Cabin Wars - 1137 words
Luna gazed out of the carriage window, ignoring the cheers of the common folk around her. Several peasants tried to approach and speak to her, so she gave them a pacifying smile and turned away. She sighed in annoyance at the loud noise.
“Father, when will we reach?” she asked impatiently. “I’m practically buried under this countryside air. It’s as stifling as being buried alive in a coffin, although I suppose that would be more pleasurable.”
King Luakas shook his head. “Have /some/ respect for your future people Luna, they have come to greet you back into this country with all the goodwill in their hearts.”
Luna scoffed. “If they had any goodwill in their hearts, they would hide their mongrel faces so I do not have to gaze upon them on this already insufferable ride. Now tell me, when will we reach?”
He gave up, as he always did in arguments like this. “I swear since your mother’s death you have transformed into a monster. I only hope it will wear off with time.” Luna stiffened, but before she could deliver a stinging retort, he continued. “We will arrive in about 3 hours.”
Luna whipped around from Father, preferring to stare at the peasants rather than face a man who gave such repulsive and untruthful comments.
Because of course they weren’t true.


Luna strode into her room. She walked up to her desk, and drew a finger over it. Her maid, Liliana, stood huddled behind her, fear etched into her face. Luna turned around, slowly walked up to her, and gave her a stinging slap.
“Does this look clean to you?” she asked in a deadly quiet voice, holding up her finger which held a single fiber of dust.
“No ma’am,” Liliana whispered, reaching up to touch her face.
Luna slapped her hand away. “Did I tell you that you could move?” She shook her head, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Then why would you?” Not waiting for an answer, she swept around her and rang a small bell hanging from the corner of her room. Her butler ran up the hall and into her room.
“Yes ma’am?” he asked, bowing low.
“/Liliana-/” she said, enunciating the word with disgust, “is not to receive dinner tonight. In fact, have her sleep in the barn. That’s where dirty pigs ought to sleep, wouldn’t you agree?” she asked pleasantly, her eyes flashing dangerously.
Her butler hesitated, his eyes flashing to Liliana’s huddled form, soft sobs sounding through the room, and back at Luna. “Y-yes ma’am, I would,” he said hesitantly.
“Splendid.” Luna turned around to Liliana. “Out.”
“Yes ma’am,” she whispered, and bundled out of the room. The butler bowed low again, and exited as well.


“Miss Luna?” A young page stepped into her room nervously. She raised an eyebrow. “There’s someone here to see you.” He stepped aside, and a small girl stepped into the room.
She couldn’t have been more than 7 years old, her main feature being strange patchworked skin, some pale white, and other brown. She had black curly hair that flamed her soft blue eyes. Blue eyes that matched Luna’s own almost identically. Luna stiffened, her clasped hands tightening so much that her skin turned white.
“You are dismissed, boy,” she ordered coldly, still emanating power. The page bowed and exited. “Who are you?” she asked the girl, making sure that she stood straight and towered over her.
“Ra, ma’am.” She paused for a moment, then did an awkward curtsy. “I come from the city of Brindlepan.” Luna nodded once, sharply. Brindlepan was a relatively respectable nation, one that Luna had considered many times to marry into. “My mother was Tatiana Polly.” Luna stared at her for a long moment.
“Excuse me?” she asked in a low dangerous town.
“Tatiana Polly, ma’am. She told me to come here once she died. She told me to give you this.” Ra pulled out a small letter with a wax seal on it. The seal was a butterfly with olive branches around it.
Her mother’s.
“Out,” she ordered.
The girl shook her head. “She told me to be here ma’am. Said she left some stuff for me too.” Luna stared at her, partially shocked because someone hadn’t listened to her orders, and partially because of the ridiculous situation she was in right now.
Luna slowly walked over to the desk and opened the note.

Dear Luna,

If you are reading this, you know that I was never dead.
I left, my dearest, because your sister, your beautiful Ra, was going to be killed. Please understand. Ra was born with her condition, as you can see. Your father would have had her killed, I know he would have. No heir of his could be disfigured or cursed such as she is,
But she isn’t. She is such a delightful child, Luna. Full of light and hope that he would have destroyed because of her face. I never wanted to leave you, my Dearest Luna. I love you more than anything in this world. Perhaps someday you will understand.
All I ask of you is for you to take care of Ra. At this time, I assume you are close to your reign. What a wonderful girl you are. Oh, and what a wonderful queen you will be. I know you will. The land will sing of your kindness and justice. I only wish I could be there to witness it. Never let anyone hold you back, dearest.
I will always be with you, and you too Ra. I will speak to you in the air, the sky, the trees. Look everywhere, and you will find me, my sweet children.

Farewell,
Tatiana Polly
A proud mother

A tear dripped from Luna’s eye and onto the paper. She quickly wiped it, furious with herself. None of it was true. How could any of it be true? She whirled to glare at Ra.
“Do you know what kind of punishment you can get from a stunt like this?” she hissed menacingly. “I will be queen soon, and I will make sure your life is one of pain and-” Luna cut off, gasping for breath as more tears streamed down her face. “Get out of here!” she screamed, shutting her eyes, shutting out the pain, the world, everyth-
Luna stopped, and slowly looked down. Ra had not left.
Her arms were wrapped around Luna, her face buried in her dress. “I’m sorry,” she whispered quietly. “I miss her too.”
Luna’s chest was heaving. Push her away, she thought. Shut her out.
She raised her shaking arms, mustering up the courage.
What a wonderful queen you will be.
Luna crumpled to the ground, and wrapped her arms around her sister, letting the tears stream freely.
“I miss her too.”

Cabin Wars- 4817 words
When you have to put out a fire, aim for the roots.
Especially if it’s everywhere.
Phoenix staggered away from the unnatural blaze descending inch by inch closer to her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, further inflaming the red burned patches that seared with heat of a thousand suns. Her throat was dry as she turned and ran, ignoring the pained screams of her people behind her.
She knew there was nothing to do for them now.
She finally reached the river, and waded in, the frigid water pushing at her waist and trying to throw her off balance. She collapsed on the opposite bank, gasping in the smoke-free air. The violet fire raged on the opposite side, but not even it could defeat the might of the raging waters. Her eyes sparkled with moisture as the fire reflected off of them, both from heat and sorrow.
An eternity seemed to pass as the fires kept burning.
A figure walked up behind her.
His face was unnaturally angled, like a cat’s. His eyes were a deep shade of violet, almost identical to the fire, his hair a void. Thick, blue veins ran down his upper arms and into his hands, which were covered in scars. And most unsettingly, his two canine teeth were long and sharp, like a lion.
He kneeled down next to Phoenix. She turned his head to face him numbly. His gaze traveled over her scalds and burned clothing, a small cruel smirk forming on his mouth.
“Who are you?” she whispered. His face split into a grin, and he snapped his fingers. A small purple flame hovered inches from her eye, then vanished. A sudden stabbing pain ricocheted through her body, and she cried out in agony, doubling over, her forehead brushing the ground. He leaned close to her ears to whisper.
“All will know that soon.”
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************
Phoenix stood in an alleyway, and flipped a coin.
Heads meant she pushed past and ran away from the two grimy men advancing on her, and tails meant she knocked them out and took their possessions.
She caught it neatly between her palms, and revealed the side.
Heads.
Sighing in disappointment, she placed the coin in her knapsack, and returned her attention to the wolfish gaze of the first man. Maybe she could rough them up a bit. He raised a hand to nudge her against the wall of the building, so she grabbed his fingers and twisted them out of the socket. He groaned in pain and stumbled oafishly to the opposite wall, while the other man yelled out in anger, and ran at her full tilt, a meaty arm behind him to punch her in the ribs. She bit her lip. It would be difficult to avoid the burly man in a narrow street like this, and one solid hit could knock her out, or worse. And in a place like this, she didn’t want to resort to drawing a weapon.
She turned tail and fled, pushing the first man, who was still keeled over wailing, into the second man, and they both clumsily fell into each other as she made her escape. She sprinted through the streets, turning left and right in an effort to lose them. Finally, she reached the main street, and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, hoping to conceal her heavy panting from close observation.
The two men ran out of the streets a few seconds later, shouting and waving their hands like madmen. Two merchants approached them and a small scuffle broke out, eventually leading to them retreating back, throwing curses over their shoulders. Phoenix smirked and continued walking down the road
After purchasing 2 loaves of bread and a spreadable cheese, she hurried to exit the town before nightfall. The soldiers gave her inquiring looks as she swept through the gates a few moments before they started to inch closed, but thankfully didn’t stop her. Once she was far enough, she paused and took a deep breath of the night air. Crickets chirped in the long grass as she slowly started to run. Picking up her pace, she tore through the shrubbery, the thrill of running without holding back coursing through her bones.
A frog leaped out of her way as she advanced through the thickening trees and into the forest. Her breathing became hoarse, her steps slowing and faltering as she pushed her way to a small clearing. She fell to the ground dramatically and gasped, “What’s my time?”
Swiatek chuckled. “Still 10 seconds off. You’re not going to beat my time, you know?” He pushed back from the bowl of water. Phoenix stood up, and walked over, legs still wobbly to peer at the scrying bowl. Although she was used to looking at it, she still felt the unsettling feeling of staring at herself in real time.
“I feel like you’re starting late,” she huffed, leaning back and crossing her arms as the apparition faded away. “You are a cheater. And you made that time like, 50 years ago.” She turned and fed the campfire a few sticks from the firewood pile. A twinge of fear trickled through her body as her fingers neared the flame, but she pushed it away.
“It was one time! And it was only because we were low on money.” Swiatek protested, scratching his gray beard. “Besides, that hustler was already rich on all the poor townsfolk. He deserved it! AND I’m not that old.” Phoenix snorted and sat on her bedroll, content to listen to the noises of the forest around them.
Swiatek had a different idea.
He rose to his full height, and held up two crude wooden swords. Phoenix groaned. “Come on, I already did my share of fighting today!” She winced involuntarily, inwardly cursing herself for letting her tongue slip.
Swiatek raised his eyebrow. “Really? Do tell.” She sighed and told him about the entire encounter, leaving out some small details, like when she could’ve been smashed into the wall. By the end of it, he was shaking his head.
“I /told/ you to be careful!” he said angrily. “And by the sound of it, you did less fighting and more running!” She opened her mouth to protest, but he tossed her a sword. “Starting positions!” he barked.
She sighed and shook her head to clear it as they moved to different sides of the clearing. She studied his movements, the usual heat of the battle roaring in her ears, ready to react the moment he twitched. His knees buckled slightly, and she tensed in preparation. He sprang from the ground, covering the distance between them in seconds. She inhaled sharply and spotted the angle of his sword. He was aiming for the center of her ribs, which would be a fatal strike in real combat. Of course, that was far too straightforward a move for someone of his fighting style, so she set up to block the strike while still being fluid enough to whip around and stop the following attacks.
Their swords clashed, striking in several places as he aimed for her head, then her knee. She parried them successfully, then attempted a jab of her own which he dodged with deceptive ease, while winding up enough to send a whistling attack towards her shoulder. She clumsily ducked it and swung at his legs, hoping to catch him off guard. He jumped back, giving her enough time to recover and face him.
By this point, they were both panting, but the fire of fight roared in both their eyes. Phoenix struck first this time, advancing slowly, then darting forward to rap his shoulder and wrist. He parried both strikes, then feigning a simple jab, which she automatically stepped back, lowering her guard for just a moment.
He twisted in the opposite direction, sword extended fully, and tapped her collarbone. It was enough to bruise, but not to break, and she knew that that was purposeful. Anger suddenly exploded in her body, filling her blood with fire.
The tip of the sword ignited in purple fire. Swiatek hissed in alarm, and quickly whipped it away from her body, holding it far away from both of them. “Phoenix!”
She couldn’t hear him. Red and violet began creeping in the edges of her eyes as she tried to resist the impulse to burn, to raze, to destroy everything around her. A stabbing pain racked her body, one all too familiar. Her eyes rolled into her head, and then she was lost to darkness.



Smoke.
Fire.
Pain.
Phoenix bolted up, gasping. Sweat drenched her entire body, making every movement damp and uncomfortable. A throbbing ache pulsed head to toe, one that spoke of burns and flame. She took a deep breath, her heart slowing, and scoped out her surroundings. It was deep into night, the stars blinking down at her. The forest was quiet, as if the whole world was asleep. Swiatek sat next to her, head hunched silently as she recovered.
“How long this time?” she croaked, her throat sandpaper.
“Around 5 hours. Not too shabby,” he replied.
“Anything of note?” she asked, curling up with her knees to her chest as the night chill crept in. He shook his head.
“Get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning,” he murmured, shambling over to his own bedroll, his own fatigue evident. She swallowed a few times to wet her throat and lay back down without any covers until her limbs were cold and clammy and her body shivered involuntarily. Until she was sure the fire inside her had been extinguished.
As the night crept on, it became clear Phoenix was not going to fall back asleep, and she rose to her feet. She silently took some clothes and a warm cloak, tiptoeing around Swiatek’s sleeping form.
She walked into the forest, listening to the noise of the wind singing through the vegetation, letting her mind settle and empty. A few minutes later, she reached Lake Intrigama. She paused on the shore, staring at the pristine reflection of the moon, which rose above her. Several yards in front, a small island protruded from the flat surface, with one huge oak growing above.
She took off her cloak, bag, and other outerwear, and folded it into a bundle. Winding up, she flung it across the lake and onto the island. Once she ensured it would stay there, she waded into the water. Almost immediately, she started shivering uncontrollably as the freezing water soaked through her clothes and touched her skin. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she straightened up, and then fully submerged.
Forcing her eyes open, she gazed at the underwater world. Here, fire couldn’t touch her. Here, nothing could burn. Pushing off the ground, she drifted forward.
Here, she could stay forever.
Her lungs began to burst, and she kicked off the lakebed and reached the top, gasping for air. She floated on her back for a moment, staring at the jeweled heavens as the warmth sapped from her limbs. Finally, when her body began to hurt from the cold, she flipped on to her belly and swam to the center island. She dragged herself up, still shivering, and pulled apart her cloak with trembling hands.
Pulling on the warm clothes, she wrapped herself under several layers until the shivering in her bones settled and warmth blossomed under her skin. Pulling herself up, she walked up to the tree, and brushed it with her fingertips. Feeling the rough and bumpy edges, she slowly started to climb the tree. Step after step, pull after pull, she made her way up to one of the main branches.
She settled in a relatively comfortable hollow several yards up the tree, allowing her full view of the forest. Reaching into her pocket belt, she pulled out a small paring knife, and sheared off a small chunk of wood from the edge of the branch. Holding it up to the moonlight, she began to cut at it with deft movements.
Images flashed behind Phoenix’s eyes, of her father holding the knife with her, showing her where to cut, the hardest and softest parts of the wood. She let the knife move as it wanted, carving out a shape from the back of her subconscious. The minutes trickled by, and she was content to stay there till the sun came up. As the first rays of orange crisscrossed through the sky, she held up her creation to see what it was.
It was a small flame, exceptionally detailed, well enough to sell for a nice penny from a hobbyist merchant. She scowled and hurled it into the waters. Swiatek will worry, she decided grudgingly, and changing back into her wet clothes, repeated the same method to get across the pond again. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she rubbed her eyes and hurried back to the campsite.



