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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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Volume 2: Bitter Sweet

CHAPTER 1

As Alice had stated, the two were now on an adventure. Although it had started on a positive note, it quickly became apparent that there would be some issues concerning the clashing of their personalities.

Dale seemed to prefer the safer route due to his lack of courage and backbone. The routes that Dale perceived as ‘safer’, were the routes that were less likely to have them stumble across villages, which suited his lack of social interaction skills. Unfortunately, the safe route was almost always the longer route, which didn’t sit well with Alice.

Alice was completely alien to someone like Dale, who had spent his entire life avoiding people. She was his complete opposite in literally every way possible: she loved to talk and appeared to be very opinionated. Not to mention, her obvious superior strength. Without even outright saying it, she made it quite clear that she was incredibly intent on getting to the Kingdom as soon as possible, even if it meant dealing with danger to do so.

They had been travelling for about three days before they got close to a village. But before they could actually get to the village, night fell, enveloping everything in darkness. While this made it difficult for Alice to see, it was ten times worse for her traveling partner.

Dale was afraid of the dark, and for good reason; while his impaired vision made bright colors appear dull and washed-out, colors such as blue and black came to him as much darker and bolder than they actually were. Because of that, the only things Dale could see around him besides an unending sea of darkness were his blue clothing. Other than that, he was more or less blind.

Alice has no clue about any of his issues. They had only met a few days ago, and Dale wasn’t exactly the sharing type. Despite Alice’s title of ‘best friends’, he had yet to give her his trust.

Little did they know that something change when they finally stumbled across a village one fateful evening.

DALE

Just kill me already.

Thank goodness Alice wasn’t a mind-reader, because dozens of thoughts similar to that one had been filling up my mind faster than a dam flood for the past few hours, including a few not-so-kind thoughts about her. Even if she had been a mind-reader, she was much too busy blabbering on about something or other. I didn’t know her very well, but the one thing that I could say I knew for sure about her was that she liked to to talk.

Scratch that, loved to talk.

I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. It wasn’t that I couldn’t focus, her rambles just didn’t require much of my attention. But I did tune in from time to time, just so she didn’t think that I was ignoring her. Even though I guess I kind of was, I didn’t want her to catch on.

I decided to tune in just as she jumped onto a new topic. “Y’know, I’ve always thought that people who wear a ton of makeup look like clowns. Makeup is fine, as long as you don’t look completely ridiculous wearing it, I mean-”

I drifted again once it became obvious that I wasn’t really missing much. Alice gave off a vibe of being in a hurry. Everything she did seemed rushed, from simply walking to packing and setting up camp. At the moment she was ahead of me, but she glanced back every now and again to make sure she wasn’t leaving me behind.

I had never been in shape, so I felt a bit bad at the possibility that I was slowing her down. Of course, it seems that Alice is quite used to doing things quickly. I can only imagine how much easier this trip must be for her than me.

After hours of walking, a village came into view. I sighed, half relieved, and half disappointed. I had hoped we wouldn’t come across any people for a while, yet there we were. It was a stupid thing to hope for, looking back on it.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of Alice’s voice ahead of me. “I wish I was a little more like you. You’re so quiet and peaceful, and I never really know when to shut up. Living on your own must have been nice, too. Not a single person to bother you, all silence and tranquility, by yourself in the forest. I’m a little envious,” she added, laughing dryly.

I almost couldn’t believe the words that had just come from her mouth. Envious? How could she possibly envy living in such misery and sorrow? If she knew what my life was like, she would never have opened her mouth to speak in the first place.

Before I could even react to her statement, she spoke. “We’re here! Come on, let’s go find an inn to stay at for the night.”

I hadn’t even realized that we were at the outskirts of the village. Just as we passed the village sign, we heard yelling from inside a nearby shop. Alice’s head turned in that direction, seemingly interested in whatever was happening inside.

I felt my chest fill with dread as I realized what she was about to do.

She marched towards the shop to investigate just as I feared she would. I had a split second to decide what I wanted to do. I could stay outside by myself, in the dark and quiet, and possibly get mugged.

Or I could follow Alice into the shop where the source of all the noise was, as well as a decent amount of light. Each option had a couple of pros and cons.

I followed Alice into the shop, jogging slightly to catch up with her fast-paced walking.

A bell dinged as she opened the door, but the people inside the shop didn’t notice a thing. Closest to us were three men and a woman, all angry-looking. Even the smallest member of their group was much taller than me and looked like he could break my bones with a flick of his hand. They were yelling at the old man behind the counter. He had gray hair, a mustache, and a terrified expression.

The man who appeared to be in charge was the one shouting. “Listen up, old man. You said you would have the money this week, and now suddenly you don’t have it,” he paused. “Y’know what? I think you’re lying to us.”

The counter man looked even more scared now than he had a few moments ago, if that was even possible. “No, please, I swear. I just-”

Behind the counter, a boy burst through a doorway covered by a curtain. He was a short redheaded kid with glasses and a high-pitched voice, which he used to cry, “WAIT!”

The room fell dead silent. No one moved, their eyes glued to the redhead. Finally, he spoke again. “It was me. My grandpa is innocent. Please, don’t hurt him,” he pleaded.

The man who had been yelling at the shopkeeper let out a low laugh. He sneered at the boy, “What makes you think I’m gonna listen to a little twerp like you?”

He leaned over the counter and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, dragging him out from behind the counter. The boy resisted, of course, but he was no match for the thug, who was much older and bigger than him. The thug pushed the boy towards one of his cronies, who grabbed his arms from behind, effectively restraining him.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was just a kid, easily the same the as myself. How could people be so cruel towards an innocent little boy trying to protect his grandfather?

