Posts

Inktober: FLOWING - 10/10/18

My knees pressed into the soft, damp earth, the first sprinkling of a light rain just beginning to fall. I moved my diaphragm with careful deliberate pushes, trying to keep my breathing steady. But as I laid the small bouquet upon the ground, I found it harder and harder to hold back. I gently placed one hand on the smooth stone top, lip quivering. "Hey, buddy," I squeaked. My throat was resisting, but I knew the words had to be said. "It's been a while." I couldn't quite read the name anymore as my eyes flooded, the name I never wanted to see here. I coughed, trying to open my airway. "I miss you...it's today again," I said feebly, as if it was something important. "Everyone's doing well," I continued, trying to clear my mind. "Things are...crazy, like always. But we're getting by." I crossed my legs, turning to look at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, the clouds just starting to turn pink. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: PRECIOUS - 10/9/18

Despite the looming threat of what we were heading into, the rocking of the wagon's wheels rolling over the cobbled street began lulling me to sleep. I wrapped my cloak tighter around myself and shifted to a more comfortable position so that I wouldn't fall off the bench as I began to lose consciousness. "Nerves getting to you?" My eyes fluttered open again. The young man sitting across from me smiled. "What was that?" I asked, sitting up straighter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he said softly, a slight accent gracing his lips. "I was just asking if your nerves were getting to you." "A little, I guess," I nodded, looking away. I didn't care to think about what was coming just yet. "You?" "I'm trying not to think about it too much," he said, turning to look out the front. I noticed then that he had distinctly Elven ears, which would also explain his cheery demeanour. "Are yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: STAR - 10/8/18

"HALT!" The man whipped around, jaw slightly open. He turned to run the opposite direction, but another guard stopped him in his tracks. "Well, well, well," the captain mused, smirking happily. "After all this time, I've finally found you: Felas Shadowstepper." Two more guards rushed around and grabbed him gruffly by the arms, holding him in place. "There's quite a bounty on your head, Felas. A hundred gold pounds. Triple that if you're alive." The man gulped. "You won't be able to capture me," he said quietly, as though trying to assure himself. "They call me Shadowstepper for a reason. I'm quite good at getting out of places unseen." "Unfortunately for you," said the captain, reaching into his jacket pocket, "we've got some magic on our side." He withdrew a delicate crystal decanter, a cork in the top and shining liquid inside. The man's eyes bulged. "Is that—?...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: EXHAUSTED - 10/7/18

I flopped back onto the couch, groaning loudly as I hit the cushions. "This sucks!" "What?" she asked, turning to look at me. "I feel exhausted when I haven't done anything. I can barely walk, let alone drive. I need to go to work! I need money! I can't even enjoy my time off  work because I'm too brain-dead to do anything!" "Hm," she hummed, turning back to her phone's screen. "That does  suck." "Oh, well. At least I got one thing right, then." I tried to think of something to do, either to make me feel better or to take my mind off my misery—at this point, I'd take whichever came to me faster. I wasn't so much in pain as just overall feeling drained, meaning my normal go-to meds wouldn't be much help. Trying to think in this state was like trying to write an essay in a wind tunnel. Then it hit me. "Aha!" I jumped to an upright position, which my head promptly informed me was ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: DROOLING - 10/6/18

The soft grinding of sand on wood was like a quiet music box lullaby to my ears. Then came the bull crashing down the china shop's doors. "Look how sharp I got it!" he bellowed, all of my muscles tensing in unity as he pointed the end of a dingy machete only inches from my face. "Very nice," I murmured. "You didn't look," he noted. "That would be correct." I proceeded to pull the sandpaper across the surface of my staff. He thrust it closer, dangerously close to my eye. I jerked back just enough to avoid the full fatality of his idiocy. "Look," he insisted. My eyes flicked up to meet his. "How exactly do you expect me to appreciate the exact mediocrity of your sharpening skills by sight alone?" His cheeky grin fell with satisfying speed. "Get that out of my face before you find out exactly how sharp it is." He snatched it away again, pouting. "You know, you don't have to be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: CHICKEN - 10/5/18

He slurped the last of his drink and slammed the glass on the table. "Boy, how many times I gotta tell you I ain't interested?" "Please, Mr Johnson, sir." I struggled to keep my tone even. "You're the only chance we got. No one else can do it." He rose from his seat and tipped his hat. "Then maybe it don't need to get done." He turned to walk away, his foot catching on the table leg. He collapsed loudly to the ground, everyone in the room turning to look. Jumping quickly to his feet, he dusted himself off and cleared his throat. "I hope no one saw that." "Nobody," I said softly as everyone in the room resumed their card games and liquor shots. "As I was saying," Johnson said, heading for the door, "some things just aren't meant to be. Like my seein'. Sure, makes things a little tougher here and there, but now where would I be without this?" He gestured to the blindfold wrapped ar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: SPELL - 10/4/18

My fingers clenched around the wooden handle, the tip of the wand pointed square at his chest, quivering violently as I held my shaky breath. He glared up from his slumped position on the ground before me, those cold dark eyes linked to mine. "So what?" he spat. "So you've disarmed me. You don't have magic. You don't use  magic. And even if you could, I know you wouldn't." "You did this," I hissed through clenched teeth. My mind scrambled for words, and found none. All I could do was concentrate on holding back the tears which threatened to burst from behind my eyes. He paused. "Yes," he said, voice low. "Yes, I did." "You—" My throat stopped. "Do it, then. I want to see you try. I want to see you fail. Give it your best, so I can watch the hope drain from your—" " EXTERREO! " My cry echoed off the walls as his eyes inflated like balloons. Now he would know the sufferi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: ROASTED - 10/3/18

I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him close. It had been too long. He grinned, stepping back to look me in the eye. "You look tired.  You been sleeping alright?" "Eh, I've been alright," I shrugged. I glanced at my reflection in the window beside me. "These bags under my eyes make me look like a meth addict, though." He pursed his lips, cocking his head slightly. "I don't think it's the bags." I nodded, scratching a spot under my chin. "True, true." He opened his mouth to continue. "The meth probably doesn't help." His mouth clapped shut again. He blinked a couple times. I blinked back. He let out a hearty laugh. "I was not  expecting that." I beamed. "Gotta keep you on your toes." "What's the fun in roasting you if you just roast yourself harder?" I pulled him close again. "It's done in good company."
Post a Comment
Read more

Inktober: TRANQUIL - 10/2/18

I set down my bag and slumped back against the trunk of a hearty willow. Slowly, I slipped down its rough side onto the soft earth, legs stretched out in front of me. I heaved a deep sigh, my eyelids drooping as the cool breeze grazed my skin. I began to doze, the sound of the creek in front of me gently rippling lulling me into the dream world. As my breathing grew soft and steady, I let go of everything bottled inside—gone with the wind, flowing with the stream. All was right with the world, if for just a short moment. I felt a tickle on my brow. My eyes fluttered open, peering up. A spider dangled in front of me. I need a dry set of clothes.
Post a Comment
Read more