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windrocklibrary · 7 years ago

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=== [ MAGNOLIA ANTHOLOGY ] ===

=== [ “Side Jobs” ] ===

=== Tessie ===

I’m not sure how to explain what I do for a living. It’s difficult because I don’t have a right word for it. If I were to say that I constantly change my job, doing one thing to another in the next day or hour without committing to only one, you would probably call me a drifter—but I’m not. If I then continue that my payments are decent to exceptional, you would probably think that I’m some sort of mercenary, but I have standards that I live by.

Perhaps the best word would be that I’m a freelance—a jack of all trades—though I like the first one more; it sounds kind of professional, without the expense of making me look intimidating. The point is, I don’t have a single career, but rather I handle many tasks and requests from people.

Like a side-job, if you get what I mean.

As of the moment, I am hanging by a building with only a single rappelling rope to keep me alive and suspended. The feeling of my weight suddenly pushing me downwards caught me by surprise as I stare back into reality in the shape of a large sign right in front of me that I assign myself to fix. A fine Choirtech piece of work it was; it had long glass tubings that snaked throughout the board with intricate and hectic wirings and other gadgetries beneath it that connects all tubings together with itself and a single Choristone, the power source. In case it wasn’t clear, this is my current side-job that I am working on.

I feel like I’ve called a lot of things as a side-job that it might as well lose its actual meaning. The one I got here was from two days ago—a Thursday—after finishing watching over some Mumesian floras owned by an old lady and then going over my schedule, I came across an old man. We were both in some sort of Midlight stores that sell Choirtech wares, I believe.

He looked puzzled, like a kid in a store except the store sells crap that made no sense to him; so absolutely lost that I couldn’t help but approach him and offered him help out of pity; turns out he was actually lost—clueless, more specifically. He told me he needed some help in a place he’s running, a restaurant, that his well-aged Choirtech sign was busted. Said that the light was fading away and having no idea on how to repair it himself.

So, of course, I helped him.

The man, a Tamarixan, came here to start his own business: cooking his home delicacy for a decent price, according to the menu I saw by the door—at least, in my standards—I mean, I’ve seen more ridiculous price tags elsewhere before. The place wasn’t too bad for Midlight standards too: well-lit, clean, rather posh—a lot of green furniture were used too—though it complimented the porcelain-white floors, walls, and ceilings. I believe the place was attempting to recreate some sort of luxurious Tamarix aesthetic, like a royalty or something—not sure honestly, I don’t know much about royalty in Tamarix and its culture.

The waft of stews and spices glides out from the restaurant’s main entrance and window, all blending with the plucky odour of sewers, smokes, and people out and about. Not exactly the greatest smell, especially when I’m hanging two-storeys above a building—it almost made me feel like vomiting—wouldn’t want that to happen, of course, that would be very unprofessional of me.

“How’re things going?” A voice comes out from below, when I look down I see a man staring at me—it’s the owner of the place. He had a dark skin—like blackened wood—a sharp point as the chin, coated with a thick and bushy moustache that resembles the whiskers of a Northern Nivalen Daggered Seals and a long-patched goatee—painted in silver with streaks of crimson. He’s wearing what I think is a long white garb with a dark-brown apron—probably a traditional Tamarix apparel—it goes so far it conceals his footwear.

“Hello there Mr. Ariq” I cry back from above, letting myself lean back in midair to make myself a little comfortable, “I’ll have you know that things are going just fine, how are you?”

“Absolutely good Miss Tessie. Is… Everything okay? I apologize if I asked too many times but I’m a little worried that—”

“Don’t worry about me Mr. Ariq, I’ve been doing stuffs like these ever since I was just a kid.” I assure him, going back to work on the sign, “It’s not too bad as well, by the way—the sign I mean. Besides, I’m almost halfway done with this whole thing and soon it should be back in no time!”

“I am glad to hear that.” Mr. Ariq comments, “Is there perhaps anything that I can do to help you up there?” He adds. “No Sir, I’ll be just fine right here!” I smile, giving out a thumbs up. “Very well, I understand, but if there is anything you need feel free to find me inside.” He waves to me before going back inside the restaurant.

“Halfway done”, in the language of craftsmen and tinkerers, is a common phrase used vague enough to appease their customers; in this instance—more specifically—I currently have somewhere around five things or four if I were to ignore the plan of finding a new replacement for the Choirstone’s container because I assumed it’s still in a good condition.

The big things that I look for when I started were the wirings and the casings. Luckily, it seems that there aren’t any faulty wirings—nothing burnt nor cut-off—so that’s nice. The casing, however, had its fair share of experience; there were clear signs of age, things like cracks and rusts were rather prevalent around it. Patching all of that shouldn’t be much of a problem as long as I have time and materials to spend—which I have just about right.

There are, of course, many other things to pay attention to when fixing something—especially when dealing with a Choirtech; things like the isolizers, transporters, Choirstone’s integrity, to name a few. They’re a bit tricky to deal with those Choirtechs, but admittedly they have a good reason to be so popular nowadays—with it being so energy conserving and so unique that it might as well be magic.

It reminds me of stories about how different it was back before the discovery of Choirstones, it was a curious time, one that I would like to know a little bit more of. My dad often tells me how much of a big deal he was back then, said that his workshop could get crowded in a matter of seconds; prides himself as one of the top of the line in terms of fixing and crafting (at least, that’s what he told me). When Choirtechs became a thing, he had to learn and start all over again, because at that point almost everyone has some sort of Choirtech with them and when it’s broken they don’t take it to some normal mechanic, it had to be a special one—a Choirtech specialist—as they say.

But he didn’t mind—told me that it’s all part of the experience—he was eager to try understand what made the new things big and how they work. Because that’s the cycle of being a craftsman. In addition to that, what made my dad love his hobby-now-a-job, is knowing that what he does could help out others, making them smile and be happy, even if it means pulling out a little more effort to it. That’s what he taught me.

He’s a fine man. But I believe that’s enough about him for now—I have my own work to do right in front of me and I wouldn’t want to waste too much time. In order for me to get things done quickly, I picture myself a collection of all the bits and pieces that’d normally be found and are necessary in a Choirtech machinery. With everything gathered nicely in my head, I gaze at the sign like a painted canvas intently—like a critic staring at some oblique art—analyzing its full form before narrowing down from one large piece to a smaller one. Because what makes the big world, is the little people that inhabited it.

That’s also what my dad taught me. And indeed, I am making use of everything he taught me.

Well, most of it.