I remembered how the inhabitants of DonDo had treated me. I had done nothing to earn the hate of the village, yet they had decided that I deserved to be abused. For no reason whatsoever, they detested me. They threw things at me. Mercilessly, they pushed, punched, and kicked me without putting any thought into why they were doing it. This kid, although not completely alone, was in a similar situation.

And it hurt. Even though I wasn’t the one being picked on at that moment, it hurt to see someone else receiving that kind of treatment. If possible, it hurt even worse than when I was the one being attacked. To see another person endure the same torture that I had endured for years tugged at my heartstrings. I thought I was going to throw up.

A resonating smack filled the room.

Holy shit. I didn’t have enough time to process what had just happened. I was stunned.

#finally updated #wowie #TEAMCC #Mia

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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Updates will start in July Volume 2 is currently being made But it's a slow process at the moment so I hope you can bare with the Creator of the story and wait until the updates come out. -A

#sorry #but there is nothing i can do #we just have to work harder for you all #teamCC

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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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Volume 1: Dale and Alice

CHAPTER 5

I woke the next morning not quite sure where I was.

The room I woke up in was messy, newspapers were strewn all around the room; piled in corners, on top of the dresser, and littered in the middle of the room. I found it rather odd. How many newspapers did a person need? I swung my legs out of bed to investigate, but before I could I heard I heard a soft knock at the door.

Last night’s events came rushing back. DonDo Village, the crying boy by the river, the chase through the woods. I recalled that he had offered his bedroom as shelter as opposed to making me camp outside. That was kind of him, I thought to myself as I approached the door. I wonder why he did it.

I opened the door, and there he stood, staring at the floor. I smiled. Something about his nervous demeanor was strangely calming. Perhaps the fact that he was so anxious made me feel a little more in control of my own life. It was also oddly adorable to watch him shuffle his feet around awkwardly. “Good morning…,” the realization that I didn’t know his name yet hit me like morning sickness as I stopped in the middle of my sentence.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice my stunning revelation. “Um, good morni-”

He stopped suddenly. I couldn’t figure out why until I looked down at what I was wearing. I was still in my nightgown.

It was a bit embarrassing, really. The gown had thin straps holding it up, and the skirt stopped just above my knees. I hadn’t even realized I was in my nightgown when I had gotten up to open the door. A harrowing moment passed. Then he grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut with a bang. I was surprised to say the least. My bed head isn’t that bad, is it?

“I am so sorry, I didn’t realize- I mean, I should’ve asked first to check that you were dressed- oh my gosh I can’t believe I was so stupid…,” he trailed off in embarrassment. He sounded so ashamed, like he had committed a crime punishable only by death.

“It’s okay. Hey, you didn’t know. It’s not a big deal, okay,” I comforted him through the door. That last bit was a lie. I took my decency very seriously, and if anyone else had seen me like that, I would have knocked them flat on their asses. But for him, I made an exception. There was no use in beating up my ticket out of this dumb forest. Besides, he was so small and pale, and it was painfully obvious that he didn’t have very many friends, if any. I would feel terrible if I decked someone so small and helpless. “I’m gonna get dressed really quick and then I’ll be right down. You still owe me a ‘good morning’,” I added. I heard soft footsteps walking down the creaky staircase.

The house was so rundown and broken. It was easily older than him by a good decade. As I rummaged through my bags in search of clothing for the day, I heard a distant crash as well as a startled screech. His house was also falling apart, which I assume was the crash I had just heard. As I pulled on my clothes from yesterday(shush, they were still clean), I couldn’t help but think that I was doing him a favor by rescuing him from this dump. After brushing my hair in the cracked mirror leaning against the wall, I headed downstairs, narrowly avoiding the bottom step, the boards of which had splintered in half. So that’s what I heard from upstairs.

The pale boy was nowhere to be seen. I searched the entire bottom floor and didn’t find him. Just as I was considering exploring the basement in the hopes of finding him, I heard the front door open with a hair-raising shriek. I poked my head into the hallway and saw him standing with his back to me, holding the bucket he had hit his head on yesterday. I had almost forgotten that I had picked it up when I chased him through the woods. I didn’t know where to put it, so I had just left it on the porch. He turned around, freezing when he saw me standing in the doorway to the living room. He looked down at his feet and tugged at his shirt collar. I could’ve sworn he was blushing. This kid must have issues of some sort.

I pushed the thought out of my head. Specifically the word ‘kid’, since I didn’t know how old he was. But he was so tiny; five foot nothing at best. I spoke in an attempt to break the awkward silence. “Hey, don’t sweat it. It was nothing, just an honest accident. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

I saw his tense muscles relax a bit at my words. Despite this, he continued to avoid eye contact as he shuffled into the kitchen. “So….”

He glanced up nervously. “Oh, uh, good- good morning.” Not what I wanted to hear, but it did make me glad that he had kept his word.

“So when do we leave,” I inquired. I wanted to leave as soon as possible. He looked a bit startled at how eager I was to leave. I didn’t blame him. He had probably never gotten much experience of the world outside of the forest.

“We… um, well-”

“Apologies in advance if I come off as rude, but I’m already a day behind in my voyage, and if we don’t hurry, then all the time I spent trying to get to the Kingdom for my wish will have been for nothing.” I didn’t want to be pushy of course, but we needed to get moving if we were to make it to the Kingdom in time.

He didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, “We’ll leave as soon as I pack.” I noticed that he didn’t stutter that time.

ONE HOUR LATER

We had been walking for a good forty five minutes, and the atmosphere wasn’t any less awkward.