Swiatek didn’t comment on her excursion, but grunted a greeting and handed her some lukewarm stew. Phoenix took it without complaint and scarfed it down, ravenous after the events of the previous day. She sighed deeply and sat back, curling up into a fetal position.
“I think we’ll pick up some horses in town, then be on our way,” he grunted. “We ought’a head to the next town before word of our camp and your escapades reach important ears.”
“And so what if they do,” she muttered, still in a sour mood.
Swiatek raised an eyebrow. “Speak up if ‘ya got somethin’ to say.”
“So what if they do!” she shouted, the words coming out harsher than she intended. “We haven’t done a single thing wrong! At least you haven’t! All I did was exist! Why do you even travel with me? I wish you’d leave and-” Phoenix paused, catching herself, and let out a low curse. “We shouldn’t have to be running.”
Swiatek nodded thoughtfully. “Well I didn’ think we’d ‘av to talk about this anytime soon, but ‘ere we go.” He looked straight into Phoenix’s eyes. “You were found in a town about 10 miles aways’ from your town. Word had reached that it’d been burned by a strange purple fire that consumed everything. True?” She nodded. “You were covered in burns and fell unconscious. By the time you woke up, you seemingly started another strange purple fire, so the townspeople chased you out. True?” She nodded, images flashing behind her eyes. “I found you bundled up against the cold, quite close to death, so I took you in. I found out about your ability, and I didn’t turn you away. True?”
She nodded again. “True.”
“And after all this time, you’re still making stupid comments like that. True?” Phoenix opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “I took you in because I know about the arcane elements. Because I can get the price on your head lifted. All we have to do is get to Balrathir-”
“The one who put the money on my head in the first place,” she muttered.
“-and the hunter of the Fire Bringer and a good man.”
“When you knew him.” But the fire was fading from her stomach, and she started packing her things. “Let’s get those horses, then.”



They made it through the town with relatively no trouble, if you don’t count a couple of shabby boys begging for coins, before running off to a large estate and skrieking their heads off with laughter. Swiatek chose a small stable that was far off the main road, but not so far in that it would be filled with the kind of crooks she had encountered earlier. They walked up a small dirt path, and walked up to the stables.
“Oi, boy!” Swiatek called to a young stable boy shoveling hay. “Call your master. I’m here to purchase a horse,” he added when the boy gave him a scared and weary look. He paused in his work for a moment, then leaned the shovel on the wall and turned and ran past the stable and to a small but neat cabin several yards past the pastures where the horses grazed.
A few moments after he entered the cabin, he sprinted back out to reach the stables again, and was heavily panting as he hurriedly continued to shovel. He didn’t bother to look at them, and Phoenix gave Swiatek an inquiring look. He shrugged and mouthed, ‘Puts them to good work.”
She returned her attention to the cabin as a tall, lean man strode out from the cabin. Despite his farmland surroundings and average clothes, his every movement commanded attention and every look indicated nobility, even though it was clear that he was not. Beside her, Swiatek let out a small noncommittal sound, and she was sure that he was studying the man as closely as she was.
They waited in silence, and Phoenix caught herself trying to fix her clothes and untidy black hair, which sprawled down her back. She stopped herself and forced her arms into a natural position by her sides, refusing to compare herself to the regal man in front of her.
The man stopped a few feet in front of them, and nodded once to both of them. “Greetings. What business do you have at my humble stable?” Despite his steady tone, a small drop of sarcasm leaked into his words, as if he hated saying the words. Swiatek seemed to pick it up too, and adopted a more outgoing stance and tone. We needed to get the horses and leave here.
“Oh nothin’ much. Just a few of yer’ nicer stallions if you get me’ meaning. Good fer’ long travelin’ and maybe rough terrain. Is a long way from ‘ere to the next town.” Swiatek mispronounced more of his words in an effort to give the impression of an uneducated lout from one of the poorer cities. It seemed to work.
“I see,” he commented, scanning our rough clothes. “Well, our horses are of the highest quality. I do hope you have come to do business.” His tone was casual, but he pushed aside his cloak for a brief moment, revealing the pommel of a sword, before it vanished in the folds of his clothing. Phoenix tensed slightly, but forced herself to relax again when Swiatek gave her a warning look.
“O’ course, sir, we would’n dream of such a thin’. He withdrew his coin pouch, opening it just enough for the man to see the gleam of silver inside. Not enough to make him suspicious, but enough to show him they meant business. Their real stash of money was located on Phoenix. “ ‘Ow, may we see thee’ horse’s?”
The man’s face split into a pleasant smile. “Of course, my good sir. Now, where are my manners? My name is Theodorious, although Theo is fine. And you?”
“Sven, sir. And m’ friend ‘ere is Phoebe,” he replied, gesturing at Phoenix. She did her best to look inconspicuous as his gaze shifted to her.
“Phoebe ey? Some interesting eyes there..” He leaned in closer to look at them, and his eyes widened. “You wouldn’t be…”
Swiatek stepped forward, and Theo reached for his sword. They stood there for a moment just like that, both frozen as they waited for the other to move.
“Phoebe was born ‘ith a cert’in.. defect if ye’ get me meaning. That be why we’d like to lay low, specially with all them… rumors circulatin’.” Theo stared at her for a moment, and she shrunk under his gaze.
“A horrible defect it is, ay.” After a moment, he relaxed, moving his hand away from his sword. “Well then, best get you your horses.” He swept around and strode to the stables, avoiding Phoenix’s gaze like it was a disease. Swiatek touched her on the shoulder lightly.
“Maybe you should wait out here,” he whispered gently, then walked after him. Phoenix stared at the ground, fury and pain building up inside her.
She shouldn’t have been surprised by his reaction, but nevertheless, seeing the pure disgust and fear on his face struck a chord deep within her. She hated her eyes, and always would. After the Fire Bringer cursed her, her eyes turned permanently to a shade of purple unsettlingly close to his own, like a scar he had left with her just to remind her of what he’d done.
What she was.
An eternity seemed to pass, forcing her to be alone with her thoughts until Swiatek and Theo came out of the stables, holding a gray-silver stallion and a startlingly black mare with a white mark on its head. Both had saddles and saddlebags, and seemed fit and strong, but the mare was clearly uncomfortable around Swiatek and Theo alike.
“This be Ace,” Theo said, nodding at the gray charger, “and Twilight,” he added, holding the black mare much further away from himself.
“Why is she so tense?” Phoenix asked, forgetting discretion.
Theo turned to look at her, his discomfort almost unnoticeable. “Her first owner… wasn’t the best of man. Since then, she’s never been much comfortable around males, although she was starting to warm up to me.” He glanced at Swiatek. “Nevertheless, he insisted on her.”
Swiatek shrugged. “We need fast ‘orses. Phoebe ‘ll ride ‘er fine.” He drew out his pouch. “ ‘Ow much?” Theo paused thoughtfully.
“8 silver for the stallion, 10 for the mare, and 5 for the gear.” Phoenix looked at him, surprised. That was an exceptionally good price, especially after they had shown their desperation to him.
Swiatek nodded. “Yer a good man,” he commented, handing over the money.
Theo shrugged. “I don’t need the money, and you seem like you do. Safe roads and clear skies.” He gave them both a small bow, and Swiatek inclined his head, before he turned and headed back to his cottage.
“You think he’ll tell anyone of us?” Phoenix asked, turning to Swiatek.
“No, I don’t think he will,” Swiatek responded thoughtfully, returning to his normal cadence. “Now, you remember how to ride?” Phoenix nodded, and slowly approached Twilight from the side. She watched her carefully, doing her best to emanate a soothing, calm presence. Twilight was more at ease, but still wary. Moving her hand gently, she patted her on the weathers, and once she swung her head around a little more, gently touched her snout. Eventually, she seemed settled enough to ride, and Phoenix stuck a foot in the stirrups and swung herself up, huffing with the effort.
Swiatek had repeated a similar method with Ace, and once they were both ready, they both set out at a slow trot. After a few minutes, avoiding the busy roads, they reached the back gate of the town.
“G’day sirs!” Swiatek called to the soldiers as they passed them, earning a few nods. As soon as they were out into the countryside, they pushed their horses into a fast canter. Ahead of them, contrary to the previous woodlands they had traveled in, was filled with plains and dry shrubbery, the land relatively flat but with a few knolls pointing up here and there. Phoenix felt the enviable ease of the horses as they raced through the grass; Swiatek had chosen them well.
After half an hour of riding, Swiatek called to Phoenix to pause. They pulled over into a slightly sheltered alcove behind a large scraggly bush, and Phoenix let the horses graze as Swiatek pulled out some dry bread and cheese, as well as their collection of maps.
“Theo informed me that there have been sightings of gangs and Agnirathi ahead. A few men have gone missing from towns that either fought back or denied them entry. We’ll have to tread carefully.” Phoenix pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. The Agnirathi were followers of Fire Bringer, a homicidal cult that was promised power and gold. Fire Bringer seemed to amuse himself by giving abilities similar to her own, as well as ones completely different, to those who proved themselves, whether that be massacring a village or catching a spy from Balrathir and turning them in. They were recognizable by, of course, their strange powers, whether that be fangs and claws like a cat, or speaking a word that caused an explosion to occur.
The worst part about fighting them (which had only occurred once or twice for Phoenix) was that you never knew what they were capable of. Of course, Fire Bringer couldn’t (and wouldn’t for fear of being overthrown) make them extremely powerful, but they were nevertheless a great danger to all who encountered them.
The last time they met, Phoenix had been forced to use her ability. Swiatek was happy and encouraged her to continue trying. But all she could remember was the feeling of rage and almost helplessness, as the ability took control of her own body. Swiatek claimed that if she kept working on it, that feeling would disappear, but she refused to hear any more of it.
Her ability would always and forever be a curse upon her, and she refused to even entertain the thought of using it purposefully.
Swiatek could clearly sense her discomfort, and kept speaking. “Remember, these fighters expect us to be easy targets, like all the other townspeople. They might have abilities, but they are uninformed and untrained in the art of war. Our greatest weapon is surprise.” Phoenix took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts out of her head, and nodded in agreement.
“Shall we travel any more?” she asked. “It’s not dark yet.” Swiatek nodded in agreement.
“Not too far though. The land will only get drier and we ought to stop at a pond for the night so we and the horses have enough water to last us the journey. Now, let’s get going.”



