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digitalsatyr23 · 2 years ago

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Bebop Bayou Tales #2

Red on Black

Setting: Bebop Bayou Characters: Rina, Lafayette, Scarlet... Word Count: 21,853 Tag List: @gummybugg (ask to +/- yourself)

Once again, we find ourselves in the low-lying wetlands of Bebop Bayou. Ever since Rina and Lafayette saved the land from the terrifying Swamp Shark, the kids have been keeping themselves busy, goin’ out on adventures and fightin’ any no-good monsters that caused trouble. Rina brings the brawn, and Lafayette brings the brains, but these days they get a little extra help from Alyssa, the egret woman of the bayou. With her swift wings, it’s no trouble at all takin’ to the air and spottin’ incoming varmints. And so, we join them rough-and-ready kids once more as they brave the wild and fight to keep their homeland safe. Little do they know that a great change is comin’…

---

The gigapede attacked, its snapping jaws oozing with dark venom. Rina stood her ground and caught the gigapede by its huge mandibles. Her boots dug into the moist earth beneath her, and she stared the monster down.

“Ain’t no way I’m lettin’ you in here!” Rina growled. Yet the gigapede continued to press forward with its dozens of legs. Then, its antennae sparked.

“Rina, look out!” shouted Lafayette.

“Oh shoot!”

Electricity arced between the gigapede’s antennae as it readied its attack. Before the worst came to pass, Alyssa swooped down and grabbed Rina by her overall straps. A blinding blast of electricity hit the ground where Rina once stood, and the gigapede looked up with curiosity and irritation.

“Thanks a ton, Alyssa! I was almost roast gator!” said Rina.

“It’s no fuss! Besides, your ma would tan my hide if I didn’t pitch in,” said Alyssa. “Now, I don’t suppose our resident monster expert has a plan, does she?”

“I might,” Rina said, looking down at the gigapede. Its chitinous hide had proven too tough to crack for either her or the others. Its face was the least armored, but it still had those venomous jaws and special antennae. As Rina pondered the situation, she saw electricity arc between the monster’s antennae once more. “Alyssa, dodge!!”

Alyssa swerved mid-air to dodge a bolt of electricity, then a second, then a third.

“Man, this thing doesn’t let up!” said Alyssa.

“Lafayette! You still down there, bud?!” shouted Rina.

“I’m still here!” Lafayette shouted from a tree. “Can’t say I’m happy about it, though!”

“I need me some good rope! Do you still have any?”

“O’ course I got rope! What do ya need it for?”

“Just trust me!” Rina then looked up at Alyssa. “Mind movin’ me closer to him?”

“I can certainly try!” said the egret.

Alyssa swooped down, giving Rina the chance to grab Lafayette’s rope – and not a moment too soon, for the gigapede had lined up its shot and fired on where Lafayette was hiding. The grey fox boy hopped out of the tree and into the mud, which he used for cover. With Rina’s instructions, Alyssa dropped the gator girl onto the gigapede’s armored backside. Rina lassoed the rope around the monster’s huge antennae and used it to steer the beast like cattle. The giant insect bucked and wriggled, moving faster and faster to try and throw Rina off its back. While she kept it busy, Alyssa and Lafayette passed mud back and forth to put out the fire on the burning tree.

“What’s she doin’?” Alyssa asked Lafayette.

“The only thing she knows how to – followin’ her gut!”

Despite the gigapede’s best efforts, Rina gained control of which direction the monster moved, and with a twist and a yank, she caused it to ram right into a giant boulder. The momentum alone threw Rina off of the beast, and she dropped onto the boulder on her backside. Even though her view was upside down, she could tell the gigapede had stopped moving.

“Good goin’, Rina!” said Alyssa, flying down to the base of the boulder. “Are you okay?”

“This rock done popped my back in places I didn’t know I had, but I’d say I’m doin’ fine,” said Rina. “Is Lafayette all right?”

“I’m okay,” said the fox boy, catching up. “Got a bit dirty, but nothin’ a dip in the lake can’t fix.”

“I just can’t believe somethin’ so dangerous found the bayou,” said Alyssa. “And you two fight these things all the time?”

“More or less,” Rina spun around, standing up. “Not the worst we’ve had, mind you, but I’d say this is a good refer… Refen… A good perspective. And as you can see, we get along just fine.”

Alyssa was a recent recruit to the monster-fighting team that Rina and Lafayette had formed. Having helped during the invasion of the Swamp Shark, Alyssa’s flight and keen eyes proved invaluable in finding threats that encroached upon the swamp. She was a tall thin bird woman with a pale feathery body. Prominent wings grew from her back, and both her arms and legs ended in scaley dark claws – with her legs in particular being quite long and thin, much like a great egret’s legs. Her eyes were bright yellow, her neck was long, and her face was human-like, with flecks of green and gold around her eyes like natural eye shadow. Her only clothes were a black sleeveless zipped-up vest and torn jean shorts. Rina thought Alyssa was as pretty as a painting, and she liked the woman’s singing voice too.

“Now what should we do with this thing?” asked Rina, sliding down the boulder.

“It’s big, but it’s not too heavy,” said Alyssa. “If I could bundle this thing up somehow, I could probably carry it out of the bayou.”

“I got a net,” said Lafayette. “Rina, help me with this thing.”

“Sure thing!” saluted the gator girl.

Rina and Lafayette wrapped the gigapede’s long thin body around itself, trying not to hurt it in the process. Rina and Lafayette’s monster fighting squad wasn’t about killing monsters, just doing enough damage that the monsters thought twice before causing trouble in the swamp again. It was only natural for beasts to fight over food and territory, so as long as Rina and her friends proved their grit, the monsters they fought never came back.

With the gigapede bound in the net, Alyssa grabbed the top of the rope with her talons and hoisted it into the air.

“All right! I’ll go ahead and take this thing to the north, so why don’t you two head on back to the village?” said Alyssa.

“Sounds like a plan. Thanks for all the help!” said Rina.

“Oh, it’s nothin’ at all. It’s you two I should be thankin’. Take care, now!”

Then Alyssa flew off. Rina watched her go with a smile on her face. “What a nice lady.”

“Good thing she was here,” said Lafayette. “I felt like a second fiddle in this fight.”

“It’s okay, bud!” Rina wrapped her arm around Lafayette. “What’s important is you were here. You’re our fastest runner, so I’d be relyin’ on you to warn the others if things went south.”

“Then I’ll take today as another victory.”

“That’s the spirit!” Rina patted Lafayette on the back. “Now let’s head home. I’ll bet my mama’s cookin’ somethin’ real good by now. It’s almost lunch time!”

“I like the sound of that. Race ya there!”

Lafayette took off in a sprint down the dirt road. Rina gave chase, and even though she was leagues slower than her friend, every day it felt like she got just a pinch faster. She wondered if there would ever come a time when she could outrun her friend, or if there would be a day when Lafayette got stronger than her. Every day was a chance to learn, see something new, grow, and improve, and Rina relished every second of it.

After the pair got too winded to run, they stopped to catch their breath. There was a stream nearby, so they got down by its edge and splashed cool water on their faces. The wind was gentle and sweet that day, and the happy buzzing of insects made Rina feel at ease.

“Say, what plans you got for the rest of the day?” asked Lafayette.

“Can’t think of much,” said Rina. “Unless another monster shows up, I was thinkin’ maybe I’d dust off my banjo, or maybe go feed Tabasco. What about you?”

“My lucky coin’s been givin’ me that feeling all day.” The fox boy reached into a pocket and pulled out his coin. It was small and flat, with a gold color and an uneven cross on both sides. Its corner spaces were occupied by engraved symbols, like lions, bulls, or buildings, and despite its size, it had a surprising heft to it. In the past, Lafayette had claimed that the coin led him to the bayou years ago, and each time it gave him that special feeling, something good always seemed to happen.

“You wanna go treasure huntin’?” asked Rina.

“Mayhaps,” Lafayette pocketed his coin. “I’m sure I’ll figure out what’s what after lunch, but I thought I’d give the offer.”

“Then mayhaps I’ll come along, even if it’s just to provide musical accompaniment.”

Rina laughed as she stood up, but as she did, she noticed a strange shadow looming over the bayou. It wasn’t a cloud, nor a bird. When she finally looked up, she was astonished, and was quick to point it out for her friend.

“Lafayette, you said that feelin’ always proceeds somethin’ good, right?” asked Rina.

“I… I think so,” said Lafayette.

“Then should I be worried about that or not?”

Up above, a large unknown object was floating in the air, slowly levitating closer and closer to the bayou. Rina rubbed her eyes, but the object remained. It was a house – two stories tall, with an attic on top. It was the fanciest house she had ever seen, the color red, black, and white, with a nice front porch, wooden pillars supporting the overhang, and windows that shimmered in the sun. It seemed to be floating on a giant flying carpet. Rina just couldn’t believe it. Given Lafayette’s slack jaw, she suspected he couldn’t either.

“Rina… You seein’ what I’m seein’?”

“I do believe I do, Lafayette.”

Without so much as a word, the pair darted off towards the village. It was unlikely the other residents had missed a flying house in the sky, but just in case, the pair ran as fast as they could. Whether the residents of the house were hospitable or hostile, Rina wasn’t sure, but if there was one thing she knew for certain, it’s that caution was always rewarded.

---

By the time Rina and Lafayette arrived in the village, the residents of the bayou had gathered together in front of a large clearing. Up above, the house was still floating on its carpet.

“Ah shoot, I can’t see a thing,” said Lafayette.

“That tree outta give us a good view. Come on!” said Rina.

The pair circled around the huge chattering crowd, clambered up the tree. They then sat on a branch together, anxious to see what happened next. In time, the house began its descent. Slowly but surely, the house landed in the clearing. The giant carpet remained underneath the house, protecting it from sinking into the soft soil of the bayou, and a small breeze was kicked up when it finally touched down. Rina gawked at the sight. She had never seen something so outlandish before – and she had seen some strange things in her time.

“Do you think anyone’s home?” asked Lafayette.

“Beats me,” said Rina. “Now I’m wonderin’… If the house can fly, do you think it can talk?”

The pair’s conversation was cut short, however, when the front door to the house opened and three people walked out. There were two adults and one child – likely a family, since they resembled each other in their own way. The man in front of the group was a tall and distinguished individual with swept-back red hair, red eyes with black slitted pupils, pointed ears, and peach skin. He wore a fine grey suit decorated with a red and white handkerchief in his left breast pocket. His black dress shoes were covered in white spatter guards (fancy foot attire Rina had seen once before), and a gold chain in a lower pocket connected to a pocket watch, which the man pulled out to check. A red snake tail with black and white stripes swayed behind him. His mouth moved, but Rina was too far away to pick up what he said.

“Did you catch that, Lafayette?” asked Rina.

“‘Noon – the perfect time for talk.’ Or somethin’ like that,” said Lafayette as his ears perked up.

Behind the snake man was a beautiful snake woman. Like the man, she had pointed ears, peach skin, and red eyes with black slitted pupils, but she wore a light pink floral dress with plenty of frills, along with a red sash around her waist, and black silk gloves. Her hair was long, blonde, and in curls, and the way light shimmered across her eyes made her seem oddly cute. She wore a sunhat with a red bow around it, and her parasol was the frilliest thing Rina had ever seen.

Lastly, there was a snake girl. Standing no taller than four feet, the girl had red hair that came down to her waist, which was topped with a big blue bow, all while strands of her hair grew past her pointed ears. She shared the same eyes, ears, and skin of the two adults, with her nails being black and notably sharp. Her attire was red, black, and white – just like the colors of her long and slender tail. An open red vest sat on a fancy-looking long sleeved white blouse, and her red skirt came all the way down to her ankles. She wore black boots, as well as white spatter guards over them. As she yawned, Rina couldn’t help but notice the girl’s prominent fangs and forked tongue.

The distinguished man in the front of the snake folk stepped forward, asking, “Who here is the leader of this fine settlement?”

Old Man Eli, who was at the front of the crowd below, stepped forward as well. “You can speak to me if you want.”

“Good, good! Allow me to introduce myself, then.” The man took a bow as he said, “My name is Crawford Beauregard, and this is my wife Victoria and my daughter Scarlet. We of the Beauregard family have been in search of new land to settle, for our old home had grown… Unsafe, you see. Lawless ruffians and monsters left us little choice but to migrate.” Crawford looked around. “Given the remoteness of this place and its warmth, I’d say that this would be the perfect spot. What manner of compensation would you like for this plot of land?”

Eli stuck his hand out, saying, “That won’t be necessary. I just need to discuss things with the others. Can ya spare us a moment?”

“Of course, of course. Take your time.”

Eli returned to the rest of the villagers, and they started talking things out. Even Rina’s parents seemed to be in on the conversation.

“What are they sayin’?” asked Rina.

“Mostly talk about whether they want a fancypants newcomer in the area. No one seems to really mind, though. Can’t say I’m opposed to it, either,” said Lafayette. “What do you think?”

“Well I’m always happy to make new friends,” said Rina. “The little one looks a bit nervous, but I don’t blame her.”

“Nervous?” said Lafayette. “She looks downright bored.”

“What, ‘cause she’s yawnin’? Yawnin’ don’t mean yer bored!”

“Then what would it mean?”

“She’s tired! Who knows how long she’s been flyin’ around in that crazy thing!”

Rather than rebuke this, Lafayette pointed down to where the others were and said, “Hey, somethin’s happenin’.”

In the clearing, Eli returned to Crawford and said, “We’d be happy to have you and your family, Mr. Beauregard. However, I think it’d be in your family’s best interest if you took more of a look around. I’d hate to have ya settle here without knowing what’s what.”

“Of course. Would you be willing to give me and my family a tour of the grounds?”

“I’d be more than happy to. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Splendid!” Crawford flagged down his family. “Victoria! Scarlet! Let’s go see the village!” Then they and the rest of the crowd moved away.

“Should we follow ‘em?” asked Rina.

“I don’t see why not. I doubt we’ll be gettin’ that lunch soon anyway,” said Lafayette. The pair then climbed down and followed after the others.

Rina and Lafayette kept pace with the locals and newcomers, doing their best to get a good view of things when they could. Everyone seemed so curious about the new people; it was hard to get their attention for anything else. Rina was most interested in Scarlet, as she seemed to be about hers and Lafayette’s age. There were other kids in the bayou, of course, but most were either too young or too old to play with. The thought of there being a third kid in her age range absolutely delighted the gator girl. More than once did Rina try getting closer so she could introduce herself. Unfortunately, there was simply no opportunity, what with the tour going on and the huge crowd of beast folk blocking the way. When it became clear there’d be no chance for introductions, Rina returned to Lafayette’s side, and the pair stayed in the background, observing how things went.

Old Man Eli headed the tour, taking the Beauregards all over the village. He showed them the generator, where they could wire themselves in for power – should they need it. It was a large hydrogen engine that Eli had secured for the village many years ago. It required a good deal of maintenance and only Eli really understood how it worked. Most of the villagers thought it was magic, though Rina knew better. She had seen a fair number of movies, so she knew what an engine was. It was something you put in cars that made them go vroom, and all Eli had done was hook the engine up to houses so they went vroom instead. Simple enough. The hydrogen engine was also hooked up to what Eli called “solar panels” and only required water, which was filtered through the machine… Somehow. According to Eli, older models used to produce something nasty called “NOx” and the gas could easily poison the air if the engine wasn’t treated right, but the particular model Eli found ran as clean as a whistle, so it was plenty safe.

“I must say, I’m rather impressed to see a hydrogen engine here,” said Crawford. “Wherever did you get it?”

“You’d be surprised what kind of stuff you can dig up just outside of the bayou. Most abandoned cars are stripped clean, but every once and a while you get lucky and find things like this,” said Eli.

“Splendid! What else is there?”

Eli continued the tour, showing the Beauregards where everyone lived, which primarily centered around a large pond full of lily pads. He also showed them the water tank, which was a huge water filter Eli had set up so people stopped getting sick from the river water. Refilling it was a shared task in the community, and Rina had helped carry bucket after bucket from the local rivers and streams many times in the past. She relished bucket duty, as it was good exercise.

“Ooh, what’s that over there?” asked Victoria.

“That’s the gazebo,” said Eli. “Sometimes we like to gather together and hold cook-offs under its roof.”

