Scene (& Explanation)

[whaley]

Hiii! 🙂 This is the first chapter of a new pet project of mine, dubbed ‘Hazel Heart,’ for the present. Things to know:

1. First, and therefore trashy, draft. Like, I’ve barely even touched it since then. Expect a few unexplained things and bad pacing. It’s super short, because my first drafts are always shorter than the finished product. (Idk, does anyone else have that habit??? XD It’s sorta discouraging, because a story that should be 80k ends up as 25k, or something like that.)

2. Completely pantsed, on all levels XDDD

3. Sorta steampunk fantasy. I’m thinking for ages 12-14, or around there.

~ 1 ~

Axel swung his sharp, bitter chain and thrust it forward.

It grazed his cheek, but it was worth it.

The enemy stepped back, then bared his teeth and lunged, throwing Axel off balance.

Axel pulled the chain back, missed his rival by a mile, and the whiplash from the chain snapped him backward. It was tangled in the crisscrossed netting above.

Click-click, screeeeeeech.

Gloved leather hands curled over the wall of the arena like a flower, iron blades glaring. Slowly, ever so slowly, they scraped closer.

More than dirt would soon be under those nails.

But Axel’s eyes focused, the mechanism attached to his chest clicked, and stars erupted, sharper than the pinions of a falcon.

This is no mere game.

That was what the throwing stars seemed to say. We will pin you down, and when we do, your journey will be over.

But the enemy was quick. He dashed the stars aside in mid-air, rolled to his feet, and pushed Axel to the ground roughly.

Dust flared up in Axel’s eyes.

“Got you,” the enemy said loudly. His smile was brighter than a hyena’s.

The crowd of shadows around them roared with laughter.

The end was in sight. The claws reached for Axel’s throat, their owner’s entire body trembling with excitement. Stringy, wet strands of hair fell over into Axel’s face, as his arms and legs were spread, entirely pinned down.

He ground his own teeth together and spat the dirt out.

His heart burned, speeding up the dial, almost red hot. Above him, somewhere in the crowd, came an uncertain murmur.

With one last heartbeat of effort, he thrust his fist at the enemy’s smile.

The enemy dodged. “Missed me.”

“Easier than hopscotch,” Axel said, quietly.

He tugged the chain hard, and the enemy flew several feet off the ground. There the boy hung, from the chain in the netting above.

“Shoot,” Jackal said, kicking an invisible can.

No one could have asked for a better match. The bell rang, signaling the end of the round.

“Well,” Axel murmured, hiding a grin, “I guess I get to kill you now.”

He glanced up at the crowd, whose voices, as usual, were indistinct and detached. No chorus for death.

“Guess again!”

Axel faked a punch at Jackal’s stomach, and waited for his last curtain.

The crowd stomped, and the ground vibrated, almost catapulting him into the air. The enormous forms of black flickered above the arena.

Then a giant hand reached in and scooped Axel up, lifting him into the black like an elevator.

“BEHOLD, THE WINNER!”

A crowd of giants looked up from the miniature arena, banging their fists on the table. Money changed hands; the heat of anger and excitement almost knocked Axel backwards.

“REMATCH, REMATCH, REMATCH -”

“Where’s the human’s owner?”

Axel searched for his master over the giants’ wild heads, and for a second, felt a cannon ball drop into his stomach. But not for long.

“That’s mine, Boko.”

The moderator, whispering to himself – “Doug Ronan, a lucky creature indeed.”

Axel crossed his arms, satisfied, as his master picked him up by his collar, between finger and thumb. “You owe me, you know.”

“Can’t hear you over this din,” Doug mumbled. He swept his other arm, pushing the crowd aside. The shop, although giant-sized, was much too small for him. Axel could tell by the sweat trickling down his nose.

A blond giant, with a robotic arm, clapped Doug on the back. “I’d pay big for that kid,” he said, “More than that guy from the city would. A drink, on me -”

Axel could smell his sticky desperation.

A nearby table overturned, as someone yelled in the moderator’s direction, where Jackal was. “ICKY SPLICKY LITTLE RAT, YOU LOST ME BIG, YOU HEAR? I’LL KILL YOU!”

