darkness is nothing more than the absence of light. If anything, it’s what lurks in the dark that’s actually dangerous…

*******************************************

I told @ongaku-ato-kakikomi about a dream I had the other night and she said it'd make for a good story. So I wrote something. I kinda did this for a class, but I'm not really a writer. I just wanted some content of Damien and Celine just kinda being siblings.

#my writing #damien #celine #markiplier damien #markiplier celine #markiplier #darkiplier #?

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warriors-windandfireau · 5 years

Text

Wind and Fire: Into the Wild -Chapter Ten

Read on Ao3

Another moon had passed since the day that Firepaw had joined WindClan.

Tallstar was now focusing more on battle training, with the occasional hunting training thrown in to improve his skills further. ShadowClan was definitely acting more and more aggressive, judging from both gossip from the last gathering as well as border scuffles becoming more and more common. Because of this, Firepaw's mentor wanted him to learn as many fighting moves as possible so he could protect himself should the situation arise where he needed to fight. Day after day, the apprentice kept expecting some sort of battle to happen. The thick tension around camp whenever the topic of ShadowClan was brought up sent a chill down his spine. He hated seeing his generally cheery clanmates suddenly act that way. However, despite this, ShadowClan still rarely trespassed on WindClan territory. There wasn't really any need for a fight with the rival Clan.

Well, not yet anyway.

Firepaw was returning from a small battle training session with Tallstar, the sun setting and the first signs of stars showing in the darkening sky, a river of moonlight beginning to flood the swaying grasses, painting them a silvery color as they silhouetted the purpling sky beyond. During the training session, they had a bit of free time, and Firepaw had managed to catch a sparrow on the way back to camp. Maybe I'll be having my hunting assessment soon.

As soon as the two toms reached the camp, entering through the familiar bramble arch, Firepaw placed down his sparrow in the prey pile after padding over to it. He was about to head to the apprentices' den when he saw Tallstar leap onto the Tallrock out of the corner of his eye.

“Let all cats old enough to catch prey gather beneath Tallrock," Tallstar called, rousing the Clan from their dens. They piled from their dens with a swagger showing their remaining sleepiness. The cats gathered around their leader, eyes looking up to watch Tallstar, eyes gleaming of respect, as well as many of the faces showing signs of curiosity.

Onepaw nearly barreled Firepaw over as he charged over to his friend. The ginger tom turned around, but before he could let out some sort of retort at the tom’s clumsy recklessness, Onepaw began talking. "I bet this is about the Gathering!" he said, eyes sparkling in the virgin starlight. The two apprentices turned their attention to Tallstar, and Onepaw whispered, "I hope you get to go this time. You've been here as an apprentice long enough, so surely Tallstar would let you go by now. He’ll want to show you to the rest of the Clans."

Firepaw nodded, his mind travelling back to last moon. Onepaw had attended last Gathering, along with Runningpaw, and the way the two apprentices described it had made Firepaw more and more curious to see what it was like in person. All four Clans, gathered together under the moonlight in peace...

As the crowd's small chatter died down, Tallstar began speaking. "Tonight is the night of the full moon, and it is time for the Gathering," he said. "I have chosen the cats to attend tonight's Gathering. Of course, I will be going, along with Deadfoot and Barkface." The two higher ranked cats nodded from their closer place beside the Tallrock. "Mudclaw, Tornear, Willowspot, Onepaw, Webpaw, Firepaw, and Ashfoot will also be coming. The rest of you, either get some rest or be ready to guard the camp, in case ShadowClan decides to try something sneaky."

As Tallstar waved his tail, dismissing the Clan and padding over to speak to the deputy and medicine cat, Firepaw turned to Onepaw, excitement evident in his expression. "See, I knew you would be chosen," mewed Onepaw, grinning along with his friend.

"Yep," Firepaw replied, watching as Tallstar padded towards the camp entrance with the chosen cats following behind him. He turned around, seeing Webpaw, Runningpaw, and Whitepaw padding up to them.

"I hope you enjoy the Gathering!" Runningpaw said, smiling. She turned to Firepaw. "This'll be your first one, right?" Firepaw nodded, and the molly continued. "It's kind of loud at first, but it's super cool meeting cats from other Clans."

"I hope you have fun!" Whitepaw added. "Tell us all about it when you get back to camp, okay?" The white molly had only been apprenticed a moon ago, and wouldn't have a chance to attend a Gathering for at least another moon or more, although she no doubt wanted to go. It was obvious not only from the way she kept glancing at the entrance with slight disappointment, as well as how it just seemed like something she’d love to do.

Webpaw smiled slightly before following Whitepaw's eyes to the camp entrance. "We're gonna be leaving soon," he meowed, taking a few steps towards where the Gathering patrol was standing and waiting.

"We'll be sure to tell you how it went!" Onepaw mewed before turning around and beginning to pad towards the camp entrance.

"Bye!" Firepaw called over his shoulder before he followed the two other apprentices.

I'm finally going to a Gathering, Firepaw thought. I get to meet cats from other Clans!

And then Firepaw's mind wandered towards the day he met those ThunderClan cats in the forest.

Greypaw... I wonder if I'm going to see him. A part of him desperately wanted to meet the ThunderClan apprentice. He silently hoped that he was going to be attending tonight's Gathering as he stood by the camp entrance, waiting to leave.

After a few more moments of waiting, Tallstar flicked his tail, and the Gathering patrol swarmed out of camp. Firepaw padded alongside Onepaw and Webpaw, smiling.

It's finally time.

---

The trek to Fourtrees didn't take nearly as long as Firepaw thought it would. Perhaps it was different for other Clans, or maybe it was because he had grown to be able to travel much longer distances in his time in the Clan, but it only seemed like the group of cats traveled a small distance. Onepaw and Webpaw explained to him about what Gatherings were like in more detail as they walked, (with Onepaw being the main provider of information) and it made Firepaw even more excited to reach Fourtrees.

The patrol stood at the edge of the clearing, and while Firepaw couldn't see much, even as he tried peering over the warriors' shoulders, he knew that it was big, big enough to fit cats from all four Clans in the hollow it was located in. He remembered it being described to him briefly on his first tour of the territory, and now he was finally here.

"We're about to enter," Onepaw whispered to him. "We're waiting for Tallstar to give us the signal."

"Okay," Firepaw said, nodding, not knowing much else to say. Feeling a surge of excitement, he wondered if they were going to be the first Clan there, considering the short distance that he and his Clan had apparently travelled.

Well, it doesn't matter, he told himself. Even if we are, the other Clans would show up eventually.

At last, after what seemed like ages of waiting, Tallstar gave the signal to enter the hollow, and the WindClan cats charged inside.

Firepaw looked around the large clearing with wide, wondering eyes. As Onepaw ushered him closer towards the center, he looked around the place. There were four large trees, spiraling towards the top of the clearing, but that was obvious from the name. They touched slightly at the tip of each branch, with lower, thicker branches weaving and making a labyrinth of leaves and twigs.

And then there was the Great Rock.

It stood in the center of the clearing, looking as if it had been rooted there with no way to remove it. It was large, and had enough space for four or more fully grown cats on top of its smooth surface. It sprouted upwards with rough edges, and moss coated it. That's where the leaders sit, Firepaw realized, remembering what Onepaw and Webpaw had told him along the way as they walked.

Deadfoot and Barkface had padded to sit beneath the mammoth rock, speaking with the deputies and medicine cats of the other Clan that had showed up, from what he could tell, was RiverClan. Tallstar had already leapt to sit on top of the rock, and Firepaw saw that another tom was already sitting on it as well. RiverClan's leader, he guessed.

"Let's go find a spot to sit down," Onepaw called, already wandering away towards the edges of the clearing. Firepaw padded over to him, and Webpaw followed behind, clearly not knowing where else to go.

The three apprentices found a shady area near the edge of the clearing, with patches of soft grass and moss underpaw.

They looked up at the cats beside the Great Rock, and after a moment of watching, Firepaw mewed, "Who are those? The- the RiverClan cats."

"The brown tom sitting next to Tallstar is Crookedstar, RiverClan's leader," Onepaw explained. "The golden molly with the spots sitting beside Deadfoot is Leopardfur. She's RiverClan's deputy."

Firepaw studied the two cats as much as he could from where he sat. From what he could see, they were definitely deserving of the ranks they had. "And the one by Barkface?"

"Mudfur," Webpaw answered. "RiverClan's medicine cat."

Just as Webpaw spoke, out the corner of his eye, Firepaw could see another Clan pouring into the clearing. ThunderClan, judging from the scent.

Recognizing the blue-grey molly that was leading them in, Firepaw shrank back. Onepaw shot him a curious glance as he did so. “What’s the issue?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head, “nothing, really.”

Onepaw still looked curious, as if he wanted to pry further, but he just sighed and watched the ThunderClan cats pile in.

Firepaw eyed the cats that were coming in, searching for a particular grey cat. Towards the back of the crowd, he spotted him: grey fur with a darker stripe, and amber eyes that he could see glisten even from the distance that separated them.

Firepaw glanced at Onepaw and Webpaw. "I'm going to go and see if I can meet some ThunderClan cats," he mewed, standing up. "I mean, the whole point of the Gathering is to meet cats from other Clans, right?"