Going from one piece to another, slowly swinging from one end of the sign into the other and back, I was able to juggle my task well enough into a manageable scale. What would probably feel like a voided experience suddenly became an encapsulating moment, an experience where I can’t lose track of both time and space; like my whole body is moving on its own as it throws out my consciousness, knowing exactly what to do and how to do it. Not sure if that’s a developed second nature from all my long-term exposure to tinkering or I’m just into it. Like a hook, it reels me in, a feeling so therapeutic and so one-of-a-kind, something you just can’t get from anywhere else; a package that goes through your senses with a good kick to it. The kind of kick where—

Wait a minute. I’m done?

Huh. That was fast.

The abrupt realization showed myself holding a transporter box on my left and a thermic-pen on the other. I gave the transporter box a final inspection, a one last looksie for any little bits I missed inside before I plug it back into its original spot—making a soft and extremely satisfying ker-clunk sound. Now that everything is in place; I push myself backwards from the sign, slowly and gradually lowering myself towards the ground—both of my feet felt weird there—like it missed the feeling of standing up straight.

Into the restaurant, I look to the right of the entrance for a number of switches planted by a wall, between the window and the entrance. Finding the switch for the sign, I flick it up to activate it; the next thing that I hear is a steady buzz slowly evolving into a series of humming tones that assemble an abstract melody. Heading outside, the tune grew louder and it came from the sign itself—the Choirstone, more specifically.

The slim glass section of the Choirstone’s container sheds out a sharp violet glow, and at its bottom, a hazy flow of the stone’s energy wraps around the connector like millions of thin tendrils. It grew longer and longer with some tiny traces dispersing out, but soon it reaches the maze of wire’s starting line and trailblaze it, scattering from one point and now all over the sign itself; next thing you know, the entire glass pipelines light up. Shining the building and the entrance with soft but spectacular lights, with writings that spells out the restaurant’s name: “Yetthro’s House”.

“Is it working? Is it done?” A familiar voice appears again, I look back to see Mr. Ariq quickly waddling towards me with wide and interested eyes. I guess he noticed me staring and admiring the sign.

“It sure is.” I smile, “I’m guessing this is what your sign is supposed to be doing right?”

Mr. Ariq walks out and looks upward, his whole face suddenly completely showered under the light. It’s almost blinding—but I catch a glimpse of his smile—relieved and satisfied with what he sees. A signal for a job well done.

“It looks perfect—” Exclaims Mr. Ariq, “Just like the way I remembered. Thank you very much, Miss Tessie”.

“Anytime Mr. Ariq.” I dust off my suit and vest before continue my comment, “The entire thing was actually fairly manageable, and the problems that I found weren’t anything ridiculous; just deteriorations—which is expected with any machines throughout time—especially through excessive or poor use. I suggest you try to take a little more care for it. Something like… Don’t leave it on for the whole day, or turn it off or on at certain times. As a little advice, of course”.

“Oh, one more thing, just as a heads up from me—” I snap my fingers as I remember something. I let out the inner salesman inside me, going through one of my pockets for a small card that shows my workshop’s address and cable-phone number—to promote my little business! “If you ever need any help—not just to fix things, I mean anything— feel free to give me a call,” I give him my little business card, “I am more than willing to lend out a helping hand”.

“I appreciate your kindness, Miss Tessie.” Mr. Ariq takes the card as he greets me. “This reminds me, I must pay you for your works. Please wait inside for a moment… How much do I owe you again?”

“As promised originally: 500 Prosperas—an extra hundred ‘cus I had to replace one of the isolizers”.

The two of us walk inside into the restaurant again, with Mr. Ariq ahead and in front of me, he shuffles off quickly into a door by the end of the room—presumably leads into the kitchen, or the staffroom, or his office, whichever it is—while I patiently wait standing in the midst of the slightly crowded restaurant, all filled waiters serving and getting orders and customers eating and asking their orders.

I make myself busy by browsing through the restaurant itself; an activity where I essentially have my eyes go from one object of interest into another and analyze it for reasons unknown except to occupy time—kind of like what I did back then when I was working on the sign—except now I do it on purpose and not subconsciously spaced-out out of nowhere. I’ll admit, it is a slow burner, feels like time is actually crawling and putting weights around my joints the moment I start; but after unnecessarily analyzing at three things, it’s all smooth sailing from there on out.

I just notice that a lot of the furniture—particularly the green tablecloths that are everywhere—have golden embroideries by the edges. It had a sleek geometrical design to it that turns into angular diamonds as an occurring pattern. Neat.

I count fifteen people—both customers and staffs—have some part of their bodies augmented. Auggies, they’re sometimes called, pretty common in Sorrel.

I spot a woman, in her prime years with short and blonde hair, has a booger hanging by the edge of her nose and she doesn’t notice it. That’s funny.

I see an old man coming towards me, holding an envelope on one hand and a paper bag on the other—both of which appears like it’s filled with something—and it looks like he’s approaching closer and closer to be right in front of—

Oh wait, that’s Mr. Ariq.

He hands both of the items to me, “Your payment.” he says as he bows down in gratitude. I—being slightly puzzled by the old man’s need to bow—reactively bow back to him as well. I count the money inside the envelope once I took it, after counting the expected amount I tuck it deep under the back of my belt to be concealed by my suit—kinda like shoving a contraband up your rear, but I’m not because that’s gross and this is my paycheck for goodness sake.

“Thank you but… What’s that?” I ask curiously, pointing at the bag.

“A gift.” Mr. Ariq answers, “For your consideration”.

I grab the paper bag with both of my hands, with curiosity and interest finally taking over me, I decide to roll it open to see what exactly is inside. To my surprise, a puff of warm and sweet scent suddenly flies out of the bag, looking closely into it I discover something fantastic: a trove of buns—barely even the size of a hand—all neatly packed in an orderly fashion. After a smelling a gust of strange spices that I probably don’t know; I notice that the buns have a golden-brown colour, and each has this rough gravelly texture as the surface for the bread, giving the bun a cartoonish appearance of a round brown rock. I couldn’t help but be in awe and also confused as to what this is.

“These are…”

“Sandbreads!” That’s a silly name. I like that. “A common snack back in my country. These are made with my family’s recipe!”

“How nice!” I compliment him, “And you want me… To have it?”

Mr. Ariq nods.

My head backs up and tilts just hearing that, “Oh wow…” I begin, eyes widening now, “that’s very kind of you but… You sure about this? I mean I’m just doing my job and it’s no big deal and—”

“Oh but please do!” He interrupts me, “I have paid you for your services, I should at least pay you someway for your generosity.” He explains, his arms gradually reach into the bag and gently push it farther to me; he clearly insists for me to have it, ”Had you not come to me back then, it might take longer just for me to fix that sign!”

He’s actually right, now that I think about it. I did approach Mr. Ariq back then in that random store in some random place on a random afternoon Thursday; it wasn’t just me who approached him, it was my spontaneous burst of generosity that led me all the way here.