At some point, the pale boy had begun walking ahead of me, which made the silence a bit more bearable. But I had a feeling that even though it was awkward for me, it was worse for him. After all, it seemed like he didn’t get company. Like, ever.

The silence became too much for me. I tried to make conversation. “So, um, I was wondering: why do you live in such a, uh… quaint house? It doesn’t seem like the safest place to me. There’s a village really close by, but I guess you wouldn’t want to live there judging by the fact that the people there don’t seem terribly fond of you. There was even a kid in town who sounded like he had a bone to pick with you or something. I guess I just don’t understand why you stick around. Why, if it were me, I’d-”

My rambling was cut short as I noticed a couple things. First, we were almost out of the forest. The foliage above and around us had grown thinner since we had left the shack, and sunlight was streaming through. I almost jumped in the air and started celebrating right then and there. Then I noticed something else.

It had been too dark to see it before, but it was easy to spot now that there was sunlight. There, on the back of his head. It looked like he had hit his head on something. The bruise looked recent. If I had to guess, I’d say he had gotten the bruise about a day ago. As I stared at it, I couldn’t help but think: did he do that to himself? After a moment’s consideration, I decided that the answer to that was probably no. That was a weird spot for self-harm. So it had to be something else. But what? Only one way to find out.

“What’s that on the back of your head,” I asked. For once, the concern in my voice was genuine and not exaggerated. I surprised myself, if that was even possible.

He hunched his shoulders more in a fruitless attempt to hide the mark. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” he murmured.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s obviously not nothing if you’re trying to hide it. So for the love of the Kingdom, please don’t act like it’s nothing,” I retorted. I winced internally at how harsh that had come off. I hadn’t meant for it to come out that way, but the fact that he had tried to pass it off as ‘nothing’ irked me. Someone had done something to this kid, and I was going to find out what it was and who had done it if I had to interrogate him for twelve hours straight.

He trembled slightly in response. He looked afraid that I was going to hit him or something…. Oh.

Oh no.

I spoke again, softer this time. “Does it hurt?”

He didn’t answer. He just pointed forward. I looked in that direction and gasped. We were at a clearing, and the path was right there. Visions of the future danced across my mind’s eye. Finally, my wish was within reach. Just a bit further and happiness was mine for the taking.

I ran towards the path, excitement filling my entire body- and then I remembered that I wasn’t traveling alone anymore. I stopped in my tracks and looked back. The pale boy was still standing at the edge of the forest. He hadn’t moved. I snapped my fingers to get his attention. “Come on, we gotta go! The path is right there!”

He looked me in the eyes for the first time that day. I noticed that they were a startling shade of blue, as if angels had cried and deposited their tears into his irises. He spoke in a trembling voice, like he was about to start crying along with the angels. “I live in a broken home because it’s the only home I have and I don’t have the money to move out. The villagers hate me because I’m a freak. To them I’m some sort of alien or monster. I don’t have family in the village or anywhere else that I’m aware of. As for the bruise on my head, well…,” he took a deep breath before speaking again. “Some kid in the village threw a rock at me yesterday. To prove that I was nothing but a weirdo. I think it was the same kid you mentioned who spoke ill of me. His name is Tim, and he seems to have the biggest grudge against me out of everyone in the village.” Tears were coming thick and fast now, streaming down his face in rivers.

While sadness overtook the pale boy’s body, anger flooded mine. I couldn’t believe that someone would do something so cruel to another person, especially someone who was obviously weaker than them. I felt the urge to race back to the village and snap the pencil-necked boy in half, this time for much more than possibly giving me the wrong directions. I took a moment to collect my thought. Something told me that the poor boy standing in front of me wouldn’t react well if I went on a murder spree in the village.

I approached him slowly, trying my best not to make any sudden moves. When I was right in front of him, I put my arms around him and squeezed him gently, closing the gap. “Forget them. You have me now. I’ll help you get your wish, I promise. I’ll help you if it’s the last thing I do.”

I wasn’t sure where the sudden sentiment came from. But I felt for this kid. He had no one, no one at all. I genuinely wanted to help him get away from that crappy village and the disgusting excuses for human beings that inhabited it. He deserved a life far better than the one he led, and it seemed that I was the only one who could help him achieve it. So there was no way I could leave him behind. The guilt would have crushed me. I pulled away and looked at him. “Does that sound good,” I asked.

He sniffled and nodded, smiling slightly.

“Great,” I said cheerfully. “Hey, I have an idea!” He tilted his head to the side questioningly. “How about this: from now on, you and I will be best friends. No objections,” I added jokingly. He seemed taken aback at my sudden declaration. But after a second’s thought, he nodded, confirming our friendship. “Awesome! Now come on, let’s go,” I shouted, jogging towards the path. He caught up quicker than I expected, and began walking alongside me.

“Dale,” he whispered. “Dale. T-That’s my name.”

I hadn’t expected such a sudden introduction, especially since he didn’t seem like the time to introduce himself first. But I was glad nonetheless. “Alice. Pleasure to be traveling with you, Dale. Cool name, by the way.”

He nodded his thanks and we continued walking. The Adventures of Dale and Alice, I thought. That has a nice ring to it.

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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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Volume 1: Dale and Alice

CHAPTER 4

I screamed.

It was the probably the loudest, shrillest scream that had ever come out of me. I jumped up from my spot under the tree and scrambled forward away from the source of the voice, only to fall flat on my face for the third time that day. The top of my head had hit the bucket when I fell, causing my precious water to spill.

