Jump to content
Stray Fawn Community

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/08/2024 in Posts

  1. I'm going to be going away for 2 weeks, so no updates until I come back, sorry!
    2 points
  2. The day passed as normal, but Jiki grew more irritated by each passing second. Dejectedly chewing on the rabbil he had caught earlier, he looked around the clearing he had lived in for his entire life. He didn’t remember much of his parents, only the fact that they left him here once he was old enough to walk. It’s not like he needed them anyway. For all these moons, he had done just fine by himself. Yet without Emi, the clearing was eerily quiet. He liked being alone. He got up, sighing quietly. But he hated being lonely. And maybe Emi would need his help to cross the ports. And then he could come back here, not feeling like he had abandoned the strange nicheling. Less than a second had passed before he bounded off into the grass, a new resolve in him. ~ Emi leapt onto the port, the flowers casting petals up into the air. Bees buzzed lazily around, and Emi giggled as one landed on their nose. Shoving their snout into the flower carpet, they inhaled the sweet scent, promptly sneezing very loudly. Suddenly, a sharp tug in their chest reminded them of why they were here. Walking closer to the rock at the front of the port, they tilted their head slightly. Emis eyes widened as they rested their paw on the rock. It was warm. Peering down into the water, they thought they could make out a shape coming from… under the island? In the distance, Emi could just about make out another landmass. Would they have to swim? Puffing out their chest, Emi took a bold step forward. ‘Emi, what are you doing!?’ Jiki shouted from behind them, still a little while away. Emi turned around with a broad smile. ‘Jiki! You’re here!’ ‘I’m here.’ Jiki panted, collapsing onto the ground. ‘Please don’t tell me you were going to swim.’ ‘How else am I supposed to get there?’ Emi walked over to him, happily flopping down beside him. As he kept panting, concern clouded Emis face. ‘Are you okay?’ ‘I’m tired.’ Jiki raised an eyebrow. At Emis blank expression, he explained further. ‘Tired? I ran too much, and now I’m out of breath and my paws hurt. Don’t you get tired?’ Emi paused for a moment, before shaking their head. ‘I don’t think so. Why are you here anyway?’ ‘I figured you might need my help. Being an amnesiac and all.’ He muttered, shrugging slightly. If it was possible, Emi smiled even more brightly than before. ‘That’s very good, I was sad you didn’t want to come with me! Now we can go together!’ Frowning at how openly Emi talked about how they felt, Jiki hurriedly corrected them. ‘Not forever. I’ll just get you to the next island and then go, okay?’ Emis face fell a little at that, but they nodded. They both sat there for a little while, as Jiki got his breath back. Getting up, he gestured at the port. ‘Okay, let me show you how this works.’ He put his paws on the rock, and then pushed with all his might. At first, nothing happened. A moment later, the island started moving. Emi gasped, rushing over. ‘You’re moving the island!’ Their eyes were filled with wonder, and Jiki couldn’t help but laugh a little. ‘No I’m not. It’s the whale. Don’t you remember?’ Jiki asked. It was extremely basic knowledge, but then again Emi had forgotten what eating was. ‘What whale? What’s a whale?’ ‘This island, like every other island, is on top of a whale. It carries the island, and in return its lifeforce is nourished by the life that inhabits the island. The island and the whale work together. This port is a fin. If I push it hard enough, the whale will feel it, and turn that way, towards the other island-whale.’ Jiki explained, still leaning on the fin. Emi nodded vigorously, soaking all the information in. They also leant onto the fin. Jiki glanced at them quizzically. ‘If two of us lean on the fin, then the whale will feel it more and move faster.’ They explained. Jiki smiled at that. He didn’t do that often, Emi had noticed. Now that they really looked, the water seemed to be moving very slowly in one direction. Emi had assumed that’s how water worked, but it must be because of the whale. ‘Do we just stay like this?’ ‘Pretty much.’ Jiki moved so he was leaning against the fin, while also resting. Emi watched carefully, then copied what he did. ‘So why do you need to get to that island?’ ‘I… don’t know. I just need to.’ Emi muttered, their mood dropping. They didn’t know why their heart seemed to glow, when Jikis obviously didn’t. They didn’t know why the tugging started to hurt if they ignored it. They just knew that it was incredibly important. Perhaps one of the most important things in their life.