One of my conscience, the Humble One, reminds me that I shouldn’t take too much—especially since my work isn’t all too special. But another conscience—the Logical One—has some good arguments to the table. It’s not a matter of me wanting it, but a matter of me deserving it.

The third conscience though. The Hungry One. Bursts in with its own opinion, telling me that the sandbreads look delicious and I should take the helm and give it a try.

So I did.

Embracing the crumply paper bag goodness filled with even more baked bread goodness, I can feel the heat of the sandbreads barely piercing out the bag—it was clearly fresh out of the oven. A smile grows on Mr. Ariq’s face—equally as warm as the buns I’m holding—and I couldn’t help but do the same.

“Well. Guess I’ll be taking it then. Thank you, Mr. Ariq.” I thank him, shaking his hand before heading out as quickly as possible, remembering that I have something else to do in mind.

“Thank you as well, Miss Tessie!”

Bustling out from the exit, I try to check for the time, the only problem being that there isn’t anything for me to tell. I could try looking at the sky—which I did—but I only find a drab and foggy atmosphere stained of squeamish green; with pale yellow lights beaming down into the urban jungle, blending together with the buildings and other artificially made colour palettes across Midlight, as the only sunlights Sorrel could ever get.

Counting the numbers of the sunlight beams and judging the properties of the light. I make an unintelligent guess that it might be nearing 3 past afternoon. It looks like I have enough time. Hopefully.

I creep towards the nearest alley that I can find, the one I chose seems to lead me to a shadowy and littered pathway with an upward stairway at the end. Stairs are key to finding your way through the mess of a place that is Sorrel, because they either take you to a major walkway or in this case, another inconspicuous alleyway.

Stopping in the middle of the stairway, I look around to see if there’s anyone around me, just to ensure that I won’t be causing too much scene. I kneel down to reach for my duffel bag, the place where I keep most—if not—all of my tools for work. I dig down through all of the gadgets that I kept inside it, making clamoured and jumbled noises of clinks and clangs with a pling-plongs and a plinkity—it’s rather annoying admittedly, but I have nothing else for me to use. As I go deeper and deeper, I finally find it:

An empty gun, and a collection of loaded magazines.

I reach for the gun and give it some quick care and inspection to make sure that it’s still in good condition. I wonder to myself just how much will I need the gun later; for now, I choose myself a number of five—five magazines—and pull four out from the bag and evenly put them in both of my sides and one into the gun, cocking it before I give one last look at the gun.

I stand up and have some half-a-minute worth of stretching after I close the bag. The gun’s place into a holster at the side of my belt, conveniently hidden by the suit I’m wearing. With everything in place, it’s time for me to head straight for my next job.

It’s more of a side-job, but I’m sure you get what I mean.

#Magnolia Anthology #Side Jobs #story #short story #creative writing #writing #text

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windrocklibrary · 7 years ago

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=== TESSIE “TESS” KESADORA ===

“The word freelancer just fits the bill well you know? Not too unprofessional. Not too scary.”

~ Tess

Stories within Zaun tells a tale of a mysterious character – known widely as an ingenious gunslinger. This odd figure moves throughout the many resplendent districts and inky underbellies with vague goal and movement, garnering the attention of many names. While she may be called as a lot of things; beneath her widely known accomplishments that masked her is an unexpectedly kind-hearted quality that could never fit the portrait of a lethal gunman. Her name is Tessie Kesadora. But you can always call her Tess.

I. A DIFFERENT VISION.

Before her skills with a gun was known let alone developed, she came from a family with an unfortunate background. Born and raised in the undercity of Zaun is already terrible enough, Tess’s parents were also unable to support the family adequately forcing them to give up on Tess to be raised by someone more capable than them – her uncle, Jom Kesadora. While Jom was at first, not eager in the decisions of his relatives, he soon realized that with all options at hand, he was the only best one that Tess could have from her parents.

In her introductory years of living with Jom, Tess grew up learning more about her uncle – an excellent craftsman who is not only exceptionally talented but also admirably jubilant; during her hours of chores where she lends a helping hand for Jom, she saw her uncle working with intricate movements that built even more intricate devices, all of which built with both remarkable form and impressive functionality. What Tess witnessed was beauty taking shape, wonderful and purposeful contraptions that are bought and used by the customers of Jom’s workshop; this impression was also similar when she explored Zaun, a gathering of people from many cultures, a dynamic city that seethes with personality and potential. Tess saw wonders and excitement, but Jom saw something else when he looked at his niece: his past regrets.

Underneath Jom’s layer of a joyful craftsman are mistakes and experiences that he wished he had never done in the first place, unknown to everyone and Tess, Jom caught himself in the web of Zaun’s underground activity – trapped in a debt that he owed to too many gangs. He was forced to secretly work under many criminals, providing them with his more lethal creations or simply funding and paying back the money he owed. These questionable and dangerous events only steeled Jom, forcing himself to prepare and train for the worst outcome; it was this part of him that haunts Jom when he sees Tess. He remembered how enthralled he was—just like her—when he takes his first big step into Zaun, only to be greeted by the city’s well-known underbelly; at first, he saw wonders of many possibilities—just like her—but it all now turns into a vision of blighted criminals, lawless society, and a careless “anything goes” attitude.

II. A GUN IN HER HAND.

This surging reminder gave Jom a new drive, a hope that he wanted to see for Tess; while he believes that it’s too late to redeem himself – the time and opportunity to help Tess was more than plenty, and he’s willing to take it as quickly as possible. Initially, Jom introduced Tess on his ways as a craftsman, to which she eagerly and willingly agreed to learn. Throughout the days Tess was able to create a steady progress and understanding the ways of her uncle’s craftsmanship, she was slowly able to properly create simple devices and even replicating Jom’s collection. It was an organic growth that the two of them carefully nurtured together – and when Tess was finally adept in developing her own works; Jom knew that the time was ripe – to teach her in skills that slowly deviated from their more usual studies. What used to be a study in fixing and building techs suddenly became a practice in creating a plethora of arsenals.

Then came a gun.

All of these new practices of inventing potentially harmful gadgetries to suddenly learning how to use a pistol was enough for Tess to notice the changes that her uncle implemented. The lessons were clearly alien and obviously surprising, she had never known this side of her uncle, a cheerful and kind person, to have these kinds of skills let alone eagerness to teach it to her. The many times Tess asked for a reason her uncle would always explain it as a way for her to “defend herself from danger”, but when she soon grew tired and fed up with the same answer, Jom could only follow suit by telling the truth.