Onepaw’s gaze remained slightly suspicious, but he shrugged and just said. “Go on.”

Firepaw nodded, before trying to pinpoint where he had seen Greypaw. After a moment of searching, he spotted the grey tom and promptly padded over to where he was admiring the clearing.

"Greypaw!"

The apprentice turned his head as his name was called, eyes flashing with disbelief and a bit of confusion as he saw Firepaw. He frowned, turning fully to seemingly examine the orange tom.

“R… Rusty?” The words came out a bit slow, and Greypaw padded forward to stand face to face with Firepaw. "What are you doing here?"

Firepaw sat down, grinning. "I'm an apprentice in WindClan now! Have been for two moons now. And, hah, my name's Firepaw now, by the way."

"Firepaw..." Greypaw said to himself.

"Yep."

"What happened after, you know, we met?" the grey tom asked, sitting down as well. "You never showed up after me, Bluestar, and Lionheart talked to you, so we all assumed you went home and... well... stayed there."

"I would never do that!" he said. "Well, okay, the thing is, my twolegs took me near the moor, for whatever reason. And that's where I found WindClan, and I asked to join them, and they let me in."

Greypaw tilted his head. "Why didn't you join ThunderClan, though?" he asked. "Would you have?"

Firepaw shook his head. "I would have preferred hunting here on WindClan territory way more than in some crowded forest."

"They're not too crowded—"

"And, well," Firepaw went on, cutting off whatever Greypaw was going to say, "as a kittypet, I had always had these... dreams. Dreams of hunting on the moors and living there, surrounded by a bunch of cats. I just... I feel like I'm really, truly home when I'm in WindClan."

"Oh," Greypaw said, nodding in understanding, but Firepaw could see that he looked a bit betrayed, judging from his expression. "Well... how are you enjoying Clan life, then? You said you've been training for two moons, right?"

Firepaw nodded. "My training's going pretty well. It's pretty difficult sometimes, but that's to be expected. I've made a few friends, too," he added, shooting a glance behind him at Onepaw and Webpaw, who were talking together.

"Well, that's good at least," Greypaw said.

Firepaw leaped to his paws. "Do you wanna meet the other WindClan apprentices?" he asked. "Two of them, at least. The other two weren't chosen to come tonight."

"Sure!" The ThunderClan apprentice sprung to his paws and followed Firepaw over to where the other WindClan apprentices were sitting, still talking to each other occasionally. They looked over as Firepaw approached them, with Greypaw right behind them.

Onepaw’s gaze flickered from Webpaw to see Firepaw. He nodded at him, grinning. “Decided to stop abandoning us?”

Firepaw was about to retort, but just sighed and shook his head. He flicked his tail towards Greypaw, in the end ignoring Onepaw’s comment. “This is Greypaw.”

“Skunkpaw,” Webpaw muttered, probably to himself, although everyone could hear.

Onepaw laughed, nudging Webpaw before looking back over to the fluffy grey tom.

Greypaw tilted his head, and shot the two a goofy smile. “Heya, I’ll just ignore what was said because I only hear facts.”

Firepaw snorted before Onepaw turned to the orange tom. "Hey, how do you even know him anyway?" he asked. "WindClan and ThunderClan don't even border each other, so I'm curious."

"Oh yeah, about that," Firepaw said. "Back when I used to live in Twolegplace, I lived really close to the ThunderClan forest, though at the time, I didn't know it was ThunderClan's. I had always wondered what was past the forest, mainly because I thought that a moor, or WindClan territory, was past it." He sighed. "Long story short, I was apparently an intruder in Greypaw's territory and we fought for a second before he told me a bit about Clan life. And then, you know, I ended up here in WindClan the next day."

Just as Onepaw opened his mouth to respond, there was a yowl around the clearing.

Each of the apprentices glanced up to see that all of the Clans had arrived, and the four leaders were standing atop the rock.

Catching Onepaw’s confused gaze as he eyed the ShadowClan leader, Firepaw whispered to him. “What’s the issue?”

“That’s…” he frowned, “That’s the deputy… I think… It’s not Raggedstar.”

Presuming that Raggedstar was the leader of ShadowClan, after a few more moments of looking at Onepaw’s confused gaze, he directed his attention back to the leaders. I’m sure there’s an explanation.

The tom who was replacing Raggedstar padded forward—he was large, and his dark brown tabby fur looked messy and ungroomed. The lower half of his tail was bent, and his orange eyes glowed in the moonlight that came through the leaves.

The dark brown tom stepped forward, his frightening gaze scanning the cats crowded below him. "Greetings," he said, "Raggedstar has died in the last moon, and being deputy, I was the one to take his place. My name is no longer Brokentail, and you must address me as Brokenstar now."

"I already don't like him," Webpaw whispered, cowering back and shivering slightly. Firepaw saw his friends nod, and as he stared at Brokenstar, he felt that something was off with the new ShadowClan leader.

Before Brokenstar could say anything else, Crookedstar stepped forward. “I would like to be the first to announce news.” He spoke assertively, surveying the cats below him. Brokentail, or Brokenstar now, stepped back to sit in line with the other leaders, nodding to him.

He cleared his throat. “Prey has been plentiful; StarClan has treated us kindly for the past moon. There has been some issues with ThunderClan…” He glanced at Bluestar, not getting any more specific, before looking back at the crowd of cats. Firepaw could sense a bud of tension in the crowd. “But RiverClan has been well for the most part.” He stepped back, leaving the spot open for another leader to step forward.

After Crookedstar's news, Bluestar replaced his spot at the front of the rock. "Prey has been well for us too, and we thank StarClan for their kindness in these moons. There is no other news to share.” She stepped back, and afterwards, Tallstar took her place at the front of the rock.

“Prey has been plentiful for us as well.” He paused, “StarClan has been very kind to us. A new apprentice has also joined our ranks, and while she isn't here, we can still honor her. Whitepaw is now an apprentice of WindClan."

The crowd of gathered cats began calling out Whitepaw's name, though Firepaw took note of the lack of ShadowClan cats joining in. Tallstar waited for the crowd to die down before continuing on with his reports. "As you may know, a few moons ago, I mentioned that a kittypet has joined our ranks. His name is Firepaw, and he is here with us tonight."

Firepaw shrunk back as all eyes searched for and landed on him, and most of the cats in the crowd began chanting his name the same way they did with Whitepaw. He looked up at the leaders, but he noticed something in Bluestar's eyes that he couldn't quite pinpoint.

Anger? Disappointment? She did offer me to join her Clan, but...

He shook those thoughts away. I wasn't meant to be in ThunderClan. I was meant to be in WindClan.

"If that's all over," Brokenstar cut in, shouldering his way to the front of the rock, "I will now speak." Tallstar shot a glare at him that he didn't catch, but stepped back regardless, dipping his head in respect. The other leaders nodded as well.

“Prey has been very well, we thank StarClan…” he seemed to rush through this part, “however, there is some more important business that I must ask of the other leaders.”

There was a confused silence that responded to his words. Greypaw leaned over to Firepaw and whispered, “That’s weird- usually they just talk amongst themselves before or after announcing the news.”

"Something's definitely off," Onepaw agreed. Firepaw shifted in his spot, shooting a glance at his friends before looking back at the leader perched atop the rock.

“I would like to ask if the other Clans would like to ally with ShadowClan. We would both make sure that we would help each other’s Clans in times of need.”

The confused silence turned to a shocked one as he said this. Whispers filled the crowd, and the other three leaders all stared at Brokenstar in shock. The ShadowClan leader flicked his tail at the crowd to silence the murmurs, before continuing. “I am aware that the request is sudden. However, I do think it can benefit all sides the alliance.”

"No." Bluestar was the first to answer, breaking out of her shock. She said it quick and bluntly, as if she didn’t even think about it before saying it.

Brokenstar’s expression turned cold for a second, before switching back to its neutrality. "Very well. What about the rest of you?" he asked, turning to Tallstar and Crookedstar respectively.

"I'm afraid WindClan will have to deny this offer as well," said Tallstar. Firepaw breathed a sigh of relief. He remembered about the ShadowClan cats lurking dangerously close to the border, and he wondered if Brokenstar would even keep his promise of an alliance if Tallstar chose to accept.

Crookedstar, on the other hand, looked at Brokenstar with a bit of interest. "Brokenstar... will you give me time to think about this?"

"What?" Leopardfur hissed, leaping from her spot near the bottom of the Great Rock. Her furious expression turned towards her leader, and she lashed her tail. "You can't seriously be considering this, are you? RiverClan can survive on its own! We don't need help from any Clan, especially from one that doesn't even border us!" In response to the deputy’s hiss, Brokenstar shot her a cold glare.

"I understand that, Leopardfur," Crookedstar replied, speaking in a much more calm fashion than his deputy. "But right now, I don't think it would be a bad idea to have some allies." He turned his gaze back to Brokenstar, who was now staring at him with curiosity and a hint of excitement. "Will you give me another day to think about this? If I accept, I will send a patrol to your territory to speak with you and give us our answer."

This time, it wasn't just Leopardfur who was growling: it was almost the entirety of RiverClan, save for a few who were watching the two leaders with interest. Brokenstar flicked his jagged tail, grinning. "Very well. If you choose to accept, you will not be disappointed, Crookedstar."

