Your gateway to endless inspiration
Excuse this rare posting, but 71 followers? I am so grateful. Like, you can’t even imagine. Thank you so much. I probably won’t do something like this again until I get to 100, but really, thank you so much.
(Character A) always takes care of (Character B)
Me: Nice
(Character A) isn’t used to receiving the affection they usually give and is completely shocked when (Character B) responds the same
Me: NiCE
Taking one look at him, something dawned on me. He was like me, looked like me in a sense. He had the dark, bark-like pattern that I have.
Only his was in a different shape.
Broken stones that stay in the same general shape are wonderful. There's an opportunity for something beautiful to grow in between the cracks of something so tragic.
How can this be? This is the fifth report that I've gotten.
"May I ask you something?" I questioned the highwayman once we stopped to rest.
"That depends on what you're asking," he mumbled as he laid back and draped an arm over his eyes.
"I have been hearing reports of periodic darkness in areas that we have traveled through." The smoothness of the stone that I was sitting on was a little bit of comfort.
"That isn't a question," he retorted. There was something off in his voice. He almost sounded like the nymphs that gave me the reports and sightings.
"Did you cause those periods of darkness over those areas?" There were a lot of things I needed to know but the first was if he was the cause of it. "There aren't any plant mages in the area to cause that and it's too far away for me to do anything like that."
"I shouldn't be the source of it, no." He sat up and rested his head against the palm of his hand.
"Is it bad? Will it be harmful to those living in the area?"
"How did you even hear about the darkness forming?"
"The plants have a complex system for communication through their roots. They talk to each other that way. The nymphs live inside the trees and they told me."
"How long does it last?"
"Almost a whole cycle."
He sat there in silence before raising his head and answering, "They don't have to be worried. It isn't anything dangerous. It'll keep happening and probably follow us. I don't know why it does but... It's nothing to worry about and they can rest during that time."
I moved so I was seated next to him. "But what is it?"
"A myth for you and reality for me."
I knew he wasn't going to say anything else about it and deadpanned, "You're helpful."
He flashed a smile as he said, "I try, sweetheart."
A small kid ran into my arms, whimpering.
"What's wrong?" I kept my voice gentle and level. There was something that scared the poor kid and he trusted me enough to run to me with that problem.
"I had a nightmare," he answered as he tried buried his face further into armor.
I took the boy's arms off of me long enough for me to sit before he latched on to my neck.
Rubbing his small back, I asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" If he did, that would give me an idea of exactly what nightmare I would be looking for. If he didn't, I would have to try to find the right one and hope that it wasn't a dream that I was going after.
"I don't know," he whined as he clutched me a bit tighter.
I held him so he could look at me as I started, "Do you not know how to word it?"
He nodded.
I let him go as I stood up. "Well, I don't know which one I'm looking for but I'll do my best." I looked down at him, he couldn't be more than four years old. "Would you like to come?"
His eyes grew wide. "Really?"
I didn't try to stop the smile coming on. No matter the age, the reaction was always the same and it was adorable. I only offer if they aren't able to tell me about the nightmare.
"I don't want to hunt the wrong one and you would recognize it," I answered him.
He almost grew a smile but it died to a concerned look. My brows furrowed.
What was wrong?
"Would I be safe?" the little boy asked me in a small voice.
"It could be dangerous but you would be helping me stop a nightmare from terrorizing anyone else." I crouched to his level again. "However, if you want to go home, I won't think any less of you and thank you for bringing this concern to me."
"If I went to my mommy, would you stop the bad dream?"
I smiled. "Pinkie promise."
"I want to go with you. I want no one else to get any more bad dreams," the brave little boy told me.
"Alright," I said standing up before offering my hand to him, "hold on to my hand and stay by my side at all times. Okay?"
He beamed as he took my hand. "Okay."
"Okay, you looking at me for this long is scaring me. Why are you staring?" I asked, snapping him out of his daze.
He shook his head like a spring breeze. "Sorry but your eyes are a beautiful brown color," he replied, shy about his statement.
"They're brown but not beautiful," I grumbled. I liked my eyes but there were times that I wished that I had a livelier color like blue.
"I'm sorry you don't see what I see. In your eyes," he cupped my cheek, "I see the essence of life itself."
"That's green," I returned as I took my head out of his hold.
