#white stone crystal tree price

[komal09]

[pen-inks]

Pen inks shows you all their poems⁉️

Open hands he bestow

The king, yet humble, with his crown

How eyes so holy, wry and frown

Is that the harp? Is it now?

Aye- listen to he who cry

The blood of the morose

Fills the sky

None shall come to thee if not for lie

Busy hand at the harp

And none shall heed to thee; If not what is last—

And tremble do my shudder dry—

The hands, down, thrown

If he, dear dove, dare not fly.

If not the cross,

Whom is the stallion of dawn,

If not what is past?

If not Mortes, death upon me, the last?

And shall useless choir sing low,

The blood of the harp, our lungs; Hark!

Ah! And the image of he

Does the wings of salvation

Feather upon me?

And thou shall not pluck a single from the plume

Aye, cry Hark!

Doom, Ires, whom?

Brutal and barrage

Crawl, rage, bawl!

Spines of the sun stab us gone

Blood of harp; note long.

Ah, I rest here.

And his voice to me

“Come back, come back!”

And my harp, heed at last,

“No,” I say, “The ripping of mast.”

The eyes they grimace

The lip, it foam.

The words they rave

Fist, curl;

Hand of stone.

And into my bosum;

Into my heart,

Into the harp, where busy hand start

Where holy feathers; they fall and fly

And sinner I, sinner I die.

NEXT POEM

He perch on throne thine wrath

He relinquish in memory hath

And would thou tremble at that

He say

“Thou shall shutter at the glass”

Tyrant restraint of thy mind

Estne in my judicious eye

Caedes! Alas! Removed my heart, did he see

Beat, bruising, moral flee

O’ woe of thee!

And upon the dreary throne

Rex de la pallid, horrid light shone!

I do not do as he so!

He who marionette the throne;

tremble the trees

And glass shutter and shriek

“Thou will not come” he so believed—

Ah, and wondrous plague!

Oblique arrival, goth and vague

Of wine in pax would drift away

And in the inferno of the past

Luctus! Shutter glass!

In crimson blood dare he lay

In stone, and blade of heart

Shriek they:

“He shatter Glass! He shudder free!”

He lay there as wrath of me

And yet, behind those glazed eyes

Glare and less

And mind portrait me as best

A horrid brutus!

And Mortes say up at me

“Sallow morose, sin of thee!—

Lie here the body, forgiveness plea”

Whom is the impetus of ires!

But the likeness of me!

NEXT POEM

I’ve always been fond of your embrace

Your crystal eyes, how they rest in your face

Your mouth so soft with its distinct taste

It makes me wonder if you feel the same

Every night I fantasize,

With the moon in its sigh

You approaching me at my door

“Hello friend” and not more

But we look and we share

Something we want there

Something we know in our hearts.

Very much.

And maybe to be entertained, my heart is beating in vain

and I wish you would pull me apart

so that this hideous beating was to stop

and even if they never know

a phallic symbol is always thrown,

We love so closely,

I feel at home

And even with our depart

How I want you to pluck me apart

like the feathers on my tongue

What is my lungs but a sack of filth? May your holding grasp choke them until my blood runs cold

until my eyes roll back

until you are told

But how can you stop, if I am dead?

You mustn’t, no shouldnt,

There’s all this blood to be shed.

My wings are twisted and crooked,

and God laughs in my pain.

My bones they poke out

the ivory in the gaze

I am nothing but wine and meat

A sinner unsaved

Feast upon me!

I consent to your game!

Maggot like do!

I cry and sob, but it’s none to you.

They slither, my insides, like mulberry snakes

and your teeth, so white, will be colored the same

I wrestle and choke and bleed and cry

I beg for you to let me die

But to make my whines cease,

You break my jaw, expose my teeth

With all this sickness and blood and gore

Out jumps my heart, beating and sore

Beating.

The hideous beating.

It’s all in my jaw

So cold and broken,

and to never be thaw

A face of winter

White and blank

I turn plum,

My mouth agape

But in the end, with all this agony,

the price of your love

it kills me

You grab my face

“I love you most”

And to your lips

So sweet

So raw

I simply…

And that is all.

And when I am dead

as you suckle my lung

all fall out, the feathers on my tongue

NEXT POEM

Mist was in the air

I looked up above

It tickled on my face

Feather of the dove

I asked it to rain

But with a refuse to pour

“You ask me so rudely! Frozen to your core!”

I ask it again, I once more implore

“Please do rain”

“I refuse to pour!”

“Snow, you must!”

“Mist I be!”

I looked out, and abounded

Oh forgetful me!

Ghosted was the memory, right under my toes

And once I had realized

I was unknown

I needed the rain

I pleaded once more

And with a lethargic sigh,

It started to pour

Right onto my head

Right into my mind

Wash away the dust, the dirt, the grime

Listen to me, listen as I speak

I reveal such a secret, one I shall not keep

I was simply asking

Begging, implore

Heartache, throbbing,

Coughing so sore

And for only a while

Did the rain dare to pour

And when I was washed

And the sun washed on shore,

I sheepishly smiled,

And begged no more

NEXT POEM

The Wolf of Massachusetts

There was a certain wind

That laid so high

A scent so faint

Like the tear in my eye

I tell you this tale

With much discrete

I tell you so softly

Heed me as I speak

I lived up North

A healthy man

A wealth to be respected

known among the land

And I walked upright

On my Jersey boots

On tether a dog

With an acute snoot

And as I make my way with the rifle

I pinprick the sound

It was ever so trifle

So faint

So dainty

I tensed my loose

And thereupon my track

Was The Brute of Massachute

I am a keen man

And I knew the land so well

I could decipher a noise

With no prevail

And I crept so sneakily

I caressed the ground

I did so quietly

As not to rustle abound

The pelt was of cloud

Like storm above

A transgression of lambs

With a tail that hung

Between his haunches

I could see

An animal painted crimson

Torn by he

As the hunter I am, as I was before

To return to town, my snoot implored

But to refuse such pelage

No, I’d never wanted more

But no! I was foolish!

The beast was the shrewd!

He snapped suddenly

For what could I do?

The monster growled

The largest in Massachute

I stepped back meekly

Who could save me, oh who?

And with each step,

I tell you as he do,

He grew more robust

He grew and grew!

Horns of the ram!

Bust of the hen!

I thought I was to never hunt again!

It growled like a cat!

It hissed too!

So helpless was I,

For what could I do?

I fired a shot, I fired two

But it was futile

Who could help me, who?

Fruitless, per se

While whimper from I

My snoot, a bay

And I, so clearly

Remember the day

The Brute of Massachusetts

Came to my dismay

The horns like lamb

Ivory in day

But the shade of brute

Choked the sun away

My snoot it dashed

And I was at last,

Met with no companion on my side

No where to seek refuge and hide

And I remember last

Among the blurry past

The creature’s crimson eyes

The kind no fauna has ever hast

Now if you fancy me

Don’t fancy me mad!

The scarlet is bore into my skull

You may look when you’re mourning and sad

I claim so big! It is in my mind

The hunger that lay so darkly upon those eyes

It had the teeth of daggers

It had the fangs of knives

It had a heart of frozen time!

The saliva… it dripped so slow

It hung in glass

And hung in a row

And came upon me!

The wretched brute!

And pounced upon me, The Creature of Massachute!

But I, a hunter as before

A hunter until death

A hunter till sore

I knew that if I was to go

Then glory it may be!

The creature’s wit was no match for me

Logic? I could

But instinct?

Not I.

But in such time, I was as vigilant as flies

And stared up the beast, into its’ very eye

And with a swing of the rifle and an audible wack

Fell down the Massachute

To aid him no pack

And up he arose

And vaulted on me!

His teeth gnashed!

I clambered

I cried!

But so stubborn, the hunter I

Slipping out of the grasp,

And with my Jersey boot,

I kicked down the beast

The brute of Massachute

And I stomped it down

And grabbed my rifle too!

And with a BOOM!
I CLAIMED VICTORY ON THE MASSACHUTE!

You fancy me crazy

You fancy me mad!

But around my neck

Horns of ram

Lay so subordinately

Around my pipe

In the fire, it gleams,

The intrinsic stripes

No goat I’ve ever seen

Has the pelt I claimed as a lad

And I conclude the story I have

I tell you my truth, with arrogance and glad

That the Wolf of Massachusetts was slaughtered at last.

NEXT POEM

Upon the window

I look on the candle

And the fire that dances upon it

the riches of past

I dis-lawfully grasp

So very egotistic

A creative mind

inside I

I think of that before me

I peer at the flame

And make a game

Of fantastic phony

If the flame were a woman

so slim in her frame

a dancer of fire

A dancer of fame

and upon her dress there lick different shapes

As she convulses in grotesque ways

in her stomach, it is dense

Brighter and bolder than the rest

She shed not a tear to flow away

No,but I am not that way

I ask her a question

"The weight on my heart?"

She replies with only a strut and a hop

And upon her sea of rays,

she gracefully grande plie

And I look at the time on my watch

one of the many who line up on my haunch

"And for what must I sore?"

The ballet turns phoenix

abolishing the core

Feathers abound and astray

But no reply for the things I dismay

I ask her again

answer I implore

"The weight on my heart?"

But she says no more

My face grows hot

I red when fall is to stay

I beg her to give it away

But she dances gracefully

And I cry painfully

"The weight on my heart?"

I ask once more

no reply for I

I am no more

I snuff out the candle with a lick of my finger

And the remaining wax falls so slowly

as if to linger

to remind me that of my murder upon her

Was my own guilt of the reminder

NEXT POEM

A bunch of words

Spewed on a page

Are not so wise at long

You say a thing

About love and gain

And you leave it out to thaw

You break it every other word

For a

sentence

you

can just

say

Call yourself an artist

Yet you do this all day

If you call yourself a poet

And follow that simple law

It's just a phrase

For the gaze

And not a poem at all

NEXT POEM

Balls balls wiener balls

And upon the sultry crimson

That lay before I

He came to me to speak

Softly, his whispers rising high

"Dear, I fear

You are not near

The one I do seek

And if you wish

To accomplish this

Then you take order from me"

And for the stumble tumble wry

And upon the whimpering quake

The hand of he

Struck upon me

My heart pulled to ache

"Think of heaven and sky above, think of what's at stake

Think of glittering glamorous groves

And fluffy Angel cake

Think of what I want for me

And what I deserve

And if you were smart

The striking of art

You'd have the nerve"

And dear me my lie crystal skies

Across the darken cove

Would I stagger

As he went madder

I fell below

A blade of good man and mind

A blade of wonderful sheek

The price to pay

A horrid game

A slash upon my cheek

Blood trickle down my face,

Among the softened scars

Like tiger flesh

Or a random guess

Among the looking stars

Hand grip around my pipe

Busy as if rope

And pull and choke

My will broke

And gasp for the floor

Starry glittering freedom

Handsome wonderful things

I want to see

Beyond the sea

Beyond the rushing lake

Pry my hands

wry my face

Wrinkled, pitiful, cry

But he say, address my name

With a voice not mumble nor meek

"Fine the seek I dare shall find

Find it with your eye

And then we will see

Another week

The true man who should die"

NEXT POEM

"My dear friend left me

On Tuesday cold and drew

With a bottle of water

And a dollar for stew

A flute in his baggage

His voice not ravish

But rather silk and skin

With butter flat

And a tip of hat

Off his trip began

And off my dear friend go,

Luck in his gait

To distant lands

Beyond man

Beyond the glittering lake

Discreetly intangible,

Choke dear me on light

Would it be unfashionable

To reach the night

Ah, and what wonders does glee provide me

If not certainty

If not insanity?

Would it be that I would dare clamber upon

The hearty seed

And shoot into the sky?

Across the bridge

Graze the ridge

With my sugarcane eye

And there my imaginary mind go

beyond the quivering snake,

And beyond the venom of wolves howling

And stinging of fate

No, it seems, beyond the bend

Beyond the mulberry grove

Where blood and shatter and nothing of matter send

Things I know

Beyond my dearest mindset

God foresaken me

And watch my friend and dear holy men

Curse at the sky for me

So I stare at a page

And sleep in my cage

And know that I am free

I act like my quick feathered life

Has much before me"

THATS ALL

@cecilthecowardly

[ihavetoomanyocsdealwithit]

“You know, they didn’t always have mage crystals.”

The place they are in looks vaguely like the cottage outside the mine, cleaned though. The wood was oiled and shined on the table and floors; the chairs tucked in neatly underneath. The carvings were beautiful, shining on the arches of the door, the railings of the stairs, and even just the walls. Vines and trees, flowers, mushrooms and all bits of nature creeping inside until you might have questioned why there was a door at all.

The windows, while still stain glass, shined only with a vast emptiness, the colors washed out and dull without sunlight. Maybe Walker could try and recreate the patterns somehow?

They take a closer look at the man in front of him, hunched and small but not weak. He’s watery blue eyes are tired but steady, his jaw strong and hanging with a long white beard, and surprisingly enough a strong set of laugh lines on either sides of his cheeks. He was once happy it seemed.

“What did they use before mage crystals?”

Dopey, that’s his name, though Walker doesn’t know how he knows that, only smiles, and pats the cushion beside him on the fireplace.

“Still gems and minerals, sure, but mage crystals are versatile, taking in and giving out in equal measure. The more particular a stone, the more concentrated a force, but if it isn’t used for its intended purpose, it’ll blow back on you. Doc-” he chokes on the name, clearing his throat, “Doc was better at these things, but I can teach you.”

Walker takes a seat, cocking his head to the side. His hands still hurt from the shards of glass that Deuce helped him pick out. The ink stains may come out with time? They haven’t faded yet though.

“Why would you want to? Seems like everything has a price here”

The old man laughs softly, shaking his head.

“Maybe among the higher races, but us helper races, as others would call us, only ask for respect and decency. You gifted mine back to me when you shattered that ink.” He drags a box over, inside small shards of all kinds of gems, minerals, crystals and stones with stripes and spots and different clarities. “Now listen close, you’ll know all of these and their purposes soon. When you can harvest the magic around you, you’ll be able to use the same spells they do.”

Walker’s head whips around.

“You won’t be able to use as many silly spells as they do.” Dopey scoffs. “But you’ll be able to lay charms and protectors to snap into place when you need them, especially because they use their magic so…freely.”

He mutters again about respect and honor, and starts laying out the stones.

Outside the windows sits only darkness and cold, barely held away by the flicking of the flames inside, a presence watches from the windows. Dopey loops an arm around their shoulders, shielding them as long as he can.

[the-cinnamon-snail]

Okay. So the TikTok Doubloon trend. I am going to make a DoubloonSona/TravelerSona, and this is the list of all the items and stuff that I currently have due to the shops and other gifts being given from other travelers and quest givers! I obviously can't fit all of this into one Sona, so some may be left out. But it's the thought that counts.

POSSESSIONS/BELONGINGS:

Clothes:

Bunched up sweater with a fabric crossing over the chest and leaning off onto an arm. Bunched up pants going down into footwear with another price of fabric wrapped and hanging down from two belts. Armor piece on left arm.

Lace Up Boots, Lift feet up a few inches off of the ground. Completely Black, Sorta Clunky.

Binder to wear underneath everything. Because I was given it for free and yes my Sona deserves it.

A nice fancy red shirt, with small ruffles on the lower sleeves. A small clasp on the neck where ruffles lower down from. Button up.

Double buttoned black pants that stretch out at the bottom, meant to be easy to run in.

A belt leading to faded dark green pants that scrunch up and end around the shin area, meant to be worn with boots. Chains from the belt for more style, clinking to avoid animals that may not want to be bothered.

Accessories:

A woven witch hat, black with the colors of blue and magenta and teal wove into it. Curls at the top instead of points, provides great shade, and signals a witch who has potential to be great.

Black cloak that goes down to the footwear, with a hood to cloak the face. Silver clasp across the chest.

Armor (leather?) chest piece, completely black, studded silver clasps to keep everything in place. Padded shoulders and a leather belt to fasten it.

A deep green jacket which is a button and clasp up. Woolen on the inside, very insulated for the warmth, 2 button closed pockets.

A dark blue cloak that is buttoned up, meant to be thrown over the head and cover only a bit down the thighs. Brown outlines and buttons, along with two pockets.

A ring where the gem part opens up, a small place to hide small things, perhaps a crystal.

