The wind flowed past me, funneling through my back door via the back deck.
I stood in the doorway, my clothes rippling under the assault. I held my arms out, closed my eyes, and basked in the sensation. As the moment of mindfulness stretched on, a profound calm washed over me, deeper than t...
2023-08-21 00:41:14 +0000 UTC View PostAs I walked through the streets of Tropica, a soft breeze blew between the buildings.
My shirt ruffled against my skin, and doubt returned for what must have been the tenth time since leaving home. As with every other time, I shoved them aside; it was time to be honest with myself and have ...
2023-08-18 11:12:56 +0000 UTC View PostTrent, the crown prince of Gormona who was currently imprisoned under false pretenses, hit his wooden cup on the metal bars of his door.
All he had was a candle to see by, and as the door's peephole slid open, the bright light of day flooded through. He squinted against the assault before a...
2023-08-17 09:58:44 +0000 UTC View PostRuby sat behind the counter of her shop, struggling to keep her eyes open as she repaired the stitching in a shirt.
Two nights ago, she and Steven had spoken with Brad and Greg early into the morning, and following their conversation, she'd lay awake until the sun peeked through her drawn c...
2023-08-16 08:37:58 +0000 UTC View Post“Care to explain this, Barry?”
Everyone assembled gazed at Cinnamon, their eyes going wide.
"I'm guessing Maria told you about Cinnamon, Sharon?"
She swallowed and gave a small nod.
"I hadn't noticed her before, but looking at her now... is she...?"
"Yes. Cinnamo...
2023-08-14 10:53:54 +0000 UTC View PostInto the early hours of the morning, Cinnamon ate.
The tall plants were a fresh experience to her, and with each bite, sweet liquid flooded her mouth. The fibers of the plant were stringy, wooden. Somehow, she knew they held no sustenance, so she spat the fibers out after drinking all the d...
2023-08-12 09:32:10 +0000 UTC View Post"It looked like shit," Roger said, his annoyance morphing into disapproval.
I roared with laughter at the conversation's shift in tone.
"I thought it looked pretty good," I said, wiping a tear from my eye.
He shook his head.
"You've done it all wrong—attaching the paling...
2023-08-10 08:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostCorporal Claws pressed her ear to the stone, feeling and hearing the vibrations from within the home.
"Fischer came by the workshop today," came the voice of a man, "and it happened again."
There was a long pause as no one spoke, and Claws pressed her ear against the cold stone.
My hand went to my cheek absentmindedly as Maria closed the door behind her.
The touch of her lips lingered, and I replayed it over in my mind.
I shook my head, dispelling the rumination—not because I wasn't enjoying it, just didn't want someone to come outside and see me standing t...
2023-08-09 11:04:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe moment I opened the blanket, the change was visible.
Its leg was bent to the side still, but as I freed it from the surrounding blankets, she stretched the limb back, testing it.
The bunny put weight on it, pushing down against my thigh, and after a moment of hesitation, launched ...
2023-08-09 10:38:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe crab wasn't even relieved when he finally crawled free from the hole; he radiated fury.
A hole—a damn hole had kept him prisoner, delaying his magnificent reunion with the spiky mistress.
Finally free on the constricting tunnel, he sped toward where he suspected he'd fi...
2023-08-09 07:42:39 +0000 UTC View PostPistachio, even exhausted as he was, had felt the welling power within Sergeant Snips and knew it was too much. If it were to hit Corporal Claws, she'd be hurt, if not killed.
The moment the water started pouring from Snips, he extended a single claw and unleashed a blast at the two creatur...
2023-08-09 07:17:13 +0000 UTC View PostSitting on the forest floor, doing its best to hide beneath the leaf litter, was a tiny, cinnamon-colored bunny.
One of its rear legs was held out to the side, and when it tried to nuzzle beneath the leaves, that leg didn't move.
As it noticed Maria and me looming above, it froze.
... 2023-08-09 06:52:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe crab stretched as he woke from a delightful dream.
A pleasant, continuous torrent of warm water washed over him, holding his body down against the floor.
Memory of his dream was already fading, and only hints of its feel remained.
He moved his joints, each creaking a little ...
2023-08-09 06:20:07 +0000 UTC View PostMaria moved her arm backward, getting further from me; a fist gripped my heart and squeezed.
My father's words sprouted in my mind, tormenting me.
"This is all we are good for, son."
Releasing the blast, whatever it was, had hollowed me out, emptied every ounce of anger...