Phoenix winced as she climbed off Twilight.
The incessant riding had caused a number of aches, blisters, and dryness from the constant dust as the horses pounded the dry land. The days had blended together, sleep, eat, ride, repeat. It had been a strangely reflective, and although uncomfortable, peaceful time. Swiatek and her had tried to talk for the first couple of days, but soon they both became content to listen to their own thoughts. The only other living things (other than the insects) she had seen were a few eagles circling high above, and a rabbit that speedily hopped out of the way as soon as it saw them approaching. Their food supplies were quickly diminishing, but Swiatek seemed convinced that they would reach a small rural town within a few more days.
Phoenix laid out her bedroll, content to watch the sun drop below the horizon. A movement caught her eyes, and she squinted to peer further, shielding her eyes with her palm from the remaining light. A small group approached, riding on horseback and rapidly approaching, a cloud of dust visible from here.
“Swiatek!” Phoenix shouted, pointing. He whirled around, eyes widening as he caught sight of them.
“Put on your cloak and hide the necessities. And get your sword and dagger.” Phoenix obeyed, grabbing the money and most of the food, leaving enough so that they wouldn’t be suspicious of their lack of sustenance. She slid her sword and dagger into her belt under her cloak, and pulled up her hood, heart racing as the group got closer and closer. Swatiek sat in a crouched position, and Phoenix stayed a few yards to his left.
Be travelers, she prayed silently. Or even mercenaries.
The leader of the group called out a shout as they neared. The rest of the group pulled forward in a neat V-shape. Phoenix didn’t dare look at them, but her heart sank. No regular travelers would bother to be so organized.
“Oi! You!” the leader shouted in a rough voice. Swiatek looked up, feigning dullness.
“Yessir?” he asked.
“What are you folks doin’ out here? You ‘aven’t ‘eard the rumors?” Phoenix swallowed, her throat dry.
Swiatek bobbed his head mellowly. “We have, yessir indeed, but we are trying to travel south. Urgent matter, it is.”
“Is that so?” He jumped off his horse and strode deliberately close to Swiatek. Phoenix reached for her sword and grasped the hilt. The man, swept aside his cloak and revealing the pommel of a sword, used it to prop up Swiatek’s chin. “And what /matter/ would that be?” he asked, his voice silky.
With the attention on him, Phoenix glanced up and caught sight of the man's face, heart racing as she peered through the gloom to see-
Brown.
Flat brown eyes.
She let out a long breath as quietly as she could, relief spreading through her. These were common bandits, easy to please and easier to beat. Swatiek caught her eyes for a moment, and gave the subtlest of nods.
“Oi!” the man shouted, unsheathing his sword slightly. “/Look/ at me when I talk to you!” He raised his opposite hand to strike Swiatek in the head.
Breathing in sharply, she darted forward and smashed the man's forearm with the pommel of her sword. He cried out with pain, and a sharp cracking sound sounded from the bone. Swatiek rose to his feet as well, unsheathing his sword. He rolled his shoulders and grinned.
The leader stumbled away from them. “Get the b@$tards you fools!”
The men struggled to get off their horses, and she and Swiatek gave them plenty of time to settle down. They were smart enough not to charge at them at the same time, but clearly not enough to know when they should have run away. They drew their swords, foolish grins on their faces. Phoenix grasped her hilt with both hands, taking in a deep breath of anticipation.
Swiatek leaped ahead of her at the first man, and slashed him across the neck. Red bl00d spurted out as the man fell to the ground like a ragdoll.

critique for eevee!! <33

eevee wrote:

clark had maybe thrown it with more than human force. whoops.

I’d suggest changing this to “clark might have thrown it with more than human force”—but the original is good, too

eevee wrote:

“it's right here, pete!” clark yells back, “it'll only take a second.”

I think the comma after the dialogue tag should be a period

eevee wrote:

“oh- hi lana,” he grunts and places the box down. “uh so, ma, where do you want this?”

Could be more of a stylistic difference, but I’d use an em dash instead of the hypen. Also, I’d add a comma after “uh”

eevee wrote:

martha rushes in between them. “well, i think that this can go in the pantry. just set it next to the flour.”
clark nods, making a show of lifting the box with both arms. turning, he adds, “sorry, i can't stay longer to chat, lana. maybe we can catch up later this week?”
she nods, bewildered.

love this very much

eevee wrote:

fiddlesticks! it was only his second week and he's late to work. again.

This is great the way it is (fiddlesticks>>), but I might cut the “it was” and change it to “fiddlesticks! only two weeks in, and he’s late to work. again.” or something along those lines (there should be a comma before the “and” as well~)

eevee wrote:

superman has been in demand!

I get what you’re communicating in this sentence, but I think it would benefit from being more clear that he’s just been busy doing a lot of superman work~

eevee wrote:

glasses? check.
suit? not as smooth as he would like it, but check.
press pass? …

press pass!

so good XD

eevee wrote:

clark shoves his bagel into his mouth, fumbling to grab his lanyard out from his briefcase. chief was going to kill him for being late to this press meeting, and it's his first real story!
sliding the lanyard around his neck and ruffling his hair, clark takes another bite of his breakfast and speeds up his walk as he makes his way through the crowd.

OK I admit to not knowing what a press pass is but does this fix the problem… I think we could see a bit more how he’s hiding his powers in this section specifically if that makes sense (I guess it’s with his clark kent disguise, but it’s just a bit different from the others in that the hiding is the whole section instead of at the end, which just gives this section a different feeling)

eevee wrote:

lois glances up, taking a sip and narrows her eyes.

To make this work gramatically, I’d either make “narrows” “narrowing” or “taking” “takes”

eevee wrote:

a peace offering. as if she wouldn't notice that he's late. not that she's exempt from being late, but this is late, even for clark kent.

a) hilarious b) to add even more emphasis, I’d probably italicize the final “late”

eevee wrote:

“what's the hold up, smallville?” she can't help but quip, raising an eyebrow.

Small, but I think holdup is one word

eevee wrote:

clark adjusts his glasses. “uhh, superman! he was helping out at an apartment fire and traffic was bad. i got a brief interview with him though!”
“uh huh…” like she'd believe that.

Good cover XD

eevee wrote:

“ma’am. MA’AM!” clark clutches his press pass as he speeds across the street to grab a lady's arm, managing to just pull her onto the sidewalk before a stream of traffic screeches through.
“oh my!”
he glances over her. “you’re alright, ma’am.” he gives her a final smile before slipping back into the crowd.

aww…
I LOVE SUPERMAN

eevee wrote:

“and—okay, this really happened—superman starts to fly! like fly-fly. he was zooming through- clark! are you even listening?” lois remarks, still bulldozing ahead and not looking back.

I might switch “remarks” to “asks” since the most recent thing she said was a question~
Lois my beloved

eevee wrote:

a whoosh blows through, and clark adjusts his windswept tie, falling into step. “of course, lois. superman?”

a) amazing, good job keeping up with the conversation, buddy b) superhearing!! c) I’d probably change the phrasing of “a whoosh blows through” to something more like “a gust of wind whooshes through the air” or even just adding “the air” at the end of it you could also add some more description, like saying it messes up lois’ hair, or something like that

eevee wrote:

“kent! you're late. i need you on this story with lane, stat!” perry barks.
“got it, chief- uh, perry!” clark smiles, ducking his head as he makes his way through the bullpen to his corner office with lois.
lois yanks the door open. “clark, hurry up! we've got an interview in 15 minutes-” she stops, tugging him inside. “honey… i know this morning was busy, but you could have taken some extra caution.” she adjusts his glasses and tousles his hair. “there.”
she gives him a once-over and sighs upon seeing his choice of footwear.

he was wearing mismatched shoes.

omg LOVE.
thanks for letting me read it! i had such a great time, it was so fun and cute <3 hope the critiques are helpful, and good luck in the comp! ^^

──★ ˙ letter daily
422 words … november 26

You've probably written from a character's viewpoint before, but have you ever done it through a letter? For today's daily, write a letter from one of your characters' perspectives of at least 250 words to claim 250 points, with an additional 100 points for sharing proof.

Jane Doe, before being Forsakened

To the Love of my Life,
Hi John, I miss you a lot. Every night, I spend hours at night, just thinking of you. I don’t expect you to reply, it would be impossible for you to, but I just felt like I needed to get things off my chest.

First and foremost, I miss you so much. Too much. I wish you were still with me, by my side. I miss the times we would just talk for hours, or do stupid things together. Like remember the time we almost blew up the house trying to make a forcefield? I know you don’t want me to, but I feel guilty. I feel like I am the reason why you were able to corrupt yourself with the defunct code, which inevitably killed you. I feel like I should have stopped you—show you that it wasn’t the best thing to do. I sometimes wonder what life would be like if I hadn’t let you play around with the code.

Life for me has been alright. I still have the same friends, who have been supportive throughout all of this. There is yes need to worry about me—I can manage pretty fine. You know I’m not as weak as you think, right? Anyways, I am still working, despite being a little bit stressed. My boss has been giving me more work, even after I told him about the situation. I just wish he could understand. Well, at least I have a job. Your girl will preserve through all of this, I promise.

I sometimes get lost in thought, wondering where you are now. It’s like you disappeared. There was no trace of you left behind, even your body was gone. Maybe you were consumed and became the code. I don’t know. People around me tell me that you’re just in some kind of afterlife, like the rest of us will be. But personally, I don’t buy it. You know me, always being skeptical. You would tell me to relax a little, but how can I when I have no idea where my husband is? I hope that wherever you are, you are happy. Someday I will come to you, I will follow your footprints. We will eventually be reunited again, I promise.

Well, that’s all I need to say. You probably don’t want to be bothered too much. Who am I kidding? You’ll never read this, probably.

I love you so much, and I yearn to see you again.

Love,
Your wife, Jane Doe

────────── ☆ ──────────

✪┊November 27th Daily

You've probably written from a character's viewpoint before, but have you ever done it through a letter? For today's daily, write a letter from one of your characters' perspectives of at least 250 words to claim 250 points, with an additional 100 points for sharing proof.

Author's Notes:
✦ This was not really proofread.
✦ This is in the perspective of one of my characters I'm developing! I think this was a nice exercise on writing her.

Dear older Cally,

Hi! Our teachers assigned us to write a letter to our future selves, so I’ll do that. I wanna get a good grade! I don’t know what to say though… There’s so much in my head it hurts! Ow! I can’t help but wonder what you’re like and how you’re doing! I hope you’re doing okay!

I bet you’re super-duper smart now! I’m trying my best to be a good student. All our teachers say I’m super well-behaved, and our parents always smile when they say that! So that definitely means it’s a good thing and I should keep being like this. I want to make our parents smile all the time because they always seem so stressed and they’re never around to hang out with me or Pari or Kayden… I’m sure they have their reasons, though, because they always say they do.

Our teachers gave us a few prompts to answer, so I’ll answer them! My favourite colour is pink, my favourite activity is doing homework, my favourite animal is a chameleon and my favourite season is spring. I hope you still have these same favourites because I think they’re the best thing in the world, aside from Pari and Kayden and our parents!

Speaking of Pari and Kayden, they’ve both been looking pretty sad lately. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t want them to be sad! You’re super wise, do you have any ideas on how to help them? Please tell me you do! Write back as soon as you can! I have to help them before they become even sadder, which would be like one of the worst things in the world.

Oh no! Our word maximum was 200 and I’ve written so much more than that! I better end this off before I get in trouble. I’ll be waiting for your reply, older Cally!

Happily,
Your eight-year-old self



Dear younger Calliope,

Wow, I miss you. You were full of so much joy and whimsy and innocence… and I’m not. I wish I could’ve treated you better, but the world is cruel and there’s nothing I can do to save you. I’m sorry, but also I’m kinda not, because in the end you would’ve ended up like me anyway. I wonder if you’d ever forgive me, but you were always so forgiving so I think you would. I don’t deserve that.

I’m not super-duper smart and my grades are dropping. I used to get straight As and now I’m barely hanging onto Cs and Ds. It’s a miracle I haven’t failed school yet, really. Not that I’d really care. My parents are barely even around to see, and I doubt they’d care either. I’ve accepted long ago that they don’t care about us. They’re never here, and it stings so bad but that’s life.

My favourite colour is blue, my favourite activity is skateboarding, my favourite animal is a chameleon and my favourite season is autumn, so I guess a lot of things have changed. I don’t think these are the best things in the world anymore, neither are Pari and him and my parents.

I don’t have any advice for you, nor am I wise in any way. Pari and him are just always like that. They’re always shouting and screaming and pushing me away and frankly, I’ve given up. If they don’t care about me, fine. Why should I care about them? Everyone always says family is so precious, but they’ve never seen mine. It sucks, really.

You always had such a brilliant mind, shame it’s gone now. I mourn you every day, but I can’t do anything about you anymore. It’s too late.

I’ll go skateboarding to clear my head. Thinking about you always messes up my mental space.

Signing off,
Your fourteen-year-old self



Dear younger Cally,

Now, you didn’t address your letter to me, but I’m gonna jump into this conversation anyway because there’s so many words I wish I could’ve engrained into your head back then.

You were really cynical, you know that right? Sure, the world’s cruel and all but it doesn’t have to be such the mess you think it is. You can always seek the silver lining. It’s always there, even if you don’t think it is.

My grades are improving now. I don’t get straight As but I’m getting high Bs and my teachers like me again. I’m trying my best and that’s what matters. I still end up daydreaming and fidgeting and doing things I’m not supposed to, but I’m certainly getting better and everyone around me has seen that too. It’s a nice thing, improving, you know?

My favourite colour is blue, my favourite activity is skateboarding, my favourite animal is a chameleon and my favourite season is spring, so I guess there’s a lot of things that never change. Childhood is one of the most important times in life and as much as I wish I didn’t waste half of it hating the universe, there’s some things that stick with you and you gotta hold onto them. Not ‘cause you refuse to let go, but because you gotta honour your younger self and their hopes and dreams. You gotta tell them, “Hey, I’m smarter and wiser than you were and I can change your life for the better. But deep down, we still share the same colours and activities and animals, and I’m still you despite everything that’s happened. We’re not separate entities, we’re the same person but now we’ve grown and I’m really happy for both of us.”

Does that makes sense? I tend to shoot off at the mouth and I’m not bothered to edit any of this. I bet it’ll make sense to you, you were excellent at literacy. You stopped reading books after a long time but you still held all that knowledge close to your heart whether you knew it or not. Now I’m back into reading and it’s great! I read more non-fiction than fiction now, though.

My advice for Pari and Kayden? Just be there for them. Don’t shout or pressure them, just be there to support them when things get rough. ‘Cause now you’ve been in their exact position, or at least something close to it, and you know how hard it gets. I understand you were angry at them and I can’t change that, but love, gentleness and care is strength. It took me a while to realise that but my life’s definitely changed for the better once I did.

You always had such a brilliant mind, even if you didn’t realise it. Use your creativity for good and change the world. You’ve got the power right with you, and you just gotta learn how to use it.

Now my friends are asking me to go skateboard with them and I don’t wanna be late, so I gotta run now. See you later, Calliope, and thank you for pushing on even when things got hard. You hated every moment of it, but look at us now. We got this!