"No, brown. Plants need soil to grow, all animals need plants, sand and rocks and other formations hold the oceans and seas in place. I see canyons, mountains, valleys, fertile soil. I see the base of life in your eyes."
Where I'm from, myths have a habit of being true. One such myth is that the moon can grant wishes. People typically make wishes on one particular day but every once in a while, someone makes a wish on a different day.
For that one day, though, it is almost all children who make those wishes. Occasionally, an adult will drum up enough courage to leave a wish for the moon to grant.
The moon does what she can to grant the wishes but she'll only grant the wishes that are pure at heart and for the betterment of the person who wished.
"Is there anyway I can help?" I asked the ever patient moon on one particular night.
"If you have nothing to do, you could stay with me," came her soft whisper. "I like your company."
I chuckled as I sat down beside the alter. "Any interesting wishes?"
"They are all interesting and unique," she answered.
I furrowed my brows. "Don't most of the kids just ask for toys, though?"
"Yes, but those toys help the become someone unique."
Resting my head against the cool stone, I requested of the moon, "Could you explain how?"
Images of a wooden sword flashed across my mind as she answered, "The boy who will get this could become one of your greatest generals." Next, a combination of random metal parts and wooden puzzle pieces appeared in my head. "The one who receives this could be a mechanic that will invent revolutionary equipment." She went on for a few more moments after that.
I couldn't stop the smile or the tears. How could I have been so blind? "That was wonderful. Thank you for explaining that to me."
"It was a pleasure. But promise me one thing."
Even though she wasn't there, I looked up. "Anything."
"Promise me you won't underestimate the value of a gift. Even if it seems insignificant and useless to you, that could be the thing that sets the recipient on the right path for their life."
"I promise."
I don't remember what I was talking about, but I kept talking for him. There was a content air that surrounded him as he listened to whatever I was babbling.
But I also made sure to keep an eye on where we were going. At this point we had to be close to where the road wasn't as familiar. I could see some snow up ahead. But I didn't stop and kept talking.
In a breath of silence, I looked over at him. Since I was never really around people, I couldn't pin the exact expression.
Once we were a little bit into the cursed forest, I happened to take another look at him when a snowflake landed on his nose and startled him to a stop.
He looked up, eyes full of awe and wonder, as he whispered, "It's snowing?"
I was tempted to remark that it always snows here but his expression stopped me. How could I take this small pleasure from him?
So I settled for, "When was the last time you saw snow?"
"I don't remember," he muttered, not taking his eyes off of the snow.
I found a steady place to sit, cleaned the snow off, and got comfortable. He was having a good moment. I didn't want to take that from him.
I was going to wait until he was ready to go.
"The day will be saved by it dying." - 13 hour clockwork soldier
The tall sprawling; towering bookcases of the library never made me feel confined, trapped like it did with others.
I selected some children's stories, some I'd promised to churches and orphanages while others were meant to be a surprise to the children.
After I got the books I needed and headed outside, I was blinded for a moment before my vision cleared. It was around midday and I knew that I was moving a bit more sluggish than I would've liked.
I shrugged those thoughts aside and made my way to keep the promises I made.
"How did you find me?" I slurred, the cold freezing me from the inside out.
"I followed the trail you left," he answered before he gestured somewhere behind him. "Come here," he groaned as he picked me up.
I clung to him like burs on bark animals and other people wear. He wasn't much warmer than the elements we were stranded in but he was an improvement.
"Did you know that you are bleeding?" my stranger asked me, taking me somewhere.
My mind was too fuzzy to completely understand what he was talking about.
"But you're not bleeding," I blended my words together, after I have him a quick once over as best as I could. Why would he ask if I knew he was bleeding?
"Well, hypothetically if I was a mage like you, I thought you would know how to slow the blood loss down?"
My upper canopy hurt. Why was he asking such difficult questions?
"You would need something to slow it down," I mumbled as I tried to clear my thoughts. "Before that, clean the wound."
He settled me down on a fallen log and then started rummaging through his bag. When he faced me again, he had some white strips and a dirt colored bottle.
"Try not to scream, okay?" He looked back up at me with his cyan colored eyes. His scar on the lower part of his face were sharply contrasting from the fire's light.
Wait. Why was there a fire? Where was the fire?