A pair of green fairy wings earrings, looks a lot like wings, pretty small, perhaps hang from top of cat ears?

A small chain necklace around a black heart stone, the stone being set in a metal holding that looks like wings of a demon curled around it.

A necklace with a glass vial hanging off of it, it is filled with a red liquid and has a small chain of metal fangs hanging off of it. It is either blood or a health potion, more likely the potion.

A brown knitted beanie with two fluff balls hanging down from the sides, along with ear spaces in the beanie.

White hand warmers, made to keep warmth around the hands, also with heart patterns on the back of hands, where warmth radiates from.

Blue warm gloves, buttoned at the bottom so they can't be ripped off, small star patterns.

A crown of the wandering forest, a branch crown with green leaves sprouting out of it, allowing one to pass through nervous trees unseen.

Bags:

A small Doubloon coin bag, always having as many doubloons as needed, if none are needed, the bag is empty. No need to keep track of Doubloons except those given, only to give those away.

A huge leather backpack with 10+ different pockets to keep everything in and secure in place. Straps to go over one's back, and the size of one's back.

A travel bag given by a nice shopkeep, holding food and having a secret compartment for another previously mentioned warm (and dark green) wool jacket.

Another free bag to sling over a shoulder, to hold books and other small items like vials and jewelry.

Food:

Dino Nuggets, Unlimited in a cute little snack sack.

A few loaves of bread, always steamy and warm.

A bag of small brownies, including baked in chocolate chips.

Heart shaped biscuits, along with jam and honey for them.

Small meat pies and other actual foods to keep one full for longer.

Two bundles of mushrooms, tasty even when raw.

A couple of bowl containers holding soups and stews.

Items:

Travelers Notebook, to document travels and spending. Leather bound Journal with clips and instruments used to bind other books.

Unpolished crystals the size of one's hand. Many different crystals. Protection, blunt objects, and for many different spells (and curses.)

Another Notebook to write down wildlife and any other findings one could come across, along with experiences relating to those findings.

Three small patches of the Agender, Aromantic, and Asexual flags. To sew onto jackets, cloaks, or possibly even a bag or two.

A box of very rare cat crystals, not cat shaped, just Cat/Kitty Crystals. Count: 45 small ones. All colors and shapes, about 10 fitting in a hand?

Plushies, Including: Possum with moss on it's back, A small white bunny with a mushroom hat, a black cat with white around one eye and on it's tail with moss on it's lower back, A deer, A mountain goat with black splotches.

Plushie hats, including: A straw hat, a top hat, and a witches hat.

A very fluffy blanket, light gray in color. Can be very very big or just big enough to wrap around oneself, can block out any snow.

Old books and small papers on wisdom of the old when it comes to herbs, in both potions and cooking.

A book documenting mushrooms, all of those to live among the Doubloon world. Whether it be magical, taste good, or be deadly poisonous.

A witchy kit, including a spell book, parchment with spells on them, herbs, vials, ingredients for potions, crystals, jars, necklaces with fortune telling pendants, and any items needed to brew potions like crushers.

A small but long vial filled with glowing blue liquid, the vial wrapped in black metal. Luck Potion.

A circle vial with a cork at the top, and the top wrapped in a leather strip so it's capable to hang off of bags or belts, red liquid with flowers on the inside, Health Potion.

A pack filled with matches, wooden with green tips, meant to start fire that can't be blown out with wind.

A lantern wrapped in green metal as well as actual vines. Bronze holding a circular thing of glass where the light emits from, unable to be snuffed out accidentally, offers protection from creatures of the dark.

Weapons:

Angel Blade (A sword with angel wings on the hilt. Yellow Runes decorate the blade. Can drain someone's life force to heal another.)

Whip Shredder (Sends slashes through the air that cause minimal damage to anything not the target. Deadly should it touch you.)

Regular silver sword with a metal hilt, and the handel being completely black aside from a gold place where one should put their hand.

An enchanted dagger, with a completely golden hilt. The Blade is made out of pure black stone that glows red when in a fight, deals extra damage.

Regular double knives usually fastened against one's belt, ready at a moment's notice to be drawn, silver and an edge at the beginning of the blade, with gold handles.

A regular small blade with a half circle at the bottom of the handle to wrap your fingers around, leather wrapped handle, and a metal blade sharpened to a point with a small red pattern at the bottom, stored on the inside or in a secret pocket of a boot.

Companions:

Moon (White Regular Cat with Brown and Black Splotches. Blue Eyes. Doesn't like people much, But Loves Ear Scratches.)

Ellie (A small white mouse with big black ears. Black circle on her back. Loves Climbing All Around.)

Ocean (A small brown mouse with pink ears and a white splotch down the back of his head. Loves swimming.)

Star Dragon: Ups Navigation All The Way, And Gives Sleepy Cuddles. Dark Blue with light purple chest and wings, which have constellations on them. Star on cheek. Small Dragon.

A Ferret, brown with white face markings, can burrow through snow at a face pace, named Noodle.

A very small yellow and white spider that loves to sit on shoulders, can grab small crystals out of the dirt with ease, as well as scout ahead for warnings.

A giant (like very very big) black dog like wolf, a perfect companion to play with and possibly catch a ride on if needed, He is happy to help on adventures.

A small and baby cow, adorable, and prevents any and all robberies.

A rabbit that can fit in a pocket, luck increase by 25%.

A small frog that likes to sit on heads, his name is Greg.

[prismatic-skies]

⚰️TODAY’S PHOTO OF THE THEODORE CRYPT⚰️

September 17, 2024

This is the living room. Some fun things in this photo.

💀THE LEFT SIDE💀

That Jesus painting is a velvet painting that I miraculously found in mint condition in the FB Marketplace about…hmmm…7 years ago? I don’t remember.

Typically, the conditions of this particular velvet Jesus painting are not always the best or if they’re in excellent condition, some people get insanely greedy and not understand how to price vintage pieces properly.

I know I paid under $100 for it and I’m pretty sure I got free shipping.

The fabric hanging over it was one of my grandmother’s MANY scarves that I got to keep after she passed away. I don’t wear decorative scarves but I still wanted it because it was my grandmother’s…she was my hero. So I wanted to put it to another use if I was going to keep it. I like it there.

The lamp is a peacock stained glass lamp.

The skull on a stand all the way to the left is a medical model piece from the 1960’s. Given to me by my biological father.

The spine piece next to it is a candle.

The hand next to the spine candle was a jewelry display piece from an old classic (OOB) department store from my home city (NY). This was from the 1950’s. Given to me by my biological father. (he knew I collected weird shit)

The naked woman statue next to the hand display is a statue by an artist I happy stumbled upon in a heavy Etsy rabbit hole.

The tiny white skull was a random Dollar Tree find that I bought two or three years ago.

The crystal skull (that my candle is blocking) has a moveable jaw and it’s fucking awesome. I got it as a gift from my sweet friend, Alice, who worked with me briefly at the biotech company I work for (we worked in the same department at one point 5+ years ago. She saw it at a vintage/antique store in New Hampshire, and said she had to buy it for me. I cried. I think it’s from the 1960’s.

✝️THE RIGHT SIDE✝️

The crucifixes on the wall are all vintage and at one point, were part of grave markers. Years range from 1940’s to 1950’s.

Green glass hand - I don’t remember what the original piece is from and what the intent was for, but it’s fucking cool and I wanted it. Vintage Etsy find. I believe it’s from the 1960’s. I’ll look into it more.

The red glass head next to it is a red skull. Vintage colored & recycled glass. It’s a macabre take on the vintage glass mannequin heads from the 1960’s/1970’s.

The glass next to the red glass skull is a liquor decanter. It’s the Skull Vidja from like 15 years ago.

The skull next to that piece is a candle I made in 2019. It fell so it’s insanely chipped, so I don’t light it, but I’m not throwing it out as it is one of my first candles that I’ve successfully made years ago.

The small white skull is a little planter. No clue where the fuck it came from…I just remember cleaning one day and was confused by it because I don’t remember buying it.

And all over that vintage table chest are mini glass poison bottles & crystals / precious stones spheres on stands.

And the vintage table chest piece I bought ten years ago at a local antique shop. It’s from the 1940’s. Has a bunch of nice shit in there and I don’t remember WTF I put in there.

And you can probably see that pile of blankets to the far right. I have maybe roughly 40 throw blankets. I like blankets. I like wrapping myself into a burrito. And…I have a tortilla blankie too.

I’ll take detailed photos of everything on this vintage table chest.

[gobboguy]

Chapter 11: Idgo'dol

The journey through the valley had been a trying one for Ulf, enduring Rogmog's constant posturing and boasting. She sighed with relief as the royal procession finally approached the neighboring warband of Idgo'dol, nestled in a breathtaking valley.

The city of Idgo'dol sprawled across the fertile landscape, its stone buildings blending seamlessly with the verdant surroundings. A majestic waterfall cascaded down from the cliffs, filling a pristine lake with cool, crystal-clear water that sparkled in the sunlight. The Orcs of Idgo'dol had harnessed the power of the land, using boats to transport lumber and other goods across the lake and through the network of rivers that crisscrossed their territory.

As the procession moved through the city, they passed scenes of bustling industry. Orcs labored with the strength and determination that defined their race. Lumberjacks felled trees with mighty swings of their axes, their rhythmic grunts echoing through the forest. "Keep that timber steady, Gorak! We'll need it for the new fortress wall!" barked an overseer.

Blacksmiths hammered glowing metal into weapons and tools, their forges roaring with heat. "Hand me that tongs, will ya, Arissh?" called a smith to his apprentice, who eagerly complied.

Amidst the industrious scenes, a heartwarming sight caught Ulf's eye. An Orc family, the parents both muscular and scarred from years of battle, sat by the lakeshore with their many whelps. The young Orcs splashed in the water, their laughter ringing through the air. "Careful, little Igunk! Don't go too far!" the mother called out, her voice filled with a blend of sternness and affection. The father, a proud smile on his face, ruffled the hair of the smallest whelp who had toddled over to him, holding up a small fish he had caught. "Look, papa! I got one!" the whelp exclaimed, beaming with pride.

Beyond the idyllic scenes of daily life, Castle Doomspire loomed ominously above the city. Its dark, jagged spires seemed to split the sky itself, casting long shadows over the land. The castle's malignancy was palpable, a stark reminder of the power and authority it represented.

As the procession reached the castle gates, Ulf and Ionia dismounted and made their way inside. The atmosphere within was as foreboding as the exterior, the walls lined with banners of conquest and halls echoing with the distant sounds of clashing steel. The two women, regal and resolute, moved forward with purpose, prepared to meet the next challenges that awaited them in the dark heart of Idgo'dol.

As Ulf and Ionia approached the gates of Castle Doomspire, they were met by Warchief Gronak Skullcrusher. His appearance was a testament to a life of relentless combat and unyielding leadership. Deep scars crisscrossed his weathered, green skin, each telling a tale of battles fought and enemies vanquished. His left eye was a milky white, blinded by a vicious blow years ago, yet it only added to his fearsome visage. Muscles bulged beneath his armor, and his tusks, chipped and cracked, jutted proudly from his lower jaw. He stood tall, his presence commanding respect and exuding a raw, primal power.

"Queen Ionia," Gronak greeted, his voice gravelly and authoritative. "It is an honor to welcome you to Idgo'dol. I am Gronak Skullcrusher, one of the first to leave Orc Island with your father, Gelbeg. I swore to follow him, and now you, to the ends of this world."

Ionia nodded, her eyes sharp and appraising. "Warchief Gronak, your loyalty is legendary. How fares Idgo'dol under your command?"

Gronak's chest swelled with pride. "Productivity has never been higher. We have cleared new forests, mined deeper into the mountains, and our forges burn day and night. Recently, we crushed a small thrall uprising with extreme prejudice. I ordered a decimation of a tenth of the thrall population as a reminder of their place. The rest work harder now, knowing the price of defiance."

Ionia's lips curled into a pleased smile. "Well done, Gronak. Your vigilance and ruthlessness are commendable. Know this: when Acury falls, Idgo'dol will be richly rewarded. New lands, new slaves, and endless opportunities for conquest await."

Gronak's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Thank you, my Queen. Your promises fill my heart with joy and my soul with fire."

With a powerful clap of his hands, Gronak summoned his children. "Duran! Dura! Come and greet our guests!"

Two formidable Orcs emerged from the shadows. Duran, tall and broad-shouldered like his father, with a fierce glint in his eyes, and Dura, equally imposing, with a gaze that spoke of cunning and strength. They approached with deference, bowing to Ionia and Ulf, their movements reflecting both discipline and power.

"It is an honor to meet you, Queen Ionia, Princess Ulf," Duran said respectfully, his voice deep and resonant.

"Indeed," Dura added, her tone firm and resolute. "We are eager to serve and prove ourselves worthy of the Skullcrusher name."

Ionia nodded approvingly. "I see the strength of Gronak runs true in his bloodline. Welcome, Duran and Dura. Together, we shall forge a future where Orc-kind reigns supreme."

Duran stood tall and broad, his physique impressive but lacking the scars and hardened edge of a seasoned warrior. His green skin was unmarred, almost pristine, and he seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time ensuring his armor shone to perfection. His hair, meticulously oiled snd shaved on one side, glistened under the torchlight, and his tusks were polished to a gleaming white. Despite his imposing frame, there was something almost comical about his foppish demeanor and the exaggerated care he took with his appearance.

In stark contrast, Dura exuded raw power and fierceness. She wore traditional Orcish clothing of leather and fur clothing and a blood staineed loincloth. Her untamed black hair cascaded wildly down her back, barely constrained by a crude leather thong. A large, iron nose ring dangled from her nostrils, extending down below her chin, swaying with every movement. Her form was robust, a perfect blend of muscle and fat that spoke of both strength and resilience. Scars crisscrossed her skin, each one a testament to battles fought and won. Her dark eyes were sharp and vigilant, constantly scanning her surroundings for threats.

Gronak, with a hint of reluctance in his voice, addressed Ionia. "My Queen, I present to you my son, Duran. Though he may seem... preoccupied with his appearance, I assure you he has the potential to prove himself a great match for Princess Ulf. Provided, of course, that his older sister, Dura, accompanies him to... watch over him."

Duran sneered slightly, casting a sideways glance at his father before stepping forward to address Ionia. "Queen Ionia, it is an honor to stand before you. I am eager to prove my worth and demonstrate that I am more than just a pretty face."

Ionia, ever tactful, nodded graciously. "Duran, I am sure you will have ample opportunity to show us all your true potential. The strength of the Skullcrusher bloodline is evident."

Ulf couldn't help but eye Duran up and down. He was undeniably handsome, almost pretty, with his polished tusks and gleaming armor. But what husband needed his sister to watch over him all the time? The thought made her laugh on the inside, and she couldn't wait to see Rogmog's reaction to this foppish competitor.

As they exchanged pleasantries, Ulf's mind buzzed with amusement and anticipation. She was excited to see how this journey would unfold with such a diverse group of suitors vying for her hand.

[entwinefates]

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you~ 🎵" The Traveler sang, having even brought out the harp she received from the Aranara back in Sumeru for this very special occasion.

"Happy birthday dear Paimon, happy birthday to you...~~! 🎵🎵"

Once her little song was finished, the blonde reached inside her bag, eyebrows knit into a frown.

"...Huh? What's this? Oh no! I must have dropped the birthday cake I made for you somewhere! What a pity! ...But you won't mind, right? It's the thought which counts after all!"

Lumine waited for her trusty companion's expression to change before bursting out laughing and revealing her mischievous intentions.

"Relax, Paimon! I'm just kidding! I would never lose your cake."

"Here you go! This one's all for you! And since it's your special day, you get to decide how we spend it to. We can do whatever you desire."

&. SCENE. cerulean seelies babble in celebration. the moon continues her eternal slumber. another candle blown. happy birthday, paimon!

‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎ far beyond, past dandelions patches, swallow song, and wine-scented mist, sits a ruined graveyard of ice and snow. amongst the howling, piercing winds, only one memory of sal vindagnyr remains: the frostbearing tree.

‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎‎‎      ‎‎ ‎once-pearl boughs twist overhead, oozing with dragons' ichor. the roots tell it's story well: a land once endowed by the heavens. a place where, come rain or shine, people ran barefoot amid blossoms and lush soil, laughing and dancing till their faces flushed with mirth. the same clouds they prayed to cleared away to reveal an endless blue sky, and thus did a pillar of crystal descend from above. the divine nail split like a sword cleaving through stone, frost blanketing the land and sky in white, withering away all life. 

      ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎a complete devastation, and yet only a fraction of the suffering paimon endured when her dearest friend confessed to dropping her birthday cake.

     ‎ ‎‎ ❝‎ lumine, you tease! ❞      ‎‎  round cheeks puffed with indignation as little fae folded her arms against her chest, tilting her head up with a hmph. it wouldn't be the first time she's fallen for such an old trick, and given the traveler's penchant for jokes, she suspects it wouldn't be the last.      ‎‎  ❝ and on paimon's birthday too! ❞

      ‎‎ ‎( ‎‎ ‎‎warm smiles and bubbly laughter, like sunlight seeping into the ocean.‎      ‎‎  ‎‎❝ here you go! this one's all for you! and since it's your special day, you get to decide how we spend it to. we can do whatever you desire. ❞ )

‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎‎‎      ‎‎ one starlight eye peeked open, glancing with curiosity at the blonde's words. not one second later, pride melted into childish glee as the little fae rolled into starlight and barreled into the traveler's chest, already pratting away:

‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎‎‎      ‎‎ ❝ anything anything? you really mean that? there's no take-backs once you agree! wait, wait, is this traveler-does-everything-paimon-wants coupon only valid for today? 'cause goodhunter's about to roll out the GO FOR GOLDEN chicken burger challenge in a few days. we can order a burger that's twice the size of a standard one, free of charge if you clean your plate but double the price and double the shame if you can't. with your determination and paimon's stomach, we can beat out that challenge tens times over. ooo, paimon even thinks the winner get a complimentary picture! ❞

‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎‎‎      ‎‎ the little fae paused, chest swelling as she takes in a deep breath,‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎‎ ❝ because if not, it's been forever since you last promised paimon we could watch the sunrise! ❞

[topreviewin]

We all know that one woman in our lives who is impossible‌ to ‍shop for. She's the woman who always looks put ‌together,‍ no matter what ⁤the occasion. She always seems to have the latest fashion trends and always ‍knows just what to wear. So, when it comes time to⁣ find the perfect gift ⁤for her, it can be a ⁣daunting task. But don't worry, we've got you covered. This holiday ⁣season, give her the gift of style with these DragonWeave Gold ‌Plated 1.8mm Fine Olive Green Leather Cord Necklace, 14K Gold Plated Peridot Earrings Olive Green Dangle Earrings for Women Exquisite Handmade Birthstone Earings for Trendy, Uloveido Fashion White and Gold Color Adjustable Size Oval ⁣Green Stone Tree of Life Open Leaf‍ Jewelry Ring ⁢for Women HR303. ​She's sure to love ​them and they'll help her look her best.Table of ContentsDragonWeave Gold Plated⁤ 1.8mm Fine Olive Green Leather Cord Necklace14K Gold Plated Peridot Earrings Olive Green Dangle‍ Earrings for Women Exquisite​ Handmade Birthstone ⁣Earings ‌for⁢ TrendyUloveido Fashion White and Gold Color⁢ Adjustable Size Oval Green Stone Tree of Life Open‌ Leaf Jewelry Ring for Women HR303Frequently‌ Asked QuestionsUnleash ⁢Your True PotentialDragonWeave Gold Plated 1.8mm Fine Olive Green Leather Cord⁤ NecklaceThis olive green 1.8mm fine Greek leather⁣ cord necklace features bright gold plated pewter ends and lobster claw clasp. The bright gold ends contrast beautifully against the ⁤deep green leather, a rich olive color. The leather is fine Greek cord, known for it's uniformity and high quality, manufactured to be non-toxic and environmentally ​friendly. ⁢Fits any pendant bail ⁤that accommodates 4.5mm​ by 2mm. A great color leather necklace cord to wear with pendants and charms, especially gold ones.⁢ Available in a large variety of ‍lengths from choker to‌ extra long. Handmade in the USA exclusively by DragonWeave. Pros:⁢ the bright gold plated ‌ends look ​great against the olive green leather the cord is high-quality and non-toxic lengths⁢ available to fit anyone handmade in the USA Cons: finding matching pendants or charms with‍ the right​ dimensions⁣ to fit the bail could be difficult Price: $15.9514K‍ Gold Plated Peridot ⁤Earrings Olive⁤ Green Dangle ⁣Earrings for​ Women Exquisite Handmade Birthstone Earings for Trendy14K Gold Plated⁣ Peridot Earrings These⁤ peridot earrings are made from natural gemstones and​ high-quality alloys,‍ and they are 100% free from BPA, nickel, cadmium, and lead. They are hypoallergenic, making‌ them a great choice⁣ for those with⁢ sensitive ears. The ​total length​ of the olive green earrings is 0.78 inches, and ‌their⁢ medium ⁣size ⁤can match any hairstyle. They are cute, lightweight, and comfortable ⁣to wear. Olive green⁤ is⁣ the birthstone color ⁣for August, symbolizing vitality, ‌intelligence, and agility. These earrings make an excellent birthday gift ⁤choice for someone⁤ born in August,‍ or for anyone who loves this color. These ⁣crystal earrings make a wonderful gift for mothers,‌ sisters,⁤ friends, and⁣ others. They are perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, Mother's⁣ Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays. These 14K Gold Plated⁤ Peridot Earrings are a great choice for anyone looking for hypoallergenic earrings. Made from ​natural gemstones and high-quality alloys, they are ​free from BPA, nickel, cadmium, and lead. The total length of the olive green earrings is 0.78 inches, and their medium size can match any hairstyle.Uloveido Fashion White ‍and Gold Color Adjustable​ Size Oval Green Stone Tree of Life Open Leaf‍ Jewelry Ring for Women HR303Product Description: The is a beautiful piece of jewelry that is perfect for any woman who loves fashion. The ring is made with a⁢ nickel free brass in rose-gold plated color and is⁤ set with 19 pieces of top quality oval-shape green leaf. The⁤ ring comes​ in a nice⁢ box ⁤with a gift bracelet that makes it the perfect ⁤gift for any woman. The return​

policy for the​ ring is ‍fully refund if ‍there is any quality problem or if you are not happy with ⁤it. Frequently Asked QuestionsFor women who⁣ love ⁢to dress up their outfits ⁢with‍ a little bit of bling, these are ⁢the perfect gifts! The DragonWeave​ Gold Plated 1.8mm Fine Olive Green Leather Cord Necklace is a great way to add flare⁢ to any outfit. It is made of fine olive green ⁤leather and ⁢has a gold plated knot detail. It is 14k​ gold plated‍ and has a peridot gem ‌detail. The Olive Green Dangle Earrings for Women Exquisite Handmade Birthstone ⁣Earings for Trendy are a⁣ great way to add a bit of color to any​ outfit. They are made of fine olive green⁤ leather and have a ‌dangle design. The ⁢White and Gold Color Adjustable Size Oval‍ Green Stone Tree of Life Open Leaf Jewelry Ring for Women HR303 is a great ⁢way to ‌add a bit of bling to any outfit. It is made ​of white gold⁤ with⁤ a gold plated​ design. All of these products are great ways to add a little bit of fun and flare to any outfit. Unleash Your True PotentialIf you're looking‌ for the perfect gift⁢ for the stylish woman in your life, consider giving her a ⁤DragonWeave Gold ⁣Plated 1.8mm Fine Olive Green Leather Cord Necklace, 14K Gold Plated Peridot Earrings Olive Green Dangle Earrings for Women Exquisite Handmade Birthstone Earings for Trendy, Uloveido Fashion White and Gold Color​ Adjustable Size⁤ Oval‌ Green Stone Tree of Life Open ⁣Leaf Jewelry‍ Ring for Women HR303. Each of these products is unique and sure to ⁢please.

[resinatingbeauty]

~•The Essentials For Your General Magick Cabinet •~ 

I create intuitively chosen mystery ensembles inspire by the occult, witchcraft, and mythology where many of my own handcrafted creations fill the box in my Etsy shop, thus, I often am asked by those new to Witchcraft or who are beginning to explore different aspects of their spiritually to include 'the essentials', or whatever it is I think would benefit someone who is just delving into the world of new age spirituality and witchery.

It doesn't matter what books you read or blogs you may follow, there always seems to be some inconsistencies here and there regarding what tools are 'essential' for a beginner. Sure, there's a lot regarding the altar and shrine set up, but what if you do not have the space to dedicate to an altar? What if you prefer to perform your craft on the fly, or find yourself leaning toward secular practices rather than devoting yourself to deity worship? 

The handful of tools and supplies I have put together here covers pretty much any ordinary practice that would take place in any spell or ritual and give you an inexpensive basis from which you may build upon as you continue learning, practicing, and exploring what ignites your spark and helps to recover your light. :) 

•White Candles or Tea Lights (And Matches or a Lighter)- One may enter any Family Dollar or Dollar Tree and find multipacks or single white candles or tea lights in abundance. Many spells call for a specific colored candle to be used that corresponds with the purpose or intentions to be expressed or manifested. This extends beyond what is known as 'candle magick' and falls into a category I personally just learned was called 'sympathetic magick'- which is a fancy word for choosing spell or ritual tools, components, and supplies that have some kind of symbolic or intrinsic association to what you desire. The act of creating the right atmosphere for manifesting your will is a type of magick unto itself that can extend well beyond an altar or shrine. Picking the corresponding moon phase, time of day and day of the week, herbs, oils, and candle colors are all forms of sympathetic magick, with candle color probably being the easiest aspect to understand and acquire. White Candles may be substituted for any colored candle that a spell or ritual may call for, as white is considered the absence of color, you may imprint upon it whatever color you desire it to be. This kills the need for a large stash of chime candles or votives of all different colors. Sure, it's nice to have the appropriate color a spell calls for and having such in your possession does help conjure the atmosphere whoever created the spell intended to conjure, but in a pinch, any white candle or tea light with something to light them with will work just as well as that pink or red candle for your love spell or whatever it may be you are attempting. 

•Clear Quartz Crystals- Clear Quartz only recently became semi-scarce due to over mining and demand, though one may still purchase Clear Quartz crystal points in bulk for around $10-15 for a 100 gram bag on Amazon and beyond, where if you prefer raw stones over tumbled and polished, you may be able to get them even cheaper. Clear Quartz is believed to be the 'Master Healer' by Reiki Masters, as it possesses many different healing properties in addition to cleansing, grounding, and aligning the chakras. In witchcraft, Clear Quartz is used in many different rituals as it is an amplifier of energy that can enhance the efficacy and success rate of spells and manifestations aside from amplifying the energy of any and all other components and crystals around it. Clear Quartz may be readily substituted for any crystal, should a crystal be called for in any sense, and its abundance in nature and online make it an essential choice for having on hand for everything from creating Charging or Moon Water, creating crystal grids, talismans, spell jars, mojo / Gris Gris bags, or simply placing in your home or on your altar to help facilitate whatever you may be attempting to conjure or manifest at any time. 

•Olive Oil- it's no joke that essential oils, especially those that are organic or completely natural and high quality are quite expensive. If one were to purchase even just the handful of essential oils commonly mentioned in most witchy books, occult texts, and herbalist grimoires, you would be looking at a good $30-$60 investment for the basics. Olive Oil, on the other hand, may not be particularly cheap at the grocery store, but when you consider the amount you get for the price compared to the .33fl oz bottles of essential oils, you are getting quite a bargain and a tool that may be substituted for any particular oil something may ask you to use, including for dressing / anointing candles and ritual tools. The ancient Greeks and Romans often used Olive Oil as an offering to the Gods, and it has long been considered a sacred nectar in many different religions. If you already have a selection of essential oils, you may use Olive Oil as a carrier oil to make them last longer by diluting them and rebottling them or to make your own essential oil blends and ritual oils. Olive Oil is naturally pure and will allow your oil blends to work with most diffusers and burners while providing a hypoallergenic carrier option should you wish to apply any to your skin. 

•Salt- So many things salt may be used for and so many reasons to keep a stash of salt around set aside for spiritual endeavours. Sea Salt in particular is a component of many spells, rituals, potions, and magickal concoctions. It is representative of the element of Earth and is associated with many simple practices you can easily integrate into your daily rituals for cleansing, banishing, and protection. Using salt for cleansing offers a no-burn, inexpensive, sensitivity friendly option for the modern witch that can be purchased on the cheap virtually anywhere that sells things.

•Sage- The next few items are more essential for the diligent witch putting together their toolbox, as one can avoid the herbal aspects of witchcraft entirely if they desire to with many more modern texts not blending the old world concepts of herbalism/ old world medicine being akin to magick. Sage is often burned for cleansing purposes, either in smudge or incense form, but it may also be substituted for any herb a spell may call for, provided you are not trying to concoct a definitive product or recipe as a result. Sage may be easily grown within your own home- I myself have a common Sage plant I grow indoors and have been reading the benefits ever since I purchased the starter from a small nursery in Kentucky, as I never seem to have any luck sprouting seeds myself. Sage may be added to spell jars and the like as easily as one would add a handful of crushed Clear Quartz for the added benefit of maintaining a cleansed vessel for manifestation. Sage incense may also be substituted the same way.

•Roses- Roses and Rose Petals have always been associated with love spells and love potions, but many do not realize that Roses have a positive energy so profound, that vibrates on so many levels, that they may be adapted to serve virtually any purpose in any spell or spiritual practice, not just spells associated with love, romance, or sexuality. 

•A Bell or Bells- Whether you wish to drop the money on an intricate antique or visit your local consignment store or dollar store and pick up some used school bells or jingle bells, the bell and bells are probably the most underrated tool a witch can utilize, like, ever. Bells have a long multicultural history of providing blessings of prosperity, protection, and good luck, with many beliefs rooted around the belief that the ringing of a bell resonates throughout the fabric of the cosmos, reverberating across space and time. Percussive instruments, as bells are, are often used for cleansing rituals and spiritual healing. It is often stated that ringing a bell 'resets' the atmosphere and energy around you, effectively banishing negativity and providing a blank slate for conjuring new energy and any other spiritual activities. Don't balk at the bells! 

If you're the creative type, you may create what are known as 'Witch's Bells,' often made from wreaths or braided twine, beaded rings, etc with three or more bells attached meant to be hung off the doorknob of the entrance to your space or they may be made as a handheld tool to be used for regular rituals. These are then blessed or enchanted in some way that depends on the practitioner and the purpose they wish them to serve. 

What about those of us that have limited storage space? Or those that may not be able to light candles or incense due to living arrangements or allergies? This is where myself and many others can step in and offer you a hand. In my own shop, I offer hand crafted and personalized / customized spell kits created for your specific needs that will provide you all the materials for any specific spell or ritual you desire. There are other sellers that offer similar options, some that are personalized and others more general, but if you are looking for something more 'disposable' to be at your disposal at any given time, this may be worth looking into. 

My own spell kits range anywhere from $12-$35 depending on what it is you request and the materials you require. As I cater to all skill levels and handicaps in terms of what one can feasibly perform or utilize in any given situation, if you do happen to have a particular spell in mind but have no idea how to proceed in your current situation,I will be more than happy to consult with you and hand select or create a spell kit with detailed instructions and tools to aid you on your spiritual journey, regardless of your destination. As I take great pleasure in assisting others in manifesting their dreams and desires, I will always work with you and put your needs above your budget. 

Just some food for thought for those of you who have been blindly purchasing items for spells or spiritual endeavours to have on hand 'just in case' and to remind everyone that magick and successful manifestation is less about the 'stuff' and very much about your intentions when using it to conjure energy and become the catalyst for change, however you proceed to do so. 

Wishing everyone a blessed weekend and throwing a friendly reminder out there that the current sale that has been ongoing in the shop will be ending soon- this will be the last until next month so please take advantage if you have had your eye on something. I will be retiring some older designs at the end of September 2021 for recreation / re imagining and to pursue new and better concepts to take other's places. These designs will go on one last farewell sale during the month for a good 25%-50% off until they are sold out. As always, I appreciate everyone's support of my Craft and crafts. It has been a pleasure to work with and get to know so many amazing people! A dream come true to do this full time!