Doug closed the door behind them, abruptly shutting them out.

Axel searched Doug’s face. The giant’s hair fell past his shoulders in black clumps. His cheeks shone with perspiration. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again, kid.”

The two turned to the crisp winter night, and at the stars.

The stretch of metal-marred buildings to their left and right glimmered like fiery furnaces. Below them, a few giant steps ahead, the mountain sloped away.

“I could just drop you. Then I’d never have to hear your pitiful yammering.”

Axel leaned back on Doug’s palm, still watching the stars. “True.”

With a deep, mournful sigh, Doug turned and walked along the side of the cliff.

Axel liked his master. Doug was a quiet giant, unlike most of his kind.

“How much money did you bet on me?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“I won the round, fair, square.”

Doug licked the frost off his lips. “Beer’s sounding real good, eh?”

“You bet all of it? All?”

“Well then…” Doug kicked his way through a snow drift, and came to a round hatch door in the side of the mountain.

“I’m not that good. You shouldn’t have done it,” Axel said, marveling at his master’s trust. “The only reason I won was your gear.”

“Gear was part of it.”

The door creaked open.

The workshop was so cluttered, that Doug had to shove a rack of metal scraps away before he could get in.

Axel was dropped on a table, and instantly bathed in red light. His freckles smoking, he managed to cough out, “Exact opposite problems, you and I.”

Tiny hooks searched his arms and legs for the locks on the metal suit. Doug’s eye, magnified a million times over, peered down at his little pet. He blinked. “I don’t have any problems.”

“I’m always in big spaces, you hate small ones.”

The magic loosened its grip. A screw squeaked, and popped out.

“What’s wrong with big spaces?”

“Nothing.”

Tweezers gently poked Axel’s chest. “Let me do my job, will you, little mouse?”

Axel closed his eyes and relaxed. The mechanisms fell apart. Doug collected the pieces and put them in a drawer.

Axel had lived with Doug for as long as he could remember – at least, as long as he wanted to remember. A giant and his toy human.

Other giants had humans too, for amusement – fighting, upgrading. But Axel was glad he wasn’t with one of them.

The two ate a quiet dinner. They had some kind of unnamed roasted meat. It smelled like ash, but it tasted good.

Axel watched his master over the rim of his cup. Doug’s eyes were sadder than normal tonight. He kept avoiding the boy’s gaze.

“Man, I thought I’d lose that one,” Axel exclaimed, throwing his arms over his head and nearly tumbling backwards onto Doug’s plate.

When he was younger, he’d almost been eaten that way several times. But now that he had a knife in his pocket at all times, it wasn’t as much of a problem anymore.

Doug grunted.

Axel shrugged, and stood up. “Wanna lock me up now?”

Doug grunted again. He managed to heave himself off his stool, and carried Axel to a chest of drawers and a metal cage on the top. He switched the door open, and dropped Axel inside.

Axel mocked a look of horror, and tried to pull the bars apart. “No, don’t leave me here, please! I’ll rot! Oh, the terror!”

Doug gave a small smile, and pushed the boy over with his finger. “Cut it out, kid.”

“Oh, no way out! I don’t know what I’ll -”

“You know what you need?”

“What?” Axel blew his sandy hair out of his eyes.

“A tail.”

“For what? Agility points?”

“Nah. Just you’re apt to need one if you’re keep squeaking much longer.”

The giant’s eyes glowed with the heat of a thousand forges.

Axel took the hint, and retreated into the shadows. Doug nodded, pleased, and retreated to his own workspace.

Axel waited until his master was on the other side of the room, grabbed his scrap of a blanket, and crawled under his bed box.

Secretly, he’d always worried. Worried that some nameless giant, desperate for a taste of Doug’s wins, might steal him in the night.

It had happened before. Jackal had had six masters, five of which hadn’t been careful enough. Now he worked for the meanest of them all.

Axel shivered, imagining being plucked out of bed, never to be seen again.