The RiverClan leader dipped his head. "Thank you."

Ignoring him, Brokenstar turned to Tallstar and Bluestar, the two leaders who had denied his offer of alliance. "You're making a mistake, not choosing to ally with us. I guess you'll see the consequences of that in due time."

Firepaw's blood turned cold. What does that mean?

Before anyone could respond to Brokenstar's threat, the ShadowClan leader flicked his tail to signal for his Clan to follow him before leaping off of the Great Rock and beginning to head back towards his own territory.

The crowd began its quiet chatting after ShadowClan had left the hollow, and from what few words Firepaw could catch from nearby cats, WindClan and ThunderClan seemed pretty worried about what was going to happen to them.

"Well," said Greypaw, "I've gotta go back to my Clan. I'll see you soon, though!"

Firepaw nodded. "Yeah... same. Bye!" he called, and Greypaw hurried after the other ThunderClan cats, who were slowly beginning to crowd around Bluestar to leave.

Firepaw turned to Onepaw and Webpaw, who wore expressions of fear on their faces, and Webpaw was even shaking a little. I don't blame him. Something's up with ShadowClan.

Before Firepaw could say anything, he heard pawsteps coming towards him. He turned around and saw Tallstar, beckoning the three apprentices with his tail.

"Come on, you three," he meowed. "It's time to get back to camp."

#Warrior Cats #Warrior Cats AU #ITWChrono

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marcelapeckova · 5 years

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Iceland

To visit Iceland was my all time dream which come true. In the next few rows I would love to introduce you Iceland how I see it and how I experienced it. Warning, this is going to be a bit longer :)

Me and my boyfriend visited Iceland in the beginning of September 2019. For me it's a country of amazing nature, perfect calm and coziness!

Last few minutes of the flight I was sticked on the window of airplane and stunned by how strange the country is! The glaciers, the amazing river beds, suddenly kilometres of orange ground and from time to time small dot - a lonely home in middle of nothing. It's hardly describe how exciting minutes it was!

Our roads started in Keflavík- we picked up our car there and start our long journey :)

First of all what is going to “got you” when you are on Iceland is the relief of the ground - it's absolutely brutalism view. You are walking trough absolutely flat ground and suddenly you are surrounded with high mountains. By the long distances in between civilization you are sometimes totally alone in nature - green moss ground, lava mountains, nothing alive around you, no trees, really nothing only ships. And trust me, it's enormous mind shower. I enjoyed this feeling with full heart.

Because we want to see always maximum what we can, we scheduled our “hotels”to have them always on “middle of our road” and because Iceland might be bigger as you can imagine, was normal to drive 400km per each day (and some of the days spent there we drove even more - I'm adding you here also a map of places which we visited. ) However, each km of this land was breathtaking and I was glad we decided to work whole circle around the island! Even now with distance of time I'm not able to tell where it was the most beautiful to me. Every part of the island has it's own magic and I just love this kind of magic :)

Day 1, 2, 3 - Reykjanes and South Iceland

As I mentioned, we started in Keflavík, from Keflavík to Reykjavík where we stayed for 2 nights. First day we made just a long walk across the city and enjoyed a local atmosphere. Reykjavík is really beautiful and cozy so you will definitely not get bored here! The city is not su busy, with such a lovely architecture so walk with not an exact goal was exactly made for us :)

Next day we went to see the Geysir and from Geysir we made hike to the thermal river - on Google we found an info it's 5minutes from car so it seems to us as a great idea to end the day here, but on place we found it's one hour trough the mountains. However to see and to sit in Reykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River really worth it :) Just imagine sitting in 40C stream, in a fogy weather surrounded with monumental mountains! It was absolute relax and I'm glad we made it here!

Day 3 started and our plan was to see the waterfalls located on East coast, Black sand beach and glacier. The plan was ambitious because in from of us was exactly 428km! First on our road was Seljalandsfoss waterfalls.

I can only highly recommend to visit this place as the waterfall was mesmerise! From Seljalandsfoss it's just a few minutes driving to Skógafoss Waterfall which is again absolutely beautiful. I would say that during whole road we meet with so many waterfalls but not all of them were easy to access, but Skógafoss Waterfall is really easy to access and you can enjoy the view as rom the down as from the up of it and it is going to be definitely one of the most beautiful waterfalls you ever seen :)

Then a Black sand beach - we didn't make it to the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck as it was like hour of walk across the windy beach so we rather enjoy the view on the beach from up (you will find there also Dyrhólaey Lighthouse ) and then spend some relaxing time on the beach :) Honestly said, the beach was totally rowdy although we were there already a bit of “out season” but still nice to see. The rocks there was shaped into amazing geometrical forms and we both just love it.

As we continue in our road to Höfn where our next accommodation was we were crossing magnificent lava fields ( Eldhraun ) - you will go trough a kilometres of black lava rocks overgrown with fluffy green moss and the picture you are going to see here is far more than amazing :) It's so unbelievable how the artsy nature is here!

The sun was about to set and we finally arrive to the glacier lake Jökulsárlón. This place left in me really strong memory. It was my first time seeing glacier and again it was one breath taking view for me. In the lake was a group of about 20 grey seals which were totally curious about us :) However, standing there make you to realise how year after year we are closer to lost the glaciers and how important is to protect them.

Day 3 - East Iceland

We left our accommodation early in the morning and drive few kilometres to get Stokksenes - one of the place which you always see on the photos from Iceland. Well, here I can only write and reccomend - sometimes it's better to Google the place first ;) It was the only place which we visited and were needed to pay entry fee. The Viking village which is here is in very poor condition, but I enjoyed a lot the view across black sandy beach on the majestic mountains! And benefit of coming early is - no humans around, only you and nature! ;)

Our next stop on map is going to be Seyðisfjörður but first of all, in front of us is long road around fjords and trough high mountains. When we were in the mountains, there was slowly zero visibility, no signal and turn after turn, but each time we drive down from the mountains there was awaiting on us something special - calming surroundings of the fjord, hidden waterfalls, or Cristal-clear rivers (and of course sheep ).

As we were closer to the Seyðisfjörður we entered to the totally different Iceland as we seen before! It's difficult to describe why, maybe it was because there were no clouds on the skies and no rain, maybe because there were a trees (yes, trees were missing in most of the areas) but that's ok as each part of Iceland seems to me unique in their own way and each kilomer of the land was different. And now ... Seyðisfjörður - It's really small town with only a few cozy houses (about 700 inhabitants ). In the end of the town is fjord with the same name Seyðisfjörður and sitting there, looking on the town was absolutely peaceful feeling. You are surround by high mountains, over below them are colorful houses, nice streets and in the middle of that is blue wooden church. It left a very special feelings in my heart and I will always thing about this town as about one of the loveliest I ever visited. It's a bit out of the road, I know, but if you are going around, stop by for a baked cod with fennel!

Final destination of the day - Borgarfjörður Eystri - small village mostly know for beautiful nature. If you are coming in season from mid- April to mid- August then you definitely must see Puffins paradise here! In Borgarfjörður Eystri is one of the best places in the world to see the Puffins (however we were there in September, so not lucky us :D ). Anyway, the nature here is so beautiful that that you don't want to stop discovering it. We were accommodated here in Blábjörg Guesthouse and they do have their spa outside of the Guesthouse, so you can be watching how the sun set over the fjord from hot tup (and I did so and I love it! )

Day 4 - North Iceland

I'm still on East and just a very shortly about Stuðlagil Canyon in Jökla - It's mesmerising canyon of longest glacier river. Almost nobody knew about until recently ( for a long time it was hidden under water). There are 2 options how to get there and if you can, definitely go to see it as it really wort it. One option will bring you to the parking place and you can easily walk few meters to see the canyon from up. On the other (east) side of the river is option 2 - you will drive to the parking place and then you need to walk - walk for a really longer (8km) and you will be able to access to inside of the canyon. We didn't had so much time to make such a hike so we see the canyon only from up, but I have never seen such a shaped canyon - Stuðlagil Canyon has one of the biggest and most beautiful basalt columns formation in Iceland.

Let's go to another waterfalls. And not just any regular waterfalls, but the greatest waterfalls in Europe called Dettifoss waterfalls.

When you arrive to Dettifoss, first what absolutely got me was the rocky road here (from the parking place you go trough land of nothing only rocks, but not any regular rocks, the land was reminding me the pictures of moon and it was absolutely strange and breath-taking in the same time). Before we go there I saw a lot of pictures, read something about this place, but it absolutely shocked me when I was standing on the rocks over the waterfall. The volume of running water! The sound was so powerful! It was one of the feelings when you realise how small you are and how strong the nature is! I was trying to capture this place somehow, but on none of the pictures I took was pictured the power.

Let's continue! This day was full of experiences! :) Our next destination was little fishing town over the fjord called Ólafsfjörður and there are 3 more interesting places to see by the road :)

Just a few minutes from Dettifoss you will drive around Námafjall and it's worth to stop there, because I have never ever seen something like this piece of land.