Lovingly,
Your twenty-year-old self

Word Count: ~1184

────────── ☆ ──────────

✪ Writing Comp: The Shadow War ⊹ ₊

Smoke. That was the only thing I could see. A dark haze all around me. Pain was the only thing I could feel. Bodies of the lost and dead surround me. I was alone. My brother was possibly the only thing I had left. Was he okay? Was he even alive? I wish I knew. My parents. The only thing that I could truly think about. I was lost in thought, pondering the millions of questions I had. Why? Why would they do this? Was anyone going to send help? Would I die alone out here with nothing but smoke, dead bodies, and the clothes on my back? Or would I live on? Who would tell my story? Would I get to tell our story? Did anyone survive this massacre? What’s next? I set those questions aside to examine the battlefield. It was blood-soaked, and it didn’t look like anyone survived. It was daytime, but there was no sun in sight, and the smell of smoke was burned into my nostrils. A deafening silence hung over the battlefield as if it weren’t done.
​
The shadows shifted. I might be going insane, but they moved. They moved and morphed into a human-like shape. A noise like nails scratching a chalkboard erupted from the creature’s mouth. I still heard it through my covered ears. It gave me a steely glare with its pitch black eyes. In its hand, it skillfully spun a knife, planning to kill. I couldn’t die here. I was the only one left. I had to tell the stories of these brave soldiers because no one else was going to. I gripped my own knife and stared it down. These monsters killed my parents, and I was going to get revenge.
​
It struck first, and it slowly advanced, then lunged at me. I quickly dodged and struck it in the back. It reeled back, screeching in agony. It charged at me, and I parried, sending its blade through the air, but before I could celebrate, the smoke gathered and morphed into a new knife.
​
The shadow monster struck, but I dodged. I was a little too late, though. I screamed in pain. The knife had pierced my arm, leaving a deep cut. Blinded by rage, I slashed out wildly at the shadow. I needed to see my brother. I needed to know if he was okay. I kept slashing and stabbing. We exchanged blows endlessly. As I slashed the shadow, the swishing movement of the blade made dirt fly around, blinding my vision. It chopped its blade down towards me, and I dodged, stabbing it in the back. It, once again, screeched in rage and knocked me in the head with the hilt of its knife. I fell to the ground, my head throbbing and bleeding. The shadow loomed above me. It shifted, putting both hands on its knife, getting ready to thrust the knife downward into my chest. Right then, sunlight peeked through the clouds, and the shadow melted into the ground. Of course. Sunlight was the weakness. A feeling of relief washed over me. The fight was over. My adrenaline rush faded away. Pain. Overwhelming pain. I passed out.
​
That’s how I’m here today. Telling you the story of The Shadow War

» — ⋙ 549 words total ⋘ — «

Daily 27th November - Letter

Dear Ruth,
I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. One minute you were there, the next you were gone. I didn’t mean to scare you away. I only wanted you to have a home with someone who loved you. I know that you’ve probably been through so many foster homes, and this must be like the other. People with too-bright smiles and fake, sweet voices, begging you to stay with them, trying to help you so desperately. I’m not going to pretend to be any different. I just want you to know that there will always be a place for you at my home.

Ruth, everyone misses you. I miss you, Lottie misses you, Daniel misses you. We loved having you in our lives, and although in a way you will always be, these last few months have been really quiet without you. I thought that you were finally settling in. I saw your face light up that bit more every single day, and it was so beautiful to see. I loved seeing you every single morning, seeing the way that everybody would smile when you were around. You were only with us for a few months but you have made a huge impact on our lives. You’re just amazing. I thought that we were the first people that you would actually want to stay with. I suppose everyone would want to think that. I wish that I was good enough for you. But now you’ve gone again. And we really want you back with us. Please come home.

Always with you,
Alyssa

Daily 27:

You've probably written from a character's viewpoint before, but have you ever done it through a letter? For today's daily, write a letter from one of your characters' perspectives of at least 250 words to claim 250 points, with an additional 100 points for sharing proof.

Hey Cate!
It’s Malley! (Well, you can probably see tell that). How are you doing? How’s college? I hope it’s good!
I’ve been good. Blarbutt hasn’t been a pain (at least, not more then normal). The My The cats have been good too (They say they miss you, even though you don’t always like them.) Willy would like to add that he especially misses you, more then his sisters do (he is currently watching me write, I’m like 99.9% sure he knows I’m writing to you).
Are your friends there? How are they? My friends are good (They all say hi). Sparkles recommended you make them friendship bracelets (I’ve inclosed enclosed (is it inclosed or enclosed?) a friendship bracelet Sparkles made for you).
I’m super excited for when you come home for the holidays (even though I know you will miss your friends, and perhaps even your schoolwork!), because then we can hang out again (please don’t spend all your time doing other stuff). I’m also excited about the food of course
So. What else can I talk about… Hmmm… Oh! I’m having a tangerine while writing this! Are you eating any food? Is it good? I hope the food is good! But they probably don’t have peanut butter and pickle sandwiches without the bread (I really should’ve abrevivated abbrevivated that), which are THE BEST. Especially how mom makes them (Mmmm, I’m getting hungry just thinking about them ).
Oh dear, the cats are meowing at me to be fed, probably should’ve done that earlier, oops :’D
Well, I better go now, then
Goodbye Cate!
From Malley.
P.S. The kitties say goodbye too.

276 words

Daily for magreal, 27th of November, letter from a character
287/250 words

Hello. I don't like writing but I have to, because you cannot talk through fire. It's inconvenient, you know? But I can't avoid this. It has never in my life occurred to me that I might say this, but I want to talk to someone. I hate you, I really do, but I do admit you are entertaining. It's been so nice now that you're finally gone forever, just like everyone else. I never thought you'd stay, nobody does. And no, I am not angry at you for it, just encase your measly brain needs this clarification. But what I am angry at is the fact that I am willingly reaching out to talk to you, and I hope you won't reply because you will probably say something stupid. But, I miss the entertainment of observing you and your odd ways. I wonder if all you humans are like this. If so, I doubt I would survive it if I went south. But that's unimportant right now, I'm getting off track. Seriously, I feel like I am changing, and not in a good way. Just look at this letter, this is more words than I've said in a good twenty years, and I am still going. But, behind all my moping, I actually do have a serious reason for talking to you, other than soggy melancholy. The animals and prey are sensing a change in the forest, and are all migrating south. Whenever I try to hunt, I barely can barely catch anything and there's less and less food. So if you still feel like you want to play as a hero, you can feel free to come back and try to do something.
No regards,
Almia.

Critique for primosaur
(this is in no particular order)

I love the first paragraph, but it is a bit hard to understand. It took me several minutes of re reading to understand vaguely what was going on. this sentence seems to have a run on maybe, “The data that the Y6 (them again?) send us scrambles itself into the network, scarring consciousness as it always does, but so far, this bomb is ineffective.” Maybe a period after always does, it's hard to read otherwise.


“and if they do, by that time, the citadels their culture seems to worship will be gone. ”

This seems to have some grammar mistake, maybe a comma or a semi colon after “the citadels”


“Certain prisons weren’t transmitted properly, allowing a revolutionary bent on power to upload themselves out of a communications-enclosed environment, who made simple codes that acted as weapons of mass destruction and allowed him to become the magnate, although a third of the world was killed in the process.”

This sentence seems way too long and not very coherent, im not sure how to fix it but it can be cut down at least in two sentences, maybe 3, it doesnt make much sense right now.

ok then the grammar really improves, and I absolutely love the way you develop everything. I didn't have much time to critique everything, but I think you need to add a derealization TW and maybe remove the last line, it might be too much for scratch. but great work!

Tilly's Nov 27th daily - letter

Dearest Naia,

Have I ever told you I love you? Very much. You have been a companion that words can hardly describe to me through…well, all of this…and I am very happy that I met you.
The truth is, I don’t know how to say this. I’ve been staring at this blank paper twirling my pen in my hand and, honestly, trying to dry the tears that have stained multiple sheets of an unwritten letter for hours now, and I still don’t know what I’m going to say. But I’m desperate to leave you with something, especially since I can’t see you face to face now…
Gosh, I wish I could. Just to see your face one more time.
Ok, that pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? Oh, I hate this. I wish I could just talk to you.
I drew it. I’m so sorry. I saw the little opaque spades glowing red and I knew I was done.
It might already be done by the time you read this, but as I’m writing this I have 8 hours. 8 hours till midnight. I can’t believe this is my last day.
I don’t want you to see me on those screens, okay? Don’t you dare even look. They’re absolute demons for even broadcasting such a disgusting thing live. I hate them…but this isn’t about them.
I wonder if you’ve drawn your card yet, though I know I won’t exactly get an answer from you. I’ve only been praying I won’t see you. Because if I don’t, it means you won’t be there being prepared to be eliminated just like me—and that’s enough. That will keep me going.
Naia, I haven’t even told Malakai or mum yet. I can’t. I’m thinking maybe I don’t need to. But maybe they would like to say goodbye…
Darn, I’m regretting that I won’t see you. It would have been wonderful to talk—but then again, I think seeing you might break me.
I just wish we had more time…but hey, I’ll be at the rails. All day. It’s where I want to spend my last hours, to be honest. I’m smiling a little now just remembering meeting you there. Haha.
So if by some miracle you can come at all…or maybe not. I don’t know.
I almost want to run away. Call me scared, I am. Not just for myself, but…I just don’t want mum to see me on that screen, or Kai, or you. (Don’t watch, though, I’m begging you)
This is it, I guess. That’s all I can say.

Yours forever,
Caius

430 words

✪ Training 05 ⊹ ₊

User: @babyoda1546
Nickname: Sage
Cabin: Action (TENSION TENSION TENSIONNN)
WPM: 35-45 (way faster without test)

VS

User: @FairyAyla
Nickname: Ayla
Cabin: Gothic (Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”)
WPM: 34ish

Info:
Prompt: “In the presence of ghosts, there was only one thing to do…”
Time Limit: Five Minutes

Disclaimer: I never really got to the ghosts part

FIGHT!!!

Tyler and Zain journeyed far and wide, looking for the mythical totem of Canek. It was an ancient totem used for multiple purposes. For example, it could conjure anything, it could illuminate dark areas, and it could control the weather. But anyways- back to our explorers! They had finally reached the temple of Ixchel where the totem had supposedly been hidden.

“This is it, Tyler. We’ve found it” Zain said, mouth agape in awe as he stared up at the towering step pyramid that lay in front of them. The temple sparkled in the golden evening light.

“Good. I just want to get the stupid artifact and go back home” Tyler muttered, unimpressed at the massive structure, as he trudged on through the field.

“Be careful” Zain cautioned, “There might be traps”

“Well, no duh, genius. Why do you think I have you on this mission? Traps are your thing.” Tyler said rather rudely but Zain didn’t really care. He was used to it by now. Zain followed Tyler through the field, eyes darting around looking for any traps that might’ve been placed centuries ago.

…

By now Zain and Tyler have made their way through the pyramid and were almost to the end. They’ve run into no traps so far and Zain found that rather suspicious while Tyler simply couldn’t care less. The darkened halls were only illuminated by the combined glow of their flashlights. The temple was overrun with vines and different types of flowers that even Zain didn’t quite recognize.

“This is it” Zain whispers, looking at the stone door in front of-

» — ⋙ 266 words ⋘ — «

Weekly
2429 total words

letters used: FOXHUNTERS

TRIGGER WARNINGS—war, gun violence, blood, animal cruelty, animal death, human death
this is from the pov of my novel’s villain so… it’s not pretty
obligatory reminder that i do not condone or glorify any of this! what is depicted here is awful and the main character is meant to be seen in a negative light.

F: Characters often have to fight for something - a cause, a war, some sort of change. Write 200 words of someone fighting for a cause, physical or otherwise.
327 words

The boy sat astride a horse far too big for him.
His coat, too, hung off his scrawny frame. Hunting pink billowing in the breeze, rolled up at the sleeves. His gloved hands clutched tightly at the reins, and his eyes darted around the scene as his horse twitched and fidgeted.
He nodded and smiled as the chatter of nobleman fizzled like static. He was trying to keep tabs on them, listen for anything that could be of use later, but his limbs ached with the tension clenched within his chest. His heart hurled itself against his ribcage, and it took all his effort to remain poised, professional. It was his first time wearing the scarlet coat. It was his first chance to prove himself. He could not mess this up.
At the horses’ feet, the hounds began to gather.

The lieutenant surveyed his forces.
His scarlet coat seemed bare without the medals, but he was going into combat and couldn’t risk it. Even so, he was an intimidating figure. Despite his young age, authority suited him—there was something about the way he held himself, the rigid set of his jaw and the determination gleaming behind his eyes.
The grass at his feet was flattened from the pounding of military boots, splashed a deep red-brown from the battle the day before. The lieutenant had almost turned the stalemate into victory—the enemy troops had retreated, scattered and divided. They were attempting to reground, but the lieutenant aimed to counter that.
He aimed to flush out their commander. She had fled to this area, somewhere, he was sure. They would ambush her, make an example of her. Without her leadership, the opponent’s morale would be crushed, their strategy lost. They would no longer stand a chance. They would be forced to surrender, and the lieutenant would have won his first major battle in this war.
“For our freedom,” he cried.
His troops howled like dogs in support.