2023-08-09 06:00:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe rock crab, having had his fill of the feast, scuttled along the ocean floor, his movement lethargic.
Once he'd started eating, he hadn't been able to stop. There was something about the flesh that, with each bite, only increased his hunger, and that was the meat's least remarka...
2023-08-07 12:48:22 +0000 UTC View PostGary, lone disciple of the Cult of the Leviathan Tropica branch, looked out over the ocean.
The storm had passed, and he stood atop the breakwall, staring out at the roiling ocean.
The sea was chaotic following the tempest, and white waves continually rolled in, crashing against the w...
2023-08-04 09:20:58 +0000 UTC View Post"It's huge!" Maria yelled, her eyes wide as saucers.
I jumped to my feet and lobbed the half-scaled fish into the pot.
"It is! You've got this."
The rod was bent in half, constantly lurching further down as the fish's tail swept back and forth through the water...
2023-08-03 06:38:22 +0000 UTC View Post"D-did it work?" Maria asked, her voice shrill.
The tip of the rod bent down, moving with the fish's head shakes.
"It did!" I answered, watching the water, my gaze unwavering.
The fish on the line gave a valiant fight, but it didn't stand a chance against Maria's farm-h...
2023-08-03 06:12:56 +0000 UTC View PostRobert dashed toward the crab, his fists prickling with sparks of deadly energy.
He drew deeper from his core, knowing he wouldn't need so much power to kill lowly creatures, but wanting to see the carnage he could weave.
He'd never killed an ascendant creature before, and he couldn't...
2023-08-01 10:34:51 +0000 UTC View PostSergeant Snips uncurled her body, her ears ringing from the sea snipper's blast.
She had felt the power welling and, unlike the overly curious Corporal Claws, had known an explosion would follow.
As Snips’ lone eye cleared, she gaped at the carnage.
The lobster had both claws ...
2023-07-24 13:04:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe fishing line darted to the side, cutting through the water toward the small waterfall.
Maria held the rod firm, watching its tip bounce and move with the fish's attempted escape.
"What do I do?"
Her entire body was tense, her shoulders hunched and knees slightly ben...
2023-07-21 08:09:06 +0000 UTC View Post"Earth?" Maria asked. "I've never heard of it."
"Yeah... it's a long, long way away, on an entirely different continent."
It wasn't a lie, but I still felt bad misleading her.
It's safer for both of us if I keep the full truth to myself for now...
" 2023-07-19 11:28:55 +0000 UTC View Post
With a loud pop, the lobster's vision was engulfed by white.
He opened and closed his trusty pincers as a sense of unbridled confusion grew.
Taking in the surrounding landscape, he slowly shifted to glance all around him as color returned to the world.
Walls of rock wer...
2023-07-18 11:22:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning gave way to day as the sun rose ever higher in the sky. A soft breeze blew, the perfect counterpart for the day's heat. I felt neither the kiss of the sun's rays, nor the pleasant gouts of wind coming and going, though—all my attention was on the ascendant crab before me.
I bl...
2023-07-18 11:22:23 +0000 UTC View PostI blinked at Roger, and he scowled back at me.
"What are your intentions with my daughter?"
"Dad!" Maria yelled, running out of the house after him. "You are so embarrassing! Fischer invited me to go camping because I've been feeling down!"
Heat rose t...
2023-07-18 11:22:01 +0000 UTC View PostOn my way through the village, I picked up another croissant.
I was feeling rather peckish after a morning of smithing, minor as the work may have been.
Naturally, I grabbed a second coffee, too.
“Thank you, Sue!”
“Thank you, Fischer!” she called, once mor...
2023-07-18 11:20:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe forge radiated a calming heat, making me feel at ease.
My eyes widened as the change started
As the hooks transformed, a familiar feeling welled up from my core.
The hooks expanded, then contracted, and they drew my vision in.
Small Barbless Circle Hook of the ...
2023-07-18 11:19:41 +0000 UTC View PostSergeant Snips woke beneath the water.
She stretched out her limbs, shuddering as each muscle loosened.
Blinking her lone eye, she peered at her surroundings with blurred vision.
Pre-dawn light filtered down from above, bathing the pool in orange and pink light.
Her missin...
2023-07-18 11:19:17 +0000 UTC View PostWith the sun setting at our backs, Theo and I watched the hook and sinker as they flew over the languidly shifting ocean.
It flew further than the jetty, hitting the ocean half-again the dock’s length from the shore.
A great splash sprang from the sinker and the line meeting the oce...
2023-07-18 11:18:51 +0000 UTC View Post