Námafjall geothermal area known as Hverir, can be seen from distance due many smoking fumaroles. Whole are is dressed in orange/ brown color and on first look it seems like Mars looking-alike ground with boiling mud pots, surrounded by sulphur crystals of many different colours. This sulphur gives the area an overwhelming smell of egg (and the first moment was really uncomfortable, but the picture you are going to see will hypnotise you! )

Just like a 5 minutes from Hverir you can find Grjotagja cave. A small lava cave with Cristal blue water - in the past it was popular bathing place for locals but due volcanic activities the temperature of water heat up to more than 50 degrees Celsius and that’s far too hot for taking a relaxing bath in and bathing is prohibited. However, it’s beautiful place to see anyway!

Next on our map is beautiful Goðafoss waterfall - Whole day we had “grey” weather and when we arrived to this The Godafoss waterfall (one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland) the sun was shinning and in the middle of the waterfall was beautiful shaped rainbow! Goðafoss = The water of the gods was really looking like the name is, but maybe it was only because of the magical weather over this place. However, they stayed in my mind as on of the most beautiful waterfalls I ever seen!

To get to the Ólafsfjörður we were crossing beautiful city Akureyri. Did you ever seen a traffic light where is instead of basic red light heart? Iceland is full of simply lovely details light this and when you saw them, they just made you a day better :)

Ólafsfjörður is a really really small town - fishing is the main industry here (mainly herrings) but it's also a home of many whales in waters around, so if you would like to watch the whales, you are on the right place! We were not on a whale tour (although it's very attractive) so I am not able to tell you more, but what I can tell you that the local people here are absolutely kindly and friendly (but I don't meet with unfriendly Icelanders anywhere! ) and we got so many tips what to see in this are of Iceland from locals! I am really thankful for that :) Nature around is so beautiful that this a bit out-of hand place worth to visit.

Day 5 - West Iceland & Westfojds

A road from Ólafsfjörður to Westfjords (city Hólmavík ) can be done trough highway or a bit longer variant - across the coasts. I love the view from cliffs and the atmosphere on the coasts so we took it - as locals recommended, across the cliffs and coasts.

I'm glad we did that, because we stoped on eastern shore of Vatnsnes Peninsula to see Hvítserkur . The view on 15 meters high monolith or sea-stack, an eroded volcanic dyke standing out of the water is quite spectacular! Hvítserkur is a home of many seagulls and if you come here in the right time, you can spot a grey seals - we saw a group of maybe 20 or 30 seals sunbathing a small island 50m from the land.

However, if you come to watch the seals, I have one more place which I can highly recommend to visit :) About 15 / 20 minutes from Hvítserkur is located Illugastaðir farm where you can view seals in their natural environment! Their quarrels and their love for each other. You can sit and watch their life - You are going to see there seals in groups spend time chilling on the rocks, sleeping and relaxing or playing in water. Most of the seals are quite social, so if you will sit on rock, in calm and quite maybe some of them will like to see you and will naturally swim closer to you, however, keep on mind that they are wildlife, shy animals. From my experience : Me and my boyfriend were sitting on rock and watching 3 seals which swim in front of us when suddenly senior German couple in neon green nylon jackets start “running” around and loudly talking each other - seals were immediately away. By the way, sending regards to these 2! Basically I don't remember random strangers, but I would still recognise them :D But back to the topics - on Iceland is many seal watching places, but Seal Colony Illugastaðir is definitely one of the best places to see them.

Our next stop is our final destination of the day - Hólmavík. In from of us is absolutely amazing road which we both enjoyed as the view will totally entertain you :)

Hólmavík is a small village but still largest settlement in the region. We stayed there because we both just love the countryside. Everything around seems to me very cozy. When the sun set, we went to the local restaurant for a local fish and can only recommend :) (And in this point of view is no needed to describe the restaurant more, because there is only one ;) ). During whole our stay I wish to see Northern lights (Aurora Borealis) - Northern lights on Iceland can be seen between September to April - of course during winter it's more easier to hunt Northern light. In September when it's only starting you need to be more lucky and more far from city light. From what I read Westfjords is perfect for seeing Northern light so that was also one of the reason why we decided to visit Hólmavík. During whole our stay on Iceland I was carefully watching Aurora forecast apps (yes, I downloaded more of them to be sure :D ) and each night wherever we were we stayed a part of the night outside watching the skies. Honestly? I really felt a lack of sleep but the will was stronger :D Each night we had very low prediction of to see it and when there was higher chance, there was a heavy clouds. This night in Hólmavík was prediction for Aurora Borealis on level 2 (so not so much - locals said when it's on level 3 you will probably see it If are good skies), but I see the place as the only chance to see it, because our next day will be on more populated place. Over the town is a small hill (right over the church) where we walked in the night - it was maybe 11:30 p.m. and as we were a bit more far from the street (only a few meters) we start see green light on the skies. In the beginning it was only a week visible green lines, but suddenly it start shinning bright, moving around the skies and dancing above us. We spent there maybe a hour and it's the experience I wish to had - my dream come true and it definitely worth the hours of waiting while others were sleeping :)

Day 6 - Snæfellsnes peninsula

Ok, Snæfellsnes peninsula is truly reach on interesting places and things to see, so I am going to try to take it in a nutshell :) You can see there amazing waterfalls, beautiful Gerðuberg basal columns, popular spot with little black wooden church Búðakirkja church, gold beaches and amazing cliffs, rhyolite mountains, Mt. Stapafell which is high palagonite volcano few amazing cozy little colourful fishing towns, caves and Snæfellsjökull glacier which second largest glacier on Iceland after jökulsárlón. Snæfellsnes peninsula definitely deserve your attend and I'm sure each visitor of this land will find there your “piece of cake”. In Arnarstapi is “bridge” over the sea made of basal columns ( Gatklettur - Arch Rock ). We spent there whole day and I can absolutely imagine to have there more days to discover all of these beauties more! In Hellnar you will find a lovely spot for a coffee & cake stop called café Fjöruhúsið located just over the sea. Next to that you can see there Berserkjahraun Lava Fields - absolutely extraordinary place where volcanic rocks are formed to many shapes and are overgrown with fluffy green moss and red blueberry bushes. Huge tourist attraction and one of the most photographed places on Iceland is Kirkjufellsfoss not because it’s very big but because it has the uniquely shaped Mt. Kirkjufell as a backdrop - when we arrived there whole Mt. Kirkjufell was hidden in rain clouds but it's beautiful place anyway :)

This night we stayed in very charming place - Staðarhús - Horse farm guesthouse in middle of nothing (but really, there was no village around, nothing). When sun set and we come out, it was the darkest night I ever seen. There was no sounds of civilisation, only a sound of wind. It was truly magical. However, there is one interesting place which I would like to mention on way from Snæfellsnes peninsula to Staðarhús! Geothermal tub where you can chill and warm up after a windy / rainy day - Landbrotalaug Hot Springs! It's very random spot close to the main road and when you are in, you are surrounded only by wonderful scenic landscape and nothing else. Iceland is full of geothermal areas and hot springs, but are not that popular. Most of the visitors know Blue lagoon or Myvatn Natural Bath, but there is plenty places where you can stop and chill for a couple of minutes before you will go to another journey. We were crossing 4 places and many left undiscovered. It's one of the things I absolutely enjoyed and highly recommend :) On Google you can find a maps with marked areas with natural springs where you can bath.

My personal remarks and recommendations

Iceland is amazing island! Full of natural beauty! Wherever your roads will take you, you will be amazed. That's why it's better to not have your itinerary planed tightly. We were stopping on many place we didn't ever know about them and I was enjoying it. Sometimes we even stop next to the road to just enjoy the landscape view more!

When I read about weather conditions on Iceland I didn't know what to expect. On most of the blogs I read that I should be prepared for crazy weather! Yes, it's true Iceland is very windy, better jacket is better :) However, when it's not windy, the temperature is more or less friendly. What I highly recommend is to take sure you have comfy good shoes, because you will be not limited with where you would like to go if you shoe well :)

Local cuisine - try as many fishes as you can! They cook them absolutely delicious! Also Icelanders bake perfect kinds of bread and amazing rhubarb cakes ;) If you are planing to order beer with your baked cod, you might be surprised that the beer can cost half price of the main dish or even more. Me and my boyfriend were not eating in restaurants often, we had our gas burner and were cooking our dished and making tea on camping places by the roads (and Iceland is rich on camping places - you can find them very often and they are all clean, in beautiful nature).

Grocery stores - well this might be something you should google. There can happen to you that you will be passing 100km without any grocery store by the road, so It's better to google it and cross to some city around you. Icelanders have a map with grocery stores and we were using it too (for object this one ).

Geothermal pools / hot springs - bath in as much as you can, it's awesome relax to be sitting in 35C + water in such an amazing scenery nature!

Sheep are everywhere.

I got many questions on Instagram if is Iceland expensive? So the answer is yes and no - it all depends on you. Most of the activities on Iceland are for free. We were only on one parking were was required to pay (some were voluntary and some absolutely free). What was very surprising for me that was toilets - slowly on all of the parking places where we were was a free or voluntary fee toilets in absolutely clean condition with no lack of toilet paper! If you want to eat in restaurants, you can find cheaper restaurants or expensive - In standard restaurant costs dinner about 15€ - 20€.