The gazebo was one of the larger structures in the community, with a flat stone floor and a sturdy tiled roof supported by several tall wooden beams. The gazebo was made before Rina’s time and was suited to beast folk of all shapes and sizes, including Rina’s gigantic parents. It even had a multi-layered barbeque pit in the center for cooking up huge amounts of meat. While the gazebo was primarily used for cook-offs, celebrations, and similar events, it also worked as a place for village meetings, in case Eli or anyone else needed to discuss something important with the others. A bell on a metal pole and a hammer hanging off of a hook on the pole was indicative of that. In times of emergency, people would smack the bell over and over to get everyone’s attention.

“And to your right, you’ll see our community theater,” said Eli.

“A community theater?” asked Crawford.

“Yes. It was set up by Matthew – he’s a mink that lives in a wagon. Anyone is welcome to use the performance stage – so long as they tell Matthew about it first.”

“You hear that, darling? They have a theater.”

“Ooh, how wonderful!” said Victoria. “I would love to see what kind of plays and concerts the village has to offer. What do you think, Scarlet? Isn’t that exciting? You could play for the whole swamp!”

Scarlet didn’t say anything. She seemed downright despondent. Eli gave the family an odd look and continued.

As Bebop Bayou was mostly a hodge podge of different houses, with no meaningful businesses – save Kylie’s trade store – the tour did not last for a particularly long time. That being said, Eli was sure to bring up the kind of rules for residents of the bayou, of which there were only a handful.

If you’re in trouble, let someone know.

If someone helps you, remember to help them out the next time that neighbor needs it.

Don’t be a stranger. Say hi every once and a while.

Sharing is caring.

And lastly, don’t do anything to your neighbor you wouldn’t want done to you.

“That’s it?” asked Crawford.

“That’s it,” said Eli.

“Does the village not have a standing guard? What about a court?”

“Don’t need one,” said Crush Woodshed. “If there’s a problem between two neighbors, they need to work it out themselves.”

“Is there a council of any kind? Who makes the decisions around here?” asked Victoria.

“Well… We all make the decisions,” said Eli. “There aren’t that many of us, so if there’s something that concerns the whole village, we just talk about it over in the gazebo.”

“Fascinating,” said Crawford. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a small community before, so you’ll have to forgive our reactions. What happens if someone steps out of line and disobeys these rules?”

“We tell ‘em to stop,” said Shelly Woodshed. “And if they don’t, we give ‘em a good boop on the snoot and tell ‘em to stop firmly.” Shelly made a flicking motion with one of her hands when she said that.

“And that works?” asked Victoria.

“It has so far,” said Shelly.

“Not a whole lot of trouble happens around here,” said Eli. “Sometimes wildlife from outside the bayou might wander in and cause issue, but we have that covered too. I know it might seem strange, but we’re simple folk. We try not to make things too complicated.”

“I see…” said Crawford. “What do you think, darling?”

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Victoria. “What about you, Scarlet? What do you think of this place?”

“I liked our old land,” Scarlet crossed her arms.

“I did too, honey, but we can’t go back now.”

“Don’t worry, Scarlet,” said Crawford. “I’m certain this will be perfect for us.” He then turned to Eli and said, “We’d be happy to join your little community.”

“Then welcome to the bayou,” said Eli, extending a scaly hand. Crawford took it, and the two men shook. All the other residents let out hoots and hollers, happy to welcome the new neighbors. And just like that, the tour was over, and everyone went home.

“What do you think?” asked Lafayette, watching the crowd disperse.

“I think they seem like mighty fine folk!” said Rina.

“Yeah… I just can’t get a read on that Scarlet girl. She doesn’t seem to wanna live here at all.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Rina gave her friend a pat on the back. “She’s just homesick, is all. She’ll be fine once she gets her footin’, plays with kids like us, and goes on my patented Rina Tour!”

“The Rina Tour, eh?” said Lafayette. “You really think that’ll work?”

“Trust me! When she sees all the real interestin’ spots here, she’ll be dyin’ to stay!”

---

The very next day, Rina and Lafayette went to the Beauregard family’s house. Standing on the porch before the front door, Lafayette hesitated to knock.

“You sure this is a good idea?” asked Lafayette.

“About as sure as sugar cookies!” said Rina.

Lafayette sighed, his ears drooping. “All right… Let’s give it a shot.”

The fox boy knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Victoria opened the door. She was in a different but equally fancy-looking dress, and her eyes lit up as she saw the two children.

“Well hello there! To what do I owe the honor of you two little darlings showing up on my front porch?”

“We just wanted to know if Scarlet could come out to play,” said Lafayette.

“Oh, of course! She’s been indoors all day, and she really could use the sunshine. You know we snakes always need a little bit of sunshine if we wanna digest nice an’ proper.”

“Hey, I need that too!” said Rina, visibly excited to join the conversation. “Since ya’ll just moved here, I can show Scarlet all the best rocks to lay on!”

“That sounds wonderful! Why don’t you two come inside and sit a spell while I go get her?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose,” said Lafayette.

“Don’t you worry one bit,” said Victoria. “It’s no trouble at all! Just… Make sure to wipe your feet before you step inside.”

Lafayette looked down at his paws. They were all muddy – same as Rina’s boots. He gave the snake woman a nod and used the welcome mat to the best of his ability. Once inside, Victoria led the kids down the entrance hall, which was modest in size but not in décor. There was a finely woven rug that sat on the wooden floor of the house colored black and red, and most of the furniture was white-painted wood with elegant, hand-carved designs. Everything was clean and beautiful, and the air smelled like roses. It was clear that the family came from wealth, though that made him wonder how they’d get along in the bayou. As he looked around, Lafayette couldn’t help but whistle.

“Man, this place sure is somethin’!” said the fox boy. “How’d you get such a fancy place like this, anyway?”

“The Beauregard family has always been in the weaving industry,” said Victoria. “Even I learned a thing or two after joining their ranks. We make everything from clothes, carpets, tapestries, and even personalized towels! Our works were highly sought after – which is probably why we had such trouble with bandits in the first place.”

Lafayette nodded along, eventually noticing a series of framed family pictures on the wall, as well as small figurines. Some were carved from wood, others a pale yellowish material that he didn’t recognize, and a few seemed to be made from bronze. They looked like snakes and snake folk, each figurine unique in its design, as if they all came from different parts of the world.

“Hey, what are these things?” asked Lafayette.

“They’re souvenirs,” said Victoria. “Even before the move, we would sometimes travel here and there, and I do love me some knicks and knacks, so they’re just a few of the things I’ve collected over the years.” Victoria then picked up a frightening figurine of what looked like a man bound to a rock with a giant serpent looming over him, a render of venom dripping from its fangs onto the man’s belly. “Aren’t they precious?”

Lafayette tensed up at the sight. “Y-yeah… They’re… Real cute.”

The kids were then led into the dining room, where they sat at a table while Victoria looked around, finally snapping her finger. Then, a strange creature appeared. It was shaped like a person (or at least a close approximation), but it was made entirely out of rope. Wearing a black and white suit and black dress shoes, the rope-man took a bow.

“This is another example of the kind of things we make. You can call him Percy.” Victoria then turned to the rope-man. “Percy, why don’t you fetch the children some refreshments while I check on the lil’ one?”

With a silent nod, Percy got to work in the kitchen as Victoria excused herself and went upstairs. Lafayette and Rina were treated to freshly squeezed lemonade with ice, as well as a plate full of snickerdoodle cookies. Lafayette was unsure about taking the snacks, even though they were offered, while Rina drank the juice and ate the cookies with a big smile on her face.

“Don’t you want some?” Rina asked, her mouth covered in crumbs. “If you don’t eat ‘em, I sure as heck will.”

“Are they good?” asked Lafayette.

“Yeah! Soft, chewy, and sweet. Just the way I like ‘em!”

“Well… If you insist…” Lafayette took one of the cookies in his paws and sniffed it. There was nothing strange about them as far as his nose was concerned, so he took a bite. Then another. Pretty soon, he was helping himself to a second cookie. “Hey, yer right! These are good!”

Truth be told, Lafayette had been more than a little suspicious of the family. It’s not that he was opposed to new neighbors, but the way they arrived, their strange accents, mannerisms, and everything else about them made him worried. He had wondered if there was another reason the family was forced from their land. Those worries began to subside, however. As strange as she was, Victoria was at least cordial. Lafayette took a swig of his lemonade, and his cheeks pursed up. Once he was over the sourness, he laughed.

“You know what, Rina? Maybe havin’ new neighbors ain’t so bad!”

“Heck yeah!” said Rina, raising her own glass. “To new neighbors, new friends, and new adventures!” The pair clinked their glasses together and they finished off their lemonade. Rina then turned her head. “Speakin’ of which.”

Lafayette looked as well. Victoria and Scarlet had just reached the dining room. They stepped so lightly that he didn’t realize they were coming. Scarlet looked about as sour as the day before, arms crossed and hardly making eye contact.

“Heya, Scarlet!” said Rina.

“… Hey,” said the snake girl.

“Now Scarlet, don’t be rude. Introduce yourself properly. These two took time out of their day to come by and see if you wanted to play!” said Victoria.

“But I don’t want to play outside,” Scarlet turned her nose up. “The swamp stinks.”

“Scarlet!”

“What? It’s true!”

Lafayette narrowed his eyes at the prissy girl, but Rina just laughed.

“Ha ha! Yer not wrong about that!” said the gator girl. “It might take some getting’ used to, but trust me, this here swamp is the best around!”

“I still don’t want to go… I haven’t finished my studies yet,” said Scarlet.

“There will be plenty of time for studies! It’s not right for a youngin’ like you to keep yourself cooped up indoors all day!” said Victoria.

It was around this time that Crawford came through the front door, eventually joining the others in the dining room.

“Is something the matter?” asked Crawford.

“Momma’s making me go outside when I haven’t finished my studies!” said Scarlet.

As Crawford passed his hat and coat to Percy, he said, “I don’t see the problem. When I was your age, I couldn’t wait to set my books down and go outside. The sun is good for you.”

Scarlet grumbled. “We had plenty of sun back home…”

Crawford then got down on one knee, setting his hand on Scarlet’s shoulder. “I know you miss it. We all do. But this bayou is our home now, and I know you’ll love it. Just give it a chance. There’s sun, shade, kind neighbors, and most importantly, it’s safe. Isn’t that right, kids?”

Rina was about to say something, but Lafayette nudged her with his elbow. “Oh yeah, plenty safe.”

“See?” said Crawford. He then stood up. “Now don’t make anymore fuss and head outside. The fresh air will do you some good.”

“Yeah, fresh. Right.”

Scarlet then disappeared down the entrance hall, leaving the house. Seeing this, Lafayette and Rina got up.

“Well, that seems like as good a time as any. Thank you all for your kind hospitality,” said Lafayette.

“Yeah! And the snacks were good too!” said Rina.

“Don’t mention it!” said Victoria. “It makes me happy there are such friendly children in these parts. See you around!”

Lafayette and Rina waved goodbye, but as they walked down the entrance hall, Crawford called after them.

“By the by, I do hope you’ll take care of our daughter while she’s away. She’s… Going through a lot right now, and I’d appreciate it if you showed her a good time.”

“O’ course!” said Rina. “By the time we’re done, she’ll never wanna study again!”

Lafayette nudged Rina once more. “What my friend is sayin’ is… We’ll treat her right.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Crawford.

While Crawford came off as the poshest of the bunch, Lafayette couldn’t help but notice the man’s face soften up when talking about his daughter. The fox boy decided he was done judging others based on appearances and told himself to be better. After saying goodbye one last time, he and Rina went outside and found Scarlet sitting on a rock, looking as grumpy as could be.

“Well, you two certainly took your time,” said Scarlet.

Lafayette almost said something, but Rina interrupted him this time, saying, “Sorry about that. Your pa just had to ask us somethin’ real quick before we went out the door.”

Scarlet sighed. “Probably wants you two to babysit me or something… You don’t need to worry about that. I can take care of myself just fine.”

Lafayette glared at her. “Sure you can.”

Rina then stepped towards Scarlet. “By the way, my name’s Rina! Rina Woodshed! This here is my best bud Lafayette! Nice to finally meet ya!” Rina extended her hand to the snake girl, but Scarlet didn’t reciprocate the gesture.

“Scarlet. Scarlet Beauregard.”

Rina stared at the girl with a confused look on her face. “Uh… You gonna shake?” Scarlet said nothing. “Oh, I see! You must not know about handshakes since yer not from around here. You see, when someone extends their hand like I’m doin’…”

“I know what a handshake is, you country bumpkin!”

Rina tilted her head. “Then you ain’t very good at it. Don’t worry, though! There’ll be plenty of time to learn!”

Scarlet groaned, and Lafayette’s frustration only grew and grew.

“In any case, what do people like you get up to around here?” asked Scarlet. “It seems like it’s mostly forests and wetlands.”

“Oh, fer sure, but that’s the best part!” said Rina. “There’re all kinds of pretty places to see! In fact, why don’t I show ya? Think of this like a special tour only us kids are privy to.”

“Delightful. I’m sure it’ll be about as riveting as yesterday’s tour.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, but I’ll try my best! Come on, now! There’s no time to waste!”

Rina then took Scarlet by the hand and raced off with her. Lafayette could already hear the snake girl complaining. With a sigh, he shook his head and followed after.

---

Even though her new friend was proving to be a bit noisy, Rina was happy to finally be showing Scarlet some of her favorite places in the bayou. Their first stop was a stump overgrown with moss and mushrooms, which Rina was certain would fill Scarlet with delight. When they reached the stump, Rina let go of Scarlet’s hand and gestured to the stump.

“Now then,” said Rina. “Our first stop is… This stump! It’s my favorite stump in the whole bayou! It’s great fer sittin’, thinkin’, and playin’ the banjo!”

Scarlet was rubbing her hand and wrist when she said, “A stump? Really?”

“Yeah! Ain’t it a beaut? Just look at the soft moss, the flat seat, the mushrooms!” Rina squatted down, plucking one. “This is what’s called an oyster mushroom, on account of them kinda lookin’ like oysters.”

“Lovely.” Scarlet’s face then scrunched up when Rina ate one.

“They’re pretty good on their own, though they’re real good if you sauté ‘em with butter, salt, and pepper. They take on this golden brown color and get nice an’ crispy around the edges. An absolute dee-light!”

Lafayette said, “What’s the matter, Scarlet? You never eaten a fresh ‘shroom before?”

“I’ve eaten mushrooms before!” said Scarlet. “But only after they’ve been properly cleaned and cooked! I would never pluck one from a stump and eat it as is!”

“Why not?” Rina talked as she chewed. “It’s good eatin’.” Rina then took a seat on the stump, kicking her feet back and forth. “If not mushrooms, what do you eat?”

“Eggs.”

“Like in a scramble?”

“In any form! Baked, fried, scrambled, over easy, poached, steamed, or in an omelet. Why, I dare say there isn’t a single way to eat eggs that I haven’t tried.”

“What about raw?” Lafayette grinned.

Scarlet winced. “I would never eat an egg raw.”

“But I thought you said you’ve tried every way to eat ‘em.”

“Eating raw food is a quick path to disease and parasites, and I certainly would not deign to poison myself in such a fashion.”

Rina just sat back and chuckled. “Ha ha. What’s a parasite?” She then burped up a fishing bobber. “Oh shoot, I was wonderin’ where that went!” Rina picked up the bobber, wiped off the saliva on her overalls, then pocketed it. Scarlet recoiled and gasped.

“I… I can’t believe you!” Scarlet said. “How could anyone be so disgusting?”

“We ain’t disgustin’,” said Lafayette. “You just ain’t used to country livin’ yet.” The fox grabbed an oyster mushroom cap, presenting it to Scarlet. “Here, eat this.”

“Why?”

“It’s part of the tour.”

“It is?” said Rina.

“Yeah, sure it is!” said Lafayette. “If you want the full experience, you need to eat like the rest of us!”

Scarlet stepped back, holding her hands up in protest. “Oh no, I couldn’t… I haven’t even finished Rina’s tour yet.”

“Yeah, Lafayette! She hasn’t finished the tour yet!” said Rina. “She can eat the mushroom after.”

The fox boy sighed. “If you insist…”

“Changing the subject a tad,” said Scarlet, “you mentioned that you play the banjo on this stump?”

“I do!” said Rina. “I’ve played for family, friends, and neighbors too! Heck, I’d play ya a song right now… If I had it. What about you? You ever play any instruments?”

Scarlet rubbed one of her arms and said, “I play the violin… But only because my parents make me.”

Rina frowned. She hadn’t considered that such nice folk would do something like that. Then again, Rina’s parents had locked her up plenty of times to keep her out of trouble… Not that it worked, but the point remained.

