Hero's Crossing

[faerie]

Spoiler: All is not as it Seems

All is not as it Seems





​

A streak of light shot across the starlit night sky.

“What did you wish for?” Eric asked inquisitively.

Beau shifted his gaze from the night sky towards his friend.

“How could you even ask that? You know that if I tell you my wish won’t come true!” he said in disbelief.

“You know I’m too lazy to guess.” Eric said with a smirk.

“Well then, I’m too lazy to answer.” Beau proclaimed as he stretched his hooves behind his head, and set his sights back toward the stars.

“You know what we could use right now, Beau?”

“Fresh fruit perhaps?” Fauna said joyfully.

She giggled softly as Beau and Eric looked visibly startled.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you boys, I have just finished picking these fresh apples back in town; they are incredibly juicy, and so delicious. I of course immediately stopped by your homes to share them with you, but found out you came here to star gaze. We deer need to stick together, and so… mind if I join you?” Fauna said with her doe-eyed gaze.

“You know you’re always welcome Fauna. You and Eric are my best friends. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to spend my night!”

Time flew by just as quicky as the shooting stars of the night sky. The three deer headed back into town, returned to their homes, and drifted off to sleep.

Light seeped through the curtains as they swayed in the gentle morning breeze. Beau slowly cracked one eye open as the morning suns rays filled the room. He slowly crawled out of bed, and haphazardly got dressed for the day. He quickly glanced at the clock and realized he was an hour late for his morning coffee with Eric. Realizing this, he wasted no more time and rushed out the door, and in the process almost knocked over the mailman.

“Pete, I’m so sorry! I have to be somewhere and I’m running late. “Beau shouted as he took off down the road.

Beau ran as fast as his hooves could carry him, and yet he felt like he was crawling. He had run past Eric’s house, but stopped suddenly as he skidded in the dirt. His lights were on! Beau slowly approached the door wondering if Eric was running late as well, or had he gone without him? Before Beau could knock on the door, Eric cracked the door open about an inch.

“Hey, I don’t think I can make coffee today. I’m sorry I have to cancel.” Eric said nervously.

“It’s ok. We can always grab one tomorrow. Is everything ok?”

“Not really. I didn’t know how to tell you...”

“Tell me what?” he said hesitantly.

Eric shifted his eyes from Beau to the floor. He slowly opened the door to reveal the boxes scattered around his room.

“I didn’t know how to tell you...” as he still stared at the floor.

Beau was visibly crushed by the news. He tried to speak but couldn’t. He was losing one of his closest friends, and felt utter betrayal that he was just finding out now. Unable to utter words, he slowly turned from Eric and headed towards home.

“I’m sorry my friend, I didn’t have a choice.”

Now home, Beau closed his curtains, shut off the light, and in doing so shut out the world. He laid in bed for a straight week and a half. Not even Fauna leaving food by the door would tempt him from the safety of his own bed. How could he possibly trust anyone when one of the few deer he trusted the most had betrayed his trust. He couldn’t bear to feel this pain again from Fauna if she decided to take the same path as Eric, so in his bed Beau would remain.

A new day began, but somehow Beau felt different. He couldn’t exactly figure out why, or what was causing this feeling, but he was still determined to stay in bed. Suddenly there was a knock on his door.

“Beau, you can’t go on like this. Open this door, or I’m coming in.” Fauna said sternly.

Beau threw the covers over his head.

“Go away!” he replied.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Fauna pushed the door open with ease. Beau could hear her step one hoof after another into his home.

“Hey! Have you been a superhero all this time, and never told me?” he whispered eagerly.

“Oh Beau! You never locked your door...” she giggled.

“Oh...” he said as he blushed.

“Well, here’s your mail since your mailbox was about to explode. I also expect to see you out and about today.”

Fauna continued her rant, but Beau could no longer focus on the conversation. His thoughts drifted on how today had somehow felt different, and then it hit him. He was consumed with the thought of moving, and as much as he wanted to tell Fauna, he couldn’t. It was almost like the choice was made for him. Beau stared at her sorrowfully.

“You understand me Beau, I better see you out of this house today!” She threatened as she closed the door behind her.

Looking at the pile of mail placed on his bed, he could see Erics farwell letter, but couldn’t bring himself to open it. He felt like a hypocrite. He moved Erics letter aside, and sifted through the other letters. Pausing, he noticed one particular letter from Wishy the Star.



Dear Beau,



I know what you truly wish. Seek the campground and you will find what your heart desires most in this world.



Wishy the Star



Beau stepped outside shutting his door behind him. He spotted Fauna in the distance, and since he was already being consumed by guilt decided, to search for this campground. Unfortunately, he thought Wishy had meant the campsite. Much to his dismay like the campsite, his search came up empty. As fate would have it, he came upon a stump in his travels with a four-leaf clover pattern. He was tired, his feet were sore, and was in need of a rest. Feeling sorry for himself, he let out a deep sigh of despair. I might as well quit this endeavor he thought to himself. Suddenly, a familiar aroma graced his nose. It was none other than his favorite veggie sandwich that a bluebird held before him in its mouth. Beau’s stomach began to growl. He slowly approached the bird, but it flew off towards a wooded area, unfamiliar to Beau. He followed the bird to a clearing revealing a dog feeding several birds in what appeared to be a campground.

“Hello stranger! Who might you be? You look hungry, pal. Here, have one of my sandwiches. I’m sure my birds won’t mind sharing. Name’s Harvey, but you can call me Harv. Pleased to meet you.”

“I would love one thank you. I’m Beau, and this is the most delicious sandwich I’ve tasted, ever! Nice to meet you too! What is this place, the land of delicious food?”

“You’re too kind my friend. This is my campground, folks from all over come here to relax, and unwind. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Whoa, where did you get those neat items? I’ve never seen anything like those before?”

“Oh, I forgot to mention I have wares for sale, ”he chuckled.

Suddenly Beau’s vision narrowed on a drawing of a star wand like the one depicted on the stamp of Wishy’s letter. He pulled out the envelope just to be sure. As he did, a coupon fell from the envelope.

“What is a MEOW coupon, and more importantly what is this drawing Harvey?”

“I knew I forgot to tell you something. We only accept MEOW coupons as payment here. That there is a drawing of an ancient artifact that’s believed to grant wishes. My pal Wendell drew if from a recent dream he had.”

“May I purchase it with this coupon?”

“Sure thing pal. It’s all yours.”

“Thanks!”

The temperature was slowly dropping as evening was approaching. Beau walked over to the campfire to get a better look at the drawing. On the back he noticed some writing.

Ancient star wand

​

Purpose: To grant the user one wish

Location: Lost in time



“Location: Lost in time...?” Beau murmured to himself.

“What was that kid? OH, I’m sorry. Where are my manners? I’m Mr. Resetti. I couldn’t help but overhear you mention something is lost in time.”

“Yeah...” Beau stated as he anxiously looked at the mole who was now sitting next to him on the bench.

“I knew Tom Nooks actions would have consequences that would mess with laws of nature. Never trust a tanuki, kid.”

“Tom Nook, the real estate agent in town?”

“That’s the one and only.”

“What does he have to do with all of this?”

“His housing contracts are cursed. It’s all an illusion. There is invisible fine print on all property titles that the occupant will be compelled to want to move within a month’s time in order to keep Nook’s business booming. All I know is he worked with that sly fox Redd to draft these black magic documents, and when the work was complete, he chased Redd out of town so no one could know the horrible truth. It’s my job to protect all citizens of our fine town. To know all and see all, but I suppose it cost me my job since he fired me. Like my philosophy, all rules must be followed, lest you face the consequences. As a result of this, humans have learned the art of time travel. Our worlds reality is compromised, and I’ve made it my mission to try to restore the balance, and protect all our residents despite what old Nook thinks. If that wand is lost in time, it’s as good as gone, sorry kid.”

Beau tossed the drawing into the fire disheartened and defeated. Not only were his hopes of seeing his friends again shattered, but now he had learned his fate was unchangeable. He would now loose Fauna too, and like Eric, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her he would soon leave her behind as well.

“Hey kid! Tell no one what we’ve discussed here for your own safety. NOW SCRAM!!”

The mole disappeared into the ground as if he was a figment of Beaus imagination. On the bench where the mole was sitting was now a camera. Beau picked it up, and stumbled into a nearby hammock. Defeated and fatigued, he passed out instantly.

Beau woke to the chipping of bluebirds all around him. He wished he could enjoy all the beauty that surrounded him, but he was consumed by his grief. He made his way towards Harvey who was enjoying the company of his feathered friends.

“Did you sleep well pal?”

“I did. Thank you for your kindness. Mr. Resetti left this camera behind. Hopefully you can return it to him for me.”

Beau handed the camera to Harvey. The dog was intrigued by this device. He began taking pictures of his feathered friends.

“I need to get me one of these in the near future.”

“Harvey, don’t wait too long to follow your dreams, because unlike the pictures, you can’t go back in time. Take care and thank you again.”

Gravel crunched under Beau’s hooves, as he made his way sorrowfully back home. He wasn’t in any rush to go back. After all, today he knew he was moving, and despite not wanting to, he knew his fate was sealed. His home was coming into view, and Tom Nook was waiting by the door.

“Beau there you are. I’ve been looking for you. We need to discuss your moving situation, yes, yes! I’m here to offer you a new service. I’m proud to present The Deserted Island Getaway Package.”

“Sure, I’ll take it. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

“Excellent, just sign here and I’ll take care of the rest.”

He signed without hesitation. If he truly had no choice in the matter, why delay the inevitable.

“Everything looks in order. Ok follow me. We need to get you to the airport asap.”

The flight was a blur. Beau couldn’t even remember the inflight movie, or if there was one for that matter. Nook showed him to his new home. It was nice enough, but in truth, why even care if he would have to leave it all behind in the near future. He decided he’d check out his new surroundings, plus he was famished.

The town was pretty underdeveloped, but luckily there were plenty of apple trees. While the apples comforted his hunger, they still reminded him of his friend Fauna. How he wished things could be different. Somehow before him a familiar face came into view. He’d recognize her face anywhere. It was none other than Celeste. An owl with a passion for everything celestial.

“Good evening, Beau! I’m here to examine the night sky. I hope I even see a shooting star! Have you ever heard that a wish upon a falling star will bring you good fortune. The stars above, falling all the way to earth to hear our wishes. Oh, I nearly forgot. I ran across this DIY in one of my books on the stars. It seems there’s a magic wand, that if you give it a wave you become a whole new you. I’d like to give it to you as a token of our friendship. Please try it out sometime. I hope to see you again soon.”

Beau stood there in disbelief. Could this mean all hope wasn’t truly lost? All he knew at this moment was he was determined to find a shooting star. It couldn’t just be a coincidence That the DIY is the exact star wand as the one Wendell drew in a dream. He scoured the sky frantically, refusing to blink, in hopes he wouldn’t miss a single star. Suddenly the familiar sound followed by several shooting star streaked through the night sky. He wished on everyone that crossed his path until the sky grew silent again. Racing home he headed to bed in anticipation of a letter from Wishy. Much to his dismay, there was no letter in the morning.

With a heavy heart the made his way to the beach. At least he could relax a little buy the ocean, or so he thought. He sat on what he thought was a seashell, but was in fact a star fragment. He immediately pulled out the DIY and realized he could craft the wand. Without haste he ran to the nearest crafting table. Moments later he now possessed the star wand. He raised the wand in the air and wished that all animals be free to decide their own path, and that he would one day be reunited with his dear friends.

“Beau, I got bad news. That outfit doesn’t suit you.” Eric stated.

“Yeah, it’s really not your color.” Fauna giggled.

Beau immediately hugged his friends.

“Is everything alright Beau?” Fauna said with concern.

“Everything’s perfect! But now that you mention it, there’s a weird rumor going around… Some folks? They’re saying none of this is real. None of it. They say the island is just a game, and everything we say, or do, it’s just to amuse somebody else! And.. I donno. I kinda maybe believe it. So many things would make more sense, ya know? Have you ever thought fruit grows way too fast, and trees have three kinds of wood? Have you ever noticed there’s pretty music everywhere. It’s great, but it’s weird… Does Tom Nook make any kind of sense to you!? Yeah I’ll buy your seashells so you can give me back my own money to pay off a house I’m selling to you! It’s all so obvious! Our lives are fake. We all should have seen it a long time ago. A long time ago. A huh huh huh. I’m joking, it’s a joke. You oughta see the look on your faces!”

 

[Rhea]

Hopefully this is ok! Be warned - I am not a great story writer unfortunately

Spoiler: The Tale of Tom Crook

Just over 20 years ago, Tom Nook began his journey to becoming a business tycoon. He always had dreams of building a huge business empire and becoming a multi bellionaire. Growth was slow at first but in 2008 his ambition drove him to venture in the big city. Soon though, the workload was becoming too much for him alone so he decided it was time to get some help. However, the thought of losing bells by having to pay someone was not appealing to him.

Each day was becoming more and more difficult without support so Tom Nook thought hard about his dilemma. He remembered a tale he was told when he was younger, about a wizard named Farley who lived in the enchanted forest nearby. This wizard was rumoured to possess a magical object that had great power. Tom Nook wondered whether this could be the solution.

The next day Tom Nook ventured off in to the enchanted forest in search of the great wizard Farley. He did indeed find him and was given a magical golden axe which had the power to ‘split’ any creature to produce the original and a clone of the original. This is how Tom Crook was born.

Things seemed to be going well at first. Tom Crook felt like the brother Tom Nook never had and they both got on well with one another. However, it wasn’t long before small issues started arising. Although their ambition made them a great team, their greed and desire for control caused them to clash. Large sums of bells began going missing and Tom Nook accused Tom Crook of stealing from the business. Tom Crook was outraged by this accusation and accused Tom Nook of trying to drive him out after years of ‘slave labour’. He threatened to report Tom Nook to the police if he didn’t sign over 50% of the business to him.

Later that night, an assassination attempt was made on Tom Crook. However, he managed to escape into the safety of enchanted forest. He could not believe Tom Nook would stoop this low and wrote a letter to him, vowing to one day return and seek his revenge.

A few months later, Tom Nook hired his distant cousins (the Nooklings) to run his retail business whilst he focused on expanding his real estate empire. He bought a town which was run by a mayor and another newly hired recruit called Isabelle.

For may years, everything was great. The business was doing very well and the empire grew. Nook Inc expanded into selling islands. The Nooklings and Isabelle had become loyal, longstanding employees and everyone was happy.

That was until one day, when a message washed up on the beach. This itself wasn’t unusual – it happens every day. However, when this one was opened a swarm of mushlets came pouring out which ran onto the island. Mushlets are tiny creatures resembling mushrooms that live in the enchanted forest. They may appear cute but are well known to be highly dangerous as their small size enables them to enter your body and consume your insides. Also in the bottle was a note which read “I warned you this day would come”.

Tom Nook realised the day he had been dreading for years had arrived and his whole island was in danger. He travelled to the enchanted forest to once again seek the help of the great wizard Farley. Farley unfortunately was no longer there but he did come across a magical fountain and threw a bell into it in desperation. To his surprise, a goddess like dog appeared who gave him a silver axe and instructed him to use it to chop a tree down on the island which will create a portal to the enchanted forest and force all of the mushlets to return.