Another frequently question was - what kind of car do I need to rent? And here it again depends on you :) We had 4x4 car and I would suggest it, because some roads required it, but if you are going to see only Golden circle then it's Ok if you don't have 4x4. In winter it might be different and if you are going here in winter I wouldn't consider anything else only powerful 4x4 car :)

Right at the moment I feel like I write it all, but if is there anything what interested you, feel free to write me! :) I will be happy to share with you my experiences!

Where we stayed

Reykjavík - Norðurey Hotel City Garden Höfn - Lilja Guesthouse Borgarfjörður Eystri - Blabjorg Guesthouse Ólafsfjörður - Brimnes Hotel & Cabins Hólmavík - Finna Hotel Borgarnes - Staðarhús - Hestaland Guesthouse Maybe not all of these hotels were perfect butter us were good located. If you are going to visit Iceland, I suggest to find a place to stay “on your road” because the distances there are big and driving 50km extra just because of sleeping seems to me too much :) And other factor of choosing the hotel is availability.... well :) I got this trip in August for my B-day from my handsome boyfriend and our journey was starting in 20 days so we were meeting with already booked out hotels often.

Thank you for reading! Hope if you are about to go to Iceland my experiences help you a bit :)

Wish you a lovely day! Marcela

#travel #iceland

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alexboehm55144 · 5 years

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Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, Chapter 15 - Vacation in Chima

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while since the last update, but I've just kinda been being a bit lazy because it's summer. But I am trying my best to push myself to write more! This chapter I did have to kind of whip up quickly, after receiving some advice from my friends. Anyway, no flashy drawing this time, but it's the words that are really important, and let's get to them!

00000000000000

The typhoon had been diverted back to Chima after receiving a report about a reemergence of Chinese forces in the region. The first place Heroes checked out was the base where they had first met the dark counterparts. However the base was deserted, and no tribe had claimed the structure as an outpost. Before leaving, Heroes made sure to destroy the base with explosives so that no faction, hostile or benign, could occupy it.

The team had voted to stay in Chima to get some rest and relaxation, as for the past few days they had been going through battle after battle. Many had left the typhoon to spend time in the beautiful nature of Chima, or to examine the culture of the many tribes that inhabited the land.

Captain Boehm has woken up early, as they would be assaulting the base at dawn, but because there was not a threat, his early awakening had been for nothing. He was tempted to go back to sleep, however, he knew that if he did then his sleep schedule would be messed up. So now Alex was going out and spending time in the beautiful landscape of Chima. The captain loved nature, it offered him time to think and be alone with his thoughts. Although he was fond of his friends and allies, time alone was special to him, and the captain spent most free time in his cabin alone.

Alex rode his speedor past old ruins and down dirt paths carved throughout the forest. At one point he accidentally strayed into the falling jungle and had to quickly accelerate to avoid being crushed by the falling trees. Thankfully he soon found a nice spot next to a gentle river and laid down on the soft moss covering the ground.

It was time for him to do some thinking about the current state of affairs. Although Heroes had been victorious in many engagements, the tides of war had not yet shifted in favor of the United States. The captain was still fearful of the destruction the dark heroes could wreak, and he wondered how many US soldiers had died by their hands. He didn’t even want to think about the countless lives that had been lost during the war. The captain wondered how they would eliminate the rest of the dark counterparts, although they had taken out Dark Laval, he was still nervous. Hopefully, everyone in Heroes would emerge unscathed, but Alex was filled with anxiety about how the battles with the dark heroes would turn out.

Captain Boehm wanted nothing more than to see this horrible war be over, and the world once again returned to a time of relative peace. He would give everything for a world full of happiness, where people understood each other differences and got along fine. Of course, that was wishful thinking, and he would be out of a job if that was the case. But that was why he fought for peace, to make a world free of oppression and conflict.

The captain threw a few rocks into the river, and just wished the world could work itself out. There were times when his existence seemed bleak. But he took a deep breath and decided he should focus on the present, for what mattered now was defeating the Chinese. That would be his driving force in the coming battles. He remembered what he told JayJay, that they would stop at nothing to win the war.

As if on cue, a speedor pulled up with JayJay at the controls. She greeted the captain cheerfully and joined him in laying down on the bed of moss that covered the ground.

Alex felt better when he had her by his side. Having an ally calmed his nerves, and an ally meant another warrior to charge into combat with.

“What are you doing out here all alone?” JayJay asked

“Just doing some thinking, about this war and everything related to it.”

“Like what? The tactics? The soldiers?”

“More so about my own place in this conflict. I’m driven by nothing except my desire to stop this war, I just want to put an end to all the abuses & sneaky tactics that China uses. I want to stop this war that’s claimed so many lives.”

“See, that’s where you and I are alike Alex.” The wolf said, patting her friend on the shoulder. “I want to do the same thing. All the oppression that’s happening, I want to stop it.”

“I just hope we can actually do it. China is a powerful enemy, and now they have our dark counterparts at their disposal.”

The wolf sighed. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. I know I put on a tough face, but deep down I am nervous about whether or not we can beat our enemy & emerge unscathed.”

“Well, we beat Dark Laval and we’re all fine. We’ve beat dozens of Chinese soldiers and we’re fine.”

“And you're worried? You have this confident attitude when you're talking to me, but you need to turn that attitude on yourself. Instead of boosting the morale of others, trying doing the same to yourself, you might feel better”

“I could try doing that, maybe it would help me stop worrying about the future.”

“We don’t know what future battles hold, but there’s no reason to get worked up over something you don’t know is gonna happen or not.”

“Your right, thank you.” The captain said, feeling newfound determination coursing through his veins. “And I know you're nervous about upcoming battles, but remember that I’m here to help whenever you need me. It helps to have an ally to go into combat with.”

“Well, you do calm my nerves. Thanks for being there for me.”

“No, thank you for being there for me.”

The pair laughed and decided they should spend the day doing something more lighthearted. Climbing on their speedors, they drove off to find a beautiful natural monument to examine or a speedor track they could race on.

000

Although Jack and Skye had been all over the world on missions for the ZIA, Chima was one place they had never gone. The couple hadn’t even read any database entries on the region, but now they were determined to increase their knowledge of Chima, and what better way to do that than experiencing the land firsthand.

Having borrowed a Jeep from the typhoon’s vehicle bay, the two were getting ready to head out of the typhoon, but first Jack had something he wanted to do. The rabbit walked up to the fox he loved, with something hidden behind his back.

“Here Skye, I picked these for you.”

He revealed what the hidden item was, a bouquet of flowers wrapped in some spare cloth that came from somewhere on the typhoon.

“Oh! Jack!” Skye said, quickly taking the gift & looking it over. The flowers were an array of colors, and they smelled heavenly. “Where did you get these?”

“When we landed I spotted a field of flowers nearby, and while you were in the shower earlier I went out and got these lovelies for you. There’s no flower store around here, so I just improvised.”

“I love it.” The fox said, kissing her rabbit on the forehead.

“Glad you like it. So where are we heading?”

The pair climbed in the Jeep and Skye examined a map.

“Hmmm.... it says here that the home of the beaver tribe is not far off. Let’s go there”

The fox drove the vehicle out of the typhoon and through the forest, heading for the location on the map. Jack examined the Heroes database on his phone, in order to get more information about the tribe.

“It says here they are master craftsmen, and love to fix and build things”

The terrain was tougher than Jack and Skye expected, and the Jeep was getting jostled as it drove over rocks and logs.

“You know you could have taken the road,” Jack said, holding on as the Jeep went over a small riverbed.

“I thought this thing could handle it!” Skye responded, trying to avoid hitting trees.

By the time they reached the home of the beaver tribe, the Jeep had sustained some damage, but it could be quickly remedied back at the typhoon. The fox and bunny examined the main tribe structure, which was a massive wooden building, enclosed by a wall of logs surrounding it.

The pair pulled up to the main gate and hopped out.

“Please tell me you can fix this damage,” Jack said, looking at one of the tires, which had become loose.

“Of course, you doubt my skills as a mechanic?” Skye said smugly.

A beaver with dirty tan fur walked up to the two.

“Welcome! What brings you to the beaver tribe today?”

“Oh, we’re just exploring,” Skye said calmly “seeing what the tribes are like that inhabit Chima.”

“Well most tribes do a lot of fighting, but we beavers like to build and repair.” The beaver examined the Jeep. “I do see that your vehicle has sustained some damage. Would you like us to fix it?”

“Oh, sure! That would be great!” Jack said.

A group of beavers rushed over with tools, chanting the phrase ‘fix it’ They quickly went to work on the Jeep.

Jack and Skye walked off to let the beavers work, and to get a breath of fresh air.

“Toothdee wasn’t kidding when she said this place was beautiful,” Skye said.

“No, she wasn’t, speaking of which, what do you think about everyone on the typhoon, you know besides Nick and Judy.”

“Toothdee doesn’t say much, but her actions speak louder than words.”

“Yeah, she’s not really one for a lot of conversation.”

“JayJay is rather chatty, and Alex, well let’s just say I think he would be a good fit for a ZIA agent.”

“He definitely seems determined, as does everyone else. That’s the reason we’re all together, we are all determined to end this war. You and me to keep Zootopia safe, and I imagine the same is true for Nick & Judy.”