O: How would your character feel if they had an office job? Write 200 words detailing a day in their life at work.
260 words

“We’ll go over it one more time,” the lieutenant declared once the shouting had died down. “We’re not going to spread out and search this time. She can overpower any one of us if we’re alone, so don’t go off by yourselves. She will be tired and injured after yesterday, so she’ll be trying to gather her strength back. Our course of action is to pick up her trail and flush her out of wherever she’s hiding.”
He grinned, and his teeth gleamed in the dying light.
‘Sir.” A young recruit spoke up hesitantly. “How do we pick up the trail?”
The lieutenant lowered his voice, conspiratorially. “We follow the reek of her blood.”
In an abrupt motion, he tore a bandage from his arm, smeared his palm with the dried blood crusted underneath. He then reached into a pouch at his hip and withdrew a swatch of bloodstained fabric.
“Match.” The lieutenant held out his hand to the recruit. Hesitantly, the young man offered his matchbox.
The lieutenant took a match and lit it. He held it against the bloodied fabric for a moment, and the cloth caught with a blaze. The flames lapped hungrily at the swath of fabric.
The lieutenant held the palm smeared with his own blood above the burning cloth, and as the ripped fabric crumbled to ash, it began to pulse and throb. An unearthly glow emanated from the veins in his hand.
Far across the trampled field, a patch of grass began to glow the same deep red, lighting up like a beacon.

X: Xylophones is the first x-letter word I could think of. Write 200 words where your character picks up an instrument they've never tried before.
246 words

The hounds set off, the men on their horses galloping close behind. It didn’t take long for the hounds to pick up a scent, and they began to follow it, through the fields and forest.
The boy, at the front of the cluster of mounted hunters, narrowed his eyes, watching for flickers of red amid the brush.
There. A glimpse of fur between the leaves, overcast by shadow. Two wide eyes staring back.
For a split second, it stood paralysed. And then it turned tail and sprinted deeper into the undergrowth.
The hounds, catching sight of it, wheeled around towards it and gave chase, baying in a frenzy. A shout went up as the men steered their horses in pursuit, crashing through the bushes and between the trees. A horn was handed to the boy by someone beside him—a mutter of “you should do the honours this time”—and the boy fumbled to take it.
It felt strange in his grip. It didn’t fit his small hands. He’d never done this before.
Brushing off his hesitation, he raised it to his mouth. He blew.
The sound of the horn reverberated through the woodland, the deafening noise in conflict with the tiny stature of the boy with the instrument clutched in one hand. The horses flinched and the men laughed with glee and the boy grinned, all crooked teeth and growing arrogance.
It was only a matter of time before he caught up to his prey.

H: Hope is a powerful thing. Write 200 words where your character experiences hope.
263 words

The lieutenant and his forces followed the trail of glowing red patches.
At times, they were few and far between, and at a couple of instances he almost thought the trail had fizzled out. At other times, they were like a river, less like a series of patches than a dotted line winding into the distance.
The lieutenant lost track of time as they continued the hunt, the chase. It felt as if there was only his pack behind him and the trail before them, and somewhere, perhaps far away, perhaps watching from the nearby undergrowth, their elusive target.

The chase had begun to tire the fox. The dogs were catching up, nipping at its heels, snapping at its thrashing tail.
Still, it outpaced them, just.
The dogs fanned out, began to move in to surround it. The fox’s eyes darted to and fro, scrambling for an escape. It turned abruptly, rushing into a hedge and sprinting out the other side. It shot out into the open, into a field, and the boy’s heart leapt into his throat as his horse jumped the hedge in pursuit. They were so close. For the first time, they could see the fox in full view, stripped of the protection of the shadows and the undergrowth. The fear glistened in its eyes, the bristle of its fur, the pounding of its paws to the frantic rhythm of its heart.
A greedy hope jolted in the boy’s chest, the thrill of the hunt and the anticipation of the kill rushing through his veins. They were almost upon it.

U: Write about a symbol of unity in your characters world for 200 words, as well as how they interact with it.
213 words

The lieutenant’s troops moved as one, as if each soldier was no longer an individual but instead part of a singular entity. Each a cog turning in the machine the lieutenant commanded.
Like a loyal pack of dogs, he thought. They would follow him anywhere.
It was then that they caught sight of a flash of blue amid the scrubland. A scrap of fabric, torn and frayed and smeared with dirt but unmistakable. The enemy’s uniform. The same as the bloodied swatch of cloth that had led them right to her.
The lieutenant cocked his gun. Waved an arm in the signal.
He could almost hear, ringing in his ears, the sound of a horn being blown.
He didn’t need to say a word. His soldiers surged forward as one, a smooth, unified motion. A crashing wave breaking over the rocks and dispersing, searching the tussock and nearby undergrowth.
There was a shout—the sound of a scramble, a struggle—and the lieutenant whirled around. The target had abandoned her hiding spot beneath the bushes and had taken off, sprinting through the field. She threw a glance over her shoulder and her gaze was animalistic, oddly familiar, eyes wide and wild with terror.
The soldiers accelerated in pursuit.
They were almost upon her.

N: Dear SWCers… Switch up the form of your story! Write 200 words of a note sent by one of your characters.
226 words

As he galloped towards the fox, the boy remembered what had got him there in the first place.

Cassian Vincere,
You are hereby invited to His Royal Highness’ Commander General’s 19th annual foxhunt and Aestas celebration. As an aspiring young prodigy and a valuable leader of tomorrow, we wish for you to be our guest of honour at this event.
Please wear either hunting pink or military uniform.
Sincerely, Commander General Fenvered.

As he chased the enemy Commander, the lieutenant remembered his assignment.

Lieutenant Vincent,
Our opponents are cornered between the base of the Krivetjan mountains and the Selterne border. We must root them out during the winter, else they will use the melting of the Western Lakes to their advantage and launch an attack on our weakest shore.
I trust you with this mission. There are medals waiting for you back home.
Yours faithfully,
Commander General Fenvered.

The lieutenant had responded that morning.

Sir Fenvered,
I hope this note finds you well. We have recently broken the enemy’s ranks and many of them have fled, scattered and divided. It won’t be long until we have driven them out of our land. Reinforcements are no longer needed.
As of now, we do not know the whereabouts of their Commander, but we aim to capture her before nightfall. I will bring back her head.
Your friend,
Cassian.

T: As writers, we're all probably quite familiar with the phrase “Show, Don't Tell” - For a change of pace, however, we invite you to instead write 200 words of telling the story.
202 words

The fox began to falter. It was clearly tired, its pace slowing. There was an exhaustion apparent in its footfalls, the way it slumped its shoulders and the heaving of its breath.
The boy almost didn’t want the chase to end. His own breaths were coming rapidly, the horse sweating beneath him. He found he had greatly enjoyed the hunt. It would be a shame to slow from this gallop, to return to the world of small talk and noblemen. He preferred feeling the wind ripple through his hair and the endless adrenalin, the way he tended to forget the rest of the world existed once he had fixated on the fleeing splash of red before him.
The fox, however, was weak. It could not stop running forever.

The lieutenant's troops began to close in on their target.
The commander was drained, injured. It was only a matter of time before they caught up.
She was tiring fast, too. She had been running for her life far too much over these past few days. She could not keep it up forever. Her desperation could only get her so far.
The lieutenant could almost taste the victory, sweet and metallic on his tongue.

E: Write 200 words of someone reaching an epiphany at a critical point in your story.
228 words

The fox skidded around a corner, but its legs slipped from under it and it staggered forward, unbalanced. It was only a momentary drop in speed, a split second of weakness—but it was enough.
The boy’s eyes widened, his lips twitched upward into a grin. The realisation descended on him like an epiphany. A fate he’d known all along, from the very start, but it was as if only seeing it before his own eyes was what made it true.
They’d caught it.

The enemy commander was almost in reach. The fastest soldiers were only six metres away. Four metres. Two. Close enough to hear the frenzied drumming of her heartbeat.
She stumbled, hurtling over her own feet and slamming into the dirt.
A scramble of bruised limbs and she dragged herself up off the ground, but it was too late.
An exhilarated laugh spilled from the lieutenant. He’d finally fulfilled his duty, he realised. He’d vanquished the enemy.
They’d caught her.

The hounds descended.

The soldiers were upon her.

The fox collapsed to the ground, the horses skidded to a halt, and the space before the boy became a thrashing mass of fur and limbs and flesh.

The soldiers tackled the enemy to the ground, restraining her, surrounding her with a crushing swarm. The lieutenant jogged up to the scene, shoved his way to the front.

R: Write 200 words involving the rescue of a character - what the rescue is about is up to you!
208 words

The hounds’ jaws ripped into their struggling prey.

The lieutenant drew his gun.

And the hounds ripped the fox apart.

The lieutenant levelled his weapon at the enemy’s heart.

Suddenly, a flash of blue penetrated the troops’ semicircle. An enemy soldier—no, two—seemed to have come out of nowhere. The lieutenant’s forces seemed to be paralysed in shock—this is the last thing they would’ve expected, and rather than reacting on instinct like they might have done, the chase had tired them and numbed their reflexes.
One enemy soldier dived to where their commander had collapsed. The other knocked the lieutenant’s gun out of his hand, and before anyone could react, the other had picked it up and pointed it at the lieutenant’s head.
The lieutenant scoffed. A doomed rescue mission. How sweet.
A pathetic effort, though. In less than a blink, the lieutenant’s soldiers all had their rifles aimed.
“Let us go,” one of the enemy soldiers spat, their voice a hoarse rasp.
The lieutenant simply smiled. Gave a little wave.
Gunshots sounded like rumbling, deafening thunder.
The enemy’s mistake was that they had relied on the lieutenant’s orders being to take the commander back alive.
All three were blown full of holes in an instant.

S: Write 200 words in which a character in your story steals something of chosen value. …After all, everything is free if you take it as so, hmm? ;D
256 words

With the crack of a whip the hounds were called off. The fox’s shredded body leaked red into the dirt.
The Commander General dismounted his horse and gestured for the boy to do the same. He motioned toward the carcass. The boy drifted forward with a strange, morbid curiosity.
The General leaned down, dragging his fingers through the pool of blood. He smeared the sticky redness onto the boy’s face.
“To commemorate your first kill,” the General declared.
The boy nodded, grinning. The blood wiped across his cheeks seemed to glow in the sunset.
The General then crouched, cradled the fox’s head with one hand. He slipped a hunting knife from its sheath.
“A trophy,” he told the boy. “For our victory.”

The soldiers cheered at their victory.
The lieutenant laughed with them, at what they’d accomplished together. Declared that a celebration must be in order once they returned to their homeland. Medals would be given out for the bravery and brutality of his crew.
When his men began to drift away, their thoughts and chatter wandering, the lieutenant knelt by the commander’s body.
Her red hair was splayed across the ground, reminding him of fox fur. His smile stretched to a smirk.
He withdrew a vial from his pocket.
It was forbidden, but—he needed the blood. It would prove invaluable later. Blood magic is what had secured him this kill, after all. He needed to ensure his army’s future victories.
As he dragged the vial through the spreading pool, his veins fizzed in response.

-

✪ Daily Task 28: Continued Idea Daily ⊹ ₊

Note: Old world building to continue! So, for this one, I had notes for a world I wanted to build but I never started so now, I’m starting. YAY! I will be honest, there is no way I can complete this with how busy I'll be today, but I did make major progress in my idea. I'm actually proud of my progress in the past three days. The end-of-session motivation really came in at full force.

Welcome to Elementala! In this world there are seven different cities called the sacred cities. The seven cities are called Infinite, Thundershock, Atlantlia, Terratopia, Seraphina, Commonland, and The Forbidden Caves. So, every child starts out in Commonland where they receive basic education and training for whatever ability they manifest. Most children manifest their ability when they are 13 years old and on a very rare occasion, they could manifest at a younger age. There are four main abilities. Those are: Earth, Water, Fire, and Electricity. There is also a small possibility that you don’t manifest and another possibility that you could end up in the forbidden caves. Once you manifest an ability, you get sorted into one of the five cities but if you don’t get an ability, you get to stay in Commonland and choose a job. People often manifest an ability based on their personality and their interests. Now that I have some of the basics down, I’m going to explain the cities.

Infinite:
Infinite is the capital of Elementala and perhaps the most elegant and beautiful city you will ever see in your years of living. This city has massive crystal towers and a gem encrusted courthouse made out of quartz. Infinite is where the twelve counselors decide on punishment for wrongdoing and where they decide on rules. The twelve counselors also live in this city. They have big crystal houses with the gem of their choosing. Each of the counselors’ homes are made to accommodate their element

Commonland:
Again, this is where everyone starts out. Commonland is a normal city. There’s nothing unusual about this. Just normal structures and normal living. It kind of looks like New York City. Their job is basically to get kids ready for their futures. If you don’t manifest an ability you go here, keep going to normal school and then college and there you learn to teach the younger generations what you learned about the history and rules of Elementala.

Thundershock:
Thundershock is a city in the clouds with impressive skyscrapers and lightning galore! This is where the people go if they manifest electricity. The electric users often have jobs such as Pilot, Train conductor, Taxi driver, Electrician, and anything transportation related! Electric users are quite energetic, curious, talkative, and creative! Some sub-abilities are weather control, harmless shocking, storm creation and a few others. Harmless shocking is just a little static electricity shock as a friendly prank. Weather control practically explains itself along with storm creation. That’s all I really have on Thundershock right now.

Atlantia: Atlantia is an underwater city with beautiful places and towers made out of ice and coral. There is a small seashore section of this city where water users normally train their on-land techniques. People of Atlantia are really interested in art, biology, anatomy, and water sports. Water manifesters are calm, creative, wise, and sometimes a little rough like the ocean itself. The people of Atlantia provide the others with sea food, underwater herbs, sand, and other things. (I’ll add more to this later)

Terratopia:
Terratopia made with an underground level and an above ground level. The underground is actually much nicer than it sounds because it’s actually a pretty cozy area. Houses are typically cozy cabins made of mud, clay, bricks, and sometimes wood from the above ground city. There's also underground pillars like skyscrapers because the underground is the main place of commerce for Terratopia. The underground city is for those who specialize in mineral attraction. Mineral attracters are basically human magnets who upon will can bring rare artifacts, minerals, and gems to them. The second ability is literally controlling rock. It’s kind of like earthbending from Avatar. Above ground, we have the more nature-oriented people. It’s basically a huge area full of farms and gardens and every few miles there's a farm’s market. The garden towns are beautiful. They’re filled with different flowers, herbs, trees, and occasionally vegetables. The farm areas are exactly what you’d expect. Acres and acres of farms. The people above ground have plant growing powers, control over plants, and ability to turn into any plant they want. As a whole, earth manifesters are typically calm, kind, and overall easygoing. They are all hardworking and dedicated individuals who really provide for their community. Usually the above grounders are more sensitive than the below grounders, so the below grounders take care of butchering often. The people of Terratopia are mainly interested in agriculture, medicine, animals, and sculpting. That's all for Terratopia for now!!