“Do you at least enjoy it?” asked Rina.

“I do, but only now that I’m decent at it,” said Scarlet. “Even so, I’m still mad at them for that. I just can’t enjoy something I’m forced to do.”

Lafayette looked away, rubbing the back of his head. Rina asked, “Well, if you had the choice, what kind of instrument would you have preferred to learn?”

“Hm… Probably the piano. I’ve seen people play it before, and the way the sounds of the keys mesh together to create a tapestry of sound and emotion… It’s really something else.”

“Woooow. That does sound nice! Lafayette, do you know if anyone ‘round here has a piano?”

“I can’t say for sure, but if there’s anyone who might have one, it’d be Old Man Eli.”

“That’s the snapping turtle man, right?” asked Scarlet.

“Yup! He’s the smartest guy in the whole dang bayou!” Rina slapped her knees, standing up. “Even if he doesn’t have one, I’m certain he’d know where to get one. C’mon, let’s go see!”

Rina almost grabbed Scarlet’s hand, but that hesitant look in her eyes told Rina everything she needed to know. She retracted her hand and stepped back.

“Ha ha… Sorry. Force of habit. It’s this way, if ya please.”

“Thank you,” Scarlet said as she walked forward. “I’m glad someone around here knows some manners.”

Rina watched the girl head off in Eli’s direction. When there was a bit of distance between Scarlet and her, Lafayette moved closer to Rina and whispered.

“The nerve of that girl! If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was a spittin’ cobra!”

“Lay off,” whispered Rina.

“Why? She’s been nothin’ but rude.”

“You heard what she said earlier. She didn’t want to be here, but her parents made her. She didn’t want to go on this tour, but we made her.”

“I mean… When you put it that way…”

“Let’s just give her a chance,” Rina put her arm around Lafayette. “She’s stuck with us anyhow, so let’s make the most of it.”

---

Scarlet and the swamp kids traveled to Eli’s house. It took a bit of walking from Rina’s stump, but they eventually made it to the heart of the village. While Scarlet hadn’t paid much attention to the snapping turtle the day before, the promise of seeing a piano enticed her enough to play along with Rina’s little tour. As for the swamp kids, they continued to be as obnoxious as possible.

“Eli!” Rina knocked loudly on the wooden door. “Eliiiii!!”

The turtle man swung open the door. “What?! Oh, it’s you two. Good afternoon, kids. I see you’re with the new arrival.”

“We sure are! Do you have a piano?”

“A… Piano?”

Scarlet stepped forward to clear things up. “We were talking about musical instruments, and I happened to mention I was interested in playing the piano. They thought you might know where to find one.”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” said Eli. “I’ve had one stored away for a while, though it’s seen better days. I can pull it out of storage though if you still wanna see it.”

“I’d love to!”

“Then come on in.”

Scarlet followed after Eli, stepping into his humble abode. Despite being touted as someone so important in the bayou, his home was rather modest. Scarlet walked around, noting the patched-up furniture, the old bookshelves, dirty coffee table, and a refrigerator covered in funny-looking magnets and scribbled drawings that look like they were drawn by a child. Her eyes were then drawn to a device hooked up to the fridge.

“Wait, is that a hamster?” asked Scarlet.

“Yup! That’s Josie. She likes to run all day, so I hooked her wheel up to the fridge so I didn’t draw as much power from the generator.” Eli was already rifling around inside of a large closet as he spoke. “I don’t mind if you wanna pet her, though I’ll tell ya now – she’s a biter.”

Scarlet grew curious and approached the hamster, who was currently racing around in her plastic wheel. As soon as Josie saw Scarlet, the hamster grew frightened and hid inside of a make-shift house in her shelter. Scarlet’s ears drooped, and she stepped away from the animal, disappointed.

“Sorry…” Scarlet mumbled.

“Rina, can you give me a hand with this thing?” Eli called out.

“Sure thing!” said Rina.

Not long after, the two beast folk brought a grimy looking studio piano out to the living room and set it down. Eli gave it a pat with his hand and said, “I found the thing a long time ago and it used to play fine, but at one point it went out of tune, and I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I’ve kept it in storage ever since.”

“Can I take a look?” asked Scarlet.

“Sure! Ain’t no harm in that.”

Scarlet approached the piano. It was about forty-five inches tall and made from spruce wood – though it looked somewhat warped. She noted the thin layer of dark, moist dust coating it. Just as Eli had said, it had seen much better days. She ran a finger across the woodwork, rubbing the strange substance between her thumb and index finger. She looked inside, and nothing was wrong with the strings or other mechanisms. After thinking it over, she spoke up.

“I think I know what the problem is,” said Scarlet. “This swamp is hot, but also very moist. Most likely, the wood fell prey to the humidity, which distorted the sound of the piano. Everything inside it is fine, but if the wood itself is warped, it’ll mess with the sound.”

“My word. You really know your stuff,” said Eli. “Wish that could help us, though. Not much we can do about the humidity around these parts, unless you had some kind of magic water vacuum,” the old man chuckled.

“Actually… I might be able to help.”

“You can?”

“You can?” asked Lafayette.

“I know a trick or two. Do you trust me?” asked Scarlet.

Eli shrugged, saying, “Not like there’s anythin’ to lose. Go ahead, kid.”

Scarlet gestured to the others to get back. Then, she reached into her vest and pulled out her embroidery hoop, which had an empty white cloth bound inside of it. She suspected what she was about to do would cause quite the fright, but she hoped nothing bad would come of it. She had such a fine piano in front of her, and she’d hate to stop now. So, she readied a line of thread, and began to weave her magic.

Light shined from the snake girl’s needle as she quickly sewed a pattern in the cloth. It was a sign that meant “Desiccate”, and the piano would be her target. As she sewed, Scarlet asked, “Can someone open a window?” Eli obliged, watching with an astonished look on his face. Scarlet channeled a pinch of her own ether into the spell, and when the symbol was complete, a magical force drew out all the water trapped inside the piano’s wood, slowly but surely returning it to its normal shape. The water floated in the air in a grey, musty ball. Scarlet directed the water out the window, and let go, causing it to splash outside.

“What the heck was that?” asked Lafayette.

“I’m not done yet. Just watch,” said Scarlet.

Another symbol, another spell. This time to clean the piano. Another ball of gunk was collected and thrown outside. Finally, she wove one last spell to enchant the piano and protect it from the elements. When she finished, the piano shimmered with a faint magical light. She put away her hoop and needle, smiling.

“That should do it,” said Scarlet.

“My word… A true magician,” said Eli.

“Magician?” asked Rina.

“Yes… They’re not common in these parts, but elsewhere in the world live those who practice the arcane arts. People who can bend the etheric energies of the world to their whim and cast spells. Magic takes many forms, but I’ve never seen a method quite like that before.”

Scarlet puffed up her chest. “Spellweaving runs in the family. We Beauregards are some of the best spellweavers in all the land, and our magic robes and flying carpets are always of the highest quality. I’m still an apprentice, but one day I’ll take my father’s place as the family’s lead spellweaver.”

“Woooow,” said Rina. “That’s amazin’! My folks just fix roofs and walls.”

“I… See. That’s certainly helpful in its own way…” Scarlet then turned to Lafayette. “What about you? What do your parents do?”

The fox boy’s expression turned sour. Eli butted in and said, “Why don’t we test the piano, hmm?”

“Oh right! I got so caught up in the discussion, I almost forgot. Silly me,” Scarlet chuckled.

The snake girl approached the piano, pressing down on a few of the keys. It sounded just fine.

“Say, Eli? You wouldn’t happen to have any sheet music, would you?” asked Scarlet.

“I might. Let me go check.”

Back in the closet Eli went. A minute later, he brought back a small thin book and passed it to Scarlet, who opened it up and set it on the piano.

“What are ya thinkin’?” asked Rina.

“Well… I came all this way to try playing the piano, so now that it’s ready, I might as well give it a shot.” Scarlet studied the sheet music before her, nodding along as she made a mental note of what keys she’d need to play. “I see… I see… I think I can do this.”

“Then let’s hear it,” said Lafayette.

Scarlet tested the keys once more, listening to the sound. She had never played a piano before, but she had been studying music nearly all her life, so she knew her A’s from her C’s. After scooting a chair up to the piano, she slowly played the song “Gymnopédie No.1” by an old musician from a bygone era…

Scarlet took her time to learn the notes step by step, but soon enough, she felt comfortable playing the song, and with every note she played, a strange sense of calmness fell over the room. The sound of the piano was beautiful, humble. Every key played exactly as it should, and as long as Scarlet never pressed them too quickly or too harshly, they helped her through the melody.

Scarlet’s mind went back to a time not so long ago. A time when she still lived in the beautiful kingdom of Xatelia, far to the west. She had lived out on a prairie where the grass was green, the skies were clear, and wonderful-smelling plants and flowers grew as far as the eye could see. She remembered the smell of the flowers, felt the wind rushing through her hair. The sun was shining high up in the sky, and everything was right with the world. Everything… Was right…

Then the song was over.

When Scarlet finished playing, Rina and Eli clapped. Even Lafayette clapped along, though with less enthusiasm. Scarlet was surprised she took to the instrument so quickly, but then again, learning new things had always been easy for her.

“That was amazing!” said Rina. “How’d you learn to play like that?”

“It’s simple, really. As long as you pay attention to the song notes, all you have to do is follow along.”

“You mean them squiggly things on the page?”

“The… Squiggly things? Wait… Do you not know how to read music?”

“Nope!”

Scarlet gawked at the gator girl, unsure what to say.

“But… But how did you learn to play the banjo? Were you taught by someone?”

“Nuh uh,” Rina shook her head. “I just played the strings until I got a nice feel for ‘em. It took a while, but after listenin’ to what the banjo wanted to say, I helped it speak.”

“And that really works?”

Lafayette spoke up, saying, “It does. Not everythin’ needs a fancypants teacher or education. Sometimes practice and dedication is all you need.”

Scarlet turned her nose up at this. “How uncouth.” She then looked to Eli and said, “I like this piano. Would you be willing to part with it? I can certainly compensate you.”

“Sorry, but the piano isn’t for sale. I will say, though, you’re welcome to visit anytime and play.”

“But… You kept it locked up in a closet!”

“Yes, but now that it works, I wanna play it too. Besides, we don’t use money ‘round here.”

“Y-you don’t?”

Eli rubbed the back of his head and said, “I guess you didn’t pay attention yesterday, huh? The short of it is that we just don’t use currency. We like things simple. You do someone a favor, and they do you a favor in turn. If you need somethin’, you just ask. And if that person needs somethin’ later that you have, it’s normal to give back. Understand?”

“I… Don’t… Are you saying people just… Do stuff? And get things? For free?”

“I wouldn’t say that. We exchange gifts and favors all the time!” said Rina. “It’s not expected, but always welcomed.”

Scarlet was still struggling to wrap her head around it. She had grown up in a wealthy family, and until recently, they never wanted for anything. But if Bebop Bayou didn’t take their coin, then what did that mean for her family?

“I don’t get it. Are there no shops or businesses?” asked Scarlet.

Rina rubbed her chin and said, “Actually, there is one shop.”

“There is?”

“Yeah! It’s run out of an old truck that Kylie uses. I’ll show ya!”

Rina then got up, making her way towards the front door. “Thanks for the help with the piano, Eli! Take care now!”

“You as well!” Eli said as he waved goodbye.

Scarlet followed Rina and Lafayette out of the house, noticing the fox boy still seemed visibly uncomfortable with her. He just stayed by Rina and kept his hands in his pockets. She tried not to let it bother her and followed after the swamp kids.

---

Alyssa was flying over the bayou on one of her daily patrols. As usual, she was scouting to see if there were any signs of trouble, such as from invading monsters. She had been doing periodic patrols like this for the past several weeks as part of her agreement with Rina, Lafayette, and the rest of the villagers. It wasn’t terribly difficult, and was even a good source of exercise, so Alyssa didn’t mind at all. Besides, knowing that she contributed to the safety of the bayou filled her with purpose.

On a typical day, Alyssa didn’t see much. There was no shortage of strange creatures in the bayou, but nothing she’d describe as hostile. They were just animals living alongside the rest of the local fauna, and as long as they were given sufficient space, they left the villagers alone. No, what Alyssa was looking for were monsters like the gigapede she saw yesterday – creatures from outside the bayou that would attack and destroy if left to their own devices. Despite the recent increase in monster activity, Alyssa had only seen a handful of monsters since she started her patrols, and for that, she was grateful.

It was a typical afternoon, with the sun shining brightly over the wetlands and bald cypress. The wind was gentle, and hardly any noise could be heard, save the songs of sparrows. But something caught Alyssa’s eye, so she descended to investigate. Landing on the watery, leaf-covered ground, Alyssa noticed a handful of fallen gum trees. Their roots looked like they had been chewed up, and the bodies of the trees had several bite marks as well.

What the heck is this about? Alyssa wondered. We don’t get beavers in these parts. Even if we did, these bite marks are way too big.

Alyssa searched the area from the ground, stepping lightly and keeping an ear out for possible threats. She only heard chirping insects and birds. Perhaps that was for the best. In her experience, nature only grew quiet when a predator was on the move.

Leaving the shallow waters behind, Alyssa stepped onto a patch of soft grassy soil. Nearby, she saw what looked like mole hills, though if they were made from moles, they would be the biggest she had ever seen. So big, in fact, that Alyssa could track which direction the creatures had gone from the upturned earth. They were circling around the area towards the bayou. Seeing this, Alyssa wasted no time and took to the air. If the burrowing creatures were the ones that felled the gum trees, they’d wreak havoc on the wooden buildings of the village.

I’ve got to warn the others! Rina, Lafayette, Eli, anybody! Oh, I hope I can make it in time!

---

Scarlet followed Rina and Lafayette over to the only store in the bayou, seemingly run from of a repurposed rusty food truck. It looked like it was open, and Scarlet saw an old raccoon woman inside the truck. Rina walked up to the truck’s counter and greeted her.

“Heya, Kylie!” said Rina.

“Bonjour, Rina. What’cha bring me today?” asked Kylie.

“Oh, I’m not tradin’ this time. I just wanted to show the new kid yer store. Scarlet, this is Kylie. Kylie, Scarlet!”

“Ah, the little enfant from yesterday. Bonjour, Miss Scarlet. Welcome to my humble emporium.”

Kylie was a middle-aged woman with black, grey, and white fur around her forearms and animal ears that topped her head. Her shaggy shoulder-length hair matched her fur’s color pattern, and dark streaks colored the skin around her eyes, almost like a natural face mask. Her dainty nose was somewhat darker than the rest of her face, and freckles dotted her cheeks. The woman wore a multi-pocketed vest over a black and grey plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves, as well as black worn-in jeans that hugged her hips, which was decorated with a thick belt and a shiny buckle. The woman rested her chin on one of her soft-looking hands, which ended in small dark claws, and her long bushy tail could be seen waving gently behind her.

Scarlet somehow lost her confidence, no longer sure exactly how to proceed. After clearing her throat, she said, “Yes, um, I shall have one of your finest snack cakes.”

“Snack cakes, eh? I’ve got a few of those. Un moment,” said Kylie. The woman dug around behind the counter and pulled out a box with a dark stamp on the side. The stamp had symbols that Scarlet recognized as a modern tongue, one that combined bits of older languages, such as French and English (the word likely being a brand name). Kylie pulled out what looked like a rectangular paper-wrapped snack cake with a colorful stamp on the side matching the box’s stamp. “These things I got here were made and packaged all the way in Stormtail. Trust me, though, they got enough sugar to make sure they keep for a while. Now what have you got for me?”

Scarlet reached inside her vest for her coin purse, passing a small silvery coin to the raccoon woman. “This should suffice,” said the snake girl. She couldn’t help but notice Rina eyeing the coin as if she had never seen such a thing before. When Kylie picked up the coin, she looked it over, then slid it back towards Scarlet.

“Sorry girl, but I’ve got no use for coin. I don’t sell goods, I trade. If you want somethin’ from my shop, you gotta give me somethin’ more useful.”

Scarlet was shocked. Even here? she thought. I know she said she’s a trader, but is my money really no good?!

“Don’t worry Scarlet,” said Rina, patting her on the shoulder. “I know it’s not what yer used to, but tradin’ is easy! Why, if I ever want a snack from Kylie, I give her a fish!”

“She has given me a lot of fish,” said Kylie.

“Wait,” Scarlet spoke up, “who decides the value of things being traded?”