Tom Nook returned to the island and followed the instructions he was given. As he was told they would, all the mushlets were sucked through the portal back into the enchanted forest. However, to his dismay, Tom Crook used the portal to travel from the enchanted forest to the island. He had the golden axe which he threw at Tom Nook, hitting him in the chest. Tom Nook fell to the ground and Tom Crook walked over to him and proclaimed “that’s how you assassinate someone!” to which Tom Nook managed to reply “I never tried to assassinate you”.

It was at this moment that Isabelle emerged from the town hall. Both the Tom’s looked confused as she was had a large grin on her face. She then pulled her head off to reveal that she was in fact not Isabelle… but Farley.

Farley explained how this had all been part of his elaborate plan ever since he first met Tom Nook in the enchanted forest. Farley always believed that he was overlooked with only a minor purpose and sought a more significant one for himself. He wanted to become the next Tom Nook but in order to do this, he needed the original one gone. Unfortunately, Farley was unable to do this himself as he had been cursed to never be able to harm anyone. When Tom Nook came seeking his help in the enchanted forest, he realised that that was the opportunity he had been waiting for. Knowing Tom Nook’s personality, he knew it would be easy to cause a rift between Nook and Crook. And since Crook was split from Nook using magic, any harm caused to either one of them would be caused to other as well. This meant that Tom Nook could be used to get rid of himself. Once Tom Crook was born, it was just a waiting game.

It was Farley who stole the bells from Tom Nook to start the arguments and it was Farley who planned the attempted assassination. Isabelle was a mushlet victim that Farley found in the enchanted forest and used her skin to get close to and learn from Tom Nook all whilst pretending to help Tom Crook in the enchanted forest. Farley told Tom Crook that if he hit Tom Nook with the golden axe, he would take over and become the one and only Tom Nook.

Both the Nooks began feeling weak as they began fading from existence. They both reached out to each other so that they could be together in their final moments. Strangely, they felt stronger as they got closer and instead of fading out of existence, merged back into one. Much to Farley’s horror, it appeared he had been partly correct in what he told Tom Crook. Hitting Tom Nook with the golden axe returned them to the one true Tom Nook!

Realising he had failed, and fearing repercussions, Farley burst into tears and ran through the portal back to the enchanted forest and was never heard from again. Tom Nook learnt his lesson to always be cautious with magic and continued to thrive with Tom Crook peacefully back inside him. Isabelle unfortunately was gone, although she was never really there.

 

[Mr.Fox]

Spoiler: The Sea Bass

Once upon a time, in faraway waters, there lived a family of sea bass. While there were many members of this family, this tale involves but a few. There was Seapap, the wise elder of the school. Sealad, an ambitious and confident young fish. And lastly Sealass, a modest and thoughtful being who happened to be the younger sister of Sealad. They all lived together in a large ocean, but kept close to the shore of a mysterious nearby island.

One morning, Sealad was returning from a trip out into the open ocean.
'Why didn't you come with me?'
'Because I didn't feel like it, and honestly you take too many risks.' Sealass replied.
'What's living if you never take any risks?'
'Well, for one thing...', she began, '...you could've been eaten by a shark, or got a fin cramp, or-'
'Children!', Seapap interrupted. 'Stop your bickering and swim over here. I've got something important to show you.'
The two swam over to the old fish, with Sealad making sure he arrived before his sister.
'First!' he exclaimed.
Sealass just rolled her eyes.
'Follow me up to the surface of the water.' Seapap instructed.
The trio slowly ascended until they had a clear view of the world above the water.
'Do you see the island we live beside?'
The youngsters nodded.
'Do you see the forest that thrives there? It's enchanted!'
'That's nice...' said Sealad passively as he began to swim away.
'Get back here you fool and listen to me! All creatures who dwell in that forest live long and healthy lives. They want for nothing. A lion and a deer can be brothers instead of enemies. An eagle and a squirrel can live as sisters instead of adversaries.'
Sealass, though enraptured by the tale, couldn't help but ask 'But Seapap...what does this have to do with us?'
'It's time for you to journey there. Together.'
'What?' exclaimed Sealass.
'Uh, Seapap? Yeah hi...we're not mammals.' shot Sealad condescendingly. 'Are you expecting us to just fish flop up the beach and pray we don't suffocate before we break the treeline? I mean, I probably could, but still...'
'Use your head, boy. See the river mouth? Your journey begins there.'
Sealad raised his left fin 'Yeah, Pap, I'm not sure if you're just getting senile in your old age, but that's a freshwater river.'
'The magic in that forest runs deep lad, and courses through the water. You'll have no trouble breathing it in.'
Sealass couldn't hold it in anymore, she was overcome with emotion. As bubbles started streaming up her face she questioned 'But why do we have to leave here? Can you come with us?'
'You'll have a far better life in there, my dear. Once you make it far enough up the river you'll find a giant pond so enchanted that it holds no boundaries for you. Bottomless...with miles upon miles of seaways. You'll never get bored, you'll never tire, you'll never hunger.'
'If it's so great in there why are you still out here?' chimed in Sealad.
'I was getting to that, boy. I remain here to guide our fry as best I can. Once they mature, I try to decide which members of the school are best suited to undertake the adventure...and I think the two of you are ready.
'What if...?' Sealass began, but Seapap was seemingly reading her mind. 'Tut tut tut. Don't worry so. I'll teach you a few things before I send you off. Now both of you float still and get some rest. We'll begin exercises in the morning.'

The next few days were spent preparing for the looming departure. Seapap had the youngsters practice their speed swimming and agility to escape from potential danger. Sealad excelled here, and never failed to throw this is his sister's face.
One afternoon, while the siblings were busy launching themselves out of the water, Seapap swam over to them.
'I don't think you'll ever be more fit than you both are right now. You should depart tomorrow.'
'Finally...', Sealad said.
'There is one last thing I want the both of you to do though. See that jagged coral along the the reef there? I want you both to swim through it for a little while. It'll be good for you... toughen up your scales. Don't worry if you lose any, they'll just grow back.'
With that, the two young fish swam down amongst the coral and began rubbing themselves along the sharp edges. After a few passes back and forth, Sealad got bored.
'I'm gonna go attempt a few more jumps.'
'But Pap said doing this would be good for us.', Sealass objected.
'I don't need tough scales, nothing can catch me anyways.', and just like that Sealad swam out of sight leaving his sister to swim around the coral deep into the night.

The following morning, three sea bass were to be found at the mouth of the river.
'Now remember children, you're about to enter magical waters where anything is possible. Trust your instincts and stick together.'
Bubbles started floating out of Sealass' eyes.
'Will we ever see you again Pap?'
'Here she goes again with the bubbling...', this time it was Sealad who rolled his eyes.
'I'm sure of it, my dear. Now don't waste any more time. You have a lengthy journey ahead of you, and it'll be best to get as far as you can before nightfall.'
Sealass swam over to Seapap and nuzzled her body against his.
'Oh my!' the old fish said alarmingly. 'You really did toughen up those scales. Good girl. Now swim along, your brother is waiting for you.'
She turned and joined her brother at the mouth of the river.
'You ready for this?', she asked him.
'Always.'

The speed swimming practice had come in handy as the water flowing out of the river had a swift current, but once the two fish reached calmer water they both noticed something immediately.
'This water is so clean...so different from the ocean.' Sealass remarked.
'I feel like a million scallops!'
Sealad nodded his head in agreement, 'I know what you mean. It's almost as if - OH MY FLIPPERS WHAT IS THAT?'
Out of nowhere, an absolutely tiny great white shark was passing inbetween the two siblings.
'Pardon me, just passing by.' said the shark.
'How...why are you so small?' Sealad asked, bewildered.
'How else would you expect me to fit in here? The water gives me what I need, and to get upstream I needed to be smaller. I'm guessing you two haven't noticed you're a little on the small side for sea bass, eh?'
'I guess we didn't have any basis for comparison...' replied Sealass.
The two siblings slowed down to examine each other as the shark went on ahead. Before he was out of sight he called back, 'Take care you two. There's a couple dodgy bits of the river up ahead.'
'What do you think he meant by dodgy?'
'I dunno sis...maybe...we have to dodge things?'
'I doubt it.'

The sea bass swam on up the river, occasionally making a soft turn here or there. While Sealass chose to swim directly in the middle of the river, Sealad had gotten bored and was now swimming down to the river bed, then up to the surface in a continuous motion.
Sealass squinted her eyes. 'I see something up ahead.'
Her brother joined her back in the middle of the river as they began to approach cautiously.
'It looks like a wall. A big green wall.'
It was true, a solid blanket of green seemed to fill up every inch of the river.
When they'd gotten close enough, Sealad exclaimed 'It's just seaweed! Let's go.', and he disappeared into the swaying, shifting wall.
'Wait!', Sealass cried, but she knew it was pointless trying to get him to come back for her.
Slowly she entered the forest of seaweed. Even with hardened scales, it was still ticklish to swim amongst these plants. When she was far enough in, she noticed it getting darker as the seaweed was so thick it blocked out most of the sunlight.
'Sealad? Can you hear me?', but there was no reply.
She started questioning how large this seaweed forest was as she didn't seem to be getting anywhere. She wasn't even sure what direction she was swimming anymore as the current had died down completely. She began to panic. Green above her, green below her, green everywhere. Always shifting, always swaying. Constant silence, no sign of her brother. She was about to have a panic attack when-
'BOO!' , the face of her brother appeared.
'You're an idiot!' Sealass said, but she was secretly relieved to see him.
'Sorry sis, I couldn't kelp myself. Get it? Kelp?'
'Just get me out of here, please.'
'Okay, okay. I thought you were following the sound of my voice. Couldn't you hear me? I yelled "FIRST" when I got to the other side.'
'Of course you did...' Sealass replied.

They swam in silence for a little while. Sealass hadn't appreciated her brother downplaying the ordeal she had just been through.
As they moved along they noticed this particular part of the river had rocky shelves on either side. The siblings were forced to swim directly beside one another as the sides of the river closed in and became narrower and narrower.
'Keep your fins to yourself!' Sealass exclaimed. 'Can't you swim without bumping into me?'
'Are you crazy? There's not that much space to work with!'
SNAP!
Sealass let out a cry, more out of shock than of pain. A claw had emerged from the rocks and closed right on her tail fin.
'I caught a sea bass!', the crab exclaimed as he scuttled out of his rocky hideaway.
'No...I'd say it's at least a C+.' , said another crab revealing himself on the opposite shelf.
'Oy! What's that even mean?', asked the first crab to his neighbor.
'I don't even know...', replied the second.
'Sorry to disturb you ma'am.', said the crustacean to Sealass as he released her tail. 'We kinda compete to see who can catch the best goods.'
'It's no problem, I'm fine.' Sealass looked back at her tail fin as she said this. Not even a scratch. Thank goodness for Seapap, she thought.
'Well, our hiding spot has been revealed. We need to set up camp somewhere else. Take care sea bass.', and with that the two crabs swam up to the surface and scuttled up out of the water on either side of the river wall.
'This is what Seapap had to prepare us for? Some thick seaweed and some grabby crabs?' Sealad questioned.
'If it had been your tail that was grabbed I think you'd be singing a different tune.', said Sealass.

Night had fallen as the duo swam on. The water had become dark though no less clear.
'Should we rest until morning?'
'No sis, I just want to get to wherever we're going.'
The river made an abrupt turn, and the two fish found themselves without words. In front of them lay a giant chasm, with no visible bed. The river walls curved outwards, creating the illusion of a giant bottomless bowl.
'I don't want to swim across that...I guarantee there's something down there.' Sealass said.
'Oh, there's nothing down there I can assure you.', spoke a deep, faceless voice.
'Who said that?', shouted Sealad. 'Show yourself!'
Across the chasm, a bright blue pair of phosphorescent eyes slowly opened.
'No need to shout, I may be old but my hearing is just fine. Come closer so we may speak.'
Without hesitation, Sealad began swimming towards the giant set of eyes. Sealass hung back and swam slowly behind her brother.
As they approached, they realized the disembodied voice had in fact belonged to a giant snapping turtle.
'Sea bass! You don't see many of those around these parts.' , explained the turtle. 'What brings you to these waters?'
'We've journeyed upstream looking for the pond within the enchanted forest.', explained Sealad. 'Do you know how to get there from here?'
'The pond you say? Why that's just behind me here, a short ways off. But...I'm afraid I can't let you in. You see, I'm quite comfortable on this ledge and have no desire to move.'
'Is there no way around you?', inquired Sealass.
'Unless you can fly above the water, I'm afraid not.'
Sealad swam all around the giant being, trying to find some nook or cranny that they could squeeze through, but to no avail.
'Why would you choose to rest here if you know it blocks the only way upstream?', asked Sealad angrily.
'Frankly, there's already too many beings in the forest and I'm tired of sharing space.'
'We didn't come this far for nothing!', shouted Sealad. He was so enraged he began darting all around the snapper, pelting it with headbutts from every direction.
'You try my patience, boy. I haven't hungered in ages, but I'll dispose of you the old fashioned way...', as the turtle pulled back it's head and opened its spiky lips.
Sealass knew what was about to happen, and shot through the water as quickly as she could. Before the snapping jaws closed around her brother, she knocked him out of the way and felt the crushing pressure herself.
She screamed, and this time it was out of pain.
Try as he might, the giant couldn't completely crush the sea bass, and this bewildered him.
Sealad again began peppering the turtle's face, but it was useless. The snapper simply wasn't letting go.
'Sealass I don't know what to do!', he cried exasperated.
She could feel her scales breaking off one by one, and even saw a couple of them float by in the frenzy. Then it hit her. The great white had said the water gives them what they need...and right now they need the snapper out of the way.
Almost instantly, the ledge beneath the giant began to crumble. His bulbous eyes widened as he began to pitch forward, and with his concentration broken he released Sealass from his jaws.
The sea bass swam out of the way as the enormous being toppled headfirst down, down, down into the dark chasm.
'Are you okay?', Sealad asked as he swam over to his sister.
'I've been better', she replied. Her scales were now missing here and there, but on the whole she was in decent shape.
A glow suddenly caught their eyes. What the snapping turtle had obstructed was now revealed to be a typical length of river once again. Kelp lined the sides of the corridor, and at the far end there was no mistaking it...Seapap was floating in the pond, literally glowing.