-Samantha 

Owner, Designer, Creator, Chaos Witch & Spiritualist 20+ Years Practice

•Blursedbaubles.etsy.com - Pay me a visit (I don't bite, just snuggle :3 )

•Facebook Store Page *NEW* (I still hate FB)

•Instagram (Resinating_beauty_) (and pretty much all social media)

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[komal09]

White Stone Tree Crystal

White Stone Tree Crystal

Unlock positive energy and peace in your space with the beautiful White Stone Crystal Tree! look into the benefits of this interesting creation and discover the amazing things it can bring to your life.

Decorate your space with the purity and elegance of the Crystal Tree, a stunning piece that will go with any decor.

Curious about the price of the White Stone Crystal Tree? Not to worry! This gorgeous piece is not only lovely but also reasonably priced, making it an ideal choice for those looking for a touch of luxury without breaking the budget.

White Crystal Tree Benefits, the White Stone Crystal Tree is more than just a decorative item. It is believed to bring various benefits, including a sense of calmness, purity, and positive energy to your surroundings.

Dive into the world of healthy living with the Original 7 Chakra Tree, each crystal on this tree represents a different chakra, contributing to overall balance and positivity in your life.

According to Vastu, the ancient Indian science of architecture, placing a Seven Chakra Vastu Tree in specific areas of your home can promote positive energy flow and create a pleasant atmosphere

Experience the positive vibes of Crystal Tree Vastu by carefully placing it in your living space, it is said to attract good luck and deflect negative energy.

Interested in the golden glow of the Citrine Tree? Check out the Citrine Tree price on Dharmsaar online shopping store for an investment that is not just a beautiful decor piece, but also a symbol of prosperity and success.

Elevate your space with a Real Citrine Money Tree. Known for its association with wealth and success, this tree is believed to attract financial abundance into your life.

Dive yourself into the healing energy of Reiki and Feng Shui with a Natural Citrine Tree, this tree is not just a visual delight but also a source of positive vibrations for your overall well-being.

In conclusion, the White Stone Crystal Tree, 7 Chakra Tree, and Citrine Money Tree go beyond appearance by combining beauty and positive energy to enhance your living space.

[goddamnitdazai]

Doldrums | Dazai {AU}

The Tea House is the only clean place in all of the three outlying territories; the capital and castle are overflowing with gold. There's boredom in both places and freedom in neither. Dazai finds the only way to amuse himself and you're just curious enough to agree. {fic under the cut} [ao3 link] x [patreon]

The long reign of the king ended unexpectedly. Within the first few months of the king’s death, the prodigal heir to the throne was crowned the one-hundred-and-fifteen King of Tartalya. Despite what the royal family toted to the public the new king only resembled his father in strategical demeanor. The prince’s (now king) features were prominent and sharp whereas the previous king had cheeks still plump with baby fat and a wide smile. Prince Osamu never smiled; that was the rumor anyway.

Per Tartalya tradition the new king was married within the first month of his new position. His wife, the dutchess of a rich port territory, fawned over him endlessly. A polished depiction of what Tartalya’s queen should be. Sweet, humble, and above all else, proper. Tartalya’s prior king required indisputable perfection within his court and their partners. Any imperfections were snuffed out quicker than a strong wind extinguishes a candle. The ruthless king’s only heir was no exception to these strict expectations; a rumor from the high court states the prince’s wife was picked when they were both ten years old due to her bloodline, manners, and demeanor. Rumors from the high courts were often stretched and dissected until they resembled fables, but there was truth to some extent. That is what you were taught to believe anyway. Take the words of a man with as you would an ill-cooked gift; chew with conviction then spit it out when their back is turned. You were taught this of all rumors and of all men. Of the region claimed by Tarayla’s century-old monarch, only three territories have been allowed to rule without direct sanctions from the high court or prince. They are considered the dark outliers in both qualities of life and the quality of inhabitants. These three territories provide shelter for merchants coming to port looking to gamble and drink, criminals from other territories seeking asylum, and those who are not able to afford a single room within the cheapest region of Tartayla’s kingdom. Like many of the other inhabitants born in Valnnin, your mother chose to leave you at the Tea House under the care of the Ozaki clan the day after you’d turned five. She was paid a handsome fee and signed a contract never to return to the Tea House. Supposedly, many women bear children simply to drop them at the Tea House for the reward. That rumor was not hard to believe given the state of Valnnin. Decent money offered the means to escape Valnnin to the closest region in Tartayla, Soinet, where large farms sit on rolling green hills lush with purple fruit that grows plentiful on tall trees. Anyone who made it out of Valnnin stayed out; by starvation or success. A part of you hoped your mother starved. There are worse fates in Valnnin than the Ozaki’s Tea House, though. Bred with a sharp wit and long cherry-red hair the Ozaki clan were well known all over Tartayla for their refined charisma and elegant beauty. Some of these traits were able to be passed on to the right young men and women making the courtesans of the Tea House the highest priced commodity in all of the three territories. Top earners are allowed to live in the lavish rooms on the top floor of the Tea House.  The Ozaki house, a four-tier traditional home lit with gold paper lanterns and endless vines wrapped over a cobblestone bridge, sits across the Tea House. The watchful guardian for the inhabitants of the Tea House. Other than becoming part of a legacy family in Valnnin, like the Ozaki, the best living was at the top of the Tea House. Residing in the middle, for now, was comfortable enough. “___, dear you’re staring.’ Kouyou tuts, whacking your knee with her lace fan. When her fan is fully spread the gold filigree becomes a long winding dragon sifting through the clouds. A well-known symbol of the Ozaki clan. The dragon is imprinted throughout the Tea House and stamped on the inside of each girl’s wrist in gold ink. Ownership and protection, that is what they preached while poking your skin with a hot needle. “Is that potted ivy really that intriguing? It must be with how rude you’re being during our conversation.” Her long manicured nail brushes over your nose to draw your attention. Her touch instantaneously forces your shoulders to go rigid as your eyes drop to your lap. Kouyou’s sharp nails bite at your jawline. “Don’t be rude to our company tonight. Understood?” You nod, wincing a bit at her grip. Kouyou-san only showed this type of intensity with newer girls in order to hammer in the traditions of the Tea House. You, however, had been here for fifteen long years and knew every twist and turn. Your familiarity had risen to the point that you and the other girls made wages on some of the staff’s mood based on an eyebrow quirk or tense knuckle. For the most part, you won each round. Kouyou-san did insist your looks and keen eye made for a high commodity, however, the blessings around your features were not as god-like as some of the girls. You were sure they came from a line of Queens and Goddesses long before humanity stomped over the grasslands. “Kouyou-san, I don’t understand why you won’t inform me who I am waiting for.” You shift uncomfortably in your silk robe. The pillow beneath your knees had become a hardened lump of clay that was sure to leave bruises. “Using the gold room is above my station.” “It is.” Kouyou agrees without an ounce of hesitation. If you were allowed to show your true emotions a dark frown laden with knitted brows would be reflecting back at Kouyou. Tea house manners forbade any type of backtalk, verbal or otherwise, toward the ladies of the house. It had been a long time since your feet had been whipped into a bloody mess due to your expressions. “You should be thankful a man of high caliber is interested in your company.” You exhale through your nose and adjust the pillow subtly just for something to grab and ease the tension rising up your spine. The golden room was incredibly expensive and reserved for foreign clientele or a man rich enough to buy the country twice over. What you could gather from the maids who set the room was scarcely what you could consider good information but their gossiping mouths let out that the changes were due to the man’s incredibly specific taste. Instead of immaculate gaudy golden candles, simple paper lanterns were hung in shades of red that bounced off the polished wood walls. The marble table had been replaced with a smaller traditional one stacked high with poker chips and two crystal glasses. A bottle of imported whisky more expensive than the entirety of Valnnin had been staring back at you for the better part of an hour. Jewels from all over the country were heaped into woven baskets spilling out their glittering gemstones of blues, pinks, reds, and purples. One stone looked as big as your palm. Within the baskets, bracelets, and necklaces sparkle and hang over the rim like a used handkerchief tossed in the garbage. Money can’t buy taste, you think to yourself, though you wouldn’t mind pocketing some of those jewels to sell later. Abruptly the double doors open and the lanterns are snuffed out. Above your head dangles an imported odd-shaped light with arms extending outwards holding each white candle as if it were trying to scorch the walls.  Kouyou stands to greet the unknown guest. Gliding across the wooden floor as a swan crosses a lake. You remain perfectly poised. Long red dress stretching out your arms to pool against your thighs. The Tea House provided silk garments for expensive clients that showed skin without being over-zealous. A strong dip in the back revealing your spine for wandering fingers. Bare shoulders for teeth to graze and tease. Your lips had been painted deep red to accentuate a pout worthy of a diamond necklace. Beyond Kouyou’s tall stance you barely make out the rough edges of a man much taller than Kouyou. “Enjoy your time, sir. Please, let me know if I can do anything to be more accommodating.” Kouyou’s bow is deep and longer than usual. The man doesn’t bow back.  The guards that had accompanied him to the golden room remain on the other side of the screen door once it’s closed, another uncommon occurrence. You get to your feet and walk towards the man in the same manner Kouyou did. You’d done this a hundred times. A thousand. Something high up, but there was an odd sensation growing in the pit of your stomach. Circling the pit of your belly like a serpent through the grass. “Good evening. Who do I have the pleasure of spending time with? I’m afraid my tongue has gone numb in excitement.” The man chuckles and takes a step forward; you take in his form with a simple blink. His hair is an unruly slue of dark browns overlapping each other held back by a deep ruby pin, an odd style but the capital tended to couple foreign fashion with traditional garments. The stranger is incredibly tall, thin, wearing traditional Tartayla clothing though the crest on his lapel doesn’t ring a bell. It did not mirror the crests members of the court wore nor the men stationed beneath them. Scribes, military, footmen, all members of the palace wore crests revealing their status to the world. A palace aid, even, would be able to afford the golden room for a night. “That’s a lie.” He takes another few steps towards you. Swift. His long legs easily bring him close enough for you to smell his cologne. Expensive and foreign. “I specifically told Ozaki not to speak my name. A clever way to ask without asking.” You blink rapidly but hold your ground, folding your hands politely in front of your thighs. His stare is honey lined with liquid gold. “As expected of a woman raised in the Tea House.” “I did not want to seem ill-prepared.” You finally answer, “It is uncommon to not know the name of my companion prior to meeting.” Nicknames--you roll through the most requested, but none of them fit. He bends a bit, you expect a hand on your cheek or your chin; he grips your throat. Contracting your airways with an eerily gentle touch. “You can address me as Dazai, nothing else.” His gaze remains ice cold. Something about the name bubbles up and up until your mouth unintentionally drops open just enough to let out a silent gasp. Prince Dazai. If he would let go of your chin you could bow to him but he anchors himself to the ground. “Ah, there it is. I can let go that you did not recognize me considering we let the territories exist as an extension. Not much royalty passing through here? What a scandal~”. He releases your jaw and walks over to the table in the center of the room. Out of instinct, you follow behind with your head bowed just slightly. What would the prince be doing here? You presumed when royal blood desired the flesh of someone else other than their betrothed they found it easily among the many women of the court. “Dazai, what is it you desire tonight?” Common phrases of your trade finally return once your tongue has melted off the shock. “Business.” He states, taking a seat on the plush pillows. “Come, and don’t speak unless I ask you a question.” Dazai pats his hand on his lap as he speaks. You follow his command and walk yourself to his lap. The scent of him is overwhelmingly pleasing in comparison to the other men that have requested this position. With your back against his chest, you can feel the ruffle of fabric on your bare skin from his vest, it’s an interesting sensation. You’d never felt this type of material before. “Now,” Dazai starts voice a rich smoky tenor, “you will come with me to the capital and sit just like this. You won’t speak, you won’t move, you won’t do a thing except look as you do now.” He drags his knuckles down your spine. “All you need to know is that. What lies in this room,” he lazily gestures to the jewels in the collapsing baskets, “will be your payment.” All you can do is nod dumbly. What the hell did he want you at the capital for? To be a lap ornament? What a strange request. You want to say no, to tell him you’re much more than a porcelain doll to play with. Your wit and charm has made you the favorite of so many men of his own court. Dazai presses his nose to the curve between your throat and shoulder. “You may ask one question but make it quick, I dislike having to ride home during the day.” Dazai gave you information without giving you detail. The bare-bones without an explanation or purpose, but he was the prince. You couldn’t pester him for more like your regulars who gave vague requests--of which you denied regardless of what it was. Taking a courtesan out of the Tea House was strictly forbidden. There was no amount that would interest the Ozaki women to allow their charges to leave the premises with a client. Every person had their price, though, it should have been obvious considering your line of work. “Am I to be a lap ornament for your entertainment or to prove a point to another person?” Dazai pauses his hand on your spine. For a moment your heart freezes--until he begins to laugh. Harmonious and cheerful, it almost sounds sweet but the tingle in your spine tells you otherwise. “Both,” Dazai places his hand on your thigh giving the soft flesh a tight squeeze, “but the latter. I don’t find very much of this world entertaining in the slightest.” Abruptly his teeth graze the shell of your ear as his hand wanders beneath your silk dress finding the edge of your hipbone. “This is just to waste time.”                                   __________________________ Jealousy was not something prince Dazai experienced. However, the man across from you seemed to be dripping green with it. You vaguely recognized him, a court-appointed general from the land across the sea. The name escaped you, anytime he appeared at the Tea House for your attention his words sank to the bottom of your consciousness. His conversation was as dull and his hands were fat with sausage-like fingers that didn’t know how to properly undo the knots that held your dress together at the side. He never had enough money other than to converse for twenty minutes and stare at your nude body. Prior to the meeting, Dazai had walked you through the main courtyard filled lined with enormous evergreen trees and rose bushes taller than your shoulders. Members of the royal court bowed and held their tongues as you passed. Your clothing served as a clear indicator of your position in the Tea House. Dazai had made it a point to dress you in the most elegant outfit the Tea House allowed. Draped in gold and black with hints of deep scarlet beneath the split up your thigh. The palace was, unsurprisingly,  massive in size and stature. Getting lost for hours within its corridors and monumental rooms seemed inevitable. Had Dazai let you wander from his side. “Do not speak or move without my permission.” His only warning punctuated with a sharp slap to your ass. While the meeting went on Dazai’s hands grew increasingly curious in tandem with his ever-rising boredom. Beneath the table, his fingers roamed between your legs never touching where you wanted. They drew teasing circles just outside your lower lips. Dug crescents into the meat of your inner thighs. The longer the meeting went on the higher his hands reached. Inside the deep cut of your dress to squeeze your breast while he spoke about the outcome of a fictional war the general had threatened, apparently. Something about trade prices rising. Anything happening beyond Dazai’s grip wasn’t sticking to your psyche. By the time the meeting was finished sweat was beading down the back of your neck. Your cheeks had grown hot to the touch and your clit was aching for touch. Dazai simply stood expecting you to catch yourself. “You will not be returning to the Tea House.” It was all he said before two guards escorted you down a long corridor lined with paintings of the royal bloodline.                       ___________________________________ The first time he fucked you the moon had appeared in splendor. Bright and bold against dark skies empty of stares and clouds. His wife had requested him to come to bed early. Her long dark hair falling in gentle curls illuminated by the candelabra she held in her fist. You watched from the corner of his study as Dazai used that talented tongue of his to herd her back to bed. Once the door was shut and locked with a metal key Dazai bent you over his desk and fucked you deep and slow. He left bite marks on your neck and laughed when you begged so pathetically to cum around his cock. At first, there was nothing inside him. No emotion to his touch and no passion beyond the carnal desire to fuck you when he needed release. His wife would often stare at you when you passed in the corridors trying to find some sort of entertainment. You had heard nothing of your position at the palace nor had anyone questioned your existence there. Dazai demanded you stay within his sights at all times and would punish you with hard slaps to your bare ass when you wandered too far. He was the softest after he left a red handprint on your behind. He’d cradle you in his arms and call you pretty things like a lover would. It only served to deepen your confusion in both your own feelings for him and what he wanted out of your existence in his life.                     _______________________________________ The queen’s illness came on rapidly and without a cause. She was pale with a fever and sickly looking. Her skin stretched over the bones of her face and her eyes looked glass. Nothing the doctors were doing had made a difference. She existed on her large bed surrounded by basins of water and broth, her ladies in waiting rotated washing her and feeding her the best they could. She couldn’t move on her own accord except to speak in a low muddled voice. Dazai did not visit her often. After a week she had been moved to her own room down two corridors and across from the King’s quarters. The bed was burned and the room scrubbed clean until it glistened. Dazai didn’t ask, he never did. When your room turned up empty you knew to find him in his quarters. His long legs propped up on the ottoman beside the window, fingers over his favorite book gifted by a friend long gone from this world. His touch had become gentle in the past few weeks. You presumed, at first, it was due to his grieving and perhaps guilt for the affair. Yet he did not change the frequency in which he kissed you, fucked you, held you against his chest for a few minutes before he eventually left the bed to finish whatever work he’d thrown across the floor when he grew too aggravated or bored. Nights he wanted to fall off the edge of the world he tied your hands to the bed and played with your body until sunrise. Dazai left his mark where he pleased. Nothing felt as good as his hands, his attention, his tongue. Rarely did he ever keep himself on top. No, he expected you to ride him. Make him cum while he watched you grow addicted to the feeling of his cock inside of you.                                  ______________________ Dazai had to produce an heir, he said, one morning while you’d been eating breakfast at his side. His wife could not fulfill that duty while sick. You pause for a moment and set your glass down. Looking at him as the sun rises behind his head. “You know I can’t have children.” Part of the process of becoming part of the Tea House; everyone went through the procedure. “What do you plan to do?” Dazai wipes his mouth with a napkin. “What makes you believe I haven’t already finished what I planned to do?” He places his elbows on the table and folds his fingers beneath his chin. That same gaze from the day you met him in the golden room returning to douse you in something unsettling. You blink at him and lean back in your chair. “As long as the queen remains alive you are not able to marry another. You will be expected to wait to have a child with your wife when she is well again.” Dazai tilts his head. “I don’t want children.” He says nonchalantly. “Dazai..�� What makes you believe I haven’t already finished what I planned to do? “Dazai.” His grin spreads wide, eyes darkening despite the light from the windows splashing halycon all over the room. “Eat up, _____. I’m growing bored.”