“I think the desire to defeat those dark counterparts is also a driving force for toothdee. I think she might be a little nervous, she told me that she doesn’t want Heroes to somehow become like their counterparts.”

“Like that saying that goes, ‘...you live long enough to become a villain’ ?”

“I think so, something like that.”

“Well I guess we should be wary, to make sure these talented people don’t get on the wrong side of the law”

“Yes, but enough about work. Let’s just enjoy ourselves, we’re in one of the most beautiful locations in the world.”

“It’s not as beautiful as you” Jack flirted.

“Oh Jack”

The pair leaned close and exchanged a loving kiss, before continuing on their way.

After their walk was done, the pair returned to the beaver tribe, where the beaver from earlier greeted them.

“Ah, your back! Good! We repaired all the damage to your vehicle, and made some modifications!”

Jack and Skye’s jaws dropped as they looked at the Jeep. The vehicle now had wooden wings coming out of the side, along with a bunch of other unnecessary wooden pieces. Jack facepalmed and shook his head, hoping Skye would be able to undo all the modifications the beavers made.

000

Jasiri had opted to spend her time in the typhoon cargo bay, organizing the crates and vehicles stored inside the ship. However, despite having the cargo bay crane to help, it was still backbreaking work. It didn’t help that the temperature controls for the cargo bay had malfunctioned in an earlier battle, making the room very hot and forcing Jasiri to wear a tank top and shorts.

The hyena moved a container full of perishable goods, which thankfully was build to keep the food inside fresh, and was unaffected by the increased temperature. The same could not be said for Jasiri though, sweat ran through her fur and her body ached. She sat down on the crate and breathed heavily, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“Now there is a tired and thirsty hyena.”

Jasiri turned to see Kion entering the cargo bay, offering her a bottle of coke-a-cola. The hyena graciously took the drink and quickly downed part of it, feeling the cool liquid running down her throat.”

“Man, if you told me I was gonna be doing this when I joined Heroes, I might have not joined at all,” Jasiri said, while Kion sat down next to her.

“Hey, don’t get yourself down, Heroes is a great gig. There’s never a dull moment, and you can feel good knowing that you're making the world safer.”

“You sound like Judy. But I guess that’s why we do what we do because we want to see a better planet.”

“That’s the spirit. Besides, we’re good at what we do. How many battles have we won now? I’ve lost count.”

“Yeah, your right about that. We get to help people, dive headfirst into the action, and get to know other skilled individuals.”

“Now you're getting it. Doesn’t this job make you feel proud.” The Lion put his arm around the hyena he loved, not caring that she was sweaty.

Jasiri thought for a moment. “Ok, you're correct. It does feel really good to know that you're doing something right.”

“Doesn’t it, that’s how I feel whenever we complete a mission.”

“Running into combat would be more exciting than moving crates the cargo bay.”

“Hey, this was a volunteer job. You did it because you wanted to help, which is the same thing you want to do when you run into battle.”

“Wow, you are on a morale-boosting streak today. But on that note, I better get back to organizing this place.” Jasiri said, standing up, and wincing as she rubbed her sore back.

“Now you know how I feel whenever you have me stock the shelves in the convenience store.”

“Hey, you help a lot!” Jasiri said, playfully hitting him.

“Well, allow me to be of help here then.”

The pair began to move the crate they had been sitting on, and Jasiri was glad to be working alongside her boyfriend, both in and out of battle.

000

Alex and JayJay had been going all over Chima, examining the landmarks and natural wonders on display. One such place they visited was an area known as the fangs, a landscape filled with dark rocks that were in the shape of sharp fangs. However now they were sitting on top of Spiral Mountain, a massive rock formation that looked like a giant screw drilled into the ground. Their eyes looked over the land of Chima that was stretched out in front of them, full of lush forests and untapped natural splendor.

“How can a mountain be this shape?” JayJay asked, feeling the stone beneath her.

“Beats me, Chima has been widely shaped by 2 events, both of which are known as the great illumination, so that probably has something to do with it. But you know what, I just remembered something. Give me a minute.”

The captain reached into a compartment on his speedor & pulled out a knife that had a long blade that was white as snow, and a handle decorated with what looked like crystals. JayJay’s eyes lit up upon seeing the knife

“A lion warrior gave this to me once, the blade is made from chimoralium, a mineral only found in Chima. I want you to have it.”

“What?”

“Most of us heroes carry knives for both survival and combat purposes. You need one, and I’m not using this knife, so I figure you can put it to use.”

Alex held out the knife and let JayJay take it from his hand.

She felt it in her hand, marveling at its beauty and fine craftsmanship. The blade and crystals seemed to glisten in the sun, and it felt really light.

“I love it, thank you,” JayJay said, rewarding the captain with a quick peck on the cheek.

“Hey, that tickles,” Alex said, playfully pushing her away. A smug grin crossed the wolf’s face and she tried to land another peck on him. However this time Alex was ready and managed to keep her back. After a few seconds, JayJay stopped her attack and the 2 laughed together.

“Did you enjoy getting out and seeing the beauty of Chima today?” Alex asked, hoping JayJay had a good time.

“Yes, plus I liked hanging out with you.”

“Hey I’m always gonna be on the typhoon, take a look at Chima while we’re here.”

“There’s so much nature in this place,” JayJay said “even more than Zootopia”

“Well one thing I like about Zootopia is how it has so much nature in it for a city”

“It's a really beautiful city. I’ve lived there all my life, and yet still find new ways to marvel at it”

“The city also has a lot of species in it, and an interesting cast of characters, like yourself”

“Ha, thanks”

“I would say you are one of the only reasons I like the city so much.”

“Oh stop it,” JayJay said, blushing and playfully pushing Alex’s shoulder.

Just as Alex was about to say something else, the sound of a distant explosion cut him off. The pair turned towards the sound to see a massive ball of fire erupting from a set of tall rock spires in the distance. Those spires were the home of the Eagle tribe, and now they were engulfed by thick black smoke.

00000000000000

Oh! cliffhanger! I know someone who's gonna like that. But, that's another chapter in the bag, and I'll see you all for the next exciting update!

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cathcattt-blog · 5 years

Text

KALINGA, the land of NO RETURN.

Why it is called the land of no return? Is it true that the people who try to go there cannot come back anymore? Is that the reason? Well, if you are also curious come on and let’s find out.

Kalinga the land of no return...

Kalinga is derived from the ybanag word "Kalinga" and the gaddang word "kalinga" which means headhunters. Kalinga is the landlocked province of the philippines in Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. The Kalingas have numerous songs, such as the salidummay, the dong-dong-ay, the oggayam, the ading, the wasani, the paliwat, the owawi, and the dandanag. But its enduring and distinct rite is the "Bodong" that has become an institution for peace up to this day. Kalinga is classified according to bodong-holding groups or ili, or sub-tribes, namely the Tinglayans, the Lubuagans, the Tanudans, the Pasils, the Balbalans, the Pinukpuks, and the Tabuks.

We all know that Kalinga are very good dancers but we should also know that they are not just good dancers because they are also the most extensive rice farmers of the Cordillera peoples, having been blessed with some of the most suitable land for both wet and dry rice farming. Like the Ifugaos, the Kalingas are one of the extensive terrace builders in the country. The Kalingas are also skilled potters with pot making concentrated in the lower Chico River Valley. They are also excellent in basketry, loom weaving and metal works.

We are all familiar with Apo Whang-od who is also known as Maria Oggay, a filipino artist from kalinga. She is the "last and oldest" mambabatok and also a part of the butbot people, the largest ethnic group in Kalinga. Many people want to be marked by Apo Whang-od, not just the filipinos but also the people from different countries. Going to where she is, is not just riding on a vehicle and then tada you'll be there, it takes lot of courage and strength to reach her place. Maybe you're asking why there are many people who are still going there despite that her place is very far where in fact they can get tattoo in just a blink of an eye without exerting any effort. Maybe because as we've said Apo Whang-od is very significant, it is not just about how she do the tattoo, it is not just about because the one who will do your tattoo is the oldest or last mambabatok but there is deeper meaning beyond that, and that is every tattoo has a meaning and I think that is the most important thing, it is the reason that matters the most that your tattoo has its own meaning that you'll not just put it there for nothing but because of its meaning.

And here are the 10 most popular tattoos in Kalinga

1. The Compass- Guidance

2. The Scorpion- Represent struggle and resistance. And also victory in life.

3. Standing Eagle- Freedom and Strength

4. Traveller- People who long for adventures

5. Serpent Eagle- Conveys the idea of being watched over by the presence of heavenly or sky world.

6. The sun- Symbolizes life

7. Holding Hands- Unity and harmony

8. Ferns- Conveys the meaning of rebirth

9. Arrow Head- Movement or direction

10. Prayer- Symbolizes faith.

Let's get down to their culture and beliefs...

"Anito" or it is called in Kalinga as "Dawak". This is often performed by a specific old women in a certain tribe and they are believed as guided by the holy spirit when they conduct the anito,their individuality as a person can never perform this tradition without the presence of the holy spirit. When anito is conducted, the old woman is like possessed by a spirit which makes them see your future or anything that you wanted to ask them,more likely a fortune teller.

Reasons why anito is performed:

1.when a member of a family is sick and anito is like a prayer offered for healing.