So maybe Doug had stolen him once, from some village in the mountains, or somewhere else. He didn’t care how or why anymore. Being a captive was better than being a slave to a brutal, savage freedom.

He closed his eyes, afraid of what they might open to in the morning.

Fingered the copper-colored panel next to his heart.

The one with the dial – the one Doug Ronan never talked about, and never disabled.

“Everything is a mountain”

[Anonymous]

@whalekeeper. I must say…I am very intrigued. 🤔🤔🤔

Also, I can also say with utmost certainty that I love Axel already. 😍🤩 He seems like just the kind of hero/protagonist I could get behind. 😁😉

Amazing job! I would never guess that you pantsed that. 😃

[Koshka]

@whalekeeper

I really don’t like those giants. Even Doug. Especially Doug.

(And Axel does get free eventually right?)

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Elishavet Elroi]

@whalekeeper

It’s pretty good! I really enjoyed reading that just now. It’s very interesting.

But does Axel get free? Also, do they have to fight to the death? Does he die in the end?

And I don’t really like the giants either, even though they can be rather funny.

You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan

[whaley]

@freedomwriter76

Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to write consistently the last two years, and it’s beginning to pay off, I think 😛

@koshka

XD Somehow that made me laugh. Their personalities get more distinct later on, so right now your opinion makes sense. (Still trying to decide)

@elishavet-pidyon

Thanks! Ah, that I shall not reveal *Hehehehe* …Or maybe I have no idea. But I would never affirm that, of course.

P.S. I really like your name. Is it from something? It’s long, but kind of catchy.

“Everything is a mountain”

[whaley]

~ 2 ~

This was the Metal City.

Teetering over the edge of the mountain.

“A hybrid of old giant magic, and new technology,” Doug Ronan used to say, back when he liked to talk. “One of those Frankenstein things, you know?”

“What’s Frankenstein?”

“Never mind.”

Axel imagined it as a shapeless mass, not too big, but full of little secret entrances and useless levers and gears. Like himself. And everyone else, for that matter.

Every day, he had to fight, and his master made money and a few ‘friends.’ Stressing the quotation marks.

“Why do you need me, a human?” Axel asked Doug the next day, like he always did, every day.

“Action figures are the new thing, kid.”

“And?”

“Meaningless fun is better than having to watch your own back.”

“In other words, you couldn’t survive without me. Can you make me light sabers?”

“That’s a random question.”

“It’s not random. I’d totally win, every time.”

“You’d slip. Cut an ear off.” Doug rubbed his own ear and sniffed. “Done.”

The reddish-brown scales on Axel’s suit clicked into place, smooth as skin. As he stretched, stars rippled at the chinks.

He tested the chains at his wrists. With a flick, they whipped out. Back in.

Ready.

As Doug turned away, Axel piped up. “What’s wrong? Did I say something yesterday?”

“No.” The giant scratched his pant leg, and went to fetch his tool box.

There was only one explanation. Doug was hiding something.

It didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t be worrying about Axel. He was the one human who never lost for his master. He’d never be thrown on a trash heap. Quite the opposite.

“If you say so.”

Axel tapped an impatient rhythm on his heart panel, waiting.

Doug swiftly scooped the boy up, set him on the toolbox, and set off.

Out the door, down the street.

The snow sludge stood out in ridges and muddy brown footprints. It was a gray morning; smoke lifted in layers from the buildings. From the pipes sticking out of the ground.

Axel coughed; his throat was permanently spewing out everything as if it were static.

Doug shuffled forward a little quicker. They might make it before the sun fully dawned. The windows were still quietly dark.

A form appeared on the other side of the street. It passed, and Axel had just one moment to see the face leering down at him.

A thin, yellow face like melting wax; glassy eyes, a black waistcoat.

“…The unconventional way…” the wide mouth whispered to itself. Then it was gone.

Just a shrinking figure behind them.

“Um… Doug?”

The figure was gone now. Swallowed by the smoke.

“What?”

Seeing or hearing things was never a good sign. “Never mind. I was wondering when you wanted to upgrade me. They’ve got a dozen parts or so at the junk counter – super stuff. Better than Jackal’s man could ever pay for. I figured you’d want to take a look.”