'PAP!', they both cried in unison as they began swimming toward him as fast as they could. They were swimming so fast, the seaweed was just a blur on either side of them. Until...
SNAP!
'I caught a sea bass! What?! You again?!'. The crab that had grabbed Sealass' tail fin before, had done it once again.
'Oy! We might need to get a new hobby.', called the other crab from across the way.
'Once more begging your pardon miss...', and he released her once again.
Sealad hadn't even noticed what had happened, and Sealass had to try her best to catch up.
'FIRST!', Sealad cried when he reached Seapap.
The elder shook his head and said, 'I see you've learned very little from your journey here. Being first isn't everything 'Lad. You shouldn't necessarily be rewarded for being in the right place at the right time.'
Sealass had finally reached her family members and immediately nuzzled Seapap.
'See your sister here...', he began, '...she wasn't first, but she has substance, and heart, and character. All qualities more important than being up front all the time...'.
Sealad looked dejected, but still asked 'How did you beat us here?'.
'...and why are you glowing, 'Pap?', Sealass added.
'Let me show you just how enchanted this place is. Now that you've proven yourselves, these will be your gifts to learn in time.'
Seapap swamp back from the two youngsters, and the glow became brighter. His physical form appeared to be dispersing and reassembling at a rapid rate. Where the elder had once been there now there floated a red otter, that turned into a plump tanuki, that morphed into a happy little sloth, that transformed into a human.
'In this forest, children...you can be anything you want to be.'

 

[Chibi.Hoshi]

I'm not confident when it comes to writing. I'm not a good writer at all. This is awful, and it gave me a headache going over it. Note to self, don’t write this stuff at 2 am. I’m so sorry.

Spoiler: Moonlight and Water

Far in the distant land lies a beautiful valley filled with endless fields of stunning flowers, ranging in many glorious shapes and sizes. This wasn't any ordinary field. If you take a closer look, you could see it is teaming with the lives of the many creatures that thrive in this stunning land. They are quite small and aren't aware of the dangers that lie outside of this valley. But to them, they did not care. Their lives stayed within this place called the "Great Valley" and it shall remain… until one day…

In the words of our protagonist, "Every night while the moon is beaming bright, the flowers known as the "moonlight lilies" bloom in their stunning grace. Inside each of these flowers is a sleeping tiny pixie the size of a button, eagerly awaiting the shine of the moonlight. A night, these creatures awaken and begin to cheer, play, and dance. But on this night, they are preparing for something big. On the night of the brightest moon, their Princess Lily will be crowned; marrying a handsome prince. The prince of the Water Sprite Kingdom. Our kingdom, you see, is the Moonlight Pixie Kingdom, and we have been close to the Water Sprite Kingdom for many years. My best friend is a water sprite shaped like a raindrop, and her name is Dewdrop, but I like to call her D.D. for short. And my name is Flutter, and I am a moonlight pixie. Unfortunately, I can't fly as my wings were damaged when I was a baby by falling out of my flower. Even since then, I am terrible at flying. D.D. can't fly either since she's still a young sprite, but I know she has got it in her to become something great, just like her sister and brother, Princess Droplet and Prince Aqua. Yep D.D. is of royalty, sometimes it amazes me we even have time to hang out, but after this, I am so excited about what possibilities might come. This will be so much fun!"

Horns from the Moonlight Castle are heard off in the distance, and shouts are heard, "the moon is reaching its peak". Together Flutter and D.D. race to the castle to watch the ceremony and the wedding of their nations. Once they arrive they hear the priest shouting, "Settle down!", as the hall fills with the voices of hundreds of pixies and sprites, “the ceremony is about to commence!”. Unveiled is the princess in her elegant dress.

Suddenly an imp rudely bashes through the main door and into the crowd, pushing many over in its path. He leaps up and lands in front of the prince. It stares at him up and down and snatches the jewel on his brooch. "Hey", exclaims the prince, "Give that back! That is property of the Water Sprite Kingdom!". The imp looks back and howls a devilish laugh. He then approaches the princess and snatches her crown. "Pretty for my queen", he snickers and runs off into the moonlight. "Noo!", screams the princess, "Not my crown!". Flutter rushes over to the princess, "Are you alright, my queen". The princess sighs, "I'm fine, thank you. But those valuables that imp took hold great power, without them we can not protect our land and our citizens. Every night when the moon is bright, I use the power of my crown to open the many moonlight lilies of our kingdom. Without the crown, our citizens can not rest, our flowers will wither, and so will we". Flutter in shock says, " Is… is there anything I can do". The prince comes forward and explains, "Find my sister Princess Droplet in the Water Sprite Kingdom, she will know where the imp has gone". D.D. excitedly says, "Yes, my sister would definitely know, she has done research of all the kingdoms in the Great Valley, even areas outside of this place". "Outside?" Flutter stuttered, "I have never left Moonlight Pixie Kingdom before…". "I'll show you the way", D.D. eagerly smiled. "Alright then, Princess Lily I accept" Flutter says. Princess Lily smiles and thanks the two. As the Prince, Princess, and the folks of both kingdoms waved goodbye to Flutter and D.D. they set off on their journey to find the imp and to return what was stolen.

Off on their journey D.D. explains to Flutter that her kingdom is under the massive river that flows through the Great Valley, centred in the deepest part of it all. Flutter panics and questions, "How are we going to get there?". D.D. explains, "With my magic of course!". As they approach the river, D.D. uses her powers to envelop Flutter in a bubble and pushes him into the river. In his bubble Flutter shoots down the river and screams, with D.D. following suit at a high pace. Flutter turns to see D.D. swimming like a dolphin beside her, Flutter stutters "What amazing powers you ha-have!". D.D. laughs and says, "Are you ready". "Ready for what" Flutter confusingly answers. "For this", D.D. shouts and submerges the two under the water. Before Flutter knew it, they were nearly at the bottom river and approaching the Water Sprite Kingdom. Flutter gasps at the kingdom, appearing with its beautiful luminescent glow from the moonlight above. The kingdom is enveloped in its own bubble protecting the citizens inside. Once they approach closer, they could see Princess Droplet waving at them from below. They wave back in delight as D.D. sets them down comfortably inside the bubble of the kingdom.

"I know why you two are here. Please, come with me inside my library", she says in a gentle voice as they walk together. In the library, she pulls out a book from her shelf titled "The instruments of Great Valley". She explains, "The valuables you seek are special instruments used by our fellow princes and princesses from various kingdoms. They hold great power and should not be entrusted to those who will abuse them. The valuables the imp took were the Crystal Holydrop and the Twilight Crown. My suspicion is the imp took these instruments for the Imp Queen". "The Imp Queen?!", Flutter and D.D. ask in such fright. "The Imp Queen is a powerful imp that knows nothing but darkness and hate. There is no doubt in my mind she will use them for no good." Princess Droplet sighed, "She is located outside of the Great Valley in the dreaded Dry Lands in the Kingdom of Imps. There you will find her. But be careful, this is a very dangerous place, especially for you, Dewdrop… I'm sorry, but you can not go". D.D. angrily shouted, "Why not! Flutter is my friend, I have to be there for him". The princess sighs once more, "I know you do. But you are a water sprite, you will dry up and disappear. I won't let that happen. I'm sorry". D.D. bursts into tears, "But… but". "It's ok" exclaimed Flutter, "I'll be fine, wait for me at Moonlight Pixie Kingdom and I will see you soon". They hug and wave goodbye as Princess Droplet preparing to send him off in another bubble and hands him a small trinket. "Use this if you find yourself in dire trouble", she whispers. Flutter smiles "Thank you, Princess Droplet. We'll see each other soon, ok D.D.". D.D. holds back her tears and hides behind Princess Droplet. "He'll be fine, Dewdrop. Believe in him ok? That'll be enough", Princess Droplet says sweetly to her sister. D.D. nods and shouts, "Go get them, Flutter!".

As Flutter raises to the surface, he pops out of his bubble and exhales, "What do I do now… without D.D.". While looking at the trinket in his hand, Flutter hears a strange sound coming from behind him. He turns around in shock and sees the shadow of a bear!? No. It's a huge bumblebee dressed as a bear?! "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you grr", the bee muttered. Flutter shook it off, "That's quite alright… and grr?". "Oh, sorry." utters the bee, "You see, I am dressed as a bear grr. At the Sweet Honey Kingdom, there is this ginormous and terrifying bear that keeps stealing our honey grr. So, I had this idea to dress as a bear and scare him back grr". Flutter is lost for words. "Oh right, my name is Honey, what's your name grr? What's a little guy like you doing out here grr? What exactly are you, I have never seen your kind out here before grr. Where are you from grr? Where are you going grr?". Flutter flabbergasted, "Oh uh…my name is Flutter. I'm a pixie from the Moonlight Pixie Kingdom. I'm on a mission to retrieve special instruments that were stolen by an imp from the Dry Lands. I'm heading there now…". "Heading there grr…" Honey pondered, "Then why don't you just fly there grr?". Flutter shocked, "I can't, my wings are broken…". "Then, if you are from Moonlight Pixie Kingdom, how did you even make it this far grr?" Honey asked. Flutter silent sheds a tear, "With the help of my friend but now I am all alone and I don't know how I am going to-". Honey places his hand on Flutter's shoulder and says, "Hey little guy, Flutter, it is alright grr. If you need a hand, Honey is here to help grr! I could scare those imps with just my "bare" looks grr!" he laughed. Note, the only thing resembling a bear on Honey is that he is wearing a cute bear-shaped hood, it isn't terrifying in the slightest. "You can even take a ride on my back grr. I'll take you there in no time grr. I'm quite a fast bumblebee you see grr". Flutter sighs but reluctantly agreed. He jumped on Honey's back, and they flew off in the direction of the Dry Lands.

They arrive at the Dry Lands in the scorching desert heat. Honey pants, "I'm sorry, I can't take much more of this grr. I need to rest my wings grr… This heat is getting too much grr…". "That's fair", as Flutter pants from the heat as well, "You have been travelling so far, I appreciate it. We seem to be approaching a cave, how about we rest there". Honey eagerly agrees and lands down inside the cave, "Ahh~ The shade, this is so much better grr", Honey rejoices. "Haha, I am glad" Flutter smiles. Immediately, they hear striking sounds emitting from within the cave. Scared, Honey hides behind Flutter and shivers, "What was that sound grr?". "I don't know", Flutter shivering as well, "But… I am going to find out". He carefully moves forward, as Honey panics and tiptoes behind him. They peak through the rocks above to find the very imp they were looking for, snarking under his own breath "To my queen, to my queen", he laughs lifting up the instruments. They look up to see the Imp Queen in all her hideous glory. "I can't believe you made me come this way just for this", she snatches the instruments from his hand, "However, they do look gorgeous. I can't wait for what havoc I will bring with these beauties. The Moonlight Pixie Kingdom, the Water Sprite Kingdom, even the Sweet Honey Kingdom won't be prepared for what is in store for them", she shrieked and laughed. "The Sweet Honey Kingdom! Nooo grrr!", screamed Honey. "What was that! Find whatever made that horrible noise!", the Imp Queen yelled. "Yes, my queen" the lower imp groaned. Flutter and Honey panic and run in the direction they came, but just before they set foot out of the cave, Flutter stops. "No, I, have to fight" he yells, and pulls the trinket out of his pocket. "Uh, yes! Very well grr!", says Honey with tears in his eyes, "But only if you give me that nice trinket!". Flutter falls to the ground at Honey's silly comment. "You look tasty…" utters the imp. Flutter looks up to see the imp drooling over him. In shock, he throws the trinket right into the imp's face. The trinket glows and within seconds, the imp is enveloped within a bubble. "Let me out!" he shouts bashing the bubble with his fists. Flutter picks up the trinket from the ground. "I wonder if this was one of the instruments Princess Droplet was talking about… I wonder if this is her instrument?", Flutter ponders in amazement. "There isn't time for that grr! We gotta get the instruments back grr!", shouts Honey. "Right", says Flutter as they rush off deeper into the cave.

Deeper into the cave, they find the Kingdom of Imps. "This place is scary grr…", shivers Honey. "I know, but we are on a mission" confidently says Flutter. "Look there, there she is!" he shouts, as the Imp Queen slowly approaches her castle. They rush up behind her and shout together "Stop right there", Honey continues, "Or I will scare you with the power of a bear grr!", Flutter falls again from Honey's stupid comment. "My, my, what imbeciles", the Imp Queen laughs in a howling shriek, "How about I show you both the power of these instruments". In a flash, she uses the Crystal Holydrop to transform the ground beneath them, crumbling and liquefying into water. Flutter and Honey fall from great heights, and below them, waves of water crash and razor-sharp stalagmites stand tall. But suddenly, Honey catches Flutter as he struggles to keep flight. "We, we got this grr!" Honey shouts, "Get ready", and throws Flutter straight for the Imp Queen. Flutter screams and pulls out the trinket, "Help me, please!". The trinket begins to glow once more and envelopes the Imp Queen, but this time with great force. It pushes her over the edge and deep into the waters below, dragging her to the very bottom. Flutter hanging from the edge climbs up and sees the instruments encased in their own bubble beside him. "Thank you, little trinket", Flutter smiles, "We did it, Honey. Now let's go home". Honey pants heavily, "Yay grrr…".

As they make their way back, the sun begins to rise and Flutter wearily says "Honey, I don't feel so good...", and nearly falls off Honey's back. Honey catches him, "I need to get you home a.s.a.p grr!" he panics, pushing his wings to their limit. But once they approach the Moonlight Pixie Kingdom, clearly something is wrong. The flowers around them begin to wither, and as they look down at the citizens, they too do not appear to be well. As they approach the castle, Honey busts through the main door carrying Flutter and shouts, "Help, please someone help!". Suddenly, Princess Droplet and D.D. come running to their rescue. Flutter utters, "Where's Princess Lily". D.D. is in tears seeing the sight of her friend. "She isn't looking good, my brother is with her. We need the power of the instruments to save Moonlight Pixie Kingdom, or all the pixies will perish in the sunlight" Princess Droplet stresses. Flutter suddenly remembers what Princess Lily told him and begs the instruments, "Please, save our kingdom, you are our only hope", he cries. In a flash, the Crystal Holydrop and the Twilight Crown combine into one and cover the kingdom in its majestic light as it becomes brighter and brighter.

They open their eyes to find their kingdom and citizens restored, and they all cheer. Princess Lily and Prince Aqua run down the stairs of the castle and thank Flutter for his bravery. "Many thanks to you. There will be a party in your name, Sir Flutter!", Princess Lily smiled so brightly. "You have Honey, D.D. and Princess Droplet to thank as well" Flutter smiles back. "Oh and this trinket Princess Droplet gave me, thank you again Princess Droplet" as Flutter hands it back. D.D. screams, "My instrument". Flutter surprised, "This is yours!?". "Yes" D.D. cries, "It's what I used to take you to the Water Sprite Kingdom. It bubbles whoever the user wishes...". "Well, thank you D.D., you helped me when I needed you most" Flutter grins. D.D. hugs Flutter and cries more, "I'm so glad you are safe, I was so worried about you". Flutter asks the others, "Why did the instruments combine?". Princess Lily answers, "With the joining of our nations, the instruments we carry will become something far greater. I imagine this is what the Imp Queen was after. However, the instruments knew their time and place of need. They aren't made for evil, but for good. With our lands now as one, we can celebrate a brighter future". With the instruments shining above like the brightest moon, everyone cheers once more as they prepare for yet another celebration.

Spoiler: Bonus: Concept art I made of the characters from this fever-dream of a story.

 

[Bob Zombie]

My entry.