[mcmansionhell]

Announcing the Winners of the 2019 McGingerbread Hell Competition

Wow! It was another great year for the McGingerbread Hell Gingerbread House Competition! The judges had their work cut out for them selecting between so many fine selections. Congratulations and great job to everyone who submitted an entry in this year’s contest. However, only six houses could make the cut.

Let’s start out with announcing the winners for Honorable Mention.

Honorable Mention: Priced to Sell! by Tina B.

The judges were wowed by the impressive nub, the tumorous turret, and the fantastically mismatched windows.

Quote from the Project Description: A true GEM of a house! 6,738 SF beautifully set on .23 parklike acres. Mediterranian villa in front, stately Federal in the back; it's the mullet of houses!...Entertain in your beautiful backyard featuring a real StoneTek(TM) patio! The heavily pruned weeping cherry tree will be a real showstopper in 30-40 years! The largest roof in the neighborhood has Chex shingle roof in molasses brown. 4 BR / 5.5 BA / $899,000 / Days on market - 923

Honorable Mention: Festive Roofline Soup by Jessica C.

The judges LOVED the complexity of the roofline, the absurd gabling, and the 3 car garage.

Quote from the Project Description: Features include: • Flaked almond shingles covering a roofline so complex that it required trigonometrical expertise from my math teacher father to work out measurements...[and] A low maintenance yard as the house takes up almost the entire block! Now accepting offers; the sellers are motivated as the couple are in the middle of divorce proceedings.

Honorable Mention: Vinyl Vanity by Joseph & Kayla S.

The judges were impressed by the impressive garage to roof ratio, the roof detailings, the candy-cane columns, and excellent lawyer foyer.

Quote from the Project Description: This 2 square foot, two and a half story Craftsmen Tudor Post Classical Revival estate is the luxurious home that your friends and neighbors never wanted...The car is truly the heart of Tudor England, so we put the garage proudly up front, where the yawning chasm of the door greets the outside world with disdain...Be sure to schedule your private tour soon, this edifice is sure to not last long. On the market. If you're curious about the price, you're probably too economically responsible for this property.

And now, our top 3:

Third Place: A Jersey Thing by Nùria O.

Judges were impressed by the size, shape, and meticulous detailing of the project, which is reminiscent of a truly terrible McModern. Anjulie, seeing the size of the huge roof said “this is some sustainable sh*t.” This project captures the true McMansion ethos in truly making us say “what the hell is going on here?”

Project Description: Inspired by a beatiful RealLife™ McMansion™ in Beach Haven, NJ, this year’s featured McGingerbread mansion is a modern 5-bedroom, 16-bathroom home made entirely in construction-grade gingerbread and held together with royal icing made from free-range egg whites. The nonpareil- and sugar-crystal-covered walls provide both isolation from stormy weather and give a vintage air to counterbalance the futuristic lines of the design...On the back of the house, you can walk out to a large deck (perfect for entertainment) boasting a valuable one-piece handrail. From there you can access the beautiful mediterranean garden, set in candy charcoal and stones, environmentally friendly as it’s practically maintenance free. Don’t miss your chance to visit this unique home—feel the sugar rush!

Second Place: Victorian Opulence by Beth & Tina C.

Reigning McGingerbread champs Beth & Tina C. returned to the scene this year with yet another gorgeous gingerbread. Judges were wowed by the complexity and scale of the project. Sarah was impressed by the intricate piping and lots of frilly details, and the homage to the traditional Victorian gingerbread form. Anjulie described it as “unbearably neat” - she loved the uncantilevered bay window, the detached garage that makes entryway irrelevant, and the hilarious-front balcoiny with half-wall (not code compliant). Kate was impressed by the detailing and the extensive cantilevers which too serious structural engineering to pull off.

Project description: New from the creators that brought you a true monstrosity last year: The Victorian Opulence! Featuring a lovely wrap around porch, adorable detached garage, and a truly magnificent waterfall in the backyard, this monolith of a house features thee decks overlooking somewhat patchy but still rescueable landscaping. Other features include an outdoor patio, a tower for all your princess capturing needs, and a truly cursed facade featuring a curved roof of all things! With several nubbins featuring windows, there is no angle on this house you can't see out of! Standing at nearly 2 feet tall and with an approximate total floor area of 550 square inches-excluding outdoor seating area-this Victorian style home will surely be the envy of all the gingerbread men in your country club. (Snow removal not included as part of HOA membership fees.)

And finally...

First Prize: Simply Having a Wonderful Building Crime by Erin E.

The judges all agreed: this house was outrageous - its execution was fantastic, and its design was full of so many delightful, humorous details. Sarah remarked: “This one is perfectly McMasion-scaled, with weirdly placed windows and gratuitous features to boot.” Anjulie couldn’t sing the praises enough: “I was particularly taken with the garage that is so far detached it makes the front door totally irrelevant...it's a castle of grand sadness. The Pete Buttigieg sign is the literal icing on top.” Kate loved the details: the Pete sign, the ridiculously diverse selection of windows, the piped on invasive plants and basketball hoop, and the glass and siding effects. Part of the competition lies in its absurdity and humor, and in that particular category, this house took the cake.

Project description: This home Defies the Ordinary. Located on a 2.3 acre lot, you'll be the envy of all your neighbors--and can watch from the top of the turret to be sure they're suitably jealous! Enjoy sitting al fresco under the portico above the garage, or on the hand-laid M&M stone patio! The two-story entryway accounts for just a few of the more than 60 sugar glass windows! All of the walls join up exactly where the architect expected them to, and no windows were covered up on accident!!!

Constructed over two weeks, out of ten pounds of flour, four pounds of powdered sugar, and more than half a gallon of corn syrup, this modest four-story house will surely stand the test of time. It’s been meticulously decorated with royal icing vines, wreaths, and Christmas lights, and landscaped with gingerbread boulders, definitely-naturally-this-green icing grass, and coconut macaroon topiary. The roof stands at 17 inches high, and is crafted from waffle cookie shingles over gingerbread rafters. For sale for just $1,895,000, this house is just perfect for new families or young professionals just starting out!

Special thanks to everyone who entered this year and to our judges Sarah Archer and Anjulie Rao for their contributions in pulling off yet another successful entry our search for the Gingerbread McMansion Hall of Fame!

See you next week with this month’s 1970 McMansion.

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There is a whole new slate of Patreon rewards, including: good house of the month, an exclusive discord server, monthly livestreams, a reading group, free merch at certain tiers and more!

Not into recurring donations or bonus content? Consider the tip jar! Or, Check out the McMansion Hell Store! Proceeds from the store help protect great buildings from the wrecking ball.

[acidmanticore]

"Tale about prince Ivan, Firebird and the Gray Wolf".

[I've put illustrations by Bilibin in there, those are the best, but first - look at this painting by Vasnetsov]

Here we go.

In some kingdom lived Tsar Vyslav. He had three sons: first prince Dmitry, second prince Vasily and the third - prince Ivan.

Tsar Vyslav had a garden, so rich noone in any other kingdom had better, in which grew exotic and expensive trees with fruits and without, and Tsar's favourite was an apple tree that had golden apples.

The Firebird started visiting tsar Vyslav's garden, it's feathers golden, it's eyes like Eastern crystal glass. It would fly over every night, land onto tsar's favourite apple tree, pick golden apples and fly away.

Tsar Vyslav was very sad about that apple tree, about Firebird stealing so many apples, so he's called for his sons and told them:

- My dear children! Could you catch the Firebird in my garden? Who manages to catch it alive will get half of the kingdom right away and will become the next tsar when I die.

So his children answered all together:

- Our gracious royal father, your highness! We will try our best to catch the Firebird alive!

First night prince Dmitry went to the garden, sat under the apple tree Firebird was stealing from, fell asleep and didn't hear the bird which came and ate a lot of apples.

In the morning tsar Vyslav called for his son prince Dmitry and asked:

- Well, my gracious son, have you seen the Firebird?

Prince answered:

- No, my royal father! It hasn't come this night.

Next night prince Vasily went to guard the tree. He's sat under the same apple tree, couple hours went by and he's fell asleep and slept so deep he couldn't hear the Firebird that flew over and ate apples again.

In the morning tsar Vyslav called for him and asked:

- Well, my gracious son, have you seen the Firebird?

- My royal father! No, it didn't come this night.

The third night prince Ivan went to the garden and sat under the same apple tree. He sits for an hour, two, three - and in an instant the whole garden got lit up so bright like there were many torches: the Firebird came, perched on the tree and started eating golden apples.

Prince Ivan snuck up on it so well he's managed to grab it by the tail, but couldn't hold it well: Firebird slipped out of his hands and flew away, leaving for prince Ivan only a feather from it's tail.

In the morning as soon as tsar Vyslav woke up prince Ivan came to him and have him the feather.

Tsar Vyslav was very glad his youngest son managed to at least get the feather of the Firebird.

It was so wonderful and bright, you could bring it into the dark room and the feather would light it up brighter than thousands of candles. Tsar Vyslav put it in his room like a treasure. Since then Firebird stopped flying to the garden.

Once again tsar Vyslav called for his sons and told them:

- My dear children! I'll give you my blessing to go, find me the Firebird and bring it to me alive. And of course, the one who will bring it to me will get what I've promised before.

Princes Dmitry and Vasily were holding a grudge against their youngest brother prince Ivan, who's managed to get the feather from Firebird's tail, got their blessing and went away together.

Price Ivan were asking his father's blessing too. Tsar Vyslav told him:

- My gracious child, my dear boy! You're still so young and not used to traveling far, why would you go away from me? Your brothers are going anyway. What if you all leave me and none come back? I'm already old and walking under the gods [old saying means close to death], if when you're gone they'll take my life, who will rule my kingdom? What if riot or other disagreement happens amongst our people and there will be noone to stop it, or what if the enemy comes to our borders and there's noone to lead the army?

But no matter how hard tsar Vyslav tried to stop prince Ivan, he's still had to let him go. With persistence Ivan's got his father's blessing, chose the horse and left, not even knowing where he's going.

He was riding for some time, close or far, high of deep - fairytale told fast, not so fast the real ride. Finally he's come to the open fields, to the green meadows. In the middle of the crossroads stone stands and on that stone words carved: "Who will go forward from this stone, will be hungry and cold. Who will go right will be whole and alive but their horse dead. Who will go left will be killed but their horse alive".

Prince Ivan read the carvings and went right, holding on his mind: even if his horse dies, he'll be alive and able to find a new horse.

He was riding for a day, two, three - the Gray Wolf came up to him from the forest and said:

- Hey, young boy, prince Ivan! You've read on the stone that your horse will die, why keep going?

Wolf said those words, jumped, tore Ivan's horse in half and walked away.

Prince Ivan cried, mourning his horse, but kept walking.

He was traveling on foot for the whole day, and just sat down to get some rest, when Gray Wolf caught up to him and said:

- I feel sorry for you, prince Ivan, you were walking so long and so tired. I feel sorry that I've killed your horse. You know what, get on my back and tell me, where were you going and why?

Prince Ivan told the Gray Wolf where he needs to go and Wolf ran, faster than any horse, and after some time at night brought him to the stone wall, not very tall, stopped and said:

- Well, prince Ivan, get off me, climb over this wall, behind this wall is a garden, in that garden in a golden cage sits your Firebird. Take the bird, but don't touch the cage, of you touch it, you won't get out: guards will catch you!

Prince Ivan climbed over the wall into the garden, saw the Firebird in a golden cage and really liked it. He took the Firebird out of the cage and started walking back but then stopped and told to himself:

- Why did I take the Firebird without a cage? Where would I hold it?

He's returned and just took the golden cage - and immediately sound of alarm thundered over the garden, because to that cage thin strings were attached. Guards immediately woke up, ran into the garden, caught prince Ivan with the Firebird and brought him to their tsar, tsar Dalmat.

Tsar Dalmat got very angry at Ivan and shouted at him, loud and furious:

- Shame on you, young man, for stealing! Who are you even, where are you from, what kind of father you have, and what is your name?!

Prince Ivan answered quietly:

- I'm from the Vyslav's kingdom, tsar Vyslav's son, my name is prince Ivan. Your bird used to fly to our garden every night and steal golden apples from my father's favourite apple tree, it's almost destroyed it. My father sent me to find the Firebird and bring it to him.

- Oh you, boy, prince Ivan, - said tsar Dalmat, - is it right to to our the way you've tried to? If you'd just come to me, I would've honestly have you the Firebird, but now will it be good if I send people to tell on all the other kingdoms how dishonourable you are? But listen, prince Ivan! If you do me a favour - go to the far far kingdom and bring me from tsar Afron his golden-maned stallion - I'll forgive you and even give you my Firebird, but if you won't, I'll make sure every kingdom knows you're a thief.

Prince Ivan walked away from tsar Dalmat in tears, promising to get him the golden-maned stallion.

He came to the Gray Wolf and told him about everything tsar Dalmat said.

- Oh you, young boy, prince Ivan! - said Wolf, - Why didn't you listen to me and took three golden cage?

- I'm sorry, Gray Wolf, - answered prince Ivan.

- Well, so be it! Get on my back, I'll bring you where you need to go.

Prince Ivan got into his back and Wolf ran fast, faster than arrow, and he ran for long or for short and at night they were in tsar Afron's kingdom.

When they walked to the white-stoned walls of tsar's stables, Gray Wolf told Ivan:

- Go to those white-stoned stables, prince Ivan, all guards are asleep now, and take golden-maned stallion. But don't take its golden bridle that hangs on the wall, or bad things happen to you.

Prince Ivan walked into white-stoned stables, took the stallion and just started walking back as he saw the golden bridle and liked it so much he couldn't help it but took it off the nail it was hanging on - and immediately sound of alarm broke in, because to that bridle strings were attached. Guarding ostlers woke up, ran inside, grabbed Ivan and brought him to the tsar Afron.

Tsar Afron started asking:

- You, young boy! Tell me, what land are you from, who is your father and what is your name?

Prince Ivan answered:

- I'm from tsar Vyslav's kingdom, son of tsar Vyslav, and my name is prince Ivan.

- Oh you, young boy, prince Ivan! - said tsar Afron, - Is what you've done the work for a noble knight? If you'd come to me, I would've given you my golden-maned stallion with honor. But now would it be good for you if I tell my people to make sure all the kingdoms know what bad thing you've done in my home? But listen, prince Ivan! If you make me a favour and go to the far far kingdom and bring me a princess Elena the Beautiful that I'm in love with for a long time, but can't get, I'll forgive you and even give you the stallion along with its golden bridle. And if you disagree, I'll make sure all the kingdoms know that you're a thief and what you've done here.