“Whoever is involved in the trade?” said Rina. “Can’t imagine why anyone else would have a say.”

“But what if it only takes one fish for a snack cake today, and two fish tomorrow?”

“Weeeeell, that doesn’t sound like a fair trade. I’d much rather eat two fish than a snack cake, so I wouldn’t take the deal. Seems easy enough.”

Kylie gestured to get everyone’s attention. “I understand what you’re getting’ at, miss, but I don’t plan on robbin’ you anytime soon. If I want trade to flow, I need customers. So, now that you know how we do things here, is there anythin’ you’re willin’ to offer?”

Scarlet thought about what she could do. She hadn’t brought anything with her that she was willing to part with. Gripping the hems of her blouse and looking down, she said, “I… I don’t think so.”

“Wait a sec,” said Rina. “What about yer magic? You fixed up Eli’s piano earlier. Maybe Kylie’s got somethin’ that needs fixin’ too.”

“I don’t know… Is that something you’re interested in, Kylie?” asked Scarlet.

“Hm… I got a hole in my roof that I’ve had trouble with as of late. If you can fix that somehow, I’ll happily part with a cake.”

“Then let’s give it a shot.” Scarlet moved to the side of the truck. “Could someone give me a boost?”

“I got you,” said Lafayette, moving next to the girl. The fox boy helped Scarlet onto the roof of the truck, and after she found her footing, Scarlet looked for the hole. There was a noticeable pile of rocks on top of an old tarp on the other side of the truck, so she looked underneath it. While searching for the hole, Scarlet couldn’t help but notice Rina and Lafayette talking amongst themselves. They were too quiet for her to hear what they were saying, though.

They probably think I’m a fool, thought Scarlet. I’ll just have to prove them wrong!

After moving aside the tarp and rocks, Scarlet took out her embroidery hoop and began sewing a new spell pattern. The girl felt an etheric connection once more as her energy traveled through her arm, out her fingertips, and into her sewing needle. When the spell pattern for “Repair” was complete, the metallic hole in the roof seemed to melt away. By the time she was done, Rina had climbed onto the roof as well.

“Did ya get it?” asked Rina.

“See for yourself,” said Scarlet.

Down below, Kylie said, “Well I’ll be! You fixed it! Merci, Miss Scarlet! Merci!” the woman clapped.

“You really did! Nice work, girl!” said Rina.

The two kids got down from the roof of the truck, and Scarlet approached the counter once more.

“And here’s my end of the deal,” said Kylie before handing Scarlet three snack cakes.

“I don’t understand,” said Scarlet. “I thought I’d only get one.”

“That may be what I said, but roof repair is worth more than a single snack, if you ask me. Besides, now you and your friends can have one.”

“My… Friends?” Scarlet looked back at Rina and Lafayette. It didn’t occur to her until now, but this was the most interaction she’d had with kids her age in a long time. Her former homeland was an isolated prairie, far from any settlement. Even when she did get to meet kids while traveling, she never got along with them. A spark lit inside her in that moment, a thought that lingered in her mind. What if? They were only two little words, but there was a power in them. A power that made Scarlet look at the world in a way she hadn’t before. The girl smiled gently and said, “Merci, Miss Kylie. Merci.”

Kylie smiled back at her. “De rien, Scarlet.”

The snake girl then passed out the two extra snack cakes to Rina and Lafayette.

“Thank you kindly!” said Rina with a smile.

Lafayette reached out for his snack cake as well, but Scarlet pulled it away.

“Hey, aren’t you going to thank me?” asked Scarlet.

“I gave you a boost, didn’t I? I earned this,” said Lafayette.

“Rina could have given me a boost.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t. Heck, Rina, you didn’t do anythin’!”

“I did so! I gave Scarlet the idea for usin’ her magic!”

“But anyone coulda done that! I coulda done that!”

“But you didn’t,” Rina grinned.

“That does it! Gimme that cake!”

Lafayette chased after Rina, which caused Kylie to slap her counter in laughter. Even Scarlet started laughing, even though she wasn’t really sure why.

“Man, these two are always a riot,” said Kylie.

“Yeah… Yeah they are,” Scarlet smiled.

---

Alyssa soared through the sky, making her way towards the village. Down below, she heard someone calling out for help, so she flew down to investigate. When she landed, Alyssa found another spot that looked like it was hit by the strange new creatures in the area. She also found who was calling out for help – a familiar face hiding behind a big rock.

“David? Is that you?” asked Alyssa. The shaking deer man slowly poked his head out.

“Y-yeah. Are those things gone?”

“I think so. What happened here?”

David stepped out from behind cover. He was a six-foot-something man with wavy light brown hair, tanned skin, and hazel eyes with flat, horizontal-shaped pupils. He wore a ragged black t-shirt with mismatched patches from shoddy repairs, and his jeans were equally shoddy. His most recognizable features were his deer-like ears and pale branching antlers atop his head. Though he seemed visibly shaken, he wasn’t hurt.

“I seen things! Big little critters! They popped outta the ground!”

“So that explains the upturned earth… What about the trees? Did they eat the trees?”

“Yeah!” David nodded. “I was just layin’ around here, mindin’ my own business when the ground started shakin’! Next thing I know, these nasty-smellin’ hairless things start runnin’ around and bitin’ the trees! I tried fightin’ ‘em off with a stick, but they ate the stick too! They ate my stick!!”

“Hey, it’s all right. They’re not here anymore.” Alyssa took David by his hands. “What about afterwards? Did they hurt you?”

“Not exactly… I tried getting’ away by climbin’ into this here tree, but they ate the bottom of the tree and I nearly got flattened when it fell! I hid after that, and they were chompin’ and chewin’ the place up until somethin’ got their attention and they kept goin’. I think they’re headed towards the bayou, maybe Matthew’s wagon!”

“Do you think you can make it back to the village okay?”

“I… I think so.”

“Then what I need you to do is head back to the village and warn the others. If they’re headin’ in Matthew’s direction, he’ll need my help.”

David nodded. “O-okay. I can do that.”

“Good. Then with luck, I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Once more did Alyssa take to the air. Matthew the Mink lived in a refurbished traveling wagon. Made almost entirely out of fine wood, it was unsurprising to hear the creatures might be interested in eating it. Matthew might make it out unharmed like David did, but she knew his house was not something easily replaced. She sped through the air as quickly as she could. As she flew, she wondered if Rina or Lafayette had caught wind of the creatures yet, or if they were unaware of the encroaching danger…

---

Scarlet did her best to follow after Rina and Lafayette. She was getting dragged along to another one of Rina’s “favorite places”, and the soft wet ground she had to wade through left her in an impatient mood. Her socks were soaked, and the bottom of her dress was a mess. There were also swarms of mosquitos in the part of the bayou she was in, and though Lafayette had pulled out a lantern with some kind of bug-warding candle, the smell it gave off was downright putrid. She was not fond of the swamp at all.

“Where are we going?” asked Scarlet. “Why do we need to walk through all this muck?”

“Because I need to show ya one of my favorite signs in the whole bayou!” said Rina.

“Your favorite… Sign?”

“Just go along with it,” said Lafayette. “Should only take a couple o’ minutes.”

Scarlet moved closer to Lafayette and whispered, “I take it you’re familiar with this sign?”

“You could say that,” whispered Lafayette. “Ever since I’ve known Rina, she’s talked to that old, busted thing. Never understood why, but it does no harm, so I make no fuss.”

“She talks… To a sign. Are you serious?!”

“Can’t be that strange, Miss Magician. You and your family flew a whole house into our swamp. How’d you do that, anyhow?”

“It’s called a flying carpet. My father enchanted every knot in that carpet to carry one pound each.”

Lafayette scratched his ear. “That… Doesn’t sound like a whole lot. How many knots did that thing have?”

“Our transportation carpet has a KPSI of 300, so every square inch can carry 300 pounds on its own. However, the square footage of the carpet is roughly 700, which equates to 8,400 square inches. Multiply that by 300, and you get-”

“A real big number. You know, you coulda just said magic makes it lift heavy things.”

“I could have, but as my father would say, ‘Any good answer needs context.’ If I just said ‘it works’, would that really be satisfactory?”

“I guess not…”

“Precisely!”

“Then how’d ya’ll keep yer house from slidin’ off?”

“Enchantments on the house itself, mostly. Magical force presses the house down and resists any momentum when the carpet travels forward. You can think of it like a kind of telekinetic glue.”

“Hm… Not sure what that means, but I think I get the picture,” said Lafayette. He then stopped. “Wait a tic. If you could just keep yer house afloat, why not just fly it above whatever was givin’ ya’ll trouble back west?”

“I… Don’t know. I suppose the logistics of living in the sky for too long isn’t feasible. We’d have to come down for food and supplies eventually…”

Scarlet pondered what Lafayette said. She had never considered the possibility before. Being able to raise their house above the ground was the ultimate defense. Her family had even less reason to leave Xatelia behind than she thought. The simplicity of the solution dug at the lingering sorrow in her heart, and the resentment she felt towards her parents only grew. Why didn’t her family stay and fight? They had the resources. They had magic. It just didn’t make sense. Why would they throw away everything they had achieved?

“Hey, ya’ll comin’?” asked Rina from up ahead.

“Sorry ‘bout that, Rina!” said Lafayette, moving forward. The fox boy looked at Scarlet, who was still standing in the muck. “Hey, you should come along too. I only got one of these lanterns and them mosquitos are extra bitey today.”

Scarlet sighed, her ears and shoulders drooping. “Very well… Give me a moment.” She dislodged one of her boots from the muck, then the other, doing her best to follow after the two kids. All around her was the constant chirping of birds and insects – cicadas in particular. Only the occasional caw of a crow pierced the mind-numbing noise of the swamp.

In time, the trio made their way out of the muck and into an area with fresher water, fewer trees, and cleaner-smelling air. Scarlet saw the roofs of old houses sticking up out of the water, as well as signs of broken streets below the water’s surface. Scarlet hopped after the others from roof to roof, eventually landing on a grassy hill occupied by a single sign. It was an old red octagon on a seven-foot-tall metal pole. A partially rusted white frame sat within the red of the sign, with the letters S T O P in the center of its face. The metal pole was also bent inward. It was as if a sudden impact had struck its base long ago. This caused the sign to bend forward, making it loom over those who stood in front of it.

“Is this it?” asked Scarlet.

“Yup! This here is my friend Stoppy! I call ‘em that on account of the writin’,” said Rina.

“Lovely.”

“Isn’t it?” a chilling voice called out.

“What?”

Scarlet looked around. She didn’t see anyone. When she turned her attention back to Rina, the voice called out again. It was as if it was coming from the sign itself. But that can’t be right, thought Scarlet. How could a sign talk?

“That face you’re making… You can hear me, can’t you?” asked the voice once more.

“R-r-rina? What the heck is that?” asked Scarlet.

“What’s what? It’s just Stoppy,” said Rina.

“Yeah, what’s the matter? You scared of a beat-up old sign?” asked Lafayette with a grin.

“You need not fear me, child. I am but an echo from the past.” The voice was eerily calm, with an off-putting tone that sounded like ten people speaking at once.

“Yeah, he’s not scary,” said Rina. “In fact you can ask him all sorts of stuff about the Before Times. Like for example,” Rina turned to Stoppy, “What did the Yesterday Folk use to do for fun?”

“People used to do all sorts of reckless things back in the day,” said Stoppy. “Have you ever heard of skydiving?”

Rina shook her head. “Nah. What’s that?”

“It’s when people jump out of planes for fun.”

“You mean those big metal flyin’ thingies you told me about before? Why would anyone wanna jump out of one?”

“No idea, but people loved to do it. They would say it was thrilling.”

Scarlet looked over at Lafayette, who shrugged at her.

“How’d the Yesterday Folk survive? I thought planes flew really high up,” said Rina.

“Oh, that’s an easy one. They’d use a parachute,” said Stoppy. “Although I should let you know, you don’t need a parachute to go skydiving.”

“You don’t?”

“No. You only need one if you want to go skydiving twice.”

“Wha-aaaah, I see what you did there. Good one, Stoppy!”

Scarlet moved closer to Lafayette. “Can you really not hear that?” she whispered.

“Hear what? It’s just a sign,” whispered Lafayette.

“But… It’s talking.”

“No it ain’t.”

Scarlet stepped back. “But… Then how…” She looked over to Rina, who was sitting on the ground and chatting it up with the bent-looking sign. For just a moment, Scarlet swore she could see something around the sign, like faint movement in the air, but it was gone as quickly as she saw it. Then, the pole seemed to twist, making the sign face in Scarlet’s direction.

“Fear not. There’s nothing I can do to harm you… At the moment. Besides, it is not in my nature to lash out at the living, even though you are so very lucky.” Stoppy twisted back around to its normal facing, and no one seemed to notice. “But if I could, I’d love to slip inside your body and drive you around like a car.”

“I’d… Really rather you didn’t,” said Scarlet.

“Hmm… Perhaps that’s for the best. If the state of the sign I’m bound to is any indication, I was never particularly good at driving anyway. If only I had hit the brakes and stopped…”

“Ha, I get it. ‘Cause the sign says stop,” said Rina. “Not sure what you mean by drivin’ Scarlet around, though.”

“Man, I don’t get you,” said Lafayette. “And what’s gotten into you, Scarlet? Why do you look so… Scared?”

“It’s… Fine. I’m not scared! T-that being said, I wouldn’t mind getting a move on. What’s next on the tour?”

“Aaah, bored already? That’s fine. What about…” Rina hummed for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Oh, I know! The lake!” Rina then got up and started running along. “C’mon guys, let’s get a move on!”

“Coming!” said Lafayette, and the fox boy ran ahead.

Lastly, there was Scarlet, who was careful not to turn her back on the strange sign. It might be some kind of spirit. She had never been so close to one before, but she had no intention of showing signs of weakness, lest the spirit possess her. When she put enough distance between herself and Stoppy, she ran as fast as she could. As Stoppy’s voice faded, it left her with one final message.

“See you around now, child. Always remember… To watch where you’re going. If you don’t, you mind not like where you end up…”

---

Scarlet ran for what felt like ten minutes. Ordinarily such a short jaunt wouldn’t wear her out, but the stress of encountering such an off-putting spirit had her heart racing.

“Remind me… To… Avoid… Stoppy…” said Scarlet.

“Aah, I’m sorry, Scarlet. I didn’t know you didn’t like signs,” said Rina.

After catching her breath, Scarlet scowled at the gator girl. “That was not just a sign!”

Rina chuckled. “I’m prettysure I’d know a sign when I see one, and that was most definitely a sign. Although… Most signs don’t know how to talk. I guess that means Stoppy is a real smart sign, eh?”

Scarlet was ready to shout at Rina. She fumed with anger deep inside, but she knew the girl wasn’t at fault. So, she took a few deep breaths, doing her best to calm herself down.

“Okay… Stoppy is just a smart sign… We’ll go with that.” As Scarlet rubbed the bridge of her nose, she said, “Are there any other talking inanimate objects I should be worried about?”

“Can’t say I know of any,” said Rina as she walked. “There are lots of neat people who live ‘round here, though, if you know how to find ‘em. For example, if you ever need a haircut, I know a great barber!”

“A barber… Well that’s surprising. I just assumed your parents cut your hair for you.”

Rina chuckled nervously. “You know, maybe once I get bigger, but as of now there ain’t a pair of scissors my ma or pa could hold that I want anywhere near my head.”

“You know you never did show me where that barber lives,” said Lafayette.

“Oh shoot, I forgot! Maybe we can pay her a visit when the tour is over.”

The more Scarlet learned about Bebop Bayou, the stranger the place became. No guards, no walls, no currency, talking road signs… Scarlet was beginning to wonder if there was a single normal thing in the whole swamp. As the thought crossed her mind, however, she stopped, taking in the scene before her.

Scarlet was standing a few feet away from the shore of a massive lake. Tall strands of grass littered the nearby waters, almost like a green fence line around the shore. In addition to the grass, there was also weathered driftwood and large mossy boulders. Further still, the beautiful waters beyond glistened in the sunlight, rippling from shore to shore. It was quiet, beautiful, and serene. Scarlet’s eyes lit up. The lake was the prettiest thing she had seen in the whole bayou.

“See! I told ya she’d like this place!” said Rina.

“You did not!” said Lafayette.

“Well I said parts of my tour would be great, and she likes this, which just so happens to be part of my tour. Therefore, I’m right.” Rina then rolled up her pantlegs and kicked off her boots. “Speakin’ of which, let’s go for a swim! With the sun shinin’ so bright, the water’s bound to feel good!”