2. It is performed during house blessings, a prayer offered for protection and guidance.

3. If a house is believed to be as haunted, anito is offered to send out the spirits on the house.

4. When a person would enter to Military or Pnpa, anito is offered as a protection,guidance and a blessing for the person.

5. For newly wedds anito is offered as a blessing for a family and good relationship.

The Kalinga Ethos

There are so many cultures and practices that seem unusual in the province of Kalinga. Some ethos that the local tribes molded of what they are now. It still exists and difficult to break down the beliefs despite the changes in the modern world. The old practices had been preserved and continued to pass on from one generation to another.

Bain

It was interpreted as “feeling shame.” The act of showing respect to other people as a fellow human being. It has a similar meaning to the virtue espoused by the saying of Confucius: “Do not do unto others if you would not like others to do unto you.”

Ngilin

It is strict adherence to taboos regarding social and economic activities. It also involves compliance with certain rituals to protect oneself and the members of the family from illness or harm. It dictates avoidance to what is offensive to “kabunyan” or Kalinga god to one’s own kind. “Mangngilin ka” means avoid doing evil is a common advice of the elders.

Paniyaw

The Kalinga people believe in a god called “kabunyan” who is the creator of all things and the master of life and death. “Mampaniyao” is the restriction on oneself acts looked upon as degrading, immoral and punishable by the mighty “kabunyan.” The Klaingas strongly abhor wicked acts such as “Ba-ug” (the killing of a stranger in the village where he has been given food to eat or water to drink).

Aawao

It is a very degrading and shameful actuation of a person. “Akaw” or theft leaves are more or less permanent stigma on the personality of the culprit and upon the repulsion of his family. A thief who stole animals such as pigs, carabaos or dogs will have bad luck and can never have it in the future. Most of the crops will never be of good quality.

Let’s get down to their clothing that makes them beautiful and powerful.

Kalinga is an indigenous cultural community who lives on the eastern side of the cordillera mountain range. They are also called as the "Peacocks of the North" because of the elaboration of their dress and also about their tattoos. One of their dress which they use is called "tapis". The tapis is a rectangular cloth that is worn as a wraparound skirt by kalinga women. Woven using backstrap bodytension looms and embroidered with patterns drawn from nature. The tapis also reflects the beautifully rugged mountain terrain of the kalinga environment. The shells and mother-of-pearls platelets which can be found in the tapis symbolizes wealth and prestige in this landlocked region of the philippines.

The Kalinga are called the “peacocks of the north”

because of their attention to appearance and dressing.

“Kalinga” means enemy, a name that the bordering inhabitants

The name stuck and became accepted by the natives themselves.

BONTOC-They are the people who live in the mountainous areas of Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Kalinga-Apayao.

The tribe’s traditional clothing leaves males and females bare above the waist.

But because of modern influence, younger members of the tribe wear trousers,

shirts, dresses and shoes that lowland Filipinos usually wear

And let’s bit also forget the delicacies of kalinga that will make you crave because of its deliciousness.

Kalingas wowed us with their famed “inandila”. It is so famous that the heritage village of Naneng in Tabuk celebrates it with a festival.Inandila” is the “palitaw” in other parts of the Philippines. But theirs is longer, thicker & shaped like a tongue. Instead of grated coconut toppings, their version comes with “latik” or coco caramel & crushed nuts.

But we did taste a chicken dish called “sinilian” or “pinalatan” sans the too brutal preparation. It came with pomelo leaves that added fragrance & red chili for that slight kick in the palate.

The usual culinary usage of it among the Kalinga-Apayao people is “sinursur”. It is particularly called “inalsa” by the Isnegs.This dish traditionally uses “kiwat” or catfish with “ungal” or banana stalk along with “ot-an” shellfish. It is customarily prepped only with chili, garlic & onions cooked on a low flame inside a bamboo tube. But modern-day “sinursur” uses other seasonings to appeal to the complex tastes of the new generation.

Kalinga’s “binungor”. It is a mix of stringbeans, squash, bitter gourd, eggplant, young jackfruit, kidney beans & bamboo shoots all medium boiled in coconut milk. But the star ingredients of “binungor” are “tenggang-daga” or jelly fungus & “ot-an”, a succulent river shellfish. It is usually served as an appetizer with a dash of red chili.

Kalinga is also well-know becausw of its nature’s beauty that will leave everyone of us in awe. Come on, together let’s discover the beauty wrapped in mystery.

Binasalan Falls (Pasil), Kalinga

This is one of the increasingly-popular tourist spots in Kalinga. Its waterfall emanates from the dense mossy forests of Mt. Binuluan. It cascades for more than 30 meters on a very deep pool. Swimming on the pool can be quite dangerous due to its strong and churning current. Summer then would be the best time to take a dip. Verdant vegetation of shrubs, mosses, and grasses surround its base. To get here, one needs to hike for at least an hour from the road. Literally, one needs to climb over steep trails and jump across boulders before finally catching sight of the falls.

Sulfur Hills (Pasil)

These are located on the lower slopes of Mt. Binuluan. To get here, you need to trek on hunter’s trails for hours. You will be passing across pine and mossy forests. Expect the thrills and challenges frequently encountered when on forested terrains. But the bizarre sight of these sulfur hills would definitely make up the difficulty in getting here.

Buaya Caves (Balbalan), Kalinga

These underrated caves feature various stalactite and stalagmite rock formations. There are beautiful chambers inside, reminiscent of a cathedral’s domes and spires. To get deeper inside the cave, one needs to rappel, climb on rocks, and wade across pools. Yes, there’s a small brook inside. There are also waterfalls. On some parts of the cave, you would feel like you are in golden chamber. The caves are interconnected from each other and form a chain covering the whole mountain slope. Surely, these could be the next big hit after Sagada. But proper management practices need to be developed and strictly implemented.

Lubo and Mangali Rice Terraces (Tanudan)

From the road, these terraces look like circular cascades. They surround the village of Lubo. The Tanudan river passes alongside these terraces. On a personal note, these are among the most picturesque tourist spots of Kalinga. Towering mountains provide a dramatic background of these terraces. They also supply abundant water supply all year round. Aside from the terraces, the hospitality of the people would definitely leave you feeling blissful.

Mt. Mating-oy (Tinglayan), Kalinga

This famous landmark depicts the shape of a lady lying on its back. Legend says that the mountain is the remnant of a woman who waited for her husband to return but in vain. Dense forests cover the mountains. These feed abundant creeks and brooks as well as cascading waterfalls. To date, Mt. Mating-oy is one of the most popular tourist spots in Kalinga.

Saltan River (Balbalan)

Saltan river comes from the vast mossy forests of Balbalan. During good sunny conditions, the waters exude an emerald appearance, making it inviting for a swim. Cavernous boulders and rocks surround the river. These provide a perfect spot for diving or jumping. In addition, the river teems with endemic aquatic species such as fishes and eels. More often than not, there are being served to visitors the traditional way.

Matabor Falls (Tanudan)

Getting here requires hours of hike from the nearest barangay. Expect to trail along dense forests and rappel on ravines before finally catching sight of this majestic beauty. Leeches are a constant menace especially during the rainy months. The trail may be long and challenging but it affords one with fascinating views of the forest. The main falls of Banga-banga cascades on the face of an exposed cliff. It measures around 50 meters high.

Guinaang Village (Pasil), Kalinga

This is one of the historical tourist spots in Kalinga. During the Philippine-American War, the village served as Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s retreat haven. His stay, however, did not last long. The Americans continued to pursue him until he was finally caught somewhere in Isabela. Besides being historical, the village offers a rustic life in the hinterlands. The people here are kind and hospitable. Plus, it rewards one with fascinating views of rice terraces and mountains.

Kalinga is not just a land of beauty but it is also the land of legend and mystery. From their culture down to their tourist spots i'll tell you it is worth it to try. We are always fascinated by the beauty of the place but once you'll able to be there you will not just appreciate the beauty but also the personality of the people living there. Their unique culture is what makes them beautiful and powerful, but despite of being known as powerful people, kalinga proved they are also soft-hearted by offering us delicious and sweets. Their clothing is not just for nothing becuase it is represents their unity despite diversity.

Truly it is a land of no return because you'll get lost with their beautiful places,cultures and traditions. You wouldn't want to leave anymore once you see the beauty of Kalinga which makes it the land of no return.

“KALINGA the land of NO RETURN”

writers:

Dadap, Dennis Jr.

Bravo, Krista Jinky

Balatico, Janina Faye

Cabasag, Lyza

Lingayo, Chamique

Jandoc, Cathlyn Joy

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marshmallow-phd · 6 years

Text

A Royal Excursion

A/N: @noona-clock Admin T, this one’s for you! I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I just started typing and... oops, my fingers slipped! Hope you enjoy! (I might turn this into a miniseries)

Genre: Royalty AU

Pairing: Jongdae x Reader

Part 1 I Part 2 I Part 3 I Part 4

moodboard by @kreactionsentertainment (admin eva!)

All day you found any excuse to stay home. You convinced your stepmother to take your sister to the market instead of you to buy a new shawl and when a few of your friends came by to see if you wanted to spend some time down by the river, you feigned a headache. To throw off possible suspicion, you stayed in a day dress, one that wasn’t ragged like the one you had worn the previous day but also not one too fancy to make your family think you were trying to sneak off somewhere. You didn’t need the interrogation.

