“Good morning, your highness!”
Samuel kor Harvest paused with one leg extended from the doorway of his carriage as he stared at the irksome woman that had made it her mission to find new ways to annoy him. Orphelia smiled at him, but there was nothing joyous in the expression. There was nothing at all behind those hazel eyes.
If the prince had to describe the woman in one word, ...
2024-10-21 14:51:02 +0000 UTC View PostDays away from Quest, Rey surprised Maxine once more. Expectedly, not in a good way.
There weren’t many places to find comfort while traveling. As a Guiness, Maxine’s carriage was far more luxurious than most, but custom cushions and a higher roof could only make a wooden box so comfortable.
It was far better than what her entourage had to endure. Curling up on the carriage’s ...
2024-10-14 11:57:26 +0000 UTC View PostRey was acting strange.
Namely, Maxine hadn’t seen much of the whaler, which was incredibly strange. From the moment they were introduced, Rey was underfoot. The whaler would breathe the same air if it were possible.
Going from that extreme to the opposite caused great trepidation in the merchant’s chest. Something was wrong. Something she was in no rush to discover. Whatever mo...
2024-10-14 11:45:26 +0000 UTC View PostMaxine didn’t know how she’d ended up a pirate wrangler. She did know that she didn’t enjoy her new role.
The rationale behind the unspoken designation made sense. She needed to return to Quest. Rey was tagging along with her, regardless of her opinions about it. Rey had taken a liking to her and tended to listen to her directions. When the alternative was rampant destruction and le...
2024-10-14 11:30:21 +0000 UTC View Post“Hey, fancy pants.”
Maxine was coming to intimately learn the effects of prolonged stress on the body. Rey, the nightmarish whaler, followed her back to the tavern she’d made her temporary home and continued to hover around her, a constant stream of words with little meaning and no connection flowing from her mouth. It was all the merchant could do to listen to her without showing s...
2024-10-14 11:12:55 +0000 UTC View PostHaving a woman that had just killed a man and still bore the signs of violence of her person sitting at her feet was beyond unnerving, but Maxine knew pressure well. She felt sick to her stomach, a little faint, and had to constantly suppress the urge to flee the room, but all that showed through was a tight frown. So long as she didn’t look directly at Rey.
Her upbringing told her that...
2024-10-08 11:35:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe young man shuddered at her words and Maxine didn't blame him. If she were the focus of the horrid eyes, a pretty blue made surreal by their star shaped pupils, she'd tremble as well. Artor didn't share their fear, but his expression was filled with reluctance.
"Reynela," he sighed with all the exasperation of a tired parent.
"Rey," she huffed. "Don't give me any shit, ey Shrimp....
2024-10-08 11:25:27 +0000 UTC View PostHow does one explain the threat of a competent summoner?
The pirate captain wasn't daunted by the simple warning of danger. He knew danger intimately, walked hand-in-hand with it. Threats were things to be conquered, the stones he used to build the wall of his reputation.
As a native of Graywatch and a sailor, he also understood creatures beyond the means of mortal men. He'd survive...
2024-10-08 11:10:14 +0000 UTC View PostOne didn’t keep a captain waiting when called for.
Jack gave her the leeway to decide when they left, but it wasn’t a kind gesture. Each wasted minute risked invoking her sponsor’s wrath and she was sure his lackey would be eager to report it. As such, she didn’t waste a moment, quickly returning to the main floor. She took some small pleasure in making Jack abandon his drink, as ...
2024-10-01 07:03:57 +0000 UTC View PostMaxine never cared for love.
She didn’t object to the idea of romance. She objected to the reality of it. Any thoughts she had of admiration for another were always accompanied by cruel rationale about the consequences of a dalliance and the impossibility of a relationship. Her father’s many conquests and Marcella’s exploits soured her opinion of the kind of people she could trust t...
2024-10-01 06:41:02 +0000 UTC View Post“A pleasure doing business with you.”
“Ye, maybe for you.” Dunder scratched at his bald head, the dusky skin almost entirely covered by a tattoo of an octopus, its tentacles splayed wide. “Captain said I could keep a third of what I saved him. Could have had a good night. Now I’m gonna be spit shining his shell collection.”
“Cheer up, sailor.” Blaine walked around ...
2024-10-01 06:21:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe old sea hags that read fortunes in fish bones taught the children of Graywatch that people could be born beneath bad stars, poor bastards so despised by the world that it conspired to ruin them at every turn. They were those shunned by the light, born in darkness and cursed to stumble through it all their lives, crashing headfirst into every obstacle hidden within.
But misfortune alwa...
2024-10-01 05:57:41 +0000 UTC View Post“Time’s up, love lizards.”
Little Water looked up as Lou entered the room. After confirming her human was himself, for the most part, and they were still a team, their chat had turned to less serious matters. The brood was not a community that encouraged small talk. That was a skill that she learned from Khan. They talked about each other, mostly Little Water talking about herself i...
2024-09-23 11:15:38 +0000 UTC View Post“I guess we should start with introductions…though that feels wrong.”
Little Water thought back to their first meeting, to how she had handled her human back when they knew nothing of each other besides the stories fed to them by their elders. He was a cautious creature at heart. He had no appetite for conflict despite being raised in it and had latched onto the chance to talk to hi...
2024-09-23 11:03:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Just do it.”
Little Water set aside her confusion at the strange request she’d been asked to perform and pressed her lips to Khan’s, bending over his seated form, tail outstretched to aide her balance. He didn’t move, not so much as a twitch. As expected.
That didn’t stop the snickers of the one who organized the farce. She straightened and turned to Lou, who was smilin...