God damnit. Who in their right mind would go up to someone and just-

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry,” she exclaimed. She reiterated the same sentence over and over again while bowing her head repeatedly. She bowed her head so quickly I couldn’t see her face properly. As she was apologizing, I took note of her unusual appearance: light pink hair adorned by a white headband, magenta sweater, white skirt with a matching white and gold belt, white knee-high socks and pink boots. Although my distorted vision couldn’t see any of her colors properly, I could tell that this girl had a serious obsession with pink.

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head or something? Why aren’t you saying anything? Hello? Do you need a doctor,” she asked. She was asking so much so fast that I had a hard time keeping up with what she was saying.

I slowly got up, brushing the dirt off of my clothes. I heard the pink girl sigh in relief. “Thank the stars you’re alright. Listen, I just need to ask a few-”

Before she could even finish her sentence, I turned and bolted. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I didn’t stop until my lungs felt like they were on fire, and my legs like dry spaghetti; like they would snap at any second.

I sat down on a flat rock to catch my breath, carefully looking around the area to make sure she wasn’t nearby. Thank goodness I lost her. Man, what is wrong with that chick? Did nobody warn her to not come into the forest? If she heard the rumors, she wouldn’t have dared to come this deep into the forest. Or maybe she heard the rumors and she’s either really brave or really dumb. Maybe both.

I almost screamed again at the sound of her voice. “Y’know, it’s rude to run from a lady in need of assistance. Plenty folk try to outrun me, but I always catch up to them. Now, as I was saying-”

I got up and started running again. At that moment, I didn’t give a rat’s ass about anything she had to say. The only thing that was on my mind was getting the hell away from her. She didn’t seem dangerous, but the fact that she had chased me down didn’t exactly encourage me to trust her. Besides, I haven’t trusted anyone since…

I ran harder, my arms and legs pumping like my life depended on it. I just needed to get home. As strange as she was, she couldn’t possibly be crazy enough to follow me home.

With that thought to console me, I ran the familiar path to my home.

ONE FOREST RUN LATER

Through the thick foliage I spotted the dismal shack I called home. I raced up the stairs to the porch, almost hitting the door at full speed. After forcing it open, I slammed the door closed, pressing my back against it. After a moment of consideration, I locked both locks for good measure. If she was crazy enough to follow me, she couldn’t get in.

I had never been more terrified in my whole life than when she had jumped up from behind the tree I was sitting under and yelled something about a wish. Did she hear me talking to myself? God, that’s embarrassing.

I shook my head to get rid of my thoughts. After my furious sprinting, I felt dead tired. But before I could sleep, there was something I had to check.

Very carefully and quietly, I peeked out the window, between the boards. After confirming that she was nowhere near, I felt like I could breathe a little easier. Sleep, my body begged. I didn’t even make it upstairs to my room. Instead, I fell onto the couch, and fell asleep almost immediately.

When I woke up, I had no idea what time it was. I sat up and looked out between the cracks of a boarded up window. The sky was black. How long have I been out, I wondered. I stretched my arms above my head and breathed in. As I did, I caught a whiff of something sweet. Well, as sweet as my whacked senses could perceive it as. I pushed myself off the couch and followed the smell into the kitchen- and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the scene laid out before me.

She must have heard my footsteps, because she turned around to face me, her pink hair in her face. She beamed when she saw me. “You’re awake! Thank goodness, I was afraid I had put you in a coma or something,” she giggled. Is she making a joke, I wondered.

I looked at the counter and noticed an open bag of berries sitting next to my pie pan. Oh no she didn’t.

“It was very messy when I got here, so I cleaned up a bit. Did you even notice how much dust had built up? It was like no one had lived here in years. It’s a good thing I’m here, otherwise you would’ve gotten sick from all the dust,” she chided playfully.

I was a bit taken aback. She sounded like she was actually concerned about me.

I shook my head again. That was ridiculous. She was a damn psychopath. There was most likely something she wanted from me.

Without even thinking about it, I took a step back from her. She noticed, and began walking toward me very fast. I panicked, sure she was going to attack me.

Instead, she simply grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. Then she spoke in a quiet voice that I hadn’t thought possible for her. She said, “Listen, I need your help. You know how to get out of this forest, right?”

I was paralyzed due to shock, but I managed to nod.

“Then help me out. If you do that, I will bring you with me to the Kingdom and make sure you get your wish granted. How does that sound?”

Kingdom? Wish? What is she going on about?

“Don’t give me that look. I know you probably think I’m crazy. But I’m one hundred percent serious. We can help each other. Don’t you let my good deeds go to waste now.”

I kind of wanted to smack her at that. All she had done so far was spy on me in the bushes, scare me half to death, chase me through the woods, and break into my home while i was sleeping. Those didn’t sound like good deeds to me. I shot her a look that I hoped was skeptical.

Slowly, she moved her hands from my shoulders to the sides of my face and held it there so I couldn’t look away. “I need to get to the Kingdom,” she said. “You’re my only hope for doing so. And if you think I’m just some psychopath with no idea what she’s talking about, then that’s fine. But admit it: you need me just as much as I need you. I can help you to stop being sad. That’s your wish, right? So what do you say?”

I wasn’t sure if she meant it or not. But she seemed sincere, like she wanted to help me. And she was right, after all. I would never make it on my own. I thought of the people in the village. Tim, his sister Tabitha, and every single person in that town who had ever treated me like a freak. I thought of how I came home everyday and cried myself to sleep, knowing that there was no changing anything. Knowing that I would just have to live with being hated for the rest of my days.

I looked her in the eyes and nodded curtly.