Spoiler: A Wisp of an Adventure

A Wisp of an Adventure (by Bob Zombie)

Chapter 1: One Wisp to Bind Them All

Stretching my arms out to the dusky sky, half-asleep I stepped out of my glorious beach house in the evening, and inhaled the cool, salty air.

"Aahhhhhhhhhh..." I exhale. You know, I never thought that island living would suit me. I enjoyed the grind of the city, making my name in the middle management of the company I worked for. But having created my little retreat two years ago, I can't imagine going back to my old life.

For tonight though, I have plans to change around some trees and plant some new flowers. Whistling and taking my time on my walk through my island, I enjoy just listening to the sounds of my island calming down for the evening. However, heading up to the trees on the upper levels of the islands I see a shimmering presence. Usually a lot of random things happen on my island, and I usually ignore the comings and goings of other people. But tonight, for some reason... I feel, well, adventurous. I want to talk to this entity.

"Hello there!" I cheerfully call through the trees.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH, a g-g-g-g-HOST!" The shimmering presence shrieked before exploding in a several rays of light. I watched through the sky as five distinct pieces floated away to through the sky.

I turn to the now diminished being. "Are you okay....?"

"Yes, yes, it happens all the time. I was just a bit frightened... but now I desperately need your help. Can you please recapture my, well, parts?"

"Sure, do you have any idea where they may have gone?" I asked.

"Errrrrr, well... somewhere on this island....?"

"Hmmm... better call my good friend and trusted companion Audie." Flipping open my communicator, I call my sidekick. "Audie, need your help... there's a visitor on my island named Wisp. Long story short, they've split into numerous pieces. Looks like we have a quest on our hands."

Chapter 2: Two to Tango

As always, Audie was imminently helpful. "Delicious, a quest?? You got it, Bob. Come to think of it, I think I saw something shimmering on our dancefloor near the airport. You head there, and I'll start looking for other pieces."

Taking off on a jog, I passed the island's resident services, I headed towards the dance floor. It's where I would go if I wanted to aimlessly float around. I mean, who doesn't like music...? Coming up to the dance floor I scan around. And right there in the middle of the dance floor, believe it or not, were two of the floating wisp-like pieces.

I didn't know, however, if they would run. So I crouched, and walked oh so slooooooowly towards the closest piece. I swung my net, and BAM! caught the nearest piece. "Huh... that was easier than I expected..." And the second piece didn't even react. Crouching again, I started towards the second piece and swung my net again. BAM! Second piece caught.

And just at that moment, my communicator buzzed. It was Audie.

"Got a lead on another piece... head towards the pier and you'll see another part of Wisp. Kapp'n has been keeping a good eye on it."

Wrapping up the call, I start off on a jog towards the pier, and another piece.

Chapter 3: Three's a Crowd

Jogging down the beach towards the pier, I see there's a couple of people talking with Kapp'n. And sure enough, there's another piece of Wisp, just hovering in mid-air.

"Kevin, Phoebe, how are you both doing today?"

Kevin looked over at me and said, "well, my evening was a bit boring... so I decided to come down here and talk to Kapp'n. I met Phoebe on the way, so we decided to take a nice leisurely stroll... but this piece of shimmering, ghostly aura is thoroughly distracting us this evening."

I calmly take out my net, and swipe the piece out of the air. I turn to everyone on the pier, bow, and thank them. "Thanks folks, have a pleasant evening and see you all in the morning." Three down, two to go. I turned and calmly walked towards the center of the island.

Phoebe turned to Kevin with a quizzical look. "Did the island representative act a bit strange to you...."

Behind them, Kapp'n shifted in his boat and looked towards the evening sky. "Our rep is on a quest of immense proportions. I sure hope he succeeds. I have a new rhyme for him."

Chapter 4: Four Paw Discount

I spent the next half hour searching every corner I could think of. But wherever I looked, I couldn't find either of the last two bits of Wisp. Feeling slightly deflated, I started walking slowly to collect my thoughts on where the last pieces could be. Coming across the bridge towards Nook's Cranny, I saw Fang intensely studying something on the other side of the store.

"Hello Fang, how are you this evening?"

"Oh hey there Bob, I was just coming through the trees and I saw this strange floating apparition. Do you know what this is?"

Walking around the corner of the store, I saw it. The fourth piece of Wisp.

"Why Fang, why I do believe this is something I've been looking for." Taking out my trusty net yet again, I deftly swiped the shimmery piece out of the air and put it in my pocket.

Fang just looked at me. "Well Bob, this is an incredibly strange way to say hello to you this evening. I think I'll take my leave."

"Have a good evening Fang, see you tomorrow."

"To you as well, Bob."

Chapter 5: A Beach of a Task

I had four pieces, but where was the last one? I ran from one end of the island to the other. Scanning everywhere, behind huts, in the trees. I felt the hourglass sand slipping away.

Audie called me island communicator. "I think I've found the last piece, it's here on the west beach." I immediately took off running.
I could finish this quest and be done with task.

Running down the sand, I saw Audie peering towards the water. She turned to me and looked me in the eye. "That's it right there, do you see it? Shining to the left of the rocks on the beach."

Scanning the sand, I saw it. The last piece. Tonight, I would make Wisp whole again. With a scream of rage, I leapt from behind the palm tree and charged the last piece, the last floating element of my salvation. 30 feet, 25 feet. 20 feet. Legs pounding the sand, sucking in air. Raising my fists to the sky with my net held within, I yell my last breath of pain, hope, everything I've felt over the last few hours... jumping through the air, swinging my net towards the ghostly aura... and catch it. Turning around to bask in the glow of victory, I head towards the highlands.

Climbing up to the trees, seeing Wisp's shrunken form I know I can fix my mistake this evening. To make him whole again.

And I did.

***

Or so it was written. Because the legend of Bob Zombie and the Wisp of Mystery lives on... some people say he got the last piece and made Wisp whole again. Others, that he failed... swung his net too early, or too late. Or not at all. Or that his net broke.

But we all know what happened. He got bored, turned off his Switch... and the next NPC visited his island. And the following Wednesday, Bob returned to his island, fresh and ready to buy fake art from Redd.

 

[OswinOswald]

Ok, I got a little carried away! And I didn't mean for it to be animal crossing based at first, actually, but you know how stories evolve! Anyway, apologies for any minor mistakes. I present to you

Spoiler: The Island in the Library

BRIIINNGG! BRIIINNGG!
Molly wouldn't normally be expecting a phone call at this hour. Since she always worked the late shift, she never got up before 11am. In fact, she felt like she had just finally gotten to sleep after pulling her blackout curtains shut to block out the impending sunrise. But the phone would not stop, so she rolled out of her bed and groggily answered.
"Hello? Hello? Is this Molly Wainwright?" a peevish voice on the other end chattered.
Molly peered through her myopic eyes at the time blinking at her on her cell. 6:12am. Gods, when she finally woke up, she'd have to block this caller so this wouldn't happen again.
"Yes... why are you calling at this hour?"
"Ms. Wainwright, I am so sorry to tell you, but your great aunt has passed away and well, you were the only one named in her will. We need to meet with you straight away!"
Aunt Johanna? Molly blinked a few times. Her mother had mentioned Johanna a few times; she lived somewhere in Britain. They had visited her once when she was very little, but she couldn't think of any reason why she might have ended up as the sole inheritor of her estate.
"But how am I supposed to meet with you, aren't you in England?"
"Oh, don't worry Ms. Wainwright, we can set up a Zoom meeting first and then you can make arrangements to come out to see the property! Yes, yes, but of course we must talk straight away - are you free later this afternoon? Oh, well, actually I guess that's morning for you. Oh dear. Well, I think I can gather all the details by 3pm, so I suppose that's 10am your time ..." the solicitor chattered on for a bit. Molly made an affirmative grunting noise and rolled back over in bed. Several links started showing up in her email for later that morning.

A few hours later, Molly fumbled for her phone to check the time. 9:51am! 'Oh, that's right' she thought, there was that annoying man who had called her last night. Molly rubbed her eyes and pattered over to turn her coffee pot on. She scrambled to brush her hair into some sort of acceptable fashion, and tossed on the cleanest shirt she could find. Then, she set up in a little corner of her kitchen that she used for video meetings, the cleanest corner of her apartment actually. As she logged onto the meeting at 10:02, that voice she had heard earlier was now accompanied by the face of a funny little man with a mustache and tweed suit.

"Ms. Wainwright! I'm so glad we all are getting to meet you! This is quite exciting. Yes. Quite exciting."
"I'm sorry," Molly began, "I didn't quite catch your name." All the coffee in the world was not preparing Molly for this moment.
"Oh yes, well, they call me Blathers. Christopher Blathers, at your service."
"Ok, Mr. Blathers. Well, what exactly are we talking about? I mean, do they even do these things on Zoom? Don't you need to verify my identity or something?"
"Oh, well your Great Aunt Johanna was very insistent that we contact you straight away. You see, she knew that you would need some time to come to the estate, and well, she made arrangements, you see! She was a very organized lady."
"I'm so sorry, but the last time I was there was when I was a young child. Where exactly are we even talking about?"
"Well, it's just outside London, in Brighton. It's not very far from Heathrow, only about an hour! And of course we'll arrange for a driver to come pick you up, once we sort out the other travel details that is."
"But, why me? The last time I talked to Aunt Johanna I must have been 5 years old!"
"Oh yes, well Johanna was very clear. She always said, the youngest daughter of my younger sister's youngest daughter. Of course, Molly, that is you, right?" Mr. Blathers looked slightly flustered. "That is, you don't have any younger sisters that we missed, did we?"
"I suppose that is me. Then again, I'm sure you know, my mother passed away when I was a teenager, so I can't go asking her now, can I?" Molly suggested wryly.
"Oh! Oh! Well, I am sorry for both your losses!" Poor Mr. Blathers, now his feathers were especially ruffled. Clearly, Molly thought to herself, he wasn't prepared for that.
"Oh, well, it's quite alright. That was years ago and I've really come to terms with it. And I can't quite say I knew Great Aunt Johanna very well either."
"W-w-well, she very much wanted you to inherit her home and all her things with it." he puttered. "We can put you on a plane any time, just let us know what works! I'll email you all the information for the travel agency. And oh! You do have a passport, don't you? Oh dear, what will we do..."
Molly laughed, "Yes, I do have my passport. I'll call work and let them know I'll have to be out for a while and get back to you soon. I mean, can this wait until Monday?"
"Oh yes, I suppose so. Yes, Monday sounds like a lovely day. Ok, we'll look forward to hearing from you then! Oh, there's so much to prepare!" The Zoom screen went blank.

Aunt Johanna. Molly took a few more gulps of her coffee and tried to think. She did recall this large mansion by the seashore they had visited while she was younger. Mostly, Molly remembered playing at the beach. She'd have to call her dad to get some more information about it later, although Molly wasn't quite sure what her father might remember about her mom's aunt.

----

Two weeks later, Molly found herself on a plane to England. A car picked her up at the airport, as advertised. It was driven by a strange wizened short little man, who looked like he had a hunch back, and wore an oddly bright Hawaiian shirt.
"Well, here ye go, my wee one. Don't be keeping Mr. Blathers waiting now." The driver winked gaily at her as he dropped her baggage at the top of the stairs to the estate.
Molly turned to the great house and gave a sharp set of knocks. Immediately the door opened and Mr. Blathers ushered her in.
"Oh! Ms. Wainwright! Let me show you the house. And Johanna especially wanted to show you the library."
Mr. Blathers took Molly through every room, giving her an earful of details with every step. Was the house really this big last time she was here? Molly could not quite remember, to be honest. Finally, they ended up in the library and for once, it seemed Mr. Blathers took a breath.
"Well, I do hope you enjoy the house Ms. Wainwright. I'll let you get settled in and we'll talk about more of the particulars tomorrow. Here's my card, so you can call me later. Really, I'm awake at all hours, so feel free to ring any time!"
Molly thanked Mr. Blathers for the tour and ushered him out so she could take in the grandeur of the library in silence. Even Mr. Blathers probably didn't have enough words to describe the library. It was at least 3 stories tall, with large ladders leading up to the shelves and shelves of books. What on earth was Molly going to do with all of this?

Molly's eyes turned next to the centerpiece of the library, where upon a large pedestal rested a book larger than she had ever seen. Molly drifted slowly towards it; it seemed too blasphemous to walk too loudly in this library.

The book was ornately decorated, with illuminated lettering. Was it real gold leaf?, Molly wondered. She gently turned a page to examine it further.

Whoosh!

Suddenly Molly felt a cool breeze on her neck, and the floor below her felt soft.

"W-W-where am I?!" she shrieked. The pedestal and the book were still there, but Molly found herself in the middle of a forest, with damp moss below her feet.

A small bright blue squirrel looked up at her from the brush.
"Why this is Eloriwyn!" it squeaked.

Molly nearly fainted. First she was transported somewhere? And now it turns out she was transported where the animals could talk?

"I-I-I'm sorry. Is someone there? Please tell me somewhere is there in the brush and I'm not just talking to myself."

"Oh, just me!" the squirrel spoke again. "I think everyone else has gone to get the island ready for your arrival! My name is Ione. We're so pleased to meet you, Molly!"

"Oh my gosh. They must have spiked my coffee this morning." Molly muttered.

"Oh, Brewster makes an excellent cup of coffee!" Ione lit up. But not only did her eyes twinkle, but her tail started to shimmer too. "Oh, he'll be so glad to meet you, he really does like to show off his amazing blends! Will you come to the town center with me? Miss Johanna told us all you'd be coming!"

Molly in a daze, followed the twinkling squirrel Ione down the path and into a clearing, which seemed to give way to a large town nestled against a cove.
A small blonde shih-tzu snuggled up against her, eagerly wagging it's tail.
"Oh Molly!" it yelped.
Molly at this point was accustomed enough to the talking animals that she wasn't about to fall over. But she began to wonder if anyone was going to believe her later.
"Molly, my name is Isabelle! And we're so pleased to have you here in our town!"
The pup scampered off and returned with a small party popper in its jaws. It planted it on the ground in front of Molly.
"Here, Molly, we're about to start the celebration!"
Molly followed Isabelle into the town square. A dozen other various woodland creatures were gathered.
"Molly, we'd like to welcome you as the new Mayor of Eloriwyn! We look forward to all the adventures we'll have together!"
The animals started setting off their poppers.
"Well, I'm honored to be here," Molly began, "But what exactly are my duties as mayor?"
"Oh it's simple," Isabelle explained. " We just ask that you visit us every now and then, and spend some time with us when you do!"
Molly decided she might be able to do that. These forest creatures were incredibly adorable, and something about this small oceanside village was quite relaxing.
"Isabelle," Molly asked, "While Eloriwyn looks very beautiful, is it possible for me to go back to my own home?"
"Oh, I believe so! Miss Johanna used to go back to the forest and we wouldn't see her for a few days, but she would always come back with more adventures to tell us about her time in England!"
Molly breathed a sigh of relief. Well, now she supposed, the next order of business would be to figure out if she could move the book back with her to the States! And then hopefully finish going through her the rest of her Great Aunt's things without any other strange adventures!