    2 points
  3. ‘Jaica, it’s time.’ A voice called out across the empty clearing. Trees swayed, the grass shone with dew. The moon was high, illuminating the whole scene in a cold blue light. The scene was almost too perfect. The voice had seemingly come from nowhere, and the reply was the same. ‘Has it really been so long already? Please tell me you’re joking, Kaisef.’ Jaica sighed. Time went by quickly. Not that it affected her of course. She would always be beyond such things. ‘A hundred years isn’t that long. Come, we have work to do.’ Kaisef chided. Two figures finally appeared in the clearing, but they were glowing, ethereal. Jaica had bright green fur, strange antennae, and eyes that were the colour of the night sky. Kaisef was pure white, a fierce looking nicheling. His eyes were deep black too. As they walked, their pawsteps left what looked like stardust on the ground. ‘Must we? I always feel bad, sending them off like that.’ She argued. ‘You know full well what will happen if we don’t send them off, Jaica.’ Irritation crept into Kaisefs voice. ‘They are constructs, not real nichelings. We are not killing them, since they were never alive in the first place. They are created by us, and thus must fulfil the purpose they were created for.’ ‘I still feel bad. There must be a better way to go about keeping our island safe.’ She grumbled. ‘The alternative is using real, living nichelings. I hope that’s not on your mind.’ Kaisef rolled his eyes. ‘Of course not! Let’s just… go.’ ‘Do you still remember how to create a construct?’ Kaisef asked, touching his stardust covered paw to the ground, creating a circle. ‘Yes, I do.’ Jaica did the same. They closed their eyes, and then a bright flash of light filled the clearing. When the light faded, the clearing was empty. ¬ Emi woke up to the sound of rushing waves. Their mind was blank. They felt only confusion as they looked out over the beautiful sea, foam cresting over water that glittered like a jewel. Touching a paw to their chest, they realised their chest was glowing with a warm red colour. They understood nothing of anything around them, knew almost nothing about themselves. All they knew was that their name was Emi. And their heart was a key. (Hey guysss new niche playthrough time!!! For this its gonna be super story oriented, I think. Its going to follow Emi's journey, and the plot I have laid out in my head. The main story will be influenced by stuff that happens in game, but I'm taking huge liberties with the playthrough aspect, and will probably use commands a lot to fit the story I have in my head. Anyway yeah hopefully I don't abandon this.)
    1 point
  4. Hello everyone! Yes I'm doing another warrior cat-like challenge but I have ideas with this one, for example we have 20 nichelings at the start of this story, which I may regret after some time but eh. There are some tweaks to how roles work though to spice things up, below are the changes to the roles/how the roles work. I'll post the update actual update in a moment. -Leadership is passed down to the current leader’s child or closest relative -Before a kit can become a medicine nicheling they must train as an apprentice for at least 2 moons then they must pass a trial that is decided by the medicine nicheling that is going to be their mentor -Deputies are more like advisors who help make decisions and act as a second opinion to the leader -The deputy is chosen by the leader which means there are times a leader may choose their family to be the deputy to help give themselves more power -Kit-sitters watch over kits to give their parent(s) a break if they need it or if they’re unable to
    1 point
  5. Oh good to know! I didn't even notice there was a difference before :3
    1 point
  6. I’ve wanted to get caught up with this playthrough for the longest time but I never had the motivation to read all of it 💀 but I’m finally gonna do it lol
    1 point
  7. I really love the writing and idea behind this! Emi my beloved little creature, I already love them and hope they'll be okay :3 Though Jiki is also really interesting, not to mention he has really cool patterns too. Excited to see more of this story and can't wait to see how the whole thing unfolds!