“YES,” she yelled. Her warm hands left my face to punch the air triumphantly as she jumped around my kitchen. When she finally stopped, she looked at me and said, “Now that that’s settled, let’s eat. I made pie!”

She dragged me to the dining table. She was surprisingly strong. Dinner was eaten in awkward silence, although she did try to start up a conversation with anything that seemed to come to mind.

Once she was done eating, she stood up and started towards the door. “I’m gonna go set up camp. See you tomorrow!”

“W-wait...”

She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face me.

“You can take m-my room upstairs if, if you want. I can just sleep on the- on the couch. I’m used to falling asleep there anyways,..” I stammered.

I wasn’t sure why I did it. A gentle girl like her just seemed too delicate to sleep outside in the cold. It was at least warm inside the house. In fact, that was pretty much the only good thing about living there.

She looked touched. “Oh thank you so, so much,” she squealed.

For a moment I could have sworn that her pupils changed shape from circles into something that resembled stars.

As she headed upstairs, I shook the thought from my head. There was no way her pupils had changed shape. I must still be worn out from the chase through the woods, I told myself.

I grabbed some blankets from the storage closet in the kitchen and made myself comfortable on the couch. I wasn’t quite sure what had just happened. Everything had occurred so quickly, after all. This morning everything was so normal, and now I had agreed to go on a journey to the Kingdom with a stranger whose name I hadn’t even learned yet to get a wish granted. It all seemed too bizarre to actually be happening. I wondered if I was hallucinating.

Right before I fell asleep, my last thought was ‘What have I just gotten myself into?’

#scared #dale #alice #teamCC #mia

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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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Volume 1: Dale and Alice

CHAPTER 3

I felt like I had been walking for forever.

My legs were wobbly, my head was spinning, and my vision was beginning to blur. I needed rest. But where,” I wondered.

I trekked up the side of a large hill, and came to a halt as I reached the top. There, nesting comfortably in the middle of the valley, was a small village. And when I say small, I mean miniscule. Just from looking at the little town, I estimated that there was no more than about one hundred inhabitants occupying the compact collection of cottages. But a small village was better than no village at all.

I followed the dirt road leading into the village. As I approached the outskirts, a small wooden sign someone had stuck into the ground came into view. The name of the village was clumsily painted, as well as the population count.

WELCOME TO DONDO VILLAGE POPULATION: 102

Just as I thought. It barely qualified as a town. DonDo. What a quaint name for a little village, I thought.

I quickly found an inn to reside in for the night. I quickly paid the innkeeper climbed the stairs to my room, and collapsed on the mattress without a second thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke early the next morning to explore the town. Although I never stayed in any of the villages I visited for more than a day or two, it never hurt to meet the townspeople. I could stock up on supplies, get directions, and if I was lucky I could even grab a drink at a tavern.

As I was gathering my things for the day, I took a look out the small window. I had a perfect view of the marketplace. It was full of bumbling people going about their day. Merchants were shouting at passing people, trying to get passerby to examine their goods and buy from them.

Amongst the bustling crowd, a certain someone caught my eye. There was a small market goer covered in a dark cloak walking away from the crowd. They were hunched over, as if trying not to be noticed. I watched them cast a quick glance around, like they were making sure that no one had seen them.

Odd, I thought to myself. Small town, but at least they keep interesting company.

I finished packing and left the inn, thanking the innkeeper and dropping the room keys on the counter as I passed.

I squinted in the sudden bright sunlight, but my eyes adjusted quickly. I looked around the market, hoping to spot the curious cloaked figure I had seen from my window. Instead, my eyes landed on a group of kids walking in my direction: three boys who seemed to be the same age, and a younger girl who followed one of the boys closely. As i watched, two of the boys separated from the group and headed in their own respective directions. Now it was just the blond boy and the little girl.

I straightened my back as the pair got nearer. When they were close enough, I stepped into their path and smiled.

“Excuse me, do you know what direction the Kingdom is in by any chance,” I asked. I looked the blond directly in the eyes and made sure my voice was as sweet as I could possibly make it. I had discovered that people were more likely to help if I came off as cute and charming. Just a few weeks prior I had gotten a boy to buy me a drink using this tactic. I twirled a strand of pink hair around my finger for extra measure.

The boy blushed. I had him captivated.

“Um, it’s just, just through that forest over there,” he stammered. He pointed in the direction he had come from. “But you- you might not want to go through there. You should probably take the long way,” he added.

I temporarily forgot my charming act. “What? Why,” I demanded.

He seemed a bit taken aback, so I quickly slipped back into my role. “I mean, I need to get to the kingdom as quickly as possible. Wouldn’t the long way slow me down,” I inquired. I tilted my head to the side a bit for added innocent confusion.

I noticed his muscles relax slightly. “Well,” he started,” because a freak lives in there. He’s a friggin’ weirdo, so you should really avoid him.”

“People go missing in that forest,” the little girl next to him piped up. She clutched the boy’s sleeve as though she were frightened.

The boy rolled his eyes. “The little freak just spread those rumors so we would get scared and leave his pathetic excuse for a house alone.” He looked at me again and smiled. “If you absolutely have to go through the forest, be careful. If you run across a sad, abandoned-looking shack, stay far away from it,” he advised. “Okay?”

“Alright, I’ll avoid this… freak. You obviously know more about him than me, so I’ll trust your judgment.”

With that information, I set out towards the forest. If there really is a freak living in that forest, I thought, I can handle him no problem.

No one is getting in my way.

ONE HOUR LATER

I’ve been walking for an hour, but it doesn’t feel like I’m getting anywhere at all.