The gator girl stepped past the shoreline and got about waist-deep in the water, waving the other two over. Lafayette joined Rina in the lake, though he got in the water up to his knees before he looked back at Scarlet.

“C’mon, now. The water won’t hurt ya!” said Lafayette.

“I… I couldn’t,” said Scarlet.

“Why?”

“I… Never learned to swim.”

“Huh?” Rina stared from across the waters, eyes glazed over. “What do ya mean you never learned to swim? That’s like… The first thing I was ever taught… Ever!”

“We didn’t have a lake where I lived, okay?” said Scarlet. “Even if I could swim, I’m not… Properly dressed for the occasion.”

The truth was that Scarlet always wanted to try swimming, but she had never been permitted to. Her parents always worried about the water making her too cold, so even when they traveled, they avoided lakes and rivers when they could. Scarlet squatted down, feeling disappointed in herself. Technically nothing was stopping her. She was far from the prying eyes of her mother and father, and yet… She just couldn’t convince herself to move past the shore. It was like something deep within was holding her back. She sighed, resting her chin in her hands.

“You sure you can’t join us?” asked Rina.

“It’s okay…” said Scarlet. “You guys have fun. I’ll just sit here and watch.”

Lafayette swiped at the water passively, his ears drooping. “Well shoot. Now what, Rina? Do you still wanna swim, or should we do somethin’ else?”

“What if we gave Scarlet swimmin’ lessons?” asked Rina.

“She already said she ain’t dressed for it. I mean… look at her clothes. She’d get more tangled up in that than a bug in a spider web.”

“Hmm… I guess yer right…” Rina rubbed her chin, then said, “Oh, I know! If we can’t bring Scarlet to the lake, we can bring the lake to Scarlet!”

“Wait, what?” Rina stomped through the water, splashing Lafayette as she passed him. “What the heck does that even mean?”

“Just you wait, I got a plan!”

Scarlet and Lafayette watched as the gator girl moved off to a deeper part of the lake and stopped, dipping her hand into the water as if she were searching for something.

“Ooh, there he is!” And with a tug and a splash, Rina pulled a massive catfish out, one that had thoroughly latched onto Rina’s arm. She then moved back towards the lake shore, catfish in hand.

“Rinaaa? What are you doing?” asked Scarlet, standing up.

“I wanna show you my pet! His name’s Tabasco. Ain’t he cute?”

Scarlet looked at the grey and greenish whiskered fish. She was certain there was not a single thought behind its beady black eyes. “He’s… Certainly something. And you said he’s your pet? How’d you… Meet him?”

“It was just a normal day o’ fishin’ when I first met him. I forgot to bring my pole, so I was swimmin’ around in the lake to get fish the ol’ fashion way. Eventually, a found a deep dark hole where I thought I saw movement, so I stuck my hand in it.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“I know, right? Anyway, after I was riflin’ around in the hole, I felt somethin’ bite down, and when I pulled my hand out, there he was! I tell you what, when I first saw him, I thought he was tryin’ to eat my hand, but it turns out that’s just his way of sayin’ hi! He was awfully persistent, too! No matter how much I waved my arm around, he just wouldn’t let go! I couldn’t tell if it was fear, rage, or determination I saw in his eye, but I knew deep in my heart that I could be his friend.” Rina then plucked the catfish off her arm with little fuss, putting him on the wet sandy shoreline. The fish scooted along the sandy shore, seemingly able to move and breath just fine. By this time, Lafayette had stepped out of the lake, and was shaking the water off of his furry legs.

“That one’s a real foodie too,” said Lafayette. “He’ll eat just about anythin’ you give him. Here, watch.” The fox boy took out some leftover crumbs from his pocket and flicked them onto the ground. Tabasco lunged forward, snatching the crumbs up in his mouth. It was certainly amusing, but then a thought crossed Scarlet’s mind.

“Wait, doesn’t a catfish man live in your village? How does he feel about you keeping a catfish as a pet?”

“Oh, Big Pete? He don’t mind! … Not much, anyway,” said Rina. “The first time I introduced Tabasco to him, they both just sorta stared at each other. I think it was a kind of starin’ contest, and Pete lost. After that, he got on one knee and gave Tabasco a pat on the head, sayin’ some kind words to ‘pay respects to his ancestor’ as he put it.”

Scarlet’s face crinkled at Rina’s story, but she decided it was best not to say anything.

“By the way,” Rina picked up Tabasco. “Do you wanna pet him? I think he likes you!” Rina moved closer, carrying her pet fish like it was a dog. Scarlet couldn’t help but notice the fish eyeing her tail.

“I’d really rather not,” said Scarlet.

“Ah, c’mon. He won’t bite! Honest!”

“Rina.”

“Just one pet?”

“I said n-” Before Scarlet could finish, Tabasco leaped out of Rina’s arms and latched onto the end of Scarlet’s tail with its mouth. The girl was so shocked, she whipped her tail around and flicked the catfish off of her, sending it flying towards a rock. It hit the stone with a wet thud and landed on its side, motionless.

“Tabasco!!” Rina shouted, running over to the fish. Lafayette ran over to the fish as well. “You okay, buddy? You’re okay, right?”

Lafayette then stood up, gritting his teeth.

“That does it!” shouted Lafayette. “You’ve gone too far this time, Scarlet! I tried to be patient, I tried to be kind, but all you do is sneer at us and push us away! And now look what you’ve done!”

“It was an accident. He bit me!” said Scarlet.

“But ya didn’t have to throw him at a rock!”

“I said it was an accident!”

“Even if it was, that doesn’t excuse how rude you’ve been this whole time! You’re nothin’ but an arrogant, judgy, entitled brat! I hope you move back to wherever you came from, ‘cause you don’t belong here!”

“You… You don’t have to say it like that…” A tear streamed down Scarlet’s face. Lafayette’s expression softened, but only a little. Scarlet continued, saying, “I’m sorry, okay! I didn’t mean it!” The girl rubbed the tears from her eyes. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“What are you sayin’?”

“I’m the reason my family moved. I didn’t want them to. I never wanted to come here, but they made me! It was those bandits… Father thought it wasn’t safe for me anymore, so he talked my mother into it. Then we just… Left. All those years there meant nothing to them. Nothing!” Despite Scarlet’s best attempts to wipe the tears from her eyes, they just kept coming. “I just wanna go home… We should have stayed. We should have fought back! I… I would have helped if they just let me!”

“Scarlet, I-”

“No, don’t look at me!” Scarlet turned away. “You’re right. I am selfish. I’m arrogant, judgy, and just plain nasty. Every kid I’ve ever met knew that. I get it! It would have been fine, though. You didn’t have to be my friend. You could have left me alone, just like everyone else…”

Scarlet looked at Rina and the motionless fish, feeling a painful, choking feeling in her throat. She couldn’t bear the guilt of what she had done, so she did what she always had: run away and hide.

---

Scarlet ran and ran until her legs gave out, and she stumbled to the ground. Up ahead, she saw a jumbled pile of sticks and leaves. She crawled underneath it and hid from the world. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she thought back to the past.

She often played in the flowery fields near her home back in Xatelia. She liked to be outside. She liked to run, play, explore, and find new things she could show her mother and father. One fateful day, someone found Scarlet instead.

“What do we have here?” said a crudely dressed human. “A little far from home, ain’t ya, miss?”

“You outta be careful,” said another human, holding a machete. “You never know who you might bump into out here.”

“Yeah!” said another, who had his hand on a gun. “Didn’t yer ma ever tell ya not to wander too close to the border?”

“How did you people get in here?” asked Scarlet. “How did you get past the border guards?”

“We have our ways,” grinned the first human. “Nothing is perfect, after all… Besides, when I heard they were lettin’ freaks like you live on these lands when we have to make do in the Southern Wastes, I just had to see for myself.”

Scarlet stepped back. The way the men were eyeing her up, the way they looked at her tail… Something was wrong with them, but she didn’t know what.

“Stay back! If you so much as touch me, my father will-”

“He’ll do what?” The first human grabbed her by the wrist. “I’m not scared of your kind. You may walk, talk, and act like people, but you’re still just animals.”

“Let go! You’re hurting me!” cried Scarlet.

“You here that, guys? I’m hurting her! For fuck’s sake, like you monsters know anything about pain. I liked snakes better when they couldn’t talk back. I bet if I cut out that tongue of yours, that should set things straight.”

Scarlet slashed the man’s face with her claws. He let go, grasping at his wound. While he was distracted, the girl ran as fast as she could.

“That bitch!” cried the first human. “After her!”

The surrounding brush was tall, but she was still too big to run through it unnoticed. The only chance she had was to use her magic, but would that be enough? After frantically sewing an Invisibility symbol into her embroidery cloth, she disappeared. After that, she ran out of the grass and hid inside a hollow log. She could hear the poachers running about, shouting at each other. Inside the log, she hugged her knees and tried to be as small as possible while holding her breath. At one point a poacher looked inside the log. She saw his eyes looking in, but he didn’t see her.

“Wait, who are you people? What have you done with my daughter?!” shouted a familiar voice.

“There’s another one! Get him!” shouted a poacher.

What followed were the sounds of fighting, gunshots, and spellfire. Scarlet feared the worst, but when things grew quiet, the only voice she could hear was that of her father.

“Scarlet? Scarlet, where are you?!”

The girl took a chance and poked her head out. When she saw her father, she immediately let go of her Invisibility spell and moved towards him. Crawford moved towards her as well, and they hugged each other.

“Father, I-” Scarlet gasped before Crawford shielded her eyes. For just a moment, she saw what her father had done to the poachers. She hardly recognized them. To this day, she never forgot the sight of those burning husks.

“Don’t look, Scarlet. It’s… Not safe here anymore. We need to go home.”

“But father-”

“I said we need to go! Now!!”

Scarlet did what she was told and held onto her father’s hand. It was hard to run with her eyes closed, but it was over before she knew it. Once she got home, Crawford explained what happened, and after a long conversation between him and Victoria, it was decided that Xatelia was no longer a safe place to live. They would report what happened to the authorities, and when their affairs were in order, they would leave their homeland far, far behind them.

Returning her thoughts to the present, Scarlet continued to weep beneath the foliage. It had all happened so fast. First the move, then the searching, then landing in the bayou, and just like that, it was like she was in another world. She had lived in Xatelia for eleven long years. It felt wrong to leave it all behind. They had a flying house, magic, money… There were so many things they could have done, and they chose to run away. Just like she did…

Rina… Lafayette… I’m sorry, thought Scarlet. I’m so sorry.

Just then, a strange smell filled the air. She flicked her tongue. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Against her better judgement, she decided to come out of hiding. She didn’t see anything at first, but she did feel a faint rumbling beneath her feet. Soon enough, the ground was practically shaking, and then it burst open. Three eyeless creatures with smooth hairless skin, four legs, sharp incisors, and webbed, clawed feet had dug themselves out of the ground. They began to chitter and growl, taking notice of Scarlet immediately.

The snake girl stepped back. As one of the creatures moved closer, it picked up one of the sticks on the ground and chewed on it before spitting it back out. It continued advancing towards her, and a grim thought dawned upon Scarlet.

Wait, if these things eat wood, then…

One of the creatures swiped at her hip, but Scarlet dodged just in time. She took her embroidery hoop in her hands, noticing the creatures’ heads move up slightly as they followed the hoop’s movement.

“You can’t have this!” said Scarlet. “It’s far too important to be used as food!”

The creatures clearly didn’t care. Another one swiped at Scarlet, and though she dodged that attack as well, she nearly tripped. Her legs weren’t obeying her. It felt like they were locking up.

Dang it, I can’t fight them like this! They’d be on me before I got off a single spell!

Thinking fast, Scarlet kicked a stick the other way, drawing the creatures’ attention for just a moment. Then she ran. It wasn’t long before the monsters gave chase, and as she looked back, she saw they were gaining on her. She had precious few seconds before they caught up, so she stuffed her embroidery hoop in her vest and leaped onto a tree, clambering up its trunk. As she reached the top, however, she realized something. Too little too late. The creatures quickly began eating the base of the tree. All she could think to do was hold onto a branch as the tree came crashing towards the ground.

The fallen tree slammed her into the dirt, and the impact knocked the wind out of her. She couldn’t move. In a matter of moments, the monsters would be upon her, and she’d lose the one thing she had to remember her grandmother by. But when all hope seemed lost, a voice called out to her.

“Get up, Scarlet! You can do this!”

It was a familiar voice. She wasn’t sure where it came from, as the forest was too thick with trees. Yet somehow, it gave her the strength she needed to get back on her feet. When one of the monsters leaped at her, she kicked it in the belly as hard as she could, knocking back. It wheezed and hissed, scrambling back onto its four limbs.

“Get away from me! I am Scarlet Beauregard, youngest in the Beauregard family, and you will not have me this day!!”

A sudden speed and clarity came over her as she sewed a new pattern into her cloth, and an invisible force punted another one of the creatures into a tree, causing it to grunt and yelp. The remaining monsters started to back away. Rather than flee, however, they circled about, reassessing her. Before any of them attacked, a voice called out once more.

“Get away from my friend!” shouted Rina. The gator girl swung her arm at one of the monsters, knocking it on its backside. Lafayette joined the fray too, throwing what looked like a bolas at a monster, entangling its legs.

“Rina! Lafayette!” said Scarlet.

“You can’t get rid of us that easily,” said Rina.

“Are you hurt?” asked Lafayette.

“I’m okay. What are these things?” asked Scarlet.

“Heck if I know. They’re certainly not from around here.”

“Well whoever they are, let’s give ‘em a warm welcome!” After Rina popped her knuckles, she charged the third monster, sending it flying into the air with a devastating uppercut. Soon after, the entangled monster let out a shrill cry, and three more arrived on the scene to help them. After two of them recovered from their initial injuries, they grouped up and howled at the three beast kids. Scarlet moved in front, embroidery hoop at the ready.

“Scarlet?” said Lafayette.

“We can talk later. Right now, we need to deal with them.”

“Well if you’re good to fight, then so am I!” said Rina.

Scarlet gave a nod and stared the monsters down. “I’m tired of being a coward. I won’t run anymore!”

The monsters roared and charged the three kids. With a quick pattern in her cloth, Scarlet caused a rock to burst from the ground, knocking one of the monsters into the air. The other monsters circled around the rock, and Rina punched and kicked two of them away. Lafayette ducked an incoming attack and smacked a monster in the face with his shovel. He then spun around, hucked something in his other hand into the mouth of another monster, and crackling sparks like fireworks lit up in its mouth, causing it to run off in a panic.

While Rina and Lafayette were fighting, one of the monsters closed in and swiped at Scarlet’s body. She dodged back, but suffered a cut to her side. It wasn’t deep, but she could tell it could have been much worse. Another sewn symbol later, and light glimmered in front of her body in a hexagonal pattern.

“What the heck is that?” asked Lafayette.

“It’s called a barrier. The first thing you do when you learn magic is how to protect yourself,” said Scarlet.

The monster swiped at her again, but its claws bounced off the barrier. As it was only in front of her, Scarlet made sure to always face towards the attacking monster, and while the barrier kept it at bay, Scarlet wove another spell. A fist of force manifested above the beast, slamming down on its body. The monster was knocked out cold.

“Hoowee! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” said Rina. The gator girl then charged a recovering monster, scooped it up in her arms, then suplexed it. She then used it to bludgeon another monster. After the beasts had taken so many harsh blows, they fled the area. The battle was won.

“Yeah! You better run!” said Lafayette. “And don’t come back, you hear?!”

When the fight was over, a wave of relief washed over Scarlet. She was about ready to thank the two kids, but Rina said, “Now, about that apology.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me!” said Rina. “You owe Tabasco an apology!”

Scarlet stared at the gator girl, dumbfounded. “I… Huh?” Scarlet shook her head. “Wait, how is your fish, anyway? Is he okay?”

“He’s okay, all right. Tabasco’s a real toughie. Still, it’s not proper to hurt someone like that and not say you’re sorry.”

“But… I thought I did.”

Rina crossed her arms. “Not to his face.”

“Are you being serious right now?! We just went toe to toe with a pack of blind wood-eating mole monsters, and that’s what you’re concerned with?”

“Monsters ain’t nothin’ new around here.”

“But I thought Eli said this place was safe!”