    1 point
  8. I know! I was shocked when I saw Rosecurrent because like, she's so pretty?? And Vibrantkit is adorable, also I can't see the genes to know for sure but I think she might have melanisim as-well. Yeah unfortunately the paranoia is not getting better and yeah I feel a bit bad too even though I'M the one writing him to be this way-
    1 point
  9. “How’s it feel being the only one without a mate?” Lichenflash, a dark yellow-furred nicheling, directed the question towards TroutStar, a chesnut-scaled brown nicheling with ram horns, who just playfully rolled her eyes at the teasing jab. “Well I mean at least I don’t have kits to keep an eye on all the time like everyone else” TroutStar said as she watched Lichenflash’s mate Sunglow, an orange nicheling with brown spots, try and wrangle Brightkit, a bright yellow kit with orange stripes, while keeping a sense of composure while Goldkit, a kit with the same fur color as his mom, tried to help. “It’s a bit ironic though considering that if anyone would need a kit it’d be you” Lichenflash said making TroutStar wince a little at the reminder of that rule. “I still don’t understand why I have to pass my leadership down to a kit or relative” TroutStar grumbled but then shook her head and spoke before Lichenflash could get a word in “But it’s a part of the code so I have to follow it or else I’d be a traitor” she said with a deep breath in and out. Lichenflash gave the leader a mildly concerned glance upon hearing that sentiment. “But if you’re the leader couldn’t you change the rules?” Lichenflash asked not seeing how it being part of the code could stop the leader of the clan. “I can’t just change the rules to fit my desires, that’d make me selfish if I didn’t follow the rules” TroutStar said with a scrunch of her nose at the mere idea “leaders are meant to enforce the rules and only change them if they’re making a negative impact on the clan as a whole, not just because it bothers a single nicheling” she said with resolve making Lichenflash only shake her head. “But if you’re this unhappy then surely you could make an exception this one time” Lichenflash said as over time she noticed TroutStar never took an interest in romance nor kits. “If I make one exception that could be a slippery slope of allowing more and more bending and breaking of rules so I can’t allow even a tiny bending of the rules” Lichenflash felt a headache coming on as she realized this wasn’t an argument she would be winning this sunhigh so she dropped it. “I’m thankful all these kits will be apprentices soon considering that the nursery can barely fit all of them” Lichenflash turned the topic towards the many kits that ran about the camp. “That’s fair but there’s going to be an issue with it” TroutStar said as she watched the group of Sparrowkit, Stripekit, Lionkit, Nightkit, and Maskkit play in a fake war. “And what’s that?” Lichenflash asked wondering if some kits would be held back due to their rowdy behavior. “With how many apprentice there will be it seems some nichelings will have to take two apprentices if we want them all training at the same time” TroutStar said as her eye was idly drawn to Fuzzykit trying to mediate an argument between Dawnkit and Porucpinekit while Chipmunkkit just watched with an unimpressed stare. “I guess you’re right” Lichenflash said it was the first time that it truly dawned on her that all these kits were the same age. “How are you gonna decide who gets what kits?” Lichenflash asked as her eyes idly floated over to Spottedeye, a dull brown-furred nicheling with reddish spots, and Quilldawn, a dark red-furred nicheling with a bright mane, who seemed to be sorting pebbles? “I’ll discuss it with Robintwist to see what he thinks” TroutStar said as she noticed Robintwist, a dull brown-scaled nicheling with red markings, and Tigerspark, a dark red-furred nicheling with orange stripes, chatting while watching over the horde of kits play-fighting. “As long as he doesn’t end up mentoring his own kits” Lichenflash’s words caused TroutStar to look over with a questioning glance. “Making a kit’s parent their mentor doesn’t just limit their horizons but it can also make the kit perform worse because they might not want to disappoint their parent” Lichenflash explained at the glance with a shrug. TroutStar paused to think about it with a hum. “Never thought of it like that” TroutStar said as she realized Lichenflash’s words were probably true. “I should go help him” Lichenflash said as she pointed a paw towards Sunglow who was currently having his ears pulled on