Seraphina:
Seraphina is a beautiful fire town. When you think of a fire town, you probably think of some hellish nightmare but that is not at all what Serapina looks like. Seraphina is kind of a Japanese inspired town. Uptown has more of the glass art and cooking and downtown has forges and mechanical stuff. First off, Uptown. Uptown has a contrast between beautiful, colorful glass towers and rustic brick buildings. The glass towers are commonly glass-blowing studios and shops. The brick buildings are usually places where food is cooked and prepared (restaurants and manufacturing companies). Downtown has steel forges, mechanics and train stations galore! I feel like the term “forges” explains itself pretty well. The fire engineers typically are the ones to work on building trains while the people of Thundershock figure out how to power them. Final topic, the people of Seraphina. The fire manifesters have fiery personalities. They are determined, stubborn, hard-working, smart, and hot-headed. They typically show interest in glass art, cooking, engineering, and mosaics.

The Forbidden Caves:
…There’s no files on the forbidden caves. Only the council knows who gets sent down here…



Military and Law Enforcement:
Law Enforcement: Basically the law enforcement we have today. Police officers in this world are called Enforcers. Codenames for them that are “babysitters” and “sticks.” “Sticks” is referring to being a stick in the mud. They go through about one and a half years of training before being put out in the field. When they're rookies and out in the field, they will be accompanied by a more experienced officer

Military: Elementala is mainly a land of peace but there is a military just in case. The soldiers in the Elementala army are highly accomplished officers who graduated from being a part of the Law Enforcement. They go through rigorous training and if they prove unworthy, they get demoted back to Law Enforcement.

Rules:
(More on this later)

Events:
(More on this later)

Trade:
Okay, so trade is very important in any world. Like for example, without Thundershock, how would Seraphina get the trains running? I mean they could burn coal but how would they get coal without Terratopia? (More on this later)

» — ⋙ 1193 words total ⋘ — «

Hopefully Fun and eXciting, Jovial, and Nifty Loosely connected One-shots With People’s Very favorite character (Lilac)
- H -
Ending up in the middle of a field with no idea how one got there, shouldn’t be something that happens once.
Unfortunately, for Lilac Hale, this was something that had happened not once, but twice.
Gingerly, she sat up, rubbing her face to try and dispel the headache that was forming. She never wanted to go through another portal again. Ever. It was a terrible experience, one that she didn’t want to experience, and one that she wouldn’t want anyone else to experience ever.
She didn’t know how the ancient king from the stories went through them more than twice. Plus, he was hauling bags of gold. Lilac, meanwhile, was merely carrying her satchel, filled with only the essentials.
Maybe he built up an immunity, she mused, getting to her feet. That would make sense.
“Or maybe he was just too greedy to care,” she mumbled to herself, turning to look at her surroundings.
It was a field, with plush green grass and a few wildflowers waving absently here and there. They were nice. Pretty, even. But simply wildflowers. They weren’t the vibrant flowers that the flower shop across from her workplace held. Just wildflowers.
The ghost of a smile touched her face at the thought of work. Because work meant being at home. And being at home meant being with her younger brother.
The one she hadn’t seen in weeks, now.
She swallowed, hers beginning to sting a little.
Stars, she missed him.
And stars, what did he think of her?
How angry would he be when she inevitably wound up back at the house? How livid would their Aunt and Uncle be when she would finally manage to return home?
Despite the tears pooling in her eyes, a quiet chuckle escaped her.
Home was closer than it’d had been for the past few weeks.
It filled her with hope.
“Soon,” she said, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
Soon.
- F -
For how hopeful Lilac had been this morning, this was not how she was expecting her day to go.
It had quickly become very, very apparent that this world was definitely not hers.
Apparently, it was some alternate version of Rex and Alistair’s world where abilities were outlawed or something.
However, them being “outlawed” didn’t apply to the people dueling in the middle of the city.
That also didn’t apply to her, either, apparently, since they were trying to rope her into the duel, too. Intentionally or not, she couldn’t tell. But either way…
She very much did not want to join in, thank you very much!
She had barely gotten her powers under control to begin with!
But that didn’t matter to the boy standing before her, grinning madly. The pavement beneath his feet was cracked, sprouts and weeds and vines twisting up out of the cracks. His eyes were a sickening green, brighter than what could be considered natural.
Lilac backed up a few paces, clenching a fist as blue sparks danced over her arms. Her eyes darted around, searching for any bystander that could get in harms way. (Un)fortunately (?) the only person that was on the streets was another boy, the one who had helped to start the duel.
… fine then, she decided before leaping forward, ignoring the plants that lunged towards her. One wrapped around her ankle before shriveling up a moment later. It had barely snagged on her foot, but it was just enough to make her stumble slightly and lose her footing.
She threw her hands in front of her to stop herself from slamming face first into the ground. She caught herself, barely managing to land relatively unharmed. The screams of protest from her hands and knees told her that she wasn’t completely free from injury, though.
Regardless, she managed to ignore the pain, stumbling to her feet. Leaves and vines grabbed at her legs and ankles, but a quick shock would send them away.
The boy before her didn’t quite understand what was happening into far too late. At the last moment, he tried to turn, attempting to summon a wall of vines to block Lilac’s way. Too little, too late, when Lilac snagged his wrist.
She sent enough electricity through his system to leave him on his knees. As he crumpled, she let go of his wrist, stumbling backwards.
She swallowed, shook her head, and sprinted away, ignoring his pained cries.
She just needed to get back home.
- X -
“… hey, Li,” Hunter greeted, a smile on his face. A black guitar case was resting by his feet; a few stickers randomly stuck onto it.
“Hey,” Lilac greeted, sitting down beside him, carefully stepping over the guitar case. “Since when did you get this?” she asked, nudging the case with the toe of her boot. “I didn’t think you played anything.”
“Oh, I got it for my birthday,” he said. “I just… didn’t say anything because I hadn’t gotten the hang of it until a few weeks ago.”
“Oh?” she raised a brow. “Golden boy doesn’t immediately get the hang of something?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice. “I’m shocked.”
He rolled his eyes, a grin on his face as he reached down and opened up the case, an acoustic guitar rested inside. Gently, he picked it up before holding it out to her, “If you’re so good at musical instruments, you try then.”
“What?” she asked, jerking her hands away from it. “No, no, no. I was kidding! I don’t know how to play a guitar, I play a mandolin, you know this.”
“They’re both string instruments, right?” Hunter asked, holding out the guitar further. “C’mon. You can make fun of me playing your mandolin, later.”
“… fine,” she rolled her eyes, gingerly taking the guitar from him and sitting it in her lap. “Only because I love you.”
He grinned. “Aw, I love you, too,” he teased.
She snorted quietly. “Okay, where’s the pick?”
“Here,” he said, tossing it to her.
She caught it. Barely. But she caught it.
A few moments later, a grating chord sounded out from the guitar.
Both Lilac and Hunter winced.
Then they both laughed quietly together when she managed one that sounded just as bad, if not worse.
At least their laughter was much more musical than the sounds coming from the guitar.
- J -
Lilac worked in a coffee shop as a barista.
Lilac liked coffee.
It made sense.
Unlike some of her co-workers, she wasn’t very picky with her coffee. Latte, cappuccino, whatever. As long as it was coffee, she was content with it. She didn’t need to do anything fancy with it like Mary did.
Unfortunately, coffee is hard to come by when you have no money to spend on anything but the essentials.
So, when Rex had offered her some coffee, she was overjoyed, barely able to keep the excitement from her voice or the smile off her face.
It was black coffee in a white mug with a chip on the rim.
Nothing truly fancy about it.
It was just coffee in a mug.
Yet…
As Lilac took a sip from it, she couldn’t help but close her eyes and savor it. It had been a week and a half since she had last had any kind of coffee. And stars, even if this was probably the most boring cup of coffee she had ever had…
It was good.
The apathy that had been encroaching on her feelings, paired with those cold hands of dread faded away for a few moments. Instead, being replaced by a quiet warmth of contentment and joy.
Even if it was just for a moment that she felt better.
She still felt better.
It managed to bring a smile to her face, making her feel less like she was in some other world.
It made her feel closer to home.
- N -
Hey kid,
If you can’t tell by the handwriting, it’s Alistair. I’m writing this way in advance to whenever I’m giving this to you, just so you know. But with that…
I know that you aren’t going to stay forever. You’ve got places to be, and people that care about you. People that aren’t us. I hear you talk about your younger brother a lot, and I can tell that you care about him a lot. It’s pretty obvious that you miss him, too.
You still haven’t told us what kind of world you’ve come from. But from what you’ve said, I think that it’s not quite as good as this one. But whatever it’s like, I hope that you’re safe there once you make it back.
And we’ll make sure you make it there in the first place. I know that the fables say that you can only enter the portal via a dream, but I know that we’re going to help you as best we can. Besides, if that doesn’t work, I’m sure we could figure out a way to make a portal of our own. It’s only quantum physics.
But I just wanted you to know that we’re rooting for you, kid.
– Alistair
- L -
Lilac awoke with a start, a quiet gasp escaping her.
A bright blue sky and pleasant green grass greeted her.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes, letting her head fall back on her pillow.
Grass.
She sat straight up.
Why was there grass when she lived in a small house just outside of the city? Why was there grass when she had most definitely fallen asleep in her bedroom last night?
Hesitantly, she placed a hand down beside her. Grass pricked at her fingertips and her palm, tickling her skin. She jerked her hand away.
“What?” she breathed, staring at her hands and then looking up.
A bright blue sky, streaked with fluffy white clouds, and a cheerful yellow sun. Pleasant green grass, cushiony yet prickly to the touch.
“What?” she repeated, voice just as quiet as she struggled to her feet.
The smell of saltwater pulled her out of her stupor.
Of course, that wasn’t an uncommon scent when you lived close to the ocean. But it shouldn’t have been this strong at her house.
With clenched fists and tensed shoulders, Lilac turned her head. Her hair was lightly blown into her face by a salty breeze.
A gasp escaped her as she tripped over her feet and landed back on the ground.
Tempest Bay, in all of its tourist trap glory, stared back at her.
And she was standing less than four feet from the edge.
She swallowed, managing to awkwardly crab walk backwards, trying to get further away from it.
… how in the world did she get her?
She knew for a fact that she didn’t sleepwalk here for two reasons.
One, she didn’t sleepwalk in the first place.
Two, Tempest Bay was four miles away from her house,
So, how in the actual world did she get out here???
- O -
Lilac had no idea why she was here.
Truly.
She had no idea. Not one clue.
Apparently, the “other her” of this world had an office job. One where you did paperwork (which had words on it) and edited other people’s paperwork (which also had words on it).
So, two ideas crossed Lilac’s mind as she fumbled her way through the word processor on her screen.
Other Lilac was filled with spite and decided to get an office job that involved words in it, a dyslexic’s nightmare.
Or, Other Lilac was lucky and didn’t have dyslexia in the first place.
A frown touched her face when she couldn’t find the font she was looking for. Yeah, Other Lilac was lucky, apparently, and didn’t have dyslexia.
“Good for you,” Lilac muttered with a scowl as she switched the font to Comic Sans. The relief that filled her at the sight of the rounded letters made her scowl fade a little. Better, she thought, as she scrolled back up to the top of the document.
“… what am I supposed to do again?” she asked herself, staring blankly at the words on the screen. She had gotten so distracted by having to switch the font and fight with the computer that she had forgotten what she was supposed to do.
… what a wonderful start to her day, she thought, sullen, as she dug through the pile of sticky notes present on “her” desk.
She was unable to stop her eyes from darting over to the time on the computer.
… still had seven hours and forty-five minutes of reading words and editing more words. Wonderful.
- W -
“So! Mild problem!” Alistair said.
“Really?” Lilac asked from where she was perched on a glass table, sparks dancing across her skin. “I thought it was a very small one!”
He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Hey, hey,” he said. “Getting mad is only going to make this situation worse. Your powers are connected to your emotions. Especially when they first kick in. You need to calm down.”
“… great idea,” she hissed. “I’ll just calm down while I’m five seconds away from electrocuting someone. Great idea.”
“You gotta breathe, kid,” he said, inhaling deeply and holding it. A few moments later, he exhaled. “Like that.”
With gritted teeth, she inhaled and exhaled a few times, in an attempt to calm down. The sparks dancing across her arms lessened as she did.
“Good,” Alistair nodded. “You’re getting there.”
She closed her eyes, continuing to breathe deeply.
What felt like an eternity later, the sparks disappeared completely – along with the fear and the anger she had been feeling. A gentle pat on her shoulder shocked her out of what little tranquility she was feeling.
Literally, considering she shocked Alistair. It was a light one. She barely felt it and a quiet “ow” escaped him.
“Okay, not perfect,” he said. “But better. How’re you feeling?”
“Could be better,” she answered. “But I think I’m doing perfectly fine considering I suddenly have magical superhero powers—”
“—abilities, like everyone has—”
“—unning on three hours of sleep, and haven’t seen my little brother in two weeks.”
Alistair snorted quietly. “Glad you’re feeling better, bud.”
“Me, too,” she said, offering him a slightly strained smile.
- P -
Five years prior…

