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@whalekeeper I saw it! It’s all right, I’ve been pretty busy lately and just kinda thought everyone else was the same heheh
Gerald handled that. You don’t question Gerald. (if you know you know)
I’m sorry you’re in the gunk. *hugs* If we can help break you free, just say the word. *Salutes*
Hot Milk+Brown Sugar+Vanilla+Ginger+Cinnamon=All the comfort this world can offer.
Okay good! I was hoping it wasn’t bothering you
*Accepts hug* I will let you know if I need help breaking free of these horrific mental shackles. But I’m sure I’ll be fine. :]
…
Everything happening in this next bit is a crazy, dream-state kind of experience for the characters. Moth is “collecting” a story. Ari might be weirded out, but everything will return to normal in a bit.
Moth
Moth woke up. His grip strengthened, and his mind feebly wrapped itself around the ancient voices in the air.
Sometimes Moth was overwhelmed by the music of other beings. It could be so loud and complicated. He hated to ask for simpler communication, and preferred to meet the other creatures where they were. Sometimes the music made him faint. Tonight was no different. But this was the duty of a king.
There was a language in the squelching and wriggling of the worms as they flew together in one giant mass. They also had voices – unlike normal earthworms. They produced a kind of thick, multi-toned thrumming sound.
Beside Moth, silhouette etched into the blue night, was Ari. Ari’s eyes were as round as two china plates, but he seemed to enjoy the ride a little. The wind blew his hair and attitude out of his face. For the first time since Moth had met him, the boy had the face of a royal. It was hard to describe.
The music grew louder and louder.
The air took on a dreamy quality, almost thickening, like sugar melting and mixing into a glass of water. Moth reached out his hand, and he could almost feel the air molecules tingling and rushing over his skin.
It suddenly became difficult to tell if the world was real – if Moth’s senses were telling the truth, or if this was the product of his mind, awake late at night.
He stood up, balancing on the worm’s back. He stared at the moon and murmured, “Leave your first home, he says…”
The wild voices swelled. This was a memory, an imaginary story, or something better.
The world grew strange and wonderful. Vision blurred and cleared, grew colorful then colorless, pulsed in tandem with Moth’s heart. The stars whispered and the earth groaned below.
“Live on him, he says…”
The moon grew into a large disk in the sky, large enough so the craters and valleys formed a kind of face. His eyes were closed, his skin made of a cold, white plaster.
The boys heard the moon breathing.
He sighed out of his mountainous nose. The sound of his breath was so ethereal and all-encompassing that the very air trembled, and shivers ran down Moth’s back.
The worm mass grew larger, as more of them burst out of the ground like a geyser or fountain. The land below was destroyed. The garden was crying in a deep, multifaceted voice, the trees rolling in the wind, the earth churning. The ground looked like a war had ravaged it. Everything was destroyed by the worm dance and it was impossible to fix it, come morning.
As Moth looked down at the earth below, tears welled up in his throat, as he suddenly burned with a mysterious sadness. He wanted to cry, to scream, to laugh.
The moon spoke, his voice shaking the boys’ eardrums.
“Leave your first home and forever abandon every other living thing. Live on me instead. I am here, unpopulated.”
The worms rumbled assent. They followed the greatest of their kind and took to the skies, their bodies glowing white under the bright light of the moon, and growing ever brighter as they flew.
Higher, higher, higher. The air grew cold, and everything became white. Moth’s hands, Ari’s clothing, the vanishing land below them.
The Moth Prince planted his feet on the giant worm’s back. He gazed up at the death-colored, alien world they were flying up to, and recited in a wild voice:
“The land of white moon dust and dry throats
The land of pores that longs for life to crawl inside
A pale imitation of another thing
A pale imitation that holds its form
And waits.”
…
At last KP has let me in!
Ari
Perhaps he wasn’t a bard himself, but this certainly didn’t seem to be the typical method of taleweaving. At least I’m not afraid of hights.
Colors, wind, light, they all conspired to dizzy him yet he couldn’t close his eyes. His pulse turned to a wild thrum in his head that mixed with the churning of the creatures.
The Fairie boy was standing on the back of their worm, light pooling around him. Ari turned his wide-eyed stare to follow the white streams.
The moon, a huge face watching them, seemed to reach out to them. To the Fairie.
A shuddering breath echoed in the mad sky. Ari clenched his jaw. Another breath vibrated in his chest.
Chaos broke out below them. Ari turned his head to look down at the shattered earth. A voice huge and old thundered. He wanted to cover his ears. It was too loud and almost as strange as the words.
His brothers would never believe this. Ari let a smile flash across his face. He didn’t intend to tell them. Stymir would call him mad, Berard would probably hit him, and Hallr was secretly terrified of hights anyway.
But what about your own brother?
Ari leaned into the creature as he tried to muffle the voice rattling his ears.
Maybe if he survived he should write this down. Still, it wasn’t as if he was likely to see young Froilán again even if he did make it back to him room tonight.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
Btw, here’s a link to an illustration Elishavet did of Ari. Just delite the space after the h.
h ttps://www.instagram.com/p/DaoPo3RmdfJ/?img_index=2&igsh=NzRiZTUzZWdldG9l
Although I do imagine his hair a bit more ragged and fluffy? Hmm…maybe his mother sent him a comb.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
KP hated us yesterday, I suppose
Moth
It was getting hard to breathe, and so cold.