by a very confident Brightkit while Goldkit was desperately trying to climb up his dad’s back to help him. TroutStar couldn’t stop snort from escaping her at the scene before her but she nodded to show she heard. Once Lichenflash walked over to help with that situation TroutStar’s eyes wandered over to the rest of her clanmates. Mousecloud, a dull brown nicheling with a fluff tail, seemed to just be leaning against Raccoonspiral, a brown-furred nicheling with black mask patterning, as he kept a close eye on the kits of the clan. How would she even ensure the clan had their next leader? She didn’t ever feel the fluttery feeling most nicheling in love speak of and she could tolerate kits but the idea of being a parent full-time made her head hurt. And considering ThornClan was made of nichelings from different clans leaving their former homes to make their own it wasn’t as if she had any relatives to give the title either. She sighed softly as she looked up at the sky as if StarClan would just hand her the answer to her problems. It was only after the kits had been put to sleep that TroutStar beckoned for Robitwist to follow her. He looked back at the nursery to make sure his kits had fallen asleep and to give Tigerspark a smile before he turned to follow the leader. “I wanted to ask your opinions of what kits should be given to who for apprenticeship” TroutStar asked once they were in a secluded corner of camp. Robintwist made an ‘ah’ sound as he realized what she wanted to discuss. “Well do you think I could train Lionkit” Considering Lichenflash’s earlier words she wanted to reject the idea but let him continue so he could say his piece first. “She’s very dutiful and well behaved but a bit reserved, she will play certain games but as soon as they’re done she wants nothing to do with other kits” Robintwist explained as he’s noticed his kit’s less than social behavior and wanted to see if he could bring her more out of her shell. “You bring up good points but I’ll have to reject your idea” Robintwist blinked in shock at being shot down so quickly. “I don’t want kits to be given their parents as mentors unless absolutely necessary” TroutStar explained upon seeing the shock on her deputy’s face. “But if you want a nicheling that could bring Lionkit out of her shell perhaps we could give her to Sunglow to train under” TroutStar suggested to try and soften the rejection “I don’t think that nicheling has a strand of malice on his entire body” she said with a huff of amusement. “Hmm” Robintwist hummed, a habit he’d picked up from spending a good chunk of time with the leader, as he considered her idea. He was looking forward to training his kit himself but maybe he could change her mind. “Well I’ll do my best to keep biases away if that’s your worry” He tried but TroutStar simply shook her head. “I know you would but there will always be at least some bias if it’s towards your own kit” TroutStar said before continuing “I trust you but I think having kits be apprenticed to nichelings that aren’t their parents would be for the best” Robintwist decided to back off as he realized he wasn’t going to get things to go his way. “Alright fair enough” He said with an idle smile. “Do you have any suggestions for what kits should be mentored by who?” TroutStar asked to see if he had any suggestions of his own for her. “Would you mind if I mentored Goldkit?” TroutStar gave her deputy a ‘go on’ look that Robintwist easily accepted “he seems a bit self-consious and I’d want to try and boost that confidence because I’m sure he could be a confident and capable warrior if given the support he needs” Robintwist remarked as he waited for a response from the leader. “I would allow that, a more confident mentor would do the kit some good” TroutStar agreed with the idea as she felt it could be a good decision. “Thank you TroutStar” Robitwist smiled as he already started going over ways to boost the kit’s confidence in himself. “With Raccoonspiral’s tidiness I think Sparrowkit and Stripekit would benefit from having a nicheling who’s somewhat similar to them” TroutStar suggested which Robintwist agreed to with a nod, feeling it was a perfect choice for his other two kits. “Tigerspark could be a good mentor to Brightkit, maybe she could get the kit to listen better” TroutStar said as she knew Tigerspark’s bluntness had a chance to get through better than soft words. “I agree, and maybe Spottedye could mentor Chipmunkkit, her creative nature might let the kit be less suspicious of others” Robintwist suggested and TroutStar smiled with a