“It is,” said Lafayette. “As long as we’re around.” Lafayette rested his arm on Rina’s shoulder and said, “We’re the premier monster fighters ‘round the bayou!” Lafayette’s ears perked up. “Speakin’ of which, Rina. There’s trouble in the village. There must be more of them.”

“Then what are we waitin’ for? We gotta go help ‘em!”

And just like that, Rina and Lafayette took off running. When it finally clicked that they were already moving on, Scarlet tried to catch up.

“H-hey, hold on a minute! Wait for me!” The snake girl managed to reach Rina, and together they ran ahead, trying to keep pace with Lafayette. “Thanks for earlier, by the way.”

“What?”

“Earlier, when you told me to get up. I… I just wanted to thank you for that. If you didn’t say anything, I might have lost my embroidery hoop…”

“I don’t recall sayin’ those words, but I’m glad I could help either way.”

“But… If you didn’t tell me to get up, then who… Did…” Scarlet glanced behind her as she ran. She was certain she recognized the voice when it called out to her, but now she had no idea if it was Rina, Lafayette, or someone else she knew. She looked at the embroidery hoop she was holding for a moment before stuffing it in her vest and shaking her head. It couldn’t be… Could it?

---

Scarlet, Rina, and Lafayette ran into the heart of the bayou. Even before they reached the village, Scarlet could smell more of those creatures nearby.

“Most of the village homes are made of wood, right?” asked Scarlet as she ran.

“Yeah. I’ll bet them monsters are tryin’ to eat everyone out of house and home!” said Lafayette.

“But why attack this deep into the bayou?” asked Rina. “There’re trees everywhere!”

“Maybe they’re picky eaters?”

Then it occurred to Scarlet: her house. It was made from the finest lumber Xatelia had to offer and was rich in ether due to the enchantments placed on it. If her embroidery hoop was like a single egg, her house would seem like a huge cheese omelet to the beasts. Scarlet cursed under her breath as she tried to keep up with the others.

By the time the trio arrived in the village proper, the other beast folk were already defending their property against the monsters. Rina wore a serious expression as she looked around.

“Lafayette, you handle the ones on the right, I’ll handle the ones on the left.”

“You got it!” said the fox boy.

“I want to help to!” said Scarlet.

“Are you sure?”

Scarlet looked Lafayette in the eye and said, “Yes.”

“In that case, I’ll take care of the ones I see further up ahead,” said Rina. “Now let’s get to it!” Then she and Lafayette ran off.

Looking to her left, Scarlet saw Big Pete and a tall frogman with a banjo trying to keep three of the monsters away from a large log home. Since they were so close to the village pond, Scarlet got an idea. She sowed a long wave-like pattern in her embroidery cloth, telekinetically manipulating some of the water into a grasping tendril. The water tendril latched onto the three monsters, and while they were bound in place, the other two beast folk went on the offensive. Big Pete clasped his hands together for an overhead smash, the frogman clonked one with a club, and Scarlet dove into the fray with a kick. Working together, they were able to knock the monsters out.

“Thanks for that!” said Big Pete.

“It’s no problem. When did these things show up?” asked Scarlet.

“Wasn’t too long ago,” said the frogman. “David came runnin’ in and started shoutin’ about some tree biters, but just as he showed up, so did the monsters.”

“Are there any more besides these ones?”

“Actually, I think I saw a few headin’ out that way,” Big Pete pointed. It was the same direction as Scarlet’s house.

“Shoot, all right. Thanks for the info!” Then Scarlet took off running. Lafayette was still in the middle of a fight, so she joined in and helped finish off the monsters.

“You’re getting’ good at this,” said Lafayette. “Just don’t get a big head over it.”

“I’ll do my best. Now is Rina still around? I think I may know what’s going on.”

“See for yerself.”

Lafayette gestured across the pond where Scarlet saw two gigantic gator folk – one wearing a polka dot dress and the other wearing a dark t-shirt and overalls. She watched as the woman flatted a monster with a frying pan and the man knocked several to the ground with a bone-cracking tail whip. In the midst of the two large gator folk was Rina, helping the others fend off the remaining monsters.

“Are those her parents?” asked Scarlet.

“They sure are! Come on!” shouted Lafayette.

The pair ran towards the gator folk but were quickly cut off by two more monsters. Scarlet and Lafayette struck them down with kicks and a shovel as they shouted, “Out of our way!” in unison. When they made it to the other side of the pond, Rina excitedly introduced her parents.

“Scarlet, glad you’re doin’ okay! This is my ma and pa, Shelly and Crush.”

“Nice to meet you two,” said Scarlet.

“We can worry about formalities later,” said Shelly. “Right now we need to figure out why there are so many dang monsters here!”

“I… May have an idea,” said Scarlet. The snake girl explained her theory about the magical wood in her family home, expecting the others to blame her for everything, but once again, the locals surprised her.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” said Crush. “You better go see yer folks and check if they’re okay.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Oh pshaw,” said Shelly. “Like you asked for yer house to be eaten! Now get goin’! We’ll handle things here.”

“You heard ‘em,” said Rina. “Let’s move!”

Scarlet watched as Rina and Lafayette ran off towards her house without hesitation. She was quick to follow, and a few minutes later, the trio found Crawford and a pair of armed rope-men fending off more monsters. The trio joined the fighting and made quick work of the beasts. When the last of the monsters fell, Crawford ran to where the trio were and hugged Scarlet.

“Thank goodness. I’m glad you’re still okay. But… Look at you. These cuts, bruises, and your clothes!” Crawford looked at Rina and Lafayette and said, “You were supposed to keep her safe!”

“We did!” said Lafayette. “Though she hasn’t exactly made it easy for us.”

“How dare you! When Eli told me this was a safe place, I put my trust in you all! Now I see I’ve made a mistake. Scarlet, get in the house. We’ll make ready to leave soon.”

“No…” Scarlet whispered.

“What was that?”

“I said no!” Scarlet shouted. “Lafayette is right. He and Rina have been watching over me this whole time! They’ve done everything they could. All I’ve done in return is act like a spoiled brat, just because I never wanted to come here. I… I never wanted to move, but I was scared. Too scared to speak up. But I’m not scared anymore.” Scarlet did her best to look Crawford in the eye as she said, “I say we stay and fight!”

“That is not your decision to make. When we decided to move, it was to protect you! Do you know how much we’ve sacrificed to find a better place to live?”

“Then you’re just going to run every time there’s even a hint of danger?” Crawford narrowed his eyes at her, but Scarlet stayed strong. “I understand why you did it now, but we can’t just keep running forever. Eventually we’ll run out of places to live… We have to stand our ground at some point, so why not here? Rina, Lafayette, and the whole community are tough, and they know how to work together. So what do you say?”

“I…” Crawford hesitated. He looked back at the house. Scarlet could see Victoria through a window, watching them with a worried look on her face. Crawford then said, “If we were to stay, what do you propose we do?”

Scarlet explained her theory about the monsters to Crawford, stating that they must be attracted to the house.

“But… If they really are drawn to the house, then our presence here only makes things worse,” said Crawford. “Knowing this, you still wish to stay and fight?”

The snake girl nodded. “If we’re the reason the monsters came, then we owe it to the others to help deal with the problem.”

Crawford crossed his arms and smiled. “I see… Perhaps I’ve misjudged you two,” he said to Rina and Lafayette. “You’ve been a better influence on my daughter than I thought possible. But the question remains: how do we deal with the matter at hand? We know that these monsters feed on wood and seem especially drawn to high-quality wood steeped in ether. What else do we know? What should we call them?”

“I say ‘tree biter!’” Rina smiled.

“Tree biter?” said Scarlet.

“You know… ‘Cause they bite trees.”

“Tree biter it is then,” said Crawford. “What else?”

“There are a heck of a lot of them,” said Lafayette. “Even so, they seem a little more organized than other beasts we’ve fought.”

“I noticed that,” said Scarlet. “They move like pack hunters, even though they’re herbivores. More than that, I noticed something in the air. I believe they’re pheromones.”

“Pheromones?”

Scarlet nodded. “Back in Xatelia, we used to maintain a type of spider farm and harvest their silk. Whenever I cared for them, I always noticed strange smells coming from the spiders. My understanding is that certain types of creatures can release special odors from their bodies in order to communicate, and our spiders were no exception. The females used pheromones to attract males, as well as lure in potential prey.”

“I see… So perhaps the tree biters have a pack leader of some kind that communicates through their pheromones,” said Crawford.

“Ooooh. I was wonderin’ what that odor was!” said Rina. “So what yer tellin’ me is there’s some big tree biter out there that might be tellin’ the little ones to do stuff, like maybe gather food?”

“It would make sense,” said Scarlet. “Ants communicate in much the same way, signaling to each other where food is located. If they had an especially important member of their group, say a queen or an alpha, then it would explain this semi-coordinated hunt for food.”

“Well shoot,” said Lafayette, “I guess a fancypants education is worth somethin’ after all.”

“Hmm… I think I have an idea,” said Crawford. “If they’re most attracted to the house, then I could have it flown up into the air and see if it draws them away from the village. These tree biters don’t appear to have eyes, so they might not recognize the house is out of their reach. Then it’s just a matter of seeing if there truly is a leader among them, and if they can be dealt with, it may be enough to drive the others out.”

“Sounds like a plan. Rina, do you think you can help me track the leader?” asked Scarlet.

“Sure can!” Rina pumped a fist into the air.

“Wait, you don’t seriously plan on taking it on, do you?” asked Crawford. “But you’re…”

“I have to do this if what I said earlier is to hold any weight. Besides…” Scarlet looked at Rina and Lafayette. “My new friends will be there to look out for me.”

“Then before you go, let me see your embroidery hoop.” Scarlet passed her hoop to Crawford, who looked at it, smiled gently, then handed it back. “I see… You’ve come a long way, then. All right. I’ll trust you and your friends. Just promise me if things get too dangerous, you’ll get out of there.”

“I promise.”

“Then I’ll get the house in the air. Be seeing you soon.”

Crawford and his rope-men returned to the house, and as Scarlet and the others stepped back, the house gradually rose up into the air, moving north and west. Just as she suspected, the remaining tree biters in the area followed after it. With that taken care of, Scarlet worked together with Rina to track down the source of the pheromones. The girl knew it would be dangerous, and a small part of her still doubted herself, but even so, Scarlet knew she had to face the coming danger no matter what. For her family and for herself.

---

Scarlet and Rina led the search for the tree biter alpha while Lafayette watched their backs. Their combined senses made the search simple enough, and whatever was giving off the pheromones certainly made no attempt to hide themselves. The question was… What should they do when they find the alpha? What if it was too big or dangerous to fight? What then? Scarlet shared her concerns, as even though she knew this was important, she was not so foolhardy to think she was invincible.

“Well, I’ve never met somethin’ that I couldn’t handle,” said Rina. “At least, not at my age…”

“What about those land shrimp that could shoot high-speed bubbles? Or that giant tortoise that nearly snapped yer head off? What about the swamp shark?” asked Lafayette.

“The what?” asked Scarlet.

“Oh pshaw, we’re still here, ain’t we?” said Rina. “If this monster is anything like what we’ve faced before, then we’ll have this in the bag no problem!”

“Your confidence is… Admirable,” said Scarlet. “But what if-”

“No more of that! I know this is scary, but if you let the fear take hold, you’ve already lost.”

“Then what’s the plan?”

“Well… I’ll think of one when I see the monster. Can’t make plans around somethin’ if I don’t know what to expect. Although…”

“Yeah?”

“If you can come up with a use for yer fancy magicky stuff, then I’ll do what I can to follow along!”

Rina wiggled her fingers in Scarlet’s direction when she said “magicky”, and had she not known better, she would have thought she was being made fun of. But this was Rina. She was probably the sincerest person Scarlet had ever met… For better or worse.

The trio continued their travels. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted in shades of red, orange, and pink. A warm wind blew through the air, carrying the smell of the swamp, along with the mysterious pheromones, which were pungent and acrid. The kids had left behind the mucky part of the swamp and were now in a sparse forest of gum trees. Most of the land was beneath a few inches of water, though there were occasional wet grassy hills, often dotted with mushrooms. As the trio walked over one of these hills, Scarlet accidentally stepped on a mushroom. Instead of outright crushing it, however, the durable and spongey fungus sunk into the soft, muddy hill.

“Wait… I have an idea,” said Scarlet.

“What is it?” asked Lafayette.

“I think I can use my magic to stop the pheromones. If I can seal the glands somehow, it should confuse the little monsters.”

“You think it’ll work?” asked Rina.

“There’s no way to be certain, but I’m willing to give it a try. I’ll need time to complete the spell pattern, though. You think you two can keep the monsters busy?”

“About as sure as sweet potatoes!”

“Then it’s a plan,” said Lafayette.

With the three kids in agreement, they continued following their noses until they found the source of the pheromones. Beyond the sparse forest, Scarlet saw a gathering of tree biters. Out on some wetlands, the monsters were grazing and prancing about, and in the midst of the pack was a giant tree biter, easily bigger than a moose – and twice as wide. Its body shape was similar to the other monsters, though its hide was even darker, with its limbs colored a faded emerald green. Scarlet also noticed some of the tree biters approaching the alpha, dumping what looked like piles of chewed-up wood at the alpha’s feet. A long grasping tongue scooped up the wood offerings and ate them.

“I see… So the little ones hunt and forage, bringing back food to their leader. They really are like ants,” said Scarlet.

“Well I hope they enjoyed their meal, ‘cause it’s time for them to pay the bill,” said Rina.

“Do you even know what a bill is?”

“Not really, but I heard that line in a movie once.”

Lafayette was smirking and looked like he was barely containing his laughter. Scarlet just shook her head. “We’re still good with the plan?”

“I’d say so. Let me go ahead and get things started for ya,” said Rina. Then the girl dove into the water. It wasn’t too deep, but there was just enough for Rina to submerge herself and swim through the wetlands. The splash Rina made put the tree biters on high alert, so they fanned out and searched the area. Not long after, Lafayette moved ahead, using the wetland brush as cover. For the moment, Scarlet held off on preparing the spell. She knew that as soon as she pulled her hoop out, the tree biters would make their way towards her. So she waited patiently for the attack to begin.

Steady… Steady… Scarlet thought. Any moment now…

Then, just when the area got quiet, Rina burst out of the water and latched onto the alpha’s leg.

“I got you, you sonnuva gun!!” Then Rina bit down on the alpha’s leg, causing it to howl in pain. The other monsters changed course and made their way towards Rina. The final battle against the tree biters had begun.

The alpha first tried to shake Rina off of its leg, but the gator girl held on tight. As Scarlet flicked her tongue, she could tell the scent in the air signaled distress. The smaller tree biters splashed through the wetlands on their way to their leader. As they did, however, some of them stumbled in the water, getting tangled up in nets. Lafayette leaped out of cover and began swatting any other monsters that came his way with his shovel.

“Better get that spell goin’!” shouted Lafayette. “We’ll hold ‘em down in the meantime!”

“Right!” Scarlet drew her embroidery hoop and began the pattern. Ordinarily, spellweaving didn’t take her very long. Spells that manipulated the environment or caused a reaction of some kind were simple enough. Spells that directly manipulated a living creature, though, were more advanced. For this pattern, Scarlet chose the center of her cloth – a space she had been saving for just such an occasion.

While Scarlet worked on her spell pattern, Rina and Lafayette fought the tree biter pack. The alpha finally threw Rina off of its leg, and she splashed across the water like a skipped rock. But she made a swift recovery and used the other monsters as steppingstones, hopping off of their backs as Rina made her way to the alpha again. With a hop, skip, and a jump, Rina closed the distance once more. She spun about mid-air, landing a pulverizing strike with her hefty tail. The force of the blow caused the alpha to stumble. Scarlet realized she had stopped sewing in that moment, so distracted by Rina’s show of strength.

Lafayette was no slouch in the fight, either. What he lacked in strength, he made up for in speed and agility. He ducked, dodged, and leapfrogged over the tree biters as they attacked. Every time they left themselves open, he slapped them in the face with his shovel. Even when he did get cut from one of the monster’s claws, it seemed to be intentional, as Lafayette led some of the monsters into his impromptu traps in the water. Everything was going well. A little too well for Scarlet’s liking.

The snake girl continued her sewing, and as the spell neared completion, her needle and thread emitted a magical glow. The monsters didn’t react to the glow. What they did react to, however, was the magical energy Scarlet’s hoop was giving off. Looking up, she realized some of the tree biters were racing towards her. Rina was busy fighting the alpha and its protectors, and even Lafayette wasn’t fast enough to stop the stragglers out of his reach. Still working on her current pattern, Scarlet was defenseless. She thought it would all be for naught, but then something swooped down, grabbing two of the tree biters in her talons.