 

[Aerith]

I rarely use first person, so I wanted to challenge myself, but also to let the reader put themselves as the main character, rather than have a defined one. Cranston’s ‘burd’ catchphrase is derived from the one I gave mine, though, haha! I love that guy.

Originally I was going to write a much more depressing fantasy story, but I wasn’t sure it would be received well, so I went with something more heartwarming, instead. Then I kept running into the problem of excessive description, and tried to make it more dialogue focused, which is hard for me, but I did my best. D:

Thank you for reading, and I hope it was entertaining in some way!

Spoiler: The Six Lights' Treasure

It wasn’t that I didn’t hear the knocking on the door. I just knew what it meant. Although we were close friends, I had been avoiding my neighbor, Cranston, for a while now. There was no malice in me doing so; it was more so that he’d developed a penchant for troublesome activities. The ordinarily lazy villager had convinced me to embark on expeditions outside our island home.

I don’t know if it was my own misfortune, his, or a wretched combination of both, but what I’d expected to be exciting excursions, turned into fighting for our lives. Well, mostly me doing the fighting, and him just waving his wings around frantically.

The first island we stumbled upon had bizarrely murderous scorpions that charged at us each time we dared enter their view. And there were dozens of them. The next, a mirror of the first, but with tarantulas. Sharks. BEES.

The knocking persisted.

“No. Not a fifth time,” I hissed defiantly, “I refuse to be a plaything for Lady Luck’s amusement!”

“Okay, I’m just gonna let myself in, burd.”

Dammit. I’d forgotten I told him about the key in the flower pot.

Letting out a muffled sigh from underneath the covers, I thrusted them dejectedly away from my body and begun to get dressed. I thought if I gave him some space, he’d go back to his normal, more tame hobbies, like begging me for snacks or talking to the bugs in his house.

Maybe he’s going through his bird mid-life crisis, and the manifestation of stress hormones attracts disaster – you know what, let’s just throw that theory away in the garbage…

When I came downstairs, I noticed he was helping himself to the fruit bowl on my table.

“Gmrnign!” Cranston exclaimed with his mouth open.

Thankfully, he swallowed the last bit of apple before continuing, “You’re not in bed, so… you must be feeling better! That answers my first question.”

“Which is…?”

“Whether you’ll be comin’ along on today’s adventure! C’mon Prof. Pie, there’s a fresh legend waiting to be discovered of its truthiness! Or falseiness.” In his feathered fingers, he waved a couple of crumpled pages.

“I told you that’s such a silly nickname, do you really have to…?” I trailed off. I needed to choose my battles carefully – I already had one to avoid. It was essential to be firm with him, before I got hauled along into some hellscape again! Naturally, before I could protest, he promptly cut me off.

“Well, you wouldn’t let me call you ‘butterbean’. Besides, it goes so well with mine, Captain-“

“Cake, yes, I remember,” I plucked one of the sheets from his wing, and casually looked it over, “Cranston, this map looks handmade. … Wait, that squiggly thing looks familiar… Is this our island?” I narrowed my eyes in disbelief, “You’re saying this treasure is here? No excessive travel necessary?”

He nodded, clasped his wings together, and began to wiggle from side to side in excitement, “Yeah! It’s going to be great!”

“No murderous insects?”

“No more than usual.”

Well… that sounded safe enough. We used to enjoy our time together before all this mess.

“But I’ve dug enough holes around this island to know that there probably isn’t any buried treasure around.”

“I know… I’ve fallen into a couple,” he reminded me, “That doesn’t mean it has to be buried. I just marked some spots that might be the best places to check.”

I wasn’t sure how he’d reasoned that out between his five functioning brain cells (especially when they were usually all focused on food), but I smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder, “Well, alright. Let’s be off then, Captain Cake. And uh, sorry about the holes thing again.”

He waved his wing dismissively, “Ducks under the bridge.”

That’s not how the saying goes, I wanted to say, but allowed that, too, to be ducks under the bridge. Though my original plan hadn’t succeeded, it seemed it wasn’t necessary in the first place. Maybe things were returning to normal after all.

--

The first stop was behind our neighbor Amelia’s house. She was quite a particular eagle, and I didn’t think she’d appreciate us snooping around her yard without her permission, so I knocked on her door first.

“What a surprise to see you out and about, cuz!” Her dark eyes crinkled tenderly, “Feeling better, I presume? It’s so lovely to see you out again.”

“Er, something like that, yeah. Um! This will sound weird, but there’s something called the Six Lights’ Treasure that we’re looking for…”

“The what now? In MY backyard?” The warmth abruptly disappeared from her features as her voice took on a sharp tone.

Cranston started to wave his wings to diffuse the situation, “Amelia, we talked about this before-“

“Oh, you already got permission?” I asked, “But-“

Her memory sufficiently jogged, Amelia interjected, “OH! Oh. Yes… that treasure. Ahem. Yes, Cranston and I had a little chat regarding that… feel free to wander about! Just no stepping on the flowers, please. You know how delicate they are.”

“Of course, of course. Have a nice day, Amelia!” With a dainty wave, she slipped back inside while I shot Cranston a questioning look.

“I uh, forgot, that I already had… uh, done the scouting beforehand.” His wingtips rubbed his crest sheepishly.

Certainly on brand for him, I guess.

There wasn’t much of a yard to explore, so we found ourselves finished with the area quickly. I glanced at the other designations on the map, and concluded we had more than enough time for chitchat.

“Hm, why do you think she mentioned the flowers? Because of that one time we were playing tag?”

“Yeah. When I fell into her precious black lilies while she was tending them… and out jumped that roach onto her beak.”

As soon as the image conjured itself, I found myself trying to stifle my own giggling in case Amelia might overhear, “She screamed so loud,” I reminisced in a hushed tone, “I didn’t think she was afraid of anything until that day.”

“And I found out I was afraid of her when she’s angry, burd,” he shuddered, no doubt recalling the scolding she gave him.

“Well, I don’t see anything that looks like six lights or treasure.”

“Then where to next, Professor?”

I looked down at the guide he’d made, “Well, Captain, there’s only a handful of spots marked here. I guess,” my finger hovered over the map for a few seconds, “…here!”

--

We’d gone through nearly all the spots marked on the map by the time we decided to take a break. Cranston and I plopped down by the river, exhausted.

“You should catch us something to eat. I know you have your fishing pole stuffed in those pockets somewhere.”

“You catch us something. Aren’t you a stork? Or a crane?”

“Ostrich,” he corrected.

“Yeah, yeah… but the last time I caught you something, you just took for a pet.”

“And Chargrilled with Lemon Pepper is very grateful to me for that!” Cranston chirped, and scooted to the edge of the water to watch the shadows of the fish swim by.

“I’m sure he’d just love to know the meaning behind his name,“ I teased. Leaning my head back, I chose to look towards the heavens instead, “Well, even if we haven’t found anything, I’ve been having fun on this little journey.”

“Me too, burd. That’s what matters! Although, I wouldn’t mind if the Six Lights turned out to be Six Desserts instead…”

“I’m just glad there hasn’t been any angry wildlife.” Before the unpleasant memories could resurface, I shoved them back with positivity, “That net has never served me so faithfully.”

“You looked really cool out there,” He put on a display of mimicking my movements, but with embellishment, as though I had been wielding a sword instead of a bug net, “At least now you know you can stay cool under pressure!”

“So what does that say about YOU, then? Or was your flapping and shrieking an experimental intimidation tactic?” I chuckled a little thinking about it, but if I was being honest, his panicking was what allowed my protective instincts to kick in.
“Just means you always need to be around to come save your pal Cranston! I’ll make you my bodyguard, but we’ll have to think of a food that starts with ‘B’ first…” Resting his head on his wing thoughtfully, he lifted his gaze to the sky. Not but a few seconds later, his eyes bulged, and words burst forth from his beak,

“W-we need to hurry! It’s getting dark, and we still have one last place to check!”

--

Being dragged by someone’s wing is a strange experience. Even stranger, when we reached what I thought was the last area (it’s difficult to read while jogging), Cranston sat us down on a grassy hill, instead of investigating like previously. Though I wanted to question his behavior, I caught sight of a colorful collection of flowers at the base of the knoll.

“I’ve never seen those before…” Like he had read my mind, the ostrich stopped rummaging through his bags to pre-emptively swat my grabby hands.

“You can get those in a bit, after we’re done nomming.” He pulled out, rather fittingly, a cake and a pie for us both, “It’s not six, but two desserts aren’t so bad, either.”

“You’ve had those in your bags the whole time?”

“What? You always carry weird stuff-”

“No, I mean, we could have eaten them before!”

“Oh. I guess. But I wanted to eat them here, with you. Where we first became friends.”

As soon as the words left his beak, the puzzle pieces in my head snapped together in glorious epiphany, and a pang of guilt stabbed me in the gut. He’d specifically picked out places with a memory attached to them. Then naturally, as we quested, we formed new memories to cherish alongside the preceding ones. It was not only clever, but conveyed a great deal of affection for the bond we shared.

Maybe I’m the one with only a few brain cells…

“So, this is where the hunt led to, huh? I just assumed you’d heard some silly rumor…” I looked away, but it was difficult not to smile at the realization, “Honestly, I don’t deserve a friend like you. I’ve been… well, hiding away and ignoring you…”

“Sure you do. You’re always helping me when I forget stuff. And you don’t think it’s weird when the bugs talk back to me. Even though you had to bail us out of the thing I wanted to do, you still did it again with me. And then it happened a few times more…”

We both laughed. The memories that brought such stress and frustration a few hours ago were changing into something I could remember fondly.

“Everybody needs a break sometimes. I wanted to bring the adventure to you, and make sure it was a good one. So I went out on my own expedition, and I think I found a suitable treasure.”

“Wait, treasure? Real treasure? What do you mean-“

Without speaking, he directed my attention back to the mysterious flowers. They were no longer by themselves, but had an array of glowing insects circling them. Not just in one single color, but reds, oranges, yellows… yes, I could count six perfectly beautiful shades.

We sat there quietly, eating our sweets, but the silence was not a lonely one.

--

For what felt like hours, the spectrum of fireflies continued, and I wasn’t yet willing to look away - not until I felt cool glass pressed against my arm. In his wing, Cranston held a jar with holes poked into the lid.

“Hey… don’t forget to bring some to Blathers.”

--

After we delivered the new species to the museum (much to the owl’s equal delight and displeasure), I walked him home, since he sometimes got lost at night. He chattered away about some of the things I’d missed while I was gone, and about some familiar topics, too. I just listened to him speak, repeating the day over in my head. When we arrived at his door, I waved him goodbye, but before I left his porch completely, I turned back to him,

“We have a lot of good memories together, don’t we?”

“Yeah, yeah! And we’ll make many more, too. I know it!”

“Maybe… we should try another outside excursion soon. But not until you think of the perfect food for me that starts with ‘B’.”

Without skipping a beat, the ostrich chirped, “Butterbe-“

“NO.”

 

[Kattea]

Not me sliding in at the last minute.

Spoiler

The Shipwright


“The Queen of the Night blooms only once a year.” Samille explains, “But its nectar has properties that can make a certain elixirs more potent.”

Samille is one of Ambria’s herbalists. We met years ago under unfortunate circumstances, when my hometown was raided by pirates and my family was captured. She had come to help heal the sick and wounded, and because I was newly orphaned, brought me back to Ambria and took me under her wing as an apprentice. She is warm and motherly, her face carved with laugh lines and her hair like shiny ash.

Beside her stands Castiel, an alchemist. His hair is also white and although it suits his air of wisdom, I suspect it is more likely as a result of alchemy than old age.

“Elias, I’d like you to use the smoke from burning sagewood to expedite the blooming process.” He says, “Sariel, please prepare a basic healing potion to which we will add the nectar.”

Elias is Castiel’s apprentice. We often combine our skills for more complex lessons such as these. He is quiet and tends to keep to himself, focusing on his learning above socializing with the other apprentices. Although nice enough, he isn’t warm, and some would describe him as standoffish. I think he likes to work with Samille and I because I let him be and I don’t try to be his friend.

I watch as Elias manipulates the sagewood smoke into a dark cloudy liquid, which he then pours carefully around the stem of our Queen of the Night. Already its tight buds are beginning to loosen. I turn back to my mortar and pestle to grind up some poppy seeds. Within a few minutes, we have a healing potion more potent than either one of us could have produced individually.

“Excellent,” I can hear the pride in Samille’s voice as she swirls the bottle and peers over her glasses to examine it. “This is exactly the result we were hoping for.”

“Excellent!” Alfie, my pet muskrat who has been patiently observing from his usual spot on the corner of my desk, chimes in. In addition to herbalism, understanding animals is another gift of mine, an ability I’ve had since childhood.

“We have an opportunity for you to put these skills into practice,” Castiel announces. “The town of Baldur has just captured a pirate ship. They are inundated with work, as the pirates held many captives who are in need of healing. You would be assisting both the civilians rescued from the ship as well as the captured pirates, as many of them were also injured in the struggle. I am asking you Elias because you are my strongest apprentice, although I can understand if you need some time to decide.”

“I’ll do it,” Elias says dutifully and without hesitation.

“Very well then, I thought you might say so. Now the second matter. They have plenty of herbalists, however I know you and Sariel work well together. She may accompany you if you wish.”

“No,” He says decisively. “That’s fine. She’ll be safer to stay here.”

“Oh, but she would not be in any danger” Samille assures him, “Although I am too old to make the journey, Castiel will be with you. And we would not send you two anywhere that would pose a risk to your safety.”

“Then I do not believe she wishes to assist in healing pirates, who raided her village and took her parents and sister.”

I blink in surprise. I did not think he was listening when I told him about my family.

“Right,” Castiel clears his throat awkwardly. “My apologies Sariel, I had forgotten that about you. Then you are dismissed Elias. Pack a bag, we leave tomorrow morning.”

Elias picks up his books and leaves without saying goodbye, and I find myself feeling dissatisfied. It’s true that I would feel scared to be dealing with pirates, but no one had asked me what I wanted to do.

“He cares about you a lot, even though he doesn’t show it” Samille observes.

“Really? Because I don’t think he likes me at all.” I slump over my desk, annoyed at how I can’t hide the disappointment in my voice.

“No, he thinks very highly of you.” Castiel insists, although I’m not sure I believe him. “If you wanted to go, I have just the thing.” He rummages through his pouch and pulls out a ring. It’s small and made of gold, imprinted with some kind of insignia.

“This ring changes your appearance. Samille and I both believe you are more than capable of taking on the job, but we knew Elias would decline your assistance as a means to protect you. It may cause him less anxiety if you simply went without his knowledge.” There is a mischievous glint in his eye.

He places the ring in the palm of my hand and I’m surprised by its weight. I slip it on my finger and catch my reflection in a glass cabinet. My face structure has changed and my straight orange hair has turned wavy and brown. Looking like a different person, I felt I could almost be brave. Elias was right, the pirate raid had left me terrified of the world outside of Ambria, which has now become my new home. I would much rather stay here with Samille, gathering and grinding herbs in the safety of our town. Between the two of us, my sister Naivara was the adventurous one but now she was gone. Could I be brave in her place?