nod, happy she didn’t have to figure this out by herself. “I also think Maskkit would benefit from being mentored by you” Robintwist’s ears perked up in interest “She has a way of getting along with other kits but doesn’t seem that attached to most so maybe you could get her to bond with other kits her age better?” TroutStar asked “I’ll try my best” Robintwist didn’t want to promise in case it went badly but that was enough for the leader. “I think Mousecloud would be the best choice for Fuzzykit considering how peaceful Fuzzykit tends to be” Robintwist said and TroutStar nodded before offering another suggestion of her own. “With how refined Porcupinekit tries to act maybe she could learn a thing or two from Quilldawn” TroutStar said as she noticed how the kit tried to act more fancy and composed “Let’s just hope she doesn’t pick up too much on his fancy vocabulary” Robintwist said with a laugh as he recalled how often the nicheling used unnecessary amounts of fancy words in his sentences. TroutStar just laughed in response to the idea, a young apprentice with such a large vocabulary was an interesting image. “And I think Lichenflash would be a good fit for Dawnkit, maybe she could get the kit to have more ambition” TroutStar said as she also realized Lichenflash didn’t have an apprentice yet. “Now all that’s left is Nightkit” Robintwist said as he considered who to pick for the interesting kit. “Actually I already decided I would be mentoring her” TrotStar’s words caught Robintwist’s attention as he let out an ‘oh?’ “I’m a little concerned about her behavior” TroutStar replied as she looked out into the distance. “Sometimes she shred apart her prey and doesn’t even eat it afterwards, not to mention that most of the time she has her claws out when playfighting” Robintwist waved off her worries with a wave of his paw before speaking “She’s probably just playing and doesn’t mean to be that rough, she’s still just a kit” Robintwist said as he didn’t feel it was that big of an issue. “Well I should apprentice a kit anyways so I’ll mentor her” TroutStar tried to push away her worries as she let Robintwist’s words sink in, he was probably right and she was just overthinking this whole thing. “I think that’s all of them accounted for” Robintwist said as he mentally went over the clan’s kits in his head. “In that case you can go rest now, thanks for your help” TroutStar said as she realized the same thing. “Well as a deputy I’m here to help, sleep well” Robintwist said with a wave of his paw before turning and walking towards the warrior’s den. TroutStar bit down a yawn as she spoke the same ceremonial words for what felt like the hundredth time this sunhigh. She was happy to have so many new apprentices in the clan but after repeating the same words for so many apprentices she felt like she was stuck in a loop of saying the words, waiting for an ‘I do’, adding the paw suffix, saying who their mentor was, and repeat again and again. “I hope you all listen well to your mentors and that they teach you to the best of their abilities” She could also cry with relief as she reached the end of the ceremony with her paws aching at the idea of taking a rest after standing on the rough stump for so long. The apprentices all scattered to go patrol with their mentors for the first time while Robintwist watched TroutStar jump down with sympathy, at least he’d been able to sit on the soft grass. “Hate to break it to you but you have to show Nightpaw around the territory” Robintwist pointed out as said apprentice was blankly staring at the sky. “Ah right, of course” TroutStar smiled but internally screamed as she realized she would have to put further strain on her paws. She bit down her misery and put her duties first as she approached the kit. The large black-furred nicheling with brightly colored eyes looked over at her new mentor with an unreadable expression. “We’re going on your first patrol so you get to see outside the camp!” TroutStar put some excitement into her words to try and pass it onto her new apprentice but all Nightpaw did was stare for a little bit. “Why?” Nightpaw asked throwing TroutStar for a complete loop. “Well you need to know the territory to be the best warrior you can be” TroutStar replied making Nightpaw look at the sky again before speaking “I’m gonna be the strongest warrior” she said before returning her stare to TroutStar who was happy that she at least seemed to take an interest in it now. “Great, let’s go” TroutStar said as she turned around and waited for Nightpaw before going to patrol the border.