“Alyssa! You made it!” shouted Rina.

“Sorry for the wait, gang! Crawford filled me in on what’s goin’ on, so I’ll do what I can to help!”

Scarlet couldn’t remember seeing the egret woman before. She was tall, graceful, and seemed more than capable. The snake girl said, “I just need a little more time to cast a spell! Can you keep the others off my back?”

“Can do!” said Alyssa. Then the egret woman took to the air, swooping down on another pair of monsters. She grabbed hold of them with little trouble, flying across the wetlands, and tossing them aside.

With three beast folk helping her, Scarlet finally finished the spell pattern. With the last stitch, the pattern glowed with power. An invisible force traveled across the wetlands and latched onto the alpha. Nearly invisible holes on the monster’s sides closed shut, and soon after, the pheromones faded from the air. The little tree biters became confused and less coordinated while the alpha became enraged. Chaos erupted on the battlefield, and all the monsters lashed out in a panic.

The smaller tree biters became more ferocious in their confusion, but without the coordinating scents, they could be tackled as individual enemies rather than a group. Lafayette and Alyssa made short work of them, striking them down one at a time. Meanwhile, Rina was wrestling with the alpha. She managed to yank it to the ground by its leg, but as Rina tried to strike it in the face with a kick, the monster bit down. Now it had gotten a hold of Rina’s leg.

“Dang it, let go you overgrown beaver!” Rina tried pulling the alpha’s jaws open, but it was to no avail. “Can I get a little help here?”

“A little busy!” said Lafayette, holding a monster back with the handle of his shovel.

“I’m on it!” said Scarlet. In order to pull off her next plan, she needed to get closer. As cold as the wetland waters looked, she ignored her fears and jumped in. The water reached up to her thighs, making movement difficult. Even so, the path had been cleared for her thanks to Lafayette and Alyssa. All that was left was to complete the next pattern. As she waded through the water, her mind flashed back to that fateful day in the field. The memory of the poachers, what they almost did to her, and what remained of them after her father got to them still haunted her to this very day. The fear she felt wasn’t something that made her hide under her bed and cower, no. It was something more insidious. It made her defensive, made her paranoid. It made her lash out at others that didn’t deserve it. Rather than weigh her down, it had twisted her every action since that day in subtle, invisible ways.

But no more.

The monster before her may have been disconnected from the events of her past, but the threat it represented to her family and her new home was more than real. Despite the fear in her heart, despite the freezing cold of the evening wetlands, despite all of her guilt, Scarlet fought through it all, sewing just like her grandmother taught her. First, a simple telekinesis spell. It pushed in two directions, unlatching the jaws of the alpha, letting Rina go free. This, however, was just the catalyst.

There was a secret to spellweaving that the Beauregard family had discovered ages ago, passing it on from generation to generation. Each spell she had woven that day was a link in a chain, and now that the chain had formed a full circle, the final spell of the cloth was complete. Every spell, big and small, was unleashed upon the alpha. Though some of them accomplished nothing (and one was even beneficial to it), the jutting rock, the fist of force, the grasping tendril of water… These and all the others struck the alpha one after the other, pushing it further and further back until finally the telekinesis spell went off, tossing it up into the air, then spiking it back into the ground.

When the tree biters saw their leader knocked unconscious, they scrambled towards it in a panic. Working together, they bunched up around the alpha’s body and carried it off. When they were gone, Rina ran right up to Scarlet and scooped her up in a big bear hug.

“Scarlet, that was amazing! How’d you even do that?!”

Gasping for air, Scarlet said, “I-I’ll tell you if you put me down!”

“Oh, sorry.”

Scarlet landed in the water with a big splash. Her clothes were now completely muddy and soaked through, yet somehow, she didn’t mind at all. Rina extended a hand to help the snake girl up, and this time, Scarlet accepted it.

“Shouldn’t we stop those things?” asked Scarlet.

“Nah. With a beatin’ that bad, I doubt they’ll ever step in the bayou again!” said Rina.

“I’ll say,” added Lafayette. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a monster get whipped quite like that. What about you, Alyssa?”

“Can’t say I have,” said the egret woman. “Then again, I’ve never met a magician, either.”

“Oh please, I’m only a mage in training… You can keep complimenting me if you want to, though,” said a blushing Scarlet.

“Nah, I think you’ve had enough,” said Lafayette. Scarlet flicked her tongue in the fox boy’s direction. “By the by, we still have all these other tree biters they left behind…” Lafayette looked at the unconscious and tangled up monsters. “Any chance you can take care of that, Alyssa?”

“Should be easy enough.” Alyssa looked at the sheer number of monsters around, as did the others. “It might be easier if they were all in one net, though.”

The kids worked together, gathering up the monsters in one spot, placing them in a large net Lafayette made by tying up all the little ones together. With the monsters bound up, Alyssa tried carrying them off, but the pile was just too heavy.

“Shoot, I can’t lift ‘em.”

“Here, I’ll help,” said Scarlet. She replaced the cloth in her embroidery hoop, sewing an enhancing pattern in the fresh linen. Suddenly, the slim muscles in Alyssa’s form seemed to subtly bulk up, and she took to the air with no issue.

“Oh wow, this ain’t so bad now. Thanks, Scarlet!”

“You’re very welcome!”

Then the egret woman took off. As for the trio of kids, they made their way back to the bayou. But before returning to the village, there was one last thing Scarlet needed to do…

---

“Here he is,” said Rina.

“I’m glad he’s okay,” said Scarlet. “I’m sorry about what I did earlier… I was just scared. I thought you were trying to eat my tail!”

Tabasco just mouthed at the air silently. Scarlet reached out, hesitant at first, then she finally pet the catfish on his wet, slimy head. Scarlet drew her hand back, her face scrunching up at the sight of the slime.

“Seems he’s accepted yer apology,” said Lafayette.

“Oh hey, congrats, Scarlet! I’m confused, though. Since when could you speak fish?” asked Rina.

“I can’t. It’s just a feeling I get from him.”

“I see, I see…” Rina then spun the fish around to look him in the eye. “Anything else ya wanna add, lil’ buddy?”

Tabasco stared blankly.

“Huh… I think he’s saying he’s glad you feel better, Scarlet,” said Lafayette.

“That’s an awfully specific feelin’!” said Rina. The fox boy shrugged. Rina shrugged back. “Ah well. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get you home so we can head home.”

Rina returned Tabasco to the lake, then walked ahead towards the woods. She waved for the others to follow her, and they did, though Scarlet and Lafayette walked at a much slower pace.

“So…” began Lafayette.

“So?” asked Scarlet.

“I know I may have said a thing or two earlier, but… I wanted to apologize.”

“Why? You were in the right with what you said…”

“Maybe, but I didn’t mean to say things the way I did. I’ve been friends with Rina for over three years. Three years since I found my way to this swamp. Rina is like a sister to me, and the way you were shruggin’ off her gestures of kindness, well, it just rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t fully understand it, but you know how when you get mad you end up doin’ and sayin’ things you don’t really mean to?”

Scarlet nodded. “Boy, do I know that feeling…”

“So yeah, it was like that. I knew I took it too far, so I just wanted to say sorry.”

Scarlet smiled at the fox boy. “Well, apology accepted! Does that mean I’m not an arrogant, judgy, entitled brat?”

“Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself now.” The two children laughed together, and for a moment, Scarlet forgot just how cold and dirty she was.

“So now what? I take it you’re heading back to your family’s house?” asked Scarlet.

“Still haven’t figured that one out, huh?” said Lafayette.

“What do you mean?”

“Back when I found my way to the swamp three years ago… I found it all on my own. I don’t have anybody else.”

“Wait, then you’re…” Scarlet paused. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t fret about it.” Lafayette stopped at the edge of the forest, turning in Scarlet’s direction. “I have a new family now. Rina, Eli, and everyone else that lives in the bayou. Maybe if you stick around long enough, you can be a part of it too.”

As Lafayette said those words, Scarlet felt something deep within her. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt it, nonetheless.

“Then again, maybe not,” Lafayette continued. “I’m not sure I could ever get along with someone as uptight as your pa.”

Deep within, Scarlet heard the sound of glass shattering. What followed was a fiery rage, and she began chasing after Lafayette as she cried, “You idiot! Don’t talk about my father like that!!”

The pair ran off into the forest, and pretty soon they caught up with Rina, who said, “Oh, we’re racin’ now? You’re on!!”

The three children ran through the forest on their way back home, and though Scarlet was still mad for reasons even she couldn’t explain, a part of her was still having the time of her life.

The kids would later return to the bayou, explain what happened alongside Alyssa, and Crawford’s rope-men would aid the other beast folk in repairing the village. Scarlet’s parents were horrified at the state of her clothes and were quick to order Scarlet to take a bath. Nevertheless, they were glad she was all right. Collectively, they decided they’d stay in Bebop Bayou a little while longer. And when Scarlet went to bed, no longer did she have nightmares of the past. Instead, she dreamed about her new neighbors, new friends, and the new adventures that awaited her.

#bebop bayou #bebopbayoutales #my writing #writeblr #post apocalyptic #animal people #phonetic dialogue #novelette #novella #multiple perspectives #cajun #rina woodshed #lafayette #scarlet beauregard #fantasy

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snugglywuggums · 1 month ago

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First post on the site, figured I'd upload some of my stories here for giggles in their rougher drafts before they wind up getting posted to other more focused sites when I finally have cover art for my books.

Thus far, books one and two are entirely done, with book 3 coming up on the halfway point. It's aiming to be comprised of seven total books and tell two sides of the same events -- they are written to stand on their own as tales, but reading both sides will provide additional context into the world and events at large without spoiling either side. test

This first story is multi-perspective, flipping back and forth between three characters as time goes on, all within the same party.

The (Highly trope-ey)short blurb is thus A story following the adventures of someone stricken by a terrible curse that's robbed him of his memories and given him destructive urges, a fae princess who desires nothing more than to see the world and tell the grandest tale that's ever been told, and (possibly) the last fire dragon who has lived on the edge of fae territory since her parents died when she was a child.

It's intended to be a story of whimsy, dealing with the importance of understanding ones own emotions and place in the world, the nature of what it means to be a monster or outsider, and found family. And, importantly, some of the characters might kiss at some point.

I try to avoid it being trauma porn, but the characters have damage, and are trying to get through it. Except for the amnesiac. He's the suffering lodestone for the world — luckily, he winds up with ride or dies who won't let him fall too far.

Without further ado:

Stolen Fates

Calamity

Chapter 1 — Unknown — An Unnatural Hunger, Golden Eyes, A Long Fall

[Foreword: Reading guidance. Instances of full lines of text in italics are internalized thoughts. Italics are sometimes used for emphasis in other locations, but typically only single words.] ---------------

[Start(We'll see how my formatting adapts, this might be a goddamn nightmare.] ---------------

The memory of what happened is fleeing, like so many others. Of all of the ones that leave, though, I think it's the one I don't mind going. It's a memory of terror, pain, and confusion. But...something drives me to try to hold onto it. A cloying need in the back of my mind to know. So I focus, trying to capture glimpses of it, grabbing at the wind itself as it rushes away.

My perspective drifts as I watch, reviewing the memory from two perspectives. Both sides experienced at once in a disorienting haze that I slip into readily.

A mighty thud followed by the sound of a bone, or bones, snapping erupts when my back slams into the tree — no pain follows, though. When I land in a heap about fifteen feet down onto the forest floor I realize that I cannot shift myself. My legs just won’t move. Everything below my waist just feels cold and numb in a way that’s hard to make sense of.

The memory stands amongst many flooding through my mind. All telling a similar story with the same ending. Notes cribbed from one another openly and blatantly. This one feels…different so I try to focus on it to the exclusion of the others.

There’s nothing for it. I pull myself into a sitting position against the tree to face the creature that’s been savaging me. There’s no question about the outcome here — not really. At the start I was scared, but I think I’m past that now. The beating has taken place over such a length of time that I’ve had time to come to terms with it. It's playing with its food. Nothing but malice like any monster.

This me, if I am me, fought back. So few of me seem to have either the ability or the wherewithal to. But no matter what, whether I fight back in my memories, I still lose to myself. Both sides of every memory, experienced at the same time, every time. Dying. Killing. Dying. Killing.

But maybe I can stop it? I’ve been trying to survive this entire time. That’s simply not going to happen, so what if I at least try to make the world a little bit better on the way out? Maybe if I’m lucky I can take something from it on the way.

The thoughts I have are hungry or scared. Eventually, hungry and scared. The me that hunts is hungry. The me that dies is scared. But at some point, both of me Become simply…me. Hungry and scared, interlocking, interweaving. But as I fade into myself, the scared flees, as scared is wont to do, leaving me only with my hunger. The hunger that persists even as the me starts to leave. Leaving behind nothing else but that hunger. A desire for more.

It stalks forward — the worst creature I know to exist on this blessed world of ours. Twice as tall as me even while hunched over nearly in half to menace down at me. The figure feels like a vague mockery of femininity, stretched and twisted and cast in lambent, internally radiant amethyst. Long, lanky, with limbs too thin, fingers with too many joints, each ending in crystal blades. Blades that have opened me up from neck to navel too many times to count. Defiantly, I look up at the monster, the Calamity from scripture, and shout something meaningless while it regards me curiously.

Why doesn’t it die? Why is it different?

Suddenly something snakes around my ankle with crushing force. I hear the cracks but no pain comes with the noise. I’m merely lifted like a favorite toy, casually. With ease I'm brought up to the side of its head alongside its set of three scrutinizing sapphire eyes, hanging upside down as blood leaks down from my guts and over my face, obscuring my vision incessantly. I can do something here. My knife.

My knife.

In a swift motion borne of desperation and spite, I rip my knife from my belt and ram it home into the largest of the sets of eyes alongside its monstrously elongated and smooth crystalline head. I drag it back towards me, using what little leverage I have to rend the monster asunder.

My minds and heads are suffused with such thorough and blinding pain that I can’t think. The pain comes through as overwhelming data. Not actual pain, though the outcome is the same. I stumble away from myself with a shout, a screech, a cry.

Good, I hurt it badly. Maybe I’ll have nicked something important or blinded it forever on that side of its horrible, horrible head.

When I land on the ground with a heavy thud, a cool sensation runs through my body, stemming from my right arm. I raise it while the creature staggers away from me and see the quicksilver ring glowing a comforting green on my ring finger. The feeling concentrates in my lower back and I feel something reconnect. Sudden agony screams up my leg and into my mind from an ankle that is beyond shattered. I writhe on the ground, wheezing, trying and failing to focus.

A tendril reaches up at my behest, pulling the intruding object from my vision. Information about the offending weapon floods into my mind. The craftsman who made it —someone who needs to be taken, they are clearly of skill — the material composition, essential irregularities. It is a quality knife, and one of significance to someone. Someone who just stabbed me with it. I stalk forward and lift the creature from the ground by its right arm, ensuring to break it just as many times as possible, in as many places as possible. It’s a waste of energy, but a token one to test this one's limits — its suitability.

Agony fills my mind with starbursts, but the cool presence from the ring on my hand dulls it immediately, allowing me some modicum of focus through the sensations. I see a glint for a moment and realize the creature is flipping my knife around like a toy in one of its countless amethyst tendrils as its bores into me with inhuman eyes. Eyes that are reforming as I watch. Regrowing as if no damage had ever been done to them at all. I realize the futility of the situation. Despite my best efforts, I never had a chance. Anything more was delusional. The realization sets in and the creatures lips peel back into a grin, baring a jagged wall of pristine crystalline teeth, each longer than my forearm.

With a single flick the quality knife that means something buries itself into the creature’s throat, right at the base of its neck. Its eyes go wide as it sputters and gurgles as the rich, vital Victus and Sanguis essence pours from its body in spurts that slow to pumps that slow to a dribble. Maybe not a waste though. An opportunity.

I’m dropped again. But I don’t feel anything this time. Even trying my hardest, I can’t move my head at all, like something is physically blocking my neck from moving. Maybe it’s the source of this cold and fuzzy feeling in my mind. As my eyes are starting to close, I see a flash of movement. My right arm, being raised and my hand being delicately closed around something.

---------------

[Memory Rend]

[Forced Imbument | Akasha]

Selectively destroy a target's memories and knowledge, rendering it into pure Akasha.