“No!” Isiah shouted, grabbing at Lilac’s legs. “You can’t leave.”
“Bud,” she started quietly, placing a hand on his head. “I have a job now; I told you about this earlier. It’ll be okay. You can go play with Evan until Aunt Kathie gets home at five.”
“No,” he said, voice breaking a little. “Because then you’re just gonna leave like Mom and Dad did. And then I’ll be alone because I won’t have you because you’ll be gone like they are.”
Lilac’s heart shattered into a million pieces.
“… ‘Siah,” she whispered, letting her satchel drop to the floor so she could hug her brother. “I’m not gonna leave you for more than a few hours. And I’ve already told you; I’d never leave you, okay?”
“Promise,” he said, leaning back a fraction to glower up at her with deep brown eyes.
“… aren’t you a little old for promises, now?” she asked, but held up her hand, regardless.
He grabbed her hand, digging bony little fingers into it. “Promise you won’t ever leave me the way Mom and Dad did.”
“Promise,” Lilac said, lightly squeezing his hand. “Promise I won’t ever leave you, ever.”
“… thank you,” he mumbled, pulling away from her and scrubbing at his face.
She managed a sad smile that she quickly covered with a neutral expression.
“Do you want me to drop you off at Evan’s house?” she asked him, deciding against pointing out his tears.
“Mhm,” he nodded, crossing his arms.
“Okay, let’s go, then,” she said, slinging her satchel back onto her arm and offering him a hand to take.
- V -
Eight years prior…

“Li!” a four-year-old Isiah said, holding up a book. “Read this, please?”
“… uhm…” an eight-year-old Lilac responded. “… I… uh…” her eyes darted away. “… reading’s hard for me, remember? Mama’s better at it, than I am.”
“… oh,” a crest-fallen Isiah said, lowering the book in his hands.
“But! I, uhm! C—could tell you a story based on the pictures in the book!” she stuttered out, frantic to comfort her baby brother.
He cheered, clapping a little before running over to the couch. With a (slightly panicked) smile, she sat down beside him, taking the book from his hands.
She flipped open the page, staring at it and the headache inducing words on the page. Awkwardly clearing her throat, she began to narrate.
“Once upon a time, Seven committed a crime. That crime was eating Nine. All the rest of the numbers were sad because their friend was gone,” she flipped the page. “But everyone was mad because Seven ate Nine. So Seven decided to make a v—v—ow not to eat anymore numbers, but onl—”
“What’s vow?” Isiah piped up.
“It’s… like a promise,” Lilac explained.
“Oh! Okay,” he said, nodding.
“So. Uhm. Seven decided not to eat any other numbers. But! Only after he had eaten one more. Sooo. He… decided to eat Thirteen, be—cause it was unlucky, and he had a rivalry with Thirteen a long time ago. So he plotted and then, in the darkness of night, he ate Thirteen. And everyone was sad, because they like Thirteen as much as they liked Nine.
“But this time, they knew who did it. And so they accused Seven. So Seven was sad, and he ran away,” she said, panicking and blanking on an ending.
Fortunately, she was saved, because her mom opened up the door. “It’s time for dinner, you two,” she said, a tired smile on her face.
“Yay!” Isiah cheered, completely forgetting about the story Lilac had been telling him, much to her relief.
He sprinted past their mom and to the dining room. Lilac followed him, but at a much slower rate. A hand on her shoulder stopped her.
“Thank you for trying,” her mom said, a smile on her face.
“You’re welcome,” she said, smiling back at her mom.

✪ Training 06 ⊹ ₊

User: @babyoda1546
Nickname: Sage
Cabin: Action (TENSION TENSION TENSIONNN)
WPM: 35-45 (way faster without test)

VS

User: @catz246
Nickname: Kurli
Cabin: Magreal (pond pals)
WPM: 50

Info:
Prompt: No prompt
Time Limit: Five Minutes

FIGHT!!!

“This is it” Zain whispers, looking at the stone door in front of him and Tyler, “This is the treasure room of the temple.”

“Great. Let’s get the stupid totem of whatever it’s called and head back home so I can sell it for a pretty penny.” Tyler grumbles and goes to push open the door before Zain stops him by grabbing his arm.

“Tyler, you can’t just open it!! The door could be rigged with traps!” Zain exclaims while pulling Tyler back. Tyler groans and reluctantly lets Zain inspect the treasure room door for any traps. After a while of Zain inspecting, he lets out a “I don’t understand”

“What do you ‘not understand’, Zain? We get in, get out, sell the piece of ancient voodoo *, and live the rest of our lives as two rich explorers!” Tyler snaps, obviously getting impatient.

“I don’t get how the door looks perfectly safe. No lock, no code, no riddle, no clue, and no traps.” Zain says in an unusually exasperated tone.

“Well then it’s safe, Zain! Nothing to worry about! Just open the dang door!” Tyler shouts back, making Zain flinch.

“Fine” Zain relents and opens the door with a swoosh and a creeeeeak. When the door opens, it reveals a room full of treasure. Gold, ruby, emerald, and even diamonds! Everything to make a greedy explorer like Tyler the happiest man alive. There, in the middle was the totem, sitting untouched on a lectern. While Tyler only noticed the riches, Zain saw that the walls of the room were filled with ancient runes and pictures. Myths and legends untold and untouched. What did they mean?

» — ⋙ 276 words ⋘ — «

──★ ˙ thank-you notes
1,619 words … november 29

note to everyone - thank you so much for being in SWC with me. It was very fun seeing all of you around, even if we didn't interact much <3 I hope you guys have a wonderful four months, and wishing all of you the best. Seriously, it was fun seeing all of you work hard towards your word goals. I hope to see you all again next season!

hosts :
I'd just like to put it here that thank you so much for taking time out of your lives to host this amazing camp! We all appreciate your efforts and hard work very much. Even though I may have not interacted with you all, I am very grateful for your leadership this season <3

moss - Seriously, thank you so much for the time you put in. You are very on point with things, which I find to be an amazing quality <3 You probably have a lot going on in your own personal life, but still find the time to host SWC. Things wouldn't be the same without you ^^

alana - Although I haven't really interacted with you, you are an amazing host. I am sure you have also put in a lot of work, and well, thank you for that. You seem like a very fun and chaotic person, bringing excitement to the camp. I hope to get to know you more next season! <3

rockie - I also hope that we could get to know each other more. But I often see you around in camp, and you bring so much positivity to it. Thank you for co-hosting SWC, and happy belated birthday!

ave - You've been such a great leader these past seasons. Even though we haven't talked much, I still enjoy seeing you around. You're a really patient person from what I've seen, and have been so helpful to everyone. I am excited to (hopefully) see you again next season!

GOTHIC CABIN FTW LET'S GOOOO :
GOTHIC IS THE BESTTT anyways it was so much fun to participate this season with all of you! I truly enjoyed writing with all of you. If I didn't interact much with you this season, I hope to get to know more about you in the future. All of you are amazing people, and I am happy to be your fellow cabinmate (guys help is that a word??) Special thanks to the cabin leaders for your amazing leadership <3

kiara - WOAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY I JUST SAW IT WAS TODAY- anyways, thank you so much for leading the Nightshades. It was such an awesome theme, and even though I don't watch Wednesday, it was very enjoyable. Thank you for managing the cabin, along with your own point counter group. The dailies were very unique and fun, even though I didn't always fill them out in the comments (I did in my head tho lol) Also you contributed so much to the cabin wars like thank you so much for not letting us lose a lot of points. You definitely brought the cabin together, and I hope you enjoyed this season <333

elly - It was such a coincidence to find you in the gaehive before I checked my messages to find out I was in Gothic- but anyways, thank you so much for having me in your quad, you were on top of things and constantly updating the point count. Also thank you so much for catching my mathematical errors lol. You really went above and beyond, making matching pfps for everyone (so sorry I didn't order one I was trying to make a ref but procrastination said no so I didn't. Although they were really good and high quality! <33) It was so much fun to participate in the same cabin with you this season.

chocolate - Hi Chocolate! It was so nice to get to know you more this season. I really loved how you always supported me everytime I finished a daily/weekly. Those really encouraged me to keep doing them. I never really thanked you (aughhh I'm genuinely afraid to sound repetitive and I always have a problem with overthinking things) so now I am! Great job as well on writing so much and completing activities <3 You brought so much chaos and excitement to camp, see you next season!

ayla - It was so much fun to have you in Gothic. You contributed so much to the cabin, especially to word wars. Like seeing you write so much motivated me to. You just gave so much energy to the cabin and camp. I hope you had a lot of fun this season, and I would be looking forward to seeing you next time <3

kleemiya - Hi!! I don't believe we've interacted much this season, but I'm hoping to get to know you more. Although I did see you add some energy to camp ^^ I hope you had a great season

mystic - Not sure if we really interacted, but I am pretty sure I have seen you from other roleplays. I used to roleplay myself, too, and I think I've seen you on TFCRP, although on different accounts. I was in the same word counting group, and wow, you wrote so much! Congrats on meeting your word goal as well, it was fun being in the same cabin as you!

starrii - omg I used to go by that name too on a different account (same spelling as well :0) but anyways, it was amazing to be in the same cabin as you! Also thank you so much for helping out in cabin wars like seriously you did so much- I hope to get to know you more next season! <3

kenzie - Hi Kenzie! I am glad that we were able to be on the same cabin this season. We haven't talked much, but I'd love to get to know you more. Have an amazing four months before camp again <3

raine - Hi! It was so nice to see you on here in SWC as well. Uh this might be awkward since I usually use other accounts to roleplay on TFCRP (@sorrowdreams, @chokiyu, and @astridcore, in which I have been quite inactive lately. But it was fun to have you in the same cabin as me this season. I hope you come back again next time!

emily - Hi Emily, I don't think we interacted, but I hope for that to change in the future. I hope you had a great season <3

esme - I didn't really talk to you this season, but I hope you enjoyed your time in SWC. Also fellow s-pop member?? I am not an idol, but massive respect to s-pop sings <3 Could you give me concert tickets when you become and actual idol? /silly /hj

pastel - Hi Pastel! I don't think we really talked, but I hope to see you again!

celes - Wait where'd you go </3 But anyways, even though I didn't really interact with you this season, it was fun to be in the same cabin as you again! I hope that you continue to enjoy writing and never stop <33

faith - Even though we never had a proper introduction, it was so much fun to see you in Gothic. Thank you so much for your hard work, especially in cabin wars. It was truly fun to see the chaos you added. But seriously, would you mind handing over some of those motivation mangoes and give them to me? /silly

teddy - I didn't talk to you much, but I hope you had an amazing time in SWC <3

People I Want to Thank as Well :
thea - You have been a wonderful friend to me, and I hope our bond continues to grow. I was so excited to hear that you were in SWC this season as well <333 I am so sorry for never getting to that word war, but next time I will! I hope that we can continue to talk to each other, and I hope you are doing well. You have been such a supportive and amazing person, and I hope we can roleplay together again <3 (I keep forgetting to check Astrid's account I am so sorry for missing replies </3)

cat - It was so much fun to see you in SWC. I hope we get to know each other more, you seem like such and energetic person <3 Also woah, Fantasy's storyline seemed to be so much fun. Anyways, I am excited to see you again next season!

lune - We only interacted a few times, but you are a great person <33 Lin Calloway was such a fun character idea to write about. I hope to hopefully consider you a friend soon! It was fun having you in camp.

vicky - AYE DOMINO HI FELLOW STAY even though we didn't talk as much as I would have liked to, it was so much fun to know there was a fellow STAY in SWC. I still remember that one daily where you talked about a lightstick, and I yapped about a SKZOO. I also enjoy seeing you around in Stray Kids Central. Anyways, I hope that we can interact more, and I hope you had an amazing season <33

AUGHHH there are so many more people that I want to write notes to, but it's really late for me. But thank you all for giving me such a warm welcome to SWC, whether it be this or last season. I enjoyed seeing all of you around, and I hope to get to know more about all of you next time. SWC wouldn't be the same without any of you <333 I hope you all enjoyed this month, and excited for the next.

Weekly 4
2864 words

A. Controversial activity for Autumn

Elizabeth Saywell was a domestic servant in the 1840s. She had five brothers who were all working in the mining industry. Her father was a factory worker. Her mother was working in a textile mill. She lived in a cramped room that they shared with one other family. The conditions were gruelling and harsh - there was one bed which they would take turns sharing and the rest of them would curl up by the fire in the centre of the dirt floor, shivering in ragged clothes. The streets outside weren’t any better. Sewage flooded down the cobbles, releasing a pungent stench. Rats scurried through homes and factories scavenging for food, and thick plumes of smoke not only clouded the air but also caused coughing fits.

In short, it wasn’t fun.

Today, however, was a Sunday. And Elizabeth wanted to make the most of it. She was lucky enough to live in Scarborough, which had thriving beaches. She didn't care that it was November, and that the leaves that twirled through the bitter air were russet and golden, and that the water was probably completely unsuitable for anybody to swim in at this time of year. Elizabeth sprang up from her makeshift bed on the floor and slipped into her layered skirts and a plain blouse. She smoothed down her hair and blinked the sleep out of her eyes before bouncing over to her brother. Oliver was the youngest of her brothers and most likely to agree to go with her.