Ivan had to promise he'll get princess Elena the Beautiful for tsar Afron and went away from his castle in tears.

He came to the Gray Wolf and told him all that happened to him.

- Oh you, young boy, prince Ivan! - said Gray Wolf, - Why didn't you listen to what I've said, why did you take golden bridle?

- I'm very sorry, Gray Wolf, - answered prince Ivan.

- Well, you are, - said Wolf, - get on my back, I'll bring you where you need to be.

Prince Ivan got onto his back and Wolf ran, fast as an arrow, and after some time yes brought Ivan to the kingdom of Elena the Beautiful.

And when they've reached golden fence protecting the beautiful garden, Wolf told Ivan:

- Get off my back, prince Ivan, and go back the same way we came here, and wait for me in the open field under the big green oak.

Prince Ivan did as he was told. Gray Wolf sat near the golden fence waiting for Elena the Beautiful to go for a walk in her garden.

Near the evening, when the sun starved nearing the West and air became less hot, princess Elena the Beautiful went to her garden with matrons and maids. When she came close to the place Gray Wolf were sitting behind the fence, he jumped over the fence into the garden, grabbed the princess, jumped back with her and ran as fast as he could.

When he reached the open field where Ivan was waiting under the big green oak, Wolf said:

- Hurry, prince Ivan, get on my back!

Prince got onto his back and Wolf ran fast to tsar Afron's kingdom.

Matrons, maids and all the royal servants who were walking with princess Elena the Beautiful in the garden ran to the castle and immediately day the chase after the Gray Wolf, but no matter how fast hunters were - they couldn't outrun him and returned with empty hands.

Traveling on the Wolf's back with princess Elena, Ivan fell in love with her and she also fell in love with him. So when they've reached tsar Afron's kingdom and Ivan needed to bring princess Elena the Beautiful to the castle, prince got very upset and started crying.

Gray Wolf asked him:

- Why are you crying, prince Ivan?

Prince Ivan answered:

- My friend, Gray Wolf! How can't I cry? I love princess Elena with all my heart but now I have to give her to tsar Afron for the golden-maned stallion, and if I won't, tsar Afron will dishonour and humiliate me in all the kingdoms!

- I've helped you a lot, prince Ivan, - said the Gray Wolf, - might as well help you with that. Listen, prince Ivan: I'll turn into beautiful princess Elena and you will bring me to tsar Afron and take the golden-maned stallion, he'll think I'm the real princess. And when you'll get onto the stallion and ride far enough away, I'll ask tsar Afron to let me out for a walk in open field. And when he'll let me out with matrons and maids and all the royal servants, and I will be in the open field - remember me, call for me and I'll come to you again.

Gray Wolf said those words, rolled over the ground and became beautiful princess Elena, so similar noone could possibly tell where the real one.

Prince Ivan took her by the hand and went to tsar Afron, and asked the real princess to wait for him our of town.

When prince Ivan came to tsar Afron with fake princess Elena the Beautiful, tsar got very happy that he's managed to finally get a great treasure he wanted for so long. He took the fake princess and gave Ivan golden-maned stallion.

Prince Ivan sat onto the stallion, got to the forest where he left the princess, helped her to get onto the stallion with him and started his way to tsar Dalmat's kingdom.

Gray Wolf lived with tsar Afron for a day, two, three, like a beautiful princess Elena, and on the fourth day came to him asking if she can go for a walk in the field to break the sorrow. Tsar Afron said:

- Ah, my beautiful princess Elena! I would do anything for you, of course I'll let you go outside for a walk!

And immediately ordered all the matrons and maids and royal servants to go with her.

Meanwhile prince Ivan was traveling with Elena the Beautiful, talking to her and almost forgot about the Gray Wolf, but remembered and said:

- Ah, where's my Gray Wolf?

Look, out of nowhere - Wolf appeared near the prince and said:

- Get on my back, prince Ivan, and let beautiful princess ride on the golden-maned stallion.

Prince Ivan got onto the Wolf's back and they went to tsar Dalmat's kingdom. They were traveling long or short, and when they've reached the kingdom, they've stayed about the miles out of town. Prince Ivan asked Gray Wolf:

- Listen, my dear friend, Gray Wolf! You've helped me with a lot, could you help me one last time? Could you turn into the golden-maned stallion instead of the real one, because I don't want to part with it?

Gray Wolf rolled over and turned into the golden-maned stallion.

Prince Ivan left princess Elena the Beautiful with the real stallion on the green meadow, got onto the Gray Wolf and headed to the tsar Dalmat's castle.

As soon as he got there, tsar Dalmat saw Ivan riding the golden-maned stallion, became really happy, immediately left his chambers, met Ivan at the wide courtyard, kissed him, took him by the right hand and led into white-stoned chambers.

Tsar Dalmat it of joy ordered to prepare a feast, and they sat at the oak tables, embroidered tablecloths, ate, drunk and has fun for two days and in the third day tsar Dalmat gave Ivan the Firebird in a golden cage.

Prince took the Firebird, went out of town, got onto the golden-maned stallion along with princess Elena the Beautiful and headed to his homeland, to the tsar Vyslav's kingdom.

Tsar Dalmat wanted to take a walk with his new stallion in the open field. He's ordered to saddle it up, mounted and went into the open field. But as soon as he spurred on the stallion, it threw Dalmat off his back, turned into Gray Wolf and ran after prince Ivan.

- Prince Ivan! - he said, - Get on my back and let princess Elena the Beautiful ride on the golden-maned stallion.

Prince Ivan got onto Gray Wolf's back and they headed off. When they've reached the place where Wolf killed prince Ivan's horse, he's stopped and said:

- Well, prince Ivan, I've served you faithfully for long enough. On this very place I tore your horse in half and to this place I've brought you back. Get off me, now you have golden-maned stallion, get on it and go wherever you want, I'm not helping you anymore.

Gray Wolf said those words and ran away, and prince Ivan wept bitterly about him and headed off with the beautiful princess.

They were riding for long or for short with beautiful princess Elena on the golden-maned stallion, and about twenty miles out of his kingdom they've stopped to get some rest and hide from the midday sun under the tree, tied golden-maned stallion to the same tree and put the cage with Firebird on the ground near them.

They were laying on the soft grass and talking sweet things and finally fell asleep.

Meanwhile Ivan's brothers, princes Dmitry and Vasily who traveled different lands and kingdoms and couldn't find the Firebird, were returning back empty-handed. They've stumbled upon sleeping prince Ivan with princess Elena the Beautiful.

When they saw gorgeous golden-maned stallion and Firebird in a golden cage, they got jealous and conspired to kill their brother prince Ivan.

Prince Dmitry took his sword, stabbed prince Ivan and hacked his body into pieces, then they woke up the princess Elena and started asking questions:

- Beautiful girl! What kingdom are you from, and who's your father, and what's your name?

Princess Elena the Beautiful saw Ivan dead and got really scared, wept bitterly and said in tears:

- I'm princess Elena the Beautiful, prince Ivan brought me here and you've viciously killed him! If you were noble knights, you would've called him into the open field and fought him honestly, but what honour you'll get from killing him in his sleep? Fighting sleeping person like stabbing already dead!

Then prince Dmitry pointed his sword art her chest and said:

- Listen, Elena the Beautiful! You are ours now. We'll bring you to our father, tsar Vyslav, an you will tell him, that it were us who found you, the golden-maned stallion and the Firebird. If you won't tell him that, I will kill you now!

Princess Elena the Beautiful, terrified to death, promised to say what they've ordered.

Then prince Dmitry and prince Vasily decided to cast lots to determine who gets the princess and who gets the stallion. And as a result, prince Vasily got the beautiful princess and prince Dmitry took the golden-maned stallion.

Prince Vasily grabbed princess Elena and put her onto his horse, prince Dmitry got onto the golden-maned stallion and took the Firebird to bring it to the tsar Vyslav, their father, and they headed off.

Prince Ivan were laying dead there for thirty days, until Gray Wolf ran by and recognised the smell. Wolf wanted to help him, bring him back, but didn't know how.

Then Gray Wolf noticed the raven with two kids flying over the corpse going to decent and feed upon prince Ivan's meat. Gray Wolf his behind the bushes and as soon as little ravens descended and started to eat the corpse, he jumped out, grabbed one of them and wanted to tear it apart. Then raven landed near the Wolf and said:

- Oh, Gray Wolf! Don't hurt my child, he didn't do anything bad to you.

- Listen, Raven! - said the Gray Wolf, - I don't touch your child and I'll let him go if you do me a favour: fly beyond the edge of the world and bring me Water of Life and Water of Death.

Raven answered:

- I'll do it for you, just don't touch my son.

He said so and flew away.

On the third day Raven came back and brought two vials - one with Water of Life, another with Water of Death - and gave them to the Gray Wolf.

Wolf took the vials, tore little Raven in half, sprinkled him with the Water of Death, and wounds healed, sprinkled with the Water of Life - and little Raven woke up and flew away. They Gray Wolf sprinkled prince Ivan with the Water of Death and his body fused together as if was, sprinkled with the Water of Life - and prince Ivan got up and said:

- I... Was asleep for so long!

Gray Wolf answered:

- Yes, prince Ivan, if it wasn't for me, you would've never woke up, because your brothers hacked you in pieces and took princess Elena the Beautiful, golden-maned stallion and the Firebird. You need to hurry home - your brother prince Vasily is doing to marry your bride today, the beautiful princess Elena. To make it faster, get on my back, I'll bring you there.

Prince Ivan got onto the Gray Wolf, Wolf bolted to the Vyslav's kingdom and soon ran to the town.

Prince Ivan got off the Wolf's back, went into town, came to the castle and saw his brother, prince Vasily marrying princess Elena the Beautiful, already walked from the altar and sits with her at the table.

Prince Ivan walked in and as soon as princess Elena saw him, she's ran out of the table, kissed him on the lips and shouted:

- This is my beloved groom, prince Ivan, and not the villain that sits at the table!

Tsar Vyslav stood up and asked princess Elena, what do her words mean, what she's talking about? And princess told him all the truth, what happened: how prince Ivan found her, got the golden-maned stallion and the Firebird, how his older brothers killed him in his sleep and threatened her to tell lies.

Tsar Vyslav got very angry at his sons, threw them into dungeon, and prince Ivan married princess Elena the Beautiful, and they've lived long with love and friendship so strong they couldn't part even for a minute.

The end.

[thriceboundhome]

Before the Bond

“Sl—slow down, Ita!”

“Walk faster then.”

The two children's squabble echoed through the trees with how loud they were shouting. They had too if they wanted the other to hear. The roar of the waterfall that Itani insisted on walking by was already drowning out the sound around them.

An inaudible jumble of words left Quinn as she kneeled down on one knee to try and catch her breath. Her lungs were burning with how she was pushing herself to keep up with her brother. She doesn't even know what got him so riled up that he's walking so fast. They were walking at a moderate speed last time she checked.

"What was that? You gonna stay there and mope?"

Almost

The stone that  flew at him made any form of pity for the girl vanish. He caught it in one hand as the other raised to point at her, a flinch from her made him pause and breathe to calm down before sighing. The boy glanced at the stone before dropping it into the stream at his feet when he felt the urge to throw the pebble back at her. Itani looked back at Quinn and gave her a thin lined smile with his eyes closed.

“Stay here. I'll go out to see if I can catch a rabbit for us to roast.”

The male said the words like an order, even knowing that Quinn didn't take the tone kindly. In her frustration, she pushed up some dirt with her hands.  She had sat down while trying to catch her breath when her legs started shaking. Her body still in panic mode from being captured and whisked away from her home.

“Why can't I go with you, huh! You don't like me or something?”

The question was asked out of anger, though she knew that whatever answer she gets might just make her cry. From the harsh way Itani was talking to her and the situation she was taken out of, it's safe to say that her mind wasn’t ready for any kind of rejection at the moment.

The boy in question stopped himself mid step and turned to face her. It was hard to balance on a smooth rock with rapid water flow pulling at his feet but he made it work. The sight he was greeted by was the elf eared girl punching the hard ground beneath her with drooping ears. Unshed tears clumping at the corner of her bright blue eyes.

Red splattered lightly on the dirt since small rocks were digging into Quinn's skin. The crunching sound made Itani's skin crawl, too familiar a sound to the crackling, burning wood that remains playing in the back of his head. A smooth stone was thrown at the girl to get her to stop, hitting her square in the middle of her forehead.. Not the best way to end the onslaught she  unknowingly caused him but it worked. Her shiny eyes filled with hurt was only a small price to pay for his mind.

“I don't like you but I don't hate you either,” he spoke his mind, ignoring the fuming girl as she quarrelled about the stone hitting her head. “I tolerate you, I don't save someone I don't like.”

The confession made her pause her ranting. A small nod to herself was done as she soaked in the information. Half of a smile came to her lips while Itani continued walking up the stream. His words made sense plus it wasn't a total rejection which made the sting in her eyes lessen. Even if it was a rejection it wasn't the same as the ones she got when she was locked in that damp...dark.. cold cell. Itani's voice broke her train of thought and brought her back to the present. 

“Stay put, you're hurt. I'll be back soon. Shout if something happens.”

With the words hanging in the air, he left the girl to her own devices. Silence filled the air save the thundering of the nearby waterfall. The girl was left with her thoughts, something she didn't allow herself to do often. The things that her mind provided her with at times like these weren't always the greatest.  A low whistle left her as she breathed out some air before puffing her cheeks. If she was going to be left alone, she certainly wasn't going to be left bored.

So with shaking limbs and nothing but the sheer will to disobey Itani, Quinn picked herself up and wandered around the waterfall and streams. Her legs still refused to work with her so she ended up having to crawl some. The girl made her way to the edge of the walk way and peered over to view the water. It was crystal clear, reflecting the bright blue sky so perfectly that it matched the sparkle in her eyes. She almost couldn't make out her eyes from the water.

She giggled out as she let her hand dip into the cool water. A content sigh left her as the cool of the water fought off the heat that came from overworking herself. Allowing her eyes to slide shut, she felt a strange peace settling over her with the sounds that surrounded her. The chirping of the birds overhead, the crittering of squirrels playing along the trunks of trees soothed her. Eventually, she ended up dozing off. The sounds of the forest calming her enough to let the adrenaline in her system wash away, allowing her rest.

All while Quinn drifted off to sleep, Itani was making his way back to her. Bow and arrow in one hand, a few skewered rabbits in the other, it took some time to track them down and get a good aim but he was satisfied with his catch.

‘Should last us about a week until I need to hunt again.’ 

He made a mental reminder to himself as he pushed away leaves that blocked his path. He was hurrying and he didn’t know why. What had him in such a twist that he was running out of breath just from walking, there were only two answers to that question and both were distasteful to him. One more than the other but it still made him scrunch up his nose in refusal at the idea. Though the answer was clear to see he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. Even when he let out a breath of relief when he saw Quinn, napping.

Comfortable and unharmed. It made his chest feel lighter, like a weight was lifted. One that he didn’t know existed. He stood there looking at her for a while longer, just to make sure she wasn’t hurt in any form of the word. Well, not every form, her mind probably isn’t the safest place for her to be at the moment considering the situation he had taken her out of. He moved towards her and set down the catch and his weapon on the cloth he brought back with him. Whoever decided to leave it hanging in a tree wasn’t the brightest.

The male was startled. You'd think that being waterboarded would make you scared out of your mind at the sight of water but here Quinn was with her hand in the water dreaming away. She's a different breed of human to him for doing what she does. If Itani was in her position he would have begged to not be around this amount of water all at once.  She worries, confuses and amazes him all at once. He still freaks out at any sign of fire going out of control. The tiniest sound of wood crunching makes him sick. The boy's not too sure how to feel about it. 

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

It wasn't long before Quinn woke up. The scent of meat sizzling made her dreams take a turn to food land and she woke up with twitching ears and growling stomach. Her back was covered and warm, it helped her blurry eyes and muffled mind to clear. The girl sat up and pulled her legs close to her chest until a satisfying pop was heard. Her ears twitched again as her hands moved to rub the sleep out of her eyes,a lazy smile evident on her lips

“Mornin’ sleepy elfy.”