    1 point
  10. (no screenshots today) Jiki wasn’t used to being around other nichelings. Let alone a nicheling who seemed to have severe memory loss. Emi didn’t know the simplest things, they didn’t know that they had to eat, sleep, and drink. It was almost strange how they had survived this long already, but Jiki chalked it down to luck. He lifted the rabbil, that had been plaguing his berry bush for the past few days, in his mouth. Emi would be excited to see the rabbil finally defeated, considering they liked the taste of the berries the rabbil kept stealing. Surprised, Jiki shook his head with a grumble. ‘Thear nom sthaying here.’ He said out loud, his words muffled by rabbil. He’d just drop Emi off at the port once they were able to travel by themselves. This place was Jiki’s home, and he didn’t need it to be cluttered up by another nicheling. He liked the silence, the repetetiveness of it all. It was uniform. He didn’t want it to change. His pawtseps crushed the fallen leaves of the tree they had both been staying under. Stiffening, he realised Emis familiar shape was gone. ‘Memi?’ He called, before dropping the rabbil. ‘Emi!? This is a stupid joke!’ No one came out of the bushes to scare him, or tell him they were just exploring. A bearyena could have eaten them. A rogue male might have killed them. Jiki’s head was getting more and more crowded as he ran around the clearing, looking for traces of Emi. The silence around him suddenly wasn’t as comforting as it had been. The realisation dawned upon him that they might have went to the port. Leaving the rabbil, he sprinted in that direction. A short moment later, he stumbled across Emi. They were walking as if in a trance, slowly, their pawsteps sure even though Emi wasn’t looking where they were going. ‘Emi!’ Jiki snapped. Emi jumped, and then looked over to him. They smiled, before confusion crossed their face. ‘Why did you just run off like that, I thought you were dead or eaten or something-’ ‘I’m sorry, what happened?’ Emi whispered, still slightly confused. ‘You walked off by yourself!’ Jiki sat down with a huff. ‘I think I remember now.’ Emi nodded, now looking slightly guilty. ‘I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help it. I was sitting still for too long, and I know I just need to get to that port, I have to. But why are you upset?’ ‘I’m not-’ He started, before closing his mouth. He had been upset. He’d only known Emi for a few days, so why did he care? ‘I wasn’t that upset.’ He shrugged. ‘Just kind of worried. Look, let’s just get back, okay?’ Emi vehemently shook their head. ‘We can’t. I can’t. Whatever is glowing inside me… It’s not a tug anymore, It almost hurts. I just can’t go in the opposite direction Jiki.’ Jiki frowned, leaning forward a little. ‘You sure this isn’t something to do with your head damage? We can-’ ‘It’s not!’ Emi snapped, before guiltily glancing at the ground. ‘Thank you for your help, but I need to go now.’ They stood up and walked away into the grasses. Jiki’s heart sank, but he ignored it, scowling instead. If Emi wanted to leave, he couldn’t stop them. And he didn’t want to stop them. He would do just fine by himself, like he always did.
    1 point
  11. Not explaining in detail here cause it’s a very sensitive topic but she has some allegations against her, search up “Melanie Martinez allegations” or “Melanie Martinez Timothy heller”
    1 point
  12. Over the next few days, Emis stomach started to hurt. Badly. They could still walk and look around, but the pain soon became unbearable. They felt hollow on the inside, becoming thinner by the day. But they didn’t know what was wrong with them or what they could do to fix it. They didn’t know how much time had passed at this point. Emi lay down quietly under a tree, willing the pain away. No matter how much they wanted to sleep, their body kept them at the brink of it, not asleep, but not awake either. The sun shone down brightly, and Emi screwed their eyes shut, curling up into a small ball. Suddenly, a shadow fell over them, but they were too weak to open their eyes. The sun no longer being in their eyes finally put them to sleep. They had a very blurry dream that night. Someone was beside them, giving them something. Emi remembered a very sweet taste, but that was it. The next day, they were strong enough to open their eyes. And were met with a very strange sight. ‘Sit still!’ The nicheling in front of them snapped, holding on tight to a small white creature. The creature was jumping around so quickly it almost seemed blurry, while the nicheling barely held on. The nicheling was thin as a blade of grass, and small too. He was white with strange brown stripes, and elegant curved horns. His face was also bright red with the effort of keeping his hold on the white thing. The creature gave one last kick, directly hitting the nichelings snout. ‘Ow!’ He let go, and massaged his snout, glaring after the white thing bounding away. Emi couldn’t help it, and laughed out loud. The nichelings eyes widened, as he looked Emi over. ‘You’re awake.’ He finally said. ‘I guess I am.’ Emi smiled. A sharp pain made the smile fade quickly. ‘I’m hurt, and I don’t know why, please help me.’ Emi asked quietly, though they got ready to get up and run. Maybe this nicheling would want them to get off his ‘territory’ as well. ‘You were starving when I found you.’ The nicheling frowned, walking over. ‘What do you mean you don’t know why you were hurting?’ ‘What does ‘starving’ mean?’ Now it was Emi’s turn to be confused. The nicheling frown only deepened. ‘I… I’ll explain later. Mayeb you got hit in the head or something. My name’s Jiki, what’s yours?’ ‘Emi.’ Emis smile returned, glad they could at least answer one question. ‘Emi. Okay. Do you remember anything?’ ‘... Not really. I know I have to leave this island though.’ Emi stood up on shaky paws, facing the direction that the red glow in their chest showed them. ‘That way.’ Emi almost asked for help, but remembered what happened last time. ‘Well, there is a port that way.’ Jiki mused. ‘Port?’ ‘Nevermind, I’ll explain later.’ Jiki sighed, massaging his snout again. ‘Since we lost dinner, I’ll go find something to eat. Wait here Emi.’ He walked off into the grasses. The tug in Emis chest was only getting worse, almost physically pulling them in the direction they knew they needed to follow. Shaking their head, they stayed put. Jiki was helping them, and Emi wouldn’t just up and leave like that.