“Oliver!” She hissed urgently. “We’re going to the beach!”
Her brother rolled over and groaned.
“W-What?” He mumbled, a yawn interrupting him.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “I said, we’re going to the beach.”
Oliver shook his head and glared at her in indignation. “No, we are not. It’s November, for goodness sake, Elizabeth!”
She simply grinned and hauled him to his feet.
“Go on, get into something warm!”
He sighed in defeat. “Only this once.”
Elizabeth offered him a warm smile. “You might change your mind.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Probably not.”

Elizabeth gathered her papers and designs in her arms, alongside a small pot of ink, a quill and a paperweight and tapped her foot impatiently while waiting for her brother.
The moment he was finished getting ready, Elizabeth grabbed his arm and dragged her brother out of the door, which creaked on its peeling hinges, out into the biting air.
It was only a short walk to the beach, and before she knew it, they were stumbling down a winding path lined with gnarled trees and drooping shrubs. Elizabeth sat herself down on a dry patch of stones and patted the space next to her for her brother. She rummaged around in her satchel and deposited a weather, worn-out book that she would use to put her paper on.

B. Beauty

Elizabeth hiked up her skirts and skipped towards the glittering ocean. The sun was painting streaks of pink and gold across the sapphire sky, casting dappled light through the air. She closed her eyes and drank in the sounds of the waves rippling on the shingled shore, the lustrous birdsong that drifted from empty branches.
Elizabeth tiptoed down towards the water and stepped tentatively into the icy waters. The November air was bitter and sent a fierce shudder through her body. And yet the pulsing sun was warm on her back. The water was now still, a mirrored surface reflecting the wispy clouds of melted meringue. A smile tugged at her lips. It was beautiful. The most beautiful thing she had seen for so long. When she came here in summer, the beaches were noisy and packed, but now it was just… silent.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, startled, and turned around quickly.
“Oliver!” She exclaimed, nudging him gently.
Her brother gave her a small smile.
“Lovely, isn’t it?”
Elizabeth nodded, lowering herself down with the water just tickling her toes. She could see the dampness beginning to seep up her skirt. She didn’t care, though. Not a single thought passed through her mind. It was beautiful.

D. Double

Elizabeth heard a strangely familiar voice echo in her ear. She turned around swiftly, her brow furrowed with confusion. Was that her?
“Hello, Elizabeth,” the voice whispered.
Elizabeth began to edge backwards nervously, her heart hammering in her chest. Standing in front of her was… her exact double. Her doppelganger.

Well, it must have worked then.

Elizabeth was now in her early 20s, and had continued her passion of inventing through from her childhood. She never got any credit. She never stopped designing. She never gave up. Her latest machine was supposed to create… Well, your double. It was more supernatural than her other ideas, but she knew it had been done before. This was just a hologram for now though. She had designed it so it had the same voice, same features, same mind as her. It was her. But it wasn’t.

It was a little bit ahead of the 1800s, that was for sure. She had discovered the art of recording light waves onto a sensitive plate when she was in her teenage years, and from then she had begun to hone her skills until she could create 3D life size holograms.

“Hello, Elizabeth.” The hologram repeated. “My name is Elizabeth.”
The hologram offered her a shy, small smile that was eerily similar to how she smiled.
“Um, hi.” Elizabeth replied, her voice wavering with excitement and anticipation. She had created a clone of herself.

O. Normal work day

Elizabeth blinked sleep out of her eyes and groaned inwardly. Sunday was over. Time for work.
She hauled her frail body up from the floor and slipped into her usual outfit - a plain white blouse and an ankle length skirt. They were the only smart clothes she actually owned.
No time for breakfast. She could probably steal something when she was cleaning out the mistress’s pantry. They were too self-absorbed to notice such a thing.

She picked her way past her snoring brothers and the smoking remains of a fire from the previous night, creeping through the door and into the streets. Her walk to work wasn’t exactly picteresque. Tendrils of smoke wreathed around crumbling chimneys, steaming sewage flooded down the streets, beeps from the newly invented steam engines deafened their ears. But there was nothing she could do about it - she was only a girl, after all.

She hurried over the cobbles, relieved that not too many people were about. Most people got up much earlier, but she was a domestic servant, so Mistress Raymonde ‘Didn’t like to be woken early.’
Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief when she spotted the familiar door of Mistress Raymonde’s house. It was beautifully quiet and pristine in there - that was her job.
She lifted up her hand to knock on the door, but the door was flung open before she even got the chance to touch the door.
“You are…” Mistress Raymonde glanced at her watch, her elegant expression falling in disappointment. “Just on time.” She spat.
Elizabeth gave her a confident smile. “What am I needed for today?” She asked politely.
Mistress Raymonde consulted the list in her hand, written in tiny, cursive writing. Elizabeth winced at how long it seemed.
“Mop all the floors, dusting, laundry, clean the kitchen and clean the living room.” She ordered sharply, turning around and strutting away.

Elizabeth got straight to work. She mopped and dusted each room at the same time, running the duster along mantlepieces and picture frames while dragging the mop along behind her. Her hands were coarse and wrinkled by the end of it, itching in complaint from the unforgiving soap she had used on the floors.
Next she hauled mountains of laundry and washed them each by hand in huge vats of soapy water, flinching as the soap seeped into any imperfections on her skin.
Finally she got some cloths and dunked them in water to clean and polish everything in the living room and then finally the kitchen.
And that was one day for Elizabeth - as an 8 year old. Fun.

S. Stealing

(switching to 1st person from Elizabeth’s POV)

I stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen, my noise immediately flooded with a series of heavenly smells - warm, crusty bread, steaming tomato soup, a mouthwatering beef stew. My stomach growled in complaint as I forced myself to walk straight past it. I gazed longingly at the heaped bowls of fresh fruit, tempted to reach out and take one. If my every move wasn’t being watched by the chefs, then I would. But I couldn’t risk it.

I dragged the mop bucket along behind me, its contents threatening to spill out at any moment onto the freshly cleaned floor that I had just finished a little earlier. I continued down into the pantry. This was by far my favourite part of the whole entire day for me. Nobody’s piercing gaze tracking me, making sure I wasn’t stealing anything. It was just me in this dark, musty room… and piles of food. I glanced around as always, checking if anybody was around, and slipped my hands into one of the cupboards, receiving a large hunk of cheese. A smile tugged at my lips, and I tore off a chunk of it, wolfing it down ravenously. I couldn’t take too much off though, so I did my best to smooth down the sides with my hands, catching the crumbs that fell to the floor.

I reached into a different cupboard this time, my mind searching the possibilities for what I could be taking right now. I glanced at the loaf of bread sitting innocently in my hands. From this angle, it looked fine, but when I turned it over, I could see green and blue mould leeching across its surface. Maybe I would just stick with the cheese.

H. Hope

I scurried through the dirty streets, my breath thin and ragged my muscles screaming. And yet, a huge smile was plastered on my face. Today was the day when I would reveal my design of a printing press to the most influential man in the area. He was the husband of Mistress Raymode - he was extremely rich.
I had spent so many nights, sketching out designs, ripping them up, sketching some more. I remember the dim candles burning long into the night until my head was slumped over the table. I had worked so hard on this. It had to happen.

I ran up to the door and knocked confidently on the smooth, polished surface, my eyes glittering with anticipation.
“Good morning, Elizabeth.” Mistress Raymonde greeted me coldly. “Laundry duties again today, clean the bedrooms, and sort out the garden.”
I nodded quickly and dipped my head politely, before heading off to carry out my ‘duties.’

I went straight to Master Raymonde’s study.

I wasn’t used to being in these parts of the house, but I came past these parts occasionally and was always struck with curiosity at what was behind those doors. I was told never to go and bother him.

So I knocked on the door.

“Come in!” A gravelly, deep voice came.
I opened the door softly and stepped tentatively inside.
“Greetings, sir,” I said quietly, keeping my gaze fixed on the floor.
“Girl…” He drawled. “What are you doing in my study?”
I looked up at him. “Forgive me sir, but I was wondering if you could spare a moment to look at a… design that I have been working on.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Tell me more.”

J. Joy

I watched in nervous excitement as Master Raymonde’s eyes pored over my detailed, carefully annotated sketch. I saw his eyes light in an indescribable expression.
After what seemed like centuries, he finally glanced up at me.
“Wow,” he murmured in fascinated awe. “This is… revolutionary.”
I nodded at him enthusiastically.
“That means so much, sir. What do you think you’ll be able to do with it?” I asked hopefully.
He smiled at me knowingly, rolling up the sketch and putting it into a drawer. “So much.”
I stepped forwards. “Do you think you could get it public? Would you get much money for it?”
He nodded, his eyes glittering with greed. “Absolutely.”
Joy flooded through me. We would finally have money! I would be able to go to sleep on a soft bed in silky sheets, with a full stomach. We had been dreaming of this for so long. We would be able to move away from this horrible place, and it would be my name that was on the front pages of the newspapers, talked about in the streets. Elizabeth Saywell, inventor of the printing press. I smiled at the thought.
“What was your name again?” He asked.
“Elizabeth, sir. Elizabeth Saywell.” I answered quickly.
He offered me his hand, and I stuck mine out and we shook.
“Nice to meet you.”

W. Working through an obstacle

The revolutionary invention of the printing press has completely changed England. When printing used to take days and days to print one newspaper, but now the pages will come out in simply seconds. William Raymonde is the incredible man behind this…

I seethed in anger. William Raymonde? It was me who had created this invention. Me. Not stupid ‘Sir’ William Raymonde. Had he really just taken the credit for my greatest pride, what I had spent so many months working on, lovingly caring for and adjusting until it felt close to perfection. I had known it would work. And it did. But it wasn’t me who got the credit - after all, I’m only a girl. Of course he would get the credit for it. Stupid, stupid Raymonde. With his silly posh voice and silly hair.

I felt a tear rolling down my cheek. I gasped for breath, burying my head in my hands. I had worked so, so hard. For so long. And it had just been taken away, just like that. Slipped through my bare hands like smoke. Why? Why couldn’t he just think about someone other than himself? This was going to be my chance to bring money and peace to my family. Safety and security. We would have been happy. Finally.

What were we going to do?

F. Fight for something

This time when I arrived at Mistress Aymonde’s house, I swept right past her, my whole entire body trembling with fury. I smiled when I saw her outraged face gazing at me in shock. I didn’t care about her anymore. All I cared about was getting credit for what I did.

I strutted through the polished halls, my head held high as though I owned the place. I had built this illusion, this mask of confidence over myself so I could get through this. In all honesty, I was scared. I could lose my job, then Master Raymonde would have complete control over my design and there would be nothing I could do about it.

I shoved open the door to his study and fixed Master Raymonde with a steely glare.
“I’ve seen the papers. You took credit for my work!” I accused, my voice harsh with rage.
He glanced up mindlessly.
“What? Oh… that. Well, nobody would believe a little girl, would they?” He asked patronisingly.
I looked down on him, sat in his leather chair.
“Maybe they would. Maybe they’d see that girls actually do have a right to do something more than run around for their men. Maybe they’d see that I’m actually clever.” I spat bitterly.
He shrugged. “But would they really, darling?”
I seethed in anger. “Don’t call me darling. Leave me alone. I’m going to change this. I will have the credit, not you. You can’t do anything about it!”
And with that I turned on my heel and left.

N. note

Dear Master Raymonde,
I was very hurt by your decision to overlook me and my family, and instead take the money for yourself. You have a home to come back to at the end of each day, a soft bed to sleep in, a hot bath. We have a room that we share with two other families, we sleep on the floor and we’ve never properly been able to wash in our lives. And yet you think it’s alright just to take all of that money, take the credit, take the fame and just leave us to continue our lives of poverty. I don’t think it’s alright. I think it’s horrible.

And so, quite rightly, I have stolen the designs from your drawer. You are very careless at the best of times, and so leaving your study unlocked, with the key to the drawer lying on your desk… I took it. I couldn’t bear the thought of you toying with the designs that I’ve worked so hard on, for so long. This time I’m going to reveal it myself. I’ll show you who you really are - a liar. Me and my family will be happy, and you will be left to your isolation.

Kind regards,
Elizabeth Saywell

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Thank you notes || 0 words || WIP

I have probably forgotten some people :/
For everyone:
Whether you’re a host, a leader, a co-leader, a camper, a ghost, or just a random person who’s stalking the main cabin, I’d like to thank you for being a part of this wonderful community! Without you (yes, you, *stares at you through screen*), SWC wouldn’t be the same. So, even if I haven’t written an individual note for you, even if I haven’t talked with you, you are a part of this community, and you are amazing. Looking forward to seeing you around next session! (Psst psst you should totally sign up for scratch chaos camp if you enjoy causing SWChaos)
✪ Action
Thank you so much for being a part of the super iconic best cabin of the session! I may not have written thank you notes for all the campers, but I had so much fun interacting with all of you, and I'll never forget this session <3
• Skylar (Saki)
(Hi person I've totally never met before /j)
Skylar <33 Thank you so much for being such an amazing and iconic leader! I had so much fun in your cabin, and I loved everything, from the profile pictures and temp thumbnails to roleplaying in the action roleplay studio! ;D I hope to see you around next year!
• Silvi
Hi Silvi! <33 Even though we haven't really talked much, I loved interacting with you this session! I still remember when I met you, on my first session of SWC (March ‘25), and I can’t believe it's been 9 months! Thank you so much for encouraging us and for making Nov '25 so special and fun I hope to see you around next session!
• Sihan
• Sage
Hi Sage! I had so much fun interacting with you (and trying to force you to go to sleep during cabin wars /j /silly) this session!
• Chai
• Coast
ღ Fairy Tales

♠ Fantasy

☾ Gothic

☂ Magical Realism

⧉ Psycho-Fi

◭ Real-Fi

☀ Solarpunk

꩜ Thriller

✩ Sci-Fi (TCTWNW)