I swear, if that kid gave me the wrong directions, I’ll go back and snap his damn neck like the pencil it is.

I pulled myself out of my violent thoughts and took a deep breath. I needed to get my bearings. As I pushed my neck-snapping thoughts out of my head, a different thought found its way in: who was the freak that kid mentioned?

It didn’t make sense to me that someone would live way out in the middle of a forest when there was a village right nearby.

I remembered what the boy from town had said when he spoke of the ‘freak’. “The little freak just spread those rumors so we would get scared and leave his pathetic excuse for a house alone.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out that he wasn’t very fond of this ‘freak’. And judging by what he had said about the freak spreading rumors so that he would be left alone, the dislike was mutual. It sounded like the boy had done something to the freak. Why else would he have spread those rumors?

Although I had been warned against him, I was sort of hoping to meeting this aforementioned freak. Despite the fact that the village spoke ill of him, I doubted he could be that bad. It didn’t matter to me that what I was doing might be considered dangerous. It was exciting! I was on a grand adventure just like in the storybooks; a journey of action, mystery, romance, and monsters was surely ahead.

This is going to go perfectly. I’ll get out of this forest, past a few more villages, and then I’ll be at the docks. From there, I just need to catch a couple boat rides, and then that wish is mine.

Giddy with excitement, I was unable to suppress a squeal. Deep breaths, Alice, I told myself. One thing at a time. First, get out of this forest.

I looked around- and frowned. That wasn’t right. There had been a humongous, fallen-over tree right next to me just a moment ago. But now, it was nowhere to be seen. The small pond I had stopped at for a drink had disappeared. Now there was nothing but trees all around.

Shit.

I ran through the forest in a panicked frenzy, desperately trying to find my lost landmarks. After ten minutes of sprinting, still nothing but trees.

Great. I’m lost.

I kicked a tree in frustration- and immediately regretted it. I held my right foot in my hands and hopped around on my left one, hissing in pain.

I stopped jumping. Either it was just my imagination, or-

There it was again. It sounded like a person… crying? I followed the sound, treading carefully so as not to make any noise.

There. Right behind an oak tree. There was a boy sitting under the tree, curled into himself and crying softly. He made quite the sight.

His skin was crazy pale, pretty much white in color. He wore a blue long-sleeved shirt and darker blue trousers. He wore no shoes; just white socks. His clothes looked old and worn out, like he had bought them twelve years ago and had never gotten them mended or gone shopping.

This had to be the freak that that kid mentioned. Had to be. I had yet to see anyone who looked as odd as him. While everything about him screamed ‘different’, but something about him seemed harmless. I had been concerned earlier about what might happen if I met this stranger, I knew now that he was completely safe.

“I wish I wasn’t born sad,” I hear him whisper.

I gasped. A wish. He wanted a wish, just like I did.

His head shot up, and he looked around frantically. I instinctively ducked down behind a bush. Apparently, the rush of the flowing river next to us had failed to drown out my gasp.

Think: he lives here, so I bet he knows the way out.

That one thought was enough to steel my nerves. Plus, he had a wish. I was sure that if I brought him with me, he could get his wish granted as well. Who knew, perhaps there was a chance that we could become friends.

My mind made up, I jumped out from my spot behind the bushes, determined to cheer up the poor outcast.

“DID YOU SAY WISH?!”

#nailed it #sweetgirls #dale #alice #teamCC #mia

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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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Volume 1: Dale and Alice

CHAPTER 2

A rock. They threw a fucking rock.

I mean, they’ve thrown shit at me before, but just fruit and dirt clods. Those were annoying, sure. But they didn’t hurt very much. Not nearly as much as that rock Tim threw.

Stupid Tim.

I opened the front door of my sad little shack, cringing at the horrible screaming emitting from the rusty hinges. It was pretty dark inside, despite it being the middle of the day. “Where are those candles,” I muttered to myself.

I stumbled into the dark kitchen, stubbing my toe on the dining table. Swearing profusely, I set my basket down on the accursed table and began lighting the candles in the house. Oh, how I wish I had electricity. I shook my head as though the thought was water in my ears. It was a ridiculous thought. Only those residing in the Grand Kingdom had access to electricity. Us unlucky country-dwellers just had to suck it up and light our candles.

I opened up my cooler for some water, and was greeted with emptiness.

“Great. Just terrific,” I grumbled.

I sighed. There was no way in Hell I was going back into town, not after that terrible fiasco of a market visit. The slight pain in the back of my head served as a reminder that I was not welcome in DonDo. I didn’t belong there, and I was never going to.

Down to the river it is. The river was just a twenty minute walk from my home. If I was fast, I could make it to the river and back before sundown.

I walked over to the beaten-down couch in front of the fireplace and flopped down onto my belly. All I wanted to do at the moment was sleep. But I already slept a lot. I slept at night, and during the day. I slept even when i wasn’t tired, because when I was asleep I could dream.

In my world, I was an outcast. I didn’t have a single friend. The people in the village saw me as nothing more than a freak. A weirdo.

A monster.

An image of Tabitha’s mortified expression when my cloak fell off flashed across my mind. Even the little kids thought I was disgusting. The mental image of Tabitha’s horrified face, as well as the soon-to-be bruise at the back of my head, courtesy of Tabitha’s big brother(go fuck a cactus, Tim), reminded me that not only did I not belong, but that the inhabitants of DonDo would most likely be happier without my existence.

Or maybe nothing would change. Maybe they would continue to be horrible people, just without a town weakling to prey on.

No. They would just find a new target. Someone as equally weak as myself. But even that someone would have the guts to stick up for themselves. Or at least, more guts than me.