That made her jump. Hands coming down to clench the cloth that sat on her lap to pull it to her chest. A small whimper of fear slipped past her lips as her shoulders shoke in her panic. Slowly, she turned her head to see Itani behind her. Green eyes watched her in confusion, hints of worry sparkled in the forest green of the boy’s eyes. She let out a heavy sigh at the familiar face. Her hands set the cloth back down and rose to pass through her knotted black hair. An 'over it' expression took over her face.

“Mornin’ spooky,” Quinn replied sarcasm dripped off of her reply,“ do you wake everyone you know like that in the morning or something?”

The question set off an unwelcomed throbbing in the boy’s chest. The implications behind the words meant that he had someone left, waiting for him. He wished. Instead of answering the girl he opted to turn over the rabbit that was over the pit of fire he had lit after he had woken up from his sleep. Bucket of water close to his side so that any moment the sound of the crackling fire got to him.  A small laugh came from the man to throw off the heavy feeling on his chest.

“ No, just lazy elfs that I come across.” Itani removed the cooked rabbit from above the fire and handed it to the girl. She had scooted closer to him as they conversed. The subjects were light, jokes and jabs were made. The two kids felt like they were in their own little bubble of the world. Like nothing could hurt them or ruin the security they felt as they soaked in the sun and allowed the  refreshing lake water to swirl around their feet.

“ Sorry for making you feel as though I hated you,” Itani started, his eyes casted to the meat in his hands, “I actually really like your company. ”

Quinn looked at him, startled. Round sky blue eyes looked at the white haired man curiously, trying to determine if he was messing with her. Her hands came up to touch his cheek. She gave him a soft smile and a simple nod of understanding. He leaned slightly into her hand and sighed, is this how Dakota felt when he comforted her? A small fortress around her keeping her safe with all it's might? He would love to get used to this.

“ No worries! I got tough skin,” a grin replaced the soft smile on the girl's face,“ you can't get rid of me with that even if you tried!”

They laughed together as they packed up and outed the fire. Onto wherever their legs take them. An adventure awaits them and they're ready.

Ready together.

[kamikothe1and0nly]

A Price We Pay (OC Story)

Over on Instagram, I'm sharing some characters I made. A lot of people seemed to like my OC Scarlet so I asked if people wanted to read the story I wort over the summer. Some said yes so I'm just going to post it here.

This has nothing to do with Kotlc. You can just ingore this. My writing is awful anyway :).

Warning: mention of death and blood.

Scarlet’s midnight blue hair fell over her light chocolate-colored eyes. She stared at her hands, not knowing what to do. Maxseen was everything to her. She was Scarlet’s world.

Max has been there for Scarlet through her ups and downs. She always did everything in her power to make Scarlet smile. No matter the problem, Max was there for Scarlet. She just wished she could do the same for her.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Heart, there’s nothing else I can do for her.” The doctor looked at her with saddened eyes. From the sidelines, you’d think the emotions in his eyes were real, but Scarlet could look deep into the dark forest green and see nothing but cold stone. He wasn’t sad about Max; She was just another one of his patients. It was just his job. He didn’t care about Max. “Our best bet is that Miss. Willow will pass by the end of the week.”

“Liar!” Scarlet snapped; she gripped her hands into fists, trying to keep from fully lashing out at the doctor. “There’s something you haven’t done yet!”

“Miss-”

“Your job is supposed to be keeping people alive!” She cut him off. “So do your job!”

“We’ve done all we could to help Miss. Willow, but her health is falling faster every day.”

Tears pricked the corners of Scarlet’s eyes.

The silence was deafening., it rang in her ears, leaving her stuck in her thoughts. The soft beep of the machines was starting to irritate Scarlet as it added to the ringing. From time to time, she could hear a whisper behind the door, though she could never make out any words.

The off-white room felt too bright agest Scarlet’s eyes. The walls threatened to close in on her if she made any movement. The light blue curtains waved softly in the air as the breeze swept by the open window. There was one annoying light that would slightly flicker every 30 seconds. Through her tear-blurred vision, she could see Max’s chest gently rise and fall under the thin white sheets.

Her chair was uncomfortable, despite the soft cushion. Cold wrapped itself around Scarlet, reaching deep under her skin and clutching her heart in a frozen fist. It sent tiny, thin shards of ice into it for every beet. Her light, gray jacket no longer felt soft on her shoulders. Instead, it had turned into a ruff, heavy stone, pulling her down.

The burning smell of medicine, bleach, and too much hand sanitizer put a metallic bio taste on Scarlet’s tongue, leaving her stomach to turn.

Max’s amber-brown hair pooled around her ever-growing pale cheeks. Her blue hospital gown against the white bedsheets was starting to become offensive to Scarlet. She uses to love the color blue. Max’s eyes were a bright shade of ocean blue that was a deep swell of emotions. But now Scarlet could no longer see the blue she had fallen for, and she feared she might never see them again.

Max laid still, her eyes closed and breathing hard to notice unless you looked long enough. Tubes ran along her skin, each having a different job to play. One keeps oxygen moving in and out of her lungs. One slowly dripping random fluids into her body. The rest of the tubes did something that Scarlet didn’t quite know what.

Maxseen was a husk of what she used to be. She no longer ran around pulling pranks and laughing with her friends. She no longer told Scarlet of her daydreams or her plans for her future. She no longer pulled funny faces with her little brother and mom. Max no longer hugged Scarlet tight.

A tear landed on Scarlet’s hand, pulling her out of her thoughts. She was going to lose Max; she was going to be alone again. Her dad was right; she’ll never have someone to love.

“Shhh,” A woman gently stroked a young Scarlets hair. “It’s ok; you’re safe. Nothing can hurt you,” she whispered. Her voice was sweet like honey and smooth as glass. It held so much love and kindness with every syllable.

Scarlet sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, “It was horrible, mom. It was dark and scary. I couldn’t find you… I was alone.”

“Oh my sweet child, you are never alone, and it was only a bad dream.” She started to braid Scarlet’s hair, something that always calmed her down. “Do you remember that story I told you when you were a little older than a baby?”

“The one about the dragon that can grant you a wish? I remember a little.”

The woman hummed in thought, “She lives in a cave lined with glowing crystals, found beep in the Forbidden Forest. Her short fur is a shining black that sparkles in the faint light of the crystals. Her eyes are bright firey-orange. When she looks at you, she looks deep into your eyes.”

“The eyes are the gateway to the soul,” Scarlet whispered. Her mom tickled Scarlet, causing her to giggle.

“Correct.” She poked Scarlet’s nose with a light feathery touch. “She looks into your soul.” She leaned back against the bed and looked thoughtfully at the shadowy ceiling. “Her claws are said to be so sharp they can cut through the toughest stone with ease. Her fires-breath is hotter than a hundred suns; you can feel the warmth of her firey heart when standing in the cave.

“Deep in her cave where the light can’t reach is where she sleeps with all her treasures; the crystals fill her dreams of young children’s wishes.”

“Everyone says dragons aren’t real.”

“Our world has grown disconnected from dragons. It’s been thousands of years since people have seen one. The stories we hear about the giant creatures have grown old and thrown around with fake stories. It had become difficult for people to tell which stories are true, so we labeled all their stories as myths and legends.

“People stopped believing.”

“Is your story true?” Scarlet looked up at her mother.

“Of course, my dear. Every word is true.”

“Really?” Scarlet’s eyes light up with wonder. “If it’s true, why don’t people try and find the dragon?”

“The forest is a dangerous place. It’s full of creatures that can kill in a heartbeat. The tall twisting trees block out all the sun’s light and warmth, leaving it in cold darkness that is more shaded than night. The trees shift and change, turning the forest into an endless maze. No one dares to step foot into the forest.”

“Then how does the dragon have people’s wishes come true.”

“Only the bravest can make it through the twisting maze of trees and make it through the dangers that lay deep inside. But be warned; the dragon doesn’t take kindly to strangers. She’ll searcher your heart to find if your intentions for her magic are good or bad. If she finds your heart is black and bitter, she’ll not hesitate to kill you.”

“How do you know all of this, mom?”

“I’ve seen her.”

Scarlet’s eyes opened as the sun reached through the half-closed blinds. The sun’s golden rays illuminate the small room in an orange-yellow glow.

Another one of those dreams. Scarlet has had them a lot since Maxseen got sick.

Just another reminder that Scarlet loses everyone that comes into her life.

Her dad left when she was four, her mom went missing when she was 16, and now Max would most likely leave her too.

But this dream wasn’t like the others. They always had Scarlet’s mom in them, happy memories of the two laughing with each other, cooking, playing some kind of game, just her and her mom when times were easy when she wasn't afraid of what could happen tomorrow.

She’s never had a dream about her mom telling her the story about the dragon. Her mother used to tell Scarlet that story when she was afraid of what was in the shadows or under her bed.

“Maybe if you wish hard enough, the crystals will fill her dreams of your wishes. Maybe she’ll hear it and help you make them come true.” her mother brushed a strand of hair behind Scarlet’s ear.

“You think so?”

“Wish with all your heart, my dear, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll give you your wish.”

After losing her mother and everyone saying she wasn’t going to come back, Scarlet had given up on believing and wishing. She didn’t have a reason to. Her wishes would never come true; there was no point in believing stories her mother would tell her. Scarlet just went on with life, trying to survive, making it to another day.

And then she met Maxseen. Her kind blue eyes warmed Scarlet’s heart. Max’s smile filled her life with color again. Max gave Scarlet a reason to wish, a reason to believe. She became the reason Scarlet lived more than to survive. Max was the reason that Scarlet laugh, smiled, cried. She was the reason she loved.

Scarlet can’t lose that.

Max can’t lose her chance to do all she wanted to do in her life.

Scarlet sat up with a jolt. The dragon could be what saves Max.

It was a far-fetched chance that Scarlet could even find a dragon, and it was an even farther-fetched chance that her mother’s story could be true. But this could be the last thing that could help save Maxseen.

And Scarlet was going to take that chance.

So there Scarlet stood, at the edge of the blackened forest. The sun was at its highest peak. Warmth hugged the land the sun’s light landed upon.

But the light and warmth seemed to fear away from the old creaking trees. Not even a foot deep into the forest, the light thinned, leaving barely enough light to see what was in front of you.

Do not enter.

Warning dangers.

Those who go in don’t come out.

Bright, eye-catching, yellow signs hung on the spiked, bobwire fence, warning people to stay away. The thick wire reached high into the vast blue heavens, keeping people out and keep in whatever lay among the shadows.

Scarlet breathed in deeply, trying to steady her fear-struck heart. The warning of what laid in the Forbidden Forest raced through Scarlet’s mind. She stepped back when a low howl sounded through the alley of trees.

Finding the dragon, going into the forest, is the last chance to keep Maxseen alive.

She clasped her hands into tight fists and pushed the fear down. If she was going to do this, she had to do it now. Max didn’t have very long. Scarlet can’t keep wasting time on her fears.

The wires snapped as Scarlet cut a hole in the fence, just big enough for her to slip in. Once she had worked up the courage to move past the wires, she could feel a freezing wind sink deep into her skin, putting the uneasy feeling back in the pit of Scarlet’s stomach.

The trees groaned and creaked as they stretched up to the sun. They used their leaves to block out the earth’s closest star’s warmth and comforting light. All the colors the world should have painted the earth were dull, dark, and dead. The trees weren’t like the one Scarlet would sit under on a warm summer day with all her friends. Instead, the tree’s bark was a muddy grey-brown, and their leaves were far from the vibrant green, but instead, were a nightmarish black.

With the sun blocked, Scarlet had lost track of how long she had been walking. The fear and the feeling of eyes following her grew with each step.

From time to time, she could hear a faint growl of a wolf or a twig snapping in the distance. The trees sounded like they were crying and screaming, their branches reaching out to Scarlet, begging for help. No birds sang their cheerful songs among the trees. The eerie atmosphere began to play tricks on Scarlet’s mind, leaving her to wonder what sounds were real.

She started to smell blood and rotting flesh the farther she ventured into the twisting ocean of trees. She wrinkled her nose, the smell only getting stronger every second. Awful odor after odor filled her senses, making her skull start to drum against her head.

Her mouth had gone dry minutes ago—a disgusting bio taste laid on her tongue. The taste and smell made her gag as her stomach spun.

Finding the dragon, going through this forest, is the last chance to keep Maxseen alive.

She remembers when she had asked her mother about the forest. Her mom had gone mute; her soft gray eye’s sad as they watch Scarlet. She had used only a few words before ushering her daughter outside to play.

Dark,

Paranormal,

Dangerous,

Timeless.

Scarlet didn’t know what her mother had meant by timeless. How could something be timeless?

She understood what she meant now.

Everything in the forest seemed frozen in time when you looked straight at it. But out of the corner of your eye, you could spot something move among the trees. You could feel something reach out to you. When you spin around to see what was following you, everything will go still like an old photograph.

You’ll lose track of how long you’ve been in the twist. Your mind would start to panic as it tried to decide if it’s been a second, minutes, hours, or days. Light didn’t move in the forest, leaving it to feel like you’re stuck in an infinite night of nightmares.

Scarlet jumped and yelped as a strong howl of a nearby wolf echoed through the trees. Her fight or flite kicked in, sending her running in the opposite directions of the cry.

As much as she wished she’d jump into a fighting stance when things got too much, she had always been one to run from her problems and fears.

The pounding of her feet against the ground woke bats that hid among the dead leaves. They sprung from their branches, startling Scarlet to run faster.

Her heart crashed against her rib cage as the fears following her shaded her sight. The world became a blur; the trees blended, blurring the narrow view she had. Barking rang in her ears as the crunching of fallen leaves stalked close behind her.

Scarlet peeped back; the silhouettes of monstrous wolves trailed only a foot away. They snarled, snapped, and barked, moving closer.

Scarlet tripped.

A tree branch reached out and wrapped its self around her leg. She slammed into the ground with a firm thud. Pain ricocheted through her head as it hit a rock. Her vision blanked as ringing washed over her. She tensed her muscles and curled in on herself.

An earth ratting roar filled the air. Scarlet had snapped her eyes open, seeing the wolf-shaped shadows whimper and scurry off.

Scarlet looked behind her to see what had terrified the pack. A mysterious void was all Scarlet met with; pain set back into her skull, causing her to wince. Slowly she reached up and pressed her hand against the side of her head. Her shivering hand was meet with something warm and sticky. She pulled her hand away, finding it covered in dark red.

“Aw.” She hissed.

The branch that wrapped around her leg started to wind itself up her thigh. Scarlet yelled, kicking at it. “Get off! Get off!” The branched snapped, it recoiled back to its spot at the tree’s side. The dead oak let out a screeching cry.

Scarlet backed aways as the forest joined the tree’s ear-piercing wells. They grew louder with every new cry. She covered her ears as the screams added to her growing headache.

A glow filled her vision. All at once, the trees went quiet. Slowly Scarlet turned towards the source of the light. The deep black void now was bright with crystals that glittered with a soft, comforting cold-purple. Scarlet’s breath caught in her throat.

“She lives in a cave lined with glowing crystals.”

She tensed and relaxed her hands in a fist, a weak attempt to slow her racing heart.

The jewels filled the gray-stone wall. Their light reached out, pulling Scarlet closer to the cave. The closer she got, the brighter the crystals shone, beckoning for her to go deeper.

Her legs moved on their own, steering her into the cave. The glowing of the crystals followed her deep into the hole. The light jumped from crystals to crystals, leaving the entrance of the cave dark and secretive.

The jewels flickered as they whispered into the cave’s thin air. If Scarlet listened to one closely, she could faintly hear laughter and wishes from little children, warming Scarlet’s heart. But there also was the feeling of sorrow.

She couldn’t help but think that those kids would lose their hope, their laughter, and their wishes as they grew older and the faults of the world sunk in. They’d grow up and find that the world wasn’t all the wonders they see it as. They’d get older and stop believing in fairy tales and wishes coming true.

Just like Scarlet.

Those thoughts filled her heart with aching pain.

Her mother and Maxseen have grown up to still believe in those stories, believe that wishes

could come true. They have still seen the world in its magic and color as they got older, as time started to settle on them and show that things where’t like they always seemed. But they had

chosen to believe, to see the good and beauty in everything around them.

Scarlet’s mother had lost that the last time she’d looked into her gray eyes. They had seemed lifeless. They had no longer had the shimmer of love in them; they were dull, like the Forbidden Forest. She kissed Scarlet’s forehead with a light touch, lingering there for longer than her soft kisses would. She said she loves Scarlet more than anything and then left, taking Scarlet’s wonder for the world with her.

