@whalekeeper
Active 2 days, 11 hours ago- Rank: Chosen One
- Total Posts: 5675
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I don’t think I can focus on another art swap right now, but I’m very curious to see some of your horse sketches.
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Moth
Moth hooked his arm around Ari’s, linking them together so the boy did not fall to his death. The two of them whipped about, the wind ripping through their hair and clothes. If not for Moth’s abilities, they would fall off instantly. It was like being caught in a death roll. One moment they were upside down, and the next, yanked upright again.
The worms writhed together as they traveled across the dark land, making twisted patterns with their bodies. They threw themselves up and fell back into the upturned earth, like fish leaping bellies first out of the sea.
“A friend of mine, he calls this a rollercoaster!” Moth yelled over the squelching and crashing of cascading dirt. “Do you know what that is?”
Ari yelled back something hard to hear. It sounded negative.
“Me neither!” Moth laughed. “It is a fun ride, is it not?”
He let out another unearthly shriek. “My brethren! You bring me stories from all corners of the world! Tell me of the shaking, of the quaking, of her pains! Tell me a story, so you cease to bear it, and I bear it alone!”
The worm the boys rode threw itself forward. Suddenly there was peaceful silence. Over its side, the moonlit grass rushed past, untouched. They were in the air.
The worms floated over the uprooted gardens, slowly traveling upwards – a mass of headless, limbless, wingless creatures, writhing through the clouds like so many dragons skinned of their features.
Moth pressed his forehead against the beast’s smooth, glittering skin. He listened to a song hidden for only his ears to hear, and fell into a hazy trance, his mind led into a senseless darkness.
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Wormmmmmmmmmsssssssssss
This is literally a childhood nightmare of mine. Wormmmmmssss…=|
You don’t like worms?? Oh no!! XD I didn’t stop to think you might be squeamish.
Moth
Moth stood up and pulled Ari back. With startling firmness, he took Ari’s dagger and sliced through his own palm. He winced. Pain blossomed there, and blood glistened from his hand.
“This should work, I think.” He turned to Ari and pressed a bloody finger against the boy’s forehead. “Now you smell like me. These worms will never harm you. They are old and sensible enough.”
He backed away with a smile, then shook himself, his golden locks blowing out of his face as he ran forward. He leaped into the air and landed on the silvery back of a worm. He latched onto it with a hand. White tendrils of magic sealed his skin to the worm’s slimy hide.
The worm rolled over, far enough for Moth to reach out with his other hand. “Ari! Do you want to come along?”
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And that was a very short reply to such a beautifully long role play. I shall aspire to do better.
I am quite content with whatever length you prefer to write. :]
He’s bony and noticeably haggard, with dark skin and – was his hair in braids? I think so. Orange and white clothing. I haven’t thought much about his physical description past that
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Moth
Ari swore from where he stood, and Moth chuckled inwardly.
The soil churned with the smallest of its living citizens. The sound was too much for them to bear. They rose from sleep, their long, slithery bodies glittering under the moon.
Moth steadied his stance and let out a high-pitched, piercing cry.
A giant worm burst out of the earth. It lay there in the open mist, shiny and soft-skinned, its circumference as long as that of a small family’s dinner table. But the earth continued to explode around it, and it wriggled as more giant worms burst out too. They writhed wildly and blindly.
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If he didn’t already prefer having his eyes and tongue inside his head, being lost to his family was almost appealing.
I knew Ari was going to say that. Goodness, child. Equal parts sassy and sad
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Moth
Ari wasn’t easily disturbed by jokes. That was a good sign. Although he already seemed like a brave person and there was no reason to doubt it, he also had no idea what Moth’s life was like. But then again, maybe the two boys had more similarities to uncover. Who was to say?
“We are… Hold on.” Moth muttered. He crouched down. “I need to choose a good spot.”
He brandished the wooden stob he had brought, and drove it into the ground. He took the other wooden stick and ran it up and down the stob. The friction between the sticks made a sound – a rhythmic, resonant vibration.
Moth closed his eyes and hummed.
Two boys stood in the grass, under the foggy night sky, sending a strange sound into the ground.