Groaning, I heaved myself off the couch and back up onto my feet. It was either get the water now, or be dehydrated all day. Honestly, the latter didn’t sound very appealing, so I’d just have to go with the first option.

I started towards the door, but tripped over something on the ground. I fell with an oomph.

I rolled onto my back and cast a dirty look at the object which had served as my downfall.

A rope. I tripped over a rope.

I wasn’t even sure how that was possible. But somehow, I had managed to achieve what I had previously thought impossible. Just one of the many perks of being me.

For the second time that day, I picked myself up off the ground. I scooped up the rope and headed towards the door to the basement, which was located in the kitchen.

After struggling with the door a bit, I got it open. I squinted into the dusty darkness, trying to see something; anything, really. But nothing. I didn’t keep candles down in the basement. I never went down there, so there was no point. I glanced up at the beams that kept the house from falling into the basement, then down at the rope that was still in my hand.

No. Stop that, the voice in my head screamed. Get those silly thoughts out of your head and go get the damn water.

I sighed, once again shaking the water-thoughts from my ears. After throwing the rope down the stairs into the depths of the basement, I grabbed the water bucket from underneath the sink and stepped outside to fetch the water.

Everything looked so… colorless. The trees, the flowers, everything. Instead of vibrant colors, the only thing my eyes perceived was a world of pale, faded shades, like a shirt that’s been washed too many times and lost it’s color. But if I looked up, the sky was the most vibrant shade of blue that I never thought possible. It was as though an ocean was suspended above me, and any second it would come crashing down drowning me and everyone in DonDo.

In the middle of this ocean in the sky were three suns, perfectly spread out. The medium-sized one in the middle told me that it was noon. Perfect. Plenty of time to fetch the water and make it back in time for supper.

I started down the familiar path that would lead me to my favorite place on the riverbank.

ONE HOUR LATER

Finally. I got the stupid water. It took almost an hour, and I nearly fell into the river, but my bucket is filled with fresh, clean water. I plopped down under a tall oak tree and leaned my back against its trunk. I winced as the back of my head touched the rough bark. I need to put a bandage on that.

I decided I deserved a little break for my hard work. So i sat and watched the leaves fall in varying shades of red, yellow, and brown. A clear sign of the approaching winter.

Out of nowhere, my eyes welled up with tears. I gingerly touched the welt on the back of my skull. Yup. Definitely a bruise now.

I didn’t quite understand why my life turned out the way it did. When I was younger I was at least a little optimistic. I used to believe that things could get better. But that was a long time ago. Now, I’m just trying to scrape by, hoping that each time I have to make a run into town, that nobody notices me. Because if someone notices me, something bad is going to happen.

Like a rock getting thrown at my head.

I sat and sobbed for a few minutes more. A deep, rattling breath. I focused on a flower next to the river. I think it was yellow. It was hard to tell.

“I wish I wasn’t born sad,” I whispered to the forest. I leaned forward and rested my forehead on my knees.

My head shot up. I looked around frantically, searching for… I wasn’t sure. But I had heard something. I was sure of it. There was no wildlife in this part of the forest, so it wasn’t an animal. And there was no breeze, either. So shrugging it off as ‘just the wind’, wasn’t an option.

There was someone nearby. It didn’t make sense, though. DonDoers never came into the forest. They were scared of the rumors I had spread about people getting lost in here, never to return. I had planted these rumors in the market a few years ago to get kids to stop throwing stuff at my house and breaking the windows. Hence why I had boards instead of glass in my windows. Sure enough, the rumor spread like wildfire, and I hadn’t had a single object hurled at my house since. Heck, I hadn’t seen another human being in my forest since that day.

I waited a minute that felt like an eternity. Maybe it was an animal after all, I thought. There was no more rustling; all was still.

God, I’m so paranoid. I can never just-

A rock. They threw a fucking rock.

I mean, they’ve thrown shit at me before, but just fruit and dirt clods. Those were annoying, sure. But they didn’t hurt very much. Not nearly as much as that rock Tim threw.

Stupid Tim.

I opened up my cooler for some water, and was greeted with emptiness.

“Great. Just terrific,” I grumbled.

Down to the river it is. The river was just a twenty minute walk from my home. If I was fast, I could make it to the river and back before sundown.

In my world, I was an outcast. I didn’t have a single friend. The people in the village saw me as nothing more than a freak. A weirdo.

A monster.

Or maybe nothing would change. Maybe they would continue to be horrible people, just without a town weakling to prey on.

No. They would just find a new target. Someone as equally weak as myself. But even that someone would have the guts to stick up for themselves. Or at least, more guts than me.

I started towards the door, but tripped over something on the ground. I fell with an oomph.

I rolled onto my back and cast a dirty look at the object which had served as my downfall.

A rope. I tripped over a rope.

I wasn’t even sure how that was possible. But somehow, I had managed to achieve what I had previously thought impossible. Just one of the many perks of being me.

For the second time that day, I picked myself up off the ground. I scooped up the rope and headed towards the door to the basement, which was located in the kitchen.

No. Stop that, the voice in my head screamed. Get those silly thoughts out of your head and go get the damn water.

I started down the familiar path that would lead me to my favorite place on the riverbank.

ONE HOUR LATER

I decided I deserved a little break for my hard work. So i sat and watched the leaves fall in varying shades of red, yellow, and brown. A clear sign of the approaching winter.

Out of nowhere, my eyes welled up with tears. I gingerly touched the welt on the back of my skull. Yup. Definitely a bruise now.

Like a rock getting thrown at my head.