“You’re already set for Jackal.”

He was always set for Jackal, and for just about everyone else. A play-fight. No risks; no thumbs down. Something to fall back on. But not to look forward to.

“Sure, but I’ve fought other kids too. And yesterday, I had only a bit of chain left to spare. It was tight. If we’re gonna make it to the big leagues, we need better ammo – get my point?”

He wanted some danger. Even if it meant unfamiliar faces, deeper into the City.

Doug Ronan’s face lengthened, ironing out his wrinkles. Slowly, carefully, he looked down.

Axel cleared his throat. Let out one breath. It swirled through the frost flakes. “Don’t act dumb with me. I need new parts.”

“You need a new voice box, from the sound of it. Your current one’s almost out of mileage.”

Axel’s heart warmed. He stopped blowing on his hands.

Stepping under the overhanging roof, Doug turned out his pockets. No reason an expert craftsman should look valuable.

The door swung open before Doug was properly finished.

“Why, Ronan, my dearest friend!” Boko, the arena moderator, stretched his thin neck out.

“Good morning.”

“Thirsty for the fights again, are we? Beautiful thing, beautiful.”

Doug put Axel on the newspaper box.

Boko licked his lips. He reached, with a thin, bony finger, for the boy. “Such intricate work. May I…?”

Uncertain, Axel took a step back. His fist went to his device instinctively.

Doug looked away.

Boko licked his lips again, and the rest of his fingers curled over the box – as if cornering a beetle. Axel tried to back away, but the nails were already closing in. Itching to dissect.

An artificial eyeball, like a smoldering red carbuncle, rotated into focus.

“What an interesting specimen, as well. Not as unique as others I’ve seen, but, yet… I could find a better deal for you, if you traded this one in. There’s a new hunter in this part of the City. A finer model, eh?” Boko wheedled.

A new hunter? This chance wouldn’t walk by again. Hunters never visited the edges of the City, unless on important business.

The fingers retreated when Doug raised a protective arm over the box.

Boko’s wheedle turned needle-sharp. “You can’t drop a bargain like this, old giant. It’s only a prototype. You can do a whole lot more than this,” he hissed.

“I’m not sure I could.”

“I’d throw one of these into the bargain,” Boko added, pointing to his eye.

The giant must be running away with himself. Axel couldn’t be that valuable. To give up his own eye –

“I prefer vintage models.”

One last hungry gaze, and Boko crept back into his shop.

Only a prototype…

The shop was divided into two parts; on one side, Boko sold his wares, on the other, the arena was set up.

The length of three giant arms on each side, the arena was big enough to fit on a table. Thin wire netting – or silver rope to the human – bent inwards to cover the top.

Axel had heard that, deeper into the City, the arenas were covered in blood stains. There, the giants were filled with so much madness, that they emptied it out on their humans.

One after the other, every night.

It was better for everyone. Less cost.

Better, better, better. Or at least Axel told himself. In a way, he was a hero. If the giants took it out on each other, they would take out the world.

Small-scale damage is better.

Tiny humanoid figures dangled from the rafters above. Discarded battle suits, hanging from twine. Shells. From the dark days of Boko’s establishment.

“No one’s in,” the owner said, leaning over the counter. “Got a new cartload from inside the City. Fresh. Your, ah, little one could use some parts.”

Axel raised his eyebrows at Doug. Told you so.

The giant shook his head. “Enough, please.”

The two settled themselves at a corner table. Doug leaned back listlessly. His lids drooped, eyes unfocused. Axel then knew for certain how alert his master was – very, very much so.

In half an hour, a giant troupe entered. Axel recognized the leader. The giant (called Greld) heaved himself over the doormat, swiping everyone aside easily. He was on the more inhuman side of the giant spectrum. A box swung wildly from his belt; Jackal clung to the bars for dear life.

The two met eyes.

As much as he hated to admit it, Axel was lucky. He was out here, on his own feet and his own terms – to a degree. Yes, he was a slave. But a slave and an adopted son, of sorts.