Jom explained everything that must be known to Tess, starting from his past beginnings to his many regretted deeds, Jom showed her his own different perspective on Zaun. He told her that life in Zaun—or rather—Life in general, is never beautiful nor wretched; it stays in a gray area that constantly changes from one place to another. The point of this entire lesson was for Jom to teach and prepare Tess for the coming future, but he has no intention in using her for his own interest, in fact, Jom implored to her that she should never carry his responsibilities and sins – all that he wants from Tess is the skills to take care of herself and the wisdom to understand for herself.

At first, she couldn’t really understand it – as she grew older, Tess began to spend most of her time working under Jom’s workshop as his full-fledged assistant, outside in her personal time she continued to explore Zaun like she always had, though this time something changed within her. Where she would normally have a sense of curiosity in her younger days, she now became more cautious – perhaps this was because of what her uncle taught her – she wasn’t sure. The labyrinth streets where she used to play and run along with other children she came across back then soon felt foggy and lifeless. The crowded Bordering Markets that she would usually see bursts of colours soon felt claustrophobic and crooked. Things that she previously either took for granted or childishly interacted with soon felt weighty and often inauspicious – and all that she could think are Jom’s words.

Has it always been pretty? Has it always been ugly?

III. A SMILE ON HIS FACE.

In a later time within the household of Tess and Jom, a terrible news soon came without notice. One of the possible worst outcomes, Jom’s greatest fear inevitably caught up to him. A letter from one of his creditors, the Helgar Gang, was sent as a final reminder, stating that they had enough of waiting for their payments and decided to have one last meeting for Jom to make it all up. Expecting the worst, Jom fell into a spiral of his previous self, creating and tangling more webs as he desperately seeks for help from others, promising them a payment as a return, be it money or weapons.

Tess had witnessed a completely different side of Jom, a part that she heard of in his stories. A part that she knew how much Jom despised, finally coming back to haunt him once more. It was unpleasant seeing her uncle be in such a frantic and hopeless state; while he does find success, it was only a few close acquaintances who agreed in helping him as a backup. Uncomfortable with the situation at hand Tess mustered herself to him, volunteering to help against the possible attack; it was a request too much for Jom, but with Tess’s sincere persistence and the situation at hand – he gave a despondent agreement.

In the anticipated day – dead of the night – Jom gazed at the Helgar Gang slowly closing into his workshop while Tess, and others who agreed on helping, hid quietly waiting for Jom’s signal. As the gang leader approached and greeted Jom, the two delved into a talk, discussing on the situation at hand. The conversation started slowly, with Jom carefully persuading and the gang leader swatting down every offer. It only grew into an argument between the two, one moment more heated than before. And then, it happened all too sudden.

She heard a gunshot.

She was too shocked to react, Tess suddenly saw an Augmented beside her jumped out of the cover and returned fire, and soon everyone followed one after another. Tess grabbed tightly to her gun and joined in the fray, taking aim at the first clear enemy she saw and fired at. She remembered seeing both her uncle and the gang leader backed off from each other as if in pain.

Two seconds later, the workshop became a battlefield.

She smelled burning gunpowder with a dash of blood and cauterized flesh.

She heard screams and dissonant percussions.

She saw lights flooding the walls and ceilings.

She felt blank. Slow. Quiet. Suddenly moving on nothing.

The last thing that spurred her back into the moment was a glimpse of her uncle, bloodied and wounded, fighting back against the invading thugs with a gun on his hand as he clenched against everything that was sent against him. What Tess saw pushed her back with determination, a reminder of why she was here in the first place. She recalled the things that Jom taught to her and why: so that she can have the skills to take care of herself, to take care of the things she loved—her uncle—so she tried again.

When the fight pulls into a close, the defense against the Helgar Gang’s assault was a successful one. She finds herself snapped back into the midst of the aftermath; the workshop fell into near disrepair, filled with both the wounded and killed. While the backups tried to settle the situation at hand, Tess quickly searched for her uncle, hoping that whatever she had seen before was just a figment of a dream. What she found, however, was Jom grievously injured, lying down, shivering and breathy, slowly struggling to lean himself by a wall. It was the ugliest thing.

The sight of her uncle compelled Tess to head quickly towards him. Her heart slowly collapsed as she moved closer to Jom, his messy condition becoming unbearable for her to look at. But she saw something on Jom, she heard something – when Jom was able to clearly see Tess kneeling close to him, his breathing became laughter, gritted teeth turned into a smile. He was glad to see that she was alright. It didn’t make sense to Tess, why was her uncle—at his worst condition—pretended to have a happy look for her? Jom said that he wasn’t pretending, and answered, “next to you, a smile is the last thing I have in this world”. Tears streamed down Tess’s face, emotions overwhelmed her. It was the prettiest thing.

IV. A FUTURE.

After the incident befell, the workshop was slowly rebuilt and Jom was able to recover; however, it did bring repercussions. Worried that the ghost of Jom’s past would come back for him, he asked Tess for a final favour – a request for her to leave and avoid him as far and long as possible until he has settled all of his matters alone. It was a heavy request for Tess, but she understands and accepted to his request nonetheless – Jom never wanted for his relatives (let alone his niece) to be a part of a problem that he forged on his own faults.

Now standing all alone underneath the city of Zaun, Tess recalled the days and years she stayed with Jom, the lessons that were taught to her. It was an irregular feeling at first being alone and all, but the memories helped her cope – remembering that one smile her uncle made – it gave her a new drive, a new look at the future and Zaun itself. With skills—whether lethal or not—to take care of herself and the wisdom to think for herself, she sets out her own path hoping with a goal to take care of the people and their city; so that they can smile once more.

On the surface, she worked as a capable and independent craftsman. In her free times, she refined her strengths and talents. Spends time to play with the children. Thwart thugs and local gangs. Nurse the elders and even help out with menial tasks for others. She was called by a lot of things, sometimes good and not-so. But you can always call her Tess.

#TESSIE TESS KESADORA #story #short story #writing #creative writing #text

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windrocklibrary · 7 years ago

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Galemont Talks About: Things That I Recall From E3 Conference (now that they’re over)

These are a collection of things that I mainly remembered the most in regards of the 2018 E3 Conference and my thoughts on it. They’re all a combination of things that I both like and not really like. Either way, all of these are my own opinions and spins on it.

Disclaimer Note #1: Yes, I like video games. No, I don’t/can’t play them or rather to an extent that I can play MAJORITY or ALL of them. Why? Because I’m poor -- so I might as well revel around other people’s emotions and mine (makes me sound like a vampire or something).

Disclaimer Note #2: I won’t include the sideshows or extras (e.g. Nintendo Treehouse). I am going to state things based on the things that are presented at the conferences.

ELECTRONIC ARTS (EA)

Frankly not the most memorable for me. They mentioned not much from EA other than sports games like Fifa, NFL, and NBA (ones I remembered at least), Battlefield V, Command & Conquer Rivals, and Anthem to name a few.