It seemed, though, that your efforts were in vain. He never showed. Of course, he was the prince so it was quite possible that something very important had come up and he was no longer able to meet you. You just wished that he had sent word about it.

Giving up, you left your family in the front parlor after dinner and settled in the backyard, sitting on the swing your father had built when you were still a small child and watching the sun sink slowly in the horizon. You let out a heavy sigh and tried not to let your imagination run wild.

It would have too easy to imagine yourself as the lucky maiden the Prince chose to dance with at the ball or him coming disguised in the night and throwing rocks at your window. You couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with you. In all your years, you weren’t the kind to fantasize about romantic situations. But now, oh now, a thousand were going through your head at once, just adding to your disappointment.

“(y/n)?”

Your ears perked up. Surely that had just been your imagination. Searching around your still deserted backyard, you concluded that’s exactly what it was. Until a familiar silhouette popped up on your wall.

Jumping up, you ran rather un-lady-like to the other side of the yard. This time, Jongdae gracefully dropped himself down to the ground, avoiding your stepmother’s garden. He turned to face you and, even in the dimming light, you could see his blinding smile shining at you.

Realizing how eager you must seem, you contorted your face into a neutral expression and crossed your arms.

“When you said tomorrow, I hadn’t realized you meant in the evening. I gave up on you coming.”

Jongdae turned bashful, clearly understanding that you were upset. “I’m sorry. Mother had me under her watchful eye all day since I snuck out of the ball. She’s worried that I might cause a scandal.”

“Like sneaking into a merchant’s backyard to see his daughter?” you pointed out.

Jongdae laughed. It was deep, chest laugh full of joy and genuine surprise. It was the kind of laugh you wanted to hear for the rest of your days, knowing full well that it was you that had been it’s source.

Hold on, (y/n). Don’t get ahead of yourself. This only your second day of even knowing him.

Yes, listen to reason. Besides, as far as you knew, he’d simply found a new friend in you, nothing more.

Jongdae motioned towards the wall. “Let’s go.”

Your eyes widened. “What?”

Grabbing you hand, he pulled you closer to the wall. His skin felt warm against yours, coarse from the years of wielding a sword. It was oddly comforting, different from your father’s soft hands from when you were little.

“I have something I want to show you,” he explained vaguely.

You frowned. “I’m in a dress.”

He sent you a look before sighing. “I won’t look.” When you were still defiant, he shrugged. “Or I guess we could leave through your front door but then I’m sure you would have to explain to your family why the Prince is suddenly waltzing around the house in plain clothes.”

“Alright, alright!” you gave in. He was right and you did want to see whatever surprise he had in store.

Cupping his hands together, Jongdae bent down and told you to step into his hands. As soon as you did, with barely a stable grip on the top of the wall, he bolstered you up. A small squeak escaped from your mouth and you quickly covered it covered it to try and hide the noise. Jongdae laughed at you as he pulled himself up beside you.

“I’ll go down first and catch you,” he said.

You wanted to argue that it wasn’t that far of a jump and you were perfectly fine getting down on your own, but he was already landing on his feet and turning to you with his arms opened wide. With a gulp, you swung your legs over the wall and shuffled to the other side so you were sitting on the ledge.

Jongdae sent you a warm look. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you.”

Nodding, you pushed yourself off the wall with just a little too much force. Yes, Jongdae caught you, but the two of you landed with a hard thud on the ground. Well, Jongdae landed on the ground on his back. You ended on top of him, a much softer landing.

“Okay, tell me the truth,” he laughed. His hands were resting on your hips, making your face blush. “The real reason you didn’t go to the ball was because of your lack of grace, am I right?”

Irritated and embarrassed, you slapped his chest before shoving yourself off of him and to your feet. You were a fine dancer, thank you very much. But you decided against arguing with him. Maybe someday you could show him.

You brushed yourself off as Jongdae stood up. Taking your hand, he pulled you towards the woods, making you freeze.

“We can’t go in there,” you said, panicking. The woods were full of wolves and bears and was especially dangerous at night when you could lose your way.

“Don’t worry, (y/n),” Jongdae reassured you, squeezing your hand. “I know where we’re going and besides,” he patted the sword at his side, “I’ll protect you.”

Still hesitant, you allowed him to pull you towards the foreboding trees and into the cover of darkness.

The two of you kept a steady pace as you went deeper into the woods. To calm your obvious nerves, while he kept your hand in his, Jongdae told you about his day, mostly spent with his father in the throne room seeing the subjects who’d come to ask the King for favors or to solve mild disputes. It seemed that his father was giving more and more of that responsibility to him, allowing the decision to be made by him while his father simply approved or guided him in a different direction if needed. The latter half of his day was spent in the war room, strategizing with the generals on how to better secure the border to the south. Though the war had ended years before either of you were born, there were still tension between the two kingdoms.

“Where is Minseok?” you asked during a brief pause in the conversation, wanting to change the subject to a lighter tone.

Jongdae chuckled. “Visiting a friend.”

You blushed, comprehending the subtext. “A lady friend?”

Again, he laughed. “Yes. Perhaps future wife is a better term.”

“So, they’ve known each other a long time?” you guessed.

“No,” Jongdae shook his head. “They only just met at the last festival.”

The last festival was only a month and a half ago. “Isn’t it a bit soon to be assuming marriage?”

Stopping in his tracks, Jongdae turned to look at you. “No. Why?”

Something about his gaze on you made you feel very meek. “Well, they can’t know each other that well, can they? It takes time to understand someone.”

“That’s true,” he agreed. “But, sometimes, you meet someone and just know.” His eyes pierced through you as if they were trying convey a hidden message. One that, unfortunately, you weren’t able to decipher before he started walking again.

Before too long, you came to your destination.

Hidden in the foliage and overgrown trees were the ruins of an old mansion or castle. Vines wrapped around the crumbling brick. Moss grew on the now dull edges of the walls. The top floor had fallen away long ago and only the vague outline of the rooms remained.

Cautiously, you followed Jongdae through the arched gate, the wooden door have rotted away long ago.

“My cousins and I – along with Minseok – used to play here as kids.” By now he’d let go of your hand, both of his now resting together behind his back as he walked about the room, staring up at the sky. “Overtime, they stopped coming, but I still enjoy it here. It’s a nice place to think.”

Feeling just a tad cheeky, you asked playfully, “And what it is that you think about?”

You leaned against the corner a pillar that was still standing in the room, hiding half your body as you drew nonsensical pictures in the dust and grime at the level of your eye.

Jongdae shrugged. “Lots of things. Answers to riddles, replies to subjects’ concerns. The future.”

It couldn’t be explained, but as soon as he mentioned the future, you heart leapt in your chest. What did he mean when he said he thought about the future? Did he mean when he would become king? Did he mean the future of the kingdom as a whole? Or did he mean something much more personal?

“(y/n)?”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you found Jongdae standing just in front of you with that unreadable expression again.

“Yes?” your voice was small when you spoke.

He took a step closer to you. “Can we… get to know each other more? Like you said earlier?”

You blinked. Like you said earlier?

It takes time to understand someone.

Did he mean that? Was he really thinking of that kind of future?

You couldn’t help but ask, “Why me?”

The corners of his mouth turned down and his eyebrows knit together. “What do you mean?”

Biting your bottom lip, you replied, “Why the sudden interest in me? I’m simply a merchant’s daughter. I have no title. There are many daughters of dukes and barons throughout the kingdom to choose from. I’m sure they are much prettier than I am.”

Jongdae shook his head, grasping your right hand in his left. He held it gently, giving you room to pull away if you so wished. You kept it there, taking in the comfort.

“Maybe that’s exactly why. To you, I’m not a conquest or a prize. You’ve acknowledged my standing, but you still treat as just… Jongdae. I feel like I can be myself with you. And that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be.”

Heat rose in your cheeks at a fiery rate with his confession.

The truth was you were also oddly comfortable with him. He never reprimanded you when you lashed out and seemed to genuinely listen to you. No, you still believed that one should get to know someone before talks of forever, but you certainly would like to get to know him more, get to know the thoughts behind those hypnotizing eyes.

Letting a small smile stretch your lips just a bit, you asked, “Does this mean that you’ll come see meagain tomorrow?”

Without any warning, Jongdae wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting you up and twirling you around in glee. You let out a squeal that mixed with his bubbly laugh and the sounds bounced off the old brick and throughout the empty building.

He set you down on your feet, loosening his grip from your hips. Bringing his hands up to cup your jaw, he gave you a soft smile before leaning down. Using just the lightest pressure, he pressed his lips to yours, stealing your first kiss. When he pulled back, he searched your eyes for any sign that you didn’t want it.

You did.

In fact, you couldn’t stop giggling.

“Can you meet me here tomorrow?” he asked.

You nodded, not holding back any enthusiasm. “When?”

He thought for a moment. “Noon. I have an important meeting in the morning, but I should be able to make here by then.”

Jongdae was still here in your presence, but you couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

#exo #exo fanfic #exo royalty au #exo royalty!au #jongdae fanfic #jongdae x reader #exo scenarios #jongdae #kim jongdae #chen

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