Jackal was locked up in a cage, like an animal. No one held any respect for him, and they never would.

Both took it for granted.

Greld was twisted together with blue veins and a long, curved spine.

“Sorry for the damage last night.” He bowed his head, and rotated it to a strange angle to see Doug more clearly. “My feelings did not listen to me.”

“You must lock them up more securely,” Boko said with sympathy.

“Yes.”

“Would you like to try again, my friend?”

“Yes.”

“I see,” Doug said quietly. “ Then all is well between us.”

Everyone turned to Doug, who sat up now. He smiled – not a sign of peace for him.

Matter-of-factly, Greld shrugged one shoulder, eyes smoldering. “May it always be so until death.”

“But not the same for our humans.”

“True.”

“So,” Boko intervened, clapping his hands, “Shall we make terms?”

“And pay the fee first hand?” someone said. The giants chuckled together.

“In other words, yes.” Doug said, still smiling.

Greld gave Boko two silver-colored bars. They were giant-meld, and of the best quality. Doug stood up, and did the same.

The giants approached the arena. The other monsters silently followed. Axel found it funny, almost – that these beings dramatized such a small, insignificant battle. Lived to watch these tiny humans, like action figures or toys. As if they had nothing better to do.

Jackal’s box fell from Greld’s hand into the arena. Jackal skulked out, and softly put a hand on the wall. “Ready.”

Doug put Axel in as well. His voice was muffled through his beard. “Try, mouse.”

With a nod, Axel turned to take a quick, sky-blue glance into himself.

He concentrated on his hands, his knees, his shoulders. Relaxed. Unfolded. One by one, until he went limp.

Breathe.

His pulse deepened. His heart dial trembled, then dipped. The high-strung magic, threaded through his armor, loosened.

Then he let loose.

“Everything is a mountain”

[Anonymous]

@whalekeeper, You’re So Welcome! 🤩

I’ve been trying to write consistently for a while too…it most certainly helps. 😛

[Anonymous]

@whalekeeper. I must agree with @koshka, I don’t like any of the giants. 😅 Especially Greld, but I feel like…that’s the point? 🤔😂

Wonderful job tho! I love it! 🤩 I remain intrigued. 🤔 This story has grasped me, I’ll tell you that. 😉

[Koshka]

@whalekeeper

Now I feel sorry for Jackal, and while my opinion of a certain giant hasn’t exactly improved, the others have sunk rather farther.

(Please save Axel, and Jackal, and anyone else…THEY NEED FREEDOM! SET THE POOR PEOPLE FREE! Please?)

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Queen_of_Alvastia]

@whalekeeper Oooh this is really interesting!!! 😊😊😊 I wouldn’t call it trashy by any means!! Please keep going – I must know what happens to Axel, and Jackal. Especially Jackal. Poor guys!! Can I just add them both to the #ProtectionSquad?!?!? 💖💖

*puts on sunglasses*

Okay, I’m ready now XD 😎

🥰#TorrynVelgardProtectionSquad🥰

[whaley]

The crowd seems to be adamant… hm… *stares into the future* I’m nowhere close to the end, but I shall consider freedom… death could be interesting too, tho…

@queen_of_alvastia Sure, no problem XD Are there any requirements?

“Everything is a mountain”

[Anonymous]

@whalekeeper. NOOOO!!!! DON’T KILL HIMMMMMM!!!! PLEASE!!!! 😭🙏 (JK, you totally can if that’s what the story needs…*sniffs* 🥲)

[whaley]

@freedomwriter76

XP I’m just kidding. Character deaths are unnecessary like, 99% of the time. Same with resurrections. The characters will be relatively safe in my hands 🙂

“Everything is a mountain”

[Queen_of_Alvastia]

@whalekeeper Ummm only that they are both traumatized and in need of my protection lol

😎😎

🥰#TorrynVelgardProtectionSquad🥰

[whaley]

@queen_of_alvastia I’m cool with that. *Calm and knowing nod*

“Everything is a mountain”

[Author]

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