I kind of like how the folks at EA are somewhat self-aware on what they’re doing when talking about Battlefield V, stating that they want to depict their own image of WWII; though that’ll probably start a conversation for some folks I can imagine. It’s a bit of a downer for me considering that people are applauding at the information that there won’t be any lootboxes. Whether or not this will be true is beyond me.

Anthem looks interesting, to say the least. Though it’s such a shame that they didn’t mention, let alone, showed much. So with that being said I can’t say anything and even be very excited about it. We’ll see how it’ll go.

MICROSOFT STUDIOS

Lot’s of games. They showed off first party games like Halo: Infinite, Gears 5, and Forza Horizon 4. Ori and the Will of the Wisp was pretty neat and made me somewhat interested in trying out the Ori series.

The reveal of Devil May Cry 5 and Jump Force was very wild! The rumors that I often hear regarding DMC5 since last years Game Awards were very enticing, it was very cool to see it actually be true on E3.

Seeing Jump Force was surreal, especially when you’re watching Naruto, Goku, Luffy, and Frieza beating up each other in a hyper-realistic depiction of New York City’s Time Square; the shot of Ryuk and Light from Death Note is pretty wild too--would love to see what other Shounen Jump characters to be revealed there.

The trailer for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice looks very slick, kind of expecting it to be shown here especially after the teaser during the Game Awards.

The Amazing Adventures of Captain Spirit looks charming; a story that sets in the same universe of Life is Strange makes it interesting in my book. The game’s also free.

I’m super glad that Studio MDHR is making an expansion for Cuphead! It has always been a dream of mine to for Cuphead to have an expansion of some sort and I’m actually really excited that it’s real! They even made Ms. Chalice a playable character so that’s cool!

The game Cyberpunk 2077 was almost thought to be a myth until now. It’s essentially one of those games where you heard it and you’ll never know when the game will actually be released or revealed again; so seeing it back up again is pretty cool especially with their own flares for an introduction. Hopefully, it won’t go off into dark again.

BETHESDA

What’s the deal with that big dude during the Rage 2 presentation? He was like silent for a straight 15 seconds or something, some said that maybe his prompter bugged out? Who knows. Most of the presentations there were a little awkward, though it’s probably because most of them aren’t exactly used to standing in front of a big crowd or something.

Speaking of awkward, the Andrew W.K. live performance was whacked. He didn’t sound good there if I have to be honest, I don’t think most of the audience were jazzed about it too.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood was interesting, DOOM: Eternal caught me by surprise. Most of the other games shown there were interesting but didn’t really move me a lot.

Frankly speaking though despite the often awkwardness, there were some funny moments as well. Todd Howard’s presentation was a fun one to me; he was very self-aware of the jokes that went all over about him. I’m glad that Fallout 76 was expanded more in this conference because it was showed on Microsoft’s; it’s going to be an online multiplayer experience but apparently, it’s pretty divisive among folks, I personally think it’s neat--the nukes, however, is probably going to be a little sketchy in my opinion.

They also announced Elder Scrolls VI. Well, I say announced, it’s basically a tease; then it’s over.

DEVOLVER DIGITAL

Same thing they did last year: a satirical shitshow that makes fun of the conferences. It’s pretty fun, but admittedly I kind of got bored with it and I just want to see games more than them losing their minds. I say that because most of the jokes they do are basically beating on the same old topics that have been talked by folks for so long. Their conference is basically a self-contained story-arc, this one being the continuation of the previous one and I’m sure they’ll probably continue it next year.

They did show some games. 3 I believe. A battle royale shooter (I think?) called SCUM, a frenetic and comical platform shooter called My Friend Pedro (the one I’m most interested), and something called Meta Wolf Chaos XD which is a remaster of the cult favorite FromSoftware game of the same name. I’ll probably need to look it up on that more, looks fun.

SQUARE ENIX

Not really intrigued with it to be perfectly honest. Some of the things that they showed there have already been shown during the Microsoft conference (Kingdom Hearts 3, Just Cause 4, and Shadow of The Tomb Raider). While they did somewhat expand on it a bit, it kind of lost the impact that I think it could’ve had.

They announced an expansion of sort for Final Fantasy XIV Online along with a crossover with Monster Hunter World, showed Dragon Quest XI, and a new title called Babylon’s Fall by Platinum Games that is basically a teaser. Speaking of teasers, they also teased another new title called The Quiet Man; which admittedly has the strangest trailer.

Somewhat disappointed that they didn’t show anything about Final Fantasy VII Remake. It’s been so long since they announced it and showed a gameplay footage of it. Hopefully, they’re doing alright because the longer it goes on like this, it might become stale.

UBISOFT

The things that they showed there feels rather unsurprising because I kind of expected the things that they would do at the conference.

Kind of happy that they showed their new Just Dance game as their first thing, that way they cut the fluff and make the rest of the show focus on larger titles. There’s also a dude who tripped himself into a television.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 showed a new cinematic trailer, featuring Jade--but evil or something. The presenters said they want to show a gameplay footage but they showed very little. Joseph Gordon Levitt popped in and talked about putting people’s creative work into Beyond Good and Evil 2 (at least, that’s what I recalled)--didn’t really go into details on the incentives though.

For Honor got a new update featuring Chinese warriors into the mix, and they’re making the game available for free to grab for a limited time until June-18-2018.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 was showed again but explained a little more there, it looked interesting despite feeling like another generic rpg shooter. It looked interesting, they mention how they’ll do season updates throughout the year for free and I thought that’s cool. I do hope they’ll do well on this one.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas was showed a bit more again there and good golly they made a surprise with Star Fox crashing the scene, especially making Fox McCloud being playable with his Arwing. Pretty slick. Yves Guillemot even made a surprise by giving Shigeru Miyamoto a gift and I thought that was adorable.

The DLC for Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle that features Donkey Kong was shown there, looks neat but didn’t show much, it was explained in further details during the Nintendo Treehouse though.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey was announced there and it’s surprising to me considering that Origins was out since last year. It looks pretty I’ll say that much. You can also play between two characters in the game: Alexios and Kassandra. It also looks like they’re making the game very action rpg-esque, kind of like Origins.

PC GAMING SHOW

This flipping conference went on for WAY too long. 2 hours for crying out loud! I also fell asleep halfway through or something because many of the things they showed there weren’t fascinating to me.

Satisfactory won the award for the punniest game title.

Lot’s of SEGA games are coming to PC, ones that caught my attention being Shenmue I & II and Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 0.

Untitled Publisher, a publisher that’s new to me announced 3 new indie games--2 of which I found the most interesting: Bravery Network Online and Overwhelm.