I turn to Alfie, athough the matter seems much too serious to be seeking advice from a muskrat “What do you think?”

“Go, go!” He chirps.

Samille had travelled to my hometown when we needed help. Maybe I could do the same for other people now.

I turn to Castiel. “Alright,” I say, hoping I sound braver than I feel. “I’ll go to Baldur with you.”

~

Castiel had introduced me as Willow, an alchemy apprentice from the next town over who has come to help the cause. Elias doesn’t even give me a second glance, even though I feel pretty with my new glossy hair. We travel to Baldur by carriage and pull up to their town square. They have tents set up around the perimeter where the healers work, and a large communal area in the center where the patients and workers can enjoy warm meals. Our job was to produce medicine for the healers to use, and we are put to work as soon as we arrive. I compound endless salves and elixirs for pain, and Elias keeps the nectar flowing from the Queen of the Night. I have never worked so hard in my life, putting in long and tiring hours each day, but the sweet scent of the Queen of the Night in bloom pulls me through my fatigue.

After a few days, I take notice of a girl in pirate clothes. A light grey owl sits perched on her shoulder. She isn’t detained with the other pirates, but roams the tents freely with the rescued captives. She looks relaxed, laughing with them as though they know each other. Something about her seems familiar somehow. As she walks past me, I notice a limp.

“Your ankle” I say, and she turns to face me.

“Oh, this? It’s no big deal! There are others with injuries much worse than this, you should look after them first.”

I get a good look at her face this time and my breath catches. She looks different, older, but she still moves in the same easy way, still pulls the same facial expressions.

“At least let me put some salve on it.” My mind is racing, but I somehow manage to get the words out.

As she watches me rub salve onto her ankle, I feel tears prickling at my eyes.

“Excuse me,” I sloppily tie some dressing over it, then quickly stand to leave.

“Oh, hey thanks,” she says to my back, confused by my rapid departure.

My eyes scan the town square, looking for Elias. I spot him a few yards away, rubbing his face in exhaustion - I can see that alchemy expends much of his energy. I walk quickly towards him, then take his arm and lead him behind one of the tents. When I remove the ring, he doesn’t even look surprised.

“I’m sorry,” I say sheepishly. “I really wanted to come and you were making such a fuss. Castiel gave me this ring and-”

“I know about the rings, he’s shown me how to make them. Also I recognized your mannerisms as soon as we started working. I don’t know why you guys even bothered.”

I blush and we stand there awkwardly.

“Is everything okay?” He says at last.

I hesitate. “That’s my sister,” I whisper after a long pause. “The girl in the pirate’s clothes.”

Elias looks skeptical, “Are you sure?” I can see from his face that he doesn’t want me to get my hopes up. After all, the raid was years ago.

“You said you recognized my mannerisms. Well I recognize hers. There is no doubt in my mind, that’s Naivara.”

The conviction in my voice must have convinced him. “Then why are you telling me and not her?” He asks.

I close my eyes and rub my temples. “I don’t know. I’m not ready. Also, why is she dressed like a pirate? I don’t understand.”

I look up at him desperately, but wasn’t sure he would empathize with my distress. He is logical and pragmatic, often not grasping matters of emotion. Somehow, reuniting with my sister like this feels scarier than confronting an entire pirate ship by myself. I couldn’t believe she was one of them now, knowing they tore our family apart.

After what seemed like some careful consideration, Elias squeezes my arm and I almost jump at this rare display of affection

“Knowing your nature, I didn’t think you would make it out here, but you did. You’ve helped heal so many people, and I see you treating the pirates fairly despite what happened to your family. You can talk to your sister and get to the bottom of this.” His tone is uncharacteristically gentle. “And if you hear something you don’t like, well you still have Samille and Castiel and myself.”

My heart swells. “Thanks,” is all I can say, although I hope he can hear my appreciation for his words.

~

After we’ve finished our evening meal in the communal dining area and are about to return to our accommodations, I approach the girl again.

“How is your ankle?” I ask.

“Much better, thank you.” She smiles, then turns to leave.

“Wait!” I call after her, “Can I show you something?”

She looks confused, but obliges so I lead her behind the same tent I had taken Elias to earlier that day. Using its cover, I remove my ring.

Naivara’s hand flies to her mouth and she doesn’t speak for a minute.

“What- no, this can’t- Sariel?”

We try to embrace, but my face almost lands into the owl perched on her shoulder. He ruffles his feathers then hops onto to her other shoulder to let us have our moment.

“Oh, this is Poe.” Naivara introduces us, laughing nervously as she wipes away her tears. “I took him from one of the pirates.”

I ask her the question that’s been troubling me all evening, “And why are you dressed like a pirate, Naivara?”

“Oh, I’m a shipwright.”

“A what?”

“A shipwright. None of the pirates know how to maintain a ship, they only know how to ransack and plunder innocent towns. I gained their trust by doing the repairs. They even let me wear their clothes. I look cool, don’t you think?”

I blink, taking her in again. It actually does suit her.

“Anyways, I did that for a while until the opportunity arose to turn them in. I’m the one who leaked the information to get this ship captured in the first place. Now the town of Baldur is going to employ me as a shipwright. I’m going to start my own firm. And I’m keeping the outfit.” She grins proudly.

I laugh. So that was the explanation. Suddenly, I’m a little girl again collecting herbs with my mother. In the distance, I can see Naivara helping our father in his carpentry shop. My little sister is all grown up and has a profession of her own.

I’m almost afraid to ask “What about mom and dad?”

“I don’t know.” Naivara shakes her head apologetically. “We got separated when they abandoned the elderly in a town I don’t know the name of.”

“Phandalin” Poe speaks up.

“Phandalin?” I gasp. “That’s a short carriage ride away from Ambria!”

“Sariel,” Naivara says gently, “I just said I don’t know the name.”

“You don’t, but Poe does!”

Naivara’s eyes widen. “That’s right, you can-“

We dissolve into laughter at this turn of events. I can’t believe I was almost too scared to make this journey, and now I’ve been reunited with my sister and we have a lead on where our parents might be.

“Come home to Ambria with me,” I take her hands. “Baldur can wait. I can show you where I live and introduce you to my mentor, Samille. And then we can go to Phandalin to look for our parents.”

Naivara shakes her head in disbelief. “Look at you. You used to be so scared of everything, I had to go on adventures by myself.”

“Well, now we can make up for lost time,” I say earnestly. “I have a feeling we have many more adventures to come.”

 

[Halloqueen]

That feel when you write a long story but procrastinated too long and don't finish in time. Oh well. I liked it but it felt obnoxiously long anyway. Literally ran up against the clock here trying to wrap it up but couldn't.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Spoiler: story

Leopold was sitting in his study, reading one of his favorite Holmes novels, when he heard a knock on his door. It was Filbert, asking him if he would tell Cole to keep to himself, since he was buging Filbert. Leopold rejected, not only because he knows Filbert needs to learn to stand up for himself, but also because he is not one to partake in any kind of conflict. He would prefer to mind his own business and hope that problems simply pass by without worry. He is, however, particularly interested in stories of mystery, and he dreams of solving his own mystery someday, effectively becoming the men he admires in his favorite novels.



As Leopold returned to his desk, he suddenly head a cry outside. Peeking out the window, he learned from his neighbor Willow that their friend Zucker had been kidnapped. Leopold hurriedly ran outside to assess the situation, and when Willow spotted him, she offered a sigh of relief. She asked if he could possibly go and figure out what happened to Zucker, and all the other neighbors agreed with her, noting Leopold’s fascination with crime and mystery. He felt a great deal of pride having received this honor, but he was also very tempted to say no. He had a fear of the outside world. At that moment, just as he was about to deny her request, Wendy showed up and informed everyone that Zucker had been kidnapped by a food fanatic of unknown identity. Fearing that his friend might be eaten by this crazy man, Leopold begrudgingly accepted the quest. He knew that he was in for a tough ride, but if it meant saving his friend and bringing everything back to normal, then it was worth it. He had to wonder what kind of person would do such a thing anyways, but now was not the time for mind games. He had to get out there and help Zucker. He put his fear aside for a few moments to tell himself that everything would work out fine, and that his friend would come home unscathed... hopefully.



He set out with Filbert, seeing his closest friend as a sort of side kick to help him on his quest. Traveling from village to village, Leopold and Filbert gained insight on who this mysterious food maniac could be. They also learn that other food-related animals had been kidnapped as well, including Merengue and Frita (and also Wart Jr for some reason). A postman enters the scene with shocking news: the perpetrator is the mayor of a nearby bustling city, going by the name of Mr. Anjou. Leopold realized now what he was getting into, and desperately wanted to back out of the situation. He wondered if there was a way he could simply gain the bravery needed for his quest. One of the villagers informed him that a gypsy lived in a nearby tent and could possibly help him.



Upon meeting her, the gypsy Katrina offered Leopold a potion which would help him become more courageous, exactly what he needed! She did not accept any payment in return, stressing that this was for the fate of the poor kidnapped animals. She had the utmost confidence in Leopold, even though he was not particularly brave. She saw something deep in him. He took the potion and went on his way, off to go rescue his friends.



On the way to the perpetrator’s “lair”, Leopold and Filbert encountered a few odd characters. Under normal circumstances Leopold would simply shy away from any kind of conflict, but today that was not the case. He easily cast them aside with witty logic and fast actions. Filbert noticed that Leopold was feeling awfully overly confident in himself, and despite being somewhat worried he has the utmost confidence that Leopold could, in fact, reach his goal and rescue their friends before the night fell.



As dusk fell, Leopold and Filbert reached their destination. The mayor, Mr. Anjou, stood sturdy, as the animal friends stood behind him tied up. Apparently, this crazed man planned on using these animals to create the perfect commercial for the foods which they were representing. The animals were apparently flattered with this offer and all took it, but soon realized they were in for a wild ride when they were tied up.



Leopold wondered he could rescue his friends. In this brief span of time, by some coincidence, he started to notice the effects of his potion wearing off. His anxiety started to set in, just as he was about to take this madman head on. But Filbert reminded him that the potion just brought out the parts of him that he never knew were there, that his courage and bravery had come from deep within and he needed to channel this energy in order to save their friends. Suddenly Leopold’s confidence skyrocketed, he began to believe in himself. His anxiety was also prevalent enough to make him realize that his friends truly are in a dire situation and he’s the only one who can rescue them (after all, Filbert is but a small lad). Leopold had his wits about him, and convinced Filbert to taunt him while he rescued the villagers in the back. Filbert was spitting fire (metaphorically and literally) and Leopold made a narrow escape with his friends.



Leopold and Filbert leave with their friends. They return to the village where they met Katrina, and she informs Leopold that it is, in fact, true that the potion merely changed his state of mind, and didn’t actually grant him any extra powers. The courage he showed was inside him all along, and he proved it in the short battle with the crazed mayor. He was lovingly accepted back home, as everyone was grateful that he was able to rescue their friends and take down the mayor. They didn’t know what would happen to the future of that town, but they were sure that without his influence, hopefully it could become a safer placed for food-like animals everywhere!

 

[FraudulentDimetrodon]

Spoiler: To Make a Wish Come True

A star fell, right on schedule. Another soon followed, then another, and another, filling the night sky with streaks of light. Of course, they weren’t really “stars.” They were mere remnants of a traveling comet, more humble than a real star, yet burning bright as they disintegrated in the atmosphere, their journey at its end.

But truth had long gone out the window as Celeste clasped her wings together, whispering to anyone who might listen.

“I wish I could fly. I wish I could fly. I wish I could fly.”

Her parents weren’t worried at first, not even when she passed the age at which her older brother had learned to fly. “Some nestlings are just late bloomers! You’ll know when the time is right.” She grew up listening to family and friends wax poetic about that important moment in all flying birds’ lives, about that “spark” that would occur, and that feeling of joy upon feeling the wind in ones’ wings.

When it seemed evident that no “spark” (whatever that meant) would come, she turned to what she knew best: books and research. She studied the mechanics of flight, watched the mail pelicans fly their routes for hours, even observed the insects her brother despised on the off chance that their technique could prove useful. Good riddance to vague feelings and “sparks!” There was nothing that couldn’t be learned! Or so she thought. But after years of research that bore no fruit, and after a desperate attempt at throwing herself out of her childhood tree house ended in disaster, her parents and her worrywart brother prohibited her from ever trying again.

There was nothing wrong with her wings or feathers. There were no gaps in her knowledge. But she just couldn’t fly.

It was in that childhood tree house that she had built up her observatory in. What was meant as a shared space for the two siblings eventually became Celeste’s personal haven as it was impossible to bug-proof a tree. She filled it with books on astronomy, mythology, a beloved telescope that her brother had gifted her from his first paycheck. She loved the stars, but more than that, she loved their stories. She could name every star in the sky, but she also felt a connection to the ones who came before her, long ago; the ones who knew less than she did but couldn’t help drawing pictures in the night sky. She loved reading tall tales of brave, mighty heroes, ones who prevailed no matter the challenges they faced, their stories written in the stars. And though she knew it was mere childish dreaming, tonight she also couldn’t help but pray to the stars, even though, in her heart, she knew no one was listening.

She spent more time in this observatory than what was supposed to be her bedroom, often falling asleep after watching the sky all night only to wake the following dusk just to do it all over again.

---

Celeste awoke to the sound of flapping wings. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sullenly climbed down the ladder to get the evening mail. Though she expected a letter from her brother, who was now working at a museum far away from home, she instead found a strange envelope with blue, glittery stationery.

To the grounded Celeste,​

You made a wish on a shooting star on a night when the stars shined bright. And though it's my job to make that wish come true, I’m afraid I find myself lacking the power to do so. However, there may be a way to achieve what you desire.​

​

I’ve heard legends of a strange, remote island to the west, one with a large crater at its center. There, around this time of year, a magical creature called the Bluebird of Happiness is born every millennium. And this is one of those fabled years! When it fledges, it’s said to drop a feather for anyone who witnesses it. Possessing that feather will allow its holder to fly on their own. ​

​

This time, I shall wish for your happiness.​

​

From Wishy the Star​

She spent all night packing for her journey. She donned her largest, pinkest bow because it made her feel brave. In the morning, fighting back yawns, she made her way to the coastline to take a boat to this faraway island. She could have used the airport, but she tended to avoid the dodos working there after an awkward conversation about what flying was like ensued. In truth, she envied the dodos, for whom flight was a clear-cut impossibility. She would have sympathized with her brother’s phobia, but when he was so unreasonable that he tended to avoid flight in fear of running into flying insects, she couldn’t help but resent him. And every time her friends and family gushed over how cute and smart she was, she wondered what they would say if they knew of this ugly, creeping darkness that lay in her heart.

But that was all about to change; once she could fly, everything was going to be better.

The island came into view, a towering mass of rock and greenery. She stepped onto the beach, sand crunching beneath her talons, her thoughts wandering. A sudden sound of swishing water broke her out of her reverie, and, before she could react, a large splash erupted from the ocean before her.