The sharp jolt that assaulted my left limb was enough to make me cry out in surprise. He didn't let up, if anything, he pressed harder. The cloth he was using was starting to turn green, the color of my sap, at the edges.
I stayed quiet like he asked but when he was done, he pulled a mat made out of pine branches, covered it with some furs, placed me on the mat, and then covered me with the remaining furs.
"Don't worry, I'll keep watch. You rest," he answered when he saw me looking at him.
The last thing I felt was my stranger running his branches through my hair before I fell asleep.
The fields of Royal Cress are okay but when it's pollen mixes with that of things like Ghost Mother Willow... It's just not a good day.
"Have you ever been in there?" I asked as I gestured to the edge of the woods. If he hasn't, then we'd have to go around the Ashen Grove.
"Years ago, I think," he answered, picking a sprig of Royal Cress.
I was just very happy that Royal Cress pollen is heavier than most others.
"Maybe we should just go around," I offered.
"Will it get us there faster?"
"No."
He stood up. "We got through the Ashen Grove, then," he stated.
Oh dear. I rubbed my head. I'd probably have to help him through the mirages that happen to those not used to the pollens.
"Wait up," I called as I trotted to keep up with him.
The highwayman looked at me steadily.
"Honesty doesn't mean stupidity," he simply stated.
"Hey, pretty girl," I murmured to the Púca I adopted when she was a small filly.
She grunted a quiet greeting before she came up to me. She grabbed a bit of the fabric on my shoulder and gave it a gentle tug.
"How long has it been since I last saw you?"
She whinnied but let go of my shoulder.
"Since yesterday?" I gave a fake frustrated sigh, "That's too long!" I hugged her around her neck. Her fur was coarser than that of other horses and ponies I've met but I wouldn't change anything about her. The other ones are nice but they aren't her.
She nudged me enough to take a small step back, reminding me why I originally came down to visit her.
"Do you want a snack?" I asked her. "Snack?"
She nuzzled me a bit harder.
"Which hand is the snack in?" She was always a smart girl.
She stood there for a moment before nudging my right shoulder. I rolled the apple to my right hand and held it out to her.
"Smart girl," I murmured as she ate the apple. I rubbed her ears just the way she likes it. "I'm going to talk to my big, fat, mean brother to see if I can't bring you into the court so I can give you all the love and rubs you want." I couldn't stop a soft chuckle. "He isn't big, fat, or mean."
The Púca I've known since she was a filly nickered in agreement. She's met my brother and likes him well enough but still doesn't like how he keeps her from me.
"You be nice to him the next time you see him, okay?" I murmured against her forehead.
My highwayman and I started picking out way through an abandoned fishing village. The snow piled up was ridiculous, so much that some buildings were almost completely buried.
The sound of noise of something walking on snow made him freeze.
A clockwork soldier meandered its way around a building a little further down the lane.
"Maybe we shoul-"
"Excuse me!" I called out to the bypassing clockwork soldier.
It stopped and clicked as it turned to face both of us.
"Which hour are you?"
It clunked and clicked over to us.
"I am hour eleven," it informed me.
"Do you have anything to report?" the highwayman questioned it, his hands clasped behind his back.
The clockwork soldier gave a long spiel and all the while, the highwayman was scribbling down something. He always kept up with hour eleven.
"Thank you for your report but I need you to stay for a moment," my highwayman replied as he glossed over his notes.
"That's a bad word," I meekly pointed out one that always meant bad things.
He sighed out an agreement as he made circular movements around some markings he made.
The clockwork soldier chirped when the highwayman addressed him.
"Hour eleven, do you have access to the king at any moment?"
"When I am not active mostly but, yes, when I am active."
"Alright, I have a response to the king's proclamation."
"Why are there so many sunflowers, especially by the boarders?" my stranger asked when we passed a field of some bowing sunflowers.
"There's some bad magic, I don't know what, that the king has tried to protect the kingdom from. But everything he tried didn't work. Ages ago, the mages who used the magic I use figured out that sunflowers were the best defense."
"Did they ever tell the king what they found out?"
I knew he was looking at me but I couldn't tell which he was more concerned for - me or if the king found out sunflowers were good protectors against magic in general.
I stopped to look over the elderly sunflower field. They should be getting ready to go to seed so the next generation could defend the kingdom. But that also means that I have to work in some black gold deep into the soil for them.