The game Maneater is basically a game about you being a shark and I have an iffy feeling it’ll shed a bad light on sharks for the public (I hope not).

Took so long for them to show Ooblets, a game that I’m very excited for, showed a new trailer though it showed some things. Wished there was more though.

SONY

The conference kicks out with The Last of Us: Part 2. Ellie is pissed as hell and I have no idea why and I’m scared. She also kissed a girl so that’s something. It kind of caught me off guard because I didn’t follow the previous game and its DLCs, so the whole information of Ellie being a lesbian is pretty new.

Resident Evil 2 Remake is revealed and it looks slick. The fact that Capcom released and announced games lately that actually looked cool as heck is wild. Hope it goes well for them in this one as well as DMC5!

This year’s E3 Conference showed off not one, but THREE samurai games; two of which were shown off in Sony’s conference: Ghost of Tsushima and Nioh 2. Not complaining, they all look slick.

Kingdom Hearts 3 also appeared in this year’s E3 Conference not once, but THREE times as well at different conferences. I should’ve mentioned before that every trailer did show something different, with the one in Sony having the most difference. It looks like Kingdom Hearts 3 is going to have Ratatouille and Pirates of the Carribean joining in.

I remember wanting to see more of Death Stranding and know what the heck the game’s about, and they showed some gameplay footage during the presentation. Still have no clue what it’s going to be about though.

There’s a weird looking game called Control, something to do about a girl with a gun who has telekinesis. Looks minimalistic and clean; it might be good too.

Spiderman features a handful of villains beating up on Spidey in the end. It’s a gameplay footage and oddly I don’t feel that intrigued by the trailer for some reason.

NINTENDO

Surprisingly not a lot of big games were announced on Nintendo Direct. I’ll say it here and now that the majority of the Nintendo Direct is mainly for the new Super Smash Bros. Aptly named as Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Needless to say, a lot of people were happy and so was I; though I’m surprised and mildly sad they didn’t show anything about Metroid Prime 4.

The first thing they showed was a mech game called Daemon X Machina. I first thought it was Armored Core, but the surprising part is I somewhat half-correct. The game was actually made by the same people who made Armored Core! Pretty funny to me considering that the design of the mechs in Daemon X Machina and Armored Core looked very similar. The trailer was wicked sick too so I’m sold.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 got a new DLC called Torna: The Golden Country that is available this September, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses is also announced to come out next year. So I’m sure the fans of those series would be very excited.

Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee got a small spotlight there, but it’s mostly on the accessory Pokeball Plus. Turns out, every Pokeball Plus comes with a Mew for free inside; which to me is basically a way to make people want to buy the accessory then (that’s marketing ploy right there). This is interesting to me because it reminds me of the message in the last Let’s Go trailer that mentioned: “you’ll meet a special Pokemon”. This could either mean Mew or something else. So we’ll see.

Fortnite is on Switch, not a surprising thing to me and I think it’s good for the game and the devs who made it. I personally think Epic Games deserve the success with their game in my opinion.

Overcooked 2 is coming soon and now features online co-op which is great! Killer Queen Black looks interesting and my personal favorite Hollow Knight is finally out the day the Direct was on! If you’re into metroidvanias I highly recommend Hollow Knight very easily--the game is generally worth having as well in my opinion.

Super Mario Party was also revealed and I’m genuinely happy; it would feel weird for a Nintendo console to not have a Mario Party game. It also has a Goombah as a playable character there too!

The Direct also bust out a montage of games; the ones that caught my attention were Dragon Ball FighterZ, The World Ends With You, Splatoon 2 Octo-Expansion, Wastelands 2 Directors Cut, Megaman 11, Paladins: Champions of the Realm, Arena of Valor, and Ninjala.

Now for the big one. Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The announcement was great and crazy long, and you can definitely tell that Masahiro Sakurai and the devs were busy when they made this game. It’s essentially a port of the Wii U, but it’s brand new and it adds so many things it might as well be a new game. The game’s biggest feature is the fact that they’re having ALL of the characters throughout the history of Smash Bros. ever; being someone who got introduced to the series since Brawl, seeing Snake and many other old characters was super cool.

They also showed off new characters as well. Princess Daisy is finally in Smash and that was very exciting to me; she’s treated as something called Echo Fighters, which is a fancy term of a character that is a clone but with some variations (other Echo Fighters being Lucina and Dark Pit). They showcased Inkling and what they can do, and in the end, they announced Ridley from Metroid.

END

And thus concludes the many things I found interesting in 2018 E3 Conference. I think this year’s E3 Conference has been rather modest as so many of the games are mainly coming out next year--and these are the ones that are meteoric as well. As to who won E3, well that’s beyond me, especially considering all the factors on what makes someone win E3. If you’re talking about the number of games revealed, I’d say Microsoft. If regarding the games released in 2018, I’d say Nintendo. Either way, I just want to see great games that are fun for people to play with. If the anyone can have a good time and be genuinely happy with a game; then that’s a win in my book.

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windrocklibrary · 7 years ago

Text

VERDANT LILY [ 2. ]

The open gates of an Urban Jungle tend to carry the welcome of a society, but she felt none.

It was like a giant fortress that lost most of its strength, the walls -- or what's left of it -- stood barely right in front of the woven path that leads anyone all the way in. Always a strange feeling whenever she sees an Urban Jungle, the seasoned and sturdy buildings that struggle the test of time yet purposed and inhabited by people, the narrow and often crowded spaces, the smell of dust and perhaps other combinations of the sorts that are beyond her (and possibly anyone's) knowledge. It just doesn't feel like a suitable place for her to live. Not a suitable place for anyone to live.

And yet there are those who prove her wrong.

Before what's beyond the inside of the Urban Jungle, there is something that expected her. They noticed her coming from a mile off, and as she reaches closer to the main gate itself they stood there waiting. She had forgotten about the guards, despite having wandered off to many Urban Jungles in the past; though perhaps she just couldn't bother about them, as she has other better things to do -- things that she felt like doing, doing what's needed. Other details in the end left off to vanish as unnecessary.

The guards move in to stop her from going any further, the girl, simply complies with their request silently; not that she cared anyway. The guard sport themselves with an identical uniform, lightweight and properly protected, but the combination of the heat from both the weather and the suit itself gives off quite the varied expressions on all of them; while some took a passion and discipline in maintaining a firm mentality, they all wished that it'll be done quickly, hoping for the day -- or at least their shift -- to be over with.

"All alone?" One of the guards, with a hazelnut skin, ask. "Yes", the girl answers briefly. "And you managed to get here just... By walking?" The guard continues. Before she replies, she remained quiet for a while, thinking of words that would fit into a good answer: "I find ways", she chose; though the guard didn't seem to know how to take that answer, assuming her as simply another wanderer.