    1 point
  13. ‘What are you?’ Emi asked the strange gold thing. It was lazily swimming in the water nearby. The water that separated Emi and the mainland. They didn’t know why, but it felt like they were being pulled in that direction, a command they just couldn’t ignore. Perhaps the gold thing could help them. ‘Can you teach me how to swim? I need to get to the mainland.’ Rudely, the gold thing didn’t answer. Emi frowned and stuck their paw into the water. Maybe the gold thing couldn’t hear them through the water? Suddenly, it shot forward, biting down hard on Emi’s paw. Sharp pain spiked through their paw and they jumped back onto the sand, shaking their paw like crazy. ‘Let me go! I’m sorry!’ They yelped, but the gold thing held fast. Emi finally decided it wasn’t friendly, so they wouldn’t be friendly to the gold thing either. They hit it off the sand twice, and the gold thing went limp, letting go. Anxiously, Emi scanned the water, looking for more of them. Two more were in the water nearby, but were swimming closer. Emi had to get to the mainland, whether they knew how to swim or not. They bounded forward, and jumped in. The water crashed over them, salt stinging their eyes and nose, water filling their mouth. Emi struggled back up to the surface, gasping for air. Maybe they should have closed their mouth before they jumped in. They managed to paddle the short distance there, barely keeping their head over the water. Gasping for breath, Emi flopped down onto the beach. At least no more of those gold things got to them. Standing up, they shook the sand off themselves, glancing around. The beach was empty, but they were half sure they smelled the scent of another nicheling. It smelt rotten, foul. But surely they were friendly, right? ‘Hello?’ Emi called out warily. When no answer came, they walked forward a bit, finding two bushes in the grass. ‘What’re you doin here kid?’ Someone behind them scowled. ‘Nothing!’ They jumped back. ‘I’m sorry, these are your bushes, aren’t they?’ He looked confused for a moment, and then smirked, his smile not reaching his eyes. His eyes were glassy and empty, and Emi unwittingly took a step back. ‘Yeah. Sure. My bushes.’ He took a step forward, glancing down warily at the red glow emanating from Emi’s chest. ‘Where you from? And what even are you?’ ‘I’m a nicheling.’ Emi huffed, slightly offended. Suddenly, they realised they didn’t know where they were from. Uneasily, they glanced at the sandbank they had woken up on. ‘I’m meant to be going somewhere, on the other side of the island. Do you know the way?’ ‘Pfft. Sure I do.’ ‘...Could you tell me?’ ‘Nah.’ He smirked again. ‘No fun in that, is there? Besides, you’re boring me. Get out of my territory, or you’ll regret it.’ ‘Territory?’ Emi frowned. ‘What’s that?’ The nicheling in front of them scowled. ‘Are you slow? Just go!’ He snarled, and swiped a paw at them. Emi took a step back, shocked, and the nicheling took a menacing step forward. Emi turned around and dashed away. They couldn’t hear themselves being followed, but then again they couldn’t hear much over the sound of their own harried breath. The land was so pretty, except they smelt no one elses scent, there were no distant sounds of other nichelings. What if Emi and the other nicheling were the only nichelings in existence? After all, up until now Emi had thought they were the only nicheling. Emi slowed down, stopping in a clearing. Their stomach grumbled, but they didn’t really know what that meant, so they lay down to rest. They were asleep within the minute.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...