Maxseen still had that sparkle in her eyes. She had given a little bit of her wonder and love to Scarlet, helping her see the world as Max did.

Scarlet wasn’t going to let another person lose that.

She pushed herself to keep going deeper into the dark. The crystals lighting the path with every step she made.

A comforting warmth like a summer sun pushed the icy cold from the forest away, hugging Scarlet gently, putting her fears to rest, and letting a hopeful feeling run through her veins.

The ground began to shake, and the crystals went black; the whispers of wishes and glimmer of hope gone. A low growl shook the pit of Scarlet’s stomach. She stepped back when the earth shook. A pair of red-orange cat-like eyes shone in the pitch-black.

They looked into Scarlet’s heart. They didn’t have the same comforting feeling as the crystals. They felt like a stone, cold and hard. The eyes narrowed as they studied Scarlet. The sense of burning shards stabbed into her chest.

Her mind began to tell her to run, that it was dangerous. The fear returned, and her legs begged to leave, but the sharp eyes kept her glued to the ground.

Her breathing picked up, leaving her to shake. She couldn’t hear anything but the beating of her panicked heart. Her throat clogged with screams that never made it past her lips.

The smell of burning fire filled the cave as smoke emerged from the darkness.

A taste of ash lingered on her tongue.

The eyes shifted higher. The crystals snapped back to life, allowing Scarlet to see the owner of the eyes.

Fur darker than the deepest parts of space sparkled like the jewels lining the walls cast their light, making it feel like Scarlet was gazing into space and seeing countless stars dance, laugh, and sing. Wings stretched out and beat; they sent a cool breeze through Scarlet’s hair, and she could hear the strength they held. The underside of the wings’ spikes, horns, and claws were a blend of a sunset. Her talons looked sharper than a sword as they dug into the ground, leaving a scar in the hard stone. Scarlet fell back, her voice trapped in her throat as she stared dumbfounded at the creature before her. Her mind raced with questions trying to find an explanation for what she was seeing.

Part of her was relieved she had found what she had been looking for, but the other haft couldn’t help but think that this was a dream. That when she had hit her head, she passed out.

Her mind raced, trying to find a reason for the thing in front of her. Dragons aren’t real. The stories about the giant fantasy creatures were nothing more than, well, fantasy.

Right?

But this couldn’t be a dream. Scarlet felt the heat from the dragon’s heart, hidden in her chest. Scarlet could feel the slight pinch in her palm as she tightened her hands into a tight grip, digging her nails into her skin. Scarlet could smell the strong scent of smoke that emerged from the dragon’s breath. She could still feel the pounding from when she hit her head outside the cave.

Everything felt too real to be a dream.

She knows how to tell if it was a dream. Before Scarlet met Maxseen, she studied and learned how to lucid dream. She liked the feeling of having control of her fears. Going her whole life, having things go south out of nowhere took its toll on her. So being able to go into a world where she could control her surroundings was something she craved.

Everything about the cave, the crystals, the dragon were too real to be a dream.

A roar raddled the floor, dragging Scarlet out of her thoughts. She looked up, meeting the dragon’s eyes, the cold feeling setting in her chest again. The creature lowered her head closer to Scarlet, giving her a better view of her eyes.

They held power and strength that left them feeling frozen and blocked off, unlike the warm fire the iris’ held. Just a bit farther into the eyes was strength and wisdom; They held more than a thousand years of living. The sparkes of knowledge showed how much the dragon had seen and learned over her long years. Showen all the good and evil she had witnessed through the ages. Battles after battles, the carefree laughter of little kids that explored the world shown as nothing but a bright candy land of wonder and the pain of loss.

Hidden in the deeps corners of her eyes, Scarlet could see the caring, kind, loving gaze of a mother, close to the same soft look that Scarlet’s mom had. In the mix of love, there was the sadness of someone who had lost so much. Her eyes looked exhausted from her long life.

The stern look on the surface shielded the raw emotions that the monster’s eyes carried. It acted as a wall, blocking out the world to keep her safe.

A similar wall Scarlet had.

She growled again, quieter than the others. It rumbled out of the dragon’s throat, giving the sign that she was waiting for Scarlet to speak. To tell her reasoning for being in the cave.

She had been quiet for too long. She had stared at the beast longer than she should have, and she could see the inpatient manner growing in the dragon’s body language.

Scarlet moved her weight from one foot to the other and forced herself to stand taller. Forced the fear in her mind to fall into the dark. She cleared her throat and willed it to be strong; she took a deep breath, “My name is Scarlet Heart; I’m trying to find the dragon that can grant my wish.”

The dragon narrowed her eyes. Her wings shifted against her back. “It’s been a while since someone has found this cave.”

Scarlet expected her voice to be clear and powerful, able to crack the ground if she’d so wished. But the dragon’s voice was soft and sweet, a honeysuckle sort of sound.

She moved to lay down. The sparkles in her fur stirred and shimmered with the movement. She crossed her front paws in a regal-type manner. “I thought humans stopped believing in wishes and creatures like me. I’m curious, how did you find my cave?”

“My mother.” Scarlet’s voice turned quiet. The years of living without her mother, Scarlet hadn’t honestly talked of the woman that raised her. She tended to keep withdrawn about her memories of her mom. “She’d tell me stories about you.”

The dragon tilted her head to the side like a curious puppy. “Your mother told you stories?”

Scarlet nodded, her nerves increasing. She spun a thin strand of hair around her finger needing something to do other than stand there. “You,” she paused when her voice quivered, “you are the dragon that can help me, right?”

“I can help give you your wish.” the dragon nodded in the reassurance that Scarlet had found what she had been seeking. “But for you get your wish, there will be a price.”

Scarlet felt her heart sink. “I didn’t bring anything to trade.” she held her hands out at her side, a gesture that she had come to the cave empty-handed. Her mother didn’t tell her the dragon would want something in return.

She should have known that. Asking for something from a creature the world viewed as myth and fantasy was bound to ask for something in return.

But what would a being as old as this dragon want? The dragon’s cave went deep into the earth, where the light didn’t travel, where she hid her jewels, golds, and silvers she had collected over her eternal life. Even if Scarlet had brought something, it would most likely be nothing but a scrap of junk to the shining beast. Nothing of good trade.

Had she wasted her time? Wasted the time she could have spent with Max? Risked her life in the dangerous forest for nothing?

“Oh no,” the dragon shook her head, the bright sunset colors of her horns and the sparkles in her fur shifting into a dance of magic from the single movement. “The payment isn’t for me. I don’t give any wishes. I help the magic that makes it come true. The crystals that line my cave hold power to give people what they desire most. They choose the price.

“I move that magic held in crystals out into the world where they’re able to give you what you want.

“If the crystals decide that your wish is worth giving, then they provide me the ability to help you. They’ll let me know what the price of your wish is.”

“So, what would it take for me to have my wish come true?” Scarlet pulled at the sleeve of her shirt.

“It depends on your wish.” She stretched out a paw and tapped one of the jewels lining the walls with a delicate touch. “I don’t know for sure what any of the prices will be. A wish someone asked for was for her to have a child. Her price; she’d live for a hundred years, longer than a human life span, before she could bear a child. Once the kid turned 16, she’d have to return to the forest and pass away alone.”

Scarlet listened silently to the dragon’s story as she viewed the crystal’s whispers of secrets.

“What would your wish be?” She turned to face Scarlet again and waited for her to speak with a look daring Scarlet to request her wish.

The attention made Scarlet feel small, making her pull tighter on her sleeve. She shut her eyes as she gathered her thoughts. “It’s my-,” she bit her lower lip out of fear. Would this be worth it? If that mother didn’t get the chance to watch her child fully mature, would the price for Scarlet’s wish be worth the risk?

She shook her head. What was she thinking? Max did everything she could for Scarlet, for anyone that entered the girl’s life. Max would make people smile. She’d sit with strangers if she saw they were having a bad day. Maxseen was the most caring person Scarlet knew. Whatever the price was, it would be worth it. It was worth it for Maxseen.

So she opened her eyes, a new spark of determination giving her the strength to look the dragon in the eye. “It’s my friend. She’s sick, has been for a long time. The doctors say she only has a few days left to live. I want to wish her better. I want,” she stopped to think over her words, “I need her to get better. To live a full, healthy life.”

The dragon shut her eyes, covering the glowing orange from the world, “You’re asking for a wish that changes someone’s fate, Scarlet.” She shifted down to her eye level. “Do you know how much that’s going to cost you?

“Changing the fate of someone is a big deal. What the crystals want in return for your wish; You’ll have to give away part of your human form. They’re asking you to become a dragon-spawn; haft human haft dragon. Meaning you’ll become part of the forest. You’ll never be allowed to leave this place. Never be allowed to see your friend again.”

Her shoulders sagged as the dragon’s information filled the cave’s walls. The whole point of this was so she wouldn’t lose Max. If she agreed to the terms of the wish, Scarlet would become stuck in the frightful forest.

Tears weld up in the corners of her light chocolate eyes. Her father’s words overflowing in her thoughts. “You’ll always be alone. You’ll never have anyone to love you.”

But the thought of Maxseen’s family finding her alive and well. The image of people’s worlds becoming brighter just from a small smile from Max, the same way Scarlet’s world becomes brighter when she was around her closest friend. The feeling that Max would fulfill all the goals she held close to her heart was enough for Scarlet to make up her mind.

Paying that cost is the least she can do for the girl that took her in when she was at her lowest. The least she could do for the girl that made it worth smiling, worth laughing, worth loving.

She owed this to Maxseen.

So Scarlet took a long breath, and held her fists at her side, and nodded. “Please, save Maxseen.”

The dragon sighed, “Ok, if that’s what you want.”

She blew a cloud of smoke around Scarlet. It turned and spun around her, shifting from a dark mist-gray to the cold-purple of the crystals. It drifted closer, bounding itself around Scarlet, shielding her vision and cutting her off from the world.

The smoke clung to her skin, making it itch. She sucked in a cry when a stinging pain rapidly spread within her body—the feeling of fire bit into her upper and lower back. A piercing headache caused her to fall in on herself.

She screamed out.

It was hard to tell how long the pain clasped to Scarlet. Her mind had gone blank, leaving her stuck in the repeating spiral of what felt like flesh burning away and regrowing a second later.

Her sight cleared when the pain eased a little, letting Scarlet find herself lying on the stone floor. She glanced up at the dragon, her orange-fire eyes watching her every move.

Scarlet wiped the fallen tears away from her cheeks; she winced when a minor burn brushed the skin her hand touched. She pulled her fingers away, finding them painted with dark, sticky blood. “What-” her voice cracked and shook.

She struggled to push herself up. Her limbs screamed that they were hurting and exhausted. Breathing in gently, she caught sight of her reflection in the crystals; pearl white horns sat atop her head. A long midnight blue scaled tail lay on her lower back. Her shoulders now covered with white scales and the freckles she used to have, replaced with the same white scale stones. Blood dripped down her head and back at the foot of the horns and tail. A scar, the shape of a pair of dragon wings, had burned into her back.

Instead of her iris’ light chocolate brown, they now were the same color as the glowing crystals. Her pupils became slits similar to a cat’s. Her eyes now a constant reminder of her wish and the price she had to pay for it.

The tail and horns warned that Scarlet couldn’t leave the Forbidden Forest and that she couldn’t see Max.

“Wait.” Scarlet’s voice was raw as she cried out. “What about Max? How do I know my wish came true?”

The dragon tilted her head to the crystals. The reflections in the purple shifted, showing the familiar off-white room Scarlet spent hours of her past months in; a woman with long dark brown hair sat in a chair staring quietly down at her warm, golden-toned hands.

A young boy, no older than 12, with golden blond hair, and jade-green eyes, stood next to the woman staring anywhere except the bed that held a fragile girl.

Max’s cheeks had grown rosy, giving her the color she was missing for so long, giving her more life, less like a ghost. She was no longer thin and frail.

The slow movement of her raising her hand to rub tiredly at her eyes grabbed the attention of the young boy and woman. Max cracked her eyes open, letting the world see the warm blues that had been missing for so long. Looking over at the two visitors, she smiled, “Mom, Jade?” Her voice was quiet and weak from the months of not being using.

The mother cried out in joy, dragging her daughter into a firm embrace. Afraid that if she let go of Max, she’d lose her.

Her brother stared at Max in disbelief. Tears began making their way down his pale cheeks.

Max, a look of confusion written on her face, gave her usual worried grin at the sight of her Family’s behaver as the little boy joined the hug. The family held each other, not daring to let go.

Something tugged at the back of Scarlet’s shirt, raising her off the ground. The dragon turned and moved deep into the shadows of her cave, taking Scarlet with her.

[ohsotwistedwords]

First Post & "Young Graves"

Greetings!

This is my first time having a tumblr account, and this is my first post. I am going to say here I’ll be running this with a friend, who would like to be called Bonnie. You may call me Snapdragon. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the story!

Young Graves

By Snapdragon

The wind is warm. The trees are a vibrant green, the kind of green that could rival an emerald in color. A girl wanders through the woods, her long blonde hair interrupted by a set of antlers. If one were to look closely, her arm’s sport fur with black and white stripes and her eyes are a kaleidoscope of red, black, and white. The bucket held in one of her hands swings with each step as she continues walking. The birds sing regardless.

Weaving around patches of thorn bushes, their branches green and their thorns as large as the nail of a pinky finger, the sound of a river crashing against stone can be heard. After a few more minutes of walking, the stony bank is visible. The water is crystal clear, but white where it crashes against the larger rocks jutting from the surface and oddly smooth where some large stones rest just below the surface.

On the bank lies a child- no more than eight years old. Their eyes are wide and glazed over, bulging from their head. Foam is at the corners of their mouth. The girl pauses. Children aren’t killed for no reason; this one at least looks to have fought back, with how disheveled and wrinkled their beige shirt is. The girl kneels next to the young boy, and her face pinches. She brushes back his brown hair to find two distinct nubs, which if he were to live, would have become a set of antlers not too dissimilar from her own.

Setting the bucket down, she uses her newly free hand to close the boy’s eyes. He was like her. That was why he died, she knows. Her own survival was merely luck, even with her mother refusing to kill her when she was younger. She’d learned when she heard the tale of Salonia and Fulvia, sisters afflicted with the same condition she was born into. Salonia was the more successful of the two, a bold and cunning merchant who always got the best prices and the rarest goods. She had a violent streak as well, befriending thieves and the most battle-hungry guards. Fulvia was lazy, and hoarded precious stones and metals. Because of her hoarding, her wealthy family had little to barter with. She almost single-handedly halted the economy of Ecrana. However, in the end, Salonia proved too violent to be left alive after killing her parents, and Fulvia so possessive and bitter she too had to be killed for not relinquishing a single item in her hoard, no matter how small.

There were countless other tales where people like them were villainous and nothing more, the girl thought as she began digging a hole with her bare hands next to the corpse of the child. Tales like those meant that people like her and the boy had to go. Had to let the other people live in peace, while they were branded anybrids and killed or exiled, in the best case scenario. But exiled though she was, as she dug she remembered her mother, with her blonde hair and proud smile when she greeted her after she’d caught a rabbit. The girl remembers her name, Aurelia, sounding sweeter than birdsong when her mother said it- the one person who had thought to stay with her.

After a few hours, there’s enough room for a shallow grave, and Aurelia drags the boy into the grave before pushing dirt over the tiny body. There’s a pause before she gets up. The birds sing the same songs, not caring about or maybe not noticing the tragedy of a life cut short. When Aurelia stands, she brushes the dirt from her legs and wipes her hands on the nearest tree, staining the bark with mud. Flecks of fragile pieces of bark and stubborn pieces of mud dot her hands, so she lets her shoulders fall as she walks over and dips her hands in the creek. The water feels heavy on her hands, sharp in its coldness and ever so slimy as it runs over her hands like a large smooth tongue.

She wipes her hands on her plain shirt, careful to avoid the patches of dried animal fur she’d used to repair holes that were torn into it. The air leeches the heat from her skin where she’d touched the water. She picks up her bucket and dips it into the water before heading back the way she came. That night, in her makeshift bed, a pile of animal furs, she wishes she could say “goodnight” to her mother one last time. That she could look her in the eyes, and thank her for sparing her life before she’d realized the value such a thing had. The crickets sing, just as unaware as the birds.