"Well..." The guard begins, "In any case, we'll still need to inspect you before you can enter. So please show us your belongings immediately".

"I don't have any." She puffed.

"You're gonna need to work with us if you wanna get in Sol Leoro". He reminded sternly. She remembers now about those guards from the past, she didn't really like them. Troublesome to work with. After a glare towards the guard, she handed out her items one by one. Firstly being her staff, then her coat, a waterskin, a plastic bag, and a small leather bag.

"Okay. We'll also be inspecting your body, so please stay put."

The inspection was long as it was silent, the girl can only stand blankly as the guards check all her arms, legs, and chest along with her gear for something; something that she isn't sure what, nor cared about exactly. Even as they are done with the body inspection, she would still have to wait for the item inspection to finish, and the guards truly do take their time in that department. Truly a troublesome thing to work with for her.

"What brings you to Sol Leoro?" The guard asked, half of the intention to break the ice and the remaining half to learn a little more about this woman.

"Myself." She mutter, her eyes briefly looking at the man to answer and back into the distance. It wasn't exactly a response the guard expected: it is dull and stiff. Perhaps that's just how wanderers are in general, hard-shelled and reclusive, but now he's wondering whether Sol Leoro even needs more of them; while it is true that an Urban Jungle acts as a safeguard for those who're in need, except its people like her that makes it all difficult to guaranteed safety for the people.

Though in the end, the results came in, and she is clean.

The inspectors found nothing of interest with her; she doesn't seem to carry anything suspicious nor hidden within her coat and both her bags are only filled with food, a sum of money, and a collection of menial objects like papers and a worn out set of crayons -- the staff despite inspected, they couldn't reveal (let alone notice) it to be a blade hidden within it. In short, in the standards of Sol Leoro: she is good to enter.

"Nothing at all?" The guard looked to the inspectors. "Not even a trace of Glimmers." One of them answered.

"Well now with that being said, the standard is clear. She can go." The guard sighed quietly, he handed the girl all of her belongings as he then looked at her, "Welcome to Sol Leoro", he greeted insincerely. The girl didn't seem to be bothered nor noticed it, packing and putting all her items together, she walked casually towards the heart of the Urban Jungle itself, slowly vanishing from the sight of everyone by the gate.

"I don't think I can trust her. She looks too suspicious." A guard with a skin white as paste that grew red by the heat walks in, gazing at the woman who soon merges together with the crowds from afar.

"I don't either. But we got none to show that she's suspicious, so she's off the hook".

"You think it'll be fine with her around?"

"I'm sure of it. If things go off, the Anglers will take care of it. They always do".

#text #writing #story #short story #VERDANT LILY #VERDANT LILY 2

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windrocklibrary · 7 years ago

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VERDANT LILY [ 1. ]

The sun is shining high at its peak, to everyone, it's another day all the same.

Throughout the horizon, the eyes see nothing but ashen grey rubbles flourishing the pale emerald landscape with littered sand. The path that all walk is straight, paved for commoners to traverse into their final destination: an Urban Jungle, a concrete of mountains, a market of opportunity and another future -- a good one, hopefully. Four caravans are riding on the common road, two of which are made with a rough linen for a camp and a decade old wood for a platform -- and the other two made from derelict scraps of autovehicles, completely repurposed into a monstrosity of a transportation: same intention, but different and poorly designed; all of them dragged by simple-minded beasts of burden, something in the fine lines of a bison and a muscular stallion. Their movements are slow, perhaps it's the heat that's bringing them down, the travelers are stationed inside their respective caravans, in an attempt to avoid the savage heat; and as a meager shade, it'll only help them for so much before they all began to feel cooked like inside a crockpot.

It'll take three hours to get there, they assumed according to their situation, it doesn't sound bad, they've done this before after all; though most of the crews begin to wonder why they couldn't have just traveled during the night, "We got's a package to deliver!" one of them, the head honcho, reminded, "Our goods won't deliver itself ain't it? We keep the reputation good for the boss so that we can do our biz'. He'll quit shipping Lights if we're late, so chin up!" the majority of the pack reply in a singular groan, they're too tired to even make an argument but still aren't quitting in making a statement only for it to be swat down with a strong hiss.

"Hey, Boss!" The driver of the head caravan shouted, calling out to the rest of his folks, "Yeah?" The boss answered, "There's something in front of us".

Indeed there was. From perhaps a 100 meters or more, a human figure can be seen by everyone sitting in the middle of the road, the appearance is hidden by a black hood, obscuring the face completely. "What do we do?" One of the men near the boss asked, "Pray for the rooster", the boss replied, a message that was sent to everyone in the band almost instantaneously; a signal from the leader himself to ready their weapons on what's to come.

As the four caravans move closer towards the figure, the head immediately looks straight into the caravans. The figure slowly stands as it takes notice of the incoming caravans, but it did not move a single inch, it only chose to stand firm in place as it waits for them to come even closer towards it. Upon closer inspection, the travelers begin to have a clear look at the figure: it had a lean body, holding onto a long wooden staff and clothed in a long tattered cream-white coat colored with flares of crimson and onyx across the frames; the figure also wears a black jacket on top of it, using its hood to cover itself -- in addition to the hood, one will notice the figure's face to have a piece of paper filled with drawings akin to that of a child used as a mask of sort; the same style of drawings can be seen around the tattered coat as well, filled with varieties of color and shapes trying to make an abstract figure of something. The caravans reached close to the figure slowly reaching a halt, the entire crew, sat patiently with armaments ready in their hands, trying to get a sense at this moment.

"Do you have food?" The figure asked with a voice of a woman.

"In your dreams, now buzz off." The Boss jeered her, in an attempt to make her move out of their way, but she didn't.

"Do you mind helping me out. I've got nothing to eat, and I'm hungry." She answered.

"Eat my ass why don't ya? The Urban Jungle is 'ight there in front of ya, walk o'er why don't ya?" The man sneered. The girl paced towards the caravan slowly, leading to many of the gang to jump out from the caravan, trying to stop her from moving any closer to any of the caravans at all. Weapons of swords, club, and even guns were aimed at her; the girl didn't seem to bother and continued on, slowly moving as the voice of her staff and boots taps unevenly through the ground. And then she stops.

"I can't." The girl began, in response to the Boss's question, "Too tired. Need food. Maybe a little lazy as well".

"S'that so?" A man to her right barked, he had a bewildered tattoo that covered half of his face, “Then let’s keep it that way yeah?” He didn’t have anything smart to say, then again, the girl didn’t seem to pay attention at all. What she did notice, however, in a sudden glance was him raising a rifle at her trigger ready to be pulled.

Crack!