I sat and sobbed for a few minutes more. A deep, rattling breath. I focused on a flower next to the river. I think it was yellow. It was hard to tell.

“I wish I wasn’t born sad,” I whispered to the forest. I leaned forward and rested my forehead on my knees.

I waited a minute that felt like an eternity. Maybe it was an animal after all, I thought. There was no more rustling; all was still.

God, I’m so paranoid. I can never just-

“DID YOU SAY WISH?”

#wowie #dale #alice #sadbois #teamCC #mia

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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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Tada! Lil Dale for today based on chapter 1 -A

#dale #my art #teamCC

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comicalcats · 8 years ago

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volume 1: Dale and Alice

CHAPTER 1

The sun rose above the horizon, signaling the crack of dawn and the beginning of a new day.

As if on cue, the quiet village of DonDo began to wake; the children scrambled to find their friends for a day of play, while the older villagers prepared for work. Within the hour, the village was alive and busy, as it was nearly everyday, with merchants selling their goods, vendors serving food, and small children racing through the labyrinth of a market that was the heart of the town.

Lining one side of DonDo was a vast forest, with a small path leading up to the village. Most villagers paid it no mind, as no one used it. Truth be told, although the forest was quite close to the village outskirts, the inhabitants found it rather creepy. Supposedly, if one was brave enough to venture into the forest at night, they would be able to hear the sobs of the unlucky travelers who had foolishly gotten lost in there, and were never seen again.

On this day, if anyone had bothered to glance in the direction of the forest path, they would have a clear view of a hooded figure riding a bike down the path in the direction of DonDo. The villagers had gotten so used to them riding in at the same time everyday that they no longer paid the mysterious stranger any mind. At first they had been quite curious and a bit afraid, but after years of the same routine, they lost interest in the small, hooded person.

As per usual, they stopped their bike next to an old, broken lamppost. After securing the bicycle with a lock and chain, they set off towards the market, basket in hand.

A few stares were the only acknowledgement the poor soul received as they wandered through the market in search of what they needed. As they stopped to examine a merchant stall selling berries, he picked up on the conversation between the lady running the stall and two male customers. They were discussing the latest information from that week’s newspaper.

“I’m tellin’ ya, these people got no idea what they’re doin’, thinking they can tax us all they want like it’s nothin’,” the smaller man exclaimed. He seemed infuriated.

“Oh hush, you. You know how much the kingdom has aided us in the past; if anything, you should be thanking the royal family for their generosity towards a tiny village such as ours,” the woman chided.

The younger man seemed to consider her words. “That said, don’t you think it’s a bit much,” he inquired.

The hooded stranger, who had grown bored of their conversation, quickly grabbed and paid for his items. Basket now filled, they began walking back towards the lamppost where they had chained their bike. But before they had even made it halfway there, a small group of children the same height as the stranger stopped in front of them, cutting off their path.

On instinct, the hooded figure took a step back, an action which the other children saw a sign of weakness.

One boy, who was clearly the one in charge, began taunting the hooded stranger. “Well, would you look at that. The freakshow is back!”

The stranger’s only response was to tilt their head downwards in an attempt to hide their face from their assailants.

“Aw, is it going to cry again,” teased the smaller blond boy. “Little freak should just leave the village for good.”

A tanned boy with dark hair spoke up,”Yeah! Hey Tim, let’s show this freak a lesson.”

The boys’ leader nodded his approval. Just as the were closing in on their victim, a small girl came running. “Tim,” she yelled. “Mama says to come home for chores!”

Tim and the other boys whirled around to face the little girl.

“Geez, you’re such a friggin pain. Can’t you see that I’m busy here,” Tim spat, clearly annoyed.

Tim’s sister, however, was not so easily discouraged. “What are you picking on them for? C’mon,” she sighed. She grabbed her brother’s wrist and began dragging him home.

The stranger took the opportunity they saw and silently moved past the boys towards their bike.

Tim, who noticed the stranger’s attempt at escape, growled and tore his arm from his little sister’s grasp. “I’ll show you why we pick on him,” he muttered angrily.

Running towards the stranger, he scooped a rock up off the ground and threw it at them.

It hit the stranger square in the back of the head, causing them to stumble and fall. Their cloak fell off as they fell, and the little girl gasped at the sight of him.

Without the cloak to cover his face, it became clear why he was the village oddball. His skin was white as snow, his eyes large and watery like wet marbles; instead of black, his pupils were simply a shade of blue darker than his iris. His hair consisted of three long, thick strands, so light a blond that it looked almost white. He looked terrified staring up at the boys and the young girl.

Tim snickered,”Look at him, sis. He’s a freak. He shouldn’t even be here.”

The young girl looked mortified now, staring at the pale boy with a shocked expression on her face.

After laughing at him for a few minutes more, Tim and his sister left to go do the chores their mother ordered them to complete. Without their leader, the other boys quickly dispersed, leaving the fallen boy behind on the ground.

Slowly, he picked himself up off the ground, put his cloak back on, and picked up his basket. Miraculously, none of his purchases had fallen out.

Without a word, he unlocked his bike and placed both the chain and the basket in the crate at the back. He then quickly climbed onto his bike and pedaled away from the village. Up the path and into the forest he went, until he arrived at a small, rundown shack in the middle of a clearing. The windows were boarded up, and the roof was sagging. Several boards were missing from the porch. At the edge of the clearing where the shack resided, there stood a sad-looking mailbox. A name was painted on the side; the blue paint was old and chipped, but the name was still readable:

DALE

The boy opened the front door and stepped into the house.

He muttered,” Home sweet home.”

#first time #dale #alice #mia #teamCC

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