2024-09-23 10:52:04 +0000 UTC View Post“We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
The next afternoon, Little Water was once again seated in the welcoming room of the estate, trying to contain her excitement. She’d wanted to claim her reward for her discovery immediately, but Lou refused. Her human wasn’t being held in the estate, but in a warehouse with their other belongings. They would have to retrieve him. That, and...
2024-09-23 10:39:11 +0000 UTC View PostIn a spare room, several women had disgusted looks on their faces as a strange creature was placed on the table before them by two estrazi servants. As Lou demanded, Little Water returned the following evening, just as the sun was starting to set. It hadn’t taken too long to retrieve the corpse but given the importance of what she was carrying, Little Water decided to wait to limit the chance...
2024-09-17 23:22:15 +0000 UTC View PostLittle Water fought a flinch as the predator she worked so hard to ignore made herself known.
Lou pointed a stern finger toward the purple woman. “You aren’t supposed to be saying anything.”
“Well, I could hardly let this brat play you. It’d be too embarrassing.”
“She isn’t playing anyone. It’s obvious I can brute force this but, in case you haven’t noticed...
2024-09-17 12:48:38 +0000 UTC View PostIgnore her.
That was a tall order.
One did not tend to ignore the predator in the room.
But Little Water mustered her courage and did everything she could to put the purple woman out of her mind. It wasn’t just fear that made it difficult. A terrible curiosity also gnawed at her, a dozen questions pushing at her tightly closed lips.
Who was the woman? Was her strange a...
2024-09-17 12:38:37 +0000 UTC View PostLittle Water didn’t understand human homes.
The point of a warren was to keep the brood safe and there was no place safer than under the earth. A warren placed underground offered natural protection. It was easier to regulate temperatures and there was less competition with other species, something very important for the estrazi that often operated within other cultures. Space was limit...
2024-09-17 12:22:09 +0000 UTC View PostIn the brood, worth was determined at birth.
If you were born without the ability to reproduce, then your fate was to labor for the brood. How you served was dependent on your talents but there was no choice in the matter. No notion of self-determination, not even when to eat or rest.
The daughters of Great Mother had a little more freedom, but not much. After all, not every estrazi...
2024-09-09 08:52:50 +0000 UTC View PostRemming half expected to be led to a small, dark room not unlike the one in the king's dungeon, and interrogated for his secrets.
The other half expected to be escorted to an execution chamber. Or perhaps dragged around to the back of the house and be disposed of like a dog. It wouldn't be the first time someone was taken care of quietly for knowing too much. Remmings had given such an or...
2024-09-09 08:35:40 +0000 UTC View Post“Do you want to know what your problem is?”
Lying on the ground and panting for breath, it takes a moment for my mind to process his words. I’m not out of breath, of course. After a fresh transformation, I’m in peak condition, as I always am. My heavy breathing must be a stress response. While there isn’t a single wound on my body, my ego is in pieces.
Three things determi...
2024-09-09 08:09:18 +0000 UTC View PostFew things inspired concern in Kierra.
Wyverns were chief on that list. Arrogance ran in the Atainna blood but only a fool didn’t respect the sovereigns of the world. Their closest relatives could be nearly as frightful. She salivated at the idea of challenging draconids, even dragons themselves, but she didn’t do so carelessly or fearlessly.
Second on the list was a cage she co...
2024-09-09 07:59:52 +0000 UTC View Post“Start.”
Between sparring with Kierra and the truly unfortunate number of troubles I stumble into, I’d like to say I have a lot of experience in combat. Am I a skilled fighter? There’s plenty of room to improve but I’m far from the worst. Better, I have a lot of experience fighting powerful fighters. The monsters of the world.
That experience tells me not to blink when I h...
2024-08-26 13:10:49 +0000 UTC View PostOrum knew he would have to watch his daughter give her heart to another one day. It was hard to imagine when she was stumbling around, somehow rolling into trouble despite not having the strength to walk, but as she grew with every passing day, that remote reality became more pressing. His Kii was a sweet thing. She inherited her mother’s bloodlust but also the healing heart of his clan. A be...
2024-08-26 12:57:52 +0000 UTC View Post“And you? I can’t quite figure you out.”
It’s Alana turn to face the inquiring gazes of Kierra’s parents. So far, my blond hero has been distracting herself with food and drink. Being faced with their attention, she stiffens like a doe in the sight of predators but she doesn’t shy away. I stifle the urge to cheer her on as she meets Morgene’s gaze. “Alana James. I fight ti...
2024-08-26 12:31:12 +0000 UTC View Post“I suppose I’m next.”
I want to tell her not to bother, as the look in her eye suggests trouble. Saints, Morgene is nothing but trouble. Besides, it’s not as if our dinner has been full of peace and tolerance so far. If I were a more vengeful woman, I’d call Remmings’ attempt to send a message about us traitorous. Morgene will be hard-pressed to make more of a ruckus he would ...
2024-08-26 12:10:39 +0000 UTC View Post“Father.”
Kierra’s exasperated rebuke cuts through the tension around Orum like a knife through untrained flesh before it has a chance to spread to the rest of the room. And, like a dog whose leash has been pulled by an irate owner, Orum stiffens, his expression showing the battle going on inside of him.
“You promised.”
“Kii—”
She doesn’t look up from h...
2024-08-21 02:59:12 +0000 UTC View PostIt’s a good thing people can’t die from tension.
I hope.
It would be terrible to find out awkward tables are my fatal weakness after arranging what promised to be a tension-filled dinner. And it has definitely delivered.
At the dining table of my temporary home, the Tome clan is gathered along with our three unexpected guests. I stand at the head of the table, searching fo...
2024-08-20 11:43:20 +0000 UTC View Post