"No. They never told him and he never found out," I solemnly stated. It's just not how we were.
As we neared the next building in the abandoned town, the highwayman just offered me a hankie.
"Um. Why?" I questioned him as a light flurry fell between us.
"You've sneezed every time we go from direct sunlight," he told me as he looked up to the partially cloudy skies above, "into a building and vice versa."
Why would he care if I sneezed or not? It's just sneezing. Although, I never noticed that I did that before.
"Just get going," he muttered when he caught sight of my expression. But there was something else in his tone. He wasn't angry like I thought he'd be.
"Thank you," I whispered as I took the hankie; processing what I realized.
"You can thank me when we get to where we need to be."
Like he predicted, when we crossed into the threshold of the building, I sneezed.
Great. I was on my way from the capital and one of those clockwork soldiers stopped me.
"Where are you going?" it asked as it stopped me from going any further.
I've been warned that there's still one functional at all times. I didn't know what time it was, so it might not be that one.
"What hour are you?" Every clockwork soldier works only during the hour it was named after. There are some that I think are either decoys or meant to scare people, since they never work.
"I am hour thirteen," it answered me, its empty eyes boring into mine.
This one, number thirteen, people have named the liar. No matter what it says, it is never true. I've met it once before and it said that it was going to snow in the middle of summer.
"I'm going home," I replied to the soldier. It's the law for citizens to answer human and clockwork soldiers.
There was a sound of clicking gears before it cocked its head off to the side and said, "Long live the King."
"Yeah," I muttered, walking by once he let me pass, "long live the King of the Day."
Its cold metal hand grabbed my wrist.
"Yes, long live the King of the Day. But I originally meant his brother."
The King's brother is a myth, a legend, something that never has and never will happen.
The clockwork soldier numbered thirteen let me go.
The flowers proudly displayed their colors. From the delicate daisy to the graceful Sakura.
I reached up to a flowering apple tree and with tender love murmured, "Absolutely beautiful, darling."
Tomorrow, I knew the apple tree would give more blossoms. After all, what living thing doesn't want to be praised?
The ocean hissed and fizzed as it was slowly approaching high tide. It was freezing out but I just needed time to think.
Out further by the ocean, I could see some aquatic fae sunbathing. Their clothes very closely resembled how the beach and ocean looked at all times. The girls were in dresses while the boys were in suits.
This is one of the times I wish that I could be as carefree as they seem.
I'm not shirking on my duties, I just get tired of what inevitably comes during the night.
Speaking of the night, it was approaching and I had to go leave.
The cracking rumble of thunder mixed with the soft, warm kisses of the rain is a better combination than you might think. I don’t like chasing storms but I appreciate the ones that come through where I live.
I love the majesty of them all, especially thunderstorms. I used to be afraid of them but now, if I let them, they’ll easily put me to sleep.
The only time I am truly afraid of storms is when the clouds touch the ground. I’m protected by hills and mountains so those storms don’t happen too often.
I have wondered if being in the presence of a thunderstorm is like being in the presence of the king? Where some might find him intimidating while for others he’s soothing.
If I got the pleasure of meeting him, I think I would really like him. I’m not saying that only because I’m one of his subjects but also because I think I would be one of the ones that finds comfort in him.
I wonder.
I sat in the cool, dark green grass as I listened to the brook beside me bubble and giggle happily. The fae nearby were having a festival that they graciously invited me to. In attempt to be a good guest, I brought some cream, honey, and absolutely nothing with iron. Iron hurts the fae.
They would help me with my garden that I was tasked to take care of. Giving them gifts was the least I could do, especially at their favorite celebration.
The sun started to go down as the festivities started to taper off. Groaning a bit, I got up, found Nightingale (my closest faerie friend) and graciously excused myself out. Today was fun and I cannot wait until tomorrow.
The golden crescent of the beloved moon hung peacefully in the ebony star dusted sky. Here, alone with the night, I could forget all of my problems, all of my duties, my regrets and mistakes, everything. I watched for I don’t know how long now but it was worth it, staying up and loosing sleep. As time slipped by, the moon sank closer and closer to the horizon. I didn’t want to but I pulled myself away from the window, feeling an awful feeling that nagged me that I was abandoning one of the only ones who listen to my problems. There were things I had to do in the morning. I carried myself off to my bed of starlight and fell into a dreamless sleep.