“Hey, maaan. Haven’t seen you ‘round these waters before. What do they call you?”

She stared, dumbfounded, at the red otter treading water before her. He wore a seashell necklace, overalls with no shirt, and, most baffling, a knit beanie. “Um, I’m Celeste…”

“Good, good. The name’s Pascal. Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have seen any scallops, would you?”

Celeste shook her head and gazed out into the open blue. She could see faint trails of bubbles floating to the surface, a tell-tale sign of the creatures lurking beneath. What creatures, she did not know, though she imagined that her brother could identify them based on the bubbles alone. And rattle off hours’ worth of facts completely unprompted.

“I’m sorry. If only I could fly, then I could get a bird’s eye view and point out where they might be...”

“Nah, it’s all good. I can’t fly at all, so I can’t expect you to either.”

Celeste blinked in confusion as Pascal began to pry at the fur under his arm. “But… you’re an otter; you’re not supposed to fly. I’m an owl. I’m supposed to fly, but I can’t! What would you do if you couldn’t swim?!”

Pascal continued to root around in his fur, seemingly considering Celeste’s words. “I don’t know, maaan. What are any of us supposed to do? Sometimes, you realize that the thing you’re looking for isn’t really what you want. Or find out you already had what you wanted all along. And, hey, it isn’t bad to want, ya dig?” As if by magic, he produced a scallop from his fur and, clutching it close to his chest, he flopped onto his back. “Today is totally righteous.”

Before Celeste could even gather her thoughts, a sudden wave broke and retreated, carrying an unconcerned Pascal away from the shore and into open water. She didn’t know what to make of this bizarre encounter, but in some strange way, her heart felt a bit lighter.

She journeyed deeper into the island though its cave system. Eventually, she found herself at the heart of the island. Above, she could see the crater mouth opening wide to the sky and was surprised to find that it was already night. Tonight, too, shooting stars painted the sky, though she could have sworn that there wasn’t supposed to be a meteor shower today. In the center of the room on a blackened stone pedestal lay a massive bundle of greenery and branches. A nest. Heart beating in her chest, Celeste ran up, peered in… and found the remnants of a blue egg, its small, broken pieces scattered about.

She had missed the Bluebird’s fledging. In her rage, she grabbed a stone from the pedestal and pitched it into a nearby pond.

And the pond spoke.

“OW! What’s with you mortals?! Are axes not enough for you? Now you’re just throwing rocks at me? Space rocks even? At poor little Serena? Seriously?!”

A burst of light erupted from the pond and formed the shape of a white chihuahua. She wore a white dress with a veil and golden jewelry. Her eyes were slightly watery, her mascara starting to run.

Celeste’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that someone was, um, living in there.”

Serena looked at Celeste as if she was missing something completely obvious. “Well, I used to live in a fountain, but everyone was always tossing stuff in, so I moved. I got sick of being a goddess anyway; it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Celeste’s heart raced as Serena rubbed at her temple. If she really was a goddess, couldn’t she have the power to make her able to fly? But Serena narrowed her eyes as if anticipating the question. “I know, I know, I don’t really act goddessy. You don’t have to tell me twice. Anyway, what do you want?”

Surprised, Celeste let her question die on her tongue. Pascal’s words lay heavy in her mind. What did she want? “I-- I’m really sorry I threw that rock at you. I was just… really frustrated at myself. You’re right; you don’t seem like a goddess, but that’s okay! I mean, I’ve read lots of myths, and deities there aren’t perfect, not in the slightest! They make mistakes and have feelings, just like mortals do!”

Serena’s doe-like eyes blinked. “Oh... Well, uh, I wasn’t expecting that. That’s… really sweet of you! Let’s call things even, ‘kay? Ummmm…. So, usually, I give out Gold or Silver Axes, but for you… Oh, I know!” Serena vanished into the fountain before reappearing, rock in paw. “Like, a bazillion years ago, this big ol’ space rock crash-landed here and broke up into all these tiny pieces.” As she spoke, the rock she was holding began to glow. “It’s not much, but I can make this piece a bit prettier. Here! You can have it!”

What was once a charred, dull meteorite now glowed with a soft purple light. Celeste gazed in wonder at the Star Fragment in her wings. “Wow... It’s beautiful! But… I’m not… I don’t know if I deserve it.”

The goddess shrugged casually. “Eh, I was feeling a bit lonely here anyway. It wasn’t bad to talk to a mortal again.”

“Well... Thank you, Serena! … I’m… feeling a little better now. I think I’m ready to go back home.”

In response, Serena produced a weathered tome, handing it to Celeste. “Just stare at the pages, and, like, spells to return home will come to you. Or something.”

Celeste opened the grimoire. A seemingly random jumble of letters danced across the pages, but as she stared, a series of words came to her mind. She clutched the Star Fragment close to her chest, took a deep breath, and spoke out loud and clear:

“Wolete Praeparae. Rescoureus Servitium.”

The island faded before her eyes, the stars above her blurring into the dark cosmos. Her last thought was that she really did miss her brother and hoped that he would write again soon.

---

Celeste awoke to the sound of flapping wings. Under the evening light, the little Star Fragment on her desk glowed softly. Within the mailbox, she found two letters from her brother, one for the whole family, one addressed just to her.

Celeste,​

Hoo-hoo! I do hope that this letter finds you first, because I have news that I think you’ll like!​

​

We just received funding to build a new wing in the museum, and I put forth the idea to turn it into an observatory. I suggested that you be the one to manage it!​

​

It’s a long way from home, but with your knowledge, I know you’ll help make this museum even better than it is now. I hope you’ll think about it, and I hope that we can work together someday!​

​

Write back soon!​

​

Your brother,​

Blathers​

In the heavens up above, the stars were just beginning to shine through the encroaching night. But with night brought a certain sense of calm, and as Celeste gazed up, she felt longing, but also comfort, and her heart soared with delight.

Around 2k words! This entry was inspired by some text from Happy Home Designer where Celeste reveals that she can't fly and that's why she loves stargazing. I decided to write a younger Celeste, before she starts working at the observatory in Wild World/City Folk, and I imagined her as not yet accepting the fact that she can't fly.

I had plans to add in encounters with a stranded Gulliver at an interior beach in the island and Resetti within in the caves to be a part of the "Road of Trials" section, and I had more lore about the island relating to Chinese mythology (since Celeste loves that kind of thing), but I knew that I'd already be going over the word count requirement, so they were all scrapped. OTL I had more fun than I expected, so I'm kind of tempted to write out the whole thing just for myself.

Also, I haven't had time to read the other entries, so if other folks had similar ideas like writing about Celeste's backstory or references to the Fair, I'm so sorry! I'm looking forward to reading them now, though! Also, thanks to the Discord chat for letting me cry about me finishing the entry, haha!

 

[Zerous]

I had one idea that I was excited about, but ran out of time, so I went for a different tact

Spoiler: Walt's nightime funtime

The sound of metal clashing split through the silence of the night, followed by the yelp of an animal in the distance. Walt sat upright in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Another crash.

Letting out a low sigh, he carefully climbed out of bed and tiptoed across the tatami. Another crash at his door, louder this time. Walt’s stomach sunk with each step. Dread filled his throat as his paw reached for the door handle, scared most of all, that he knew what was coming.

“Please, not tonight.” He whispered, as his front door creaked open.

Taking a hesitant step outside, a warm April breeze drifted across the town, wafting the smell of new blossoms to his door. Looking around, it seemed calm. A sigh of relief. Walt, shaking his head, turned around to go back inside.

A tap on his shoulder.

Walt sprung around, hands clenching into fists. His fears were confirmed.

“Well hello there friend! Zoppity hipper! It’s me, you’ll find, your best friend Zipper!”

Before Walt stood Zipper T. Bunny, covered in flecks of dirt, his silver shovel gleaming in the moonlight.

Walt put his paw to his temple, trying to stay calm. “Zipper.. Why Are you here??”

“It’s April my friend, don’t you see? Time for some Easter fun, zoppity zee!”

“Easter’s not for two weeks and a half weeks.”

Zipper started his little bounce, like this new had excited him, his shovel swinging at his side.

“Never a bad time to start the fun! This seasons only just begun! But since you’re out here now, bippity boppity, y’wanna play a game together…opity?”

“Zipper it’s three in the morning.”

Zipper stared back blankly, waiting.

“You’re not going to let me get some sleep unless I help you, am I?” Walt sighed. “Fine.”

“That’s great to hear, hippity hop! Now the fun just won’t stop! So here’s what you gotta do, my good pal; collect 3 of each egg, boppity wow! There’s eggs in the sky, in the sea, even in the ground, bippity wee! If ya need anymore help, feel free to contact your friend. I’ll be waiting in the plaza, until sunrise ends!”

And with that, Zipper sprinted off into the night, a trail of laughter fading off with him into the distance, but the feeling of dread only growing stronger in Walt.

“Why couldn’t it have been Punchy’s house” He sighed, before grabbing his tool kit and walking off. Being the third year in a row, Walt knew the drill by now. He knew his mission, and he was going to complete it: Get the damn eggs, and get back to bed.

First on his list were the leaf eggs, probably the easiest in his mind. Walking up to the forest across the road from his house, Walt started kicking the trees, causing a cascade of leaves, bells, pianos, chairs, and a couple eggs to fall out.

“One down.”

Next, Walt thought to go for the water eggs, so if he got wet, he’d have time to dry off before bed. Shadow one. Egg. Shadow two. Egg. Shadow three? Another egg.

“Oh yeah, silly me” Walt laughed to himself, shaking his head “Real fish don’t appear in April; Zipper makes sure of that.” Sliding the slimy eggs into his pocket, he ticked another one off his mental list.

“Next the earth eggs might be good” Walt nodded to himself, pulling out his shovel. This one might take a while. Walking though the town at night, Walt kept a close eye on the ground for any star-shaped holes that might be hiding in the shadows, hidden from the moonlight. The one that had been there next to the Nook’s Cranny for a month was sadly just another fossil for the full museum. So, he kept walking. Walking down the path away from the shopping district, he spotted a small hole next to a tree. One earth egg! He managed to find another buried behind the fountain to the north of the town. Walking back, Walt spotted another hole, next to Octavian’s house.

“Oh no...”

If there was one person who liked their sleep more than he did, it was Octavian. Trying to walk as lightly as possible past his window, Walt gently secured his shovel in the damp soil, and carefully pulled up. One shovel, two shovel –

“ZZZzzzhhggbbzZZ”

Octavian’s snore crashed through the night. Walt jumped in shock, his arm smacking his shovel into the side of the house. Dread again filled his stomach.

Silence. A pause in the snoring.

“Zzzgg” A softer snore was met with a sigh of relief. Quickly grabbing the uncovered earth egg with shaking paws, Walt ran off, and checked another egg off his list.

Leaning against a tree, panting, Walt took a moment to recover, cursing Zipper through his heaving breaths, in an array of non-Easter friendly language. Managing to get his heart rate back to normal, Walt heard a quiet but distinctive woosh pass through the trees. Time for the sky eggs.

Pulling out his slingshot, Walt turned around, ammo blazing, and hit it in one shot. He’d had too much practise at this. Collecting his parcel, Walt had to admire Zippers devotion to this stupid event, even going as far to wrap the sky eggs in padding, so they didn’t break on impact. How did he even get all these eggs everywhere anyways? Burying makes sense, but did he just periodically let balloons out every seven minutes? Did he dump three tonnes of eggs into the water supply? How do you even hide an egg in a rock? These thoughts carried Walt through the rest of the sky eggs.

Stone eggs should be up next. He’d probably only need two rocks for this, so he first went to his favourite rock of the front of his house. Walt looked up from the rock into his window, desperately wishing he could be inside. But he knew he couldn’t go back. Zipper would, and had before made sure of that.

Shaking himself out of his dark memories of the past, Walt turned his attention to the rock.

CLANG

One egg, but one problem. The noise. He’d have to do this quickly. Taking a deep breath, Walk readied himself.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

Thankfully another egg popped out, along with the clay, and a couple of rock shards. But he knew what was to come. He was going to have to be quick.

Running over to the only other rock in town, surrounded by houses. Walt pulled out his shovel and quickly smashed the rock open in one go, with a resounding CLAANGG. He paused, waiting. Still silence. Walt picked the egg up in relief.

Now only the wood eggs were left. Pulling out his axe, Walt moved over to the nearby trees and began work.

This time, less eggs were coming out. Frantic and sleep deprived, Walt swung faster, moving through the forest. One egg… two…

“THREE!” Walt shouted, his voice ringing through the night.

“Oh no…”

A flurry of noises came as his neighbours opened their doors, looking sleepily into the night. Octavian came out, breathing heavily and brandishing a shovel, and Sydney came out, her eyes widening upon seeing Walt, his pyjama pockets dripping with residue, holding an axe.

“Walt..? What are you?” Sydney asked, a small level of fear injected in her voice.

“It’s um- not what it looks like. I’ll explain later!” Walt apologised, starting to sprint off towards the plaza. He did not want to deal with Octavian at 4 in the morning.

Upon reaching the plaza, Walt found Zipper still happily dancing, unaware, or more likely, not caring about the mess he’d gotten him into.

Walt shoved the eggs into Zipper’s arms, wanting to get this over with.

“Huh Ho! I’m a lucky ‘ol bunny, yeppity yipper, thamks for doing that for your best friend Zipper! Want to play another rou-“

“No. Can I go to bed now?”

Zipper looked down for a second before nodding slowly. Looking back into Walt’s eyes once more, he sprinted, once again, into the night.

Walt nestled into his bed once again, dreading what tomorrow would bring, and the conversations he would have to have. But now, at 4:30 in the morning, it was finally time for sleep. As he lay down, he found a note in scratchy writing left on his pillow:

“See ya next year!”

Spoiler

Working title was hippity hoppity this is stupidoppity, but I decided against that

 

[Vsmith]

Spoiler: The Mystery of the Night Clowns

"I'm so happy I moved here, it's so peaceful and pretty thanks to our island representative, Val." Chelsea says to herself as she drinks her tea on her outdoor patio set.

It's a beautiful August Sunday afternoon and all the villagers are excited and getting ready for the evening fireworks. Red is setting up his stall and Isabelle is outside already wearing her light up bopper.

Chelsea heads over to the plaza to get her set of light up boppers from Isabelle. As she approaches Isabelle, she notices Isabelle looking a little stressed out. "Hello Isabelle, is there something the matter?" Chelsea inquires curiously. "Oh Chelsea!! How are you? Sorry I was just thinking and guess I got a little distracted. I've been really busy with villagers wanting to move out. I understand wanting to start something new and fresh start and all, but there have been quite a few villagers complaining about night clowns."

Chelsea's face goes white. Whiter than her normal white fur. Night clowns. Chelsea knows about the night clowns all to well. "Well see you later!" Chelsea says nervously.