That was the only voice heard from everyone followed by a scream of pain, almost suddenly, the girl was seen with her staff held high in a flash. It was intentional by her, she swung her staff towards the bottom of the rifle, hitting directly at the man’s left knuckle that was holding the gun; as she raised it high up, the force she brought was powerful enough to break the bones and also toss the rifle faraway behind him.

“Argh! Damnit!” The Face-Ink roared, as he knelt to the ground holding his broken knuckle. The whole gang grew frantic by the sight, they don’t know how to react to it; they all did back out slightly, but they were too hesitant in admitting it.

“You think you’re some hot shit are ya?” Another man, with one of his eyes blackened mocked, as he rushed towards the girl with an iron ready to batter at her. The woman reading his intention swiftly run straight to him as well, using her staff she halted the club into a furious clash; his war-shout enveloped completely by a screeching crash of the two weapons. It grew as a stalemate between the two of them, but it was when the vagrant began to spot one man with a sword and another with a gun who all make sight on her that broke it all.

Still holding onto the club with her staff, the vagrant began to show something more of the golden-oaked staff. The girl grabbed onto the one end of the staff and, in a swift movement, pulled it apart to reveal to the Black-Eye what seems like a beam of light, the girl ducked down and makes a swipe to the legs, cutting Black-Eye’s left foot. Revealing to all her weapon: a blade.

Blood spattered to the ground as Black-Eye fell flat to the ground, screaming as the pain bites the wound cleanly cut by the girl. Her next target is the Swordsman. Grabbing onto the sheath of her sword, the vagrant dashed towards the Swordsman and just upon reaching a fighting distance between the two of them, the vagrant ceased; as if waiting for the Swordsman to make a move.

Strikes were sent towards the vagrant, for every vicious cut the Swordsman creates unto her, the girl easily evades them with her erratic movement. Her arms were moving sporadically; in every swing and thrust she makes to both her blade and her sheath, the hesitant the Swordsman becomes. All movement she made imposed a false danger that her enemy cannot read, from a threatening slash that only cuts the air she replaces it with a forceful shove swaying his body to various directions of her choosing. This constant dance of blades between the two went on, in the hopes for the vagrant in able to protect herself from being open from the Gunman while seeking an opening to take advantage of.

The opening that she sought out for soon come in place from the mess she had made with the Swordsman. After the storm of blades dealt between the two, one canvas caravan happens to be stuck in the midst of the duel, with the tent now ripped and torn, the inside is left visible for everyone -- including the vagrant -- to see, and inside is none other than the head honcho himself. In a simple stroke of instinct, the vagrant shoved the Swordsman as she slashed his upper chest to fend him off; leaving him growling in a stinging gash. Now that the Swordsman is out of it, the girl jumps into the open caravan; the Boss, trying to raise his pistol, was too late as the vagrant firmly grips onto his right arm nails biting down the skin; she twisted the arm uncomfortably as she raised it high, which she then uses her remaining left hand to place the blade by his throat.

"Wait wait wait-!" The Boss stammered as he was put on a display in front of the remainders of his crew whom all weapons readied in his direction, threatened to be killed by a vagabond, "Hold it! Hold it! I knows you from somewhere." The Boss captured the girl's attention, "The crazy movements? The shinin' green shitfest ya made with one of my lads?" He continued on, but he knew she was losing her patience the moment she tightens her grip, so he hurried on to the final point: "An' that sord. Silver lined with a speckle of greenery, you're no other vagabond ain'tcha? You're more special than 'at." He paused, trying to struggle lightly in some attempts of escaping, but she was persistent.

"I thought you's just an urban legend. You're the Verdant Lily. Right?"

The girl remained silent to his question, but the nails digging deeper into his arm is more than enough for a clear response.

"They got stories 'bout you." He added, "Leavin' a blaze of light and a load of dead body."

"Boss!" One of the men interrupted, taking a proper aim at the girl's head.

"Quit that down lads. We ain't got nothing against this sonofabitch. We already lost enough, and she ain't even trying." The Boss stopped his men from trying to do anything funny, "Let's settle down for now and work this out straight. What do ya want?" The Boss asked, looking at the vagrant that made him a hostage, to think that he needs to surrender against some person -- it was shameful. But she was no person, she made stories that shivered everyone's bones. The fact that he and his mates are alive now with the Verdant Lily is not a relief, a miracle rather.

"Food." She answered briefly. At first, he thought she was only joking, but guessing from her attitude itself, he's better off giving what the Verdant Lily wants right now before things go south. "It's... In one of those caravans-" The Boss pointed at the metal caravans; before he could finish his sentence, the Verdant Lily hopped down and walked quickly towards them ignoring everyone in her wake.

"Hey hey wait -!" Cried one of the men, but his voice dissolved as the girl slammed her sheath into the lock of one of the steel caravans, in just a single effortless swing, the lock itself was broken into pieces. The Verdant Lily forcefully open the door to reveal a collection of large wooden crates. She didn't stop for a second to stare at it, impatiently she swung her blade from one crate to another to open it one by one in search of rations -- and in every crate, all that she found were grains of glimmering sands pouring out from the dents she made.

"Stop wait! Hold on!" A crew begged by the door only to be greeted by a glare. "The... The rations are on the other one, n-not here." He informed, backing off in fear.

The Verdant Lily headed towards the last metal caravan, this time, following the man towards it. The whole gang is on edge, afraid of what she's capable of but more terrified on when exactly she will unleash her tantrum. After the door was opened, more identical crates can be seen; the girl was the led to one of the many crates and once opened, it's finally revealed to her: a hoard of vegetables and fruits.

"J-just a question... What food're you looking for exactly?" The man asked, but was completely ignored, the girl opened a large plastic bag that she kept inside her coat; hurriedly grab onto any nearest greens and fruits that she can get on her hands. Cabbages, carrots, bell peppers, oranges, tomatoes, apples, the list goes on; once the bag is full, she puts it back before taking another piece of broccoli and ate it straight.

"Well?" The Boss interrupted, "That it?" He asked, though truthfully still anxious about the girl. The Verdant Lily swallow the last piece of the broccoli down before jumping out from the caravan. She sheathed the blade and plant it to the ground firmly and quietly, staring deep at the eyes of the head honcho, cold sweat drops down in the back of his neck; second-guessing the next thing she'll be doing. The Verdant Lily walked forward to the Urban Jungle, quietly ignoring the settled commotion she had made very recently.

The Verdant Lily walked away from a traveling caravan that she had ravaged in the middle of a road. Now with foods snatched from the previous mess she made, the midday sun isn't so bad anymore. Her eyes locked sharp to the Urban Jungle ahead, not knowing where to go, not caring where it'll end. To her, it's another day all the same.

#text #writing #story #short story #VERDANT LILY #VERDANT LILY 1

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