It took half a minute. Not long. Slowly, the night lost its peaceful silence. The ground was possessed with a low rumbling sound, like thunder or a flooded river. Before much longer, it began to shake under the boys’ feet.
The sound ebbed and flowed underneath them – and with it, the earth began to churn. The mist could not hide the changing landscape.
Holes opened. New hills rose into being, grass and rocks falling from them, and tree roots overturned in the chaos.
“I’m fiddling for worms.” Moth smiled, eyes still closed.
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Moth
“I was making fun of you mortals. If I was not as I am, I would lead you into faerie land, pluck your eyes and tongue, and you would be lost to your family forever.” Moth shrugged.
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Callum
“Huh.” Callum felt just as confused as Ellis had to feel. “It sounds like a crazy dream. I hope it’s not perfectly replicating what’s going to happen.”
He stumbled over the last couple words and lapsed into silence. The gold rings in his hair clinked together as he bowed his head. He stared at his hands, then at the ground to the left of his feet. It took a moment to realize that was where Euphemia normally was.
The silence grew too long.
The idea of saying something – anything – was like a burning prong in Callum’s head. It had to happen, but what was there to say? Ellis probably thought this was the worst way to spend his time on the first day. Sitting outside with the nervous, fainting kid who needed someone to look out for him.
If first impressions were important, then Callum was going to be in this same situation the entire year. If he was lucky. He might not even have someone to watch over him next time.
Finally, Callum spoke, his voice calm but breaking just a little. “I’m sorry, I… don’t talk much. I don’t know what to say to people.”
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Moth
Not much time passed before a familiar, dark-headed boy appeared around the corner.
“Ari! I don’t know if we’re meant to be this far outside at night.” Moth pointed towards the greater expanse of land, hedges and small trees making up most of it. “We have to go farther.”
They walked casually through the dark, grassy grounds. Ari had longer legs, while Moth had energy enviable in anyone’s eyes, and the two of them traveled at the same pace.
The mist laid a silvery sheen ahead of them, sloping with the land. Dewdrops glistened under their feet and left footprints behind them.
After a somewhat long time – ten minutes or so – they stopped and turned around.
The academy was a black silhouette in the distance, far enough away that it didn’t look so giant anymore. Bugs chirped, and the wind carried nothing but gentle night sounds.
Moth turned on Ari. His eyes, normally dark, had an unnatural glimmer, like that of a ghost light in an abandoned cave. He grinned. “Humans will always choose to follow the faerie into the woods. They really never learn, do they?”
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If it helps, he does eventually figure things out and have a relatively happy life.
Ok, good. I’m glad he gets a balance of good and bad experiences.
Moth
“Good.” Moth was outside the window now, and he faced Ari through it, a cool wind flicking its ghostly fingers through his hair.
He gave the human boy a last nod before he stood up on the roof, and walked away from the skylight.
The window was too easy to leave through. The school would realize, and they would send the servant to draw another spell on the ceiling. Moth was sure of that. He might as well abuse the loophole while he could.
Clouds swirled in the sky. Dark spires rose out of the rooftop, built out of the many towers in the giant structure. Moth skirted around them, traveling over hills and slopes with ease. It was funny to imagine all the people underneath his feet, through the roof, talking or walking or sleeping, unaware of the unexplored lands above them.
When Moth reached the back of the academy, and the edge of the roof, he took hold of the edge and dropped off. Hand under hand, using window ledges and the beautifully detailed architecture, he easily climbed down to the ground. He sat down to wait for his new friend.
The earth was moist, softened in the evening mist. Perfect.
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Eh….XD I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.
I’m worried for this boy. Clearly being a prince has caused him much turmoil.
Moth
“I’ll show you.” Moth got up, dusting off his legs, which only brushed off some scales and made more dust.
He pulled a wooden stob and rod out of a box. The stob was full of lumps and grooves, and he expertly twisted it around in his hand like a baton. “Meet me outside. Behind the academy. But… Well. If you don’t want to risk staying out past curfew, best not to come.”
He put a hand on the wall and crawled back up to the window. When he was halfway through it, he paused, and tilted his head to look down at Ari. “Are you… particularly squeamish?”
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That’s a lot of drama, for sure. Those generators sure know how to come up with random scenarios
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