---------------

With a surge of conciousness returning, I open my eyes, the last vestiges of the cascade of memories leaving with the crashing return of reality. A reality that is stark and sharp. Rendered in black and white. Areas of essence richness, and essence void. The two states that matter.

All around me, I see vessels…bodies? Bodies. Bodies that have collapsed partially or wholly into a featureless white dust that stands out even in this strange sight of mine. The more whole ones look as if they’ve been ravaged by something terrible. Rent asunder, with so much essence spilled in waste, never to be recovered.

The more complete vessels evoke a sense of…something in me. Something terribly dark that sticks to the fringe of my awareness. It's cold and tight and as I try to focus on anything but I feel dampness pooling around my eyes for some reason. Eventually I succeed in redirecting my thoughts back to my main concern. I’m apparently in an area nearly devoid of essence: Far too much darkness in my vision, and no sources of power worth considering seeking. All of my memories were of being sated. I want that. I want to be sated of curiosity and essence.

In order to do that, I need to leave. This place makes me feel….bad, and it’s devoid of what I need. So I’ll leave.

I rise, and as I do so, I feel some vestiges of objectivity fleeing my mind. The stark rendering of the world into concentrations of essence starts to break down, bringing more of reality back into familiar shades over the span of ten or so seconds. This reveals my situation more clearly to me: I’m standing in the center of a town. Or…what was once a town. Corpses are scattered and drained to uselessness. Buildings are burning and sending vast columns of essence into the sky alongside plumes of smoke. And I’m in the center of a town square next to an intermittently firing fountain.

I feel something cool running up my right arm and some fog in my mind disappearing alongside it. Dispelling yet more of my objectivity. Bringing in wasteful emotions in its place. But when I lift my arm, it reveals something wrong.

My arm looks cast in a purple crystal. Covered in fissures and cracks that lead all the way down to what appears to be bone made of the same material. Periodically, small bursts of purple mist and ichor emit from deep within the fissures to diffuse into the air or splash onto the ground. Wherever the emissions contact any other materials they are steadily eaten away at until nothing remains than a featureless, essence devoid, white powder.

My hand, I realize, has been clenched this entire time. Opening my palm up, I see a small crystal sphere with tiny wisps of shiny purple smoke within. As if on cue, when I go to close my hand again, it shatters abruptly. But…it’s another distraction. It didn’t and doesn’t have what I need.

I make to step forward but, unbidden, I hear words from the oily smoke all around me in this place. A voice that trembles at first but hardens towards the end.

Beware the amethyst mist, born of the Seed of Calamity that corrupts all it touches, No longer a mortal, now a monstrous harbinger spreading only darkness and despair, The Calamity comes.

My steps arrest themselves. The words are familiar but I can’t place why and not being able to understand that gives me serious pause. The distracting sensation of knowing I should know something but not knowing it anyways floods my mind — only to be broken when a vessel steps out of the smoke ahead of me.

No…a woman, I think. Feminine, at least. She’s wearing badly damaged, but quality, armor. Black leather reinforced with dark plates at key locations in the gorget, stomach, wrists, and thighs. It’s barely holding together, making it look like she almost certainly has been in a terrible fight: an assumption that is further enhanced by her haggard, if determined, expression, a missing pantleg and sleeve, and a clumsily splinted arm pinned to her left side. What skin is revealed is an almost porcelain white with countless visible scars leading up to intensely luminous golden eyes with vertical slits in place of more “normal” pupils. Her head is framed by up-and-rearward sweeping black horns poking from shock-white hair nearly matching her skin tone Finally, to either side of her head, sit tall and sharply pointed ears.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t be allowed to leave here.” Her voice rings cold as she raises a weapon to a ready position. A knife held in a deadly stable grip and seems to have some sort of golden essence swirling around the blade like stardust matching the color of her eyes.

“What have I done? Why must I die for it? I don’t understand.” My own voice comes out flat and without inflection, feeling unfamiliar even through my own lips. The essence dusting around her suddenly falters at the same time that her stern expression does, some of it falling to the ground and dissipating swiftly. “She isn’t certain. Does she know why I must die? Maybe it’s a misunderstanding.”

“Y-you killed all of these people. This entire village is in ruin because of you. Do not try to trick me, the Calamity has arrived, and under the Watcher’s gaze, I shall lay it low!” She lowers her voice, speaking under her breath and shaping an incantation of some kind. Her essence mists out with her breath, returning to wreathe the knife in a sharp halo of gold as her eyes spark into a harsher light, pupils narrowing down to a barely perceptible slit..

[Watcher, I imbue thy killing might unto this tool. Watch my action, and hear my word, I pledge the death of the Calamity]

The essence she expends manifesting the spell is anomalous. It doesn’t share a color basis with anything I can think of immediately, and seems to come from nowhere, manifesting from thin air. In fact, as I focus, the aura bleeding off of her is almost exclusively Aero — however she got hurt likely involved her using an unsafe amount of it.

"You’re very badly essence imbalanced. I would rather not fight, and you’re just risking your safety." Maybe showing concern will help ease her concerns?

“I’ll hear nothing else out of you!” She rushes me with the killing blade extended.

“It’s antithetical. Anathema. Bane. But she’s too slow, she can’t get past my guard. I don’t want to hurt her, she’s confused and scared. I’ll stop her instead.“ I drop into a stance, planting one foot behind me, and raising my hands to protect myself. She lunges, far too slow, dominated by emotion, her essence burning bright once more. The motions she lunges at me with feel indescribably familiar. One of my memories I saw was a nearly identical situation, and as I focus on it, the memory lays over my vision. It sits on the fringes of my awareness as I move myself fluidly with the remembered motions with professional precision — the steps playing out in my mind like a mantra I’ve spoken my entire life.

A quick sidestep, left arm extended. Grab the wrist and tug. While they’re unbalanced, strike the rear of the elbow. A standard nonlethal disarming technique I’ve performed dozens of times and practiced hundreds. But this memory ends abruptly immediately following the elbow strike when I die, so I improvise the end.

The acts come out in a blur of practiced motion, and the impact against her elbow elicits a shocked yelp of pain as it hyperextends and knocks the knife flipping out of her hand. In one smooth motion, I shove her along her path with my left and snag the handle with my right, avoiding the mistake I made in the memory that got me killed by the monster I had been fighting then by keeping her beyond arms reach.

The moment my right-hand touches the strange essence wrapping the blade, I feel it pour into me and it hurts. It hurts more than anything I can think of. Blinding, searing pain from inside my body. Information screams into my skull. Indescribable white noise floods my every sense. Hearing, tasting, smelling and seeing nothing but static. For a few moments, I struggle to even think. I move the knife to my other hand in a daze, not wanting to give up a weapon. The moment it leaves my right hand, I feel relief from the painful sensory overload. I stare at the knife in my hand for a moment, trying and failing to comprehend it

The knife darkens in my grip as the light leaves it, its energy clearly expended. I have seen it before. This specific knife. I don't understand why, but I know it. Calling on another memory for guidance, I slip it into a fitting sheath on my belt with a smooth motion and turn to face the woman. “I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to kill you.” My voice coldly intones distantly. “I don’t know where I am. I don’t know what this is. Can’t you help me?” I feel a sense of desperation growing inside myself that I don’t like. That desperation is cloying at my self control. I know I can just end this and save myself the hassle she’s giving me but the thought just feels so viscerally wrong that it’s hard to even think about.

She stares at me, eyes wide. Her aura going cold and inert for a moment before she shakes her head, and it flashes back to burning gold. “This is a test of faith… and I will not fail.” She says aloud, reaching with her good arm down to her side, pulling out a slim knife. When she rips it free, I see a droplet of something drip off it, a concentrated energy source. She stands, and takes a handful of dancing steps backwards, creating space between us. She incants again,

[Sight of the Watcher, guide my hand!]

Her wrist flicks forward, and I try to search my memories again, but it’s coming too fast. All I manage to do is daze myself as dozens of useless, but similar, memories overlay one another — blurring everything before me with hazes of motion that’s nearly impossible to decipher.

The knife flips end over end as the golden white energy wreathes it. I reach out to grab it from the air as it flies towards me, but at the last moment, as though struck with a hammer midair, it redirects itself, avoiding my grasp by a hair's breadth. For a brief second, I see it pass my hand before realizing what’s about to happen. I start to twist my body, but am too slow.

The knife impacts and plunges into my left arm effortlessly, its golden sheathe flaying everything before it before breaking apart and burying itself into my shoulder. Nearly instantly, I feel a searing burn course into my body in time with my heartbeat. It’s agonizingly painful, but it brings a sort of pleasing relief shortly after it starts to course through my body.

I reach up and rip the knife out with my right hand on reflex. The moment I grip it, I see the fluid dripping from an internal reservoir dry up, leaving behind a featureless white powder. A second later, the knife itself collapses into the same inert dust filtering between my fingers as knowledge regarding both floods into my mind and the essence from within them floods into my body alongside their destruction.

---------------

Aetherbane ToxinFames, Puritas An alchemical distillation used to inflict significant damage to or disable monsters that rely on essence based attacks. Original formula recorded by Alistair Blackthorn for usage by the Order of the Eternal Vigil to combat Calamities.

Throwing Knife (Essence Reservoir)Mineralis, Instrumentum, Vacuous A simple throwing knife designed for delivering bane-targeting essence distillates to targets at a distance. Especially useful as it can be loaded and reloaded with any essence or distillation with a simple command. Current model designed by Vigil Armsmaster, Theron Drakallo.

---------------

The knowledge I glean scratches an itch I wasn’t even aware existed, but the possibilities for the anti-magical toxin come to mind immediately — to combat itself and any remnants of whatever essence was on the earlier knife.

I focus on that knowledge, the feel and shape of the essence distillation and try to will it into my blood in a productive way. Quickly, a burning rush like a heavy fever washes through my body. I feel it sweeping through, collecting foreign essence that shouldn’t belong and coursing it to my arm where it quickly drips out and onto the ground: primarily looking like mixed purple and red ichor. As it does I feel a good degree more emotion come to the forefront of my mind, and with it, fear.

“Why? I’ve avoided hurting you. I don’t want to fight!” My voice sounds more familiar now, each word carrying more feeling and pain than the last, as whatever essence was trapped inside me continues to be taken away or destroyed. “I didn’t do this, at least…not on purpose, if I did do it…” I trail off as my head swims, my body trying to combat the essentia poison in my veins to a mixed success. She draws another throwing knife, repeating her chant. “I can’t stop her knives. It’s late and dark, maybe I can escape into the forest?” I take a knee, feigning a worse wound than I actually have, and she forestalls her throw to get closer.

“Just…stop resisting. Please, if there’s still someone in there that’s listening, just lay down and let me end your suffering. You’ll be taken into the embrace of the Watcher and saved from this fate.” She inches closer, cautiously, weapon poised. The knife in her hand hisses and buzzes with essential energy that I have to fight every urge to not shy away from. Something instinctual within me recognizes it as antithetical to my being.

I hang my head, ostensibly going along with her command. She gets within arms reach on my left. “I’m truly sorry this happened to you. I will find out what I can about this place and ensure they aren’t forgotten. You didn’t deserve this, nobody does.” Her voice comes heavy with regret, sadness pinned to every syllable, but all underlined by resolve. She raises her knife in a reverse grip to plunge it into my neck.

Sensing my opportunity, I jump to a standing position, driving my shoulder into her stomach on the way up. As she rocks backwards with a wheeze of air rushing out of her, I start to run, eventually settling into a dead sprint away from the center of town. I hear her curse as I break away from her.

“Stop! If you leave-” she starts to shout before cursing again. “Drek!” I look over my shoulder briefly and see her drawing a brace of five knives into her good hand and incanting another Imbuement into her knives. The essence expended is incredible to witness. It has to be coming from something apart from her, her body can’t contain that much. Momentarily distracted, I lose track of the threat in the situation as she looses her volley. Five knives arc into the air, sheathed in white-gold light, tumbling at far too high an arc to hope to catch me. The moment that thought crosses my mind, the knives stop moving in the air and all orient to point directly at me. Eyes widening with fear, I push myself, arms pumping into a faster sprint, building speed as I tear past the gate. As my strides grow in speed, eventually settling into an almost wolflike lope across the open terrain of the road, I catch a glimpse of my right hand. Hidden beneath the purple haze, I see a ring on my finger, gleaming golden, and I feel my steps fall more evenly, more surely. The feeling is sublime, and I embrace it greedily.

The woman's voice cracks in the air in an unfamiliar tongue, being heard clearly despite the distance.

“Xun,” The first knife launches with a burst of force blurring through the air at me. I follow my instincts, and try to keep my pace, dashing into a small copse of trees and hear the first knife penetrate an entire tree to clatter harmlessly to the ground. I glance back and see the hole it tore in the tree. And continue to run. I see her starting to chase me, actually managing to gain on me, her entire body being wrapped in golden essence so bright I can barely make out her silhouette. Her remaining 4 knives following along behind and above her like loyal hunting dogs, she shouts the next series of words aloud, each word punctuated by the sonic crack of the knives taking off. “Kra, Jin, Vax, Tor” Each syllable announces a new threat to my life, and with 4 of them spearing towards me, I realize there’s no way I can possibly dodge them all on open ground. Abruptly, I kick off a tree to redirect myself, carrying on off the road as I hear the whizzing of the knives taking a wider turn to chase me with the woman not far behind them.

The knives don’t seem to be trying to bury themselves in me anymore, instead doing near passes to slice my arms and legs, not allowing me to grab them. In no time at all, I feel my wounds should be lethal. But I keep regenerating just quickly enough to stay up as I run, while she repeatedly incants to return the knives to her side to redirect them.

For what feels like hours, we play a game of cat and mouse through the forest as it increases in density. I’ve long since lost track of where we are in relation to anything. But I see a tough cluster of bushes and undergrowth in my way, without enough time to veer, so I cover my face with one arm and hurl myself through it. Immediately on passing through, however, I realize my error. The forest does not continue. Instead I'm faced with a cliff face and chasm. I drop to the ground and dig my hands into the dirt to slow myself as I roll my way to the edge of a ravine. Stopping just in time, I stand up, turning to face my assailant as she bursts through the bush as well, but stops far more gracefully, her 5 attendant knives stock still in the air, arrayed above her in a semicircle like a halo of my imminent death.

She pants, “How can you run this long? You should’ve been tapped out miles ago. But…that doesn’t matter. End of the road.” Her face hardens as she composes herself with a deep breath, steadying as she braces for a presumably final incantation. I see she has some rivulets of blood pouring from her mouth from overuse of her strange essence.

“Please, I’m begging you. I don’t know what’s going on. If I was whatever you think I am, would I be running from you? Would I be begging for my life? You treat me like a mindless monster, but I don’t even know who I am, let alone what I am. I ask you again, please reconsider. This doesn’t have to end this wa-” My voice catches as the first of the knives rockets forward, burying itself in the center left of my chest. The world around me darkens as my vision tunnels. All I can see is the golden eyes, so full of hate, and the stars of golden light escorting her.

Is it hate? Maybe. It might be fear or sadness. Staring at her eyes, they speak volumes that I don’t have context enough to read.

Her voice is distant as I feel the more of the poison take hold. “I’m sorry, but this is the way things have to be to save lives.” She says the four remaining syllables, counting, I recognize distantly. But in the moment of her apology, I decide to take a risk, and dive backwards off the cliffside and into the ravine. Impossibly far, but coming so fast. I hear her curse again as I look down and see a distant river at the bottom of the ravine.

As I fall, I flip over just in time to see the knives cresting the edge, speeding towards me, ready to join their fellow already lodged in my shoulder. Terror grips me as I think of death rushing to meet me from both sides, but mercifully, the water comes first.

I hit the river, angled, with my back taking the brunt of the impact, but I’m still moving far too fast, and the river isn’t that deep. The pain of striking the water is sharp, but it's nothing compared to the blinding pain that follows as my head slams into the stony riverbed. My consciousness begins to slip away just as I see the knives strike the water. They lose too much speed to threaten me and are swept away with me by the fast-moving current.

Limp and barely aware, I’m carried along by the river, the last thing I hear being a string of curses from above as my grip on the world fades entirely. Chapter 2(This time there's a spunky fairy involved, if that's the sort of thing that gets you interested. She might even fight something)!

#writing #original content #fantasy #fantasy world #high fantasy #demihuman #magic system #progression fantasy #multiple perspectives #noblebright #cursed #how do tags work #what tags do i use #no ai used #no ai writing #Council of the Eternal Hiatus

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