"Oh Chelsea! Please wait." Isabelle calls after her, "It would be most helpful if you can please solve the mystery of the night clowns. I have been swamped at work with the firework festivities, villager complaints, and new move-ins. Please would you help me?" Isabelle cups her paws together and sweetly smiles. "I wish I can help but-"Chelsea starts to says but then is interrupted by Isabelle, " Oh my goodness!! Thank you so much for your help Chelsea. You don't know how much I appreciate you helping me, I've been soo swamped and making late night broadcasts and everything." "But but but.. I don't even know where to start." Chelsea tries to explain to Isabelle that she just can't get involved but Isabelle happily starts passing out light up boppers to other villagers as they approach her.

Chelsea can feel her heart sink into her stomach. "I can't be involved in this. I don't know where to start. Not to mention this is the reason I moved to this island. To get away from the night clowns. I am so afraid of clowns, especially night clowns. Maybe if I find someone else to solve the mystery? That way I don't have to deal with… the clowns. Anyway if the clowns are here I should start packing and move away; and in the meantime I can put up lasers, but where am I going to buy lasers from?"

A thought bubble starts floating above Chelsea's head and the island rep Val notices and walks over, "Hi Chelsea!"

"Oh Val!! Sorry I was just thinking that maybe I should move away." Chelsea says nervously. "Chelsea please stay. Everyone loves you here." Val says. How can Chelsea say no to that big ol' cute noggin? "Okay, you convinced me I'll stay." Chelsea says steeply.

"Why is it I feel like something is still bothering you Chelsea. What's the matter?" Val asks.

Chelsea sighs and explains the night clown situation and how Isabelle asks her for help but Chelsea is so afraid of clowns.

"Please Val can you solve this mystery instead? I'm so afraid of clowns." Chelsea pleads.

"I'm sorry Chelsea, I can't. I have too much work here to do. But I believe in you and I think you can overcome your fear. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this night clown situation. I believe you can figure out this mystery, Chelsea." Val said.

Val then pulled out her magic wand and transformed her clothes into a construction workers outfit and scampered off.

"Well if Val believes in me then I guess I could at least try." Chelsea thought to herself. She went and talked to a few villagers she had heard mention encounters with night clowns and found out that Kapp'n knows more about the night clowns.

Chelsea heads over to the dock where Kapp'n keeps his boat. Kapp'n is wearing his usual hawaiian shirt and lounging around without a care in the world.

"Ahem, Kapp'n?" Chelsea clears her throat to try to catch his attention. "Hm? Ye ready to take a tour?" Kapp'n replies as he starts to get up from his lounging position.

"Oh no, I just wanted to ask a few questions." Chelsea says nervously, "How do I even ask this question…"

" Spit it out now, is what I would say." Kapp'n says, "I know a good shanty about that too."

"No, no, no, it's okay…Okay! Here goes." Chelsea says. Quietly Chelsea spits it out, " Do you know anything about night clowns?"

"Wha? I can hear ye? Speak up louder please. My ears ain't what it use to be, ye know?" Kapp'n says loudly craneing to hear.

Frustrated Chelsea yells, "Night Clowns!! Do you know anything about night clowns."

"Aye! I do! But you didn't have to yell." Kapp'n says holding his ears. "If ye want I can take ye to them right now."

"What?" Chelsea says in disbelief, "You know where they come from?"

"Aye, I do. I know exactly which island they hail from." Kapp'n says confidently. "Do ye wish to go?"

Kapp'n extends his hand to her. Chelsea moves her hand towards his. "This is it. I'm going to overcome my fear and solve this mystery." As she is about to grasp Kapp'n hand he quickly moves it away.

"Round trip fare'll cost ye 1,000 miles." Kapp'n informs. Chelsea sighs and pays up.

After a long boat ride that felt like it took forever with all the sea shanties, talking about Kapp'n little girl, and wondering if I get seasick; we finally arrived to the island.

"Yar, we've arrived!" Kapp'n says, " Usually I'll be waitin' for ye when ye're needin' tools or if ye're wantin' to se sail for home, but I got an alert for another customer so I'll be back soonish for ye." Chelsea understood and started her way into the woods.

The sun was starting to set and she still hasn't found any clues the forest. Not even a path. Chelsea was feeling unsettled about being alone with the possibility of running into a night clown with no hope to escape!!! Chelsea squatted down and held her head in her hands. "Oh my, oh my, oh my!! Pound cake!!!" She said fearfully.

The sky begins to darken. "Chelsea old girl!! Get a grip on yourself, it's night now so I'll make camp and maybe… draw a map!!" Chelsea said to herself. She began to gather some tree branches and was successful in making a campfire. Chelsea felt some comfort now that she had some light. "They probably started the fireworks already." She thought to herself.

The woods grew quite. A chilly wind blow through the small campsite. The fire flickered and danced in the wind and a chill ran up Chelsea's back. Something is wrong. Something is coming. She remembered the same thing had happened when she encountered the night clowns on the other Island. Fear caused her to be still like a statue. Rustling in the trees can be heard behind her, no, in front of her, no, to the left? Chelsea begins to tremble "Oh my, oh my! Pound cake!!" She squeaks. The bushes are rustling!! There's someone there!! Chelsea picks up a branch and point it to the noise with both hands. "Who is there? Show yourself!! I am nnot afffraid of yyou!!" Chelsea yells.

A form pops out from the bush's and poor Chelsea screams her human goat scream which caused the intruder to scream as well. Chelsea closes her eyes and swings her branch. She misses but it caused the intruder to trip and fall on their butt with a loud thudd and a recognizable "Ouch!!"

Chelsea opens her eyes and sees Val, the island rep, and friend in front of her.

"Val!!! I'm so happy to see you!! I'm so sorry I almost hit you with the branch." Chelsea dropped the branch and went to help her friend up. "Wait a minute, what are you doing here, Val?"

Val winces and rubs her butt as she got up. "I asked Kapp'n for a tour to a random island so I can gather materials for my…er…our island improvements."

Chelsea's ears twitched, she thinks she hears something. "What wrong Chelsea?" Val asked as she got comfortable by the campfire.

Chelsea turned toward the sound,"I think I hear…chuckling."

"You hear what? Clucking?" Val joked.

Huhuhuhahahaha laughter boomed and echoed through the forest. Then there was loud jingling of what sounded like chains. Both Val and Chelsea started backing away from the direction of the noise.

"What's that sound? What's going on?" Val says worriedly.

"Its…its…," Chelsea stutters as the subject of her deepest nightmares emerges from the shadows of the forest and reveals itself by the light of the campfire. White caked makeup, bulggy red nose, red mouth with yellowed crooked teeth smiled sinisterly. Black diamond shaped eyes pierced through Chelsea's soul.

"Night Clowns!!!!!" Chelsea's shrieked, "Run Away!!!" Chelsea bellowed as she pushed past Val and bolted.

"Run, Val!!! Run!!!" Chelsea screamed.

Run for your life!! Chelsea ran by dozens and dozens of trees and shrubs, kicking off petals from flowers. Her heart was pounding running as hard as she could. After awhile Chelsea begins to slow down.

"Okay, I think we lost them,Val." Chelsea says panting trying to catch her breath. She turns around to see her friend but Val was nowhere in sight. "Val?" Chelsea says surprised,"Val? Where are you? Val?"

Chelsea starts her way back to the campsite all while calling for Val. Yet there was no answer back.

She made it back to the campsite but the fire was out and the camp was a mess. Looked like signs of a struggle. Chelsea lit the fire again. The night clowns took Val. Chelsea thought for sure Val was right behind her. She felt terrible she left Val behind for the night clowns.

Chelsea looks around and realized that Val had brought a lantern. "I guess I was so preoccupied with worry over the clowns I didn't realize that Val was trying to be helpful." She picked up the lantern and thought about what Val had told her in the beginning of this adventure. "I believe you can solve this mystery. I believe you can overcome your fear, Chelsea." She remembered.

"I'm going to save Val from the night clowns and solve this mystery once and for all." Chelsea says tenaciously. She looked down and saw footprints leading away from the camp. "Clown shoe prints!! I'll follow that." Chelsea says as she makes way into dark forest.

After hiking for awhile the shoe prints end as Chelsea comes upon a grassy area. "Oh no, which way now?"

After a minute of scouring for footprints hunched over, she runs into something hard and flat. "Ouch was that a tree, pound cake?"

She looks up and sees a display covered in moss, dirt, and leaves. She clears the debris away to reveal a map of the island!! How lucky!!

The island is called Carnival Island. At the center of the island is a carnival amusement park. "They must be keeping her in there." Chelsea says to herself.

With an eager determined gesture, she continued forward to save her friend and end this nonsense.

Chelsea arrived at the dilapidated amusement park. It look old, spooky, and abandoned.

"Now where would they keep Val?"Chelsea wondered as she walked by the ticket booth.

This place needed a makeover emergency.

Chelsea walked further in and twitched her ears. "I think I hear someone call my name." Chelsea said as she looked all around. She followed the sound of far away calls for help to a large broken down ferris wheel. At the top of the wheel in one of the gondolas was Val waving and calling for help. "Chelsea! Get me down!"

Chelsea went to the controls and pulled a lever that made the ferris wheel jerk violently. "Ahhh!!Stop!!" Val yelled as her gondola started swinging from the jerks.

"Oh dear, oh dear!! I don't know how to get you down." Chelsea yelled back to Val.

Val sighed," You will have to find some help or maybe talk to the clowns."

"Are you crazy? No way, no way!! Pound cake!" Chelsea replied loudly.

"You must overcome your fear of the night clowns. Imagine the night clowns as the villagers back home and find out why they are doing this." Val said annoyed. She really didn't want to be here anymore.

Chelsea starts pacing nervously. She really didn't want to do this. But sometimes you have to do things in life that you really don't want to do, especially if it's to help your friend in need.

She finally agreed to talk to the …clowns. Val told her they were in the fun house.

She walked over fearfully to the entrance of the fun house which was shaped like an open clowns mouth. She shivered as she walked inside.

The fun house was a maze of broken glass and mirrors. If a human walked in here they would be hopelessly lost, but Chelsea was a goat with excellent eyesight and breezed right through the maze. At the end of the maze was a dark tube which looked like a slide. She heard laughing echoing from the tube. They must be down there.

"Imagine the're villagers, imagine the're villagers." She said as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and slid down the slide.

Down, down, down, she went. Huh this is a fun slide she thought. Weeeeeee!!!

She made it through the slide with a loud thud as she fell on her butt. She laughed, "Oh my that was a fun slide."

Chelsea dusted herself off and looked up to see she was surrounded by clowns.

The clowns looked at her happily, confused, and some surprised.

The head clown with the diamond shaped eyes said, "Hey! How did you get past the mirror maze?"

Chelsea froze like a statue and fell over. She fainted.

"Hey boss!! She's awake!!" One of the clowns said as they stared concerned for her well being. Chelsea was laying down on a bed with a brightly colored quilt. The clown pressed his nose to hers which made his nose squeak. "Are you okay?"

She sat up slowly, "I can't believe I fainted." She thought out loud.

Another clown walked in with a tray of tea and cookies.

"Oh, thank you." Chelsea said as she sipped her tea with shaky hands. Yuck! It was much too sweet.

She took a deep breath and counted to ten. She felt better.

All the clowns came in and sat around her. The clown with the diamond eyes who the other called boss said," I'm sorry I scared you before. I was just amazed you found your way."

Chelsea was still scared but then remembered 'imagine the're villagers.' "Goats have very good eyesight." She said. The other clowns murmured to each other in agreement and amazement.

Okay, down to business. Chelsea cleared her throat, " Why are you traveling to different islands and scaring villagers away?" She said with a sigh of relief. She couldn't believe she is actually talking to clowns! Her greatest fear.

Clown boss said, "We didn't mean to scare villagers. We were trying to give them fliers to come visit our island."

Another clown said, " We love people and we love entertaining! You know, make people happy."

The clown that was taking care of her said,"You see dear, we are sad and lonely. No one wants to visit an amusement park that is falling apart."

Another clown said,"boss had this great idea to visit other Islands to promote our amusement park. Everything we tried they would run away."

Chelsea started to feel bad for the clowns. She was one of those people that would just run away.

"What if I helped you restore your amusement park to brand new!!" Chelsea said happily.

"What you would do that for us?" The clowns said together.

"Yes!! With the help of my friend Val this place will be good as new. You wait and see." Chelsea smiled.

After they helped poor Val of the ferris wheel, Chelsea explained to Val what happened with the clowns and asked if she could help her fix up the amusement park. Val said, " Yeah sure!"

They got right to work.

Val did all the hard work while teraforming, replacing old amusement park equipment with new ones, making diy projects, placing trees and flowers. The amusement park looked amazing and the clowns thanked Chelsea for her hard work.

They patted Val on the back and thanked her too while saying how lucky she was to have a creative and hardworking friend like Chelsea.

Val laughed sheepishly. She just wanted to go back home.

Both Val and Chelsea said their goodbyes to the clowns and wished them luck. They headed back to the dock where they left Kapp'n.

Once they reached the dock there was a letter taped to a post on the dock. It said that it had gotten to late and Kapp'n went back home to eat dinner and sleep and will be back in the morning.

Chelsea and Val were stuck at Carnival Island until morning. "Well we can stay with the clowns tonight." Val yawned.

The go back to the amusement park and explain to the clowns what happened.

The clown boss says," we would love to have you for dinner. You can come stay with us tonight." They lead Chelsea and Val back to the fun house.

Chelsea can't stop thinking,"Their going to have us for dinner?!!" Her legs start to shake. "They are going to eat us!!" They slide down the fun slide and Chelsea remembered not to judge a book by its cover. "No, these are nice clowns. I'll just check what their making."

Val sits at the table and says, "Yum!! It smells like maybe chilli?" Chelsea shakes even more they are going to grind us to make chilli! No,no, no I'll go to the kitchen and find out. These are nice clowns. She goes to the clown chef who is stirring a big pot.

Chelsea asks, "Soo… what type of…um…protien are you using?" Her words felt like they started to squeak.

"Why?" Asked chef clown.

"Because I…I…I am…Vegetarian?" Chelsea chose her words as to not offended her hosts.

Chef clown laughed," Don't worry little goat, we are vegetarian too. I'm making Minestrone soup."

A wave of relief sweeped through Chelsea's body. She will no longer suspect these nice clowns any longer.

The dinner was wonderful and they slept well.

The next day, Chelsea and Val go back to the dock and sail back home on Kapp'n boat promising the clowns they will talk to Mr. Nook about promoting Carnival Island as a tourist spot for villagers.

 

[Geoni]

That feel when you write a long story but procrastinated too long and don't finish in time. Oh well. I liked it but it felt obnoxiously long anyway. Literally ran up against the clock here trying to wrap it up but couldn't.

You can always holster it and publish it somewhere! And if you don't want to go that far with it I'm sure people would be interested in reading it in a forum such as the museum!

 

[Vsmith]

That feel when you write a long story but procrastinated too long and don't finish in time. Oh well. I liked it but it felt obnoxiously long anyway. Literally ran up against the clock here trying to wrap it up but couldn't.

I was in the same boat. I ran up against the clock and I don't think I made it in time.

 

[Chris]

You can now vote for your favourite short story here: Hero's Crossing - Community Voting.
The poll closes Sunday, September 18th 2022 @ 7am FT.​