Moth, remembering, glanced back at Ari. This was about to get very uncomfortable for a human. Humans weren’t supposed to leave the earth’s atmosphere.
Moth turned back around and yelled at the moon. His words jarred against the music. “I must leave. Tell me the rest of this later!”
He turned around and scampered back to Ari, grabbing his arm again and helping him up. Moth hoped his own words were loud enough to be heard. “Whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand!”
The two of them stopped trying to stay on the worm’s back. They slid down its back before they fell into the empty sky.
…
Nice art. :] That’s basically the exact pose I pictured when he was standing outside his room. The personality is showing through. XD
…
Callum
“Ozcrijan.” Callum smiled at the thought. “It’s a wonderful place. And intense, too. Desert city, very tall buildings made of stained glass. We are a unique nation. I hope to put my mark on that city some day.”
His viziers and other advisors did not have the same vision for Callum’s future. They hoped he would remain a small voice in the family. That was probably a safe call, since he was never actually going to be king. But even if Callum never took the role of king himself, he could still make a difference.
“The funny thing is… Ozcrijan is a special place to come from. My father and two uncles are sword swallowers and escape artists. My grandmother designs hot-air balloons. Until I left, I didn’t realize it was such a crazy home to be raised in. Not that it makes me look much different from everyone here. Out of my huge family, I’m very normal.”
So normal, that he didn’t stand out at all. Callum’s family all wore colorful clothing, with iridescent fabrics and decorations from their achievements. You could pick them out in a crowd. But Callum wore plain clothes and looked like a commoner. He had a plainer mind, too. That was probably a good thing.
“Is there anything you want to do while you’re here?” Callum asked Ellis. “Did you come here to learn something?”
…
Oh dear… XD
Ari
Falling.
Ari’s mouth opened to scream but no voice came. Blood rushed in his ears. He clung to Moth’s hand in a death grip. Sparks danced with the black sky.
I’m not going to…not…
Darkness. Silence.
…
Wind rushing by his ears. Ari opened his eyes. Pain twinged. His were clenched around something, another boy’s hand…
Oh, right. They were falling. He twisted his head to look down.
Don’t you dare let go, Verenion.
Churned Fields spread out below. Dark specks that must have been trees clumped over silver threads of streams.
It was beautiful scene for a last sight before his soul was thrown into the Void. Good thing a son of Veren never feared dying.
Even if you’re petrified of death.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
love this kid!
awesome art!
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
Wolfgang
“I hadn’t thought of that. Do you think they will get suspicious? Oh well, if it did ring, it’s too late now. They would see me alone in the halls and that would be worse.”
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
Moth
Moth could never fly with a human in tow. But he could fall gracefully. He spread out his wings and did his best to keep Ari from slipping.
His wings rippled from the sheer amount of air he was trying to capture underneath them.
After a few seconds of the wind slicing past his cheeks – a few seconds that felt like forever – Moth realized with relief that the wind had slowed.
The earth rushed up to meet them, and both boys tumbled across the dark grass. The impact wasn’t too bad. Air burst out of Moth’s lungs and he gasped for breath. As he lay on a patch of heather, panting, he gazed up at the sky.
The dreamlike world they had been in, just a minute ago, was gone. The moon had shrunk back to normal size, and didn’t have a face. There was no music. Just a gentle breeze and the rustling of leaves.
Ari had to be in a bit of a shock. Mildly frightened, at least.
“I… swear…” Moth managed to say, “I didn’t mean to take you up so high. I forgot you were there. I didn’t mean to kill you.”
…
Thanks! That was the scene I was talking him from, so… XD
Thanks!
This kid is getting confused. XD
I will say, I’m not trying to cut the conversation short, just wanting to be ready for when the plot transitions to morning.
Wilhelm
He glanced out the window again, trying to determine the hour. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been at the school long enough to track time by any degree of finesse. Even the stars were strange to him, foreign.
“Mitgefangen, mitgehangen.” He muttered, a rueful laugh catching at his breath. “Very well. If it was the bell, we are not the only ones who missed it.”
As if on cue, a shout of laughter sounded from the hall outside. Wilhelm sat on his windowsill. The night chill soaked into his skin.
Hot Milk+Brown Sugar+Vanilla+Ginger+Cinnamon=All the comfort this world can offer.
Ari
Slowly, and a little painfully, Ari pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Air eased back into his lungs a bit more with each ragged breath. He’d known better than to tense up as the ground rose up to meet them, instead forcing himself to relax and look away. He’d appreciate that in the morning when he didn’t have any severe injuries to hide.
At the moment, however, he was merely grateful to be breathing.
“Don’t…bother. Always wanted…to fly.” A rueful smirk tugged at his lips. “It’s my name’s fault.”
He looked up. Moonlight filtered over the landscape with nothing more than the normal level of wildness. The otherworldly gleam and thunder had faded away. Ari sat back on his heels, arms folded loosely over his knees, and let himself soak in the stillness. A soft breeze rustled over the long grass. It ruffled it’s fingers through his hair, touched his face. He leaned into it and let it comfort him.
“Thank you.” He whispered, as much to the gentle nature around him as the winged boy.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
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